Post by Taika of Narfell on Jun 12, 2004 16:35:42 GMT 1
This is Chaosium's rules. And I'm using the 6th edition.
It is generally compatible with the 5th edition, so if that's what you're familiar with you won't have any problems getting used to the new system.
First things first: you need character sheets, so here goes:
i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/jemimaaslana/2c0fc532.jpg
www.yog-sothoth.com/docs/utility-coc-character-sheet-back.pdf
Print them and you got what you need. On the front page it says Sanity Points in two places. The lower of them is supposed to say Investigator Skills - but I'm sure you can live with that
Now you can also see the skills available in the game - or at least some of them. If we need a skill not present on the sheet, I'll just invent that skill. We can do whatever we want.
Please note that not all skills are available to you from the beginning. You have a Base Chance at every skill (the percentile number) but you can only allot additional skill points to the Skills I'll assign you. Which skills I'll give you will depend on your characters' education and occupation - also his/her hobbies will play a part.
This means that we will have to discuss your characters individually. It would be grand if you could all add me on either YIM, MSN, ICQ, or AIM. But we'll manage with PM's if we have to.
Onwards to the die rolls:
For your characteristics you roll:
3d6 for each of the characteristics STR, CON, POW, DEX, and APP.
2d6+6 each for SIZ and INT
3d6+3 for EDU
SAN equals POWx5
Idea equals INTx5
Luck equals POWx5
Know equals EDUx5
Please note that we're not talking best 3 of 4d6. We're speaking 3d6 or 2d6 nothing more nothing less. I'll allow you to roll up two rows of stats and choose the one you like best. But keep in mind that even characters that are maxed out in everything can die just as horribly as everyone else - in fact if you focus only on the quality of the char and not the player, Call might not be your game
99 minus Cthulhu mythos meaning you start out at 99, and as you gain points in Cthulhu Mythos this number will lower accordingly.
Damage Bonus is found by adding STR to SIZ, if the result is between 17 and 24 it means nothing, if it's something else consult me.
Skill Points:
Multiply your EDU by 20. That is the number of Occupation skill points you get. After you've chosen your occupation I'll let you know which skills you can assign these points to.
Multiply your INT by 10. These are personal interest points. They can technically be added to any skill, BUT remember that your character has to be credible. Someone with a very low intelligence and 'street sweeper' as occupation, will not have high ranks in Library Use and other such intelligence based skills. Use your own best judgment, if your choices are completely outrageous I'll tell you to change them - unless of course you can give me very good reasons not to.
Also note: I won't allow any Occupation skills above 75 at first, nor any Hobby skills above 50, the remaining amount up to 99 you'll have to earn, and no, you cannot reach 100 because that implies perfection and is unattainable for humans.
When allocating skill points you add them to your Base Chance in that skill. Example: Everybody has a base chance of 25 to make a successful Jump, allocating 10 skill points will make the chance 35. Very simple.
CORRECTION: The base chance of Computer Use on your char sheet says 01% In today's society that is totally unrealistic, everyone can use Word, everyone can Use Excel, everyone can browse the internet, so your base chance will be 20 % here.
NOTE: Some of you will have a skill I call Contacts (Specific area) It's a skill I use in my games simply because it's useful and nothing else covers it satisfactory. People with a university education in Humanities and Historical studies will have Contacts (Academics), this means that if you for instance need to have a book or a letter translated it's easier for you to find someone who will do it for free instead of having to go to a professional with it. A doctor will have Contacts (Medical) so if he needs to have a blood sample checked he might know a forensic somewhere who can handle it in his lunchbreak. A streetwise fella, for instance someone who's worked in a pawn shop, will have Contacts (Local) he's more likely to be aware if someone is back on the street after 3 months in jail, he's also more likely to have heard about someone who might know something about... you get the picture. Whenever necessary I will think up a suitable kind of Contacts definition, not many will be the same, since all characters have different backgrounds, and sometimes this particular skill will rely heavily on the bio I receive.
If you have any special wishes for skills that are not on the character sheet let me know, I can always make a skill to suit a specific character. You don't have to have a completely clear idea of a Skill definition - just what you generally want it to do, I'll do the game mechanics
I have seen and heard of many home-made skills... some more useful than others. Blow Jobs, Moped Repair, Getting People Drunk in Absinthe, Power-Napping, the possibilities are many, feel free to improvise and consult me.
Weapons: if you've special wishes about weapons you'd like to wield ask me. For starters I'll allow you to own Handguns, but so far you're ordinary people and will not have M16 assault rifles lying around. As you can see you have a fairly high base chances in weapon skills - it's an American system. They assume that everyone will know how to use these things at least adequately - I myself have never even touched a gun.
So far there are two options for getting you all together and started.
1. You're already running a detective agency together, that's how you'll get your first mission. You will then have two occupations, namely your previous job and PI.
OR
2. You're all somehow connected to the events leading to your first mission, which is what gets you together. It'll involve a little more work on my part as in rewriting the beginning of the scenario, but I'll do it if that's your preference.
