Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Chaosium Digest Volume 09 Number 04
Chaosium Digest Volume 9, Number 4
Date: Wednesday, December 21, 1994
Number: 1 of 3
Contents:
The Blight Before Christmas (Penelope Love) CALL OF CTHULHU
Deadwave, Part One (Mark Morrison) CALL OF CTHULHU
Editor's Note:
Hey all. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that jazz. I've
been meaning to get this issue out since Sunday, but time has been
tight. Finally, here it is: two terrific articles from Down Under.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM CHAOSIUM: Chaosium wishes happy holidays to
everyone through their greeting card, now available for FTP from
ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/chaosium/MERRY-CHRISTMAS.tif. How's that
for the age of computers?
ANOTHER NEPHILIM CALENDAR: Another Nephilim Calendar is now available
for FTP. This one is ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/nephilim/nephchart.perl,
and it's of course written in the perl programming language. It's
slightly different, making available details such as the Zodiac sign
and Nexus existence. However, it doesn't have quite as snazzy of an
output. Check it out if you use a UNIX machine.
NEW CHAOSIUM CATALOG: Of final note to FTPers is the fact that there
is a new Chaosium catalog now available on ftp.csua, as well as a list
of upcoming products. The files catalog and new-products are both in
the /pub/chaosium/info directory.
RETURN OF THE DEEP ONES: I picked up so many good books last time I
visited Dark Carnival that I forgot to mention one last week. Fans of
Lovecraft will be happy to know that Brian Lumley's RETURN OF THE DEEP
ONES AND OTHER STORIES (ROC, #4.99, ISBN 0-14-017303-X) is now out in
a British Edition. Has been for a few months, I'd guess. The book
contains: "Return of the Deep Ones", "Inception", "Lord of the Worms"
and "Beneath the Moors". Note that "Beneath the Moors" is one of
Lumley's AH novels that has been out of print for 20 years.
--------------------
From: Penelope Love <bassst@zikzak.apana.org.au>
Subject: The Blight Before Christmas
System: Call of Cthulhu
THE BLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
'Twas the night before Christmas at the Crack'd & Crooked Manse,
And I cursed all weak stomachs as I set out the traps.
I had pleaded for strychnine, and pleaded in vain,
For the mice were all stirring as Christmas time came.
My meditations were ruptured by a rap on the door,
Of such force and foreboding I was flung to the floor.
To the front room I hastened; through the curtain I saw,
A caller not human, but a tiny jackdaw!
His beak sharp and wicked; his feathers a'bristle,
And affixed in his beak was a well-sealed epistle!
The door at once opened, and the strange message given,
The black bird took flight 'cross the moon's gibbous ribbon.
I called out a cheer, as he gave one last caw,
For what did I hear but a faint, `Nevermore'!
I read the crabbed Latin to my friends' sleepy faces:
`Fellow searcher after horror haunting strange and far places-,
`College chum, soul-buddy, companion in fright,
`Yours, Wilbur Whateley (Arriving tonight).'
Oh the flurry! The scurry! The things to be done!
My friends made excuses and left at a run.
I searched out my copy of the Necronomicon,
And removed and then hid that damned p. 751.
The dog lay by his kennel with a .44,
And fired off six shots as Wilb stepped through the door.
For yes! there he was, my companion of years,
His face, lean and saturnine, wreathed in fond leers;
A bundle of tentacles wrapped round his waist,
And his byakhee steaming from the black gulfs of space.
Oh the merriment, the riots, the japes and the shouts!
The volley of fire from the back of the house!
We talked of old times and our pals in the brood,
Then raided the kitchen for cephalopod food.
Wilb exclaimed in delight at the small noises off,
`Tis not a mouse but a tiny shoggoth!'
So we piped a weird tune, and lured it into a sack,
(Would make a good present for Y'Golonac).
By then dawn was afoot, and Wilb had to take flight;
His byakhee would melt were it touched by the light.
A handshake, a grin, one more chorus we sang;
And his last words called back as the winged horror sprang:
`The greeting for all seasons, if I'm not mistaken,
Is "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."'
By Penelope Love, with Mark "Black Gulfs of Space" Morrison.
Apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen
Poe. Happy holidays, everyone!
--------------------
From: Mark Morrison <bassst@zikzak.apana.org.au>
Subject: Deadwave, Part One
System: Call of Cthulhu
DEADWAVE, PART ONE
by Mark Morrison Copyright (c) 1994
SCENARIO CONSIDERATIONS
This scenario is not set in an unknown mansion of madness, but in an
investigator's own home. The events outlined below are revenge,
enacted on one of the player characters. The horror comes to the
victim's doorstep, and encompasses their friends and family. Slow
breakdown and madness are the inevitable result.
Use this scenario simultaneously with another if you can; let this one
be a sleeper, something nasty for them to come home to at night.
This scenario targets one player character as the victim; most of the
writing centres around this investigator (hereafter referred to
capitalised, to avoid confusion). The scenario is, however, designed
for group play. It is unlikely that the Investigator will get through
without some stalwart friends.
KEEPER'S INTRODUCTION
Somebody is back from the grave. Somebody bad. Somebody the
Investigator killed with good reason. Somebody who should have stayed
dead. Somebody who didn't. Somebody who wants to get even. Somebody
bad.
PEOPLE AND PLACES
Before you run this scenario, you must identify a number of key
characters. These have been given labels only, so that you can tailor
them to suit the person you are going to harass. You must build these
elements into your campaign first. No use telling the player that
their investiagor has a pet on the very day it disappears; introduce
it a few games earlier, let them adopt it and have it follow them
around. Similarly, let them hear of a relative's sickness and quiet
death a few weeks beforehand, so that it hits harder when the body is
dug up and stolen.
Here are the things to settle on before you can begin:
The Investigator
This is obviously the first thing for you to decide: who. He or she
should be a character who has been in play for a while; at least
half-a-dozen scenarios, and preferably a full campaign. It's totally
unsuitable for a starting character. Here are three different methods
for making your choice:
- the one who has done the most damage to the Mythos. He or she
would be the logical choice for a vendetta.
- the one with the most SAN. A pragmatic decision by you, the
keeper, as lesser people might crack too early.
- the player in your roleplaying group who is the most quiet.
This brings them to the fore, and give them a good go for once amidst
the rowdier and more outgoing players.
The Fiend
This is the villain of the piece, the one plotting revenge. Choose
someone whom the Investigator came up against in a previous scenario.
They should be somebody who caused the Investigator much pain and
grief whilst alive, somebody they remember with revulsion and
loathing. They can be a major league evil (like Baron Hauptmann from
FUNGI FROM YUGGOTH) or a minor league psycho (like Jerry from
"Pickman's Student", from DREAMLANDS). Here are some criterion:
- their body must not have been totally destroyed (blasted to
smithereens, melted by acid, crumbled to dust, etc). They must be
someone whom it is possible to dig up and reanimate.
- the Investigator you've chosen to hound must have been
instrumental in their death.
- they must have been familiar with technology in life. For
example, our Fiend steals and drives a bus; an insane bedouin could
not do that.
The House
Have a think about the Investigator's home. Is it an apartment? A
house? Single story? Does it have a cellar? An attic? A back door?
Have an idea for a map ready. Perhaps it has already been a feature
of your campaign. Get the player's thoughts on it, but only when you
need to; any player knows to get suspicious when the keeper starts
asking odd questions.
The general assumption in the scenario is that the Investigator has a
house in the suburbs. If they live in an apartment, or upstairs above
a pizza parlour, or whatever, you'll probably have to modify some
events. Neighbors also figure in the scenario; you might like to draw
up a little street map and identify the people that live in each
house. This gives them a sense of place and community, and shock them
more when death kicks open all the doors in their street.
If they live out of town, on a large estate or in the old Van Laaden
place or wherever, you may need to change events further still.
The Pet
The Investigator's pet: if they don't have one, introduce one. A dog
is best, a cat is a good second, after that you can do a budgie or a
hamster or something if you must, but it just wouldn't work too well.
Fish are right out. How about letting them adopt a monkey in some
Egyptian scenario? Whatever you use, make sure they have time to get
fond of it.
