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Quick-Start Adventure:
The Worms of Nergal
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“Fear of the dark is among our most primal fears
and has plagued humanity since the dawn of time
- only eclipsed by fear of the unknown. There are
hidden things, things from other worlds and the
spaces in-between, which exist just outside our
sight. Sometimes it is desirable not to glimpse the
things in the corner of your eye, for once you see
into these worlds there is no turning back.”
WildFire is: Chris Dorn, Robert Glass, Matthew Grau, Steve Pitcher
©2023, WDF LLC dba WildFire. All rights reserved. CthulhuTech, CthulhuTech: the Shadow War, WildFire,
and their respective logos are ™ WDF LLC.
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A tale older than time.
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i i INTRODUCTION
“In some way, we’re all attracted to the dark side of existence, even though we
know that monsters lurk there.” — Jameson Alfred Prufrock, selected lectures
Welcome to CthulhuTech: the Shadow War! This section will give you a solid
overview of the game and mechanics to help get you playing as quickly as
possible.
edge of apocalypse, as aliens and powerful dark entities alike seek to bring
about their own new age and the end to ours.
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i i
DESIGNING ADVENTURES
other games, and a system with three variations for mechanics to better fit this Quick-Start.
your style.
Between the two core books — the Player’s Handbook and Game Master’s For more of what
Guide — you’ll have a wealth of material to keep your game and characters CthulhuTech
offers, see p. 68.
fresh for years to come.
But first, try before you buy.
of which you might like to play. If any ability applies Edge, this means you
will get additional dice to roll to achieve success.
For more advanced
players and GMs,
You should skip pg. 31-67, because that is the adventure which should only there are additional
be read by those intending to be the GM. rules you may like to
use starting on p. 72.
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READY-TO-PLAY CHARACTERS
PENTY
SINGS-FROM VOID
ZHANG WEI
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READY-TO-PLAY CHARACTERS
NOVADA
SELANIADE
SHOTHAAL
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NOVADA TARANOTA
Pronounced: PACKNAME Knuckles
no-vah-dah
ta-ra-not-ah
GENDER PRESENTATION Male
BACKGROUND Student
SYMBIONT Mirage
TRAINING Trickster
AGE 21
NOVADA TARANOTA
MORTAL STATS
ATTRIBUTES: MORTAL
CHARACTERISTICS: MORTAL
Novada’s base
Health is 6, which
is multiplied by
Health (total) 18 Speed 6
3 as a PC.
SKILLS
Humanities 3 Lie 3
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TAGER STATS
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CHARACTERISTICS: TAGER
Novada’s base
Health as a Tager is
Health (total) 24 8, which is multiplied
by 3 as a PC.
SUSTAIN: TAGER
SENSES: TAGER
NOVADA TARANOTA
Nightvision 50
MOBILITY: TAGER
Running 6 Wall-walking 4
DISPLACEMENT
Anyone who figures out that your illusions aren’t real sees something
uncannily fake about them, but sees them nonetheless.
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i SYMBIONT BLEED
GLAMOUR
Your Displacement Field allows you to change your face and clothing to
Glamour allows disguise or impersonate. This gives you Edge +1 to the Do It Better Complex
you to look like
someone else. Action when used for this purpose. Since they are only visual illusions, they
most likely won’t pass close scrutiny. Anyone who detects your illusion won’t
be able to see the real you, but you look uncannily fake to them.
ATTACKS
NOVADA TARANOTA
Use this as your Your basic attack involves either lashing out with your sharp tentacles, or
primary Close
Combat Strikeback. focusing your Displacement powers to discharge a bright beam of hard light.
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QUALITIES
You can tolerate more physical pain than the Many people find your presence appealing.
average person.
NOVADA TARANOTA
MECHANICS
MECHANICS
You gain Edge +1 for the Use Force of
You gain Edge +1 for the Push Yourself Personality Simple Action when dealing with
Simple Action any time you attempt to resist someone who is likely to find you attractive.
the effects of pain.
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i PENTY NANOKY
BACKGROUND Freeborn
SYMBIONT Widow
TRAINING Trawler
AGE 23
PENTY NANOKY
MORTAL STATS
ATTRIBUTES: MORTAL
CHARACTERISTICS: MORTAL
Penty’s base
Health is 10, which
is multiplied by Health (total) 30 Speed 12
3 as a PC.
SKILLS
Alertness 1 Athletics 3
Lie 1 Science 2
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TAGER STATS i
ATTRIBUTES: TAGER These stats
supercede your
mortal stats when
Awareness 4 Physique 6 Presence 2 Tenacity 5 you shift into your
Tager form.
CHARACTERISTICS: TAGER
Penty’s base Health
as a Tager is 11,
Health (total) 33 which is multiplied
by 3 as a PC.
SUSTAIN: TAGER
SENSES: TAGER
PENTY NANOKY
Nightvision 50
MOBILITY: TAGER
Running 6 Wall-walking 4
SPINNERETS
You have the ability to produce strong webbing, and can create a person- Spinnerets allow
sized web in an alleyway in about a minute (2 Turns). Anyone who might be you to spin webs.
caught, or is already caught, in your webs must succeed at the Do It Better There are many
other ways you can
Complex Action to avoid or escape, using the webbing’s Power 8. be creative with this
ability in-game.
These spinnerets also produce combat-ready abilities as well.
SYMBIONT BLEED
NIMBLE
You move at Speed 6 in your mortal form, and may move across things Nimble allows you to
move quickly across
which might not normally support you, from the fragility of glass on up, and unlikely surfaces.
walk on things no thinner than a tight-rope. You gain Edge +1 to the Use
Your Body Simple Action when used for these purposes.
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ATTACKS
Your basic attack involves either cutting enemies with your sharp extremities
or spraying webbing to twist them into painful positions.
