My group will be playing Call of Chtulhu instead of GLOG/DnD this summer and I can’t wait. The problem is that I’m now used to the lightness of the GLOG rules, and Call of Chtulhu’s rules have become too heavy for me.

Xenophon of Athens on the GLOG discord suggested I look at Messerspiel for inspiration. Messerspiel is a ultralight rpg ruleset that uses stress as its central component. The fit seemed so good, so I decided to go through the Chtulhu Keeper Rulebook and see if there were rules that couldn’t be substituted by the Messerspiel system.

The only thing that stuck out to me was Sanity. So here is what I came with in the spirit of both Call of Chtulhu and Messerpiel:

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Sanity

When a situation would call for a sanity roll in Call of Chtulhu, roll it as a Risky action. A mixed outcome result (4-5) results in screaming or vomiting, a bad outcome roll (1-3) makes you lose a die. You can resist this outcome as per Messerspiel rules.

When you lose 2 dice in one session, you have a bout of madness for 10 minutes, after which the referee changes something in your character sheet.

Whenever you lose your third dice or more in one session, the referee adds a phobia, a mania or a delusion to your character sheet. You ignore all die results of 6 if you are facing a phobia, ignoring a mania or denying a delusion.

When you lose your last die, your character becomes a NPC controlled by the referee. You recover 2 dice after solving a scenario or going through therapy.

Character Creation Guidelines

You don’t have stats, just choose a name and answer these questions.

• What is your occupation?
  Rich Dilettante, Freelance Journalist, Resourceful Drifter, Medical Doctor…
• What other one skill do you have related to your occupation?
  French Language, Art History, Mechanical Repairs, Document Forgery…
• Which one of your qualities can you rely on to get out of trouble?
  Fast talking, Brute Strenght, Sheer Willpower, Quick Reflexes, Hard Logic, Endless Credit…
• What one skill have you learned during your youth?
  Speed Driving, Track Running, Scout Survival, Sleight of Hand, Fist Fighting…
• What is your hobby now?
  Suburban Gardenning, Skeet Shooting, Occult Scéances, Social Scene…
• Who is the most important person to you?
• What one thing is the most important to you?

All these answers count as something you are trained and/or an expert in when doing a Messerspiel risky action. When you complete a scenario, you can add an additional answer to one of these questions.