I recently picked up Kenneth Hite’s Trail of Cthulhu Role-Playing Game. This game uses the GUMSHOE system rather than the Basic Roleplaying system used in Chaosium’s venerable Call of Cthulhu RPG. GUMSHOE uses a point spend system that allows players to “buy a hint” to help move the game forward, avoiding the problem of a missed clue as a result of a die roll.

I first saw this book online at the Pelgrane Press website but I was reluctant to order it, simply because a lot of independent studios out there produce low production books. That isn’t the case here - Trail of Cthulhu is a solidly built hard cover book, with a color cover and two color interiors - not as colorful as my Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Player’s Handbook but of equal production quality.