Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Chaosium Digest Volume 18 Number 01
Chaosium Digest Volume 18, Number 1
Date: Sunday, January 26, 1997
Number: 1 of 2
Contents:
Arbroth Soulsblood: An Elric! NPC (Richard Watts) ELRIC!
Land Holdings in Pendragon (Peter Corless) PENDRAGON
Europe Not Dead!: A Mythos Deck (Nick Christoforidis) MYTHOS
The Legacy of Eibon: A Mythos Adventure (Nick Christoforidis) MYTHOS
Editor's Note:
This week, I have more neat stuff than you can shake an enchanted cane
at. And, it's from all over the world too, with articles coming in
from Australia, Greece, Ireland, and the USA. As you can see, V18.1
contains Elric!, Mythos and Pendragon resources. Over in V18.2, you'll
find a new Mythos Card File, and some useful notes on guns in CoC.
Peter Corless' article on land holdings first appeared on PENDRAGON-L,
the Pendragon discussion ML. You can join it by sending the command
"subscribe pendragon-l" to:
majordomo@ruby.telmaron.com
Thanks for the submissions, and keep them coming. Next week, I have
another Card File pending, as well as a sorcery initiation system for
RQ/BRP.
Shannon
RECENT RELEASES:
* Nephilim - _Liber Ka_ (Chaosium, 96 pg, $14.95, ISBN 1-56882-093-3),
by John Snead, has just started showing up at some game stores. This
is the new "Authentic Western Ceremonial Sorcery [system] for the
Nephilim Roleplaying game". It includes a totally new system of
sorcery for Nephilim, a history of sorcery, notes on modern
traditions of sorcery, and more.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
Barbary MUSH
http://www.best.com/~gazissax/barbary.htm
Multi-User Dungeons have been around for many years. This one is an
online Call of Cthulhu game set in 1890s San Francisco. Take a look at
their web page for complete information.
Cyberthulhu
http://www.rpg.net/realm/cyber
Sandy Antunes' Cyberthulhu rules, originally published in V2.10 of the
Digest, are now available in an expanded form on the web. Sandy will
also gladly archive Cyberthulhu scenarios of good quality. They don't
have to use the Cyberthulhu rules. Any dark future or futuretech
adventures are welcome.
Java Cthulhu Generator
http://www.io.com/~jwtlai/CoC/CoCchar.html
This web site contains a minimal CoC character generator, written in
Java Script.
The French Nephilim
http://www.ens-lyon.fr/~jcdubacq/neph/
A web page about the French Nephilim game, written in French.
--------------------
From: burntime@melbourne.net (Richard Watts)
Subject: Arbroth Soulsblood: An Elric NPC
System: Elric!
This article was originally intended for the excellent ELRIC! Fanzine
"Herald of Doom," edited and published by Malcolm Wolter. The 'zine
has folded due to lack of contributor support, and a lack of
subscribers; as a result the final issue of Herald of Doom should
appear shortly, consisting of a major article of mine concerning
vampyres in the Young Kingdoms, which may appear later in _The
Southern Continent: Atlas of the Young Kingdoms Volume Two_, if my
current plan for that book goes ahead.
Meanwhile, for devotees of Moorcock's doomed albino and Chaosium's
game based upon his exploits, here is a non-player character who the
adventurers might meet anywhere in the Young Kingdoms, and ideas for
potential scenarios based upon his past. Given some work, the
character and his background could potentially be adopted for
Pendragon or Runequest.
ARBROTH SOULSBLOOD
By Richard Watts
It is dusk, and the adventurers are making camp. The fire is hatching,
small flames pecking hungrily at the wood; around the campfire shadows
grow. And then it seems like one such shadow takes form, and steps
forward. From the growing darkness steps a young man. He has a
warrior's build, muscular yet wiry. The folds of a kilt swirl around
his oaken thighs. A heavy broadsword hangs at his hip. His jet-black
dreadlocks fall to his shoulders, framing a broad face, his dark skin
made darker by the intricate tattoos that twine across his
features. His grim eyes survey the adventurers...
Arbroth Waeturo, horror-haunted hero, aged 22.
This young warrior hails from Pikarayd, as the tattoos covering most
of his body will inform anyone versed in Young Kingdoms lore. The
eldest son of a highland chieftain, Tieraed Waeturo, Arbroth was taken
captive in a skirmish with a neighbouring clan, the Wakarua. He was
made the slave of, and fell in love with, a young lord, Loklen
(Physickians can deduce his slave status from the scars of his
slave-collar about Arbroth's thick neck). The illicit nature of their
passion made it all the more desperate (Pikarayd's Hierophant has
outlawed love between men, claiming it weakens them, making them poor
warriors).
