CoC d20 House Rules

[Obryn]

So, I'm looking to get a Call of Cthulhu d20 game going before long. I'll run a prelude in 80's Afghanistan, followed up by a campaign in 2008, Chicago. I ran CoC for a few years, and it was probably the best campaign I've ever run. I tweaked it a bit even back then, and I'm looking to tweak it even more. My goal is to keep the game rules-minimal, give slightly more differentiation between the pseudo-classes, tighten the skill lists, and decrease PC death rate to make a campaign stable - while keeping combat scary and dangerous. I've added some of the skill stuff from Pathfinder, since I think that's one of the areas Paizo really got it right. Also, since CoC is very skill-heavy, I let skill points go farther.


FYI, I run a fairly pulp-ish version of Call of Cthulhu. I like action and shootouts, so I want PCs to be fairly durable. Not D&D-durable, but more durable than the default in most Call of Cthulhu games.

(1) Statistics
• Strength applies to melee hit/damage. Also, a Strength bonus (but not a penalty) applies to Vitality Points
• Dexterity applies to AC, Reflex saves, Initiative, and Missile To-Hit.
• Constitution applies to Fortitude saves. It also equals Wound Points.
• Intelligence grants bonus skill points and influences many skills. Essential to learn magic.
• Wisdom (x5) gives starting Sanity. It also affects Will saves and perception.
• Charisma is used for Psychic abilities, and affects interpersonal interaction. If I need a "Luck" characteristic, this will be it.

Choose one of the following arrays:
16, 15, 14, 12, 11, 8 or
18, 14, 12, 11, 10, 8 or
16, 14, 14, 13, 10, 10
(Or, use a standard d20 point-buy, 31 points, but no attributes under 8; and only 1 attribute under 10.)

(2) VP/WP
Starting characters have 6 + Strength Bonus VP. At every level, they gain either 3 + Str Bonus, or 1d6 + Str Bonus. A strength penalty never decreases a character's VP. Note: Strength was the ugly duckling of characteristics in my previous CoC games. I wanted to make Con less of an uber-stat, give Strength more utility, and didn't want to overly penalize characters with low strength.

Characters have Wound Points equal to their Constitution score.

Cultists and the like will follow this same scheme, unless they’re basically mooks or minions, at which point they just have HPs as normal. Monsters don’t worry about distinctions like this and have HPs.

• In most circumstances, characters will take VP damage before taking any WP damage. A character with 0 VP still acts at full capacity.
• A character, upon taking any WP damage, needs to make a Fortitude save vs. DC (5 + WP Damage Just Taken). Failure means they are stunned and cannot act next round.
• A character with 0 WP is unconscious and may be dying. They never go negative, but excess damage makes the saving throw more difficult. Immediately upon hitting 0, they must make a Fort save vs. DC (15 + WP Damage Just Taken). Failure means death. Every round, they must make a DC 10 Fortitude save to survive. DC 15 will stabilize. Any additional hits mean a new save vs. DC (15 + WP Damage Just Taken), and they need to make new saves on their turn. Correctly-applied first aid can stabilize a character, and can possibly save a just-killed character from death (Heal DC 25, and they must subsequently get serious medical attention within 20-120 minutes. Plainly, devoured or torn-in-half characters cannot be stabilized).
• Confirmed critical hits (which threaten on a 19-20 for most deadly weapons, or 20 on less-lethal weapons) damage Wound Points directly. Mythos creatures simply take maximum damage instead of WP. Mooks and minions are killed outright.

VP recovers at the rate of 1 point per level per hour of rest. WP recovers at the flat rate of 1 point per day. Both these recovery times can be doubled with proper medical care.

(3) Skills
The Skill List is somewhat condensed. Also, the following rules apply…
• All characters gain 3 Ranks in all 12 of their Class Skills. All skills are capped at (3+Level) Ranks.
• There is no penalty for assigning Ranks to Cross-Class Skills.
• 1st-level characters get 8 + Int Modifier skill points to assign.
• On advancing a level, all characters get 8 + Int Modifier skill points to assign.

(4) Feats
All characters start out with 2 Feats, but each must be chosen from different Groups. Feats are gained at all odd levels.

