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Chaosium Digest Volume 04 Number 04
Chaosium Digest Volume 4, Number 4
Date: Sunday, September 26, 1993
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
A Keeper's Guide to Small Group Combat (Alex Antunes) CALL OF CTHULHU
Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten (Kaid Ramdani) CALL OF CTHULHU
More Potions for Pendragon (Shannon Appel) PENDRAGON
Magical Enchantments (Shannon Appel) ELRIC!
Editor's Note:
I am almost done with an Index of Different Worlds Magazine, which I hope
to make available some time in the next few weeks. Unfortunately,
there is one issue of Different Worlds that I do not own, and can not
easily get ahold of: #22. If anyone is interested in helping me
finish this index, by providing information on that issue, please drop
me a line. I'd appreciate it.
New out this week is the fourth edition of Pendragon (Chaosium, 352pp,
$26.95). It's a truly impressive book, especially due to its
inclusion of a Celtic magic system (see V2.3 for a preview of that
magic system).
Finally, for those you of you interested in random statistics: the
distribution list of the Chaosium Digest is now up to 249 persons.
I'm quite impressed by the growth that the list has shown in the last
month.
Shannon
--------------------
From: Alex ANTUNES <alex@astro.isas.ac.jp>
Subject: A Keeper's Guide to Small Group Combat
System: Call of Cthulhu
"Firefights and The Cultist Exception"
or, a Keeper's Guide to Small Group Combat
Even in the gentle milieu of Call of Cthulhu, the poor Investigators
often run up against police, cultists, paramilitary units and other
small groups of armed people intent on doing harm. How should the
Keeper play these units? Whereas a normal monster can be expected to
attack until it kills or is killed itself, groups of people react
quite differently.
In this article are some extremely simple guidelines, in which a
generic "Unit" of forces is engaging the Investigators in combat.
These are intended to discourage the Investigators from getting
involved in such situations in the first place. Unless the
investigators are a trained mercenary unit themselves, they should
rarely attempt direct assaults.
Weapons
For simplicity, assume all members of a given Unit have the same
weapon. This makes some realistic sense. They may have robbed the
same warehouse or had the same trainer. For flavor, let the leader
(or nearest equivalent) carry a heavier or longer-range weapon. You
can then play this up: "well, you all survived the first round of
pistol fire, but I still have to roll for the woman with the sniper's
rifle..."
Cover
Anyone that is being shot at will seek cover. This is simple common
sense. So, in a firefight, make sure that you emphasize that the
position of the Unit is NOT out in the open. Also, making a simple -2
to any "to hit" roll is a good idea. This will suggest to the
Investigators that they need to get to cover also. Further, anyone
wishing to engage in hand-to-hand combat must break from cover, and
the Keeper should emphasize that this makes them a very appealing
target. "Okay, Hadji, you wish to leap forward and kung-fu the temple
leader? Just charge that twenty feet across the open ground while
bullets wing around you and you're there! What, you've changed your
mind?"
Losses, Retreat, Panic
Unlike your average monster, people tend to get worried when their
friends are dying around them. Rather than using a complicated set of
equations for morale, judge it by the "kick-ass" yardstick. If the
Unit is doing serious damage to the Investigators, they will try to
advance. If the Unit is being seriously hurt by the Investigators,
and more than 1/2 of them are unconscious or dead, they will run.
Fighting to the last man is VERY unusual in a semi-realistic setting
such as CoC, especially for police (who have better things to do than
die) and gangsters (who are more interested in money than blood).
The Cultist Exception
The one time to ignore all rules and common sense is when you are
handling a cult on its home turf. Here, religious fervor and perhaps
a dose or two of drugs will goad the cult into suicidal acts of
bravery: no retreat, no use of cover, kill or be killed. This makes
them strongly resemble the relentless gods they worship. You can
ignore tactics and generally have them rush the Investigators in wave
after wave of human cannonfodder.
