Part 3 - The Game

The Game

Cthulhu Eternal is a game about unveiling – and perhaps defeating – the horrific yet hidden entities of the Cthulhu Mythos that haunt our reality. The world seems mundane, but this is a façade. In dark corners and hidden places, the extra-dimensional and extra-terrestrial horrors lurk. Most people never learn of their existence, but some come to worship or follow such inimical forces. Others who learn the true nature of reality – of those dark entities, and insane devotees they inspire – cannot help but make a stand to defeat their terrible plans. These are Protagonists. Their fight might be never-ending, but the cost of losing is too great. They are the line that separates the sane world we know and the Apocalypse.

Protagonists are usually every-day people who have been awakened to the truth about our world. They usually aren’t superhuman, powerful, or invulnerable. Rather, they are frequently humble, vulnerable, and fragile individuals who have chosen to fight the unknowable but vast powers of the Cthulhu Mythos. Not because they have the strength to conquer the horrors, but because the consequence of inaction is beyond the pale.

Here’s how the game works.

Using Skills

The Cthulhu Eternal rules focus on skills. You decide what your Protagonist attempts to do; the Game Moderator determines what skill to use. In a typical adventure, Protagonists use many different skills.

Sometimes using a skill requires a roll of dice. The most important rule is this: The Game Moderator determines if, when, and what you roll. If the Game Moderator says a roll isn’t needed, the skill rating itself determines success or failure.

Resolving a Test Without Dice

If the Game Moderator decides you don’t need to roll, it comes down to what you’re trying to do and how high your Protagonist’s skill is. If the fact is common knowledge for your Protagonist’s Archetype, or can be found with a little research, he or she might be able to get it by just expending time and effort. If it requires special knowledge, your Protagonist may need a certain amount of a skill.

If the Game Moderator thinks a fact should be known by a history expert with at least 60% skill, then a Protagonist with a relevant history-related skill at 60% or better knows the fact without rolling. Or perhaps a Protagonist with 40% can learn some clues but a Protagonist with 60% would learn more.

Sometimes a combination of skills can overcome a lack in one. A clue that needs 60% in a history-related skill might be available if the Protagonist has both a history skill and some other relevant skill at 40%.

How Much Skill Does the Task Require?

Only a little training; a hobbyist 20%

Basic training or minor training 30%

Years of experience or training 40%

Decades of experience or training 60%

A lifetime’s mastery 80%

Resolving a Test With Dice

If the Game Moderator tells you to roll a skill, it’s a skill test. The dice determine success or failure. Roll two ten-sided dice to get a number from 01 to 00 (1 to 100).

Roll your skill test rating or lower to succeed. Rolling higher than the skill test rating means failure.

There are three criteria for rolling dice for a skill test:

ROLL WHEN IT IS DIFFICULT: A skill test means the Protagonist is attempting something difficult. After all, even an expert in a skill might have only a 60% or 70% rating. A skill test is for a situation when even an expert might fail.

ROLL WHEN THE SITUATION IS UNPREDICTABLE: Having to roll means the situation is out of control. Randomness plays a major role. Surprising, possibly disastrous things can happen, no matter how skillful you are.

ROLL WHEN THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES: Failing a skill roll means ugly things are going to happen. Maybe failing at the crisis is the punishment — or with a failed roll, your Protagonist succeeds but the consequences are severe. The fallout is up to the Game Moderator.

If You Don’t Have the Skill

If your Protagonist has a 0 in a skill, he or she can’t even attempt to use it. It requires specialized training or education that your Protagonist lacks.

Using a Stat

If your Protagonist tries to do something that anyone ought to be able to do — something that’s hard, but doesn’t require specific training like a skill — then the Game Moderator might look to one of your Protagonist’s stats, for a stat test. A stat test is the relevant stat × 5. (So with STR 11, a STR test is 55%.)

Use STR if the challenge requires physical power, CON if it requires endurance, DEX if it requires agility, INT if it requires attention to detail, POW if it requires mental resilience, or CHA if it requires charm.

The stat’s score itself may tell the Game Moderator whether your Protagonist succeeds, without the need for a roll. Does it need someone with at least average Strength? Then your Protagonist needs a STR of 10 or more. If it needs someone with above-average Intelligence, your Protagonist must have an INT of at least 13. If only one person in a hundred would have enough stamina, your Protagonist needs a CON of 17 or 18. (See DETAILED DESCRIPTION: STATISTICS on page 8.)

How Much Stat Does the Task Require?

