Boston 1910 Copyright © 2016, Quentin Bauer. All Rights Reserved. Created by: Quentin Bauer This document contains the core rules of the game and the Special Consultant: the RPGPundit gamemaster’s resources, and is produced with the financial Illustration: Quentin Bauer (BW), Cliff Cramp (color) backing of its generous Kickstarter supporters — whose Totem Sculptures: Cryptocurium investments of money, time and enduring patience have Special Thanks: Cliff Cramp, Kevin Ross, Chris Birch proven unbelievably charitable. Regarding copyright, & Doug TenNapel specifics of the game’s OGL are provided at the back of the document. Sign up as a Raider to receive future exclusive content This document covers the core rules of the game, including the Dedicated to: Sonja, a mother whose gamemaster’s resources. To receive news and future exclusive loving support made this book possible content (including original expansion material and other during a very difficult period. experiments), visit our website and join our newsletter at Sampleraidersofrlyeh.com. file Raiders of R’lyeh Gamemaster’s Guide & Complete Rules Version: 1.0 Release Date: May 28, 2017 Visit RaidersofRlyeh.com for updates! Contents Two: Skills 72 Skill Tests 72 Introduction 6 Common Skills 73 Professional Skills 78 Mythos & the Imperial Age 7 Additional Skill Rules 94 Skills Best Practices 97 One: Character Creation 24 Using Skill Levels 97 Investigation and Skill Checks 98 Adventurer Creation Summary 24 General Investigation 99 Attributes 24 Investigative Searching 99 Social Status 26 Investigative Researching 100 Common Skills 28 Investigative Canvassing 100 Cultural Background 29 Augmenting Investigation Checks 101 Family, Connections & Reputation 40 Investigation Mishaps 101 Professional Background 44 Tapping Circles of Influence 102 Artist 46 Networking 102 Cleric 46 Quid Pro Quos 103 Criminal 47 Spending Network Points 104 Detective 48 Capping Skills 105 Dilettante 48 Drifter 49 Three: Wealth & Equipment 108 Emissary 49 Engineer 50 Foreign Exchange 108 Entertainer 50 Wages & Standards of Living 109 Explorer 51 Housing & Period Architecture 112 Fighter 51 Hirelings 119 Herder 52 Clothing, Tools & Equipment 120 Hunter 52 Vehicle, Mounts & Travel Costs 122 Landlord 52 Weapons/Firearms 126 Magus 52 Artillery 137 Mariner 53 Repairing, Upgrading & Inventing 138 Merchant 53 Miner 54 Four: Game Mechanics 140 Physician 54 Reporter 55 Acid 140 Scholar 55 Action and Time 140 Scientist 56 Aging 141 Scout 56 Artillery & Other Scaled Weapons 141 Servant 57 Attributes & Example Descriptors 142 Solicitor 57 Blood Loss 144 Spy 57 Character Improvement 144 Seasoned, Full-Time Intelligence Agent 58 Chases 145 Thief 58 Damage and Healing from Injury 152 Tradesman 58 Major Wounds & Critically Major Wounds 152 Essential Nature 59 Natural Healing Rate 153 Everyman 59 Darkness 154 Outsider 59 Downtime 154 Scoundrel 60 Drives and Bonds 154 Sleuth 60 Drowning, Asphyxiation & Suffocation 155 Socialite 60 Electricity 156 Specialist 61 Falling 156 Thrill-Seeker 61 Fatigue 157 SampleTough 61 Exposure, Starvation & Thirst file157 Age and Free Skill Points 62 Fires & Explosions 158 Drives and Bonds 63 Luck 159 Circles of Influence 64 Magic & Essence Points 159 Mettle Points 159 Summon 226 Movement, Exploration & Encumbrance 160 Tap 226 Exploration & Travel 161 Tongues 226 Poison and Diseases 164 Undeath 227 Radiation 168 Voice 229 Set Pieces 170 Ward 229 Weather and Entropic Effects 171 Wrack 230 Rituals 230 Five: Horror, Shock & Sanity 172 Other Magic Rules 234 List of Preternatural Gifts & Curses 234 Rationality: Mental Hit Points 172 Coordinated Casting 236 Horror Checks 172 Researching & Using Extraplanar Entities 236 Psychopathy 173 Importance of Time and Place 237 Addiction 174 Occult Texts 238 Mental Trauma 175 Alien Artifacts 247 Effects of Mental Disorders 175 Occult Paths 248 Fractured Identity 177 Occultist Archetypes 251 Recovery, Restoration & Institutionalization 177 Becoming Inured to Horror 178 Eight: Extraplanar Entities 252 Six: Combat 180 Extraplanar Entity Types 254 Special Abilities of Extraplanar Entities 258 Quickplay Combat Rules 180 Creating a Unique Extraplanar Entity 261 Tactical Combat Rules 184 Random Entity Traits & Additional Special Abilities 277 Additional Combat Rules 190 Extraplanar Entity Examples 282 Fighting Methods 192 General Entities 282 Mythos Entities 286 Seven: Magic 196 Broodling of Shub-Niggurath 286 Familiar of Nyarlathotep 286 Occult or Mythos Magic 196 Great Old One 286 Learning & Using Magic 197 Spawn of Yog-Sothoth 286 List of Spells 206 Extraplanar Combat 288 Banishing 207 Adventurer’s Essence Drain Modifier 288 Binding 207 Bypass 207 Nine: Mythos Creatures 290 Cast Undeath 208 Charm 208 Minor Creatures 290 Curse 208 Carrion Horror 290 Detect 208 Deep One 