NEED ADVICE: Call of Cthulhu - "Best" Edition For Newcomers and Long Absent Players

[embee]

Lost in the dusty recesses of my waning memory, I have fond recollections of my misspent college weekends, playing RPGs across the spectrum. This was in the early 90s when there was an embarrassment of riches when it came to gaming. Our default was Vampire. But we also had Dark Sun, Saturday afternoons spent playing Shadowfist and MtG, and, for a bit, Call of Cthulhu. Though I remember few details of the game itself, I remember enjoying our "Horror On The Orient Express" campaign.

My question is this:

For newcomers and functional newcomers, which edition of CoC would you recommend and, if you would be so kind, why?

 

[Professor Murder]

The latest is the best version. And the Starter set is excellent.

 

[Professor Murder]

That said, CoC is very backwards compatible, imo.

 

[Retreater]

The current edition is the best version I've played, and I've been with the game since the mid-90s. It might be the best version of ANY roleplaying game I've ever played.

 

[jdrakeh]

Echoing sentiments about the current edition (7th) being the best. The Starter Set is one of the best (if not the best) starter sets I've seen for any roleplaying game, ever. It has a ton of content in the box and you could technically play a lengthy campaign using only the Starter Set without ever having to buy anything else.

 

[harunmushod]

Like others, I like 7th edition i came back into the game with 6th edition, but 7th edition is far better. Also, if you've forgotten "The Haunting" (aka" The Haunted House" in 2nd ed) or playing with new players to the game, the free quickstart rules are a good place to get reacquainted. Avaiable to download from Chaosium.

 

[MGibster]

For newcomers and functional newcomers, which edition of CoC would you recommend and, if you would be so kind, why?

I don't think there's any reason not to use the latest edition which is 7th. Not that I can really give you a breakdown comparing 7th edition against previous editions. But the quick start rules are pretty good (and free I think) and it's quite easy to adapt scenarios published for previous editions of the game for 7th edition with minimal work on the Keeper's part.

 

[jdrakeh]

I don't think there's any reason not to use the latest edition which is 7th. Not that I can really give you a breakdown comparing 7th edition against previous editions. But the quick start rules are pretty good (and free I think) and it's quite easy to adapt scenarios published for previous editions of the game for 7th edition with minimal work on the Keeper's part.

One of the best (and long overdue) changes, IMO, is the removal of the old Resistance Table and replacing it with opposed rolls. It just seems like such a natural fit for a skill-based system, I'm not sure why it didn't happen years ago.

 

[Professor Murder]

Bonus and penalty dice +
Pushing Rolls +
Degrees of difficulty finally making sense +

As I said, the old books are still highly useable. However, the production quality of the new material is some of the best out there right now.
Brilliant new settings. Pulp Cthulhu has great new rulkes changes. Berlin: The Wicked City and Harlem Unbound are both brilliant, industry challenging works.

 

[Ovinomancer]

I'd recommend Cthulhu Dark, which is less than 10 pages free on the web. There's an expanded print version available for purchase, if the free version grabs your fancy. Extremely easy, but deeply evocative ruleset.