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Chaosium Digest Volume 16 Number 01
Chaosium Digest Volume 16, Number 1
Date: Sunday, August 25, 1996
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Campaign '96: A New Adventure (Peter Corless) MYTHOS
Martial Arts in CoC (Ricardo Christe) CALL OF CTHULHU
Announcement: Gloranthan Resurrection (Eric Rowe) GLORANTHA
Editor's Note:
In this issue, a set of small articles: a very funny adventure for
Mythos, complete with supporting cards; some new rules to add great
descriptions to Martial Arts combats in CoC; and an announcement on
the future of Glorantha from Chaosium.
Also this week, a request from Brent Heustess (heustess@mail.utexas.edu):
Brent is doing a truly amazing job of putting together a bibliography
of Call of Cthulhu magazine articles (he'll be doing supplements
next). It is going to be a terrific resource for CoC Keepers when he's
done, listing issues, articles, time periods, topics and much more.
His database already includes over 800 entries, listing all the common
gaming magazines, and a lot of the obscure ones, but he's still
looking for references to foreign language and super-obscure
magazines. He is requesting help from subscribers who might be able to
lend him a hand on these topics. Help on Japanese and Spanish
magazines is especially desired. He just needs a little bit of
information on the article, and a translated name. Not a big deal.
Please drop him a line, especially if you have a good collection of
Japanese or Spanish gaming magazines, so that his bibliography can
include articles from all over the globe. Information from other
foreign lands would also be quite welcome.
Shannon
RECENT RELEASES:
* Call of Cthulhu - _Utatti Asfet_ (Chaosium, 160 pg., $20.95) is a
new, world-spanning campaign set in the 1990s. Stops in Tongo, New
Orleans, Turua and the Sudan combine to form a war against the Eye
of Wicked Sight. Now shipping, it should be showing up in stores
starting late this week.
* Glorantha - _The Entekosiad_ (Wizard's Attic, $25) is the newest
Greg Stafford manuscript exploring the myths of Glorantha. It
details the early Myths of Peloria, and gives hints about the
secrets of the Red Goddess. You can order from Wizard's Attic by
calling 1-800-213-1493.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
Elric! Reviews!
http://www.igs.net/~mtr/role-playing/elric-review.htm
I tried to announce this last week, but got the HTML subtly wrong.
This site has interesting and insightful reviews on the entire Elric!
product line.
The Electronic Tales of Terror
http://www.flar.demon.co.uk/terror/tales.htm
Steve Hatherly's Tales of Terror site contains the contents of his
1990 small press book of Call of Cthulhu adventure seeds. Take a look;
it's full of great adventure ideas.
August Chaosium AOL Conference
On the AOL OGF, Tuesday August 27, 7pm PST
Chaosium hosts a monthly chat in the AOL OGF forum. This month's topic
is "Upcoming Products: RPGs and CCGs". Learn what Chaosium's plans are
for the rest of the year and beyond.
--------------------
From: Peter Corless <pcorless@cisco.com>
Subject: Campaign '96: A New Adventure
System: Mythos
Here's a new Mythos Experience!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
New Adventure:
Cthulhu for President!
+10 Victory Points, +3 Sanity
[Corrupt Adventure]
After you and your two Allies, BILL CLINT and HILLARY CLINT learn THE
SECRET OF POWER AND GLORY IS YOURS, you decide to go your separate
ways. Taking your capable political adviser ALBERT SHINY on the
campaign trail, you travel to THREE DIFFERENT CITIES in Lovecraft
Country artfully brokering power in the Presidential election. You
alone decide if the current President keeps his post, or finally turn
the electorate over to the Great Old Ones, such as BHOB DHOLE, or the
mighty CTHULHU.
Existing cards:
* THE SECRET OF POWER AND GLORY IS YOURS (Adventure)
* [THREE CITIES in LOVECRAFT COUNTRY] (Locations)
* ALBERT SHINY (Ally, Unique)
* CTHULHU (Great Old One)
New cards:
* BILL CLINT (Ally)
* HILLARY CLINT (Ally)
* BHOB DHOLE (Great Old One)
New Card Definitions:
BILL CLINT
Corrupt Politician
Speaks English and Latin
1, Ally, Any City (Lovecraft Country)
Does not use weapons. While this card is in play, you may Bury any
Phobia played against your investigator by spending one turn talking
through issues.