Anyone could do it 3–4

Nearly anyone could do it 5–8

An average person could do it 9–12

Only an unusually gifted person could do it 13–16

Only a prodigy could do it 17–18

Bonuses and Penalties

Having to make a skill test in the first place means there’s a substantial chance of failure. But if the odds are really against your Protagonist, the Game Moderator might impose a penalty, down to a minimum chance of 1%. If the situation is a little more in your Protagonist’s favor, the Game Moderator might allow a bonus, up to a maximum chance of 99%.

If a bonus or penalty applies, it’s usually +20%/−20% or rarely +40%/−40%.

Bonus or Penalty	Frequency	Description
+40%	Rare	You almost shouldn’t even bother to roll
+20%	Uncommon	Circumstances are noticeably in your favor
No modifier	Most circumstances	The action is difficult and unpredictable
-20%	Uncommon	Circumstances are noticeably worse than usual.
-40%	Rare	You almost shouldn’t even bother to roll.

Who Rolls?

A group of Protagonists is searching the cult leader’s camp. Who makes the Alertness skill roll to spot a trap? Good question.

If it’s a task where having more help is useful, use the highest skill among the team.

If it’s a task where a crowd is a hindrance, use the lowest skill among the team.

If it’s a task where you need to know whether every Protagonist succeeds or fails (“How many of you get a good look at the thing in the shadows?”), each player rolls.

Success and Failure

On any skill or stat test, there are only four possible outcomes. From best to worst they are: Critical Success, Success, Failure, and Fumble. Ordinary success and failure are most common. Critical successes and fumbles represent exceptionally good or terrible outcomes.

Critical Success

A critical success is a roll of 01 or any success where the dice digits match one another. So if your Protagonist’s skill is 50%, you achieve a critical success with a roll of 01, 11, 22, 33, or 44. A critical success automatically succeeds, and exceeds expectations. A critical is twice as good as an ordinary success. What twice as good means must be taken in context of the action. In combat, a critical success means double damage, but during an investigation, it might mean the action takes half as long.

Success

A success is a roll equal to or less than the test chance. With a success, your Protagonist accomplishes what he or she set out to achieve.

Failure

A failure is a roll that’s higher than the test chance. Sometimes that means your Protagonist suffers harm.

There may be times when a failed roll means a Protagonist achieves what he or she wanted — but it comes with an unpleasant complication. The Game Moderator always decides whether that’s the case and what the cost will be. For a few possibilities, see the effects of fumbling a roll.

Fumble

A fumble is a roll of 00 (100) or any failure where the dice digits match one another. So if your Protagonist’s skill is 50%, you fumble on a roll of 55, 66, 77, 88, 99, or 00. A fumbled roll fails, no matter how high your Protagonist’s chance of success, and has additional, catastrophic consequences.

In a car chase, a fumble might mean your Protagonist crashes. In a gunfight, a weapon might jam, or you might accidentally shoot yourself.

The exact complications are up to the Game Moderator. Here are some possibilities.

PHYSICAL STRAIN: Lose 1D6 HP or temporarily lose 1D4 STR, CON, or DEX.

EMOTIONAL BURNOUT: Lose 1D6 WP or temporarily lose 1D4 INT, POW, or CHA.

ALIENATION: Offend an important NPC. All CHA or Persuade tests with the NPC automatically fail until the end of the adventure.

EXHAUSTION: Immediately become exhausted (see page 43).

DISTRACTION: Suffer a −20% penalty to your next test.

CONFUSION: You make a major error and gain false information.

Optional Rule: Nudging Skill and Stat Tests

By default, as soon as dice are rolled for a skill test or a stat test the result is set in stone – the number rolled determines whether the test was a success, failure, critical success, or fumble. There is no way to change the roll or to re-roll to achieve a different outcome.

Some players, however, prefer to have an option for dice rolls to be nudged: for “near misses” to be turned into successes at some other cost to the character. This optional rule delivers that, by allowing characters to sacrifice Willpower Points (WPs) to “nudge” the dice rolled for a skill or stat test. Using this optional rule makes the game slightly less harsh in terms of the randomness of the dice, but also adds a resource-management element to players rationing their Willpower Points.

