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Gaming the Mythos (5k)

The Mythos comes with its rules as well as its own creatures.
Slightly expanded creature rules can be found here.


Creature Statistics:
Each of creature of the mythos has a few statistics, much like a pedestrian. These are detailed below along with how they relate to the world of Dark Future.

MV:
This is the creatures movement on land. It is listed in centimetres. Mythos creatures move like pedestrians when on the ground, although some may be quite fast due to their size and stride.
Some creatures can move when off ground as well as on it, and any movements rates will be listed in the notes section.

Flying Creatures:
Flying movement is listed in mph, as is any acceleration or deceleration rates that the creature has. Unless listed, a flying creature moves and acts like a jetcopter, but doesn't make any control rolls. It can make any manoeuvre, but none that would require the creature to make a control roll of any kind. No rolls are needed for landing or take-off and the creature doesn't suffer from panic braking. If the creature should get stunned or KO'd while flying, then it falls at the rate of one altitude level per turn stunned or KO'd, falling during the first phase of every turn. If it hits ground level, then it takes damage in the same manner as a road damage test (Dark Future page 68). Use the speed factor of the creature before it was stunned or KO'd, then add +1 to the modifier if the creature was at low altitude, 2 at medium altitude and 3 at high altitude.

AV:
The armour value of the creature. This is treated as normal armour, although a mythos creature automatically has a sound-proof rating equal to their armour value.

CON:
The CON points of the creature. When a creature takes damage, always use the alternate damage system to work out wound effects. Some of these creatures are big and go beyond the normal pedestrian critical table.

Note also that some creatures take damage in special ways. Be sure to figure all this in before consulting the damage chart.

You may find that some values of CON points for creatures may seem a bit strange (zombies for instance), but when you factor in all special effects for the way in which they take damage, it all adds up right.

CC:
The close combat skill of the creature, this is added to any and all close combat attacks the creature may make.

SAN:
Mythos creatures had an additional advantage over normal humans. They cause people to go insane through fear, terror and horror. SAN is the Sanity modifer which is used with the Sanity Rules below. As esentional part of the horror.

Close Combat Attacks:
A Mythos creature mainly fights in close combat. It is the rare creature that has a ranged weapon. But in close combat, they can be deadly. All close combat attacks are listed here, along with the DAM that the attack does. Note that many creatures have more than one attack. All attacks can be used by the creature in one turn, indeed, in one phase, unless stated. This does break with normal, and urges people to stay away.

Counter:
Some creatures are big. These have to represented by a counter with a particular size, and this will be listed here if applicable. Unless a counter size is listed, creatures use the normal pedestrian size counter of 2cm x 2cm. A creature will rarely fill the entire counter, but this should be representative of its contact area.

Other:
Unless stated, creatures function as normal humans. They have only one action and they have no augmented features.
Some creatures take damage in special ways. Note that any non-close combat weapon is simply that, ranging from assault rifle and grenade launchers, to missiles. If a creature only takes 1 point of damage from non-close combat weapons, then no amount of pleading will make that chaingun do anything more than 1 point of damage.

What was left out:
Quite a lot was left out. For a start, spells haven't been listed, a lot of special attacks have simply been listed as close combat attacks and so on. This was intentional. Call of Cthulhu is a role-playing game, and while there are now a lot of role-playing aspects in Dark Future, it is still mainly a quick combat system, and a lot of the special effects and attacks use characteristics and results that are meaningless in this game.


Sanity:
One of the most potent weapons the creatures of the mythos has, is their appearance and ability to install a sense of fear and loathing into humans. Indeed, some creatures are just so horrific that the mere sight of them will cause a human to flee in terror. You cannot fight what you won't allow yourself to see or comprehend. While many Rambos will protest the fact that seeing something affects the mind, the mythos creatures are not human and they don't care. Everyone with a brain is effected by their SAN, including women, children, rush-hour rambos, cyborgs, nuns and ninja. There are no exceptions - anything with a human brain is effected.

Call of Cthulhu has a very comprehensive set of sanity rules, but seeing as how this is mainly just a road combat game, I propose the following simply system.

Each creature of the mythos has a sanity rating (SAN). The first time this creature (or type of creature) is seen in a combat, make a SAN roll. This is a 1d6 die roll with the creatures SAN as a modifier. Then consult the following table.

Only roll the first time the creature (or type) is seen in a combat situation. After that, no further rolls are needed for that combat. If the creature is seen again in a different combat, a further SAN roll is required. Just because you have seen a creature once in your life doesn't make you immune to it again.

Die RollSAN Effects
1 or less
No Effect:
The character is completely immune to the effects of that single type of creature, and need never make a SAN roll for that type of creature ever again.
2-3
Slightly worried:
Gain 1 psychosis point.
4-5
Slight Panic:
The character is fearful of the creature. All skills are treated as if they were 1 less than they are while the creature is in the area.
In addition, the character gains 2 psychosis points.
6-7
Panic:
The character must make a Stun test or be immobilised with fear. If they pass, or when the effects of stun wear off, the character is gripped with fear. All skills are treated as if they were 2 less than they should be when the creature is in the area.
In addition, the character gains 3 psychosis points and when the combat is over must make a Psychosis Test.
8-9
Sheer Panic:
The character is gripped with panic, fear and terror. They must make a Stun test or be immobilised with fear. In addition, if the character fails, then they must continue to make the Stun tests until they succeed one. When they do succeed, all their skills are treated as if they were 2 less than they should be, and this lasts until at least a couple of game-hours after the creature is killed, banished or leaves. The character will make no forward movement towards the creature or creatures of that type.
The character gains 4 psychosis points and must make an immediate psychosis test.
10 or more
Total Panic:
The character must make a KO test or fall unconscious due to fear. If the succeed the roll, then the character will do their utmost to get out of the area. They will not make any move towards the creature and will do their best to get 180 degrees away. They will not stop for other characters or their mission, and indeed they will perform no additional actions other than getting the hell out of there. They just want to get away and curl up in a foetal position somewhere in the light where no monsters exist. The character is not being coherent, is babbling and probably has hysterics at the same time.
The character gains 6 psychosis points and must make an immediate roll on the Disorder Severity Table completely bypassing the Psychosis Test.

A creature is defined as being in the area while it is still in play. The character does not need to be in line of sight to the creature to still be effected by the SAN effects.

In addition, remember that SAN rolls should be made for each different type of creature present. Any and all effects apply.

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