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Cthulhu seems difficult to use in scenarios: not least because, according to Lovecraft's story, it takes a ship to kill him.

Which published scenarios feature Cthulhu prominently? I'm mainly interested in Call of Cthulhu scenarios. (I would be interested in Trail scenarios, but I'm fairly sure there aren't any, although correct me if I'm wrong.)

I'm definitely not interested in scenarios that use Cthulhu in a parodic way. For example, if there's a Paranoia adventure featuring a Cthulhu-like creature, I don't need to know.

Give me some details about how Cthulhu is used. Can he be killed? If so, how? Does he affect the Investigator's dreams? Tell me especially how the elements from the original story (sculpture, dreams, New Orleans swamps) make an appearance.

I'm also interested in any scenarios that use the white polypous thing in the lake, particularly if they have an explanation for what it is.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Kill Cthulhu with a ship.... Really? Kill? Not even close. At the end of The Call Of Cthulhu, Cthulhu is sleeping again. The stars were not quiet right. He is hardly dead. \$\endgroup\$
    – Sardathrion - against SE abuse
    Commented Aug 12, 2013 at 6:32

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The classic Call of Cthulhu campaign "Shadows of Yog-Sothoth" prominently features Cthulhu in the last scenario...R'Lyeh rises and the characters can actually face off against the Big C himself (and die horribly, of course). This was first released in the early 80s but has been reprinted since then.

It's been a long time since I ran/read this campaign, but some of the scenarios seem to parallel classic Lovecraft stories. Basically, by the last scenario Ryleh is risen and Cthulhu awake, but the characters have a chance to send the isle back down to the ocean floor by their actions (I believe some sort of elder sign is involved, but as I said it's been a long time). Doesn't hold up as well almost 30 years later but it's still a good read and can give lots of inspiration.

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Contrary to what you say, the ship that was run into Cthulhu in the original story did not kill that entity:

...the scattered plasticity of that nameless sky-spawn was nebulously recombining in its hateful original form, whilst its distance widened every second as the Alert gained impetus from its mounting steam.

To answer the question, it seems that Cthulhu only features prominently in Shadows of Yog-Sothoth.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Yes, its been a while since I read it, but as I recall Cthulhu was only annoyed by the ship and it was implied he is nigh-unkillable (at least by any methods available to humans). \$\endgroup\$
    – TimothyAWiseman
    Commented Aug 11, 2013 at 20:31
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In addition to the already-mentioned Shadows of Yog-Sothoth, the Big C did make an appearance in one of the scenarios in Cthulhu Now, albeit indirectly. It's been a while since I read it, but the scenario invovled a facility studying sleep and dreams. The climax revolved around having a dream-powered version of Cthulhu turn up. I don't recall specifics any more, but I always thought the appearance of the eponymous Great Old One made it a must-run adventure.

A little research shows the adventure was titled 'Dreams Dark and Deadly', and it appears to still be in the version of Cthulhu Now available on Drivethru RPG, despite the cover having changed.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Oh yeah, I ran that one once, years ago. Not really premium material, if you ask me... \$\endgroup\$
    – Alexis Dufrenoy
    Commented Jul 27, 2016 at 14:49

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