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Chaosium Digest Volume 14 Number 12
Chaosium Digest Volume 14, Number 12
Date: Sunday, June 9, 1996
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
A Web of NPCs (Iain Rowan) ELRIC!
Editor's Note:
Welcome to the newest issue of the Chaosium Digest. This time around,
a set of NPCs that can be used to generate a number of adventures for
the Elric! game.
Shannon
RECENT RELEASES:
* Elric! - _Atlas of the Young Kingdoms Vol 1: The Northern Continent_
(Chaosium, 144 pg., $19.95) shipped this week. It should start
appearing in stores at the end of next week. This long-awaited
resource contains information on Vilmir, Ilmiora, the Weeping Waste,
Nadsokor, Org, the Forest of Troos, the Sighing Desert and Tanelorn.
UPCOMING (FRENCH) RELEASES:
As ever, thanks to Frederic Moll for info on French releases and
sightings.
* Mythos - The French edition of Mythos should be out for the end of
June. It will be published by Jeux Descartes, the French publisher
of Call of Cthulhu.
(FRENCH) MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS:
* Call of Cthulhu - "Le Livre des Revelations" is a 12 page scenerio
for CoC that takes place in America, Berlin and Jerusalem, Calus
Belli #95 [June, 1996]
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
* Call of Cthulhu - _Trail of Cthulhu_ (Carroll & Graf), by August
Derleth is now out. It's a reprint of the old Arkham House
Derlethian short story collection, and includes "The House on Curwen
Street", "The Watcher from the Sky", "The Gorge Beyond Salapunco",
"The Keeper of the Key" and "The Black Island".
--------------------
From: ROWAN Iain <wm0iro@acresearch.sunderland.ac.uk>
Subject: A Web of NPCs
System: Elric!
Below are some NPCs for Elric! which stand on their own as (hopefully)
interesting characters. Also included are some suggested possibilities
for adventure which draw these NPCs, and possibly the players
characters, together.
ARLAN DUBLAR
Arlan is a successful merchant in one of the more lawful of the young
Kingdoms. He has built up his fortune by trading in X, and by adopting
a policy of what can only be termed fierce competitiveness with his
rivals. Arlan is a respected (although not particularly liked) member
of the local community, and is a prominent worshipper at the Temple of
Goldar. Tall and dark, Arlan's already brooding features are laid over
by a deep melancholy. In his life Arlan has had only two loves:
Dryiyna, his wife, and Mayana, his daughter and only child. Dryiyna
died two years ago, and Mayana blamed Arlan for her death, believing
that his jealousy and possessiveness broke Dryiyna's spirit.
Since that day, the two have become progressively more estranged.
This estrangement culminated recently when Mayana eloped with one
Helis Varn, the son of one of Arlan s greatest rivals, and announced
her intention to wed. Arlan, disturbed by his grief over the loss of
his wife and daughter, has become progressively more withdrawn. He
still loves his daughter, and wishes his great wealth to pass to her,
but the idea of a son of the Varn family laying his hands on the
Dublar estate fills him with horror.
Arlan Dublar, Merchant and Grieving Father
STR 11, CON 16, SIZ 15, INT 15, POW 11, DEX 12, APP 13 Hits: 16
DAMAGE BONUS: +1d4
WEAPONS: Short Sword 58%, Damage 1d6+1+db
ARMOUR: Leather and Rings, 1d6
SKILLS: Bargain 82%, Common Tongue 76%, Evaluate 92%, Insight 22%,
Ride 65%, Scribe 66%, Young Kingdoms 56%
Possibilities...
* Arlan wishes to hire the PCs to return his daughter to him. If Helis
Varn should happen to be maimed or killed in the process, then so much
the better. Of course, as a pillar of the local community and the
local Temple of Goldar Arlan cannot seen to be associated in any way
with such a venture. Arlan may or may not choose to tell the PCs that
Varn is a notable swordsman, and as the son and heir to the Varn
family empire, has some strong and efficient bodyguards and
companions.
