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Chaosium Digest Volume 08 Number 12
Chaosium Digest Volume 8, Number 12
Date: Sunday, December 11, 1994
Number: 1 of 4
Contents:
The Groaning Arch (Matt Hyde) ELRIC!
The Windigo Psychosis (Roland Franklyn) CALL OF CTHULHU
A Note on Sages in CoC (Joab Stieglitz) CALL OF CTHULHU
Authors Sought for Nephilim Companion (Shannon Appel) NEPHILIM
Editor's Note:
Lots of little things to mention this week.
NEPHILIM GAMEMASTER'S VEIL: The first Nephilim supplement is now out.
It's the Nephilim Gamemaster's Veil (Chaosium, $14.95), which includes
an astrological modifier wheel (to calculate all those enthronements),
a gamemaster's screen (complete with all the handy tables you need)
and a 13 page adventure centered around an awakening.
NEPHILIM CALENDAR PROGRAM: Now available on ftp.csua.berkeley.edu in
the directory /pub/chaosium/nephilim is NephCal, a Nephilim Calendar
program written by Fred Schiff. It prints nifty calendars with the
astrological modifiers found in Nephilim. There's a DOS executable
there as well as C source, which compiles fine on UNIX systems.
MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS REVIEW REVIEW: Roland Franklyn had a few
comments on the Review of HPL's Miscellaneous Writings in V8.11 of the
Digest. He said: "If you're interested in HPL as a person and want to
gain some deeper insight into his personality, this book is excellent.
If you're only picking it up for the Mythos material, as some people
might, it's a waste of money. Only the first hundred pages or so
contain fiction, and while this material has never been collected in
one volume before, the majority of the book consists of essays by HPL
on various subjects." He concludes by saying "I liked the book
anyway."
SHADOWS OVER INNSMOUTH: Mythos enthusiasts will want to pick up a copy
of Shadows Over Innsmouth, a new anthology edited by Stephen Jones and
published by Fedogan & Bremer, the same people who did Tales of the
Lovecraft Mythos and House of the Toad. It's reportedly a collection
of short stories written by British authors about Innsmouth and the
Deep Ones. I can't offer too much more insight, since my copy is
still on order.
THE ETERNAL CHAMPION: I neglected to mention a few months ago that
White Wolf is now coming out with omnibus volumes of Michael
Moorcock's Eternal Champion stories. These are similar to the ones
that Millenium did in the UK. Volume One is called The Eternal
Champion (White Wolf, $19.99, ISBN 1-56504-176-3) and it contains The
Eternal Champion, The Sundered Worlds, Phoenix in Obsidian (The Silver
Warriors) and To Rescue Tanelorn. I assume it was released in
September from the Copyright, although I just picked up my copy a few
weekends ago.
Recent Sightings:
A few more recent French Sightings, all from Frederic Moll. If you
see any Chaosium articles in places other than the standard American
magazines which I can pick up easily in the US, or you notice that
I've missed a recent release, please drop me a line and let me know.
* Call of Cthulhu - "Les Thugs et le Mythe" (Thugs and Mythos), a
three page article on thugs and how to create thug cultists for
Cthulhu by Gaslight scenarios, APSARA #8 [October-December, 1994]; "Le
livre des Atharva" (the Atharva Book), a four page scenario set in
India in 1922, APSARA #8 [October-December, 1994]; "T'aurais pas un
tuyau", a three page play aid about the professional contacts for CoC
professions, Casus Belli #84 [December, 1994-January, 1995]; "La
commanderie de New Sorans", a four pages investigation scenario for
beginning players and Keeper, Casus Belli #84 [December, 1994-January,
1995]
--------------------
From: "M.D. HYDE" <BMB4MDH@SOUTH-01.NOVELL.LEEDS.AC.UK>
Subject: The Groaning Arch
System: Elric!
THE GROANING ARCH
A new landmark in Hwamgaarl for Elric!
The groaning arch is a major landmark in the cursed city of Hwamgaarl,
on Pan Tang. It is situated near to the Temple-palace of Chaos,
toward the centre of the city.