When Arbroth's clan attacked in a midnight raid, intending to free
Arbroth, tragedy struck. Tieraed Waeturo burst into the bedchamber
where his son lay entwined in Loklen's arms. Arbroth cannot remember
the details; he recalls his lover's cry of alarm, and the cold touch
of steel in his hand, and no more. When the madness of battle passed,
he found his father and lover lying dead at his feet. Arbroth does not
know if his father slew his lover and he killed his father in return,
or if the reverse is true. All he knows is that his five brawny
brothers found him screaming, bloody sword in one hand, over his
father's corpse. They blamed Arbroth for the murder, and have been
hunting him ever since.
Chaos 31, Balance 15, Law 22
STR 17 CON 18 SIZ 15 INT 12 POW 13 DEX 14 APP 13 HP 17
Damage Bonus: +1d4
Weapons: Broadsword 115% 1d8+1+db
Dirk 87% 1d4+2+db
Brawl 70% 1d3+db
Armour: Leather and Rings (no helm) 1d6
Skills: Art (Pleasure) 45%, Climb 81%, Dodge 46%, Hide 55%, Insight
78%, Listen 60%, Move Quietly 55%, Natural World 45%, Navigate 70%,
Ride 45%, Track 65%
Spells: None
Scenario Possibilities
* Arbroth Soulsblood ("because I have the blood of too many souls on
my hands, and all were souls that were dear to me") has just escaped
an ambush set by his brothers. Badly wounded, he collapses at the
adventurers' feet, unconscious. His brothers soon arrive, and demand
that the adventurers hand over "the kin-slayer", or be slain
themselves. The brothers are weak from battle. If driven off, they
return a week later, fully recovered and intent on murder (for their
statistics, use the Barbarian Warrior from the Y.K. Digest). The
adventurers gain a Balance check for helping someone in need, but they
are dogged by Arbroth's vengeful brothers thereafter until some peace
can be engineered between them all.
* The burly young Pikaraydian travels with the adventurers for a time,
and falls in love with one of them (preferably the man who most
closely resembles the late Loklen). His love is doomed, however;
Arbroth Soulsblood is cursed to cause the deaths of those he holds
dear. If his brothers don't get the adventurers, Arbroth will. More
than once he wakes screaming in the night, drawing his sword in his
sleep and attacking the first person who speaks to him or moves.
Arbroth is tormented by the blood on his hands, and re-enacts his
father's murder every night in his dreams. Can the adventurers find a
dream-thief to cure Arbroth of his nightmares, before the nightmares
(and Arbroth's somnambulistic activities) claim their lives?
* Arbroth Soulsblood is haunted by the ghost of his lover, Loklen
Wakarua. The spirit appears before him every month on the night of its
death. The night Arbroth meets the adventures is, coincidentally, the
bloody anniversary. The ghost pleads silently, its face a mask of
gore, before vanishing. Necromancers among the adventurers may be able
to question the ghost. It says that it cannot rest until Arbroth has
forged a lasting peace between the feuding Wakarua and Waeturo
clans. If the adventurers assist Arbroth with this geas, they arrive
in Pikarayd's highlands on the eve of battle between the clans.
Passionate role-playing, or inspired dice rolls, may be enough to stop
the bloodshed. Among the assembled warriors of the Wakarua is a
grizzled ex-slave who remembers seeing Arbroth's father Tieraed, and
Loklen Wakarua, kill one another from the arras behind which he
hid. The story told, Arbroth is free of his geas, and his guilt
also. If he visits his lover's grave, the bare thorn-bush that grows
there blossoms, and does so every year on the anniversary of the
murders thereafter. By participating in _this_ story, the adventurers
gain an automatic 1d6+1 Balance points, and an additional Balance
check besides. They can also be guaranteed aid from the Waeturo clan
in a time of need.
--
Richard Watts lives and writes in Melbourne, Australia. He wears black
often, has been known to pass out at parties, and has still not got
the hang of E-Mail. Write to him with tips at burntime@melbourne.net
--------------------
From: Peter Corless <pcorless@cisco.com>
Subject: Land Holdings in Pendragon
System: Pendragon
LAND HOLDINGS IN PENDRAGON
"Fortham laga sceal on leode luflice leornian
Lof se the on lande sylf nee leosan"
"Wherefore he who does not wish to lose resect in the land
must willingly learn the customs of the people."
