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Chaosium Digest Volume 18 Number 04
Chaosium Digest Volume 18, Number 4
Date: Sunday, February 9, 1997
Number: 1 of 2
Contents:
Mythos Errata 2/7/97 (Chaosium) MYTHOS
Mythos Dreamlands FAQs (Chaosium) MYTHOS
Mythos Combat Examples (Chaosium) MYTHOS
Editor's Note:
This Friday saw the release of DREAMLANDS, the first standalone
collectable expansion for MYTHOS. As a way to celebrate this, I've put
together two issues of the Digest centering around Mythos. In V18.4,
you'll find a number of pieces of official Dreamlands info from
Chaosium. Over in V18.5, you'll find my two latest Card Files, on
N'Kai and An Unexpected Calamity.
Next week should see a return to other topics in the Digest. Send in
your submissions for Call of Cthulhu, Nephilim, Pendragon, and Elric!
Shannon
RECENT RELEASES:
* Mythos - The Dreamlands (Chaosium, $8.95 for 60 card Starter Packs,
$2.95 for 13 card Boosters) contains 200 new cards for Mythos,
completely compatible with both Limited and MSGS.
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
* Call of Cthulhu - _Titus Crow_ (Tor, 347 pg., $24.95), by Brian
Lumley, is an omnibus edition containing the first two Titus Crow
novels, _The Burrowers Beneath_ and _The Transition of Titus
Crow_. Not quite standard Mythos, but instead cosmic adventure with
Mythos elements.
* Elric! - _Corum: The Coming of Chaos_ (White Wolf, 400 pg., $21.99),
by Michael Moorcock, is the seventh of White Wolf's Eternal Champion
Omnibuses. It contains the first Corum trilogy: _The Knight of
Swords_, _The Queen of Swords_, and _The King of Swords_, which I've
found to be among Moorcock's best fantasy work
* Glorantha - _The Meints Index to Glorantha_ (Reaching Moon Megacorp,
72 pg., $15.00), by Rick Meints, is an index of all things
Gloranthan, from Chaosium and Avalon Hill products to all the
fanzines and a variety of magazine articles. Besides voluminous
informational listings, there are also specific indexes of cults,
spells, skills, and creatures.
_Tarsh War_ (Reaching Moon Megacorp, 52 pg., $15.00), by Chris
Gidlow, with Dan Barker and Nick Brooke, is an epic Gloranthan
scenario about Lunar military life. It contains tons of info on the
military of the Lunar Empire, and is all-around cool.
The two new Gloranthan books can be ordered directly from RMM, and are
also available from Wizard's Attic. Wizard's Attic also carries _The
Compleat Crow_, a hardcover book featuring a number of short stories
by Brian Lumley about Titus Crow. You can order from Wizard's Attic by
calling 1-800-213-1493 with a Visa or Mastercard ready.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
Cosmic Visions #7
http://www.cosmicvisions.com
This electronic magazine features a variety of Mythos fiction. The
newest issue contains works by Burleson, Luce, and Pugmire.
The Lair of the Mythos Haiku
http://www.inzenity.org/mythku/
That's right, Lovecraftian inspired Haikus.
--------------------
From: Chaosium <chaosium@aol.com>
Subject: Mythos Errata 2/7/97
System: Mythos
Mythos Errata
February 7, 1997
The following items consist of the new Mythos errata coinciding with
the release of MYTHOS: THE DREAMLANDS. For a complete list of Mythos
errata, visit our web page:
http://www.sirius.com/~chaosium/mythos.html
MYTHOS: THE DREAMLANDS
Rule Errata
Descriptions of the various region color bars was inadvertantly left
out of the Dreamlands rule book. They are as follows. A pictorial
guide also appears in the Rules Additions for the Dreamlands section
of our Mythos web page.
The East: A kind of blue color, containing the sub-regions
"Celephais", "Rinar", and "Ilek-Vad".
The West: A kind of purple color, containing the sub-regions "Ulthar",
"Mnar", "Dylath-Leen", the "Oukranos Wilds", and the "Edge of the
World".
