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Chaosium Digest Volume 22 Number 12
Chaosium Digest Volume 22, Number 12
Date: Sunday, January 11, 1998
Number: 1 of 2
Contents:
Hiding a Cultist Among Your Players (Cry.Sys) CALL OF CTHULHU
Anarchy's CoC Tactics and Weapon Ideas (Anarchy) CALL OF CTHULHU
New Adventures for Mythos (Derek Zimmerman) MYTHOS
Editor's Note:
Welcome to the first 1998 Chaosium Digest. This week you'll find
articles for Call of Cthulhu (in V22.12) and an intriguing piece on
Devils and the future for Nephilim (in V23.1).
Shannon
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
The Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos
http://www.toddalan.com/~berglund/
I've mentioned this site, which is also the home of Nightscapes ezine,
in the past. It continues to be one of the coolest Cthulhoid sites
around, so I'm happy to plug it again, now that it's been recently
updated. Here's Mr. Berglund's notes on the most recent update:
The new update to Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos, at
http://www.toddalan.com/~berglund/ is now online. We have added 5 new
creator listings, updated 24 others, and started on the H.P. Lovecraft
listing. We have brought "A Chronology of the Cthulhu Mythos" up to
1983. And on our two link pages we have added 124 links, updated 10
links, and dropped 10 links.
Have also uploaded the revised "The Cthulhu Mythos FAQ" and Chapter 15
of the "Huitloxpetl" round robin.
The Cthulhu WebRing
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/8164/index.html
This ring's been around for a while, but I was amazed to see how big
it had gotten recently. There are a total of 66 sites now connected to
this ring. The above site is the official home of the WebRing; give
it a spin.
--------------------
From: "Cry.Sys" <hamdula@neosoft.com>
Subject: Hiding a Cultist Among Your Players
System: Call of Cthulhu
Hiding A Cultist Among Your Players
by Cry.Sys
Warning: If you are reading this, and never plan to be a Keeper,
stop. This article is for Keepers to play dirty tricks on players. ;P
This is a little guide on how to add some spice to one of your games
in the form of hiding a cultist among your players. I don't suggest
doing this more than once, however, because then your players will
catch on quickly. This guide is meant to inspire you, not explain
everything. I've put steps in on how I did this trick, and I suggest
you borrow what you like. Being original is cool, so just overlook
that when I wrote this it was more of a how-to.
Step One: Laying The Foundation
The first thing to do is organize a large group of players for a game
(I suggest 3 to 5 investigators). Pick someone who is a good
roleplayer and can keep things secret well (how you would know this I
have no clue but being these players' friend I would think you would
have an idea of who would be good for this).
Once you have someone picked you have to contact them by phone and ask
them if they would like to play a "wolf among the sheep". This is a
one-shot deal. If not, you're likely to have this investigator looking
at all the other players as cultists, leading to possible cooperation
difficulties. If the player is interested then you need to get
together with them.
When you meet up with them, make up a investigator sheet. Then put in
false stats like OO% Cthulhu Mythos and a high sanity score. Talk with
them about whatever cult they belong to and give them a little info on
the plot. For example if you were using _The Complete Masks of
Nyarlathotep_ and your investigators were on their way to Cairo,
inform the cultist about the Brotherhood of the Black Pharoah cult
there. Maybe even let them read over the sections in the book that
apply to their knowledge. Or, perhaps, make up a handout that you can
give them and let them read over.
Figure out their real stats after this. They should probably have 0%
Sanity, and some Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge.
Step Two: Getting The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Among The Sheep
This is a little tricky. You have to be careful not to let too much
slip, and not to become too obvious. I found that you have to get the
other investigators' trust built up. One way is to let your cultist
make up a cultist character and play it once or twice with your
investigators before making him a enemy of them. Alternatively, if the
cultist's investigator dies the players wouldn't be suspicious if you
had another character ready for your cultist.
