trail of cthulhu condensed rules

8/10/2019 Trail of Cthulhu Condensed Rules

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

1

Condensed Rules

© 2014 Pelgrane Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Trail of Cthulhu is published by arrangement

with Chaosium, Inc. Trail of Cthulhu is a trademark of Pelgrane Press Ltd.

Publisher: Simon Rogers

Author: Tony Williams

Layout: Tony Williams

GUMSHOE System: Robin D. Laws

Trail of Cthulhu: Kenneth Hite

Artwork: Jérôme Huguenin

Credits



TRAIL OF CTHULHU

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BUILDING AN INVESTIGATOR............................3 Abilities.............................................................3 Occupations ...................................................3 Alienist.........................................................3 Antiquarian...............................................3 Archaeologist ...........................................3 Artist..............................................................3 Author ..........................................................4 Clergy............................................................4 Criminal.......................................................4 Dilettante ....................................................4 Doctor...........................................................4 Hobo ..............................................................4

Journalist....................................................4 Military.........................................................4 Nurse.............................................................4 Parapsychologist....................................4 Pilot................................................................4 Police Detective ......................................4 Private Investigator.............................4 Professor....................................................5 Scientist.......................................................5 Credit Rating Equivalency....................6 Character Sheet...........................................7

Contents

GAME MECHANICS..............................9 Tests, Challenges

and General Spends................................9 Simple Test ................................................9 Co-operative Test..................................9 Piggyback Test.........................................9 Contest.........................................................9 Example Pursuit

Contest ..............................................10 Zero Sum Contest................................10 General Spends.....................................10 Continuing Challenges ......................10 Example Continuing

Challenge..............................................11 Alertness Modifiers, Stealth Modifiers and

Surprise........................................................11 Combat ..............................................................11 Determine the Combat

Round Order...........................................11 Perform the Ability Tests.................12 Apply Damage..........................................12 Fleeing From Combat .........................12 Firearms Table .......................................13 Special Combat Rules .........................14 Vehicles Under Fire.............................15 Throwing Things and Explosives...........................................15 Explosive Devices Table ...................15

CREDITS ............................................................1

CONTENTS.....................................................2

Hazards............................................................15 Falling...........................................................15 Asphyxiation ............................................15 Fire ................................................................16

Poison..........................................................16 Acid................................................................16 Extreme Temperature ......................16 Darkness....................................................16 Health................................................................17 Consciousness Test .............................17 Hurt...............................................................17 Seriously Wounded .............................17 Death ............................................................17 First Aid......................................................17 Stability ............................................................17 Stability Test ............................................17 Example Stability Loss Table ...............................................18

Acting Against Drives........................ 19 Coming Unstrung................................. 19 Shaken ...................................................19 Mind Blasted.......................................19 Permanently Insane...................... 19 Recovering Stability ...........................19 Acting Within a Drive...................19 Psychological Triage .....................19 Confidence Roll...............................20

Downtime ...........................................20

Sanity ..............................................................20

Denying the Mythos ..........................20

Fainting.....................................................20

Losing Pillars of Sanity ..................20

False Sanity.............................................21 Recovering Ability

Pool Points ..................................................21

Player Characters................................21

Non-Player Characters.....................21

Mental Illness...............................................21 Shell Shock...............................................21 Mythos Madness...................................22

Temporary Psychological Triage......................22 Curing Mental Illness........................22 Anagnorisis or The Big Reveal .........................................22 Improving Investigators.......................22

GUMSHOE Clues and Special Benefits........................................22 Core Clues................................................22

Zero Spend Clues................................22 Point Spend Clues...............................22 Inconspicuous Clues..........................23 Simple-Search Clues .........................23 Special Benefits ....................................23 Tomes...............................................................23 Magic ................................................................23 Learning Spells .....................................23 Casting Spells.........................................24 Version Notes..............................................24



TRAIL OF CTHULHU

3

Trail of Cthulhu investigators aredef ined by their abilities. Abilities aredivided into two groups; General

Abilities and Investigative Abilities.

Investigative Abilities are furthersubdivided into three groups;

Academic, Interpersonal andTechnical (see the table below).

The exact nature of each ability isdescribed in the Trail of Cthulhu

Rulebook (pg. 28-48).

InvestigativeAbilities

Investigativeabilities compriseAcademic,Interpersonal, and

Technical abilities.

AcademicAccountingAnthropologyArchaeologyArchitectureArt HistoryBiologyCthulhu MythosCryptographyGeology

HistoryLanguagesLawLibrary UseMedicineOccultPhysicsTheology

InterpersonalAssess HonestyBargainBureaucracyCop TalkCredit Rating

FlatteryInterrogationIntimidationOral HistoryReassuranceStreetwise

TechnicalArtAstronomyChemistryCraft

EvidenceCollectionForensicsLocksmithOutdoorsmanPharmacyPhotography

General AbilitiesAthleticsConceal*DisguiseDriving*Electrical Repair

*ExplosivesFilchFirearmsFirst AidFleeingHealthHypnosisMagic

*MechanicalRepair

Piloting

PreparednessPsychoanalysisRidingSanityScufflingSense TroubleShadowingStabilityStealthWeapons

Ability List By Families

*Some General abilities can be used as Investigative abilities in somecircumstances. They are always bought and built as General abilities.

Choose an occupation for yourcharacter from the list on theright.

Copy the blank character sheet onpage 7 and mark an asterisk on yourcopy next to each ability listed as an

Occupational Ability under yourchosen occupation.

Note that Credit Rating can not bechosen when free choice is allowedfor Occupational Abilities.

AlienistOccupational Abilities:

Biology, Languages (German andLatin), Library Use, Medicine,Pharmacy, Psychoanalysis,Assess Honesty, and any othertwo Interpersonal abilities.

Credit Rating: 3-4

AntiquarianOccupational Abilities:

Architecture, Art History, Bargain,History, Languages, Law, LibraryUse, and any one Investigativeability as a personal specialty.

Credit Rating: 2-5

ArchaeologistOccupational Abilities:

Archaeology, Athletics, EvidenceCollection, First Aid, History,Languages, Library Use, Riding,and any two other Investigativeabilities.

Credit Rating: 4-5

Artist

Occupational Abilities:

Architecture, Art, Art History,Craft, Disguise, Flattery,Photography, Assess Honesty,and any two Academic orInterpersonal abilities aspersonal specialties.

Credit Rating: 1-4

Building an Investigator

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

4

Condensed Rules

AuthorOccupational Abilities:

Art, History, Languages, LibraryUse, Oral History, Assess Honesty,and three other abilities aspersonal specialties or left overfrom previous jobs.

Credit Rating: 1-3

Clergy

CriminalOccupational Abilities:

Bargain, Intimidation, Locksmith,Scuffling, Sense Trouble,Shadowing, Stealth, Streetwise,

and one other Interpersonal orTechnical ability as a personalspecialty.

Credit Rating: 0-4

Dilettante

Doctor


Credit Rating, Flattery, Riding,and any five abilities you choose.

Credit Rating: 3+


History, Languages (Latin, Greek,Aramaic, or Hebrew), Library

Use, Psychoanalysis, AssessHonesty, Reassurance, Theology,and one other Interpersonalability.

Credit Rating: 2-5

HoboOccupational Abilities:

Athletics, Bargain, Filch,

Outdoorsman, Sense Trouble,Stealth, Streetwise.

Credit Rating: 0

Unless the Keeper allows you topermanently change yourOccupation (if you get married, ordrafted, for example), you maynever put any points into CreditRating.

JournalistOccupational Abilities:

Cop Talk, Disguise, EvidenceCollection, Languages (forforeign correspondents), OralHistory, Photography, AssessHonesty, Reassurance,Shadowing, and one otherInterpersonal ability.

