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Chaosium Digest Volume 03 Number 12
Chaosium Digest Volume 3, Number 12
Date: Sunday, September 12, 1993
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Announcement: Convulsion '94 (David Scott) MISC
Knightly Orders (Heidi Kaye) PENDRAGON
Book Reviews (John Breakwall) CALL OF CTHULHU
Editor's Note:
In reference to my article in the last issue on "The Further Cases of
Titus Crow", Chris Jarocha-Ernst mentioned that Yegg-Ha, the creature
from AN ITEM OF SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, was later discovered by Lin
Carter to be the chief of the night-gaunts.
Lovecraft enthusiasts might be interested in picking up a comic
magazine called "Rich Corben's Den Saga." The first three issues of
this magazine have all contained adaptations of Clark Ashton Smith
stories. I'm not particularly found of Corben's art, but the adaption
that I read (Return of the Sorcerer, in issue three), was at least OK.
Unfortunately, the Smith stories only make up about 25% of the
magazines (RotS was 10 pages).
Shannon
Recent Sightings:
* Pendragon - "The Treasure of Galilee", a seven page adventure, White
Wolf #37 [Septemberish, 1993]
--------------------
From: David Scott <DScott@snail.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Announcement: Convulsion '94
System: Misc
CONVULSION OF THE WRITING REVENANTS
The Unrepeatable Experience Returns
College Hall, Leicester, England, 22nd - 24th July 1994
Convulsion is back! They said it would never happen, but once again,
you too can convulse with excitement, convulse with terror or convulse
to the power of myth.
Our Guests of Honour are Greg Stafford, the President of Chaosium Inc,
Sandy Petersen and Ken Rolston, who between them are responsible for
such groundbreaking games as RuneQuest, Call of Cthulhu and ...
Here are just some of the things which we have planned for Convulsion
in 94 :
Become part of Gloranthan history in our giant free-form game, HOW THE
WEST WAS ONE.
Play for honour, glory and ludicrous prizes in our Pendragon and
RuneQuest tourneys.
Die horribly in our Australian rules Call of Cthulhu tournament.
Pig out to your heart's content (if not your stomach's) at the Eat at
Geos party.
We have also made sure there will be plenty of space for you to play
your own games, or just to convulse quietly in the corner. Of course,
we will also have Exciting Talks, Interesting Seminars, Informative
Panels, an Auction of Rare and Exotic games and much more, for those
of you that dont want to convulse all of the time!
So join now - theres never been a Convulsion like it! (At least, not
since the last one...)
Residential membership is 18 UK Pounds plus a room deposit of 10 UK
Pounds (rooms will be no more that 20 UK Pounds per night, including
breakfast). Non-residential membership is 25 UK Pounds. There will
also be a nominal charge for the free-form game HOW THE WEST WAS ONE
(to cover printing costs, etc).
In order to sponsor the trip for Greg, Sandy & Ken, we have created
the Spare Grain Fund, for which we will gratefully accept any
donations (money or games for auction).
You must be aged 18 or over at the time of the convention. Please book
as soon as possible to guarantee your place. To do so, simply send a
cheque or postal order made payable to CONVULSION to DAVID HALL,
CONVULSION, 21 STEPHENSON COURT, OSBORNE STREET, SLOUGH, BERKS. SL1
1TN. UNITED KINGDOM.
For further details, email:
Membership and payments- David Hall - 100116.2616@compuserve.com
Programme and events - David Scott - DScott@Snail.demon.co.uk
See you in Leicester!
Sandwiches on the edge of time
DScott@Snail.demon.co.uk 158.152.16.30
--------------------
From: Heidi Kaye [via P A Snow <P.A.Snow@gdr.bath.ac.uk>]
Subject: Knightly Orders
System: Pendragon
Knights Adventurous already includes some other knightly orders
besides the Round Table, such as the Queen's Knights, the Knights of
the Grail Temple, the Order of the Golden Apple and the King of
Malahaut's order of One Hundred Knights. In this article, several
more knightly orders are provided, for use with Pendragon.
Medieval monarchs copied the legendary Arthur's Round Table with such
honours as the Edward III's Order of the Garter and King John of
France's Order of the Star in order to inspire knightly deeds and
loyalty to the ruler who bestowed the honour. The following order of
knights is loosely based on the Teutonic Knights of the middle ages,
centered in Germany, who waged a long-term crusade against the pagan
Lithuanians. So eager were they for battle and glory that the crusade
continued even after the Lithuanians had converted to Christianity.