HILLARY CLINT
Corrupt Wife
Speaks English
3, Ally, Any City (Lovecraft Country)
Protects against POLICE INVESTIGATIONS.
BHOB DHOLE
Press Location, Obsessive/Compulsive, Day
Monster, Great Old One
Acursed ancient disrupts organizations; no monsters may Join. No
Investigator may gain Sanity.
--------------------
From: Ricardo Christe <rchomsi@ibm.net>
Subject: Martial Arts in CoC
System: Call of Cthulhu
MARTIAL ARTS IN COC
An Article for the Chaosium Digest
by Ricardo Christe <rchomsi@ibm.net>
The Background
Once, a Chinese-born Investigator went about making a living by
teaching a few neighbors the secrets of Martial Arts (Shaolin Kung Fu
in his case). Even though his pupils were all Chinese or American sons
of Chinese, his unfolding of all those legendary combat techniques was
viewed with extreme distaste by other masters. Traditionalists in the
true sense of the word, living in an age and place which required
secrecy (immigrants to the United States in the 1920s), they obviously
saw the activities of their much younger counterpart as being a breach
in etiquette, as well as a dangerous exposure of their only true
power. United by their common belief, they followed a logical course:
to prohibit the brash young master from teaching.
The teacher's evident refusal brought more severe measures. Since his
students escaped staged street ambushes with ease, one night
discretion was forgotten and men were sent to break into his rented
loft. Thoroughly wrecking the place up, the men left a message in
Chinese: a formal challenge. Trial by combat would be the
Investigator's only chance to prove his worth and to continue on
without further meddling.
He set out one early morning, entering a quiet waterfront warehouse.
There, observed only by appointed judges, he met the masters'
Champion, in a fight in which much more than life was at stake...
The Problem
The fifth edition rules of Call of Cthulhu put at my convenience all
the rules I needed to stage and run this event, one of the most
significant in that Investigator's career. I could simply roll attacks
and Dodges as much as I wanted, following the combat rules, and not
having any serious mishaps. But, I wanted more. That was, after all,
an epic occasion. It's not your average college student fighting the
crooked undertaker; it was master against master, in a fight possibly
to the death (though this was not encouraged).
What I needed was _description_. The player knew precisely what the
situation meant: he was risking his character's neck. He had therefore
every right to expect a memorable scene. And, I would probably be way
too busy just running the event without having to come up with
original lines at every punch.
I needed a few prepared lines, to provide me with a decent
inspirational start. And, I needed a quick system that could keep the
action moving, and wouldn't make me jump to and fro a dozen spot
rules. With those objectives in mind, I devised the Martial Arts
Table.
The Martial Arts Table
Call of Cthulhu doesn't use extremely detailed systems, which is for
the best. The table below doesn't encumber the freeform Keeper. It
quickly provides a basic descriptional result for a combat round in a
man-to-man fight. For scenes with more than half-a-dozen combatants,
stick to the regular rules. Remember, this table is supposed to be
used sparingly.
To use it, each round have the Investigator and his Opponent roll both
Dodge and a chosen Attack. This can be a Kick, a Punch, a hand-to hand
weapon, and so on (a Grapple will be a bit harder to manage, but not
too much). Note each one's Successes and Failures, and find the
corresponding text line. Assign damage normally where applicable.
Martial Arts Table
Investigator Opponent
Dodge roll Attack roll Dodge roll Attack roll Result
success success success success A
success success success failure B
success success failure success C
success success failure failure D
success failure success success -B
success failure success failure E
success failure failure success -G
success failure failure failure F
failure success success success -C
failure success success failure G
failure success failure success H
failure success failure failure I
failure failure success success -D
failure failure success failure -F
failure failure failure success -I
failure failure failure failure J
Note that certain of these results are inverted (ie, -C). In this
case, simply use Result C, substituting "Character" with "Opponent" in
the text, and vice versa.
