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View Full Version : D&D 5e/Next Call of Cthulhu D&D 5e Style



EggKookoo
2015-07-08, 08:02 PM
I've been working on adapting the d20 Call of Cthulhu to a system more in line with D&D 5e. Why? I dunno, maybe I'm a glutton for punishment.

Like the d20 CoC, players have one class -- the Investigator. In keeping with 5e's approach, there are three subclasses, kind of like an extension of the d20 "defensive" and "offensive" options.

Ok, here we go:


Investigator

Hit Die: d4
Hit Points at 1st Level: 4 + CON mod
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d4 + CON mod per Investigator level after 1st
Proficiencies: Simple weapons
Tools: Investigator Research Kit
Saving Throws: INT, CHA
Skills: Investigation and choose two more from Arcana, Deception, History, Insight, Medicine, Performance, Persuasion, and Religion.

Features

Favored Enemy

Beginning at 1st level, you have significant experience studying, tracking, hunting, and even talking to a certain type of enemy.
Choose a type of favored enemy. Alternatively, you can select two races of humanoid as favored enemies. You have advantage on WIS (Survival) checks to track your favored enemies, as well as on INT checks to recall information about them. When you gain this feature, you also learn one language of your choice that is spoken by your favored enemies, if they speak one at all.

You choose one additional favored enemy, as well as an associated language, at 6th and 14th level.

Expertise

At 2nd level, choose one of your skill proficiencies. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses this skill. At 7th level, you can choose another skill proficiency to gain this benefit.

School

At 3rd level you must choose a School: Adventurer, Raider, or Scholar.

Ability Score Improvement

At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. You can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.


Schools

The Investigator class has three Schools: Adventurer; Raider; and Scholar. Different Investigators are drawn to different approaches when it comes to combating the forces of darkness.



Adventurer

The Adventure is the rough-and-ready type. Literature, theory, and intellectual pursuits are admirable as far as they go, but the real thrill of investigation comes from exploration.

As an Adventurer, you tend to be physically fit, with a relatively strong body and rugged endurance. While you are no intellectual lightweight – you may hold PhDs in multiple fields – you spend most of your time in the field interacting directly with the subjects of your work.

This lifestyle is not without its physical risks, and you have quickly learned how to defend yourself against the many dangers you will continue to face. The Adventurer is the most combat-capable School of Investigator, for those who favor direct action over stealth or complex analysis.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you choose this School at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with light and medium armor, and martial weapons.

Durable

In addition, beginning at 3rd level, when you roll to determine your hit points, you roll two d4 dice and choose the higher result.

Beginning at 11th level you can roll three d4 dice and choose the highest.

Level Headed

Also when you choose this School at 3rd level, you gain a slight advantage when calculating Sanity Points. Instead of 1d20 + your INT mod, you roll 5d4 + your highest mod.

If your highest mod ever changes – either the mod itself or another mod becomes the highest – you must recalculate your maximum SP. If your mod is temporarily altered, you do not recalculate your maximum SP.

For example, if your highest mod is +4, but that mod is permanently reduced to +3, you must recalculate your SP using +3. However, if you had another mod that was also +4 (and it remains +4), you can “switch” mods and use that +4.

Another example: If your highest mod is you CON, and you are subject to a limited-duration effect that reduces your CON, you do not recalculate your SP even though your CON mod may technically no longer be your highest mod.

See Sanity for more information.

Extra Attack

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

When you reach 20th level, you can attack three times.

Indomitable

Beginning at 9th level, you can reroll a saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll, and you can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

You can use this feature twice between long rests starting at 13th level and three times between long rests starting at 17th level.

Fighting Style

At 10th level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.


Ranged: You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.
Defense: While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.
Melee: When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.


Multiattack

At 11th level, you gain one of the following features of your choice.


Volley. You can use your action to make a ranged attack against any number of creatures within 10 feet of a point you can see within your weapon’s range. You must have ammunition for each target, as normal, and you make a separate attack roll for each target.
Whirlwind Attack. You can use your action to make a melee attack against any number of creatures within 5 feet of you, with a separate attack roll for each target.


