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The

Thing
On The

Doorstep
and other horrors

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Basics
Setting
Our world, only spanning the breadth of human history, and sometimes beyond...into other worlds, or even other dimensions.

The Thing On The Doorstep weaves tales of horror and adventure, featuring intrepid investigators facing off against cosmic evils. Each session is intended to tell a single story. Each story is broken up into three parts, called chapters, and an epilogue. Chapter one is called The Horror Emergent, and represents the beginning of the story. The evil is just starting to awaken, and the investigators have the upper hand. Chapter two is On Your Doorstep; the menace takes shape, and the investigation becomes much more difficult for the heroes. Chapter three is The Stars Are Right; the horror reveals itself and the investigators must bring all their knowledge to bare in order stop it. In the epilogue, we get to see our investigators celebrate their success, or the aftermath of their failure. The first two chapters are divided into scenes. Each scene features a single investigator delving into some new aspect of this storys Horror. Successful sleuthing will increase an investigators Starry Wisdom. But if theyre unlucky, theyll see Weird Astronomy grow, and if it grows too high, theyll have to turn the page to the next chapter...never a good thing. The only difference between chapter one and chapter two is the difficulty level the investigators face in scenes. In chapter three, the confrontation with the Horror occurs. Each investigator confronts the Horror in their own time period, using their Starry Wisdom to weaken it. If one player in the most recent time period beats the Horrors, the Horror is stopped in its tracks...for now anyway. If they dont, the Horror

Rolling Dice
The Thing On The Doorstep uses six-sided dice. Players will need several of them...as many as five a piece, perhaps even more (though it is okay to share dice). The GM will need at least seven, probably more. When rolling dice, sixes are automatically discarded. All other dice are then added together to obtain a total. This total is then compared against a total generated by the GM. Whomever has the highest total wins. Ties always go to the GM (though the players have an option for breaking a tie by re-rolling one or more dice, at some risk to their investigator).

Overview Of Game Play

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is unleashed upon the world. The exact details of those results are relayed in the epilogue.

The Horror
Every game features an awful, incomprehensible Horror. It might be an Outer God, A Great Old One, a race of aliens with mankind in their targets, the superimposition of our reality upon another, a conspiracy-minded cult with roots as deep as history, or any of a million other horrifying things one might imagine. The GM always creates the Horror; at the start of the game, the investigators only know that something really bad is about to happen if they dont act to stop it. As the game progresses, theyll come to understand exactly what it is theyre up against. Each Horror is given a rating. The players should be told at the outset what the Horrors rating is. A 7 or 8 should be considered typical, with higher numbers only used for really experienced players, or if there are many investigators.

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Characters
The player characters are all investigators, tracking down Lovecraftian horrors threatening the world. The first thing you should do is choose a place and time for your investigator. Your place or time must be shared with at least one other investigator, but no investigator may share both with another. You may select any historical epoch as your time period, up to and including modern day (but not the future). You should then briefly describe your investigator. Give her a name. Next, ascribe a motivation to your investigator. Available motivations are: Righteous, Obligation, Curiosity, Vengeance.

Types of Scenes

You should also describe things that are a comfort to your character. Comforts can be anything...a friend, a place, a favorite beverage, an appreciation of stormy nights. Anything, so long as they are resoundingly normal. You must have at least one comfort, but may have several if youd like. You have one final trait: Starry Wisdom. Starry Wisdom measures exactly what you know about the current Horror, and is the only tool you have for actually stopping it. It starts at 0 and increases throughout the game. Having done these things, your character should be complete now.

Some Strange Writings (Study, Difficulty 1, Chapter One only) A Curious Artifact (Study, Difficulty 3) A Dusty Old Tome (Study, Difficulty 5) Al Azif (Study, Difficulty 7, Chapter Two only) A Witness To The End (Question, Difficulty 1, Chapter One only) An Expert On Matters Occult (Question, Difficulty 3) An Cthonic Informant (Question, Difficulty 5) An Avatar Of Nyarlathotep (Question, Difficulty 7, Chapter Two only) The Scene Of A Crime (Explore, Difficulty 1, Chapter One only) A Mysterious Old House (Explore, Difficulty 3) An Antediluvian Dwelling (Explore, Difficulty 5) A Cyclopean Vista (Explore, Difficulty 7, Chapter Two only)

Old Magick And Mad Science

Now you must set your styles. A style describes a way in which you go about gaining information. There are three styles: Study, Question, and Explore. Your skillfulness in each style is rated numerically. You may divvy seven points among them. None may start higher than five.

