Setting the Scene
As a player of Call of Cthulhu, you take the part of an investigator, a role so-called because much of the game consists of searching for and evaluating clues and evidence. It is an accident of alphabetization that the first skill on the character sheet is Accounting, yet it is also telling that this first skill is not something like Aikido or Attack. Investigators are not fighting machines. The single most extraordinary thing about most investigators is the knowledge they gain in the course of play.
Beneath the surface appearance of the world, hiding under the normality of life, your investigator will find a truth of terrifying proportions. The world and universe are not as we know them to be and the spaces between the stars are very dark indeed. Unknown to common man, incredibly powerful beings live or sleep among us. Knowledge of such matters changes people, as your investigator will find when he or she journeys down paths of forgotten knowledge.
In substituting new truths for what they once believed, investigators, and the characters they meet within the game, begin a process that progressively corrupts their outlook, beliefs, and mental balance. Your investigator’s ultimate fate may be death or confinement in a sanatorium; however, an investigator’s ultimate goal is to make a stand against the encroachment of the Cthulhu Mythos upon the world of mankind.
With only your investigator and their steadfast companions you will stand against the forces and corruption of the Old Ones and their minions—for if not you, who will save mankind?
Playing the Game
Roleplaying
How you and your gaming group choose to roleplay your investigators is up to you. While some favor putting on the accents and mannerisms of their game characters, other players prefer a more low-key approach. There is no right or wrong way to play this game.
As you become more confident with the game, you may find that expressing your investigator’s character through roleplay comes more easily. The more you engage with your character, the more convincing and real the character will become. It’s just like being an actor, except your audience is the other players and the Keeper.
Try to develop your investigator’s personality well enough that other players can imagine what he or she would do in a specific situation: “Good old Al,” they’ll say, “we knew we could count on him to save the girl from the burning building.” Developing your investigator is also about playing that character consistently.
Call of Cthulhu encourages roleplaying, especially when difficult choices have to be made: were you right, for instance, to burn down that farmhouse full of cultists, when in the eyes of the law your actions were murderous? Is it right to sneak into the library to steal that ancient book, just because the librarian won’t allow you to look at it?
The dilemmas faced by the investigators can be the heart of the game and whole gaming sessions can sometimes be spent discussing how to get out of the mess you’ve found yourselves in. When conducted "in-character," such discussions can be great fun and very memorable. The decisions you make for your investigator don’t have to be the same ones you would take if you were in a given situation—that’s part of the fun.
Like anything else, roleplaying is easier when you have done it a few times. Always have some idea of your investigator’s personality before you start, and allow events to shape the character and the way you interact with the other players or Keeper-controlled non-player characters (NPCs). Allow the character to grow as a distinct individual as the game progresses. Thus, when your investigator leaves the game (probably due to insanity or death), you will have concluded one life-story and can create a new, but very different, investigator to continue with. Each investigator you create should, ideally, be different from the last.
Cooperation
While Call of Cthulhu can be played with a Keeper and a single player, most games involve a group of 3 to 6 players. The Keeper controls all of the non-player characters, and the players work together to solve mysteries and fight against the multitudinous threats of the Mythos.
Players should aim to work together. For example, when your investigators go on an expedition into some ghoul-haunted Persian ruin, how long will they survive if the players are not willing to help one another, give each other first aid, and guard each other? That is not to say that you cannot play a backstabbing secret agent—but if every one always plays that way, there will be no incentive to play together and your adventures will be short-lived.
Where would many of Lovecraft’s protagonists be with-out their friends, acquaintances, and colleagues assisting in their exploits against the horrors of the Mythos?
Remember, this is a game and it’s meant to be fun for everyone playing. The Keeper and players need to work together to ensure that everyone plays their part in the group’s story. Think of Call of Cthulhu like an ensemble theatre company, with each player taking central stage at differing times, but all working together to build a cohesive and engaging story.