Brutal Critical

At 15th level, you can roll one additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.

Survivor

At 18th level, you attain the pinnacle of resilience in battle. At the start of each of your turns, you regain hit points equal to 5 + your CON modifier if you have no more than half of your hit points left. You don’t gain this benefit if you have 0 hit points.



Raider

Though it’s unlikely you would refer to yourself as such, as a Raider, you see paranormal investigation as a means to an end. It’s all well and good to defeat or subvert the forces of chaos; you are mainly in it for personal gain. Perhaps it’s money, or glory, or even for the dark knowledge itself. You want yours, and you’re not usually above taking advantage of the sincerity of others to get it.

You may be in the employ of another agency with no true personal interest in the subjects of your investigations. You might be a freelance hired gun. Regardless, you view supernatural artifacts and ancient lost knowledge as a resource, to be bought, sold, used, or stolen.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you choose this School at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with light armor and martial weapons.

Flexible Mind

Also beginning with 3rd level, you gain advantage on your WIS check when rolling to see if you regain any Sanity Points upon defeating or killing a supernatural creature that had previously caused you to lose Sanity Points.

See Sanity for more information.

Evasion

Beginning at 5th level, you can nimbly dodge out of the way of certain area effects. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a DEX saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Improved Critical

Beginning at 9th level, your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20. At 20th level, you weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18, 19, or 20.

Spellcasting

By 10th level, your habit of digging into forbidden tomes and infiltrating cultist groups has given you a passing familiarity with magic. While you don’t have the deep occult education of the Scholar, you have managed to distill a bit of spellcasting ability.

The Investigator table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, when you are 15th level, you have two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast a 1st-level spell, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell.

You can learn as many spells as indicated by the Raider Spells Known column. You do not gain these spells automatically and these spells do not come from any predetermined class spell list. Instead, they result from occult knowledge you gain in the course of your investigations, usually as a result of a failed Sanity check (essentially, they are chosen by the GM). Spells are not simple knowledge but represent a perverse twisting of your mind, which is why you can only know so many. However, you can choose to forget a spell to make room for a new one. Your spellcasting ability is CHA.

See Magic for more information.

Supreme Sneak

Starting at 11th level, you have advantage on a DEX (Stealth) check if you move no more than half your speed on the same turn.

Slippery Mind

By 13th level, you have acquired great mental strength. You gain proficiency in WIS saving throws.

Elusive

Beginning at 15th level, you are so evasive that attackers rarely gain the upper hand against you. No attack roll has advantage against you while you aren’t incapacitated and are free to move.

Opportunist

At 18th level, you can exploit a creature's momentary distraction when it is hit by an attack. Whenever a creature within 5 feet of you is hit by an attack made by a creature other than you, you can use your reaction to make a melee attack against that creature.



Scholar

Knowledge for its own sake. As a Scholar, you seek to understand the strange and paranormal. This desire is powered by a strong academic background and rigorous adherence to scientific principles.

Of all the Schools, you have the greatest potential to harness the bizarre power of the supernatural for your own purposes. Unfortunately, you are also the most likely to be driven mad by your experiences.

Resilient Intellect

At 3rd level, you gain advantage on Sanity Checks as long as your current sanity threshold is Four-Fifths or higher.

See Sanity for more information.

Spellcasting

At 5h level, your aggressive study of the supernatural has unlocked an ability to control magic. While you may learn magic as the result of a bout of insanity, you also might be able to decipher ancient tomes or decode mysterious artifacts.

The Investigator table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

For example, when you are 11th level, you have two 4th-level spell slots. To cast a 1st-level spell, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 4th-level spell.

You can learn as many spells as indicated by the Scholar Spells Known column. You do not gain these spells automatically and these spells do not come from any predetermined class spell list. Instead, they result from occult knowledge you gain in the course of your investigations, sometimes as a result of a failed Sanity check and sometimes as flashes of insight when studying a paranormal relic (essentially, they are chosen by the GM). Spells are not simple knowledge but represent a perverse twisting of your mind, which is why you can only know so many. However, you can choose to forget a spell to make room for a new one. Your spellcasting ability is INT.

