Game Mechanics and Rules

# BEHOLD. The Call of Cthulhu 7e Rule Book Bible

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## Bonus Dice and Penalty Dice

**(Primarily for Use with Opposed Dice Rolls)**

Sometimes the prevailing conditions, environment, and available can hinder or benefit a skill or characteristic roll. Certain conditions mean that the Keeper may grant a Bonus die or a Penalty Die to a roll.

Bonus dice and Penalty dice are not trifling small additions or subtractions to a few percentage points, and so should not be used without good cause. If a factor is so small that it would only modify a roll by a few percentage points then don't bother with it. Driving in light rain should not inflict a Penalty die, but racing against another driver in heavy torrential rain (opposed Drive Auto roll) - now there's your penalty!

In most cases, the Keeper would boost or penalize a roll with a single "bonus die" or "penalty die", but where conditions are highly advantageous or dire, a second Bonus die or Penalty die could be applied.

One Bonus die and one Penalty die cancel each other out.

See Difficulty Levels vs. Bonus/Penalty Dice

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## Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, and Persuade Skills: Difficulty Levels

An investigator may have a Charm skill of 75%, but this does not mean that they can charm anyone and everyone 75% of the time. The difficulty level is based on the opposing factor; in this case the matching social skill (either Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade) or Psychology skill (whichever is higher). Thus, if the opposing skill is 50% or higher, a Hard success is required (a roll equal to or below half skill). If the opposing skill is 90% or higher, an Extreme success is required (a roll equal to or below one-fifth of skill). For the vast majority of non-player characters, these skills will be below 50%, and so the difficulty level will be Regular and the player only needs a regular success.

* If the non-player character is positively inclined towards the player's goal, don't bother rolling dice, but simply have them agree.
* If the non-player character lacks strong feelings towards the player's goal then no modification to the difficulty level is required.
* If the non-player character is strongly opposed to the player's goal, the difficulty is raised by one or two levels.

* If the player comes up with something to support their case, such as a substantive argument (if using Persuade), or is holding a weapon and is clearly willing to use it (in the case of Intimidate), the Keeper should lower the difficulty by one level.

The lowest chance of success requires an Extreme success (equal to or below one-fifth of the skill), but in some rare circumstances the Keeper may rule that there is no chance of success and that no roll is allowed.

*Brian's investigator is trying to intimidate a cultist into revealing the name of the cult's contact in the police force. The cultist is a doctor by profession, and the Keeper decides that the doctor's Intimidate and Psychology skills are below 50%. The difficulty level therefore begins as Regular. Of course the cultist strongly desires not to reveal his contact, and so the Keeper increases the difficulty level by two steps to Extreme.*

*Brian fails the skill roll. Brian seeks to push the roll by threatening violence. He pulls out a crowbar, swings it near the doctor's head and then looks the doctor straight in the eye to make sure that he understands the implied threat. The Keeper lowers the difficulty level to Hard. Brian fails the pushed roll, and the Keeper tells how Brian gets carried away and, in his frustration, hits the doctor's head with the crowbar, causing a nasty injury. Brian did not intend this - it was the consequence of failing the pushed roll. Things don't always go as intended! If the player had succeeded in the Intimidate roll, the Keeper would be compelled to give up the name of the contact (as it was the player's goal), but as the roll was failed, it is now entirely up to the Keeper whether the doctor is forthcoming, regardless of any further action the investigators may take against him.*

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## Combat

Despite their best efforts to avoid bloodshed, sometimes investigators are faced with situations where the outcome can only be decided by fist or gun. Combat encompasses a range of skills and goals; sometimes an investigator may wish to merely subdue an opponent without causing undue harm, while at other times the goal may be to kill, or simply to flee.

Combat has its own rules that focus on the action and help to determine who is doing what, when it is done, and the degree of success achieved. Rather than having a single roll decide the outcome of the fight, a series of rolls are made until there is a clear victor.

Declaration of Intent: "What is your character doing?"

The Combat Round

### **Melee Combat**

Fist Fights

* Resolving a Fighting Attack Made Against a Target That is Fighting Back
* Resolving a Fighting Attack Made Against a Target That is Dodging
* Determining Damage

Using Weapons in a Fight

* Improvised Weapons
* No Pushing Combat Rolls
* Does the Monster Fight Back or Dodge? (Default for humans is doge, default for inhuman is attack back)

Striking the First Blow (Surprise)

**Outnumbered** - When a character is outnumbered by the opposition, the character is at a disadvantage. Once a character has either fought back or dodged in the present combat round, all subsequent melee attacks on them are made with one Bonus die. This does not apply to attacks made using firearms.

