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Chaosium Digest Volume 03 Number 05
Chaosium Digest Volume 3, Number 5
Date: Sunday, August 15, 1993
Number: 1 of 3
Contents:
How to Marry Up in Pendragon (Eric Rowe) PENDRAGON
Chaosium Games and Comics (Kaid Ramdani) MISC
Upcoming Chaosium Releases (Sam Shirley) MISC
Editor's Note:
Lots of _great_ stuff for the Digest this week. Thanks to everyone
who contributed. Besides this issue, you should receive a volume of
Cthulhu arcana and a terrific Pendragon adventure. And then, of
course, there's the question of a confrontation between Stormbringer
and Cthulhu himself.
Shannon
--------------------
From: Eric Rowe <rowe@soda.berkeley.edu>
Subject: How to Marry Up in Pendragon
System: Pendragon
The Pendragon game system allows easy marriage at or below a player's
own social level. However, it notes that to marry above one's station
requires game play, not random die-rolling. The following are a few
ideas for game reasons to marry higher than your station and a few
story ideas to go along with them. For those of you who wish to defy
Chaosium's dictates, feel free to roll a d6 to determine method
required to marry into a higher station.
Random Marrying Above Station Table:
1: Creature Quest
2: Castle Recovery
3: Item Retrieval
4: Withstand Trials
5: Rescue Woman
6: Remove Curse
In each of these examples GMs should keep in mind three important
things. First, how much higher in social level is the expected
marriage? The tasks required to marry at the level of a Duke should
be much harder than those required to marry at the level of a Count.
The knight's Glory and Appearance should be taken into account as
well. Second, who is the woman involved? Is she a widow? an eldest
daughter? This should be vital in determining the type of method
needed. For example, a widow would be more likely to assign some
quest or trial to a suitor, while a daughter may be in need of rescue.
Lastly, who else is involved? This is where rival suitors and
political intrigues come in. Several of the possible methods are
enhanced by the arrival of other suitors that make the quest/trial
more competitive and interesting. Also, consider the politics of the
local area. Will the local higher authority approve? What is
involved in terms of land, and who is affected adversely? What will
they do about it? Once these are decided wish the player good luck,
they will need it.
1: The standard quest for powerful creatures. "Bring me the head of
the evil giant Goruntal and the tail of the serpent of Bryant Abbey."
This should be appropriate to the region's needs as well as the goals
of those involved. While whimsical quests are possible, they are not
as appropriate.
Example: An extremely wealthy Countess has just been widowed. As she
does not like living alone, she has immediately begun accepting new
suitors. All she really wants is someone to show off at social
functions. To this end, they must be both handsome and heroic. Any
knight with above a 14 APP qualifies. To prove their heroism, as well
as add to their presentability, they must complete her mission. The
first to return to her the toe of a giant, the tail of a dragon, and
the nose of an evil witch will win her hand. There are 1d6 other
suitors currently interested in her hand (money) and looks (23).
2: Recover the family castle. Someone has usurped one or more castles
from a powerful family and possibly slain some important members. The
reward for recovery is marriage into the family.
Example: After the death of a local Baron, several of his illegitimate
sons banded together and seized the main castle from the Baron's son,
killing him in the process. The Baron's remaining child, a daughter,
is willing to marry one who will restore her to her home and slay her
evil siblings. The local count doesn't really care who runs the
place, as long as the money comes in uninterrupted. This is a good
chance for player knights to gather their armies to aid one of their
fellows in retaking the castle.
3: Retrieve this heirloom/item. Not unlike the seek and kill a
creature quest. This one simply involves recovery of an important
item to the powerful family. There should be many hurdles to its easy
return, incuding the item's location. Is it held by an immense giant,
or perhaps an evil knight, well fortified within his large castle?