I figure that you already have ideas on how to do this without my
help. ;)
Step Three: Random Monkeywrenching
So now you have your investigators suspecting very little, and your
cultist is a friend of theirs. It's time for things to start going
wrong for your investigators.
Look over the plot of your story for points where things could go
wrong. For example, places where the investigators would have to split
up. Perhaps your cultist could suggest guarding the NPC cultist your
investigators captured. Have your investigators play out their scenes
and then ask them to leave the room (You might want to ask your
cultist to leave prior to this since he's guarding. It'll also help
keep suspicion down). Let your cultist release the captured NPC or
kill him to keep his silence. If they are having a little trouble
being creative, let them have a phone number to a higher member in
their cult to ask for advice.
Here are a few things I've seen done:
1. Cars sabotaged by removing parts.
2. Car bombs.
3. Cars stolen.
4. Mythos tomes spontaneously combusting.
5. Mythos tomes disappearing.
6. Mythos tomes getting stolen.
7. Sleeping pills placed in investigator's drinks.
8. Guns loaded with blanks.
9. Guns loaded with nothing.
10. Releasing NPC prisoners.
11. Killing NPC prisoners.
12. Cultist Assasins showing up in the investigator's "safe" haven.
13. Investigators being kidnapped.
14. Cultist followers always seeming to be on investigator's tails.
15. Delays, delays, delays.
Step Four: The Scapegoat
The scapegoat is a NPC to be blamed before the investigators suspect
your real cultist. An example of use:
John (my hidden cultist) and Teresa (My NPC scapegoat) offer to guard
the NPC cultist they and the investigators captured. The investigators
leave them to guard (I ask John to leave the room). After I am done
with their scenes, I ask all the investigators to step outside, and
John to step in. He already has a plan. He slips a few knockout pills
into Teresa's drink and she falls asleep guarding the NPC
cultist. John quickly unties the NPC cultist and has the NPC cultist
knock him out with something. John first makes signs of a heavy
struggle. The investigators come back in the room, only to find that
John's knocked out, Teresa's asleep, and the NPC cultist is gone. My
investigators first thought that Teresa had been ensorcelled by some
magic. John spoke with a few of them privately, saying he thought
Teresa attacked him from behind and knocked him out. Almost
immediately Teresa found herself tied to a chair, the scapegoat of the
situation.
That example is a little rough, and I hope that your scenes will be
much better (maybe put the object John was knocked out with in
Teresa's hand?).
Last Words
Maybe your cultist can survive the whole story, but odds are that he
will eventually get caught and/or killed. But, think of all the fun
you can have when you ask all the investigators except one to leave
the room. My players, in the game after the discovery of the cultist,
always started suspecting each other as the cause of their problems.
A little tip: Never have your cultist try to directly kill another
investigator. Being subtle is the best way to go. Slipping poisons
and such into drinks is much better. Attacking only causes a full
breach of your cultist's facade.
--------------------
From: <agentsofchaos@geocities.com>
Subject: Anarchy's CoC Tactics and Weapon Ideas
System: Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu Tactics and Weapon Ideas
By Anarchy
As a veteran GM and player for Cthulhu games, I can do two things for
people who like CoC out there: provide advice by recalling
interesting/useful parts of games I've been in, and discuss tactics
I'd use in the future. This article is mainly intended as advice to
the players. You'll find: advice from past adventures; investigator
tactics; and some new weapons.
PAST ADVICE
During one of my GMing sessions, while running the _Horror on the
Orient Express_ boxed set, my players came upon an old man in a
clocktower. The book I was working from said something like "Surely
the party will not use force on an old man". But the people who wrote
the book hadn't counted on my players. Oh, no. They attempted at first
to knock out the old man with a heavy club. When that failed, the
body-builder of the party grappled the old man, while another member
of the party slit his throat. After killing him half of the party
rolled the old man up in a carpet and threw him off a bridge. This did
not surprise me much, but I felt that it might've surprised those who
wrote the campaign.
