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Chaosium Digest Volume 14 Number 06
Chaosium Digest Volume 14, Number 6
Date: Sunday, April 28, 1996
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Announcement: Mythos Release (Chaosium) MYTHOS
Mythos Designer's Notes (Charlie Krank) MYTHOS
New Mythos Adventure Cards (Shannon Appel) MYTHOS
Editor's Note:
As promised, this time around a Mythos special. Within you'll find an
official release announcement from Chaosium, notes from Charlie Krank,
the designer of Mythos, and some new adventures to fill those Create
Your Own Adventure cards with.
Next week: Adventures for Elric! and Pendragon.
Shannon
--------------------
From: Eric Rowe <chaosium@aol.com>
Subject: Announcement: Mythos Release
System: Mythos
MYTHOS: THE CTHULHU COLLECTIBLE CARD GAME
Welcome to the world of Chaosium's cardgame of Lovecraftian Horror. In
Mythos, you play an ordinary person slowly discovering the true nature
of our unforgiving universe, the things that man was not meant to
know. You try to turn these bizarre encounters with stange cultists,
monsters, and arcane tomes into storys to score points. All the while
though, your opponent is trying to drive you insane (and you get to
return the favor). So get a grip on your Sanity, and enter the strange
world of H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
When is the game coming out?
Mythos is showing up in stores in late April (don't be mad at your
local retailer if they don't have it yet, shipping companies are very
poor at accurate timing of deliveries).
What is the game really like?
Take a look at our web site (listed below) for full information. There
are also upcoming reviews in such fine magazines as InQuest, Shadis,
Scrye, the Duelist and more. Grab a copy of their latest issue now!
Is Mythos limited?
Yes. There are about 22 million cards, plus versions in four other
languages coming out. This number includes the entire 401 card array
of Mythos in this first set. This set contains...
MYTHOS STARTERS: 200 cards in decks of 60 plus rules and an
investigator card.
MYTHOS BOOSTERS: Each available in packs of 13.
Expeditions of Miskatonic University: 67 new cards plus the 200
starter cards (at a lower frequency).
Cthulhu Rising: 67 new cards plus the 200 starter cards.
Legends of the Necronomicon: 67 new cards plus the 200 starter cards.
(special bonus, each display contains an entire set of all 9
investigator cards, unfolded).
When are the booster sets coming out?
Expeditions of M.U. shipped with Mythos. Cthulhu Rising will be out in
another month and Legends of the Necronomicon will follow a month
after that.
Will there be any more?
Yes. We are planning to have Mythos:Dreamlands come out before
Christmas this year, and perhaps another project as well.
Can you play out of a starter deck?
Yes. However, there will be some cards in your set that you can not
initially play, and you will not be able to play the full campaign
version of the game with just a starter. We have included a special
insert so that even the worst possible card sort in your deck is
playable for the basic game. We recommend playing the basic game
before committing fully to the expense of a full set or more, and we
are sure you'll love it.
If I do want to collect a whole set, how much should I buy?
We recommend that players buy about 2 starter decks and a full display
of each booster to complete a collection. Be patient, because you'll
be able to get starter cards in the later booster displays. We have a
high number of commons so the game is fairly easy to collect. The
above buying strategy should get you 2 sets of each of the new booster
cards, and 1 complete set (or very close) of the starters. You'll then
have plenty of extra to trade and play with.
Will there be tournaments?
Yes. We will be hosting tournaments at Origins and GenCon, as well as
other conventions. We expect this support to increase as more card
sets become available for tournament play.
What about rarity? Card listings? the FAQ?
Starting Monday (April 29th) evening we will be maintaining at our web
site the latest version of the rules, FAQ, errata, card list and
rarity level, tournament rules and anything else we can think of. The
web site is
http://www.sirius.com/~chaosium/chaosium.html
E-mail questions should be directed to chaosium@aol.com
Eric Rowe
chaosium@aol.com
--------------------
From: Charlie Krank <CharKrank@aol.com>
Subject: Mythos Designer's Notes
System: Mythos
A MYTHOS STORY
I've been here in Montreal, up all night checking the press sheets for
the second and third boosters for MYTHOS (the checks are coming every
three hours or so -- it's not worth going back to my hotel). Shannon
asked that I give him some words about the designing of MYTHOS. With
this time on my hands, here is the article.
DESIGNING MYTHOS
We first decided to create what came to be known as MYTHOS after being
approached by several companies about licensing a Cthulhu-based
collectable card game. After listening to their proposals, Greg and I
discussed the various possibilities. I felt strongly that if anyone
was going to do this game, it should be us. After all, how hard could
it be?
The Genesis of Mythos
The first obstacle was gaining an understanding of how to go about
creating a collectable card game. I ended up discussing the process of
creating one of these game with many other people in many other
companies. I visited Carta Mundi, a major card printer in Belgium, to
get a better understanding of the process. I asked questions such as
the equipment used, hard disk sizes, size of the files that you got
once the art had been scanned and placed on the card background,
discussions of different kinds of paper that could be used, and many
other things.
Our time was limited. We had decided that we wanted this game to come
out as quickly as possible, without compromising the quality of the
game. We briefly discussed having it out for last Christmas, but I did
not feel that it was possible. In addition, there were a great number
of games that had been announced for that time, and it seemed
ludicrous to try to complete with every one of them, even assuming
that only about half of them would actually make it as announced.
So we decided to pull it comfortably away from Christmas, by about
four months. Our original target date was March 20, almost exactly a
year from the time that we first decided to give this a try. We
eventually had to modify this date by about a month, due to the
availability of the paper stock that we wanted to use.
We used the 1995 Christmas period to begin our announcements that we
were going to do a card game. In order to stretch our advertising
budget, we began modestly with half-page black & white ads that
generally announced our intentions to do a card game. Our plan was, in
each passing month, to reveal more and more information about the
nature of the game, the art, and the style of play, in ads that grew
progressively larger and more colorful. This, coincidentally,
coincided with our own discovery of the game. In essence, you learned
about the various details of MYTHOS as we did.
I then had to construct a fairly rigid schedule for the completion of
the various aspects of the game, if it was to be completed on time.
Doing a project like this is very complex, I found, and it is easy to
get overwhelmed if you try to work with too much at once. So, I
decided to worry only about the fundamentals of the game system at
first. Then I layered on the other aspects of play once I understood
how you got cards from your hand onto the table top.
Mythos Play Style
In deciding how the game would play, I made several decisions early
on. I tried playing some of the contemporary card games currently on
the market, but I was looking for a different feel -- something that
recalled more traditional cards games. So, I began by browsing through
a copy of Hoyles, reviewing the styles of play for games such a gin
and rummy, canasta, bridge, and a variety of others.
I knew several things right away. I wanted a game where everyone is in
the game, and involved, until the very end. These ideals reflect my
personal preferences in games. I dislike games where one player is
eliminated early, and must wait for an hour or so for everyone else to
finish.
I also wanted a game playable by two or more players.
The basic system of play was first. Many traditional card games used a
13-card hand. 13 being an appropriately Cthulhoid number, I settled on
that number of cards in your hand early. I also decided that I wanted
each player's turn to be quick and straight-forward. I preferred that
there be a sequence of playing cards that was then followed by combat,
discard, and redraw. If each player was faced with making only one
basic choice each turn (choosing one card to play) then the turns
would be quick and each player would be playing continuously without
long lulls between plays.
I also wanted the pacing of the game to be very deliberate. I had
noticed some sometimes severe timing problems in other games when
cards were played out-of-turn. I decided that each MYTHOS player would
make only one play during his or her turn. That play might sometimes
modify what another player had done earlier, but I always wanted it to
be absolutely clear when any particular card would take effect.
