Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Call of Cthulhu 7th Ed - Skill Checks Q&A

 

1921 Everest with Mallory Expedition


I thought Skill Checks were explained pretty well in the Keeper Rulebook. But of course people still have questions.

Here are the basics:
  1. Roll your skill % or less on percentile dice and succeed. Roll above and fail. The lower the roll the better.
    1. Crit > Extreme > Hard > Regular > Failure > Fumble > Crit Fumble (house rule)
    2. Roll 01, Critical success.
    3. Roll 1/5 your skill %, rounded down, Extreme success.
    4. Roll 1/2 your skill %, rounded down, Hard success.
    5. If success, but above 1/2 skill %, then Regular success.
    6. If failure, but not a fumble, then failure.
    7. If skill is 49% or less, roll 96-100 then fumble.
    8. If skill % is 50% or higher, roll 100 then fumble. Also Critical fumble (house rule).
  2. On failure, not fumble, you can Push to reroll OR Spend Luck (optional rule).
    1. Push, use another skill or somehow try again. See p.84 Keeper Rulebook.
      1. There must be time to do the Push whether seconds or hours. You cannot Push combat, Luck rolls, or SAN checks.
      2. If success, no negative consequences.
      3. 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.
      4. Skill improvement check is earned if success.
      5. Luck may NOT be spent on the reroll.
    2. Spend Luck (optional rule), spend 1 Luck point per 1% decrease in die roll. See p.99 Keeper Rulebook.
      1. You cannot spend Luck on SAN checks, Luck rolls, or damage rolls.
      2. Criticals, fumbles, and firearm malfunctions cannot be modified by Luck points.
      3. Skill improvement check is not earned if Luck points were used.
      4. 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.
  3. Difficulty Level. See p.83 Keeper Rulebook.
    1. If the opponent's skill or characteristic is 90%+, an Extreme success is needed to beat or succeed in the task.
    2. If the opponent's skill or characteristic is 50%+, a Hard success is needed.
    3. Otherwise, a Regular success is needed.
    4. Use this for most tests except for combat or a named NPC (if the GM desires).
  4. Opposed Skill Rolls. See p.90 Keeper Rulebook.
    1. Opposed Rolls should be used for combat or Player vs Player.
    2. If it's Player vs NPC, then use the Difficulty Level based on the NPCs skill or characteristic.
    3. Opposed Rolls cannot be pushed.
    4. Compare the level of success (Crit, Extreme, Hard, Regular, Failure).
      1. Better result wins.
      2. Tie, compare skill %, higher wins. If still tie, impasse until next round or both reroll.
      3. If both fail, then impasse until next round or reroll.
  5. Bonus or Penalty dice. See p.91 Keeper Rulebook.
    1. 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.
    2. If a penalty die is used and the result is a success, a skill improvement check is earned.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. How to read the purple die roll on Roll20 character sheet, Accounting skill is at 60%: 
    6. For a push or reroll, reroll all bonus and penalty dice.
  6. Cooperating. See Physical Human Limits, p.88 Keeper Rulebook. An example of this is lifting a huge weight off of another PC.
    1. Subtract skill or characteristic of weaker PCs from difficulty level.
    2. PC with highest skill rolls vs difficulty level. See Difficulty Level above.
    3. If the die roll is a failure, all the PCs who cooperated will fail as a group.
    4. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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?

A: Here's the Q&A for Occult vs Cthulhu Mythos skill. If TLDR, it's up to the GM. Generally, no. But if the GM is being nice, maybe an extreme Occult success might give a hint of the truth.


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).

Now, if you want to make Library Use more exciting, you can do the following, but sparingly: 
Library Use or That was Boring.


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:
  1. 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?
  2. 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.


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Sunday, August 09, 2020

Morgan's GenCon Online 2020

GenCon Online 2020 was held July 30 - Aug 2, 2020. Due to Covid concerns, GenCon was not held in Indianapolis, but online. GenCon did not collect any badge fees, but kept their pay to play model for games.

That said, I really like this new model. Pelgrane Press charged $2 per seat for 4 hour games. Chaosium charged $6 per seat for 5 hour games, but gave each attendee $3 in online store credit. GenCon took a percent of the proceeds. One of my friends played in 8 games and paid only $18. Much cheaper than purchasing a badge, about $100.

I'm hoping my local conventions turn to this model if they turn into online conventions.

I ran "Four Hours to Reno" 3 times for Chaosium and watched a fair number of seminars.

Though a number of my sessions were back-to-back, I was able to get to my games on time since I didn't have to physically rush to my game table.

My game table on Roll20.net for Four Hours to Reno

Seminars

Presenters used YouTube live, FB Live, and Twitch. From my experience, Twitch was the best platform. FB Live was very flaky. After GenCon, some seminars got published on YouTube.

I found that it was best to signup for all seminars you're interested in because only then would you get a link to the presentation and all the platforms let you view the presentation later. e.g. if you were late, you could rewind and watch it from the beginning. Without the link, you'd have difficulty finding the seminar. Some videos you'll need to fast forward past a bit of dead start time.

