Hi Alexandre - the rules say "Only players roll dice!" But there's also a "Characters vs. Characters" rules section. Is that section intended only for Player-Character vs. Player-Character contests?
Or could you use the "Characters vs. Characters" rules to supersede the "only players roll dice" rule to have contests between Player-Characters and Non-Player Characters?
I second Tim's praise for this game (Hi Tim it's Brian C.!). We're using Die A Hundred Times to play through my Call of Cthulhu scenario "Canned Articles," and it's the perfect game engine for that purpose. Die A Hundred Times is now my go-to choice for d100 gaming. It's a lean, sleek system that gets the job done and then gets out of the way to let play happen. It's terrific!
One way that I’ve modified the game is to have player-characters start with 10 + [Brawn or Will tens digit] hit points instead of the printed 20 + [Brawn/Will tens digit]. This puts player-character health in line with Cthulhu d100 games…people are ordinary and somewhat fragile, instead of pulp-fantasy-heroic levels of vitality.
Hi Lyme - I just sent you a copy of my own little mash-up of a d100 investigative horror game, called "Decidedly Odd." I want to make sure I'm giving proper attribution and that you are copacetic with it before I upload it to Itch.io. I aim for total transparency, proper attribution, and the goodwill of the creators whose shoulders I'm standing on with my game. It should be in your LymeRPG@gmail.com inbox today. Thanks!
Purchased, downloaded and read. A couple of quick questions…
Page 5 - Experience section - how many points does the player get to improve their selected Characteristic score if they roll higher than the current percentage?
Page 12 - weapon damage. Since weapon damage is partially tied to one’s skill level, it seems impossible to kill a human-level opponent with a single shot if one’s skill is low, or even if you’re highly skilled but have to make the shot at Extreme difficulty level (i.e., sniper). It also precludes a lucky shot scenario where an unskilled person accidentally discharges a weapon and kills somebody nearby. Thoughts on this?
Purchased and downloaded last evening. Hope to give it a read over this Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S.A. I'm always looking for the "better mousetrap" in terms of minimalist-inspired d100 rules systems, especially when it comes to cosmic horror investigations.
You would probably be fine with an even shorter statement that covers the bases:
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"Standard difficulty on all tests is DR 12. If a test would be at “half skill” it’s DR 15. At “fifth skill” it’s DR 18. If a PC is opposed by an NPC, only the PC rolls. NPCs with skill levels imposing half and fifth skill rolls on PCs use DR 15 and DR 18, respectively."
Hey there Kumada! I have another suggested "fix" for the Cthonversion Kit, in the "DRs, Percents, and NPCs" section...the values of these difficulties should be identical (they're not identical right now). As currently written:
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Standard difficulty on all rolls is DR 12. If a roll would be at “half skill,” it’s DR 15. At “quarter skill,” it’s DR 18.
and...
NPCs’ don’t roll skills against PCs. PCs roll against them with penalty instead. 50% NPC skill, +1 DR. 80%, +2 DR.
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As written above, the player-character would need to roll a DR 15 against a task at half skill, but only roll a DR 13 against an NPC imposing a roll at half skill value.
So...depending on whether or not the task is in opposition to an NPC, the player-character is rolling either a DR 15 (no NPC opponent) or a DR 13 (against NPC opponent) for their "half skill" attempt. That is murky and inelegant. Here's a suggested edit!
Suggested edit:
"Standard difficulty on all rolls is DR 12. If a roll would be at "half skill" (or against an NPC with 50% or greater skill), it's DR 15. At "one-fifth skill" (or against an NPC with 90% or greater skill), it's DR 18."
This edit streamlines things and brings the numbers fully in line with full/half/one-fifth difficulty ratings.
Hello! Surprised to see this on Itch from a new publisher! Does this edition differ from the previous edition sold by Beyond Belief Games? (I own the previous edition…wondering if I should add this one). Please advise - thank you!
Hi Lyme! I hacked together my own d100 investigative cosmic horror rpg based on your excellent Lurking Fear rpg! I give you attribution in my game. It says:
Hi Carl - a most promising game! One thing that I noticed: there’s no Science skill. How do I make a chemist or an astronomer or a geologist in the game?
Lyme, could you talk a bit about the "Profession" skill? Can it be used in place of another skill, or should it only be used when another skill is not listed? For example, let's say my character is a professional race car driver. Can I skip putting points in "Drive" skill because I've put 80 points in "Profession - Race Car Driver." Or is it my choice as a player to decide which skill I use when I need to perform a tricky driving maneuver? Or let's say my character is a Private Sleuth. There's no "Read People" or "Psychology" skill on the character sheet. Should I use my "Profession - Private Sleuth" skill as a workaround to determine if an NPC is nervous or lying, since it's not a listed skill? The "Profession" skill seems a bit slippery, in how it should be used alongside, or in place of, other skills in such contexts. Could you discuss a bit? Thanks!
That’s cool, Lyme. I see that when viewing hit points through that lens, it’s less about numerical units literally measuring the character’s units of blood, sinews and meat. Much more abstract.
Hi Lyme - fair enough. Lurking Fear bills itself as simulationist horror, so an instant return to full health after being shot a couple of times (or what have you) had me raising my eyebrows. I think I will house rule that hit points return at 1 hit point per night of rest. Or perhaps a return to full hit points per the rules as written, but all physical acts are at -30% the next couple of days to account for lingering effects. Cheers!
Hi Lyme - could you discuss why you decided to make all hit points recover overnight in The Lurking Fear? That seems quite a departure from typical healing rules in d100 horror games where you play “normal” people. Overnight healing feels a bit superpowered.
Don’t sell yourself short, my friend. The fact that you have a fully realized Cthulhu game that’s fully compatible with Mork Borg and Pirate Borg might be very attractive to Free League if they are looking to expand the “Morkverse.” It never hurts to ask them, you never know! 🙂
Liminal Horror Deluxe Edition and the Liminal Horror Society magazine most grab my attention, but all the future plans look most exciting! So pleased to learn of these developments!
Another exceptionally excellent addition to the Cthork Borg oeuvre, adding a new layer of richness and texture to the protagonists' lived experiences in-game. Cthork Borg is a dark gem of a game, like a Shining Trapezohedron glimmering in the shadows of a cobwebbed church steeple. This latest addition to the Cthork Borg universe, like its predecessors, is simply wonderful.
This looks pretty neat. I know it says based on World of Dungeons, but the couple of freebie pages on view here look more like Into the Odd. Would this be based on Into the Odd (I hope so...I love Into the Odd).
Thank you sir! (and thank you for your patience with me in asking in several places online...it's a wonderful game and I'm excited about it, and this question was nagging at me...so I'm happy to have this clarification/affirmation that I'd read it right). The Lurking Fear is wonderful!
Excellent! Thank you! (and also thank you for your forbearance in seeing my question here, and on YSDC...I am excited about The Lurking Fear and am nothing if not a persistent investigator when I've got a question in my head). It's a wonderful game you have created!