Credit Rating: 2-4

Military

NurseOccupational Abilities:

Biology, First Aid, Medicine,

Pharmacy, Assess Honesty,Reassurance. At the Keeper’sdiscretion, a nurse who has to dealwith hospital paperwork mighthave Bureaucracy; one who has todeal with arrogant doctors mighthave Flattery.

Credit Rating: 2-4

ParapsychologistOccupational Abilities:Anthropology, Electrical Repair,Library Use, Mechanical Repair,Occult, Photography, AssessHonesty, Sense Trouble.

Credit Rating: 2-3

PilotOccupational Abilities:

Astronomy, Driving, ElectricalRepair, Mechanical Repair,

Piloting, Sense Trouble.

Credit Rating: 2-3

Police DetectiveOccupational Abilities:

Athletics, Cop Talk, Driving,Evidence Collection, Firearms,Interrogation, Law, AssessHonesty, Sense Trouble.

Credit Rating: 3-4

Private InvestigatorOccupational Abilities:

Accounting, Disguise, Driving, Law,Locksmith, Photography, AssessHonesty, Reassurance, Scuffling,Shadowing.

Credit Rating: 2-3


Accounting, Biology, First Aid,Forensics, Languages (Latin),Medicine, Pharmacy, AssessHonesty, Reassurance.

Credit Rating: 4-6


Athletics, Firearms, Intimidation,Outdoorsman, Scuffling, Weapons.

Army/Marines: add Conceal,Driving, Stealth.

Corpsman/Medic: add First Aid,Medicine, Reassurance.

Engineers/Heavy Weapons: add

Driving, Explosives, MechanicalRepair.

Navy: add Astronomy, MechanicalRepair, Piloting.

Officer (any branch): addBureaucracy, Riding or Piloting,Reassurance.

Credit Rating: 2-5 (officers)2-4 (enlisted)

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

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Condensed Rules

ProfessorOccupational Abilities:

Bureaucracy, Languages, LibraryUse, any one Interpersonal ability,and any three Academic abilities(including, for these purposes,Astronomy and Chemistry).

Credit Rating: 3-5

ScientistOccupational Abilities:

Electrical Repair, EvidenceCollection, Languages, Library

Use, Photography, and any two ofthe following: Astronomy, Biology,Chemistry, Cryptography,Forensics, Geology, or Physics.

Credit Rating: 3-5

Players buy rating points for theircharacter’s abilities with buildpoints.

Players receive two distinct sets

of build points; one to spend onlyon their character’s General Abilities and another to spendonly on their Investigative

Abilities.

Each player gets 65 build points tospend on their character’sGeneral Abilities.

The Keeper determines how manybuild points a player can have tospend on Investigative Abilitiesdepending on how many playercharacters will be involved in theupcoming scenario.

Typical build point amounts forInvestigative Abilities are 24 buildpoints per character in a scenario

with 2 investigators, 18 build pointsper character in a scenario with 3investigators and 16 build pointsper character in scenarios with 4

or more investigators .

Optional rule: bef ore using any build

points, players may trade points

amongst themselves. 3 General Ability build points may be traded

f or 1 Investigative Ability build

point or vice versa.

Ability rating points are bought byspending the two sets of build

points as described below, and the

f inal rating f or each ability is

marked on the character sheet.

Any Occupational Ability (those

marked earlier with an asterisk)can be bought at half price, sospending 1 build point buys 2 rating

points in that ability.

Non-occupational abilities are

bought at 1 rating point f or 1 build

point spent.

All ability ratings start at zero and

f urther rating points are purchased

as described above, apart f rom the

f ollowing abilities:

Cthulhu Mythos rating points can

not be bought (they are gained

during game play) unless the

Keeper decides otherwise.

Sanity rating starts at 4. Further

points are bought by spending build

points as per the above rules.Sanity rating can only be bought to

a maximum of 10 minus CthulhuMythos rating.

Stability and Health start at 1 and

f urther rating points are bought as

above.

In a Purist campaign Health and

Stability rating can only be bought

to a maximum of 12 each.

Buy your Athletics rating pointsbefore your Fleeing rating points.Once your Fleeing rating reaches

twice your Athletics rating (or youbuilt your final Athletics rating aszero), spending further build pointon Fleeing buys 2 rating points

per 1 build point spent. Thus, if acharacter has a final starting

Athletics rating of 1 thenpurchasing a Fleeing rating of 6would cost just 4 build points (2build points to raise Fleeing to 2,which is twice the Athletics rating

then 2 further build points nowbuys 4 more Fleeing rating points

Your Credit Rating rating starts athe lowest level listed under youroccupation and further rating

points are then bought up to theceiling level listed for youroccupation. After hitting yourceiling, further rating points cost 2build points each.

Alternatively you may sacrificeCredit Rating points down fromyour occupation’s base starting

level to buy extra build points foruse on other Investigative Abilities on a 1 to 1 basis.

Your final Credit Rating rating

corresponds to a social stratum asshown in the table overleaf.

Keepers may wish to place ceilingcaps on players’ final Credit Ratinrating to avoid millionaire hobosor other idiosyncratic results.

After you have spent your build

points the following rule mustapply: whatever your highest

General Ability rating ends upbeing, you must have at least one

other General Ability that is atleast half that rating e.g. ifFirearms is your highest General

Ability, with a rating of 12, thenyou must have one other General

Ability with a rating of at least 6.

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

6

Condensed Rules

Credit

Rating

Equivalent Social StrataPauper / Charity Case

Working Poor

Working Class

Lower Middle Class

Middle Class

Upper Middle Class / Bourgeois

Upper Class / Wealthy

Ruling Gentry / Business Elite / Fabulously Wealthy

If the Keeper allows, you maywithold build points and spendthem during the adventure to addability ratings as required.

Your character begins

adventuring with as many poolpoints in each ability as the ratingyou have assigned to the ability.

Ability pool points will fluctuateduring the course of anadventure but your rating in an

ability remains the same as whenbuilt (unless somethingexceptional happens to alter it).

You will spend pool points onability tests, to obtain GUMSHOE

clues or to buy Special Benefits(all described later).

Further pool points can not bespent after reaching zero poolpoints in an ability, except for

Health and Stability pool pointswhich can reach as low as -12.

Spent pool points can bereplenished by various meansdescribed later but never to a

value exceeding your rating inthe ability.

Each occupation will also havespecific extra benefits or skillswhich you should note on yourcharacter sheet. See the Trail of

Cthulhu Rulebook (pg. 10-18) fordetails.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7+

Fill in your character’s HitThreshold. This will be 3 or, if yourcharacter has an Athletics ratingof 8 or higher, it will be 4.

If your character has theLanguages ability then yourcharacter understands one extralanguage foreign to their mothertongue for each rating point of theLanguages ability.

Note which languages these are inthe spaces under the Languagesability on the character sheet.Some occupations dictate whichlanguages these will be, otherwiseyou may choose which languagesyour character is fluent in as longas the Keeper agrees.

In a Pulp campaign you can chooseto incorporate Sources o f Stabilityfor your character. For every 3 fullrating points of Stability you startwith, you may now name a personand give a brief description oftheir relationship to you. These areyour Sources o f Stability. TheseSources o f Stability should not beother player characters and, ingame terms, should still be alive i.e.they are living NPCs.

For every 3 full rating points ofSanity you start with, you mustchoose a Pillar o f Sanity.

