Carnacki the Ghost-Finder for CRYPTWORLD

William Hope Hodgson's occult detective Thomas Carnacki returns again tonight, this time as a player character for CRYPTWORLD by Goblinoid Games. For those who aren't familiar with this roleplaying game, CRYPTWORLD is a retroclone of the original 1984 CHILL RPG from Pacesetter Games. It's definitely old school but still a lot of fun. I'm a huge fan as you can see by a lot of the content on this blog.

Today I spent some time thinking about what other RPG systems I want to feature in this series of blog posts. Right now my short list includes Fear Itself/GUMSHOE, The Window, Masque of the Red Death (AD&D 2nd Edition), and Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (because I think Carnacki in a supers RPG would be awesome). Here's tonight's offering for CRYPTWORLD:

Thomas Carnacki, Ghost-Finder (CRYPTWORLD)

BACKGROUND NOTES
Profession: Occult Detective Education: Self-taught in matters of the supernatural
Nationality: British Place of Birth: Appledorn (South Coast England)
Age: 45 (1913) Year of Birth: 1868
Sex: Male Height: 5’ 9” Weight: 176 lbs
Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown Features: Moustache
Residence: 427 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London

BASIC ABILITIES
Strength (STR): 48
Dexterity (DEX): 56
Agility (AGL): 52
Personality (PER): 60
Willpower (WPR): 62
Perception (PCN): 72
Luck (LUCK): 38
Stamina (STA): 62

BASIC STATISTICS
Unskilled Melee: 53 = (STR+AGL)/2
Penetration Bonus: 0
Current Stamina: 62 Stamina Recovery Rate: 5/round of rest
Wounds: 14
Current Willpower: 62 Willpower Recovery Rate: 10/hour of uninterrupted sleep

SKILLS
Humanities [History] Specialist: 82 = ((PCN+WPR)/2) + 15
Investigation Expert: 95 = ((PCN+WPR+PER)/3) + 30
Languages [Ancient Texts] Specialist: 82 = ((PCN+WPR)/2) + 15
Photography Specialist: 79 = ((PCN+DEX)/2) + 15
Preternatural Lore Master: 122 = ((PCN+WPR)/2) + 55

WEAPONS
Pistol [Revolver]: 56 (DEX) Range Modifier: -7 Ammo: 6 ROF: 4 Reload: 2 rounds

GEAR
Camera
Electric Pentacle

Carnacki tells his haunted tale after dinner.

Carnacki the Ghost-Finder for Dead of Night

Carnacki by M. Wayne Miller

Yesterday I began a series of blog posts featuring William Hope Hodgson's occult detective Thomas Carnacki written up as a player character for some of my favorite RPGs starting with Fate Accelerated Edition (FAE). One thing that came up in the G+ discussions was how much FAE exists in the language space and how you don't really need to know the rules of the game to understand who the character is and what they can do just by reading the character sheet. In fact, I was able to pull directly from the FAE character write up when building the next incarnation of Carnacki presented below.

Dead of Night is in my opinion a brilliant yet very underappreciated rules-lite horror roleplaying game from Steampower Publishing. It's meant more for one-shots rather than full campaigns with each session played being essentially a horror movie (although sequels with the survivors are possible). Character creation is fast and easy (it didn't take me very long at all to come up with the stats below) and the game is designed to keep GM prep to a minimum. It features a very clever tension mechanic that paces the game in a way reminiscent of the tension buildup/release/repeat model found in all good horror movies. Thanks to a series of "dials" the GM can tweak, Dead of Night is equally at home doing slasher flicks, Hammer Horror, Asian horror, Lovecraftian horror, psychological horror, and even black comedy. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. Here's what a Dead of Night player character looks like:

Thomas Carnacki, Ghost-Finder (Dead of Night)

CONCEPT: Renowned Occult Detective Practicing the Empirical Method

ATTRIBUTES
Identify: 6 / Obscure: 2 / Occult Detective: 9
Persuade: 5 / Dissuade: 5
Escape: 4 / Pursue: 6
Assault: 2 / Protect: 4 / Electric Pentacle: 8 / Saaamaaa Ritual: 8

SURVIVAL POINTS: 5

BAD HABITS: Apprehensive and Irresolute at Times

Carnacki the Ghost-Finder for Fate Accelerated

Carnacki by VoteQuimby

I thought it might be a fun exercise this week to stat up one of my favorite literary occult detectives in several RPG systems I like just to see them side-by-side. I want to not only re-familiarize myself with the game mechanics of these systems but to compare and contrast how each system handles different facets of the character. I've chosen William Hope Hodgson's Thomas Carnacki for this purpose as I've recently revisited the collected Carnacki stories while embarking on a personal project to trace the roots of the occult detective archetype in fiction, a genre that includes such notables as Dr. Martin Hesselius (Sheridan Le Fanu), Abraham Van Helsing (Bram Stoker), Dr. John Silence (Algernon Blackwood), and Jules de Grandin (Seabury Quinn). Hodgson's Carnacki stories are now in the public domain (first published in 1913) and you can read them at Project Gutenberg.

First up is Fate Accelerated Edition from Evil Hat Games:

Thomas Carnacki, Ghost-Finder (FAE)

ASPECTS
High Concept: Renowned Occult Detective Practicing the Empirical Method
Trouble: Apprehensive and Irresolute at Times
Creature of Habit
State of the Art Gadgets
Extensive Occult Library

APPROACHES
Careful +2
Clever +3
Flashy +0
Forceful +1
Quick +1
Sneaky +2

STUNTS
Because Carnacki invented the electric pentacle, he gets a +2 when he Carefully defends when within the device’s protective circle against spectral manifestations.

Because Carnacki studied the Saaamaaa Ritual and an ancient text known as the Sigsand Manuscript, he gets a +2 when he Cleverly creates advantages when confronted by supernatural influences.

Because Carnacki possesses a sixth sense, once per game session he can choose to go first in a physical conflict with the supernatural.

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