The arch itself is a free-standing structure of a pink flecked
obsidian, seen nowhere else on the isle. The arch is plain in design
except for the bodies of slaves, demons and animals that seem melted
to the stone of the arch. Each of these bodies is very much alive,
and though bonded to the stone, twitch and scream in agony
incessantly. The watcher also finds that with long periods of
watching the arch a distinct feeling of being watched occurs.
The arch is, obviously, a malign creation of a past Theocrat of Pan
Tang. It contains a hideously powerful demon that causes the obvious
effects.
THE GROANING ARCH, Hideous Demon
CON 40 Description: A large pink flecked stone arch
SIZ 100 in Hwamgaarl. Unbound it appears as
INT 30 a cloud of pink, cloying mist.
POW 35
DEX 13
HP 70
Abilities:
Armour - 20pt stone skin
Adsorb Flesh - This demon has the uncanny ability to consume organic
materials. Any organic material touching the surface of the arch must
make a POW:POW roll, failure means the victim sticks to the surface, a
fumble means the victim instantly takes 1D10 damage. Thereafter the
victim can make another resistance roll once a day. Another failure
causes 1D3 damage to the victim and extreme agony. The only way of
release is either a sucess in the resistance roll or removal of the
body part stuck to the arch.
By Matt Hyde
--------------------
From: ROLAND FRANKLYN <HARMSDM@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu>
Subject: Windigo Psychosis
System: Call of Cthulhu
WINDIGO PSYCHOSIS
This article is intended as a supplement to the material in Pagan
Publishing's "Walker in the Wastes." It presents a brief, dramatic
view of this disorder which may be of use to diabolical Keepers in
their search for newer and more interesting mental problems.
The windigo psychosis has only been documented among the native tribes
of upper North America, though in CoC terms this could be expanded to
include anyone suffering from windigo-induced insanity.
Traditionally, this condition is caused by famine, cannibalism
performed due to hunger, or dreams of the icy North. A child who eats
snow and ice may become a victim of this condition later in life.
A person afflicted with windigo psychosis may appear to be merely
depressed at first, but soon the person degenerates rapidly. He or
she becomes obsessed with eating human flesh, especially that of his
or her family members. After time, the person loses their ability to
speak, ceases to care for their appearance, and may even chew on their
fingers and lips. While some windigos maintain some control over
their action early in their condition, later they must be restrained
and carefully watched so that they do not attack their kin and
neighbors.
The heart of a victim of windigo psychosis is considered to be made of
ice. Thus, native cures for this condition include forcing the victim
to eat hot bear-fat or to drink large quantities of alcohol while
sitting next to a fire. Both of these techniques may be useful in
melting the icy heart of the afflicted. On the other hand, often
there is nothing that can be done for the victim other than execution.
This is usually done with an axe, after which the heart of the victim
is cast into a fire to melt it and complete the killing.
It should be noted that in recent years, most anthropologists have
concluded that the "windigo psychosis" is not in fact a true disorder
at all, and is caused by a tribe's need for scapegoating in times of
communal crisis. For game purposes, however, it can be assumed that a
small minority of these cases, those which have been ignored by
anthropologists, have been induced by actual sightings of the windigo.
Individuals like this, whether NPCs or PCs, may cause serious dilemmas
for a group of investigators: is the person actually undergoing a
transformation, or are they only mentally ill? A Keeper should
probably consider the matter carefully before assigning this
particular insanity to an insane character.
Sources: I've only touched on the windigo psychosis in the most
superficial manner here. Interested Keepers should consult the books
and journal articles of Morton Teicher and Louis Marano, a few of
which may be found at any university library. The primary source for
my own information was _"The Orders of the Dreamed"_, by Jennifer
Brown and Robert Brightman.
--------------------
From: stieg@ix.netcom.com (Joab Stieglitz)
Subject: A Note on Sages in CoC
System: Call of Cthulhu
In Volume 3 Number 2 of Chaosium Digest, Kimbo Beattie described two
concepts for individuals learned in arcane lore who present situations
and/or assist the investigators in accomplishing their mission.
Kimbo's "patron/sages" are beneficial for starting investigators on a
path and guiding them, but what of the investigators who already have
a direction and need some help?
