Welcome to Bridgewater, Massachusetts, population 21,878 and rising.
It's a small town, home to few people or buildings of much importance. Boston to the north eclipses it by far, but people do still have their reasons for visiting this quaint New England town.
You see, the little American town of Bridgewater carries with it a tradition of strange sightings and events, be it Bigfoot, UFOs, cattle mutilation, or nearly any other supernatural phenomenon you can imagine. Perhaps this is for the best; it gets the town attention and tourism, with many each year scouring the local area - including the famed Hockomock Swamp - for evidence of these occurrences. To this day, nothing conclusive has been found, but the town of Bridgewater and the land surrounding it have nevertheless built up a lasting legend.
Imagine if you will, though, that there's something more to this, that something, some being or force you can't control, is real. Old books hold old secrets, and under every rock there's some form of life that wishes to hide from the sun. Mystery attracts mystery, and the town of Bridgewater is one of the most mysterious of them all in ordinary America. After all, who's going to believe the insane ramblings of an old man down the street, or a congregation in a dark basement, replete with candles and ritual chants? Those who have seen the truth of the world cannot hope to convince others of that same truth; for in the balance between our truth and sanity, we inevitably choose to safeguard ourselves from what we suspect is lurking out of sight.
How much is sanity worth to you?
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But of course, this is a Call of Cthulhu RP, based in the world of H.P. Lovecraft, and taking place around his favourite New England hotspots, with a few variations of my own. The most notable is that it takes place not in the 1920s or the turn of the 20th century, but instead is focused on the more familiar world of the 1990s. Familiarity, though, leads to comfort, and comfort leads to complacency in the search for the ultimate truths of the cosmos.
The version of Call of Cthulhu being used for this game is 5.6, and naturally I am your GM, or "keeper" as the flavour of Call of Cthulhu likes to say. This will also include some outside elements taken from the Nasuverse, too; the magic systems of the Cthulhu Mythos are not at all in conflict with the ideas of magecraft, and in fact complement them quite well: a magus is not someone who wields the power of the Mythos' horrifying truths, but has instead found palatable alternates much as regular humans have used technology for the same means. And, given how often Nasu's own characters go insane, I think this is an especially fitting crossover, even without bringing the Fourth Holy Grail War into this.
There's no set maximum for players; if you want to join, then say so! However, there are two limited character options that will be decided through a mix of first-come-first-served and random lottery; if you want to be either an Executor or an Enforcer, then PM me and I'll work it all out with you. Do note, though, that the Executor and Enforcer aren't necessarily more powerful than ordinary investigators (Call of Cthulhu players) and have both bonuses and drawbacks that are not available to normal players. Instead of strictly being Occupations, they're more like races in certain other role-playing games.
I'll definitely keep up to speed on updating this RP; of all games I've played, Call of Cthulhu is the one where I enjoy being the GM more than being the player. It just seems to have more aptitude for interesting plots and developments and those sorts of things, and character creation and play isn't as much of a focus. The real focus is on you, the people playing this, as you fit together clues in order to solve mysteries.
For the uninitiated, here's a basic guide to character creation. However, you'll definitely need a copy of Call of Cthulhu (you can easily just get one through Googling torrents or what have you) in version 5.6, and I also recommend getting the 1990s supplement book and a related character sheet to write stuff down on.
You can download an electronic character sheet/character generator here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/byakhee/
The dice typically used are d6 and d100; some others appear as necessary, but those two are the main ones. Here's an online dice roller for you, which I use myself: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm
Now, for character creation! There are 6 basic steps to this, so don't worry too much. It's an easy system to get used to, trust me.
1. Determine Characteristics
You first roll 3d6 for each of the characteristics, which are STR, CON, DEX, POW and APP. STR is Strength, CON is Constitution, DEX is Dexterity, POW is Power (of the magical and mental kind) and APP is your physical attractiveness, which enhances charisma. You can roll them in order, or you can just roll 3d6 twice and put your individual rolls into any of those categories, so long as you aren't cheating and actually re-rolling. If a score is especially low, then I'll let you re-roll that single one.
SIZ and INT get 2d6+6 each. You can choose which of the two roll results go where, so if you get 8 first and 18 second, you can put the first in INT and second in SIZ, or vice versa. SIZ is your height and weight, generally, and INT is Intelligence.
EDU comes next, found by the roll 3d6+3. This is how many years of education your character has, and is pretty important. You can re-roll it exactly once, and keep the higher result. Don't worry if you only have something like 6 years of education; that shit would be hilarious to play, especially if you've got high INT.
The last, but definitely not least characteristic is SAN, which is POW x 5, to a maximum of 99.
