Play@YSDC

I did sort of mention a list, but here it is again in list form. Not everything on the list will be used (that would require at least 13 players, anyway, which is more than I can handle), but I can make any combination of a handful of these work:
Ghouls
Shoggoths
Undead (includes liches)
Deep Ones
Ghasts
Gugs
Mi-Go
Brains in Mi-Go canisters
Zoogs
Sole survivors of bizzare alien races lost in time and space
Original monstrosities
Blasphemous hybrids
Traditional horror figures (killer robots, demons, or anything not too human)

A Ice-Priest of Theem'hdra.

Deep One or maybe brains in Mi-Go canister.

I am afraid that I am not familiar with the Ice-Priests of Theem'hdra. A search online lead me to believe they are from the works of Brian Lumley, which I havee not read with the exception of a couple of the Necroscope books.

The following information should be useful for Deep One characters. You can write up the description and backstory of your character and post it here so we can work out the stats together, or go by p.m. - it doesn't matter since this is not a game with dark secrets. Well, if someone really wants one, p.m. me, but I think that might get a bit silly. This information is mostly my opinions, fleshed out with a little imagination into the world in which the scenario is set, drawn mostly from At the Mountains of Madness and The Shadow over Innsmouth. Keep in mind while reading this that what is beautiful in the eyes of a Deep One might also be hideous, threatening, blasphemous, horrifying, alien, inscrutable, revolting, or any of Lovecraft's other favorite adjectives, to a human being. This is just an overview - more in-depth descriptions of Deep One life (such as the physical description of Y'ha-Nthlei) will be posted throughout the game as they appear, although you will not spend all of your time there (maybe very little, depending).

Deep Ones in General:

Since Deep Ones can interbreed with humans, and are not powerful enough to mess with reality like GOOs do, they have to have some genetic link. Humans evolved from, “a shambling, primitive mammal, used sometimes for food and sometimes as an amusing buffoon by the land dwellers [decadent Elder Race], whose vaguely simian and human foreshadowings were unmistakable.” (AtMoM, VII) Deep Ones, being (naturally!) physically and mentally superior to humans, were created by the Elder Race before their decline. Escaping, they discovered R’yleh, contacted the slumbering starspawn, and have built their societies mentored by the dead but dreaming mind of Great Cthulhu.

“The Old Ones, but for their abnormal toughness and peculiar vital properties, were strictly material, and must have had their absolute origin within the known space-time continuum--whereas the first sources of the other beings can only be guessed at with bated breath.” (AtMoM, VII)

Deep Ones are beings of matter, not dissimilar from humans or shoggoths. They have somewhat greater magical abilities, but are for the most part organic, Earth-evolved, non-supernatural creatures. For the most part, since Great Cthulhu has been able to guide their evolution.

Deep One Society:

The oceans are full of Deep One communities of greater and lesser size. Organization corresponds to size – many Deep Ones choose to spend time in solitary wandering. The largest metropolis is in the Pacific Ocean, built adjoining R’lyeh, the Starspawn city of much larger proportions. The second largest, in the Atlantic, is home to Dagon, the racial deity of the Deep Ones, a being with more regional than cosmic power and far less power than Great Cthulhu. Dagon, however, is awake.

Y’Ha-Nthlei, the Deep One city near Innsmouth, is where the scenario will start (Deep One characters may be inhabitants or visitors). It is fairly typical of Deep One cities. While technically a theocracy, the High Priest of Cthulhu usually acts as the majority of Deep Ones prefer. The concept of private property does exist in a form, but Deep Ones usually own only objects of true value, such as rare treasures or exotic artifacts. Most Deep Ones value their creations more than their properties.

Food is distributed as a public service by the city of Y’ha-Nthlei, mostly in the form of schools of game fish that are released in the streets and can be grabbed from the water and devoured live. More prepared dishes, plants, and sessile marine life are also available. Sanitation is also dealt with by the city, although the sewers of Y’ha-Nthlei are feats of architecture and environmental engineering as befits an essential system. Clean water is never an issue.

Almost all Deep Ones spend some time training in the use of some weapon or unarmed combat, despite the existence of standing armies, which have gained considerable field experience by traveling to other worlds to serve as mercenaries.

Since Deep Ones are immortal, they usually choose to specialize in a limited number of fields and develop those fields into arts. They will sacrifice neither form nor function, but will easily spend a hundred years considering a modification to a piece; as a result, most Deep One-made goods are both eerily beautiful and extremely effective (although what the intended effect is may be interesting). Regardless of chosen fields, almost all Deep Ones are comfortable in the philosophy and literature of their race, none think twice about occasionally trying something new for variety (such as meddling in the affairs of humanity), and all devote their lives to the worship of the living Dagon and the dead Great Cthulhu, through whom the many Other Gods of existence may be worshipped.

Y’ha-nthlei is an undersea paradise of haunting, and often horrible, but ever-elegant aesthetics. It is small wonder that the Deep Ones wait patiently for the day when they shall bring chaos to the depths of the seas of air.


Technology and Magic

Having been around for at least as long as humanity, and being at least as intelligent, arguably much wiser, and guided by Great Cthulhu, who understands the laws not only of this universe but also realms beyond the current existence, Deep One technology is somewhat ahead of human technology. The image of them as undersea savages with stone weapons is a misconception (the reason that they purchased large quantities of trinkets used for trading with aborigines in SoI is because they then carried those trade goods undersea to trade them with the natives of the Pacific Islands).

The Deep Ones do pursue science and technology differently than humanity. They choose what technologies to use to best serve their goals. Y’ha-Nthlei is, for the most part, a low-tech city, with stone construction, paved streets, swimming as the chief form of transport, and the spoken word as the chief form of communication. However, it does contain laboratories and workshops that make use of computers, electronics, robotics, psychic machinery, fusion power, nanotechnology, and advances for which there are no words in English. Many things that would be considered supernatural to humans have been studied and used as natural phenomenon in the science of the Deep Ones.

True supernatural powers, as used by the Deep Ones, are very different from those of humanity. Spells, rituals, and the like are gifts of either Great Cthulhu or Dagon. While it is not possible to find a spell for any purpose, there are a great variety available to the Deep Ones. Both scholars of sorcery and priests can cast and instruct in a variety of powerful spells. All manner of arcane and esoteric lore, including spells, is available in the libraries of Y’ha-Nthlei, although there are certain secrets known only to the highest echelons of the priesthood. Some Deep Ones know a couple spells without being expert sorcerers or priests, just as some humans play musical instruments without being professional musicians. The priesthood can also help Deep Ones achieve non-spell supernatural abilities, although this is done only with the consent of a High Priest, and the process is made into a lengthy religious experience by the priesthood (comparable to a Bar-mitzvah or taking the Hajj; two experiences are also likely to be as completely different from each other as a Bar-mitzvah and the Hajj).

Weapons and Gear:

Many Deep Ones choose to carry traditional weaponry such as tridents, spears, and clubs. Advanced weapons carried out of Deep One cities have attached devices that will cause them to disintegrate when they are no longer within half a mile of a living Deep One.

In Y’ha-Nthlei, Deep One artists produce quality weapons of every level of sophistication. Most are likely to lend finished pieces for use in combat, since an assortment of parts has not truly become a weapon until it has actually injured or killed someone. They will ask that the borrowers return with the story of how the weapon was used.

Character Creation:

Deep One characters do not have to have regular jobs, simply some calling that occupies the potentially limitless years of their lives. Many esoteric or unusual acts have been elevated to the level of art by the Deep Ones, so the possibilities are pretty open. Even a Deep One poet will likely have some combat skill and physical abilities. Don't worry about over or underpowered - designing this scenario I realized that it might be run by a party of shoggoths and Dark Young or a party of shambling zombies.

The opening premise is that you have all volunteered, each for individual motives, to be involved in a little meddling, but you have yet to find out what it will entail, so don't worry about character-plot hooks either.

What era will this game be set in? And if it's the 1920s, when exactly (before or after the raid on Innsmouth)? That might influence my character's backstory. I have decided to play a Deep One.