I watched more than the ones listed below, but left out the ones I disliked. Some were light in content or were just a sales pitch for their product.


Japanese Stories and History by Laura Baugh

Both of these are highly recommended.

Storytime from Japanese History (video): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/695415092
Japanese Folklore and Mythology (video): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/69532011


NSDM (The National Security Decision Making Game)

Global Hotspots was the most interesting talk.

Global Hotspots 2020 (video): https://youtu.be/8ClaoGTUkik
Intersection of Cyber War and Statecraft (video): https://youtu.be/j3_ZxgtnvFA
Data and Power (video): https://youtu.be/cKeOdu5FUAg


Pelgrane Press

World Design is highly recommended, but not from GenCon nor Pelgrane.
World Design Masterclass by Ken Hite (video): https://youtu.be/_de2hRRyf34

Horror Roleplaying Masterclass (video): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/697699260
Investigative Roleplaying Masterclass (video): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/697390586
Swords of the Serpentine (video): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/696305224
Yellow King RPG (video): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/696554480
Drama System Masterclass (video): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/698215714


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Sunday, June 14, 2020

Call of Cthulhu 7th Ed - Magic Q&A


In Call of Cthulhu (CoC) 7th Edition, Magic is pretty straight forward, especially with the Summary of Magic Rules on page 419 Keeper Rulebook. But some rules are hidden in the text or are confusing due to wording.


Q: Do you tell the Players how many Magic Points (MP) are required for a spell?

A: No, not initially. But in the spell ritual, there will probably be hints as to how much it might be. An example would be "Ye Spell may cause tiredness and if caster is unhealthy, a nose bleed." or "Ritual Circle participants may faint and in extreme cases die depending on how many hours of chanting and dancing continues." For minor spells, after a successful casting, I would tell the Player how much it would cost. For major rituals used to mainly banish a major Big Bad Guy, I would ask each Player to write down how many MPs they are spending and hand it to me in secret. Then I would add it up and see if they reach the required amount of spend. Remember, you can spend all your MP and overspend, by spending HP in addition to MP. When you overspend, I would describe the physical effects of the HP spend such as a nose bleed, dehydration, burst blood vessels, shriveling like a raisin, or even death by turning into dust. If the ritual is long (over several hours), I may allow additional MP / HP spends to complete the ritual. e.g. their first group spend wasn't enough. I would hint that something might be happening, but maybe the spell is failing and ask them if they want to spend more.


Q: When PCs find a tome and inside it is a spell and they decide to cast it. How much about the spell do they know and what does it do? Do they cast it to find out what it does? How vague or specific are you about what the spell does?

A: It depends on how thorough the tome is and if the PC skimmed the tome (Initial Reading) vs Full Reading. If you did a full reading and it's not a fragment of a tome, you'd think the spell is in there with some context. So, there are enough clues to figure out what the spell does. "Bringing a corpse back to life" might mean: zombie, reanimation, resurrection, possession by evil spirit (a la Evil Dead). Who knows? Undesired side-effects? Possibly. If it's an old tome with notes in the margin, there might be additional clues as to what the spell does and possible side-effects.

But if it's a fragmentary manuscript and a skimmed reading and a "go for it" casting of the spell, then the results could be even worse. It'll be a GM potluck.


Q: A Tome takes 20 weeks to read, but there's no time in the scenario to that, so what's the use of the book?

A: You can skim the book (Initial Reading). So, you're basically flipping through the book and reading various chapter headings and maybe the first paragraph of each chapter. Also noting if there are diagrams (most likely spells). Then going back and deciphering the potential spells. (p.176 & p.419 Keeper Rulebook, "Learning a spell from a Mythos book.") This requires typically 2d6 weeks (or shorter depending on the scenario's needs) and an optional Hard INT roll (also depends on the scenario's needs).


Q: Why would I Push the initial casting of a spell?

A: If you fail your initial casting of a spell, you can either Push the casting or relearn the spell. Relearning the spell requires pouring over the ritual trying to make head and tails of it and figuring out what you did wrong (taking on avg 2 weeks, p.176 Keeper Rulebook, Learning a Spell from a Mythos Book.) In emergency situations, you may not have the luxury of doing that and you would want to Push the spell. The consequences of failing a Pushed Casting Roll may not be too bad. See p.178 Keeper Rulebook, Failing a Pushed Casting Roll.


Q: Learning how to cast a spell is really hard. What if we really want to succeed in casting it?

A: Once you've successfully cast a spell, you can cast it later without having to make any rolls, other than any spell targeting requirements (p.177-178 Keeper Rulebook, Casting Spells.) So, if there is time, it would benefit the PCs if they learn the spell beforehand and do a successful casting in a non-stress situation first.

Or if push comes to shove, you can Push the casting and immediately try again, but the consequences could be terrible. See p.178 Keeper Rulebook, Failing a Pushed Casting Roll.


Q: Does POW regenerate?

A: POW does not regenerate, but there are 2 ways to gain it:

1. When you roll 01 on a Luck roll, roll % and if above POW, gain 1d10 in POW
(p.179 Keeper Rulebook, How Sorcerers Get That Way.)
 