Players should aim to work together. For example, when your investigators go on an expedition into some ghoul-haunted Persian ruin, how long will they survive if the players are not willing to help one another, give each other first aid, and guard each other? That is not to say that you cannot play a backstabbing secret agent—but if every one always plays that way, there will be no incentive to play together and your adventures will be short-lived.
Where would many of Lovecraft’s protagonists be with-out their friends, acquaintances, and colleagues assisting in their exploits against the horrors of the Mythos?
Remember, this is a game and it’s meant to be fun for everyone playing. The Keeper and players need to work together to ensure that everyone plays their part in the group’s story. Think of Call of Cthulhu like an ensemble theatre company, with each player taking central stage at differing times, but all working together to build a cohesive and engaging story.
There also needs to be cooperation between the players and the Keeper. Though the Keeper masterminds the world, sets up the scenario, and runs the details, it’s also true that the game remains a game for the Keeper and that he or she should be having fun too. As an investigator, you pit yourself against the Cthulhu Mythos—not the Keeper. The Keeper should not be afraid to ask others for their opinions on game matters, and if you’re unclear about something then debating rules questions or play opportunities with the Keeper can be very useful. However, Keeper rulings and decisions are final, and players must be willing to back down if the Keeper is adamant.
Character Knowledge
Just because you are a science major and know how to concoct subtle and potent compounds does not mean that your average 1922 New York street-cop investigator (without learning or training) could stroll to Yonkers and set up a pharmacy. Just because you have read all of Lovecraft’s stories doesn’t mean that your investigator has an encyclopedic knowledge of Great Cthulhu and the Outer Gods.
You have a duty to play your investigator within the known limits of the character. It’s simply more fun that way.
Expectations and Play
Call of Cthulhu differs in feel and motivation from most other roleplaying games. In many roleplaying games, player characters are virtually super-powered and can directly confront and attempt to destroy obstacles and opponents. This strategy typically leads to disaster in Call of Cthulhu. The majority of otherworld monstrosities are so terrible and often so invulnerable that choosing open combat almost guarantees a gruesome end for your investigator. Even the merest glimpse of some of the more macabre horrors can send an investigator into screaming insanity.
The Time is Now
If you have a cool idea of something that your investigator could do, then do it; don’t hold it back for later. If it feels like a good idea, that’s probably because it would be a fun thing if it happened right now. And you know what? You’ll think of more equally good ideas later on anyway. The Keeper will expect you to come up with cool ideas that help to build the story.
Don’t Rely on Guns
Some powerful monsters cannot be harmed by gunfire or explosions—they are genuinely alien creatures from vaults of space-time very different from ours. If your plan is to shoot ’em until they die, that plan will rarely work. Try another plan first.
Volleys of gunfire tend to attract police, the state militia, G-men, and everyone with a stake in law and order. If your investigator happens to assassinate the local priest of Yog-Sothoth without first convincing the police of the necessity, you will certainly be questioned and arrested, almost certainly be convicted, and probably end up on death row or eating prison food for a long time. Remember, your investigators inhabit a mirror of our own world with the same rules and society—crimes, such as murder and theft, usually instigate their own investigations. Players should be aware that their actions have consequences too.
In Call of Cthulhu, as in the real world, guns are lethal. Be careful out there!
Paying Attention
Sometimes the party will split up and your investigator won’t be in the present scene. You might want to take that moment to go get a drink or take a short break. However, for the most part, it’s nice if everyone is focusing on what’s happening in the game at all times. If you fiddle with your phone or read a magazine while other people are roleplaying, this shows a lack of respect for your fellow players—and it should go without saying that talking over someone else is never polite. Instead, try being their audience—applaud jokes and share the horror. It can also be fun to throw comments and ideas at them, even though you are not present in the scene.
Sometimes the Keeper may want to keep certain things secret from other players, such as when your investigator has been captured by the high cultist and the other players haven’t realized that your investigator in danger. In situations like these the Keeper may pass you a secret note or take you away from the gaming table so that the other players can’t hear. Respect the Keeper’s wishes and keep this secret knowledge to yourself until it is appropriate in the game to share the information. You’ll enjoy it all the more.
