To play Eternal Lies you need to create a character. Characters in Call of Cthulhu are called “investigators,” as they primarily spend their time investigating the horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos. 

Eternal Lies plays especially well with investigators who have, simultaneously, enough experience or competency in their backgrounds that they’d be asked to embark on this investigation and enough remaining ties to normal life that they have people to love… and lose.

Without revealing too much about the adventures to come, the campaign introduction provides a bit of information on the initial setup for Eternal Lies so you can get your investigator into position to embark on the campaign in a way that’s true to her persona and motives. Considering these issues now pays off at the beginning of the campaign by giving you and the Keeper fuel for in-character dialogues during play. 

The precise details of the benefactor’s invitation and the mystery to be investigated will be dealt with in the very first scenes of the campaign. Why your investigator is there, how exactly she was approached, what her connection is to the wealthy family in question — these are matters you can reveal during play. Consider the matters now to give yourself some material to improvise with when you play. Don’t try to be specific yet. More details about the benefactor come out during the campaign.

If you'd prefer to forgo creating your own custom Investigator, six ready-to-play Investigators are available.

Ready-to-Play Investigators

These ready-to-play Investigators are specifically linked to the mystery at hand, or at least to its beginnings. These characters either know or are known by members of the Winston family — either Walter Winston, now deceased, or Janet Winston-Rogers, his daughter — and are personally motivated to investigate and already somewhat integrated into the unfolding plot.

These are provided entirely for the convenience of those that want to quickly begin play, to get some inspiration for their own original Investigator, or perhaps a needed replacement character to fill a gap left by an unexpectedly dead or retired Investigator.

All of these ready-to-play Investigators are located in the Journal section of Roll20.

Characteristics

To begin, a Call of Cthulhu character has eight characteristics:

Strength (STR) measures the raw physical power your investigator can bring to bear. 

Constitution (CON) is a measure of the health and hardiness of your investigator. 

Power (POW) is a combination of force of will, spirit, and mental stability. 

Dexterity (DEX) is a measure of your investigator’s physical agility and speed. 

Appearance (APP) measures the physical appeal of your character. 

Size (SIZ) reflects your investigator’s combined height and weight. 

Intelligence (INT) is a rough measure of your investigator’s cunning and ability to make leaps of logic and intuition.

Education (EDU) is a measure of the knowledge that your investigator has accumulated through formal education, or the venerated “School of Hard Knocks.”

Allocate the following values where you like among your characteristics:

40, 50, 50, 50, 60, 60, 70, 80

Example: Susan allocates the following values to her characteristics: STR 40, CON 60, SIZ 50, POW 50, DEX 60, APP 50. INT 80, EDU 70.

Secondary Attributes

There are a number of secondary attributes that are determined after you have assign the characteristics above. Luck, Magic Points, Damage Bonus and Build, Hit Points, and Sanity.

Luck - begins equal to the POW characteristic. A Luck roll is often used to determine whether external circumstances are in your favor.

Enter this value on the investigator sheet.

Example: Susan assigned 50 to her POW characteristic above, which sets her beginning Luck also at 50.

Magic Points (MP) - are equal to one-fifth POW, and are used when casting spells, powering arcane devices, and magical effects. Magic points that are spent regenerate naturally at a rate of 1 point per hour. Once an individual is out of magic points, any further expenditure is deducted directly from hit points—any such loss manifesting as physical damage in a form chosen by the Keeper.

This is auto calculated by the investigator sheet. 

Damage Bonus and Build  - Damage Bonus is how much extra damage your investigator does with a successful close-combat (melee) attack. Build is a scale of combined size and strength.

This is auto calculated by the investigator sheet. 

Hit Points (HP)  - are figured by adding SIZ and CON together, then dividing the total by ten and rounding down to the nearest whole number. As your investigator takes damage from combat or other events, your HPs will drop.

This is auto calculated by the investigator sheet. 

Sanity (SAN) - begins at a level equal to your POW score. This score is used as a percentile roll that presents your investigator’s ability to remain stoic in the face of horrors. As you encounter the monstrosities of the Cthulhu Mythos your SAN score fluctuates.

Enter this value on the investigator sheet.

Example: Susan assigned 50 to her POW characteristic above, which sets her beginning Sanity also at 50.

