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Chaosium Digest Volume 12 Number 03
Chaosium Digest Volume 12, Number 3
Date: Sunday, November 19, 1995
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
New Summoning Spells (Geoffrey C. Grabowski) NEPHILIM
Hymnsinger: A Lawful Runesword (Paul Caley) ELRIC!
Editor's Note:
Welcome to another issue of the Chaosium Digest, this time containing
a brand new Elric! article, as well as a Nephilim article originally
published over on the Nephilim mailing list.
In skimming through the old digests, I've noticed that it's
(suprisingly) been a full two months since any Cthulhu articles have
graced the electronic pages of this publication. If anyone has been
working on new ideas for CoC, now would be an ideal time to send them
this way, for inclusion in a future digest.
Shannon
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
* Elric! - _Lunching with the Antichrist_ (Mark V. Ziesing, $25.00,
ISBN 0-929480-46-5) is not an Elric! book, but this new Michael
Moorcock collection no doubt contains some of the same themes which
have spanned all of his literature. This particular tome is a
collection of seven stories concerning the von Bek family, from 1925
to 2015.
* Nephilim - _A History of Secret Societies_ (Citadel Press, $10.95,
ISBN 0-8065-0857-4) is an excellent resource on Secret Societies
which has just been re-released. The chapters document various
secret societies, from the Assasins, the Templars and the Sufi, to
the Order of the Peacock Angel and the Decided Ones of Jupiter the
Thunderer, all to a fairly high level of detail. It's an excellent
resource for Nephilim gamemasters.
--------------------
From: The Raindog <gcgst1+@pitt.edu>
Subject: New Summoning Spells
System: Nephilim
I decided to fill in some of the Summoning Hierarchy today while
flipping through the book. Here are a few of my finer creations,
omitting the immor(t)al; Obedient Servants of the Leather Clad
Princess, In Drag; The Small Hairless Dogs of Far Away Mehico, Across
the Stormy Gulf; or The Willing Love-Ponies of the Sensual Paddocks,
With Stepstools. I don't think they'd be useful in most Nephilim
adventures. Well, okay, in most Nephilim games, I don't want to say
what adventurous Nephilim might or might not do.
SEALS, REALM OF ELEMENTAL AND SPIRITUAL COMPREHENSION
-----------------------------------------------------
The All-Seeing Sages, With Scarlet Censers, Disciples of the Hidden Altar
Circle: Seals
Ka-element: Fire
Threshold: 65%
Contract: 14
Rupture: Capture
Duration: 1 Investigation
Range: Location Summoned To
Autonomy: Total
Decription: This Invokation summons three Sages into the Pentacle. The
sages, hale and ruddy old men with long grey-red beards and black and
scarlet cloaks, bring with them each a scarlet-enameled censer wrought
of bronze. When commanded, they can recite the nature of any deed of
violence or anger they are brought to the scene of, after a 1d10
minute investigation, which requires a fumigation of the area with the
sulpherous incense in their censers. The Sages cannot tell of events
that took place over a year and a day before their summoning.
While they can describe the circumstances and methods of the violence,
and can give a minutely accurate desciption of the perpetrator(s),
they have no power to reveal the name of the perpetrator unless some
servant of the Hidden Altar was entrusted with that name during the
perpetrator's initiation into Summoning. Also, unless the crime was
one of hatred or passion, rather than, say, a calculated murder or
assassination (GMs must use their judgement as to the nature of a
crime), they can give no insight into the motives or reasoning behind
it, only a factual description.
The Sages are often useful to those Nephilim investigating the murder
of other Nephilim, and to the members of the Judgement Arcanum. Once
invoked, they cannnot be invoked again by the same summoner until next
Tuesday.
PENTACLES, REALM OF EMOTIONS
----------------------------
Brazen Scaled Soldiers From The Scarlet Rivers, Acolytes of the Hidden
Altar
Circle: Pentacle
Ka-element: Fire
Threshold: 70%
Contract: 20
Rupture: Capture, the Summoner will be effected instead
Duration: Until Next Tuesday
Range: Unlimited
Autonomy: Total
Description: The Soldier answering the invocation appears as a tall,
thickly muscled man with a thick red beard and hair, with brazen
scales instead of skin. Its eyes are terrible blue flames, and it has
long bronze claws and fangs. It is invisible except to Ka-vision.
