Call of Cthulhu vs Delta Green
Compare Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | Delta Green | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Horror, Modern |
| Play Style | Investigation, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Atmospheric, Roleplay-Heavy, Mystery, Horror, Corruption, Skill-Based | Investigation, Deadly, Roleplay-Heavy, Character-Driven, Gritty |
| 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 d100 under your skill percentage to succeed. Matched doubles (11, 22, etc.) are critical successes or failures. Six stats (STR, CON, DEX, INT, POW, CHA) derived from percentile rolls. Bonds represent personal relationships and can be damaged as agents lose SAN. Sanity tracks Breaking Points — cross enough and you develop disorders. |
| Dice | d100 | d100 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Community | High | Medium |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | All Rights Reserved |
| Cost | $$ | Free (Need to Know) / $$ |
| Publisher | Chaosium | Arc Dream Publishing |
| Year | 2014 | 2016 |
| Best For | Investigation-driven horror where combat is deadly and sanity is fragile. Great for one-shots. | Groups who want modern-day investigative horror where federal agents sacrifice everything — careers, relationships, sanity — to protect humanity from threats that should not exist. |
| 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. | Bonds and sanity mechanics create personal drama, Need to Know quickstart is free and complete, strong atmospheric design, profession-based characters feel grounded, well-regarded published scenarios |
| 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 | Dense investigative scenarios require significant GM prep, limited character advancement between operations, bond deterioration can feel mechanically punishing, SAN loss mechanics can remove player agency |