Call of Cthulhu vs Mothership
Compare Call of Cthulhu and Mothership side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | Mothership | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Scifi, Horror |
| Play Style | Investigation, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Atmospheric, Roleplay-Heavy, Mystery, Horror, Corruption, Skill-Based | Rules-Light, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Survival, Atmospheric, Low-Prep, Cinematic, Fast-Paced |
| 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 stat/skill. Stress and panic mechanics escalate tension. |
| Dice | d100 | d100 |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | High | High |
| Runnability | Very High | High |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | 3rd Party License |
| Cost | $$ | $ |
| Publisher | Chaosium | Tuesday Knight Games |
| Year | 2014 | 2022 |
| Best For | Investigation-driven horror where combat is deadly and sanity is fragile. Great for one-shots. | Terrifying sci-fi horror one-shots and short campaigns. Panic table creates unforgettable moments. |
| Highlights | Tracking Sanity as a depletable score ties mental erosion to the fiction, so confronting cosmic horror mechanically wears characters down. The percentile skills resolve on a d100 roll-under, with Hard and Extreme bands at half and one-fifth of the rating. Bouts of Madness convert failed Sanity checks into temporary phobias, manias, or loss of character control. | Rules-light, well-regarded module library, panic system creates mechanical tension |
| Considerations | The chase rules add a detailed positioning subsystem whose complexity outweighs how often it sees use. Character creation allocates points across a long list of skills, a slow first step for new players. In long campaigns the sanity spiral can strip a character of player control as madness accumulates. | Panic table can cascade and end sessions abruptly, limited long-campaign support in core rules, stress mechanics can feel repetitive over extended play |