(5) Character Types
• Offense-Option characters gain 1 free Weapon Proficiency, 1 good save, high Attack Bonus, and 1 extra Combat Feat at 1st level.
• Defense Option characters gain 2 good saves, a level-based AC bonus, low Attack Bonus, and 1 extra Skill Feat or Defensive Feat at 1st level.


FYI, I have condensed the skill list a bit and categorized it for easier use.

I've also categorized the feat list, with the following modifications:

Skill Development: +2 to 2 related skills
Skill Training: 4+Int Mod skill points
Toughness: +3 VP
Durability: +3 WP
Sanity: Regain 1d6+4 Sanity, limited to your starting Sanity, less any permanent losses due to Mythos knowledge.


So... Please, folks, I've been out of the basic d20 system. Any critiques are welcome, keeping in mind that this is a pseudo-pulpish vision of CoC.

-O

 

[ValhallaGH]

It all looks pretty solid, mechanically. A bit of differentiation between character "classes", vastly toughened characters (that should fear combat), and a lot of skill growth capacity. Your investigators will definitely be above the human norm; perfect for a Delta Green type campaign, though you could go a lot of different ways with it.

Overall, I think you've got the basis of a very pulp game of CoC. The only real question is what challenges you face them with, and how those challenges support your desired tone. Given what you've presented here, I think you'll do a very good job of designing those challenges.

Good Luck.

 

[Obryn]

It all looks pretty solid, mechanically. A bit of differentiation between character "classes", vastly toughened characters (that should fear combat), and a lot of skill growth capacity. Your investigators will definitely be above the human norm; perfect for a Delta Green type campaign, though you could go a lot of different ways with it.

Overall, I think you've got the basis of a very pulp game of CoC. The only real question is what challenges you face them with, and how those challenges support your desired tone. Given what you've presented here, I think you'll do a very good job of designing those challenges.

Good Luck.

Thanks!

I am actually very unfamiliar with Delta Green, but I suspect it might be similar to the setup I've been using and will use in the future. I think it's kinda like Dark*Matter's Hoffman Institute, from what little I've read, but again - I'm pretty unfamiliar with that, too.

Basically, the PCs have all had some form of tragedy happen to them. It varies from PC to PC; the players come up with it. Shortly thereafter, they receive an envelope in the mail with a job offer, working for a group called The Order. Needless to say, they've accepted... or if not, they can go ahead and make a new character who has. It's at least a nation-wide - and likely world-wide - organization with deep pockets and extensive ties to local and federal governments.

It's kind of a shady organization, and some questions (like whether or not The Order caused whatever tragedies led to the PCs' hire) can lead to internal as well as external investigations. Also, it got blowed up pretty good in my previous campaign. The whole organization got taken over by the Shan (insects from shaggai), and cleansing that infection (in wonderful TPK style) was the culmination of the last campaign.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback!

-O

 

[wolfen fenrison]

Copied from Wikipedia
Delta Green takes place in the mid-to-late 1990s. The game revolves around a secret organization called Delta Green (created by the U.S. Government following the covert raid on the town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts as alluded to in H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow over Innsmouth) spearheaded by elements of the United States government. Its members are dedicated to combating the mind-rending horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos. The organization works undercover by contacting and gathering members across the wide range of U.S. government agencies like the FBI, ATF, CDC, and DEA. It appears to have "gone rogue" somewhere in the 1980s following the "deal" struck by the Reagan administration with the "Greys" (actually a facade for Mi-go) via the offices of the Majestic-12 governmental UFO conspiracy group. The group was introduced in the seventh issue of The Unspeakable Oath, a Call of Cthulhu fanzine created by Pagan Publishing, in early 1993. Four years later, the Delta Green supplement appeared and spawned a number of its own modules and novels.

I luv what you've done so far, looks like your campaign is chock full of win.
Some thoughts, starting ability array: 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8

 

[Obryn]

Copied from Wikipedia
Delta Green takes place in the mid-to-late 1990s. The game revolves around a secret organization called Delta Green (created by the U.S. Government following the covert raid on the town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts as alluded to in H.P. Lovecraft's The Shadow over Innsmouth) spearheaded by elements of the United States government. Its members are dedicated to combating the mind-rending horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos. The organization works undercover by contacting and gathering members across the wide range of U.S. government agencies like the FBI, ATF, CDC, and DEA. It appears to have "gone rogue" somewhere in the 1980s following the "deal" struck by the Reagan administration with the "Greys" (actually a facade for Mi-go) via the offices of the Majestic-12 governmental UFO conspiracy group. The group was introduced in the seventh issue of The Unspeakable Oath, a Call of Cthulhu fanzine created by Pagan Publishing, in early 1993. Four years later, the Delta Green supplement appeared and spawned a number of its own modules and novels.

