Dice In The Darkness: Cthulhu Calls

Chapter 52: SAN Value Attack

"What's a 'vocal check'?" Liu Xing asked, looking utterly confused at KP Cao.

KP Cao chuckled and explained, "A vocal check, as the name implies, is when a player conveys some information related to the Cthulhu Mythos to another player. If the receiving player has not previously been exposed to such information, they must perform a vocal check. It's similar to a SAN value check, except that no matter how explosive the Cthulhu-related information is, the result of the check always leads to a fixed outcome: success means losing 0 points of SAN value, while failure means losing 1d3 points of SAN value. Moreover, the player gains corresponding Cthulhu Mythos knowledge. Of course, this is also one of the new features in our latest Cthulhu Role-Playing Game Hall update."

Having heard KP Cao's explanation, Liu Xing got the gist of the vocal check. In essence, it was a form of persuasion, except the check didn't depend on the persuasiveness of the speaker but on the SAN value of the listener, to see if they would believe the information about the Cthulhu Mythos provided by the speaker. If the listener passed the vocal check, they would believe the information and lose a certain amount of SAN value to gain Cthulhu Mythos knowledge. If they failed the vocal check, they would treat the information as just a mythological story, neither losing SAN value nor gaining any Mythos knowledge.

This made perfect sense. No problem there.

Liu Xing suddenly remembered a story Wu Lei had shared about a previous gaming session, where players had the choice to look through a window. The sight of a gruesomely deceased body was guaranteed to reduce SAN value. Logically, the first curious player who chose to look and was discreetly informed of the outcome by the KP should have warned the others not to repeat his mistake. However, this player did the exact opposite, driven by the thought of not being the only one to lose SAN value, he convinced his teammates to look through the window, diminishing their SAN values as well. It was a cycle of mutual retribution—except for the player with the lowest initiative, who steadfastly refused to look through the window but was forcibly brought to it by the others, and inevitably lost SAN value as well...

This was the essence, the most sophisticated tactic in the Cthulhu RPG Game—the attack on SAN value through mutual harm.

Now, with the introduction of the vocal check, Liu Xing knew that in future Cthulhu RPG games, verbal persuasion could indeed drive someone mad!

"Alright, since the vocal check is influenced by the environment the players are in, Liu Xing, having just arrived in this strange mirror world, you believed what Tina said, so this vocal check will automatically succeed. Start rolling."

Liu Xing rolled a 1d3=2!

The moment the roll result appeared, Liu Xing felt his mind suddenly flood with knowledge about the Elder Sign. However, as he lost 3 points of SAN value in just a few minutes, he began to feel his concentration waver and his mood became irritable and uneasy.

Liu Xing's odd behavior was making Tina and the others somewhat anxious. After all, Li Ming had already lost his sanity, and if Liu Xing were to lose his mind as well, this promotional game was likely to end in total annihilation unless Tian Dao and the other two decided to forsake both Liu Xing and Li Ming.

Despite his trembling mind, Liu Xing hadn't forgotten his skill in psychoanalysis. He immediately contacted KP Cao, "KP, I need to perform psychoanalysis on myself now!"

"Oh, so you know psychoanalysis," KP Cao responded. "Well, I must remind you that whether successful or not, psychoanalysis requires you to spend five minutes on the process. You can interrupt it voluntarily, but you need a convincing reason to persuade me. Of course, you might also be interrupted by external events, like a plane crashing down on you from the sky. So, are you certain you want to proceed with psychoanalysis, knowing that your throw will be secret and your teammates will not know the outcome?"

Liu Xing hadn't anticipated that in this real Cthulhu RPG Game, psychoanalysis would require casting time and a ritual process, and it would be a hidden roll. This meant he couldn't count on his teammates to interrupt the process should his psychoanalysis fail.

Nonetheless, Liu Xing trusted his own luck and his teammates, so he resolutely chose to proceed with psychoanalysis.

Liu Xing, psychoanalysis, 51/70, successful.

Liu Xing breathed a sigh of relief. However, he immediately realized he had lost control of his body again. With closed eyes, he began muttering to himself, initiating the psychoanalysis on himself.

Because it was a hidden roll, Akira Akashi and the others knew Liu Xing was undergoing psychoanalysis but didn't know the result, so they hesitated to act rashly.

But Tina, with her experience in numerous Cthulhu RPG Games and many titles to her name, was well-versed in such matters. As a seasoned 'Keeper', she understood what was happening. She reassured Akira Akashi and Tian Dao, "Liu Xing must be stunned by the information I just shared. He's comforting himself right now, so let's not disturb him. He should come around in a few minutes."

Akira Akashi and Tian Dao nodded in agreement, showing no objections. Tina, however, couldn't help her curiosity, "By the way, you all seem to be aware of the Elder Sign and mythical creatures. You don't look surprised at all. Do you know about them?"

"Ah, yes, I am aware of the Elder Sign and mythical creatures," Tian Dao shared. "It was about half a year ago. I went camping with some friends I met online on an unnamed mountain. One of them, an archaeology professor, brought out a sleeping bag marked with an Elder Sign and explained its significance and function. It was during that camping trip that we encountered a creature resembling a zombie. Fortunately, we were lucky. First, we used the terrain to our advantage, breaking one of the creature's legs with a rock, which slowed it down. In the end, we managed to kill it. The professor later told us that the creature was a Ghoul, one of the mythical creatures." Tian Dao recounted how he came to know about the Elder Sign and his encounter with the Ghoul attack.