Contents
The Background ............................................................................................................................................ 4
The Origin.................................................................................................................................................. 4
The World ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Stories to Tell ............................................................................................................................................ 5
e
Character Generation ................................................................................................................................... 5
Basics......................................................................................................................................................... 5
Character Advancement ........................................................................................................................... 6
fil
Advancements ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Packages........................................................................................................................................................ 8
Archer........................................................................................................................................................ 8
Energy-blaster ........................................................................................................................................... 9
Gun-bunny .............................................................................................................................................. 10
e
Hybrid, Amphibian .................................................................................................................................. 11
Hybrid, Bird ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Hybrid, Mammal ..................................................................................................................................... 13
pl
Hybrid, Reptile. ....................................................................................................................................... 14
Insubstantial;........................................................................................................................................... 15
Invisible; .................................................................................................................................................. 15
Ninja ........................................................................................................................................................ 16
m
Pre-cognitive ........................................................................................................................................... 17
Pyrokinetic .............................................................................................................................................. 18
Speedster ................................................................................................................................................ 19
Tank ......................................................................................................................................................... 20
Sa
Telekinetic ............................................................................................................................................... 21
Telepath .................................................................................................................................................. 21
Teleporter ............................................................................................................................................... 22
2
Credits
Superheroes Vs. The Mythos, copyright Carl Matthews
Some artwork copyright Jeshields, used with permission.
e
Some artwork copyright Ade Smith, used with permission.
fil
Some artwork taken from Superhero Stock Art #1, copyright © 2005, Aurelio Galindo, Jr. Used with
permission. For information contact akunin773@aol.com
Some artwork taken from Superhero Stock Art #2, copyright © 2004 Robert Burson, Used with
permission. To learn more visit www.raventower.com
Call of Cthulhu is a Trademark of Chaosium Inc. and is used with their permission via the OBS
e
Community Content program. For more information please visit Chaosium’s website:
www.chaosium.com
The Miskatonic Repository Logo is used under license.
pl
m
Sa
3
Cthulhu Supers
“In a mad world, only the mad are sane.”
― Akira Kurosawa
e
This little diatribe gives rules for creating super heroes for use in a very different style of Call of
Cthulhu. It is a mash-up between the Mythos and some of the crazies of a Gothamite’s Rogues
Gallery. Almost all of the villains in that town, and not a few of the heroes, have some strange
obsessions and fixations, not the least being that they can make a difference. As in any Cthulhu game,
fil
many of those touched by the power are destined for an asylum but, given that they have real, though
Mythos-sourced, powers, holding them is as problematic as it is in the comics.
The Background
In 1990, in the ‘At Your Door’ campaign, Chaosium introduced Dawn Biozyme to the TTRPG Mythos. The
corporation was using Mythos-sourced material to create a human mutation. The problem with any
technology is that you cannot un-invent it; once it moves outside the laboratory, you can’t put that
e
demon back inside Pandora’s box. The Mythos is terrifying but what humans will do to each other, in the
name of science, religion or politics, is more so, and there are even those that will do terrible things to
themselves.
pl
The Origin
What would you do for revenge, for a sense of power to replace powerlessness? How far would you go?
Corporations are using the material first quantified by Dawn Biozyme to enhance crops and animals
worldwide, regardless of health regulations; it’s amazing how far a little bribery will go, but some people
have a poor tolerance for Mythos-related genetic material. It brings power, true, and many
m
governments originally thought that they could use that, but the power also brings escalating madness
and resistance to control. Conditioned from a young age on a diet of comics and movies, the mad begin
to act out those control fantasies, seeing themselves as either the villains or the heroes and playing out
their bizarre games. The police and authorities respond as best they can but even those that see
themselves as ‘the good’ are a danger to the public, crippling people for minor infractions of the law as
often as they tackle some of the more crazies out there. And with each turn of the calendar, there are
Sa
more. Fundamentalists decry them as demons, the authorities try to corral them and the public cower in
fear.
The World
Imagine the modern world where post-humans, a favorite term of the biologists and psychologists on TV
talk shows, start to appear. Alongside their fantastical powers, they also develop strange fetishes and
obsessions. That is the world of Cthulhu Supers; there are mutated humans but, without exception, they
are all insane to one degree or another, from those that can lift cars and try to eradicate gang wars by
4
hand to those that can teleport and scream about things in the dark spaces between one tick of the
clock and the next.
Stories to Tell
The post-humans are more powerful than normal humans, it is true, but they can, in most cases, still be
felled by gunfire and physical harm. The Keeper and players can tell simple stories of heroes fighting
e
crime but the Mythos world is darker than that; tell stories of the ‘heroes’ coming up against ghouls and
the darker things of the Mythos. The monsters haven’t gone away just because humanity has tried to
probe into every dark corner of the world since the turn of the 2nd Millennium. Tell stories about how
the growing madness of the characters affects their family and friends and how the police and all
fil
branches of government want them, for either a padded cell or the dissection table.
Character Generation
Make a modern day character exactly as normal in Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition rules
Choose a post-human package
That’s it. Write the benefits of the package on your Call of Cthulhu character sheet and you are ready to
e
go, mechanically speaking, though you will have to spend time to come up with the right look and
background for your hero or heroine. There are no complicated power-buy rules; just going by the
numbers alone, many post-humans, and the heroes and villains that inspired them, are almost identical.
pl
What makes each one different is their ‘shtick’, the gimmick or obsession that drives them. A mad clown
with no training and a pocket full of gimmicks is almost the equal in a fight of a man dressed as a bat and
armed with a utility belt; it is not the numbers on the character sheet or the gadgets that differentiates
them but the narrative cloak that each is wrapped in, resulting in very different, and very distinctive,
characters. Craft your cloak to make your character package your own. Decide what your character
looks like? Do they change between two physical forms or just change costumes? Do they have any
m
common gadgets, catchphrases or behavior? These can inform some of your choices as your character
slowly lose their battle with sanity.
