S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters
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| A Field Observer's Handbook Of Preternatural Entities | |
|---|---|
 Cover art by Tom Sullivan | |
| Designers | |
| Illustrators |
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| Publishers | Chaosium |
| Publication | 1988 |
| Genres | Horror |
| Systems | Systemless |
| ISBN | 978-0933635487 |
S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, subtitled "A Field Observer's Handbook of Preternatural Entities"", is a supplement published by Chaosium in 1989 for the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu, itself based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters is a bestiary of creatures that were first imagined by H.P. Lovecraft.[1] Each entry features a color illustration of each creature facing a description of the creature, a quote from Lovecraft, an outline of the creature, and its habitat, how common it is, and how it lives and its habits.[1]
The book is written in an "in-universe" style, as if it were a volume that a character within a Call of Cthulhu game might have come across in a library or personal book collection; as such, the descriptions do not include any game mechanics, furthering the in-universe conceit. This also allows the creatures to be adapted to any role-playing game system.[2]
Publication history
Chaosium first published the horror role-playing game Call of Cthulhu in 1981, and when it proved very popular, many adventures and sourcebooks followed. In 1988, Chaosium published S. Petersen's Field Guide to Cthulhu Monsters, a 64-page perfect-bound softcover book written by Sandy Petersen, Lynn Willis, and Tom Sullivan, with additional contributions by Peter Dannseys, E.C. Fallworth, L.N. Isinwyll, and Ivan Mustoli, with illustrations by Lisa Free, Ron Leming, and Tom Sullivan.[1]
The following year, Chaosium published a sister volume, S. Petersen's Field Guide to Creatures of the Dreamlands.