Walter Gilman was born in Innsmouth, Massachusetts in the mid-1840s to a human father and a Deep One mother. From a young age, he has always had a love of the sea, and he apprenticed on fishing boats. He also longed to travel and see the world. During the Civil War, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He fought in a number of engagements, including the amphibious assault on Fort Johnson and the invasion of Johns Island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina in 1864. In 1865 he helped occupy Charleston after it finally surrendered, and he remained there for a few years after the war as part of the U.S. occupying force during Reconstruction. While in Charleston, he fell in love with a Southern belle named Penelope Ewell. They got married and he brought her back to Innsmouth in 1868, where she was indoctrinated into the Esoteric Order of Dagon and they began to raise a family.

In the 1870s, Walter's appearance began to change and he took on the Innsmouth Look. This delighted him, as he knew he would be transforming into a magnificent creature of the sea, but he was also saddened that he would eventually lose his mortal father and wife. In 1882, his transformation was complete and he became a full Deep One. At that point he went to live in Y'ha-Nthlei, where he joined his mother beneath the waves. He still visited Innsmouth frequently to be with his family.

Walter is a skilled soldier, but he also knows a lot about human culture and society, and he has kept up on events on land. Meddling in the affairs of humans is something that appeals to him, so he has volunteered for this assignment.

What kind of game will it be? Pure horror, or comic horror?
If it is pure horror, my character will look like this:




If it is comic, like this:


Anyway, the story from Briam Lumley was IMO very bad, but the concepts of the Ice-Priest was excelent. Milions of years ago in earth, a race of pre-human made a civilization of great power, culture and technology. As the time passed they florished but they started to decay morally, bored by immortality. They worshiped the GOO, specially Ithaqua. The true rulers were the scientis who turn themselves in priests of the GOO to gain more knowledge from the universe. They commited blasfemous experiences and hateful rituals to please their masters with daily sacrifices. Until the population had enouth and revolted. The priests decide to explode the entire planet to teach a lesson to the rabble. Then Ithaqua appeared and tranposrted the most gifted priests to another world. The priests who stayed in their city, hadn't power enouth, and only managed to sunk the continent where they lived.
For the next milions of years, the ice-priest served Itaqua in the world of Borea, a frozen world. The priests had lost their previous powers, but they learned new ways. One of them, was bored of being stucked in that world, without much things to do, so after a long time of preparations, he made a ritual to return to earth.
The reca of the priests were taller and thinner than humans. They would look similar to humans but seem at the same time alien and evil .

In 1592 Madinia Dee, daughter of Dr John Dee, sailed to the New World as supercargo in one of her father's ships; she was just 14 years old. The ship "Hermes" was on a voyage of discovery - the elusive North West Passage, however it was wrecked in a storm off Cape Cod and all hands perished. Or did they?
G'Yar (a Deep One) was chasing a fishy delicacy when the "Hermes" foundered, it saved a beautiful human who was clinging to flotsam: Madinia Dee.
Their courtship was peculiarly vile, and need not be discussed; 9 months later a son was born at an exclusive community on Rhode Island, his name is Elijah Dee. Fragments of his grandfather's knowledge has survived: mathematics, astronomy, astrology, occult, navigation, alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy. Elijah Dee

We will be playing in the present, during the year 2009 A.D./the Later Part of the Aeon When the Stars Are Not Right. I originally planned a far-future setting, but decided that the current era would be more fun.

For playing older hybrids, any skills that the character has he has to spend some time keeping in practice - memories from 100 years ago are forgotten even by Deep Ones.

Does Walter serve as a soldier amongst the Deep Ones, or does he do something else? If he continues to be a career soldier, he will be skilled both in the use of the weapons of the American Civil War (or whatever else he spends his time doing) and the most advanced weapons of the Deep Ones. Since he continues to visit his family, he will have very high values of Knowledge: Humanity. Also, what is his name amongst the Deep Ones? While he could insist on still being called Walter, this is rare.

The same goes for Elijah Dee - what does he do, and is his name Elijah to anyone other than Madinia? Any knowledge of the occult, mathematics, astronomy, or navigation that Dr. Dee possessed was far inferior to what can be learned in Y'ha-Nthlei. The same goes for practical alchemy, although I realize that a lot of alchemy skill involves knowing secret symbols and so forth that are unique to human alchemy. I got a good laugh thinking about the double meaning of an exclusive community in Rhode Island in 1529 vs. today.

I'll post the Deep One version of a character sheet if I have time tommorow.

Kabukiman, an ice-priest who has returned to Earth will give the party some nice variety. Based on your description, it seems to me like you should be fine using a human character sheet. The priest will have no sanity and exceptional POW, more DEX and less CON, and a high resistance to cold. I cannot really quantify how much from what I know. Could you tell me more about the new ways they found? I tried looking on the Cthulhuwiki, Wikipedia, and other internet sources of Mythos lore, and I've come up blank.

Yes, Walter has continued to be a soldier. He participated in the defense of Y'ha-Nthlei in 1928 when the humans attacked it with depth charges. His name among the Deep Ones is Y'Nkee.

Y'Nkee - very good.

Elijah Dee, known to its race as Jahee, is a scholar of the occult and has immersed itself in all available knowledge in the libraries of Y'ha-Nthlei.

Perhaps the story hook could have Jahee seeking for more knowledge above the waves?

He should have more int, power, a bit more of size and dex, less con and str. The powers in the book were said to be terribles- even Ithaqua himself was afraid of them, but except some psionic powers (reading minds, creating images and forcing people to make what they like), and everything related to ice and weather, no more details were given. They made experiments with people, but since that people is extinct (as the fauna and flora), my character should be forced to learn everything again (by doing new experiments with modern people ).

I'm sorry - I'm having a bit of "computer trouble". Actually, I suppose it would be mind trouble - I can't remember where I left the memory stick with my Deep One character sheet on it. I should find it soon (expect the sheet tommorow).

Walter should be a pretty easy character - when I post the sheet I'll also post information on some traditional and advanced weapons. I have a lot of background material that I typed up for this campaign - it might be worth editing into a monograph once I find that memory stick.

The urge to learn is a pretty good reason to volunteer. Since a lot of Occult is actually history or science to the Deep Ones, an Occult scholar like Jahee would also have high skills in those. If Jahee wants to be a spellcaster, being particularly pious in the Cthulhu or Dagon cult will be the best way, but he can also be just a very knowledgeable scholar.

Kabukiman, this sounds good, although I find it hard to imagine what Ithaqua was afraid of. The Ice-priest is going to have been summoned to Y'ha-Nthlei (When he performed his ritual to return to Earth, he appeared in the middle of a summoning circle in Y'ha-Nthlei before a Deep One trying to summon a creature from beyond. The universe often bookkeeps this way. The room is empty of water, so he is not drowning). Start working on his stats and spells - you can run drafts by me in this thread until the forum is up. I don't have an Ice-priest character sheet.

Count me in. Maybe as a ghoul.

Spellcaster sounds good to me.

The Deep One Character Sheet

Important Changes:

1. The appearance stat is removed, since when dealing with multiple species, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. If characters are described as attractive, ordinary, or ugly, I’ll take that into account, but you’ll need to specify to what race.

2. Sanity is still present, but the definition is different – insanity should not be a real threat to any character, since finding out the truths and secrets of the universe that would drive a human mad will only increase the sanity of a Deep One. There is no longer a cap on sanity.

3. Cryptography, craft, accounting, drive auto, forgery, anthropology, archaeology, botany, Cthulhu Mythos, law, astronomy, credit rating, forensics, library use, photography, zoology, operate heavy machinery, and dreaming are removed. Some of these are human specializations that are practiced by the Deep Ones as part of their larger fields – for example, zoology is considered part of biology, and photography is either chemistry or electronics, depending on whether the image is taken by exposing chemicals to light or using electronic recordings. Others, like archaeology and forgery, are meaningless in a society of immortals. Skills like library use are irrelevant in the culture of the Deep Ones; the libraries of Y’ha-Nthlei require no skill to use, while searching a human archive will require a Knowledge: Human roll.

4. Skills such as locksmith, architecture, and the Craft skills are now in the category of Art.

5. Certain basic skill values are adjusted. According to the CoC rulebook, skills like Physics represent what percent of known physics is known to the character, and there is a handy example that a 1990s character with 30% in physics would know far more about the universe than a Gaslight character with 90% in physics. Using this logic, I have left most Thought category skills alone. However, the skills that represent only the chance of being successful at an action are adjusted.

6. The base armed combat skill levels have left alone, since they represent the chance of hitting when firing an unfamiliar weapon.