Example: The duke's children were robbed by bandits on the road back
to the castle. Among the items taken was the ring passed on from
mother to daughter for generations. The Duke is offering the reward
of the hand of one of his younger daughters if the ring is returned
and all the bandits brought to justice. The hard part of this is that
the bandits work for an enemy noble and hide out in his castle. The
recovery of the ring may prove more difficult than the knights had
originally thought. While the Duke is willing to part with a younger
daughter, he is not willing to go to war. He would like the ring
recovered without his name being associated with its recovery and
anything that may happen during it. He does not think his land is
currently able to defend itself well enough. This is another reason
he is willing to marry off a few daughters to able-bodied knights.
4: Pass this test/trial. Often, seemingly impossible tasks are
required of suitors by over-protective fathers. Or, possibly the
woman involved just likes to watch men fail.
Example: A local Baron's daughter is of age, but he wants only the
best for her. So, he has arranged a series of extremely difficult
tests for any suitors. To succeed in the test, one must simply remain
in one's room in the Baron's castle all night long. If the knight
leaves the room, he fails the test and loses his chance. As can be
expected, the night does not pass uneventfully. The first test is a
court functionary who offers a large sum of money for the knight to
simply leave. The second test is a woman screaming for her life in
the hallway. If the knight emerges there will be a large rat menacing
her. Once she is saved, she will thank the knight and swear not to
say he left the room. The third test involves a beautiful woman
offering her services to the knight if he will accompany her to her
room. The fourth test occurs when a messenger arrives saying the
player's lord is besieged and in terrible danger, so he has sent for
all his men. If the knight leaves the room to go to his lord's aid,
the messenger will stop him and say he came to the wrong castle by
mistake and ride off allowing the knight to return unseen to the room.
The last test involves three large knights that come in and threaten
the life of the knight and pummel him senseless if necessary to try to
convince him to leave.
If the player left the room for any odd numbered test, the Baron will
emerge and toss him out of the castle. If he did not leave the room
for the even numbered tests the Baron will also toss out the knight.
The truly final test will be when the Baron asks a successful knight
if he left the room. If he lies and says he never left, he loses.
However, if he admits he left to aid a lady and to aid his lord the
Baron will be overjoyed and congratulate his new son-in-law.
5: Rescue the daughter. An old standard is for the desperate father
of a missing child to offer the hand in marriage to the rescuer. This
can be especially interesting if missing daughter does not wish to
return.
Example: A massive Saxon raid has left a Baron bereft of his eldest
daughter as well as many of his villagers. If she is returned safely,
the knight who does so will get her hand in marriage. The dowry size
will increase with the number of Saxons killed, and there are LOTS of
Saxons.
6: Remove a curse. Either the land, the lord or the lady are under a
curse. The curse can be lifted only by completing a certain task,
killing a certain evil Sorcerer, etc...
Example: The count's lands are not producing enough to feed his
people. He suspects that a certain Druid he offended has placed a
curse upon the land in retaliation. The only problem is that the
Druid can not be found. The Count has offered his daughter's hand in
return for lifting the curse. The players may accomplish it by
finding the Druid and convincing him to remove the curse (perhaps by
completing some quest for him) or by finding another as powerful who
would be willing to do the task. There is always a high cost for the
services of a magician.
--------------------
From: NUMERIK1@ze8.rz.uni-duesseldorf.de (Kaid Ramdani)
Subject: Chaosium Games and Comics
System: Misc
Beside being a full-time role-playing addict, I also collect comics.
They are a good source for scenarios, so I have listed some of my
favorites below:
H.P.LOVECRAFT'S CTHULHU by Millenium. These are heavily based on
Chaosium's CoC. The protagonists are a typical CoC-player group. In
the first episode, they free a professor of Miskatonic University from
the grasp of cultist, who are going to sacrifice him to Cthulhu. He
later tells them his connection to the mythos, which leads to a comic
version of "The Whisperer in the Darkness". A nice gimmick is the
hand-out section, where you can find letters, which fit perfectly into
an adventure session.
H.P.LOVECRAFT by Adventure comics (4 issue series). A further try to
convert Lovecraft stories to comic. They made a fair adaption of "The
Lurking Fear" and "The Tomb" but set the stories in the 90s. I don't
know why.
