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Chaosium Digest Volume 06 Number 04
Chaosium Digest Volume 6, Number 4
Date: Sunday, April 10, 1994
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Two Magicians for Pendragon (Eric Rowe) PENDRAGON
A Cthulhu Now Character (Stefan Matthias Aust) CTHULHU NOW
Playing the Bad Guys (Richard H. Jarrett) CALL OF CTHULHU
--------------------
From: Eric Rowe <rowe@glorantha.Berkeley.EDU>
Subject: Two Magicians for Pendragon
System: Pendragon
Here are two magical NPCs for any Pendragon campaign. The first is a
bumbling youngster with a heart of gold. The second is a wizened
druid who has spent too long on the Other Side and fallen into the
manipulations of the fairy queen Morgan le Fay.
HYFAIIRD THE BARD
Homeland: Salisbury/Logres Siz: 13 Damage: 4d6
Culture: Cymric Dex: 12 Healing Rate: 3
Lord: Earl Robert Str: 12 Movement Rate: 2
Glory: 26 Con: 13 Hit Points: 26
Insight: 1371 App: 18 Unconscious: 7
PERSONALITY TRAITS SKILLS MAGIC
Chaste 7 / Lustful 13 Awareness 10 Magic Limit 72
Energetic 14 / Lazy 6 Boating 1 Life Force 4d20
Forgiving 10 / Vengeful 10 Celestial Lore 0 Magic Defense 72
Generous 13 / Selfish 7 Chirurgery 0
Honest 19 / Deceitful 1 Compose 15 Sleep Owed 0 Weeks
Just 12 / Arbitrary 8 Courtesy 6
Merciful 10 / Cruel 10 Dancing 2 TALENTS [natural]
Modest 7 / Proud 13 Faerie Lore 3
Prudent 10 / Reckless 10 Falconry 3 [Bless] 5
Temperate 10 / Indulgent 10 First Aid 10 Curse 3
Trusting 12 / Suspicious 8 Flirting 3 Dispel 2
Valorous 14 / Cowardly 6 Folk Lore 2 Emotion 10
Gaming 3 [Glamour] 1
PASSIONS Geomantic Lore 0 Healing 10
Heraldry 3 Protect 1
Loyalty (Lord) 19 Hunting 2
Love (Family) 10 Industry 0 TALISMANS
Love (Modron) 16 Intrigue 3
Hospitality 12 Orate 6 Evoke Joy 72
Honor 14 Play (Harp) 15
Hate (Saxons) 7 Read 0 COMBAT SKILLS
Recognise 3
EQUIPMENT Religion (Pagan) 2 Battle 3
Romance 2 Horsemanship 4
Andalusian Charger Sight 5
Sword Singing 15 Sword 3
Harp Stewardship 2 Lance 1
Swimming 2
Tourney 5
BACKGROUND
Hyfaiird has just been promoted to the rank of full Bard, despite the
advice of some of his teachers. The third son of a banneret knight,
Hyfaiird had high hopes for adventure and glory. He was greatly
disappointed when his natural magical talents arose and his father
agreed with the court advisors that he should be schooled in magic.
Hyfaiird barely passed his examinations, and he is the first to admit
he is not a quality Bard. Despite his lack of formal knight training,
Hyfaiird remains hopeful that he can still achieve knighthood and the
great adventure which it brings.
POSSIBLE SCENARIO IDEAS
* While wandering the local countryside Hyfaiird spotted a pleasant
hillock that had a noticable magical aura to it. Closer examination
revealed the it had an ambient magic level of 5d20, as well as Bless
2d20 and Heal 3d20. Hyfaiird realized this would be perfect for a
possible future sacred space. Unfortunately, as he explored his new
hillock he was driven off by a Ogre/Giant/Dragon. Hyfaiird has
returned to ask the aid of valient knights to drive off or slay his
foe. Of course, Hyfaiird will try to join in, but will the knights
let him?
* The player knights receive a message from a local fortress.
Hyfaiird went there recently to aid some of the peasants who were
having trouble controlling their animals. His music was unsuccessful
in calming them and only succeeded in drawing the wrath of a nearby
evil noble. The noble had his knights capture Hyfaiird. Can the
players free Hyfaiird, placate the noble and help the peasants at the
same time?
* As handsome young Bards are wont to do, Hyfaiird has fallen in love
with the daughter of a nearby noble. Unfortunately, the father has no
intention of letting his daughter marry a non-knight. Hyfaiird is
beside himself with grief and may do someting desperate. Will the
players help him woo the maiden? With proper training Hyfaiird would
be eligible for knighthood, but it may take several years. Will a
player take Hyfaiird on as a temporary squire for training in the
knightly arts of battle and romance?