As for the characteristics: the explanation of those is as follows:
STR should be obvious. It determines how much a person can carry, pull, push, etc etc - just like we're used to from other games. A STR of 7 is what you'd imagine a little old lady to have, a STR between 10 and 13 is average and 18 is the highest STR a normal human can reach.
CON is used for calculating hit points AND for resistance versus injury and attack. A low CON may make you more likely to throw up if you smell something really bad, and you'll get winded easily when running - there's CON for ya.
SIZ is the investigator's height and weight summarized in one number. Size checks might be needed if a person wants to squeeze through an opening or somesuch. A SIZ of 8 will place you at a weight of around 110 lbs, a SIZ of 12 around 160 lbs, and a SIZ of 16 at around 225 lbs. Remember these are just approximates and guidelines, and whetehr you want to account for a small or great size by adjusting height, weight, or muscle mass is entirely up to you - though if you adjust muscle-mass remember to make it correspond with your STR
INT is rather obvious as well. Int check will be needed when the Keeper (I) needs to know if any of you will think of some info you might find useful. There will always be other ways to find it, but a successful Int check could allow you to recall it more quickly. Again 18 is the highest a human can have, but whether you want a high INT to be characterized by extreme specialization in one subject or in overall quick-wittedness, is up to you.
POW is basically force of will. It determines Sanity points and thus your resistance to shocking events. It also determines your amount of magic points and you Luck. I might at some point allow one of you to become a sorcerer, but not as long as you're unfamiliar with the system and the mythos.
DEX should once again be among the obvious ones. Dex determines in which order you have your turn in combat, and I can generally call for a dex check when you need to use your balance or the like.
APP is appearance. A high stat here makes you look good. Note, however, that it is not charisma. A good appearance might work well with the Bargain skill and make a good impression when trying to persuade someone (especially from the opposite sex)
EDU measures information, NOT the intelligent use of it. EDU 12 suggest a high school graduate. EDU 16 or higher suggest a degree or graduate-level work. Note that a high EDU is not only acquired at a school, but can generally have learned his stuff from reading a lot and being observant.
An Investigator's starting age should be AT LEAST his EDU +6 years. So with an EDU of 16 he should be 22 or older. If you would really really like a higher EDU you can add 10 years to the age of your Investigator and thus add 1 point to your EDU, however, once you get older than 40 this will have consequences for other attributes. Learning comes at a cost, and for beginning players I won't recommend to fiddle around with this too much. I'm not going to make these expert games before I've seen whether you can handle it, so till then you won't need much of this unless you really want to.
It is generally compatible with the 5th edition, so if that's what you're familiar with you won't have any problems getting used to the new system.
First things first: you need character sheets, so here goes:
i2.photobucket.com/albums/y21/jemimaaslana/2c0fc532.jpg
www.yog-sothoth.com/docs/utility-coc-character-sheet-back.pdf
Print them and you got what you need. On the front page it says Sanity Points in two places. The lower of them is supposed to say Investigator Skills - but I'm sure you can live with that
Now you can also see the skills available in the game - or at least some of them. If we need a skill not present on the sheet, I'll just invent that skill. We can do whatever we want.
Please note that not all skills are available to you from the beginning. You have a Base Chance at every skill (the percentile number) but you can only allot additional skill points to the Skills I'll assign you. Which skills I'll give you will depend on your characters' education and occupation - also his/her hobbies will play a part.
This means that we will have to discuss your characters individually. It would be grand if you could all add me on either YIM, MSN, ICQ, or AIM. But we'll manage with PM's if we have to.
Onwards to the die rolls:
For your characteristics you roll:
3d6 for each of the characteristics STR, CON, POW, DEX, and APP.
2d6+6 each for SIZ and INT
3d6+3 for EDU
SAN equals POWx5
Idea equals INTx5
Luck equals POWx5
Know equals EDUx5
Please note that we're not talking best 3 of 4d6. We're speaking 3d6 or 2d6 nothing more nothing less. I'll allow you to roll up two rows of stats and choose the one you like best. But keep in mind that even characters that are maxed out in everything can die just as horribly as everyone else - in fact if you focus only on the quality of the char and not the player, Call might not be your game
99 minus Cthulhu mythos meaning you start out at 99, and as you gain points in Cthulhu Mythos this number will lower accordingly.
Damage Bonus is found by adding STR to SIZ, if the result is between 17 and 24 it means nothing, if it's something else consult me.
Skill Points:
Multiply your EDU by 20. That is the number of Occupation skill points you get. After you've chosen your occupation I'll let you know which skills you can assign these points to.
Multiply your INT by 10. These are personal interest points. They can technically be added to any skill, BUT remember that your character has to be credible. Someone with a very low intelligence and 'street sweeper' as occupation, will not have high ranks in Library Use and other such intelligence based skills. Use your own best judgment, if your choices are completely outrageous I'll tell you to change them - unless of course you can give me very good reasons not to.
Also note: I won't allow any Occupation skills above 75 at first, nor any Hobby skills above 50, the remaining amount up to 99 you'll have to earn, and no, you cannot reach 100 because that implies perfection and is unattainable for humans.
When allocating skill points you add them to your Base Chance in that skill. Example: Everybody has a base chance of 25 to make a successful Jump, allocating 10 skill points will make the chance 35. Very simple.
CORRECTION: The base chance of Computer Use on your char sheet says 01% In today's society that is totally unrealistic, everyone can use Word, everyone can Use Excel, everyone can browse the internet, so your base chance will be 20 % here.
NOTE: Some of you will have a skill I call Contacts (Specific area) It's a skill I use in my games simply because it's useful and nothing else covers it satisfactory. People with a university education in Humanities and Historical studies will have Contacts (Academics), this means that if you for instance need to have a book or a letter translated it's easier for you to find someone who will do it for free instead of having to go to a professional with it. A doctor will have Contacts (Medical) so if he needs to have a blood sample checked he might know a forensic somewhere who can handle it in his lunchbreak. A streetwise fella, for instance someone who's worked in a pawn shop, will have Contacts (Local) he's more likely to be aware if someone is back on the street after 3 months in jail, he's also more likely to have heard about someone who might know something about... you get the picture. Whenever necessary I will think up a suitable kind of Contacts definition, not many will be the same, since all characters have different backgrounds, and sometimes this particular skill will rely heavily on the bio I receive.
If you have any special wishes for skills that are not on the character sheet let me know, I can always make a skill to suit a specific character. You don't have to have a completely clear idea of a Skill definition - just what you generally want it to do, I'll do the game mechanics
I have seen and heard of many home-made skills... some more useful than others. Blow Jobs, Moped Repair, Getting People Drunk in Absinthe, Power-Napping, the possibilities are many, feel free to improvise and consult me.
Weapons: if you've special wishes about weapons you'd like to wield ask me. For starters I'll allow you to own Handguns, but so far you're ordinary people and will not have M16 assault rifles lying around. As you can see you have a fairly high base chances in weapon skills - it's an American system. They assume that everyone will know how to use these things at least adequately - I myself have never even touched a gun.
So far there are two options for getting you all together and started.
1. You're already running a detective agency together, that's how you'll get your first mission. You will then have two occupations, namely your previous job and PI.
OR
2. You're all somehow connected to the events leading to your first mission, which is what gets you together. It'll involve a little more work on my part as in rewriting the beginning of the scenario, but I'll do it if that's your preference.
As for the characteristics: the explanation of those is as follows:
STR should be obvious. It determines how much a person can carry, pull, push, etc etc - just like we're used to from other games. A STR of 7 is what you'd imagine a little old lady to have, a STR between 10 and 13 is average and 18 is the highest STR a normal human can reach.
CON is used for calculating hit points AND for resistance versus injury and attack. A low CON may make you more likely to throw up if you smell something really bad, and you'll get winded easily when running - there's CON for ya.
SIZ is the investigator's height and weight summarized in one number. Size checks might be needed if a person wants to squeeze through an opening or somesuch. A SIZ of 8 will place you at a weight of around 110 lbs, a SIZ of 12 around 160 lbs, and a SIZ of 16 at around 225 lbs. Remember these are just approximates and guidelines, and whetehr you want to account for a small or great size by adjusting height, weight, or muscle mass is entirely up to you - though if you adjust muscle-mass remember to make it correspond with your STR
INT is rather obvious as well. Int check will be needed when the Keeper (I) needs to know if any of you will think of some info you might find useful. There will always be other ways to find it, but a successful Int check could allow you to recall it more quickly. Again 18 is the highest a human can have, but whether you want a high INT to be characterized by extreme specialization in one subject or in overall quick-wittedness, is up to you.
POW is basically force of will. It determines Sanity points and thus your resistance to shocking events. It also determines your amount of magic points and you Luck. I might at some point allow one of you to become a sorcerer, but not as long as you're unfamiliar with the system and the mythos.
DEX should once again be among the obvious ones. Dex determines in which order you have your turn in combat, and I can generally call for a dex check when you need to use your balance or the like.
APP is appearance. A high stat here makes you look good. Note, however, that it is not charisma. A good appearance might work well with the Bargain skill and make a good impression when trying to persuade someone (especially from the opposite sex)
EDU measures information, NOT the intelligent use of it. EDU 12 suggest a high school graduate. EDU 16 or higher suggest a degree or graduate-level work. Note that a high EDU is not only acquired at a school, but can generally have learned his stuff from reading a lot and being observant.
An Investigator's starting age should be AT LEAST his EDU +6 years. So with an EDU of 16 he should be 22 or older. If you would really really like a higher EDU you can add 10 years to the age of your Investigator and thus add 1 point to your EDU, however, once you get older than 40 this will have consequences for other attributes. Learning comes at a cost, and for beginning players I won't recommend to fiddle around with this too much. I'm not going to make these expert games before I've seen whether you can handle it, so till then you won't need much of this unless you really want to.