TEXT: M.T. Black
  Invesigator’S
  Companion  
  A Supplement for
  Whispers in the Dark
  the
  
  2
  THE INVESTIGATOR’S COMPANION
  CREDITS
  Design: M.T. Black 
  Additional Design: Jeremy Forbing
  Editing: Carl Agner
  Graphic Design and Cover: Gordon McAlpin
  The majority of illustrations in this book are 
  from public domain sources including the British 
  Library’s collection of public domain images on 
  Flickr; The Strand magazine archives (via The 
  Internet Archive); and the Old Book Illustrations 
  website. Some images have been modified for 
  use in this book. All of them are, to the best 
  of our knowledge, public domain everywhere 
  in the world.
  Playtesting: Joshua Franklin, Leith “Noodle” 
  Brownlee, BrutalBri, Piranhaplant, 
  Phils_Gaming, Silver's Mutineers, 
  Joakim Waern
  ABOUT THE CREATORS
  M.T. Black is a freelance game designer living in 
  Sydney. He has worked on many best-selling titles 
  such as Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, 
  Waterdeep: City Encounters, and Tactical Maps: 
  Adventure Atlas. 
  Jeremy Forbing is a freelance game designer 
  living in Lost Angeles. He has worked on many 
  best-selling titles such as The Blackstaff's Book 
  of 1000 Spells, Unearthed Archetypes, and 
  Masque of the Red Death Player's Guide.
  Gordon McAlpin is a Filipino-American book 
  designer, illustrator, and animator based in 
  Somerville, MA. He wrote and illustrated the 
  comic strip Multiplex from 2005 to 2017, after 
  which he launched the award-winning animated 
  web series Multiplex 10.
  Invesigator’S
  Companion  
  A Supplement for
  Whispers in the Dark
  the
  Copyright © 2020 M.T. Black. All rights reserved. 
  The intellectual property known as Whispers in the Dark Quickstart Rules is owned by Matt Corley and           
  M.T. Black, excepting Madness rules which are owned in whole by Matt Corley. 
  Open Game License v1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Reference Document 5.1 
  Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney 
  Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, 
  based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  This is a work of fiction. Any similarity with people or events, past or present, is purely coincidental and 
  unintentional except for those people and events described in historical context. All rights reserved worldwide by 
  the copyright holders.
  Product Identity: all content herein, unless covered by the Open Game License, are copyright 2020 M.T. Black. 
  Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the 
  express written permission of M.T. Black.
  
  3
  THE INVESTIGATOR’S COMPANION
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUNDS  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
  Anthropologist  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
  Cowpoke  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
  Criminal   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
  Entertainer  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
  Explorer  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
  Farmer  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
  Former Cultist  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
  Gambler  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
  Gunslinger  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
  Laborer   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6
  Merchant  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6
  Missionary  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6
  Politician  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6
  Priest  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7
  Prize Fighter  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7
  Sailor  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7
  Scientist  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7
  Spiritist   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
  Student   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
  Writer   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
  CHAPTER 2: FEATS  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9
  Adept Magician  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9
  Battlefield Veteran  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9
  Bold Provocateur  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9
  Compelling Performer  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
  Consummate Actor  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
  Deductive Sleuth  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
  Elusive Dodger  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
  Fast Pistoleer  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
  Ferocious Berserker   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
  Gun Enthusiast  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
  Handy Crafter  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
  Lucky Soul  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
  Martial Artist  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
  Neophyte Magician  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 11
  Rapier Wit  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12
  Rousing Orator   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12
  Splendid Fencer  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12
  Stalwart Survivor  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12
  Theoretical Alienist   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12
  Tough Brute  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 12
  CHAPTER 3: MAGIC   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 13
  What is a Spell?  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 13
  Casting a Spell  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 13
  Spell Failure  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 13
  Spell List  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 13
  Spell Descriptions   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 13
  APPENDIX A: OPTIONAL RULES  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 18
  Luck  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 18
  Explosives  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 18
  Living Expenses  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 18
  APPENDIX B: THE MYTHOS  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 19
  APPENDIX C: OPEN GAME LICENSE  .  .  .  .  . 20
  tintroductiont
  The Investigator’s Companion is a supplement for the Whispers in the Dark 
  roleplaying game . It supplies new backgrounds, feats, and optional rules for 
  your game, as well as a magic system . In order to use this supplement, you need 
  the Whispers in the Dark: Quickstart Rules for 5e. No other books are required .
  
  4
   
  tchapter onet 
  BACKGROUNDS
  Your character’s background reveals what you 
  have been doing prior to the start of your adven-
  tures . It very often corresponds to an occupation, but 
  sometimes it refers to a way of life . In some cases, you 
  have chosen to leave this occupation behind in order 
  to investigate strange mysteries . In other cases, you are 
  still actively employed and need to fit your adventur-
  ing around your job .
  The Quickstart Rules included 8 backgrounds . This 
  supplement includes 20 more, giving you a total of 28 
  backgrounds to choose from .
  ANTHROPOLOGIST
  You specialize in the study of human society 
  through the ages . This is a broad field and it is likely 
  that you specialize in one or two areas, such as reli-
  gion, family, music, magic, work, or politics . You may 
  be employed by a university, but you might also have a 
  private sponsor or be self-funded .
  • Skill Proficiencies: History, Investigation, 
  Religion or Arcana
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Intelligence
  • Additional Languages: Four other languages 
  of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a notebook, 
  a pencil, an anthropology text such as Bachofen’s 
  Natural Law or Tylor’s Primitive Culture
  • Money: You have savings of 1d6+2 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d6 × $50 .
  COWPOKE
  You are the classic cowboy or cowgirl . You probably 
  worked on a ranch on the American frontier, herding 
  cattle up and down cattle trails . For whatever reason, 
  you’ve left the frontier life to establish yourself in 
  the city . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Animal Handling
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple and one firearm of 
  your choice
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Constitution
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a whip, 
  a firearm of your choice, a box of 100 bullets
  • Money: You have savings of 1d4 × $50 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d4+1 × $10 .
  CRIMINAL
  You make a modest living on the wrong side of the 
  law . You may have turned to crime early in life or it 
  may have been a recent pursuit, perhaps brought on 
  by a change in circumstances . You are most likely a 
  petty thief but you might also be involved in extor-
  tion, fraud, or some other profitable vice . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Stealth
  • Tool Proficiencies: Thieves’ tools
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Dexterity
  • Equipment: Thieves’ tools, a set of ordinary clothes
  • Money: You have savings of 2d4 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d6+2 × $10 .
  
  5
   
  ENTERTAINER
  You are a professional entertainer, amusing an 
  audience for money . You could be a dancer, singer, 
  musician, actor, acrobat, comedian or something more 
  exotic, such as a lion tamer . Your venue of choice 
  might be the playhouse, the music hall, or even the 
  circus . It’s likely that you have several talents but that 
  you are known for one in particular . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Performance
  • Tool Proficiencies: Your choice of an instrument
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Charisma
  • Additional Languages: French or Spanish
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a set of 
  performance clothes, an instrument (your choice)
  • Money: You have savings of 1d4 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d6+1 × $10 .
  EXPLORER
  You journey to different regions on the planet for 
  the purpose of discovering information and resources . 
  You may have been sponsored by a university, a 
  wealthy benefactor, or via a public subscription . Fa-
  vored destinations for American and European explor-
  ers at this time included the Pacific, central Africa, 
  central Australia, and the polar regions . Mountain 
  climbing was also popular, with several peaks con-
  quered for the first time during this era .
  • Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Survival
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple and one other 
  of your choice
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Strength
  • Additional Languages: Two of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a set 
  of exploration clothes, a hunting knife, a weapon 
  (your choice), a box of 100 bullets (if your weapon 
  is a firearm)
  • Money: You have savings of 1d10 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 2d6 × $10 .
  FARMER
  You make your living by cultivating the land . Farm-
  ing is enormously varied . You might raise crops or 
  livestock; you might subsist on your produce or sell 
  it for profit; and you might own your land, rent your 
  land, or even work for another farmer .
  • Skill Proficiencies: Animal Handling, Nature
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple and one other 
  of your choice
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Dexterity
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a weapon 
  (your choice), a box of 100 bullets (if your weapon 
  is a firearm)
  • Money: You have savings of 2d6 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d8+2 × $10 .
  FORMER CULTIST
  You were once a member of a foul cult but luckily 
  found your way out . You may have left of your own 
  accord, you may have been rescued, or you could have 
  been ejected by the cult leaders . Whatever happened, 
  it is likely you are on very bad terms with the remain-
  ing cult members and it’s possible your life is at risk . 
  Possible Mythos cults include the Fraternity of the 
  Beast, the Society of the Yellow Sign, and the Church 
  of Starry Wisdom .
  • Skill Proficiencies: Arcana, Religion, and 
  one other of your choice
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Charisma
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes
  • Money: You have savings of 1d4 × $50 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d6 × $10 .
  GAMBLER
  Lots of people enjoy gambling but you are a profes-
  sional, making your living through placing wagers .
  Your game of choice may be a card game such as faro, 
  three card monte, or poker . Dice games, especially 
  hazard and birdcage, are also popular with gamblers . 
  Alternatively, you might bet on horse racing, boxing 
  matches, or wrestling . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Sleight of Hand
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple 
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Charisma
  • Tools: A gaming set of your choice
  • Additional Languages: French or Spanish
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a notebook, 
  a pencil, two gaming sets (your choice)
  • Money: You have savings of 1d12 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 3d6 × $10 .
  GUNSLINGER
  You are a skilled gunfighter, most likely from the 
  American frontier, and you have a fearsome reputa-
  tion . You may have been a sheriff, a gun-for-hire, or 
  even an outlaw . For whatever reason, you’ve left the 
  frontier to try life in the city .
  • Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Stealth
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple and two other firearms 
  of your choice
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Dexterity
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, two firearms 
  of your choice, a box of 100 bullets
  • Money: You have savings of 1d10 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 2d6 × $10 .
  
  6
   
  LABORER
  You make your living by selling the strength of your 
  body . You are very flexible and have likely had numer-
  ous jobs . Whether it is digging ditches, picking ap-
  ples, working in a factory, or a myriad of other tasks, 
  you learn quickly, work hard, and get the job done .
  • Skill Proficiencies: Intimidation, Survival
  • Tool Proficiencies: Pick one of your choice
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Strength
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a set of tools 
  (your choice)
  • Money: You have savings of 1d4 × $50 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d4+1 × $10 .
  MERCHANT
  You make your living by the purchase and sale of 
  goods . This term encompasses a vast array of profes-
  sions, from the sophisticated importer to the roadside 
  fruit vendor . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Insight, Persuasion
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Charisma
  • Additional Languages: Either French or Spanish
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a set 
  of fine clothes
  • Money: You have savings of 2d6 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d12+2 × $10 .
  MISSIONARY
  You were commissioned by your religious group 
  to bring your message and your service overseas to 
  a distant group of people . For some reason you have 
  returned from the mission field: perhaps you are on 
  a furlough, perhaps there was a family emergency, or 
  perhaps you have had a crisis of faith . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, Religion, Survival
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Wisdom
  • Additional Languages: Three other languages 
  of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a notebook, 
  a pencil, a religious textbook
  • Money: You have savings of 1d8 × $50 . 
  Your monthly income is 2d4 × $10 .
  POLITICIAN
  You are someone who holds or is seeking govern-
  ment office . This could be the local city council, the 
  state legislature, or even Congress . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Performance, Persuasion, 
  and another one of your choice
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Charisma
  • Additional Languages: One other language 
  of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a notebook, 
  a pencil, a photograph of yourself
  • Money: You have savings of 2d6 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d6 × $50 .
  
  7
   
  PRIEST
  You are a recognised leader in an established religion . 
  You could be a priest in the Catholic or Episcopal 
  churches, or a minister in one of the many other de-
  nominations in the United States such as the Baptists 
  and Methodists . You could also be a leader from a 
  non-Christian religion, such as a Jewish rabbi, a Bud-
  dhist priest, or an Islamic mufti . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Religion
  • Tool Proficiencies: First Aid Kit
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Wisdom
  • Additional Languages: Greek, Latin, and two others 
  of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of fine clothes, a set of clerical 
  attire, a holy symbol, a holy book
  • Money: You have savings of 1d8 × $50 . 
  Your monthly income is 2d4 × $10 .
  PRIZE FIGHTER
  You are a professional fighter who makes your living 
  by boxing or wrestling . You may travel around the 
  country with a show or perhaps you work solo, 
  showing up at fighting exhibitions and trying 
  your hand . It doesn’t matter so long as there is a 
  purse to win . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Acrobatics, Athletics, 
  Performance
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple, your unarmed strike 
  uses a d4 for damage .
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Strength
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, boxing gloves
  • Money: You have savings of 1d4 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d6+1 × $10 .
  SAILOR
  You are part of the crew that operates a ship . Your 
  vessel could be sail or steam-powered and might oper-
  ate on the open seas or on rivers . You are certainly 
  well travelled and have likely seen sights that more 
  parochial folk have not . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Perception, and another 
  one of your choice
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Constitution
  • Additional Languages: One of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, compass
  • Money: You have savings of 1d8 × $50 . 
  Your monthly income is 2d4 × $10 .
  SCIENTIST
  You study the natural world, attempting to gain a 
  systematic and orderly understanding of it . You have 
  a broad knowledge of science, but you also have a 
  special area of expertise, such as astronomy or chemis-
  try . You may be attached to an institution, or you may 
  be privately funded through inherited wealth or some 
  other windfall . Although the label “scientist” is used, 
  you are more commonly called a “natural philoso-
  pher” in this era .
  • Skill Proficiencies: Nature, Perception
  • Tool Proficiencies: Your choice of a chemistry set 
  or astronomy kit
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Intelligence
  • Additional Languages: Latin, and one other 
  of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of fine clothes, a chemistry 
  set or astronomy kit, a notebook, a pencil, 
  a magnifying glass
  • Money: You have savings of 2d6 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d8 × $50 .
  
  8
   
  SPIRITIST
  You claim to have a special connection with the 
  spirits of the deceased, and you make your living by 
  helping your clients communicate with their departed 
  love ones via seances and the like . In fact, you are a 
  charlatan who achieves results through sleight of hand 
  and other deceptions . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Deception, Sleight of Hand, 
  and another one of your choice
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Charisma
  • Additional Languages: French or Spanish
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, set of clothes 
  appropriate for your spiritual performances, 
  a crystal ball or similar prop
  • Money: You have savings of 2d6 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 1d6 × $50 .
  STUDENT
  Your primary occupation is study . You could be in 
  formal education at a secondary or tertiary level, or 
  you may be learning from a private teacher in a less 
  formal environment . The subject of your education 
  could be virtually anything . It may be vocationally 
  related, or you could be studying for your own amuse-
  ment and edification . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: History, Investigation, 
  and one other of your choice
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Intelligence
  • Additional Languages: French, one other 
  of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, 
  pencil, notebook
  • Money: You have savings of 1d4 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 5d6 × $1 .
  WRITER
  You are making a modest living as a writer . 
  You most likely write fiction or poetry, but you may 
  supplement your income with the occasional freelance 
  article or travelogue . 
  • Skill Proficiencies: Perception, Persuasion, 
  and another one of your choice
  • Weapon Proficiencies: Simple
  • Saving Throw Proficiencies: Wisdom
  • Additional Languages: Two other of your choice
  • Equipment: A set of ordinary clothes, a notebook, 
  a pencil, a typewriter
  • Money: You have savings of 1d4 × $100 . 
  Your monthly income is 2d4 × $10 .
  
  9
   
  tchapter twot 
  FEATS
  A feat is a talent or an area of expertise giving you 
  special capabilities . It embodies training, experience, 
  and abilities beyond what regular skills provide . At-
  taining a feat represents a major accomplishment and 
  is an important part of your identity . 
  The Quickstart Rules included 13 feats . This sup-
  plement includes 20 more, giving you a total of 33 
  to choose from .
  You must meet any prerequisite specified in a feat 
  to take it . If you lose a feat’s prerequisite, you can’t use 
  that feat until you regain the prerequisite .
  ADEPT MAGICIAN
  Prerequisite: The Neophyte Magician feat
  Through additional study and research, you have 
  honed your magical abilities and learned several more 
  spells . You gain the following benefits:
  • Increase your Intelligence score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 .
  • Add two spells to your ritual book .
  BATTLEFIELD VETERAN
  Whether as part of an organized fighting force or 
  just having been caught in the wrong place at the 
  wrong time, you have seen the face of war . The experi-
  ence you gained in surviving real military engage-
  ments grants you the following benefits:
  • Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t 
  impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls 
  with firearms .
  • When you have cover against an attack, if it still 
  hits, you have resistance to that attack’s damage .
  • When you examine a wound, you have advantage 
  on Intelligence and Wisdom checks to determine 
  what caused it .
  BOLD PROVOCATEUR
  Prerequisite: Proficiency with at least one 
  martial weapon
  You have a talent for challenging, taunting, and 
  goading your foes, focusing their attention on you 
  instead of your allies . When you hit a creature within 
  30 feet of you with an attack roll, you can use a bonus 
  
  10
   
  action to mark that creature as being provoked by you 
  until the end of your next turn . 
  While a creature is provoked by you, whenever it 
  is within 30 feet of you it has disadvantage on attack 
  rolls that do not target you . In addition, when it hits 
  a creature besides you with an attack roll, it provokes 
  an opportunity attack from you if it is within your 
  weapon’s reach .
  A creature stops being provoked by you if 
  you become incapacitated or if it is provoked by 
  someone else .
  COMPELLING 
  PERFORMER
  Prerequisite: Proficiency with Performance
  You have trained your natural talent for perfor-
  mance into a gift no one can ignore . You gain the 
  following benefits:
  • Increase your Charisma score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 .
  • You gain proficiency with one musical instrument 
  of your choice .
  • After you spend 1 minute performing, you can 
  choose any number of humanoids within 60 feet 
  of you who watched and listened for that entire 
  minute . You then make a Charisma (Performance) 
  check . Each target you chose must make on a 
  Wisdom saving throw against a DC equal to 
  your check result . On a failure, each target has 
  disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made 
  to perceive any creature other than you until your 
  performance ends or until the target can no longer 
  hear you . You can choose to end the performance at 
  any time, otherwise it can last up to 1 hour, though 
  it ends early if you are incapacitated or can no 
  longer speak . The effect ends early for an individual 
  target if it is attacked . Once you have used this 
  benefit, you can’t use it again until you finish a 
  short or long rest .
  CONSUMMATE ACTOR
  Prerequisite: Charisma 13 or higher
  You are a superb dramatist, and gain the follow-
  ing benefits:
  • Increase your Charisma score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 .
  • You gain proficiency with disguise kits .
  • You have advantage the first time you make a 
  Charisma (Deception) check against someone .
  DEDUCTIVE SLEUTH
  Prerequisite: Proficiency with Investigation
  You are an expert in both inductive and deductive 
  reasoning, and you are on the forefront of the bur-
  geoning field of criminology . You gain the following 
  benefits: 
  • The first time you make an Intelligence 
  (Investigation) or Wisdom (Insight) check against a 
  particular creature, you have advantage on the roll . 
  If you succeed, you also learn one of the following 
  facts about the target (the DM chooses which): a 
  recent location they’ve visited, an object they’ve 
  handled, a person they’ve spoken with, or their 
  highest ability score .
  • Whenever you succeed on an Intelligence 
  (Investigation) or Wisdom (Insight) check against a 
  creature, you gain advantage on the next attack roll 
  or Charisma check you make against that creature 
  during the next minute .
  ELUSIVE DODGER
  Prerequisite: Dexterity 13 or higher
  You have an uncanny ability to avoid getting injured . 
  When an attacker that you can see hits you with an 
  attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s 
  damage against you .
  FAST PISTOLEER
  Prerequisite: Proficiency with revolvers
  You’ve learned the art of the quick draw and 
  you are an expert with revolvers of all kinds . Your 
  skills live up to the legends told of gunslingers in the 
  American West, granting you the following benefits:
  • You can draw or stow two revolvers when you 
  would normally be able to draw or stow only one .
  • The first time any creature takes a turn in combat, 
  if you do not have a weapon in hand, you can 
  instantly draw a revolver at the end of that creature’s 
  turn, even if you are surprised .
  • When you take the Attack action and you are 
  holding a revolver in each hand, you can attempt 
  to strike multiple targets . Instead of making an 
  attack roll, choose a 10-foot square within that 
  weapon’s normal range . Each target in the area 
  must roll a Dexterity saving throw (DC equals 8 + 
  your proficiency bonus + your Dexterity modifier) . 
  On a failure, a target takes piercing damage equal 
  to 1d4 + your proficiency bonus . After you use this 
  action, each revolver must be reloaded before you 
  can attack with it again .
  
  11
   
  FEROCIOUS BERSERKER
  You enter a trance-like fury in battle, enabling you 
  to inflict and absorb heavy amounts of damage . On 
  your turn, you can enter a rage as a bonus action . 
  While raging, you gain the following benefits:
  • You have advantage on Strength checks and 
  Strength saving throws .
  • When you make a melee weapon attack using 
  Strength, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll .
  • You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and 
  slashing damage .
  Your rage lasts for 1 minute . Once you have used 
  this feature, you must finish a short rest before you 
  can use it again .
  GUN ENTHUSIAST
  You have trained extensively with firearms and 
  gain the following benefits:
  • Increase your Dexterity score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 .
  • You gain proficiency with all revolvers, rifles, 
  and carbines .
  HANDY CRAFTER
  Prerequisite: Proficiency with one or more types 
  of artisan’s tools
  You are an expert in the use of tools to craft or repair 
  objects . You gain the following benefits:
  • Increase your Constitution score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 .
  • When an object has been repaired, damaged, 
  created, or destroyed with some kind of tool, you 
  have advantage on all Intelligence and Wisdom 
  checks to discern information about that object . 
  • You can use a bonus action to take the Use an 
  Object action . 
  • You can grant temporary hit points to a crafted 
  object (including a vehicle, door, or barricade) 
  by spending 1d10 minutes working on it with 
  appropriate tools . You make an ability check with 
  those tools, then grant that object (or a section of it 
  equivalent to a 5-foot cube if it is larger than that) 
  temporary hit points equal to half the result of your 
  ability check .
  LUCKY SOUL
  Prerequisite: You must be using the optional luck rules 
  in order to select this feat
  You were born lucky or you somehow became lucky . 
  The number of luck dice you have is increased by 2 .
  MARTIAL ARTIST
  Prerequisite: Strength 13 or higher
  You have mastered one or more of the martial arts, 
  such as boxing, karate, kung-fu, or something else . 
  You gain the following benefits:
  • Increase your Constitution score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 . 
  • Your unarmed strike uses a d4 for damage .
  • When you use your action to make an unarmed 
  strike, you can use your bonus action to make 
  another unarmed strike .
  NEOPHYTE MAGICIAN
  Prerequisite: Proficiency with Arcana
  Through countless hours of study and research, 
  you have learned several spells . When you take this 
  feat, you acquire a book to write your spells in, called 
  a ritual book . Choose two spells to add to your 
  ritual book .
  
  12
   
  RAPIER WIT
  Prerequisite: Charisma 13 or higher
  You are quick-witted in social situations, especially 
  when delivering witty remarks and cutting insults . As 
  a bonus action, you can force a creature within 60 feet 
  of you that can hear you to make a Wisdom saving 
  throw . The DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + 
  your Charisma modifier . On a failure, the target has 
  disadvantage on the next ability check or attack roll it 
  makes within the next minute . If it fails by 5 or more, 
  you gain an additional benefit for the next minute: the 
  next time you make an ability check contested by the 
  target, you gain advantage on the roll .
  ROUSING ORATOR
  You can inspire courage and commitment in those 
  who hear you give a speech . After 1 minute speak-
  ing to a group of people, you can choose a number 
  of friendly humanoids up to your Charisma modifier 
  (minimum 1) who heard you speak for that entire 
  minute . Each target gains the following benefits:
  • It gains temporary hit points equal to 1d6 + your 
  proficiency bonus .
  • It recovers 1 level of exhaustion .
  • While it still has the temporary hit points gained 
  from this feature, it has advantage on saving throws 
  against becoming frightened or exhausted .
  Once you have used this benefit, you can’t use it 
  again until you complete a short rest .
  SPLENDID FENCER
  Prerequisite: Strength 13 or higher
  You have developed peerless sword fighting skills 
  and gain the following benefits:
  • Increase your Strength score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 .
  • You gain proficiency with all bladed weapons .
  • When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an 
  attack you make with a bladed weapon, you can 
  reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the 
  new roll is a 1 or a 2 .
  STALWART SURVIVOR
  Prerequisite: Proficiency with Survival
  You are an expert in wilderness survival, and most 
  remote and dangerous places feel like home to you . 
  You gain the following benefits:
  • Increase your Constitution score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 .
  • Whenever you make a Wisdom (Survival) check, 
  you can treat a d20 roll of 7 or lower as an 8 .
  • While traveling for an hour or more in a wilderness 
  setting, you gain the following additional benefits:
  •  Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel .
  •  Your group can’t become lost except by mag-
  ical means .
  •  Even when you are engaged in another activity 
  while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or 
  tracking), you remain alert to danger .
  •  If you are traveling alone, you can move stealth-
  ily at a normal pace .
  •  When you forage, you find twice as much food 
  as you normally would .
  •  While tracking other creatures, you also learn 
  their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago 
  they passed through the area .
  THEORETICAL 
  ALIENIST
  Prerequisite: Proficiency with Medicine
  You are a pioneer in the new but growing science 
  of alienism, the study of mental health . You gain the 
  following benefits:
  • Increase your Intelligence or Wisdom score by 1, 
  to a maximum of 20 .
  • You gain a bonus on Wisdom (Insight or Medicine) 
  checks equal to your Intelligence modifier 
  (minimum 1) .
  • When a creature within 30 feet that can hear you 
  makes a Wisdom saving throw or a Sanity check, 
  you can use your reaction to grant that creature 
  advantage on the roll .
  TOUGH BRUTE
  You are particularly hardy and able to survive 
  things that would kill regular people . When you are 
  reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you 
  can drop to 1 hit point instead . Once you have used 
  this feature, you can’t use it again until you complete 
  a short rest .
  
  13
   
  tchapter threet 
  MAGIC
  In the universe described by the Mythos, magic 
  is real, powerful, and sinister . Skilled adepts, known 
  variously as wizards, sorcerers, magicians, and other 
  titles, can manipulate these forces to affect the world . 
  Magic is potent but often subtle . There are no fire-
  balls to toss around or ice storms to conjure up . Many 
  spells are focused on gathering information . Offensive 
  spells, where they exist, require time to cast, meaning 
  you need to cast them well before the fighting begins . 
  Magic is very difficult to perform well and it usu-
  ally takes many years to reach the status of master . 
  There are no magical schools and not even an authori-
  tative textbook . Practitioners painstakingly assemble 
  scraps of knowledge and rituals from a variety of 
  grimoires, such as the Corpus Hermeticum, the Secreta 
  Alberti, the Pnakotic Manuscripts, and the infamous 
  Necronomicon.
  Some learn magic on their own, spending innumer-
  able hours studying ancient manuscripts . While others 
  have a master to guide them on their occult journey . 
  Whether done alone or with others, magical is always 
  very dangerous, threatening the sanity of those who 
  practice it .
  WHAT IS A SPELL?
  A spell is a discrete magical effect and a single shap-
  ing of the magical energies that suffuse the universe 
  into a specific, limited expression . In casting a spell, 
  a character carefully plucks at the invisible strands 
  of raw magic suffusing the world, pins them in 
  place in a particular pattern, sets them vibrating in 
  a specific way, and then releases them to unleash the 
  desired effect . 
  Countless spells have been created over the course 
  of history, and many of them are long forgotten . Some 
  might yet lie recorded in crumbling grimoires hidden 
  in ancient ruins or forgotten libraries .
  CASTING A SPELL
  Casting a spell involves performing a precise ritual 
  involving gestures, incantations, and (sometimes) a 
  material component . In order to cast a spell, you must 
  have a written copy of this ritual before you in a lan-
  guage you can read . These instructions are most likely 
  in a grimoire, but they may well have been copied to a 
  piece of paper or another surface . Anyone can attempt 
  to cast a spell, but those with the Arcana skill have a 
  much greater chance of success .
  Spells are described in the following section . Each 
  spell description begins with a block of information, 
  including the spell's name, difficulty, casting time, 
  material components, range, and duration . The rest of 
  a spell entry describes the spell's effect .
  Most spells take time to cast due to the intricate 
  nature of the rituals involved . You must maintain 
  your concentration while you cast a spell . If your 
  concentration is broken, the spell effect does not occur 
  and there is no other penalty .
  SPELL FAILURE
  Spells put the caster in contact with dark powers 
  and alien minds, which mean they are inherently dan-
  gerous . As a would-be magician, you risk health and 
  sanity whenever you cast a spell .
  All spells have a difficulty class (DC) . When cast-
  ing a spell, you must make an Intelligence (Arcana) 
  check with this DC . Those who are not proficient in 
  Arcana have disadvantage on this roll . On a success, 
  the spell effect occurs . On a failure, you must make a 
  sanity check with a DC equal to the spell’s difficulty . 
  SPELL LIST
  The following spells are available:
  animate dead
  bestow curse
  blindness
  charm person
  comprehend languages
  contact elder god
  find familiar
  force truth
  glyph of warding
  hideous laughter
  identify
  magic circle
  magic weapon
  protection from evil
  see invisibility
  sending
  speak with dead
  summon ghoul
  SPELL DESCRIPTIONS
  The spells are presented in alphabetical order .
  ANIMATE DEAD
  Casting Time: 10 minutes
  Difficulty Class: 15
  Range: Touch
  Components: A ruby worth $50 and a drop of blood
  Duration: Instantaneous
  This spell creates an undead servant . Choose a 
  corpse of a Medium or Small humanoid within range . 
  Your spell imbues the target with a foul mimicry 
  
  14
   
  of life, raising it as an undead creature . The target 
  becomes a zombie .
  On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action 
  to mentally command any creature within 60 feet of 
  you that was made with this spell . You decide what 
  action the creature will take and where it will move 
  during its next turn . Likewise, you could issue a gen-
  eral command, such as to guard a particular chamber 
  or corridor . If you issue no commands, the creature 
  only defends itself against hostile creatures . Once 
  given an order, the creature continues to follow it 
  until its task is complete .
  The creature is under your control for 24 hours, 
  after which it reverts to a corpse . 
  BESTOW CURSE
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 15
  Range: 500 feet
  Components: Special (see below)
  Duration: 1 hour
  You attempt to curse a humanoid within range . 
  In order to cast this spell, you must have a body part 
  (such as a strand of hair or bit of nail) or a personal 
  item (such as a pencil or cup) from the target . When 
  you cast this spell, choose the nature of the curse from 
  the following options:
  • Choose one ability score . While cursed, the target 
  has disadvantage on ability checks and saving 
  throws made with that ability score .
  • While cursed, the target has disadvantage on attack 
  rolls against you .
  • While the target is cursed, your attacks and spells 
  deal an extra 1d8 necrotic damage to the target .
  BLINDNESS
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 13
  Range: 500 feet
  Components: Special (see below)
  Duration: 1 hour
  You attempt to blind a humanoid within range . 
  In order to cast this spell, you must have a body part 
  (such as a strand of hair or bit of nail) or a personal 
  item (such as a pencil or cup) from the target . If the 
  spell is successfully cast, the target is blinded for 
  the duration .
  CHARM PERSON
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 13
  Range: 500 feet
  Components: Special (see below)
  Duration: 1 hour
  You attempt to charm a humanoid within range . 
  In order to cast this spell, you must have a body part 
  (such as a strand of hair or bit of nail) or a personal 
  item (such as a pencil or cup) from the target . If the 
  spell is successfully cast, the target is charmed by you 
  until the spell ends or until you or your companions 
  do anything harmful to it . The charmed creature 
  regards you as a friendly acquaintance . At the end 
  of every 30 minutes, the target may make a DC 13 
  Wisdom saving throw . On a success, the spell ends . 
  If the target has the Arcana skill, it knows that it was 
  magically charmed after the spell ends .
  COMPREHEND LANGUAGES
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 11
  Range: Self
  Components: A pinch of salt
  Duration: 1 hour
  For the duration, you understand the literal mean-
  ing of any written language that you see, but you must 
  be touching the surface on which the words are writ-
  ten . It takes about 1 minute to read one page of text .
  This spell doesn’t decode secret messages in a text 
  or a glyph, such as an arcane sigil, that isn’t part of a 
  written language .
  CONTACT ELDER GOD
  Casting Time: 1 hour
  Difficulty Class: 15
  Range: Self
  Components: A lapis lazuli worth at least $100
  Duration: 1 minute
  You mentally contact an Elder God, such as 
  Nodens . This spell must be cast at night and there 
  must be no other creatures within 20 feet of you .
  If you successfully cast the spell, you can ask the 
  Elder God up to five questions . You must ask your 
  questions before the spell ends . The GM answers each 
  question with one word, such as “yes,” “no,” “maybe,” 
  “never,” “irrelevant,” or “unclear” (if the entity doesn’t 
  know the answer to the question) . If a one-word 
  answer would be misleading, the GM might instead 
  offer a short phrase as an answer .
  
  15
   
  FIND FAMILIAR
  Casting Time: 1 hour
  Difficulty Class: 11
  Range: 10 ft
  Components: $10 worth of charcoal, incense, and herbs 
  that must be consumed by fire in a brass brazier
  Duration: Instantaneous
  You gain the service of a familiar, a spirit that takes 
  an animal form of your choice: bat, cat, crab, frog 
  (toad), hawk, lizard, owl, poisonous snake, rat, raven, 
  sea horse, spider, or weasel . Appearing in an unoccu-
  pied space within range, the familiar has the statistics 
  of the chosen form, but it is treated as a fey instead 
  of a beast .
  Your familiar acts independently of you, but it 
  always obeys your commands . In combat, it rolls its 
  own initiative and acts on its own turn . A familiar 
  can't attack, but it can take other actions as normal .
  When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it disap-
  pears, leaving behind no physical form . It reappears 
  after you cast this spell again .
  While your familiar is within 100 feet of you, you 
  can communicate with it telepathically . Additionally, 
  as an action, you can see through your familiar's eyes 
  and hear what it hears until the start of your next 
  turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that 
  the familiar has . During this time, you are deaf and 
  blind with regard to your own senses .
  You can't have more than one familiar at a time . If 
  you cast this spell while you already have a familiar, 
  you instead cause it to adopt a new form . Choose one 
  of the forms from the above list . Your familiar trans-
  forms into the chosen creature .
  FORCE TRUTH
  Casting Time: 10 minutes
  Difficulty Class: 13
  Range: 15-ft-radius
  Components: Gold dust worth at least $50, which the 
  spell consumes
  Duration: 1 day
  You create a magical zone that guards against de-
  ception in a 15-foot-radius sphere centered on a point 
  of your choice within range . Until the spell ends, a 
  creature that enters the spell's area for the first time 
  on a turn or starts its turn there must make a DC 13 
  Charisma saving throw . On a failed save, a creature 
  can't speak a deliberate lie while in the radius . You 
  know whether each creature succeeds or fails on its 
  saving throw .
  An affected creature is aware of the spell and can 
  thus avoid answering questions to which it would 
  normally respond with a lie . Such a creature can be 
  evasive in its answers as long as it remains within the 
  boundaries of the truth .
  GLYPH OF WARDING
  Casting Time: 1 hour
  Difficulty Class: 15
  Range: Touch
  Components: Crushed diamonds worth at least $50 
  which the spell consumes
  Duration: Until dispelled or triggered
  When you cast this spell, you inscribe a glyph that 
  later unleashes a magical effect . You inscribe it either 
  on a surface (such as a table or a section of floor or 
  wall) or within an object that can be closed (such as 
  a book, a scroll, or a treasure chest) to conceal the 
  glyph . The glyph can cover an area no larger than 
  10 feet in diameter . If the surface or object is moved 
  more than 10 feet from where you cast this spell, the 
  glyph is broken, and the spell ends without being 
  triggered .
  The glyph is nearly invisible and requires a suc-
  cessful Intelligence (Investigation) check against your 
  spell save DC to be found .
  You decide what triggers the glyph when you cast 
  the spell . For glyphs inscribed on a surface, the most 
  typical triggers include touching or standing on the 
  glyph, removing another object covering the glyph, 
  approaching within a certain distance of the glyph, 
  or manipulating the object on which the glyph is 
  inscribed . For glyphs inscribed within an object, the 
  most common triggers include opening that object, 
  approaching within a certain distance of the object, or 
  seeing or reading the glyph . Once a glyph is triggered, 
  this spell ends .
  You can further refine the trigger so the spell acti-
  vates only under certain circumstances or according 
  to physical characteristics (such as height or weight), 
  creature kind (for example, the ward could be set to 
  affect aberrations or drow), or alignment . You can 
  also set conditions for creatures that don’t trigger the 
  glyph, such as those who say a certain password .
  When triggered, the glyph erupts with invisible 
  magical energy in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on 
  the glyph . The sphere spreads around corners . Each 
  creature in the area must make a DC 15 Wisdom 
  saving throw . A creature takes 4d8 psychic damage 
  on a failed saving throw or half as much damage on a 
  successful one .
  
  16
   
  HIDEOUS LAUGHTER
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 13
  Range: 500 feet
  Components: Special (see below)
  Duration: 1 hour
  You attempt to incapacitate a humanoid within 
  range . In order to cast this spell, you must have a 
  body part (such as a strand of hair or bit of nail) or a 
  personal item (such as a pencil or cup) from the target . 
  If the spell is successfully cast, the target perceives 
  everything as hilariously funny and falls into fits of 
  laughter . This causes the target to fall prone, become 
  incapacitated, and unable to stand up for the dura-
  tion . A creature with an Intelligence score of 4 or less 
  isn’t affected .
  Each time it takes damage, the target can make a 
  DC 13 Wisdom saving throw with advantage . On a 
  success, the spell ends .
  IDENTIFY
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 11
  Range: Touch
  Components: A crushed pearl worth at least $20, 
  which the spell consumes
  Duration: Instantaneous
  You choose one object that you must touch 
  throughout the casting of the spell . If it is a magic 
  item or some other magic-imbued object, you learn its 
  properties and how to use them . You learn whether 
  any spells are affecting the item and what they are . If 
  the item was created by a spell, you learn which spell 
  created it .
  If you instead touch a creature throughout the 
  casting, you learn what spells, if any, are currently 
  affecting it .
  MAGIC CIRCLE
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 15
  Range: 10 ft cylinder
  Components: A special mixture of iron and silver 
  powder worth at least $100, which the spell consumes
  Duration: 1 hour
  While chanting the ritual, you sprinkle the pow-
  der in a 10-foot-radius circle and create a 20-foot-tall 
  cylinder of invisible magical energy . Choose one or 
  more of the following types of creatures: celestials, 
  elementals, fey, fiends, or undead . The circle affects a 
  creature of the chosen type(s) in the following ways:
  • The creature can't willingly enter the cylinder by 
  non-magical means . If the creature tries to use 
  teleportation or interplanar travel to do so, it must 
  succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw .
  • The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls 
  against targets within the cylinder .
  • Targets within the cylinder can't be charmed, 
  frightened, or possessed by the creature .
  When you cast this spell, you can elect to cause its 
  magic to operate in the reverse direction, preventing a 
  creature of the specified type from leaving the cylinder 
  and protecting targets outside it .
  MAGIC WEAPON
  Casting Time: 1 hour
  Difficulty Class: 13
  Range: Touch
  Components: Gold dust worth at least $100, which the 
  spell consumes
  Duration: 1 day
  You enchant a non-magical weapon . Until the spell 
  ends, that weapon becomes a magic weapon with a +1 
  bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls .
  PROTECTION FROM EVIL
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 11
  Range: Touch
  Components: Powdered silver and iron worth at least 
  $10, which the spell consumes
  Duration: 1 hour
  Until the spell ends, one willing creature you touch 
  is protected against certain types of creatures: aberra-
  tions, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead .
  The protection grants several benefits . Creatures of 
  those types have disadvantage on attack rolls against 
  the target . The target also can’t be charmed, fright-
  ened, or possessed by them . If the target is already 
  charmed, frightened, or possessed by such a creature, 
  the target has advantage on any new saving throw 
  against the relevant effect .
  SEE INVISIBILITY
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 13
  Range: Self
  Components: Silver dust worth at least $50, which the 
  spell consumes
  Duration: 1 hour
  For the duration, you see invisible creatures and 
  objects as if they were visible, although they appear 
  ghostly and translucent .
  
  17
   
  SENDING
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 11
  Range: Unlimited
  Components: A short copper rod worth $10
  Duration: 1 round
  You send a short message of twenty-five words or 
  less to a creature with which you are familiar . The 
  creature hears the message in its mind, recognizes 
  you as the sender if it knows you, and can answer in a 
  like manner immediately . The spell enables creatures 
  with Intelligence scores of at least 1 to understand the 
  meaning of your message .
  You can send the message across any distance and 
  even to other planes of existence . However, if the 
  target is on a different plane than you, there is a 5 
  percent chance that the message doesn't arrive .
  SPEAK WITH DEAD
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 15
  Range: Touch
  Components: Special
  Duration: 10 minutes
  You can speak to a dead person using 
  their physical remains as a channel . 
  In order to cast this spell, you 
  must be touching the corpse 
  of the target, the headstone 
  over their grave, or a 
  container holding their remains . You may also cast 
  the spell while holding an object that the target pos-
  sessed in life, but in that case you have disadvantage 
  on the Intelligence (Arcana) check . The spell fails 
  if the corpse was the target of this spell within the 
  last 10 days .
  If successfully cast, until the spell ends, you can ask 
  the target up to five questions . Only you can hear the 
  answers . The target knows only what it knew in life, 
  including the languages it knew . Answers are usually 
  brief, cryptic, or repetitive, and the target is under 
  no compulsion to offer a truthful answer if you are 
  hostile to it or it recognizes you as an enemy . 
  SUMMON GHOUL
  Casting Time: 1 minute
  Difficulty Class: 11
  Range: Self
  Components: Humanoid skull
  Duration: 1 hour
  This spell must be cast in a graveyard at midnight . 
  If you successfully cast the spell, a ghoul comes to 
  you after an hour has elapsed . The ghoul is neither 
  hostile nor friendly and listens to what you say before 
  reacting . If you ask to be taken to another 
  ghoul who you know by name, the 
  ghoul obliges . The ghoul may react 
  in a friendly manner if offered 
  something it needs, especially 
  esoteric knowledge . Other-
  wise, the ghoul is likely to 
  either leave or attack you .
  
  18
   
  tappendix at 
  OPTIONAL RULES
  The following rules may be included at the 
  GM’s discretion .
  LUCK
  Whilst characters rely on strength, determina-
  tion, and skill to overcome the terrors they face, there 
  is no denying that luck also plays a role . In Whispers 
  in the Dark, your luck is represented by luck dice, 
  which are d6s . You have a number of luck dice equal 
  to your proficiency bonus . When you make an attack 
  roll, saving throw, or ability check, you may roll one 
  or more of your luck dice and add them to the total . 
  Once you have used a luck dice it is expended 
  and can’t be used again . All expended luck dice are 
  restored when you take a long rest or start a new ad-
  venture, whichever comes first . 
  EXPLOSIVES
  An item that explodes specifies its area of effect in 
  parentheses after the explosive property . No attack 
  roll is necessary . When the item explodes, it deals the 
  indicated damage to each creature within the area of 
  effect . A successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw 
  halves the damage . 
  STACKING EXPLOSIVES
  Explosive items become more powerful when 
  stacked together to explode at the same time . If using 
  dynamite, each additional stick increases the damage 
  by 1d6 (to a maximum of 10d6) and the area of effect 
  by 5 feet (to a maximum of 20 feet) . If using powder 
  kegs, each additional keg increases the damage by 
  1d6 (to a maximum of 12d6) and the area of effect by 
  5 feet (to a maximum of 30 feet) . 
  LIVING EXPENSES
  The background section gives a monthly income 
  for each entry in United States dollars . The Living 
  Expenses table suggests the average cost per month of 
  living, and includes accommodation, food, and other 
  essential expenses . If you are supporting a family, add 
  a quarter to the total . 
  Living Expenses
  Lifestyle
  Monthly Expense
  Wretched
  $5
  Poor
  $25
  Comfortable
  $50
  Superior
  $150
  Luxurious
  $400
  Wretched. You have no permanent home and you 
  find shelter where you can, often squatting in empty 
  buildings . Finding enough food to eat is a daily strug-
  gle, while your clothing is old and ragged .
  Poor. You probably live in a boarding house or 
  perhaps you are renting a small prefabricated cottage . 
  You generally have enough to eat but never an abun-
  dance . Your clothing is plain but neat .
  Comfortable. You live in a good-sized home of 
  6 rooms or more which you might even own . You eat 
  well, including some minor luxuries . You also dress 
  well, with at least one set of fine clothes . 
  Superior. You live in a large, attractive villa or 
  similar in a good part of town . You enjoy an abun-
  dance of food and always dress in fine clothing .
  Luxurious. Living in a mansion or similar, you 
  enjoy the very best that life has to offer .
  Explosives
  Explosives
  Cost
  Damage
  Weight
  Properties
  Dynamite (stick)
  $1
  3d6 
  bludgeoning
  1 lb .
  Explosive (5 ft . radius sphere)
  Gunpowder (keg)
  $3
  5d6 fire
  20 lbs .
  Explosive (10 ft . radius sphere)
  Detonator & Wire
  $3
  —
  5 lbs .
  —
  
  19
   
  tappendix b t 
  THE MYTHOS
  There are things about the world and universe 
  which it is better for the majority not to know . We 
  live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of 
  infinite seas, and it was not meant that we should 
  voyage far . Should we do so, we must be prepared to 
  accept notions of the cosmos, and of our own place in 
  the seething vortex of time, whose merest mention is 
  paralyzing . 
  We are only one—perhaps the least—of the highly 
  evolved and dominant races of this planet’s long and 
  largely unknown career . Things of inconceivable shape 
  had reared towers to the sky and delved into every 
  secret of Nature before our first amphibian forbear 
  crawled out from the hot sea . Some had come down 
  from the stars; a few were as old as the cosmos itself; 
  while others had arisen swiftly from terrene germs . 
  Most powerful are the Great Old Ones, who lived 
  aeons before there were any humans, and had come to 
  the young world out of the sky . These entities are not 
  composed altogether of flesh and blood . They have 
  shape, but that shape is not made of matter . When the 
  stars are right, they can plunge from world to world 
  through the sky; but when the stars are wrong, they 
  cannot live . 
  Although they no longer live, they can never really 
  die . Some lie in stone houses in the great city of R’lyeh 
  beneath the waves, preserved by the spells of mighty 
  Cthulhu for a glorious resurrection when the stars and 
  the earth might once more be ready for them . 
  When the first humans came to be, the Great Old 
  Ones spoke to the sensitive among them by molding 
  their dreams; for only thus could their language reach 
  the fleshly minds of mammals . These first people 
  formed a cult which has never died .
  There are also tales of rites and sacrifices to name-
  less Elder Gods . Outside the ordered universe, at the 
  centre of all infinity, the daemon-sultan Azathoth 
  gnaws hungrily in chaos amidst the muffled, madden-
  ing beating of vile drums and the thin, monotonous 
  whine of accursed flutes . Azathoth is attended by the 
  blind, voiceless, mindless Other Gods whose soul and 
  messenger is the crawling chaos, Nyarlathotep . There 
  is also the fabulous Yog-Sothoth, the All-in-One and 
  One-in-All of limitless being and self, which appears 
  as a congeries of iridescent globes, stupendous in its 
  malign suggestiveness . 
  Some people know things about the universe that 
  no-one ought to know . We find terrible hints of these 
  matters in such esoteric texts as the Pnakotic Manu-
  scripts, the Book of Eibon, and the seven cryptical 
  Books of Hsan . But most enlightening and fearful of 
  all is the monstrous and abhorred Necronomicon by 
  Abdul Alhazred . 
  In this forbidden text, readers encounter names 
  and terms with the most hideous of connections—
  Yuggoth, Great Cthulhu, Tsathoggua, Yog-Sothoth, 
  R’lyeh, Nyarlathotep, Azathoth, Hastur, Yian, Leng, 
  the Lake of Hali, Bethmoora, the Yellow Sign, L’mur-
  Kathulos, Bran and the Magnum Innominandum—
  all hinting at nameless aeons, inconceivable dimen-
  sions, and worlds of elder, outer horror .
  These ancient books describe a vast and appalling 
  universe which lies deeper than matter, time, and 
  space, and whose existence most only suspect . The 
  sciences, each straining in its own direction, have 
  hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing 
  together of dissociated knowledge will open up such 
  terrifying vistas of reality and of our frightful position 
  therein, that we shall either go mad from the revela-
  tion or flee from the deadly light into the peace and 
  safety of a new dark age . 
  A FURTHER NOTE ABOUT HPL
  The above summary is an amalgam of quotes 
  extracted from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and 
  provides a useful and evocative summary of the 
  Mythos that underlies Whispers in the Dark. We’ve 
  printed this summary at the behest of some of 
  our playtest groups, who wanted something to 
  share with those players completely unfamiliar 
  with the Mythos.
  In the Quickstart Rules, we included a 
  sidebar called “The Problem with HPL” which 
  condemned Lovecraft’s prejudices while 
  honoring his creative legacy. Since publishing 
  those rules, Evil Hat have included a similar 
  statement in their book, Fate of Cthulhu. The 
  creators of the present volume wish to affirm 
  both of these statements. 
  
  20
   
  tappendix ct 
  OPEN GAME LICENSE
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, 
  Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wiz-
  ards”). All Rights Reserved.
  1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/
  or trademark owners who have contributed Open Game 
  Content; (b)”Derivative Material” means copyrighted material 
  including derivative works and translations (including into 
  other computer languages), potation, modification, correc-
  tion, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compila-
  tion, abridgment or other form in which an existing work 
  may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) “Distribute” 
  means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, 
  publicly display, transmit or otherwise distribute; (d) “Open 
  Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes 
  the methods, procedures, processes and routines to the 
  extent such content does not embody the Product Identity 
  and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional 
  content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the 
  Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, 
  including translations and derivative works under copyright 
  law, but specifically excludes Product Identity. (e) “Product 
  Identity” means product and product line names, logos and 
  identifying marks including trade dress; artifacts; creatures 
  characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements, 
  dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, 
  depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes 
  and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio repre-
  sentations; names and descriptions of characters, spells, 
  enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses 
  and special abilities; places, locations, environments, 
  creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural abilities or 
  effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other 
  trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as 
  Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and 
  which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f) 
  “Trademark” means the logos, names, mark, sign, motto, 
  designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or 
  its products or the associated products contributed to the 
  Open Game License by the Contributor (g) “Use”, “Used” or 
  “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, 
  translate and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open 
  Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in 
  terms of this agreement.
  2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Con-
  tent that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game 
  Content may only be Used under and in terms of this Li-
  cense. You must affix such a notice to any Open Game Con-
  tent that you Use. No terms may be added to or subtracted 
  from this License except as described by the License itself. 
  No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open 
  Game Content distributed using this License.
  3. Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content 
  You indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.
  4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing 
  to use this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, 
  worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact 
  terms of this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
  5. Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are 
  contributing original material as Open Game Content, You 
  represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation 
  and/or You have sufficient rights to grant the rights con-
  veyed by this License.
  6. Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPY-
  RIGHT NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact 
  text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content 
  You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must 
  add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder's 
  name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game 
  Content you Distribute.
  7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product 
  Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, 
  except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agree-
  ment with the owner of each element of that Product Iden-
  tity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or co-adaptability 
  with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunc-
  tion with a work containing Open Game Content except as 
  expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with 
  the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The 
  use of any Product Identity in Open Game Content does 
  not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product 
  Identity. The owner of any Product Identity used in Open 
  Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in and 
  to that Product Identity.
  8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You 
  must clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are 
  distributing are Open Game Content.
  9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents 
  may publish updated versions of this License. You may use 
  any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and 
  distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed 
  under any version of this License.
  10. Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of 
  this License with every copy of the Open Game Content 
  You Distribute.
  11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or 
  advertise the Open Game Content using the name of any 
  Contributor unless You have written permission from the 
  Contributor to do so.
  12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply 
  with any of the terms of this License with respect to some or 
  all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, 
  or governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open 
  Game Material so affected.
  13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if 
  You fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such 
  breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All 
  sublicenses shall survive the termination of this License.
  14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to 
  be unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to 
  the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, 
  Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/M.T. Black/The Investigators Companion.pdf