Running a live-action role-playing adventure is no easy task. There's a ton of planning, rehearsing, preparation, and shopping. If you really want to run an effective LARP, you've got to get your players to forget the fact that they are grown-ups playing an elaborate game of dress-up. It's a ridiculous thing to watch when it's done poorly, but a well-executed game can be truly wondrous to participate in.

Cthulhu Live, a new release from Chaosium, is more than just a bunch of rules for LARPing. It is a guide to GMs on how to run a truly effective live-action experience. Over half the book is dedicated to making costumes, applying horrifying make-up effects and designing props. The guys at Chaosium went to visit folks who have been doing live-action Cthulhu for a while and took extensive notes and photographs. These folks really know what they're talking about, and the book reveals all the fruits of their knowledge.

Live-action Cthulhu is a little different than other LARPS that involve many people. A Cthulhu LARP usually only needs a few players (3-5), making it feel more like a traditional gaming session. There are usually a whole lot of extras (folks playing NPCs) and a single Game Master who guides the party through the adventure. There's also a lot more emphasis put on mood and atmosphere than in other games (this is Cthulhu, after all). A Cthulhu LARP usually looks like a small group of folks wandering through a Jaycee's haunted house instead of a group of fifty Lestat wanna-bes making gang gestures at each other.

I've played in a lot of different Cthulhu LARPS, and the system in Cthulhu Live is one of the neatest I've seen so far. Character generation looks a lot like the table-top version. A character has four traits (Endurance, Education, Power and Dexterity) along with a handful of skills from their chosen profession. There are no dice used in task resolution. The GM has a list of target numbers for all the tasks the players will encounter. If a player's trait+skill is equal to or higher than the task number, the player is successful. It's quick and it gets the job done. It's not very realistic, but the point of live-action role-playing is to avoid rules as much as possible so as to not disturb the atmosphere.

Combat is rather clever. Players have a set of combat cards they use. When a player is forced into a fight (and trust me, nobody wants to get into a fight in a Cthulhu session, table-top or otherwise), he adds up his Dexterity+ Weapon/Hand-to-Hand/whatever. Then he chooses two cards that add up to that total. The first card is his Attack Value and the second card is his Defense Value. The character with the highest Dexterity goes first. He holds up his Attack Value and the defender holds up his Defense Value. If the Attack is higher than the Defense, the defender takes the difference in Hit Points. Then the whole process starts over again.

There's also a Dodge card and a Flee! card, so less physical characters can get out of the way of mad cultists, sickles, and ceremonial knives. Old school Cthulhu players will have questions about the game's most important trait: Sanity. All the monsters, spells, grisly sights, etc. have a Sanity Target Number. If you encounter one of these things and your Power is lower than the STN, you lose a lot. If your Power is greater than the Target Number, you only lose a little.

Live action role-playing can be silly or one of the most intense gaming experiences you've ever had. Old school Cthulhuites should really check out Cthulhu Live. The rules have a ring of familiarity that will allow novices to pick it up quickly. But, to be honest, the rules are truly minor compared to the tools, techniques and advice this book provides to GMs of live-action role-playing events. I highly recommend it to experts and novices alike. If you've had a bad LARP experience, check this one out. Cthuhlu Live is definitely the way it should be done.

More Reviews:

In Nomine
Shadowrun Companion
Live and Direct
Marc Miller's Traveller (4th Edition)
The Babylon Project
Casting Call (Miniatures)
Unknown Providence
Command and Conquer (computer game)
Cthulhu Live