CYNWAL THE DRUID
Homeland: Glouchester/Cambria Siz: 13 Damage: 4d6
Culture: Cymric Dex: 11 Healing Rate: 3
Lord: Morgan le Fay Str: 10 Movement Rate: 2
Glory: 135 Con: 17 Hit Points: 30
Insight: 6092 App: 13 Unconscious: 8
PERSONALITY TRAITS SKILLS MAGIC
Chaste 4 / Lustful 16 Awareness 9 Magic Limit 64
Energetic 11 / Lazy 9 Boating 8 Life Force 3d20
Forgiving 6 / Vengeful 14 Celestial Lore 9 Magic Defense 64
Generous 10 / Selfish 10 Chirurgery 5
Honest 8 / Deceitful 12 Compose 0 Sleep Owed 0 Weeks
Just 7 / Arbitrary 13 Courtesy 3
Merciful 8 / Cruel 12 Dancing 2 TALENTS [natural]
Modest 1 / Proud 19 Faerie Lore 16
Prudent 13 / Reckless 7 Falconry 0 Divination 10
Temperate 10 / Indulgent 10 First Aid 10 [Glamour] 18
Trusting 5 / Suspicious 15 Flirting 3 Heal 3
Valorous 4 / Cowardly 16 Folk Lore 10 Sacred Space 5
Gaming 2 [Shapeshift] 17
PASSIONS Geomantic Lore 12 Travel 6
Heraldry 0 Weather Control 12
Loyalty (Lord) 13 Hunting 2
Love (Family) 10 Industry 3 TALISMANS
Love (Gwydion) 16 Intrigue 8
Hospitality 8 Orate 8 Glamourous Fighter 100
Honor 6 Play (Harp) 6
Hate (Clarence) 7 Read (Ogham) 9 COMBAT SKILLS
Recognise 2
EQUIPMENT Religion (Pagan) 13 Battle 3
Romance 0 Horsemanship 11
Charger Sight 16
Singing 4
Stewardship 0
Swimming 2
Tourney 0
BACKGROUND
Cynwal comes from a long line of Druids. Perhaps it is this deep
history with the Other Side that has made him so easy for Morgan le
Fay to turn to her service. Then again, it could be his small size,
cowardly personality and suspicious nature. Cynwal first encountered
Morgan while searching the Other Side for tools of vengeance to use on
a knight who had offended Cynwal's pride. Morgan supplied those tools
and as easy as that, Cynwal was hers to control. For one of such
unredeeming character as Cynwal, his loyalty has been surpising, and
he seldom shirks the duties she gives him.
POSSIBLE SCENARIO IDEAS
* Cynwal has managed to sneak away with a clipping of Arthur's hair.
Merlin insists that hair be returned, for Morgan could do great evil
with it. The player knights must try to chase down Cynwal and a band
of Morgan's evil knights before Cynwal retreats to the Other Side with
his treasure. This will be difficult as Cynwal has had a few days to
prepare some spells for those following his trail.
* A strange wolf has been seen haunting a local castle. Several
babies have disappeared and the populace is looking to their lord for
aid. Will his knights be able to discover the wolf is in fact Cynwal,
stealing children for his mistress? And if they do, will they be able
to confront him in his sacred space, where many Glamourous creations
await the unwary.
* Arthur has been seen riding about the countyside causing all kinds
of havoc by making strange demands of the people. This seems odd to
everyone at Camelot, for Arthur hasn't left the castle in weeks.
Loyal knights are needed to track down this false Arthur and stop him
from destroying the people's faith in their leader. They must also
try to repair the damage to Arthur's name that has already been done.
Will the knights be able to stop Cynwal from this terrible deed? This
will be hard, for Cynwal is rumored to be able to take the form of any
man. He could even be disguised as one of the loyal knights out
hunting him.
--------------------
From: Stefan Matthias Aust <sma@informatik.uni-kiel.d400.de>
Subject: A Cthulhu Now Character
System: Cthulhu Now
Amazed by the idea of playing oneself, I tried to create myself as a
Cthulhu Now character. If you like, feel free to play "me" in your
campaign.
Name: Stefan Matthias Aust
Occupation: Student
Sex: Male
Age: 26
Colleges, Degrees: still studying at the "Christian Albrechts
Universitaet zu Kiel" (in Kiel, the capitol of Schleswig-Holstein, the
most northern state of Germany), right now working on a Master's Degree
in computer science.
Birthplace: Kiel, Germany.