-- Rectitudines Singularum Personarum
Hemming, c1012 AD
Introduction:
Here's a short piece on the typical size of land holdings in Arthurian
England, using what we know of Saxon England thereafter as a model.
Many of the items I may quote below, therefore, are anachronisms (as
if Arthurian history were not filled with them already). Certain
taxes, services, rights and responsibilities require explanation,
which I did not have time to type up at this point. This is just to
give you, as Pendragon players and GMs, the opportunity to further
explore land use prior to the publication of the long-anticipated
Nobles Book redux.
Original figures herein are stated at 5 hides, given historical
Domesday Book figures and population statistics for 1066 & 1086
AD. Average populations for Arthurian England can be considered
equivalent. There is strong indication that land value equals 1 Librum
per annum per hide. If so, this would actually make the typical
Pendragon knight's manor a little larger, totaling 6 hides in
size. For GMs and players who would like, just multiply population
figures below by +20%. Example: Total acreage would become about 720
acres, population would be 125, with 10 villeins (9.6 rounded up), and
so on.
In addition, note that given the figures below, you can calculate your
own typical holding. If you want to have more sokesmen share the land,
or if you want to have more villeins or bordars, knowing these
calculable figures, you can do so. I apologize for any terms not
defined sufficiently below. For those so interested, please read
Maitland's "Domesday Book & Beyond", Darby's series on "Domesday
Geography", Frank Stenton's "Anglo-Saxon England," plus Loyn's
"Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest." They're worth the
exploration.
-Peter Corless. 1/21/96
The Typical Knight's Holding
Size:
5 hides (1 sq. mile) of arable plowland
* 600 or so acres of arable
* About 30-60 acres of meadow (dedicated grazing lands) for oxen
Population:
Roughly 100, including 20 adult men, 20 adult women, 40 or so children
and 20 elderly men and women (age 50+)
Of these, the adult men are typically of this mix:
* 1 Freeman (often a Squire or Knight, or Saxon Thegn)
- Lord of the Manor; holding protected by oaths & charters
- Holds 120+ acres arable, plus pasture and meadow
- Owns a horse
- Owns a plow team (8 oxen)
- Owns 3 head of cattle, a few swine, goats, and 10-20 sheep
- Owes his Lord "fyrd" service and to help maintain navy
- Owes his Lord "burhbot" (fortified town payments)
- Owes his Lord "brycgeweorc" (bridgework, incl. upkeep of highways)
- Votes in moots
- Pays "Peter's Pence" (1d/year to Rome)
- Paid "Church-scot" = 1/10th of all grain to religious site
- Weregild of 1200 shillings
* 2 Sokesmen (Free Villagers, or Ceorls)
- Typically holds 40-120 acres arable
- Has pasture rights
- Own 2-8 oxen, a cow, and a mix of other animals
- Owes "fyrd" service
- Owes "fold-soke" or "consuetudo" (grazing his lord's beasts)
- Owes his Lord 1/7th of his pig/sheep
- Votes in moots
- Free to commend himself to any Lord (give/withdraw fealty)
- Weregild of 200 shillings, plus Manbot of 30 shillings to Lord
- Pays "Peter's Pence" (1d/year to Rome)
- Pays "Church-scot" Q 1/10th of all grain to religious site
- Pays "gafolgelda" (rent) rather than perform service
* Usually 5-10 shillings/yr (for 40 acres), up to 1L/hide
* 8 Villeins (Villagers)
- Farmer with sufficient land and beasts of his own
- Has typically 30-40 acres, up to 120 acres (1 hide) of arable
- Owns 2-4 oxen, plus has other animals (sheep, pigs)
- Pasture rights for oxen
- Weregild of 200 shillings, plus Manbot of 30 shillings to Lord
- Pays "Peter's Pence" (1d/year to Rome)
- Pays "Church-scot" = 1/10th of all grain to religious site
- Pays "gafolgelda" (rent) rather than perform service
* Usually 5-10 shillings/yr (for 30-40 acres), up to 1L/hide
* 6 Bordars (renters with little land)
- Farmer with a little land and a few beasts of his own
- Cultivates his Lord's lands (Demense), but also...
