Before writing anything in, determine your investigators Age and, using the table below, make the necessary changes to your Characteristics:

The array below gives predetermined values for you to use in place of rolling for Characteristics in order to speed up Character Creation.

40, 50, 50, 50, 60, 60, 70, 80

A character can move a number of yards/meters equal to their MOV value times 5.

NOTE: 8 is a good average Move Rating

Using the list of Occupations, find or create an Occupation that best suits your character.

This will give you:

Numbers next to stats are the Base Values, meaning you automatically have that value in the space before adding your own Skill Points. (unless using Quick Skills below)

Your Occupation and Personal Interests will give you all the Skill Points you'll be spending.

Own Language - Base Value is your EDU value

Dodge - Base Value is 1/2 your DEX value

Credit Rating - Skill points MUST be used to reach at least the minimum Credit Rating of chosen Occupation.

Unarmed Weapon - is your Brawl value

The array below gives predetermined values for you to use in place of calculating Occupational Skill Points in order to speed up Character Creation. If your chosen Occupational Credit Rating is below 40%, place correct % in Credit Rating and distribute any remaining points elsewhere.

Place these values in the Skill related to your Occupation. Ignore Base Value of Skill (Total value should be these percentages exactly)

These remaining values should be placed anywhere other than Occupational Skill and Cthulhu Mythos. Add to Base Value of Skill (Total value should be: Base Value of Skill + 20%)

1920's

Modern

Credit Rating also determines your character's general living standards and relative status in society.

Try to purchase items that would suit your Occupation or Personal Interests.
​

Hit Points - (SIZ + CON) / 10 rounded down
​Sanity - Always starts equal to your POW
​Luck - 3d6 x 5 ( /r 3d6*5 Luck )

Magic Points - 1/5th of your POW rounded down

Roll 1d100 against any Skill or Characteristic

Keeper's discretion, but simply means something really bad occurs, worse than a normal failure.

Roll the 10's position of the dice twice (or possibly even three times if the Keeper sees fit) and either take the best or worst of the two/three dice depending on if it's a Bonus or a Penalty. (Lowest for Bonus and Highest for Penalty)

The moment an Investigator Succeeds on a Skill roll, they should mark that Skill for Improvement.

At the end of a Scenario or, if playing a campaign, at the end of a Chapter, the player will roll 1d100. If they roll higher than their current Skill value, they may roll 1d10 and add the number rolled to their current Skill value.

Re-roll the dice in an attempt to succeed.

Note that, although simply a re-roll of the dice, it's not meant to be simple in terms of how it's handled in game narratively.

The player must describe how their investigator is pushing the limits of the attempted check and must realize that when given the opportunity to Push a roll by the Keeper, a failure could lead to dire consequences, essentially heightening the stakes of any roll made.

If a situation occurs where there are multiple ways to achieve a singular goal, the Keeper may give the player multiple Skill or Characteristic options to roll.

If a situation REQUIRES multiple Skills or Characteristics to succeed on a single task, only one roll is made for both tasks and then compared to the Skills or Characteristics.

Multiple people may make the same roll with only one of them needing to Succeed on the roll for them to succeed as a group. Sneaking being an exception, where if multiple people attempt to sneak, a single failure will cause the group to fail.

Investigators can share their STR to overcome something with a difficulty over 90.

Anything above 100 + Investigator's STR is impossible, but by adding other Investigator's STR to the problem, you can overcome those limitations.

Idea rolls are meant to be proposed to the players by the Keeper in times that the players are stumped by the investigation. A successful INT roll will help give the players a clue about how to proceed, while a failure still provides the clue, but possibly at some difficulty or cost to the Investigators.

By tapping into an Investigators formal/informal education, they can attempt to recall information using an EDU roll. This is used as if the Investigator has indirect knowledge of a subject while not exactly specializing in the subject in question.

Turn Order is determined by DEX, highest to lowest.

In the case of a tie, the combatant with the highest Combat skill goes first.

A player may delay their turn in a single round of combat until another Investigator acts. The turn order returns to normal after that round.

If the attacker succeeds they deal damage to the target. If the defender succeeds, they dodge the attack and take no damage. In case of a draw, the defender wins, and if both fail no damage is inflicted.

