Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Chaosium Digest Volume 20 Number 01
Chaosium Digest Volume 20, Number 1
Date: Sunday, June 22, 1997
Number: 1 of 3
Contents:
A Hole in Time (Robert Koper) CALL OF CTHULHU
Editor's Note:
Welcome to the all new twentieth volume of the Chaosium Digest. If all
has gone well, you should be receiving three issues of the Digest this
evening. This is the majordomo server at Chaosium's trial by fire.
For future reference, all subscription and unsubscription requests
should be sent to:
majordomo@chaosium.com
To subscribe, send the following command in the body of the message:
subscribe chaos-digest
To unsubscribe, send the following command in the body of the message:
unsubscribe chaos-digest
Articles, comments, and questions should still be directed to me.
With that out of the way, a few brief notes on what's being sent out
this week. V20.1 consists of a short CoC adventure set in the middle
of a war. V20.2 contains some background notes on that adventure as
well as a slew of Mythos-related articles. V20.3 has two
Dreamlands-related reviews.
See you in two weeks, and keep those submissions coming!
Shannon
NEW RELEASES:
* Call of Cthulhu - _The Nyarlathotep Cycle_ (Chaosium, 256 pg.,
$10.95) is the newest Mythos anthology. It features stories by
Dunsany, Lovecraft, Derleth, Carter, Myers, and more, all centering
all the God with a Thousand Masks. Nephren-Ka, the Black Pharoah, in
particular shows up a lot in this anthology.
RECENT SIGHTINGS:
* Call of Cthulhu - "Cyberthulhu", by Sandy Atunes, has updated rules
for a Cyberpunk CoC game, based on the article printed way back in
Chaosium Digest V2.10, Arcane #20.
--------------------
From: "Robert Koper" <RKoper@msn.com>
Subject: A Hole in Time
System: Call of Cthulhu
A Hole In Time
A CoC Scenario
By Rob Koper
This scenario is suitable for beginning characters at anytime in the
20th century up to 1974. The beginning could be set in the 1890s using
the Franco-Prussian war as a backdrop, but that is up to the
individual Keeper. The scenario calls for at least one of the
characters to be a professional investigator of some sort
(Parapsychologist, Professor of Psychology, Journalist, etc). This
character will be referred to as the Professor in this scenario. Some
of the other characters should be soldiers of some sort. In the
unlikely case that none of your players wishes to play a soldier, let
him make a character and then inform him that the character has been
drafted. This should inspire the proper spirit of roleplaying a
draftee.
A lot of emphasis in the first scenario should be on the irony of the
situation... characters fighting for their lives against strange
forces inside of a warzone where the "mundane" horrors of war fade
into insignificance. Try to engross them so much in the cave part of
the scenario that the first time the war is mentioned, they react by
saying , "Oh yeah, we are in a war zone....". Please refer back to CoC
5th edition, pg.78 for suggested sanity losses from battlefield
horrors.
This scenario differs slightly from many in that at several intervals,
multiple "theories" are presented to explain to the keeper what is
actually happening. Use these in the same way that you would for a
"Tale of Terror", except that they may be mixed and matched as the
keeper desires, with little or no impact on the future events in the
adventure. I do recommend that the keeper read thoroughly through the
choices offered before the gaming begins. However, he need not choose
among them until the critical moment arises. Indeed--choose the
options that suit your sense of irony and macabre as the situation
warrants.
* * *
The action begins with a call to the Professor from a military liason
(this liason may also be a PC if desired, no special nowledge
required). Apparently, a strange case of battlefied behavior has
exhibited itself in the enemy recently. A relatively secure network of
tunnels/trenches/earthworks have been abandoned helter-skelter by a
normally disciplined enemy. Three variants present themselves:
1) A small trench system newly won by the Germans near a small Belgian
town called Ypres. The year is 1917, and the professor is called from
England by an American AEF officer. The characters can observe the
trench position by periscope from a nearby French trenchline. Other
possible chracters include French soldiery, English soldiery or
engineers, other AEF soldiers, or other journalists or chemical
experts (it may be a side effect of the Gas).
2) A fortified bunker near Arnheim which the Americans figured it
would take days to crush. The date is July 1944. The Professor is
called from either England or North America by a US Army press
liason. The characters can observe the position from a treeline
surrounded by Sherman Tanks. Other possible characters include French
resistance fighters, American Paratroopers first on the scene, British
Royal Marine Commandos also early on the scene, or any of the local
townsfolk volunteering to help the allied soldiers.