See Magic for more information.

Well Rounded

Starting at 9th level, you can add half your proficiency bonus, rounded down, to any ability check you make (you do not actually gain proficiency with this ability). This includes checks that already include your proficiency bonus.

Fighting Style

At 10th level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.


Defense: While you are wearing no armor, you gain a +2 bonus to AC as long as you are not incapacitated and free to move.
Protection: When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You must be wielding a shield or weapon, or otherwise be holding an object that can intercept the attack.


Whichever option you choose at 10th level, you can choose the other option once you reach 15th level.

Know Your Enemy

Starting at 11th level, if you spend at least 1 round observing or interacting with a creature (including fighting it), you can learn certain information about its capabilities compared to your own. The GM tells you if the creature is your equal, superior, or inferior in regard to one of the following characteristics of your choice:


Strength score
Dexterity score
Constitution score
Armor Class
Current hit points
Total class levels (if any)


For each additional round (up to seven rounds) you spend interacting with the creature, you gain additional knowledge from the above list.

If you acquire three pieces of information, your opponent suffers disadvantage on to-hit rolls against you. If you gain all seven pieces of information, you gain advantage on to-hit rolls against your opponent.

Strength of Mind

Starting at 13th level, you can use your bonus action to end one effect on yourself that is causing you to be charmed or frightened. If you are in the grips of an episode of supernatural insanity, you can use your bonus action make a WIS check DC 15 to break free.

Aura of Courage

At 18th level, you and friendly creatures within 20 feet of you can’t be frightened while you are conscious.

Foe Slayer

At 20th level, you become an unparalleled hunter of your enemies. Once on each of your turns, you can add your INT modifier to the attack roll or the damage roll of an attack you make or spell you cast (if applicable) against one of your favored enemies. You can choose to use this feature before or after the roll, but before any effects of the roll are applied.



Level
Proficiency Bonus
Features
Raider Spells Known
Raider Spell Slots
Raider Slot Level
Scholar Spells Known
Scholar Spell Slots
Scholar Slot Level


1st
+2
Favored Enemy
-
-
-
-
-
-


2nd
+2
Expertise
-
-
-
-
-
-


3rd
+2
School feature
-
-
-
-
-
-


4th
+2
Ability Score Improvement
-
-
-
-
-
-


5th
+3
School feature
-
-
-
1
1
1st


6th
+3
Favored Enemy
-
-
-
1
1
1st


7th
+3
Expertise
-
-
-
1
1
2nd


8th
+3
Ability Score Improvement
-
-
-
1
1
2nd


9th
+4
School feature
-
-
-
2
1
3rd


10th
+4
School feature
1
1
1st
2
1
3rd


11th
+4
School feature
1
1
1st
2
2
4th


12th
+4
Ability Score Improvement
1
1
2nd
3
2
4th


13th
+5
School feature
1
1
2nd
3
2
5th


14th
+5
Favored
Enemy
1
1
3rd
4
2
5th


15th
+5
School feature
2
2
3rd
5
2
5th


16th
+5
Ability Score Improvement
2
2
4th
6
3
5th


17th
+6
Expertise
2
2
4th
7
3
5th


18th
+6
School feature
2
2
5th
8
3
5th


19th
+6
Ability Score Improvement
3
3
5th
9
3
5th


20th
+6
School feature
3
3
5th
10
4
5th

EggKookoo
2015-07-08, 08:03 PM
Rules on Sanity


Sanity

Sanity is measured as your emotional and mental resilience. It’s something like psychological hit points. When you have a lot of Sanity Points, you are capable of weathering shocks well, and can resist concepts that threaten your fundamental understanding of the universe. As you lose Sanity Points, you also lose your grip on reality.

In the course of your adventures, you will encounter paranormal entities and artifacts that may damage your sanity. This is manifested as a Sanity Check and the potential loss of Sanity Points.

Sanity Check

A Sanity Check is a WIS saving throw. The DC is usually 10, although that may change depending on various circumstances.

