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1921 Everest with Mallory Expedition
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I thought Skill Checks were explained pretty well in the Keeper Rulebook. But of course people still have questions.
Here are the basics:
- Roll your skill % or less on percentile dice and succeed. Roll above and fail. The lower the roll the better.
- Crit > Extreme > Hard > Regular > Failure > Fumble > Crit Fumble (house rule)
- Roll 01, Critical success.
- Roll 1/5 your skill %, rounded down, Extreme success.
- Roll 1/2 your skill %, rounded down, Hard success.
- If success, but above 1/2 skill %, then Regular success.
- If failure, but not a fumble, then failure.
- If skill is 49% or less, roll 96-100 then fumble.
- If skill % is 50% or higher, roll 100 then fumble. Also Critical fumble (house rule).
- On failure, not fumble, you can Push to reroll OR Spend Luck (optional rule).
- Push, use another skill or somehow try again. See p.84 Keeper Rulebook.
- There must be time to do the Push whether seconds or hours. You cannot Push combat, Luck rolls, or SAN checks.
- If success, no negative consequences.
- If failure, consider it a Crit fumble. I generally discuss what the Crit fumble would be and offer the deal to the Player. If accepted, then the reroll is done, otherwise the previous die roll will stand.
- Skill improvement check is earned if success.
- Luck may NOT be spent on the reroll.
- Spend Luck (optional rule), spend 1 Luck point per 1% decrease in die roll. See p.99 Keeper Rulebook.
- You cannot spend Luck on SAN checks, Luck rolls, or damage rolls.
- Criticals, fumbles, and firearm malfunctions cannot be modified by Luck points.
- Skill improvement check is not earned if Luck points were used.
- Luck can be spent in combat, but various GMs house rule that you cannot spend Luck in combat or cannot spend Luck in the last act of a scenario.
- Difficulty Level. See p.83 Keeper Rulebook.
- If the opponent's skill or characteristic is 90%+, an Extreme success is needed to beat or succeed in the task.
- If the opponent's skill or characteristic is 50%+, a Hard success is needed.
- Otherwise, a Regular success is needed.
- Use this for most tests except for combat or a named NPC (if the GM desires).
- Opposed Skill Rolls. See p.90 Keeper Rulebook.
- Opposed Rolls should be used for combat or Player vs Player.
- If it's Player vs NPC, then use the Difficulty Level based on the NPCs skill or characteristic.
- Opposed Rolls cannot be pushed.
- Compare the level of success (Crit, Extreme, Hard, Regular, Failure).
- Better result wins.
- Tie, compare skill %, higher wins. If still tie, impasse until next round or both reroll.
- If both fail, then impasse until next round or reroll.
- Bonus or Penalty dice. See p.91 Keeper Rulebook.
- If conditions warrant it, allow a bonus or penalty die. Most times this is used in combat for point blank firearms, outnumbering an opponent, partial cover, maneuver on someone bigger than you, etc.
- If a penalty die is used and the result is a success, a skill improvement check is earned.
- If a bonus die is used and the first die roll is a success, a skill improvement check is earned. Note this is contrary to the rules where if a bonus die is used there is no skill improvement check, but in Pulp Cthulhu, some Pulp Talents skill always have a bonus die, so the PC will never advance that skill. So, as a workaround, if the non-bonus die roll is a success, a skill improvement check is earned. Therefore, if you roll multiple dice at the same time, make sure that the non-bonus die is distinguishable from the bonus dice.
- Bonus/Penalty dice are single ten's dice (00, 10, 20, etc). But Roll20 rolls a complete new set of % dice which is not exactly according to the rules. Overall, it's close enough and we use the die roller for Roll20 as-is without reinterpreting the die rolls.
- How to read the purple die roll on Roll20 character sheet, Accounting skill is at 60%:
- For a push or reroll, reroll all bonus and penalty dice.
- Cooperating. See Physical Human Limits, p.88 Keeper Rulebook. An example of this is lifting a huge weight off of another PC.
- Subtract skill or characteristic of weaker PCs from difficulty level.
- PC with highest skill rolls vs difficulty level. See Difficulty Level above.
- If the die roll is a failure, all the PCs who cooperated will fail as a group.
- First Aid is a special case, max two PCs may try to do it together, both make die rolls. If any one succeeds, then the first aid is successful and apply the first aid once. Any subsequent tries are Pushed rolls which will result in more damage including possibly amputation or death on failure. See p.65 Keeper Rulebook, First Aid.
- Combined Tests. See p.92 Keeper Rulebook. An example of this is requiring two skills such as Physics and Elec Repair in order to succeed (to fix an Atom bomb). Instead of rolling twice, once for each skill, roll once and if the die roll is below both skill %, then it's a success. The reason for this is that if you require multiple rolls, the chances of success are vastly decreased and unfair.
