Harlem Unbound: Call of Cthulhu Sourcebook Is Amazing, And Racist Lovecraft Would Hate It
Harlem Unbound is an amazing 300-page-plus Call of Cthulhu TTRPG sourcebook from publisher Chaosium. It is being re-released this year in an updated, expanded edition and it’s written by three-time award winning writer Chris Spivey, founder of the book’s co-publisher Darker Hue Studios.
This sourcebook gives you the material you need to run a Call of Cthulhu horror game during the Harlem Renaissance in 1920’s America. The first 100 pages gives you extensive information about the time period and setting; from the Native Americans that resided here before Europeans arrived, to the creation of New Amsterdam, to the formation of New York City, with sprinklings of how cults have always lurked in the shadows of Manhattan. The second 200 pages are a collection of horror-themed adventures for game masters, or “Keepers,” to run for their players, or investigators.
When it comes to the background information of 1920’s Harlem, the sourcebook gives you descriptions of what local politics of this era looked like, how businesses and veterans were affected after World War One, and how gangster activities flourished during the time of Prohibition. You get quick lessons to what the music was like in that era, what kind of publications existed, what the surrounding neighborhoods like Little Italy were like, the new styles of fashion and poetry and much more.
This book gives you profiles of some of the most famous and infamous people that era produced, as well as real life events that brought tension to the city. This book does not shy away from the racism of the era — something infamously racist Cthulhu creator H.P. Lovecraft also didn’t shy away from in a different and despicable way. If you are playing a character in Harlem, most likely you will be playing a black character, and for those of you that may feel uncomfortable with that for whatever reason, the book helps you with roleplaying tips. There are also new skills, occupations and background options to fit your character perfectly for this setting.
I’m a fan of the Cthulhu mythos, but I am tired of the same New England setting. I grew up in New York City, and as “wonderful” as many forms of media paint the city to be, it can be a horrible place, where you may be running for your life from drug dealers, poverty, hunger, crooked cops and faulty systems of power. What excites me about this book, and why I want to play this with my roleplaying groups, is that now I have a setting that I can relate to, and with Cthulhu in the mix, the stakes just got higher. Plus the Harlem Renaissance is great era to explore.
If you love horror in all manner of forms or just a fan of good sourcebooks for playing Call for Cthulhu, there is no better sourcebook to have in your collection than Harlem Unbound.