3) A series of Viet Cong sapper/sniper tunnels and mortar pits. The
date is August 1970. The Professor is called from the continental US
and arrives by air within 36 hours of the event. The position is now
overwatched by a Forward Observer post for 105mm US artillery. The
possible list of characters in the Vietnam era likely to be wrapped up
in this mess boggles the mind. Suggestions include Montingiard guides,
CIA field analysts, JUSPAO officers (Joint US Public Affairs Office,
Saigon), US grunts, Kung Mercenaries,m etc.
At this point it is necessary to point out that research into the
historical background of these situations will profit the keeper
tenfold. Use these details to heighten the tension prior to the
characters going to investigate the situation. Have a report of a gas
attack imminent come in (1917), or have the Shermans pull back from
the woodline and leave with no explanation (1944), or have the senior
US soldier remind everyone that "Charlie is a sneaky bastard. Watch
for booby traps"(1970). Make the players aware that their every move
in the area is watched from distance by the enemy. War is Hell. Hell
eats Sanity points like candy. No one is allowed to go in unarmed. The
characters are to be escorted into the area by friendly soldiers
[Black Watch Scotsmen (1917), US 101st ABN Paratroopers (1944), US
army Light Infantry (1970)]. Their stats are not important. There are
as many soldiers as there are characters in the party.
INTO THE BREACH, DEAR FRIENDS
The liason explains that the enemy abandoned the defenses in question
approximately 18 hours ago, and that despite the stalemate that exists
now, he has made no move toward retaking the position. The only
eyewitness to the evacuation describes it as more of a retreat in
force. Troops were screaming and running in all directions--even
toward the allies/US positions. Gunshots and explosions were heard
from the defenses, and before the order could be given to take
advantage of the situation, it was over. A few made it out, running
for their own lines, screaming as they went. And so it has remained
until now, completely silent and inactive. For safety's sake, a few
(Mortar/Sherman tank/105mm artillery) rounds were fired in, but there
was no response. The area seems to be "safe" now.
The move toward the defenses should be played up for tension. Remind
the "non-military" characters that they weren't cut out for all
this. Have someone call out to them or have a radio call come in when
the investigators are more than halfway to their target that the enemy
has seen their movements. They are faced with the prospect of becoming
stuck in these defenses.
The arrival at the site reveals absolute carnage. Blasted areas dot
the works. Bodies lie sprawled in all sorts of positions and
conditions, causing a SAN check (0/1d3). Two things are curious when
found. One is the fact that some of the machine gunners are turned
inward--toward the inside of the bunker, as if reacting to a threat
from within. Another is the fact that some of the bodies are not
intact, even accounting for the effect of high explosives. Some of the
bodies limbs are torn away, and if examined closely, one or two of the
bodies look clawed or chewed. This realization would provoke another
SAN check (1/1d4).
In fact, they were. During the early morning prior to the arrival of
the party, a (barrage/tank round/artillery shell) shook the
(trenches/bunker system/tunnels), and opened a hole by (mudslide/
cracking the concrete/causing a cave in) in the lowest part of the
defensive works that led to a long-forgotten temple buried ages
ago. Trapped in these subterrainean dwellings were nine hungry
ghouls. The ghouls poured forth and wreaked havok within the
claustrophobic security of the defenses. Screaming and frightened, the
defenders turned their guns on the laughing, howling intruders. The
madness that ensued in the early morning twilight left twenty men dead
and several survivors insane. The ghouls returned time and again to
feast at the scene.
The "safety" barrage fired on the party's behalf shattered the stairs
leading down to the temple and partially collapsed the entrance,
trapping a ghoul. He remains absolutely silent and motionless.
Searching, the party finds the breach in the back of the defenses. A
hole 8-feet wide and partly collapsed leads 20 feet down at a 40
degree angle. It narrows severely in the darkness. Apparently, a
survivor is trapped in the soil with only his right arm, right
shoulder, neck, and head exposed. A gurgling noise escapes his
throat... he lives! Any helpful investigator is rewarded by the sight
of a frantic trapped ghoul that grabs his "rescuer" and attempts to
claw his way out of the soil and through the investigator.
