Call of Cthulhu vs The Walking Dead Universe RPG
Compare Call of Cthulhu and The Walking Dead Universe RPG side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | The Walking Dead Universe RPG | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Horror, Post-Apocalyptic |
| Play Style | Investigation, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Atmospheric, Roleplay-Heavy, Mystery, Horror, Corruption, Skill-Based | Survival, Narrative, Deadly, Character-Driven, Gritty, Licensed IP |
| 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 a d6 dice pool (attribute + skill). Each 6 is a success. Push your roll to reroll failures, but gain 1 stress and add a stress die. Stress dice that roll 1 cause bad things — attracting walkers, panic, or worse. Only 3 HP means every fight is dangerous. Anchors (named NPCs) relieve stress. Breaking Points track psychological damage; cross too many and your character is Shattered. |
| Dice | d100 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Medium | Low |
| Accessibility | Medium | High |
| Runnability | High | Medium |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | All Rights Reserved (AMC Networks license) |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Chaosium | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2014 | 2023 |
| Best For | Investigation-driven horror where combat is deadly and sanity is fragile. Great for one-shots. | Groups who want tense, character-driven survival horror in the Walking Dead universe — where stress, difficult choices, and human drama matter more than combat. |
| 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. | Stress dice create constant tension, push mechanic forces difficult decisions, only 3 HP makes combat highly consequential, Anchor system ties survival to relationships, well-integrated licensed IP |
| 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 | Tightly bound to the Walking Dead IP with limited homebrew flexibility, limited character options in starter set, stress mechanics can cascade into unavoidable spirals, Anchor system penalizes character growth through loss |