You will most often need to make a Sanity Check when faced with concrete evidence of the supernatural. For example, if you come face to face with a Deep One, you must make an immediate Sanity Check. If the roll succeeds, you have weathered the experience and retained control of yourself. If you fail your roll, you suffer some amount of sanity damage (1d8 in the case of a Deep One), which deducts from your current Sanity Points (see Sanity Points below).

Each round you are in the presence of the source of the threat, you must make a Sanity Check, potentially accruing more sanity damage, until you eventually succeed in your roll. At that point you no longer needs to make Sanity Checks. If a new supernatural entity or element appears, however, you will be prompted to make another Sanity Check, thus resuming the process.

If multiple supernatural entities confront you at once, you are not required to make separate rolls, but the DC increases. The GM typically increases it by 1 for every additional entity or creature. In a case where it’s not clear how many distinct sources there should be, the GM may simply assign a higher DC. However, you will suffer sanity damage for each individual source, if it can be ascertained.

For example, if you enter a room to see three Deep Ones, you only need to make one Sanity Check but the DC is now 12. If you fail, you suffer 3d8 sanity damage. You will continue to suffer 3d8 sanity damage each round until you makes your Sanity Check.

If a second supernatural entity confronts you while you are still trying to succeed with your Sanity Check, it is the same as encountering multiple supernatural entities at once (one roll; increased DC). If you have succeeded in your first Sanity Check before a second entity appears, treat the second entity as separate roll.

If you roll a natural 20 when making a Sanity Check, the roll not only succeeds but you are restored the same amount of Sanity Points you would have lost had you failed (1d8 in the case of a single Deep One), unless you are already at maximum Sanity Points.

If you roll a natural 1 when making a Sanity Check, you suffer double sanity damage (2d8 in the case of a single Deep One) and may also suffer long-term psychological damage. See Long-Term Sanity Damage below.

In either case (a natural 1 or 20) you have a chance to acquire magical knowledge in the form of spells. Only Investigators of the Raider or Scholar Schools are eligible to learn spells. See the Magic document for more information.

Mundane Threats to Sanity

Sometimes the GM will call for a Sanity Check even if there is no supernatural activity present. If you stumble across a dismembered body, or a nearby ally (or you) suffers a grievous injury, or any other sudden, horrific event transpires that’s beyond your general experience, you may suffer a severe emotional shock.

Non-supernatural Sanity Checks work the same way as supernatural ones, except that you may take reduced (half) sanity damage if the trigger is relatively mild. Also, if you fail your Sanity Check, you will automatically regain control over yourself as if you had succeeded you check the following round. A natural 20 is merely a guaranteed success and a natural 1 is merely a guaranteed failure for a non-supernatural Sanity Check.

If you are required to make a supernatural and a non-supernatural Sanity Check in the same round, you must make each roll independently.

Over time, you may become desensitized to mundane horror. At the GM’s discretion, when you succeed in a non-supernatural Sanity Check, you can make another Sanity Check roll to see if you have grown accustomed to the experience. If you succeed, you will never need to make a Sanity Check for that specific kind of trigger again (although you may still need to for other mundane horrors).

You can never become accustomed to supernatural horrors and must always make supernatural Sanity Checks.

Sanity Points

Your maximum Sanity Points (SP) is calculated using a d20 and your INT mod. At first level, you have 20 + INT mod SP. Each level thereafter, you roll 1d20 + INT mod and add that to your maximum SP. You can never have more SP than this maximum.

If your INT mod ever permanently changes, you must recalculate your maximum SP. If this results in a reduced maximum SP, your current SP will be reduced accordingly if needed. An effect that only affects your INT mod for a limited duration has no impact on your maximum or current SP.

Whenever you roll your Hit Dice to heal after a short rest, you may also apply the roll result to your SP, up to your SP maximum. After a long rest, you regain half of your maximum SP, again up to the maximum.

For example, if you are a 5th level Investigator with 60 maximum SP but have lost 40 SP, you currently have 20 SP. After a short rest, you roll 5d4 to restore any lost HP, and the same number of points is applied to your SP. If you restore 12 points, your SP is now up to 32. After a long rest, you can restore as much as 30 SP, but since 32 + 30 would put you over your maximum, you instead are restored directly to 60. If you take a long rest in lieu of the short rest, you would recover 30 SP bringing yourself to a current total of 50.

