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Chaosium Digest Volume 10 Number 03
Chaosium Digest Volume 10, Number 3
Date: Sunday, April 23, 1995
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Secret Societies: The Early Gnostics (Peter J. Whitelaw) NEPHILIM
Black Moon Rising (Jim W. Lai) COC/NEPHILIM
Review: Chair et Metal (Frederic Moll) HAWKMOON
Editor's Notes:
A BOOK OF HORROR: I found a rather intriguing book while out today,
and thought I'd shared it with you all. It's called HP Lovecraft's
Book of Horror, and it contains Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in
Literature, along with 21 of the the short stories that he mentions
therein. Among the collected authors are Dickens, Poe, Chambers,
Smith, Machen and many more. I find it rather intriguing, because it's
a collection of the works that influenced Lovecraft when he was doing
his own writing. HP Lovecraft's Book of Horror is ISBN 1-56619-496-2.
It was published in 1993 by Barnes and Noble Books. I don't know if
it's available anywhere besides Barnes and Noble stores (as that is
where I picked mine up), and I should note that they seem to be trying
to get rid of this book, as I found my copy on their Bargain Book
shelves.
MORE DIGESTS FOR WINDOWS: The Winhelp versions of volume eight and
nine of the Chaosium Digest are now available for ftp from
ftp.csua.berkeley.edu in the directory /pub/chaosium/archives/windows.
These archives are in a new format, in which the entire volume is
contained in a single file. The volumes are indexed and catalogued,
and keyword searches enable the user to find articles by author or
game system. Thanks go out to Joab Stieglitz (stieg@ix.netcom.com) for
making these Winhelp archives available. Anthologies of previous
volumes should be available in the next few months.
CHAOSIANA UPDATE: Just as an update, Chaosiana, which was first
announced back in V9.9 of the Digest, is definitely happening. The
contents of the first issue are now complete, and it's just a question
of typesetting, adding artwork, and all that cool stuff. If all goes
well, the first issue of Chaosiana should be out in about six weeks
time.
Recent Sightings:
More French sightings, thanks to Frederic Moll.
* Call of Cthulhu - "Le Breche Derriere la Flamma", a six page
scenerio, Aspara #9 [Jan-Mar, 1995]
* Pendragon - "A la Recherche de Clairement le Hardi", a five page
scenerio, Aspara #9 [Jan-Mar 1995]
* Misc - An Interview with Alan Gassner, artist for Chaosium and
Oriflam, Aspara #9 [Jan-Mar 1995]
--------------------
From: "Peter J. Whitelaw" <100102.3001@compuserve.com>
Subject: Secret Societies: The Early Gnostics
System: Nephilim
There is some brief coverage given to the Gnostics on p.69 of the
Nephilim rulebook. As a 'Secret Society' active from the very early
Christian Era and allegedly thence beyond, they have some interesting
possibilities. Some of their alleged practices have parallels within
the game and I have highlighted some of these in the notes that
follow.
The Gnostics practiced magic and had Kabbalistic influences. It seems
likely to me that Nephilim of the Magician Arcanum might well find it
beneficial to work with underground Gnostic sects that continue in the
practices and rituals common to them in the third century AD. OTOH,
perhaps underground Gnostic magicians seek Nephilim to trap within
their Abraxas and thereby harness the powers that this process will
grant them.
THE EARLY GNOSTICS
Disclaimer: The material respectfully presented here is derived from
sources that I believe to be reliable and is in no way intended to
cause offence to any who practice any of the beliefs herein described.
[Bracketed comments] are my own, admittedly ill-informed, thoughts on
possible links to the Nephilim RPG and are similarly well intentioned.
History
The Gnostics are not so much Secret Societies, per se, but sects drawn
from a branch of theology concerned with discovering the true meaning
of the written word considered as sacred. These sects flourished in
the first three centuries of the Christian church as a result of their
reformulation of Christian beliefs in terms of science and philosophy.
In the Near and Middle East, Christian belief acquired a distinctly
Gnostic flavour but to the west, in Greece and Rome, they were
distinct and set apart from the orthodox (small "o") congregations.
This dichotomy led to Gnostic beliefs being labelled heretical by
AD310.
Beliefs
All Gnostic sects were dualistic, believing in the balancing
principles of Good and Evil. In addition, they were all considered to
have been founded by Simon Magus. C.W. King in "The Gnostics and their
Remains" (London, 1864) states: "The fundamental doctrine held in
common by all the chiefs of the Gnosis was that the visible creation
was not the work of the Supreme Deity, but that of the Demiurgus, a
simple emanation, and several degrees removed from the Godhead." The
sects themselves were possessed of no universal practices; both
asceticism and licentiousness were believed to have been adopted.
