S Background

imply Cthulhu
A Rules Lite Horror RPG

The year is 1935, Europe is changing, the Nazi

party are growing and with it their interest in
ancient secrets. They travel to Tibet, Antarctica,
Egypt gathering archaeological finds and
seeking the locations of artifacts such as the
Core Mechanic
The core of the whole game is the dice system
which revolves around three six-sided dice
(d6). Characters do not have stats but instead
Fatigue or Insanity. Flaws give Banes and
sometimes the GM will give the character a
Bane because the situation is very hard or is
tense and stressful. This is a game of horror, so
get used to tension.
roll 2d6 for every one of their actions and from
that roll that take the highest result. If the
Holy Spear and the Ark of the Covenant. With result is a 1-3 then they have failed, a roll of Professions & Benefits
their delving into ancient history, they have 4-5 indicates a partial success meaning they There are 12 Professions available in the game;
unearthed other terrors, worse than what was have achieved what they wish to do but with each has a unique Benefit. A Benefit, when
discovered in Innsmouth or Dunwich. They a consequence. A roll of a 6 is a success and used gives a Boon to the roll.
must be stopped before they destroy the world. rolling multiple 6’s indicates a critical.
Archaeologist
The world is changing, and this is clear to you, Characters can also have a Boon, which simply You explore tombs and seek out ancient cultures
discoveries are happening more and more, and means that instead of rolling 2d6, they roll 3d6, to unearth. In the pursuit of knowledge you
Carters findings in Egypt has sparked a sudden increasing their chance of success. Boons are know no bounds.
interest in all things ancient. But darker things gained from the profession Benefit or a Quality, Benefit - Languages: You have a good grasp of
are afoot, and evil forces have been unleashed. and sometimes a Flaw. The GM can also give the many ancient tongues.
This is the age of discovery and trepid explorers, character a Boon if they feel the task is easy, or
of motion pictures, prohibition and the great the character has earned some luck. Antiquarian
depression, this is an age of gangsters and cops You study the relics of the past and try to
shooting it out in the streets. A darkness is But with Boon comes Bane and this can also decipher their meaning and purpose.
coming, and you are the only one that can stop affect the character, when a Character has a Benefit - Culture: You have a good knowledge
it. Bane, they only roll 1d6 and take the highest of ancient cultures and traditions. Their rituals
result, making it harder to succeed and and beliefs
impossible to critical. Banes are earned from
Criminal Benefit - Survival: You know how to survive, Socialite
You exist in the underbelly of the world, taking find food and shelter, how to hide and move Whether it be high society dinners or parties
from others. Your connections and skills can unnoticed. You gain a Boon when attempting on the French Riveria, you will be there to
come in very useful for tasks other than crime. any of these things. mingle and be seen. You are known in all the
Benefit - Thievery: You gain Boon when best restuarants and hotels.
attempting to steal something or enter Journalist Benefit - Connections: You know everyone that
somewhere locked. As an intrepid journalist you write articles to is worth known. From wealthy industrialists
expose corruption and wrongdoing, righting to playboy dilettantes. You gain a Boon when
Detective wrongs with your words. Nothing is to using your connections.
Also covers Private Investigator as someone dangerous and it is your duty to find the truth.
that investigates crimes or mysterious events. Benefit - Streetwise: You know who to ask Soldier
Benefit - Investigation: You gain Boon when and how to ask it, you gain a Boon when asking You served in the trenches of World War 1
searching for clues. around for info. and are ready to take up arms and serve your
country when called upon. You are brave
Doctor Librarian without a fault, thoug sometimes bravery can
A medical professional, trained to heal others Your love of books and knowledge serves you come with a cost.
both physically and sometimes even mentally. well as you scour for clues in the libraries of Benefit - Fighting: You are trained in the use
Always down to earth and logical. the world. of firearms and self defense and gain a Boon
