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Chaosium Digest Volume 14 Number 11
Chaosium Digest Volume 14, Number 11
Date: Sunday, June 2, 1996
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Pagan Publishing Update (John Tynes) CALL OF CTHULHU
New Cthulhu Rising Adventures (Shannon Appel) MYTHOS
Mythos Book Reviews (Shannon Appel) CALL OF CTHULHU
Editor's Note:
A pretty small digest this week. Within, you'll find a mishmash of
articles that will be of interest to Call of Cthulhu and Mythos
players.
Shannon
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
* Ringworld - _The Ringworld Throne_ (Del Rey, $23.00) is now out. I
just picked it up this afternoon, and can't say much more about it,
but I'm sure those list members interested in Known Space will want
to get the first new novel written in over a decade.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Lovecraft Draft Homepage
http://www.lovecraft.com/
Last time around (in V14.10), I mentioned Lovecraft Draft Cider. It
turns out that they actually have a home page on the internet. Check
it out for more information. Thanks to bedlam@interserv.com.
--------------------
From: rev@halcyon.com (John Tynes)
Subject: Pagan Publishing Update
System: Call of Cthulhu
Pagan Publishing Update, 6/96
Things have been busy here at Pagan Publishing Global Domination HQ.
We've just added a new member to our staff: Bob Kruger, who joins us
as an associate editor. He'll be taking the editorial reigns for
several project that have been languishing for too long, including
GLIMPSES OF THE END TIME, our anthology of apocalyptic adventures for
near-future Call of Cthulhu. Speaking of END TIME, our vaporware
post-humanity RPG is still in a vaporous state. I want to do the game,
but I don't know when it'll happen. We are moving ahead on getting the
GLIMPSES anthology out, however, since it was always meant to stand on
its own anyway.
In other news, our latest CoC book -- the 1890s sourcebook/campaign
THE GOLDEN DAWN -- is in stores, as is our GREAT CTHULHU POSTER, in
eye-popping color. Our next project is the three-years-in-the-making
sourcebook DELTA GREEN, for 1990s CoC. The manuscript has gone through
numerous drafts and expansions, and the book now looks to be about 240
pages. A preview of the book is available on the web at
<http://www.halcyon.com/rev/dg.html>. We're shooting for a late
summer/early fall release, but will not set a month until we're as
certain as possible.
Other projects that are in active development at present include THE
CULT OF TRANSCENDANCE, a modern-day sourcebook on a nasty global cult
intended as a companion book of sorts to DELTA GREEN; MORTAL COILS, an
anthology of unconnected scenarios; MYSTERIES OF NEW ENGLAND, a
sourcebook/scenario anthology on (you guessed it) the mysteries of New
England folklore and history; MYSTERIES OF MESOAMERICA, which does the
same for that region; and an as-yet untitled anthology of unconnected,
non-mythos scenarios. A new edition of THE WEAPONS COMPENDIUM is also
in preparation. In the not-active-but-pending category you'll find our
long out-of-print card game CREATURES & CULTISTS coming your way
sooner or later.
Finally, it looks like we're making another format change to our CoC
magazine, THE UNSPEAKABLE OATH. The next edition will be a double
issue (TUO14/15) that will be 128 pages long and retail for $12.
Chances are good we'll continue with that double-issue format for a
while (doing them twice a year), as the current single-issue
incarnation continues to lose money despite our cover price increase,
owing to rising paper costs and an unexpected change in the way we
have to ship the magazine. Our subscription rate and policy may change
as well, but we're still considering how that will shake out.
If you have questions, you're always welcome to drop me a line at
paganpub@aol.com (the official address) or rev@halcyon.com (the one I
prefer 'cuz I dislike AOL's mail capabilities). Also check out our web
pages at <http://www.halcyon.com/rev/pagan.html> and the pages for our
Mythos mail order catalog, The Outsider, at
<http://www.halcyon.com/rev/outsider.html> where you'll find the
infamous Plush Cthulhu Dolls.