As mentioned above, Gnostic beliefs were popular in the middle East,
particularly in Syria, where, in the second century AD, the most
important sects were those of Saturninus of Antioch and the Ophites.
The largest western sects were the Basilidians and the Valentinians.
Basilides, an Egyptian, was at the height of his power in Alexandria
circa AD105. The Basilidians espoused that Christ did not die upon the
cross but that His place was taken by Simon of Cyrene.
The Egyptian sects were practising magicians and used and created
magical amulets in the form of gems called Abraxas. The Abraxas was a
representation of the Supreme Being with five distinct emanations:
* Two serpents from the human body; "nous" and "logos" (symbols of the
inner senses and of quickening understanding [Earth-ka and Moon-ka?]).
* A cocks head; "phronesis" (foresight and intelligence [Air-ka?]).
* two arms bearing the shield of wisdom and the whip of power;
"sophia" and "dynamis" [Water-ka and Fire-ka?].
Abraxas was, in fact, the Gnostic appellation for the Almighty because
"the letters forming Abraxas in Greek numeration would make up the
number 365, that is the number of days in the revolution of their
sun." The mystical and intricate inscriptions upon these gems often
made reference to Jewish or Christian religions in the words "Iao",
"Sabaoth", "Adonai", etc. The occult theme of the serpent biting its
own tail was a common inscription. [The Abraxas might be a stasis
item bearing the name of the Nephilim contained therein].
The Gnostic sects shared two special beliefs. Firstly, according to
the "Pistis Sophia" (the sacred book of the Gnostics), the soul, after
death, had to pass, by means of watchwords, twelve crystal spheres
that surrounded the earth and, secondly, that the Dragon of Outer
Darkness [an Agarthan KaIm, survivor from the Age of Dragons?] would
waylay unwary souls. Safe passage was guaranteed, however, by knowing
one of the Dragon's twelve true names. The names on the Abraxas may
have referred to these "true" names.
R. Payne Knight in _The Symbolic Language of Ancient Art and
Mythology_ (New York, 1876) mentions that: "The Ophites and Gnostics
employed secret signs of recognition." Epiphanius thus describes them:
"On the arrival of any stranger belonging to the same belief, they
have a sign given by the man to the woman, and vice versa. In holding
out the hand in pretence of saluting each other, they feel and tickle
it in a peculiar manner underneath the palm, and so discover that the
newcomer belongs to the same sect. Thereupon, however poor they may
be, they serve up to him a sumptuous feast, with abundance of meats
and wine. After they are well filled the entertainer rises and
withdraws, leaving his wife behind with the command: 'Show thy charity
to this our brother'." One should treat this report with all due
circumspection, however, for the story is taken from one of the
Fathers, who might well have had a vested interest in discrediting
heretics.
Since the Ophites are mentioned specifically this practice may well
have been true of them. However, at the time of the early Christian
church in Rome, Christians as a whole were considered somewhat
antisocial and offbeat and were often accused of many acts that they
were, most likely, not guilty of. It seems likely that the Gnostic
sects may have been tarred by the same brush.
Footnote
Count von Hammer, a 19th century German orientalist alluded to a
belief that the Templars were Gnostics, this being a reason for their
persecution and trial at the beginning of the 14th century. It is
claimed that this later charge may be disregarded as scholars have
demonstrated that the Ophite, or Gnostic heresies of which they were
accused, had died out in Syria in the fourth century. Also, that
Gnostic doctrine regarding the Godhead was opposed to the Unitarianism
of the Saracens whose "pernicious" doctrines were supposedly adopted
by the Templars. However, it is true that many of the accusations
levelled against the Templars had been used a thousand years before,
against the Gnostics and that the present day Gnostic Liturgy
mentions, amongst others, Jacques de Molay, Templar Grand Master at
the time of their persecution from 1307 to 1314. [Perhaps this
scholarly refutation of von Hammer's theories is nothing more than a
Templar plot to muddy the waters regarding their own nature and
practices].
Sources
_Famous Secret Societies_, J. Heron Lepper (Sampson Low, date unknown)
_The Trial of the Templars_, Malcolm Barber (Canto, 1993)
Gnosticism: http://www.clark.net/pub/murple/gnostic.html and numerous,
excellent links therefrom
--------------------
From: jwtlai@io.com (Jim "GrimJim" W Lai)
Subject: Black Moon Rising
System: CoC/Nephilim
Black Moon Rising: A Modern Day Crossover Campaign
Background
Considering the high attrition rate of investigators in Call of
Cthulhu, it is amazing that there are enough new investigators to fill
the ranks. In truth, investigators have been guided to their calling
by the Nephilim for ages: a hint left here, a tome left there, or
perhaps even a friendship with a Nephilim incarnate. The Nephilim are
the true guardians of the Earth, seeking to stave off the increased
presence of the Black Moon, that has been caused by the nuclear
testing instigated by the Templars in their mad quest for power.
