"What's a 'vocal check'?" Liu Xing asked, looking utterly confused at KP Cao.
KP Cao chuckled and explained, "A vocal check, as the na implies, is when a player conveys so 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 outco: success ans losing 0 points of SAN value, while failure ans 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 Ga 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 rembered 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 gruesoly deceased body was guaranteed to reduce SAN value. Logically, the first curious player who chose to look and was discreetly inford of the outco 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 Ga—the attack on SAN value through mutual harm.
Now, with the introduction of the vocal check, Liu Xing knew that in future Cthulhu RPG gas, verbal persuasion could indeed drive soone mad!
"Alright, since the vocal check is influenced by the environnt 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 mont 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 beca irritable and uneasy.
Liu Xing's odd behavior was making Tina and the others sowhat anxious. After all, Li Ming had already lost his sanity, and if Liu Xing were to lose his mind as well, this promotional ga 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 imdiately 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 . 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 outco?"
Liu Xing hadn't anticipated that in this real Cthulhu RPG Ga, psychoanalysis would require casting ti and a ritual process, and it would be a hidden roll. This ant 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 imdiately 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 nurous Cthulhu RPG Gas and many titles to her na, 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 co around in a few minutes."
Akira Akashi and Tian Dao nodded in agreent, 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 so friends I t online on an unnad 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 ca to know about the Elder Sign and his encounter with the Ghoul attack.
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