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Chaosium Digest Volume 16 Number 06
Chaosium Digest Volume 16, Number 6
Date: Sunday, October 6, 1996
Number: 1 of 3
Contents:
The Poisoned Sailor: A Tale of Terror (Ricardo Christe) CALL OF CTHULHU
C&S: Townsfolk Riot (Shannon Appel) MYTHOS
10/4/96 Mythos Errata (Chaosium) MYTHOS
Editor's Note:
This week, a variety of of Lovecraftian articles. This issue starts
off with a short Tale of Terror called The Poisoned Sailor. (And, as a
side note, keep those Tales of Terror coming in. They're short, yet
still extremely valuable!). I've followed it up with a pair of Mythos
articles: a new Card File on Townsfolk Riot, and the updated MSGS
Errata.
Over in V16.7 and V16.8 you'll find a longer CoC adventure set in 1954
Los Angeles. It's a bit gory, but works well in portraying a dystopic
view of Los Angeles in the 1950s.
Keep those submissions coming!
Shannon
RECENT RELEASES:
* Mythos - _Mythos Standard Game Set_ (Chaosium, 104 cards, $12.95) is
now out! It's a set of brand-new Mythos cards, totally
non-collectible. You just buy a set, and you have all the cards, in
two ready-to-play decks. Or, if you prefer, you have 104 cards to
mix into your old Mythos decks.
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
* Call of Cthulhu - _H. P. Lovecraft: A Life_ (Necronomicon Press, 704
pg., $20.00), by S. T. Joshi, the definitive biography of
Lovecraft's life is now available from Necronomicon Press. Check out
their web page for more info:
http://www.oneworld.net/sf/companies/necropress/
You can order from them direct at 401-828-7161.
RECENT MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS:
* Mythos - "Simple Strategies and Deck Designs for Beginners", by Eric
Rowe, a four page article on Mythos Strategy, InQuest #19 [November,
1996]
(FRENCH) MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS:
* Misc - a one page interview with Greg Stafford, featuring a picture
of Greg and good friend, the Undead Trout, Casus Belli #98 [October,
1996]
* Call of Cthulhu - a two page play aid to help the management of
combat and sanity, Casus Belli #98 [October, 1996]
Casus Belli #98 also announces the French second ed of Hawkmoon for
mid-October and promises a review in CB #99. The French Nephilim
second ed is still pending as well.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
Updated Chaosium Mythos Pages
http://www.sirius.com/~chaosium/mythos.html
The Chaosium Mythos Page has been updated with: new V3.1 rules, a new
FAQ including MSGS, updated errata and a preview of Mythos Dreamlands
(complete with a few sample cards).
--------------------
From: <rchomsi@ibm.net>
Subject: The Poisoned Sailor: a Tale of Terror
System: Call of Cthulhu
The Poisoned Sailor: A Tale of Terror
An Investigator who follows a medical profession is awakened in the
middle of a rainy night by furious banging at his front door. If
opened, a desperate, haggard-looking sailor will storm in, pleading
for help. He rolls up his shirt's sleeve, offering his horridly
bulging arm for examination. Swelled and blackened, it appears to be
affected by necrosis. The man begs for help, claiming he was poisoned
by a rival. "Duh bastar' hates me guts cos my business runs strong,
an' he's a lazy, warty ol'drunkar' who can't keep ep. He's poison' me
drinks! Help me please, ain't wanna die, oh Gawd!"
The arm responds to no medical treatment the Investigator can come up
with. Ditto for hospitals. It appears to worsen by the hour.
Possibilities:
1) The sailor is telling a half truth. The "rival" isn't simply
jealous because of business competition; he's seeking something the
sailor has: an old trophy from a shipwreck that looks like a copper
bracelet with intrincate designs. The rival, actually a follower of
Dagon, knows that it's a piece of Deep One jewelry, and badly wants it
for his rituals. Since the sailor refuses to part with it, the cultist
has cast a slow-acting version of Shrivelling, and will later contact
the sailor for a bargain. But, he certainly won't want the old sea-dog
to get help from the Investigators....
2) The sailor has tainted deep one blood, but is also cursed. His
now-dead mother found the strength of will (and the help of a deceased
stalwart adventurer) to break free of the bonds imposed by her
monstrous consort. Furious by such unprecedent behavior, the deep one
asked Dagon to curse both she and any offspring she might have in the
future. Any descendant would come to the world doomed to end his life
transformed into a ravenous human-eating monster, one far more
horrible than the most degenerate deep one hybrid. Unfortunately for
the sailor, the transformation has already begun, but perhaps there is
a way to reverse it.