Other Elements of the Game
I considered the type and number of values that each player would have
to keep track of. The most obvious was something reflecting Sanity.
And, for a brief while, I also toyed with having hit points as well,
but this just led to too many complications.
I fiddled with some sort or randomizer -- something akin to making a
sanity check in Call of Cthulhu. I immediately discarded the idea of
using dice in the game. Using dice violated the card-game feel that I
was looking for. I also tried using the cards themselves as
randomizers, as is done in a few games. The closest, and most
seriously, that I got to it was a system of three dots on each card.
The dots were either red, yellow, or green, with the obvious meanings.
Red meant that you failed, yellow indicated that you succeeded
conditionally, and green meant success. The problem was that unless I
was exceedingly clever, player would obviously build their decks with
success in mind.
Then, I tried having other players determine the success of your
opponents. But it just seemed that players would be unhappy when
revealing a card (and then discarding it) meant that a card you needed
had just past you by.
So, this whole idea was dropped. It was too complex and ultimately,
frustrating.
Then I worked out the system of Passing. A single pass to end the
round seemed too abrupt, and I wanted to provide the opponents of the
passing player at least one more chance to play before the hand ended.
I also considered using more Passes to end the round for more players.
The idea was that with two players two Passes would be needed to end
the round, and with three players you needed three passes. This was
clumsy, and prone to great error. Two passes was clean and efficient.
Next was the problem of telling your story. I toyed with building a
small pyramid of cards, reflecting something of the "layers of an
onion" motif in CALL OF CTHULHU, where the bottom layer would be the
lesser cultists, the middle would be the cult leaders, and the top the
monsters that they worshiped. My friend Rory Root coined the term
"Story Deck" during a particularly successful playtest, wherein most
of the elements of basic play that you now see were finalized.
(Editorial note: You must realize that in a project like this, it is
almost never one person that does the whole job. I did the initial
conceptual work, decided the focus of the game, worked out the game
systems, wrote the art assignments and got the art to Sam Shirley and
Eric Vogt. But at some point you must present your ideas to others and
let them take them where they will. Many people had many great ideas
-- some of which I used, some of which I changed, and some of which I
discarded.)
Despite their importance now in the Mythos game system, the way that
the Adventure Cards work was about the last portion of the game to get
developed. The whole concept of Mythos always centered on
storytelling, but it took a while for the Adventure Cards to develop
the focus that they give to game play.
Finally, there are the Investigator Cards. This seem to me an obvious
way of differentiating the different players, and could also serve as
a means of organizing your cards. However, the biggest problem with
them was their size. It seemed antithetical to the nature of a
collectable card game to have a card that you fold in half. So, for a
while I tried playing MYTHOS without it. But, every time we played,
someone would ask, "Where am I in this game?" After a while, I put
the Investigator back in.
Essentially, the Investigator Card serves as a play mat: it helps
organize your cards as you play a game, provides a visual idea of your
"character" and notes differences in how your Investigator plays a
hand.
Obviously, there is much more than this in the creation of MYTHOS, any
other card game, or any other gaming product. MYTHOS will now appear
on store shelves, and your response will be the best judge of the
success of the game.
--------------------
From: Shannon Appel <appel@erzo.org>
Subject: New Mythos Adventure Cards
System: Mythos
One of the neat features about Mythos is that you can customize it by
writing your own adventures. This article features seven new
adventures which you can write down on your Create Your Own Adventure
cards. Eric Rowe, who was involved in Mythos development, gave
guidance in determining the correct values for these adventures, so
they should be well-balanced with the ones in the Mythos set.