Occupations and Skills

At this point you should form an idea of what your investigator does for a living. The term “investigator” does not restrict you to being a cop or private eye. This choice of occupation will influence the selection of skills for your investigator. To begin with, choose an occupation from the following list and use the specified list of skills provided. These are your “Occupation Skills.”

Occupations

ARCHAEOLOGIST—Appraise, Archaeology, History, Library Use, Other Language, Spot Hidden, Mechanical Repair, Navigate or Science (e.g. chemistry, physics, geology, etc.).

ARTIST—Art/Craft (any), History or Natural World, one interpersonal skill (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Other Language, Psychology, Spot Hidden, any two other skills.

AUTHOR—Art (Literature), History, Library Use, Natural World or Occult, Other Language, Psychology, any two other skills.

CLERGY, MEMBER OF THE—Accounting, History, Library Use, Listen, Other Language, one interpersonal skill (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Psychology, any one other skill.

CRIMINAL—one interpersonal skill (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Psychology, Spot Hidden, Stealth, plus four specialisms from the following: Appraise, Disguise, Fighting, Firearms, Locksmith, Mechanical Repair, and Sleight of Hand.

DILETTANTE— Art/Craft (Any), Firearms, Other Language, Ride, one interpersonal skill (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), any three other skills.

DOCTOR OF MEDICINE— First Aid, Other Language (Latin), Medicine, Psychology, Science (Biology), Science (Pharmacy), any two other skills as academic or personal specialties (e.g. a psychiatrist might take Psychoanalysis).

ENTERTAINER—Art/Craft (Acting), Disguise, two interpersonal skills (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Listen, Psychology, any two other skills.

JOURNALIST— Art/Craft (Photography), History, Library Use, two interpersonal skills (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Psychology, any two other skills.

LAWYER—Accounting, Law, Library Use, two interpersonal skills (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Psychology, any two other skills.

POLICE DETECTIVE— Art/Craft (Acting) or Disguise, Firearms, Law, Listen, one interpersonal skill (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Psychology, Spot Hidden, any one other skill.

PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR— Art/Craft (photography), Disguise, Law, Library Use, one interpersonal skill (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Psychology, Spot Hidden and any one other skill (e.g. Locksmith, Firearms)

PROFESSOR— Library Use, Other Language, Psychology, any five other skills as academic or personal specialties.

SCIENTIST—Any three science specialties, Library Use, Other Language, one interpersonal skill (Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade), Spot Hidden, and one other skill.

SOLDIER—Climb or Swim, Dodge, Fighting, Firearms, Stealth, Survival and two of the following: First Aid, Mechanical Repair, or Other Language. 

Skills

You now assign points to the skills on the investigator sheet. No player can add points to the Cthulhu Mythos skill during character creation.

Occupation Skills

Allocate the following values among your eight Occupation skills and the Credit Rating skill:

40, 40, 40, 50, 50, 50, 60, 60, 70 

(set the skills directly to these values and ignore the skill base values on the investigator sheet). 

Example: Susan has chosen to play a Journalist and allocates the following values: Art/Craft (Photography) 60%, History 40%, Library Use 50%, Psychology 40%. She chooses Persuade as an interpersonal skill, giving it 70% and Charm as her second interpersonal skill, giving it a value of 50%. She then looks down the skill list on the investigator sheet and picks two other skills that she thinks might be useful for a journalist: Spot Hidden 50% and Stealth 60%. She has one value, 40%, left to allocate to Credit Rating.

Bonus Skills

After assigning points to the Occupation Skills, customize your skill values by allocate 40 additional bonus skill points among your Occupation skills and Credit Rating skill as you choose. No skill may start higher than 80, except for the Dilettante's Credit Rating skill, which may start at 90.

Allocate 40 additional skill points among your eight Occupation skills and Credit Rating skill.

(Add these additional points to the values assigned above).

Example: Susan’s Occupation skills have the following values:  Art/Craft (Photography) 60%, Charm 50%, Credit Rating 40%, History 40%, Library Use 50%, Persuade 70%, Psychology 40%, Spot Hidden 50%, Stealth 60%. She chooses to spend her 40 bonus skill points:  Charm +20% = 70%, Credit Rating +10% = 50%, Library Use +5% = 55%, Spot Hidden +5% = 55%

Personal Interest Skills

After assigning points to the Occupation Skills and Bonus Skills, select your Personal Interest Skills. These are skills that your character has acquired outside of work.