Pillars o f Sanity are not concretethings or people, but are abstractconcepts such as “religious faith”

or “love of the mother country.”You can choose from someexamples below or make up yourown:

Human dignity and value

The virtue of nature and the

environment

The absolute truth of thephysical laws of the universeand scientific knowledge

Staunch moral principles

Aesthetics or the truth inherentin great art

Epicureanism - living life to thefullest

Family honour

The purity of your bloodline

Choose a Drive for your characterfrom the following list:

Adventure

AntiquarianismArrogance

Artistic SensitivityBad LuckCuriosity

DutyEnnui

In The Blood

Follower

Revenge

ScholarshipSudden Shock

Thirst For Knowledge

See the Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook

(pg. 19-23) for details of each.

Think of the backstory, personality,age and appearance of your char-acter and make suitable notes.These should not conflict withyour occupation, Drive, Sourceso f Stability or Pillars o f Sanity.

Equip your character and note theitems down on your charactersheet.

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Pillars of Sanity:

Sanity Rating:

Sanity Points: Ы 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Appearance:

Occupation:

Investigator:

Drive:

Damage Modifier by Range

WEAPONS and EXPLOSIES

Weapon or Exploi!e"oin# $lan% &loe 'ear (ong

'o#e)mmo

Acade!ic A"ilities)**o+n#ing

)n#,ropology)r*,aeology)r*,i#e*#+re)r# -i#ory$iology&ryp#ograp,y&#,+l,+ My#,o.eology-i#ory(ang+age H

(a/

(ibrary eMedi*ine**+l#",yi*,eology

Interpersonal A"ilities)e -one#y$argain

$+rea+*ra*y&op al%&redi# Ra#ingla##eryn#erroga#ionn#imida#ionral -i#oryRea+ran*e#ree#/ie

#ec$nical A"ilities)r#)#ronomy&,emi#ry

&raf#E!iden*e &olle*#ionoreni*(o*%mi#,+#doorman",arma*y",o#ograp,y

%eneral A"ilities)#,le#i*&on*eal

Dig+ieDri!ingEle*#ri*al RepairExploi!eil*,irearmir# )idleeing-ypnoi

Me*,ani*al Repair"ilo#ing

"reparedne

"y*,oanalyiRiding*+fflingene ro+ble,ado/ing#eal#,Weapon

Occupational &enefits and Dedicated Pools:

Magi*

Of W$ic$ is 'alse:

Sources of Sta"ility:

Sta"ility Rating:

Sta"ility Points:

(ealt$ Rating:

(ealt$ Points: N 11 10 9 8

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

7 6 5 4 3

12 13

)ental Disorders:

(it #$res$old:

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2214

12

23 24 25

Ы 10 8

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

7 6 5 4 3

12 13

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 2214

12

23 24 25

11 9



INES#I%A#OR &A*+%RO,ND and PERSONALI#-

+NOWN *ON#A*#S

'ame (o*a#ion 'o#e

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

9

If investigators attempt a physicaltask, for which a possibility existsthat they may fail, they will need toattempt a test die roll.

The Keeper will associate the testwith one of the General Abilitiesmost appropriate to the task beingattempted.

The Keeper will also assign adifficulty level to the test; a veryeasy task will be difficulty level 2,an extremely hard task difficulty 8.

If any investigator has a zero ratingin the tested General Ability (exceptthe fighting abilities; Scu ff ling,

Weapons and Firearms) then theywill automatically fail if they arerequired to roll for any of thefollowing types of test;

This test only applies where it isfeasible for two (and only two)investigators to co-operate in agoal e.g. breaking down a door.

One of the investigators helps theother, who is making the die roll,

by spending pool points in thetested ability and donating them as

a bonus to the other player’s roll.

However pool points are donated at1 less than they spend i.e. spending3 pool points gives a +2 bonus tothe die roll.

The investigator actually makingthe test roll can also spend any oftheir own pool points in the testedability to add to the die roll at thenormal rate bef ore rolling the die.

An example of a piggyback testwould be a group of investigatorsattempting to sneak out of a cultistlair testing against the Stealthability.

Tests, Challenges

and General Spends

Simple TestThe player has the choice to spendpool points in the ability beingtested (if their character has anyremaining) bef ore rolling a six-sideddie.

To succeed at the test, the die roll

result plus the number of pool

points spent, must be equal to orgreater than the difficulty level ofthe test.

If a test is failed, it can only be triedagain if the subsequent amount of

pool points spent is greater than onthe previous attempt and the playercan justify the further attemptthrough a valid roleplaying reason.

Co-operative Test

When two or more investigatorsparticipate in a group activity thatis not a co-operative test they aretested as a piggyback group.

One player is designated the leadand all other players in thepiggyback group must spend 1 pool

point in the tested ability. The spentpoints are not added to the test die

roll.Bef ore rolling, the lead player canalso spend any of their own pool

points in the tested ability to add tothe die roll at the normal rate.

Players in the piggyback group whocan not spend 1 pool point (eitherbecause they have no remainingpool points in the tested ability orthey have a zero rating) each forcea -2 penalty to the test die roll.

Piggyback Test

A contest isu

sed when onecharacter tries to thwart the actionsof another character which pitchesthe ability of one against the other.Examples are a car chase testingDriving ability or a f oot chasetesting Athletics / Fleeing abilities.

The Keeper determines which

ability is being tested f or eachcharacter and the diff iculty level of each character’s test.

The order of testing is then

determined:

Fleers test bef ore pursuersor, if not a pursuit contest:

The character with thelowest rating in their testedability goes f irst.

If tied, an NPC tests bef ore a

player character.

If player characters tie, theplayer who arrived last to

the game session goes f irst.

Each character attempts a test roll

(and can choose to spend anyavailable pool points in theirtested ability to add to the die rollbef ore rolling).

The process is repeated until oneof the test rolls is failed. The f irstcharacter to f ail loses the overall

contest.

Contest

Game Mechanics

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

10

Condensed Rules

Example Pursuit as a Contest

A Deep One pursues an investigator through the sewers.

The investigator has to test Fleeing or Athletics ability atdiff iculty level 4.

The Deep One handles sewers better than a human so thediff iculty level f or its test is 3. It tests against Athletics.

The investigator is the f leer so tests f irst, then the Deep One tests,and they continue in that way.

If the investigator f ails f irst, they are caught. If the Deep Onef ails f irst, the investigator escapes.

Some tasks, such as breakingdown a door or moving a heavy

object, will take more time than asingle test respresents.

For these tasks the players willhave to successfully pass a seriesof tests to complete the overalltask.

The Keeper assigns an appropriateGeneral Ability to the tests and anoverall difficulty level representingthe cost of performing the taskunaided (typically 8 or higher).

However each individual test inthe series will have the standarddifficulty level of 4.

Players can test in turn, use co-operative tests or test individuallybut simultaneously (whichevermethod is appropriate to the task).

Each successful individual test roll

in the series reduces the overalldifficulty level assigned to the taskby the die points and pool pointspend for that test.

Failed test roll die points and poolpoint spends are disregarded, buta failed test still adds to the timerequired to complete the task.

When the overall task difficultylevel is reduced to zero, the task iscomplete.

A zero sum contest is used tosingle out one investigator froma group to whom somethinggood or bad is about to happen.

A General Ability is assigned tothe test and players can chooseto spend any available poolpoints in the ability to add totheir die roll.

The players are informed by theKeeper if they will be testing fora good or bad outcome beforedeciding on any pool pointspend.

Player pool point spends arekept secret from each other untilafter the dice are rolled.

For a beneficial outcome the

player with the highest die rollplus pool point spend (if any)wins, and for a detrimentaloutcome the lowest result“wins.”

Ties are broken by further poolpoint spends if the players sowish, or the Keeper decides.

Zero Sum ContestSome tasks will have no realchance of failure but will requiresome effort to achieve.

These should be assigned a poolpoint spend in a General Abilitythat one or more players maycontribute pool points towardscommunally to complete.