3) It is actually poison, of an incredibly potent sort. The poison is
the creation of a Serpent Man sorcerer the Investigator has dealt with
before, and which was supposedly dead. Is it possible that the
creature is alive and on the loose?
Copyright (c) 1996 Ricardo Christe
rchomsi@ibm.net
--------------------
From: Shannon Appel <appel@erzo.org>
Subject: C&S: Townsfolk Riot
System: Mythos
** CLARIFICATIONS & STRATEGIES: TOWNSFOLK RIOT **
THE CARD
--------
Name: Townsfolk Riot
Type: Event
Affects: Opponent's Investigator
Special Effect: Your opponent's foul deeds are exposed. Even if
already Walking, opponent must play a Travel Event or a new Location
next Turn or suffer an attack worth 5 points. Allies may defend. Then,
Bury this card.
CLARIFICATIONS
--------------
The opponent you play this card against gets a choice. If he chooses
not to play a Travel Event or a new Location on his next Turn, then he
is hit by an attack.
If your opponent plays another Card, that Card takes its full effect
before the Riot hits. Thus, he could put out an Ally to block, arrive
at a Sanitarium so the attack won't kill him, or something else.
Though the Riot won't go off until the other Card has taken its full
effect, it has already been "triggered". Thus, even if the played Card
makes the Riot go away, the player is still hit by it.
The Riot happens just before the end of the player's Turn, even if the
Round is about to end.
Order of Events during Rioted Player's Turn:
1.) Player plays card or takes action
2.) If card was not a new Location or Travel, Riot is triggered
3.) Full effects of played card occur
4.) Riot occurs
5.) Turn ends
QUESTIONS
---------
Q: What happens if I play Aldeberan Rises in the Sky after Townsfolk
Riot is played against me?
A: Townsfolk Riot is buried (along with all other Events). However,
the instant you play Aldeberan, the Townsfolk Riot is triggered, and
thus you're hit with it anyways.
Q: What happens if I play Yithian Mental Contact against a Townsfolk
Riot played on me?
A: The Riot is buried, and you do not take the 5 Sanity Loss, because
it was an effect the card had.
Q: If I end the game on my Turn, do I still get hit by the riot?
A: No. If you end the game (by playing an Adventure, or killing an
opponent), then you never arrive at the end of your Turn, when the
Riot would hit you. You're safe!
Q: Am I stuck if I've already started walking, or my Current Location
is a Travel Event that I can't currently get off of, and someone
Townsfolk Riots me?
A: No. As of the MSGS rules, you can Discard either card and play a
new Location (pg. 17): "While walking to one Location, you might find
that you wish to change to a different Location instead. Your previous
destination has never been rotated right-side-up and is Discarded. It
never became part of your Story. Your new Location is played
crosswise, replacing your previous card. You may also do this if your
Current Location is a Travel Event."
Q: Am I stuck if I lose the next Turn, and someone Townsfolk Riots me?
A: Yes.
STRATEGIES
----------
* Location Denial - One of the prime uses of the Riot. Someone is
walking to a cool Location (in particular, a Sanitarium, or
something required for an Adventure). By playing Riot, you force
them to either Discard the card, or take 5 Sanity loss.
* Attribute Denial - The other prime use of the Riot. Someone is
already at a cool Location, but they haven't had a chance to use its
attributes yet (ie, Gate, Tome, Artifact). Again, they either lose
their chance to play the cards they were hoping to, or lose 5
Sanity. This might also apply to denying the usage of other card
effects, such as the subregion (for finding Allies), or a special
effect box (ie, using a sanitarium to bury a phobia).
* Hitting Opponents When It Hurts - Want to automatically cost your
opponent 5 Sanity? You can occasionally do this with Townsfolk Riot.
If an Opponent has just arrived at one of the Sanitariums that
causes them to lose a Turn, play Riot. Alternatively, if it's very
late in the Round, and you think your opponent might be out of
Location cards, you can Riot them.
* The Yithian Trick - You play Townsfolk Riot, and then when they play
a new Location, you Yithian it. They take 5 damage because they
didn't play a Location.
* Warding Off Passing - If someone passes, you can play Townsfolk
Riot, and force them to play a new Location, breaking up their
passes. You'll get one extra Turn before they start passing again.
Not quite as convenient as In The Nick of Time, but occasionally
useful.
COUNTER STRATEGIES
------------------
If someone is making good use of Townsfolk Riot, it's hard to avoid
it, but here are a few tricks.
If your opponent is denying you Locations, never walk to the important
ones. Take a Train or a Tramp Steamer to hide your final destination,
or alternatively, first walk somewhere else in the City that your
final destination is in (ie, if you're in a different City, walk to
Arkham Gazette, and then you can play Arkham Sanitarium right-side-up
in one play). Cars and Camels work too.
