Who thats Pokethulu!?

When I was growing up I remember shortly getting hit with the poke-craze. I didn't really get too into it, I played Pokemon red and enjoyed it a little bit. But it was after the first movie that I flat out cut it out, it was obviously just turning into a blatant attempt to get my parents to spend more money without putting any skill into their work.

And I was sort of right, more games came out, more movies came out, more lame pokemon were being discovered. Isint there like a thousand of the little bastards around now?

What was more interesting is when Pokemon was twisted by the internet. I am drawing a blank on the name of it at this moment, but there was a adult parody of Pokemon that turned the Pokemon into hot girls in monster cosplay outfits. Oh, and they needed sex daily to survive. Thankfully that sort of thing has stayed as just a basis for fanfics and comics and has not wormed its way into tabletop form yet. One example I saw was a Ant girl that would drag males encountered on their rounds to the hive where every other ant would then dogpile and rape the guy.

Brings me to my focus. Basement dweller sex fantasies aside, theres a better way to bastardize the pokemon ideal without making it about sex. A good example is probably the best crossover ever. Cumberland games took the time to consider what would happen if they slapped Pokemon and the works of H.P. Lovecraft together into one roleplaying game. The result was Pokethulu.

Slightly following in the playful spirit of Toon with the happily simple system much like Ghost busters; Pokethulu is a very entertaining game that implores the GM to set up Episodes inbetween bouts of letting the players roam around capturing and training their Pokethulu. The example scenario I saw was fairly simple and forced a pretty linear path; however it fit the games fairly entertaining ideals.

Players are Cultists (Specifically, under the age of 16, anybody older is susceptible to the powers of the Thulu.) that have gained the wisdom to be able to train and use the Pokethulu. The Thulu themselves are left entirely up to the GM to make them, Several popular pokemon were portrayed as thulu, only maybe one or two of them were actually named and statted. Though its not exactly that hard to come up with a name, just insert a lovecraftian word into the name. Like Jigglypolyp or Hastursaur.

However, the traditional elements like Fire, Water, and the other "Original" ones like Colorless (White) and Dark were of course replaced by non stereotypical elements in favor of Lovecraftian Aspects. The Aspects are Sticky, Icy, Fishy, Decomposing, Fungous, Squamous, Non-Euclidean, and Luminescent. The aspects follow traditional categories of Lovecraftian horrors very well, I like the system they have. Each Thulu has two Aspects and one Aspect they are weak against. A good example is Pikathulu, who is Fungous and Luminescent but weak against Sticky.

The games battle system is fairly easy, lumping dice into four types of attacks that every Thulu has a equivalent of. Injure, Frighten, Dodge and Trap. Cultists have similar attributes that suit the same purpose if they somehow get roped into fighting.

Your players will love playing out their own series of adventures and thwarting the evil plans of Team Eibon on your path through the land becoming the best cultist of them all.

Its a good game, get you one! In fact, click here to get it!