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Chaosium Digest Volume 06 Number 02
Chaosium Digest Volume 6, Number 2
Date: Sunday, April 3, 1994
Number: 1 of 2
Contents:
Review: Pagan Shore (David Dunham) PENDRAGON
A Sorcery Rules Variant (Simon Hibbs) ELRIC!
New Spells of the Elements (Stefan Matthias Aust) ELRIC!
Editor's Note:
New out this week is the Elric! Gamemaster Screen (Chaosium, $14.95).
The product actually contains a whole pack of stuff including:
reference cards for prices, demons, weapons and spells; a map of the
Young Kingdoms; a bookmark with important pages noted; a seven page
adventure; seven pages of character sheets, for leaders & followers,
squads, rabble, demons, elementals and NPCs; and the screen itself.
Some neat stuff overall.
French players of Chaosium games will be happy to know that a number
of products have recently been released in new, French editions,
including Orient Express, Les Etoiles sont Propices (The Stars are
Right) and L'enfant Roi (The Boy King).
Recent Sightings:
Here's another set of French sightings from Frederic Moll.
* Call of Cthulhu - "Le Dernier Rempart & La Pieuvre Noire", a three
page description of two organizations, one good, one evil, Casus Belli
#80 [April/May, 1994]; "Le Quatrieme Cavalier", a fifteen page
scenerio for beginning characters, set in Paris, 1920, Casus Belli #80
[April/May, 1994]
* Stormbringer - "Deux Hommes et un Couffin", a four page scenerio,
Casus Belli #80 [April/May, 1994]
--------------------
From: David Dunham <ddunham@radiomail.net>
Subject: Review: Pagan Shore
System: Pendragon
Pagan Shore: Ireland in the Age of King Arthur
by John Carnahan
cover by Stephen King; art by Wayne Reynolds; maps by Darrell Midgette
published by Chaosium
126 pages, $18.95.
reviewed by David Dunham
Pagan Shore is a Pendragon supplement which describes Ireland as it
might have been in the Arthurian era. It's a way for us to experience
a culture that has little connection to today, unlike Arthur's
Britain.
After a brief glossary which explains some of the social structure of
the various cultures who lived in Ireland, there's a listing of
hundreds of places of interest (including a few in Britain), and maps
showing geographical features and political units. The loose 11x17
inch map includes even more interesting names which a GM could use to
spark an adventure.
History is compressed so that five cultures live simultaneously in
Ireland: the Cruithni (Picts), the Erainn (usually Pagan Celts), Gaels
(usually Christian and somewhat more politically cohesive Celts),
Lochlannach (Vikings), Feudal Irish (promising students of Arthurian
culture) and the British invaders.
Magic extends the fourth edition rules to derive Life Force from
directions (e.g. travelling widdershins), bardic skills, and
sovereignty. There are new magical effects and descriptions of
druids, poets and monks. Many Faerie creatures have game statistics,
and the many deities are touched on. Finally, there's a section on
geases, taboos which druids impose on people in an attempt to avert
various dooms.
Character creation allows for magicians, and introduces foster
families. Ireland is especially suited for women characters; not only
is there a herald profession reserved for women, but the epics mention
women warriors. There are new rules for chariots and slings, and
revised passions.
The brief section on storytelling describes Feats, and has five short
adventures. Finally, there's a character sheet for tribal Irish
characters.
The writing is clear and concise, and low in gaming terms. I found
the linguistic approach (describing the origin or meaning of many of
the names) useful, and learned how many fairy tales are based on Irish
law. Pagan Shore inspired me to read some of the Irish epics it's
based on, and made them much easier to understand (likewise, they
helped illuminate Pagan Shore). It does a good job of making the
tales playable, while wisely leaving out some of the extravagant
trappings (like five-pointed spears or Cuchulainn's warp-spasm).
Pagan Shore takes advantage of the Erainn family structure by making
all Irish characters eligible for election to chieftainship. Some
characters may prefer safer goals, such as becoming a professional
poet or judge, or a future saint, or they can simply concentrate on
gaining wealth (measured in cows) or taking trophy heads. The
possibility of playing a Viking trader further expands the character
roles. All of this fits well into the Pendragon rules, with only a
few specialized additions necessary.
The background is largely self-contained. Gamemasters would need to
refer to Pendragon for the rules, but could ignore its cultural
details and have a simpler setting for adventures.
