This is a demo for The Cthulhu Hack to show what’s unique and interesting about the game. In 5-minutes you can explain the basic mechanics and then run the short adventure, which should take about 20 minutes (but run it at a pace that works for you and your players). If you’re running the game, you get to be the Gamemaster. The people taking part in the demo are the Players. The Players are Investigators of the Unknown; ordinary people leading ordinary lives who have, through curiosity, inheritance or circumstance, found themselves entangled in tales of Cosmic Horror. You should refer to the Players by their Investigator name during the demo and suggest they try to imagine the world with their Investigator’s point of view. When an Investigator tries to discover something or fights for their life, the Player rolls dice to see if they succeed or discover the consequences if they fail. As Gamemaster you provide the hook for the story. You describe the world around the Investigators and fill in the details when they use their senses or their common understanding of the world. Listen to what the Players say and work with them to create an exciting story. Keep track of their discussion and discoveries - because sometimes those details will come back to bite them! Ask questions of the Players, but always allow them to narrate their Investigators’ actions. You should react to them, but never act on their behalf - let them lead. What do you need to run the demo? ! The last page provides Character Sheets. Print these off or copy them out. Let the player (or players) choose one of these Investigators or pick one at random. ! You need a set of polyhedral Dice - which you can get from specialist hobby shops or buy online - which include dice with 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 20-sides. Ideally, you need a set for each player, but they can easily share. ! Pens or pencils for everyone, along with scrap Paper to keep notes.
Saves and Resources Once you have handed out the character sheets and given the players time to look them over, you want to cover everything they can see, without dwelling too much on the detail. The adventure will give them an opportunity to understand the finer details - you just need to get them oriented and engaged. Two basic mechanics drive The Cthulhu Hack - Saves and Resources. Both activities involve the Player throwing one of the dice. ! When a Threat hampers or hurts your Investigator, a Player rolls to Save them ! When an Investigator uses something to support or aid their progress, the Player rolls to check their Resources to see if they've pushed too far or run out of supplies
Saves A Threat is anything the Gamemaster uses against an Investigator to either hurt them or to hinder their progress. That could mean a zombie clawing their flesh, a gangster trying to shoot them, or an evil hypnotist trying to control their mind. Characters have six Save scores; each of
these provides a means to handle a different kind of Threat. You choose which Save works against a Threat and the Player rolls a 20-sided die to find out what happens. The demo includes two pre-generated characters on sheets that explain the sort of Threats that an Investigator might face and the Player might Save against. For example: ! If you want to fend off a zombie’s grappling attack, you roll a Strength Save. ! If you want to dive for cover to avoid a gangster’s bullet, you roll a Dexterity Save. ! If you focus to shrug off a hypnotist’s influence, you roll a Charisma Save. If you roll lower than your Save, you succeed and have a chance to hurt or restrain whoever threatened you. If you roll equal or higher than your Save, you get hit, hurt or hampered. If you get hit, you will lose Hit Points and if you lose all those points you’ll be Out of Action - unconscious or too hurt to act - until someone provides first aid or can get the Character to a hospital.
Resources Investigators use up Resources in three ways - Supplies, Sanity, and Investigation. Instead of keeping careful track of individual Resources, an Investigator rolls a die to see if they’re getting low or run out altogether. Each Resource has a certain size of die and the Player rolls it when you ask them to. ! Supplies are bits of equipment that an Investigator can easily lose track of in the heat of the moment. Revolver ammo, a first aid kits bandages, or the matches that light the way along a dark tunnel. ! Investigators constantly run into situations with horrible discoveries and bizarre monsters, and these threaten to overwhelm their Sanity. When faced with horrific discoveries or the sight of things that cannot possibly be real, the Investigator’s limited grasp on Sanity will be tested. ! The Investigator’s ability to find important, but not immediately obvious, clues use up two Investigation resources - Flashlights and Smokes. Instead of a long list of skills, these two Resources cover everything. If an investigator needs to spot, uncover, trip over, research, stumble, recall or otherwise discover something – that’s Flashlights. If they might overhear, carouse, interrogate, coerce, fast talk, bribe, claim common kinship or otherwise extract information through social connection or use of personal credit – that’s Smokes. Each Investigation roll provides a substantive and self-contained clue. The clue comes before the roll, so even a failure still leaves the Investigator with options. You always check your Resources after using them. So, you shoot your gun, find a clue, or survive seeing a horrible monster. However, if you roll a 1 or 2 on your Resource Die, the number of sides steps down for next time - so, if you rolled a 6-sided die and get a 1 or 2, next time you roll a 4-sided. If you do this with a 4-sided die, that Resource has run out completely. For Sanity, that means madness. For Investigation, that means running out of options; your Investigator can’t progress without help from friends or falling back to rest and recuperate.
