CTHULHU GUARD

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Required Books - p. 2
Brief Overview of Changes - p. 2
Character Creation - p. 3
Skills - p. 6
Traits - p. 8
Wits - p. 8
Investigation - p. 9
The Keeper Turn vs. the Investigator Turn -
p. 10
Conflicts - p. 12
Conditions - p. 14
Stability & Sanity - p. 15
Setting & Mythos - p. 16

REQUIRED BOOKS
This game is a mashup of Mouse Guard and
Trail of Cthulhu, so access to the rules
from both games is necessary for all
Investigators. The game is mostly played
with the Mouse Guard dice mechanics,
overlaid with a modified version of the
Trail of Cthulhu mechanics for
investigative skills, sanity and setting
flavor. The game is played in the Trail of
Cthulhu setting (human investigators, not
mice), using Trail of Cthulhu supplements
of your choice.

The exact rulebooks players will need to

play the game (this rules doc only
references mechanics in these books, but
does not reprint them):
● Mouse Guard Roleplaying Game, 2nd
edition
● Trail of Cthulhu (core rulebook for
the GM, Player’s Guide for the
Investigators)
● Condensed Rules for Trail of
Cthulhu (optional free pdf, but
missing some key information)

Some other rulebooks that might be useful

for game masters are:
● The Burning Wheel, Gold edition
● Torchbearer
● Trail of Cthulhu Keeper’s Resource
Book & Screen
● Trail of Cthulhu supplement books
(adventures, setting, etc.)

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CHANGES

Stats:
Health - same as in MG
Resolve - replaces Will
Wits - replaces Nature, now a new
“Smart” stat that uses the
character’s Occupation as a single
broad descriptor
Resources - same as in MG, but
starting Resources is determined by
Occupation and experience level
Circles - also about finding new
people, not just old friends
Stability and Sanity - lifted
directly from Trail of Cthulhu with
no rules modifications
Occupation - tied to Wits, works like one
broad Nature descriptor
Investigative Skills - don't have to have
them all covered like in ToC, can just use
beginner's luck or Wits instead.
Investigation can also be done by spending
Investigator checks, even forgoing the roll
Other skills - same rules as MG, but using
the ToC skill list
Wises - using Mouse Guard rules
Advancement - I suggest nixing advancement
altogether, or just advancing a skill or
two in downtime between adventures based on
what seems reasonable.
Traits - same as in MG, except level 2
traits give +1D per scene; there are
insanity traits if your Wits drops too low;
there’s also a maximum number of traits,
which you can’t go over or risk permanent
insanity
Pillars of Sanity - replaces Belief
Instinct - same as in MG
Drive - replaces Goal
Fate and Persona - same as in MG
Conditions - no set condition names;
instead there are 2 conditions levels, and
the Keeper names the conditions he hands
out

CHARACTER CREATION
Go through the following steps in order as
a group.

AGE: Choose Youthful, Middle-Aged, or

Wizened

OCCUPATION: Choose an occupation for your

character. You can make up your own
occupation if you have an interesting idea,
or choose from the Trail of Cthulhu
Cthulhu
occupation Guard v1 (Shared)
list.

Describe a bit about your job to the other

people at the table.

Note: Not all of the special abilities in

the Trail of Cthulhu book will make sense
in a Cthulhu Guard game — the GM may
suggest changes to special abilities as he
sees fit.

STATS & SKILLS: The stats and skills your

character starts with depend on your
character’s experience level, as shown
below. Stats are just what’s written there.
You choose your own skills by spending
skill points. Spend 1 skill point to “open
up” the skill at rank 2. Every skill point
spent thereafter will raise the skill’s
rank by +1, up to a maximum rank of 6.

Before you start spending skill points,

check the Trail of Cthulhu rulebook and
mark an asterix next to all of your
profession’s occupational skills. When
spending skill points, all occupational
skills are half price. (Thus, .5 points
will open up a new skill, and 2 points will
get you all the way to rating 5.) But don’t
feel that you have to buy only your
occupational skills -- you can always roll
your Wits instead of any occupational
skills with no drawback.

(Skill lists are found below, if you

scroll way down.)