There are some lessons to be learned from this, mostly for
players. The largest is that if you can get away with something that's
helpful, do it. A secondary lesson is that players often times will
test limits, and if you don't play realistically, your CoC campaign
will tend to crumble, quickly. If the GM tells the players that they
cannot slit an old man's throat because it's "wrong", or something to
that effect, it'd be hard to rationalize an attack on any humanoid.
However using the police (conservatively) against the players is an
ample deterrant, usually. So, play realistically, as player or GM.
While playing (in my first-ever CoC game) in _Masks of Nyarlathotep_,
I had my character make a book to keep clues in, as I had done in real
life to keep track of handouts. I had also done something very smart:
I mailed a copy (I made, by hand) of the cluebook to my next
character, a close relative. This saved us a lot of trouble in the
event of my/our death/capture.
SEMI-NEW TACTICS
Always sleep in shifts. 3 or 4 hour shifts usually work out to at
least half the party sleeping/guarding at the same time. Try to get
animals to help stand guard, and give your character some way to
explain not falling asleep.
If possible use people's fears, beliefs, values, for your own good.
Trade crap for useful objects, if possible, and dress up like their
vengeful gods, etc., if it'll help use them.
Before voluntarily encountering a creature, find out anything you can
about the creature. Investigate folklore, past attacks, old wives'
tales, artifacts related to it, etc. If the creature comes out in the
dark only, use light against it. If it leaves a trail of slime behind
that's extremely flammable, burn it. You get the idea.
Cultists are so dazedly insane, they won't notice you if you can
manage to dress/act like them.
Make a character, if possible, who works with demolitions, so you have
an excuse to own dynamite, and lots of it. Give him/her a good throw,
for tossing it, too. At least 70.
WEAPONS
Here are some new weapons (ideas)
First, as seen in the Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell (the actual
book), a shotgun shell can be modified so that a wooden dowell (rod)
can be fired from the shotgun. This makes for useful weapons,
creatable with a Mechanical Repair roll. Some good ideas are simple
sharpened dowel/spears, and a Molotov-cocktail on a stick. This does
not harm the shotgun, and changes a weapon that could formally use
only buckshot or shells into a very versatile weapon indeed.
If you have a firearm, and it's possible, it's useful to put a glass
bottle over the nozzle before firing. This not only decreases the
sound of the shot somewhat, but the glass shrapnel tends to do
significant damage, anywhere from 1d4 to 1d10 pts. (GM's decision)
Use blade-rings if you decide to punch. These are metal rings, worn on
your fingers, which not only make your fist heavier, but also are
sharpened on the outer edge, enabling cutting damage.
Chemistry-inclined players should be able (perhaps with medicine) to
make poisons, making any weapon dangerous.
Large-scale attacks work very well on large creatures. Pit-traps,
boulder-attacks, or sharpened tree-trunks do excellent damage against
large creatures.
Besides steel-toed boots and sap-gloves, hand and feet attacks can be
improved by adding blades to their coverings. Boot-knives (boots with
blades attached to the front or side) are extremely useful, and your
GM may even add +10 percentiles to your climbing skill when using them
on a fairly soft surface. (There are climbing devices that you attach
to your feet like this called Crampons.) Gloves with blades attached
are helpful too, and make accurate tools too.
If a flammable liquid can somehow be sprayed out and later ignited, it
makes a great weapon for most campaigns. This weapon, however, depends
on the skill and resources of your party.
If dynamite, or some other explosive is fairly easy to acquire, it is
generally a good idea to keep some on your person as a last resort. A
suicide bombing works well in Cthulhu, especially right after you're
swallowed by something.
.---.
( \ / ) Anarchy
).-.( Head of AoC, the Agents Of Chaos
'/|||\` http://www.disembodied.com/agentsofchaos/
'|`
--------------------
From: DZimmer520@aol.com
Subject: New Adventures for Mythos
System: Mythos
A LIFE OF CRIME
Corrupt Adventure
+6, + 1 Sanity Points
An occasional MUGGING at gunpoint (WEAPON) is no way to make the big
time. You need to find a CORRUPT ALLY and some THIEVES IN THE ATTIC as
partners. Then you can rob a BUSINESS or MUSEUM LOCATION. After
that, even a BANK VAULT should be easy pickings. Who says crime
doesn't pay?