Mental Disorders: a few quirks: A little bit too playful; cannot
stand the sight of blood; shy; never ever smokes.
STR 9 -- I'm not very strong, practicing no sport but biking, so I'm
surely below average.
CON 13 -- I'm seldom ill and (normally) don't suffer from sea- or
airsickness. No allergies.
SIZ 12 -- 1.73m and 70kg.
INT 15 -- I feel smarter than the average guy and so demand a value of 15 :-)
POW 13 -- I'm normally cold-blooded; sometimes I'm very stubborn.
DEX 11 -- I don't have very high agility, but I think my manual dexterity
will average this out.
EDU 18 -- Age 26. (hopefully) on the way to a graduate degree in computer
science.
APP 10 -- I'm one of this inconspicuous guy, who will often be overlooked.
Accounting 25% -- minimal knowledge because of family.
Art (Design) 30% -- in no way marvelous, but better than nothing.
Art (Roleplaying) 60% -- no comment.
Chemistry 15% -- in school (long ago), I was rather good.
Computer Use 90% -- university/work/hobby.
Credit Rating 30% -- trust me, I know what I do :-)
Drive Auto 50% -- I can drive, but I can't race.
Electronics 15% -- not more than basic knowledge.
Library Use 55% -- university training (especially electronic data bases)
Mechanical Repair 40% -- If I have to, I can do it, but only then.
Other Language (English) 55% -- hope it's that high.
Other Language (Latin) 25% -- learned and forgotten in school.
Other Language (French) 10% -- once, in school...
Own Language (German) 90%
Physics 45% -- together with mathematics, my favorite subject in school.
Psychology 35% -- I believe I can judge other people.
Spot Hidden 60% -- Run through life with open eyes.
But that's all. No fire-arms, no combat training, no deeper
understanding of other sciences. (And the Roleplaying skill is rather
useless. Maybe some knowledge in Occult because of roleplaying
Cthulhu? :-)
Do I know any spells? I don't think so. I don't believe in magic or
superstition of any kind.
As a last remark: Be warned if you play me in an English speaking
nation. I have a very bad accent.
--------------------
From: Richard H Jarrett <rhjst3+@pitt.edu>
Subject: Playing the Bad Guys
System: Call of Cthulhu
I've been playing a bit of Call of Cthulhu lately and came up with an
odd idea for a campaign. I'm sure it's been done before, but I've
never tried it or heard of anyone else trying it. Basically, I
switched the roles of the good guys and the bad guys, making the
players the evil, Cthulhu-following types and the NPCs the
investigators. I thought I'd share this information, for anyone else
who's interested in this type of campaign.
The same day I got the idea for this, I outlined a simple plot for a
1920s adventure, but didn't figure out many specifics; I winged most
of it. I just wanted to try it to see how it would work. I set it in
Arkham, where at some point in their lives, all of the players (five
in this case) had spent some time in the Arkham Sanitarium. There,
they had all met a man who was even more insane and evil than they.
The campaign started a few years later, when the man (Eduardo), was
finally ready to be released back into the real world.
After his release, Eduardo contacted the players and asked them to
meet with him to discuss plans. So, they all met with him, and found
that he wanted them to obtain five items for him. These items were
for the Brew Space Mead spell in the Greater Grimoire. The players,
respecting Eduardo's evilness, went about fetching these items for
him. I used various human organs and other odd items.
This was about all I had planned out. Pretty simple, just as a test,
but still fairly evil and nasty. Afterwards, I let the players figure
out where to get the items. They came up with some excellent plans,
but with some lucky rolls on my part, their plans didn't go quite as
smoothly as they had hoped. All in all, it was a lot of fun watching
them get the items.
For the good guys, I dug up some old characters I had used before.
Through investigation, they discovered and linked together the strange
happenings around town. As the spell was completed, the NPCs arrived
at the Eduardo's hangout, an old, abandoned church. The fight at the
end was very nasty, leaving all of the NPCs and three of the players
dead.
The fight never reached Eduardo, who was in the basement. However,
Eduardo had other problems, namely the players. One of the players
asked for the vials of Space Mead. Eduardo drank one, then when the
player held a gun to him, he dropped the other vial, hoping it would
break, which it didn't. The player then shot Eduardo, killing him.
That's the basic adventure. There were plenty of opportunities for
the players to partake in evilness and it went much better than I was
expecting. I'm sure I'll start planning another adventure for them
soon. I guess the main problem with a campaign like this is getting
people who actually want to play evil characters. I didn't have
trouble finding any, however. I hope this is of interest to some
people and gives some new ideas to all of you who are good GMs, who
can do more with this than I can. Happy gaming!
--------------------
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