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QUALITIES
Much like a chameleon, your genetic line Your genetic line has gifted you with the
was designed with skin which changes ability to mimic the sounds of animals or
coloring to match what’s around you. You impersonate a person’s voice.
may turn this ability on and off at will.
MECHANICS
MECHANICS
In order for you to mimic a sound, it must
You gain Edge +1 to the Be Sneaky Simple be made by a natural living thing. You
Action. must have spent at least two minutes prior
listening to and studying the voice of the
person or thing in question. You gain Edge
PENTY NANOKY
MADE FOR WAR Nazzadi Asset +1 for the Do It Better Complex Action
when trying to deceive someone with your
The Migou improved on many aspects of impersonation.
the Human metabolism, making you more
comfortable in what otherwise would be
unpleasant conditions. NIGHTVISION Asset
WEATHER: Designed to soldier on, you don’t Your Running speed in your mortal form
mind rain and never get the chills, and only increases to 12.
gale force winds bother you.
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SELANIADE VISIHNARU
Pronounced: PACKNAME Spot
sel-ahn-ee-ah-day
vi-si-hna-ar-oo
GENDER PRESENTATION Female
BACKGROUND Seeker
SYMBIONT Whisper
TRAINING Scout
SELANIADE VISIHNARU
AGE 23
MORTAL STATS
ATTRIBUTES: MORTAL
CHARACTERISTICS: MORTAL
Selaniade’s base
Health is 6, which
is multiplied by Health (total) 18 Speed 6
3 as a PC.
SKILLS
Selaniade is alert,
Alertness 3 Alertness Specialization: Sight +1
intelligent, and
technically-inclined. Athletics 2 Computers & Communications 2
Lie 2 Technician 3
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TAGER STATS
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CHARACTERISTICS: TAGER
Selaniade’s base
Health as a Tager is
Health (total) 24 8, which is multiplied
by 3 as a PC.
SUSTAIN: TAGER
SENSES: TAGER
SELANIADE VISIHNARU
Nightvision 50
MOBILITY: TAGER
Running 6 Wall-walking 4
SENSORY NODE
Sensory Node
allows you to
You can funnel the sensory input of any willing Tager within Range 35 into use the senses of
yourself, sensing as if you were them. As such, you are limited to the ally’s another Tager.
range of senses and are unable to use your vast array. A Tager must consent Using this ability
feels like your mind
for you to do this, and may refuse entry or expel you from their mind at any is holding its breath.
time.
SYMBIONT BLEED
EMPATH
Empath allows
You’re attuned to the emotions of others. When you meet an NPC, you can you to discern an
ask your GM what mood they’re in and they must answer truthfully, unless NPC’s mood.
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ATTACKS
Use this for your Your basic attack involves either raking with your claws, or firing energy balls
Close and Ranged
Combat Strikebacks. of scintillating light.
-2 Edge to their
Actions for 2 turns. bright light and loud sound to temporarily stun enemies.
This may not be
used as a Strikeback. EFFECTS Range 15 + AOE 10 + Disorient 2 for 2 turns
You may also choose You quickly fly past an enemy while raking them with your claws, making you
an enemy within
Range 10 when
hard to hit for some.
attacking, and they
may not attack you
Damage 6 + Mobility (Advance)
on their next turn. EFFECTS
+ Evade 1 within Range 10
This may not be
used as a Strikeback.
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QUALITIES
Your eyesight is especially sharp. Your first instinct is to assess the threat of
anyone you meet.
MECHANICS
MECHANICS
Your keen sense gives you Edge +1 to the
Notice Details Simple Action when it applies. You gain Edge +1 for the Notice Details
Simple Action when you want to get a
general idea of a person or thing’s intent
LIKE A FEATHER Ravenkind Asset and the danger they represent.
SELANIADE VISIHNARU
Gravity is kind to you and you can fall quite
a ways without getting hurt. You also have TALONS Ravenkind Asset
amazing balance and can perch on just
about anything. Catkin have hooked claws, High Ghouls have
wicked teeth, and Ravenkind have sharp
MECHANICS talons.
You can drop up to Range 5 without harm, MECHANICS
at half the rate of descent, and also gain
Jumping 2. Your natural weapons do Damage 2.
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i SHOTHAAL KARG
Pronounced: PACKNAME Singe
sho-thall karg
BACKGROUND Highborn
SYMBIONT Efreet
TRAINING Nova
AGE 30
SHOTHAAL KARG
MORTAL STATS
ATTRIBUTES: MORTAL
CHARACTERISTICS: MORTAL
Shothaal’s base
Health is 9, which
is multiplied by Health (total) 27 Speed 6
3 as a PC.
SKILLS
Shothaal is a canny
Alertness 1 Business & Politics 3
businessman and a
tough negotiator. B&P Specialization:
+1 Convince 1
Management
Humanities 1 Lie 1
Medicine 2 Science 2
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TAGER STATS i
ATTRIBUTES: TAGER These stats
supercede your
mortal stats when
Awareness 3 Physique 5 Presence 4 Tenacity 5 you shift into your
Tager form.
CHARACTERISTICS: TAGER
Shothaal’s base
Health as a Tager
Health (total) 30 is 10, which is
multiplied by
3 as a PC.
SUSTAIN: TAGER
SENSES: TAGER
SHOTHAAL KARG
Nightvision 50
MOBILITY: TAGER
Running 6 Wall-walking 4
FIRESTARTER
You burn with heat, the seams of your skin and joints glowing with fire. At
will, you may ignite yourself or keep your fire at a smolder.
Anything which physically strikes you takes Damage 2. You may color your
fire red, orange,
You can light any flammable material on fire with a touch, includ- yellow, green,
ing things on which you're standing. white, or blue
with red, or any
rotation or pattern
You always control what is ignited by your flames. While you leave involving them.
burned footprints, you don’t necessarily start the carpet on fire.