Rookie
Health: 6 Circles: 2
Resolve: 3 Resources: low
Wises: 2 Traits: 3
Skill Points: 15

Career
Health: 4 Circles:
3
Resolve: 4 Resources: mid
Wises: 3 Traits: 2
Skill Points: 22

Veteran
Health: 3 Circles: 3
Resolve: 5 Resources:hi
gh
Wises: 4 Traits: 2
Skill Points: 30

TRAITS: Choose two traits that you think

best describe your character. Rookies get
to choose an additional trait. Try to
choose traits that could be “double-edged”-
-you want to be able to use them to benefit
or to hinder you.

WISES: How are you wise? You start with a

number of Wises depending on your age. Name
them yourself, but they should be fairly
specific. See the Mouse Guard rulebook for
examples of how specific Wises should be;
we are using the Mouse Guard rules for
Wises, not Burning Wheel. For each Wise,
you must explain how you learned that
knowledge. Tie it to your character’s
background!

WITS: Wits starts at a base of 3 for all

characters. Then, answer these questions
one by one as a group:
● Are you exposed to violence in your
occupation? Do you have a university
education? If the answer to one of
these is true, raise Wits by 1.
● Has your character ever been
seriously wounded? If yes, and your
occupation is of a violent nature,
raise Wits by 1. If you were wounded
but your occupation is peaceful,
lower Wits by 1. Either way, you
should also take a Trait to represent
a deformity or physical disability
related to your wound.
● Has your character you ever raised
a child? If so, raise Wits by 1, and
add your child as an additional
relationship, either friend or enemy.
● Has your character ever encountered
a Mythos creature firsthand? If so,
lower Wits by 1, but gain the Cthulhu
Mythos skill at rank 2, or take +1 if
you already have it.

CIRCLES & RESOURCES: You may choose to add

+1 to one of these stats by taking a -1
penalty to the other. Certain occupations
might start with a +1 to Circles and/or
Resources, at the Keeper’s discretion.

FRIEND & ENEMY: Who’s your best friend and

who’s your greatest rival? Name them, their
occupation and where they live. Then
explain: How did you meet your friend? How
did you gain an enemy?

SOURCES OF STABILITY: In a Pulp campaign

you can choose to incorporate Sources of
Stability for your character. For every 2
full rating points of Wits you start with,
you may now name a person and give a brief
description of their relationship to you.
These are your Sources of Stability. This
works just like in Trail of Cthulhu.

DRIVE: What motivates an Investigator?

Choose a Drive from pages 19-23 of the
Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook. This works just
like in Trail of Cthulhu.

PILLARS OF SANITY: For every 2 points of

Wits that you have, you must name 1 Pillar
of Sanity. Use the Trail of Cthulhu rules.

BELIEF: All Investigators get to write at

least one Burning Wheel style Belief. This
is not solely an ethical Belief like in
Mouse Guard, but rather more of an “I will
accomplish GOAL by doing METHOD, because
REASON” combination Goal + ethical stance
statement. However, there are other
acceptable kinds of Beliefs too.

Investigators who have Wits 3 or lower will

start with two Beliefs. You don’t have as
many Pillars of Sanity, but you still have
conviction.

INSTINCT: Write one Instinct, just like in

Mouse Guard.

NAME & STUFF: Write it.

GEAR UP: Whatever you want, within reason.

(The GM is the voice of reason.)

SKILLS
We’ll be using the full skill list from
Trail of Cthulhu, except for Credit Rating,
Health, Sanity and Stability. (All of these
become stats in Cthulhu Guard.)

Investigative Abilities comprise Academic,

Interpersonal, and Technical skill lists.
All the rest are General
Abilities. However, there is no distinction
between skill types in Cthulhu Guard other
than Investigative Abilities are usually
used in investigations.

Refer to the Trail of Cthulhu Rulebook for

descriptions of each skill. Ignore the
special rules for some of the General
Abilities. In all cases, the Keeper
determines the Ob of any test based on her
best judgement.