--------------------
From: NUMERIK1@ze8.rz.uni-duesseldorf.de (Kaid Ramdani)
Subject: Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten
System: Call of Cthulhu
Have you ever been in a situation, where you wished you could give
your players a handout in its proper language? Then, even if they
don't know the languages, they can read some familiar words, which
will make them quite nervous. For example: "I read this manuscript,
and it says K'thooluh again and again."
I always try to give my handouts the most realistic touch, so I am
looking for "original" textes in foreign languages. If you have one,
please email me. Maybe we can collect them and publish them in the
digest.
Included here is an excerpt from Von Juntz's "Von Unaussprechlichen
Kulten", printed in 1839 in Duesseldorf, a city near Cologne in
Germany:
"Einer der erschrecklichsten Kulte aber ist der Kult des
Gesichtlosen aus Ghorma Slann. Jener blasphemischen Monstrositaet,
die ihre abscheulichen Riten nur in dunklester Nacht unter den
Augen einer Schar deformierter und abschreckender Rattenwesen
abhaelt. Der Kult allein ist Schuld am Tode hunderter unschuldiger
Seelen und nur wenige wissen, dass die Rueckkehr des Gesichtslosen
unmittelbar bevorsteht."
English Tranlation:
"One of the most terrible cults is the Cult of the Faceless of
Gorma Slann. A blasphemous monstrosity, it celebrates its perverted
rites in the darkest of the nights, under the eyes of a horde of
deformed and frightening ratlike beings. The cult alone caused
the death of hundreds of innocent souls and there are few who know
of the nearby return of the Faceless One."
As a scenario idea, to go with this text, I would suggest a German
immigrant, who left Germany in 1720 in fear for witchhunters. In his
belongings was a relic of the cult of the Faceless of Gorma Slann. It
is a statue or perhaps a flute. The immigrant was the sole survivor
of the rat-plagued sailing-ship that he reached America in. Two
hundred years later, an ancestor of his has discovered his family's
past. Corrupted by the mythos, he prays to the Faceless again. Soon
after, a serious rat problem has appeared in the city where this
ancestor lives.
For further ideas, I suggest James Herbert's "The Rats". As a special
mythos monsters, I would suggest the Rat-things from "Cthulhu by
Gaslight", a lesser servitor race.
Remember the scratching in the walls.
KAID
--------------------
From: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu (Shannon Appel)
Subject: More Potions for Pendragon
System: Pendragon
In Pendragon, women may posess a number of different gifts. One of
the most interesting of these is the gift, "potion brewer", which
allows women to make a number of magical salves, poisons and potions.
Unfortunately, the basic potion table given in Pendragon (P4, pg 141
or KA, pg 79) is a bit short. Below, I have included a number of new
potions, which could either be used as interesting elements in game
play or to expand the Potions Result Table given in the basic rules.
EXPANDED POTIONS RESULT TABLE
1 Rhiannon's Caress
2 Dona's Kiss
3 Branwen's Brew
4 Arionrod's Song
5 Ceridwen's Embrace
6 72-herbs
7 The Kiss of the Forest
8 Blodeuwedd's Blessing
9 Llew's Cloak
10 Pwyll's Philter
The Kiss of the Forest: A healing potion made from the leaves of
certain rare faerie plants. The result is a bad smelling salve which
may be rubbed into wounds. When applied, the Kiss of the Forest will
heal the permanent effects of a major wound (that is, any statistic
that was lost, not the actual hit points damage).
Blodeuwedd's Blessing: Fertility Potion. A sweet tasting potion which
must be drunk. That winter, the knight who imbibes it will be blessed
with children. Roll a D10+10 on the Childbirth Table (P4, pg 188)
rather than the standard D20 (assuming, of course, that the knight has
some consort).
Llew's Cloak: Potion of Valor. When a knight drinks this bitter
potion, he gains the characteristics of a lion. For a full day, his
Valor will be +10, and his Cowardly -10, with no maximum. If the
knight survives the day, his characteristics will return to normal.