Housekeeping
Roleplaying is a very social activity and to ensure you keep getting invited back to the game, here’s a quick check list of things to do for a gaming session:
- Don’t be late for the start of the game—if you are unavoidably delayed, ring ahead and let the other players know to start without you.
- Get your stuff together—dice, note paper, pen, pencil, and investigator sheet (if the Keeper isn’t looking after them).
- Contribute—perhaps bring some snacks or a drink to share with everyone.
- Tidy up afterwards.
Setting the Tone
As a group, you should discuss what sort of game you want to play. You can aim for tense, creeping horror, over-the-top schlock horror, or a pulp-action romp. Having said that, the default game mode is intended to be tense horror, with some action scenes thrown into the mix.
The Westley Isynwill Foundation, for example, reads as if it could easily take a two-fisted pulp approach, given Eddie Gump’s twin sawn-off shotguns in shoulder holsters. You may prefer a grittier, more realistic approach to the stories you participate in, but unless everyone at the table is taking the same approach, the style of play will be inconsistent. This inconsistency can breed contempt and dissatisfaction among players who may feel that others are taking the game too seriously or too lightly. The only way to resolve this is with a brief discussion to gain a consensual approach.
Comedy and horror are good bedfellows and the switch from one to the other is used to great effect in many movies. However, too much comedy and the horror is lessened. Shared jokes and laughing are important, but as the game draws to a climax, so too should the horror.
Some groups use the first 30 minutes of a gaming session to share news, tell jokes, and relax—getting this all out of the way before the game begins. Try to draw a clear line between social time and game time.
This is a horror game and you can expect players to enjoy being scared; however, people have differing views of what is acceptable and these limits should be discussed before play. Discuss with your fellow players if there is anything that they definitely do not want to see in the game. The answers can be quite unexpected; one player may be fine with everything except violence to animals, for example. Establish the level of their objection and either avoid the topic entirely or use the dramatic effect of "fading to black" when it occurs in play.
Distasteful Historical Themes
Distasteful issues may arise during the game. You may feel that your portrayal of prejudice and bigotry is worthy of an Oscar; however, another player may find it offensive. The world was a very different place in the 1920s compared to the present day. Behaviors most of us would find repugnant today were ordinary and acceptable then. Racism, xenophobia, religious bigotry, and sexual discrimination were then part of everyday life and often loudly espoused. Many laws systematically supported segregation and discrimination of every sort, and social forces of great power underwrote that legislation. Just because these were issues of the time, doesn't mean that you are obligated to represent them in your game. Some groups may be happier to subvert or ignore them completely.
Ultimately, how you play it is up to you and your group, but if you are going to use themes of discrimination in the game, it is strongly recommended that you discuss the issue early on.
Playing in Period
Games of Call of Cthulhu can take place in any period, be it ancient Rome or some distant spaceport in the far-flung future.
While we are naturally familiar with a modern-day setting, our knowledge of the Roaring Twenties or Victorian England might not be so good. This is no cause for concern. Don’t be intimidated by the thought of playing in an unfamiliar period. Your Keeper will guide you, and before you know it, your investigator will be immersed in uncovering some dastardly plot, without worry for whether they are doing or saying things appropriate to the period.
Try not to get bogged down in the minutiae of whether this or that had been invented yet, or whether such and such lived there, and so on. Obviously if your characters are driving around in a car during a game set in Imperial Rome then something has gone wrong! Discuss the setting as a group and work with what you know, fabricating the rest.
Consistency is the key. If you are unsure if there were telephones in 1897, simply make a decision and stick with it. Remember, the aim is to create an enjoyable story, not to produce a factually accurate historical simulacrum.
For those players wishing to learn more about historical settings, there is a wealth of information available on the Internet and many free resources aimed at Call of Cthulhu players wanting to get a better understanding of the 1920s period.
The equipment lists (pages 238–247) also provide useful guidance on what common items are available to investigators by historical setting.