- Has up to 5 - 30 acres (a virgate) of his own land
- Lives in a cottage owned by his Lord, but pays no rent
- Might have an oxen or some other animals
- Pays for pasture
- Weregild of 200 shillings, plus Manbot of 30 shillings to Lord
- Pays "Peter's Pence" (1d/year to Rome)
- Pays "Church-scot" = 1/10th of all grain to religious site
- Pays "Hearth Penny" (1d/year to Lord)
- Pays *either* rent ("gafolgelda") of 12-20 pence a year or...
- Perform service ("gebur")...
* Work every Monday in Lord's arable
* Other inland service (seaward, shepherd, beekeeper, etc.)
* Work 3-5 days/week at harvest
* Paid 1 sheave grain/acre/day worked at harvest
* 1 Cottar
- Same as Bordar, except with little or no land or beasts
- Has up to 5 acres of his own land
- Usually must perform service rather than pay rent
* 2 Serfs
- Lives on and cultivates his Lord's lands (Demense)
- All cultivation of the land goes directly to the Lord
- Owns no oxen; perhaps a few minor animals
- Given room (cottage) and bord (food) by the Lord
- Costs 30 pence (2.5 shillings) to purchase freedom from Lord
- When granted freedom, recieve a spear & helmet from Lord
- When fall into serfdom, receive bill-hook from Lord
- Weregild of 40 pence, pl's Manbot of 20 shillings to Lord
- Pays "Hearth Penny" (1d/year to Lord)
- "Boors/Geburs/Coliberts":
Fortunate serfs (about 3%) are granted special status by
their lord. They are given lifetime loan of:
* Cottage, 2 oxen, 1 cow, 6 sheep, poultry, 7 acres of arable
* Weregild is increased to 200 shillings (that of a freeman)
* Pays "Hearth Penny", but not "Peter's Pence"
* In return, owe 10d/Michaelmas tribute ("gafol")
* Also owe renders of food and service to his Lord
* All possessions revert to the Lord upon his death
Total Beasts on a 5-hide holding (typical mix):
* 1 Horse
- Owned by the Lord of the Manor
* 50 Oxen
- Five teams of eight (one for each hide), plus 10 random beasts
* 5 Cattle
- Likely owned by the Lord or the sokesmen
- Likely all cows; every few manors would share a bull
* 5 Goats
- Mostly owned by the villeins and bordars for milk
* 15 Pigs
- More if located in woodlands; less if located in open lands
* 90 Sheep
- More if located in open lands; less if located in woods
--------------------
From: Christoforidis Nick <nchr@math.auth.gr>
Subject: Europe Not Dead!: A Mythos Deck
System: Mythos
Following is a Mythos deck set in Europe. Some strategy notes are also
included.
EUROPE NOT DEAD!
LOCATIONS (17)
The Auction House 1
La Mole Antonelliana 1
The Office of Dr. Freud 1
The Catacombs Beneath Paris 1
Chateau Des Fausses Flames 1
The Necropolis 1
The Highland Loch 1
Stonehedge 1
Huntingdon Asylum for Lunatics 1
Biblioteque Nationale 1
British Museum 2
Knight's Head Inn 2
Exham Priory 1
Catacombs of Rome 2
ALLIES (10)
Arthur Jermyn 1
Dennys Barry 1
Madame Blavatsky 1
Simon Orne 1
George Birch 1
Arthur Monroe 1
Capt. Edward Norrys 1
Capt. Karl Heinrich 1
Lord Edward Dunsany 1
Robert W. Chambers 1
TOMES, SPELLS & ARTIFACTS (11)
Unaussprechlichen Kulten1
Cultes Des Goules 1
Command the Dead 2
Remortification 2
Sign of Eibon 2
Shotgun 1
Chime of Tezchaptl 1
Elephant Gun 1
ADVENTURES (4)
The Curius Parcel 1
The Theron-Marks Society1
The Interesting Shop 1
The Outsider 1
MONSTERS (8)
Goody Fowler's Ghost 1
Skeletons 2
Zombies 2
Vampire 1
Martense Kin 2
EVENTS (17)
Aldebaran moves in the Sky1
An Unexpected Calamity 1
Waxing Moon 2
Townsfolk Riot 1
Waning Moon 1
Thieves In Your Attic 1
Dendrophobia 1
Yithian Mental Contact 1
Flee to Special Room 1
Hound of the Tintalos 1
Hydrophobia 1
In the Nick of Time 1
Claustrophobia 1
Dirigible 1
Car 1
(Scotophobia) 1
TOTAL: 67 CARDS
Concerning Locations:
There is a total of 17 Locations, 10 of which are Gates. There are 3
Locations where you can burn Phobias, and there is also Mme Blavatsky.