I recently completed running a three year 1920's campaign where I
found the investigators needing some guidance. They had exhausted all
their sources their meager funds and influence could manage, and were
still up to their brain canisters in Mi-go and Serpent People. They
needed professional help (in several areas).
I found a reference in an excellent Chaosium module (Terror from the
Stars, now out of print) called the Field Manual of the Theron Marks
Society. The players found it among the effects of a victim after
successfully routing a small Mi-Go nest (courtesy of the The Cabin in
the Woods scenario found in the The Horrible Secret of Monhegan Island
module from Grenadier Models, also out of print).
The Theron Marks Society was "a group of part-time, low-rent occult
investigators... hunting down and exterminating Cthulhoid phenomena
wherever we found them." The purpose of the manual was to provide
similar minded people with the knowledge needed to uncover and combat
the preternatural threats to humanity. The book was paperback, and
only about 30 pages, but it provided some needed morale as well as
some tactics and organization.
If you're interested in a sage organization for Call of Cthulhu, you
should try and find a copy of Terror From the Stars and take a look.
Joab
--------------------
From: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu (Shannon Appel)
Subject: Authors Sought for Nephilim Companion
System: Nephilim
Over the next few months, I'm going to be editing a Nephilim Companion
for Chaosium. It's essentially going to be a resource for the
Nephilim Gamemaster, providing him with new background, rules and
ideas. Right now, I'm looking for two things:
* Authors - If there's something in the Companion (see below) that
you'd be interested in writing, let me know. Likewise, if you'd like
to write something that gamemasters would find useful, but it isn't
listed below, drop me a line and we can discuss it.
* Ideas - My main question here is: "As a gamemaster, what do you wish
was in Nephilim, but wasn't?" If there's anything that just would
have made your life a lot easier when you were a running a Nephilim
game, and you think it could be incorporated into the Companion, I'd
love the input.
Right now, I'm planning five main sections for the Companion. As I've
said, I'm still quite open to suggestions, so don't hesitate to ask
about things not in here. The five sections are:
* History. A timeline for Nephilim, running from the far past, as
described in the main Nephilim book, all the way up to the present.
This section should not only provide good background, to put the game
into perspective, but will also be full of possible hooks for
adventures. I already have someone who has expressed interest in
writing this timeline, so this section is probably taken care of.
* Magic. Emphasis here will be on the greater magics: third circle
sorcery, third circle summonings and second circle alchemy. I'm
interested in new spells for all of these areas, preferably fit into
well-defined traditions (for example, I consider the different realms
of the summonings traditions. I'd like to see new spells fit together
in similar ways, not included haphazard).
I also have ideas for some other things that could be included in the
magic section: metamorphosis related magic, an expansion of human
magic, stasis related magic, an expansion of the occult books list,
and rules for creating items, delaying effects of magic and writing
spells into foci. If any of these strike a chord with you, I'd love
to see something written on them. Most of these ideas should fit
cleanly into the magical schools already listed, either as hidden,
unique traditions, or as wide-spread ones (ie rules for creating items
could be an expansion of the second circle of alchemy).
* The Supernatural World. Nephilim aren't the only mystical beings in
existence, as evidenced by the Bestiary of the Nephilim book. This
section would include more information and ideas on the supernatural
side of the Nephilim universe. I'll definitely want more creatures
for this section. I'm also interested in tieing these creatures more
closely into the world of Nephilim and Secret Societies that is
described in Nephilim, as they feel like an add-on to me, and don't
seem well integrated with everything else. This section may also
include other things that emphasize the mystical nature of the
Nephilim universe, such as places of power or mystical events. If you
have ideas for any of these things, let me know.
* Gamemaster Resources. For this section, I'd like: adventure ideas,
campaign ideas and NPCs full of plot hooks. It should help gamemaster
get a Nephilim game off the ground and run it.
* Appendices. Finally, in this last section I want to include some
random useful items: a glossary, some indices and a reading list to
help people get the right feel for Nephilim. That type of thing.
Anyways, that's pretty much the outline that I have right now. See
something that you'd be interested in writing? If so, send me some
mail. I've gotten a lot of high quality material for the Chaosium
Digest over the last few years, and I'm sure that a lot of you could
do a great job on writing stuff for this supplement.
Shannon
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial discussion forum for Chaosium's
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