An example would be digging alarge pit requiring 6 Athletics poolpoints to be spent.

General Spends

Continuing Challenges

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

11

Condensed Rules

Example Continuing ChallengeTwo investigators are trying to push a stone sarcophagus acrossthe floor to blockade the door against some pursuing ghouls.

The Keeper assigns a difficulty level of 20 for moving such anenormous object, testing against Athletics, and decides that theinvestigators will test individually but simultaneously. The ghoulswill arrive in 3 rounds.

In the first round, the first investigator spends 2 Athletics poolpoints but only rolls 1 on the test die roll, failing the standard testdifficulty level of 4. His points will not count in this round.

The second investigator spends 3 Athletics pool points and rolls 5,easily passing the standard test difficulty level of 4.

The overall task difficulty has now fallen to 12 ( 20 -

3 -5 ) and sothe investigators have dragged the sarcophagus not quite halfway

in the first round. Meanwhile the ghouls are getting nearer...

Adversaries to player charactersmay have an Alertness Modifier

or a Stealth Modifier.

The Alertness Modifier is addedto the difficulty level of any testroll made by a player thatinvolves furtive abilities directedagainst the adversary e.g. Filch,

Stealth, Shadowing.

The Stealth Modifier is added tothe difficulty level of any test rollmade by a player that involvestrying to detect the adversary e.g.Sense Trouble.

Player characters can surpriseadversaries by passing a difficultylevel 4 Stealth

ability test (any Alertness Modifier the adversarypossesses will apply).

Alertness

Modifiers, Stealth

Modifiers and

Surprise

Conversely, player characters canbe surprised by adversaries onfailing a difficulty level 4 Sense

Trouble ability test (any Stealth

Modifier the adversary possesseswill apply).

Surprised characters will suffer a

+2 difficulty level penalty (or +2 tothe Hit Threshold of targets) toany immediately subsequentGeneral Ability test after beingsurprised. This will only last for upto 1 round.

Keepers should never reveal thedifficulty level of a Sense Trouble

ability test to players.

Keepers can choose to revealother abilility test difficulty levels,or not, depending on what suitstheir style of play.

Combat is broken into a series of

attack tests called combat rounds.Each character involved in thecombat makes their attack test(s) inturn within a round. Rounds are

then repeated until the result of thecombat is finalised.

Attacks against downed or helplessopponents, or those already held atgunpoint, do not need to be tested,otherwise:

Using a gun is a test againstFirearms ability.

Using a hand weapon is a testagainst Weapons ability.

Using no weapons, or smallhand weapons used to improve

hand-to-hand combat (such as

brass knuckles or a cosh), is atest against Scuffling ability.

Combat

Determine the Combat

Round Order

Non-surprised characters act in thecombat round in order of highestrating in the tested fighting abilityto lowest.

If a tie for rating, a player acts firstbefore an NPC.

If that is tied, the character with thehighest tested ability pool pointsacts first.

If that is tied, then determine whoacts first randomly.

Any surprised characters act last inthe combat round order.

Once the combat round order is se

it remains the same throughout the

entire combat, except:

Anyone who decides on an actionother than attacking a target movesto last in the order.

Anyone who joins after the fightbegins, joins last in the order.

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Characters who have a zero rating(not zero current pool points) in the

fighting ability which they will testhave to state their chosen target atthe beginning of the combat roundand can not alter this choice whenit is their turn to act.

All other characters can choose anytarget in range when it is theirturn to act in the combat round.

The difficulty level of eachattacker’s test will be equal to theirchosen target’s Hit Threshold.

If firearms are being used, amendthe target’s Hit Threshold by thetype of cover the target has:

Open Terrain: -1

Partial or Soft Cover: 0

Hard Cover: +1

If a target is charging from lessthan five feet away, in open ground,towards an attacker who is using afirearm then the Hit Threshold of

the target is reduced to an absolute1 (or 2 if the target has an Athletics

rating of 8 or higher).

The attacker decides whether tospend any pool points from thetested fighting ability, if available, toadd as a bonus bef ore rolling a six-sided die.

In a Pulp game, if an attacker istrying to use a pistol at long rangeor a rif le over 500 yards, then theattacker needs to spend 2 extra

Firearms pool points which arenot added to the test die roll.

In a Purist game long range shotsare not allowed.

If the attacker is testing against theFirearms ability and has a zerorating (not zero current pool points)and rolls a natural 1 they haveaccidentally shot themselves, or anally, as determined by the Keeper.

12

Perform the Ability Tests

Apply DamageA successful attack test causes 1d6damage plus a damage modifier

particular to the type of weaponused and range of the target.

For scuffles and hand weapons thefollowing damage modifiers apply:

Unarmed: -2

Blackjack: -1Nightstick: -1

Heavy club: 0

Bullwhip: -1

Knife: -1

Machete: 0

Sword: +1

Small improvised weapon: -1

Large improvised weapon: 0

Fireplace poker: 0

See the table opposite for thedamage modifiers for firearms.

If the attacker has a zero rating (notzero current pool points) in thefighting ability that was tested, thedamage is reduced by 2 points.

If the damage was inf licted by afirearm on a target who wascharging towards the attackeracross open ground from less thanfive feet away then the damage is

tripled.

If the damage was inf licted by afirearm on a target who washelpless at point-blank range thenthe damage is tripled.

If the target has a relevant Armour

Point value it is subtracted fromthedamage total.

The final damage total is subtractedfrom the target’s Health pool points.

If the attacker’s test die roll, plus anyspent pool points, equals or exceedstheir target’s Hit Threshold thencalculate and apply damage to thetarget’s Health pool points

.

TRAIL OF CTHULHU

Condensed Rules

Adversaries are “defeated” whentheir Health pool points reach zero.

“Defeated” can be anything the

Keeper wishes it to mean; killed,subdued, knocked unconscious,dissipated or some other result.

In a Purist game human

adversaries follow the rules laid outin the Health section (f ollowing) for

determining how they react whentheir Health pool points reach zero

or less.

Fleeing From Combat

Fleeing from an ongoing fightrequires a test against Athletics.

The difficulty level of the test is 3plus the number of enemies beingfled from e.g. to flee from 4 foes isa difficulty level 7 test.

A successful test means thecharacter disengages from thefight and flees. The remainingenemies can choose to pursue butthey must roll first in the ensuingchase contest.

A failed test means opponentshave the choice to either;

Prevent the character fleeingby blocking their exit, tacklingthe fleeing character or somesimilar action. This requires aspend of 3 Athletics pool points.

or

Allow the victim to flee. Theopponent with the highest

damage modifier can

automatically deal one instanceof damage to the fleer. The fleermust also roll first in any

ensuing chase contest.

