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Chaosium Digest Volume 18 Number 06
Chaosium Digest Volume 18, Number 6
Date: Sunday, February 16, 1997
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Creeping Death (Mauro Reis) CALL OF CTHULHU
Announcement: Glorantha Con V (Neil Robinson) MISC
Editor's Note:
This week, a small Chaosium Digest featuring a short adventure idea
for Call of Cthulhu and all the info on this summer's Glorantha
convention.
Shannon
RECENT MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS:
* Call of Cthulhu - "Priceless", by Sandy Antunes and Matt Grossman,
an 8 page horror adventure, set in the late 1800s or early 1900s. It
is theoretically generic, but clearly intended for the Call of
Cthulhu RPG, Shadis #32.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
The Chaosium Digest Archives
ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/chaosium
This is actually an ancient resource, but it's been flaky for over a
year. Recently, due to yet another machine swap, the archive seems to
have finally settled down. I just uploaded all the newest issues of
the Digest to "archives/ascii". There's also a new README file there,
giving a composite Table of Contents for all 221 issues.
--------------------
From: Mauro Reis <leereis@erols.com>
Subject: Creeping Death
System: Call of Cthulhu
I created this adventure idea thinking about playing it in the 1920's,
but I don't see why it can't be played in any other time frame.
CREEPING DEATH (an adventure idea for CoC)
A few days ago, an archaeological expedition in Egypt discovered what
could have been one of the greatest finds of history: an ancient tomb,
which bears inscriptions linking it to Moses. The tomb was closed by a
big stone slab that aparently had been covered with now-faded
inscriptions. Among the few words still recognizable were "Moses",
"the first born of Egypt", "Pharaoh", "death", "promised land", and
"never removed".
When the scientists opened the tomb, however, disaster struck. Several
of them were killed on the spot by a "cloud of gas" that burst out,
and then rolled away. The tomb, to the dismay of the survivors, was
completely empty. In fact, it was more like a cave than a tomb, the
entrance to it being the only part that was actually built by man. The
doctors were not able to tell WHY those people died, since there were
no signs of poisoning whatsoever.
A day later, a tragedy occured in a small village close by. In the
morning, several people of both sexes and of all ages were found dead
in their beds. The deaths were apparently at ramdom, and except in a
few cases at least one person in each household was taken.
Two days ago, the same thing happened at another village, and by now
the story is starting to spread, causing panic in the villages in the
area, because no one has a clue about what is causing the deaths.
What humanity doesn't know is that, some thousands of years ago, that
"cloud" was summoned by Moses to kill the first born of Egypt. It is,
in fact, an entity from another world, brought forth by an enchantment
so old that even Moses didn't know it very well. He was able to summon
the creature and make it do his bidding, but couldn't send it back to
where it came from. The best thing he was able to do was to confine it
using the same thing his people used as a protection on that fateful
night: lamb's blood.
Moses and a handful of his people used a lot of blood and the imminent
appearance of the sun to force the creature inside a natural cave that
he had prepared to that end, building a "doorway" so that the cave
could be closed with a stone slab marked with protective sigils. He
then painted the entrance with blood, preventing the monster from
getting out. After closing the entrance with the stone slab, he carved
many warning messages on it, and left with his people to the promised
land.
The extreme dryness of the cave sort of "mummified" the blood, and
kept the protection effective until the scientists came. The opening
of the cave made the mummified blood that still covered the entrance
turn into dust, and the creature was then able to get out, killing the
first born among the scientists in the process. Now the creeping death
is on the loose, hungry after being trapped for so many centuries. It
will only kill the first born, as those were its instructions, and
even then only at night, for the fierce gaze of Ra becomes deadly to
it after some time. The creature kills by draining the life-force of
its victims, leaving no trace at all about the cause of death. It
won't stop until it is destroyed or sent back, altough the spell to do
so was long ago lost.
There are ways to protect oneself against the Creeping Death, though,
as Moses well knew. For some reason, the blood of a dead mammal keeps
the monster away. However, it doesn't have to be lamb's blood as Moses
believed. The blood of any mammal, even human's blood, is harmful to
the creature, and it will avoid the blood at almost any cost. For that
reason, it won't cross a threshold painted with blood and will never
get near a slaughter-house.
Probably the best way to get rid of that menace is to use the same
strategy as Moses. The inside of the stone slab still has its carving
reasonably intact, and may contain hints of the importance of the
blood to control the creature (written in ancient Hebrew, of
course). Another option is to keep the creature out in the sunlight
long enough to kill it, probably using blood to keep it there.
The investigators could be drawn into this adventure by being part of
the expedition, or by being at a nearby village when the events
mentioned took place. Time is short, because if the creature gets too
far from the area where the cave is, they may not be able to find
another suitable place to trap it within. The creature will stay in
the area until there are no more new villages close by for it to go,
and then move on. It will hide inside caves or abandoned houses during
the day, and attack a different village about each other night.
The Creeping Death is a gaseous creature, very much like a rolling
mist, probably impervious to almost any kind of damage. If you're not
a first born, it won't hurt you unless you attack it. If you're a
first born, however, contact with the mist drains your life away in a
matter of seconds. I will not provide statistics for the creature,
because I think that's not the most relevant thing, and probably
everyone would change them anyway. The only important things to
remember are that the creature's touch kills almost instantly by
draining the victim's life-force, and that it is highly sensitive to
blood and sunlight.
copyright (c) 1997, Mauro Reis
--------------------
From: "Neil Robinson" <neilr@wolfenet.com>
Subject: Announcement: Glorantha Con V
Please excuse this blatant piece of advertising
- just be sure to attend!!!
Glorantha Con V
July 25-27, 1997
Victoria, BC
Canada
Dudilus DoBright says:
Join us to Welcome the Goddess to the Descended
Island Kingdom of Vancouver!
LARPS
Life of Moonson
Fall of the House of Malan
Revolt in the Redlands
Featured Guests Featured Events
------------------- ---------------------
Greg Stafford Welcoming the Goddess Heroquest
Sandy Petersen Orlanthi/Lunar Debate
Nick Brooke King of Sartar Panel
MOB Mythos Tournament
David Hall Cthulhu Seminar
Chris Gidlow Tabletop Gaming
Stephen Martin and of course, Trollball
All this in the lush and idyllic setting of the University of Victoria
campus. Come see how gaming is done in the Pacific Northwest. This
gala event is co-sponsored by the Society for Interactive Literature,
the Seattle Farmers Collective, and with help from Chaosium, and the
Reaching Moon Megacorp.
How to Get to Victoria
Victoria is located on Vancouver Island, across the strait from the
city of Vancouver. It is reached by boat or plane. Despite popular
misconceptions, the Con is NOT in Vancouver. The best net resource is
www.victoriabc.com. Foreign visitors can contact us for more help -
remember to get a visa for the US if you want to visit our southern
neighbour too.
Plane: Take a connecting flight from Seattle (SEATAC) [SEA] or
Vancouver International Airport [YVR] to Victoria International
Airport [YYV]. Shuttle buses and regular transport can get you down
to the city and the university.
Vancouver Ferry: There is an hourly car ferry from Twassassen to
Swartz Bay (near Victoria) for about $36.00/car one-way. A coach line
runs directly from downtown Vancouver or from the Vancouver Airport to
downtown Victoria.
Contact: BC Ferries. Http://ww.bcferries.bc.ca
(250) 386-3431
Toll free (888)-BCFERRY (223-3779)
Seattle Ferry: Car ferry from downtown Seattle to downtown Victoria
sailing at 1:00 PM each day for the island. It takes 4 1/2 hours.
Cost is $50 round trip for passengers, $100 for a car and driver.
Phone (250) 480 5555 or (800) 668-1167
There is also a high-speed passenger ferry running from downtown
Seattle to downtown Victoria, cost about $100.00 round trip. It sails
twice daily. Contact: Victoria Clipper: (206) 448-5000
Lodgings
We will be staying at the University of Victoria campus. You will need
to make reservations before June 25th, 1997 or we cannot guarantee a
spot for you. There are shared toilet facilities (dorms) in all but
the suites. Please mention the Interactive Literature Conference (our
local non-profit society) and the GloranthaCon V.
Room Rates (these include taxes) Contact:
Single $38.00 (includes breakfast) Housing and Conference
Services,
UVic
Double $50.00 (includes breakfast) P.O. 1700
Suite $158 (4 rooms + kitchen Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2
and living room Canada
but no breakfast) Tel: (250)-721-8395
Fax: (250)-721-8930
Local Bus Information.
If you take the coach line from Vancouver, you will be dropped off
downtown. The #14 Bus runs from downtown to the University, and you
can also take the #4 and #7.
Costs
All costs are in Canadian funds. Yes, we have coloured money. Think
of it, this will make the visit even cheaper. Oh, all US bank/ATM
cards work in the Canadian system, so don't worry about that - and
there are ATM machines on campus right by the pub.
We'll be sending the full events list out soon, but are still looking
for GMs for the tabletop games. Please contact us if you are
interested in running a game or volunteering.
Here is a brief list of the planned events:
Seminars
Horror in Cthulhu - From the master (Sandy)
King of Sartar Panel - Joerg Baumgartner and
Stephen Martin host
Stafford on Glorantha - Greg speaks on our favourite topic
Making Glorantha your own - How to deal with mythic
Glorantha in your game
Running Glorantha - Running Glorantha can be
hard - tips from the experts
Cultural Exchange - Nick and others ramble
How to Get Published - Writing stuff for Tales,
Drastic Resolutions, and more
Chaosiana - Chaosium news and events
RQ Rules and Alternatives - Rules are important to many gamers.
Meet the Megacorp - Hobnob with the Tales crowd
Arthurian Britain - Pendragon and Arthur
Arachne Solara's Web - Glorantha and gaming on the Internet
Games and Events
Life of Moonson - A Lunar LARP from the Brits who
brought you Home of the Bold (49
players)
Fall of the House of Malan - Orlanthi tribal politics at its finest.
A LARP for 40-50 players
Orlanthi/Lunar Debate - Can the wily Lawspeakers talk down
the Friendly Lunar Missionaries
Meet the Goddess Heroquest - A celebration of the Goddess
arriving in Victoria. - and a treat!
Trollball - A full festival of troll culture
Lore auction - Want to know the secrets of
Glorantha - it will cost you
Pelorian Stories - Tales from the Oslir
Revolt in the Redlands - The continuation of Chris Gidlow's
epic - The Tarsh War
Stafford Reads - A story from a real trickster
Beer - Just in case you doubted..
Mythos Tourney - Play Chaosium's collectable card
game.
We're also considering running miniature wargames and Dragon
Pass/Nomad Gods. Please let us know if you are interested.
ALL HAIL THE REACHING MOON!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
REGISTRATION FORM
Yes, I am interested in the hottest convention ever to hit Victoria,
BC. Sign me up! And sign up quickly so you get a spot in the LARPs,
places going fast.
Basic Cost: $40 US or $50 CDN _______________
Life of Moonson $10 US or $12 CDN _______________
Fall of the House of Malan $10 US or $12 CDN _______________
Total (denote currency) ________________
Send check or Moneys to:
US Funds Canadian Funds
Neil Robinson Bill Thompson
2650 NW 58th St., Unit 1 202-1002 MacKenzie Ave
Seattle, WA 98107 Victoria, BC V8X 4B5
USA Canada
Tel: (206) 706-3250 Tel: (250) 727-9741
E-mail: neilr@wolfenet.com
Please answer the following questions to help us better tailor the Con
to your needs:
- I would be interested in helping out Y/N
- I have things to sell at the auction Y/N
- I want to run a game Y/N
- I've got a wonderful Pelorian Tale Y/N
- I would consider getting a T-Shirt Y/N
- I want to play in a LARP Y/N
- I plan on getting ENCLOSURE, the feature-packed Y/N
Pacific Northwest Farmer's Collective Handbook
(loads of Gloranthan Info from many known
authors)
- I will play Trollball and try to get the Grand Y/N
Prize of Uzdom
- I want a lead role in Welcoming the Goddess Y/N
- I want to attend the Sunday B-B-Q Y/N
(cost is about $10)
- I will play in the Mythos Tourney Y/N
Please list the types of games that you would like to run or play.
Name _______________________________
Address _______________________________
City/Country/Zip _______________________________
Email _______________________________
Phone _______________________________
Neil Robinson Glorantha-Con V net rep. July 25-27 1997
neilr@wolfenet.com Come visit our web site!
Seattle, WA USA http://www.pensee.com/dunham/glorantha/con5/gcon5.htm
--------------------
The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial electronic 'zine about Chaosium's
Games. In no way should it be considered representative of the views
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