Academic Skills
● Accounting
● Anthropology
● Archaeology
● Architecture
● Art History
● Biology
● Cthulhu Mythos
● Cryptography
● Geology
● History
● Languages
● Law
● Library use
● Medicine
● Occult
● Physics
● Theology

Interpersonal
● Assess Honesty
● Bargain
● Bureaucracy
● Cop Talk
● Flattery
● Interrogation
● Intimidation
● Oral History
● Reassurance
● Streetwise

Technical
● Art
● Astronomy
● Chemistry
● Craft
● Evidence Collection
● Forensics
● Locksmith
● Outdoorsman
● Pharmacy
● Photography

General Abilities
● Athletics
● Conceal
● *Disguise
● Driving
● *Electrical Repair
● *Explosives
● Filch
● Firearms
● First Aid
● Fleeing
● Hypnosis
● *Mechanical Repair
● Piloting
● Preparedness
● Psychoanalysis
● Riding
● Scuffling
● Sense Trouble
● Shadowing
● Stealth
● Weapons
*Some General abilities can be used as
Investigative abilities in some
circumstances.

Wises
We are using the Wise rules from Mouse
Guard, not Burning Wheel. No declarations
in a mystery game--too easy!

TRAITS
Let’s change the level 2 trait’s effects
from Mouse Guard’s standard:

Level 1: +1D to one test per session /

“chapter”
Level 2: +1D to one test per scene
Level 3: +1s to all tests

Trait votes will happen at the end of an

entire adventure, or “Act” in a longer
campaign.

WITS
Wits in this game is a kind of Intelligence
stat. It is rolled on occasions when you
are relying on your mental prowess.

RELYING ON YOUR WITS

Any time you are acting within the scope of
your character’s occupation, you may opt to
roll Wits instead of any skill test the
Keeper asks for. Being “within the scope of
your occupation” includes all the skills on
your occupational skills list, as well as
any other application that you can convince
the GM is relevant in the current
situation. If it's a skill you don't have,
this saves you from making a tough
Beginner’s Luck test. Just explain to the
table how your occupation applies in this
situation, and if all of the other
Investigators agree with your reasoning, go
ahead and roll Wits. There is no additional
penalty for failure on this roll, although
you are still subject to the normal
consequences of a failed action.

That’s right, Wits replaces Mouse Guard’s

Nature stat, and has all of the same
applications:
-- You can roll Wits for any skill test,
even if it’s not within the purview of your
occupation, but if you fail you get taxed
as in MG
-- You may not roll Wits in place of a
Stability, Health, Resolve, Circles or
Resources test.
-- You may spend a persona point to tap or
double-tap your Wits, using the same rules
as in MG

INVESTIGATION
PCs investigate mysteries by gathering
clues. You must interact with the
environment and the NPCs, describing to the
Keeper exactly how you’re searching for
information. As this game uses a modified
version of the Gumshoe engine to handle
investigation scenes, you are not usually
required to roll for this information --
you just have to know how to get it, where
to get, and time it right. After all, the
game is about solving mysteries, not about
failing at solving them! To quote Robin D.
Laws, creator of the Gumshoe system on
which these investigation rules are based:
“Investigative scenarios are not actually
about finding clues. They are about
interpreting the clues that you do find.”

There are a few types of clues you can hunt

down: core clues, zero spend clues, simple
search clues, inconspicuous clues and
complex clues.

Core Clues
Same rules as in Gumshoe/Trail of Cthulhu.

Core clues are imperative to the

investigation and do not cost the
Investigator any checks to obtain but do
require use of an Investigative Ability in
which the Investigator has a non-zero
rating and the Investigator must choose to
engage that ability in the scene to get the
clue. The Investigator does not ever have
to roll a skill test to gain a core clue.

Keepers should be flexible with which

Investigative Ability is required in order
to get a core clue into the Investigators’
hands.

Zero Spend Clues

Same as in Trail of Cthulhu.

Simple-Search Clues
Same as in Trail of Cthulhu.

Inconspicuous Clues
Same as in Trail of Cthulhu.

Complex Clues
These clues work differently in Cthulhu
Guard.

These are non-core clues that grant some

sort of benefit, but require the
Investigator to either:
1) Spend 1 or 2 checks to
automatically get the clue (the
Keeper will tell you how many checks
are required, and you still need the
relevant skill on your sheet); or
2) Roll a skill test against a stated
Ob if you can’t or do not want to
spend the checks. Failure may result
in a twist, or the Keeper may hand
you the clue and a condition.

NOTE: While this is a big change from

regular Gumshoe games, it is necessary
because Cthulhu Guard characters will have
a drastically smaller pool of checks
available to spend.

Using Wits in Investigations

In all cases, Wits can be used in place of
an investigative skill if you can explain
how your occupation is relevant. This
includes free clues and clues that require
checks or rolls.