291 Discorporation 209 Dhole (or Bhole) 294 Dispel Magic 209 Elder (Crinoid) Thing 295 Divination 210 Fungal Monstrosity 296 Dominate 210 Ghoul 298 Drain 212 Mi-go 299 Evocation 212 Oozing Spawn 300 Blind Conjuration 214 Polypous Horror 300 Fortified Will/Body 215 Reanimated Corpse 302 Healing 215 Serpent Folk 302 Immunity 215 Serpent Thing (or Worm of the Earth) 304 Invisibility 216 Shoggoth 305 Invocation 216 Spider (from Leng or elsewhere) 307 Magic Mark 217 Tcho-Tcho 308 Phantom Sense 217 Worm That Walks 309 Projection 218 Worm Thing (or Faceless One) 310 RepelSample 219 Yithian (from the Great Race offile Yith) 311 Spacetime Gate 220 Ancient Ones 313 Speak with Creatures 225 Azathoth 313 Spellbind 225 Cthulhu 313 King in Yellow 314 Crocodile, Nile 364 Nyarlathotep 315 Dog (or Wolf) 365 Shub-Niggurath 316 Elephant, African 366 Tsathoggua 317 Gorilla 367 Wendigo 318 Horse 367 Yig 318 Lion 369 Yog-Sothoth 319 Ox 369 Cultists 320 Rhinoceros 369 Creating Unique Mythos Creatures 291 Sea Monster 370 Shark, Hammerhead 371 Ten: Setting Creation 322 Training Animals 365 Re-skinning Beasts & Monsters 367 Location Traits 322 Timeline of Archaeology 325 Eleven: Organizations 372 Timeline of Exploration 329 Legendary Locations 333 Creating Organizations & Factions 372 Timeline of Forensic Science 334 Organization Types 372 Timeline of War Zones 338 Organization Ideologies 374 News Agencies with War Correspondents 339 Organization Goals 375 Timeline of Science & Invention 339 Hidden Agendas & Secret Knowledge 376 Raiders & Other Important NPCs 341 Muscle, Funding and Power 376 Aaron Burkett & the Burkett Detective Agency 341 Unique Assets 377 André Roy, Wanderer and Adventurer 342 Organization Scale and Structure 381 Brandon Joseph Lemos, Shipping Entrepreneur Statting an Organization 381 & Occult Detective 343 Mapping a Campaign Like an Organization 382 Bret Kramer & the Wanderer’s Club 344 Organization Objectives 383 Christian Lehmann, Spymaster & Proprietor Organization Responses 384 of the Baron Hotel 345 Intelligence Organizations 386 Dominik Kolodzie, Criminal Mastermind 346 Secret Service Bureau 386 George Rothrock, Gentleman Thief 347 William Melville 386 Jorge Alejandro Vega & Sangre Sagrada 348 Vernon Kell 387 Lynn “Maddie” Maudlin & Madame Magdalen Ltd. 349 Mansfield Smith-Cumming 387 Mark Tresidder, Academic Adventurer 351 Sidney Reilly (The Ace of Spies) 388 Michael Caballero, Gentleman Thief Deuxième Bureau 388 & Criminal Mastermind 352 The Dreyfus Affair 388 Peggy Carpenter, Boston’s Sherlock Holmes 353 Tiger Brigades 388 Sava Puško & the Brotherhood of Vlaha 354 Cryptanalytic Bureaus 388 Gregory Scott Turns, 11th Baron of Redmoor Abteilung IIIb 389 & Dilettante Occult Detective 355 Assets of the German Empire 389 Stuart J. Milton, Medical Examiner 356 Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft 390 Travis Arnold, the “Amazing Balkan” Nachrichten-Abteilung 391 & Occult Detective Extraordinaire 357 Gustav Steinhauer 391 Human Forces 358 Example Intelligence Agent (N Operative) 391 Bodyguards 358 Okhrana 392 Civilians 359 Attachés of the Russian Empire 392 Cultists 359 Kokuryukai/Black Dragon Society 392 Cult Leaders 359 Ryōhei Uchida 393 Intelligence Officers 360 Evidenzbureau 394 Police 360 Alfred Redl 394 Gendarmes 360 Black Hand 395 Soldiers 361 Events Leading to the Great War 395 Thugs 361 Dragutin Dimitrijević 395 Criminal Leaders 361 Bureau of Investigation 396 Beasts & Monsters 362 White Slave Traffic Act 396 AllosaurusSample 362 Office of Naval Intelligence file397 Bear, Brown 362 The Antiquarian Society 398 Camel, Dromedary 363 Pinkerton Detective Agency 398 Chimpanzee 364 Allan Pinkerton 399 Cherokee Scout (Detective Service Company) 399 Occult Organizations 400 Thirteen: Story Creation 440 Freemasonry 400 Freemasonry in Arkham 400 Running a Sandbox Adventure 441 Freemasonry and the Glove 400 Determining the Central Threat 443 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn 401 Generating Plot Hooks 443 A .·. A .·. (or Argentium Astrum) 401 Expanding a Location Trait (an example) 444 Aleister Crowley 402 Objectives, Resolutions & Milestones 445 Mythos Organizations 402 Plot Ideas 445 Cult of the Yellow Sign 402 Structuring an Adventure 448 Cults of Cthulhu 403 Clues Versus Leads 449 Starry Wisdom Sect 403 Mapping an Adventure 449 Servants of the Great Race (of Yith) 404 Keying a Dungeon/Crypt Crawl 448 Creating a Clue Web 450 Twelve: The Glove 406 Keying a Clue Web Node & Encounters 450 Lead & Clue Types 451 Overview of the Glove 406 Creating Leads 452 The Black Brotherhood 407 Avoiding Choke Points 452 Tainted Families 408 Developing a Campaign 453 Van der Heyl Cabal 408 Frameworks 453 Order of Kamog 408 Conspiracy Box 453 Innsmouth 409 Common Bonds 453 Front Organizations 411 Players & Hooks 453 The