- Group Stealth. See my blog post on Group Stealth.
Q (PB): I have a group climbing Mount Everest and they need to set up ropes beforehand which I'm going to let them use their Climb skill.
Is there a rule for cooperating on skills?
A (MH): See Cooperating, above. Subtract the lowest skill scores from the difficulty level and have the PC with the highest score roll for success. e.g. climbing a difficult area might require 150% difficulty level. So, subtract all the lower skill climbers. Say the 2 people helping are a total of 80%, so the difficulty becomes 70%. See Difficulty Level above. 50%+ difficulty requires a Hard success. So, the PC with the highest score let's say 90% climb can only succeed with a 45%, otherwise all 3 PCs fail. It doesn't mean they fall off the mountain (fumble), but they can't make it up this section of the mountain and must try a different route.
If they do fumble, a 100 roll for this case, then I'd rule they all peel off the mountain and each need to do an emergency arrest. They'll take SAN loss and some HP damage. The number of failures will determine the damage and setback on the climb. 1/2 HP loss = Major Wound where someone broke a limb or rib.
Q (JBB): Has anyone ever done a size roll? What constitutes a SIZ roll?
A (MH): "To see over a wall, to squeeze through a small opening, or even to judge whose head might be sticking up out of the grass, use size." See p.31 Keeper Rulebook, SIZ.
For squeezing through a small opening, reverse the die roll, you must fail your SIZ to squeeze through the opening. The bigger your SIZ, the harder it would be to get through a small opening. Depending on the size of the hole, you may say squeezing through the hole causes scraping damage based on how well they succeed. This also assumes the PC is pushing their equipment ahead of them or dragging it from behind.
For instance, spelunking in a cave and trying to get through a narrow passage:
- Fail = squeezed through, no side-effects.
- Regular Success = minor scrapes, but squeezed through, 1 pt damage.
- Hard Success = failed to squeeze through and major cuts cause 1d3 damage before you gave up.
- Extreme Success = stuck and wedged in, take another round to get out and take 1d6 damage.
- Critical Success = stuck and need help to get out and take 6 pts (max damage).
For looking over a wall, it may not require a die roll. For instance, the GM can rule that if you are SIZ 80+, you can automatically see over the wall; otherwise a Climb, Jump, or something similar is required to do so.
Q: Is it true that you gain SAN for attaining 90% or more in a skill ability?
A: Yes, but only during the investigator development phase. If you create an investigator already with a skill at 90% or more, you will not gain this SAN bonus.
Add 2d6 SAN for mastering a skill at 90%+. This represents an increase in self-esteem. See p.94 Keeper Rulebook, Skills of 90% or More.
Q (JN): My Investigators are too weak in key skills needed to forward the story or have a chance at improving that skill. They're realizing it's important to know how to drive a car so they can go the gun range or spend time in the library. Should I house rule ways to increase their skills?
A: There are many ways to address this. First, there's some misconception here. Skills should only be rolled when failure is important to the story. So, even though PCs didn't put points in Drive, they have the Drive skill at default, which means they can normally drive a car. They only need to roll when in a car chase or when trying to run someone over. Same for Own Language skill, you don't need to roll when speaking with someone. You only need to roll when trying to decipher some old text.
For inexperienced Players, I allow new PCs, after their very first session, to move skill points around from skills they've never used. This rarely happens as I do explain to new Players what skills are normally used.
As a GM, you can also allow failed rolls to succeed at a cost. Especially for key clues. See p.194 Keeper Rulebook, Rolling Dice, Dice Rule 3: Losing a roll doesn't necessarily mean failing a goal.
For between sessions, there is training. See p.98 Keeper Rulebook, Training. So, no house rule is needed.
Q: If a Player switches skills after a failure is it a Pushed roll? For example a PC tries Charm and then switches to Persuade?
A: If the goal is still the same, such as gaining info or a clue, any switch in tactics or rerolls are Pushed rolls.
For social skills: Intimidate, Charm, Persuade, Fast Talk. Any switch in tactics or rerolls are Pushed rolls, even by a different PC. This prevents Players from doing the following: PC 1 tries Charm, failed. PC 2 tries Fast Talk, failed. PC 3 tries Persuade, failed. PC 4 tries Intimidate, failed. Then PC with highest social skill tries a Pushed roll. Yeah, this is an extreme example, but I think you get why this shouldn't be allowed.
I consider any re-try even with a different social skill a Pushed roll because it's really fishy if someone tried to Charm you to get past the door, then moments later, either the same person or their friend tries to Fast Talk through the door. I tell the players that if you do that, that's a Push and if you fail, the doorman gets pissed off and decides to teach you a lesson. e.g. it'll be a combat situation. Of course, if they beat him down, they'll get past him.