Sanity
Call of Cthulhu is a game that deals with dark themes: death and madness are two such themes. The game in no way aims to trivialize real-life mental illness. While the game borrows terms from psychiatric medicine to create a sense of verisimilitude, actual play is more influenced by what is portrayed in films and stories. This is no bad thing. Acting out realistic mental illness is not the objective. Many players derive enjoyment portraying their investigator’s descent into madness, sometimes in convincing, serious ways, or sometimes in over-the-top, even comical ways.
Rules Advice
When to Roll Dice
A roleplaying game is more than just a series of dice rolls. While rolling the dice to determine if your investigator has succeeded in something can be exciting, it can soon become dull if you have to roll for every little thing.
Don’t be too quick to roll dice. The Keeper will decide when a roll is called for. Just because you’re sneaking or taking a photograph doesn’t mean you have to roll dice. As a rule, if the task is routine, you don’t need to roll for it. Only roll dice when it is going to mean something important—such as trying to persuade the head cultist that you’re his long lost brother or, in the case of combat, where every roll could be a matter of life or death. The whole point of a roll is to add drama and tension to the game.
The Keeper isn’t breaking any rules by letting you jump a chasm without making a roll, any more than when you drive to the shops without rolling. The Keeper will decide if a roll is required in any given situation.
Setting Goals
Rolling the dice before deciding on what you’re rolling for is like signing a contract without reading it first. Before you roll the dice you should seek to establish what a success is going to mean. Sometimes this is obvious, but not always. You should also wait for the Keeper to declare the difficulty level so that everyone knows when those dice hit the table whether it’s pass or fail. Don’t be surprised if the Keeper asks you to re-roll the dice if you roll them before a difficulty level has been set.
When setting a goal you should aim to keep it simple and clear. The Keeper may disallow your goal if it’s judged unacceptable or inappropriate to the situation. In that case you should negotiate until you reach an agreeable compromise. Your goal should encapsulate what will happen if you succeed in your roll.
Sometimes the Keeper may be making a roll against you. If that is the case, the Keeper should also be stating a goal—if the Keeper’s goal sounds unreasonable you should say so before the dice are rolled. Ideally, you and the Keeper can discuss the goal and reach an agreement; however, (as in all matters) the Keeper’s decision is final.
Be creative when setting goals, the Keeper will tell you if you are asking for too much. You might state that your investigator is searching the New York Times for coded messages sent by the cult. The Keeper may not have given any thought to anyone passing coded messages through newspaper adverts, but may like the idea and be willing to incorporate it into the plot. If the goal is allowed it will probably be at an Extreme difficulty level, granting you a small chance of success. But if you succeed in your dice roll then your investigator will have found a useful clue.
Why setting a goal is important
If you don’t agree a goal or difficulty level before rolling the dice, you may find yourself rolling dice and then awaiting the Keeper’s interpretation of the result. This can lead to frustration and disappointment when there is dissonance between the Keeper’s interpretation and the player’s expectation. Setting a goal gives you a way to avoid such misunderstanding.
Narrating Success
If you succeed in a skill roll you have the option to describe the resulting action and how it unfolds. This may be a few brief few words or an extended piece of narration, depending on the importance of the event and how inspired you feel. The difference between the descriptions given by you and those given by the Keeper is that the Keeper knows and controls the setting, whereas you only fully know your investigator. If you include something in your description that is inconsistent with the Keeper’s background and setting, the Keeper has the right to change this to something more suitable to the game. In some cases you won’t know what is going to happen as a result of your success and you will have to look to the Keeper. For example, when you successfully pick a door lock, you (the player) probably won’t know what lies beyond.
You may have just successfully rolled against your Pilot skill with the goal of "making an emergency landing on the ice." Rather than simply saying, "We've landed," you are free to add some color. "There's crosswind. I can feel it pulling us to the right. The undercarriage is iced up. I hit the ground once with a jolt and bounce back up into the air. Somehow that jolt freed the wheels and I'm able to land."
Accepting Failure
Don’t be disappointed when you don’t win every roll. Accept failure—it can take the story to unexpected places. Sometimes, in hindsight, you might be very grateful your investigator didn’t manage to open that cellar door.