Healing magic or the use of the Medicine skill does not restore SP. However, if an ally makes a successful Insight skill check while talking with you, you can restore 1d4 + the ally’s INT mod SP. The ally can make this roll once per round, but you must be conscious and coherent, and you are limited to as many attempts (successful or otherwise) as you WIS mod per day. If your WIS mod is less than 1, you are not capable of being aided in this manner.

The DC for this roll depends on your current level of mental health. See Mental Health below.

Mental Health

Sanity Points are important in determining your general state of mental health. If your current SP drops too low, you will suffer penalties. The point at which you are inflicted with a penalty is based on a threshold determined by your current SP compared to your maximum SP. These thresholds are calculated as one-fifth, two-fifths, three-fifths, four-fifths, and full. You are considered to be at a given threshold when your current SP divided by your maximum SP is greater than or equal to that threshold (round down).


Full: You are in full control of your mental and emotional facilities... for now.
Four-Fifths: You are mostly in control of your mental and emotional facilities. However, you have been badly shaken. You suffer disadvantage on any check or save when attempting to avoid being frightened, stunned, or charmed. The DC for an ally’s Insight check is 10.
Three-Fifths: You are noticeably uneasy. In addition to the penalties above, you suffer disadvantage on any ability check unless you are proficient with that check. The DC for an ally’s Insight check is 15.
Two-Fifths: You are distinctly agitated and often need to be prompted into productive action by your allies. In addition to the penalties above, you will go last in the round regardless of your place in initiative (you retain your regular initiative “slot” in case your current SP brings you back up above this threshold). You can act at your regular initiative turn if an ally uses his or her reaction to prompt you. You also suffer disadvantage on all saves and checks, regardless of proficiency. Further, if you suffer any damage, you must make a WIS saving throw DC 15 or flee in fear. The DC for an ally’s Insight check is 20.
One-Fifth: You are almost catatonic. In addition to the penalties above, you must make a CHA or WIS check DC 15 in order to move and/or take an action. This roll consumes your bonus action. If you make the check, you can move normally and take one action on your turn, although you may still flee if you take damage per the Two-Fifths threshold, and you may not take a reaction. The DC for an ally’s Insight check is 25, but due to your unresponsive state, the ally suffers disadvantage on the roll.

If you are below the one-fifth threshold, you either become incapacitated (faint) or frightened (flee in terror). Incapacitated or unconscious PCs are not normally subject to Sanity Checks. In such a state, you are not responsive to Insight skill checks and can only be subdued or otherwise restrained until resting brings your current SP above one-fifth.

Calculating Sanity Thresholds

To determine your sanity thresholds, divide your maximum SP by five and then use that number as a multiplier for each threshold. Round down after multiplying. For example, if you have a maximum SP of 60, your multiplier is 60/5, or 12. Your thresholds are the following:


Full: 60 SP
Four-Fifths: 48 SP
Three-Fifths: 36 SP
Two-Fifths: 24 SP
One-Fifth: 12 SP


It might be a good idea to calculate these numbers when you reach a new level and increase your maximum SP. That way, you should only need to do the math once per level.

Complete Loss of Sanity

If you are ever reduced to zero Sanity Points, you become permanently insane. At this point you are no longer playable as a character and become controlled by the GM.

Overcoming Fear

If you have suffered a loss of sanity due to exposure to the supernatural, and are present when a supernatural creature is defeated or killed, or when any supernatural force has been overcome, there is a chance you can recover some of your loss.

Whenever a supernatural creature or group of creatures is defeated – by being killed or by being driven off – and you are present, conscious, and able to witness the event, you are allowed a WIS check, DC 10. If the roll succeeds, you regain enough Sanity Points to bring yourself up to the bottom of the next highest sanity threshold.

For example, if you have a maximum SP of 60, and currently have 40 SP, you are at the three-fifths threshold. Upon defeating a group of Deep Ones (presumably with allies) and subsequently making a successful WIS check, you gain enough SP to come up to the four-fifths threshold, and now have 48 SP.