As an aside, if you fail a Locksmith (lock pick) and then kick the door in, the STR test for kicking in the door is NOT a Pushed roll as the consequence is that it's noisy and obvious someone broke in. And the original point of trying Locksmith was to quietly and unobtrusively get through the door.
Q: I have a Pulp Talent that automatically gives me a bonus die. "No tick is earned if the roll used a bonus die." See p.94 Keeper Rulebook, Rewards of Experience: The Investigator Development Phase. Does that mean I'll never improve that skill?
A: Yeah, that doesn't seem fair. So, I recommend using different colored dice for the bonus die or dice. And if the original skill roll would have succeeded (without the bonus dice), then that skill earns a tick mark. Furthermore, if penalty dice are used, you must pass the skill check using the penalty dice to get a check mark.
Q: PCs are using Library Use and they fail their rolls. What should I do?
A: If it is a core clue, give them the clue anyway, but rule that this took all their time and they can't research anything else that day. They have to come back the next day to research something else.
If the clue isn't really important, then you can just tell them they find nothing. PCs can also push the Library Use by staying past the closing time, stealing books, breaking into the restricted stacks, etc. Some pushed failures may lead to arrest, being banned from the library, or discovering that the needed pages are indeed missing.
Q: During the Investigator Development Phase, can you increase your skill over 100%?
A: Yes. If you roll above your current skill or roll 96+, increase that skill by 1d10. See p.94 Keeper Rulebook, Rewards of Experience: The Investigator Development Phase, second column.
Also having your skill over 100% doesn't mean you are infallible. It does mean you can still fumble by rolling 100 and during an opposed roll, you can still roll a worse success than your opponent. Also some tests require a Hard or Extreme success.
Q (MW): What's the difference between Acting and Disguise? They seem interchangeable.
A: I would think this matters more based on the PC's profession. A stage actor would have Acting skill. A spy would have Disguise skill. A stage actor might be really good at delivering Shakespeare lines or pretending to be a Star Ship Captain, and in a pinch pretend to be a homeless bum staking out a suspect. A spy would be able to look like a homeless bum during a stake out, change to a respectable businessman in a suit, turn into a woman/man on a short notice, but won't be able to dazzle a crowd with a rousing speech.
Q: If I don't have Cthulhu Mythos can I roll Occult instead? And if that works, why do I need Cthulhu Mythos?
Q (JV): When a scenario says something along the lines of "A successful Psychology roll during their meeting reveals that Hattie is hiding something from the investigator." is the keeper supposed to tell the investigator to make a Psychology roll or is it only for if the investigator specifically says they want to make a psychology roll?
A (MH): I treat some skills as Passive (always happening), so the PCs always get to roll dice. Those skills are: Psychology, Listen, and Spot Hidden (you see something odd vs tossing the place which would be an Active Spot Hidden). If there's some sort of clue or danger, I'd say, "Those in the room roll xyz." Sometimes it's a clue, sometimes it's someone sneaking up on them as a precursor to an attack.
But I don't use Psychology as a 100% lie detector (unless they get a Crit or Extreme success), otherwise you can say, "Hattie seems nervous, she doesn't seem entirely truthful or she's worried about something." Then the PCs need to do a follow up with a social skill.
Q (JV): Many of the scenarios start out needing to gather clues from various establishments: libraries, city hall, courthouse, Miskatonic U library, local newspaper archives, historical society, social/business clubs, etc.
How do you have it so the beginning of every scenario doesn't devolve into the investigators going to 20 or 40 different (but somewhat similar) locations to track down clues?
But also it feels like it would be pointless if you always just give all the clues to the investigators at the first place they stop. Plus some of the clues just wouldn't make any sense as to why you'd find them at a certain place.
How do you balance these extremes?
A (MH): For Library Use, I let every PC do research, but I ask what the topic is. If they roll well, I may give them an unrelated clue (to that topic) they just happen to run across. This takes time. A failed roll means that they spent all day looking up stuff and didn't find anything (or just the core clue). They'll have to return the next day to do more research (or go to a different establishment).
Reduce the number of research locations or just assume the PCs split up and go to different locations based on the topic they choose. If they're looking up birth records, they have to go to City Hall. Newspapers in the library archives or a newspaper's archives. Deed or property info, City Hall. Membership records, the specific club. Just assume the PCs know which location to go to and just have them roll Library Use based on the topic they're looking up. Don't bother with asking them where they're going to.
