Call of Cthulhu vs Porkin' the Void
Compare Call of Cthulhu and Porkin' the Void side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | Porkin' the Void | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Scifi, Horror |
| Tags | Investigation, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Mystery, Deadly, Corruption, Skill-Based, Atmospheric, One-Shot Friendly, Character-Driven, Narrative | Gonzo, Comedy, Grimdark, Ship-Based, Space Opera, Deadly |
| Core Mechanic | Roll d100 equal to or below a skill or characteristic. Hard and Extreme tests use half and one-fifth of that rating. Bonus and penalty dice select a better or worse tens digit. Eligible failed skill rolls can be pushed by taking further action, risking a harsher consequence. | Roll d20 +/- ability score against a Difficulty Rating (DR 6–18). Equal to or greater than the DR succeeds. Five abilities (Agility, Strength, Toughness, Presence, and Technology) each range from -3 to +3. Players roll all dice: attacks (Strength for melee, Presence for ranged) and defense (Agility), all against DR 12 by default. Enemies never roll. Natural 20 is a crit; natural 1 is a fumble. Omens (luck points) can deal max damage, reroll dice, reduce incoming damage, or neutralize crits and fumbles. |
| Dice | d100 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | High | Medium |
| Runnability | Very High | Low |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | MÖRK BORG Third Party License |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Community content program | Not yet researched |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Chaosium | Yog'du Games |
| Year | 2014 | 2022 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Chinese | English |
| Best For | Groups who want clue-driven horror with ordinary investigators and lasting consequences. Suits focused mysteries and campaigns where survival matters more than defeating every threat. | Groups who want a gonzo, darkly comedic sci-fi game where anthropomorphic pig-scum explore a doomed universe in styships, with Mork Borg's lethal simplicity expanded by cybernetics, psionics, and full spaceship creation and combat rules. |
| Highlights | Pushing a failed roll offers another chance at the goal with a more serious consequence if it fails. Learning Mythos lore reduces maximum Sanity, tying useful knowledge to lasting vulnerability. An Idea roll gets a stalled investigation moving again, with failure putting investigators into danger. | Full spaceship creation and combat system spanning 50+ pages, from hull design and modules to weapons and salvage. Ten optional character classes with randomized specialties, plus a classless option. Three subsystems layered onto the Mork Borg chassis: pigskins (techno-scrolls), hackable cybernetic implants, and six psionic disciplines. Extensive setting with multiple galactic empires, rival megacorporations, heretical cults, and an apocalyptic countdown. |
| Considerations | A major wound can leave an investigator dying, making direct confrontation dangerous. Bouts of madness temporarily place investigator actions under Keeper control. Foot and vehicle chases track relative speed and movement actions, adding a separate procedure to pursuit scenes. | 278-page rulebook is dense for a Mork Borg derivative, requiring substantially more reading than the base system. Content warning for pervasive profanity, crude humor, and deliberately vulgar themes that may not suit all groups. No free rules or quickstart: $15 PDF is the minimum entry point, though a free character generator (SwineBerther) exists online. Spaceship rules add significant complexity beyond what Mork Borg players may expect. |