2. Determine Characteristic Rolls
You also have a few other nice things to roll related to the above characteristics:
INT x 5 gets you your Idea score, POW x 5 gets you Luck, and EDU x 5 is your Knowledge.
Then, you add your STR to your SIZ, and find the result in the Damage Bonus Table in the Call of Cthulhu 5.6 text itself. In case you don't have that yet - and seriously, you need it - I'll give it here anyways, with the first column being the total of STR and SIZ, and the second column being the resulting Damage Bonus (DB):
2-12 = -1d6
13-16 = -1d4
17-24 = +0
25-32 = +1d4
33-40 = +1d6
41-56 = +2d6
57-72 = +3d6
73-88 = +4d6
There's also a blank titled "99-Cthulhu Mythos" near the others. Just put 99 in the blank for now, since you lack any Cthulhu Mythos skill at the outset of the game, as usual.
3. Determine Derived Characteristic Points
CON + SIZ, divided by two and with any fraction rounded up, gets you your Hit Points.
Then, for Magic Points, just put down the same number as your POW.
Finally, for Sanity Points, well... as is natural, the point count is equal to SAN. You can gain Sanity Points during the course of the game. Of course, it's more likely that you'll end up losing them without careful treatment.
4. Determine Occupation and Skills
For this step, the very first thing you have to do is determine your yearly income and property. This is done with a simple 1d10 roll; specifics are given in the rulebook itself, but here's an outline for yearly incomes:
1 = $15,000
2 = $25,000
3 = $35,000
4 = $45,000
5 = $55,000
6 = $75,000
7 = $100,000
8 = $200,000
9 = $300,000
10 = $500,000
Next you choose an Occupation; the rulebook itself has a list of examples, and there are simply too many to list appropriately. However, you don't have to choose one of those few, as you can ask about an Occupation you've created (so long as it's not too out of the ordinary) and its eight selected skills. The average Occupation has seven set "Occupational" skills, plus an eighth skill of your choice.
By multiplying your EDU by 15, you get your primary Skill Points. Add these to the eight skills associated with your Occupation of choice. Each skill goes up to 99, but can only be a maximum of 75 at the beginning - with the exception of Own Language. Hand-to-hand weapons and Firearms are special, and their skill percentages go in their specific boxes, for example: "Firearm: .357 Revolver; Current Skill %: 60" or something like that. There's more on that in the rulebook itself.
After that part, you multiply your character's INT by 10. You can add the points from this into any skill, except for Cthulhu Mythos.
Two notes are important here: one, you should allocate every single skill point. Points you don't allocate are just lost forever, so there's literally no point in ignoring them. Second, skill points are added to the base chances given beside the names of each of the skills, so for something like Library Use, which is at a base of 25%, putting 20 points into Library Use would give you 45% in the skill itself, total.
No skill can be higher than 75% at the start, other than Own Language which is EDU x 5.
5. Determine Weapons
Basically what the title says. There's a huuuuuuuge list of tons of different weapons in the rulebook and various supplementary materials; use those.
6. Determine Additional Background
This step is basically finalizing the general fluff parts of your character. Note appearance, background, interests, hobbies, motives for being in the town, and so on.
Your minimum age is EDU+6 years. for every ten years older than that number you make your character, add a point of EDU and an additional 20 Occupational skill points. Also, for every ten years (rounded up near the middle - which would be 46, for example) over forty you age your character, you lose your choice of 1 STR, CON, DEX, or APP. It's not always worth it to play a really, really old character. A twelve year old would be kind of amusing, in a way, especially if the kid outmans hardened adults.
Be sure to note why your character has decided to come to Bridgewater. You can't be a citizen of the town, and you're staying at the Bridgewater Inn.
You can make alliances and relationships with other player characters, but this is limited to pairs, so only two people at a time can be working together from the start of the RP. Also, the Executor and Enforcer cannot make alliances with any other characters before the RP starts. Afterwards, well... that's up to character interaction and stuff!
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And that's pretty much it, for the basics. Any more information must be gleaned from the rulebook, or through questions in the thread, since writing any more here would take way too much time.
Now, I'll add the last part: detailing the Executor and Enforcer, regarding their abilities and some basic background requirements.
The Enforcer:
You were sent by the Clock Tower to investigate reports of noted magical activity in the area; these reports match similar ones from fifteen years ago that faded away after a few short months. Only recently have they resurfaced, and the Clock Tower views it as urgent that you discover the source of this. Your equipment and funds are your own, and you have to find information by yourself. You know that you're dealing with a rogue magus, and though you're not the most experienced Enforcer on the job, you know that it's a bad idea to just waltz into a magus' territory without preparation or research. You know that success in this endeavour would definitely impress the Lords and other leaders of the Clock Tower and whole Mages Association, so much is on the line to be gained or lost.