Generally getting all the clues isn't an issue. Even with all the clues, they'll have to figure what's really going on, unless your clues spells everything out (hopefully not). If the scenario is designed properly, the clues they find would only be for Act 1, when they're in Act 1. Act 2 clues won't be unlocked until they understand what else to research or go to a different location (Act 2).
Q (TJ): If you increase your EDU with an Improvement Check, from 80 to 88 for instance, does your "Language Own" skill increase accordingly?
A (MH): EDU can't increase. There is no Improvement check for characteristics after character generation. If you are talking about during character generation, then you increase your Characteristics before you set your defaults in skills and add skill pts. So, yes, your default Language Own increases to EDU during character generation.
Q: What if your PC ages up to the next age group during a game?
A (MH): I assume if it's unnatural aging, you get the physical penalties (or growth), but not any mental increases. If the game skips years (e.g. 10 years between chapters of a campaign), then I'd say allow the EDU improvement from life experience. If the PC is going through numerous scenarios, then I'd skip the aging part as the scenarios does the wear and tear on the physical and mental reserves of the PC. And check marks from scenarios is how the PC grows in skills. Also between scenarios, if this is an ongoing campaign, PCs can take classes, hobbies, etc which will add skill pts which will in effect be an EDU increase (life of hard knocks and formal training whether from school or work), though it won't be reflected in the EDU score. In my experience this never comes into play as most PCs die within a year or two especially in a long campaign. Either they'll die or they'll make it to the end and that's the end of the series and the PC is retired.
Q (P): I am a life long nerd who has studied math, physics, and chemistry at the college level. I play an uneducated character. When we get evidence while mystery solving, all players are spitballing ideas around the table trying to figure it out and where to go next. We got some chemical evidence recently which involves rather basic stuff, even for 1920s standards, and I know what they are but my street-smart character didn't have school or even public TV programs. I doubt he knows an acid cancels a base, even if he's had alka seltzer for a hangover; he doesn't know what it is doing.
How do you handle this type of thing when it happens to you? I want to suggest things based on my real knowledge because I want to solve the case. Do you offer your real world suggestion to the Professor character in your party and pretend he came up with it? Do you keep mum and maybe miss out on this big clue? Do you whisper to the GM that the scientist should make a knowledge roll?
I like role playing but when your real life specific knowledge set comes up, how do you "suppress" it? I could see this applying to any specific study: literature, military tactics, culinary, history, etc.
A (MH): The issue is if you decide to roll Chemistry skill, the base chance of success is 1%. So, even saying, I have an idea, but can I roll to see if my PC thinks of it is a non-starter.
You can play ignorant, but if you can come up with some in-period example that your character can reasonably come up with that would work, I'd do it. e.g. your hobo character says, "I remember one time when Gus got this battery acid all over him and Jimmy, who's real smart, dumped a box of baking soda on him, and that stopped the burning. Don't know how that works, but do you think this is somehow related?"
This is a legit way of roleplaying. You stay in character and help resolve the mystery.
Q (S): As a GM, how do you decide whether to add a Penalty die or make it a Hard difficulty roll?
A (MH): Set the Difficulty Level first, depending on the difficulty of the obstacle (see below). Then every situational adjustment after that would be bonus/penalty dice.
For example, lockpicking a lock. Is it just a normal door lock? A wall safe? A bank vault? The type determines the Difficulty level.
p.82 Keeper Rulebook, Determining the Difficulty Level tells you a task is only Hard if it challenges a professional. Extreme only if it challenges an expert or is on the edge of humanly possible. So, this doesn't change. The Difficulty Level is set when the obstacle is created. Such as a hardened lock (Hard), a bank vault door (Extreme), a NPC that is Hard to convince (p.83 Keeper Rulebook, based on the opponent's skill).
p.112 Keeper Rulebook, Firearms. The Difficulty Level is set based on Range. Then p.113 Keeper Rulebook, All Firearm Adjustment Modifiers (Aiming, Multiple shots, Point-Blank, etc.) are bonus and penalty dice. Once the Difficulty Level is set (based on range and it normally is Regular difficulty), penalty/bonus dice are added afterwards based on situational modifiers. The only special rule is p.116 Automatic Fire, "If this would incur 3 penalty dice, stick with 2 and raise the difficulty level by one step." So there's a max of 2 penalty dice, once that is reached, raise the difficulty level instead. It is interesting that Point-Blank (which is a Range) adds a bonus die, but I assume that's because there's no Easy difficulty level.
Situation modifiers are: Spot Hidden in a dark room with only a small flashlight (penalty die), Trying to crack a combination safe while noisy party is happening (penalty die). Listening to a conversation on the other side of a wall with a drinking glass held to your ear and wall (bonus die).
Q (S): Is there any guideline for when to use a Penalty die or a call for a Hard or Extreme test?
