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Chaosium Digest Volume 18 Number 12
Chaosium Digest Volume 18, Number 12
Date: Sunday, April 6, 1997
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
BURN: A Modern Tale of Terror (Peter Devlin) CALL OF CTHULHU
Word from on High: A Tale of Terror (Matt Cowger) CALL OF CTHULHU
WHEL: A Tale of Terror (Matt Cowger) CALL OF CTHULHU
Sailing Economics (Patricio Gonzalez) ELRIC!
Editor's Notes:
A bunch of Tales of Terror, and a small article for Elric! this week.
Shannon
--------------------
From: "Peter Devlin" <pdevlin@scotsys.co.uk>
Subject: BURN: A Modern Tale of Terror
System: Call of Cthulhu
A modern Tale of Terror inspired by recent events in the news. Enjoy.
BURN
Copyright (c) Peter Devlin
The growth in the use of information technology in the 1990s has made
dissemination of information very easy. However, there is a price to
pay for such easy access to information. On the Internet there are a
growing number of computer users falling prey to a new computer virus
called BURN. This virus is so new that most anti-virus software
companies do not yet know of it. It is also unlikely that anyone will
survive to tell the story of its most unusual effects. However, astute
students of Fortean lore may note an increasing "unusual death" rate
amongst Net surfers, and there are always going to be upset
parents. Media types, always hungry for a new angle on the Internet,
will also make much of the rising tide of bodies, linking them to
Internet pornography etc.
Eventually the BURN virus can be traced (via assembly language code
headers) to a compiler belonging to the Arkham Sanitarium. Howard
Barker is a deranged hebephrenic psychology postgraduate from
Miskatonic University who works as a ward assistant. Lately, he has
been spending a lot of time with the computers in the building.
Possibilities:
1.) The two variants of the BURN virus target IBM-PC clones and Apple
Mac clones which can handle high resolution graphics (i.e. 98% of all
home computers sold since 1993). BURN infects PCs either via infected
floppy disk or Internet downloads. It is a Trojan virus which hides
itself inside other applications then attaches itself to video card
drivers. The next time the computer is booted up the virus causes the
VDU to pulse and strobe at a rate which hypnotises unfortunate
onlookers or causes epileptic seizures. Embedded into the strobing is
the subliminal text message "KILL - ENJOY". After 15 seconds the virus
shuts down and is deleted the next time the computer is booted.
Victims immediately become mindless killing machines and end up dead,
either shot by police as they stroll through a shopping mall armed to
the teeth, or having taken their own lives after cheerily slaughtering
their family and friends.
Howard Barker is currently preparing his doctorial thesis on human
psychological impulses and is testing a few of his assumptions before
he submits his final paper.
2.) The two BURN virus variants target sound card drivers, not video
drivers. They cause the computer to produce an odd agglutinous
chanting from the attached speakers. If the timing is correct (i.e. it
is night and Fomalhaut is visible) the user will suddenly feel cold
and tired, and a glowing ball will appear from the smoking remains of
his computer. The chant is a summoning spell for a Fire Vampire and
the user has just lost the requisite magical energy to summon the
beast. There are a large number of recent cases of people burnt to a
cinder alongside their melted computers, causing the major PC
companies to suspect hardware faults; none have been found so far.
After killing their unfortunate victims, the Fire Vampires, being
balls of plasma, then run around the electrical circuits in the
building causing major fires. In big computer installations, the
sprinklers/halon/CO2 extinguishers go off and the Fire Vampires
usually get snuffed. Surviving security video footage from a nearby
college campus may prove illuminating.
Howard Barker is a mad genius who got a number of such spells
piecemeal from one of the inmates. Said inmate is John Doe #23 and has
an unusual case history.