Your abilities are as follows:
- +2 to POW
- -10 to SAN
- -10 to maximum Sanity Points
- Minimum POW of 12 before the +2 is added; if lower than this, reroll.
- +10 to Magic Points
- -15 to all gun skills; if you choose a gun skill as an Occupational skill, the negative does not apply to that single category (Rifles, Handguns, etc).
- Occupation is automatically Magus, and the skill set is as follows: History, Library Use, Spot Hidden, Art, Occult, Other Language, one of Medicine, Archaeology, Pharmacy or Psychoanalysis, and any one other skill of your choice. Except Cthulhu Mythos, of course.
- Due to a close reliance on magecraft, you go unconscious if you have 3 or less Magic Points, instead of the usual of 0.
- Up to three spells; base these on non-Mythos-related spells in the Call of Cthulhu rulebook, or come to me with creations of your own that don't fit the normal rules or given spells. Cosmic beings, however, are no more affected by magecraft than by guns.
- Choice of either one Mystic Code of your own creation, or the ability to create familiars.
The Executor:
The Holy Church, though located in Roman Catholic Italy, still has dealings with the Protestant United States; wherever heresy arises, they send their troops to defeat it. Recent rumours, matching those from fifteen years ago in this same area, point towards a Dead Apostle rising to prominence. Not much is known about it, but according to evidence the Dead Apostle escaped Europe and traveled to New England; this would normally be no surprising incident, but the fact that a number of other known Dead Apostles have done the same over the past few decades suggests that there is something attracting them to the land itself. Your job is to find out what this is, and to defeat the Dead Apostle - or more, if necessary - that stands in your way. This requires precision that an army of Knights would not be capable of, so a young but competent and faithful Executor such as yourself is the perfect solution.
Your abilities are as follows:
- +2 to POW
- Minimum of 12 POW before +2 bonus is added; if lower than this, reroll.
- -10 to Magic Points.
- Occult skill cannot be higher than 25% at character creation due to suspicions of heresy.
- Income roll is decreased by 3, with a minimum roll of 1, due to necessary payments to the church and a lack of solid income from a life dedicated to fighting heresy in the name of God.
- Occupation is automatically Executor, and the skill set is as follows: First Aid, Library Use, History, Psychoanalysis, Persuade, Listen, your choice of Martial Arts, Knife, Sneak, or Conceal, and any one other skill. Except Cthulhu Mythos, of course.
- "Prayer" special ability: this restores 1d6+2 Sanity Points on use and can be used a number of times equal to POW/4 (rounded up) per six month period, and cannot be used more than once every two days. While this resets the number of Sanity Points you must lose in a short period of time in order to suffer insanity or shock, it cannot end an already existing Insanity of any kind. In combat, this requires one full turn to use and comes into effect at the beginning of your next turn.
- "Holy Rite" special ability: this can be used POW/10 times (rounded down) per week to either restore 1d6+1 Hit Points to yourself or any one person, or cause 1d6+1 holy damage to appropriate creatures. Greater creatures of the Mythos scoff at whatever power a simple human deity may offer.
- If Cthulhu Mythos skill rises above 20, then both special abilities above are lost, and any Holy Scriptures/Black Keys cease to function in your hands. God does not smile on those tainted by the farthest stars.
- Your choice of either an effectively unlimited supply of Black Keys (but only up to a maximum of twenty per week at one time; you get more at the beginning of each week) or one moderately powerful Holy Scripture. Black Keys deal 1d4+2+DB damage, doubled against unholy critters, and use the Knife skill, treated as a Fighting Knife for all intents and purposes. Holy Scriptures are your own creation and are up for my review when you submit your character sheets to me.
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That's everything. Do note, though, that regular investigators cannot be related to the Mages' Association or the Holy Church (that is, the vampire and demon hunting side of the Catholic Church). You have to be normal people, but that doesn't mean you're not as awesome as the Executor or Enforcer. Regular investigators have more flexibility, and actually are less fragile when dealing with actual elements of the Mythos. Hopefully we get plenty of players!
Player list:
1. I3uster
2. LeopardBear - Sarah Alexandra Marie
3. Vahan - Professor Archibald ‘Archie’ Westwitterings
4. Elyrin - Emily Douglas
5. Mormarth - James Henderson II
6. ZidanReign - Jack Haruto
7. Satehi
8. FranticAuthor
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Originally Posted by asterism42