The Dead Relative
This should be someone recently dead (although not necessarily). It
can be an old person, say a grandmother or an uncle, or a young
person, say a nephew or a cousin. Decide how they die, work it into
the campaign, and have the Investigator attend their funeral. Their
death should be sad, but apparently natural. A SAN roll would still
be appropriate for normal everyday grief, costing 1 point if failed.
The Ex-Investigator
This is someone dead; someone who fought alongside the Investigator,
and died a horrible death at the hands of the Mythos. If you haven't
got someone from the campaign you can use, deploy one of those famous
'dead friends' that many scenarios start up with (e.g. Jackson Elias
from MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP). As per the Fiend, they must have been
buried with body intact.
Further Ideas
This scenario is yours to shape and mold. By now you've got the idea;
by plotting the past, home and family of the Investigator, you open up
a lot of vulnerable spots. You can use more as needs be. Perhaps
some of their living relatives might be kidnapped and killed. Or
their friends, lovers, workmates, etc. The Fiend has no scruples or
mercy when it comes to getting back at them.
The reanimated non-player characters in the scenario have a particular
balance and order of appearance; you may wish though to add more. The
Fiend could be intact with its henchmen from life, now all dead and
twice as unpleasant; more of their relatives could come back from the
grave, including the ones they never liked in life; and if the keeper
really wants to go berserk, bring on every person the Investigator has
ever killed, all eager for revenge.
INSANITIES
Appropriate insanities arising from the course of this scenario
include: fear of death; fear of being buried alive; the conclusion
that everyone else in the world is dead; and good old catatonia
(sometimes it's easier just to shut down).
MORE ABOUT THE FIEND
Nyarlathotep, the Messenger of the Outer Gods, has doubtlessly
suffered many indignities at the hands of the Investigator. Time and
again plans for the world's destruction are foiled (e.g. FUNGI FROM
YUGGOTH and MASKS OF NYARLATHOTEP) or favorite servants are killed
(e.g. Hesper Payne from "Season of the Witch" in DREAMLANDS). This
revenge is as much Nyarlathotep's as it is the Fiend's.
One dark and moonless night the great beast Nyarlathotep lands by the
lonely grave of the Fiend. It scoops the lifeless corpse out of the
earth, and gashes open the corpse's throat with one long nail. Into
the wound it pours a quantity of its own black blood. The corpse
stirs.
A bargain is struck. The black God has given the Fiend life only if
it will destroy the Investigator. The Fiend, ignited with the
bitterness of memory, agrees. Nyarlathotep enfolds it and launches
into the ether, great dark wings beating. First they call at the
grave of the Ex-Investigator, to retrieve the body, for future
amusements. Nyarlathotep then flies to the home town of the
Investigator, and sets the Fiend and corpse down. Terrible laughter
rolls against the stars as the black shape wings away.
The Fiend exists for this task alone. It has the patience of the
dead. It would be easy just to lie in ambush, and catch its quarry
and eat it alive; too easy. It wants a more total victory, a complete
levelling of mind and spirit. No deed is too foul in accomplishing
this end.
It is diabolically clever. Every action is carefully thought through,
and judged against the possibility of discovery. The slow dead mind
turns it all over, and concocts the most appalling and cunning plans.
THE FIEND, Dead Villain from a former scenario
STR original x1.5
CON original x1.5
SIZ original
INT original
POW 01 *
DEX original x0.5
APP original -12, -1/each year dead
HP equal to (not the average of) new CON + orig SIZ **
* Being dead, the Fiend has no spirit or soul. It has no magic
points, no POW, and cannot cast any spells.
** The Fiend has double hit points, by virtue of its sheer
hatred. Even if reduced to 0 hit points, it must be utterly
annihilated to stop it from continuing its attack.
Armor: 1 point of armor (for mummification) for every year it has been
dead.
Weapons:
Claws, DEX x5%, 2D3 *
.45 automatic, DEX x5%, 1D10+2.
* Once it hits, it continues to throttle for 1D6 per round.
Skills: Cthulhu Mythos (as life + 25)%, Dead Sense 75%, Mesmerize 90%,
Other Knowledge Skills (as life)%, Other Physical Skills (as life
x0.5)%.