Mayana will not leave her love under any circumstances. If he is
killed, or she thinks that he is killed, she will seize every
opportunity to kill herself. If this occurs, the PCs are advised to
leave town very quickly, as both the Varns and Dublar will be after
their blood.
* Arlan wishes to hire the PC s to guard him. He has received word
that an attempt is to be made on his life, and in his disturbed state
has decided that he can no longer trust his guards. He is convinced
that he is being followed by a dwarven man, small like some kind of
hideous union between a child and an ape . His usual bodyguards will
be angered by the hiring of the party, and in no mood to take orders
from a party of upstart strangers.
* Arlan wishes to hire the PCs to recover a precious item which has
been stolen from him. It is a silver locket containing a miniature
self-portrait painted by his late wife. He was conducting some
business in the market the other day when some vile thief stole it
from his pocket. It can be instantly recognised even if the picture
has been removed, as the chain is broken, which is why it had been in
his pocket. The locket is of secondary concern however, what is most
important is the portrait. Arlan also wants the thief brought to him
alive.
FORLEN HUBRIL
On first sight Forlen cuts a remarkable figure. He can typically be
found wearing a silken shirt dyed a brilliant scarlet, over a pair of
trousers cut from the finest cloth, as blue as the eggshell of the
rare corn plover (not surprisingly, as the dye is made from the
crushed shells of the now even rarer bird). To complete the outfit
Forlen is crowned with a yellow hat, trimmed with a large feather the
same colour as his shirt. This hat is regularly swept off whenever
beautiful ladies are met, to reveal a head of perefectly curled hair.
Forlen also has a moustache that can only be described as
preposterous. Forlen has a soft, lisping voice, and generally gives
the impression of being quite effete.
His habit of declaiming poetry at every occasion (and particularly
when the afore-mentioned beautiful women are present) does not do
anything to contradict this image. Describing himself as a Travelling
Collector ("What do I collect sir? Why, experience, sir. The
experience of beautiful women, of fine wine, of great art, of the
bizarre and the fantastic. Why, as the poet said...") Forlen comes
across as polite, friendly, but very vain and remarkably shallow.
As Forlen himself would quote, the famous Vilmirian poet Arcos once
wrote "Deeds not looks are what I believe / as deed unlike appearance
does not deceive". This is certainly true in Forlen's case. He is one
of the most skilled assassins in the kingdom. His peacock appearance
and cultured outlook gains him easy entry into the circles in which
most of his targets move, whilst his foppish demeanor means that none
mark him as a threat or suspect him when the deed is done. Forlen has
been hired by some of the most famous names in the kingdom (including
the royal family), but none know this foppish dandy as the assassin,
as all business is conducted through an elaborate system of cut-outs
and contacts. Forlen has not operated in this area of the kingdom
before, but has been brought in by a member of a notable merchant
family to remove a rival.
Forlen Hubril, Dandy and Assassin
STR 15, CON 14, SIZ 11, INT 17, POW 16, DEX 17, APP 15 Hits: 13
DAMAGE BONUS: +1d4
WEAPONS: Rapier 122%, Damage 1d6+1+db+poison
Thrown Dagger 86%, Damage 1d4+2+poison
ARMOUR: None
SKILLS: Art (Fashion) 84%, Art (Declaim Poetry) 78%, Common Tongue 92%,
Climb 48%, Conceal Object 68%, Dodge 55%, Fast Talk 76%, Listen 56%,
Move Quietly 88%, Physik 45%, Pick Lock 66%, Potions 63%,
Young Kingdoms 50%, Reveal True Self with Chilling Laugh 88%
Possibilities...
* Forlen has been hired by Helis Varn to kill Arlan Dublar. Varn
knows that Dublar will never allow his marriage to Mayana, in addition
to which he is keen to get his hands on the Dublar family fortune.