Although earlier rules state there are only three styles of investigation, thats not exactly true. There are, in fact, five, although any individual investigator can only possess four, at most. And that fourth always carries with it a price.

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The fourth and fifth styles are Old Magick and Mad Science. Investigators can have one or the other, not both. You can even start the game with one or the other, if youd like.

happen one at a time, in round-robin fashion, with no one getting more scenes than anyone else. A player can waive their scene for a round, but in so doing passes up an opportunity to increase their investigators Starry Wisdom.

The advantage of Old Magick and Mad Science is that you can use them in place of any other style. The drawback is that when The purpose of a scene is to increase an investigators Starry using Old Magick or Mad Science, only two sixes are required Wisdom. When its your turn, you should name a type of scene on the roll to increase Weird Astronomy by one. Additionally, (see Types Of Scenes, sidebar). The GM will describe a scene of any free play you do in such a scene must that type for you. The GM is also required incorporate manipulations of obviously to include at least one of your comforts in magickal workings or strange scientific the scene. Each player may only use each Free Play principles, which may predispose the GM type of scene once for free; repeating a towards loathing your investigator, rather given type scene by a player causes an The term free play is often used to describe a specific kind of activity that occurs between the than holding them in esteem. increase of the chapters Weird Astronomy GM and the other players. Essentially, it is the by one. act of roleplaying: Describing whats happening, A player should be familiar with how the how characters react, and what they say or think or even feel. But it can also include metagame game is played and what the advantages The scene then proceeds with free play conversations as well; when players seek and disadvantages of Old Magick or Mad between the GM and the player (its also clarification from the GM, strategize between Science are before making them a part of themselves, or offer commentary, free play is during free play that the player must happening. Free play is only suspended when their investigator. establish any Profanities they may want to dice are being rolled and totals compared, or use, through their roleplaying; see below), between ending one scene and starting another. until such time as both are ready for an investigation roll to take place. The player then rolls a number of dice equal to the required style for the type of scene, removing any die that comes up 6, and totaling the remainder. The GM secretly rolls a number of dice equal to the Difficulty of the scene type, removes all sixes, adds together the remaining dice, then reduces that number by the accumulated Esteem of the investigator to arrive at a final total. The first two chapters are comprised of scenes. Each scene He compares his total to the investigators; the player with the features one investigator, and its typical for these scenes to higher total is the winner.

Playing The Game

Scenes

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If the player is the loser, and they can point to a Profanity theyve indulged during the scene, they may re-roll any of their own dice, including any that came up sixes on the initial roll. A Profanity is a kind of defense mechanism; it protects your investigators humanity by shielding it from view. There are several Profanities: Pretentious, Pedantic, Cryptic, Absinthian, Bigoted, Deviant, and Debased. You start with all Profanities available to you, and you may emphasize more than one in a given scene. A Profanity only gets crossed off your list if you Asylum actually point to it and call for a re-roll, after which it can no longer be used for reAn investigator may elect to not confront the Horror. Doing so is called asylum. An rolls (although you may still roleplay those investigator with asylum can pass on a bit of behaviors if you wish). There is no their Starry Wisdom via journals or guideline for how to roleplay a given correspondence; they choose one investigator who has not yet confronted the Horror, and that Profanity; players are free to interpret them investigator increases her Starry Wisdom by one. as they see fit. Beyond that, an investigator with asylum can not If, after re-rolls, the player is the winner, their investigators Starry Wisdom increases by one.

Before proceeding to the next scene, the GM must decide whether the investigator deserves a point of Esteem for the scene, or not. This is purely a judgment call; if the investigator was likable, sincere and, most importantly, human, a point of Esteem should be granted. Esteem is recorded in secret by the GM; the player never knows for sure how much Esteem theyve curried. If the GM does not feel Esteem was deserved, he should instead assign a point of Loathing.

The Next Chapter

Each chapter has a stat of its own: Weird Astronomy. Weird Astronomy can increase in two ways: When three (two if using Old Magick or Mad Science) or more sixes are rolled during an investigation roll. When a player re-uses a type of scene theyve already had in this story.

affect the final outcome of the game. They do not get to roll for a style increase as other survivors do (although they may obtain an increase if they end the game as most esteemed).

If, counting both the GMs and the players dice, three or more sixes were rolled, the chapters Weird Astronomy score increases by one. After the roll, another period of free play ensues, during which the aftermath of the roll is roleplayed. When both the GM and the player are satisfied, the scene can be concluded.

