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<blockquote data-quote="Obryn" data-source="post: 4605746" data-attributes="member: 11821"><p>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.</p><p></p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>(1) Statistics</p><p>• Strength applies to melee hit/damage. Also, a Strength bonus (but not a penalty) applies to Vitality Points</p><p>• Dexterity applies to AC, Reflex saves, Initiative, and Missile To-Hit.</p><p>• Constitution applies to Fortitude saves. It also equals Wound Points.</p><p>• Intelligence grants bonus skill points and influences many skills. Essential to learn magic.</p><p>• Wisdom (x5) gives starting Sanity. It also affects Will saves and perception.</p><p>• Charisma is used for Psychic abilities, and affects interpersonal interaction. If I need a "Luck" characteristic, this will be it.</p><p></p><p>Choose one of the following arrays: </p><p>16, 15, 14, 12, 11, 8 or</p><p>18, 14, 12, 11, 10, 8 or </p><p>16, 14, 14, 13, 10, 10</p><p>(Or, use a standard d20 point-buy, 31 points, but no attributes under 8; and only 1 attribute under 10.)</p><p></p><p>(2) VP/WP</p><p>Starting characters have 6 + Strength <strong>Bonus </strong>VP. At every level, they gain either 3 + Str Bonus, or 1d6 + Str Bonus. A strength penalty never decreases a character's VP. <em>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.</em></p><p></p><p>Characters have Wound Points equal to their Constitution score.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>• In most circumstances, characters will take VP damage before taking any WP damage. A character with 0 VP still acts at full capacity.</p><p>• 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.</p><p>• 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).</p><p>• 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.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>(3) Skills</p><p>The Skill List is somewhat condensed. Also, the following rules apply…</p><p>• All characters gain 3 Ranks in all 12 of their Class Skills. All skills are capped at (3+Level) Ranks.</p><p>• There is no penalty for assigning Ranks to Cross-Class Skills.</p><p>• 1st-level characters get 8 + Int Modifier skill points to assign.</p><p>• On advancing a level, all characters get 8 + Int Modifier skill points to assign.</p><p></p><p>(4) Feats</p><p>All characters start out with 2 Feats, but each must be chosen from different Groups. Feats are gained at all odd levels.</p><p></p><p>(5) Character Types</p><p>• Offense-Option characters gain 1 free Weapon Proficiency, 1 good save, high Attack Bonus, and 1 extra Combat Feat at 1st level.</p><p>• 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.</p><p></p><p></p><p>FYI, I have condensed the skill list a bit and categorized it for easier use.</p><p></p><p>I've also categorized the feat list, with the following modifications:</p><p></p><p>Skill Development: +2 to 2 related skills</p><p>Skill Training: 4+Int Mod skill points</p><p>Toughness: +3 VP</p><p>Durability: +3 WP</p><p>Sanity: Regain 1d6+4 Sanity, limited to your starting Sanity, less any permanent losses due to Mythos knowledge.</p><p></p><p></p><p>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. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>-O</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Obryn, post: 4605746, member: 11821"] 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 [B]Bonus [/B]VP. At every level, they gain either 3 + Str Bonus, or 1d6 + Str Bonus. A strength penalty never decreases a character's VP. [I]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.[/I] 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 [/QUOTE]
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