2. After casting a spell requiring a POW vs POW contest and winning it, roll % and if above POW, gain 1d10 in POW (p.419 Keeper Rulebook, Increasing POW or p.179 Keeper Rulebook, How Sorcerers Get That Way.)
 
This is similar to a skill check improvement at end of chapter or scenario, but you roll against your POW and need to fail.


Q: In Tomes of Eldritch Lore, under Cthulhu Mythos, what are the +A/+B percentiles?

A: Cthulhu Mythos: +Initial Reading % / +Full Reading %
Cthulhu Mythos: CMI / CMF


Q: If your Cthulhu Mythos skill is greater than any Tome's Mythos Rating, does it mean you can't get any Mythos skill out of it?

A: Even if your Cthulhu Mythos is above a book's Mythos Rating, you still gain Cthulhu Mythos out of it, but it'll be the CMI value. See p.174 (bottom) - 175 (top) Keeper Rulebook. You can always reread a Mythos Tome, but remember the time to read doubles each time you do so.


Q: Can I use a Mythos Tome as reference material?

A: Yes. The Mythos Rating is the percent chance that a Tome contains useful specific information, but this requires a full study beforehand. And you must keep track of what was looked up before for consistency's sake. See p.175 Keeper Rulebook, Mythos Rating -- Books as References.

This also explains why Cultists and Wizards have a library of occult books and why they continually study and reference them.

In my longer campaigns, such as Masks or HotOE, the PCs kept tomes they found in their luggage, so they can read them during long ocean voyages or to do research. I had a 3x5 card for each book, like an old fashion library checkout card, and kept track as to who read them, who's reading it, reading start date/end date, and what's in each book. This also keeps track as to who has done the Initial Reading and/or a Full Reading of that book. Also some PCs only had time to read a portion of a book before returning it, so this keeps track of how much of the book they've read if they plan on finishing it in the future.


Q (CB): An investigator has read, and is in possession of 4 Mythos tomes. They want to use the Mythos Rating to research that weird thing they saw. Each takes 1d4 hours. If they are willing to spend the time, do they get 4 attempts (at differing ratings of course)?

A (MH): I’d let each investigator take a different book and give it a try. Otherwise that one PC would be just researching while the other PCs are doing other stuff, pretty boring for that one Player.

But from the question, I assume only one PC has fully read all the books. In that case, I'd say it depends on how nice the GM is. Depends on which books and what they're looking up. For instance, if they're trying to find info about Deep Ones, well a book on the Andes or Tibet will have 0% chance of having info on Deep Ones. Also remember if they tried to look up specific info about the Mythos and it failed, that book contains no info about that topic, you should keep track as to what the book contains or doesn't contain.

Also the info found maybe as clear or obscure as the GM wants. i.e. some info, but not so much it breaks the scenario.

I may also claim that if your Cthulhu Mythos is above the book's Mythos Rating, you know more than the book and there's no point in using the book unless they want to Push and risk SAN loss.

A (RS): I'd streamline the process by giving one roll for the specific research across tomes. If the information is necessary for the investigators to have, give them the information no matter what, but make it take longer if they fail (automatically make each die roll four hours, or add more D4 hours to the time), or minimize the study time on an Extreme success.


Q: Can you dodge or fight back against a spell?

A: No, unless there's some combat component, such as touching your target.


Q (ED): For reading mythos tomes, does the sanity loss apply after an initial reading or after a full study?

A (MH): Both. You lose SAN both times and any additional times you read it. See p.419 Keeper Rulebook for summary of rules. Also note when it says Roll for Sanity loss, it means roll for the amount for San loss, not roll for a SAN save. SAN loss is automatic when reading tomes.


Q: During full study of a Mythos tome, if your Cthulhu Mythos is already greater than (or equal to) the tome's Mythos rating, do you gain CMI or CMF/2?

A: CMI. See p.175 Keeper Rulebook, Full Study. It explicitly states CMI.

But on p.419 Keeper Rulebook, Full study of tome, it states CMF/2. I think this is how CMI / CMF were initially created. On most, but not all tomes, CMI = CMF/2 (rounded down). See p.237-239 Keeper Rulebook, Table XI: Mythos Tomes.

For consistency and simplicity, I'd just use the pre-calculated CMI.


Q (JO): Can PCs "cheat" by recording a ritual chant on a Dictaphone and play it, so they're free to do other actions?

A (MH): Most rituals require intention and a spend of POW, MP, and/or SAN to complete. Without those components, it probably won't work. If the ritual doesn't require a spend of those things or if you, as GM, allow the recording, but the spend of points is channeled through the PCs anyway, then it might work.

If you do allow it, a wax cylinder has a very short play time (3 minutes max) and a creature can throw things or make the floor shake that can disrupt the Dictaphone player. So, PCs have traded one thing for another. Not a get out of jail free card. Also a Dictaphone has a lousy speaker (a horn) and isn’t very loud, so maybe it only works in a specific direction or to a limited extent. Or not at all. Also repeated play wears the wax cylinder down.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonograph


Q (ZE): How do you approach telling players about Mythos Tomes. When a player finds a tome, should the keeper tell them its statistics (Cthulhu Mythos Points gained, sanity loss, time of study) before they attempt to read it, or should this information be hidden until the players make an attempt at studying it?