This check cannot be made in the presence of an active supernatural threat, but only when all such threats have been eliminated. If you actively participated in the defeat of the threat, you gain advantage on your WIS check. At the GM’s discretion, you may also gain advantage on the roll if the defeated threat was in some way exceptional or momentous.

Long-Term Sanity Damage

If you roll a natural 1 when making a Sanity Check, you run the risk of suffering long-term injury to your psyche. This is more commonly thought of as going insane.

After rolling a 1 on a Sanity Check, you must make a special insanity roll. This is an INT saving throw, complete with Proficiency Bonus, against a DC equal to 30 minus your character level. The twist is that if you succeed in the roll, you have become aware of the full implications of what you have witnessed and have developed a psychosis. If you fail the roll, your mind has successfully blocked any comprehension of the true alien nature of the universe.

Your psychosis manifests as an additional background personality trait or flaw. Subject to GM approval, you may pick any personality trait or flaw from any background. This becomes your new compulsion.

Ideally, this compulsion should resemble the conditions that lead to your psychological break. For example, if you failed a critical roll just before acquiring your compulsion, you might take the personality trait: When I set my mind to something, I follow through no matter what gets in my way. Applied compulsively, this could lead to further dangers.

This compulsion is special. Normally, you gain Inspiration when you play in alignment with your background personality trait or flaw. This is largely a role-playing exercise but the GM may inflict penalties if you do not actively attempt to satisfy the conditions of your compulsion.

The compulsion doesn’t manifest itself immediately; you will begin behaving according to it after your next rest (long or short).

You can have multiple compulsions at the same time.

Removing Compulsions

Compulsions can be removed through extensive psychotherapy. This is mostly a role-playing exercise and outside regular rules. It would certainly be a long, slow process that would take make months of game time. If you suffer from multiple compulsions, only one can be worked on at a time.

Even if a compulsion is removed, it remains lurking in your psyche. You may decide to swap out your flaw or personality trait for your compulsion. This would allow you to retain the psychological flavor of your former insanity without it being so overwhelming.

Also, if you ever acquire a compulsion after being cured, it’s likely a previous compulsion will reassert itself (rather than generating a new one). Overall, it’s up to you and GM to make choices that feel coherent and relevant to the episode that caused your insanity.

EggKookoo
2015-07-08, 08:04 PM
Magic

Magic is a term for paranormal knowledge or ability when applied by mortal humans. Some Investigators – those of the Raider and Scholar Schools – are capable of learning and using magic. When you make use of magic to invoke a specific effect, it is referred to as a spell.

Spells are distinct magical formulae that must be processed (cast) in order to generate a particular result.

Learning Spells

If you are a Raider or Scholar Investigator, you are capable of learning spells whenever you roll a natural 1 or 20 when making a Sanity Check. Upon such a roll, the GM may decide to grant you a new spell. The GM may award the spell directly or ask for a roll (perhaps an INT check). Your new spell must be of a spell level that you can cast. When you learn a new spell, it is added to your known spells list and can be cast as long you have available slots for it.

If you are a Scholar Investigator, you may also learn spells through research and flashes of insight. If you encounter the magical information needed to learn a spell – the spell’s recipe, so to speak – the GM may allow you to learn it. Learning a spell via research requires a number of successful Arcana skill checks. For example, you may need to make three successful Arcana checks, and you can only make one per long rest. Or the GM may say you need to make three successful Arcana checks before you accrue three Arcana skill check failures, if the spell is particularly tricky to comprehend. Regardless of the process and requirements set forth by the GM, once you learn the spell, it becomes available to cast.

If you learn a new spell but you are already at your maximum number of spells, you can decline to learn the new spell (in the case of it being the result of a Sanity Check) or choose to forget one of your existing spells. Once a spell is forgotten in this manner, you can never cast it again.

You cannot forget a spell without replacing it with a new one, unless you go through a psychotherapy process akin to losing a compulsion. In such a case, you must work toward forgetting one spell at a time.