Pick four non-occupation skills and boost them by 20%

(Add 20 to the base values written next to each skill on the investigator sheet).

Example: Susan’s final Occupation skills have the following values:  Art/Craft (Photography) 60%, Charm 70%, Credit Rating 50%, History 40%, Library Use 55%, Persuade 70%, Psychology 40%, Spot Hidden 55%, Stealth 60%. She cannot use her Personal Interest skill points on any of these skills, so she chooses to boost the following four other skills:  Appraise +20% = 25%, Drive Auto +20% = 40%, Fast Talk +20% = 25%, Occult +20% = 25% 

Contacts

Contacts are professional acquaintances or colleagues through whom an Investigator can gain access to information, favors, influential people, and the like. Contacts are defined by their name and occupation, primary residence or location, and a contact rating that represents their willingness to assist the Investigator within their area of expertise when called upon. The contact rating does not represent the contacts skill level within their field of expertise, but only represents the willingness of the contact to assist the Investigator.

 Your Investigator begins with 3 Contacts.

Each contact has a rating determined by the Investigator's EDU score. 

• One contact has a rating = the Investigator's EDU

• One contact has a rating  = 1/2 the Investigator's EDU (rounded down) 

• One contact has a rating  = 1/5 the Investigator's EDU (rounded down)

Contacts are recorded on the Investigator sheet in the following format:  Contact name - Occupation (Location)  - Contact rating

Each contact's occupation should broadly match one of the available Investigator occupations above - Archaeologist, Artist, Author, Clergy, Criminal, Dilettante, Doctor of Medicine, Entertainer, Journalist, Lawyer, Police Detective, Private Investigator, Professor, Scientist, Soldier - this provides the player and the Keeper a starting point for the contact's specific area of expertise and subject knowledge.

Example: Susan's EDU score is 70, and she chooses the following 3 Contacts.

• Jonas Cobb - Scientist (Chicago) - 70% (equal to Susan's EDU score)

• Esther Matthews - Entertainer (Atlanta) - 35% (equal to 1/2 Susan's EDU score)

• Arnold Franks - Criminal (New York City) - 14% (equal to 1/5 Susan's EDU score)

Contact Rating

The contact rating determines the willingness of the contact to assist the Investigator within the contact's area of expertise. The higher the contact rating, the more likely the contact will agree to provide the Investigator with the requested assistance, and contacts can only provide assistance to an Investigator within the contact's expertise area. You may have a great contact rating with a Professor of Latin, but that isn't going to allow her to assist in the acquisition of an illegal firearm. Likewise, a great contact rating with a Criminal isn't going to allow her to assist in the translation of an obscure Latin text.

Contact ratings are defined within the following four levels:

• Acquaintance (00-25)  - The relationship is all business, but the contact treats the Investigator with a modicum of respect, like regulars or favored clients.

• Associate (26-50) - A friendly relationship exists between Investigator and contact, although it would be a stretch to call it a friendship. The contact is willing to be inconvenienced in small ways for the Investigator.

• Colleague (51-75) - A friendship and solid level of mutual respect exists. The contact would be willing to go out of his way for the Investigator if necessary.

• Companion (76+) - The contact and Investigator have an established relationship and level of trust. The contact will back the Investigator even in risky situations.

Utilizing a Contact

Once per session, an investigator can choose to request the assistance of one of the Investigator's contacts if desired. This interaction should be played within the context of the current scenario, if this interaction is an in-person meeting, or a telephone call, that scene should be played in-character.  The contact roll determines the willingness of the contact to assist the Investigator, but the contact rating determines the scope that which the contact is willing to help. An Acquaintance (rating 0-25) is unlikely to help the Investigator dispose of a corpse regardless of the result of the contact roll, a Companion (contact rating 76+) likely would.

Assuming the nature of the request is within the contact's area of expertise, and assuming the contact rating would allow the nature of the request, a d% contact roll is made. If the result is equal to or lower than the contact rating - the contact agrees to assist the Investigator. If the contact rating roll fails, the contact is unable or unwilling to assist the Investigator this session. This roll cannot be pushed.