A (MH): I keep it hidden until they can reasonably figure it out.

That's what Initial Reading is for. Those books don't have blurbs on them. You gotta dive in the deep end to find out. I don't disclose the stats until they've taken the SAN loss and gotten their Cthulhu Mythos pts. I generally won't disclose the Full Reading pts either, but most of them are about double the Initial Reading Mythos pts.

For spells, I disclose whether there are spells in it after an Initial reading. I do expect spells to have diagrams and such, so even without an Initial reading, you can tell there are spells in them. You should also obfuscate the spell names. The Grand Grimoire has optional names. I also don't give out what the spells does, but give a general idea of what it might do (sometimes incorrectly or hide its possible side effects).


Q: How do you spot spells in Mythos Tomes?

A: There are always sigils to be drawn somewhere (on paper, on a surface, on a body part), hand movements and gestures, ingredients (herbs, incense, liquids, bodily fluids), or summoning circles and such. I assume these will be illustrated, much like secret Kung Fu manuals. If you see an illustration, it's probably a spell. There's probably a title, probably in an old tongue and slightly obscure. What the spell does is probably obscure too unless there's marginalia by someone who tried casting it before. If it's translated, it might be easier to figure out unless it was translated from a partial manuscript.


Q (GMD): If an investigator casts a spell and fails the first time. They then push the roll and fail again taking the increased cost of the spell, but the spell still casts with the added side effect that comes along with it.

If the investigator wants to cast that spell again, do they do it regularly or do they have to go through the 'First time casting' process all over again?

A (MH): I'd say if they want to mis-cast it again, they won't need to roll, but they get the same side effect from the pushed roll. e.g. repeat the same mistakes they've done before. If they want to avoid the side effect, they'll need to relearn the spell and make another casting roll. See p.178 Keeper Rulebook, Failing a Pushed Casting Roll.


Q (TS): Does casting a spell that has a sanity cost of 1D6 cause temporary insanity on a roll of 5+? Also, does losing enough sanity through spell casting cause indefinite insanity?

A (MH): Yes and Yes. Mythos spells require understanding of Cthulhu Mythos Magic, so casting those spells pushes you to complete understanding. Some spells do not have a SAN cost. Some are considered Folk Magic, See p.13 the Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic.

A (ENR): That's the cost of magic... and also why most villainous cultists are insane (0 Sanity).


Q (RH): Quick question on instantaneous spells. I know they are described in the book as working just like readied firearms, but my understanding is the readied firearm bonus applies for further rounds as long as said shooter is still shooting and isn’t doing anything fancy like running or obviously reloading.(i.e. it’s not just for the first shot).

Does that principle apply for instantaneous spells? In other words can a powerful sorcerer can keep the +50 Dex bonus if the caster keeps casting the instantaneous spells?

I assume if you wanted to switch from melee to an instantaneous spell you would need to do so on your usual turn order and cannot interrupt, in much the same way a player can’t just announce ”I’m pulling out my gun” in the middle of the round for a sudden +50 DEX.

A (MH): I think instantaneous spells are always ready. They’re just very quick to cast. You do not need to pull your spell gun out of your holster. See p.243 Keeper Rulebook, Casting Time and Spells in Combat.

You can only act once in each round. If you were fighting in combat and was acting at Dex in the initiative order, and wanted to cast a spell for the next round, you need to notify the GM that you are casting an instantaneous spell to go at Dex + 50 for the next round. If you changed your mind in the middle of combat before you acted, I'd leave that up to the GM to decide. Most likely you'd go in Dex order, you cannot suddenly cast a spell as an interrupt before the creature hits you, by claiming that a instantaneous spell goes at Dex + 50 and before the creature goes, this seems like cheating.

Another example, if you initially said you were going to cast an instantaneous spell and then changed your mind and decided to fight in combat, your initiative should drop down to Dex before you can act. e.g. you cannot fight at Dex + 50. I guess if your choice was to shoot a gun already in your hand or cast an instantaneous spell you can do either at Dex + 50. The only edge case is if the spell requires a hand gesture that uses your dominate hand, then you'd have to decide beforehand. And if you change your mind, you'll have to drop down to Dex before you can act because you'll either have to holster your gun or draw it before you can act. Most spells don't have this much detail, so it'll probably never come up in a game.


Q (U): Some spells have a Sanity Cost in the book. I think this is something that happens each time you cast the spell and is not a cost for learning it? If that's correct, then is there a Sanity save roll each time you cast the spell and you lose that much if you fail it? Or is it automatic.

A (MH): You are correct, the Cost listed for the spell is for casting the spell, not for learning it.

Reading books and spell casting are voluntary, so the SAN loss is automatic. There is no Sanity save roll. Best way to check this is if you see something like 0/1d6 that is an indication there is a Sanity save roll and the resulting SAN loss for succeeding/failing the roll. If you only see 1d6, then there is no Sanity save roll, and the loss is automatic.


