Post/Author/DateTime	Post
anks106 04-19-06, 10:39 PM	Hi, my DM recently told me that he wants to start a d20 Call of Cthulu game.. not sure if there is a better place on here to post this.. but does anyone have any minmaxish CoC builds here?
nissir2000 04-19-06, 11:19 PM	High will save, immune to fear, ability to watch all your friends die in horrible ways, and still get a good night's sleep :P
Caelic 04-19-06, 11:33 PM	Be illiterate. Nothing good EVER comes from reading books in CoC.
nihility 04-19-06, 11:51 PM	Be illiterate. Nothing good EVER comes from reading books in CoC. He's got a point. Actually, if you can be blind, go for that, too.
temillion 04-20-06, 12:37 AM	Crank up the will as high as it'll go. There's no happy ending in CoC so you've got to make your own somehow. Oh, and anything written, burn it prior to reading it. Never go downstairs, nothing good is ever down there.
ZeroEffect 04-20-06, 01:08 AM	This post should be in the NON-D&D optimization forum.
ZeroEffect 04-20-06, 01:11 AM	If you play CoC long enough, you will either die or go insane, no matter how powerful you are. Character optimization isn't really useful in the game. It's not a game that's about winning... It's about being scared, being driven insane, and dying in weird and freaky ways.
Senevri 04-20-06, 04:22 AM	Well.. Yeah. CoCd20 is one d20 game that... really _isn't_ broken. Mostly. However, there's some power in the spells. Which you can only get if your DM gives you access to them. The "Investigator" class is awesome, from a DM's point of view. It has _no_ class features at all! No feats, no nothing. Sure, you get to pick your AB and saves, and even your class skills, but still... Hmm. Nonsensical item choices: Why exactly does your scientist/reporter/doctor own two pump-action shotguns, a few hand grenades and a body armor? ;-) ...Anyway, to get back on topic... FIRST level, toughness is big. As for good saves... - Any time you take more than 10 points of damage, you'll need to succeed in a fort save DC15 - You'll be making a _lot_ of will saves - Wisdom score affects your sanity. So... Wisdom, Con, Int/Dex are the most important stats. I find this an interesting challenge. I'll check my books when I get back home.
Balthanon 04-20-06, 09:18 AM	I played a Call of Cthulu game for about 6 months as a mafia physician--I was almost entirely defensively oriented, with skill ranks pumped into the appropriate healing skills and investigative areas. I was one of the few players to actually invest in spot/listen (normally, you don't _want_ to see what's out there) and actually did pretty well. Call of Cthulu though, ultimately is all about luck--the enemies are bigger, badder, and tougher than you. If you're lucky though, you can get off a lucky shot or two, huddle down and hope you survive. A healer does help though--I can't count the number of times that I shoved someone's guts back into their body in that campaign. We never had more than a quarter of our party come through any given adventure conscious, but having a doctor on hand helped us come through at least.
Entomologist 04-20-06, 09:47 AM	Personally I think CoC is a heavy role playing game with less emphasis on combat (because of the squishyness of normal people). This can depend on the DM though. I have the most fun playing researcher types in that game. Multiple languages helps, anything to enhance running away speed is good too [such as improved initiative (or at least be faster than your friends)]. Knowledge skills, etc. I also agree with going defensive for the extra saves. I will also take a look at the book when I get home (I was thinking of running a campaign of it soon and it is a good excuse to brush up on some of the rules). The whole flavor of the game (in my opinion) is the ultimate satisfaction of holding the "evils" of the universe back and giving humanity that one extra day of survival with only an ordinary group of people (arguably the most heroic kind of character).
Zemyla 04-20-06, 12:09 PM	Play Pun-Pun. :P Seriously, you won't need Str because you should be using firearms, so dump that. Not sure of anything that uses Cha, because I only played it once. Though now that I said that, I had a thought of a diplomancer changing Cthulhu's attitude to fanatical. And then promptly going insane afterwards. :D
Caelic 04-20-06, 12:34 PM	The thing you need to keep in mind about CoC is that the central trope is this: the heroes can't win. That is at the absolute heart of Lovecraft's mileu. The Old Ones are beings of power so vast that mankind not only can't match it--they can't comprehend it. Indeed, the Old Ones aren't so much malevolent as utterly alien. It's not that they want to destroy humanity, it's that humanity is as far beneath their notice as the microbes you wipe out each time you wash your hands. So: in CoC, the tranquility of the world as we know it is a feeble illusion, and that illusion is all that keeps us from dropping howling into the abyss of madness. The classic Catch-22: in order to combat the minions of the Old Ones, you need to know that they're out there...and as soon as you know that they're out there, you've started down the same road that drove them insane in the first place. In short: play what you want, make yourself as sturdy physically and mentally as you can, and accept that you'll probably die anyway--and that death is far from the worst thing that can happen to you in this game.
Senevri 04-20-06, 01:59 PM	Okay.... This is going to be tough.. >_<; Open-ended skills are nice. - Computer Use - Craft - Demolitions (DC30: Build explosives from scratch without proper materials) - Diplomacy (DC50: Hostile to helpful) - Sleight of hand can be handy Vs. cultists. Surviving Adventures: - Pilot skill combined with owing an airplane of some sort - Research is _essential_ in getting anywhere. - Spot, Search, Hide, the usual... Recovering from adventures: - Heal - Psychoanalysis Feats: Some random thoughts. You only get eight, _total_, _if_ you survive at all. Toughness is _big_ early on. Alertness: You can't run away if you don't know there's something there! But, since you'll be seeing things you shouldn't... Iron Will. Blind-fighting _might_ seem like a good idea, but if you're fighting something, it's probably already too late. Expertise might seem nice, until you realize that to use it, you'd have to be in combat, in which case, while not getting hit is nice, you'd probably need to hit something too... Or, you should be running away, anyway. Cautious is nice, as it gets that DC30 demolition check closer Improved Init, Mobility... _anything_ that helps you run away is good. Endurance helps you run longer, Run helps you run faster. Combat: Are you nuts!?!? But, these are d20 rules, so combat is inevitable. Early on, anything that doesn't require _aiming_ is good. Grenades, maybe shotguns. If you want to specialize, the feats are almost the usual ... however, do note the multishot line of feats. Quick draw might also be good. Weapons: Laser Sight, if available is very, very good. Bipods/Bracing - also good. Explosives, however, are da bomb. Even if it requires a kamikaze leap into the maw of an eldritch horror. You won't survive anyway. Do note, however, that a single explosive just won't do --- you'll need a _bunch_. Out of Psychic feats, Remote Viewing seems good -- only risk your sanity, not your life. However, these might not be available. Magic: Now, there's _power_ there. However, at the cost of your sanity and life, plus you don't get to pick any of the spells you like. There are spells which can kill even tougher critters, such as Bind Soul --- However, since you won't have any idea on what are strong saves on the things you encounter, it'll be... difficult. Consume Likeness can be a powerful boon to an investigator. (amphibian/flying forms) Very bad for sanity, though Create Self-ward, too. Although the cost is steep Flesh Ward might be better, in practice Enchant Item definitely. Word of Recall can be awesome. Now, for magic, you'll need a high WIS score, and generally high ability scores. Int is common, but so is Con and Str. Dex seems rare. Hmm Now, if your DM allows you such an easy access to spells... You'll die. A bit sooner than you would otherwise, that is. But, if he does, there's some interesting things you can do. Be careful, though... It is common for spells to describe _how_ they're done, and even _what_ they do, but rarely do they tell _what the cost is..._