If the attacker succeeds, they deal damage to the target. If the defender succeeds, they dodge, parry, or avoid the attack and deal THEIR damage to the attacker. If it's a draw the attacker wins, and if both fail no damage is inflicted.

A maneuver can be defined as an Action that is taken on an opponent other than inflicting physical harm. (i.e. trying to disarm someone, restraining them, pushing them away, throwing them to the floor etc.)

Normally made with a Brawl Skill roll but could be argued that a Fighting (sword) skill could disarm an opponent. The roll needed is left up to the Keeper. The opponent will choose to either Dodge or Fight Back as normal.

If the attacker succeeds they perform the maneuver. If the defender succeeds or the roll is a draw, the target dodges the maneuver.

If the attacker succeeds they perform the maneuver. If the defender succeeds, they dodge, parry, or avoid the attack and deal THEIR damage to the attacker. If it's a draw apply the effect of the maneuver.

The target can also choose to use a maneuver in response to an attack. Same results as Fighting Back, but instead of dealing damage, they instead deploy their own maneuver.

A defender can Dive For Cover forfeiting their next attack and causing the shooter to roll with a Penalty die.

Thrown weapons can be dodged in the same way Fighting attacks can be.

A character can't choose to Fight Back against a ranged or thrown weapon attack unless within 1/5th their DEX in feet to the attacker.

The difficulty of Firearm attacks is always based on range. Each doubling of range above a weapon's base range increases the difficulty by one step. At Extreme difficulty, only a roll of 01 will cause an Impale to occur.

Full Auto - Player states the number of "Volleys" they want to fire, up to the capacity of the gun before rolling any dice.

Burst Fire - 2 or 3 bullets are fired in a single Volley as an action, determined by the weapon.

Semi Automatic - Most Handguns are capable of shooting off 2 or 3 bullets in one action, but unlike Burst Fire, you'll need to roll for each bullet shot off during the action with each shot taking an additional Penalty die than the last, starting with the second shot.

The Keeper may allow a skill roll to determine if a target anticipates a surprise attack. (Listen, Spot Hidden, or Psychology)

The attackers Stealth Skill value can be used to set the difficulty of the roll.

The Keeper can allow the attack to be an automatic success or award the attacker a Bonus die. If it's a Surprise ranged attack, the attacker must always roll to hit.

The target can choose to Dodge or Fight Back as normal.

A Prone character can immediately stand up if they successfully Dodge or Fight Back against an opponent, or, during the Prone character's turn, they may stand up and then use their Action.

The maximum distance a character can move in a combat round equals their MOV rate times 5 in yards.

You may choose to attack or use your Action AFTER you've made your movement for the round.

You may choose to attack or use your ranged attack ANYTIME during movement, except in the case of a Readied firearm. If you've Readied a firearm previously, you must make the shot before moving that round to benefit from the +50 DEX.

If the player chooses to move and shoot in the same round, they must roll to shoot with a Penalty die.

Armor simply reduces damage dealt after damage is calculated according to its Armor Point value which is decided by the Keeper.

Examples of Armor Point values:

Regular Damage - Less than half the character's Max HP from a single attack.

Major Wound - Equal to or more than half the character's Max HP from a single attack.

Instant Death - More than a character's Max HP from a single attack.

At 0 Hit Points the player is Unconscious. Any sincere attempt to kill an Unconscious character should result in Death.

Dying - Have marked a Major Wound and reduced to 0.

When Dying, the character is unconscious and must make a CON roll at the end of the next round and every round after; if the CON roll fails, the character dies immediately.

First Aid

Used within 1 hour of injury to restore 1 Hit Point. It can be attempted with further attempts counting as Pushed rolls. Two people can roll First Aid at the same time with one success between the two counting as a full success.

Medicine

A Medicine roll unchecks the Dying condition and restores 1d3 Hit Points taking a minimum of 1 hour.

Recover 1 Hit Point per day if Major Wound has not been marked.

Recovery CON roll at the end of each week if Major Wound is marked.

Removing the Major Wound mark

Simply determine whether a chase is needed or not. Is the pursuer slower than the character being chased? Simply describe the scene as the pursuer loses their quarry.