When Helis inherits the Varn fortune as well, he will be one of the
wealthiest merchants in this province. Forlen wishes to use the party
as a patsy, so he will hire them to burgle Dublar's house to retrieve
some jewellery. While they are in the process of the burglary, he will
kill Dublar and on leaving, ensure that the watch are raised to catch
the PCs in the house with some stolen jewellery and a dead merchant.
This could be particularly embarrassing if the party had been hired as
Dublar's guards.
* Forlen has been hired by Arlan Dublar to kill Helis Varn. The above
all applies, with the characters reversed.
OSKO THE UNLUCKY AND SNEFF RATTLESKULL
Osko is a regular fixture at the busy markets of some of the biggest
cities in the Young Kingdoms, and amuses everyone with his stories of
hard luck and cursed misfortune which inevitably explain why he is
having to sell this fine piece of jewellery at such a knockdown price.
Today he is regaling the crowd with a long and complicated story
involving his mother, a rare disease, and some medicinal herbs known
only to a lost tribe of the Sighing Desert. If the PCs stand and watch
Osko for too long, the chances are that his assistant, Sneff, will try
and pick their pockets. Osko has a battered and scarred sorrowful face
which manages to hint at all the terrible troubles which have befallen
him. In reality, many of the scars were earnt in the course of some of
his shadier dealings. Most of Osko's jewellery is cheap if decent.
Occasionally, he will have a piece of greater value. What he sells
tends to depend upon what Sneff managed to liberate in the previous
town. One of the best pieces that they will be selling in the next
town is a finely carved silver locket which Sneff picked up the other
day. It originally had a picture in, of a beautiful woman, but Sneff
has fallen in love with her. He has removed the picture and keeps it
in a leather bag tied around his neck.
Sneff is Osko's willing assistant, a tiny man mistaken by many for a
child. Sneff does not have many talents, or indeed many virtues,
except for his sleight of hand, and, surprisingly, the ability to sing
like a thing of beauty. If Osko and Sneff are very hard up, Sneff will
sing for money for them while Osko passes a hat round. Sneff is
devoted to Osko, and will do anything for him. Osko repays this
devotion by continually cursing Sneff and hitting him around the head
at any opportunity.
Osko the Unlucky, Shyster
STR 9, CON 13, SIZ 11, INT 12, POW 12, DEX 14, APP 12 Hits: 12
DAMAGE BONUS: none
WEAPONS: Dagger 48%, Damage 1d4+2
ARMOUR: Soft Leather, 1d6-1
SKILLS: Bargain 82%, Common Tongue 76%, Dodge 64%, Evaluate 60%,
Fast Talk 76%, Pick Lock 45%,Search 67%, Spin Implausible Tale 65%,
Tug Heartstrings 72%, Young Kingdoms 40%
Sneff, Pickpocket and Soprano
STR 7, CON 11, SIZ 7, INT 7, POW 11, DEX 16, APP 12 Hits: 9
DAMAGE BONUS: -1d4
WEAPONS: Concealable knife 35%, Damage 1d4-db
ARMOUR: None
SKILLS: Common Tongue 45%, Fast Talk 48%, Dodge 78%, Hide 72%,
Pick Pockets 76%, Run through Legs of Crowd 56%, Sing 80%,
Possibilities...
* Trading has been bad for Osko and Sneff, and pickings have been few
and far between. Osko is very keen to have one good score before they
move on, and has decided to burgle the house of the merchant they
stole the locket from. They saw him in the town a day ago, and Sneff
followed him home. They plan on burgling his house that night.
* Sneff is delirious with joy. He spotted Mayana in the street, and
believes that she is the love of his life as depicted in the picture
from the locket. He followed her home, and now spends much of his
spare time waiting in the street for her to pass. If she does, he
intends to sing a declaration of his love to her. If anyone tried to
harm her he would go berserk. Osko finds all this very amusing.
--------------------
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