Dark Arcana (Pamphlet), by Roland Volz

1
Magic is manipulating reality with arcane symbols and

mental exercise.
There are several kinds of magical operations. Each type

is its own skill.
Sample sorcery skills:
Conjuring: can be used to either summon or banish
entities from other dimensions.
Exorcism: removing malign entities or magical effects
from people or places.
Geas: compelling certain behavior from people/entities.
Glamour: distorting perception.
Warding: magic of protection.
Magic is, by definition, outside of ordinary human ability.

To know how well you do something magical, roll:
One die if your occupational expertise is magical (so,
Computational Demonologiests and Theoretical
Thaumaturgists fail less often).
One die if it’s within the sphere of one of your specific
magical operation Skills or Talents.
One die if there are elements that assist your magical
operation (special supernatural equipment, the correct
astrological factors for this kind of magic, and so on).
Your Insanity die – magic in a Lovecraftian universe
always involves risking your sanity.
If your Insanity die rolls higher than any other die, make
an Insanity roll, as per the usual Insanity rules.
Your highest die shows how well you do. On a 1, you
barely succeed. On a 6, you do brilliantly.
When you perform, the highest die shows how effective
your magic is. On a 1, you get something, but with major
unintended consequences. On a 4, you get something
serviceable, but with serious complications. On a 5, the
complications are minor. Only on a 6 do you pull off a
miracle – a pure magic feat that does exactly what it says
on the label.
If someone thinks it would more interesting if you failed,

they describe how you might fail and roll a die.
Depending upon how difficult an action is deemed to be
up to 3 fail die may be rolled (some things, like Sorcery,
are inherently more dangerous and allow up to 5 dice to
be rolled). A difficult action may only get 1 fail die whilst
an impossible seeming one may get 3.
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If their highest die rolls higher than your highest die, you
fail, in the way they described. If not, you succeed as
before, with your highest die showing how well you
succeed.
Since you included your Insanity die in the roll, if you’re

not happy with the result you may reroll (all the dice).
Afterwards, look at the new result. As before, the highest
die shows how well you do.
If your Insanity Die rolls higher than any other die, make
an Insanity roll, even if you made one after your previous
roll.
To cooperate: everyone who is cooperating rolls their dice.

The highest die, rolled by anyone, determines the
outcome.
To compete: everyone who is competing rolls their dice.
Whoever gets highest wins. If it’s a tie, the person with
highest Insanity wins. If Insanity is tied, reroll.
As before, if your Insanity die rolls higher than any other
die you roll, make an Insanity roll. And, if anyone is not
happy with their roll, they may reroll, using the rules
above – but if one rerolls, all have to reroll (magic is
dangerous to everyone involved).
Your Injury starts at 1. When you are assaulted or suffer

harm from misadventure, roll your Harm die. If you roll
higher than your current Injury, add 1 to your rating and
describe the harm you suffer. As your Injury increases,
your Agent’s condition will worsen, and while they will
eventually become numb to minor pains and bruises, they
will still be quite vulnerable to more lethal wounds.
When your Injury reaches 6, you die. Describe the bloody
mess that is left of your Agent. Is your demise gruesome
enough to disturb your fellows, forcing them to make
Insanity rolls? You get to decide. Afterwards, make a new
character. Briefly describe the Agent’s brush with the
mythos and his induction into the Laundry.
If you are attacked with melee weapons (small blades,
clubs, etc.) or are involved in a brawl, roll your Harm
die as normal, but make sure to appropriately colour
your description based on the type of assault.
If you suffer a dangerous attack or harm (handguns,
car accidents, etc.), a Harm roll lower than your Injury
adds 1, while a higher roll adds 2.
With deadly attacks and harm (rifles, shotguns,
machineguns, being hit by a speeding car, etc.), a Harm
roll lower than your rating adds 2, while a higher roll
adds 3.
Anything more dangerous than that (hit by a train,
explosions, etc.), and you will be dead outright.
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Combat usually occurs between humans; however Agents
can choose to engage with exonomes. Should they choose
to try and engage with extremely powerful exonomes
(essentially deities) they simply die, graphically.
Everyone who’s fighting rolls dice. Agents roll:
One die if it’s within human capabilities (if you’re using
a gun, it is; if you’re using a spell, it isn’t).
One die if you have a combat orientated Skill or Talent.
One die if the creature is particularly vulnerable to
your weapon.
Your Insanity die, if you want.
Now, start with the person who rolled highest. They
choose someone to harm. (If it’s a tie, they both choose
someone to harm and it happens simultaneously.) Next,
the person who rolls second-highest chooses someone to
take harm. And continue counting down, in order of
highest die, but the person who rolls lowest doesn’t do
harm.
The above combat rolls are opposed. Humans get a single
die to roll against an aggressor whilst mythos creatures
and entities get between 3 to 4 at the Keeper’s discretion.
Cthulhu Dark is copyright © Graham Walmsley 2010.

Dark Arcana was written by Roland Volz.

Dark Arcana (Pamphlet), by Roland Volz

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What are some examples of magical skills mentioned?

How does one determine how well they perform magic?

1

Magic is manipulating reality with arcane symbols and

There are several kinds of magical operations. Each type

Magic is, by definition, outside of ordinary human ability.

If someone thinks it would more interesting if you failed,

Since you included your Insanity die in the roll, if you’re

To cooperate: everyone who is cooperating rolls their dice.

Your Injury starts at 1. When you are assaulted or suffer

Cthulhu Dark is copyright © Graham Walmsley 2010.

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