You suffer Edge -3 to the Be Sneaky Simple Action.
When smoldering, you consciously dull the flames, glowing only at your
seams, and the above characteristics do not not apply.
Regardless of state, you are immune to damage from any kind of heat or
fire, even super-heated plasma blasts.
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i SYMBIONT BLEED
ARCWELD
You can fuse together primarily metal objects which your touch, though these
Arcweld allows objects must be against one another in order to weld them together. When
you to fuse metal
together.
others attempt to break your weld, they’ll use the Use your Body Complex
Action against the Power you put into your work. It takes about a minute to
create a Power 4 weld, and every 30 seconds you spend beyond that increases
it by +2 Power, up to a maximum of 10.
ATTACKS
SHOTHAAL KARG
Your basic attack involves either bashing enemies with your huge fists, or
discharging a stream of fire.
In addition to the
damage, affected
foes take an DRAGONFIST Fundamental Attack
extra Damage 2
from fire (igniting
flammables). As your body flares into the world around, you raise your fist in fiery fury to
Also, all enemies
automatically take smite and ignite an enemy.
Damage 3 in AOE 1.
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QUALITIES
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You’ve established a relationship with Ghouls are closely bound together by the
people within an organization (official Ghoul Nation, giving you access to their
or loosely defined) who can occasionally powerful resources.
provide you with information or assistance.
The organization may be your own, Ashcroft, MECHANICS
the Office of Internal Security, local criminal
Your loyalty to your people is deep and
gangs, or any other group which might be
unshakable. If you call on your own for aid,
useful for you.
they won’t refuse unless the risk is too great,
MECHANICS and vice versa. Ghouls stick together like an
organized crime family, and an insult to one
SHOTHAAL KARG
You do not need to detail your Associates is an insult to all.
until you need them during play. When
that time comes, you should work with your Ghouls also freely share information gleaned
GM to describe who your Associates are, from their various associations, so you have
the positions they hold, and what kind of a knack for knowing what’s going on.
relationships you have with these recurring You know how to find and navigate the
NPCs. Your GM will decide what your ghoulways. While others would have to be
Associates can and will provide. escorted by your people, you may come and
This ability may not come into use in this go as you please.
adventure.
MECHANICS
DARKVISION Asset Don’t let the authorities find out what you
are, because you would alarm them. People
You don’t need light to get around.
fear what they don’t understand, and fear
MECHANICS leads to rash and harmful decisions.
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SINGS-FROM-VOID
PACKNAME Tiptoe
HERITAGE Hidden
BACKGROUND Born-in-Whispers
SYMBIONT Shadow
TRAINING Bolt
AGE 26
SINGS-FROM-VOID
MORTAL STATS
ATTRIBUTES: MORTAL
CHARACTERISTICS: MORTAL
Sings-From-Void’s
base Health is 8,
which is multiplied Health (total) 24 Speed 6
by 3 as a PC.
SKILLS
Lie 1 Technician 3
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TAGER STATS
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CHARACTERISTICS: TAGER
Sings-From-Void’s
base Health as a
Health 30 Tager is 10, which
is multiplied by
3 as a PC.
SUSTAIN: TAGER
SENSES: TAGER
SINGS-FROM-VOID
Nightvision 50
MOBILITY: TAGER
Running 6 Wall-walking 4
FLICKER
You project a mystical stealth field, allowing you to flicker out of existence
and become more than just invisible. While concealed, you may use the Be
Sneaky Simple Action in plain sight with Edge +2.
Flicker allows you to disappear from sight, make no noise, and leave no
scent or thermal traces. A living being must be within Range 3 of you to
attempt to spot you in a Do It Better Complex Action, and you cannot be
detected or recorded by technology. Flicker allows you
to disappear from
nearly all senses.
There are restrictions to maintaining your Flicker:
You can’t move faster than Speed 3 or Jump 3, and you may Dash, but not
Sprint.
You cannot attack.
You can’t touch any living thing – animal, person, or monster – of large
dog size or bigger.
You choose to Flicker or not at the beginning of every combat Turn. If you
choose to Flicker, you may not attack.
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i SYMBIONT BLEED
OPEN SESAME
Doors or locked containers, such as lockers or crates, seem to just open for
you, allowing you to bypass basic security, such as alarms or biometrics. In
Open Sesame makes addition to granting the ability to open things without keys, you also gain
it easy to get into
locked things. Edge +1 for the Demonstrate Competence Simple Action when this ability
applies. More advanced types, such as pressure plates or laser traps, are
beyond this ability. Open Sesame also does not apply to things without
physical seals, such as electronic passwords.
ATTACKS
SINGS-FROM-VOID
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QUALITIES
i
Your joints bend in unusual ways and you’re Everyday people simply ignore you, as you
quite flexible. don’t exist in their perception.
MECHANICS MECHANICS
You gain Edge +1 for the Get Physical Simple People will only notice you if you do
Action any time you attempt to escape something that draws attention to yourself,
restraints, or when maneuvering in tight such as interacting with your environment
spaces. within their view without succeeding at a
Be Sneaky Simple Action. Anything you can
carry in your street clothes is also concealed.
SINGS-FROM-VOID
DARK WHISPERS Hidden Asset
You also do not leave traces of yourself, such
You can float your whispers along the wind, as fingerprints or tracks, and you cannot be
using them to communicate with others or to visually recorded by any method or medium
scare people. against your wishes. You do still make noise
and must be careful to keep light feet.
MECHANICS
MECHANICS
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WONG ZHANG WEI
PACKNAME Bitters
SYMBIONT Nightmare
TRAINING Ripper
AGE 27
WONG ZHANG WEI
MORTAL STATS
ATTRIBUTES: MORTAL
CHARACTERISTICS: MORTAL
Zhang Wei base
Health is 10, which
is multiplied by Health (total) 30 Speed 6
3 as a PC.