Basics
Sa
Each post-human character is more durable than a normal human; as well as adding to their ability to
survive, it also serves to add to their power fantasies and megalomania. These are reprinted as part of
each package so that all the information is in one place. You can just print out the chosen package and
staple it to your normal Call of Cthulhu Character sheet and you are done.
5 points of natural armor, against any form of physical damage; post-humans are just too insane
for pain.
All sanity losses are reduced by a flat 5 points, whether this is due to mania or a natural lack of
empathy.
5
Base Hit Points are Size + Con / 5 rounded down, not /10. Post-humans also get a per-package
hit-point bonus. Post-humans heal three times faster than a normal person.
e
Character Advancement
Superhero characters do not generally advance greatly in their powers but each package does have
certain advancements that you can choose. These are not based on experience but on milestones in the
story. I suggest that every three adventures, or when a character earns an award based on the story, a
fil
player should be able to choose power advancement for their character. This will also help to make each
character different.
NB: Energy types: If energy types are referred to, they are fire, cold, electricity and sonic.
Advancements
Advancements can generally only be taken once.
e
Tough enough; character gains +1 natural armor, can be taken multiple times.
That tickles; character gains +2 armor against one energy type, can be taken multiple times.
Over-power; can reroll any 1’s on the damage dice but must take the second result.
Pull your punch; can reduce the amount of damage bonus you use. Unless you specify before
pl
the roll, the character is assumed to be using their full damage bonus.
That hurts; Any environmental effect also inflicts 1D10 damage
Block; your attacks can be used to parry incoming ranged attacks
Rein It In; Reroll any maximums on damage dice (e.g. reroll 6s on D6, 10s on D10s, etc.) but
must take the second result
m
Fast; increase MOV by 1. This option can be taken multiple times.
Bulk up; +25 hit points
Back in the fight; heal +5 Hit Points per day
Shared; you can share one (and only one) of your abilities with one other person while in
physical contact with them
What’s it got in its pocketses; choose one gadget (gadgets can only be
Sa
replaced/recharged/reloaded back at your home location). This advancement can be taken
more than once.
o ranged weapon, 4d8 damage, use rifle skill, 6 specialized ammo, one attack a round,
range 60 ft
o Force-field, +10 armor, battery drained after first successful use (when damage is
reduced by force-field armor).
o Flamethrower, 15 foot cone, 3d6 fire damage or environmental effect as incendiary
grenade, one use
o Hypodermic, immediately restore 10 Hit Points to self or others, one use
6
o Glider, glide at MOV rate, land safely, unlimited use
o Jump jets, jump distance trebled, one use
o Stun darts, target must roll under current hit points of be knocked out, one use
o Goggles, thermal vision, no darkness penalties, unlimited use, does not work on invisible
targets.
o Netting, entangle targets (5 armor, 5 hit points), 10 ft radius, one use. Can be avoided
e
with a successful Dodge roll.
o Incendiary grenade. Environmental effect, one attack per round, the location of 30 ft
radius if size of the area is important. Fire; the environment, cars, buildings, tarmac etc.
is set on fire. One use
fil
o Jet pack. Fly at MOV for ten minutes, no skill check required, one use.
e
pl
m
Sa
7
Packages
Archer
Longbow, base 40%, two attacks per round, 1d8 + half DB damage, range 120 ft
Explosive arrows (3 uses), 4d6 fire damage, 20 ft radius, one attack per round, can be dodged,
no attack roll.
e
Net arrows, entangle single human sized target (two uses), no damage, entangle is 5 armor, 5 hit
points to destroy or a successful Dodge roll at half normal skill to avoid/escape, no attack roll.
Hit Points+50
fil
Basics
5 points of natural armor, against
any form of physical damage; post-humans
are just too insane for pain.
All sanity losses are reduced by a
flat 5 points, whether this is due to mania
or a natural lack of empathy.
e Base Hit Points are Size + Con / 5
rounded down, not /10. Post-humans also
get a per-package hit-point bonus. Post-
pl
humans heal three times faster than a
normal person.
m
Sa
8
Energy-blaster
Choose one energy type; that is the type of your attack
+5 armor against your chosen energy type.
Hit Points+50
Ranged attack, energy, two attacks a round, base 40%, range 60 ft, 2d10 damage.
e
Environmental effect, one attack per round, the location of 30 ft radius if size of the area is
important.
o Fire; the environment, cars, buildings, tarmac etc. is set on fire.
o Cold; the area freezes over, MOV is halved for all characters in the area, a second
fil
application will trap targets in icy sheathes (5 armor, 1 hit point, cannot breathe)
o Lightning, electrical equipment shorts out and is destroyed (including gadgets that are
electrically powered; e.g. a flashlight but not a grenade).
o Sonic, glass is shattered; characters are incapacitated for the duration of the effect (hand’s
over ears, etc.) but take no other damage.
Basics
e
5 points of natural armor,
against any form of physical
damage; post-humans are
pl
just too insane for pain.
All sanity losses are reduced
by a flat 5 points, whether
this is due to mania or a
natural lack of empathy.
Base Hit Points are Size +
m
Con / 5 rounded down, not
/10. Post-humans also get a
per-package hit-point
bonus. Post-humans heal
three times faster than a
normal person.
Sa