THE WORLDS OF H.P.LOVECRAFT by Caliber Press. I only read "The
Picture in the House" adaption of this series and I liked it. Also
set in 1993, it has a nice storyframe about a businesswoman with quite
a sanity problem. The ads for further releases raised my interest.
ELRIC by Pacific Comics. Quite old (printed in 1983) these comics
catch Moorcock's spirit the most. I especially like the colours and
the weird perspectives of the art. Above all, it clings to the
original Elric. Afterwards, First Comics produced adaptations of the
next four Elric books (Sailor on the Sea of Fates, The Weird of the
White Wolf, The Vanishing Tower and The Bane of the Black Sword). In
The Weird of the White Wolf, the short story "The Dreaming City" is
covered in only a few pages, probably because Marvel Comics produced a
graphic novel of The Dreaming City a few years earlier.
CORUM by First Comics, HAWKMOON by First Comics. Shortly after
picking up the ELRIC comics, First Comics also started printing
HAWKMOON and CORUM comics. They got through the first four books of
each series before quitting. The quality of these books were slightly
more varied than the ELRIC books, but still quite good.
Now for comics which, by my opinion, can help gamemasters to liven up
their CoC or Stormbringer games, by introducing good ideas:
THE ELSEWHERE PRINCE by Epic Comics. A vivid fantasy-science fiction
story with strange monsters, gruesome battles and a storyboard worthy
an eternal champion. Read them and you will understand. Fitting
espacially to Hawkmoon and Stormbringer.
BLANCHE GOES TO NEW YORK by Dark Horse Comics. Young female musician
goes to 1907 New York to take piano lessons. Her Professor and two
other students are quite strange, so is the house they live in. Put it
all together and add a Cthonion (I beg it is) and you have Blanche...
I like it. Dark Horse also prints Indiana Jones and so did Marvel.
INDIANA JONES by Marvel Comics. Ok. No great art, but to get ideas
for a CoC scenario, it is enough. Full of archaeologists, cultists,
murder and fast-paced action.
And finally:
THE SANDMAN by DC. Neil Gaiman is the Author of the Sandman stories,
and while it is not based on Lovecraft or Moorcock, you will find
reminescences to both of them. The stories are always dreamlike and
are full of strange characters and stranger happenings. I quite
enjoyed the collection called "The Doll's House". You could play it
as a crossover of Dreamlands and Cthulhu Now. It's about a young
woman who goes to Florida to find her younger brother to get her
family back together. The story features a house full of queer
people, a man, who had a date every hundred years, a convention of
Psycho-killers and ends in an unknown part of the dreamland. Highly
Recommended!
This is the end of the list. I know it is really unfinished, so, if
you have more comics to add or want to give your opinion, feel free to
email.
KAID
--------------------
From: chaosium@netcom.com (Sam Shirley)
Subject: Upcoming Chaosium Releases
System: Misc
This is a list of new and upcoming releases from Chaosium. Chaosium's
complete catalog is available for FTP from soda.berkeley.edu.
COMPUTER GAME
OCTOBER. The first Call of Cthulhu computer game is The Shadow of the
Comet, from Infogames. It will be available for MS-DOS machines in
October.
ELRIC!
$19.95 -- AVAILABLE NOW. This is a new roleplaying game set in the
world of the Young Kingdoms, as described by British fiction author
Michael Moorcock.
INVESTIGATORS' COMPANION, Vol 1
$10.95 -- AUGUST. Fifth ed. Call of Cthulhu dropped a bit of the
Roaring Twenties background. To make up for it, here's a heap of
information on the Klan, Prohibition and gangsters, a chronology of
the decade, how to obtain public records, newspapers here and abroad,
libraries and museums of natural history, consultants such as Nikola
Tesla, Edgar Cayce, and Charles Fort, 16 pages of automobiles, planes,
boats, and motorcycles, and a similar amount of guns, unusual weapons,
and gear. For every 1920s investigator. By Keith Herber, John Crowe,
and friends. 64 pages.