Like many Chaosium products, Pagan Shore suffers from its lack of an
index. Historical information is found in many chapters, and can be
hard to track down. It's also hard to locate a geographical point of
interest since there are no map grid references. Many people will
find the extensive use of Irish terminology confusing (and hard to
pronounce, though that's not the author's fault). And while the cover
is striking, it features a woman warrior wearing bikini-like armor
that doesn't seem to fit the culture, and annoyed my wife. (The
interior art shows only normally-clad women, and has a naked male
warrior.)
Pagan Shore is perfect for extending Pendragon to roles besides
knights (and magicians). I found it a well-written introduction to a
interesting culture that's highly suited for gaming. After reading
it, I wanted to start an Ireland-based campaign. If you're already
running a British campaign, it's a great source of lands to ally with
or try to conquer.
Fans of Glorantha will also find Pagan Shore useful, since many of the
Irish (and Viking) customs (e.g. the loose tribal organization with
king elections) are similar to those of the Orlanthi tribes.
--------------------
From: Simon Hibbs <yfcw29@castle.ed.ac.uk>
Subject: A Sorcery Rules Variant
System: Elric!
I am using the Elric! rules as the basis for a fantasy campaign, but
not one tied to the Million Spheres/Eternal Champion milieu. Chaos,
Law and Balance points have no meaning in this campaign. However, I
like the idea of sorcerer characters having to make moral choices
about their use of sorcery. Also, I want sorcery to be much rarer
than Elric! implies. The following rules bring back a term familiar
to Stormbringer players, but substantialy changed.
INSIGHT
Insight is bought from the character's initial allocation of 250
points, just like skills. It represents the degree of spiritual
enlightenment of the character. Only characters with a score in
Insight can cast magic, with a chance equal to their Insight on
percentile dice.
Learning to cast magic is a very vulgar use of metaphysical discipline
and hinders the character's advancement towards enlightenment. To
reflect this, learning a spell costs points of Insight.
1. Learning a new spell costs Insight equal to three times the points
of the spell. Variable point spells always cost their maximum point
value.
2. There is usually no Insight cost to casting a spell, but summoning
an elemental costs 1D4 Insight and summoning a demon costs the demon's
POW in Insight.
3. Insight may be used to meditate and thus regain MPs more rapidly
than usual. For every hour the character spends meditating, roll
percentile dice against the character's Insight score. If successful
add 1D3 points to the character's MPs (so long as this does nor raise
the character's MPs above current POW).
4. Insight can be used as a defence against hostile magic. If a
character's Insight divided by 5 (rounded down) is greater than the
character's POW, then the character may resist spells with this
instead of POW.
These rules mean that it is only really practical to be a sorcerer if
you are prepared to specialise. The sorcerer also has to trade off
between having a broad battery of spells and being proficient in their
use. This reflects the fact that they must choose between spiritual
enlightenment and mundane power.
Notes:
I don't want to make sorcery complicated; the ELRIC! rules are an
admirable example of clarity and simplicity. But, I think this
modification has a lot of potential for enhancing the roleplaying of
sorcerers.
Idealy I would like to tailor the Insight cost to the nature of the
spell, but for the moment the three to one ratio should be enough to
test the concept. The choice between learning a spell and conserving
Insight should be a tough one. Thus, having a high Insight should
have real benefits which reflect the enlightened state of the
character, hence the option to use high Insight to resist hostile
spells. Is this enough of an incentive? Does anyone else have any
ideas how Insight could be used?
Simon Hibbs
yfcw29@castle.ed.ac.uk
--------------------
From: Stefan Matthias Aust <sma@informatik.uni-kiel.d400.de>
Subject: New Spells of the Elements
System: Elric!
Mouth of the Earth (5) [Spell of the Elements]
"Suddenly the earth crumbled. It opened under the soldier as if he
had fallen into a whirlpool. There was one last cry, then it was
silent again."
Chaotic. Range is sight. If cast upon a target standing on raw,
natural earth, he will be swallowed by the earth if he is unaware of
the danger or did not succeed at a DEXx3 roll. To get free, the
targer has to make a successful STR:STR roll against the 4D6 STR of
the earth mouth. Reroll the strength of the earth each round, using a
cumulative -1 each round after the first.
Whisper of the Wind (3) [Spell of the Elements]
"Fenshia left the others. Knowing that they were lost, she sat down
at the cliffs, staring into the jungle that covered all the land
below. She listened to the wind which played with her long hair.
`Tell me', she said, `where are we? Where's the tower? Please
answer.' `North.' someone whispered. `Go north.'"
Chaotic. Self. The caster can ask a question at a windy place and
hope for an short answer. It's up to the gamemaster to determine
whether the wind elementals will know the right answer. The caster
must meditate for about an hour before casting this spell.