The North: A sort of green color.
The South: A kind of pink color, containing the sub-region "The
Isles".
The Underworld: A kind of brown color, containing the sub-regions "The
Wildlands" and "Gug City".
Exotic Locations: A kind of grey color.
Lovecraft Country: A kind of green color, with a smooth, shiny
texture. Not part of the Dreamlands.
Card Errata
Temple of Bokrug - The subregion should be listed as Mnar.
MYTHOS STANDARD GAME SET
Card Errata
Dysentery - Add the text "Then, Bury this Card" to the end of the
Special Effect Box.
MYTHOS LIMITED
Card Errata
Celeano - The correct title of this card is "Celaeno".
Influenza - Add the text "Then, Bury this Card" to the end of the
Special Effect Box.
--------------------
From: Chaosium <chaosium@aol.com>
Subject: Mythos Dreamlands FAQs
System: Mythos
The FAQ Sheet on the Mythos Homepage has been updated with the release
of THE DREAMLANDS. Following is a listing of all of the DREAMLANDS
related questions. You can find the whole FAQ at:
http://www.sirius.com/~chaosium/chaosium.html
GENERAL
Q: Can I move across dimensions if Hastur is in play?
A: No. You can only Travel from one dimension to another if you have a
card that specifically allows dimensional travel. Some Locations in
one dimension may also allow Travel to a named Location in another
dimension. Hastur says nothing about dimensions, and thus may not be
used to traverse them.
Q. How do the deck construction rules apply to multiple cards with the
same title?
A. Uniqueness rules are based solely upon card title. You may only
have a total of four Mi-Go in your deck, though these may be Limited
Edition Mi-Go, Standard Game Worker Mi-Go, Standard Game Soldier
Mi-Go, or any combination thereof, to a total of four. This applies to
all cards with the same title, even when they have different powers
(other examples include Christchurch Cemetary, Deep Ones, Instability
in the Mythos, Howard Lovecraft, and the Great Library of the
Dreamlands).
If a card has a uniqueness dot, you may only have one of that specific
card. However, if you have other cards of the same title without a
uniqueness dot, you may also put three of them in your deck, for a
total of four of the same card title (eg, you can have one DREAMLANDS
Dhole and three LIMITED EDITION Dholes in the same deck).
ARTIFACTS
Q: With regard to Crystal Sword, when exactly are you opposing
Assaulting or Defending Allies?
A: Typically you don't oppose an Ally until the Allies Defend phase of
combat. To be more technical, you are opposing an Ally the second you
are in a position to inflict direct damage upon that person. Thus, if
you have a Crystal Sword in your threat, after the cosmic battle is
over, and you proceed to the Allies Defend phase, you are now being
opposed by Defending Allies. Likewise, you are opposing Assaulting
Allies the second you (and they) are added to the Threat, also in the
Allies Defend phase.
EVENTS
Q: Does Rude Awakening allow me to a play a Waking World card even if
I don't have the Silver Key or another means to get there? What
orientation do I play it in?
A: When Rude Awakening says that you "may play a Waking World
Location" it is giving you explicit permission, even if you don't
normally have a way to do so. If you're moving from one dimension to
another, you'll typically play the new card right-side-up, unless you
are told explicitly to walk. Rude Awakening doesn't say so, thus you
play your new Location right-side-up.
Q: The Cats of Ulthar let you play a Location "regardless of Travel
requirements". What exactly does this mean?
A: If you must play a certain Location or Travel Event before playing
another Location, that is a Travel requirement. It's the card that has
to be at the top of your Story Deck before you can play that new
Location. Examples of Locations with Travel requirements include
Serannian, which requires you to Travel by Air, Celaeno, which
requires you to Travel through space, and N'Kai, which requires you to
Travel from an Underground Location. Other requirements are not
included in this definition. You must still have a Star to get to the
Castle of the Great Ones on Kadath, and you must still have the R'lyeh
Disk to get to R'lyeh.