A (MH): See Determining the Difficulty Level (p.82, Keeper Rulebook) and Bonus Dice and Penalty Dice (p.91, Keeper Rulebook).
Difficulty Level is based on how challenging the task is. For instance, Locksmith on a door lock would require a Regular success. An expensive wall safe, a Hard success. A bank vault door, Extreme.
Penalty Dice is based on prevailing conditions, environment, and available time. The safe is swinging on a rope, penalty die. You only have a few minutes before the guard comes around, penalty die. It's raining and there's thunder and lightning and a guy pointing a gun at your head, penalty die.
For firearms, Firearm Difficulty Levels (p.409, Keeper Rulebook) are based on range (except for Point-blank). Combat situations are all penalty and bonus dice, Firearm Modifiers (p.409, Keeper Rulebook).
Q (GG): How do PCs increase their characteristics? If the answer is "they can't," I will find that very unsatisfying-- after all, in real life, anyone can increase their strength substantially just by going to the gym every day for a few months!
A (MH): Characteristics (stats) don't mean much in CoC, they're mainly there for their initial occupation skill % allocations. The only time it's consistently used is the Build Damage Bonus (DB) for Fighting (Brawl). Even if you increase DEX, your dodge won't go up, it'll be easier to train in the Dodge skill instead. So, you could spend time doing body building and if you increase the right stats, your Build might go up. We only use the stats in the game if the PC didn't have a specific skill, then we might say, roll DEX or (half DEX) to see if you succeed. The only time stats are used are mainly for saving throws, such as CON or (half CON), or STR for lifting something big. In my campaigns, I do let PCs train in skills and get a "check mark" for improvements.
I would let you do STR training, but the gain would be the same process. STR training requires continuous upkeep. Look at Arnie, he's shrunk even though he still trains, but not as hard, so even if you increase your STR, it will decrease over time unless you do upkeep.
For normal training, I'd go with p.98 Keeper Rulebook, Training. Notice most training requires 4 months of dedicated training.
For long cruises or travel, PCs want to read books or train in skeet shooting or a foreign language. Most of the time, I require a POW check to see if they have the will power to continue training while seduced by free food and entertainment. If they succeed, then they get a check mark on that skill for improvement.
In my Miskatonic University campaign, I did the following, since students started with low EDU and less occupation skill % allocations:
Figure out your semester's classes. 3 semesters a year (Fall, Spring, Summer).
A full class schedule for Fall and Spring includes:
- 4 Classes.
- 1 Varsity Sport or Other Activity.
- 1 Optional Additional Activity.
After completing a class each semester:
- Skill Gain: Roll 1d10, add this to a skill related to your course work as long as that skill is below 70% for undergraduates, 90% for graduate work.
For more details go here: https://sites.google.com/view/miskatonic-university/home/classes
Q (GDH): Credit Rating (CR), Spending Level, Cash, Assets. Do you use CR to buy things? Luck to see if it's available? EDU or INT to see where to buy something?
A (MH): p.46 Keeper Rulebook, Cash and Assets explains pretty clearly what they are and how they are used. p.61 Keeper Rulebook, Credit Rating explains what CR is. p.95 Keeper Rulebook, Credit Rating and Investigator Expenditure explains more about CR and its use.
TL;DR. CR is used to influence someone such as getting invited to a social event or using your social status to impress someone. It's not a skill to roll against to buy something. Most people know where to go buy something, so there's no roll for that unless you're looking for something unusual or illegal. For those cases, I might make them roleplay that. I look at their Spending Level for what's normally available such as buying a meal or renting a room; this only becomes an issue if the PC is poor. Most PCs can afford normal items and know where to purchase things. But when they say, I want to hire an armored car, hire 20 thugs, buy a case of dynamite, then I look at Spending Level and Cash. Worse case is they sell some Assets which may affect their CR, but that takes time. Also if they're out in nowhere, they'll have to depend on their cash on hand, maybe there's no Western Union out there to wire a bank to give them money. Most people won't take a personal check from a stranger.
If the item they want is very unlikely, then I'd just say it's not available. If it might be available such as dynamite in a mom and pop rural grocery store (for clearing stumps or dynamite fishing), then I might ask for a Luck roll. If they're looking for a Tommy gun, the answer is no. A shovel, yes.
Q (DV): Question regarding strength or power checks vs an inanimate object like a door or a ward.
If a doorway is empowered by a ward that is supposed to stop demons from entering through it and has a POW of 80 and requires a Hard power roll to bypass. How does the demon roll to get past this ward. For fun let’s say the demon has a power of 100.
A (AM): Demon rolls a Hard POW roll, so in this case hard would be 50%.
Q (DV): But then why does the POW of the ward matter?
