Call of Cthulhu 7e Sanity cheat sheet
Sanity mechanics, loss sources, and recovery. At-the-table reference for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition.
Call of Cthulhu Sanity: the core horror mechanic. Sanity erodes from encounters with violence, the unnatural, and forbidden knowledge.
Sanity check
- Roll
- d100 ≤ current Sanity to pass
- Loss format
- Pass/Fail (e.g., 0/1d6 means 0 on pass, 1d6 on fail)
- Bout of madness
- Lose 5+ SAN in one check
- Each source of horror has a pass/fail SAN loss.
- Passing still costs SAN (the first number, often 0 or 1).
- Failing costs the second number (usually a dice roll).
Common Sanity losses
- Finding a mangled corpse
- 0/1d3
- Seeing someone die violently
- 0/1d6+1
- Killing someone in combat
- 1/1d6
- Encountering a Deep One
- 0/1d6
- Seeing Great Cthulhu
- 1d10/1d100
- Reading a Mythos tome
- Varies (permanent Cthulhu Mythos gain)
Temporary and indefinite insanity
- Bout of madness (5+ SAN from one source): make an INT roll. Success means temporary insanity (the horror is understood), lasting 1d10 hours with phobias, amnesia, catatonia, or psychosomatic symptoms. Failure means the memory is repressed, with no insanity.
- Losing 20% of current SAN in a session: indefinite insanity (lasts until treated).
- Reaching 0 SAN: permanently insane (character becomes an NPC).
Maximum Sanity and Cthulhu Mythos
- Maximum Sanity = 99 minus Cthulhu Mythos skill.
- Learning the Mythos permanently lowers your ceiling.
- A character with Cthulhu Mythos 30 can never have Sanity above 69.
Recovery
- Psychotherapy: therapist rolls Psychoanalysis; success recovers 1d3 SAN.
- Self-help: connecting with a backstory anchor recovers 1d6 SAN (once per anchor).
- Time: extended downtime in a safe environment can restore SAN (Keeper discretion).
- Defeating a Mythos threat: may recover SAN (scenario-specific rewards).
Common mistakes
- Sanity and Luck are different stats: Sanity = POW, Luck = 3d6 × 5 (separate).
- Cthulhu Mythos skill permanently reduces maximum Sanity; there is no way to undo this.
- Bouts of madness are not a punishment: they are an opportunity for the player to roleplay horror.
- An investigator at 0 SAN is permanently insane, not dead; they become an NPC.