# Cthulhu Unleashed tags: #game/rpg/cthulhu-unleashed ![[Cthulhu Unleashed (cover).jpg]] In a world where your coffee maker is probably plotting your existential demise and the GPS is definitely leading you into a non-Euclidean ditch, _Cthulhu Unleashed_ drags the Great Old Ones into the 21st century. It’s a modern-day horror RPG that forces players to navigate the digital wasteland as "digital natives"—journalists, streamers, and influencers—who are apparently the only ones standing between humanity and cosmic obliteration. You’ll spend your time investigating viral videos that contain elder signs and worrying about AEGIS, a shadowy government organization that considers "human rights" a quaint, pre-apocalyptic suggestion. It's essentially the same eldritch nightmare we've been playing for decades, just with better Wi-Fi and the constant threat of having your sanity loss live-streamed to your followers. ## Die Resolution Mechanics The game clings to the venerable _Basic Role-Playing_ (BRP) framework, which means your survival is tethered to the whims of the D100. - **The Percentile Roll:** To do anything remotely useful, you must roll two ten-sided dice and pray the resulting number is equal to or lower than your skill percentage. If your "Hacking" skill is 65%, a 66 is a failure, and you're likely about to be eaten by a data-morphic shoggoth. - **Difficulty Grades:** The Game Master can arbitrarily ruin your day by demanding a **Complex Success** (rolling half your skill) or an **Intricate Success** (rolling one-fifth). - **Edge and Burden:** Instead of doing the math, the GM might grant an **Edge** (+20 to your skill) if you’re lucky, or a **Burden** (-20) when reality is actively working against you. - **Willpower and Rerolls:** You start with 100 Willpower points. You can spend them to "nudge" a failure into a success or risk a **High-Risk Reroll**. If you fail that reroll, the consequences are "significantly harsher," which is rulebook-speak for "your character is about to become a permanent fixture in a padded cell." - **Sanity and Tethers:** Sanity loss is inevitable. However, you have three **Tethers to Reality**—people or objects you care about. You can "project" your sanity loss onto these tethers, effectively destroying your personal relationships and sentimental treasures just to stay sane for five more minutes. ## Editions and Changes Since its initial release in early 2024, _Cthulhu Unleashed_ has remained a relatively compact and streamlined alternative to the "bloated" behemoths of the genre. While it hasn't undergone a massive mechanical overhaul like its spiritual cousins in the _Call of Cthulhu_ line, it distinguishes itself by tightening the BRP system into a "D100 Lite" experience. The primary "change" in current iterations is the emphasis on integrated modern tools (smartphones, drones, and dark web mechanics) as core components of play rather than optional flavor text. It exists to provide a faster, more accessible entry point for those who find 400-page rulebooks more terrifying than Cthulhu himself. ## References - [Cthulhu Unleashed Core PDF and Softcover - DriveThruRPG](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/473855/cthulhu-unleashed "null") - [Cthulhu Unleashed Free Character Sheet - DriveThruRPG](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/475879/cthulhu-unleashed-character-sheet) - [Vindicta RPGs Publisher Profile - DriveThruRPG](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/23964/vindicta-rpgs "null")