A WING AND A PRAYER
Mythos Experience
+8, +2 Sanity Points
Your friends told you it was crazy to FLY across the Pacific Ocean
alone in you CLOSED-COCKPIT MONOPLANE. Maybe they were right, because
a CATASTROPHIC FAILURE forces your plane down on an uncharted ISLAND.
The STEADFAST CHIEF takes you to a hidden ISLAND SITE and shows you
the strange idol (any NON-WEAPON ARTIFACT) worshipped by the local
tribe. Luckily, a passing TRAMP STEAMER takes you aboard just before
a TYPHOON ravages the island.
THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE
Mythos Experience
+8, +3 Sanity Points
While wandering the MISKATONIC VALLEY, you come across a COUNTRY
HOUSE. Its inhabitant, a STEADFAST FARMER, tells you a strange tale of
a meteor that struck in a nearby COUNTRY/GATE LOCATION. The next DAY,
the local UNIVERSITY sent out several investigators (any TWO
PROFESSORS, REPORTERS, or SCIENTISTS) who were baffled by the
mysterious rock. Now at NIGHT the well shines with a COLOUR OUT OF
SPACE.
DEMONS BE GONE!
Heroic Adventure
+7, +2 Sanity Points
A STEADFAST PRIEST has come to ask your help in ridding a sacred
shrine (any CHURCH, MOSQUE, or TEMPLE) of a malignant spirit. This is
no simple POLTERGEIST, but a real MONSTER from the abyss. First, find
a holy TOME (that does not have a Sanity Cost) and perform an
EXORCISM. Then at the DAWN OF A NEW DAY, you must BLESS the creature's
foul remains and give it a proper burial at a CEMETARY LOCATION.
DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE
Corrupt Adventure
+9, +3 Sanity Points
While attending the UNIVERSITY, you and a CORRUPT STUDENT ALLY rent an
oddly-shaped room at 197 E. PICKMAN ST. One day you stumble across a
disturbing TOME (that has a Sanity Cost) attributed to that old witch
KEZIAH MASON. Soon, the witch and her ratlike familiar, BROWN JENKIN,
appear to you in dreams. You have a NIGHTMARE vision of a ritual
sacrifice that casts a CREATE GATE SPELL and summons NYLARTHOTEP.
Suddenly you realize that it's not a dream!
IMPRISONED WITH THE PHARAOHS
Heroic Adventure
+9, +3 Sanity Points
While on holiday in Egypt, you have a SURPRISE MEETING with HARRY
HOUDINI. You agree to see the sights together and hire a GUIDE who
takes you around town (TWO different CITY LOCATIONS in CAIRO) and
arranges a trip to see THE SPHINX. All is not as it seems, however, as
your guide turns out to be a CORRUPT CULTIST! The cultist and his
allies AMBUSH you and drop you into an unknown UNDERGROUND/CEMETARY
LOCATION. You manage to evade a MUMMY and make your escape while the
cultists worship a GREAT OLD ONE or OUTER GOD.
MANHUNT
Heroic Adventure
+8, +2 Sanity Points
You and your partner (any POLICE DETECTIVE or PRIVATE EYE) have been
assigned to the POLICE INVESTIGATION of a suspected SERIAL KILLER.
That REPORTER from the local PRESS believes that the strange evidence
(any ARTIFACT or TOME that has a Sanity Cost) indicates the work of a
CORRUPT CULTIST. You follow the grizzly trail of victims to TWO
different CITY LOCATION until finally you capture the MONSTER in his
hideout (any CITY/SITE LOCATION).
