| Roleplaying Beyond the World of Sleep | |
|---|---|
 Cover Illustration by Raymond Bayless. | |
| Designers |
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| Publishers | Chaosium |
| Publication |
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| Genres | Fantasy |
| Systems | Basic Role-Playing |
| ISBN | 1-56882-157-3 |
H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands [1] is a fantasy tabletop role-playing supplement published by Chaosium in 1986 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu that features six adventures set in the world of H.P. Lovecraft's Dream cycle stories. There have been 5 editions.
H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands is a 136-page perfect-bound softcover book with three pages of color plates and a large two-color fold-out map. It was designed by Sandy Petersen, Keith Herber, K. L. Campbell, Scott Clegg, Richard T. Launius, Mark Morrison, Phil Frances, Lynn Willis, Susan Hutchinson, Jacqueline Clegg, and Jeff Okamoto. The color plates were created by Tom Sullivan and Mark Roland, and the cover art was by Raymond Bayless.
The book contains six adventures for Call of Cthulhu that are based on some of the early fantasy stories written by H. P. Lovecraft such as The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath , Celephaïs , and The Cats of Ulthar . [2] These adventures enable adventures in the mysterious alternate reality called the Dreamlands. [3]
The book also contains two new skills that can only be used in the Dreamlands, as well as a compendium of creatures that inhabitant that reality. [2]
The adventures are:
In the August-September 1987 edition of Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer (No. 79), Guy Hail gave a thumbs up, saying, "Beyond the adventures, Dreamlands opens up a vast new area of role-playing potential." [3]
In the June 1990 edition of Dragon (Issue 158), Jim Bambra was enthusiastic about this book, saying that it "greatly expands the options available to Keepers. Its resemblance to a fantasy world allows Keepers to let their Investigators enjoy a change of pace and emphasis." He concluded with a strong recommendation: "Rather than merely dwell on its fantastic aspect, the adventure authors have expertly integrated the horror of COC with the strange dream reality. Dreamlands is yet another great COC supplement." [2]
Call of Cthulhu is a horror fiction role-playing game based on H. P. Lovecraft's story of the same name and the associated Cthulhu Mythos. The game, often abbreviated as CoC, is published by Chaosium; it was first released in 1981 and is in its seventh edition, with licensed foreign language editions available as well. Its game system is based on Chaosium's Basic Role-Playing (BRP) with additions for the horror genre. These include special rules for sanity and luck.
Chaosium Inc. is a publisher of tabletop role-playing games established by Greg Stafford in 1975. Chaosium's major titles include Call of Cthulhu, based on the horror fiction stories of H. P. Lovecraft, RuneQuest Glorantha, Pendragon, based on Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur, and 7th Sea, "swashbuckling and sorcery" set in a fantasy 17th century Europe.
The Dream Cycle is a series of short stories and novellas by author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). Written between 1918 and 1932, they are about the "Dreamlands", a vast alternate dimension that can only be entered via dreams.
Lovecraftian horror, also called cosmic horror or eldritch horror, is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock. It is named after American author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). His work emphasizes themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries, which are now associated with Lovecraftian horror as a subgenre. The cosmic themes of Lovecraftian horror can also be found in other media, notably horror films, horror games, and comics.
Trail of Cthulhu is an investigative horror role-playing game published by Pelgrane Press in 2008 in which the players' characters investigate mysterious events related to the Cthulhu Mythos. The game is a licensed product based on the horror role playing game Call of Cthulhu published by Chaosium, which is itself based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft.
Shadows of Yog-Sothoth is a series of adventures published by Chaosium in 1982 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu.
Masks of Nyarlathotep, subtitled Perilous Adventures to Thwart the Dark God, is an adventure campaign first published by Chaosium in 1984 for the second edition of the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. A number of revised editions have subsequently been published. Masks of Nyarlathotep is a series of several sequential adventures set in the 1920s that take the player characters from New York, to London, Cairo, Nairobi, and Shanghai as they deal with the threat of the god Nyarlathotep. Screenwriter Larry DiTillio wrote the adventure with game designer Lynn Willis during a writer's strike. It received positive reviews in game periodicals including Casus Belli, The Space Gamer, White Dwarf, Different Worlds, and Dragon, and is considered to be one of the best roleplaying adventures of all time.
Cthulhu by Gaslight is a horror tabletop role-playing supplement, written by William A. Barton, with art by Kevin Ramos, and first published by Chaosium in 1986. This supplement provides information on role-playing in an alternate setting of Victorian England of the 1890s for Call of Cthulhu. An expanded second edition was published in 1988, and a third edition was published in 2012. It won an Origins Award and received positive reviews in game periodicals including White Dwarf, Casus Belli, Different Worlds, Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer, The Games Machine, Games International, and Dragon.
S. Petersen's Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands is a supplement published by Chaosium in 1989 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu. It features creatures from the world of H.P. Lovecraft's Dream cycle stories.
The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep is an adventure campaign published by Chaosium in 1996 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu; it is the third edition of the adventure campaign Masks of Nyarlathotep originally published in 1984. It is a series of several sequential adventures set in the 1920s that take the player characters from New York, to London, Cairo, Nairobi, and Shanghai as they deal with the threat of the god Nyarlathotep. The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep is a revised and expanded version of the original adventure scenario with additional material by new authors. It won an Origins Award and received positive reviews in game periodicals including Arcane and Dragon.
Cthulhu Classics is an anthology of adventures published by Chaosium in 1989 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu.
Cthulhu Now is a supplement published by Chaosium in 1987 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu.
The Dreaming Stone is a fantasy tabletop role-playing adventure, written by Kevin Ross, with art by John T. Snyder, and published by Chaosium in 1997. The fifth published adventure set in H.P. Lovecraft's Dream cycle for Call of Cthulhu.
Miskatonic U. Graduate Kit is an accessory published in 1987 by Chaosium for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu.
S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters is a sourcebook published by Chaosium in 1988 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu.
The Great Old Ones is a horror tabletop role-playing adventure, by Marcus L. Rowland, Kevin A. Ross, Harry Cleaver, Doug Lyons, and L.N. Isinwyll, with art by Tom Sullivan, and published by Chaosium in 1989. The Great Old Ones contains six adventures for Call of Cthulhu. It won the Origins Award for "Best Roleplaying Adventure of 1989".
Terror Australis is a supplement published by Chaosium in 1987 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu, itself based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft. It was written by Penelope Love, Mark Morrison, Lynn Willis, Larry DiTillio, and Sandy Petersen, and is intended to be used as a sourcebook for adventures in Australia in the 1920s. It received positive reviews in game periodicals including White Dwarf, Casus Belli, and Dragon. A revised and expanded second edition was published in 2019, which won two ENnie Awards.
Cthulhu Companion is a supplement published by Chaosium in 1983 for Call of Cthulhu.
King of Chicago is a set of two adventures published by Chaosium in 1994 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu, itself based on the stories of H.P. Lovecraft.