Thanks for the info. After that post last night, I decided to dig around a bit. And it's ... somewhat similar, but The Order is definitely a private organization that has simply infiltrated various governments at some levels.

In my previous campaign, it had offices scattered here and there. In Chicago, it had a lot of pull - but its authority wasn't absolute. In Tucson, they were actively antagonistic with the local government. In Salem, OR, they basically ran the place.

I think it's a lot closer to the Dark*Matter setting in tone. All I can say is that I want the PCs to be both glad of their employment (it makes resources and equipment easy to come by), but also deeply suspicious of whoever is pulling the strings.

I luv what you've done so far, looks like your campaign is chock full of win.
Some thoughts, starting ability array: 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8

Thanks! I gave these house rules a test drive last night for a one-shot, and it looks like everything worked out splendidly.

-O

 

[Obryn]

Just as a note, apropos of nothing, I found my original campaign "pitch" from back in 2004. I plan to update this for the new campaign and move the timeline forward to 2008, while assuming that everything that happened in the last campaign really happened. Only one player is still around, but he'll be surprised to learn that his old boss, Ann, is in charge again - after slowly becoming one of the main nemeses last time around.

[sblock]
The Order

You come from all walks of life.

Professors, criminals, soldiers, and fortune-tellers… Private eyes, musicians, hackers, occultists, and doctors… In each of your lives, something happened. Something which shook you to your core, which destroyed life as you know it. It may have been the death of a loved one, loss of your job, or simply witnessing something so horrifying that you didn’t think life could go on any longer.

Then, the envelope arrived.

It didn’t come through the post office or any delivery service. It was simply there where you would be sure to find it. It was addressed directly to you, a plain manila envelope with neat, felt-tip writing announcing your name.

Inside was an amazing offer. Many of you probably felt it was a joke or a cruel trick. But all of you kept it as secret as the paperwork inside insisted. And, for reasons of your own, you accepted. You were promised a new career – a new life, should you wish it. The lure of adventure may have called you. Maybe, you had an altruistic desire to help. Or, just maybe, it was a step up from your drab, everyday life that had been changed so utterly.

You now work for a group called The Order. Maybe you still hold onto some of your own life. Maybe you still have friends and family that you knew from before. Or maybe the Order has given you a new life and a new identity. The fact that you are anything other than what you seem is your most closely guarded secret. You’ve been told that anyone who knows of what you or your group does will be put in horrible danger. And your life may be put in danger, as well.

Of your employer or employers, you know little. You know that you work out of an office in the Stone Container building and that, by and large, you spend most of the day looking through newspapers and magazines. You call numbers, give cryptic messages to people you don’t know, and occasionally follow people. Occasionally, you do nothing more than watch television. Your boss gives you assignments, and you complete them – either in groups or singly.

You know her only as Ann. She’s a short woman, in her late forties or early fifties, with red hair, glasses, and no apparent sense of humor or mirth. You don’t know if Ann is her real name or an alias, but from what you know about your job, your money is on the latter. She says little, shares few secrets, and normally leaves you to your own devices. She’s seldom in the office, in fact, and you have no knowledge of where she goes otherwise.

You know that she has superiors, but their identities are even more mysterious than hers. You don’t know if the Order is a government branch or just an extremely wealthy private organization. All of your attempts to investigate it so far have failed. You have heard of other groups such as yours, but their identities, locations, and activities are largely secret as well.

What you do know is this. First, you now want for almost nothing. While your resources are far from limitless, you (and your family if you have one) are kept well-fed and protected. Second, you’ve been able to piece together glimpses – like a mad patchwork – of a world that’s more curious than you could have ever guessed. Finally, you are certain that what you’re doing is somehow helping people without their ever knowing it.

To date, you have seen nothing amazing or incredible, and little in fact that has been out of the ordinary.