Ghoul
STR: 20 CON: 13 SIZ: 11
INT: 10 POW: 12 DEX: 15
HP: 15 (now 10) Claw (30%;1d6+1d4) San Loss: 0/1d6
The offending character loses a point of SAN in addition because of
the close range of the encounter.
No matter the outcome of the scuffle, the Ghoul burrows loose the soil
and debris, causing it (and any untethered characters) to cascade into
the temple proper.
A HOLIER PLACE YOU WILL NEVER FIND...
The stairway/tunnel ends abruptly in a 10' drop to the water-covered
floor. The water is about a foot deep in most places. In 1917, an oily
residue of Mustard Gas floats on the water. In 1944, diesel fuel
floats in pools around the room. In 1970, a strong concentration of CS
(Tear) gas rolls around the floor.
Centered against the right hand wall is a 3 foot high, 3 foot wide,
and 4 foot deep altar or stone bench. It has no markings or seams.
Tapping it reaveals that it seems solid. Behind this is a wall carved
in an impressive display of writing. It can be Latin (Europe) or
Ancient Chinese Characters (Vietnam). If anyone has the skill to read
it, it appears to be a procedure for ensuring eternal life. Several
references to "Aqua Vitae" or the Chinese characters for Water and
Eternity written together seem very strange. There are also some
undecipherable ideograms (Chinese) or some Aramaic and Greek words
used in the Latin text.
Phrases used in the Latin place the erection of this temple in the
time of Hadrian at the request of a Centurion named Alacus
Magnus. Altenatively, characters proudly announce the temple's builder
as Son Xiung, Magistrate to the Celestial Court of the Emperor. The
writings are lengthy and cover all of the 10' high x 15' wide wall and
parts of the other walls. The writings, if translated elsewhere, yield
a rathe straightforward formula for the spells Deflect Harm (Int x3 to
learn) and Mind Transfer (Int x5 to learn). The ceiling arcs some 20
feet overhead and is covered with astrological symbology.
WE ARE PROGRAMMED TO RECIEVE.....
Some of the characters may not have come down, or may get the crazy
idea to leave. At this point, the enemy has regained their wits and
launches a lightning raid to retake the bunker. German infantry/SS
troops/Viet Cong Irregulars come streaming over and through the
defenses, making as much noise as possible. They will have heard about
the massacre, and will take no prisoners. If characters are dense,
have a few of the escorts get shot down while pushing their charges
(the PCs) into the tunnel.
Once everyone is in the temple room, squabbling from above is heard,
and then a series of ominous clattering noises comes down the
shaft. One of the more alert escorts yells GRENADE! Give the
characters until the count of five to react. Those who jump down into
the water suffer the same fate as the escorts. Those who seek shelter
by jumping up on something suffer 1d3 damage and are deafened for a
few minutes and stunned.
The poor escorts, using military reactions, dive into the poisoned
water. Glass lenses shatter in gas masks letting in the mustard gas
soaked water, eardrums explode, eyeballs rupture, CS gas is blasted
into eyesockets and lungs, and diesel fuel catches fire. The soldiers
rear back unleashing screams of pain and unearthly howls. Some stagger
around on fire, vomiting from the mustard or CS gas, and so on. After
about a minute or so of this the cavern goes silent, and the bodies
float face down in the water. This frightening series of events makes
for another SAN check (1/1d4).
Any attempts of the investigators to fight their way out seem futile,
as there is at least twenty men in the complex above the party.
Someone listening might hear them discussing sealing the tunnel up
with explosives. These enemy soldoers believe that the characters
might be monsters---they aren't taking any chances. They have heard
all kinds of horrific stories from the first encounter that morning
with the ghouls, so these enemy soldiers will not hear any
parleys. After the second time, they will send down another fistful of
grenades. After mulling over the situation a while, someone may think
to look for a way out.
It seems hopeless until an hour or so passes. Then, another Ghoul
comes to fill his belly. He steps on the trigger which opens the
concealed door centered on the phrase "escape from death" in Latin, or
on the escape ideogram in Chinese. This ghoul steps through the
doorway, and unless he interrupts a conversation, he is completely
surprised by the liveliness of the party.
Ghoul
STR: 15 CON: 18 SIZ: 13
INT: 14 POW: 11 DEX: 16
HP: 16 Claws(30%; 1d6+1d4), Bite(30%+ worry) San Loss: 0/1d6
AWAY FROM THE LIGHT...