7. The unarmed combat skills have been replaced with Claw, which does 1D6+DB damage.

8. Base values for Exertion category skills have been increased to reflect the Deep One’s greater physical abilities.

9. New skills have been added. They are explained below.

10. I have given the rolls for creating a random Deep One character (these are not exactly the same as in the Rulebook). I don’t expect your characters to be randomly rolled, but you can use these as guidelines.



Name:
Occupations:
Sex:
Age:
Birthplace:


Statistics

STR: 4D6
DEX: 3D6
INT: 2D6+8
CON: 4D6
POW: 4D6
SIZ: 3D6+6
EDU: 3D6
Idea:
Luck:
Know:
Sanity:
DB:

Skills

Art: 5%
Bargain 1%
Biology 1%
Block Dex*2 %
Boating 1%
Carpentry/Woodcraft 10%
Cartography 1%
Chemistry 1%
Climb 45%
Computer Use 1%
Conceal 15%
Cult of Cthulhu: 1%
Cult of Dagon: 1%
Disguise 5%
Demolitions 1%
Dodge Dex*2%
Fast Talk 5%
Echolocation 25%
Electrical Repair 20%
Electronics 1%
First Aid 30%
Geology 1%
Handgun 20%
Hide 30%
History 30%
Hypnosis 5%
Jump 40%
Knowledge: Humanity 1%
Occult Lore 10%
Listen 30%
Martial Arts 1%
Mathematics 10%
Mechanical Repair 20%
Medicine 5%
Natural History 10%
Navigation/Land 1%
Navigation/Sea, Air 10%
Other Language: 1%
Own Language: EDU*5
Persuade 15%
Pharmacy 1%
Physics 1%
Psychic Will 5%
Pilot 1%
Psychoanalysis 1%
Psychology 5%
Ride 5%
Rifle 25%
Scent 25%
Shotgun 30%
Sneak 50%
Spot Hidden 30%
Submachine Gun 15%
Throw 25%
Archery 20%
Track 15%
Claw 25%
Grapple 30%
Club 25%
Knife 25%


New and Modified Skill Descriptions

Martial Arts:
While a Deep One may be able to practice an adjusted version of a human martial art (Dagon knows why), there are two disciplines of martial arts unique to the Deep Ones. Successful rolls in a Deep One martial art will both double damage in unarmed combat and have additional benefits.

Dance of Dagon: A style of fighting that gradually shifts combat into a sacred pattern that calls on the power of Dagon and Great Cthulhu, each successful roll for the Dance of Dagon gives a stat bonus that lasts for the duration of the combat. The Dancer chooses before attempting the roll if he is trying for an extra point of armor, an extra point of damage added to DB, or an extra 10% in a combat skill.

Dance of the Deeps: The brutal style of unarmed combat practiced by the best Deep One fighters, a successful roll allows the character to make an additional attack during that combat round, up to two additional attacks in a combat round (since two attacks are allowed in an ordinary combat round, there are two chances to get a third attack, and then one, the third roll, for the fourth).

It has been said of legendary Deep Ones that they could practice both disciplines. This is not possible for a character.

Languages:

All Deep Ones speak Reason. Reason, the language for the Own Language skill, is a practical but dense language that explains physical situations with as much clarity and as few words as possible.

The Poetic Languages are used by the Deep Ones in poetry, most literature, and generally more abstract works. They are intricate and confusing. The Poetic Languages count as one language for the Other Language skill.

Deep Ones have also studied the languages of other races.

Ride:

In addition to riding horses, Deep Ones may also ride Shoggoths, Warped Cetaceans, Byakhees, etc.

Disguise:

The disguise skill may come in handy, since with a mask and clothing it can be used to travel freely among the masses of humanity. Of course, other ways are often more fun.

Scent:

Scent is used very similarly to listen – except, of course, that it refers to scent.

Echolocation:

The echolocation skill has two uses. Obviously, it can be used to get an accurate idea of a character’s surroundings without sight. It can also be used to pinpoint the position of another character or creature that is echolocating.

An echolocation roll determines if a single burst succeeds. Since there is no reason why a second burst cannot be made immediately after the first, even characters with base echolocation should be able to use it successfully within four seconds. However, every extra use is another chance for others to home in on the signal.

A successful Listen roll will give the general direction and distance of an echolocator, although with much less accuracy.

While whales can use echolocation as a weapon, this is not something the average Deep One can do. On the other hand, Deep Ones never beach themselves when sonar interferes with their echolocation.

Psychic Will:

In the world of the Mythos, the mind alone has power. This is the power that kept Dr. Munoz alive and the power that brought Ligeia back from death. While only the most exceptional humans may have been able to use this power, it is common in more intelligent beings, including Deep Ones. Only a limited number actually train in using this ability, but it can be used by all of them in the right circumstances- Pth'thya-l'yi uses it to visit her grandson’s dreams in The Shadow Over Inssmouth.


Knowledge: Humanity

Ironically, Deep Ones with 100% in Knowledge: Humanity know more about the species than any individual human could. Most Deep Ones, though, simply do not care. Knowledge: Humanity will allow Deep Ones to operate human devices and understand their systems and cultures. Knowledge: Humanity rolls are required for as diverse acts as using a doorbell to piloting an F-15. Hybrids will naturally have a higher skill level, but not an amazing one – what does an Innsmouth hybrid know about Russian newspapers? What does a hybrid born in 1492 know about fax machines? Rolls will not be required for hybrids faced with situations that could have occurred in their own culture and period, provided that the hybrid has stayed current – even the most basic facts can be forgotten after a few hundred years.


Occult Lore:

While much of the greater universe (what would be Cthulhu Mythos for human characters) is understandable through their sciences, history, or religion, some things defy those categories; occult lore is the knowledge of all things indescribable by science and history. Remembering information about the Mi-Go requires history, remembering information about Mi-Go anatomy requires biology, remembering that Nyarlathotep brings strange joy to Yuggoth requires occult lore. In general, magic that does not come from Cthulhu or Dagon is unfamiliar to the Deep Ones and requires occult lore to understand, while magic directly related to the two is actually part of their religion.


Cult of Dagon/Cult of Cthulhu: These skills measure the knowledge of the secrets of the appropriate Cult. Since knowledge is given with rank, it also reflects rank in the Cults. There are not 100 levels, nor is there any system so formal as levels – total rank is an approximation from standing in the eyes of Cthulhu/Dagon, honors received, ceremonies performed, positions and titles held, etc. This makes the skill level the best judge of rank. While 1% is the base for both skills inherent to any Deep One, adults are expected to have somewhat higher skills.

Cult skills may be rolled when asking for an unusual service from the Cult, praying to Cthulhu/Dagon for aid (Dagon, at least, does answer prayers), or trying to understand or remember information about something of significance to the religions, such as the relationship between Cthulhu and the Elder Race or the meaning of an esoteric religious symbol. Cult skills also are important in determining what spells and abilities are available to a character.

Weapons

These are the most advanced infantry weapons employed on a large scale by the Horde, the armed forces of the Deep Ones. While the Deep Ones consider their faith in Cthulhu to be their greatest weapon, these are not bad.

Psychic Rifle
Base: Rifle
Shots per round: 2
Damage: 2D6+6
Ammo: 1 Mp; additional Mp may be added to increase damage or range, reducing rate of fire to 1 shot per round
Range: 100 yards
Malfunction Number: 00


Horde Projectile Gun
Base: Submachine Gun
Shots per Round: 3 or burst
Damage: varies
Ammo: 20
Range: 75 yards
Malfunction number: 00


Microwave Gun
Base: Handgun
Shots per Round: 1
Damage: 5D6+ignite
Ammo: 10 shots per battery
Range: 30 yards
Malfunction number: 99


These are some of the more traditional weapons used by the Deep Ones. Most ordinary Deep Ones train in using one of these or a similar hand-to-hand weapon, and prefer to use them over deadlier but less traditional machines. They are deadly enough to be used in all but the most crucial conflicts.


Hunting Spear
Base: 25%
Shots per Round: 1
Damage: 1D6+DB
Hit Points: 17


Trident
Base: 25%
Shots per Round: 1/2
Damage: 1D6+1+DB/2+DB/2+DB
Hit Points: 18


Weighted Blade
Base: Knife
Shots per Round: 1
Damage: 1D10+DB
Hit Points: 20

Ammunition:

The Horde Projectile Gun was developed specifically for land and space combat. It uses both explosive and electromagnetic propulsion to fire bullets. Damage depends on the type of bullet loaded. Armor piercing, powder (similar to scattershot), slug, explosive, flare, and injection dart rounds are commonly available. There are also more exotic kinds of ammunition, such as water rounds that make bullet recovery impossible and systems that allow the HPG to create targeted clouds of toxic gas.