Q (M): Do spells that cause you to lose 5+ SAN points automatically drive you crazy and in addition to not being able to be cast, they had better not even publish them?

A (MH): Spells that cost you SAN will eventually drive your SAN to zero and thus permanently insane.  Once you've successfully cast a spell, you can always cast it in the future at 100% chance success. If a spell costs 5+ points SAN, have the PC roll the INT roll after the spell goes off to see if they go temporary insane (p.178 Keeper Rulebook, see sidebar example). Also once your SAN goes to 0, you basically have infinite negative SAN. Insane cultists (0 SAN) can cast spells without SAN cost. (p.177 Keeper Rulebook, Casting Spells, Having no Sanity points does not prohibit spells from being cast—if it did, there would be no cultists.)

Why would someone rational write these spells down? Well, maybe they wrote it down during a bout of madness? Or a mad cultist wrote it down because their god told them to. Or the spell worked and it's worth using in an emergency to save the world -- again.

You have to remember that in CoC, Insanity is not your DSM definition or causes. Insanity is understanding Cthulhu Mythos hyper-reality and hyper-geometry. Cultists have 0 SAN because They Understand the Unknown and Unknowable.


Q (TDK): I bought The Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic from Chaosium, and it talks about the different phases of the Moon having the potential to enhance certain types of spells.

Could someone tell me how they handle lunar calendars or Moon phases in their games? I'm tempted to use that idea, but it seems too complicated for me.


If PCs ask what phase of the moon is in, I look it up. As most rituals happen either at New or Full Moon, I use that as a ticking clock for the PCs if they bring this up.


Q (X): The Keeper Rulebook gives a brief description of Tomes which isn't enough for me to be able to give a good explanation if someone actually reads it in full. So I'd like to know if this was done on purpose so that we could create the real content of the tome or if there's a more complete explanation of them somewhere.

A (MH): If you read any of the HP Lovecraft stories the game is based on, there's really not much detail as to what's in each Tome. So, it's up to the GM to make up whatever you want. Assume most of them are handwritten with odd marginalia and notes by their previous owners. Assume it's full of foreign or alien languages, diagrams, drawings, etc. Assume they're hard to read and understand, that's why you can re-read them and gain more knowledge each time you read it.



Other Q&A:

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Sunday, May 31, 2020

Racism Inflection Point - non-gaming post



I grew up in the 60-80's in progressive Berkeley, home of the UC Berkeley campus protests again the Vietnam War. I went to Berkeley High School and UC Berkeley for my Bachelor's Degree. I've never experienced any racism except for some token bullying at school by White kids, mainly some kids either pulling up the corner of their eyes or pretending to speak Chinese by saying "Ching-ching, Chong-chong," but it was very rare, maybe 3 times in my whole life.

The only time I experienced overt racism is when I went to Hudson, MA on a college internship with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). My co-workers at DEC, all white, were as accepting as the people I knew in Berkeley, most were from MIT. I took a bus tour of the east coast (NYC, DC, Niagara Falls, Rhode Island) that left from the DEC campus. One lady who was a secretary at DEC, whom I didn't know, made small talk and asked when I was going to marry a nice "Chinese" girl. Interesting that she had to qualify the type of girl I had to marry. I politely answered her question and ignored her racial comment as old white lady syndrome because she meant well. I went to a barber shop and there was a long line of seated customers waiting and the barber told me to go to the saloon next door. Thinking nothing of it, I went next door. A month later, I went to the same barber shop. This time, there was nobody waiting. He still told me to go get my hair cut next door. That's when it hit me: The barber didn't want to cut my hair.

You hear about people who die in their homes and nobody finding the body for months or years. I figure if I died in a racist area, nobody would care. Or if I needed help, it might not be forthcoming.

Since then, I've vowed never to live in a city without a major University and an educated population.

Fast forward to 2020.
Minneapolis 2020 riots

Covid-19 is a pandemic. And there are protests and race riots going on throughout the US.

Rodney King being beat up by cops
I saw the beating of Rodney King on TV during the LA Riots of 1992. I watched Do The Right Thing and didn't quite understood why Mookie (Spike Lee) threw a garbage can through a window. I saw the anger, but I didn't understand completely why. I saw people blocking the freeways in my area during Black Live Matter and didn't quite understand that. I understood peaceful protests like MLK Jr and Gandhi. In Berkeley High, we were taught about the peace movement, but not about the Black Panthers, though Malcolm X was brought up briefly.

Similarly, I didn't understand the current rash of riots until I watched this video (please watch it, it changed my world view): Trevor Noah: The Daily Show#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd.

The last 3 years of President Trump's legacy has been a disaster. He has proven that he's a racist.