SKILLS
Zhang Wei is Alertness 3 Athletics 3
a bruiser and
a criminal.
Convince 1 Hidden World 1
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TAGER STATS
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CHARACTERISTICS: TAGER
Zhang Wei’s base
Health as a Tager is
Health (total) 33 11, which is multiplied
by 3 as a PC.
SUSTAIN: TAGER
SENSES: TAGER
MOBILITY: TAGER
Running 6 Wall-walking 4
SPECIAL ABILITY
SHAKE IT OFF
Shake It Off
You have the ability to shrug off massive hits. Once per combat, you can allows you to
survive otherwise
ignore the damage from any single source for one turn, and may choose to do deadly hits.
this after you learn how much damage you’ll suffer.
SYMBIONT BLEED
TOUGH AS NAILS
Tough as Nails
allows you to use
You may use your Shake It Off Special Ability in your mortal form, though it your special ability
in mortal form.
still only works once per combat, regardless of form.
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i ATTACKS
Use this for Ranged Your basic attack involves either raking an enemy with your talons, or firing
Combat Strikebacks. quick bursts from your shoulder pods.
EFFECTS Damage 12
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QUALITIES i
BACKBONE Asset BE PREPARED Human Asset
You can tolerate more physical pain than the You’re an expert traveler, who is more
average person. prepared than most.
MECHANICS MECHANICS
You gain Edge +1 for the Push Yourself Once per session, you have access to a
Simple Action any time you attempt to resist needed piece of gear, even when it isn’t
the effects of pain. listed among your possessions. It must be
something you can justify your character
having access to, but can be something
unlikely for most people to have packed.
The Fates sometimes smile on you. You don’t know when to give up.
MECHANICS MECHANICS
Once per session, you may roll three times You also gain Edge +1 for the Push Yourself
for a Complex Action and take the best Simple Action.
result.
You also gain 2 extra Resolve.
MECHANICS
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OVERVIEW
The players are summoned for a last minute mission. Visiting allies have
discovered a local cultist plan to contaminate the food supply of the Santa
Fe arcology. It is imperative the players stop cultists at the food processing
facility. The players are hastily given uniforms, IDs, cover identities, and a
mission brief.
In addition to having to sneak into a secure facility, identify the cultists from
the workers, and keep the contamination out of the food, the players face an
additional surprise. The priests of the cult have cursed their agents, so that
they will transform into monstrosities if put in a life and death situation,
which the players will discover in the final battle.
ENCOUNTER 1: ONBOARDING
Colored text represents sections you should read out loud to your players, to
help make your job easier. Continue doing this throughout the adventure.
CthulhuTech is a near-future setting, where a mystical
apocalypse threatens the people of Earth. Lovecraft-
inspired terrors have reawakened and the world is, in many
ways, difficult to recognize.
It hasn’t taken long for the world to dramatically change.
Though industrialized and heavily-regulated by the
authorities, magic is real. Merged with technology, it has
unleashed a massive wave of advancement. The Earth
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i You can divy up the characters however you want, but here’s a few
suggestions:
• Players can work it out amongst themselves
Don’t spend too
much time on • You can assign characters based on your understanding of the players
choosing characters,
so you can get
to the action.
• Players can roll dice, picking characters in order from highest roll to
lowest
• You can spread them out face down on the table and have players
choose blindly and randomly
It’s important that players have their character sheets in front of them for
ADVENTURE: THE WORMS OF NERGAL
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Floorplan of
average Santa Fe
arcology level.
ADVENTURE: THE WORMS OF NERGAL
Farm Recreational
Residential Commercial
700 yd/m diameter
Map of average
Santa Fe arcology
level walkways.
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200 yd/m diameter
Overview of a slice
of the automated
central farming spire.
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As a GM, you’ll set a Difficulty based on the Action. In this case, you’ll set a
basic difficulty of 3 (Challenging). You don’t need to have players roll when
the Difficulty is average or less (1 or 2 successes). They succeed at average
Actions automatically.
In this case, the Notice Details Simple Action recommends If no one is playing
Selaniade, here are
using Awareness as the Attribute and Alertness as the skill. the other characters’
dice pools for
Selaniade is the scout of the group, with an Awareness of this Action, in
6 and an Alertness of 3, giving her a sizable dice pool of descending order:
9. She also has the Sight Specialization under Alertness, 1. Sings-from-Void (8)
2. Novada (6)
which gives her another dice for a total of 10. 3. Zhang Wei (6)
4. Penty (4)
Selaniade, go ahead and roll your 10 dice. Your Difficulty 5. Shothaal (3)
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THE HIDDEN
The Hidden have Sings-From-Void, if she’s part of the group, will not have to worry about being
evolved to be seen, due to the Shadowveil Quality. You may want to read this description,
invisible observers.
so the player understands its limitations.
Sings-From-Void, you have the Shadowveil Asset. People
ADVENTURE: THE WORMS OF NERGAL
Grab & Go
If the players want to be bold, they can just walk right up to the sculpture
and get their stuff. There’s nothing stopping them and they don’t need to
take an Action to do so. You may want to throw in something like “Mommy,
what’s that person doing,” just to heighten the tension and create a little
worry.
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Create a Distraction
The players may choose to create some kind of distraction, in order to call
everyone’s attention away from the sculpture. While attention is focused on
them, the other players can retrieve their package without incident. This could be a
good opportunity
How the players do this is up to their imagination. They may start a mock for the players
fight, screaming at each other, they could make some sort of phony to start forming
relationships.
announcement to the park-goers, they may break into a musical number, or
Package Retrieved
Armed with your false credentials, uniform, and symbiont,
you are ready to undertake your mission.
If Zhang Wei is a part of your group, also read the following:
Zhang Wei is a Human who has the Be Prepared Asset.