The HPG is completely waterproof, but in order to fire effectively underwater it requires underwater rounds that are different than its usual ammunition. Underwater rounds are not as effective firing in atmosphere, although both varieties are equal in the vacuum of space.

Slug damage for the HPG is 1D10+2. I’ll post the complete list if anyone chooses to use it.

More about weapons:

Waterproof models of civil-war era firearms are available in Y'ha-Nthlei, if Y'nkee wants to use them. Bullets are shaped differently for firing underwater, and a different powder (one that ignites when wet) is used, but the guns could be carried on land, loaded with period powder and shot, and fired effectively.

kouchpotato wrote:Count me in. Maybe as a ghoul.

Alright. There is going to be a Ghoul heroine (who will appear as an NPC otherwise) you can play as, or you could play as another Ghoul servin as her assistant.

A general warning on animals:

With exceptions, most animals on Earth will attack Mythos creatures without provocation. Don’t even think about trying to use the ride skill on them.

Tabs wrote:Spellcaster sounds good to me.

Does that mean he is going theologian?

Do we have a fixed number of points to assign to our stats, or are we just supposed to pick values that are in line with what we could roll randomly that are geared toward our characters? With EDU, is it possible to increase it by adding to the base age as a human can? 3d6 isn't much, especially since humans get 3d6+3. Yet Deep Ones can live a very long time, and EDU can easily get out of hand that way.

I'm definitely going to learn Dance of the Deeps as my Martial Arts form. Extra attacks are always nice. In terms of weapons, I'm thinking of Rifle, Handgun, and Knife. I'd have the modern Deep One weapons that use those skills. In terms of Civil War era weapons, I can't see hauling around a 19th century Enfield or Springfield with powder and shot. I might have a revolver, perhaps. Disguise, Other Language:English, and Knowledge:Humanity are skills I'd want too. Given my Innsmouth background, I'd certainly have rank in the Cult of Dagon. Between these and the other skills I'm interested in, that will take a lot of skill points.

Are the Soldier occupational skills listed in the rules the same ones that a Deep One soldier would have, or are there changes?

Theologian then, a worshipper of Dagon - I would like to cast spells! Um, which spells are available - do I look in my rulebook (3rd edition)?

How many points do we allocate to our skills? Is it EDU x15?

Weapons: HPG & Trident.

There is nothing wrong with being a scholar - this is still CoC.

If you do want to be more of a theologian (and therefore spellcaster), take a look through your rulebook for any spells that you might want. The spells in the rulebook it is possible to have studied in a library. Also, for every 20 points you have in a Cult skill, you have reached a better understanding with the deity and get a custom spell. As an inhabitant of the Atlantic, you are closer to Dagon, but only in a geographical sense. Dagon spells cost Mp while Cthulhu spells also cost POW - the Cthulhu ones are somewhat more powerful, and it is possible to restore POW (with some effort) in Y'ha-Nthlei.

I'll probably have a couple of Dagon-related spells then, since I plan to put 40% in Cult of Dagon (depending on how many skill points I end up with).

You never answered my earlier question about how we determine our stats.

Priest in the Cult of Dagon.

My rulebook states a Deep One must have a POW of 14 or more, for 1d4 Spells:
Contact Spawn of Cthulhu, Shrivelling, Summon/Bind Byakhee

Stats: STR: 4D6 DEX: 3D6 INT: 2D6+8 CON: 4D6 POW: 4D6 SIZ: 3D6+6 EDU: 3D6 (4d6=12, 3d6=11, 2d6+8=12, 4d6=17, 4d6=12, 3d6+6=12, 3d6=5)

17 for POW!

I have the stats of Tschhh (my character name!).
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2185394/
3d6-1;2d6+1;4d6;3d6+1;2d6;2d6+6;2d6+6;3d6+3 → [5,1,2,-1] = (7)
3d6-1;2d6+1;4d6;3d6+1;2d6;2d6+6;2d6+6;3d6+3 → [4,1,1] = (6)
3d6-1;2d6+1;4d6;3d6+1;2d6;2d6+6;2d6+6;3d6+3 → [3,3,6,6] = (18)
3d6-1;2d6+1;4d6;3d6+1;2d6;2d6+6;2d6+6;3d6+3 → [6,6,5,1] = (18)
3d6-1;2d6+1;4d6;3d6+1;2d6;2d6+6;2d6+6;3d6+3 → [5,6] = (11)
3d6-1;2d6+1;4d6;3d6+1;2d6;2d6+6;2d6+6;3d6+3 → [4,6,6] = (16)
3d6-1;2d6+1;4d6;3d6+1;2d6;2d6+6;2d6+6;3d6+3 → [3,6,6] = (15)
3d6-1;2d6+1;4d6;3d6+1;2d6;2d6+6;2d6+6;3d6+3 → [1,5,4,3] = (13)
Str Con Pow Dex App Int Siz Edu
He is weak and have a low con, but great power and dexterity. And it was writen in Lumley book that Itahqua was afraid of the priest (but he never explains why).If you agree with this stats, I will make a list of skills (and spells) that I think that will make sense.

Mr. Handy wrote:I'll probably have a couple of Dagon-related spells then, since I plan to put 40% in Cult of Dagon (depending on how many skill points I end up with).

You never answered my earlier question about how we determine our stats.

Sorry - looks like I took too long.

It was my intention that you would adjust the stats and skills yourselves so that your character lined up with the creature you wanted to play as. These are not going to be balanced human investigators, but horrible monsters. (In case you have not noticed from the weaponry and abilities, I am not going to say the word "overpowered" for this campaign short of a Starspawn.)

If you prefer rolling, that is fine too. EDU only affects Know, not skill points. Non-soldier Deep Ones are limited to two combat skills. Non-priest Deep Ones have Cult skills capped at 40%, and have to have a reason if you want to have studied spells (such as being an occult scholar or having a personal interest in one particular spell). Most Deep Ones have a high skill in at least one (probably more than one) Art, but a soldier and a priest are the two least likely - you would be fine each having one Art skill, or not. The same goes for the more academic skills. While the Deep Ones do have knowledge of and experts in the medical arts (which is why pharmacy and medicine are on the skill list), serious healing can be faith-based (oh, the differences between Deep Ones and humans), so it is not normal to have anything more than enough first aid to save comrades on the field.

If you adjust the skills yourself, you really don't need to care about occupational skills, but you can use them as a guide.

I decided to roll too and got some pretty good results:

Character creation rolls for Deep One: STR, DEX, INT, CON, POW, SIZ, EDU (4d6=17, 3d6=15, 2d6+8=15, 4d6=16, 4d6=16, 3d6+6=14, 3d6=4)

That gives me some rather fitting stats for my character concept:
STR: 17
DEX: 15
INT: 15
CON: 16
POW: 16
SIZ: 14
EDU: 4

HP: 16
MP: 16
Sanity: 80
DB: +1d4
Idea: 75
Luck: 80
Know: 20

Good thing EDU doesn't determine occupational skill points. Does age increase it? If so, I'd have a 19 EDU at my age (approximately 165). How many skill points should I have, both occupational and hobby?

Jahee's DOB was 1593, so today that is 416!

Mi-Go, what about skill points, like Mr. Handy says? Did you write earlier that we can choose them?, the problem is I would allocate 100% to skills if that is the case.

Yes, it was my intention that you could choose them. Everyone playing is a Keeper, after all, and I thought that if you could design balanced monsters for an entire scenario you could do one for yourself.

If you really would go 100% on all of them... that is not going to work. I've done customs before and never had that temptation (it just wouldn't be fun). Alright, I'll have to think of something for you. I did already set out some guidelines, so I'll probably send you some more. I suppose I could just go ahead and create your character for you, but I know that for some people characrter creation is the best part of the game.

Mr. Handy, age does not count for EDU, since the Deep One character sheet is for Deep Ones over 100 years of age. EDU would count for younger ones. You can choose the skill values, although I did post some rules. These are essentially custom pre-gens.

This is my information on Ghouls for kouchpotato. Did you want to play as Eleanore Pickman, the (otherwise NPC) Ghoul heroine, or as her (custom) assistant?

