Heinrich’s Guide to Carcosa: Love and Death in the Hyades.

Heinrich’s Guide to Carcosa is a solo campaign set in Carcosa, the mysterious city ruled by The King in Yellow. Intended for use with Call of Cthulhu 7th edition rules, it can also be run one-on-one with a Keeper and player. And it really is a campaign: it’s designed for multiple playthroughs with one or more player characters (spoiler: PCs may die. Frequently).

Clocking in at 340 pages, this is a tome of a solo adventure. Players have the opportunity to play through three maps, and there are over 50 encounters to be had. It comes with character sheets and other printable resources to use in recording your experiences in Carcosa, and there will be a lot of them. If there ever was a deluxe version of a choose-your-own adventure, this would be it. For Pete’s sake, there’s even a recommended song for each scene (!).

I played it with the music, and was surprised at how immersive and unsettling it was. The story as it unfolded was attention-grabbing and disturbing, of course, but there’s something to be said for the expertly-curated background music; what is normally eerie becomes positively ghoulish. I don’t think I’ve been this freaked-out reading a book, ever, and I must confess I loved every minute of it.

The sheer length of the book allows an extensive exploration of the lore relating to Carcosa and The King in Yellow. While not an expert by any means, I am a lover of all things Carcosan and noticed the broad familiarity and loving attention to detail put into Heinrich’s version of Carcosa. Rest assured, when the cold, cosmic breeze flaps the tatters of the king, you’ll notice some deep cuts. Pardon the pun.

Heinrich’s guide features additional game mechanics that can do a number of things. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it by explaining too much. Players choose a “mask” at the beginning of a playthrough (representing your personal characteristics or history), and adopting a different mask each time will result in a different gaming experience. Masks are kept in place by metaphorical chains and exploration is encouraged through the incentive of breaking them. What is more, players have the option to explore Carcosa freely, setting down locations on their own personal map. There are opportunities for rest, recovery, and skills improvement, just as there is in-between scenarios in a regular Call of Cthulhu game. And, finally, players can unlock “achievements”, which affect game outcomes. By doing repeated playthroughs, more achievements are unlocked, making things a tad easier.

So, while Heinrich’s Guide uses the Call of Cthulhu 7th edition rules, it feels like a game in itself. Or a world, rather. Or a nightmare. A good one.

When you buy Heinrich’s Guide to Carcosa, you get a solo campaign you can return to time after time as a player. Keepers get a vision of Carcosa with a wealth of ideas to pilfer for their own scenarios and a soundtrack sure to set players’ teeth on edge. It would be a bargain at twice the price.

Get it here: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/462154/Heinrichs-Call-of-Cthulhu-Guide-to-Carcosa

Do you prefer a bit of Cthulhu? Check out Cults of Cthulhu

Looking for some extra scary scenarios to run? Check out Nameless Horrors, Blackwater Creek, or Fairyland.