Here’s how nudging works for skill tests and stat tests:

• After a test has been rolled, a player can elect to spend any number of WPs, with each spend adjusting the dice roll either up or down as the player prefers.
• Each WP spent adjusts the original dice roll by 1—5 percentiles (player’s choice).
• “Nudging” a dice roll that originally indicated a failure may convert it into a roll indicating standard success; alternatively, a dice roll that was originally a standard success may be turned into a failure.
• This process cannot be used to alter the dice roll for a test performed by someone other than the character making the WP spend. Specifically, it cannot be used to modify the dice roll of an adversary.
• The sacrifice of WPs represents the character investing extra energy and focus to ensure that a borderline situation is resolved in the desired way. Doing this can trigger exhaustion and may make the tired character more susceptible to being affected by arcane powers, and less prepared to participate in rituals.
• “Nudging” a dice roll can never create a critical success or a fumble, and dice rolls that originally indicated a critical success or fumble cannot be “nudged”. Even if the dice roll total obtained after a “nudge” is applied happens to be a number with matching digits, the result is still either a standard success or a failure.
• Remember that, as described in WILLPOWER POINTS (page 43), consequences may apply to a character whose WP total falls below 3.

Note: only skill tests and stat tests can be “nudged” in this way; SAN test and Luck tests cannot be “nudged”.

As with all optional rules, the GM and players should agree before the game whether this rule is to be used.

Another question to agree upon is whether “nudging” is available solely _to Protagonists in the game or also an action that NPCs can perform

The Luck Roll

Events often come down to pure chance.

Are adversaries awake when your Protagonist sneaks into the enemy’s camp? Does the stolen car have a first aid kit in the trunk? When an unexpected burst of fire tears down the door, does a bullet find you?

If the Game Moderator calls for a Luck roll, there’s a 50% chance that things go your Protagonist’s way. It doesn’t depend on psychic talent or your Protagonist’s connection with the cosmos or anything else. Just roll the dice. With a critical success or a fumble, your Protagonist’s luck is extra good or bad.

Time Required

Sometimes speed counts. The Game Moderator determines how long it takes to perform a test.

TURNS: It takes a few combat turns (see THE TURN on page 44) or, at most, sixty seconds. Combat, some skill tests, and most stat tests are resolved in turns.

MINUTES: It takes a few minutes. You can’t do it in combat, but otherwise, your Protagonist can get through it rapidly. Many skill tests are resolved in minutes.

HOURS: It takes hours. Your Protagonist can typically attempt two to four such tasks per day (four only if your Protagonist goes without rest; see EXHAUSTION on page 43).

DAYS: It takes a day or more. Some extended skill tests, requiring multiple rolls, take days.

LONG-TERM: Efforts that take place outside normal gameplay, like research and training, fit here. It could be a week, a month, or years. It’s up to the Game Moderator.

Opposed Tests

An opposed test happens when someone takes action to interfere with another’s action.

This might be a player rolling a Protagonist’s Insight to sense the lies in a compound leader’s Persuade roll, a Protagonist escaping a pursuer with opposed Athletics tests, a degenerate cultist trying to wrestle a sacrificial victim to the ground in opposed Unarmed Combat tests, or a Protagonist’s Dodge trying to oppose an alien monstrosity’s attack roll.

Usually, skills oppose skills and stats oppose stats. A stat opposes a skill only when one character must use very specific knowledge or training (and therefore rolls a skill) but the other does not (and therefore rolls a stat). It is up to the Game Moderator.

By nature, opposed tests are very unlikely to succeed. Not only must your roll succeed, but you must overcome the opposition’s roll as well.

If two characters’ skills oppose each other but neither needs to roll, the higher rating wins.

Opposed Tests and Pursuits

Outcome	Opponent Succeeds	Opponent Fails
You Succeed	A critical success beats a success. Otherwise, whoever rolled higher succeeds and the other fails.	Your action succeeds and the opposed action fails.
You Fail	You fail to stop the opposed action.	Nobody succeeds; or whoever rolled lower succeeds and the other fails (Game Moderator’s choice).

Pursuit

A pursuit is a series of opposed tests. The most basic chase is a single test for each side, pursuer and quarry. If the quarry wins, he or she escapes and the chase ends. If the pursuer wins, he or she (or it) runs the quarry down and the chase ends. Usually that means combat.

A more prolonged chase may require two wins by one side or the other. Wins cancel each other out. If the pursuer wins one but the quarry wins the next, that cancels out the pursuer’s win. Then, the quarry needs to win twice more to escape. An especially wide-open chase might require three wins to either catch up or escape.

In each test, one side or the other wins. If both fail their rolls, the lowest failure wins. A critical success with a chase test counts as two wins. A fumble counts as two failures thanks to a wreck or some other disastrous accident.

WHICH SKILL APPLIES: A chase on foot requires Athletics; one in vehicles uses Drive, Pilot, or even Heavy Machinery; in the water, it uses Swim; on horseback, it uses Ride.

