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Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition occupation

Clergyman

Clergyman is an occupation in Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition: Ordained minister, priest, or rabbi whose parish grants access to grief, records, and closed doors.

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Key facts

Skills
Accounting, History, Library Use, Listen, Language, Persuade, Psychology, Credit Rating
Credit Rating
9-60

Overview

The Clergyman holds a position people confide in, and that is the whole occupation: eight skills built around listening, reading, and being trusted. Listen at base 20 percent, Library Use at base 20 percent, and Psychology at base 10 percent all sit on the same list, which is an unusually strong interview package before a single point is spent. In play the Clergyman is invited where other investigators have to break in: bedsides, funerals, family quarrels, and parish archives that reach further back than any public record. The Credit Rating band of 9 to 60 is unusually wide, covering a rural curate with nothing and a well-connected urban rector who dines with the people the scenario is about. Accounting is not filler on this list, because parish books and a suspicious bequest are a standard way these stories begin.

How it works

Occupation Skills: Accounting, History, Library Use, Listen, Language, Persuade, Psychology, Credit Rating Credit Rating: 9-60% Skill Points: EDU × 4 (spent only on the occupation skills listed above) Typical Equipment: Parish or congregation records, keys to the building, correspondence with the wider church body, a congregation that talks to you, standing in the local charity network

Tips and playstyle

Best For: Investigators who want social access without lying, parties missing a Listen and Psychology specialist, players who want a moral center for the Mythos to break. Playstyle: Spend on Persuade and Psychology first, then Library Use for the archive work. Occult is not on your list and starts at 5 percent, so if you want your clergyman to recognize what the cult is doing, buy it with Personal Interest points (INT × 2). Your Sanity starts at POW like everyone else, and the game gets enormous value from a faith-based character watching that number fall. Character Concepts: Country parson with a registry going back three centuries, urban rabbi, hospital chaplain, missionary newly returned from abroad, seminary-trained skeptic sent to debunk a local miracle.

Frequently asked questions

Does being a Clergyman give any protection against the Mythos?

No. There is no mechanical benefit: Sanity starts at POW and falls exactly as it does for everyone else. What faith gives you is access and roleplay leverage, plus a strong hook for the Keeper when your beliefs collide with what you have just seen.

Why is Accounting on the Clergyman list?

A clergyman keeps the books for a congregation. Accounting starts at 5 percent and is the skill that spots money moving through the parish that should not be there, which is how a great many cult-funding plots first surface.

What Credit Rating should I pick?

Anywhere from 9 to 60, and the choice defines the character. Below 20 you are a poor curate dependent on the collection plate; near 60 you have a comfortable living, social standing, and invitations to the houses where the scenario's real decisions get made.

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