RISUS Cthulhu ZERO GM TRULES

Simple rules:

You’ll need paper, a pen or pencil, 4 d6 dice these tables & your sanity..

1. Create your Risus character with 10 dice. Now roll 2 d6 to determine your sanity points and 1d6 for
Investigation points.

2. Roll on the number of rooms table. This gives you the size of the mansion.

3. Roll for the number of exits in the room. Ignore single exit rooms unless you can backtrack to another
room with unexplored exits.

4. Roll for room type.

5. draw on your paper the room and choose where you want the exits (this includes the one you came
through). Its nice to see your journey unfold, and helps keep track if you need to backtrack.

6. Roll for enemy encounters.

7. If no enemies roll for loot, regain 1 lost cliche dice and choose exit. Goto step 3.

8. If enemies appear roll for how many, then what type.

9. ​COMBAT!!!!!​ fight them one at a time. each player taking turns.

10. If you survive roll for loot, regain 1 cliche dice. Now roll 1d6 for sanity loss and choose your exit.

11. goto step 3.

12. Do this until you reach your last room (determined by step 2). Then roll for your Elder God Boss.

13. ​COMBAT!!!!!

14. In the unlikely event that you survived roll 4 times on the loot table and proceed directly to the nearest
asylum.

15. The End

You may then choose to level your character in the usual Risus way.
Investigation

Whenever you enter an empty room you may use one of your Investigation points to roll on the
Investigation table. As you will see it doesn’t always end well but it may be worth the risk.

Artifacts

If you find all artifacts you can combine them to regain all sanity points lost, or save them in a
vain attempt to trade for items. Or if you can then back track through all the rooms, re rolling for
encounters in each, and escape, you win.

Equipment

All Adventurers start with the tools of their trade PLUS 1 x Sanity stabilizer (use to regain 1
sanity point). That is all. Obviously if you wish to advance your character over multiple games
you can start with any special items you have previously found. Just up the difficulty for yourself
by adding +1 monster for every encounter.

Sanity loss

If your sanity reaches zero you need to roll on the insanity chart at the end of each room for an
effect. Once at zero, sanity cannot be regained, you are officially a babbling lunatic.
Number of Rooms Room Exits
Roll Room Roll Room

2-3 8 2-3 1

4-5 8 4-5 1

6-7 8 6-7 2

8-9 10 8-9 2

10-11 15 10-11 3

12 20 12 4

Room Type Encounter

Roll Room Roll Room
2 Kitchen
2-3 None
3 Cultist Altar Room (+1 Cultist present)
4-5 Enemy
4 The Lab (+1 Sanity Stabilizer)
6-7 None
5 Autopsy Room (-1 Sanity Point)

6 Dimension portal (-1 Sanity point) 8-9 Enemy

7 Office (+1 Investigation Point) 10-11 Enemy

8 Study
12 Cultist TRAP!! Role to avoid
9 The Pit (If your cliche allows you may (Target roll = 10. If you fail
push an enemy into the pit on a you lose 1 dice for your next
successful roll)
encounter).
10 The Archive

11 The Conservatory

12 The Dining Room

Creature Group Number
Roll Enemies

2-4 1

5-9 2

10-11 3

12 4

Random Creature Table

Roll Monster Dice

2 Insane Trader (roll 2 d6, on a target roll 2

of 10 he will trade with you. On a fail he
attacks).
Sanity Stabilizer - 5 Artifacts
Investigation point - 2 Artifacts
Common Monster Dispel - 3 Artifacts

3 Ghoul 2

4 Cultist 3

5 Glaaki 4

6 Dimensional Shambler 4

7 Young Chthonian 4

8 Elder Thing 3

9 Flying Polyp 4

10 Hunting Horror 5

11 Leng Spider 5

12 Nightgaunt 5
Loot Type Special Item Type (can be traded with
other PC's)
Roll Treasure
Roll Item
2-3 Sanity Stabilizer
2-3 Cross of Elder Hatred +1
4-5 Artifact Roll dice to combat rolls.
6-7 1 shot Common Creature Dispel 4-5 Enchanted 6 shooter +1 dice
(get rid of a common creature) to combat rolls.
8-9 Artifact roll 6-7 Book of Horrors if an enemy
strikes you they are frozen in
10-1 Investigation Point
fear and remove 1 dice.
1
8-9 Eldritch Shotgun +1 dice to
12 Sanity Stabilizer and Artifact
combat rolls

Artifact Type 10-11 Cultist control pendant

(makes one cultist convert to
Roll Treasure your side for 1 more room,
where he acts as a
2-3 Elder Scrying Crystal teammate. Any sixes he rolls
are added to your score in
4-5 Dunwitch Glowstone
combat).
6-7 Shoggoth Eye Pendant
12 2 x Old One Enhanced
8-9 Strange Carving Portal Grenade (+5 dice in
boss combat. Single use
10-11 Gnoph-Keh horn ring each)

12 Special Item
Investigation Roll
Roll Investigation Bonus/Hindrance

2-6 You discover a terrifying series

lithographs depicting the effect of the old
ones on humanity. Loose 2 sanity points

7-9 Fail - No effect

10 You find proof of the old ones that the

authorities must take seriously - Regain 1
sanity point.

11 You discover a map of the mansion. You

may skip the next room.

12 Your investigation leads you to an old

chest. Roll for a Special Item

Boss Type
Roll Boss Dice

2-3 Shoggoth 8

Star Spawn of Cthulhu (roll

4-5 1d6 for Cultists) 5

8
6-7 Star Vampire

8-9 Hounds of Tindalos 6

10-11 Gug 8

12 Great Cthulhu 20 (basically you’re dead or insane or both)

Insanity Table.
Roll Insanity Effect

1 NO MORE!!!! You can take no more, the inevitable

destruction of mankind is too much to bare. Without any
further thought you kill yourself.

2 As you begin to laugh uncontrollably, the idea of

smashing your head into a wall seems appealing. loose
1 cliche dice Permanently..

3 Hallucinations of tentacles and agonizing screams send

you running for the entrance of the mansion. It is only
when you reach the door that you realise it was not real.
Begin from the start with your current stats and
equipment.

4 As the drool drips from your mouth you begin to gnaw

at your hand, only stopping when you reach bone. With
only one useful hand you stand up and proceed to your
inevitable doom. Loose 2 of your main cliche dice
permanently.

5 Feeling heavy beyond belief you shun all of your

equipment. As you grin like an idiot at your feather light
form you run towards the next room. Lose all current
equipment permanently.

6 You see the sense behind the cultists madness. With a

yelp of excitement you run to the nearest cult leader
and babble the words “I wish to be part of the Old Ones.
Sacrifice me so I may live beyond these realms”, and
with a stab of his blade you lie bleeding to death upon
the altar.
 Example Cliches:

Professor Nial Biter Traits

Already quite mentally unhinged and not

A master of all things arcane, Specialises in Old much phases him anymore - Able to
One knowlege. withstand 2 sanity drops per game.
A heavy drinker with a reputation as a lunatic by
his peers.

Science = 4
The arts = 3
Babbling = 2
Wine tasting = 1

Remington Smithe P.I Traits

The least sought after PI in local history. Every Contrary to popular opinion Remington is a
case he takes ends up with the employer in an fantastic investigator - Able to adjust
asylum or dead. investigation rolls by +2, twice per game.

Magnum PI - 4
Wooing Ladies - 2
School of hard knocks - 3
Bourbon Neat - 1