Pwyll's Philter: Potion of Valor. While under the influence of this
tasteless potion, a knight will feel no pain. He will feel no
immediate effect from his injuries, and will not fall unconscious
until he is quite near to death (ie at 0 hit points).
Finally, it is also rumored that to the East of Logres, there is a
woman who knows the secret to making another type of potion. It is
not on the above table, for the ingredients and methods are both a
secret, known only to Culwyn, wife of the unfortunate knight, Sir
Merin. It is described below:
Culwyn's Concotion: This potion, made of certain roots and herbs which
are brewed into a soup, protects a woman from pregnancy. When the
winter phase comes, it is not necessary to make any rolls upon the
Childbirth Table. Clearly, a wife secretly drinking this potion could
make life most miserable for her husband if he is still seeking an
heir.
--------------------
From: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu (Shannon Appel)
Subject: Magical Enchantments
System: Elric!
Chaosium's newest game of the Young Kingdoms, Elric!, offers an
impressive magic system which allows characters to cast many of the
small spells seen in the Elric novels. Although I was originally
somewhat leery of the idea, I think the result is a good one. There
are sufficient detriments to spell casting, that parties of
adventurers are unlikely to wander about the Young Kingdoms, Hell's
Razor constantly upon their blades.
However, even with the minor magics of Elric!, the system still seems
somewhat incomplete. I first hit upon this problem when designing the
Melnibonean Spell, The Runesleep [see V3.4]. The normal procedures
for spellcasting, which allow for short-lived spells which may be cast
very quickly, seemed inappropriate. Since then, I've considered the
problem a bit more, and I now offer, as a solution, a new manner of
spells: Enchantments.
The Elric! rules touch briefly upon Enchantments, saying that they
are: "a form of magic which imbued objects and places with one or more
qualities that permanently changed its characteristics or behavior"
(Elric! rules, page 107). I would suggest that that is only one
aspect of Enchantments. More completely, an enchantment is any spell
that has some type of permanent effect upon the world. These might be
the Armoring, Binding and Matrix Enchantments of RuneQuest, or the
ancient enchantments alluded to in Elric! or modern rituals, known by
the most powerful of sorcerers.
All enchantments have three defining characteristics:
* LENGTH OF CASTING - Enchantments take an extended amount of time to
cast. Most modern enchantments will take 1D8 hours to cast. More
powerful enchantments, such as the ones described on page 108 of the
Elric! book could take considerably longer.
* DURATION OF SPELL - Universally, enchantments are of a permanent
duration, although some of them (such as The Runesleep and The Hidden
Soul) may be broken under certain conditions.
* EXPENDITURE OF POWER - Due to their strength, Enchantments take
something out of their caster. The weakest ones, such as the examples
given below, drain but one POW. Greater ones might require the
sacrifices of entire villages.
As examplse of enchantments, I would first offer two extant spells,
Brazier of Power (Elric! pg 77) and The Runesleep (vol.3.4). Clearly,
they meet two of the criteria of enchantments already, for they each
require a point of POW to be spent and they both have permanent
effects upon the world. By naming them enchantments, we also extend
their casting time to 1D8 hours. In both cases, it seems appropriate.
Finally, I offer one new enchantment, a spell of the East, drawn from
the Elric books:
The Hidden Soul (4) [Spells of the Unseen World]
"He had put his soul into the body of a cat so that no rival sorcerer
might steal it when he slept."
-The Bane of the Black Sword III, 1
Enchantment. Cost is 1 POW. Range is touch. Chaotic. With this
spell, the sorcerer is able to put his soul into the body of an
animal, protecting himself from certain foul enchantmants (notable
among them, the soul stealing abilities of Stormbringer). However, in
turn, the sorcerer also increases his vulnerability. If the animal
which holds the sorcerer's soul should die, so shall he. This
enchantment may be brought to an end if the sorcerer and the animal
exchange blood. Knowledge of this enchantment is limited to the
unknown kingdoms of the east. However, it might be known by
travellers to the Young Kingdoms who originated in those far away
lands.
--------------------
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