I wrote this post on FB:
There were early stories that Trump is a racist. After 3 years, I think they were right. There are stories his dad discriminated against black renters. He called white supremacists wearing khaki and carrying tiki-torches "very fine people." Now, he quotes an infamous line from Miami Police Chief Walter Headley Jr. originally used it during the height of civil rights protests in the 1960s. It's not like he pulled this quote out of his ass. Trump who we know is a very stable genius (self-proclaimed), picked this quote deliberately. I don't think anybody else owns his Twitter account due to bad grammar and misspellings. We know it comes straight from Twitler's head into his cellphone. His hate for Obama. Where could that have come from? They've never met each other. Could it just be that Twitler couldn't stand a Black President? That is why he's been undoing everything that Obama has done? Twitler is a racist, plain and simple.
In response to my post, one of my friends wrote this:
It’s been really obvious that the man is not just a racist, but a hard core old-school racist, since at least the 90s. And if you didn’t realize it by 2010 you just weren’t paying attention. People seem to give him a pass because he just seems too unserious and too dumb and way too many people seem to believe his kind of vicious racism isn’t really that much of a thing anymore. It’s hard to believe he’s motivated by racism when it hardly seems like he has any kind of fixed principles at all and he’s just a grifter and charlatan. But that’s not how it works.
Another of my friends noted this:
People treat him like a child, you wouldn't punish a child because they don't know what they are doing or saying. There's really no malice behind a child's actions. But we elected him president.
Friday, he tweeted that he'd release "vicious dogs" on protesters outside of the White House. This is another racist rant.

Just like the barber who wouldn't cut my hair because I wasn't White, Trump is reversing everything Obama did for the same reason. Not only that, Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell are either going along with it or enabling it. Either way, just as bad. It's not just Trump doing this, but the whole GOP government.

So, what do you do when the social contract is broken? (what social contract? See Trevor Noah's video I linked earlier)

All bets are off the table: guns, knives, rioting, protests are all viable responses.

This has all happened before. Riots happened in America 1963-71. Only after passage of the Civil Rights Acts (1964-68) did the riots start to quell. e.g. Civil Rights Acts offered hope of equality and kept the peace for 50 years. LBJ pushed through the Civil Rights Act to stop civil unrest.

But MAGA (Make America Great Again), Trump's signature slogan, hearkens back to White America where "people knew their place."

Would Trump make a peace offering like LBJ? Right now, Trump is offering to use the military to quell the unrest. And police are now attacking reporters and innocent civilians. True to form, Trump is urging crack downs.

Would the protests continue? Right now, unemployment is at 19% due to Covid-19 and people are stuck at home without work for an undetermined amount of time. They have nothing better to do and they are dying from the virus and police brutality.

Civil Rights have been on the rise since 1964. Then with Trump's Presidency, a swift fall. I'm hoping this is an inflection point, a bottom. Depending on how much the riots go on, on how scared the WH and GOP gets, something positive might come of this.


p.s. On 7/22/2020, Vice President Biden called Trump a racist.

p.s. On 9/10/2020, Michael Cohn, Trump's lawyer and fixer says Trump is a racist.

p.s. On 9/23/2020, George Takei.
















p.s. On 9/29/2020, during the 1st Presidential Debate for the 2020 election when asked to denounce white supremacists, Trump instead tells a white supremacist group: "Proud Boys stand back -- and stand by."

p.s. Reaction to Trump's Proud Boy comment, it's right out of Hitler's fascist playbook.

p.s. On 1/20/2025, Trump ends DEI programs.

p.s. On 5/12/2025, expedited refugee status of White South Africans to US while halting other refugees from war zones.

p.s. On 10/11/2025, reclaimed Columbus Day.

p.s. On 10/15/2025, proposes changing US refugee system to "giving preference to English speakers, white South Africans and Europeans who oppose migration."

p.s. For 2026, Trump revoked the free US National Park days for MLK Jr Day and Juneteenth. He replaced them with his own birthday.

p.s. On 2/6/2026, Trump posts racist video about the Obamas. WH defends it, but finally takes it down after 12 hrs.

p.s. On 2/16/2026, Trump executive order removes information plaques about George Washington and his slaves. Judge calls this the erasure and rewriting of history, and the plaques must be restored.

p.s. On 3/27/2026, Hegseth blocks promotions of black and women soldiers from promotion to one star generals. https://www.npr.org/2026/03/27/nx-s1-5763860/hegseth-blocked-2-black-and-2-female-soldiers-from-promotions

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Friday, May 08, 2020

Swords of the Serpentine - Review

I play tested this in January 2019. It's was available for pre-order May 2020. It finally shipped July 2022.

When I signed up for the play test, I was a bit leery of it. I mean how many fantasy RPGs are out there and what would make this different? On the plus side, this was co-authored by Kevin Kulp, who wrote Timewatch, one of my favorite games.

Below are examples from the play test.
Character Creation

 There's a lot of customization where you can write several phrases ("What is Best in Life?" from Conan the Barbarian) which helps describe your character and give you an edge when needed.

The Adjectives are self selected for flavor and to help you decide how your character would act in a situation when faced with indecision.



You also pick your alliances and enemies right off the bat, so everyone already has built-in drama.

And Character-defining gear adds 1 pt of Grit, but it's also cool that there's an incentive to create character and backstory based on your gear. Below is gear for a proto-Conan.

So, character creation is colorful and full of flavor.


Investigative <==> General Abilities

One of my complaints about Gumshoe is that combat is a bit lack luster. Night's Black Agents has improved this with Cherries, abilities at 8+ give you special abilities.