Spells and Sanity

Spells are more then mere knowledge. The process of learning magic twists your mind in subtle but definite ways. You suffer a -1 penalty on any supernatural Sanity Checks for each spell you know. However, you gain a +1 bonus for mundane Sanity Checks per spell. For example, if you know four spells, you suffer a -4 on supernatural Sanity Checks and gain +4 on mundane Sanity Checks. If you ever forget a spell through therapy, your penalty and bonus are reduced accordingly.

Spell List

Rather than list a set of spells here, it is recommended that the GM select appropriate spells from the various D&D spellcaster class spell lists. Spell choices should be thematic, horrific, with a sense of danger to both you and your allies. Warlock spells work well.

The GM should be sure to choose spells no higher than 5th level, even if they are scaled to your spell slot level. Cantrips are acceptable, too, but it may take some tweaking to scale them to a given slot level.

If a spell has a material component, you will need to possess the component and carry it on your person when casting. Unless otherwise specified in the spell description, the material component is not consumed in the process of casting.

Magic Items

Sometimes a magic item grants the ability to cast a spell or use a spell-like ability. This process is independent of spellcasting as such, and even Adventurer Investigators can make use of these objects.

Carrying a magical item or object that grants you an ability or bonus also imparts a -1 penalty on supernatural Sanity Checks. This penalty is cumulative with each magical item you are carrying on your person and is cumulative with any similar penalty for knowing a spell. Magic items do not grant a bonus to mundane Sanity Checks.


So, any thoughts, concerns, gotchas? What did I miss?

Ziegander
2015-07-08, 08:54 PM
This looks amazing. I can't wait to show my players this.

EggKookoo
2015-07-08, 09:21 PM
Thanks! I haven't played it out yet (we're still finishing up our current game). I have a lot of old school Call of Cthulhu players but we tend to play the game by way of Indiana Jones. We're coming up on a new CoC adventure I'm putting together and we all agree we like 5e and we also want a more tactical combat system than Chaosium offers.

Please let me know if you do end up using this and if it worked out for your group. My gut says the Raider might be a tad underpowered but maybe that's just me.

EggKookoo
2015-07-09, 10:48 AM
No other real interest here or is it TL;DR?

Gr7mm Bobb
2015-07-09, 11:16 AM
Seeing as how your adventurer is the combat guy for your group, I would give him 1 extra HP a level (like dwarves or dragon sorcerers).

Your raider seem like the type that might benefit from the rogues cunning action trick, or even the thief's expansion on it.

If that isn't providing the umph needed maybe allow them 2 superiority die that start at a d6 and end on d10's with 2 more dice added as they level. Start them off with 2 maneuvers and let them pick up 4 more as they level. This should provide an amount of striker combat presence with a little more control. If you're worried about certain maneuvers just limit which ones are accessible.

PotatoGolem
2015-07-09, 11:37 AM
Adventurer needs more HP. If they're the frontline type, a d4 is just not enough.

Also, why does Scholar get a fighting style that encourages enemies to attack them over their allies? That doesn't really make sense. TBH, I'm not sure why they have a fighting style at all, but Protection is especially nonsensical.

Why do you have two bad saving throws? And if the class is nonproficient in Wis saves, you're basically forcing them to boost Wis to ever have a chance of making that DC 15 sanity save. Either lower the DC or give them wis save proficiency. The sanity system itself is very convoluted with its tiers. In particular, why bother with the one-fifth tier? If you're done as soon as you hit it, all your SP below one-fifth are meaningless.

Save DCs in general are REALLY high for 5e. And a lot of things require straight ability checks, which are very difficult to pass. I haven't played Call of Cthulu, so if it's a Tomb of Horrors-style thing where PCs are supposed to die every session then this seems great. If not, I'd lower a lot of the DCs.

EggKookoo
2015-07-09, 11:51 AM
Seeing as how your adventurer is the combat guy for your group, I would give him 1 extra HP a level (like dwarves or dragon sorcerers).


Adventurer needs more HP. If they're the frontline type, a d4 is just not enough.

I originally considered making them three distinct classes and giving the Adventurer d6 or even d8, but when I went with one class with three subclasses, they ended up with the same die.