MONSTERS
Q: What is a Lesser Monster, as referred to on the Leng Spider? What
is a Greater Monster, as referred to on the Labyrinths of the Gnorri?
A: A Lesser Monster is a Lesser Servitor or a Lesser Independent. A
Greater Monster is a Greater Servitor or a Greater Independent.
Spells
Q: Can I Deflect a Spell if I don't have a legal target?
A: No. Just as you can not cast a Spell or play an Event without
having a legal target, you can not Deflect a spell if you do not have
a legal target.
--------------------
From: Chaosium <chaosium@aol.com>
Subject: Mythos Combat Examples
System: Mythos
The DREAMLANDS rulesbook does not contain Combat Examples as the MSGS
rulebook did. Following are four combat examples built primarily
around MYTHOS: THE DREAMLANDS cards.
EXAMPLE 1
Meghan and Brian are in a two-player game.
SETTING AT THE END OF THE ROUND: There is a LUNAR ECLIPSE
(Night). Meghan's investigator is on the FAR SIDE OF THE MOON, an
Exotic/Outside/Space Location. She has the MERCHANT OF ILL REPUTE (1
value) in play as an Ally, carrying a BATTLE AXE (+3 value). Brian's
investigator is at ILARNEK, a Water/Forested/Outside Location. He has
THE KING OF ILEK-VAD (3 value) and HARAGRIM (3 value) in play as
Allies. Meghan has low Sanity, and thus makes all decisions first.
COMMIT MONSTERS: Meghan has three Limited edition DHOLEs (3 value
each), and one Dreamlands DHOLE (value 4). She must commit them to
battle Brian. Poor Brian just has three BEINGS OF IB (1 value each)
and a single TCHO-TCHO PEOPLE (value 1). He must commit them to battle
Meghan.
COMMIT ALLIES: Meghan is feeling confident, but decides to block with
the MERCHANT anyways, just in case Brian has bypassers. Unfortunately
for her, this makes all of the BEINGS OF IB better. They'll now be 2
value each when revealed. Brian blocks with just HARAGRIM, because the
King's special effect is too useful to lose.
USE SPELLS/ARTIFACTS: Neither Brian nor Meghan has any Spells or
Artifacts to use.
COSMIC BATTLE: Brian and Meghan reveal their Monsters. Meghan has a
total of 13(!) points of Monsters, while Brian has 7. On Meghan's
side, two Limited Edition DHOLEs die and the third one absorbs one
point of damage, while all of Brian's Monsters are lost. Meanwhile, 6
points of Meghan's Sanity damage get through.
ALLIES DEFEND: The two remaining DHOLEs, one of which is damaged,
burst through to Brian's Allies. HARAGARIM puts up a fierce fight, but
is lost. 3 points of damage get through to Brian.
LOSE SANITY: Brian marks off 3 Sanity.
RESOLVE ADDITIONAL EFFECTS: None of the Monsters had additional
effects to resolve.
BURY THE LOST: All four of the DHOLEs, the BEINGS OF IB, the TCHO-TCHO
PEOPLE, and HARAGRIM are now Buried. The MERCHANT OF ILL REPUTE
returns to Meghan's side, a little sheepishly, since his presence
didn't help, and seemed to enrage Brian's BEINGS OF IB.
EXAMPLE 2
Meghan and Brian are in a two-player game.
SETTING AT THE END OF THE ROUND: There are no Day or Night Events
out. Thus it is Day. Brian is at the NORTH POINT LIGHTHOUSE, an
Inside/Water Location. He has BASIL ELTON (2 value) and ETIENE-LAURENT
DE MARIGNY (1 value) in play as Allies. They each have a MSGS .32
REVOLVER (+2 value). Meghan is at THE CAUSEWAY AND FATHER
NEPTUNE. This Location causes any Monsters directed against her which
get better in Water Locations to be buried when revealed. She also has
RANDOLPH CARTER (2 value) in play as an Ally, and he's carrying the
CRYSTAL SWORD (+2 value). Meghan has the SILVER KEY, an Artifact, in
play. Brian has low Sanity, and thus makes all decisions first.
