When comparing Microlite20 Purest Essence vs Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, the Slant community recommends Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is ranked 1st while Microlite20 Purest Essence is ranked 54th. The most important reason people chose Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is:
Some of the most terrifying parts of this game is when you have to run away and make quick decisions about where to go or how to slow down those in pursuit.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easy to start
If you are looking for a game like DnD, but much easier - try Microlite20 Pures Essence with Ultimate Fantasy supplement.
Pro Rules will be familiar to any veteran D&D player
As Microlite20 is a stripped down version of the d20 SRD with the same classes, races, items and abilities, it will be easy to understand by anyone that has previously played a D&D game. Especially D&D 3.x.
Pro Compatible with d20 SRD
Any material written for the d20 system can be used with the Microlite20 system. All creatures, items, monsters, spells, etc from any d20 SRD licensed resource are compatible with the Microlite20 system.
Pro Clear writing
The writing is very terse and to the point. There's very little in terms of fluff. As such the rules are easy to comprehend and reference.
Pro Simple rules allow easy customization
m20 remains compatible with the d20 SRD, but rules are lite enough that adding modifications to the system is trivially simple.
Pro Time sensitive chase sequences
Some of the most terrifying parts of this game is when you have to run away and make quick decisions about where to go or how to slow down those in pursuit.
Pro Crazy story-line
Slowly uncover the mind bending story, which is a reimagining of Lovecraft's 1936 novella, The Shadow over Innsmouth.
Pro Great stealth
Sneaking around is a necessity in this game, and is done well for it's time.
Pro Faithful to the mythos
Very faithful to the mythos overall. The narrative does an excellent job weaving the best of Lovecraft work together in a coherent story that is an absolute delight to play through.
Cons
Con Combat can potentially get stale
Due to the fact that combat is simplified to just 3 variables (AC, HP and attacks) a less experienced DM runs the risk of creating repetitive combat.