When Weird Astronomy reaches a number equal to twice the number of investigators, the metaphorical page turns and everyone is immediately thrust into the next chapter. Weird Astronomy is then re-set at zero. Note that there is no need to track Weird Astronomy in chapter three, as the players are no longer investigating the Horror, but rather confronting it (see The Stars Are Right, below).

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The only things that change in chapter two are the scenes available to the players; three new types of scenes (one for each investigation style) are introduced, and the three least difficult are removed as options. Players can no longer request Some Strange Writings, A Witness To The End, or A Mysterious Old House, even by increasing Weird Astronomy.

driven back, at least in this time period, and if this is any time period other than the most recent, its rating is reduced by one. The im,ediate aftermath, good or bad, of the roll is free-played and then the next player gets their turn. The Horror is fully defeated when at least one investigator in the most recent time period defeats the Horror. If no investigator from the most recent time period defeats the Horror, the game is over...the Horror has overcome mankinds last defenders and is now unleashed fully upon humanity.

The Stars Are Right

When the investigators enter chapter three, things change a little. At this point, the Horror becomes fully revealed, and they must confront it as best they can with their Starry Wisdom. Starting with the investigator in the chronologically earliest epoch, each investigator will face off against the Horror in their own scene (unless they seek asylum; see Asylum, sidebar). Investigators from the same time period may or may not inhabit the same scene during the confrontation, depending on how the GM decides to frame it. The scene is free-played until the player and the GM agree it is time to make the confrontation roll. The GM rolls dice equal to the Horrors rating, and the player rolls dice equal to her investigators Starry Wisdom. Sixes are discounted as normal, but the GM does not modify his total by Esteem, and the player is not allowed to indulge profanities for re-rolls at this point (the Horror is entirely beyond caring about the investigators humanity and/or debasement). If the player fails, her investigator fails, and is destroyed, or otherwise incorporated into the Horror (i.e., is no longer a player character). If the player wins, the Horror is

Epilogue
If the investigators were defeated, the epilogue consists of the GM describing what happens when the Horror is set free upon Earth. This might be an apocalyptic end to the world as we know it, or a more personal and intimate violation. Exactly what happens is up to the GM. If the players won, each gets to describe an epilogue for their investigator, even if that investigator died. Each surviving investigator may attempt to increase one style rating. To do so, they say which style theyre hoping to increase, and then roll a d6; if the roll equals or exceeds their current rating, then it increases by one. Otherwise it does not. The investigator with the most Esteem gets two such attempts (and if theres a tie for most Esteem, the tied players must

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choose from among themselves who gets the bonus increase attempt).

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GameMastering
Creating The Horror
The first thing to decide when creating a Horror is, quite simply, what is it? Think first in terms of imagery...what does it look like? Is something physical, or intangible? Is it a single cyclopean entity, or a vast network of less intelligences? When someone encounters it, what do they perceive and what is the experience like? You dont have to describe it in its entirety...broad strokes with an emphasis on a few specific details will create powerful sensations while preserving a sense of alienness. And it doesnt have to be only giant cosmic entities from beyond time and space; a Horror could be a mortal man seeking to advance himself by exploiting the eldritch secrets of the universe, a strange disease unleashed from an ancient tomb, an unusual fungus from another world threatening to destroy our ecosystem, or just about anything else you can imagine. Next, you should determine why anyone would care about the Horror. That is to say, what happens if no one does anything to stop it? Does it destroy humanity? Take over the world? And it doesnt have to be apocalyptic; perhaps its goal is to murder just one very specific, very important person. Or maybe its not so much a physical threat, but a threat to our way of life...maybe the revelation of its existence to the people of the world changes our way of life forever, and not for the better.

At this point, you may want to assign its rating. Ratings start at 7 and go up from there. Even a Horror at the low end of the spectrum is still incredibly difficult to overcome, especially for beginning investigators (and in this game, investigators rarely survive to become wily old veterans). And while there is no specific rule for assigning a Horrors rating, a good rule of thumb is Number of Players + 4, +1 for each story each investigator has survived prior to this one. The minimum rating a Horror can have is 7. Please dont mistake this simple calculation as an attempt at balancing the game...its more of a guideline to keep the game from being impossible, but by no means are any of those numbers going to be easy. Finally, you may want to create a list of facts about your Horror. A fact is a small detail...something about its appearance, its powers, its methods, its goals, its history, its relationship to our history, and so on. Youll want perhaps six or seven of these per player. Each time an investigator succeeds at an investigation roll, you should dole out a fact or two about the Horror, so that over the course of the story, the players will gain an increasingly clearer understanding of what theyre facing.