Ghouls in General:

“Most of the bodies, while roughly bipedal, had a forward slumping, and a vaguely canine cast. The texture of the majority was a kind of unpleasant rubberiness.”
(Pickman’s Model)
The word ghoul can refer to any carrion-eater or grave robber. The Ghouls are a race of cannibalistic, necrophagous humanoids that live beneath the surfaces of the Dreamlands and Earth. Ghouls are not only able to breed with humans but also to transform humans into Ghouls. Unlike Deep Ones, they are not purely biological creatures – the Elder Race never had a hand in their creation. Nyarlathotep or Nodens might have, but the true origins of the Ghouls, if a race that dwells in the Dreamlands can even have such a logical thing, are lost to history.

Ghouls are inherently magical creatures. In addition to being invulnerable to diseases and being oddly able to disregard biology when exchanging changelings, Ghouls can travel through their tunnels between the Dreamlands and the Earth. This is an innate ability in Ghouls. In any labyrinthine tunnel complex (not necessarily one constructed by Ghouls or one underground – the cargo holds of a ship or the twisting routes through a collapsed building would work), a Ghoul can scamper madly or lead others and find his way to somewhere beneath the Dreamlands. Only those tunnels leading from Earthly burrows to Dreamlands chiefdoms necessarily lead to the same place every time.

Ghoul Society:

Ghouls are the dolphins of the Mythos races. They do not care about the direction of the universe, the development of technology, or any grander philosophical or political issues. Ghouls just want to have fun. Ghouls will pursue their quest for amusement wherever it takes them. It leads a few down paths of scholarship or artistic creation, but most Ghouls delight in gruesome charnel feasts, the blackest of gallows humors, wild and macabre cemetery dances, the pursuit of the most unspeakable experiences, and maddened adventures in distant lands. If there is one racial aesthetic for Ghouls it is “Don’t think it, do it.” Instead of writing about a gruesome crime a Ghoul will commit it; instead of painting a monster a Ghoul will summon or construct it; instead of imagining bizarre situations a Ghoul will create them.

Ghouls do have a sort of loose, semi-anarchic social structure. Chieftains control tribes ranging from handfuls to hundreds; often chieftainship is hereditary, but weak leaders never last long. The Chieftain’s only real duty is organizing the construction of burrows and tunnel-labyrinths. Chieftains also lead wars for survival or out of sheer bloodthirstiness.

Some Ghouls choose to live amongst other societies, either as open citizens or as secret infiltrators, sometimes playing deadly serious games of intrigue for their own amusement.

Ghoul Technology, Magic, and Weapons:

Most Ghouls are content to burrow, feed, dance and fight unencumbered by anything more complicated than the occasional drum or bone club. Most Ghouls are intelligent beings and can understand and use the technology and lore of other races, if they so desire. If they feel like it, Ghouls might manufacture machines for a specific purpose, or learn magic straight from the spirits and demons of the universe. Wandering ghoul shamans exist, as do more ambitious sorcerer-chiefs.

Technology use is always an individual choice for Ghouls. While a rare sight, there is nothing unreasonable about a Ghoul finding a shotgun and deciding to use it. The same goes for Mi-Go scientific equipment or an enchanted sword. Of course, in order to use more complicated devices Ghouls have to be taught by someone or something, but they are fast and flexible learners.

Ammunition for the HPG:

Slug rounds do 1D10+2 damage.
AP rounds do slug damage but ignore armor.
Powder rounds have a range of 30 yards and do 4D6 shotgun damage.
Flares do 1D10+ignite damage.
Luminescent (safety) flares do 1D6 damage and give light longer.
Explosive rounds do 1D10+2 damage and 1D4 fragmentation damage in a 1-yard radius.
Injection darts can be pre-loaded or field-loaded. Damage depends on contents. Injection darts can be used as improvised syringes.
Water rounds do 1D8 damage and have a range of 2 yards. They leave no bullet inside the wound.
Gas rounds do 1D3 damage on impact, and dissolve. If both a type 1 and type 2 round hit the same target, they react to form a cloud of toxic gas.

Rate of fire is the same for all types of ammunition.

I could use a little help from the seasoned P@YSDC Keepers. I sent a p.m. to carnage_lee about the game a few days ago, but he has yet to reply. When should I start bugging him?

I'll be the custom Ghoul Manservant/Assistant. I rolled up some stats.

STR 17
CON 15
SIZ 15
INT 18
POW 13
DEX 11
EDU 5

HP 15
SAN 65
DB +1D4
Luck 65
Idea 90
Know 25

I've been a Keeper, yes, but I've only ever run the two games I'm running now (and one just started a few months ago). I've never run Deep Ones yet, and while I'm certain I could wing it if I needed to, I just wanted some rough guidelines about how many skill points we should spend. The base skill levels and skill descriptions are all listed in your earlier post, but unless I missed it, I don't think you mentioned how high they should get.

Unfortunately, Argyle only gets +1d4 for his Damage Bonus unless you tweak your stats. You need a STR+SIZ of 33 or more for that, and 32 just misses the cutoff (my total is 31, so I know how you must feel). On the bright side, he does have 15 HP, not 13.

Carnage_lee is often busy, so he might take time to get back to you. Anything I can help you with? If you need someone to set up a forum, I can do that for you. Just give me a name for the scenario and a short text blurb. As a global mod, I have the gnarly (or is that Nyarly?) powers required.

Mr. Handy wrote:I've been a Keeper, yes, but I've only ever run the two games I'm running now (and one just started a few months ago). I've never run Deep Ones yet, and while I'm certain I could wing it if I needed to, I just wanted some rough guidelines about how many skill points we should spend. The base skill levels and skill descriptions are all listed in your earlier post, but unless I missed it, I don't think you mentioned how high they should get.

Unfortunately, Argyle only gets +1d4 for his Damage Bonus unless you tweak your stats. You need a STR+SIZ of 33 or more for that, and 32 just misses the cutoff (my total is 31, so I know how you must feel). On the bright side, he does have 15 HP, not 13.

Carnage_lee is often busy, so he might take time to get back to you. Anything I can help you with? If you need someone to set up a forum, I can do that for you. Just give me a name for the scenario and a short text blurb. As a global mod, I have the gnarly (or is that Nyarly?) powers required.

Gah! Thanks for pointing that out Handy.

In 1592 Madinia Dee, daughter of Dr John Dee, sailed to the New World as supercargo in one of her father's ships; she was just 14 years old. The ship "Hermes" was on a voyage of discovery - the elusive North West Passage, however it was wrecked in a storm off Cape Cod and all hands perished. Or did they?
G'Yar (a Deep One) was chasing a fishy delicacy when the "Hermes" foundered, it saved a beautiful human who was clinging to flotsam: Madinia Dee.
Their courtship was peculiarly vile, and need not be discussed; 9 months later a son was born at an exclusive community on Rhode Island, his name is Elijah Dee. Fragments of his grandfather's knowledge has survived: mathematics, astronomy, astrology, occult, navigation, alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy.
Elijah Dee

Name: Jahee
Occupations: Priest in Cult of Dagon
Sex: Male
Age: 416
Birthplace: Rhode Island

STR: 4D6=12
DEX: 3D6=11
INT: 2D6+8=12 SWAPPING SOME STATS
CON: 4D6=17 12
POW: 4D6=12 17
SIZ: 3D6+6=12 5
EDU: 3D6=5 12
Idea: 60
Luck: 85
Know: 60
Sanity: 85
DB:
MP: 17
HP:
- Jahee is only a little critter.
Skills

Art: 5% +45
Bargain 1% +30
Biology 1%
Block Dex*2 %
Boating 1%
Carpentry/Woodcraft 10%
Cartography 1% +25
Chemistry 1%
Climb 45%
Computer Use 1%
Conceal 15%
Cult of Cthulhu: 1% +35
Cult of Dagon: 1% +75
Disguise 5%
Demolitions 1%
Dodge Dex*2%
Fast Talk 5%
Echolocation 25% +25
Electrical Repair 20%
Electronics 1%
First Aid 30%
Geology 1%
Handgun 20%
Hide 30%
History 30%
Hypnosis 5%
Jump 40%
Knowledge: Humanity 1%
Occult Lore 10% +60
Listen 30%
Martial Arts 1%
Mathematics 10%
Mechanical Repair 20%
Medicine 5%
Natural History 10% +30
Navigation/Land 1%
Navigation/Sea, Air 10% +45
Other Language: 1%
Own Language: EDU*5
Persuade 15%
Pharmacy 1%
Physics 1%
Psychic Will 5% +30
Pilot 1% +25
Psychoanalysis 1%
Psychology 5% +50
Ride 5% +65
Rifle 25% +10
Scent 25%
Shotgun 30% +50
Sneak 50%
Spot Hidden 30%
Submachine Gun 15% +25
Throw 25% +35
Archery 20%
Track 15%
Claw 25%
Grapple 30%
Club 25%
Knife 25% +45
Trident 25% +50
Weapons: HPG & Trident
Spells: Contact Spawn of Cthulhu, Shrivelling, Summon/Bind Byakhee

Name: Tschhh.
Occupations: Scientist/Priest in Theem'hdra, then Ice-Priest in Borea.
Sex: Male
Age: Several millions
Birthplace: Theem'hdra.