John Tynes rev@halcyon.com
--------------------
From: appel@erzo.org (Shannon Appel)
Subject: New Cthulhu Rising Adventures
System: Mythos
The following adventures are all based upon the new Cthulhu Rising
Mythos cards. If you'd like to get a better feel for the adventures,
you may want to read the stories which helped to generate the ideas.
THE HOUSE ON CURWEN STREET comes from the August Derleth short story
of the same name, which can be found in _The Trail of Cthulhu_ (due
back in print soon). THE HYPERBOREAN AGE comes from Clark Ashton
Smith's "The Seven Gaeses", currently available in _A Rendezvous in
Averoigne_ and _Tales of the Lovecraft Mythos_. TELL ME, HAVE YOU SEEN
THE YELLOW SIGN? is roughly based on RW Chambers' _The King in Yellow_
(recently available from Dedalus).
As usual, thanks to Eric Rowe for double-checking values and offering
suggestions on the adventures.
THE HOUSE ON CURWEN STREET
Mythos Experience
+10 Points, +3 San
You have come to regret your HEROIC ADVENTURE with the STEADFAST
PROFESSOR. Because of it, the Mythos horrors are seeking active
revenge. By returning to the HOME OF LABAN SHREWSBURY, and finding the
Professor's SPACE MEAD and ANGLES OF TAGH CLATUR SPELL, you can summon
a bat-winged BYAKHEE, and escape to faraway CELAENO. However, Celaeno
is not the haven it was meant to be, for it is too near dreaded
Carcosa. When ALDEBARAN MOVES IN THE SKY, HASTUR will rise from the
Lake of Hali and try to claim you for his own. If you escape with only
a case of ASTROPHOBIA, you are fortunate.
THE HYPERBOREAN AGE
Heroic Adventure
+8 Points, +3 San
Battling the SERPENT PEOPLE, you chance upon a HYPERBOREAN TOME which
tells of an ancient source of uncleanness. Your CORRUPT ALLY is
entranced and flees, forcing you to scour the catacombs of the world
for him (visit any TWO different UNDERGROUND LOCATIONS). You find him
during an ECLIPSE OF THE SUN, but are too late. He has summoned
ABHOTH. But, all is not lost. With the help of a STEADFAST ADVENTURER
or SOLDIER, you use the magic of the ELDER SIGN, and banish Abhoth to
his fetid home. Unfortunately, the cost of victory is great, and both
allies are lost (the two required allies must be in your story deck).
TELL ME, HAVE YOU SEEN THE YELLOW SIGN?
Mythos Experience
+6 Points, +2 San
You have become suspicious of ROBERT W. CHAMBERS, author of a certain
blasphemous tome, and have decided to investigate him further. Start
out by finding his masterpiece, THE KING IN YELLOW, in TWO different
translations. Verify that these books contain at least TWO different
SPELLS. TRAVEL BY AIR or BY SEA to a PARIS LOCATION, and talk to a
EUROPEAN ALLY about Mr. Chambers. Your worst fears will be confirmed
when you confront Robert W. Chambers, and he reveals a corrupting
ARTIFACT (any artifact which makes its wielder corrupt).
--------------------
From: appel@erzo.org (Shannon Appel)
Subject: Mythos Books Reviews
System: Call of Cthulhu
In ages past, the Chaosium Digest has contained reviews of various
Mythos related books (see V3.12, V5.1 and V7.7). I've been doing a bit
of Mythos reading lately, mainly to come up with ideas for Mythos
adventures and such, and I thought I'd take the chance to resurrect
this old feature.
Before I get going, one quick note. _Dagon_, by Fred Chappell, was
reviewed way back in V5.1. It turns out that it's currently available
in _The Fred Chappell Reader_ (St. Martin's Press, ISBN 0-312-05092-5).
The following reviews are of books that should all be currently in
print. I think.
Resume With Monsters
William Browning-Spencer
White Wolf Publishing
ISBN #1-56504-913-6
There is a certain genre of modern mythos tales which postulate a
world where HP Lovecraft wrote tales of a Mythos which really existed,
but in a form slightly different from what is found on the written
page. In V7.7, I discussed _The Colour Out of Time_, and _The
Philospher's Stone_, which both are stories of this sort. _Resume
With Monsters_ is too, and it's a particularly good example.