Nocturnal Rites – a demo Read aloud introduction:
In moonlit darkness, the warehouses along Boston docks hold no welcome or hint of occupancy, and yet you stand before one now. A painted sign clearly labels the building as “Condemned” and “Unsafe”. Last week, [Jean or Gene] Moran, a reporter friend of [choose an appropriate Investigator] called with excited revelations about the shipment of an artefact from the Far East. It wouldn't seem so strange if Moran hadn't noted the point of delivery was this condemned warehouse privately retained in the name of a deceased businessman. Moran asked for your help and set a time to meet, but [her/his] editor at The Globe hasn't seen [her/him] in three days. You value Moran's friendship too much not to honour the meeting. Ask the Players what their Investigators do next. As you have only just explained the situation and placed them in the thick of it, this provides an opportunity for the Players to ask questions - as their Characters will have had a chance to prepare and do some research. Players can use their Character’s Investigation resource to find out more about the situation and the location. ! If they staked out the warehouse earlier, checked about the owner, visited the Port Authority offices or otherwise searched for clues, [Flashlight] reveals that the warehouse has been disused for years. A fire caused serious structural damage, but as it’s privately owned the Port Authority can only signpost the hazard. ! The site belongs to businessman Ronald Bride. [Flashlight] finds that Ronald Bride made the headlines three years ago - with numerous pictures of the businessman - when his plane crashed over the Himalayas while on a business trip. No sign of the wreckage was ever found and the Board of Executives took over the running of Bride’s businesses. ! If the Investigator spent time at the docks, spoke to dockworkers, bought a round in the local bar, or otherwise asked around about the warehouse, [Smokes] uncovers that after years of disuse, carpenters were hired to shore up and make good in the warehouse. Reps of the Bride Company hired security for the place on daily rates. They paid cash in hand for everything, paying over-the-odds. ! More [Smokes] finds dockworkers still woozy from nights of heavy drinking after a big payment when a ship from the Far East came in late last week and they needed crates moved into the Bride warehouse. Dozens of crates, including one that nearly broke the dockside crane. Ask the Investigators how they plan to break into the warehouse. At this point, with no sign of wrongdoing, the authorities won’t get involved. With their friend Moran missing, investigating this place seems the right thing to do. From here, the Investigators have an opportunity to use Saves and more Resources. Use of [Flashlight] or [Smokes] may offer an easier way to get into the warehouse, but any attempt will require a Save with the threat of drawing attention or getting hurt. If they use Investigation first, Players roll with Advantage, which means the throwing two dice and take the best result. Strength could break a hole in the fire-damaged wall, Dexterity might get access to a skylight, while Wisdom could help pick a lock or a really ballsy Investigator could knock on the door and use Charisma to convince their way in. Failure will lead to injury - from a fall (inflicting a 4-sided
die roll of damage), a surprise attack, or tumbling debris that not only hurts but also makes a lot of noise. The Warehouse is dark, so if the Investigators don’t use torches, or at least a box of matches, they will have to grope around in the darkness with only the occasional shaft of moonlight illuminating their way. Without light, any action that requires coordination or clear vision happens with Disadvantage, which means throwing two dice for a Save or Resource and taking the worst result. There are hired Thugs scattered around the Warehouse, tasked with keeping an eye out for intruders or nosy law enforcement officers. You can use this as a chance to show off Saves some more, with Investigators creeping through ruined rooms avoiding creaking floorboards [Wisdom], creeping past dozing Thugs [Dexterity], or delivering knockout blows with the butt of a revolver before the chance arises to raise the alarm [Strength]. The Thugs have fists and blackjacks, so if Investigators fight them they should roll a Strength Save to avoid damage. When they roll to attack, the Investigator either rolls a Strength Save if scuffling hand-to-hand or a Dexterity Save if they fire a gun. Thugs have 6 Hit Points and inflict 3 Hit Points in damage when Investigators fail to avoid them (or you can roll randomly with a 6sided die). They also take one fewer Hit Points damage from the first hit they take in combat (this is called Armour and makes big opponents harder to defeat). Once the Investigators have got in, explored a little and either avoided attention or seen off a Thug they discover the main central room in the Warehouse, emerging on an unoccupied section of balcony overlooking a gathering of robed and hooded people. The Robed Worshippers reach the end of a droning chant as the Investigators arrive, standing in a circle around a massive crate and an altar. A [Flashlight] recognises the final syllables as part of a charm in an ancient Arabic dialect said to open any lock or door. Behind the altar, a Worshipper in yellow robes raises a knife above a bound and gagged victim. The droning stops and the knife falls, and then a muffled scream follows as the Worshipper slices the knife into the victim’s torso. At this point, the Investigators recognise the victim - it’s Moran. They all have to make a [Sanity] test - and anyone who rolls 1 or 2 will let out an involuntary scream. If no one fails, they have the chance to act. Once they’ve had a chance to act - rolling a suitable Save - describe how the blood gushing from the altar has pooled around the base of the crate. The whole crate trembles and rocks for a moment, before the wood erupts like an explosion and an unearthly bellow fills the air, chilling every Investigator to the marrow. The yellow-robed Worshipper throws back his cowl revealing the pale and sunken features of Ronald Bride, who cuts loose an inhuman howl as something utterly alien and incomprehensible flows forth from the wreckage and squeezes the life from the dying reporter. Amidst screams, howls and the shattering of timber, Investigators must make another [Sanity] roll - and you can bring the demo to a close. Or continue yourself with The Cthulhu Hack. Written by Paul Baldowski, based on The Cthulhu Hack available on RPGNow bit.ly/NRqs2CH | November 2016 DESIGNATION OF PRODUCT IDENTITY: The names “The Cthulhu Hack”, and all proper nouns, artefact names, creature names, places, symbols, artwork, logos, graphic design, and product layout are Product Identity. RELEASED UNDER OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a bit.ly/OGLv01S COPYRIGHT NOTICE: OGL v1.0 © 2000 WotC, Inc. | The Black Hack © 2016 David Black | The Cthulhu Hack © 2016 Paul Baldowski Thanks to Martin, Richard, Simon, Tore, John, Krister, Markus and everyone else who offered feedback in putting this together!