Behind the doorway is a series of tunnels. The keeper may map them out
or not, as he wishes. The point to this complex of tunnels is that the
investigators are forced to go through them, and that ther are seven
more Ghouls waiting to ambush them in groups of one or two. The Ghouls
will make maximum use of the dark and curving passages to overcome one
party member and drag him off, giggling and chirping.
Ghouls #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9
STR: 18 16 17 17 22 13 10
CON: 13 13 15 11 13 15 17
SIZ: 13 13 13 14 18 11 13
INT: 14 15 15 13 15 16 11
POW: 11 12 11 13 15 15 15
DEX: 13 13 15 12 12 13 16
HP: 13 13 14 13 16 13 15
DamBon: +1d4 +1d4 +1d4 +1d4 +1d6 +1d4 +1d4
Claw (30%; 1d6+db) Bite(30%; 1d6+ worry)
After you, the keeper, have grown tired of this you can have the party
meet the enemy from above.
THE ENEMY ABOVE, BELOW....
The party, while moving through the passages, hears a human voice. It
comes from a German Officer/SS Iron Cross Officer/Viet Cong Morale
Officer. The unfortunate is stuck in a hole in the middle of the
passage, 3 feet wide and 10 feet deep. He so happy to hear a human
voice, and if he can be understood, he surrenders himself to the party
(Chieu Hoi! Chieu Hoi, GI!). He begs to be helped out of the hole,
and will gladly surrender his weapon. When he is out, consider that he
is still the enemy of some of the party. There are three
possibilities:
1) The man is what he appears to be, a victim who stumbled through the
open concealed door during the firefight and has been running blindly
through the caves until he fell into this cell about two hours ago. He
will travel with the party to get out of the tunnels. Once above
ground, however, he will attempt to escape and rejoin his own
forces. Because of his skills and sanity rating, he would be a valuble
ally in the meantime.
Human Former Enemy
STR: 12 CON: 14 SIZ: 14
INT: 13 POW: 16 DEX: 10
HP: 14 (now 10) SAN: 52 Pistol (55%; 1d10)
SMG or AR (40%; 1d10 or 2d6+1)
Knife (65%; 2d4+2)
Skills: Climb(55%), Conceal (45%), Hide(60%), Sneak (60%), Listen
(50%), Martial Arts (25%), Spot Hidden (40%)
2) The man is lying in order to get out of the hole. Once out, he will
play along just enough to seperate and head back to the opening. If
this is not possible he will play along until it seems safe to betray
the party. Isn't indoctrination a wonderful thing?
3) The man is not a man, but the 10th ghoul. This one has learned the
spell Consume Likeness, and is testing to see if it can be used to
lure future prey into it's clutches.
Ghoul
STR:20 CON:15 SIZ:14
INT:18 POW:16 DEX:10
HP:15 San Loss: 0/1d6 Claw (30%; 2d6)
Bite (30%+worry)
Pistol (20%; 1d10)
Seeing the transformation from human to ghoul cost the viewer 1/1d6
SAN. A good temporary insanity would be Xenophobia.
A SENSE OF AN EVIL PRESENCE...
After the party has despatched all of the ghouls, they will be able to
wind their way through the caverns. Eventually the lead character
will come upon a wonderous sight.
Before the character, the cave widens slightly, and then drops off
abruptly. Actually, the characters have come to where the caves
intersect a much larger tunnel, some 100 yards in diameter. The cave
opening bisects the tunnel halfway up the side, which leaves the
characters about 45 yards from the cavern floor. Strangely enough,
the tunnel is almost perfectly cylindrical in shape, and smooth with
no stalactites, stalagmites, or boulders. Also strange is the fact
that at one time, the cavern was bridged by a rope/plank bridge. It
was severed in the middle long ago and about 30 yards of planks make a
ladder down this side, and 55-60 yards of planks provide a ladder up
the opposite wall, where the passageway continues.
Shrouded in the darkness are the bodies of thieves that entered from
the other end of this passageway about 500 years ago. When they got
to this point on the bridge, they were faced with ghouls. In the
fight that followed, they cut the guide ropes, plummeting with their
gold to the floor below. There are five bodies, which curiously enough
lie unmolested by the ghouls. That is because their bodies are quite
animate. Scattered on the floor are about 35-50 coins of gold and
silver. Should any character touch the money, he will be throttled by
one or more of the zombies.
Zombies #1 #2 #3 #4 #5
STR: 16 17 20 23 20
CON: 18 19 16 16 16
SIZ: 6 11 12 10 9
POW: 1 1 1 1 1
DEX: 9 7 7 5 8
HP: 12 10 14 13 13
DamBon: -- +1d4 +1d4 +1d6 +1d4
Bite (30%; 1d3)
Club (25%, 1D6+db), numbers 2 & 4 only
Number one only consists of an upper torso, and number 5 has a leg
missing. Note that impaling weapons do zombies only 1 point, and other
weapons do half.
All of them cost (1/1d6) SAN to see. The slightly lower SAN cost
is because of the side effect of the local soil. Their bodies haven't
decomposed as much as a normal zombie. Incedentally, the coins would
be worth as much as 10 ouces of gold for the era, although they would
be woth much more if sold to historians or collectors.
THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL...
Once the characters have made it through that encounter, it is only a
short walk up the passage way to a large, dome-shaped room. This
subterranean chamer has a tiled floor, deep-green in color. The whole
place is some 40-50 feet in diameter. Offset from center slightly away
from where the investigators enter is a pool ringed by deep green
stones. Directly above this pool, an opening can be seen, and light
shines down at an angle through the shaft. A bucket hangs from a
bucket far above. A successful Listen roll will hear sounds of human
activity from above. There are several cave exits from the room.
Leaving through the exits to the room might have several results:
1) The passageways lead to the network of tunnels that crisscross the
earth, which are inhabited by the ghouls among other things. A
character jouneying into one of these will be attacked by one
ghoul. If he survives, but does not immediately turn back, he will
never be seen again.
2) The passageways are simply an arcade that rings around this central
chamber. A trick of light and darkness makes them seem deeper.
3) As #2, they are an arcade, but carved into their curved outer wall
is a treatise on the nature of the life cycles of the Great Old Ones,
including that famous couplet about Great Cthulu in his city of R'lyeh
and the phrase "That is not dead which can eternal lie/And with
strange aeons even death may die." Reading this disturbing script in
it's entirety (which would take days) gains the reader +8% Cthulu
Mythos knowledge, and relieves him of 1d6/2d6 sanity points.
-..MIGHT BE AN ONCOMING TRAIN
Lurking far below the surface of the pool is a tentacled horror,
possibly some relative of Cthulu himself. It has not stirred for
hundreds of years, and will not, unless some fool goes swimming in the
pool, or jumps in.
Above the chamber is a village of people (Either Frenchmen or
Vietnamese) who have drunk from the well for generations. They have
been subtly altered by some secretions given off by the Thing sleeping
in the pool. They have a low sanity, but remain healthy far into their
80s and 90s. It is a phenomenon they cannot explain, and the villagers
have no reason to ask.
Upon lowering the bucket, the investigators must be careful not to get
into the water. If they do, make a Luck roll. A failed result means
that the character has awakened the slumbering beast. In any case,
any prolonged stay in the water will provoke the Thing.
Upon the awakening of the creature, there will be an almost deafening
gurgling sound heard booming through the cavern. Water will gush from
the pool, displaced by the d6 tentacles that slither out of the
pool. They will first attack any one climbing the bucket rope, then
choosing anyone directly above them, and then anyone else left in the
cavern.
The tenacles hit with a 50% accuracy. Once one hits, the target is
grasped with a 20 STR. A resistance roll is required to avoid being
dragged beneath the water. Each roll takes one round of struggling. A
failed roll results in the investigator being dragged, screaming, 5
feet closer to the pool. One successful roll halts the movement, but
he cannot release himself or reverse the pull. Each tentacle will
withstand 25 HP of damage, has 3 points of armor, and takes minimum
damage from all firearms. Seeing someone grabbed will cost (1d4/1d8)
SAN, while being grabbed costs (2d4/2d10) SAN. Anyone submerged in the
pool with the wakened creature will never re-emerge. The villagers
above will abandon the well, having failed their low SAN checks.
Up And Out
Once out of the cavern, the characters may decide to deal with the
creature in any number of ways. Either leaving it alone, dumping
prodigious amounts of explosives down the well, or cementing it
shut. Seeing an end to the creature rewards the investigators with a
return of 1d20 SAN.
This is not the End of This.
Copyright 1997 by Rob Koper
--
