Pokethulhu: The Adventure Game

by John Kovalic, S. John Ross

The Monster In Your Pocket is Cuddly, Evil, and Itching for Action!That is not dead which can eternal lie,and with strange aeons even death may die!To bring down our masters on an icy night,And to claim the power when the stars are right . . .Derleth! Bloch! Team Eibon!Stand fast to resist our rage . . .Or flee to the safety of a new dark age!Amid the sagging gables of old New England, evil lurks . . . and squirms, and scuttles, and purrs. Grownups are fleeing in terror, hiding behind the Elder Sign.You're 10 years old. You're our last hope. Armed with a Shining Dodecahedron and the elder incantations to make it work, you capture the monsters and train them to use their power . . . But not for evil. For sport.You've thrilled to the popular TV show. Now, you can play the game! Is your Shoplifting score good enough to sneak a page from your opponent's Pokénomicon? Is your trained Jigglypolyp powerful enough to defeat a devolved Fungal Cluster? This is the world of Pokéthulhu, and now it's yours to save – or conquer!

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

John Kovalic’s cartoons have appeared everywhere from his hometown WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL (Madison, WI) to the NEW YORK TIMES and DRAGON MAGAZINE. His creations include the sell-out comic book sensation DORK TOWER and “DR. BLINK: SUPERHERO SHRINK,” as well as SNAPDRAGONS, NEWBIES, WILD LIFE, BEACHED, and panel cartoons including MURPHY’S RULES, THE UNSPEAKABLE OAF and others.

A co-founder and co-owner of Out of the Box Games, and a cartoonist for Steve Jackson Games, John has illustrated over 100 games and game supplements, and is at least in part responsible for best-sellers like APPLES TO APPLES (A GAMES Magazine Hall of Fame inductee) , MUNCHKIN, CHEZ GEEK and BLINK. He is closing in on 4,000 MUNCHKIN cards drawn, and boy, are his arms tired.

He was the first cartoonist inducted into the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Hall of Fame. In his spare time, John searches for spare time.

You can also read about how he got his wife into the National Enquirer.

The lovely and talented JUDITH, BTW, is world-famous now that she works at Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know.

Reviews

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if Pokemon were eldritch Lovecraftian monsters? Not as far fetched as it seems since it's essentially the premise of an entire anime. It's also the basis of John Kovalic's RPG zine Pokethulhu.

So, the system is ok. It's fairly light though I admit after reading the zine I still don't have a strong grasp on it. I think the mechanics may have needed some work and clarity.

But you're here for the fluff. I will say that the thing I like best about this is that it isn't really making fun of Pokemon or treating it as silly or kids stuff. It does not pretend to be legitimizing pokemon by adding Lovecraft. In fact, the writers seem to be at least fairly knowledgeable about Pokemon and has a decent affection for it. At least, enough to make severe horrible puns. In a cynical world, it's nice to see a labor of love.