A (MH): They pre-calculated it for you, see p.83 Keeper Rulebook. If door had POW 90+, you'd need an Extreme success; POW 50+, Hard success; POW 49 or less, Regular success.
They gave you the POW in case multiple things are working together to break through the door. See p.88 Keeper Rulebook, Physical Human Limits on how cooperating entities can work together and break through a door. If multiple entities were trying to break through, subtract the weakest entity's POW from door's POW. Then figure out if strongest demon still needs a Hard success or a Regular success.
Q (R): I had to create some minor NPC characters on-the-fly (receptionist, barkeep, paperboy, etc) none of which I had stats sheets for so I just let my investigators roll their actions unopposed and base the NPC's reaction of the strength of the role.
In the future though I would like to have some stats I can use for these on-the-fly characters so I can do opposing roles.
Does anyone have suggestions about the best way of going about this?
A (MH): For unnamed NPCs, there is no opposed roll. See p.54 Keeper Rulebook, Skill Points What Do They Mean? and p.83 Keeper Rulebook, Skill Roll: Determining the Difficulty. The PC just needs either a Regular, Hard, or Extreme success based on the opponent's skill level. So, what that means is that the PC just needs a Regular success most of the time to overcome an on-the-fly NPC. The only time it's harder is if the NPC has a high skill, for instance, you're trying to Intimidate a Cop, most likely you'll need a Hard success. Fast Talk a Judge, Hard success. Psychology on a Poker Player, Hard or Extreme success. Out run a Track and Field star, an Extreme success.
Q: On character creation is there a limit on how much you can put into a skill? A Player wants to put 70% into Firearms (Rifle/Shotgun, base 25%) = 95%. This seems like it's too much.
A: Keeper Rulebook p.48. Optional Rule: A Cap on Starting Skill Values. 75%.
Pulp Cthulhu p.60, Skills Over 100%. There's a 100% cap which can be waived by the GM.
On
Dholeshouse.org, there's an optional 75% or 99% cap, which you can't turn off. And it looks like it enforces the 99% cap for Pulp Cthulhu characters.
Apparently there's no cap, but lots of GMs use the optional 75% cap. I personally use it. For Pulp Cthulhu, no cap.
Q (KC): Ticking the Skill Box. Keeper Rulebook, page 94: "No tick is earned if the roll used a bonus die."
Do you let your players tick the box if they use Luck to succeed?
Do you let your players tick the box if they succeed a pushed roll?
A (MH): Actually, I make sure the Player uses a separate colored die for the bonus die, if the regular die roll would have succeeded, I still let them mark the skill improvement box.
If Luck is used, no mark is earned as a stroke of good Luck let them succeed, they wouldn't learn how to repeat that task in the future.
If they Pushed to succeed, they earn a mark because they figured out how to do the task under pressure and might have learned something. Also Pushing entailed major risk if they failed, so I'd reward them for willing to Push a roll.
Q (AA): Conversions from DG (or pre-7e CoC) to CoC 7e should involve a simple multiplication of 5. I have monsters with STR and CON of over 20, for example. That would give them over 100, surely that can’t be right?
A (MH): Actually, correct. Creatures can have STR over 100.
Generally, the STR is used to see if a PC can break the grip of a creature such as a tentacle wrapped around a PC and about to drop that PC into a gaping maw. To break out of the grip, the PC must succeed in a STR test.
There's an upper limit to what a single human can do, past this upper limit, a single PC isn't allowed a die roll. That limit is a PC's STR + 100. If a human had a STR of 90, that human's limit is 90+100 = 190 STR. And that human gets to make a die roll and an Extreme success is needed to beat a creature with STR 190. If the creature's STR is higher than 190, then the only way to break the creature's grip is with multiple PCs cooperating. See p.88 Keeper Rulebook, Physical Human Limits.
Q (GTV): A scenario comes up a lot regardless of what system I'm running, which is, Player A asks to roll something. They fail. Everyone at the table knows they fail, so inevitably another player asks if they can roll the same thing. If I say yes and they fail, a third player asks, etc. Simply by the law of averages, it's very unlikely everyone will fail the same check if you let them all roll. This tends to be something I try to avoid.
I can foresee two main ways in which this could come up in a Call of Cthulhu campaign, and I'm curious how you tend to approach these situations.
1. An NPC tells a lie, and a player, doubting them, asks for a Psychology roll and fails. Do you let everyone else also roll, since, theoretically, they're all individuals with their own ability to see through lies? Or do you only let the first player roll a second time, as a pushed roll? Or do you go a little outside the rules and let one other player roll, but as a pushed roll? Or something else entirely?