Armor

* Armor Examples

### **Wounds and Healing**

* Major Wound: the Effects
* Tracking Damage
* Zero Hit Points: the Effects
* Dying
* Major Wound Recovery

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## Sanity

Investigators begin the game sane and rational. During their investigations they will encounter otherworldly horrors, alien creatures, and the terrible cosmic truths of the Cthulhu Mythos - all of which will challenge their state of mind and sense of normality, and push them to the very edge of sanity. In some cases, the experience will be too much and the unfortunate investigator will descend into periods of temporary, indefinite, or even permanent madness.
Each investigator has Sanity points that rise and fall during play. Sanity is used to determine whether the investigator can withstand the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos, as well as stand up to fear-inducing situations without turning tail and running away. Loss of Sanity points can lead to insanity. When Sanity points are reduced to zero, an investigator is permanently and incurably insane, and ceases to be a player character.

Sanity in the game is modeled after the behavior of protagonists in H.P. Lovecraft's fiction who, more often than not, faint or go mad when confronted with mind-bending physics and monstrous entities from beyond space and time. Sanity is the game's register of the investigator's flexibility and resilience to emotional trauma. Characters that start with a high number of Sanity points find it easier to rationalize traumatic events or to repress horrific memories. Those with a lower number of Sanity points are mentally fragile and more susceptible to emotional upset. While the cosmic horror of the Cthulhu Mythos is the fundamental assault on the mind of an investigator, other gruesome and comparatively ordinary sights and events can also cause emotional disturbance.

In an unnerving or horrifying situation the Keeper will test the resiliency and emotional strength of the investigators. This is done by calling for a Sanity roll for each investigator entangled in the situation. Investigator insanity is triggered when too many Sanity points are lost in too short a time, causing temporary or indefinite insanity.

Sanity Points and SAN Rolls

Maximum Sanity

Examples of Sanity Point Cost

### Insanity

* Temporary Insanity
* Indefinite Insanity
* Permanent Insanity

### The Effects of Insanity

* Insanity Phase 1: A Bout of Madness
	+ A Bout of Madness - Real Time
		- Bouts of Madness - Real Time (roll 1D10)
	+ A Bout of Madness - Summary
		- Bouts of Madness - Summary (roll 1D10)
* Insanity Phase 2: Underlying Insanity
* Insanity Side-Effects 1: Phobias and Manias
	+ Phobic and Manic Responses While Insane
* Insanity Side-Effects 2: Delusions and Reality Checks
	+ Reality Check Rolls
* Insanity Side-Effects 3: Insanity and the Cthulhu Mythos

Phobia, Mania, Compulsion, Amnesia

Sample Phobias

Sample Manias

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## Skills

(for complete list of Skills, see Skill List)

(for optional rules for Skills, see Optional Rules (Skills))

(see also Interpersonal Skills: Disambiguation and Skill Points: What Do They Mean)

This section looks at skills in detail, providing definitions of their use and scope within the game. Each category of skill encompasses a range of possibilities and, to ensure brevity, descriptions have to be general summaries of intent and covered.

### **Skill Definitions**

Skills represent what is known within a certain era, and some skills are tagged (**Modern**) to denote that they can only be used in modern-day settings. Some skills are given a more generic name which may not be appropriate for some settings; for example Drive Auto would not be suitable for a game set in Victorian London and should be reworded appropriately - in this case as **Drive Carriage**.

Skill percentages are not proportions of what is hypothetically knowable. If they were able to stack their respective knowledge on a table like poker chips and measure the difference, a Physicist of 60% skill in the modern day knows much more than a physicist of 90% in 1910.

Equally, some skills would be affected by location. A Japanese investigator might have a Law skill of 75% in Japan; however if the same investigator were tested on Spanish law then the Keeper would probably increase the level of difficulty for the roll.

A skill level of 50% is high enough to let a character eke out a living from it. If an investigator raises high in a skill unrelated to their profession, player and Keeper could confer about changing the investigator to a new profession.

Specific situations that arise in your game will require the Keeper to make judgments about how to apply the rules regarding skill use. Some suggestions on how to use the skills in specific circumstances are given under individual skills. This use of suggestions is to encourage the Keeper to make judgments rather than referring to a host of spot rules.

Certain skills embody a wide range of knowledge, such as Art and Craft, Fighting, Firearms, and Science, allowing investigators to specialize in narrower avenues of learning.

Some of the skills detailed below are termed (**Uncommon**) and are not included on the standard investigator sheet (Artillery, Demolitions, Hypnosis, Read Lips, etc.). If the Keeper wishes to include these extra skills in the game, or if you wish to take one, this should be made clear. The keeper may introduce other skills depending on the setting and period; for example, if one were to set a game in the far future on an alien planet then various new skills would be devised.

### **Skill Specializations**

Some broad skills are broken into specializations. A player may spend skill points to purchase any skill specialization. The generic skill cannot be purchased. Thus a player may spend points in Fighting (Brawl) or Fighting (Spear) but not simply Fighting.

In the case of Art and Craft, Science, and Survival, these skill encompass a wide diversity of specializations. Your Keeper will decide on the applicability of a particular specialization to the situation in hand. Depending on the specific situation, the Keeper may allow the use of an alternate specialization at an increased level of difficulty if the Keeper agrees that there is sufficient overlap with that specialization.