There are 10 Locations with the Artifact attribute and 7 with the Tome
attribute. In 4 Gates, you may play a Living Dead from your Story
Deck, instead of your hand; a very cool ability. The deck is designed
so that you may remain in one Location for many Turns, casting Spells,
playing Events or other cards.
Strategies:
The Living Dead are doing just fine in Europe. Even if you don't have
any in your hand, you may use the three Catacombs or the Necropolis to
play them from your Story Deck!
The Living Dead make up a very strong offensive. They get bonuses from
Night, Cultes des Goules & Unaussprechlichen Kulten. A Zombie or
Skeleton may become a 2-value Monster without any SAN cost! And, the
threat as a whole may be an additional +1! [note: unfortunately the
bonuses of Cultes Des Goules and Unaussprechlichen Kulten aren't
cumulative, as noted on pg. 15 of the MSGS rules.]
When Zombies are in your Threat, use Sign of Eibon to bury opposing
Monsters, so that the Zombies do damage to Allies, and thus remain in
your Threat.
Use Command the Dead to play Goody Fowler's Ghost before Combat, and
then use the Catacombs or Necropolis to put it into your Threat
again. It is very unlikely that your opponent will have any Enchanted
Weapon on his Allies (use Hounds of Tindalos against such a Ally
first).
There are two cards of each Spell in this deck. Play one of them on a
Tome, use the other with Simon Orne. Try your best to keep Simon Orne
and Mme Blavatsky in play; their abilities are very important (she
buries phobias, he casts spells). Use Flee to Special Room against
Events that bury Allies regardless of their value, and equip them with
Weapons to raise their value so that they will not be affected by
Pipes of Madness and Event cards that depend on the Ally's value.
Do not hesitate to use Yithian Mental Contact against a Day
Event. Night is your realm of power, you cannot afford to lose it! You
may as well use it to save Simon Orne, to keep those Death Spells
going for no SAN cost.
Scotophobia seems a good choice for a Night/Living Dead deck. BUT!
Your opponent may always play a Day card to cancel Night &
Scotophobia, denying your Monsters any Night Bonus.
I chose some cards to have variety in my deck. You can always
substitute the Martense Kin with more Zombies or Skeletons, Elephant
Gun with Shotgun (to get the +1SAN), Exham Priory & Biblioteque
Nationale with more Gate Locations, and so on. The deck could work
better, but it would get rather monotonous and less fun.
Christoforidis Nick
nchr@thales.math.auth.gr
--
nchr@thales.math.auth.gr
nchr@egnatia.ee.auth.gr
(23-skidoo!)
--------------------
From: Christoforidis Nick <nchr@math.auth.gr>
Subject: The Legacy of Eibon: A Mythos Adventure
System: Mythos
Hello.
Again, something for MYTHOS --an extremely blasphemous adventure! The
idea came to me as I was looking at my TOME cards and noticed that
there were five entries for BOOK OF EIBON, just as it is in the
_Keeper's Compedium_ entry for the book. I love such consistency.
--
THE LEGACY OF EIBON
+9 Victory, +4 Sanity
Mythos Experience
First you must become a member of a SECRET SOCIETY. Your mentor, a
CORRUPT ALLY, kept talking about a Hyperborean mage, the notorious
Eibon. Fascinated, you find BOOK OF EIBON (ENGLISH) and LIVRE D'IVON
in the Society's LIBRARY. After studying them, you ask for the Latin
LIBER IVONIS wherein the way to make an ENCHANTED WEAPON is discussed.
Maniacally seeking more blasphemous knowledge, you study the ATLANTEAN
BOOK OF EIBON in a secluded HOUSE WITH A GATE. There you summon a
SERVITOR MONSTER and threatening it with the SIGN OF EIBON, you order
it to fetch you the final piece to this puzzle: the original BOOK OF
EIBON (HYPERBOREAN).
[The SAN award for this adventure may seem high, but remember that the
cost for playing _just_ the five books is 10 SAN! Best-combined with
"SECRETS OF THE SILVER TWILIGHT"]
--
nchr@thales.math.auth.gr
nchr@egnatia.ee.auth.gr
(23-skidoo!)
--------------------
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. To submit an article, subscribe or
unsubscribe, mail to: appel@erzo.org. The old digests are archived on
ftp.csua.berkeley.edu in the directory /pub/chaosium, and may be
retrieved via FTP.