Chase Speed

If on foot or using a self propelled method of movement, roll CON. If driving, roll Drive Auto:

No matter how far away the pursuer was from their target, if they've made it to this step, the narrative of the chase starts just as the pursuer is just two Locations behind their target.

Just like combat, a chase takes place in rounds and the characters act in DEX order.

Every character gets 1 movement action by default. Additional movement actions are then given by how much higher ones MOV stat is above the others. Thus the slowest participant always has 1 movement action, while someone with a MOV that is 1 above them gets 2 movement actions; 2 above the slowest gets 3 movement actions, and so on.

If there are no Hazards to worry about during the chase, the characters can move 1 Location per movement action spent.

Adding Hazards add the chance for the character being pursued to actually get away.

By using a Hazard, a skill roll will be used to determine changes in movement actions. During a Hazard skill roll, a character may exchange 1 movement action for 1 Bonus die (up to 2).

Barriers are similar to Hazards with the added effect of: Until the barrier has been successfully overcome the character's movement actions become zero. Damage may still be taken on a failure determined by the Keeper.

The characters or vehicles must be in the same Location before being able to attack one another unless using Firearms. Initiating an attack costs 1 movement action. A character can always respond to an attack (Dodge or Fight Back) even without any movement actions.

Fighting maneuvers (i.e. pushing, tripping, etc.) can be used with a Success causing the same effects as a failed Hazard roll above. (i.e. Situational based damage, and a 1d3 loss of movement actions)

Sanity rolls require a 1d100 roll against the player's current Sanity. No Bonus or Penalty dice may be used on a Sanity roll (The exception being the use of your Key Connection when attempting Self-Help to regain Sanity, which rewards 1 Bonus die). Luck points may also not be spent during a Sanity roll if using the Luck Optional Rule.

Failing a Sanity roll also causes the investigator to do something involuntary decided by the Keeper:

Max Sanity equals 99 minus the investigator's current Cthulhu Mythos skill

3 stages of Insanity can be obtained: temporary, indefinite, and permanent.

If an investigator loses 5 or more Sanity points in a single Sanity roll, they must roll INT. If the investigator FAILS, they carry on, repressing the memory. If they SUCCEED, the investigator goes temporarily insane for 1d10 hours.

If the investigator loses 1/5th or more of their Sanity in one game day. Indefinite insanity lasts until the character is Cured or Recovers.

When Sanity points are reduced to 0, the character is permanently and irreparably insane and ceases to be a Playable Character.

The player loses control of their investigator fully for a short period of time, normally around 1d10 Combat rounds or possibly longer (Keeper's discretion). In that time the character will act irrationally (Keeper may decide or roll on the Bouts of Madness table)

The Keeper will also change, erase, add, or obscure things within the investigators backstory or description!

Control is returned to the player. The player may choose to roleplay their fragile mental state after the Bout of Madness.

To see through what the character believes is an illusion or manifestation of their own making, they must make a Sanity roll:

Temporary Insanity can be recovered in 1d10 hours or after a good night's sleep. Indefinite Insanity can be cured by either Private Care or Institutionalization. Alternatively, the Keeper may deem an Investigator's Development Phase a good time to cure Indefinite Insanity.

After each month of treatment an investigator in private/home care can roll 1d100.

After each month of treatment an investigator in an Asylum/Institution can roll 1d100.

Make an appropriate Language skill roll (if necessary) with it's Difficulty determined by the age, form and condition of the book.

Occult books grant points to the Occult skill after being read as opposed to Cthulhu Mythos. Occult books may cost Sanity points if the contents warrant it.

Casting a spell expends a certain amount of Magic Points. When out of Magic Points, casting a spell pulls directly from Hit Points, manifesting as open sores, cuts, etc.

Magic Points regenerate at a rate of 1 MP per hour but never above 1/5th of the Character's POW score. (2 per hour for those with a POW of over 100, 3 per hour for those with a POW over 300 and so on)

There are three ways to learn spells: From a Mythos Book, From another person, or from a Mythos Entity

NOTE: Specific spells can be found in the Grimoire chapter of the Keeper's Rulebook

From a Mythos Book

If a Mythos book/tome contains a spell, the Keeper will reveal the spells name upon Initial reading of the book. The spell then takes, typically, 2d6 weeks to learn. If the spell isn't automatically given to the investigator, a hard INT roll should be ma

de to learn the spell with a failure resulting in nothing being accomplished, and re-attempting to understand the Tome takes an additional amount of time determined by the Keeper.

