2d20 Achtung! Cthulhu Is Here

Modiphius has been working on the 2d20 version of Achtung! Cthulhu for nearly two years. A pulp-action game cinematic heroes and Cthuloid terrors, it was originally a Call of Cthulhu setting, and a Savage Worlds setting, set in World War II, with Allied heroes fighting evil Nazis and their supernatural allies.

The new edition, launched today, is powered by Modiphius' 2d20 system, and is available from their web store. The launch line-up includes Player and Gamester Guides, a collector's edition, dice, and a GM screen.

Better yet, there's a free Quickstart! It's called A Quick Trip to France, and has the heroes investigating a sleepy French village, a mysterious chateau, and a villainous Nazi organization. it's 48 pages, and includes a starter ruleset, the adventure, and pre-generated characters.

Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 Quickstart

Dare you face the terror lurking at the heart of Saint Sulac? Join a band of intrepid Allied agents as they investigate the mystery gripping this obscure corner of France. Who are the mysterious Nazi Black Sun? Why have they overrun this sleepy French village? What are they doing with the...

www.modiphius.net

 

[TwiceBorn2]

This would have been perfect for Pulp Cthulhu. Oh well, I'm sure Modiphius will do a 2d20 version of Pulp Cthulhu itself at some point, when that happens the 2d20 Ouroboros will be complete and the stars will finally be right.

Momentum Fthagn

Actually, they are developing another print run of the core A!C books for use with Call of Cthulhu. Modiphius recently ran a survey asking people if they would prefer to see a CoC7, Pulp Cthulhu or Savage Worlds conversion... as far as I know, they haven't confirmed one over the others at this point.

 

[lyle.spade]

Big WW2 buff and I've never played a WW2 game as an adult. Must be fix this.

DO IT...give in to the urge to spend.

 

[Crusadius]

Pre-ordered already - both Player's Guide and Gamemaster's Guide. Player's Guide available to download.

I just couldn't justify getting the deluxe all-in-one black book.

And shipping ouch! But did it anyway.

 

[Bolongo]

I might be missing something, but I can't find any way to drive characters insane in these rules?

 

[wicked cool]

Can you give an example of how the second d20 works? In older systems combat is very deadly especially if monsters involved. Is this system more focused on combat? I second Bolongos' question on insanity

 

[Augreth]

Downloaded the QS, liked it, but the editing is a little lacking :-/ Both spelling and grammar wise, but also in read aloud text like this: „...as a huge roll of thunder erupts overhead, followed quickly by a bright lightning strike.“ last time I checked, light was faster than sound

 

[lyle.spade]

Can you give an example of how the second d20 works? In older systems combat is very deadly especially if monsters involved. Is this system more focused on combat? I second Bolongos' question on insanity

2d20's core mechanic is stat + skill, roll low, with a twist. Stats are usually high single or low double-digit numbers, and skills are always single digit, yielding a Target Number of somewhere between 8ish and the low teens. Let's say your Insight (a stat) and Observation (a skill in AC) added together equal 13. You roll two d20s, and for each 13 or below you roll, you earn a single success. Amy 1s rolled count as two successes. The GM determines the Difficulty of a task and assigns a number from 0-5, which is the number of successes you need to complete the task successfully. Extra successes beyond what are needed are converted to "Momentum," which is an economy of points that you can either use immediately to shape the outcome of the task (more damage, knocked the enemy prone, learned more info, did the job faster, etc.), or banked in a party pool, usable by other players.

Thus, one roll determines success or failure and provides the player (or GM, in the case of NPCs) with degree of success by means of the Momentum mechanic. Also, any 20s rolled create "Complications," which the GM uses to make your life difficult, whether you were successful or not.

There are more details to it, but that's the core mechanic. Existing (party pool) Momentum can be used before a roll to buy additional d20s if the Difficulty is really high or you want to try to generate lots of Momentum (say, you need to do a ton of damage all at once, so you buy more d20s (up to a max. if five in a single roll) in hopes of generating lots of Momentum so you can convert that to extra damage.

As for Insanity, AC characters have a single, combined Stress track - that is, mental and physical HP. As you take mental or physical damage you can suffer Wounds, which occur when you take 5 or more damage at once. When you take a Wound you suffer add'l story-based consequences. If you run out of Stress AND have more physical than mental Wounds, you are at risk of dying; if the reverse is the case, you're teetering on the brink of insanity. The simple answer is that yes, if your character is taken out by mental wounds and not saved, you go nuts and your character is lost....becoming a gibbering loon.

 

[Augreth]

The rules on the momentum pool are not clear in the QS. I wish they’d specify that there is only one momentum pool for the whole party, or that each character has its own momentum pool. It mostly reads like the former is the case, but in the section on bonus momentum it says it „cannot be saved to a momentum pool“.

 

[Bolongo]

As for Insanity, AC characters have a single, combined Stress track - that is, mental and physical HP. As you take mental or physical damage you can suffer Wounds, which occur when you take 5 or more damage at once. When you take a Wound you suffer add'l story-based consequences. If you run out of Stress AND have more physical than mental Wounds, you are at risk of dying; if the reverse is the case, you're teetering on the brink of insanity. The simple answer is that yes, if your character is taken out by mental wounds and not saved, you go nuts and your character is lost....becoming a gibbering loon.

So if you're not taken out, your mental wounds will heal? Do they heal as quickly as physical damage, or is it more difficult (as in the classical game)?

 

[Crusadius]

The rules on the momentum pool are not clear in the QS. I wish they’d specify that there is only one momentum pool for the whole party, or that each character has its own momentum pool. It mostly reads like the former is the case, but in the section on bonus momentum it says it „cannot be saved to a momentum pool“.

... which, I think, means you should spend it immediately.

I personally prefer individual Momentum pools myself so I wish the game didn't use a group pool. Some 2D20 games have this. But c'est la vie.