The Soldier will follow the caster for up to eight hours, or until it
is commanded to attack. When so commanded, the Soldier will begin to
follow the target instead. Whenever the target is subject to anger,
the Soldier will strike them with its brazen talons, increasing their
rage and anger. Those effected must make a Ka check or fly into a hot
rage, screaming, yelling, and very possibly becoming destructively
violent. The check must be made each round the irritation persists,
and is of increasing difficulty. The first round it is made at Ka x 5,
the second round, at Ka x 4, and so on. After the fifth round, the
checks are made at Ka x 1. If the target loses their temper they will
continue to lose their temper until they make a Ka x 1 check (allowed
every minute). If they become irritated after they regain control of
their temper, the whole process begins again. A botched check
indicates the target has fallen victim to the Soldier, and enters a
homicidal rage from which they will not recover until the spell
expires.
For the purposes of the effects of the spell, 'irritation' is defined
as anything which causes the character's emotional temperature to
rise, from missing keys and unavailable parking spaces on up.
PENTACLES, REALM OF HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE
------------------------------------
Keriel, Princess of the Hidden Altar, Altar Itself and Centerpiece
Circle: Pentacles
Ka-element: Fire
Threshold: 50%
Contract: 30
Rupture: Capture: The Nephilim loses one point of Ka and Kerial leaves.
Duration: Time to execute one task
Range: Unlimited
Autonomy: Total
Description: Keriel appears as a naked young woman with a firm,
voluptuous body and thick red hair. She bears a fiery sword in her
right hand and a candleabra with five candles burning in it in her
left. She is quick-tempered, often prone to hot anger. She is
resentful of her superior, and will not conduct business with a Pyrim
who has learned The Daughters of Noubosse from Raphael.
The powers of Keriel regarding Fire spells are the same as those of
Gabriel, but only regarding Fire spells of High and Low magic Sorcery
and Summoning spells related to the Hidden Altar. She will only
perform these acts freely for Pyrim. All other Nephilim must pay one
Ka point per spell corrected. She can also teach these spells,
demanding one Ka point in payment from Pyrim, and three from other
Nephilim. These versions of the spells are better than the common
versions, giving the caster the option of sacrificing one Ka point to
evade the rupture result of the Contract roll.
Keriel delights in violence, and will happily tell the invoker the
circumstances of any act or deed of violence for no Ka points. She
will reveal the name of the perpetrator(s) for one Ka point if they
have revealed their name to her through herself or one of her servants
or if the act was motivated by hatred or rage. If the act was not
motivated by hatred or rage, she must be given five Ka points to
reveal the name of the perpetrator. There is no time limit on her
ability to perform this act.
Keriel can halt the effects of any Invocation related to the Hidden
Altar, but will only do so if the Nephilim bribe her with one Ka point
per circle of the Spell. She will also release anyone captured by the
servants of the Hidden Altar, but only if the Nephilim offer her twice
as much Solar Ka in the form of blood sacrifice as the captured target
posesses Ka in their primary element, and a substitute (who need not
be willing) to serve her in the captured victim's stead.
|Geoffrey C. Grabowski|gcgst1+@pitt.edu|Undergrad, U.Pittsburgh|Swing Heil!|
[O]
[O] cynic, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not
[O] as they ought to be.
--------------------
From: Paul Caley <100555.345@compuserve.com>
Subject: Hymnsinger: a Lawful Runesword
System: Elric
Hymnsinger is a truly powerful weapon. It is used to rival
Stormbringer, Mournblade or any other Chaotic runeswords. In the
example below the weapon was created when Mournblade was used to kill
Callundus, knight of Donblas, the runesword absorbing so much power
that it became what it destroyed. The sword could be created by any
means or just be a gift from the gods. Its high characteristics are
reflective only of the power of Callundus. Feel free to make this
weapon fit into your games; it has endless possibilites and a thousand
stories that could accompany it.
HYMNSINGER
The Sword of Calandaur
"The blade was made from white silver, emitting a strange pale blue
light. It had intricate golden runes carved into it. It was pure
perfection. To those not aligned with Law this sentient weapon was
painful to gaze at; for lawful followers, the sword was beautiful and
celestial, almost mesmerising.
"Rarhl now held the weapon. So great was his loss that he felt
uncertainty in himself and in his ability to continue. Chaos had taken
everything from him and yet he now had this sword. He knew it to be
powerful; he had seen what it had done to Callundus. He had also seen
it change. It was as if Callundus had become part of it, for it seemed
to radiate pureness. He was unsure as he had reached for the sword
whether it had come to his hand or not; that of which he was clear of,
was its beauty. He watched the pale blue light flicker as it danced
around the blade. A very faint and tranquil sound of music could be
heard coming from within. Rarhl spoke 'You shall serve me, for
together we have purpose. We shall protect one another from the
darkness of Chaos and serve the good of humanity. I have waited long
for you to arrive. Now that you have, I shall wield you in the name of
Law, my Law. From this day on you shall be known as Hymnsinger and I
shall be your only master.' And then the sword replied, 'Yes.'"