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Remington .41 Short double Derringer (1866) 2

Webley & Scott Police Model .3 !"P #utom#tic $i%tol

'33 o#re *.6mm #utom#tic $i%tol (1+33)

,#mbu y$e 14 8mm #utom#tic $i%tol

M#u%er -roomh#ndle/*.6 mm #utom#tic $i%tol (18+6)

"olt Police Po%itie .3 reoler (1+0*)

W#lther PP .3 #utom#tic $i%tol (1+31)

2ery 1'g#uge l#re $i%tol (188)

"olt M1+11!1 .4 !"P #utom#tic $i%tol (1+6)

5uger P08 +mm #utom#tic $i%tol (1+08)

W#lther P38 +mm #utom#tic $i%tol (1+38), ro7ning igh'Po7er +mm %emi#utom#tic $i%tol (1+3)

Webley ,o. 1 M 92 .4 S!! reoler (1+1)

Smith & We%%on .38 S$eci#l reoler (1+0)

Smith & We%%on Model * .3* M#gnum reoler (1+*)

Winche%ter M1+1 0'g#uge $um$ %hotgun (1+1)

Remington M3 0'g#uge %hotgun (1+3)

Remington M3 1'g#uge %hotgun (1+3)

Remington M34 .5R %$orting rile (1+3)

M#nnlichter'"#rc#no M18+1 6.mm bolt'#ction c#rbine (18+)

-Schmei%%er/ MP8 %ubm#chine gun (1+8)

+2 • • •

8 +2 0 0 •

8 +2 0 0 •

8 +2 0 0 •

10 +2 0 0 •

6 +2 0 0 •

7 +2 0 0 •

1 +1 +2 • •

7 +3 +1 +1 •

8 +3 +1 +1 •

8 +3 +1 +1 •13 +3 +1 +1 •

6 +3 +1 +1 •

6 +3 +1 +1 •

6 +3 +1 +1 •

5 +3 0 0 •

2 +3 (+4) 0 (+1) 0 •

5 +3 +1 0 •

2 +3 (+4) +1 (+2) 0 •

20 +2 0 0 0

6 +2 0 0 0

5 +3 +1 +1 +1

8 +3 +1 +1 +1

10 +3 +1 +1 +1

2 +4 +2 +2 +220,30,50

or 100 +3 +1 +1 •

32 +3 +1 +1 •

20 +4 +2 +2 +2

bipod/prone: requires a bipod to fire (or the user to be prone with the weapon)

double-barreled: when firin both shells simultaneously use parenthetical damage bonus atPoint Blank or Close range

full-auto: may add 2 bonus points to yourFirearms

poo!, or 3 bonus points with a 50100 rounddru#, but if ou do ou #ust re!oad after firing fu!!auto bonus on! on"e per en"ounter

incendiary: "an inite f!a##ab!e #ateria!s at up to !on rane

jams: when used on fu!!auto, if ou ro!! a natura! 1 our un -a#s, e.en if ou hit our taret

kickback: #ust pass a diffi"u!t level 3 Athletics test to re#ain upriht after firin

reliable: 1 bonus to diffi"u!t !e.e! for tests to repair or un-a#

small: +1 pena!t to diffi"u!t !e.e! for tests to sear"h person for a "on"ea!ed weapon

Winche%ter M1+1 1'g#uge $um$ %hotgun (1+1)

M#u%er +8 *.+mm rile (1+3)

M1 :#r#nd .30'06 rile (1+36)

5ee';nield M999 .303 rile (1+0*)

oll#nd & oll#nd Double ;<$re%% .600 ele$h#nt rile (1+03)

hom$%on M1+1 %ubm#chine gun (1+1)

ro7ning !utom#tic Rile (!R) .303 m#chine gun (1+18)

Firearm Ammo

Point

Blank

Close<

30 feet

Near<

120 feet

Long<

300 feet


Notes

TRAIL OF CTHULHU

Condensed Rules



The Following Special R ules May Apply During Combat

“Non-Lethal Damage” Attacks

An attacker engaged in a Scuffling attack can declare a “non-lethal damage” attack which forces aConsciousness Test on the victim (see the Health section following) if the attack is successful and

causes the victim’s Health pool points to fall within the range -1 to -11.

A victim’s Health pool points can not fall below -11 when suffering a “non-lethal damage” attack.

Disarming Opponents

Firearms can be wrested from targets. Both protagonists partake in a Scuffling ability contest.

The winner takes control of the firearm and can, if the firearm is a pistol, choose to apply one shot ofdamage to the loser including all relevant bonuses for point-blank range.

If the firearm was not a pistol, the winner of the contest can choose to apply damage as if the firearmwere a heavy club striking the target.

AmmunitionIn a Purist game, either keep track of how many shots have been fired per clip, or use the optional rulethat a natural 1 on a Firearms ability test means that the gun ran out of ammunition and did not fire.

In a Pulp game players should only run out of ammunition if dramatically appropriate.

Reloading

Reloading a spent firearm takes one round.

Optional rule: reloading under stress requires a successful Firearms ability test of difficulty level 3.

Automatic Firearms

An attacker using automatic weapons, in the first combat round only, recieves 2 extra pool points to usein their Firearms ability test(s) or 3 extra pool points with higher capacity drums (50 bullets or over).

Automatic firearms must be reloaded after each firing as per the reloading rules above.A natural 1 on the Firearms ability test means an automatic weapon has jammed after firing. Fixing a jammed weapon takes one round and requires a successful Mechanical Repair ability test againstdifficulty level 4.

In a Pulp game multiple targets can be attempted to be hit by a single attacker using an automaticweapon in the same round as long as the targets are no further away than close range.

Each target requires a separate Firearms ability test to hit.

Each target, after the first, gets a Hit Threshold bonus of { Total Targets Fired Upon - 1 }. Thus if anattacker shoots 3 targets in the same round the 2nd and 3rd targets both get a Hit Threshold bonusof +2.

The same target can not be fired on multiple times in the same round.

Using Multiple Handguns

In a Pulp game characters with a Firearms rating of 5 or higher can use two pistols in each combatround. 1 exra Firearms pool point must be spent each round to do this which is not added to the testdie roll.

If firing on multiple targets with the two pistols, the second target’s Hit Threshold increases by +2.

Lethal Firearms

This is an optional rule used to increase the danger of firearms. Any successful attack on a human witha firearm that causes the character’s Health pool points to drop to zero or less, immediately causes anextra 6 Health pool point loss.

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Vehicles Under FireCharacters f iring on a moving

vehicle suff er a +2 Hit Threshold

modif ier to their test rolls if theyspecifically target the vehicle’s

engine block, f uel tank or tyres.

A vehicle’s engine block has an

Armour Point value of 4 against

bullets, the f uel tank an Armour

Point value of 2 and the tyres of 0.

Any damage the tyres sustaincauses them to burst. If the fuel tankor engine block are damagedappropriate driving difficulties willresult.

The driver of a vehicle under firemay expend 1 Driving pool point per

round to prevent damage occurringto the tyres, engine block or f uel

tank. They may not use any other

ability whilst doing this.

A character involved in a car crash,sustains damage equal to thedifficulty level of the Driving testthat was failed which resulted in thecrash, +1 point if travelling at normalcity speeds, +2 points for higher

speeds, -2 points if safety devices(e.g. seatbelts) were in use.

Throwing rocks, grenades, dynamite,Molotovs or similar requires an

Athletics abil

ity test.

The difficul

ty isset by the range of the target:

Point-blank: 2

Close (same room): 3

Near (across the street): 5

Specifying that you are trying to hitan exact spot on the target adds thefollowing modifiers to the difficultylevel:

Point-blank: +1

Close (same room): +1

Near (across the street): +2

Throwing Things

and Explosives

If the thrown ob ject is not

aerodynamic or not designed to be

thrown, such as dynamite or

Molotovs, then the diff iculty level isincreased f urther by +1

Explosives do 1d6 damage plus the

modifier f or range as listed in the

Explosive Devices Table below.

Note: firing a rifle-grenade requiresa Firearms ability test. Usingmortars, rockets or artillery requirea Mechanical Repair test

Player characters who are about

to be the victim of an explosive

booby-trap should be allowed a

Sense Trouble ability test of diff icultlevel 4. Success means they manage

to throw themselves and their

companions f rom point-blank range

to close distance when calculating

damage f rom the explosion.

Hazards

FallingClimbing characters must make an

Athletics ability test, the difficultylevel of which will be a measure ofhow onerous the surface beingscaled is.

Failing the test results in a fallcausing damage equal to thedifficulty level of the test.

Falling onto something bad, such asspikes or concrete, adds +2 damage.

AsphyxiationCharacters who can not breathe

must make an Athletics ability test

each round.

The diff iculty level of the test begins

at 3 and increases by 1 each round.