STR: 7
DEX: 18
INT: 16
CON: 6
POW: 18
SIZ: 15
App: 9
EDU: 15
Idea: 80
Luck: 90
Know: 80
Sanity: 90
Magic points: 18
Hit Points: 11

Skills

Astrology: 50%
Carpentry/Woodcraft: 30%
Craft: making books from skin: 70%
Climb: 50%
Conceal: 20%
Cult of Ithaqua: +75
Cult of Tsathogua: 45%
Cult of Yig: 45%
Dodge Dex* 36%
Hide 30%
Hypnosis 55%
Intimidation: 60%
Jump 40%
Knowledge: Humanity 0%
Occult Lore 60%
Listen 60%
Medicine 25%
Natural History 40% (of several millions of years ago)
Other Language (Serpent-men: read glyphs): 55%
Own Language (speak and write): 75%
Palaeontology: 55%
Poison: 65%
Psionic power: read mind (60%)
Psionic power: Communicate (60%)
Torture: 70%
Sneak 20%
Spot Hidden 50%
Throw 35%
Track 15%
Weather report: 55%
Grapple 30%
Club 25%
Knife 45%

Weapons: Dagger
Spells: Contact Ithaqua, call creatures of frozen land, (like a white bear) spend 5 magic points); control creatures of frozen land (2 magic points by creatures), provoke precipitation of snow/ice, (spend 10 magic points), lower temperature (10 magic points for 5 degrees celcius), call wind, turn water in ice (5 magic points), control mind (power versus power, spend 10 magic points), implant thoughts (power versus power, spent 5 magic points).
Most of those spell only work in cold places, so in the summer my character will be very weak.

Milions of years ago in earth, a race of pre-human made a civilization of great power, culture and technology. As the time passed they florished but they started to decay morally, bored by immortality. They worshiped the GOO, specially Ithaqua. The true rulers were the scientis who turn themselves in priests of the GOO to gain more knowledge from the universe. They commited blasfemous experiences and hateful rituals to please their masters with daily sacrifices. Until the population had enouth and revolted. The priests decide to explode the entire planet to teach a lesson to the rabble. Then Ithaqua appeared and tranposrted the most gifted priests to another world. The priests who stayed in their city, hadn't power enouth to explode the planet, and only managed to sunk the continent where they lived.
For the next milions of years, the ice-priest served Itaqua in the world of Borea, a frozen world. The priests had lost their previous powers, but they learned new ways. One of the priests, was bored of being stucked in that world, without much things to do, so after a long time of preparations, he made a ritual to return to earth.
The race of the people of Theem’hdra was taller and thinner than humans. They looked superficially similar to the humans who appeared millions of years latter (they were descended of simians who evoluted first), and by analysing the bones or the DNA the differences were easily noted. Yet in the very look and action there was a vague hint of a greater difference than mere distance of time-a hint of alien Time, of misty abysses and gigantic gulfs of eons lying between the modern human and the pre-human that was Tschhh.

Creating a forum was exactly what I needed to talk to carnage_lee about. Thank you, Mr. Handy.

About 360 skill points would be reasonable for a Deep One character. I'm also going to cap Cult skills for Deep Ones at 79%, since any higher means spending almsot every hour in the temples or engaged in holy work.

Trident uses the Trident skill, which has a base of 25%. I mentioned this in the weapon posting, but looking back I realize that I was not very clear. The HPG uses shotgun to fire powder shots, rifle to fire all other shots, and SMG to fire bursts.

Tabs, your sheet looks fine. None of the skills are at 100%, although at size 5 it looks like we have a Deep One dwarf. What art does Jahee practice? You can throw out some ideas for the Dagon and Cthulhu spells - I'll do the costs.

Kouckpotato, I'll post the Ghoul skill sheet. Did you use you rulebook to roll up that Ghoul? He looks pretty good - the 18 intelligence does set him on the better end of the bell curve for Ghouls.

Kabukiman, Tschhh looks like he has appropriate stats. The skills raise a few questions. Does weather report let him predict the weather? Paleontology would have to refer to the planet he came from - although he would be familiar with prehistoric Earth, that would be part Natural History for him (Earthly paleontology involves knowing the techniques, theories, and vocabulary of human paleontologists, which he would not have). Unless poison has a unique place in the culture of the Ice-priests, it does not require a skill in CoC. Understanding poisons is part of medicine, and simply placing a poison in a beverage or on a weapon requires no skill roll.

I'm going to increase the costs for those spells. Control creatures and control mind both require you to match your current Mp against the target's POW. Control mind also costs sanity equivalent 1D(target's INT). With online dice-rollers, we can roll a die with any number of sides. Causing precipitation requires existing clouds; to actually summon a blizzard would be much more expensive (probably costing POW). Implant thoughts requires POW vs. POW to succeed and then a current Mp vs. POW in order for the thoughts to be undetected. People of high intelligence will likely recognize something odd is going on anyway if the thoughts are not normal for them. Freeze water requires you to physically touch the water, but it can freeze a sizable area - let's say about fity cubic feet in winter or the frozen lands of Ithaqua, and about 25 cubic feet elsewhere. Since you only need a couple inches to walk on safely, this would be 150 square feet if you are using the spell for its most obvious application. Call creatures requires the creatures to be nearby and to come under their own power (I think most call spells work that way); however, it works no matter which frozen land you are in, so you can call both polar bears and giant albino penguins.

Yeah, I used the Ghoul stats from the rulebook and filled in with Investigator rolls when necessary.

You're welcome, Mi-Go Agent. Just post the name and the text here when you're ready, and I'll set up the forum. I'd guess it should go in Modern.

I'll finish character creation on Saturday at some point. I'll be carrying an HPG as well, since it uses Rifle skill for most shots; I just won't use it with powder or burst fire. I'll also carry a Psychic Rifle. 360 isn't a whole lot of skill points to work with (the average human investigator gets 400 total), but I'll see what I can put together. I'll probably end up forgoing Handgun skill entirely.

Mi-Go - Art, hmmm. Only human art springs to mind. Next are the bas-reliefs the Elder Things carved onto their city in Antarctica. So, maybe, a study of alien carving and statues?

I have adjusted Jahee's skills slightly, he can use his HPG best with Shotgun skill. - I suspect I have allocated more than 360 skill points.

Finally, where can I find Dagon and Cthulhu spells? Spells are a part of CoC I've not used before. Summon/Bind Byakhee is a must; I would like Jahee to ride a Byakhee.

The roll of 5 for EDU was convienent, since I intended to keep Ghoul EDU pretty low.

The Ghoul Character Sheet:

Important Changes:

1. The appearance stat is removed, since when dealing with multiple species, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. If characters are described as attractive, ordinary, or ugly, I’ll take that into account, but you’ll need to specify to what race.

2. Sanity is still present, but the definition is different – insanity should not be a real threat to any character, since finding out the truths and secrets of the universe that would drive a human mad will only increase the sanity of a Ghoul. There is no longer a cap on sanity.

3. A lot of the base skills for humans are gone, since they require living in a more complex society than that of the Ghouls.

5. Since most Ghoul skills are instinctive, not learned, Ghouls have very high base skills, but with a maximum EDU of 8 (without secondary education, which does not exist amongst Ghouls), they have less skill points.

Name:
Sex:
Age:
Birthplace:

Statistics
STR:
DEX:
INT:
CON:
POW:
SIZ:
EDU:

Idea:
Luck:
Know:
Sanity:
DB:

Armor: Projectiles do half damage.