2. A classic "I'm trying to accomplish something" scenario. Doesn't really matter what it is, but it's not a passive/reactionary roll like the previous scenario was. Maybe you're using Spot Hidden to look for a clue or a person hiding, fail, and everyone else wants a chance to succeed? Or maybe it's even more active, like you're trying to persuade someone of something, and roll charm/fast talk/etc. and fail, and everyone else wants a chance. Or maybe you're trying to hack a computer, or pick a lock, or whatever.
A (MH): It all depends on the situation. If all the PCs are searching a room, they can all roll Spot Hidden. If all the PCs are listening to a NPC talk, they can all roll Psychology.
If a PC tries a social skill and fails, but another PC tries a different tact (or the same), it's a Pushed roll.
Basically, if done in parallel or a passive ability, rolls can be done by all the PCs. If done in serial, it's a Pushed roll. For instance, hacking a computer, a 2nd try would be a Pushed roll. Same for Locksmith.
Cooperative tasks are different. Look up the example for people working together to move a large rafter. p.88 Keeper Rulebook.
First Aid is also a different situation where two PCs can try to First Aid without penalty, but if they fail, a subsequent try is a Pushed roll. See First Aid (p.65 Keeper Rulebook) and example of First Aid (p.88 Keeper Rulebook).
A (d): If a group of 5 PCs search a room with Spot Hidden in sequence they're virtually guaranteed to be successful. If you want to allow that, then there's little point in rolling dice IMO.
A (MH): I've seen all the PCs fail Spot Hidden. But in my games I don't ask for Spot Hidden in a series, I ask them all to roll Spot Hidden at the same time and then have them tell me their results.
If one PC is searching, but the other Players don't say anything, I do ask, "Is everyone searching?" Usually the answer is, "Yes."
I assume an active search is obvious as a PC is rummaging through the room. At that point, the other PCs could join in. Even though the Spot Hidden roll is done as fast as a die roll, it takes time in the game world. I seriously doubt a PC would idly standby while another PC is tearing a room apart.
Also part of an investigative game is finding clues. I love it when they find clues. In ToC, clues are automatically given if the PCs do the appropriate search. In CoC, core clues should be given out or the GM must make sure to relocate the clue to another location to give the PCs another chance of finding the core clue. If the GM doesn't do this, the game dies because the clue trail goes cold.
A (d): If it's something like Psychology where PC's don't really "cooperate" but try to realize whether someone is lying, I'd ask for a single roll to the PC with higher psychology "if this PC can't discern it, you most certainly don't either", unless they're willing to try for a hard success or take penalty dies.
A (MH): One PC's 10% may not be the same as someone else's 50%. Maybe a PC catches an odd tick when a NPC is speaking, but the other PC doesn't. It's not guaranteed that a PC's 10% is overlapped by another PC's 50%. It could be a Venn Diagram. Also Psychology isn't a lie detector. It helps you detect tells and other indications of distress (or joy). A NPC might be worried about something related to the questioning, but it may not because what they said is an outright lie.
If a PC fails their Psychology roll, I only say, your PC thinks whatever they think. I assume you rolled Psychology because you think something isn't right, but you play back in your mind the conversation and didn't pick up any indication that the NPC was acting out of the ordinary.
You can also get into some very interesting roleplaying when a PC with default Psychology of 10% tells another PC with Psychology 50% that they're wrong and the NPC was being evasive. Depending on your Players this could be fun. The 10% PC could point out the tell the 50% PC missed (facial tick or drumming of fingers stopped), and at that point the 50% PC could concede. Or the 10% PC said they saw a momentary flash of a wry smirk whereas the 50% PC said it was a genuine smile. Who's right? I've been in situations where the 50% PC fumbled and the 10% PC succeeded. Who do you believe (other than looking at the dice rolls with meta-knowledge)?
When a PC fails in the recall of knowledge such as History or Law or Cthulhu Mythos, Other Players generally request for a chance to roll. I don't see why all the PCs can't roll. A PC says out loud, "This reminds me of something related to history, but I don't quite recall. It's just out of reach, I'm getting a blank (PC failed his 70% History die roll)." All the other PCs with low History skills, roll History too. Someone makes their roll. "Didn't beet sugar which can be grown in temperate climates replace sugar cane?" "That's it, how can I totally forget that!"
For Spot Hidden. I had a game where the PCs were in a boat, rowing through a swamp. They're all looking around nervously. The PCs who made their Spot Hidden see the flying Byakhee flitting between the mangrove trees and get to act before it arrives, the other's don't. And if a PC uses their action to shout, "look out," that won't negate the surprise round (as there isn't enough time for those who failed their rolls to react), but since shouting is a free action, the PC can still act (I'm not going to take their action away for a no-op). But if the Byakhee is far enough away (more than a round away), then pointing out the Byakhee will negate the surprise round.
