Call of Cthulhu vs Daggerheart
Compare Call of Cthulhu and Daggerheart side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | Daggerheart | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Fantasy |
| Play Style | Investigation, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Atmospheric, Roleplay-Heavy, Mystery, Horror, Corruption, Skill-Based | Narrative, Collaborative, Heroic, Roleplay-Heavy, Fiction-First, Theater of the Mind, Character Building, Drama, Beginner-Friendly, Character-Driven |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 equal to or under your skill percentage. Success tiers at half (Hard) and one-fifth (Extreme) of the skill value. Bonus and penalty dice adjust the tens digit. Failed rolls can be pushed for a second attempt at greater risk. | Roll 2d12 Duality Dice (Hope + Fear) and add modifiers vs. difficulty. Which die rolls higher determines whether the moment swings toward the players (Hope) or the GM gains Fear tokens to spend on complications. In combat, adversary attacks roll d20 + modifier against target's Evasion. |
| Dice | d100 | 2d12 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | Darrington Press Community Gaming License (DPCGL) |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Publisher | Chaosium | Darrington Press |
| Year | 2014 | 2025 |
| Best For | Investigation-driven horror where combat is deadly and sanity is fragile. Great for one-shots. | Groups who want heroic fantasy with emotionally driven storytelling, where every roll shifts momentum between hope and fear. Great for Critical Role fans and narrative-focused tables. |
| Highlights | Sanity system mechanically reinforces horror tone. Intuitive percentile skill system with tiered success levels. One of the largest published scenario libraries in the hobby. | Hope/Fear duality creates constant dramatic tension, fiction-first combat flows freely without rigid turns, card-based abilities add a tactile element, session zero and safety tools built in |
| Considerations | Chase rules add complexity with limited payoff, 46-skill list requires point allocation across multiple categories, sanity spiral can remove player agency in extended campaigns | Card-based system works best with physical or printed cards though character sheets alone suffice, asymmetric GM/player rules have a learning curve, tightly coupled to its own setting and lore |