COMMIT MONSTERS: Brian has four Monsters in his Threat, a MINION OF
KARAKAL (3 value), a NIGHTMARE (a Threat Event), and two Limited
Edition ELDER THINGS (2 value each + 2 because Meghan is at Water). He
very reluctantly points them all at Meghan, knowing that his ELDER
THINGS will be Buried. Meghan has no cards in her threat, and figures
she's in pretty bad shape.
COMMIT ALLIES: Since he knows that most of his Threat is going to
disappear, and that Meghan has an Ally with an Enchanted Weapon, Brian
blocks with both of his Allies. Meghan decides he's up to something,
and uses RANDOLPH CARTER'S Enchanted Weapon to add him to the Threat.
USE SPELLS/ARTIFACTS: Brian has one chance to destroy THE CAUSEWAY:
the VORTEX OF FAR JOURNEYING Spell in his BOOK OF THE BLACK STONE. He
pays two Sanity, casts it and forces Meghan to flip the top card of
her Story Deck. It's a YAK, which is neither a Location or a Monster,
and thus it's Discarded. Hopefully Meghan didn't need that card for an
Adventure.
Meghan is still worried about Brian's threat, and so pays 1 Sanity and
casts EMBODY CHARNAL ODOR OF XURA, which Controls a Lesser Servitor
Monster. Brian has two ELDER THINGS (Lesser Independents), one MINION
OF KARAKAL (Greater Servitor) and one NIGHTMARE (no subtype), but no
Lesser Servitors. Meghan's Sanity was wasted.
Afterward, Meghan and Brian each get another opportunity to cast
Spells and use Artifacts, but neither takes advantage of it.
COSMIC BATTLE: Brian still has low Sanity, and thus he reveals his
Monsters first. The ELDER THINGS are supposed to be Buried, so end up
Discarded instead. Brian just has three points of damage left (from
his MINION), and a NIGHTMARE Card. Meghan reveals RANDOLPH CARTER with
CRYSTAL SWORD, totalling 4 value. The MINION is lost, while RANDOLPH
takes 3 points of damage.
ALLIES DEFEND: The badly wounded RANDOLPH CARTER rushes at ELTON and
DE MARIGNY. For the first time, RANDOLPH is actually opposing a
Defending Ally. If either DE MARIGNY or ELTON were Corrupt, the
CRYSTAL SWORD would cause a random one of them to be flipped. However,
they are not. RANDOLPH CARTER inflicts one point of damage, which
Brian decides to apply to ELTON. ELTON is lost.
LOSE SANITY: No Sanity is lost by either player.
RESOLVE ADDITIONAL EFFECTS: Only one Monster has special effects, the
MINION OF KARAKAL. Usually, these would not be applied, because the
MINION did not survive the Cosmic Battle. However, NIGHTMARE overrides
this, and allows the MINION to affect Meghan as if it had survived.
This means that the MINION will randomly Bury one of Meghan's
Artifacts. She has two: the CRYSTAL SWORD that CARTER is carrying and
THE SILVER KEY. Brian randomly selects among the cards, and
unfortunately comes up with the CRYSTAL SWORD. Unfortunate, because it
was mere seconds from being Buried anyways, in the Bury the Lost
phase. It is instead Buried now.
BURY THE LOST: The MINION, NIGHTMARE, CARTER, ELTON, and Elton's .32
are Buried.
EXAMPLE 3
Austin and Meghan are in a two-player game.
SETTING AT THE END OF THE ROUND: It is the LUNAR ECLIPSE (Night).
POLARIS is in play, making all Monsters Invisible. Both Austin and
Meghan are at the TEMPLE OF THE ELDER ONES (Forested/Inside). Although
the Priests are calling for peace, it doesn't seem to be doing much
good. Austin has the CAT CHIEFTAIN (1 value) in play as an Ally, and
he's riding a WAR HORSE (+1 value). Meghan has the ZOOG CHIEFTAIN (1
value) in play as an Ally, and he's carrying a BATTLE AXE (+3
value). There's defintely some bad blood here. Austin has low Sanity,
and thus makes all decisions first.