Skills:

Bite 30%
Block Dex*2 %
Burrow 75%
Graveyard Dance 30%
Claw 30%
Climb 85%
Conceal 15%
Disguise 1%
Dodge Dex*2%
Graveyard Lore: 60%
Hide 60%
Jump 75%
Knowledge: Humanity 15%
Listen 70%
Martial Arts 1%
Ride 5%
Scent Decay 65%
Sneak 80%
Spot Hidden 50%
Throw: 30%
Track: 50%
Dreamlands Lore 50%,
Occult Lore 50%
Own Language: Gibberish EDU*5
Other Language:
Other Skill:

New and Modified Skill Descriptions

Claw and Bite:
Claw is an attack that does 1d6+db damage.
Bite is an attack that does 1d6+automatic worry damage.

Burrow:
Burrow is used in constructing or repairing Ghoul burrows. Ghouls cannot dive into the ground, but given a few minutes they can tunnel out of sight.

Graveyard Dance:
The Graveyard Dance does not need to be performed in a graveyard. It is a wild and athletic improvisation of leaping, gyration, and unnatural movement used by Ghouls both for celebration and to frighten enemies. A human viewing the Graveyard Dance must make an additional sanity roll for 0/1D2 SAN loss per Ghoul (cumulative for loss; seeing three ghouls dancing requires only one roll, but for 0/1D6 SAN loss). This caps out at 0/1D10 SAN loss.

Graveyard lore:
Graveyard lore is a special offshoot of Knowledge: Human unique to Ghouls. While Ghouls might not know so much about other aspects of human life, they have a thorough knowledge of the world’s graveyards. This includes the ability to place burials in time and location, the ability to get a good idea of a graveyard’s basic layout from a few glimpses, and the ability to figure out where in the graveyard the nearest Ghoul tunnel is.

Knowledge: Humanity
Some Ghouls have infiltrated humanity to a great extent; most ignore humans until they have been rotting in the ground for a few weeks. It is possible for human beings with Ghoulish ancestry, such as the artist Pickman, to become Ghouls, and these strange beings will have exceptionally high Knowledge: Humanity. While a high skill in Knowledge: Humanity will allow a Ghoul to understand human systems and devices, Ghouls know slightly less about humanity than humanity itself does.

Martial Arts:
Most Ghouls are competent fighters, but the greatest warriors and chiefs know secrets of combat beyond the knowledge of the common Ghoul. Only they have skill in martial arts, which doubles unarmed combat on a successful roll as usual.

Ride:
In addition to ordinary animals, Ghouls can also ride nightgaunts. While Ghouls only start with 5% in ride, riding a nightgaunt will not require a skill roll for Ghouls except under the most bizarre circumstances.

Scent Decay:
The Ghoulish sense of smell has unique adaptations that tend toward sensitivity to decomposition.

Own Language: Gibberish
Gibberish, the language of Ghouls, is a relatively simple language, but serves their purposes.

Occult Lore:
Ghouls that have limited knowledge of science or history tend to remember useful information in the form of occult lore.

Other Skill:
A Ghoul may have one or two other skills. They must be physiologically possible for Ghouls, and the Ghoul must have a reason for having learned them. These are completely optional; a normal Ghoul warrior would likely not have them. They have a base of 1%, no matter what their base is for other species.

Really, don't worry about the skill points - going over is not going to cause any problems.

As for art, the immortal Deep Ones (as I mentioned before) have figured out how to make more or less anything into art, and this includes all the skills that people devote only utilitarian interest to. To them, sculpture is art, engineering is art, architecture is art, and ditch-digging is art. Any action that can be performed can be made into art.

As for the Cthulhu/Dagon spells, these are spells that Deep Ones have gained through understanding with their god (either Cthulhu or Dagon - take a look at the information I posted earlier). They represent the personal element of a Deep One's faith, and so are unique. Like the spells of Kabukiman's ice-priest, they are going to be custom. Tell me roughly what you want the spells to do, and I'll come up with costs and qualifications. A few spells in the CoC rulebook like summon/bind byakhee your priest can have free from studying them in the libraries of Y'ha-Nthlei, but they do not come directly from Cthulhu or Dagon and so are not the true power of your faith.

Here's my character sheet. I went over in skill points, using 460, but it's still a lot less than Jahee used. I'll have to think about my custom spell. The forum has now been created.

Name: Y'nkee (born Walter Gilman)
Occupations: Soldier
Sex: Male
Age: 165
Birthplace: Innsmouth, Massachusetts


Statistics

STR: 17
DEX: 15
INT: 15
CON: 16
POW: 16
SIZ: 14
EDU: 4

Idea: 75
Luck: 80
Know: 20
Sanity: 80
DB: +1D4

Skills

Art: 5%
Bargain 1%
Biology 1%
Block Dex*2 % = 30%
Boating 1%
Carpentry/Woodcraft 10%
Cartography 1%
Chemistry 1%
Climb 45%
Computer Use 1%
Conceal 15%
Cult of Cthulhu: 1%
.Cult of Dagon: 1% +19 (20%)
.Disguise 5% +45 (50%)
Demolitions 1%
Dodge Dex*2% = 30% +30 (60%)
Echolocation 25%
Electrical Repair 20%
Electronics 1%
Fast Talk 5%
First Aid 30% +30 (60%)
Geology 1%
Handgun 20%
Hide 30% +40 (70%)
History 30%
Hypnosis 5%
Jump 40%
.Knowledge: Humanity 1% +50 (51%)
Occult Lore 10%
Listen 30% +25 (55%)
Martial Arts (Dance of the Deeps) 1% +50 (51%)
Mathematics 10%
Mechanical Repair 20%
Medicine 5%
Natural History 10%
Navigation/Land 1%
Navigation/Sea, Air 10%
.Other Language (English): 1% +40 (41%)
Own Language (Reason): EDU*5 = 20%
Persuade 15%
Pharmacy 1%
Physics 1%
Psychic Will 5%
Pilot 1%
Psychoanalysis 1%
Psychology 5%
Ride 5%
Rifle 25% +50 (75%)
Scent 25%
Shotgun 30%
Sneak 50% +20 (70%)
Spot Hidden 30%
Submachine Gun 15%
Throw 25%
Archery 20%
Track 15%
.Claw 25% +26 (51%)
Grapple 30%
Club 25%
.Knife 25% +35 (60%)

Weapons: HPG, Psychic Rifle, Weighted Knife

Background: Walter Gilman was born in Innsmouth, Massachusetts in the mid-1840s to a human father and a Deep One mother. From a young age, he has always had a love of the sea, and he apprenticed on fishing boats. He also longed to travel and see the world. During the Civil War, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He fought in a number of engagements, including the amphibious assault on Fort Johnson and the invasion of Johns Island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina in 1864. In 1865 he helped occupy Charleston after it finally surrendered, and he remained there for a few years after the war as part of the U.S. occupying force during Reconstruction. While in Charleston, he fell in love with a Southern belle named Penelope Ewell. They got married and he brought her back to Innsmouth in 1868, where she was indoctrinated into the Esoteric Order of Dagon and they began to raise a family.

In the 1870s, Walter's appearance began to change and he took on the Innsmouth Look. This delighted him, as he knew he would be transforming into a magnificent creature of the sea, but he was also saddened that he would eventually lose his mortal father and wife. In 1882, his transformation was complete and he became a full Deep One. At that point he went to live in Y'ha-Nthlei, where he joined his mother beneath the waves and was given the name Y'nkee. He still visited Innsmouth frequently to be with his family. He has served in the Horde ever since, and he is a veteran of the defense of Y'ha-Nthlei in 1928 when it was attacked by humans.

Y'nkee is a skilled soldier, but he also knows a lot about human culture and society, and he has kept up on events on land. Meddling in the affairs of humans is something that appeals to him, so he has volunteered for this assignment.

Spells: Summon/bind Byakhee, Shrivelling

I'm winging it here, so if this is utter crap, don't hesitate to demolish these.
Dagon spells:
Influence Thought - like hypnosis, implanting ideas, but without one-to-one contact.
Talk to Sealife - ask a sealion the location of the sunken aeroplane.
Illuminate - light-up any darkness.
Find minerals - especially in the seabed e.g. manganese deposits.

For my spell, I'm thinking maybe something that would allow me to take on human form convincingly: not just in terms of appearance, but also sound, touch, and particularly smell. Taste doesn't matter so much. If someone's going to be eating me (looks warily at the Ghouls) it's already too late.