As soon as the test is failed the

character suffers 1d6+1 damage each

round, which will be negated if thecharacter is resuscitated.

A character hit by a vehicle sustainsdamage equal to the difficulty levelof the Athletics or Sense Trouble

test that was failed which resultedin the accident, +2 points for avehicle travelling at normal cityspeeds, +4 points for higher speeds.

Point

Blank

Close<

30 feet

Near<

120 feet

Long<

300 feet


Molotov cocktail*

Pipe bomb

Dynamite (single stick)

Dynamite (bundle)

Exploding car or propane tank *Firedamp, coal-dust or mill-flour explosion

Gas main*

Hand-grenade or rifle-grenade

Land mine

Mortar shell or rocket attack*

A rtillery strike or bomber attack *

*incendiary: can ignite flammable materials at up to long range

Explosive Device

+1 0 • •

+2 +1 -1 •

+3 +2 -2 •

+7 +4 -1 •

+4 +2 0 -2

+6 +4 +1 -1

+9 +5 0 •

+3 +1 -2 •

+8 +3 -1 •

+6 +3 0 •

+17 +8 +1 -2

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AcidOnce an acid is applied to a target,roll for damage and apply this same

damage each successive rounduntil the acid is treated by someonewith the Chemistry or Medicineability (not First Aid).

The damage roll is as follows:

Extreme TemperatureUnprotected investigators exposed

to extreme temperatures are

classed as hurt (see the followingHealth rules).

The Keeper may decide that a

successf ul acid attack merely blinds

an investigator until treated.

1d6-2

Strong Acid:

FireFalling into a f ire causes 1d6

damage to an investigator.

If an investigator is set on fire theyreceive 1d6 damage each round

until extinguished.

If the investigator has the Athleticsability they can “drop and roll” toextinguish the f ire themselves witha successful difficulty level 3 test.

Entering a burning building causes

1d6+1 damage each round and alsocauses asphyxiation as described

above.

Weak Acid:

1d6

Very Strong Acid: 1d6+1

PoisonKeepers may allow a successf ul

First Aid ability test (or

Outdoorsman ability f or natural

poisons) to remove the poison at

the moment it is ingested/in jected/applied.

Poison results in various eff ects to

the target at the discretion of the

Keeper.

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Condensed Rules

GUMSHOE grades darkness intothree levels:

Night

is the darkness of anormal city at night, aninterior room during daytimewith its lights off, or thecountryside in brightmoonlight.

Dark is the darkness of a citystreet at night with nostreetlights, a building at nightwith its lights off, or thecountryside at night with nomoon.

Pitch Black is total darkness,with no light source, such asthe interior of a buried coffinor an underground crypt.

Creatures, such as dogs, which dependprimarily on senses other thansight will not be affected bydarkness. Creatures which do relyprimarily on sight, includinghumans, will experience themodifier effects listed in the tablebelow.

Characters with flashlights treatthe darkness as one level lightere.g. Pitch Black becomes Dark.However they suffer a -1 penaltyto their Hit Threshold due tohighlighting their position inthe dark.

Keepers should ensure thatdarkness does not make getting acore clue require a pool pointspend. However, if it is a visualclue, the investigator may haveto wait for suitable light tointerpret it.

Darkness

Night DarkPitch

Black

Darkness Level

Difficulty level of tests involving sight

Difficulty level of Stability tests

Own Alertness Modifier

Opponent’s Stealth Modifier

Opponent’s Hit Threshold (Point Blank)

Opponent’s Hit Threshold (Close)

Opponent’s Hit Threshold (Near and further)

Darkness Modifier+1 +2 +3

• • +1

-1 -2 -3

+1 +2 +3

• • +1

• +1 +2

+1 +2 +3

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Stability

Stability TestWhen a character faces a traumaticevent they must make a Stabilitytest against difficulty level 4.

If the character recognises thedestabilising event involves aMythohorror the difficulty level of the testwill be 5.

A character may sacrifice Stabilitypool points to add to the test roll, bumay not reduce their current

Stability pool points below -11.

Failure of the test will result in lossof Stability pool points.

Typical scenarios requiring Stabilitytests and their resultant pool pointloss are listed in the ExampleStability Loss Table

overleaf .

The presence of Mythos creatures aa destabilising event can cause extrStability pool point loss if theStability test is failed. The extra

amount is specific to each type ofMythos creature. Keepers shouldrefer to the Trail of Cthulhu

Rulebook (pg. 127-159) for theseamounts.

Characters with previous experiencrelevant to a destabilising incident(that does not involve supernatural

or Mythos phenomena) may claim a-1 bonus to the difficulty level of theStability test. For example: surgeonsseeing open wounds or military

veterans seeing comrades expire.

In a Pulp campaign, if a charactersuccessfully passes as manyStability tests against experiencinga supernatural or lesser Mythoscreature as the Stability testdifficulty level that creature requirethey may then claim a -1 bonus tothe difficulty level of subsequentStability tests against experiencingthat same type of creature.

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Condensed Rules

Health

Consciousness TestIf a character’s Health pool pointsdrop to below zero they mustpass a Consciousness Test or faint.

The difficulty of the test is thepositive value of the amount ofHealth pool points they are below

zero i.e. a character with -3Healthpool points must make a test againstdifficulty 3.

Players can choose to spend Healthpool points (thus lowering their

Health pool further) to add to thetest die roll (this does not make this

test difficulty worse, but would makesubsequent tests more difficult).

HurtA character with between 0 and -5

Health pool points is classed as hurt.

Any tests a hurt character makes,

suffer a +1 difficulty level penalty (or+1 to the target’s Hit Threshold).

A hurt character wishing to spendInvestigative Ability pool points must

first pass a Consciousness Test

(failure of this test will not result in

the character fainting).

A hurt character can have Healthpool points restored by someone withthe First Aid ability.

Each First Aid pool point spent byanother character can restore 2

Health pool points to the woundedcharacter.

Each First Aid pool point spent bythe wounded character themselves,

restores 1 Health pool point.

If a character has no First Aid pool

points left, they can still restore 1

Health pool point to themselves orsomeone else per scene.

First Aid can not restore Health pool

points to a level higher than beforethe damaging incident began.

Seriously WoundedA character with between -6 and -11

Health pool points is classed asseriously wounded...

The character must pass anotherConsciousness Test or faint.

The character can take no furtheractions whatsoever, even ifconscious.

A seriously wounded character willcontinue to lose 1 Health pool pointevery half -hour, until stabilised.

Another character can stabilise theseriously wounded character’sHealth pool point loss by passing adifficulty 3 First Aid test (difficulty2 if the character is a Doctor orNurse) but can not restore anyHealth pool points to the seriouslywounded character.

To recover, a seriously

woundedcharacter must be hospitalised fora number of days equal to thenegative value of their Healthpool points. Thus a character with-8 Health pool points must behospitalised for 8 days.

On the day of discharge fromhospital a character’s Health pool

points recover to half their Healthrating. The following day they arefully recovered.

DeathIf a character reaches -12 Healthpool points they die.

First AidNote that First Aid can only beperformed on characters if they arehurt

or seriously wounded.

In a Purist game Health pool pointscan not be restored by First Aid tohigher than a third of thecharacter’sHealth rating.