Benefit - First Aid: Gains a Boon when healing Benefit - Research: You knowledge of how when doing either.
others or examining for cause of death. libraries work and where the best collections
can be found gains you a Boon when using a Starting Equipment
Explorer library to research your current case. Characters begin with whatever equipment
You delve into caves and trek through jungles, makes sense for their profession as long as the
mountains and ancient ruins do not phase you. Occultist GM agrees.
Often you are hired as a guide for a bunch of You are a student of the mysterious and
pasty faced academics. forbidden, ancient magics and esoteric secrets. Each receives an amount in dollars as shown
Benefit - Navigation: You never get lost and You have dabbled in communing with the dead below.
gain a Boon when determining direction and fortune telling, Magic and rituals.
wherever you are. Benefit - Occult: You gain a Boon when dealing Archaeologist, Antiquarian, Doctor, Socialite
with anything that falls within the Occult all start with 2d6 x 20 dollars.
Hobo/Unemployed sphere, having knowledge of ancient religions
You have hit rock bottom but being so low has or performing a ritual to summon horrors. Detective, Explorer, Journalist, Librarian,
taught you some skills. Being invisible often Occultists and Soldier all start with 2d6 x 10.
allows you access or views of the world that
others never see, and often these can be of Criminal and Hobo/Unemployed starts with
world altering significance. 2d6.
 Health, Fatigue and Sanity Temporary Insanity Effects Flaws
Every character starts with 12 health, once If the Character loses 3 Sanity Points, they Below is a list of 10 Flaws the player can choose
they reach six health lost, they begin to lose become temporarily insane; this can last up to from.
fatigue, with a lose of 1 fatigue for every two 1d6 days. When this happens, roll on the table
health. below for effect. A doctor can attempt to cure Alcholic - You have a drinking problem.
the temporary effects by rolling with a Bane. Angry - You are always upset and snappy.
Characters have four fatigue, upon losing two Bad Eyesight - You are partially blind.
fatigue, the character can no longer receive 1. Acrophobia – Fear of heights Cowardly - You run from danger.
Boons, upon losing three fatigue, the character 2. Claustrophobia – Fear of small spaces Dishonest - You find it hard to tell the truth.
always act as if they have a Bane. At the four 3. Agoraphobia – Fear of open spaces Dumb - Your knowledge is lacking.
fatigue lose the character is exhausted and 4. Entomophobia – Fear of Insects Irrational - You make bad decisions.
collapses. 5. Xenophobia – Fear of the unknown Overweight - You are fat and unhealthy.
6. Anthropophobia – Fear of People Rude - People find you disagreeable.
Every character starts with six Sanity Points. Weak - You have very little body strength.
Sanity is lost from experiencing horrific sights Qualities and Flaws
or monsters, also witnessing events that the Characters can have a Quality, this acts the Playing the Game
mind cannot comprehend and coming to same way as a Benefit, but to have a Quality The rules for the game are simple, and this
certain realisations. When the Character sees, they must also have a Flaw which acts as a is on purpose to allow the GM to improvise,
experiences or witnesses something that will Bane, but often a Quality can be a Bane, and a adapt and build on what has been created
affect their sanity, they roll the dice, sometimes Flaw can be a Boon. without worrying about a core mechanic. At
this will include a Boon and sometimes a Bane. the beginning of this RPG, we stated that the
Qualities game was set in 1935, but this isn’t strictly the
On a roll of 1-3, the character loses a Sanity Below is a list of 10 Qualities the player can case, you can set this game in any period with a
point, a roll of 4-5 they lose no Sanity but must choose from. few adjustments.
flee, on a roll of 6 nothing happens.
Agile - You are cat like in movement. Every time a character is attempting something
Sanity Point Lose Brave - You fear no man that has the chance to fail and for that fail to
Charming - People seem to like you lead to a change in the story, the player must
1. Nothing. Curious - You always want to know everything roll dice. This will be a 2d6 mainly, but if they
2. Nervous and Jumpy Honest - You cannot tell a lie have a Boon from a Benefit or a Quality, they
3. Temporary Insanity Instinctive - You notice things others do not then roll 3d6, or if they have a Bane because