Results:
A) Rapid strikes and counterstrikes are evenly matched. A pleasant
dance for onlookers, not much more than a tiring round for contenders
(Con x5 rolls?).
B) Character launches a confident attack, barely deflected by his
surprised Opponent, who reddens with vexation.
C) Character blocks Opponent's blow and uses his momentum to penetrate
Opponent's guard and hit home with a counterattack.
D) A perfect maneuver by Character finds a clear opening and connects
a solid blow. Score a good one.
E) Contenders try to provoke each other, threatening and feinting but
mostly holding ground. This round serves to build up tension only.
F) Character assumes defensive stance (loses initiative next round,
but gains +5% on his next Dodge roll only).
G) Character tests Opponent's defenses with a cautious attack, easily
deflected.
H) Contenders throw subtlety down the toilet and eagerly "deal it
out". Powerful hits from both sides raise violence level and spatter
blood.
I) Character springs in all-out attack, surprising Opponent, who loses
a few more hit points...
J) Both contenders circle each other in close study. Tension builds if
no action so far, lowers if blows previously exchanged.
Substitute references to "blows" and "hits" with each actual attack.
Add detail by using the hit location system found in the 5th Edition
Keeper's Kit.
Remember that these results are provided as springboards for more
colorful descriptions, and therefore are purposefully sketchy. The
task of tailoring them according to the situation is up to the
Keeper's judgment and creativity.
--------------------
From: Eric Rowe <rowe@CSUA.Berkeley.EDU>
Subject: Announcement: Gloranthan Resurrection
System: Glorantha
Chaosium Inc. is pleased to announce the upcoming resurrection of the
world of Glorantha, manifesting itself in several lines of books and
games.
Chaosium Inc. has licensed the famous Italian game manufacturer,
Stratelibri, to publish an entire range of Gloranthan games and
game-related materials throughout Europe. This will begin with
tabletop miniatures.
Two rule sets are planned, for skirmish (25mm) and mass combat (15mm).
The first product will contain 20 figures with another 40-60 to be
released in the next few months. The first full year will include six
Gloranthan army books, plus introductory materials describing
Glorantha. Boardgames and other related products are also planned.
Subsequent releases are planned and the people and companies behind
the project are committed to giving Glorantha long term dedicated
support. Chaosium will be coordinating the American release of
material produced by Stratelibri.
Besides the miniatures games, Chaosium Inc. will also be producing
Gloranthan Fiction and RPG lines.
Chaosium Inc. has lined up the talented Phil and Marion Anderson to
edit the Gloranthan Fiction line. There will be a group of Gloranthan
advisors to help in manuscript selection and creation.
Chaosium Inc. has commissioned David Hall, editor of Tales of the
Reaching Moon, to produce a new Gloranthan Role Playing Game. It will
be based upon Pendragon mechanics and Greg Stafford's notes. It is
intended to be very flexible and able to handle everything from
microcampaigning to heroquesting. Simple mechanics and extensive use
of runes for the magic system will make the game accessible to all.
Submissions for the Fiction line and the RPG line will be requested in
a few months, when the guidelines are completed. Please do not bother
the Andersons or Mr. Hall. All submissions and requests should go
through Chaosium. Though the guidelines are not yet available, there
will be another announcement when the are.
Chaosium is actively seeking licensees for Glorantha (and Call of
Cthulhu) related computer games. Interested companies should contact
us.
These projects are not immediate. The first miniatures should start
appearing by the summer of 1997 and the rest of the lines will follow
them. However, we will not start them until we have at least a dozen
products finished or almost ready to go for a line. Once they are on
the market we intend to support them regularly and frequently.
Eric Rowe
Director of Sales and Marketing
Chaosium Inc.
950-A 56th Street
Oakland, CA 94608
510-547-7681
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial electronic 'zine about Chaosium's
Games. In no way should it be considered representative of the views
or beliefs of Chaosium Inc. To submit an article, subscribe or
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