Cthulhu Nation Career Guide
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(NOTE: Much of the info on this page was made obsolete by the v11.1.10.0 revision. All classes can now cast spells, and you can begin play as a cultist. I'm not sure whether the basic stats have changed, but several of the skills have been changed or dropped.)
Contents |
Background
Introduction
As with any major life decision, picking your career is not a task to be rushed. The choice you make will impact everything else you do in Cthulhu Nation; however, having said that, there is no bad Profession. In this guide, we want to give you all the information you might need to make an informed choice about which career path is right for you.
Two important questions to ask yourself are:
1) Do you want to be able to cast spells?
- Only two of the Professions - Archaeologists and Scholars - carry spell books, and as such are the only Professions that will ever have magickal abilities. If your heart is set on spellcasting, then you will want to consider one of these two careers. Note that the ability to cast spells does not preclude you from also using weapons. Although you won't have the same natural talent at wielding weapons as, say, a Private Investigator, you can choose to become more proficient at them as you develop your skills.
- Be aware, however, that spellcasting is a double-edged sword. Yes, you'll have access to exciting new weapons and magickal tricks, but you'll also have to spend a lot of time hunting down the components needed for casting, you'll have to spend points on strength so that you can carry around an adequate supply of them at all times, and most importantly, you'll have to make difficult decisions on how to spend your points - become a great fighter, become a powerful spellcaster, or try to strike a balance between the two that might make you less effective at both. There are several important stats and skills associated with spellcasting, and the Professions who can't even light a match with magic have more points to spend in other areas as a result.
2) Do you want to become a cultist?
- If you intend to turn to the "dark side" eventually, then there are other factors to consider when choosing your profession. Again, no Profession is a bad choice as a stepping stone to serving the minions of Cthulhu, but you may find that certain ones give you a bit of an advantage. The mining skills of an Archaeologist, for example, are useful in gathering certain spell components; the strength of a Private Investigator is useful for carrying those components around; and the occult knowledge of a Scholar will not only make the process of becoming a cultist easier, it will also boost the occult knowledge you gain after the transformation.
- Additionally, the type of cultist you eventually become is directly tied to the Profession you choose, so if you find yourself drawn to a certain cultist species, that will probably influence your initial career decision.
What are profession "tiers"?
When you first begin in the game, your character is completely freelance, unaffiliated with anyone else. Think of it as being between jobs, except that not only do you not have a regular paycheck, you're also not very strong, and you can't move very fast. Life is tough!
Then, eventually, you discover the Group, and they tell you that if you decide to help them fight the forces of Cthulhu, they'll give you a job. And, just like any good job, there's room for advancement and promotion!
Once you agree to join the Group, and you choose your profession, you're considered to be at "tier 1". All of your basic stats and skills will increase (differently, depending on the Profession you choose), you'll gain your first class-specific skill, and you will be given a weekly wage from the Group. (For more on this, see section 2.)
Eventually, you'll reach a point at which you become eligible for promotion. Once you locate and complete the promotion quest, you go up a tier within the Group. At this point your stats, skills and wage will all increase. You'll also gain a new title, a new avatar, and a new class skill (and spell, if you're a Cultist).
Altogether there are five tiers, for both Professions and Cultists. In order to give you some idea of how each class develops over time, we'll take a look at the first two tiers when we get to section 2.3. (Tier 3 has only recently been implemented; Tiers 4 & 5 aren't available yet.)
See also the article on Tiers.
If I decide to become a cultist, what happens?
The cultist initiation ceremony has three parts; you can complete the first two parts and still remain a Profession, but after completing the third part, you have essentially signed your name in blood and cannot change your mind - so before you decide to commit yourself to a life of chaos and questionable morality, be certain that it's the right path for you!
When you complete the cultist initiation ceremony, you will be given three spells: Dynamo Blast (an electrical damage spell, which requires no component to cast) and two additional class-specific spells. (Note that, along with Dynamo Blast, three of these - Anubis Particles, Cast Elder and Mesmerize - are also available to Professions from shops in the game, while three other class-specific spells - Metamorph, Anubis Particles and Elemental Flight - are available from the Arkham Market.)
Your mana capacity will also increase, and you'll get twice the spell experience that spellcasting Professions do. However, as a result of this increased spellcasting ability, your ability to use conventional weapons will drop; you'll only be able to deal half the damage with weapons that Professions can. You'll also be dependent upon mana pools to recharge your spellcasting abilities.