AID AND ADVANTAGES: Coordinating with multiple pursuers (whether they’re in sight of each other or have constant contact by some means), or being substantially faster and/or more maneuverable grants a +20% bonus to each chase test, or +40% if the advantages are overwhelming.

SEEKING AN EDGE: Instead of the usual roll to catch up or get away, pursuer or quarry may attempt to gain some advantage by testing a skill that applies to the situation.

Possible skills include Alertness, Navigate, Stealth, or Survival.

If this test wins the contest, instead of a “win” it grants a +20% bonus to the next chase roll, or +40% with a critical success. Failure and fumbling have the usual effects.

COMBAT DURING A CHASE: A person in a chase may be able to launch attacks at opponents, especially if their skill isn’t being used as the test for escaping or evading (e.g., they are a passenger on a conveyance controlled by someone else). These will usually be some form of ranged attack. Such attacks are resolved before the pursuer and quarry roll to pursue and escape. Attacks use the COMBAT rules, beginning on page 44. Each contest in the chase is equivalent to one combat turn.

If your Protagonist makes an attack but doing so will seriously impact their efforts to pursue or evade, the attack is considered to occur instead of a roll to pursue or escape – effectively meaning the opponent’s roll to pursue or escape automatically wins that exchange. This will always be the case if the pursuit is on foot; in other situations it will depend on whether your Protagonist’s skill at controlling his or her conveyance is a major factor in the chase (if in doubt, the GM can make a call).

Willpower Points

Willpower Points are mental fuel. Protagonists require Willpower Points to keep going despite exhaustion, to resist unwanted persuasion, to resist the effects of terror and mental disorders, and, on rare occasions, to resist or enact unnatural rituals.

LOW WILLPOWER POINTS: A Protagonist whose WP hits 1 or 2 has an emotional breakdown. The Protagonist suffers a −20% penalty to all actions until WP rises above 2.

RUNNING OUT OF WILLPOWER POINTS: A Protagonist at 0 WP loses all control. This can look different for every Protagonist and every situation. The Protagonist might collapse in wracking sobs, or lash out wildly, or simply pass out. The Game Moderator controls your Protagonist until WP returns to 1 or higher and describes the reaction. A Protagonist with 0 WP cannot succeed at any tests, including SAN tests. Sooner or later the Protagonist falls asleep, regardless of any disorders or stimulants, long enough to regain WP

REGAINING WILLPOWER POINTS: When your Protagonist gets a full night’s sleep (but no more than once in a 24-hour period), he or she regains 1D6 WP. If you play up one of your Protagonist’s personal motivations in a way the Game Moderator finds compelling, your Protagonist regains 1 WP.

Exhaustion

A Protagonist who works too long or faces extreme danger and injury without resting becomes exhausted. When this comes into play is up to the Game Moderator, but a good rule of thumb is that going a night without sleep or refusing to rest after losing SAN or Hit Points leads to exhaustion.

An exhausted Protagonist suffers a −20% penalty to all skills, stat tests, and SAN tests, and loses 1D6 WP. The exhausted Protagonist loses another 1D6 WP after going another night without sleep, after working hard for a few hours, or after running or fighting for a few minutes. A full night’s sleep cures exhaustion.

STIMULANTS: Taking common types of stimulants offsets the exhaustion penalty for 1D6 hours. Examples in the Modern Era might include nicotine and caffeine.

Harder stimulants (if any are available) offset it for 2D6 hours. Examples in the Modern Era include cocaine, ritalin, methamphetamine and MDMA.

During this time, your Protagonist can’t sleep. A Protagonist can take more stimulants to keep going, but every dose after the first costs 1D6 WP.

If your Protagonist gains a new mental disorder while using stimulants, the Game Moderator has good reason to say the disorder takes the form of addiction to them. (See DISORDERS on page 71.)

Sleeplessness

The first time your Protagonist tries to sleep after suffering temporary insanity or gaining a new mental disorder (see TEMPORARY INSANITY and DISORDERS on page 69), you must make a SAN test. If it fails, your Protagonist wakes in terror, losing the possibility of regaining any WP for 24 hours.

ARTIFICIAL SEDATION: A Protagonist may try to overcome sleeplessness via artificial means, such as drinking alcohol or using other similar sedatives. This gives a +20% bonus to the SAN test to get to sleep. If the test fails, the Protagonist gets no rest despite taking sedatives. In addition, the Protagonist is sick the next day, at a −20% penalty to all tests until he or she gets a full night’s rest. If your Protagonist gains a new mental disorder while using sedatives, the Game Moderator has good reason to say the disorder takes the form of an addiction to them.