4. Scared and unable to concentrate (No Intelligent - You are knowledgeable of injury, insanity or a Flaw then they roll just
Boons) Multi-Lingual - You speak various languages 1d6. The highest dice total is the result, so if
5. Uncooperative and Forgetful (Bane) Rational - You always think things through they roll a 2 and a 4, then the 4 is the result and
6. Permanently Insane Strong - You are physically powerful. so forth.
What do the Results Mean? Bad Guys Weapons
There are three levels of the bad guy. Minions Ranges to Hit
There are three possible results with a dice have 3HP; Toughs have 6HP and Bosses have
Name Close Near Far
roll, these are: 12HP.
Ranged
• 1–3 – Failure. You fail at what you are Healing Handgun Boon - Bane
attempting First Aid will heal back 2 HP unless a critical is Rifle Boon - -
• 4-5 – Success, but. You have succeeded but rolled in which case it will heal back 4. A night’s Shotgun Boon - Bane
with a consequence. A consequence relates rest heals back all lost HP. Crossbow Bane Boon -
to the situation, so maybe the weapon jams,
Bow Bane - Boon
or the lock pick breaks, or the alarm goes Sanity is returned by leaving the area of the
off, or you do less damage. A consequence madness and resting for several days equal Sniper Bane - Boon
can be anything as long as it moves the to sanity lost. Temporary Insanity effects are Sling Bane Boon Bane
story forward in interesting directions. removed by a successful roll with a Bane by a Catapult - Boon Bane
• 6 – Success. You have achieved what you doctor or after the number of days rolled on the Melee
were attempting to do. Multiple sixes dice. Permanent Insanity cannot be removed,
indicate a critical which could lead to extra Dagger Boon Bane
and the character is confined to an asylum.
Boons, more damage, and so forth. Sword - Bane
Fatigue is regained after a night’s rest Club - Bane
Combat completely or 1 point regained for 2 hours rest. Fist - Bane
Combat uses the same core mechanic as Kick - Bane
everything else with a few differences in Boons Gear
Polearm Bane -
and Banes and how they work. Players can have their characters start with any
Axe - Bane
item they feel fits their character, and they can
Range carry. The GM has the final say on how much is Chain Bane -
There are three ranges in the game Close, too much and what is possible and what isn’t. Bat - Bane
Near and Far. Weapons will have ranges and
attempting to go beyond that range will often Weapon List The average throw rang is near, injured
give a Bane. This is marked on the weapon list. The following weapon list is just an example characters throw range will be reduced to
for damage and range, the GM should expand close.
Damage or allow characters to have any weapon they
All weapons do 1 point of damage unless a wish within reason and available at the time.
critical is rolled in which case this increases to Military weapons may not be easily accessible
2. and also the country the game is set in may
limit the type of weapons available.
Roll a D6 for each table, and create a tale
Build a Scare
around the results. E. When? I. Witness
1. Recently 1. Too Scared to talk
A. Who? 2. Soon 2. Dies mysteriously
1. Friend 3. In the Past 3. Remembers Nothing
2. Researcher 4. In the Far Future 4. In a coma
3. Stranger 5. On a Specific Date. 5. Lies
4. Family Member 6. No One Knows 6. Wants Protection
5. Local Celebrity
6. Archaeologist F. Who, again? J. Where to?
1. Cultists 1. Graveyard
B. What? 2. Monsters 2. City
1. Statue 3. Nazis 3. Ancient Tomb
2. Strange Note 4. Gangsters 4. Sewers
3. Cult 5. Possessed 5. Old Mansion
4. Murder 6. Gods 6. Old Seaport
5. Discovery
6. Ancient Text G. What For? K. What Happens
1. Bring about the end 1. Ritual
C. Where? 2. Summon a God. 2. Conflict
1. Old Village 3. Power 3. Capture
2. Archaelogical Dig. 4. Secrets 4. Banishment
3. Abandoned Mansion 5. Revenge 5. The End
4. Old Mine. 6. Belief 6. Lost
5. Onboard a Ship
6. Sanitarium H. Weirdness The purpose is to get your creative juices
1. Strange Voices flowing and aid you in coming up with a quick
D. Why? 2. Poltergeist plot, these can be used to plan an adventure or
1. Ritual Sacrifice 3. Feeling of Being Followed to be used on the fly at the table.
2. Kidnapped celebrity 4. Strange Dreams
3. Missing Person 5. Visions
4. Strange Rumours. 6. Illness
5. Weird Noises
6. Strange Pictures
T hreats &
and Bosses. Minions are faced often. Toughs
Horrors
Dealing with the Bad Things