Once per session, you have access to a needed piece of
gear, even when it isn’t listed among your possessions. It
must be something you can justify your character having
access to, but can be something unlikely for most people
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ACCESS ROUTE
If Shothaal is part of the game, going in through the ghoulways is the safest
route and will allow the players to use some of their symbionts’ abilities. If
not, you may offer the players a High Ghoul guide, or you may have them
attempt to blend in and enter through the front door (see p. 49).
The shaft is the central access point to the spire, the rest of
the facility radiating out from it. If you can sneak into the
shaft, you can enter the facility at the highest level and take
a normal elevator from there.
If Shothaal is part of the group, read them the following:
Shothaal, you have the Ghoul Nation Asset. Your loyalty
The Ghoul Nation is
an important part to your people is deep and unshakable. If you call on
of the Shadow War, your own kind for aid, they won’t refuse unless the risk
and often assist the
Eldritch Society. is too great, and vice versa. Ghouls stick together like an
organized crime family, and an insult to one is an insult to
all.
You know how to find and navigate the ghoulways, which
are secret routes through the maintenance and utility tunnels
which line the floors, ceilings, and walls of an arcology.
While others would have to be escorted by your people,
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THE GHOULWAYS
You enter ghoulways through an innocuous access hatch
THE SHAFT
You emerge from the final stretch of tunnel and through a
large access hatch into the main arcology elevator shaft.
There’s about 6 yd/m platform around the cylindrical
abyss, and then it’s straight down for hundreds of yd/m.
There are six elevators equally spaced around the outer
wall of the cylindrical shaft, each designed to hold dozens
of people at the same time, and you can see them moving
up and down below.
As Tagers, you have a variety of special abilities when
you shift into your monstrous form, which you can do in an
instant. You gain access to all the Tager abilities for your Tagers are generally
highly mobile.
symbiont, including the ability to wall-walk. This allows you
to cling to sheer surfaces like a bug, frog, or lizard, so you
can descend the shaft easily.
If Selaniade is a part of your group, also read the following:
Selaniade, you have the Like a Feather ability, which allows
you to drop up to 5 stories without harm, but this drop is
much further than that. As a Whisper, you can also fly, but
the buzzing which accompanies might be undesireable.
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SIMPLE ACTION 5: BE SNEAKY
When you don’t want people to notice what you’re doing, use this Action.
follow someone without them noticing duck around a corner when someone appears
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but regularly checking their clocks because it’s just about
quitting time.
From here, it’s a simple matter for you to catch an elevator
and go down to level 19 and your destination.
EXIT STRATEGY
So the players know, their exit strategy is to get out the same way, but
skipping the elevator and jumping directly into the shaft from level 19.
CHECKPOINT
You knew you’d need to pass through a routine security
checkpoint at some point, and here it is. It’s a row of
turnstiles, which automatically open when an employee’s
badge broadcasts its signal in close proximity. Nearby,
there are two armed guards wearing security uniforms and
light armor, and carrying what appear to be electrokinetic
submachine guns (railguns). They don’t appear to be
expecting any trouble, but they are doing their job, even if
chatting a little while they do it.
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i While the players have their false credentials, they still have to make it
through the checkpoint without inadvertently looking suspicious. The guards
are fortunately not on any kind of alert which would make them more
suspicious than usual.
Any time something is actively working against you, you’ll
If no one is playing
Penty, here are the take a Complex Action. Complex Actions are roll offs,
other characters’ dice
pools for this Action, pitting your dice roll against mine and comparing them to
in ascending order: determine the result. This situation calls for the Do It Better
1. Shothaal (5) Complex Action using Presence + Lie, as you attempt to
2. Selaniade (5)
3. Zhang Wei (5) pass by the guards unnoticed.
4. Novada (8)
ADVENTURE: THE WORMS OF NERGAL
Use this Action when you need to compete with someone – physically, intellectually, or socially.
make it over the wall first (Athletics) win a poetry slam (Humanities)
RESULT EFFECT
Mixed success; you don’t quite succeed but you don’t quite fail. The GM will let
0 or -1
you know what happens.
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In this case, a Mixed Success means the players succeed, but they’ve i
been spotted by a Nergalite minder who will alert the other cultists on the In the complete
game, there is an
processing floor. The players shouldn’t know this, so you may want to be additional level of
failure below -3 and
withholding about anything other than they’ve succeeded. an additional level of
success beyond +2.
It’s entirely possible that the player will fail, so now is the time to introduce
Resolve. The players each have five, except for Zhang Wei who has seven.
There’s good news. Each of you has a pool of five Resolve,
each of which can be spent to help you succeed when you
might otherwise fail. One Resolve adds one Hit to your roll,
and you may spend up to three Resolve on a single Action,
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i An Instant in Mid-Transformation
ADVENTURE: THE WORMS OF NERGAL
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SUCKER PUNCH i
There are a few Nergalite minders whose job it is to make sure the other
cursed cultists (see p. 55) get to the right place at the right time. Smartly,
they have memorized images of every worker scheduled to leave a shift, and If you’re pressed for
the same for all those incoming. Anyone they don’t recognize they intend time, you can skip
this Encounter and
to waylay, or draw them away from the cultists poisoning the food supply. instead introduce
combat in the
next Encounter.
The players, rushing in at the end of the shift, are recognized by the Nergalite
minders as unscheduled and suspect. Given the time table, they have to act
quickly and decisively, which involves cracking the players in the skulls with
snap batons and dragging them away, or so they think.
Awareness + Alertness, which equals 8 dice, against a Difficulty of 3. If she 1. Selaniade (10)
succeeds - remembering to use Resolve in the case of failure - the player 2. Novada (6)
3. Zhang Wei (6)
notices the surprise attack and can alert the others. Otherwise, the cultists 4. Penty (4)
5. Shothaal (3)
will gain a free attack before combat starts in earnest.