KEEPER'S COMPENDIUM
$12.95 -- SEPTEMBER. New Mythos lore concerning Call of Cthulhu's
background concepts in print, thoroughly integrated into the game.
Every keeper needs this book. Keith and friends annotate and analyze
every important Mythos tome; secret cults (Starry Wisdom cult, the
Nestarian Cult of Cthugha, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,
etc.); deep ones, serpent men, and a dozen more alien races;
mysterious places (Atlantis, G'harne, Hyperborea, Shamballah, etc.);
and about two dozen new creatures. The chapter concerning forbidden
books is alone worth this book's price, for the first time giving
chapter-by-chapter summaries and indicating what spells are in
particular books! Brilliant work by Keith Herber and friends. About 80
pages.
SACRAMENTS OF EVIL
$18.95 -- NOVEMBER. 1890s scenarios strange and terrifying. Edited
by and with two scenarios by Kevin A. Ross, plus three outstanding
scenarios by other authors. 128 pages.
INVESTIGATORS' COMPANION, Vol. 2
$10.95 -- DECEMBER. More exciting data on the Roaring Twenties from
Keith Herber and friends, systematized and ready to put into play.
With this and Companion I you'll have everything you'll ever need
concerning game background, prices, and the era's history, technology,
etc. About 64 pages.
CALL OF CTHULHU HARDBACK
$29.95 -- SEPTEMBER. Everybody asks for it, so now one version of
Cthulhu 5.1.1 is coming in hard covers! This is the same version
you're reading from, with a few exceptions a new page 324, printed
end-papers, and yes the hard-cover binding. The cover is the same,
except for the price. BUT THIS BINDING IS BUILT TO LAST!
Smythe-sewn, and rock-solid (so strong it's suitable for home
defense!). IT LAYS VERY FLAT. 240 pages.
COMING FOR _CALL OF CTHULHU_ IN 1994:
Technology and weapons for today and tomorrow ... city guidebooks for
London, New Orleans, etc. ... the magical traditions of the Old World
... Aniolowski's creatures ... the Mountains of Madness (maybe) ...
and much more. A fine year for Call of Cthulhu is shaping up.
MELNIBONE
$20.95 -- AUGUST. Home of Elric, hero of Michael Moorcock's novels,
the Melniboneans are Dragon Lords and mighty sorcerers with ancient
pacts with the Lords of Chaos. Includes background, new magic, and
adventures for use with the ELRIC! roleplaying game.
PENDRAGON 4th edition
$26.95 -- AUGUST. This new edition of our popular PENDRAGON
roleplaying game features our new Celtic Magic system.
CREDO!
$14.95 -- AUGUST. CREDO! is a new cardgame from Chaosium which
combines history with hilarity for two or more players. Each player
represents a faction of the early Christian Church during the Nicene
Council, where current Church dogma was agreed upon. Compete for
flock and connive to have your doctrine accepted as the belief of the
One Church.
GAMEMASTER SCREEN FOR ELRIC!
14.95 -- SEPTEMBER. This essential play-aid for ELRIC! gamemasters
features two three-section panels containing important tables and
rules from the ELRIC! roleplaying game. It also contains a small
booklet of character-sheet masters, monster forms, and other items.
UPCOMING FICTION
THE HASTUR CYCLE
$9.95 -- OCTOBER. The original tales involving dread Hastur, the King in
Yellow, and the Yellow Sign. Authors include Bierce, Machen, Ramsey
Campbell, Carl Edward Wagner, and more. Many tales now otherwise
impossible to find! Almost a history of these important myths in
horror. About 192 pages.
MYSTERIES OF THE WORM
$9.95 -- OCTOBER. This classic collection has long been out of print
and unavailable. In it is much of Robert Bloch's work concerning the
Cthulhu Mythos, written while part of Lovecraft's circle. About 192
pages.
CTHULHU'S HEIRS
$9.95 -- JANUARY. All-new tales of horror from the finest young
writers, and including one by the master, Ramsey Campbell. About 192
pages.
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is a Discussion Forum for Chaosium Games which do
not have another specific area for discussion. To submit an article,
mail to: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu
