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Chaosium Digest Volume 11 Number 01
Chaosium Digest Volume 11, Number 1
Date: Monday, June 26, 1995
Number: 1 of 2
Contents:
A Lesson in Herb Lore (Stefan Matthias Aust) ELRIC!
Editor's Note:
Welcome all to a brand new (and somewhat delayed) issue of the
Chaosium Digest. I've actually been sitting on the articles in this
issue of the Digest for a few weeks, and so thanks to Ford and Stefan
for both being quite patient with me.
After Stefan's interesting article on plants in Elric!, you'll find
something new for the Digest: a set of rules for a Call of Cthulhu
LARP. I hope you'll find them fun and thought provoking.
Shannon
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
* Call of Cthulhu - _Tales of Zothique_, by Clark Ashton Smith (224
pg., Necronomicon Press, $11.95, ISBN 094088471-2) is really a book
that I can't speak too highly of. It collects all the stories from
the 1970 Ballantine edition of _Zothique_ along with the bits and
pieces about Zothique that were printed in 1989's _Strange Shadows_.
That's the entirity of Smith's Zothique cycle, in one place for the
first time, all in a very nice trade paperback. If you don't know of
a local store that carries Necronomicon Press books, you can phone
them at 401-828-7161 and order by phone (as I did).
(SPANISH) MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS:
* Pendragon - "La Aventura de la Doncella Sitiada", a beautifully
illustrated 8 page Pendragon adventure oriented to Romantic Knights,
Dosdediez #7.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
* NecronomiCon Announcement
ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/cthulhu/necropress/necronomi-con
This is an update on the Cthulhian Lovecraft convention which is to be
held in Danvers, Massachusetts from August 18-20, 1995.
* Nephilim Archives
ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/chaosium/nephilim/archives
I've just uploaded the first 156 volumes of the Nephilim Digest to
ftp.csua. I will continue to sporadically upload these archives when I
think about it, although I honestly don't know if I'll be keeping them
forever.
* Windows Digests Archives
ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/chaosium/archives/windows
The windows archives of the Digest have once more been updated. They
now include a zip of volume 10, as well as a large collection that
includes all of volumes one through ten in one file.
MARKETPLACE:
For those of you looking for old, out-of-print, Chaosium products,
Charlie Seljos passed on a few potential sources: Crazy Egor (a game
seller in New York who does MOs; 716-427-2190), Out of Print Books
(800-223-0540), Used Books (619-271-079). Happy hunting.
--------------------
From: sma@tierzucht.uni-kiel.de (Stefan Matthias Aust)
Subject: A Lesson in Herb Lore
System: Elric!
The following article is a study of some of the herbs in the author's
variant Elric! campaign [See V5.7 for more information on it].
However, it should be quite useful in any Elric! campaign, and perhaps
for CoC Dreamlands campaigns as well.
--
A Lesson in Herb Lore
Listen, students. Today I'll teach you something about magical herbs.
Yes, they exist and they are powerful tools if treated right.
Dolph, my true servant, close now the door and keep us undisturbed.
Sendra, stupid girl, be quiet!
Now all take their boards and pencils and learn!
We will start with something simple. This blood-red fern-like plant is
found near dark places where, so goes the saying, a demon once was
killed. In fact, it stores magical energy and if eaten after moonrise,
and that is important, because it seems to have no effect other than
causing a thrilling thirst if taken during the day, but if eaten after
moonrise it will immediately restore your magical power. The fern is
called Uunbal by the tribes that live in the jungle where it is found,
and that means demon offspring.
There is a last thing about Uunbal that I will not conceal. It was the
sorcerer Ceibos Thun who started to drink fresh human blood because
of the thirst. Nothing else, he said, could quench his thirst from
eating the Uunbal fern.
These leaves (Don't touch them, stupid Berran, just look), these
leaves are called Sengin. To use them, heat a cauldron of water for
three hours, pulverize the acrid leafs and mix them into the water.
You have to drink the mixture while it is so hot that you will burn
your tongue. Using a fire salamander to heat the water works best. I
must repeat, do not wait until the water is cooled down because if you do
you will only get bad dreams.
If used correctly, however, the Sengin will cause you to feel free,
freed from all boundaries, and you will be able to leave your body.
Your bodiless spirit will be able to travel and explore the unseen
world we call the spirit world. But, be very careful to return to your
body in time. You have only one chance. Do not try to use Sengin
alone. Otherwise you'll rove disembodied through the spirit world
forever. However, it shall be a great and indescribable feeling.
Back to something more ordinary. This herb can be used to heal
emotional wounds. There's other magic for physical wounds. This herb,
for best success pulverize and mix it with wine, heals deep sorrow,
anger and hate. However, it can also "cure" great happiness and make
emotion-rich people dumb and indifferent.
Master, what's the name of this herb and where it is found?
Be patient, students. The herb is called Grey Rose and it is found at
shores of river crossings. In the eighth month of the year, you will
easily discover its grey flowers. They have a sadly smell.
The Grey Rose, goes the saying, grows at places, where an undine cried
because of an impossible love for a human hero.
