Call of Cthulhu vs GunCraze
Compare Call of Cthulhu and GunCraze side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | GunCraze | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Post-Apocalyptic, Modern |
| Play Style | Investigation, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Atmospheric, Roleplay-Heavy, Mystery, Horror, Corruption, Skill-Based | Tactical, Crunchy, Classless, Skill-Based, Deadly, Gritty, Miniatures |
| 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. | Statistic Test — roll 1d10, add the relevant Attribute or Skill rank plus modifiers, and meet or beat a target number; contested actions are Opposed Rolls where the higher total wins and ties favor the defender. A natural 9 or 10 on a combat test banks a Craze! Point, and up to three Craze! Points can be spent after a roll to add +1d6 each. Attacks roll a d10 for hit location and deal damage in d6s against per-location hit points. |
| Dice | d100 | d10, d6 |
| Complexity | Medium | High |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | Proprietary (GunCraze OGL v1.1) |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Chaosium | Action Tactics Roleplay Gaming LLC |
| Year | 2014 | 2025 |
| Best For | Investigation-driven horror where combat is deadly and sanity is fragile. Great for one-shots. | Groups who want crunchy, grid-based tactical gunfights with genuine lethality in a post-apocalyptic setting and don't mind learning a dense rulebook before the first session. |
| 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. | A natural 9 or 10 on a combat roll banks a Craze! Point, and up to three can be spent afterward for +1d6 each or to dive for cover mid-attack, but never to boost damage, keeping firefights swingy without softening lethality. Damage tracks per body location, so a destroyed limb is disabled and spills further hits into the torso past armor, turning partial wounds into mounting handicaps rather than one shared health bar. Characters are built from specializations, tiered talent trees, ranked skills, and jobs rather than classes, letting any blend of gunplay, melee, and noncombat skill live in one survivor. |
| 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 | Social conflict resolves through single skill tests, with no structured subsystem for extended negotiation, interrogation, or social maneuvering. The rules cover realistic firearms, melee, and cybernetics only, with no rules for magic, psychic powers, or other fantastical abilities. Installing cybernetics requires both Surgery and Engineering (Robotics) skill ranks plus high target-number tests, gating the augmentation catalog behind dedicated character investment. |