New d20 CoC feat: Doctor of Sciences

Turanil · Jan 30, 2005

I did read once that one of the "wrong things" with the d20 system for Call of Cthulhu, is that it emphasizes combat where feats are concerned (where CoC should not emphasize on combat). Now, when I read some Cthulhu Mythos novels, the concept of doctors of universities comes often. So I decided to create a feat specifically for that. Let me know what you think about it, rule-wise or writingstyle-wise. (And also, lets add your own non-combat feats for d20 CoC in this thread!).

Thanks.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doctor of Sciences

The character has a Ph.D., and thus gains a measure of respect from other doctors and scholars, as well as society in general.
Prerequisite: 8 ranks or more in a Knowledge skill.
Benefit: +2 to the Knowledge skill which is a prerequisite for this feat. The character also gains a +2 to Diplomacy checks when dealing with other scholars and people somehow involved with scientific professions (such as the secretary of a scientist). Lastly, the character gains a +2 bonus to any Bluff check for which he may use his statute of doctor to convince someone of anything related to his field of knowledge, be it true or false, but used to sway others' opinions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT: feat corrected (removed "related to sciences" in Prerequisites: 8 ranks or more in a Knowledge skill related to sciences.

Yuan-Ti · Jan 30, 2005

Turanil, I would make it available to 1st level characters by decreasing the pre-req to 4 ranks in a particular knowledge skill and increasing the bonus to Knowledge Checks in that area to +4.

Turanil · Jan 30, 2005

Prerequisite 4 ranks: This can be debated indeed. How much time and effort are necessary for someone to get a Ph.D. If someone has ideas on the subject do tell it. I nonetheless believe no less than 3rd level thus 6 ranks?...

Another possiblity of prerequisite could be: 4 ranks and Skill Focus feat in said Knowledge skill.

+4 bonus to the skill: Certainly not. Skill focus provides +3 to a single skill. This feat not only provides a bonus to said skill, but also to other skill checks (namely Diplomacy and Bluff) in specific circumstances. As such it cannot be +4, and I think even not +3, but for the latter maybe it could indeed be +3?

Turanil · Jan 30, 2005

With some googling, I found the following webpage containing some d20 CoC feats

I will probably take some of them and tweak them to my taste...

Starglim · Jan 30, 2005

This feat gives a bonus to three skills, rather than two, making it better than the PHB skill-enhancing feats. That would be balanced by giving it prerequisites, and I agree that 4 ranks plus Skill Focus sounds about right.

Turanil · Jan 30, 2005

Starglim said:
This feat gives a bonus to three skills, rather than two, making it better than the PHB skill-enhancing feats. That would be balanced by giving it prerequisites, and I agree that 4 ranks plus Skill Focus sounds about right.

Yes, it gives bonus to three skills rather than two, but in specific circumstances. It's not as if you got +2 to Bluff and diplomacy in all circumstances.

Yuan-Ti · Jan 31, 2005

Turanil said:
Prerequisite 4 ranks: This can be debated indeed. How much time and effort are necessary for someone to get a Ph.D. If someone has ideas on the subject do tell it.

Well, plenty of time and effort... this from Dr. Yuan-Ti. However, this has little to do with levels. As it stands, the feat prevents my first level CoC character from being a 30-year-old Assistant Professor of History. He has to wait until he is 5th level. Depending on your campaign, you might also have to add to the feat -- "the GM must determine whether enough time is available between adventures for the PC to complete a PhD."

Don't get me wrong. I like the feat and the idea. It might be better as a background, though, now that I think about it.

Ron · Jan 31, 2005

Yuan-Ti said:
Well, plenty of time and effort... this from Dr. Yuan-Ti. However, this has little to do with levels. As it stands, the feat prevents my first level CoC character from being a 30-year-old Assistant Professor of History. He has to wait until he is 5th level. Depending on your campaign, you might also have to add to the feat -- "the GM must determine whether enough time is available between adventures for the PC to complete a PhD."

Don't get me wrong. I like the feat and the idea. It might be better as a background, though, now that I think about it.

You might consider that he is a brillant Ph.D. candidate who got a position in a small college a year before finishing his dissertation. That would be an interesting subplot to the character.

Turanil · Jan 31, 2005

Yuan-Ti said:
Well, plenty of time and effort... this from Dr. Yuan-Ti. However, this has little to do with levels. As it stands, the feat prevents my first level CoC character from being a 30-year-old Assistant Professor of History. He has to wait until he is 5th level. Depending on your campaign, you might also have to add to the feat -- "the GM must determine whether enough time is available between adventures for the PC to complete a PhD."

Don't get me wrong. I like the feat and the idea. It might be better as a background, though, now that I think about it.

So maybe this:
Prerequisites: Either 6 ranks or more in a Knowledge skill related to sciences; or 4 ranks and the Skill Focus feat in that Knowledge skill.

So a young assistant professor of history can take it at 1st level, but this took much dedication and effort (so burned his two 1st level feats there); while others take a more leisurely pace to get it.

Another method would be to create a new feat (and thus leave the prerequisite for Doctor of Sciences at 8+ ranks):

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intense Learning

The character is forcefully focused into academic learning, and spends all his time at his desk and in libraries learning everything he can on a single subject he is maniacally obsessed with.
Prerequisites: Int 13+, age 24+
Benefit: The maximum number of ranks the character may invest in a single class Knowledge skill equals 7+ his current level.
Normal: The maximum ranks one may put into a class skill equals 3 + his current level.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I personally prefer this second solution.

Kelleris · Jan 31, 2005

"A Knowledge skill related to the sciences"?

Where's the humanities love? Especially considering that most of Lovecraft's doctors have a Ph.D. in History, or Archaeology, or Some Language You've Never Heard Of.

I think playing a philosophy professor in a CoC game would be a blast, and I'd take something like this.

"Yes, of course, but there's no way Yog-Sothoth can be the Way, the Gate, and the Key. It's a conflict of ontological categories! Now just leave me with this book so I can look it over, it's not like there could possibly be anything dangerous in something so transparently false..."