Also, if a character
Without warning, one of the loitering workers charges and other than Sings-
From Void takes
swings at the back of your head, the baton snapping out this Action, increase
the Difficulty to 4.
from his fist as he does.
This altercation is meant to be simple, to introduce you to
the basics of combat. This is a Complex Action, and all such
Actions are rolls compared against the roll of the target.
In any turn of combat, you as players always go before
your enemies, so you don’t need to worry about Initiative.
There is a planning phase before we execute the turn,
during which you get to determine what each of you are
doing in an order of your choosing.
Give the players a chance to figure out what they want to do, reminding
them that shifting into their monstrous forms might not be a good idea
just yet. Shothaal has vicious teeth behind his appliances and Selaniade has
talons on the tips of her fingers, but everyone else is armed with their fists.
When you attack, you’ll use a dice pool equal to your
Physique + Body Fighting for close combat, or Awareness
+ Gun Fu for ranged combat, and your enemies will do the
same.
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COMPLEX ACTION 1: COMBAT
When you need to resort to violence, use this Action. The result of your dice roll will be in
comparison to your target’s roll.
RESULT EFFECT
Trade blows or miss (attacker’s choice); trading blows means both attacker and
0 or -1
defender do damage.
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When you get hit, the process is the same, though you
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have several advantages. With triple your Health score,
you won’t be felled by regular attacks and can even take
several bullets in your mortal form and keep going. You are
tough, but not bullet-proof, so beware automatic weapons.
You also regenerate your Health, which we’ll explore later
on.
Armor reduces the damage by its rating, but no one in this
combat is wearing any.
After the first turn, if the Nergalites cracked one of the players with a snap
facility. Time is ticking and the Nergalite minders are only going to lead
them on a wild goose chase to have them burn precious minutes. There is no
effect on the narrative if they escape.
NERGALITE CULTIST
ATTRIBUTES
CHARACTERISTICS
Health 7 Speed 6
SKILLS
Alertness 3 Athletics 4
ATTACKS
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It isn’t advised to split up the group, but your players may wish to do so.
If that’s the case, resolve the chase and then move on to the group in the
facility. The chasing group will arrive later.
When you want to catch someone who is running away from you, or you’re trying to get away
yourself, use this action. If your opponent is slower than you, this action is taken at Edge +1.
If your opponent is faster than you, this action is taken at Edge -1. If the terrain is difficult to
traverse, the GM may add Edge penalties (Edge -1 for somewhat difficult terrain to Edge -3 for
nearly impassable terrain).
RESULT EFFECT
+1 or more You succeed in catching your opponent or escaping from your opponent.
The quality of terrain limits the maximum speed at which a Character may move. Difficult terrain,
such as sand or slippery ground, reduces your speed one category, and Severe terrain, such as
dense jungle or mud, reduces your speed to Slow.
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If the players give chase a second turn, tell them that each of these Actions is
30 seconds and that time is of the essence. This will also help you determine
how long any chasing players have been gone from the group entering the
floor.
NERGALITES
There are two cultists per player, each of them responsible for one
contaminated nutrient pack. They would prefer to execute this mission
quietly and do not want to start any trouble, though they don’t know they’re
ticking time-bombs.
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i = 3 yd/m
General map of
processing floor.
ADVENTURE: THE WORMS OF NERGAL
NUTRIENT PACKS
There are two contaminated nutrient packs per player. Each is about the
No one will have a size of an overstuffed pillow and 40 lbs/18 kg, in a thick milky gel-like bag
problem managing
a nutrient pack.
with a metal mouth which attaches to the feeder receptacle. A smart tag is
attached to the outside, about the size of a credit card, displaying the serial
number and other salient information.
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THE COUNTDOWN
The players have 3 minutes of free action in-game once they enter the room.
Let them know this and give them a minute to plan.
After 3 minutes, the first nutrient pack is fed into the system. The Nergalites
will then feed a contaminated pack into the system every minute (2 Turns
of combat) until all packs are used. For every two Nergalites who have
transformed into Vile Abominations (see p. 63), increase the time by a
minute. If all transform, there is no further threat of contamination.
TAKING ACTION
There are six likely courses of action:
• the players use the computer system to ID the contaminated packs
• the players use technical knowledge to shut down feeder pipes
• the players use the computer system to force an administrative Naturally, the
players may come
shutdown up with some other
clever way to solve
• the players slash the packs and spill their contents on the floor their problems.
• the players further identify the cultists and stop them in the act
• the players pretend to be cultists to learn more of what they need to
stop them
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There are two ways to succeed. Rolling a minimum of 3 Hits will get the
players the complete serial numbers for the contaminated packs. Rolling
5 Hits or more causes the ID tags on the bags to light up purple, making
them very easy to spot. You may suggest the player use Resolve to reach
this greater threshold.
If the player fails, they still get the complete serial numbers, but the terminal
starts playing loud upbeat salsa music, which draws unwanted attention to
the players. They’ll have to be smart about evading the increasingly watchful
guards as they go about their business now and Actions they wish to be
clandestine now suffer Edge -2.
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Since the players have no evidence, they’ll have no luck trying to get the
armed guards to perform a shutdown. The best they’ll do is call a superior to
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come down and hear their story, which will only waste precious time.
Once combat breaks out, there will be no chance of an emergency shutdown
as the guards will be too busy shooting at immediate threats.
An emergency shutdown can only be performed from the security terminal,
where the guards sit.
There is a chance Sings-From-Void can attempt to remotely hack the security
terminal from one of the floor terminals. This is a Do It Better Complex
Action, pitting her Awareness + Computers & Communication (a dice pool of
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CHARACTERISTICS
Health 8 Speed 6
SKILLS
On command, or when sufficiently stressed, this cultist’s body rapidly transforms into a
mindless slavering monstrosity. This is permanent.
They gain Edge +3 to any physical Action, but suffer Edge -3 to any mental or social
Actions. They also grow vicious claws, lashing tentacles, or the like, which do Damage
4.