Aww, come on. Just a nibble? I looove sea food.

About Paleontology, your right, natural history would be enouth. I didn't include history because all the history he knows is from his own civilization who died millions of years ago.
Weather report is to predict the weather. I was trhinking of using poison as a skill, since he would be able to make his own poisons (and that's more dificult than people usually thinks), but I can drop it for medicine.
I was using the spells from Innsmouth book. Each spell of weahtor control only allowed one change of wathor (so, in a sunny day I could make appear some clouds; in a day with with clouds I could make appear lot's of clouds, in a day with lot's of clouds I could make it rain or snow, but never in a day with sun could I make rain).

(With a little luck I can get the posts from the game idea thread moved here, so pardon the momentary disconnect).

Illuminate is easy. Expending one Mp will yield you a subtle glow (suitable for sneaking around), two will give about the same level of lighting as in a lighted indoor room, three will give a blinding light. Deep Ones can echolocate and see in much lower light and on a much wider spectrum than humans, so this spell might not always be necessary if you are alone, but I'm sure you'll find a use for a spell this utilitarian (not that it matters how useful your spells are).

The problem with Talk to Sealife is that, as long as the stars are not right, ordinary animals are going to either attack Mythos beings on sight or flee in terror, forgetting all normal instincts of self or even species preservation.

Find minerals is pretty simple. Dagon's mind can know the location of any mineral on the planet. If you know what you are looking for, he will tell you where it is. The contact requires only 1 Mp, but the spell can only be cast once a day.

What exactly do you mean by "without one-to-one" contact for Influence Thought?

Appear Human is going to have a bit of a cost, since imitating the movements, texture, sounds, and scents (if you smell like someone, you are more or less going to taste like him anyway ) of another creature isn't easy. If it were a Cthulhu spell, it would require sacrificing a bit of POW for an indeifnite period of appearing human. As a Dagon spell, it requires 9 Mp and the sacrifice of a human being. You will appear as a human for a number of hours equivalent to the sacrifice's POW. Mp will not regenerate during this time (although other methods of restoration, such as potions, will still work). If you have the time, you can make a Cult: Dagon roll to make the sacrifice a ritual pleasing to Dagon, which will give 20% more hours. If you fail the roll, someone assisting you in the ritual could also attempt it. If you do not want to make the roll, no ritual is necessary - you can kill the person however you want. Casting Appear Human a second time while it is still in effect will make you not only appear human, but actually be human for the overlapping time. Spending more than a few days with the spell in effect may be deterious to your health.

A forum is now up for the game.

Yes, scrap Talk to Sealife. Influence Thought, is Telepathy really (I couldn't conjure the word), but rather than transfer thought or ideas to prod someone in to action.

Appear Human looks good to me, though I won't be able to cast it while it's already in effect unless I use one of those nifty MP-restoring potions - or if I want to become a sleeping human. Casting it twice will drop my MP to 0 under normal circumstances since they don't recharge while the spell is in effect. How do we determine which human I look like? Do I choose my new appearance, or do I automatically look like the human I kill?

Do I get one or more regular spells from the book too? The rulebook states that Deep Ones with a POW of 14 or higher may have spells.

How many skill points does my ghoul get?

Mi-Go, also, how about a cataclsymic spell: Quake - a mini earthquake but still pretty mega. I was thinking it will require Jahee's self-sacrifice, a last gasp/last throw of the dice (literally) event.

Kouchpotato, your ghoul gets EDU*20 skill points, like an investigator. It won't be very many, but most of the Ghoul skills are already high, so the points will go a long way.

Y'nkee will look like the 28-year-old Walter Gilman when the spell is in effect, although he will appear to be wearing modern clothes.

Tabs, you also have a Cthulhu spell. Quake sounds more like that than a Dagon spell (only as a Dagon spell would it require self-sacrifice).

Mi-Go, yep, Cthulhu Spell: Quake - as violent and earth shattering/splitting as possible.

Just read your description under Cyclopean etc., good stuff; you've set the tone - now, to live the character...

Full stats for my ghoul

Name: Argyle
Sex: Male
Age: Unknown
Birthplace: Kiev Cemetary

Statistics
STR: 17
DEX: 11
INT: 18
CON: 15
POW: 13
SIZ: 15
EDU: 5

Idea: 25
Luck: 65
Know: 90
Sanity: 65
DB: +1d4

Armor: Projectiles do half damage.

Skills:

Bite 30%
Block 22 %
Burrow 75%
Graveyard Dance 30%
Claw 30%
Climb 85%
Conceal 40%
Disguise 1%
Dodge 22%
Graveyard Lore: 60%
Hide 60%
Jump 75%
Knowledge: Humanity 30%
Listen 70%
Martial Arts 1%
Ride 5%
Scent Decay 65%
Sneak 80%
Spot Hidden 50%
Throw: 30%
Track: 59%
Dreamlands Lore 50%,
Occult Lore 50%
Own Language: Gibberish 25%
Other Language:
Other Skill: Handgun 50%

Equipment: .38 Revolver [1d10 dam, 2 RoF, 15 base range, 00-00-96 malf), 36 .38 rounds.

Argyle was born near Kiev, Ukraine, in a burrow of several dozen other ghouls. The cemetary offered a plentiful source of food amd shelter for the band, and they lived in relative harmony with the local human populace who were blissfully unaware. That all changed when a vampire, fleeing from Romania, was discovered by a lynch mob in village a few miles from the cemetary. The vampire ran for the cemetary, fleeing into a crypt. The villagers had been sure he was behind the abduction of several local girls. They happened to spot a ghoul digging up a grave, and shot him dead. The ghouls retaliated, and were slaughtered by the humans superior weaponry. Argyle was cowed by the display of the firearms, and managed to grab a gun from a dead human. He picked it up and fled into the burrow. The humans killed many of the ghouls, and left, their bloodlust sated.

The next day the surviving ghouls attacked the village. They burnt it down and Argyle saw the power of his new weapon as he gunned down several humans. They left the village soon afterwords, and Argyle eventually stowed away on a ship out of curiosity, ending up in America. He wandered the west, eventually coming upon Eleanor Pickman, a beautiful female ghoul. He pledged his life to defend her.

Tabs wrote:Yes, scrap Talk to Sealife. Influence Thought, is Telepathy really (I couldn't conjure the word), but rather than transfer thought or ideas to prod someone in to action.

So will Influence Though allow you to control a person's actions?

Mi-Go Agent wrote:

Tabs wrote:Yes, scrap Talk to Sealife. Influence Thought, is Telepathy really (I couldn't conjure the word), but rather than transfer thought or ideas to prod someone in to action.

So will Influence Though allow you to control a person's actions?

yes

Then it will be POW vs. POW to suceed, POW vs. INT to be undetected, and the cost will be 1/4 of the target's Mp.

Quake will cost 3 POW, 3 Mp, and will cause a devastating local earthquake at a convienent nearby place. It requires a succesful Cthulhu cult roll and about two minutes of mental focus to cast. If the roll is failed, only 1 POW and 1 Mp is lost, and you can keep trying until you run out of POW or Mp. (POW, as I've mentioned before, can be regained in Y'ha-Nthlei, but it still is not an easy sacrifice.) Quake will damage buildings, require DEX*4 rolls for everyone nearby to prevent falling over, and open a narrow and temporary fissure in the ground. It will not directly cause much damage to bystanders, but between collapsing buildings, falling object, broken gas mains, and the chance of fires starting, people will get hurt.

Kabukiman, I thought about poison and decided you might think about having a Craft: Poison skill that would cover making poisons, judging dosages, and knowing antidotes, but not other medical skills.

Once Tabs decides on the last Dagon spell and Kabukiman posts an updated character sheet, I think we will be ready to start.

One more Dagon spell, ooh, um, ah; Teleport Object: move an inanimate thing.

Teleport (like a Gate spell?), or just move around in ordinary space (telekinesis style)?

The latter, ordinary space.

Expending 3 Mp in contacting Dagon will give you half an hour of telekinetic abilities. You will be able to move one object at a time. Lighter objects will move faster.

I'm sorry about the slow posting, but there have been some power outages where I live.

It's okay. I am eager to get started though! BTW, I am on holiday from Friday for a week and may/may not have internet access.

The thread is open and the game is on.