Combat and Injury Rules - LunarNeil/Call-of-Cthulhu-Campaign GitHub Wiki

Combat in Realms of Mythos and Madness is strategic, fast, and deadly. It is also incredibly simple to manage, and can be very exciting. Combat should never be the first choice of any Investigator, no matter how crazy you are. The world of Realms is one where a single bullet leaves a grievous injury that you may never entirely recover from. Even simple weapons like knives, shovels, or a good sized rock can kill a human being with shocking ease.

In most situations where fighting breaks out the only sensible option is to run, even for characters that have a great degree of combat experience and a few combat skills. Players should not feel like cowards if they all vote "Run!" at the first sight of danger, especially when firearms or monsters are involved.

There are no special combat rules in Realms of Mythos and Madness. Combat is handled in the exact same manner as other conflicts in the game, with weapons treated no differently than any other tool. The only difference between combat resolution and normal conflict resolution is that combat resolution is nearly always going to use the Degree of Success rules as a way to determine the damage on a successful attack.

Attacks can be dramatically arbitrated when the target is unaware and the attacker is unhurried, handled as a challenge if the target cannot contest it, or a contest if both parties are alert and able to put up a fight. Most fights occur between mutually aware combatants using firearms at moderate ranges, but the same rules apply to knife fights, or a sniping attempt, or wrestling with an alligator.

Physical and Psychological Injuries

Dangerous situations often end with injury, either to the body or to the mind. Physical injuries are handled both as Damage and as Wounds. Damage tallies up the total trauma your body can withstand before you collapse, and Wounds are a list of all the terrible things that have happened to you.

Damage done to an Investigator's mental health is tracked as Madness, most often the result of traumatic or horrifying events. Being forced into a violent confrontation is a traumatic event, and Investigators in combat situations will nearly always be asked to perform a Stability Check to assess the mental strain this puts upon them.