Every so often, a Humble Bundle drops that feels perfectly aimed at people who’ve been circling a game for years without quite taking the plunge. The current “So You Want to Try Out Call of Cthulhu” bundle is exactly that: a low‑pressure, high‑value way to explore one of tabletop RPG’s most enduring systems without needing to commit to purchasing a full library or finding a long campaign to join.
If you’ve ever been curious about Call of Cthulhu – the tone, the mechanics, the investigative structure, the way it handles horror – this bundle is a genuinely welcoming entry point.
The strength of the bundle is that it doesn’t just throw books at you. It gives you the right books.
You get a lot of content for the asking price of £18.60:
To summarise, you get:
- The core rules, so you can actually run or play the game
- A selection of introductory scenarios that teach the system through play
- A handful of setting pieces that show how flexible the game can be
- Enough material to run multiple one‑shots or even start a small campaign
It’s a curated slice of the line, not a random grab‑bag. That makes a huge difference for new players. Here are some of my highlights:
- Reign of Terror: A standout historical supplement set during the French Revolution. It’s atmospheric, well‑researched, and shows how Call of Cthulhu thrives outside its usual era. Great for Keepers who want a dramatic, politically charged backdrop with plenty of paranoia and tension baked in.
- Doors to Darkness: A collection of beginner‑friendly scenarios written specifically for new Keepers. Clear structure, good pacing, and mysteries that teach the fundamentals of investigation.
- Gateways to Terror: Three short, punchy one‑shots designed to be run in a single session. Great for club nights, conventions, or introducing the game to curious friends.
- Does Love Forgive?: A pair of two‑player scenarios, perfect for couples, small groups, or anyone wanting to try CoC without assembling a full table. A very different flavour of play
- Berlin: The Wicked City: One of the strongest setting books Chaosium has ever published. It covers Weimar‑era Berlin with a mix of cultural detail, social upheaval, and creeping Mythos influence. It’s rich, flexible, and perfect for groups who enjoy investigative play grounded in real history.
- Petersen’s Abominations: A collection of modern‑day scenarios written by Sandy Petersen himself. They’re sharp, unsettling, and designed to push investigators into uncomfortable corners. Each scenario stands alone, making this book a great resource for one‑shots or short arcs.
Despite its reputation for cosmic dread and doomed investigators, Call of Cthulhu is one of the most approachable RPGs out there. The system is percentile-based, which makes rolls pretty intuitive for most players. The focus on investigative play gives a sense of direction structured around clues. It’s all very well suited to short arcs, making it ideal for one-shots or club nights. You don’t need encyclopedic lore knowledge, either. You don’t need to prep elaborate combat encounters. You just need a mystery, a few handouts, and a willingness to let things get a little strange.
With this bundle, you really can start playing almost immediately. It gives you everything you need to run a one‑shot for newcomers, experiment with different eras of play, and get a practical sense of how Call of Cthulhu handles sanity, investigation, and rising tension at the table. It’s also a comfortable stepping stone toward the larger campaigns, letting you build confidence before tackling something as demanding as Masks of Nyarlathotep or Horror on the Orient Express. In short, it’s a generous amount of material that lets you understand the system in action without ever feeling overloaded.
Bundles like this are great for lowering the barrier to entry. It’s affordable, it’s practical, and it gives you everything you need to find out whether the system clicks for you. If you’ve ever thought, “I should try Call of Cthulhu someday,” this is one of the easiest ways to actually make that happen.
You can click here to visit the bundle page over at Humble Bundle.
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