Editing Call of Cthulhu (section)

===Gameplay===
Investigators are typically unable to go toe-to-toe with the monsters in CoC, so most of the game consists of investigation, exploration and gathering clues, with the investigators typically finding something they can do to either destroy or banish the thing that has been ravaging the area. Imagine Scooby-Doo, except with eldritch, inter-dimensional horrors that will almost certainly kill you or drive you mad (so basically imagine the Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated finale), and who are impervious to most weapons humans can muster outside of a goddamn Howitzer (or a passenger ship, or everyone with a boomerang) to deal with (though, shotguns ''should'' work for anything roughly man-shaped), rather than Old Man Withers dressed up as a ghost to scare away the locals.

If you are lucky your investigations will allow you to reach any sort of confrontation armed with magic (which, you guessed it, drives you insane to use), a list of the creature's weaknesses, or at least a metric fuckton of dynamite. Spot Hidden and Library Use are two of the most commonly used skills and any player that thinks a gun is useful for anything other than intimidation will be having a fun time swimming inside a Shoggoth or using it on themselves to stop the voices.

One thing of note is the difference between pulp and purist play, each one supported by different rulesets as of 7th Edition. Purist is ''Call of Cthulhu'' "as God intended"; where investigative mystery comes first, witnesses and research are your main weapons and the real thrill comes from the intrigue and the sheer threat. Pulp is ''Call of Cthulhu'' as the Lovecraft-Lite action-adventure game, where the Mythos ''can'' be pushed back with judicious use of firepower and dynamite and humanity ''can'' prevail against the encroaching dark... at least for a time. Pulp stories tend to be more internationalist as opposed to being in one geographic location primarily, and the timeline is brought forward a bit to the Dirty Thirties - the Great Depression is in full swing, liberal democracy is under threat from a sweeping tide of authoritarianism, most Americans are dirt poor and/or unemployed, quick and cheap intercontinental air travel is now a thing, and movies no longer suck. Characters in pulp games have more HP and become quite a bit more likely to survive, but it arguably loses some of the horror and imminent danger that comes from purist play. There are merits to both styles so give 'em both a try!