All of that is about to change.


Characters

Characters will be generated in a group setting. Feel free to come up with a character concept on your own, but we’ll generate them as a group to make sure you have an operable team. Remember that, in Call of Cthulhu, combat is as likely to get your characters killed as it is to save them. Advancement will be based on survival and accomplishing goals, not on killing monsters. Oh, and you probably would not want any loot they should have. In short – this isn’t D&D.

Feel free to use anything as a character concept, but remember that this is a more serious horror game. So, a clown or something like that is probably not appropriate. (But if you have your heart set on one – let me know and we should be able to work something out.) Your character should be competent at some occupation; otherwise they would not have been recruited in the first place.

I will allow one psychic character in the group, should someone wish to play one.

If you’re working on a character concept, think on the following questions:

• What did you do before working for the Order?
• Are you originally from Chicago? Or are you from elsewhere?
• What happened to you to persuade you to make this drastic change for your life and work for an organization like this?
• Do you still stay in touch with old friends and family? If not, do they know what happened to you?
• What are your thoughts on the jobs you are doing now? What do you think about the Order?

Be prepared to be flexible, however. It won’t do to have four soldiers or four archaeologists.

Don’t feel like you need to have all the answers, either; we can develop these over the course of play, as well.

All characters will start out using the rules in the House Rules document.
[/sblock]

As a note, Ann is probably among my top 3 favorite NPCs ever. I couldn't resist bringing her back for that reason - and because it will make one of my players completely flip out.

-O

 

[wolfen fenrison]

I have both the d20 versions of CoC and Dark*Matter, they work very well together, in fact I wound up re casting some of the d20 modern organizations as mythos cults;

Six-Fingered Hand (d20 Menace Manual); Cult of Azathoth

Infinite Serpents (Urban Arcana); Cult of Yig

Order of the Crimson Dawn (d20 Past); Cult of Tsathoggua

Mindwreckers (Urban Arcana); Cult of Cthulhu

Crimson Scorpions (d20 Menace Manual); Cult of Ithaqua

Eyes of the Beholder (Urban Arcana); Cult of Hastur

Spawn of Kyuss (Urban Arcana); Cult Glaaki

 

[rgard]

Your campaign sounds like alot of fun!

I'm not intending to go political here, but are you planning to have real life current events in the campaign? I ask as it could be fun to weave the open Senate seat controversy into the campaign. Maybe cultists are trying to buy the seat? Maybe the IL Govenor is a cultist himself?

Also, John Podesta (the President-elect's transition co-chair) has been in favor of disclosing what the government knows about UFOs. So you could have factions in the government as allies of your PC's organization.

Just some thoughts.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Obryn]

Your campaign sounds like alot of fun!

I'm not intending to go political here, but are you planning to have real life current events in the campaign? I ask as it could be fun to weave the open Senate seat controversy into the campaign. Maybe cultists are trying to buy the seat? Maybe the IL Govenor is a cultist himself?

Also, John Podesta (the President-elect's transition co-chair) has been in favor of disclosing what the government knows about UFOs. So you could have factions in the government as allies of your PC's organization.

Just some thoughts.

Thanks,
Rich

Thanks!

I actually steer clear of most real-world events. While I might change this later, I don't see much profit in it... There's a "government" and it's been infiltrated - but I don't want to distract the game with current events.

I mean, it might be fun to have - as part of the adventure - Bush or Obama as insane cultists... but I think it also turns the game into satire. What's more, there's no quicker way to kill a Call of Cthulhu mood than stopping everything while my players have a political debate.

The closest I got in my last game is that they heard news reports that indicated "the president" was probably infested by the Shan. I steered clear of naming the president or linking any current events.

In short, I think CoC works best if it's just a half-step away from the real world, with most names & faces stripped away. The players can reconstruct stuff from there in their own heads.

Now, with that said, I think past events are fair game. I'm going to run a prelude micro-campaign that will likely take place in 1982 or 1983 northern Afghanistan, while the Russians and muhajideen are duking it out just a few hundred miles away.

-O

 

[Job]

For a pbp game that I've been running using d20 COC, I added and adjusted a few feats from d20 Modern so that characters who concentrate on intellectual persuits will have more interesting development options.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/2554113-post9.html

Your players might find these options fun.

Job.