Call of Cthulhu vs We Can Be Heroes
Compare Call of Cthulhu and We Can Be Heroes side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Call of Cthulhu | We Can Be Heroes | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Horror, Modern | Superhero, Modern |
| Play Style | Investigation, Deadly, One-Shot Friendly, Atmospheric, Roleplay-Heavy, Mystery, Horror, Corruption, Skill-Based | Heroic, Superhero, Combat-Heavy, Cinematic, Character Building, Faction Play |
| 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 d20 + Talent Modifier vs. GM-set threshold for Talent Checks. Superpowers use Target Die (d12 at levels 1–9, d20 at levels 10–20) + Superpower Die + Moxie. Superpower Attacks always hit — damage is the variable. Hero's Favor points fuel superpowers and creative power use. Action Points govern turns with Primary (3 AP) and Secondary (2 AP) actions. Public Merit tracks faction reputation for favors, intel, and gear upgrades. Hero's Moment rewards critical failures with one-per-level power-ups. |
| Dice | d100 | d4–d20 |
| Complexity | Medium | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Community | High | Very Low |
| License | Chaosium Fan Material Policy | Proprietary |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | Chaosium | BudStuff Games |
| Year | 2014 | 2024 |
| Best For | Investigation-driven horror where combat is deadly and sanity is fragile. Great for one-shots. | Groups who want crunchy superhero campaigns with detailed character builds, tiered superpowers, and a reputation system that ties heroism to community relationships. |
| 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. | Public Merit system ties heroism to community impact through faction reputation, six superpower archetypes with five-tier progression and Auxiliary Powers for build variety, Hero's Moment turns critical failures into one-per-level power-ups, Hero's Favor points enable out-of-combat power use (freezing locks, creating barriers, boosting checks) |
| 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 | Character creation requires multiple derived calculations (Moxie, DT, HP, Vigilance, Initiative), 20-level progression has many repetitive incremental steps, combat-heavy with limited non-combat mechanical support |