Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition occupation
Officer
Officer is an occupation in Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition: Serving law officer whose badge, sidearm, and access to records bring authority to the investigation.
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Key facts
- Skills
- Firearms, First Aid, Law, Persuade, Psychology, Spot Hidden, Credit Rating
- Credit Rating
- 9-30
Overview
The Officer combines the most useful base values of any list here: First Aid at 30 percent, Spot Hidden at 25 percent, Firearms (Handgun) at 20 percent, plus Law at 5 percent, Psychology at 10 percent, and Persuade at 10 percent. Nothing on the list is dead weight in a scenario. In play the Officer is both the party's authority and its medic. First Aid stabilizes an investigator who has dropped to 0 hit points, Law tells you what the local force can be made to do, and a badge gets you into a scene, a morgue, or a file room without a plan. The counterweight is scrutiny: the Officer answers to a chain of command, and a Keeper will use that every time the group wants to do something illegal.
How it works
Occupation Skills: Firearms, First Aid, Law, Persuade, Psychology, Spot Hidden, Credit Rating Credit Rating: 9-30% Skill Points: DEX × 2 + EDU × 2, or STR × 2 + EDU × 2 (spent only on the occupation skills listed above) Typical Equipment: Badge and service handgun, handcuffs, access to police files and the morgue, colleagues on other shifts, a first-aid kit you know how to use
Tips and playstyle
Best For: Parties with no combat capability, groups that keep needing official access, players who want authority with a leash attached to it. Playstyle: Name your Firearms category, because Handgun at base 20 percent and Rifle/Shotgun at base 25 percent are separate skills. Keep First Aid high, since at base 30 percent it is already the best starting value on your list and it is the roll that saves a dying investigator. Skill points build from DEX or STR plus EDU, so a physical officer loses nothing for a modest education. Character Concepts: City detective, small-town sheriff, railroad police, federal agent on a case that stopped making sense, uniformed officer who filed a report nobody would read.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just arrest the cultists?
Sometimes, and it rarely ends the scenario. You need something a prosecutor will use, which is why Law at base 5 percent and Spot Hidden at base 25 percent matter. Arresting a human cell is also a reliable way to attract the attention of whatever it was serving.
How useful is First Aid at base 30 percent?
Very. It is the highest base value on the list, it stops bleeding and treats wounds in the field, and it is the difference between an unconscious investigator and a dead one. Push it higher and it becomes reliable rather than a coin flip.
What happens when my superiors notice?
That is the built-in cost of the occupation. Settle your jurisdiction and standing with the Keeper early, because an officer working outside their district, or investigating without a case number, carries professional exposure that a Dilettante never does.