Horrors were unleashed that made even the Selenim seem benevolent by
comparison. Now the stars are right, but for whom?
Tips on Converting from Call of Cthulhu to Nephilim
For humans (and thus Nephilim):
POW becomes Sun-Ka.
This Sun-Ka is awakened if the human can cast spells.
SIZ is ignored.
The other statistics remain the same, more or less.
Occult skill becomes Hermetic Lore.
Cthulhu Mythos Lore is a new skill.
(Nephilim do not suffer from SAN loss, though humans who become
newly aware of Nephilim may lose SAN!)
SOC will have to be estimated, and Life Experience calculated.
Assign magical skills as evidenced by magical capability.
For monsters:
STR must be recomputed from the monster's damage bonus.
CON must be recomputed from the monster's HP.
SIZ is ignored save for actual size considerations.
POW becomes Ka, often Black Moon-Ka, though it could conceivably even
be Orichal-Ka if the gamemaster is particularly cruel.
POW drain and POW costs become Ka costs; MP costs become Ch'awe costs.
Nephilim do not suffer from any phenomenon similar to SAN loss, as
they are considered monsters in Call of Cthulhu. Mythos spells now
require Ch'awe and Ka, not MP and POW; an enterprising GM may require
a dominant Ka or Sun-Ka threshold to cast such spells. Nephilim may
or may not be able to create analogs of Mythos magic using sorcery,
summoning, or alchemy; if not, they must rely on any simulacrum skills
to cast Mythos spells.
GrimJim (Jim W. Lai), jwtlai@io.com
--------------------
From: Frederic Moll <100350.1766@compuserve.com>
Subject: Review: Chair et Metal
System: Hawkmoon
Chair et Metal by Olivier Saraja
Cover by Alain Gassner; art by Alain Gassner, Jean Luc Sala and Franck
Capelli; Maps by Bruno Martin
published by Oriflam 126 pages, 144 FF, ISBN : 2-906897-58-2.
Reviewed by Frederic Moll
"Chair et Metal" is the fourth installment in a series of original
supplements for Hawkmoon in French, covering Europa areas. Previous
supplements were "La France", "La Kamarg" and "l'Empire Tenebreux"
(GranBretan).
The first part of this book is a gazeeter of the Sicilia island in
5298. It contains: geographic descriptions; populations; political
organizations; sects; science and knowledge; armies; prominent people;
interesting sites; history; notes on travelling in Sicilia; Sicilians
of the sixth millenium; and ideas for adventures. In 18 pages, the
island is summarily described, but at least this gives a good idea of
the situation and of future events (a kingdom with a weak king,
Granbretons and a resistance movement). As a sidenote, the mafia is
still active (but only as family business in Sicilia)!
The second part (15 pages) is titled Sicilian Bestiary and includes
optional rules on genetics programming, a description of four Sicilian
races and a long description of the cyborgs (humans with cybernetics
modules for senses, protection, weaponry, tools and special equipment)
that can be found in the scenarios and elsewhere in the world.
The third part (10 pages) is a gazeeter of Malta, which has the same
organization as the Sicilia gazeeter. The New Knights of Malta Order
is the unique source of authority for this area.
The fourth part is a big campaign composed of 5 scenarios :
- L'oeuf du demon
- Dans les griffes du dieu rugissant
- Dans les marais sanglants
- Le premier sang
- Represailles
This is an epic campaign that starts as a small egg hunt and ends with
great fighting, treachery, cyborgs and aliens. In each scenario,
additional background information can be found as sidenotes, and all
the NPCs are well described. The fatalistic feeling of Moorcock's
works is rendered by the deaths of some of the NPCs during the
adventures.
The last part (18 pages) is made of Annexes (miscellaneous stuff that
could not be included in the previous parts).
"Chair et Metal" is a good supplement for Hawkmoon with the usual
quality of Oriflam products. However, with the wealth of information
found in this supplement, an index would have been a very useful
addition. The mix between background and scenarios is perhaps too
balanced. The background resulting from years of adventuring mentioned
by the author in the introduction seem to have been shrunk to leave
enough space for the scenarios.
If the Hawkmoon! project presented by Lawrence Whitaker in the Digest
(V9.8) becomes a definitive product, it could lead to a renewal of
interest in the Hawkmoon world, and maybe we will see in the future
supplements of this quality, in English bthis time....
Frederic Moll
e-mail : 100350.1766@compuserve.com
or fm10@calvanet.calvacom.fr
--------------------
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