Pushing the Roll
The option to push a roll is far from automatic—the onus is on you, the player, to justify a pushed roll, otherwise you don’t get one. You must declare what your investigator is doing above and beyond what was done for the initial roll. You must also declare your desire to push the roll straight after the initial failed roll—other players and the Keeper should of course ensure you a have a moment to consider. These are some examples of how a roll might be pushed:
- You fail a Climb roll. Your investigator cannot scale the wall to the upper window. The Keeper states that the drainpipe feels loose and may not bear your investigator’s weight. You decide to push the roll. “I’m going to risk life and limb and scramble up the drainpipe as quickly as I can and hope my momentum takes me to the window ledge.”
- After failing a Library Use roll to find reference to Edward Marsh in the Arkham Public Library, you decide to push the roll. “I’m going to spend as long as it takes and go through every newspaper and periodical with a fine-toothed comb.”
- You fail a STR roll to break through a door. “I take a good run-up and throw myself at the door with no thought for my own safety.”
Each of the descriptions in Chapter 5: Skills provides some possible examples for how a skill might be pushed. Use these examples for inspiration.
You may seek to achieve the same goal by a different method. That still counts as pushing the roll. Sometimes this can lead to grey areas, when it’s not clear if a roll is being pushed or if it should become a different goal, especially when you are rolling against a different skill. It’s up to the Keeper to adjudicate. The deciding factor is whether the goal is the same or not.
Harvey is trying to break into a house. His goal is to "pick the front door lock," using the Locksmith skill. He fails and has the option to push the roll. Instead, he decides to try forcing one of the windows open using his STR. He fails and has the option to push. He decides to change his goal again, this time stating it as "trying to climb through an upstairs window" using the Climb skill. The Keeper decides that the goal needs to be clarified and insists that it must be replaced with "gain entry to the house." If Harvey fails this time, he will have no option but to make a pushed roll if he still wants to get into the house, regardless of whatever innovative form of entry the player comes up with next.
Foreshadowing Failure
If you fail the initial skill roll, your investigator should gain some idea of the risk involved in trying again. When a roll is pushed, the Keeper may choose to lay the consequence on the table to emphasize the risk your investigator is taking. If this doesn’t happen and you’re not sure what to expect, then ask the Keeper to describe the consequence of failing the pushed roll. Of course, if it’s something your investigator wouldn't be unaware of, such as tripping a remote alarm, the Keeper might be quite vague about the consequence.
Pushing a Perception Roll
Perception rolls include the skills: Spot Hidden, Listen, and
Psychology. The Keeper may require a successful roll before
giving out a clue. If you fail a perception roll and no clue is
forthcoming, you may attempt to push the roll. As always, it
is your job to describe how your investigator’s actions justify
a pushed roll. Some examples of how you might justify
pushing a perception roll follow.
Spot Hidden Roll:
- Standing still for a time and focusing your complete attention.
- Leaving no stone unturned—completely searching a room, emptying every drawer, pulling down curtains, ripping up floorboards, etc.
Psychology Roll:
- Studying (staring at) the person’s face carefully, without regard to anything else going on around you.
- Asking very direct and prying questions.
Listen Roll:
- Standing completely still and listening, perhaps putting your ear against a door or to the floor.
- Calling out loudly and awaiting a response.
The investigators have followed a cultist into an old house. It’s getting dark and you only have one flashlight between you. The Keeper calls for a Spot Hidden roll, asking for a Hard success—everyone fails the roll. The tension is raised. You know you’ve missed a clue. Are you going to search the house or leave now, and maybe come back in daylight? Searching around carefully would allow you to push the Spot Hidden roll. This could develop in two possible ways:
You successfully push the roll and find a trail of blood, allowing you to creep up on and perhaps surprise the hidden cultist.
You fail the pushed roll and, as a consequence, the cultist’s ambush catches your investigator on all fours, studying a smudge on the floor!