Threats and Horrors fall into three categories

or levels of danger, these are Minions, Toughs

are not seen as often, and Bosses are rare and

very dangerous.

Bad guys roll like characters and these rolls

Byakhee - Toughs
Flying horrors that can travel through
dimensions and are summoned by cultists to
do their bidding.

Cultists - Minions
These misguided fools will attempt to summon
Mi-Go - Boss
Intersteller Bugs that come to earth to steal
knowledge and brains, known to work with the
Nazis.

Nazis - Minion
Military based Cultists who believe they are
are done by the GM, the GM can also give a the gods or other foul things. They will be the master race and will sell themselves to
threat a Boon or a Bane as long as there is a discovered often. dark powers.
good reason for doing so. The following list
shows what each type of threat would roll for a Deep Ones - Boss Night Gaunt - Tough
standard challenge. Minions of Dagon and sometimes Cthulhu, Flying horrors known to grab their victims
Deep Ones carry spearguns and will attempt and tickle them before dropping them to their
• Minions – 1d6 to grab humans in order to mate and create deaths. Often in the service of Nyarlathotep.
• Toughs – 2d6 offspring.
• Bosses – 3d6 Shoggoth - Boss
Ghouls - Toughs Dimensional horrors often summoned by
Threat Descriptions Intelligent, cannabalistic undead. Ghouls have cultists or nazis. They are a mass of tentacles
What follows is a small selection of possible built whole cities beneath the ground and can and dripping maws that will attempt to grab
threats the investigators could come across sometimes be allies. and absorb their victims.
as they travel across the world thwarting
nefarious plots. A short description and the Lycanthrope - Tough Other Horrors
threats type is included, the GM should build The ability to turn into beasts is often a gift Feel free to create new and interesting threats
on this to make each one a unique experience. from dark gods. These are loners but very or to search of Cthulhu based RPGs for more
dangerous monsters and threats.
 Pre- Gen #1 - Journalist Pre- Gen #2 - Detective Pre- Gen #3 - Doctor
Born in New York and works as a freelance Born and raised in Boston has been a cop for Born in London and studied Medicine in
Journalist for various newspapers including 15 years and feels he is getting to old for this London. Was a medic during the war where
the New York Times. stuff. you saw some horrible things.

Benefit - Streetwise Benefit - Investigate Benefit - First Aid

Quality - Curious Quality - Brave Quality - Rational

Flaw - Irrational Flaw - Alcholic Flaw - Rude (You cannot stand idiots)

Income - $70 Income - $110 Income - $140

Health Health Health

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Fatigue Fatigue Fatigue

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Equipment Equipment Equipment

Pad and Pen Pad and Pen Pad and Pen
Camera Handgun Doctors Bag:
2 Sets of Clothing Shotgun (in car) Various bandages
Cigarettes & Matches Flask of Bourbon Salves
Copy of New York Times Flashlight Scalpels
Badge Stethescope
Car Sleeping Draught
Smelling Salts
Painkillers
 Pre- Gen #4 - Explorer Pre- Gen #5 - Archaeologist
Studied history and Anthrpology at Oxford Worked for a few years at the British Museum
University before leaving to explore the world before joining various digs around the world,
and discover it’s dark secrets. has discovered a few interesting things.

Benefit - Navigation Benefit - Languages (Ancient Languages)

Thank you for looking at Simply Cthulhu, the
Quality - Multi-Lingual (pick 3 languages) Quality - Intelligent
second game in our popular Simply Collection.
Flaw - Dishonest Flaw - Bad Eyesight (wears glasses)
If you have any thoughts or suggestions please
comment below.
Income - $60 Income - $180
Written, Designed etc, by
Health Health
Dump Stat Studios
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The Cthulhu Myhtos created by
Fatigue Fatigue
H P Lovecraft
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Copyright 2019 Dump Stat Studios, all rights
Equipment Equipment
reserved.
Outdoor Clothing Archaelogical tools
Satchel containing Pad and Pen
Please create, adjust, change or add to this
Binoculars Maps
game, have fun with it.
Maps Flashlight
Various Tools
Water
Rations
Hunting Knife
Handgun