Framing Scenes
One of the GMs major responsibilities during the game is scene-framing. Framing a scene essentially means establishing a set of opening circumstances, and then ending the action at a moment that leaves everyone excited (if not completely

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satisfied). Neither is necessarily easy, but the one that benefits from creative preparation is the opening. Its a good idea to jot down a few possible circumstances for each type of scene. Having some pre-visualized locations, characters, and other things for the investigators to interact with will make for a smoother experience. And if you know the investigators ahead of time, you can even cater to their specific time periods and comforts a little. In doing this prep work, keep in mind the names attached to the various types of scenes are intended as mild creative constraints. There is room for interpretation there. In fact, the more variation you squeeze out of these scenes, the more satisfying and fully-realized your game will feel. Some examples for each type of scene would be: Some Strange Writings: Journals, diaries, a letter from an old friend, a bundle of letters found in a relatives attic, weird e-mails, rambling and cryptic blogs, voice recordings. A Curious Artifact: An unusual idol, a mirror that shows scenes from other places and times, a strange monolith washed up on a beach, fossils that elude easy identification. Possibly also corpses of people, animals, or unidentified things...recently dead, or long deceased. A Dusty Old Tome: Most of the major works of the Cthulhu mythos, including the Necronomicon, Cultes Des Ghouls, The King In Yellow, and so on. Note that in more modern settings, there may be electronic equivalents of some of these.

Al Azif: The most powerful and legendary artifacts of the Cthulhu Mythos, including the Necronomicon, The Eltdown Shards, the Pnakotic Manuscripts, and so on. A Witness To The End: This is almost always some ordinary person who has seen something they shouldnt have. An Expert On Matters Occult: Scientists, professors, sorcerers, former cultists, ghosts of sorcerers or cultists, wards of the local asylum. Weird, perhaps crazy, but almost always human. An Cthonic Informant: Yithians, Mi Go, ghouls, serpent men, homunculi, mummies, ghosts. Alien, often dangerous, sources of information. An Avatar Of Nyarlathotep: Any of Nyarlathoteps avatars, but also Yog Sothoth, the King in Yellow. The Scene Of A Crime: Any normal location in which something bad has recently transpired. The more normal, the better. A Mysterious Old House: Any relatively normal location imbued with an ominous aura. Graveyards, strange cabins in the woods, old churches. An Antediluvian Dwelling: Any location that is distinctly weird, foreboding, and old without being explicitly alien. Ruins, pyramids, ziggurats, strange vaults, castles, dungeons, faerie circles, stonehenge, burial mounds. A Cyclopean Vista: Rlyeh, City of the Great Race, The Library of Celaeno, the Dreamlands, other alien cities, worlds, or places.

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Obviously, these examples only offer a starting point. What exactly might the investigators find in the mysterious old house? What does Nyarlathotep have to say? What insidious clue will the disconcerting artifact yield? Who else is around, and what are they doing? Also dont forget, you must work one of the investigators comforts into the scene. This is more important than it seems.

Interpreting Investigation Rolls

Investigation rolls output two kinds of information, both of which are important when describing outcomes. The first output is success or failure...either Starry Wisdom increases by one or it doesnt. The second is Weird Astronomy...either Weird Astronomy increases or it doesnt. A successful roll should be accompanied with a fact, ideally one that makes most sense within the scene and answers questions the player (not necessarily the investigator) has. A failed roll, on the other hand, means more than oops, I missed out on the Knowledge. The investigator may or may not learn a fact; perhaps what they learn is only partially true, or for some reason not to be trusted. Or maybe they really learn something significant, but its so terrifying to them as to be useless.

Succeed or fail on the roll, if Weird Astronomy doesnt increase, the investigator at least preserves the status quo. This shouldnt be treated as a passive event...allow the investigator to act in some way that holds back the arrival of the Horror just a little bit. They thwart the minions, or destroy the grimoire that holds the necessary ritual, or something else exciting and fun. The players input is significant here...solicit and run with it. Likewise, if Weird Astronomy increases, even if their investigation roll was a success, the scene should go badly for them. The minions get the upper hand, or the grimoire is lost to the enemy, or something equally awful that brings the Horror one moment closer to wakefulness.