You may have some concern that your investigator would not be aware of having missed anything when you fail a perception roll, so why would you choose to search further? If the initial roll was at your behest then pushing the roll makes sense, but if you weren’t actively searching then how do you even know that you have missed something? The answer to this lies with you. If you want to ignore the fact the Keeper has asked you to make a perception roll, that’s fine. Equally, if you want to use the knowledge that you have as a player to get your investigator to do something that wouldn’t otherwise be done, that’s fine too.
Just remember that if you push a perception roll, the Keeper will have something nasty lined up as a consequence if you fail!
Harvey opens a linen cupboard and the Keeper calls for a Spot Hidden roll, which the player fails. Harvey doesn’t know that he’s missed anything, but his player knows that she just failed a Spot Hidden roll, so there must be a clue here somewhere.
Either:
Harvey just walks away unaware that he has missed something.
Or
Harvey, acting on a hunch, searches the cupboard more thoroughly, perhaps discovering it has a false back concealing a safe.
Social Interaction
Combat, chases, and other physical conflicts obviously require dice to determine who wins, but some social interactions can be acted out and resolved through roleplaying— the players and Keeper acting the roles of the various characters and speaking with their "voices." However, when the investigators engage in forms of social interaction that cannot be effectively carried-out at the table, such as intimidation, fast talk, interrogation, seduction, or charm, then dice will prove useful. While these things can be roleplayed, the actual effects cannot be wholly emulated. No one would expect you to actually intimidate (let alone seduce!) the Keeper as your investigator attempts to intimidate a non-player character. For this reason, Call of Cthulhu has rules for social interaction to back-up the roleplay.
A number of skills form parts of social interactions:
Charm: used to charm or seduce, to recognize it in others, and to oppose being charmed yourself.
Fast Talk: used to confuse, deceive, or distract another person, and to oppose being fast talked yourself.
Intimidate: used to intimidate, to recognize it in others, and to oppose being intimidated yourself.
Persuade: used to persuade, to recognize it in others, and to oppose being persuaded yourself.
Psychology skill: is primarily a perception skill in Call of Cthulhu and can be used to oppose Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade.
The situation and the roleplay should indicate which skill to use, for instance:
- If you are using threats, roll against the Intimidate skill.
- If you are using negotiation, roll against the Persuade skill.
- If you are acting quickly to deceive, con, or trick, roll against the Fast Talk skill.
- If you are befriending the person (or pretending to), roll against the Charm skill.
Describe what your investigator is saying and doing. The Keeper will then declare the difficulty level based on the disposition of the non-player character towards your investigator; intimidating an innocent bystander is one thing, intimidating a hardened cultist quite another.
You can fast talk, intimidate, charm, or persuade non-player characters, but what if one of them tries to fast talk, intimidate, charm, or persuade your investigator? Investigators differ from non-player characters, who are just so many "pawns" for the Keeper to control, whereas your investigator is your only "piece" in the game. If the rules allow someone else to decide the actions of your investigator then what is there left for you to do? Only drugs, insanity, magic (e.g. the Dominate spell), or other supernatural agents (e.g. "demonic possession") may override a player’s control of his or her investigator.
If the Keeper or another player wishes to use a social interaction skill against your investigator, they can do so; however, your response to the outcome is up to you to roleplay. If you choose to act contrary to the influence of the other character, the Keeper may apply a penalty to one of your subsequent actions.
Skills and Contacts
A skill in Call of Cthulhu is a somewhat arbitrary range of ability and comprehension whose very fuzziness of definition lends its use to a variety of situations. Someone with a doctorate in biology has good understanding of the biological sciences and, by extension, may also know of the leading theoreticians and experimenters in the field, in what journals they publish, and where they teach or work. You can establish contacts purely through roleplay or the Keeper may ask you to make a roll. Thus you can use the skills on your investigator sheet to test for existing contacts and establish new ones. If a named contact is listed in your investigator’s backstory then a roll is rarely required.
“Does my investigator know any biologists at Miskatonic University?” asks the player. The Keeper ponders and calls for a Biology roll (the player rolls a success).
“Yes,” the Keeper replies, “you know Miller—he’s a parasitologist. Maybe he can identify that creature you’ve found.”
Idea Rolls (INT)
The Idea roll is a roll like no other. If you find that you have become stuck and you feel the game is flagging because you don’t know how to proceed then you always have the option to call for an Idea roll. Perhaps you missed a vital clue altogether or you just haven’t figured things out fully.
The Idea roll combines your investigator’s deductive powers, memory, and intuitive hunches, and grants that elusive clue that is guaranteed to get the game moving again. Be careful though—the more obvious the clue is, the more likely you are to find yourself in deep water just before your moment of realization.
Intelligence Rolls (INT)
While the Intelligence roll uses the same characteristic as an Idea roll (INT), the rolls are different in what they represent. An Idea roll is used when you are stuck and don't know which way to turn next in the investigation. An Intelligence roll is made when your investigator is attempting to solve an intellectual puzzle of some kind. This might include solving a crossword puzzle, answering a riddle, or decoding a cryptic message.
Know Rolls (EDU)
All people know bits of information about different topics. The Know roll represents what’s stored in the brain’s intellectual attic. The investigator might be able to identify a particular species of tree (without having studied Botany), remember the geography of Tibet (without a Navigate roll), or know how many legs arachnids have (and possess only a single skill point in Biology).
Luck Rolls
Luck rolls apply to external circumstances. If another skill or characteristic roll could be used then a Luck roll is not appropriate. For example, you’re in the old house when the lights go out and you want to establish if there are any candles in the kitchen drawers—there’s no skill that can determine that. The Keeper could simply decide, or leave it to luck. As a player, you want good luck for your investigator, but as this is a horror game, expect the Keeper to be more than happy to dish out the bad luck.
Luck can be also useful in combat when you want to come across a handy improvised weapon. The Keeper may allow a Luck roll to determine if there’s a length of lead pipe or pool cue lying around.
Luck is the one number that is never affected by penalty or bonus dice, and is only ever rolled at its current value.
Training
An investigator may study or train for four* months and gain an experience check for a skill. This is then tested as for an investigator development phase (see page 96, Call of Cthulhu Rulebook). An experience check comes automatically upon successfully completing a segment of training. But, bear in mind, that too many adventures in a semester will invalidate classroom work or practice for that term.
*Some training courses may be shorter than four months, some being only a few days or weeks of intensive training. In such cases, the Keeper may say that the training has been enough to justify a skill check.
Combat
Fighting
When your investigator successfully makes a fighting attack, you are encouraged to add description to it. Let the situation inform your description—if you are in a confined space, go for a head-butt; if you have plenty of room, then a roundhouse kick might be more appropriate. If you dodge, tell how you duck behind a desk or simply move a fraction of an inch to let the blow just miss you by a hair’s breadth. React to what just happened. If your opponent just dodged behind a desk, use it as an improvised weapon, pushing the desk over on top of your attacker or leap up on the desk and strike from above.
When it comes to describing your attacks, you should make them suit your chosen fighting style. So a karate expert would use punches, a judo expert would use throws, and a kick-boxer would primarily use kicks.
One dice roll does not have to represent only one action (one punch or one kick). It can be one blow or it can represent a flurry of blows. The dice will tell you how much damage you deliver—how you describe the attack is added color. But don’t think that color is unimportant—the color is what turns the numbers into a living story. Use your imagination to the full—3 hit points of damage might represent a solid punch or it might be that the opponent’s head bounced off a brick wall as you pushed him.
The rules don’t limit your options in combat. If you want to do something other than a straightforward attack with the goal of causing physical harm, you can do so—just describe your actions and intention to the Keeper.
Throwing Dust in Your Opponent's Eyes
Perhaps you are outmatched and want to use your wits to gain an advantage. Instead of making an attack on your turn, you have the option of setting a goal to achieve something else. Usually part of this goal would be to gain an advantage on your opponent—perhaps a bonus die on your next roll or a penalty for your opponent. What your investigator wishes to accomplish will determine the roll required—probably a skill or characteristic roll (the Keeper will decide, if it’s unclear what roll should be made).