If your opponent is denying you attributes and other card effects,
make use of special cards such as Create Gate (for finding Monsters),
Discover Secret Cache (for finding Tomes and Artifacts) and Trains
(for finding Allies). However, it's unusual for Attribute Denial to be
more than a temporary nuisance.
And then, there's always Yithian Mental Contact, the one real sure
defense against Townsfolk Riot.
Or, you can always take the 5 Sanity Loss, making Sanitariums a sort
of Counter Strategy.
--------------------
From: Chaosium <chaosium@aol.com>
Subject: 10/4/96 Mythos Errata
System: Mythos
We've been trying to keep Mythos Errata to a bare minimum, to avoid
the problem of having to carry around an entire blasphemous tome just
to play the game. However, with the release of MSGS, we've added four
new pieces. They're all included below.
The first two have to do with slight discrepencies in the MSGS
rulebook. Pretty minor stuff.
The second two are more far-reaching. We've changed the way that the
Mythos Limited Islands and Travel By Sea Cards work to make them more
rational. You'll see similar wording when we introduce new Islands and
Travel By Sea Cards in Mythos: The Dreamlands.
The rest of the errata included is old, but is here for completeness
sake.
** MYTHOS ERRATA **
MYTHOS STANDARD GAME SET
Rule Errata
The following important rules changes supersede the printed MSGS
rules:
Joining: Two additional sentences have been added to the end of the
definition of Joining on page 28: "Two cards may Join as long as one
of them allows this in its Special Effects box. More than two cards
may Join as long as every combination of two cards in the group
Joins."
Just Played: The definition on page 28 of the MSGS rules is subtly
wrong. It should read: "A card played since your last Turn in the
current Round that has not been affect by any other card play."
Card Errata
No cards in MSGS have had errata issued for them.
MYTHOS LIMITED
Rule Errata
The following important clarification exists for Mythos Limited. Note
that in MSGS the rules have undergone several updates and
clarifications. These newer rules should be used instead of the
out-of-date Limited rules.
Combat: One paragraph in the COSMIC BATTLE section in Combat is
incorrect, and gives a mistaken impression of how Combat is conducted.
The correction is simple:
On page 27, delete the last sentence of the COSMIC BATTLE section
(Bury all Monsters ... opponent's threat.) Thus, if your DEEP ONE (1
point) battles a FLYING POLYP (5 points), the DEEP ONE absorbs 1 point
and your Investigator loses 4 points of Sanity. Only then are the
monsters buried.
Card Errata
The following general card errata has been issued for Mythos Limited:
Islands: The old Island travel restrictions have been overriden by the
following general rule: "Islands are Special Locations found within
Regions. You can not walk or use Travel By Land or Travel by Air cards
to go to, from or between Islands, unless Special Effects say
otherwise." All old Island cards (R'lyeh, Bal Sagoth, Easter Island,
Otaheite, Ponape and Retoka) should have the old text which said "You
must use a Travel by Sea card to get to this Location" stricken.
Travel By Sea Events: All Travel by Sea events from Limited
(Mauretania, Titanic, Tramp Streamer) should have the phrase "Play
this card at a Location featuring the water attribute" added to the
special effect box of the card.
The following specific cards in Mythos Limited have had errata issued:
* Asenath Waite Derby - Arkham should be on a Green background.
* Become Spectral Hunter - Pentagon should be Yellow.
* Book of Dyzan (Atlantean) - Is a Tome, not an Artifact.
* Brown University - Should have the University attribute.
* Call of Cthulhu - To reroll Investigator, Bury, not Discard, Tome.
* Chant of Thoth - Pentagon should be Yellow.
* Dominate - Should read "Replace the languages and card benefits of
one of your Allies with the target Ally's languages and card
benefits, for as long as your Ally remains in play. Flip target
Ally."
* Faraz Najir - The correct artist is Stephen Barnwell.
* K. J. Hooper - Should have Knows English.
* Mosque of Ibn Tulan - Is Unique.
* Ponape Scripture Hoag Ms. - The background should be Tome/Artifact
colored.
* Powder of Ibn Ghazi - Should read 'Round', not 'Turn'.
* Simon Orne - Should have two Region colors, green and purple.
* Summon Great Cthulhu - +13, not +7.
* The Necropolis - Should have a Gate swirl.
* The Pragmatic Hobo - Should have a Maximum of 7.
* The Secret of Power and Glory is Yours! - Should be +6, with +2
for the Sanity gain.
* Voola Ritual - Pentagon should be Yellow.
--------------------
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