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Chaosium Digest Volume 05 Number 03
Chaosium Digest Volume 5, Number 3
Date: Sunday, December 19, 1993
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Review: Keeper's Compendium (Alan Glover) CALL OF CTHULHU
Cthulhu Cycle Books (Shannon Appel) CALL OF CTHULHU
Plan d'Enfer (Frederic Moll) MISC
Editor's Note:
Two new Chaosium products have been released in the last week, both
for Call of Cthulhu.
Just out is the brand new hard cover edition of the Call of Cthulhu
rules (Chaosium, $30.00). It's _really_ well bound in an extremely
durable manner. I'd suggest it for anyone who makes serious use of
their rules. However, it's not available in stores. You can order it
from Wizard's Attic by calling 1-800-213-1493 (415-547-2158 for
foreign callers).
Also out is Sacraments of Evil (Chaosium, $18.95). It's a collection
of six adventures set in the 1890s. The authors include Scott David
Aniolowski, Fred Behrendt, Penelope Love, Kevin A. Ross and Todd A.
Woods.
Scanning through this Digest, you'll find that it's mostly
informational, containing reviews and previews of various items of
interest to Chaosium gamers. I hope you'll find it useful.
Shannon
--------------------
From: alan@pinesoft.demon.co.uk (Alan Glover)
Subject: Review: Keeper's Compendium
System: Call of Cthulhu
Unlike the Investigator's Companion this book is aimed quite
definitely at Keepers only. No peeking by your players! For this
reason I've tried to keep the review in fairly general terms to avoid
spoilers.
It has 78 pages (or 72 actual pages of text) and retails at $12.95.
These pages are unequally divided into four sections: Forbidden Books
(28 pages), Secret Cults (18 pages), Alien Races (12 pages) and
Mysterious Places (10 pages).
As you might guess from the number of pages, the section on Forbidden
Books goes into far greater detail than the 5th Edition rulebook. The
treatment includes details about the author, known translations and
their accuracy plus details of the spells likely to be found in the
different translations. In some cases alternate names for the spells
are given, however it's a good practice to never give a player a spell
by its rulebook name. One of my players is still trying to work out
what Brandon's Plight does.
A useful concept introduced in this section is that certain tomes
should grant a skill check on specific skills if the book was studied
successfully. An illustration of the thoroughness of this treatment
is that the section for the Necronomicon occupies three pages.
Within the books section is a double page spread explaining the
history of printing - useful if you want to invent a book and have it
in appropriate form for its age.
There is also a page of new mythos tomes, which are statted for SAN
loss and spell multiplier etc, but leave the Keeper to flesh out the
contents of the book and which spells (if any!) are contained in its
pages.
The section on cults goes into detail on a number of renowned cults
such as The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, including details of
leaders, history and goals. It makes the very important point that
most cultists are not robed cackling degenerates (well, not all the
time anyway). Remember that having SAN=0 does not mean nutty like a
fruitcake. It just means that their grip on human values and morals
has been irrevocably destroyed.
Various common threads are highlighted which can be easily grown in
scenarios, some of which take advantage of Nyarlathotep's 1000 forms.
In many respects Nyarlathotep is a lot more important to cultists than
Cthulhu.
Incidentally, for anyone who's wondering, The Horniman Museum
mentioned on page 43 really does exist, though it's a long time since
I've been there.
The Alien Races section expands on races likely to be found on Earth,
including Deep Ones and Mi-Go. The treatment is much more detailed
than the rulebook. For example there is a description of a Mi-Go
'book', a three dimensional construct capable of storing information
in a form far more efficent than human writing.
Finally, the section on Mysterious Places covers many of those names
that crop up again and again; including Atlantis, Kadath and R'lyeh
amongst others. Descriptions are perhaps a little on the brief side,
but there's enough of the flavour of a location to extrapolate the
surroundings.
When I wrote about the Investigator's Companion [see V4.2] I was quite
critical of the proofreading. The Keeper's Compendium is rather
better. I only noticed one typo whilst browsing through it to write
this review.