“Standing up, I grasp a handful of the dusty ground and throw it in the cultist’s face.” The Keeper agrees that doing so successfully will inflict a penalty on the cultist’s next action and asks if the player wants to use Sleight of Hand or DEX. The Keeper will use the cultist’s Spot Hidden or DEX respectively to set the difficulty level. The player opts to use Sleight of Hand (40%), and the Keeper opposes with the NPC’s Spot Hidden score. The NPC’s Spot Hidden skill is below 50% and so the difficulty level is Regular. The player rolls 39, a success. The player describes how the investigator waits for the cultist to step forward with an attack and then throws the dust in his eyes. The Keeper will apply a penalty die to the cultist’s rolls until the end of the following round.
Roleplaying Phobias and Manias
When your investigator becomes insane the Keeper may add a specific phobia or mania to your investigator.
Being sane or insane dictates a major distinction between how phobias affect your investigator. While sane, a phobia or mania is just part of your investigator’s backstory: a character trait that you can manifest however you wish in the game. If your investigator has a phobia of spiders, you can choose to either have them run screaming or overcome their fear when seeing a spider crawling in the bathtub.
This all changes when your investigator is insane—encountering the subject of a phobia or mania is then a big deal. You retain control of your investigator’s actions, but you may be penalized depending on the phobia or mania.
In the case of a phobia, should you attempt something requiring a dice roll and it isn’t directly related to fleeing from or fighting the source of the phobia, then you will get one penalty die on the action. The dice are only against you if you refuse to give into the fight or flight reaction!
The Keeper may prompt you to indulge your mania—if your investigator is a dipsomaniac and a scene takes place in a bar, the Keeper may specify that you will suffer a penalty on rolls until your character takes a drink or two.
Tracking Sanity Points—Crossing the 20% Line
The investigator sheet has a box for tracking Sanity points. The rules state that indefinite insanity is triggered if your investigator loses one-fifth (20%) of current Sanity points in one day. One way to track this 20% is to mark a line on your investigator’s sheet, which, if crossed, will trigger indefinite insanity. Of course the line will need reviewing each day, but will only change if your investigator’s Sanity points have changed since the last time it was done.
Roleplaying Insanity
When an investigator becomes temporarily or indefinitely insane, remember that there is a distinction between periods of madness and the character’s general underlying insanity. When Sanity loss leads to a bout of madness, the Keeper gets to control or direct your character, who is liable to act in a crazy or extreme manner. However, when not in the middle of a bout of madness, your character is still insane but their actions and behavior will be more or less ordinary, able to act and function completely normally in everyday situations—however if they suffer a further Sanity point loss, then another bout of madness ensues and the character’s madness takes hold for the duration of the bout. Try to keep the distinction clear between portraying "madness" and your character's underlying "insanity."
Making Reality Checks
Your investigator is prone to delusions while insane and can no longer trust his or her senses. In the game, the only way you know what your investigator is seeing and hearing is through what the Keeper is telling you. If you can’t trust your senses then, in effect, you can’t trust what the Keeper is saying you perceive. The Keeper may be telling you that a ghoul leaps out at your insane investigator; however, this may in reality just be a homeless person asking for spare change.
If you want to shake your head and come to your senses, striving to see through what might be an insane delusion, simply tell the Keeper you want to make a Reality Check roll.
You always have the option to fight against the madness— but if you fail the reality check roll, the madness will fight back!
Maximum Sanity
Your investigator’s Sanity may rise and fall during play, but it may never rise above the character’s maximum Sanity rating. Each investigator has a maximum SAN, which begins at 99. Knowledge of the Cthulhu Mythos always lowers an investigator’s maximum SAN. Maximum sanity points equal 99 minus current Cthulhu Mythos points (99–Cthulhu Mythos skill). You can record this by permanently by crossing out the highest numbers on your Sanity Track, one for each point of Cthulhu Mythos knowledge. For example, if you have a Cthulhu Mythos skill of 5%, you should cross out 99, 98, 97, 96, and 95 on your investigator’s Sanity Track.
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