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Example Stability Loss Table

Stability Loss

You see a fresh corpse; you witness a killing 1

A human opponent attacks you with evident intent to do serious harm 2

You are in a car or other vehicle accident serious enough to pose a risk of injury 2

You experience a strong unnatural sensation such as intense déjà vu, missing time, orhallucinations

2

You witness acts of torture 2

A human opponent attacks you with evident intent to kill 3

You kill someone in a fight 3

You see a particularly grisly murder or accident scene 3

You see a supernatural creature from a distance 3

You witness an obviously unnatural, but not necessarily threatening, omen ormagical effect - a wall covered in horrible insects, a talking cat, or a bleeding window 3

You see hundreds of corpses; you witness a large battle 4

You see a supernatural creature up close 4

You spend a week in solitary confinement 4

You learn that a friend, loved one, or Source of Stability has been violently killed 4

You discover the corpse of a friend, loved one, or Source of Stability 5

You are attacked by a supernatural creature, or by a friend, loved one, or Source of Stability

5

You witness a clearly supernatural or impossible killing 5

You witness or experience an obviously unnatural, and threatenting, omen or magicaleffect - a cold hand clutches your heart, a swarm of bees pours out of your mouth

5

You kill someone in cold blood; you torture someone 5

You see a friend, loved one, or Source of Stability killed 6

You are tortured for an hour or longer 6

You discover that you have committed cannibalism 6

You are possessed by some outside force, but conscious while it operates your bodyunspeakably 7

You speak with someone you know well who you know to be dead 7

You are attacked by a single gigantic supernatural creature or by a horde of supernatural creatures

7

You see a friend, loved one, or Source of Stability killed in a particularly gruesomemanner or in a way you are helpless to avert

8

You kill a friend, loved one, or Source of Stability 8

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Condensed Rules



Denying The MythosIf no physical proof remains ofcontact with a Mythos horror at the

end of an adventure wherein acharacter’s Sanity rating wasdamaged, then it recovers by 1. Thisis the character “denying” tothemselves the event everhappened.

If the character subsequently usestheir Cthulhu Mythos ability todiscover inf ormation about thespecific horror they havepreviously “denied” then theirSanity rating is reduced back

down by 1.

FaintingIn a Purist game a character canchoose to faint rather than sufferthe full Sanity pool point loss of aMythos horror. Fainting reduces theSanity pool point loss from aMythos experience to 1.

A character can not choose to faintto avoid sanity loss brought on

from a large Stability loss duringspell casting.

Losing Pillars of SanityIf a Mythos revelation is specificallytargeted against one of acharacter’s Pillars o f Sanity, thatPillar will “shatter” costing thecharacter 6 Stability pool pointsand 2 Sanity pool points.

For every three pool points of

Sanity a character loses they maychoose to have one of their Pillarso f Sanity “crumble from within.”

It is too late f or a character todeclare a Pillar “crumble fromwithin” if it is “shattered.”

A character with no remainingPillars o f Sanity suffers a +1

modifier to the difficulty level of allsubsequent Stability tests.

TRAIL OF CTHULHU

Condensed Rules

Success means the patient regains 2Stability pool points for every 1

Psychoanalysis pool point the treatersacrifices beyond any points appliedto pass the test roll

.

Alienists can treat themselves andregain Stability pool points on a 1 to 1basis.

If the test roll fails, another attemptcan not be made until the patientloses further Stability pool points.

Confidence Roll

In a Pulp game, if the Keeper allows,

there canbe one sing

le Confidence Roll per player per session.

A player has to come up with animpressive rationale to explain theconfidence boost and pay anamount of pool points in a relevantability determined by the Keeper.

They will regain 1d6 Stability pool

points.

Downtime

Between adventures a character’sStability pool points recover to theirmaximum i.e. equal to theirStability rating.

In a Pulp campaign investigators willbe assumed to be spending downtimereconnecting with their Sources o f Stability.

SanityA character’s Sanityyy rating mustimmediately be reduced downwardsto { 10 minus their Cthulhu Mythosrating } if it ever exceeds that value.

This may result in a loss of Sanitypool points if they exceed the new

rating total.

A character who reaches zero Sanitypool points becomes permanentlyinsane.

Using the Cthulhu Mythos ability willcause Sanity (and Stability) pool

point loss, the amounts determinedby the type of re

velation or insightgained. Keepers should refer to the

Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook (pg. 76) forguidance.

Encountering a ma jor Mythos Entitycauses Sanity (and Stability) pool

point loss. Keepers should refer to

the Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook (pg. 86)for the exact figures for each Entity.

If a character becomes shaken (0 to-5 Stability pool points) due to failinga Stability test brought about by a

Mythos horror then their Sanityrating is permanently reduced by 1.

If a character becomes mind blasted(-6 to -11 Stability pool points) due tofailing a Stability test brought aboutby a Mythos horror then their Sanityrating is permanently reduced by 2

(although if they have previously lost1 Sanity rating point due to beingshaken by a Mythos event duringthis adventure this loss is just 1further rating point).

In a Pulp campaign lost Sanity pool

points can be awarded by the Keeperat the end of a successful adventurewherein the players “defeated theMythos.” 1 or 2 points is advised butno more than the number of pointsequal to the largest potential sanityloss encountered in the adventure.

In a Purist campaign no Sanity pool

points are awarded at the end of anadventure.

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Non-Player CharactersNPCs and creatures refresh Healthpool points at 1d6 per day if they arnot receiving special treatment

.

Their other ability pool pointsrefresh up to half their maximumvalue in the first 12 hours of non-expenditure and to their maximumvalue in the f ollowing 12 hours.

Mental Illness

Shell ShockIf a character who develops ShellShock encounters a subsequentevent that reminds them of theoriginal event that brought abouttheir Shell Shock then they mustmake a Stability test of difficultylevel 4.

Failure of this test does not result iany loss of Stability pool points, buthe character will freeze up and behelpless for 15 minutes.

They will also suffer the effects ofbeing shaken (as described in theStability rules section) for a furthe24 hours.

If a character becomes mind

blasted (see the earlier Stabilitysection) they may acquire a mental

illness if the Keeper so rules.

Becoming mind blasted from aStability pool point loss brought onby a non-Mythos event would resuin Shell Shock (see below).

Becoming mind blasted from aStability pool point loss brought onby a Mythos-related event wouldresult in one of the various

madnesses listed under the sectionMythos Madness (overleaf).

TRAIL OF CTHULHU

Condensed Rules

A Pillar o f Sanity can be restoredusing the psychological proceduredescribed below under False Sanity.

False SanityA character with thePsychoanalysis ability can attemptto improve a patient’s lost Sanityrating points.

The patient must undergo threeconsecutive and successfulPsychoanalysis sessions.

Each Psychoanalysis session can

only be made between adventures.

Each is made as a precursor bef orestarting the new adventure.

The patient’s Stability pool pointsmust always remain above zeroduring the entire course of thistreatment.

The patient must not use theirCthulhu Mythos ability during theentire course of this treatment.

Each session involves the person

treating the patient needing to passa Psychoanalysis test of difficultylevel 4 or, in a Purist game, twicethe patient’s Cthulhu Mythos ratingwhichever is greater.

Three consecutive and successfulPsychoanalysis tests will result inthe patient’s Sanity ratingincreasing by half the amountrequired to reach the lesser ofeither the patient’s original Sanityrating or { 10 minus current Cthulhu

Mythos rating }

A Sanity rating increase obtained inthis way is called aFalse Sanitybonus.

Any subsequent Sanity pool point or

rating point loss the patient suffers

of 2 points or greater, from a single

incident, also causes any and all

False Sanity rating points to beimmediately lost.

Recovering Ability

Pool Points

Pool points can only ref resh to a

maximum level equal to the

character’s rating in the ability.

Investigative Ability pool pointsonly refresh between adventures orcampaign break points.

Athletics, Driving, Firearms,F

leeing, P

iloting, Riding,

Scu

ff ling and

Weapons pool points refresh 24hours after their last expenditure.

Three other General Ability pools,

except Health, Stability and Sanity,

can be refreshed once per session ifthe character is in a safe haven.