Q (EB): How do you handle a situation where an investigator should probably fail a skill check, but the situation is ambiguous and it isn't obvious that the investigator shouldn't try?
There is a situation in a module where investigators might ask the librarian for a certain book. As written, the librarian is unwilling to share that book, even if investigators pass a persuasion check (or other effort to coerce the librarian). It isn't going to be obvious to the investigators that the librarian is intractable, so it's reasonable for a PC to attempt a persuasion check. In my case, the investigator passed an extreme success on the persuasion check. I didn't want to tell the investigator that the check failed, so we played out that they received the book but it didn't contain any new information that they didn't already have. It felt anti-climactic for an extreme success.
I know the standard advice: that PCs shouldn't be attempting a skill check if the action is impossible. Like, if a PC wants to hold their breath for an hour, you just tell them they won't be able to do that. But some situations can be ambiguous and it isn't obvious that the attempt will be impossible--such as a persuasion check where the PCs might initially realize that the NPC is unwilling to yield.
In a d20 system, I would have just set the DC so high that a PC couldn't pass the check. I don't typically reveal DCs to the players, unless I have a good narrative or tension building reason. But in the Cthulhu d100 system, I wasn't sure what to do.
So how do you handle these situations where you can't calibrate a DC to make something impossibly hard?
A (MH): There's 2 ways to handle it:
- Give them the book anyway. Why not? But I would preface that the Librarian would give them a frightful warning. Something like, there's something unnatural about the book, everyone who's check it out has died horribly. I don't want to be responsible for that. Are you certain? Do you really want to read this book?
- Tell them, you seriously believe that under normal circumstances the Librarian would have given you the book. She just looks at you with this complete look of fear on her face. She tells you she can't. There's tears running down her face. She runs away from you.
The trick is to give the PCs a clue as to why they failed vs the Librarian just saying, "No." And does NOT giving the PCs the book serve the plot? Or is it just another barrier and for some reason the scenario wants the PCs to break in and steal it? If that's the case, why not just give it to them?
Q (FI): How do you feel about rolling some of the skill rolls hidden from Players? I'm thinking specifically about Spot Hidden and similar rolls where the focus of the test is to check something that is not obvious to PCs. As Spot Hidden roll itself is absurd in terms that it signifies that something is there and failure requires players to play along with "we don't know."
A (MH): I don't like rolling for my Players. If something goes wrong, you get blamed for the bad die roll. Also all the Players know you rolled, they'll hear the multiple die rolls and if you forgot to write down their Spot Hidden skill, you'll still need to ask them to hand you their character sheets. Since I allow the optional Luck spend, they'll want to know how much they missed by and how much they'll have to spend to succeed. I prefer to let my Players roll their dice all in parallel. If I rolled, it'll be rolled in serial which takes too much time. This causes a pacing problem during the game. Also you'll now have to remember to tell the Player to check their skill improvement box later. Knowing me, I'd forget to do this. And you'll have to keep track of which skill succeeded for which PC.
One GM I know hands out lined paper with each PC's name on it and have the Players pre-roll 1d100 x 20. Then when there's a hidden roll, the GM just crosses off the die roll. This works, but I find it kind of meh. Rolling dice at the moment is fun for the Player, but divorcing the die roll from the moment of action robs the Player of this moment of joy.
Another option is just have all Players roll 1d100 and you can look up their results. So, they may not know what the skill check is. But since I allow optional Luck spends, they still want to know how much they missed by, and if they should spend Luck and what it is for, so all this obfuscation still gets defeated. At some point, they'll all realize these "blank" skill rolls are generally Spot Hidden or Listen rolls.
I personally trust my Players to not META a failed Spot Hidden. Generally, with 3-5 PCs, someone would roll a success. Or someone would spend enough Luck to succeed. The only time they all fail is when no one wants to spend the Luck (too expensive) or they don't deem it important enough to spend the Luck or Push. Also they know that core clues are always given out, so they don't stress missing a Spot Hidden roll. Though this isn't automatic, if a core clue is available somewhere else, then I don't hand it out, or I may decide to relocate the clue.
When they all fail, there's always the tension of what did we miss? Should we spend Luck or Push? It's sort of fun. I put this in the category of horror where the main characters are in a creepy place and the hairs on the back of their necks stand up and they think they saw something in the darkness and have to decide if they really saw something or whether it was a figment of their imagination.
I also use Spot Hidden for an ambush, so if they all fail, generally, they're surprised and immediately know what the Spot Hidden is for. For active Searches, if they all fail the roll, someone might Push the roll to re-roll.
Other Q&A:
Other posts of interest:
SKILLSHOT
Four Hours to Reno 