THE HAUNTER OF THE DARK
Corrupt Adventure
+10 Points, +3 San
It was in ROBERT BLAKE'S STUDY that ROBERT HARRISON BLAKE and the
STEADFAST AUTHOR first told you of the secrets held within the CHURCH
OF STARRY WISDOM. Unable to resist the call of power, you investigated
on your own, and found a powerful TOME (which must cost you at least
two sanity) and the SHINING TRAPEZOHDRON within the ruins. Your
thievery did not go unnoticed, and during the great STORM, you came
face-to-face with the three-lobed burning eye of NYARLATHOTEP. Your
life was spared due to a blasphemous agreement, but now, despite
fleeing to a new REGION (any Region other than Lovecraft Country), you
live in fear of the shambling footsteps of an INVISIBLE MONSTER, for
you know you will eventually be claimed by such.
IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
Heroic Adventure
+7 Points, +2 San
A GREATER INDEPENDENT MONSTER is bringing terror and sorrow to the
world. The DROUGHT, the STORM, the UNEXPECTED CALAMITY and the new
fears (TWO different PHOBIAS) are all its doing. You must travel
widely, visiting TWO different REGIONS, to learn the true depths of
its evil. Only by finding the ancient spell known as the CIRCLES OF
THAOL, and combining its power with the STAR STONE OF MNAR can you
hope to control the greater independent, and drive it back to its
unholy realm.
THE LURKING FEAR
Mythos Experience
+6 Points, +2 San
You should never have spent that night in MARTENSE MANSION, atop
TEMPEST MOUNTAIN. While you slept, ignorant of the horrors of the
place, your TWO STEADFAST ALLIES disappeared without a trace (they
must be in your Story Deck). Returning with a STEADFAST REPORTER (who
must be a third ally card), and TWO WEAPONS, you hope to confront and
defeat the MARTENSE KIN, ending their terror forever. No one escapes
contact with the Mythos unharmed. Now that you have seen the terrors
that dwell underground, you will need to deal with your new-found
CLAUSTROPHOBIA.
POLICE RAID!
Mythos Experience
+6 Points, +2 San
The POLICE DETECTIVE, your friend and ally, believes that evil forces
are infiltrating all aspects of modern life. He has asked you to
search a BUSINESS, a CHURCH, a SOCIETY and a UNIVERSITY (4 cards)
looking for CORRUPT CULTISTS (you must find TWO). When you bring him
back proof, he can call for a POLICE INVESTIGATION.
THE RATS IN THE WALLS
Heroic Adventure
+6 Points, +1 San
When your steadfast ally, CAPT. EDWARD NORRYS, first told you of the
horrors of EXHAM PRIORY, you could scarcely believe his tales. But,
now that have you seen that god-accursed place, you know they are only
too true. You must visit a SANITARIUM to help Norrys conquer his
PHOBIA, and then use an ancient TOME to gain control of the CURSE OF
THE RAT-THING. Only then can you return to Exham, defeat the PACK OF
RAT-THINGS and use your DYNAMITE to blow the whole place to Hell.
TOMEQUEST
Mythos Experience
+6 Points, +2 San
Miskatonic University has one of the best "special" libraries around,
but it hasn't earned that reputation without lots of hard work. Your
advisor, the MU PROFESSOR, has asked you help find new material for
the special stacks. Begin at MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY, and search through
locations in TWO REGIONS. When you have found FOUR different TOMES
(different translations or editions count as different tomes) written
in at least three different languages, you may return to a second
MYTHOS UNIVERSITY location, your quest completed.
VACATION!
Mythos Experience
+6 Points, +2 San
Sometimes, you just need to get away from it all. That's why you've
scheduled a vacation of THREE NIGHTS in Europe. You plan to tour the
continent a bit, visiting THREE different COUNTRY LOCATIONS in the
Europe region. Unfortunately, nothing ever turns out as planned. While
vacationing, you are attacked by a MONSTER, beset by a PHOBIA and
caught in a TOWNSFOLK RIOT. Perhaps you should have stayed home.
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial electronic 'zine about Chaosium's
Games. To submit an article, subscribe or unsubscribe, mail to:
appel@erzo.org. The old digests are archived on ftp.csua.berkeley.edu
in the directory /pub/chaosium, and may be retrieved via FTP. Trade a
Flying Polyp for an Elder Thing?