Also note that, as a cultist, you won't lose any of your current skills. When you undertake the cultist initiation, it's as though you've studied long and hard for an additional university degree, or a new career - you don't forget everything you've studied before, you simply learn new skills (or, in this case, spells).
As cultists are not employed by the Group, you will no longer receive a weekly wage; instead, you'll be paid in gold nuggets. Some cultists can use these as spell components; others can sell them off for cash.
What makes each Profession special?
Once you choose your Profession, you will be given a set of starting characteristics which you will gradually be able to enhance as you see fit, in order to customize your character. Each Profession is given slightly different starting characteristics, because each Profession has different strengths. These characteristics fall into three broad groups: stats, skills and class-specific skills.
Stats are essentially your "vital signs" - how much health or stamina you have, how strong or smart you are, etc. Skills include mainly learned skills, like languages and fighting proficiency, as well as some innate talents. Each individual starts with the same stat categories, and each individual starts with - or can learn, through quests or academies - the same skills. The only difference is that each Profession starts out with slightly different proficiency levels - for example, PIs have the most strength and Scholars are the weakest, whereas Scholars have the highest Library skill and PIs one of the lowest. But, if a Scholar wanted to build up his/her STR level equal to that of a PI, s/he could do so within a few levels, just as a PI could build up their Library skill equal to that of any Scholar. This initial stat/skill advantage, however, can be very helpful for a player who specifically wants to focus on that area.
Class-specific skills are where each Profession becomes truly distinct. While most of the skills in the game can be acquired by any Profession interested in learning them, class-specific skills are only ever given to one Profession. Building up these skills will give you advantages in the game that many players cannot even hope to achieve. So, as you try to decide on which Profession interests you most, you may find it useful to compare the different basic stat and skill allotments, but the best indicator of "the right career for you" will probably be which class skills interest you the most.
Basic stats
| Class | STR | INT | VIT | DEX | CON | MAG | Health | Mana | Stamina | WAGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archaeologist | 12 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 46 | 20 | 50 | £10 00s 00d |
| Journalist | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 48 | 4 | 46 | £9 15s 00d |
| Private Investigator | 14 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 50 | 2 | 48 | £9 10s 00d |
| Scholar | 6 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 42 | 25 | 42 | £10 05s 00d |
| Scientist | 8 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 44 | 8 | 44 | £10 10s 00d |
Basic skills
| Skill | Arch | Jour | P.I. | Scho | Scie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon Skills | |||||
| Knowledge Weapons | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Brawl | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| H2H | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
| Knowledge Skills | |||||
| Library | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 9 |
| Occult Skills | |||||
| Spell Power | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Knowledge Spell | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Knowledge Occult | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
| Heal | 8 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 9 |
| Knowledge Mythos | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| General Skills | |||||
| Spot Hidden | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Personal Skills | |||||
| Concentration | 9 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
Class-specific skills
ARCHAEOLOGIST
(As of v11.1.10.0, Archaeologists begin play with both of these skills at Tier 1.)
Class Skills:
- tier 1 (Archaeologist) - Geology
- tier 2 (Relic Hunter) - Cartography
Archaeologists are spellcasters, and their experience with a pickaxe means that they're much better at digging up gems and metals than the other professions. These minerals can be used in forging and smelting, spellcasting or simply sold for cash, so studying archaeology will give you an advantage in a broad range of areas. You can use map parchment paper to make maps of underground areas, indoor areas and special event maps. Each map has a required skill rating to be able to make a map of that area.
Cultist Transformation: SHADOW
Class Spells:
- tier 1 (Shadow) - Metamorph (no component), Mesmerize (jade)
- tier 2 (Lycanthrope) - Night Vision (bilberry)
Shadows are a sneaky cultist class, possessing the ability to change shape at will to resemble any of the professions. While this might sound interesting for purely cosmetic reasons, in fact it also helps the Shadow to blend into its surroundings. While disguised, it is protected from being attacked by other Professions. They can also stun other players to prevent them from attacking either monsters or cultists for a set number of turns. At tier 2, they gain the ability to see in the dark without the aid of a lantern.
---
JOURNALIST
Class Skills:
- tier 1 (Journalist) - Editor's Notes
- tier 2 (Feature Editor) - Charisma
Adventurers who choose to study journalism will be granted access to the archives of newspaper offices throughout the world, from which they can gather period trivia, game character plots, and quest tips. By tier 2, the natural charm that they develop to put interviewees at ease will also help them save money in stores and resist PvP attacks.
Cultist Transformation: PHANTOM
Class Spells:
- tier 1 (Phantom) - Diminish (human bones), Touch of Azathoth (giant DNA)
- tier 2 (Poltergeist) - Wind Vortex (sapphire)
Phantoms are perhaps the most dangerous of the cultist classes, with spells mainly geared toward causing harm to other players. Diminish allows them to temporarily reduce the stats of a player or monster; Touch of Azathoth causes increased insanity, with the potential for stat loss; and, at tier 2, Wind Vortex is a damage-dealing spell which can also push a player across the map.
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PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR
Class Skills:
- tier 1 (Private Investigator) - Gut Instinct
- tier 2 (Police Officer) - Location Clue
Private Investigators are excellent all-around fighters, with skills in both combat and questing. Gut Instinct allows a PI to roughly gauge their odds of defeating a particular creature (easy, difficult or impossible) according to their current circumstances. At tier 2, Location Clue may provide very specific leads when tracking down the next step in a quest.
Cultist Transformation: WRAITH
Class Spells:
- tier 1 (Wraith) - Anubis Particles (gold), Transpose (ruby)
- tier 2 (Fallen Angel) - Elemental Flight (human organs)
Wraiths are the most practical of the cultists. While they can deal enormous fire damage with Anubis Particles, their other class spells are designed more for utility: Transpose allows them to move other players around the map, and at tier 2, Elemental Flight permits them to soar through the air, over hedges or other natural barriers.
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SCHOLAR
Class Skills:
- tier 1 (Scholar) - Knowledge Institutions
- tier 2 (Lecturer) - Bilingual
Scholars are spellcasters, devoted to research and the pursuit of knowledge. Their choice of an academic career will give them easier access to libraries and the rare books they contain, as well as greater insight into which materials are of interest as "research sets". (All players must complete this research in order to reach higher tiers.) At tier 2, all the language skills they've developed are enhanced by the Bilingual skill.
Cultist Transformation: OUTCAST
Class Spells:
- tier 1 (Outcast) - Innsmouth Look (human DNA), Cast Elder (aqua)
- tier 2 (Magician) - Anubis Particles (gold)
Outcasts are a mischievous cultist class, with the ability to temporarily turn Professions into monstrous green Deep Ones. Not only does this have the effect of frightening passersby, making it impossible for the target to use public transportation or enter shops, it also makes them vulnerable to attacks by unsuspecting Professions. Cast Elder incrementally raises both CON and Knowledge Mythos, making them both more knowledgeable and better-armoured during attacks. At tier 2, they gain a powerful fire damage spell.
---
SCIENTIST
Class Skills:
- tier 1 (Scientist) - Technology
- tier 2 (Chief Administrator) - Knowledge Civilization
Scientists have the extremely useful ability to study objects found in the game and divine their purpose, thus providing a useful service for both themselves and their fellow players. A skilled scientist will eventually be able to identify unknown advanced weaponry that would otherwise be unusable; at tier 2 this ability will extend to artefacts developed by the mysterious alien civilization whose advanced relics lie dormant across the globe.
Cultist Transformation: WARLOCK / WITCH
Class Spells:
- tier 1 (Warlock / Witch) - Dream Sending (emerald), Transpose (ruby)
- tier 2 (Alchemist) - Protoplasmic Shield (giant skin)
Warlocks and Witches are the most defensively oriented of the Cultists. Dream Sending enables them to decrease their own sanity or that of others without having to resort to an expensive asylum visit or purchasing Psyche Tonics. Transpose allows them to move other players around the map. At tier 2, they gain a greater ability to protect themselves with Protoplasmic Shield, which provides a larger boost to CON than Cast Elder but costs Giant Skin, a rare item only dropped by certain horrors.
Many thanks to Lucius Armitage, Hiram Blavatsky, Cassandra Chaote, Howard Johnson, Nikolai Karenin, Vincent Lariox, Gigzy Lichistern, Benjamin Moorehouse, McMurphy, Eric Roddson, Silas St John, Tipsy Twinklebody, Ida Y. Vuelta and Donald Worthington for their help in assembling this guide!