The Index is worth commenting upon; occupying a full page it looks
sufficiently detailed to allow a section to rapidly located in
real-time.
Is it worth buying? The cheap price and small size help make it
appealing. The final decision should rest upon the amount of time you
have to build scenarios and flesh out locations and artifacts. If you
could use a little help then the Compendium is worth getting.
--------------------
From: Shannon Appel <appel@erzo.berkeley.edu>
Subject: Cthulhu Cycle Books
System: Call of Cthulhu
A few people have asked about the stories in the Cthulhu Cycle books.
Below, I've included the contents of the first four in the series.
Books one and two are already out, while three and four are scheduled
for next year. Thanks to Lynn Willis for passing on the information
about the latter two books.
Cthulhu Cycle Book I: The Hastur Cycle
This book traces the evolution of several of the concepts found in HP
Lovecraft's The Whisperer in Darkness. The stories in this book are
all centered around Carcosa, the King in Yellow, Hastur and Yuggoth.
Contents:
Haita the Shepherd, by Ambrose Bierce
An Inhabitant of Carcosa, by Ambrose Bierce
The Repairer of Reputations, by Robert W. Chambers
The Yellow Sign, by Robert W. Chambers
The River of Night's Dreaming, by Karl Edward Wagner
More Light, by James Blish
The Novel of the Black Seal, by Arthur Machen
The Whisperer in Darkness, by HP Lovecraft
Documents in the Case of Elizabeth Akeley, by Richard A. Lupoff
The Mine on Yuggoth, by Ramsey Campbell
Planetfall on Yuggoth, by James Wade
The Return of Hastur, by August Derleth
Tatters of the King*, by Lin Carter
* Tatters of the King includes three Lin Carter pieces: Litany to
Hastur, Carcosa Story about Hali and a revision of James Blish's
rendition of the King in Yellow.
Cthulhu Cycle Book II: Mysteries of the Worm, Second Edition
Mysteries of the Worm is a collection of stories written by Robert
Bloch. This is an expanded version of the edition which was printed
in 1981. The three stories: The Brood of Bubastis, The Sorcerer's
Jewel and The Creeper in the Crypt have all been added, while three
other stories have been slightly revised.
Contents:
The Secret in the Tomb
The Suicide in the Study
The Shambler from the Stars
The Faceless God
The Grinning Ghoul
The Dark Demon
The Mannikin
The Brood of Bubastis
The Creeper in the Crypt
The Secret of Sebek
Fane of the Black Pharaoh
The Sorcerer's Jewel
The Unspeakable Bethrothal
The Shadow from the Steeple
Notebook Found in a Deserted House
Terror in Cut-Throat Cove
Cthulhu Cycle Book III: Cthulhu's Heirs
According to Lynn, Cthulhu's Heirs is now at the printers. It
contains a good assortment of new material, as well as two rare
reprints.
Contents:
Watch the Whiskers Sprout, by D.F. Lewis
The Death Watch, by Hugh B. Cave
The Return of the White Ship, by Arthur W.L. Breach
Kadath: The Vision and the Journey, by T. Winter-Damon
The Franklyn Paragraphs, by Ramsey Campbell
Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock, by Robert M. Price
1968 RPI, by Joe Murphy
Those of the Air, by Darrell Schweitzer & Jason Van Hollander
Mr. Skin, by Victor Milan
Just Say No, by Gregory Nicoll
The Scourge, by Charles M. Saplak
Pickman's Legacy, by Gordon Linzner
Of Dark Things & Midnight Places, by David Niall Wilson
Likeness, by Dan Perez
An Early Frost, by Scott D. Aniolowski
Scene: A Room, by Craig Anthony
The Seven Cities of Gold, by Crispin Burnham
Shadows of Her Dreams, by Cary G. Osborne
The Herald, by Daniel M. Burrello
Typo, by Michael D. Winkle
Star Bright, Star Byte, by Marella Sands
Cthulhu Cycle Book IV: The Shub-Niggurath Cycle
This book, due out in March or April, contains reprints of various
stories, with introductions by Robert Price. Lynn says that this
table of contents is not final; one or two stories may yet be added.