I also considered giving the Adventurer a feature where if you can reroll a 1 when roll hit points for a new level. So a 1 would be really a 2,3, or 4. Do you think that would be enough of a boost to make a difference?

I kind of want these guys to all be fairly fragile, keeping in line with the fatal nature of Call of Cthulhu. Maybe I'm going to far.


Your raider seem like the type that might benefit from the rogues cunning action trick, or even the thief's expansion on it.

If that isn't providing the umph needed maybe allow them 2 superiority die that start at a d6 and end on d10's with 2 more dice added as they level. Start them off with 2 maneuvers and let them pick up 4 more as they level. This should provide an amount of striker combat presence with a little more control. If you're worried about certain maneuvers just limit which ones are accessible.

I was wary of getting too complicated with superiority dice but I could play with that and see how it goes.


Also, why does Scholar get a fighting style that encourages enemies to attack them over their allies? That doesn't really make sense. TBH, I'm not sure why they have a fighting style at all, but Protection is especially nonsensical.

While it's obvious I'm mapping Adventurer = Fighter, Raider = Rogue, and Scholar = Wizard-ish, I wanted to blur the lines a bit, too. I wanted to give the Scholar a lot of appeal since my guess is most players would gravitate toward the other two because it's easier to see how they'd be fun to play. This is why I gave the Scholar much better access to magic, but it's also potentially the easiest to go insane with that subclass due to the Sanity Check penalty that's linked to spells. Giving the Scholar a "defend your allies" ability seemed like it broke the cookie-cutter feel a bit and gave him a link to the rest of the party.

Not trying really to argue a point, so much as explain my thinking. I'll take a look at him again.


Finally, why do you have two bad saving throws? And if the class is nonproficient in Wis saves, you're basically forcing them to boost Wis to ever have a chance of making that DC 15 sanity save. Either lower the DC or give them wis save proficiency.

That's a good point. I think I'll opt for lowering the DC, especially since it can scale up with larger threats.

EggKookoo
2015-07-09, 12:01 PM
The sanity system itself is very convoluted with its tiers. In particular, why bother with the one-fifth tier? If you're done as soon as you hit it, all your SP below one-fifth are meaningless.

I didn't think the tier system would be that much of a burden since you're only calculating it when you level, not during actual gameplay.

Oh, I think I left out a concept. If you lose ALL of your Sanity Points you go permanently insane. So the one-fifth tier exists as a kind of buffer before that happens. I'll have to flesh that out more.


Save DCs in general are REALLY high for 5e. And a lot of things require straight ability checks, which are very difficult to pass. I haven't played Call of Cthulu, so if it's a Tomb of Horrors-style thing where PCs are supposed to die every session then this seems great. If not, I'd lower a lot of the DCs.

CoC makes Tomb of Horrors look like Disneyland, yes. If you have the same PC survive for a long-haul campaign, someone's playing the game wrong. :-)

In general, a CoC game consists of discovering that some (human) cultists are in league with some unfathomable alien intelligence in order to enact some horrific end-of-times event, and at best you disrupt or sabotage the human cultists so that they can't satisfy whatever conditions they need to pull off that event. If you get to the point where you have to interact with any supernatural entities directly, you've probably shifted over to a suicide mission where you sacrifice your life to save the world. They don't all run this way, of course, but this is the basic idea.

Combat happens, but it's mostly a race to deal with the non-supernatural baddies before they bring in the big guns.

EggKookoo
2015-07-11, 01:47 PM
Hi, I've made some tweaks. Notably:


Aventurers now have a kind of "advantage" system when rolling for HP, which helps make sure they're more durable than their counterparts.
I've made mention that losing all of your Sanity Points turns you completely insane and you become an NPC.
I've lowered the Sanity Check base DC, as well as the DC for recovering SP upon defeating supernatural horrors.


I'm considering expanding available proficiencies for skills as the class advances.

For those unfamiliar with the original game, Call of Cthulhu is indeed very lethal. Even seasoned investigators will still have only a handful of HP, with no scaling AC or anything like a Proficiency Bonus to compensate. D&D5e's Hit Point rules are very forgiving, which is why I don't mind giving the Investigator class a d4 for Hit Point determination.