Unnatural Selections #44 - what critics said now and then about Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, now part of the Call of Cthulhu Classic Kickstarter

Shadows of Yog-Sothoth (1982) was the first-ever Call of Cthulhu campaign, and is one of the five supplements we're reprinting in the Call of Cthulhu Classic Kickstarter, currently underway.

As Black Gate Magazine said about it back in 2013, "When Sandy Peterson’s Call of Cthulhu was first released as a boxed set in 1981, the entire industry took notice. Here was the first truly appealing contemporary (or, at least, semi-contemporary) role playing game, which drew on the horrifying cosmic milieu and fabulous bestiary of none other than H.P. Lovecraft. It was an instant hit. But by itself, Call of Cthulhu was just a fascinating oddity. It wasn’t until Chaosium released Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, A Global Campaign to Save Mankind a year later that we realized what the game was truly capable of."

The cover art is by Tom Sullivan.

Here's what reviewers have said about this seminal Call of Cthulhu work over the years:

Shadows of Yog-Sothoth (1982)

"The importance of Shadows of Yog-Sothoth cannot be overstated. The first campaign for Call of Cthulhu, it paved the way for many classics to come and it introduced the concept of the onionskin campaign. This has the investigators stripping away layers of information like the skin of an onion as the players progress through the campaign, revealing more of the evil cult’s plans and coming closer to the heart of the adventure." — Matthew Pook review, The Unspeakable Oath.

"Of course, the explicit linking of seven adventures into "a global campaign to save mankind" is precisely what made this product so revolutionary in its day (1982). Shadows of Yog-Sothoth was a complete, pre-scripted campaign in about 60 pages, giving the Keeper everything he needed to keep his players' busy for months. It's not hard to see why it was so well received by gamers and critics alike." — Grognardia.

"Shadows of Yog-Sothoth (1982) is the first campaign for Call of Cthulhu. Being the first, it is considered a classic [...] and it is, but it only shows some of the promise that would be achieved by the game in the future.... Of particular note is Carl Stanford, the primary antagonist. A cunning sorcerer, he’s probably one of the Call of Cthulhu game’s most memorable adversaries." — Vintage RPG.

"Chaosium makes an indelible impact on the role-playing hobby." — Video Review by RPG Imaginings:

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"A gem of a piece that puts more modern fare to shame... It's the epitome of Cthulhu campaigns where investigators face the Great Old One himself and decide the fate of the entire world!" — Stephen Joseph Ellis review, RPGNet.

"Shadows of Yog-Sothoth should provide some exciting CoC play for even the most experienced investigators (despite the odd fact that Yog-Sothoth never makes an appearance, title or not), and I recommend it to all Lovecraftians." — William A. Barton review, Space Gamer #60.

"10 out 10: All in all the Shadows of Yog-Sothoth is an excellent and masterly campaign that demands a high standard of play throughout. It is well presented [...] and carefully managed throughout, and it provides, I believe, the most exciting and satisfying adventure available on the market to date. It might seem expensive but it is worth every penny." — Ian Bailey review, White Dwarf #44.

"The adventures are unusual and the atmosphere exotic and terrifying. Yog-Sothoth is a classic example of role-playing horror, with awesome monsters, desperate victims, and an atmosphere of mystery and menace. Since it provides enough material for a campaign of several months’ duration, it is an excellent value." — Ken Rolston review, Dragon Magazine #81.

"Opportunities for role-playing, investigation, and combat abound with nameless horrors and the depraved cultists who worship the creatures of darkness." — Jim Bambra review, Dragon Magazine #158.

"Shadows of Yog-Sothoth is an epic, self-contained campaign which first introduced role players to the kind of play demanded by CoC. Players who treated Cthulhu and his minions as simply big D&D monsters, chubby creatures ready to be harvested for their experience point value, were in for a rude awakening." — Black Gate.

Shadows of Yog-Sothoth is available in the Call of Cthulhu Classic Kickstarter. Have you backed it? 

The boxed sets and PDFs on offer are not only packed-full of nostalgia from the birth of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game in 1981, but are also fully compatible with the 7th Edition of the game!