Categories
games role-playing games

I choose YOU, Pikathulhu!

Iä!  Iä!  Pikathulhu fthagn!

I’ve just discovered that Pokéthulhu, the role-playing game of cute and blasphemous eldrich cuddliness is available as a freely-downloadable PDF. Huzzah! I bought a copy of the second edition some years ago, and I quite recommend it. Proper appreciation of its satirical humor will likely require prior familiarity with any two members of the set {H. P. Lovecraft, Pokemon, role-playing games}.

That is not dead which can eternal lie,
and with strange aeons even death may die!
To bring down our masters on an icy night,
And to claim the power when the stars are right . . .

Derleth!
Bloch!
Team Eibon!
Stand fast to resist our rage . . .
Or flee to the safety of a new dark age!

Only children can control the ‘thulhu, which are lovable, soul-devouring horrors. In the game you take the role of a young cultist, capturing and taming wild ‘thulhu, then pitting them against each other or various plot-driven objectives.

Each ‘thulhu has aspects and weaknesses, and special attacks based on each of these. Typical aspects are: decomposing, fishy, fungous, icy, luminescent, non-Euclidean, squamous, and sticky. For example, Jigglypolyp is a fungous, sticky ‘thulhu.

Chris Pound has a page of word and name generators for many different applications (such as conlanging, but that’s another thread entirely). Among them is a hilariously apt Pokéthulhu name generator. Also worth investigating is this interactive ‘thulhu identification guide.

Yog Soggytoth neblod zin!