From Another Person

If learning a spell from someone with successful knowledge of said spell, it may be learned within 1d8 days. The rules above, other than time it takes to learn, apply here.

From a Mythos Entity

With a minimum of 1d6 Sanity loss, a Mythos creature may implant a spell into an investigators mind through dreams, visions, telepathy etc. The Keeper may require an INT roll to retain the knowledge. This is method of spell learning is much more rare.

A Casting roll must be made when casting a certain spell for the first time. After that, the spell may be cast without first needing to succeed a Casting roll. (NPCs and Monsters don't need to make a Casting roll)

If all prerequisites and items necessary to cast a spell is met, the character may attempt to cast. Casting a spell for the first time requires succeeding on a hard POW roll. A success casts the spell.

A character only has two chances to cast a spell for the first time (one normal POW roll and one Pushed roll which takes place anytime the caster wants to cast the spell ever again) If the second "Pushed" roll fails, the spell is cast, but dire consequences happen to the caster.

A distraction such as being struck or shot will cause a spell to be disrupted and possibly set off a failed spell casting effect as above. The caster still pays the Sanity and Magic Point cost on a spell interrupted.

If a spell calls for a contested POW roll vs a target and the caster wins the roll, the caster may may a 1d100 roll against their own POW score. If the amount rolled is GREATER than their score the caster's POW score increases by 1d10 points permanently.

POW can also increase by 1d10 if a character rolls a 01 on a Luck roll and then succeeds on a follow-up 1d100 roll against their own POW score, same as above.

NOTE: Increasing Power does not increase current Sanity points.

Regular Success needed - If opposed Skill or Characteristic is below 50

Hard Success needed - If opposed Skill or Characteristic is equal to or above 50

Extreme Success needed - If opposed Skill or Characteristic is equal to or above 90

For Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, and Persuade Skills, take into account the opposing target and adjust the difficulty value accordingly.

Don't forget to ask for Idea rolls if the players become stumped at what to do next, or while trying to come up with a solution to something.

The physical effects of a Poison are up to the Keeper (i.e. stomach pains, vomiting, impaired vision, unconsciousness etc.) but there is still a certain amount of damage that should be taken that coincides with the potency of a poison.

A player should roll a CON test in an attempt to resist the Poisons damage and effect. If the CON test is an Extreme Success, they lesson the damage by one step or if the CON test is a Critical Success, the Keeper may allow the effects and damage to be completely nullified.

Remember that creatures in Call of Cthulhu are normally as intelligent if not more intelligent than the investigators. Don't have them mindlessly attack or keep themselves in immediate danger. Use their attacks uniquely and intelligently depending on their surroundings and enemies.

Don't forget to have the players roll for Sanity upon seeing the creature/monster for the first time. Note that a number of the same creatures together does not call for multiple Sanity rolls. Only one roll, defined on the monster stat block, is necessary.

Remind players to keep track of the creatures they encounter. Sanity Loss stacks with multiple encounters but should never exceed the max amount of Sanity a character can lose by seeing a Mythos creature. (i.e. A creature with a Sanity loss of 2d6 means an investigator can not lose more than 12 Sanity, even upon multiple sightings.) They need to track this, as each Investigator Development Phase lowers ALL their monster sightings Sanity loss by one. (i.e. If a player lost 12 Sanity on the creature above, they can no longer lose Sanity upon seeing it again, but once the player goes through an Investigator Development Phase, they can now stand to lose 1 additional Sanity if encountering that Mythos creature again.)

Try and give your Monsters spells before the session starts to make your monsters more unique and speed up gameplay. (as not having to look up spells during gameplay is always nice)

Use a Monster's Build to out maneuver the Investigators. Grab, carry, push, pull, disarm, knock prone. Have fun with your environment and don't be afraid to toss your players around adding chaos to the fight!

Remember, a Monster can Fight Back or Dodge a number of times equal to their attacks per round. So, it's fully possible to Fight Back multiple times and then still attack on the Monster's turn.

Situations that could call for Bonus dice when rolled:

Situations that could call for Penalty dice when rolled: