Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition occupation
Author
Author is an occupation in Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition: Professional writer whose research habits turn deep background work into an ordinary working week.
Last reviewed
Key facts
- Skills
- Art/Craft, History, Library Use, Language, Psychology, Persuade, Credit Rating
- Credit Rating
- 9-30
Overview
The Author writes for a living, which in Call of Cthulhu means the character has a standing excuse to read strange books in a strange town and ask questions nobody would answer a policeman. Library Use starts at 20 percent, the highest base on the Author list, and occupation points push it into the range where one afternoon in an archive reliably returns a clue. Authors come into their own between scenarios, when the party needs someone to sit with the documents. The occupation covers History at base 5 percent for placing a family or a building in its era, Psychology at base 10 percent for reading the person across the table, and Persuade at base 10 percent for talking a widow into opening her husband's papers. Credit Rating of 9 to 30 is genuinely low, so the Author is usually living on an advance and cannot buy past problems.
How it works
Occupation Skills: Art/Craft, History, Library Use, Language, Psychology, Persuade, Credit Rating Credit Rating: 9-30% Skill Points: EDU × 4 (spent only on the occupation skills listed above) Typical Equipment: Typewriter and notebooks, standing library cards, a publisher's letter of introduction, correspondence with editors and subject-matter experts
Tips and playstyle
Best For: Research-led investigators, campaigns with long gaps between scenarios, players who want a character with a public reason to ask about a disappearance. Playstyle: Take Library Use to 70 percent or higher early, because it is your one high-base skill and Keepers hand out the most information for it. Name your Art/Craft as Writing and choose your extra Language deliberately, since Language (Other) starts at 1 percent: Latin opens church and legal records, German opens the academic journals of the era. Personal Interest points (INT × 2) belong in Dodge, which starts at half DEX and is not on your list. Character Concepts: Novelist researching a real disappearance, pulp writer whose invented cult turned out to exist, biographer working through a dead man's papers, travel writer, ghostwriter hired by a family with something to hide.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Author different from the Journalist?
In this system the two occupation skill lists are identical, so the difference is fiction and freedom. The Journalist has an editor, a beat, and press credentials that open official doors; the Author sets their own schedule and can disappear into a research trip for a week without explaining it to anyone.
What do I spend Author skill points on first?
Library Use, then Persuade, then Psychology. Library Use at base 20 percent is the engine of the occupation, and Persuade and Psychology both start at 10 percent and cover the interview half of research.
Can an Author learn spells?
Yes, but the occupation gives no head start. Occult is not on the Author list and starts at 5 percent, so you either buy it with Personal Interest points (INT × 2) or learn spells straight out of a tome, with the Sanity cost that carries.