The assistance a contact provides varies depending on the circumstances, and at the discretion of the Keeper. At times that assistance will provide intangible assistance such as, information, introductions to others, entrance into previously restricted areas, or other informational benefits depending on the nature of the contact and the nature of the request. Other times assistance from a contact may provide direct tangible results, like the lending of a rare Latin tome, a firearm that is off the books, or access to a vehicle not registered to the Investigator. All contact assistance should be handled within the framework of the Investigator's request, the current scenario, and the logistical limitations of fulfilling such a request.

Example:  During the current scenario, Susan's team needs to gain access to a seedy nightclub in Manhattan. The door security makes it clear they  have no intention of letting Susan or her team in the front door, and rumors indicate that the local Mafia crime family owns and operates the nightclub. Susan decides to reach out to her contact Arnold Franks - Criminal (New York City) - 14%, whom she's exchanged favors with in the past. Their relationship isn't particularity friendly (Susan will need to roll a 14 or lower on d% to convince Mr. Franks to assist her). Susan luckily rolls an 11, and Mr. Franks agrees to put a word in with his cousin who works door security on Friday nights to get them access into the nightclub.

Increasing or Decreasing a Contact rating

Each time a contact is called upon and agrees to assist the Investigator (the player requested aid and successfully rolled equal to or under the contact rating) a contact improvement/impediment roll is required during the during the next Investigator Development Phase. The player again rolls %d referencing the contact rating. If the player rolls equal to or under the contact rating there is no change to the contact rating. The contact's opinion of the Investigator has not changed, and there has been no significant alteration in their relationship.

If the player rolls over the contact rating, a change to the relationship has taken place, and the results could be either positive or negative, depending on the result or impression the aid provided by the contact is viewed by that contact.

• If lending the requested aid ended in a negative experience for the contact (from the contact's point of view) the player rolls 1d10 and reduces the contact rating level by that amount.

• If lending the requested aid ended in a positive experience for the contact (from the contact's point of view) the player rolls 1d10 and increases the contact rating level by that amount.

Example: With Mr. Franks assistance, Susan and her team enter the nightclub Friday evening looking for the individual matching the photograph they discovered at the crime scene. They spot him across the bar, and when he sees them looking in his direction, he pulls a large caliber revolver from his jacket and fires in their direction. The nightclub erupts in chaos as Susan's team return fire. When the dust settles, the owners begin asking questions about the people shooting up their club and how they got in, which inevitably leads back to Mr. Franks cousin at the door, and then Mr. Franks himself. This results in the aid Mr. Franks provided to Susan ending as a negative experience to Mr. Franks. 

At the end of the session Susan makes her contact improvement/impediment roll. She roll %d and scores a 22 (over the contact rating of 14), indicating a change to contact rating has taken place. Susan rolls 1d10 and the result is a 6. Because the aid provided ended in a negative experience in Mr. Franks view, Susan reduces her contact rating with Mr. Franks from 14-6 to 8. She notes her new contact rating on her Investigator sheet. If no shootout had taken place, and Mr. Franks had viewed his provided aid as a positive experience, Susan would add 6 to her contact rating with Mr. Franks, 14+6 resulting in a new contact rating of 20.

Personal Details

Record your Investigator's personal details like Name, Age, Sex, Residence, and referencing your Occupation determine your place of work. 

Example: Susan decides her Investigator's name will be Janet Johnston, 28 years old, Female, residing in New York City and working at the New York Times as a documentary photographer. 

In the Personal Description section of the Investigator sheet note a brief physical description of your Investigator at a glance. Nothing too detailed or specific is needed.

Example: Personal Description - Janet is 5'4", around 135 lbs. She has brown hair cut in the style of the era, and light brown eyes. She wears practical clothing appropriate for her social station and income level, nothing extravagant or attention-getting. She seems to blend in well with any group of people, a trait that has served her well as a photographer, allowing the focus to be on her subject instead of herself.

Example:  Janet Johnston a documentary photographer for the New York Times, typically wakes up early and enjoys coffee with her husband James while getting their son Mark ready for school. In previous years she spent time in California depicting the plight of Dust Bowl migrants for the Federal Emergency Relief Act, but now she is working daily from her office Manhattan serving in a managerial role approving photographs for publication. She longs to be out on the road again, but that life is not suitable for a wife and mother of a young child. At the end of her work day Janet returns home and prepares dinner for her family before tucking her son Mark away to bed. They spend the evening enjoying a glass of wine and listening to their favorite radio programs like The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Camel Caravan before retiring in preparation for another day.