THE ORDER OF ST. ALBAN
Origins
Duke Hervis, ruler of Anglia and hero of the Saxon wars, set up this
order to encourage knights to help fight the rebellious Angles in his
land. He sees this order as something of a crusading one, and yearly
sends out raiding parties to put down troublesome Angle peasants. It
is named after the first Christian martyr in Britain. Their badge is
a vertical sword, point down, forming a cross.
Beliefs
Anglia may be named for its foreign invaders, but is now once again
part of Logres. It is the knights' duty to maintain this possession
and to convert the Angles to Christianity and to Cymric culture. This
is also, as time goes on, an opportunity for a knight to prove his
valour and his commitment to his religion. In later years it becomes
like a sport in itself, a chance to find adventures and battles in
which to win Glory.
Requirements
Members must generate a Loyalty of 2D6 (Order of St. Alban).
They must be Christian.
They must have a Hate (Saxons) Passion of at least 10.
Members need not be very religious or Pious, but must be valourous and
seek reknown by their deeds.
Benefits
Knights earn 50 Glory upon induction and thereafter 10 Glory a year.
They win the loyalty and support of Duke Hervis.
Duties
Members must obey the Duke of Anglia's call to arms whenever he needs
them to fight the Angles, which need not be every year. They must
support and defend each other. Members meet once a year on the feast
day of St. Alban, June 22, where they are treated to an abundant meal
and copious drinking. This is not a religious event so much as a
festival of rowdy knights.
Primary Adherents
Sir Sanam of Bedegraine
Sir Falmore the Fearless
Sir Gryllus of the Open Hand
Knights Adventurous also has its share of orders of bad knights, like
the Red Knights. Sir Turquine of the Tower would be a good robber
knight to lead such an order; this would give player knights a group
of enemies to combat. Here is a robber knight order to use:
KNIGHTS OF THE WOLF
Origins
Sir Turquine set up this band of knights originally as a group of
mercenaries who would fight for any ruler who would hire them, their
pay being the traditional booty of war. Now they go about ravaging
the countryside and stealing whatever they can, which is much easier
than fighting battles for spoils. They operate like bandits,
pillaging, raping women and robbing passing knights errant. They
demand protection money from villages; if not paid, they burn the
village.
Beliefs
They believe most strongly in their independence from all the laws of
the land. What they want, they take. They know no honour, and value
only fighting skill. They prefer cruelty and vengeance to the
chivalric virtues, since they pay better. The only reason they offer
mercy to knights is to extort ransoms. Those unable to pay tend to be
killed.
Requirements
Members must have a Passion of Loyalty (any lord) at no more than 5.
Members must generate a Passion of Hate (Round Table) of 3D6.
Members must generate a Passion of Loyalty (Sir Turquine) of 3D6.
Members must not be merciful or forgiving.
Benefits
Members benefit by the strength of the group of outlaws. They can act
however they want, without worrying about complying with the law.
Duties
Members support each other in a fight, but will not pay each other's
ransoms. Obediance is given to the strongest of the order, its
leader, Sir Turquine.
Temporary fellowships of knights are also mentioned in Knights
Adventurous. These were often set up by medieval knights for specific
purposes, and lasted until that purpose was achieved. Often the
purpose was to prove the knights' valour and thus they might be very
showy in nature. Two examples follow, the second based on a real vow
sworn by a medieval knight:
The Order of the Devoted Heart
Origin
This order was set up to prove the knights' qualities as courtly
lovers. A knight's love demands that he undertake some test in order
to be worthy of her. The members' badge is a red heart worn on a red
ribbon.
Requirements
Members must have an Amor or Love
Members must swear to honour all women
Duties
Member knights must seek a maiden in distress and save her from her
danger. This act must be their own, although fellow knights may help
them along the way.
Benefits
The knight who succeeds in his quest immediately gains 1 point in his
Passion for his lady love. His lady should lose at least one point of
resistance to him.
KNIGHTS OF THE CYCLOPS
Origins
This order started as a kind of boast between a group of knights.
They pledge to wear a patch over one eye until they have killed a
dragon, wyvern, or giant. Knights so encumbered should lose 3 points
from all visual skills, such as Heraldry, including combat skills.
