Psychic investigators in Call of Cthulhu

**FunGuyfromYuggoth** · 1st September 2003, 07:00 PM

Would you use psychic investigators in a Call of Cthulhu campaign?

Or maybe you already have used this option but operate under your own "house rules." What kind of balancing issues of any did you find if any? Plot devices for enterprising Keepers?

For your reference, 20 years ago, the Chaosium-affiliated Different Worlds Magazine (#26) published Randy McCall's "Psychic Power" article for use with the 1st Edition of Call of Cthulhu. You can find it re-printed in part at http://www.geocities.com/perrycharb/dapsion.html .

The D20 version of Call of Cthulhu more formally puts forward the psychic ability option (at the Keeper's discretion).

**Robbie** · 1st September 2003, 07:26 PM

We had a campaign where one of the players was a psychic another a clairvoyant etc. We all worked for a small-print magazine and the idea was we went on investigations and did our thing.

I can't recall how it went to be honest -- I'm not sure it ran that long! (But this was not a reflection on the concept which seemed fine.)

As to rules, we used, or rather the Keeper used, his own house rules.

**GBSteve** · 1st September 2003, 07:50 PM

The d20 version has explicit rules for Pyschic investigators and I used these in my DG game. They're OK but slightly too well defined for my purposes so I made them a bit looser.

**WinstonP** · 1st September 2003, 10:26 PM

Pagan also published psychic rules in 'Coming Full Circle' and again (slightly revised) in 'Delta Green: Countdown'. I think they work pretty well.

While I've never had an actual psychic investigator, my players did mistakenly start playing with an Ouija board and seances in 'Coming Full Circle'. Ooops.

**CAThompson** · 2nd September 2003, 03:23 AM

The DG:Countdown rules worked good for me. as a keeper, i find it's better not to tell the invistigator about the powers and simply invoke them when i find it seems like a good idea. Until the PC figures it out and i think it's okay to let them use it at their own choice. I've nevr done that yet though...

**Wood** · 2nd September 2003, 08:46 AM

I agree.

The best thing about the Countdown rules is the section on limitations - SAN loss, nosebleeds, crippling headaches, open to Outside influence...

Further, every player playing a psychic in DG Countdown should by law have to see The Dead Zone and The Fury before doing so.

One of the coolest things about CoC is the way that reading books and learning spells is something that the players really don't want to do ("No! I read Unausprechlichen Kuilten. It's YOUR turn to read the book!")

The workings of psychic powers should be the same ("bugger! I'm psychic").

**GBSteve** · 2nd September 2003, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by Wood

The best thing about the Countdown rules is the section on limitations - SAN loss, nosebleeds, crippling headaches, open to Outside influence...

The workings of psychic powers should be the same ("bugger! I'm psychic").

I embellished the d20 rules with something similar and the pyschic kept trying not to use his powers.

Trying to establish a pychic link with an entity that happens to be Shub-Niggurath, not a good idea.

**Fallingtower** · 2nd September 2003, 06:24 PM

I have psychic rules from an old SHADIS magazine. I don't use them though.

My wife is actually running a psychic right now...which I am using sans any real rules...whenever she does something I just have her roll against her PSYCHOMETRY or Clairavoyance skill.

**fafhrd** · 2nd September 2003, 08:41 PM

I wanted to use the powers described in Comming Full Circle but was reticent to my players to build their characters with psychic ability. I may change my mind on that later. I was flipping through the rulebook and landed on the insane insight option. The lack of detail given got me thinking and I've decided to allow psychic potential to be unlocked by glimpses of the true world. Seems to make sense when considering how Mythos magic is supposed to work, a clearer understanding of true physics leading to new means and applications. I still need to come up with the system, I'm thinking something along the lines of : first time opens the sensitive power, each time after that accrues points which when in sufficient quantity will trigger the power appropriate to the madness.

**RobStoll** · 2nd September 2003, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by fafhrd

I was flipping through the rulebook and landed on the insane insight option. The lack of detail given got me thinking and I've decided to allow psychic potential to be unlocked by glimpses of the true world. Seems to make sense when considering how Mythos magic is supposed to work, a clearer understanding of true physics leading to new means and applications. I still need to come up with the system, I'm thinking something along the lines of : first time opens the sensitive power, each time after that accrues points which when in sufficient quantity will trigger the power appropriate to the madness.

Or, you could play it even looser than that. Give the character psychic powers when and where you feel like it, especially in a SAN-loss situation, almost as another form of insane insight. I just finished re-reading Stephen King's "The Dead Zone," and imagine that giving a character disturbing, uncontrollable, precognitive "flashes" along those lines could work in CoC (as one example). In fact, this could even lead players to start to rely rather dangerously on taking seriously (and acting upon) every delusion or hallucination they suffer, thinking that the cosmos might be trying to pass along useful information again.

It also occurs to me that some of what could be interpreted as psychic phenomena could also be various Mythos forces tampering with human brains. Great Race mind probes could implant wild ideas, talents, or precognitive insights into potential mind-swap vessels. The Mi-Go could induce telepathy in various test cases (perhaps as simply as using some genetic concoction to taint a well or other water supply), because they want to see what happens to a population of humans that suddenly develop a hive mind. Perhaps contact with Azathoth or his minions could cause teleportation or incorporeality.

Robert

"Ph-nglui mglw'nafh Tattulhu Fantasy Island wagh'nagl fhtagn." "In his house at Fantasy Island dead Tattoo waits dreaming." (trans.)

Ia! Ia! Tattulhu fhtagn! The guest stars are right!

**Dr_Zarnak** · 5th September 2003, 10:17 AM

Originally Posted by Fallingtower

I have psychic rules from an old SHADIS magazine. I don't use them though.

I have that article, too - by Graeme Davis - which, like you, I've never used because (imo) it gave way too many benefits with too few consequences (sort of like the magic in The Golden Dawn). I think John H. Crowe's treatment of the subject was more balanced.

Incidentally, Mark Morrison also wrote an essay about this in Dagon (can't presently recall which issue) - "Sense #6" - and had some good advice for Keepers.

**Tashiro** · 17th September 2003, 07:02 AM

I've tried the psychic rules presented with Delta Green and they do work fair enough. I think used sparingly, they most certainly add to the game.

**golfsale** · 15th July 2005, 01:45 PM

Does anyone read Lovecraft?

**GHill** · 15th July 2005, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Tashiro

I've tried the psychic rules presented with Delta Green and they do work fair enough. I think used sparingly, they most certainly add to the game.

Likewise, the opportunities to lose SAN when using psychic powers seems pretty endless, the single psychic investigator among my players is becoming more and more wary about using his abilities asthe campaign goes on.