Hymnsinger
Created from the death of Callundus, this runesword was once host to
the demon Mournblade; now it is host to the soul of Callundus, the
lawful god. The blade is made from white silver and it emits a strange
pale blue light. It has intricate golden runes carved into it that
seem to be in constant motion. It is a picture of pure perfection. To
those not aligned with law, this sentient weapon is almost painful to
gaze at. For lawful followers, the sword is beautiful and celestial,
almost mesmerising.
Chaos 0, Balance 0, Law 999
STR 180 CON 160 SIZ 3
INT 220 POW 2034
DEX 180 APP 190 HP 160
Damage Bonus: +10D6.
Skill: Great Sword 1000%, 10D8+1D8+DB
Abilities:
10D8+1D8+DB.
Lift = STRx2.
Communication.
Plane travel.
Allegiance.
Drain power, POW:POW roll.
Store soul.
Transfer strength.
Pureness.
DAMAGE: Hymnsinger can inflict any amount of damage that its wielder
wants, although this must be within its own damage limits. Thus it is
capable of doing from 1pt-148pts, not taking any armour values into
account. The sword can also heal/repair itself once a day.
MOBILITY: The sword is sentient and thus capable of its own actions,
with its own skill. It can, if need be, fight on its own, though it
much prefers to join with its wielder. When the sword and wielder join
together they effectively become one and are capable of unimaginable
feats, ie, parrying attacks that come from behind, etc.
COMMUNICATION: Hymnsinger can communicate with its wielder via a form
of sound. Although to the wielder, this can be understood like any
normal language, to others it sounds like a musical triangle or wind
chimes gently ringing. Hymnsinger is inquisitive by nature, and so
will often strike up a conversation. It also has an insurmountable
amount of knowledge that can be used and is constantly looking to
increase this.
PLANE TRAVEL: Hymnsinger has the ability to both open plane rifts and
travel the moonbeams, at will.
WARNINGS: In times of anticipation a warm, yet pale blue-white glow
can be seen dancing around the blade. This is a warning that something
is about to happen that may effect its wielder.
ALLEGIANCE: The wielder of the sword can gain 1d6 law points or lose
1d8 chaos points per week. This comes from the purification effect
that Hymnsinger has on its wielder's soul. What is more, the wielder
can, if he so chooses, grant these blessing to another, although they
must willingly accept it. Due to the perfection of the sword and the
fact that it is the prison of a lawful god, it cannot be used by any
mortal who is not a Lawful champion. Further more, the wielder of
Hymnsinger must have a skill level of at least 200% in the use of
greatswords, plus they must posess good Lawful intentions. Hymnsinger
is incredibly loyal. If stolen or even given away, the sword will
return to its owner as long as they are alive. It is the sword's
belief that it takes a life time to be wielded properly and the
perfection of the relationship between it and wielder must be
maintained.
PRESENCE: The sword's presence and perfection incites the wrath of
demons. It makes champions of chaos indignant and disquiets allies of
chaos. To all of these, the sword is painful to look at.
PURENESS: Hymnsinger is pure Law and thus can bring about order to
that which has none; this is the power to stabilise and normalise, ie,
to stabilise the chaos mass or elements that have been mutated from
the normal. This power can even go as far as to do extra damage
against elementals by disrupting or negating their form.
DRAIN POWER: The runesword sucks away D100 POW from a target each time
it takes one or more hit points from the target. If it does not
exhaust the target's POW, it can stay in the target until the next
DEX-rank it could strike, then drink again, until the unfortunate soul
has been drained dry. This is only automatic when fighting chaos.
STORE SOUL: Drained of all POW, each soul drained which is chaotic in
allegence is stored within Hymnsinger, there to commingle forever with
all the runesword's other victims. When a soul is thus absorbed,
Hymnsinger emits a bright flash, this can be seen easily across any
battle field and the effects of this can cause problems to an enemies'
moral.
TRANSFER STRENGTH: For each two points of POW the runesword drinks, it
can feed one point of STR or CON until one's limits have been reached.
When the owner is wounded in battle, first remove the extra hit points
so created. Being of Law, Hymnsinger dislikes this power and its use,
thus it will only use it when in a dire situation. For each point thus
transfered the wielder gains an equal amount of chaos points.
Thanks,
Paul.
--------------------
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