Health pool points refresh at 2points per day of rest as long as thecharacter is not seriously wounded.

A seriously wounded charactermust be hospitalised to recoup

Health pool points (see the earlierHealth section).

During an adventure Stability pool

points can be recovered byPsychological Triage, by f ollowingDrives or with a Con f idence Roll

(see the earlier Stability section).

Between adventures a character’sStability pool points recover to theirmaximum.

In a Pulp campaign lost Sanity pool

points can be awarded by theKeeper at the end of a successful

adventure or campaign wherein theplayers “defeated the Mythos.” 1 or 2

points is recommended but no morethan a number equal to the largestpotential sanity loss encountered inthe adventure or campaign.

In a Purist campaign no Sanity pool

points are awarded at the end of anadventure.

Player Characters

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

Condensed Rules

Temporary Psychological

TriageCharacters acting erratically due tomental illness can be temporarilysnapped back to lucidity by anothercharacter with the Psychoanalysisability.

The treater must spend 2

Psychoanalysis pool points (1 for anAlienist).

The patient will then act lucidly forthe remainder of the scene or untiltheir next Stability pool point loss.

Curing Mental IllnessThe same method used to give FalseSanity to a character (see the earlierSanity rules section) can be used tocure a mental illness once.

If the mental illness returns due tosubsequent Stability pool point loss,

it can never be cured again.

Anagnorisis or

The Big RevealThis is an optional Purist rule.

Keepers can determine that aparticular plot device of theadventure is the Big Reveal(something “Earth Shattering” aboutthe Mythos).

Any Stability pool point loss resultingfrom a failed Stability test brought onby the Big Reveal is triple the normal

amount with a minimum of 8 pool

points.

If a Mythos Entity is part of the Big Reveal the usual Sanity pool pointloss from encountering the Entity isdoubled.

Any characters that do notimmediately go insane as a result ofthe Big Reveal must end up retiringfrom active duty. Life with theknowledge they carry is now too hardfor them.

Improving

InvestigatorsIn a Pulp campaign, at the end ofeach adventure, the Keeper mayaward 2 build points for eachsession a character participated in.

Players can use these build points toimprove a character’s existingability ratings or buy rating pointsin new abilities on a 1 to 1 exchangerate.

Players can also reassign up to 2rating points between existingability ratings.

Credit Rating, Cthulhu Mythos orSanity ratings can not be alteredin this manner.

Mythos MadnessThe Keeper chooses the mostrelevant madness from the followinglist to apply to the character basedon the circumstances that broughton the debility (or a disorder can bechosen from the list randomly):

Delusion

Homicidal Mania

Megalomania

Multiple Personality Disorder

Obsession

Paranoia

PhobiaSelective Amnesia

See the Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook

(pg. 77-79) for suggestions on how toplay each form of madness.

GUMSHOE Clues

and Special

BenefitsAny GUMSHOE game uses thefollowing clue types (linked toInvestigative Abilities) to giveinformatuion to the players:

Core CluesClues which steer the players fromeach key scene to the next.

It is imperative that the Keeperensures players obtain core clues.

Core clues do not cost the playerany pool points to obtain but dorequire use of an Investigative

Ability in which the player has anon-zero rating and the playermust choose to engage that abilityin the scene to get the clue.

Keepers should be flexible withwhich Investigative Ability is

required in order to get a core clueinto the players’ hands.

Zero Spend CluesNon-core clues that are associatedwith a particular Investigative

Ability but cost the player no poolpoints to obtain.

However the player must have anon-zero rating in the ability andchoose to engage that ability in the

scene to get the clue.

Point Spend CluesNon-core clues that require theplayer to spend 1 or 2 pool points ina particular Investigative Abilityand require the player to say theyare using that ability in the sceneto get the clue.

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TRAIL OF CTHULHU

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Inconspicuous CluesA clue that requires no pool pointsto obtain but does require a non-

zero rating in a particularInvestigative Ability.

However the investigator will beawarded the clue if they are justpresent at the scene without havingto state they are using the ability.

Simple-Search CluesClues that require no pool pointspend and are not associated withany particular ability but which willbe given to any player who statesthey are searching the particularscene or ob ject that holds the clue.

Special BenefitsPlayers can also be awarded SpecialBene f its by the Keeper by spendingInvestigative Ability pool points.

The nature of Special Bene f its canvary extensively. Some examples are

given in the Trail of Cthulhu

Rulebook (pg. 53).

TomesTomes can provide investigators

with clues or Special Bene f its.

To get the clue or Special Bene f itthe investigator must skim the tome.

To skim the tome the investigatormust be able to read the language inwhich it is written.

Skimming takes one hour per 100printed pages or per 10 handwrittenpages in the tome.

A 1 pool point spend in Library Usewill half this time.

A 2 pool point spend in Library Usereduces this time to a few minutes.

Tomes can also provide investigatorswith resources such as spells orCthulhu Mythos rating points.

To get the resource the investigatormust pore over the tome.

To pore over the tome theinvestigator must be able to read thelanguage in which it is written.

Poring over a tome takes as long asthe Keeper deems necessary inorder to obtain the resource.

See the Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook (pg.

105-109) for specific details of majorMythos tomes.

Magic

Besides tomes, investigators canlearn spells during an adventurefrom other sources e.g. inscriptionsshamen, (in)human instructors or aMythos revelation.

Learning a spell in this way willtake a time period as decided bythe Keeper and will require asuccessful Stability test of difficultylevel particular to the spell (usually4).

Learning spells via communicatingwith Mythos powers will notusually require a Stability testsince the act of confronting theMythos will already have forcedsome level of Stability test.

Some spells may also require pool

points in other abilities to be spentin order to learn the spell, or toreduce the learning time, or to helpreduce the learning Stability testdifficulty level.

Learning Spells



TRAIL OF CTHULHU

24

Condensed Rules

TRAIL OF CTHULHU

Condensed Rules

Spells can be incantations or rituals.

Either type can take a variable timeto cast as per the spell description

.

Incantations require a successful

Stability test to cast and possiblyother ability pool point spends. Thedifficulty level of the Stability testand any other pool point spends willbe peculiar to each incantation spell.

Rituals require the caster to partakein a Stability contest of difficultylevel particular to the ritual spell.

The antagonistic contest roll makes

use of

Inertia pool points to add tothe contest die roll. The Inertia pool

points will be specific to the ritual

spell. There may also be other abilitypool point costs involved in castingspecific to the ritual.

A failed casting will still cost half therequired pool points that asuccessful casting would have.

Casting Spells Other characters who also know thespell can assist the lead caster bydonating pool points as per the co-

operation test mechanism describedearlier.

Any character who does not knowthe spell can still assist by sacrificing3 of their own ability pool pointswhich donates 1 pool point in thatability to the lead caster.

Anyone involved in casting a spell

who ends up losing enough Stabilitypool points to make them shaken ormind blasted will suffer associatedSanity loss as per the rules for

Stability loss from witnessing aMythos horror (see the earlier Sanitysection).

See the Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook (pg.

110-124) for specific spell details.

Version NotesThese condensed rules make use of

thelatest GUMSHOE

c

hanges seenin Night’s Black Agents and the 2

nd

edition of The Esoterrorists. As such,they do not mirror exactly the rulesas described in the 1

st edition of the

Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook.

Changes include;

The introduction of Zero SumContests, General Spends andContinuing Challenges.

The introduction of surprise

advantage and the

rules for the

effects of darkness.

Changes to the rules for orderingcontests and combat rounds.

Rules for fleeing from combat.

Shaken or hurt characters can

now spend Investigative

Abilitypool points if they first pass aStability or Consciousness test.

Some changes to First Aid rules.

Some additional vehicle rules.

trail of cthulhu condensed rules

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