Among the specializations there are often transferable skills and knowledge. See also Specializations: Transferable Skill Benefit

### **Opposing Skill/Difficulty Level**

For each skill, entry notes are provided for which skill (if any) works in opposition, and suggestions given for what constitutes a Regular and Hard difficulty level. The Regular difficulty level (requiring a roll of equal to or below the skill value) is the default roll. Where things are significantly more difficult, a Hard difficulty level (requiring a roll of equal to or below half of the skill value) may be required. Rarely should the Extreme difficulty level (requiring a roll of equal to or below one-fifth of the skill value) be called for - only in the most extreme and dire situations. Sometimes this may be simply that the performance of the skill is greatly hindered, such as when being shot at or pursued, or when conditions are uniquely appalling.

Some examples of where an Extreme difficulty might be called for include:

* Demolitions: to defuse an explosive device of a radically different design to any seen before, perhaps of futuristic or alien origin.
* Electrical Repair: working on futuristic or alien technology that uses a form of electronics.
* Listen: eavesdropping on a quiet conversation in an extremely noise environment.
* Locksmith: opening a high-security lock with only a piece of wire (*i.e.* no tools); crack open the most secure of bank vaults.
* Medicine: diagnosis and treatment of strange, new, or alien medical ailments.
* Psychology: read someone's intent or determine that a person is lying if their relevant opposing skill (Intimidate, Fast Talk, Persuade, or Charm) is 90% or above.

### **Pushing Skills**

When a skill roll is failed a player may attempt the roll again as a pushed roll, but only if they can justify to the Keeper what their investigator is doing to gain a second and final attempt.

For each skill, a number of examples are provided for what might constitute a "pushed roll", and also some of the possible consequences for failing a pushed roll. The suggests given should be viewed as simply that - suggestions. The latitude for what could just a pushed roll is wide and should be best determined by actions, motivations, and events within the game. Likewise, the consequences of a failed pushed roll will be best served if inspiration is drawn from the current game events, non-player characters, and the game world.

Where appropriate, an example is provided for a possible consequence of an investigator pushing a skill roll while insane. The very fact that the investigator is insane while performing the task heightens the stakes for the roll, as the consequences of a pushed failure will often be all the more extreme (or bizarre).

The examples merely provide ideas and it is intended that both players and Keepers fashion their own justifications and consequences as appropriate to their games and playing styles.

### **Combined Skill Rolls**

In some situations the Keeper may ask you to roll against more than one skill. Only one dice roll is made and the result is then compared with each of the skills named. The Keeper will specify whether a success is required for both skills or if only one of the skills need to be successful.

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## Occupations

(for complete list of Occupations, see Occupation List)
Your investigator's occupation determines the skills they are most proficient with, their income level, and who they are likely to know. An occupation also, in part, helps define the investigator's character, their motivations, and view of the world around them.

### **Sample Occupations**

The occupations listed are just a sample of the possibilities. Most occupations can be applied to pretty much any historical setting in which games might take place. However, some occupations, like **Hacker** for example, exist only in specific settings like the modern-day. You should choose only those appropriate to the historical setting in which your game is taking place. If you're unsure about this, talk to your Keeper.

### **Creating Occupations**

Use the listed occupations as a guide when creating ones not listed here. If creating a new occupation, confine the number of skills to eight, otherwise the notion of an occupation being a concentration of knowledge and ability (Skills) quickly becomes pointless. These skill should be an essential concentration of the knowledge and abilities required for the occupation you are developing. In some cases you may not need all eight skills to adequately represent the occupation; if there are free skills then these may be taken as player choices, *i.e.* the player can choose any skill befitting their occupation, era, or character concept. An appropriate **Credit Rating** range for the profession should also be assigned.

### **Key**:

Occupations are listed alphabetically. Some entries group related occupations; for example Bank Robber, Bootlegger, Burglar, Conman, Forger/Counterfeiter, and Assassin are all listed under the Criminal occupation.

* (**Lovecraftian**) Occupations important in Lovecraft's stories.
* (**Classic**) Occupations only available in the Classic 1920s period.
* (**Modern**) Occupations only available for modern-day game settings.
* **Occupation Skill Points**: Determines which Characteristics are used to derive the investigator's occupation skills.
* **Credit Rating**: Determines the number of occupation skill points that must be spent on Credit Rating. Each entry is a range, and any number within this range may be chosen and that amount of occupation skill points spent.
* **Suggested Contacts**: Suggestions of the type of people and/or society that a member of this occupation might know in their day-to-day pursuits. These may serve as ideas for the investigator's backstory.
* **Skills**: The eight skills that define this occupation. Occupation skill points are spent on these skills; Personal Interest skill points may also be used to further top-up these skills if wished. Add such points to the base skill value noted by each skill on the investigator sheet.