Notes: All weapons used against the Fiend do half-damage, except
impaling weapons (including bullets), which only ever do 1 point of
damage.
The Fiend prefers not to resort to hand-to-hand combat, but if
absolutely everything else fails, it springs on the Investigator and
chokes him or her to death.
SAN loss: it costs 1/1D8 to view the Fiend. If anyone had seen it
when it was alive, cost is 1D4/1D8. The designated Investigator
loses 1D6/1D10.
If the Investigator goes permanently insane: the Fiend fades into the
background. It lurks in the shadows of society and pops in at the
asylum from time to time to taunt the victim, subject to Visiting
Hours.
If the investigator is killed: a satisfied grin crosses the Fiend's
face. The grin cracks, and its jaw drops off. Unable to curse "You
tricked me, Nyarlathotep!" because of the lack of a lower jaw, it can
do nothing but gurgle in protest and outrage as the black blood floods
out of it and into the ether. The Fiend collapses, lifeless once
more, as do all of its zombie cohorts.
Dead Sense
This is the perception of the dead, and includes Spot Hidden and
Listen. It is the skill by which the undead unerringly find their way
in the dark, and no human can truly understand it. Certainly the
enticing aroma of the fresh brains of the living are one of the prime
ways that zombies track their prey.
Mesmerize
The dead exude a sickly fascination. Successful use of this skill
holds the victim at bay, as per the Fast Talk skill, for as long as
the dead person takes no violent of harmful action to them. If the
victim is aware of what is happening, or can see plainly that the user
is in fact dead, they receive POW x5% chance to snap out of it each
round.
The Blood of Nyarlathotep
This baleful black ichor flows sluggishly in the dried veins of the
Fiend. By opening the jugular of a corpse and dripping in a few
drops, the Fiend can cause that body to animate, and has command over
it. These drone zombies are mindless, and can only be used to perform
menial tasks (e.g. lift that, stand there, attack). Drone zombies
have a craving for raw meat, hot blood, fresh intestines and living
brains.
By pouring a larger amount of black blood in, the Fiend can bring that
person wholly back from the dead, again under the Fiend's power.
These are full memory zombies. The revived person can fight against
the Fiend's control, but the effort wracks them with pain as the black
blood turns to acid inside them. They take 1D4 damage per round,
until either they do the Fiend's will or their body is destroyed.
However, after three rounds of resistance they must roll CON x3 to be
able to go on withstanding the agony of the boiling blood. If they
fail, they revert to the Fiend's control, too exhausted to try again
for another 24 hours.
The Fiend has the equivalent of its SIZ in pints of black blood inside
it. One pint animates up to 5 drone zombies, or 1 full memory zombie.
Keep track of the amount of black blood it has used in this fashion.
It must retain at least one pint to stay functional itself.
Zombie Statistics
Calculate each zombie's statistics by their original stats, as
follows:
STR orig x1.5
CON orig x1.5
SIZ orig
INT none *, or orig x0.5 **
POW 01
DEX orig x0.5
APP orig -12, -1/each year dead
HP average of new CON + orig SIZ
* Drone zombies have no INT, and do not speak. They growl
sometimes.
** Full memory zombies have half of their original INT. They are
capable of slow rasping speech. Those with an original INT over 13
are aware that they are back from the dead; those with lower INT are
not aware, but know that they feel ill, tired and confused.
Weapons:
any tool, DEX x5%, + damage bonus
Claws, DEX x5%, 1D4
Bite, DEX x5%, 1D2 and hangs on
Notes: Weapons to half damage, impaling weapons do 1 point only.
Walking Dead
Zombies are disgusting. They ooze, stagger, lurch, grunt, and drip.
Without mind or soul, possessed of demoniacal hunger and incredible
strength, only by battering them to pieces can you prevent their
hideous assault. There are plenty of zombie films available on video
for keeper inspiration.
[Continued in V9.5]
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial discussion forum for Chaosium's
Games. To submit an article, subscribe or unsubscribe, mail to:
appel@erzo.berkeley.edu. The old digests are archived on
ftp.csua.berkeley.edu in the directory /pub/chaosium, and may be
retrieved via FTP.
