My Harrowing, Horrifying, Narrow, and Ultimately Delightful and Thrilling Escape

Yesterday, I dipped my toes back into the seemingly bottomless pool that is tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs). After collecting some books, box sets, and accessories for a variety of games over the last few years, I opened the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set and played through the introductory scenario, “Alone Against the Flames.” The solo scenario is designed to teach a single player the bare basics of creating a player character (PC), how to use the various polyhedral dice to determine outcomes, and how a Call of Cthulhu session should feel and flow.

You don’t really have to know much before diving into the solo scenario. At various points in the adventure, you will be instructed in creating the various aspects of your PC. This as you are being drawn deeper and deeper into a mystery that sees you alone in the gradually unfolding, unsettling situation in which you find yourself.

Knowing that Call of Cthulhu is a game of investigation and horror inspired by the works of author H. P. Lovecraft, the events at the outset of the adventure sparked within me feelings of impending doom. There was a sense of dark foreboding. It was similar to going into a movie theater to watch a horror movie, seeing the opening scenes of the movie, and knowing with a certainty that things are eventually going to go very, very wrong for the characters, and that it isn’t likely to end well for most or all of them.

My character, Max Hudson, a 23-year-old private investigator from a community north of Providence, Rhode Island barely escaped with his life. As Max, I was grievously injured, yet managed to escape from my dilemma unnoticed by my captors and would-be executioners. As such, I am free to continue to investigate, explore, and uncover more of the fictional setting as Max once I have recovered from my injuries. Perhaps I will even eventually make it to my intended destination of Arkham, Massachusetts, a fictional city in the world of Lovecraft’s fictional New England. I don’t want to share specifics of my experience as Max, as you too may want to try your hand at the adventure and I don’t want to unduly influence your own decisions and outcomes by giving away any spoilers. Which is kind of a shame, as it made for a pretty tense, thrilling, horrifying, and enjoyable story.

I failed a number of dice rolls, but was fortunate enough to make a couple of dice rolls when it really counted. I started out using a dice-rolling app on my iPhone. But my amused frustration at my “jinxed” dice led me to break out the physical polyhedral dice included in the box set. I still failed some rolls, but rolling the physical dice was admittedly a more satisfying experience. Either option will work in a pinch. But if rolling physical dice is an option, I highly recommend going with the physical dice.

I expect that I will play through the solo scenario at least once more and that today I will move on to reading the rules included in the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set in their entirety. After that I will look into cajoling someone into sitting down with me for one of the other included pre-generated scenarios where he or she will play the role of an Investigator of the Unknown (or “Investigator”) and I will play the role of the Keeper of Arcane Lore (or “Keeper”). I have to admit that I am really looking forward to the experience.

Of course, I have other TTRPGs as well as some tabletop wargames that I really want to play. I’m hopeful that finally pulling the trigger and playing a scenario that was admittedly like the Choose Your Own Adventure books that I enjoyed when I was younger with character creation and dice-rolling added to the experience will lead me to pulling the trigger on playing more of the games that I have collected. Being that online games are an option in addition to playing in person with one or more other players or playing solo games, I am even more optimistic about my ability to play at least a few TTRPGs in 2025, Lord willing.

If you enjoy thrillers, horror, and fiction where the protagonist is trying to investigate and solve a mystery or a crime, I would encourage you to consider picking up a copy of the Call of Cthulhu Starter Set. Particularly if you have never played a TTRPG before and you are looking for a product that serves as a friendly introduction to TTRPGs. Just don’t be surprised if you suddenly find yourself needing to sleep with a nightlight or with the lights on in your bedroom. 😉