ARMED GUARDS
At the start, there are two armed guards (use the following statistics) who
will quickly open fire on anything that isn’t human. They will immediately
ready their electrokinetic submachine guns (railguns) and unleash on the
nearest targets, cultist or player. If those targets are two cultists, the guards If the Efreet
will miss one of them. (Shothaal) ignites,
he will trigger
They have a dice pool of 7 for ranged combat, 8 if they’re using their SMGs, alarms, emergency
lights, and a simple
and a pool of 6 for close combat. sprinkler system.
This won’t affect
anything, other than
The armed guards shoot full-auto, which means they add the weapon’s Auto adding tension to
rating to their damage and spend half a magazine. There are other effects the atmosphere.
for Auto fire, but we don’t need to examine them more fully now. They can
fire on full auto for two turns before reloading, and have enough ammo for
a total of four turns of autofire. If they run out of ammo, they’ll switch to
their pistols.
If combat moves to a third turn, four more guards show up as reinforcements.
If the players are flagging, you may choose to skip this in favor of expediency.
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i On the fifth turn, if you reach one, the players will hear the inbound military
Exosuits and know it’s time to go. They are not prepared to go up against
arcanotech powersuits just now, so they should best leave.
Instead of killing the While the Nergalites in this Encounter have increased Health, the armed
guards, an attacker
who landed the guards do not. They have only 6 Health and 1 Armor, so cultists and Tagers
killing blow may can easily take them out. Remind the players it isn’t cool to murder the
instead choose to
render their target armed guards or allow them to be murdered due to negligence. They’re
unconscious, who
remains stable tasked with the job of protecting a primary food production center, which is
at Health 1. a good thing for society at large. They’re just people.
CULTISTS
ADVENTURE: THE WORMS OF NERGAL
THE PLAYERS
The players have explanations of the special effects of their attacks on their
character sheets, but we should address Range, AOE, and Speed further.
Each point of With regards to range, Close attacks can affect enemies with 3 yd/m, Near
range or distance can attack halfway across the floor, and anything else can reach across the
equals 3 yd/m.
entire floor.
With regards to area of effect, Close AOE affects all enemies within 3 yd/m,
Near reaches across half the floor, and anything else will affect the entire
floor. Make one attack roll against which all those affected defend.
A Speed of 6 means a player moves 18 yd/m in a turn, and additional points
increase that by 3 yd/m per turn each or decrease it with lower ratings.
Jumping is similar, with each point equaling 3 yd/m, including straight up.
OUTCOMES
There are four probable outcomes to this adventure.
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CHARACTERISTICS
Health 6 Speed 6
SKILLS
Gun Fu Specialization:
+1
Submachine Guns
ATTACKS
DEFENSE
GEAR
If the lights go
Imaging Monocle Nightvision 50 out, the guards
can still see.
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i If you’re planning on continuing to play in Santa Fe, the players may find
the Office of Internal Security investigating (federal supernatural police). If
they didn’t cover their tracks fully, they’ll have to be careful.
Santa Fe.
ENCOUNTER 9: AFTERMATH
Pack N-342 stopped the shipment effectively, so the threat has at least been
contained to Santa Fe. They’re grateful to the players for their swift and
decisive action, but are off to another mission in another arcology.
This adventure only scratches the surface of CthulhuTech:
the Shadow War. There is far more world to discover, more
advanced Tagers to play, and a more narrative way to
play the game. I hope you enjoyed your first look at it and
that you’re inspired to see more!
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MORE WAYS TO PLAY!
The full version of CthulhuTech gives you several ways you can engage the
mechanics of the game, beyond what you’ve seen in this adventure.
CORE MECHANICS
These Quick-Start Rules utilize only one of the three mechanical frameworks
you can use to play CthulhuTech. In addition to the Fundamental System
presented here, there are two other ways to play. No way is better or worse
than the others.
In the Avant-Garde
The Avant-Garde System is story-driven in its design. Dice rolling is minimized
System, you get and players manage their abilities as resources instead, spending Shots to
to call the shots,
until you’re out guarantee success. This option is the most the most narrative of the three
of resources.
systems and often plays at a faster pace.
JUST A TASTE!
The Mixed System is a combination of the two. Players roll dice for all actions,
until they want to guarantee success. They then use Shots as resources to
forgo rolling dice. This is a great option for transitioning traditional players
into the narrative system.
TAGER MECHANICS
Similar to the way there are three ways to approach the mechanics, there are
three ways to approach Tagers. These Quick-Start Rules utilize Streamlined
Tagers, which are the easiest to create and manage.
Dynamic Tagers Dynamic Tagers take the most time to create and manage, but are good for
also get to custom
craft their attacks
longer running games and have the greatest potential for growth. Using a
during play. pool of points, you’ll build your Tager in a more customized fashion.
Blended Tagers are a middle-ground between ease and customization, good
for groups who want more options without having to use the full rules set.
Using a pool of points, you’ll build your Tager with some customization.
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AND JUST PLAIN MORE!
The setting and rules in this QSR are only a portion of what the Player’s
Handbook and Game Master’s Guide, with their combined 800 pages, have
to offer:
• More Tager rules, including customization and the ability to craft
attacks from scratch There are many more
rules to help bring
• More core rules, including Counteractions, Engagement, Panic, and CthulhuTech into
Reputation, as well as optional rules to customize your game focus, though some
are optional based on
• More heritages, including Human, Nazzadi, Amlati, Catkin of Ulthar, your system choice.
MORE AWAITS!
These options create
40 possibilities for
• With 10 heritages, each with 4 backgrounds, and 10 types of symbiont, your heritage and 40
each with 4 training packages, there are hundreds of unique character possibilities for your
Tager, for a total of
possibilities 1600 possible unique
combinations.