3.) The BURN virus is slow and insidious. It subliminally flashes
unpronouncable text messages on screen, forming a Contact Nyarlathotep
spell. It also adds a bookmark to Netscape and Explorer Web browsers
for www.starry-wisdom/welcome.html. The address is for the home page
of the Starry Wisdom Brotherhood, a quasi-religious group which holds
all kinds of odd beliefs. Nyarlathotep contacts the unfortunate victim
via dreams or e-mail messages from DARKHAUNTER@AOL.COM, an apparently
non-existent mail address. The net result is that the victim is
seduced by the Mythos and joins the Brotherhood. Eventually the
sendings (dream or electronic) command the victim to ready himself for
a journey to the throne of the Ruler of the Universe and to prepare
"offerings".
Howard Barker maintains the Web site and there is much circumstantial
evidence pointing to him as the leader of the Brotherhood. Actually,
he is a front man and scapegoat for Dr. Eloise Whateley, a recent
addition to the staff roster at the Sanitarium.
Cheers. :-) --> :-0
Peter Devlin
pdevlin@scotsys.co.uk
--------------------
From: "Matt Cowger" <tenebrae@gvi.net>
Subject: Word From on High: A Tale of Terror
System: Call of Cthulhu
Word from on High
The 21st Day Redemptionist Church is a large and popular religious
organization. Led by the charismatic "Dr. James", the Church's radio
ministry and large tent revivals have attracted national media
attention. The revivals are especially popular, featuring the usual
speaking in tongues, faith healing, and testimonials, as well as
singing and prayer. Dr. James (who claims to have a doctorate in
divinity) then concludes his tent revivals with what he calls his "Two
Minutes of Meditation on the Word" where he and the flock share two
minutes of silence to, ostensibly, meditate on the word of God.
Dr. James' sermons have taken a different tone of late and his
followers have been becoming more insular. The Doctor's sermons have
become more apocalyptic and full of fire and brimstone then they used
to be and his revivals have become angry affairs, full of shouting
about doomsday and disparaging of those who have not accepted The
Word. Popular opinion has turned against the 21st Day'ers because of
this, which has only added fuel to the already smoldering
Redemptionist pyre.
Possibilities:
1.) Dr. James is actually a two-bit hustler with a criminal record. He
is dodging the law and ripping off his followers. The doomsday bit is
an attempt on his part to bolster flagging attendance and bring in
some additional revenue. His whole goal is to accumulate enough money
to leave the country for South America, a goal he is close to
realizing. He has one small problem: his armageddon sermons have
particularly inflamed Walter Simms, one of the good doctor's long-time
followers. Simms suffers from occasional psychotic breaks and during
his next episode he will decide to leave for heaven a little early,
taking his beloved spiritual adviser with him.
2.) Dr. James has slipped off of the edge of sanity. He believes that
the last days are coming and that he and his followers need to make a
bold move to proclaim their devotion to God. During his next sermon at
the 21st, the parishoners may notice some odd odors inside the tent.
The whole structure will have a strong chemical smell. This is because
the good Doctor and his right-hand man, Walter Simms, have doused the
entire structure, as well as the ground underneath the plastic tarps
on the floor, with a powerful chemical accelerant. People entering the
tent may notice the ground feels a bit muddy, though it didn't rain
the night before. Walter will stand at the back of the tent, closing
and tying the flaps after the last attendee enters.
The sermon will be particularly inspired, espousing the congregation
to exhultations of love and devotion to God. Then, during the final
two minute meditation, Dr. James will signal Simms. They will then
push the candleholders near them into the highly flamable tent
walls. the interior of the tent will become a riot of flames and
flailing, panicked bodies. People caught inside will only have seconds
to get out before being crushed in the press of bodies, overcome by
fumes, or burned alive.
3.) Dr. James has fallen under the influence of a diabolic avatar of
Nyarlathotep masquerading as Walter Simms, an unemployed auto worker.
The Outer God has been slowly turning the 21st Day Redemptionists to
the worship of the Old Ones. Simms' sway over Dr. James isn't complete
and if he can be removed from his position of influence for at least
two weeks the doctor will regain his senses. Simms is pushing the
Doctor toward more and more violent and angry sermons. His end goal is
known only to him. Perhaps he wishes to start another cult, to push
this church to a violent Waco-style end, or to lead the Doctor into
performing abhorrent ceremonies that will summon an elder power? These
possibilities are left to the creative keeper.
