Why ‘The Dunwich Horror’ is the Perfect Starting Point for New Cthulhu Players

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How the Characters Relate to the Game

The Call of Cthulhu tabletop Roleplaying Game pitches Investigators against the horros of the Mythos and the cults that support them. It goes without saying that Dr. Armitage, Dr. Morgan, and Professor Rice are archetypes for what ended up being the player characters we create for ourselves and enjoy in “Call of Cthulhu” by Chaosium. Indeed, the story is–in many ways–the perfect formula of backstory meets investigation with a hook, leading to a masterful climax using the Forbidden Texts as guidance to potentialy save the world.

An All Star Cast (The Investigators)

Three investigators study the ancient forbidden texts in order to face the Dunwich Horror

While the first few chapters introduces us to the wizarding family of the Whateley’s, it is soon enough that we are hinted at our contained horror not too long therein. “Call of Cthulhu” (or CoC for short) thrives on the Investigators discovering something amiss, entering a sandbox to investigate in, and overcome all odds to do so. Once Whateley arrives at Miskatonic University, Lovecraft politely hands the reader over to the care of Dr. Armitage (and after things hit the fan the other two investigators he brings along), who prevents young Whateley from obtaining the Necronomicon for his own diabolical uses. Unfortunately, something tragic happens, after young Wilbur Whateley returns to Dunwich, and a Horror is unleashed on the town.

What A New Investigator Can Learn From the Story (Phase 1)

This is where Dr. Armitage becomes our lead investigator. Reading a news paper clipping, that refuses to take itself seriously, regarding the locals in Dunwich claiming something is on the loose, Dr. Armitage studies an encrypted diary of Whateley’s, rounds up the troops (Morgan and Rice) and immediately heads to Dunwich to see the terror for himself. You see, in the CoC tabletop game, we often find that there is a hook of some sort that leads the Investigators down the path to arrive at the doorstep of some Lovecraftian monstrosity. If this were a standard module, I imagine it would begin with Dr. Armitage having either met Whateley to dissuade him from taking The Necronomicon and subsequently seeing the newspaper article, or a simplified view from a Keeper’s point of view may be to just have him read the newpaper article and study the available texts at the library –such as the diary provided to him prior to his journey–to understand how he may defeat it.

This becomes the clear progression we see in any Call of Cthulhu investigation. Investigator gains access to knowledge of some oddity, and gathers as much information she or he can muster to be armed with the ability to stop the chaos. Thereafter the Investigator leads his or her team to a centralized location (in this case Dunwich) from Arcane texts to rural location where they can put their skills and knowledge to the test. In this way the player is given clear guidance on where and how to proceed, so they aren’t completely left in the dark. As such, I highly recommend any Keeper read this novelette to understand how Lovecraft masterfully places Dr. Armitage and his crew at the doorstep of Dunwich, and how they take their path to finding, hunting, and subduing the creature.

The Contained Horror and Further Investigation (Phase 2)

A farm at Dunwich destroyed in the aftermath of an encounter with the horror

Once the Triumverate arrives, they completely take on the role of Investigators and hunters. They speak to the locals, make friends, learn of an attack that happened with witnesses (via phone anyway) of the occurence and then arrive there to decide how best to proceed. This sequence teaches new Investigators how to go about interacting with the environment to get the most of the game, and peel back the layers that ultimately reveal where and how the climax must take place. They soon find out, however, that this monstrosity is invisible. This piece of the story, as it pertains to a Call of Cthulhu investigation, is the part that gives the Investigators the tangible threat and they must utilize all of their gathered knowledge to figure out how to defeat it.

Cthulhu Mythos Uncovered:

While I don’t want to go into too much depth here regarding the Mythos (as this is not my aim for this post), you will find that this story centers around two major components: the cosmic entity Yog-Sothoth, and the forbidden text The Necronomicon.

I would earmark these two things to pay special attention to as you deep dive into the Mythos. They come up frequently in other stories in the Mythos.