This powder is made from the wood of the Offaka tree. To make it, Burn
Offaka wood with one ounce of silver dust. Mix the ashes with pure
alcohol and burn it again. You will get this powder. If you burn it a
third time and inhale the smoke while sleeping, you will be able to
move into the world of dreams. Use this wisely.
Before I show you the last herb for today, the Rekhra berry, we will
become aquatinted with this plant, the fruit of the Tashlu swamp
grass. This small orange fruit smell like rotten flesh. I know,
students, it's not a pleasing smell but you will find this herb
useful, I promise. Use the liquid of the fruit and smear it on your
body. This will protect you against demonic attacks, and "attacks" of
the opposite sex, hehe. However, its protection isn't perfect. A
powerful demon might overcome this foul smelling shield. Don't try to
overcome the annoying smell with perfumes or other substances. If it
does not make you vomit, it will not shield you against demons either.
Finally, The Rekhra berry. I would give you all my treasures in
exchange for one fruit. Obviously, I can't show you one. It's a
golden, glowing, thumb-sized berry. They truthfully say that can't go
and find a Rekhra bush. Only once per year, in the time between
moonset and sunrise, does the bush flourishes for a some short
minutes. Only at this time can you can distinguish the Rekhra from an
ordinary sand thorn bush. If you pick the berries before they melt
away and keep them into a golden chest, they will last forever. Only a
virgin person can touch the berries. They are the most valuable, I
know.
A Rekhra berry can give life. Take a berry and put it into the mouth
of a corpse, and he or she will regain life. Wonderful. With one of
theses berries you will overcome the death. Once, I heard a story of a
sorcerer who formed a corpse of clay around the needed organs and used
a Rekhra to animate this. He built not only a normal golem but a real
living being. That's magic, isn't it?
But I feel tired. We will finish our lesson and meet again tomorrow.
Now, Sendra, I need my meal. Berran, the room has to be cleaned.
# UUNBAL FERNS grow in dark humid places where the blood of a demon or
a similar magical creature has poisoned the earth. One doses adds 2D8
to the user's current MP. Whenever eating Uunbal, make a luck roll. On
a 00, raise the user's MP permanently, but after this, further doses
will not work and the user needs to compensate a thirst for blood. For
the first D6 month, the user will need to quench his thirst with
animal blood. He will need to drink 1 HP of animal blood every week
for the first half of this period, and then 1 HP of animal blood every
day for the second half of this period. Thereafter 1 HP worth of
human blood is needed daily.
# SENGIN TREES are found high in the mountains. These small stunted
trees seldom hold more than a handful of leves each. Dead, fallen
leaves can't be used. Use 1-6 leaves per dose. Roll 1D6. If the brewer
used at least that much leaves, the potion will work. The taker can
leave her body for 6 hours. She has to make a roll against INT x 5 to
be able to return to her body. If that roll fails, she has additional
INT x 4, INT x 3, etc. rolls. If the INT x 1 roll is failed too, she
will stay in the spirit world forever.
This world is fascinating for humans and traveling through it is
imbues the user with a sense of ecstasy, like drugs or sex. The user
can watch the normal world, which looks boring and funny at the same
time. Sometimes (never at the first 1D8 trips), the user sees not
only the present but also the past and possible futures.
Roll under POW once per hour in the spirit world. On a success, the
traveler will meet someone or something. This could be lost spirits,
demons that are hunting for spirits, other travelers or spirit
world-monsters such as emotion spirits.
# GREY ROSE is found in quantities worth 1D6 doses. One dose cures
most normal sorrow or happiness. Two or three doses, taken each day in
the evening hours, will also cure magical passions. More doses or two
or three doses taken in the same hour will make the target dumb and
indifferent. This will last 1 month per dose. After this time, make a
successful luck roll or wait another month (regardless of the number
of doses). Very small doses are used by the followers of Balance.
# OFFAKA POWDER is a common way to reach the Dreamlands. The Offaka
tree grows at places where beloved have sworn their great love. If
it's an unlucky love, the tree will grow even better.
# THE SWAMP GRASS IN THE TASHLU SWAMP protects itself against animals
and other dangers by an enormously disgusting smell. Only the Tashlu
sting-fly is attracted by this smell. The consequence of this fact is
that you shouldn't use the Tashlu fruit in the swamp if you don't want
to be stung to death. One dose protects its user against demons for 8
hours. The smell, however, will not vanish before at least 8 days.
Protection means that the demon has to overcome 2D8+16 with its own
POW on the Resistance table. Otherwise it can't approach within three
meters of the target.
# Rekhra bushes are very rare and therefore is the knowledge of a
Rekhra bush very valuable. Each bush holds 4D6 berries which each have
a POW of that value. A berry will resurrect a person if a successful
luck roll is made by the one who fulfills the ritual. On a 00, the
dead corpse is reanimated but with a demon and not the original soul.
In this case, the corpse will die again after 1D8 weeks in great pain.
Berries touched by the wrong persons will melt away, causing 1 HP of
damage to the toucher.
--
Stefan Matthias Aust // ...come on, kiss the frog!
--------------------
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