Swords of the Serpentine solved this by allowing Investigative abilities to be used in combat. For instance, you can use your Vigilance (Notice skill) to note an uneven spot on the floor (Player defined), so during combat, you can force your opponent to step on that crack and give you a bonus.

This adds more storytelling to a combat scene.

Also vice versa, a high general ability would give you Investigative skills. For example, a high Warfare (Combat skill) means that you have Investigative skills pertaining to weapons and armor.


Sway vs Warfare

Warfare is your standard sword combat. Sway is affecting the morale of an opponent or opponents. With enough sway, you can make your enemies flee (or retreat from) combat. You can insult your enemies until they run away crying. Very cool.


Sorcery

Yes, there's magic and you can use magic to affect your enemy's Health or Morale. Minor magic is exactly the same as doing the same action physically such as swinging a sword, firing an arrow, picking a lock, but to an observer, it is done magically and is more done for flavor. e.g. people climb up the stairs, but you just float. You point your finger at someone at a distance and you can hurt them as if you fired an arrow at them. It's all for flavor.

But there are major magics where you spend Sorcery. You increase your effects and cause as a side effect a blight (your choice: randomly, evenly everywhere, focused on an area, or on yourself). Powerful and illegal in the city.


The World - Eversink

But what is best in life? A kick-ass world that's different and new.

The main selling point of Swords of the Serpentine is Eversink. The city is built on a swamp. Think Venice filled with canals where various buildings continue to sink into the earth and new floors are built upon the old. The rates of sinking vary throughout the city, some take decades to sink one inch and others drop ten feet in one day. New construction changes the city everyday. Think Winchester Mystery House where an alleyway leads to swimming pool whereas yesterday it was someone's roof. People aren't buried, but exposed to carrion birds or sunk into the marshes. Their souls are remembered by funereal statues, but if destroyed their spirits return to the land of the living. so throughout the city are multitudes of funereal statues; grand ones for the rich and powerful, small clay ones for the poor.

The city has 12 factions fighting each other for control of the city. So lots of intrigue and missions for the PCs.

The city is old, so there are rules and regulations buried deep in time. My favorite skill is Laws and Traditions where a PC can declare a law on the spot and it would be true for the entirety of the campaign "except on Tuesdays." 😊

The monetary system is Byzantine and deliberately confusing in mockery of old D&D and old British money.


Summary

I'm really excited this is seeing print. I've already paid for my pre-order and I'm excited to see the final product. Do we need another fantasy RPG? Yes, if it's Swords of the Serpentine. 😊
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Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Call of Cthulhu 7th Ed - Theater of the Mind


Recently, someone posted about the need for maps and miniatures for CoC. The reaction was swift and divisive. A majority of the reaction was that CoC wasn't a combat game like D&D and that you should use your imagination and Theater of the Mind. For those not familiar with Theater of the Mind, the phrase came from the days of radio plays where people gathered around a radio and listened to dramas, just like people do today, to watch television shows (I know people don't do this anymore due to streaming and personal devices). Some people did admit to using battlemats and minis or doing a quick sketch and using dice to mark locations.

Battlemat and Minis for D&D
At first, I thought the question was from a GM used to a different style of game (most people thought it was a post by a D&D GM where battlemats and minis are prevalent), so my reaction was the following:

Generally, I run the game with Theater of the Mind. Most people know what a house looks like and such, and most of the time the PCs stay together, so there's not much argument about what's going on. A lot of the newer RPGs have Zones: close, near, medium, and far. They replace the finer granularity of battlemats and you can only move from one zone to another during a PC's action. Most combats in CoC are in close/near range, so the options are either to fight, shoot, or run away.

The only time I've had to use a map was running Horror on the Orient Express (HotOE), on a train with 15+ NPCs. I had a map of the train dining car and placed all the NPCs in various booths and tables and had the PCs mingle and chat with people. It's possible with Theater of the Mind, but a lot harder.

Sometimes when Players tell me they are confused, then I will pull out a piece of scratch paper and do a quick sketch. This sometimes happens in a larger space such as a cave complex with a large number of cultists or important objects such as statues, relics, prisoners, and someone being sacrificed.

I do have battlemats and minis, but I've rarely taken them out for CoC. I have played on roll20.net and mainly used the platform for sharing handouts and die rolling, and rarely for maps and the fog of war where you can slowly reveal parts of the map, but once in a while I will use it. I've used it for The Lightless Beacon as the PCs are exploring an unfamiliar lighthouse in darkness, so it adds to the paranoia.

Another person asked how do you know what's in the room?

If they are in a bedroom, I assume the standard bedroom stuff is present. If the creature comes out of a closet and attacks, I either ask for a Luck roll (lowest result gets attacked) or I've seen other GMs just pick the PC with the lowest Luck score. At that point, the PCs generally look for an improvised weapon. If a PC asks if there's a heavy table lamp in the room, then just ask them to make a Luck roll or just say, "Yes." If for something less likely like a silver candlestick (with the PC thinking that silver would have an adverse affect), you can require a higher level of success. For something extremely unlikely like a loaded rifle on the wall, just say, "No."