Contents:
The Horn of Vapula, by Lewis Spence
The Demoniac Goat, by M.P. Dare
The Ghostly Goat of Glaramara, by J.S. Leatherbarrow
The Moon-Lens, by Ramsey Campbell
Ring of the Hyades, by John S. Glasby
A Thousand Young, by Robert M. Price
The Seed of the Star-God, by Richard L. Tierney
Harold's Blues, by Glen Singer
Dreams in the House of Weir, by Lin Carter
Visions From Yaddith, by Lin Carter
Prey of the Goat, by M.L. Carter
Sabbath of the Black Goat, by Stephen Mark Rainey
The Curate of Temphill, by Robert M. Price and Peter Cannon
Grossie, by David Kaufman
--------------------
From: Frederic Moll <fmoll@cix.compulink.co.uk>
Subject: Plan d'Enfer
System: Misc
I've just found a French Fanzine called Plan d'Enfer which is semi-
specialized in the Chaosium productions (That's their motto).
Here's a summary of their old issues:
(notes for issue 1 to 4 may be later when I can put my hands on them)
Issue 5 (Jul/Aug 92):
Herbes et Poisons, Part 5: herbalism for Stormbringer
Silence! on Tourne: a scenario for CoC
Issue 6 (Sep/Oct 92):
Le Contrat de Fief: a historical article for Pendragon
Profession Menestrel and Herbes et Poisons, Part 6: play aids for Stormbringer
Visivil la Cape-demon: a mini play aid for Stormbringer
Remede Mortel: a scenario for Hawkmoon
Loa'n: part 4 of a Stormbringer campaign
Issue 7 (Nov/Dec 92)
Profession Chevalier: play aid for Stormbringer
Les Elementaires du Feu : another play aid for Stormbringer
Les Feuilles Mortes..., Part 1: a scenario for Stormbringer
Histoire de la Grandbretanne, Part 1: background for Hawkmoon
Issue 8 (Jan/Feb 93)
Les Guildes d'Assassins: a play aid for Stormbringer
Profession Courtisane: a play aid for Stormbringer
Elementaires de l'Air, de la Terre...: a play aid for Stormbringer
Le Pretre Assassine : a Stormbringer scenario
Les Feuilles Mortes..., Part 2: a Stormbringer scenario
L'agriculteur : play aid for Hawkmoon
Histoire de la Grandbretanne, Part 2: background for Hawkmoon
Issue 9 (Mar/Apr 93)
Profession Archer: for Stormbringer
Patricio don Carlos: An NPC for Hawkmoon
Le Faucon Blanc: scenario for Hawkmoon
Issue 10 (May/Jun 93)
Pendragon: a panorama
Le Barde Noir: a scenario for Pendragon
The current issue, number 11, contains the following articles:
* Le Cor ne sifflera qu'une fois (The Horn will be blown only once):
this is a long (19 page) post-apocalyptic scenario for Stormbringer
where the players can find the Horn of Fate before Elric calls the
White Lords. If they succeed, Stormbringer leaves Elric and Elric
will have a slow death without his vampiric sword. But, the task of
the players will be to banish all active chaos life from the Young
Kingdoms (a hard task). It may be a very surprising scenario for
players who have read the Elric Saga...
* Aiglions: a novella in the world of Stormbringer describing these
strange creatures also known as Griffins in others parts of the
Multiverse..
Scheduled for issue 12, there is an article on the history of Hispania
(Spain) for Hawkmoon.
These are the Chaosium related articles found in this fanzine. There
are also others on simulation games (with miniature in the
antic/medieval period), reviews of other rpg/supplements, etc.
Last, but not least, the address:
Plan d'Enfer
103 avenue Gabriel Peri
91700 Sainte Genevieve des bois
FRANCE
A bientot
Frederic
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial discussion forum for Chaosium's
Games. To submit an article, mail to: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu. The
old digests are archived on soda.berkeley.edu in the directory
/pub/chaosium, and may be retrieved via FTP.