COMMIT MONSTERS: Austin has the GHOST-BEING OF IB (1 value* Corrupt
Cultist) in his Threat, along with three LESSER SHANTAKS (2 value
each). He must point them all at Meghan. Meghan has a LENG SPIDER (4
value) in her threat. She must direct it toward Austin.
* The LUNAR ECLIPSE makes Living Dead Allies +1, but the GHOST-BEING
OF IB is currently a Monster, and thus does not receive this
benefit.
COMMIT ALLIES: Austin declares that the CAT CHIEFTAIN will Defend, and
Meghan declares that the ZOOG CHIEFTAIN will Defend. Because both
investigators are at the same Location, these Allies will actually be
forced to Assault during the ALLIES DEFEND phase.
CAST SPELL/USE ARTIFACTS: Austin declines to use any artifacts.
Meghan decides to cast her MSGS DUST OF SULEIMAN Spell, which can
Control a Lesser Independent. Usually, all Cultists in a Threat are
Lesser Indendents, but the GHOST-BEING OF IB is a rare exception,
because he's specifically marked as being of the Living Dead
subtype. There are no Lesser Independents in Austin's Threat. As a
result, Meghan's spell fails, and the 1 Sanity cost is wasted.
Austin and Meghan each get another opportunity to cast Spells or use
Artifacts, which they decline.
COSMIC BATTLE: Austin still has low Sanity, thus he reveals his
Monsters first. They're that GHOST-BEING OF IB (1 value) and the three
LESSER SHANTAKS (2 value each). Meghan then reveals her LENG SPIDER (4
value). It randomly eats a Lesser Monster, either a Lesser Independent
or a Lesser Servitor. The SHANTAKS are all Lesser Independents, while
the GHOST-BEING OF IB is a Living Dead. Thus, one of the LESSER
SHANTAKS is Buried. Austin's forces still overpower Meghan's by 1
point. The LENG SPIDER is lost. Austin decides to apply his 4 points
of damage to the LESSER SHANTAKS, leaving the GHOST-BEING OF IB
unwounded.
ALLIES DEFEND: Since both Meghan and Austin are in the same Location,
all of their Defending Allies now join the attack (though not the
Threat). Austin is now Attacking with a GHOST-BEING OF IB (1 value)
and is Assaulting with a WAR HORSE riding CAT CHIEFTAIN (2
value). Meghan is now Assaulting with a BATTLE AXE wielding ZOOG
CHIEFTAIN (4 value).
Due to POLARIS, all of the Monsters are Invisible. As a result, the
GHOST-BEING OF IB slips, ghost-like, right by the Assaulting ZOOG
CHIEFTAIN. Meanwhile, the ZOOG CHIEFTAIN and the CAT CHIEFTAIN fight
it out. Alas, the tattered old tomcat is lost, while the ZOOG
CHIEFTAIN bursts through with 2 points left.
RESOLVE ADDITIONAL EFFECTS: None of the involved Monsters have
additional effects to resolve.
LOSE SANITY: The GHOST-BEING costs Meghan 1 point of Sanity. The ZOOG
CHIEFTAIN costs Austin 2 points of Sanity.
BURY THE LOST: Everything is now Buried, including the ZOOG CHIEFTAIN
and the GHOST-BEING. The Priests are left to clean up the mess.
EXAMPLE 4
Austin, Meghan, and Brian are in a three-player game.