--
"If we make peaceful revolution impossible,
we make violent revolution inevitable"
-John F. Kennedy
Matt Cowger-Tenebrae@GVI.NET
--------------------
From: "Matt Cowger" <tenebrae@gvi.net>
Subject: WHEL: A Tale of Terror
System: Call of Cthulhu
WHEL
A local radio station has just changed their format from country and
western to hard rock. They have been wildly succesful. Shirts bearing
the WHEL logo have spread across town and investigators can hear the
station blaring from cars city-wide. During this same period, acts of
random violence have increased dramatically during the hours from 1am
to 4am. Incidents of beatings, muggings and rape have taken an
unbelievable upswing. The police force has been placed on city-wide
alert and the media has been in an uproar.
Possibilities:
1.) The two phenomenon are unrelated. The radio station is just a
radio station, the acts of violence are being committed by a gang
operating out of the seedier side of town.
2.) The radio station is actually a front for a sinister experiment in
mind control. A local psychologist and physicist got together to
conduct a simple experiment in auditory stimulation and mood
elevation. Their results were staggering and attracted government
attention. Now under control of a government organization involved
with black operations, these two men are being forced to conduct an
experiment on a larger scale, the populace of a city. From 11pm to
midnight, the station sends out a low modulated tone underneath their
regular broadcast. This tone increases propensity for violent actions
in individuals with violent tendencies. The government will continue
this experiment for another two weeks before moving to a different
station elsewhere to experiment with a different series of tones.
3.) The station has been acquired by the leader of a cult of
Nyarlathotep. This large cult is scattered across the town, throughout
the social strata. They have been waiting for a sign for years to
begin a concentrated assault against the city, believeing that if they
can cause riots and mass panic, then their god will appear. Due to
certain world-wide events, the cult leader believes the time is
now. He is using the station to send coded messages to his followers
between 11pm and midnight. The cultists then go out and sow the seeds
of discord. The number and level of the atrocities will increase over
time, culminating in daylight bombings of several public buildings and
the assassinations of civic leaders all occurring on the same day.
--
"If we make peaceful revolution impossible,
we make violent revolution inevitable"
-John F. Kennedy
Matt Cowger-Tenebrae@GVI.NET
--------------------
From: Patricio Gonzalez <bn884465@intbba1.buenayre.com.ar>
Subject: Sailing Economics
System: Elric!
PRICES FOR 'SAILING ON THE SEAS OF FATE' OWNERS
All prices are stated in bronzes.
SHIP PRICES
- Small Boats -
Simple Canoe: 200
Catamaran: 3,000
Common Raft: 600
Common Rowboat: 300
Small Trader: 12,000
- Merchant Ships -
Brig: 90,000
Small Cog: 35,000
Large Cog: 60,000
Knorr: 25,000
Schooner: 75,000
- Warships -
Bireme: 50,000 (not legally for sale)
Longship: 35,000 (not legally for sale)
Melnibonean Battle Barges: unknown and inapplicable
Pan Tangian Galley: unknown and inapplicable
Quadrireme: 150,000 (not legally for sale)
Quinquireme: 200,000 (not legally for sale)
Trireme: 100,000 (not legally for sale)
REPAIR COSTS
Seaworthiness: Costs 50 per point repaired
Structure: Costs 100 per point repaired
PORT TAXES
Per day of docking. First for Small Boats, second for Merchant Ships.
Argimiliar: 15 - 60
Dharijor: 10 - 55
Filkhar: 12 - 60
Ilmiora: 10 - 50
The Isle of Purple Towns (normally): 20 - 80
The Isle of Purple Towns (market season): 40 - 120
Jharkor: 12 - 55
Lormyr: 12 - 55
Melnibone: 22 - 100
Oin and Yu: 4 - 18
Pikarayd: 10 - 50
Shazar: 16 - 65
Tarkesh: 10 - 55
Vilmir: 12 - 60
- Patricio Gonzalez -
--------------------
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