_Resume With Monsters_ hits the reader from two sides. On the one
hand, it's a story of man obsessed by Lovecraft's writings, trying to
follow in his footsteps, but at the same time discovering the Mythos
in his very real world. On the other hand, it's about the modern
bureaucratic office, and the horrors which must underly such an
irrational construct.
The beauty of _Resume With Monsters_ is the center question of the
book: whether the Lovecraftian horrors are real or in the mind of the
protanganist. Overall, the book is well-written, and although it
strays from the Lovecraft-Derleth interpretation of the Mythos, it
still treats the Mythos with respect and dignity.
The Mask of Cthulhu
August Derleth
Carroll & Graf
This is an old collection of Derleth short stories which was
originally printed back in the 1960s by Arkham House, but has been
unavailable for something like twenty years. It has just recently been
put back into print by Carroll & Graf. It contains six stories: "The
Return of Hastur", "The Whippoorwills in the Hills", "Something in
Wood", "The Sandwin Compact", "The House in the Valley" and "The Seal
of R'Lyeh".
Have no doubt, every one of these stories is solid Mythos, through and
through. However, they're also Derlethian stories, and that tends to
turn some people off. Most people consider Derleth to have committed
two great heresies: he spoke of a great battle between the good Mythos
forces and the evil Mythos forces, and he also slotted all the Great
Old Ones into elemental niches. Cthulhu, for example, is a water
elemental. There is, however, another element of Derleth's writing
which I find more distressing. They're mostly too "important". Great
Old Ones lurk around every corner in Derlethian stories, constantly
working to invade the world. It'd be like every Lovecraftian story
being a "Call of Cthulhu" or a "Dunwich Horror". I tend to find
Derleth perfectly acceptable in moderation, because his stories do
consider the seeds of interesting adventures, but the buyer should
beware.
"The Return of Hastur" tells of a conflict between Hastur and Cthulhu.
It's also available in _The Hastur Cycle_. "The Whippoorwills in the
Hills" is about ancestral sin and Yog-Sothoth. "Something in the Wood"
is another Cthulhu story, involving the effects of his powerful
artifacts. "The Sandwin Compact" is about compacts made, and Lloigor.
"The House in the Valley" is about the evil dreams that Cthulhu sends.
"The Seal of R'Lyeh" tells of a search for Cthulhu and his ancient
city.
Return of the Deep Ones and Other Mythos Tales
Brian Lumley
ROC UK
ISBN 0-14-017303-X
Like Derleth, Lumley is another author that gets some flak in the
Mythos community. Many of his books, particular the later Titus Crow
books, his Dreamlands books, and his Primal Land books do vary widely
from Lovecraft, so this is somewhat understandable (ironically, the
last two series are closer to Howard's conception of the Mythos than
anything else). However, Lumley has also written some good, solid,
Lovecraftian mythos stories. This book contains a number of them. All
included, there are four tales.
"Inception" and "Lord of the Worms" are both faintly Mythos stories
revolving around the very earliest adventures of Titus Crow. The first
is about the Cult of the Undying Dead, and the second about a strange
worm-wizard. Check out V3.6 for some discussion of these specific
stories. They'd each make terrific CoC adventures.
"Beneath the Moors" was Lumley's first Mythos novel, originally
published by Arkham House in 1974. It's a vaguely Dreamlandish novel,
that was clearly inspired by "The Doom That Came to Sarnath" and "The
Nameless City". "Beneath the Moors" takes some minor elements from
Lovecraft's mythology, builds them up, and does a wonderful job of it.
Definitely one of Lumley's best Mythos works.
"Return of the Deep Ones", the title story, is one of Lumley's more
recent novel-length Mythos works. It centers around the Deep Ones'
presence near Britain, and the trouble that this brings. It's another
good novel, small in scope, and bearing none of the heroic hallmarks
which turn many off of Lumley's other Mythos works.
This particular book is only available in a UK printing, so it might
be a little harder for some of you to get ahold of right now.
--------------------
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