Ring of Fire (4) [Spell of the Elements]
"Finally, in the basement of the tower, Fenshia and Rhowan found the
treasury that they had been looking for so long. As they tried to
leave the building, loaded with gold, suddenly they walls of the
fortress crumbled and more than two dozen skeleton warriors attacked.
Rhowan drew his sword, preparing to rush into the fray, but Fenshia
told him to wait. `I can protect us,' she said, `stand close to me.'
And then, a beam of fire sprang from her hands to the ground, spread
out in both directions and built a circle of fire. The skeletons
stopped, screaming their rage and fear. `And now?' Rhowan asked,
suspiciously watching their enemies. `Now we think of a better plan,'
Fenshia answered."
Chaotic. Self. Around the caster arises a circle of fire of about 3
meter diameter, large enough to enclose 6 people. As long as the
spell lasts, no undead (optional: and no demonic) creature can pass
the circle. Other beings can pass the flames without harm. The
circle doesn't move with the caster and will vanish if the caster
doesn't concentrate.
Gift of Water (5) [Spell of the Elements]
"The Khiovl shaman pointed at the attacking Fenami warriors, his tail
waving due to the effort. He spit into his folded hands, and a
sunbeam reflected in the pooled liquid. Then, he hurled it against
the advancing Fenami. All who were hit by a dash of the liquid
started to gasp. They stopped, became white, then blue in their
faces. One cried, one fell down, another grabbed his throat. They
spit water, then blood and bile. All died a horrible death."
Chaotic. Range is sight. Cast upon a living being, the target's
lungs will be filled with water if it misses a POW:POW resistance
roll. The target suffers from the effect of drowning, starting at
CONx1 rolls. Spell lasts as usual.
Sternenstahl (Star Steel) [Ritual]
"Like a fiery finger, it fell down from the sky. With a sound like
the roar of a dragon, it hit the ground. Gol, a peasant who was
working on the nearby field, decided to explore the new hole in the
soil. He cautiously approached after the dust had vanished."
>From time to time, a meteor comes from the endless depths of outer
space down to earth. These stones often contain a metal called
Sternenstahl which can be enchanted to free its great magic power.
The stones are magical because they collect raw magic on their way
between the stars.
Sternenstahl can be enchanted into many different forms. An amulet of
Sternenstahl carried by a magician enhances his spellcasting ability.
He only has to spend half (round up) the needed magic points on all
spells. Or, it could give him +1 to +3 on POW:POW Resistance rolls.
Weapons of this black metal count as magical weapon and can injure
demons or other magical creatures which are not harmed by normal
weapons. Wounds made by this weapons don't heal normally. Bonds
forged out of Sternenstahl will prevent a sorcerer from casting
spells. There are surely other possibilities. It's a very valuable
metal.
"`What's that black thread of smoke,' he wondered. He saw a dark red,
glowing stone which reminded him of a pulsing heart. Above it, there
were three threads, each about 3 meters long and as thick as a finger.
They wound trembling up through the air, searching and scanning. Gol
picked up a short branch and touched the threads. Then, they noticed
him. Paralysed by fear he watched as they reached out for him. The
stab came so fast that he couldn't even cry before he died. The
threads slid inside."
But, the greater the piece of Sternenstahl, the greater the chance
that something ancient from beyond the world has been caught by the
meteor and dragged down to earth. Sometimes, something like an outer
world spirit is caught and enclosed in the stone. Whatever being is
carried to this world, it's very dangerous. Count them as demons.
The being that killed the unlucky Gol was called a Schoggote. They
absorb all higher life they can get. The Schoggote that is absorbing
Gol will soon look like the peasant, maybe with deadly grey skin and
some unreal looking deformations. Then, it will melt together with
other humans that it can absorb. Probably, it will start with Wenle,
Gol's wife, and their children. Then, the Schoggote will try to find
a safe hide-out where it can start to grow.
On Koptu, the greatest known piece of Sternenstahl is in Khaa, the
capital of Kassar, one of the greatest cities of the continent. It's
a block of about 3 cubic meter of black stone. The stone is covered
with silver threads, which are sometimes waving. It's kept in the
temple of Aralaana, the sun goddess. The priests believe that
Aralaana has send it to Haqbar, the first prophet, as a sign to unite
the tribes of the East.
bye.
--
Stefan Matthias Aust // ...als alle den Saal verlassen hatten, stand
// Herr K. auf, drehte sich um, und sagte "Nein".
--------------------
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