Requirements
Knights should generate a Passion of Loyalty (Knights of the Cyclops) of 3D6
Duties
Knights should help each other and must pool their winnings in jousts
and tournaments until the quest is fulfilled. In a group fight
against one of the target monster, whoever makes the killing blow is
credited with the deed.
Benefits
Knights join such an order for the sake of the adventure and glory it
brings.
--------------------
From: John Breakwell <johnbrea@microsoft.com>
Subject: Book Reviews
System: Call of Cthulhu
[this article is excerpted from The Green Goblin -sda]
New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos
(edited by Ramsey Campbell)
Grafton Books (33.50) 1988
This is a compilation of stories brought together by Ramsey Campbell,
from a wide variety of authors including old HP himself. The range of
writing styles is interesting but not as enlightening as the different
backgrounds and plotlines used for the stories. A lot of people
assume Cthulhu is always Gothic 1920s but these authors prove them
wrong. Stephen King writes about the goings on in modern day Crouch
End, London; AA Attanasio uses a voodoo manifestation of the mythos in
a Caribbean setting; and Brian Copper draws upon an austere,
futuristic underground world which I found particularly chilling. The
story that left the greatest impression on me was that by T.E.D.
Klein, whose powers of description was at times quite unsettling. All
in all, a collection of very well written stories that should inspire
Keepers and interested non-gamers.
Cthulhu - The Mythos and Kindred Horrors
Robert E Howard, edited by David Drake
Baen Fantasy 1987
In contrast are these 13 stories and poems from the famous pen of
Robert E. Howard, which are more in line with what people generally
expect. They include the lonely house where unspeakable deeds were
done, the isolated pillar erected by a race long-gone, a legendary
lost city in the sands and so on. It should be borne in mind, though,
that Howard only lived from 1906 until his suicide in 1936, so these
stories would be hot stuff for their day. Some are still good
quality, but you do get the feeling that this is a book you might find
in a trunk in the attic, something left there long ago.
[also see vol.3.4 and vol.3.6 of the Digest for some story ideas drawn
from this book, as well as the out of print Chaosium supplement,
Shadows of Yog-Sothoth -sda]
Summer of Night
Dan Simmons
Headline Books (34.99) 1991 - 634pp
This is a book you won't be able to put down, as the action is fast
and the plot gripping. The book is set in a small mid-west American
town of 12,000 people in the summer of 1960. School has finished for
the holidays and the schoolkids are free again for another few months.
I don't think I can spoil the plot too much, as the blurb on the back
of the book does that adequately for me. The Borgia Bell has been
hanging in the old school bell tower for many years and has now
started to exert its power. Strange things are starting to happen and
evil creatures tunnel secretly under the ground.
Summer of Night reads just like the script for a film and you can
almost visualise the storyboard for it. This isn't really a bad
point, but I do feel Simmons maybe could have avoided describing
things in such a structured way. It also reminded me of children's
films, where a handful of teenagers save the day after taking on the
baddies because none of the grown-ups would believe them. In Summer
of Night, all of the adult population are either evil minions or
support for the children (around whom the book is based, though
everything is not as cozy as in the Famous Five films).
People die here...messily. I couldn't believe it when I read that one
of the main characters got taken out just when I was getting to like
the guy. It was a good shock to the system, as too many books have
everybody somehow surviving to a happy ending.
The book follows the standard flow, from unexplainable things
happening, through everything being revealed, to the edge-of-seat
climax, but that does oversimplify things. In over 600 pages, there
is a lot that goes on, especially as there are several main characters
with their own storylines. I must admit that some bits scared me and
that I was wary of dark shadows for literally WEEKS afterwards, which
also poses a problem for the plot. Is it realistic to assume that a
handful of kids in their early teens could handle the full horror of
what is going on in the town? Now, I'm well past that age and find it
difficult to remember how mentally tough I was at the time so I'll
give that the benefit of the doubt. Another possible stumbling block
is that no adult finds out what happened! Well, excepting the bad
guys, of course. Is that likely either? In the book, Simmons gets
round that by killing off any adult that get's a whiff of what's going
on, but lets most of the children live on to battle the source of evil
and so save the world. Hmmm. In his book it works, but in real life
I wouldn't be too sure.
If you want to be scared or need some ideas, pick this book up. The
plot can be directly lifted into a CoC game as everything is supplied:
the buildings are well described, the plot has a timescale that fits
all the characters together and the town is well-populated with
characters.
[also see vol.3.6 for more ideas derived from this book -sda]
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is a Discussion Forum for Chaosium's Games. To
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