SETTING AT THE END OF THE ROUND: It is Day. POLARIS is in play, making
all Monsters Invisible. Austin is at the CASTLE OF THE GREAT ONES ON
KADATH (Exotic/Outside). He has HARAGRIM (3 value) and THE KING OF
ILEK-VAD (3 value) in play as Allies. HARAGRIM is wielding a BATTLE
AXE (+3 value) and riding a WAR HORSE (+1 value). Meghan is at the THE
MARKET-PLACE in Ulthar. She has KRANNON (2 value + 1 because Meghan is
in Ulthar) and The WANDERING PEDDLER (2 value + 1 because Meghan is at
THE MARKET-PLACE) in play. Brian is at the LABYRINTHS OF THE GNORRI
(Underwater/Water/Outside). He also has THE KING OF ILEK-VAD (3 value)
as an Ally, as well as KING KURANES (3 value). Austin has 4 Sanity,
Meghan has 9 Sanity, and Brian has 4 Sanity. Austin goes first because
his Education is higher than Brian's.
COMMIT MONSTERS: Austin has four Monsters in his Threat: two CATS FROM
SATURN (value 3 each, bypass combat), and two VOONITH (value 2 each,
may hibernate). He also has a plan. He directs the Cats at Meghan. She
has no way for her Allies to see Invisible Monsters, and thus will
automatically take 6 points of damage after the Cats bypass. He
directs the VOONITH at Brian. That should be sufficient to drive
Brian's investigator insane, which Austin hopes will leave him with
the highest Sanity, making him the winner.
Meghan has three Monsters in her Threat, two MINIONS OF KARAKAL, and a
BUOPOTH. She's tempted to try and split them between Austin and Brian,
defending herself while weakening Brian, but unfortunately Brian is at
the LABYRINTH OF THE GNORRI. When any Greater Monsters (Greater
Independents or Servitors) attack someone at the LABYRINTH OF THE
GNORRI, they're immediately Buried, and MININIONS are Greater
Servitors. Thus, Meghan points all three Monsters at Austin. Austin
doesn't realize it, but the BUOPOTH is going to totally destroy his
plans. BUOPOTH prevent Monsters opposing them from bypassing.
Unfortunately for Brian, he has no Monsters. He looks nervously at the
two Monsters directed at him.
COMMIT ALLIES: Austin has both of his Allies defend against Meghan.
Since he thinks the CATS will bypass, he'll need these friends to ward
off Meghan's Threat.
Neither Meghan nor Brian bother to block. Since all Monsters are
Invisible, there's not much point.
CAST SPELLS/USE ARTIFACTS: Austin committed his Allies because he had
a way around the Invisibility problem. He casts the Limited Edition
Spell, POWDER OF IBN GHAZI. Monsters attacking him are now visible.
Because he is at the CASTLE OF THE GREAT ONES ON KADATH, he does not
lose any Sanity when casting this Spell.
Meghan has no useful Spells to cast, while Brian has none at all, so
they both pass. Austin also has another option to cast Spells, but he
has no more useful ones.
COSMIC BATTLE/ALLIES DEFEND/RESOLVE ADDITIONAL EFFECTS/LOSE SANITY:
Brian and Austin are still tied for low Sanity. Austin has high
Education, and so goes first. He may choose to resolve his Combats in
either order. If he attacks Brian first, and Brian goes insane, Meghan
will win, so he correctly decides to attack Meghan first.
Austin reveals first, showing his two CATS FROM SATURN (6 value).
Then, Meghan reveals, showing a BUOPOTH (0 value) and two MINIONS OF
KARAKAL (6 value). Disaster! The BUOPOTH keeps the CATS from
bypassing! As a result, the CATS are lost, as are the BUOPOTH and the
MINIONS OF KARAKAL. No Monsters get through to Allies, no additional
effects occur, and no Sanity is lost.
Next, Austin must reveal his Threat directed at Brian. He reveals two
VOONITH (4 value). They'll drive Austin insane, and since Meghan has
high Sanity, she will win. Austin wisely decides to take advantage of
the VOONITH special power. As soon as they're revealed, he declares
they're hibernating. They return to his Threat for next round. Once
again, no Monsters get through to Allies, no additional effects occur,
and no Sanity is lost.
BURY THE LOST: The CATS, the BUOPOTH, and the MINIONS are all
Buried. The VOONITH remain, starting a new Threat for Austin. Maybe
next Round...
--------------------
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.