Then the poster said he never played D&D and was a Player.

I'm a visual person, so I visualize most stuff like a movie, so I have a strong sense of where things are. But I know that there are tactile people, smell people, audio people, etc. So, it can be a leap for someone new to Theater of the Mind as to how it works. It takes mental training to take an empty white room and populate it.

I bring in what I know about the 1920's, the surrounding context (a diner, a club, a house, a speakeasy), memories of various period movies, and internal logic and consistency -- and visually construct the location.

If you are in a living room or den, I will assume there are sofas, chairs, end tables, a fireplace, and if so, fireplace pokers and shovels, etc. A billiard room will have a pool table, pool sticks, maybe stuffed animal heads on the wall, a rifle or crossed swords and a shield as decoration. When you want as a Player to use one of those said props, you can ask the GM if that object exists in the setting. If it does, assume you can exploit it.

If you are in a room and you want to search it for clues, you tell the GM you are tossing the room for clues and whether you can roll a Spot Hidden. Or if you just want to glance around the room and see something out of place, you can ask the GM and he might ask you to roll a Spot Hidden.

For combat, there is no facing. Just assume there's room for 2 or 3 people to dog pile an opponent unless they're unusually large, but in that case running away is the better solution. In CoC 7th, combat is now a series of blows and struggle, not a single blow, so it's less tactical. You can just say, I'll move to point blank on the bad guy and shoot him. The GM will either let you do it or say, "Oh, there's 2 body guards in the way, you can't. You see the body guards move to intercept you, what do you want to do instead?" Sometimes in a fight, someone is already engaged and you can say, "I'll move up behind the bad guy and smack him with a vase." Generally, the GM with just say, "Because the bad guy is already engaged and outnumbered, roll Fight (Grapple) with a bonus die" which matches your narration. Or in some cases, you can say, "I duck behind a support pillar or sofa for cover." Just assume that type of feature is in the room. If you really can't, the GM will tell you, "Sorry, there's nothing like that in the room or it's too far away. Do you still want to run for cover, it'll take two rounds? Or do you want to just fall prone to the ground? Or do something else?" The key is dialog between the GM and Player, so there is a meeting of the minds as to what's in the room.

So, those are my thoughts on Theater of the Mind for CoC.
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Saturday, March 21, 2020

Call of Cthulhu 7th Ed - Sneaking Around in Groups

Stealth as an Individual
Stealth as a Group
A common problem in Call of Cthulhu (CoC) is that sometimes a group of PCs want to sneak into a location and one PC (yeah, that one guy) has the default Stealth of 20%. Or with a large group, by the law of averages, someone would fail even if everyone had a Stealth of 70%. So, how do you handle this fairly?

When someone's Stealth check fails!
I offer a group Stealth check. The PC with the lowest Stealth rolls for the whole group. If the roll fails, the whole group isn't Stealthy. Otherwise, success. But what if several people have a low Stealth score? I give them the option of not sneaking in. They can sit out and do something else while their compatriots sneak in.

World War Cthulhu: Cold War offered another solution. They have a Tradecraft skill. If someone with Tradecraft aided others in Stealth via scouting ahead and using hand signals, they can instead roll a combined skill roll. They roll once and if the die roll is below both their Stealth and Tradecraft, the whole group would succeed.

Trail of Cthulhu (ToC) offered a Piggybacking solution. The PC with the most Stealth points to spend rolls (the Lead), but each PC piggybacking on the Stealth must spend a Stealth point and for each PC lacking in a Stealth point, the difficulty is increased by 2. ToC uses 1d6 for skill resolution, so a 2 pt penalty is pretty hefty. Typically a 4-6 is a success. Having one noisy PC increases the chance of failure by 33%. This can be offset by having the Lead spend Stealth points.

So, another solution is to have the PC with the highest Stealth roll, but add penalties based on the skill levels of the rest of the group. For example: -20% for each PC who only have the default. -10% for each PC with Stealth below 50% but above the default of 20%. -5% for each PC with Stealth above 50%. On failure, you assume someone inadvertently stepped on a twig, knocked over a vase, stepped on a creaky floorboard, or got spotted.

Individual Stealth checks
Another solution is having everyone roll Stealth and those that fail can be noticed, but those that fail are silent and well hidden. This may happen if the PCs scatter and look for various hiding places, like in a closet, under the bed, in a steamer trunk, etc. In this case, I generally ask for individual Luck rolls for those that failed and the one with the worse roll gets spotted and attacked. Sometimes for brevity's sake, the GM could just pick the one with the lowest Luck score instead.

Delta Green uses an opposed Stealth roll. So, there's a chance the bad guys won't notice you even if you have a low Stealth score.

In that spirit, some GMs roll a Spot Hidden for the bad guys, but that should have already been taken into account by the success level required. If the bad guy's Spot Hidden is < 50%, a regular success is required, <90% Hard, >=90% Extreme. And remember, when dice are rolled, it is always for something that matters and at a moment high drama. If the PCs fail a Stealth roll, something should happen.

Well, that's my thoughts on group Stealth.
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