CthulhuTech: The Shadow War Player’s Handbook

Core Rulebook by Wildfire

The year is 2088.

A secret war rages to save humanity.

Join with a symbiont.

Become a monster to fight gods.

Be feared by those you protect.

There is no other way.

CthulhuTech: The Shadow War is a cosmic apocalypse in the near future. Old gods have awakened to make the planet their own. Fight in the dark underworld of a besieged society, in symbiosis with an Other, against a cult with the power of a giant corporation.

CthulhuTech is an engaging role playing experience.

• Choose one of ten symbionts from one of ten heritages. 
• A flexible system allows you to play traditionally or using narrative resource management. 
• Customize the rules for your own style.
• Use fast attacks or craft them on the fly. 

WHAT KIND OF GAME IS THIS?

CthulhuTech is science fantasy role playing game, set in a high-tech near-future Earth, with magic and monsters blended in. The world teeters on the edge of apocalypse, as aliens and powerful dark entities alike seek to bring about their own new age and the end to ours.

You play unusual heroes fighting against genuinely evil entities, trying to do your part to avert the apocalypse. Although characters appear as human or near-human, they all possess the powerful ability to transform into terrible monsters to better survive the dangerous world they inhabit.

Despite being a world-spanning setting, most of your activity will take place in an urban environment. What is left of the government has constructed vast arcologies – cities built within supermassive armored fortresses – to help protect the population, each of which is an architectural wonder and a setting in and of itself.

WHY WOULD I WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME?

Have you ever wanted to play outlaw magical superheroes? Do you like the idea of playing underdog resistance fighters in battle with a corporate empire of evil hiding in plain sight?

Do you want to play a character who is starfire given life, a sensate who experiences the world on multiple levels, a trickster who weaves lies with light, an infiltrator who is one with and strides through the shadows, or a specter of death who is just out of phase with reality?

Would you also want to play a character who is part mystical feline from another world, a reformed cultist of Leng, a freed genetically-engineered clone, an alchemically-born descendant of serpent-people, a mafioso eater of the dead, or a human who’s seen it all?

Do you think it would be fun to sneak into secure facilities to steal incriminating corporate data, fight creatures from the deep on the beaches of an artificial island which was once a battle fortress, evade the ghosts of a destroyed city while combing its ruins, or jump across rooftops while being chased by the authorities?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we invite you to step into the universe of CthulhuTech and sample its rich texture, diverse narrative, and be inspired by humanity’s setting with fascinating characters in an environment which stands out from other games, and a system with three variations for mechanics to best fit your style.

LEARN WHILE YOU PLAY

We want you to get to the fun of CthulhuTech as quickly as possible, which doesn’t include deciphering all the material and rules. You want to play, not read. The free downloadable Quick-Start Rules include a starting adventure, along with six ready-to-play characters, designed to teach everyone – players and GM’s alike – about the setting and the rules through the course of play.

CthulhuTech: The Shadow War Player’s Handbook is available through DriveThruRPG in PDF.

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