Wednesday, January 20, 2016

(Stat Crunch) De Horrore Cosmico

While a review of De Horrore Cosmico is forthcoming, as well of reviews for Cthulhu Invictus and its Companion, I realized that it had been some time since I compiled a "stat crunch" of a CoC scenario book, and such an analysis would help with said review.

What is a stat crunch? As I've mentioned in previous postings,  it's my way of determining if a scenario is appropriate/inappropriate for a group of investigators.  It falls under four sets of data.
  1. Skills:  I will list each skill that is called in each scenario, as well as how many times it is specifically called in it.  If the scenario calls for the potential of skill checks, I will end it with a "+".  Seven Library Use rolls for seven different items is, of course, seven times.  (Library Use x7)  A vague reference to Persuade being useful in a bar counts as one (Persuade 1+).  I've found too many scenarios have "hidden skills" that can kill a scenario in mid-stride if the investigators aren't well-versed (Of course we carry an Egyptologist around in our gang during a turf war, just in case we fall into a sewer full of hieroglyphics.)  In a game was cosmic horrors can overwhelm mere mortals in seconds, I'd like to give the investigators as many chances to succeed/flee as possible.  The inevitable will happen soon enough.   I also don't include any weapon or combat stats unless specifically mentioned.
  2. Potential SAN Loss- If the investigator experiences every encounter that triggers a SAN check, the first number is the minimum sanity loss if they pass every check, and the second number is the maximum SAN loss if they fail every check.  Although it should be common sense, if you're planning on a filler scenario between campaigns, you might not want that scenario that has a range of 5 to 200 in SAN loss.
  3. Potential San Gain - If you succeed in every major objective, this would be your maximum SAN reward at the end of the session.  Perhaps I'm being too kind, but I do compare gain versus loss for a campaign. 
  4. Cthulhu Mythos (and more):  If you read all the tomes and experience all the special circumstances, this is the max Cthulhu Mythos % your investigator can learn.  This does not include the free CM points for experiencing a Mythos creature for the first time (if you do that sort of thing at your table).  Again, CoC is a lot more risk than reward (and earning CM can be more risk than reward), but I like to know what can happen to the group I'm running.  I'll also include any possible automatic skill increases or rewards, such as Occult and Credit (Status in Invictus), where applicable.
Check out my other Stat Crunch attemps here.

The Vetting of Marius Asina
Cthulhu Mythos  x3
Fast Talk x2
Natural History x2
Occult x3
Persuade x20+
Spot Hidden x4
Write Greek x1
Write Latin  x1
Write Oparian x1

Min/Max SAN loss range  5-35
Min/Max SAN reward    4-28
Cthulhu Mythos  +8
Auto Skill Checks in Occult, Navigation, Other Language Oparian, Other Kingdom: Opar

Doom
Boating x1
Civics x2
Cthulhu Mythos x2
Fast Talk x6
First Aid x1
Insight x1
Library use x1
Medicine x1
Natural History x1
Natural World x2
Occult x2
Persuade x6
Stealth x1
Tracking x1
Write Ancient Egyptian x1
Write Greek x2
Write Latin x1

Min/Max SAN loss range 8-98
Min/Max SAN reward    2-30
Cthulhu Mythos +13%


Murmillo
Climb x1
Listen x1
Occult x1
Persuade x3+
Repair/Devise x1
Sneak x4
Spot Hidden x7

Min/Max SAN loss range 6-52
Min/Max SAN reward     12-54
Cthulhu Mythos  0%

Kith and Kine
Listen x4
Natural World x5
Navigation x1+
Other Language: Brythonic x1+
Other Language:  Punic x1+
Repair/Devise x3
Sneak x1
Spot Hidden x6
Tracking x1

Min/Max SAN loss range   6-71
Min/Max SAN reward    3-16
Cthulhu Mythos  0%



The Devil's Mouth
Craft: Cooking x2
First Aid x1+
Insight x1
Listen x3
Medicine x2
Natural World x1
Other Kingdom:  Caledonian x1+
Other Language: Pictish x1+
Persuade x2
Ride x1
Science: Metallurgy x1
Science:  Astronomy x1
Spot Hidden x5
Tracking x4

Min/Max SAN loss range  6-48
Min/Max SAN reward    3-13
Cthulhu Mythos  +5%

The Case Tertius Orestius Sedonius
Civics x6
Climb x1
Empire x1
First Aid x1
Insight x2
Listen x4
Medicine x6
Natural World x3
Persuade x3
Potions x2
Repair/Devise x1
Sneak x1
Spot Hidden x5
Status x3
Tracking x1
Write:  Greek x1

Min/Max SAN loss range   8-43
Min/Max SAN reward    3-22
Cthulhu Mythos  +8%

 

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