Call of Cthulhu vs Symbaroum
Compare Call of Cthulhu and Symbaroum side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | Symbaroum | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Fantasy, Horror |
| Tags | Investigation, Fear & Stress Mechanics, Mystery, Deadly, Corruption, Skill-Based, Atmospheric, One-Shot Friendly, Character-Driven, Narrative | Dark Fantasy, Player-Only Rolls, Corruption, Exploration, Roll to Cast, Classless, Character Building, Tactical, Gritty, Lore-Heavy |
| 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 a d20 and try to land equal to or under one of eight Attributes: Accurate, Cunning, Discreet, Persuasive, Quick, Resolute, Strong, and Vigilant. Opposed tests adjust that Attribute by 10 minus the opponent's relevant value, so a weak foe grants a bonus and a strong one imposes a penalty. Only players roll dice, so an enemy attack becomes a player Defense test and NPC stats appear as fixed modifiers on the player's roll. |
| Dice | d100 | d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Availability | Free quickstart | Free quickstart |
| Runnability | 5 of 5 book tools | 5 of 5 book tools |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | Symbaroum Third-Party Tabletop Module License (version 1.0) |
| Third-Party Publishing | Commercial publishing allowed — Community content program | Commercial publishing allowed — Free League Free Tabletop License |
| Summary only, not legal advice. Check current terms before publishing. | ||
| Publisher | Chaosium | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2014 | 2015 |
| Languages | English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Chinese | English, Swedish, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese |
| 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 long-form dark fantasy expeditions into ancient ruins, where magic, cursed relics, and the darkest parts of the forest put each character's soul at risk of permanent taint. |
| 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. | Corruption turns casting and cursed relics into a gamble: temporary taint that pushes total Corruption to half a character's Resolute leaves permanent Corruption and a Stigma, a step toward becoming an abomination. Witchsight reads the colored Shadow of a creature, place, or object to expose corruption and deceit, at a temporary Corruption cost per attempt that rises with the ability's tier. Only players roll dice, turning every exchange into player attack, Defense, damage, and Armor rolls against fixed NPC values. |
| 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. | Mystic play carries steady bookkeeping: Corruption costs for learning and casting vary by tradition and tier, and temporary and permanent totals must be tracked against the threshold. Each hit passes through several steps (Armor reduction, damage against Toughness, and a Pain Threshold effect when one hit exceeds it), which adds bookkeeping in busy fights. The core book deliberately limits its setting to the region around Davokar; the lands south of the Titans and the broader world receive only brief mention. |