• Rules for wealth, acquisitions, and lists of weapons and gear
If we only account
• An extensive look at arcologies, including how they function, what it’s for heritage and
symbiont, there
like to live and adventure in them, and guidance for designing your are still 100 unique
own, as well as the new locations of Sante Fe and Nazza-Duhni combinations.
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FUNDAMENTAL SYSTEM REFERENCE
Here are all the At its core, whenever you want to do something, you choose an Action to take
basic rules of and roll a pool of dice to determine whether or not you succeed.
CthulhuTech from
this QSR, together
and in one place.
DICE POOL
Your dice pool for any Action is determined by adding together the Attribute
and Skill ratings applicable to the task. Your GM will help you determine
which you should use in a given situation.
SIMPLE ACTIONS
Simple Actions are those you use to interact with your environment, when
nothing is actively working against you. You and your Game Master will
work out which Attribute and Skill works best for your stated Action. Add
them together and the result is the number of dice you’ll roll to determine
if you succeed.
ACTION DIFFICULTY
Your GM will assign you a Difficulty rating based on the challenge your task
presents, from three to six. Roll your dice and count each even number as
a Hit, you succeed if you get a number of Hits equal to or greater than the
Difficulty.
EDGE
Some Actions may be easier or harder due to special abilities, circumstances,
or environment, which is accounted for by Edge. Positive Edge allows you to
roll more dice and negative Edge means you roll fewer dice. Some of your
abilities may give you Edge, and your GM will let you know whenever other
Edge applies.
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Positive Edge and negative Edge cancel each other out and you can never
have more than a total of Edge +/- 4 on any given Roll.
SKILL SPECIALIZATIONS
Specializations are narrow areas of focus within a Skill, and all characters
start with one. Anytime you and your GM agree your Specialization applies,
you gain Edge +1.
RESOLVE
Sometimes dice don’t cooperate. When an Action is important and you don’t
roll enough Hits, you can spend Resolve after you know the result of your
COMPLEX ACTIONS
When you want to do something when someone or something else is actively
trying to resist or stop you, you’ll take a Complex Action. The difference
between Simple and Complex Actions is that instead of rolling against a
Difficulty set by the GM, Complex Actions require you to compare your Hits
against another dice roll. You need to roll better than your opponent, instead
of against a fixed number. While meeting the number of Hits required
provides complete success in Simple Actions, you’ll achieve only a mixed
success if you tie your opponent’s roll.
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EXPANDED RULES
This section includes additional rules which may appeal to more advanced
players. Feel free to use what you like, but none of it is required for this
adventure.
COMBAT
The Combat Complex Action table presented earlier isn’t complete, in order
to keep it simple and easy to understand. For those who wish to introduce
critical results, use the complete table below.
severe wounds affect a character. These rules introduce Wound Levels, each
Using Wound Levels
requires your players equal to a player’s base Health.
to do a little more
detailed record
keeping when DOING DAMAGE
they are hurt.
The amount of damage a successful attack applies is determined by the
weapon or attack used. Attacks may also do additional damage if the
difference between the attacker and defender’s rolls is significant (see
above).
When you need to resort to violence, use this Action. The result of your dice roll will be in
comparison to your target’s roll.
RESULT EFFECT
As failure, but the defender adds the difference in results to their Strikeback
-4 or lower
damage.
Trade blows or miss (attacker’s choice); trading blows means the attack is
0 or -1
successful, but the enemy may Strikeback
+3 or higher As success, but attacker adds the difference in results to their damage.
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TAKING DAMAGE
Living things have Health scores, equal to their Physique + Tenacity.
Because you are both a player and a Hero, you have triple that amount
split up equally among three Wound Levels: Bruised, Battered, and Hurt.
Your wounds will eventually penalize your actions, and damage effects are
cumulative with other Edge penalties.
In the complete
Most NPCs have only one level of Health meaning they do not become game, NPCs may be
designed to have
Battered or Hurt and instead move directly from Bruised to Dead. additional levels
of Health, or to go
For example, Diego has Physique 4 and Tenacity 4, giving them a Health of down in one hit.
8. Because Diego is both a player character and a hero, their total Health
is 24, but split up evenly into three pools of 8. Diego will be Bruised, with
no penalty, while taking 8 or less damage. Once they take 9 to 16 points of
damage, they’ll be Battered and suffer Edge -1 to all Actions. This penalty
EXPANDED RULES
increases to Edge -2 once Diego takes 17 to 24 damage, and they’re at
Death’s Door once they take 25 or more damage.
Physical Damage
HEALTH
WOUND LEVEL EFFECTS
LEVELS
BRUISED No effect 1
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Death’s Door
When a player reaches 0 Health, they may use the Stay With Me Special
Action to stay alive. Edge never applies to the Stay With Me Special Action.
HITS EFFECT
If you’re hurt again afterwards, you will need to take the Stay With Me
Special Action again.
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GAME MASTER: TENSION
You use Tension points to make things more difficult for the players,
representing the increasing intensity of the adventure as they go along. In Tension adds some
additional record
this simplified version of the system, your pool of Tension builds as certain keeping for you.
events occur in your game, as listed here.
Each time a player rolls zero or one Hit on a Simple Action 1 point The complete
Tension system has
additional options,
There are two ways you can spend Tension to influence the game in this which aren’t relevant
EXPANDED RULES
to this QSR.
simplified version: Complicating Actions and Resolve.
COMPLICATING ACTIONS
Tension Required: 1 to 3
You may spend a Tension to apply a Edge -1 penalty to the player for their
Simple Action, and up to 3 Tension for a maximum of penalty of Edge -3.
RESOLVE
Tension Required: 1 to 3
You can use Tension as Resolve for NPCs, up to a maximum of three for one
Action.
MAXIMUM TENSION
You may only pool 20 Tension at a time, and you cannot earn more until
some are spent.
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Reimagined.
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