HOW INVESTIGATIVE SCENES WORK

Read pages 53-54 in the Trail of Cthulhu
Rulebook. It’s important.

THE KEEPER TURN vs THE

INVESTIGATOR TURN
Unlike in Mouse Guard, the Keeper is
allowed prepare anywhere between 1 to 3
hazards per Keeper Turn, not including
twists as complications of failure. She
does not have to tell the Investigators how
many hazards are in store for them. She is
also allowed to call an end to the
Investigator Turn pretty much whenever she
feels it’s time to end it. The Keeper has
to let each Investigator spend at least
their one free check, but after that it’s
fair game. Usually, the Keeper will let the
Investigators spend all of their checks if
they’re in the middle of an extended
investigation sequence, but it’s important
for Investigators to remember that they may
not always have the time to use up their
checks before danger rears its head again.
They also never know at the start of a
Keeper Turn how much time they’ll have to
earn or spend checks: a short Keeper Turn
will leave the Investigators with very few
checks to spend, but likewise they might be
in for a lengthy Keeper Turn followed by a
shortened Investigator Turn, meaning it
could be unwise to hoard the checks.
Guessing when is best to spend your checks
is a tricky part of the game.

To offset this, the Investigators have a

few rules on their side:

1. If the Keeper ends the

Investigator Turn prematurely, the
Investigators may turn their
remaining checks turn into Fate
points which the characters keep. If
a character has three checks left,
they may trade them in for one
Persona point instead. Investigators
may choose whether they convert their
checks to Fate or not. However, no
leftover checks are allowed to carry
over once the Keeper Turn is
complete.
2. The Investigators may spend checks
for investigating Complex Clues
during the Keeper Turn or the
Investigators’ Turn, as they like.
3. The Investigators may spend 2
checks during the Keeper turn to
attempt to recover from a condition
(as opposed to 1 check during the
Investigator Turn).
4. The Keeper is at liberty to hand
out bonus checks during the
Investigator Turn if she thinks the
PCs need to do more investigating
before moving on to the next Keeper
Turn. Bonus checks can only be used
for investigation, nothing else, and
are not transferred into Fate points
if the Keeper changes her mind and
ends the Investigator Turn before
they are spent.

This may seem heavy-handed, but it’s

important to understand that the whole
purpose of the Keeper Turn/Investigator
Turn mechanic is to help control the beats
of the story. In Mouse Guard, the beats are
controlled for you by the game, and every
game session is guaranteed to flow in a
pretty much predictable way. But in
Cthulhu, the Keeper needs to be able to
control the beats a little more delicately,
so that the horror can be dropped in at a
moment’s notice, whenever required.

HAZARDS
In Mouse Guard, the Keeper uses the four
hazards of weather, environment, animal or
mouse to challenge the PCs. In a Cthulhu
campaign, the hazards a quite a bit
grimmer:

Natural
This includes the natural environment,
weather and animals. Often it is an
obstacle to overcome before reaching the
next destination, or a dangerous encounter
that comes to them. Sometimes a natural
hazard can act like a trap, limiting
movement or forcing movement in a
particular direction.

Supernatural
Mythos entities, spirits and the like.
‘Nuff said.

Human
Cultists, cops who are on your tail,
enemies you have made, all conspiring to
make your life difficult. Humans can make
for the most devious of hazards.

Society
Society does not accept the Mythos as being
real, and passively but very constantly
works against those that try to uncover it.
Investigators can find themselves in all
sorts of red tape legal trouble due to
their snooping around. Often, cultists
manage to get the law on their side, making
society itself a dangerous opponent. Use
this hazard to represent human hazards on a
large scale, illustrating how different
aspects of society can be controlled to
further an evil agenda.

Machine
Sometimes technology itself poses a hazard.
From plane crashes to high-speed chases,
the technology we use sometimes takes the
front seat.

Mystery
A mystery hazard relies on clues that are
hard to get, and there must be some sort of
potential complications if the mystery is
not solved in time. Mystery hazards are
never connected to core clues, but can be
set up to perhaps challenge the
Investigators’ Drives, or put their sources
of Stability in danger. Bombs that need
diffusing, hostages that are being held in
a secret location, or hunting down the
killer that got away are all good examples
of a Mystery hazard.

CONFLICTS
This works like in Mouse Guard, and all of
the conflict types from Mouse Guard and
Torchbearer are in effect, plus any kind of
other conflict you might imagine. However,
let's simplify the rules just a bit to keep
things moving quickly, by grouping most
conflict types into a few broad categories:

Physical conflicts: For disposition, the

conflict leader rolls a relevant physical
skill (Keeper’s choice, although players
may petition for alternatives), plus one
die per helper, and add the total number of
successes to the conflict leader’s Health.

Disposition Rolls
INTENT ROLL ADD TO RANK
Physical most relevant Health
conflict physical skill
Social most relevant Wits
conflict interpersonal
skill
Mental most relevant Wits
conflict investigative
skill
Horror Stability Sanity
conflict
Fight Scuffling, Health or
Weapons or Wits
Firearms
Journey Riding, Health
Driving,
Piloting or
Athletics,
depending on
kind of
transportation
Speech Bargain, Resolve
Flattery or
Reassurance,
maybe Cop Talk
Trick Streetwise or Wits
an applicable
Investigative
ability,
depending on
the goal.
War Reassurance of Resolve
Flattery to
convince others
to fight
Other Attack skill Keeper’s
call

Conflict Ability and Skills Used by Action

CONFLICT ATTACK DEFEND FEINT

TYPE
Argument Bargain or Bargain, Intimida
Reassurance, Flattery or or
maybe Cop Reassurance, Reassura
Talk maybe Cop
Talk
Banish Occult Occult
or
Abjure
Chase or
Capture
Drive Scuffling, Resolve Scufflin
Off Weapons or Weapons
Firearms Firearms
Fight Scuffling, Health Scufflin
Weapons or Weapons
Firearms Firearms
Journey
Speech
Trick
War
Other
* OK, I didn’t finish filling it out, but
you get the idea. Just wing it, is what I
say.

CONDITIONS
Some of the conditions in Mouse Guard are
not overly in-genre for Cthulhu horror.
Furthermore, having set conditions that pop
up again and again takes away a bit of the
unpredictability that makes Cthulhu games
so tense. So, here’s a quick fix to
alleviate this problem:

When the PCs fail a test, the Keeper can

opt to allow them to succeed at the cost of
also taking a Condition. Conditions are
named by the Keeper; she can just make a
Condition name up, or choose from the lists
below. The Keeper also gives each Condition
a level, depending on the severity, as
follows:

Level 1 Conditions reflect the character’s

mental disposition in some way, and give a
-1 penalty to relevant Disposition
rolls during conflicts.

Level 2 Conditions reflect an actual

disability the character has gained, and
give a -1D to all relevant ability and
skill tests.

Common disposition conditions include:

tired, hungry, thirsty, jittery, paranoid,
terrified, angry.

Common disability conditions include:

injured, sick, shell-shocked.

The Keeper may opt to worsen a disposition-

related Condition to level 2. For example,
a level 2 “hungry” condition would mean
you’re starting to starve. The Keeper can
also opt to worsen the penalty of an
existing Condition instead of giving you a
new one, by making a level 1 Condition
inflict a -2 penalty to disposition rolls,
or a level 2 Condition that gives -2D to
all rolls (or worse!)

Removing Conditions
You must remove all level 1 Conditions
before attempting to remove any level 2
Conditions. Removing Conditions usually
requires checks, and sometimes requires a
roll of the dice.

Basic Conditions can often be handled

narratively (eat some lunch to alleviate
your “hungry” Condition), but if there's
something stopping you from getting over
the Condition easily a test might be
required (you are stranded on the roadside
in the middle of nowhere, roll Preparedness
to get some trail mix out of the glove
box). It doesn’t have to be as meta-game as
in Mouse Guard though.

Fear-based Conditions always require a

Resolve roll to get over, the Obstacle of
which depends on the severity of the
Condition.

Injuries and illnesses always require a

Health roll to get over. You can retry the
Health roll later if you fail. If attended
by a medical professional, the caregiver
may roll Medicine instead at a lower Ob,
but failure results in a permanent -1 to
Health.

STABILITY & SANITY

Use the exact same Stability mechanics used
in Trail of Cthulhu. The only real rules
difference is that mental illnesses are now
represented as Traits in a Cthulhu Guard
game. Additionally, there is a new way to
go permanently insane: by filling your head
with more than 5 traits.