PICKMAN'S MODEL
Corrupt Adventure
+6, +2 Sanity Points
Everyone says that your friend RICHARD UPTON PICKMAN has a vivid
imagination, but you know better. Few realize that PICKMAN'S APARTMENT
is in an old neighborhood that borders on TWO CEMETARY LOCATIONS. The
last time you were there, he took you into his basement studio and
showed you a GHOUL at gunpoint (any WEAPON). The whole experience
gave you quite a fright (any PHOBIA).
RATS IN THE WALLS
Corrupt Adventure
+7, +2 Sanity Points
It was CAPT. EDWARD NORRYS who first told you abou EXHAM PRIORY. The
first NIGHT there, you could swear you heard a PACK OF RAT THINGS
swarming through the walls. You convinced TWO STEADFAST ALLIES to help
investigate and discovered a hidden UNDERGROUND/CEMETARY LOCATION. I
guess your allies didn't know that your family was under the CURSE OF
THE RAT THING. Now that you're all alone, you might just SUCCUMB TO
TEMPTATION and indulge your appetite...
SHAG THE WORLD!
Heroic Adventure
+10, +3 Sanity Points
The Evil DOCTOR and his TWO CORRUPT ALLIES have managed to steal a
TACTICAL NUCLEAR BOMB and are using it to threaten the UNITED NATIONS.
You assign a top agent (MALE WAKING WORLD ALLY) who hasn't seen the
light of DAY since you could first CREATE STASIS. He decides to
immediately HITCH A RIDE with a STEADFAST FEMALE ALLY, and confront
the Evil Doctor at his hideout (UNDERGROUND LOCATION). Thanks to a
trusty WEAPON and a BLACK BELT in Judo, the Doctor is defeated. Now
about those teeth, baby...
THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD
Corrupt Adventure
+9, +3 Sanity Points
Together with CHARLES DEXTER WARD you agree to SEEK EVERLASTING LIFE
II. Searching around (TWO different CEMETARY, LIBRARY or MUSEUM
LOCATIONS in PROVIDENCE) leads you to an old HOUSE/TOME LOCATION and a
DISTURBING PORTRAIT. Behind the portrait, you DISCOVER (a) SECRET
CACHE of notes, including the HUTCHINSON CIPHER and the ORNE FORMULA &
DIAGRAMS. Soon, the secrets of the LIVING DEAD (ALLY or MONSTER) will
be yours. If only that STEADFAST DOCTOR would leave you alone.
THE HAUNTER OF THE DARK
Corrupt Adventure
+9, +4 Sanity Points
A STEADFAST AUTHOR introduces you to his friend (ROBERT HARRISON
BLAKE) who lives in a CITY/HOUSE/GATE LOCATION that overlooks the
CHURCH OF STARRY WISDOM. Inside the Church you find a disturbing TOME
(that has a Sanity Cost) and mysterious SHINING TRAPEZOHEDRON.
Staring into the object, you attract the attention of a GREAT OLD ONE
or OUTER GOD. Now a sudden STORM and illtimed BLACKOUT have left you
at the mercy of an INVISIBLE MONSTER.
THE LURKING FEAR
Heroic Adventure
+8, +2 Sanity Points
You and a REPORTER ALLY are assigned to investigate what became of a
small TOWN or VILLAGE LOCATION during a STORM the previous NIGHT. You
search the surrounding area (TWO CATSKILLS LOCATIONS) and discover an
UNDERGROUND warren of tunnels. WEAPON in hand, you crawl through the
tunnels and stumble across the blasphemous MARTENESE KIN. They kill
your friend (EVENT that affects Opponent's Ally), but you manage to
escape with only battered nerves (any PHOBIA).
THE REANIMATOR
Corrupt Adventure
+12, +3 Sanity Points
While at the UNIVERSITY you become friends with a CORRUPT STUDENT or
DOCTOR with a macabre interest in the contents of the local CEMETARY.
During THE GREAT EPIDEMIC you turn your first corpse into a LIVING
DEAD MONSTER. Shortly thereafter, you are forced to TRAVEL to avoid a
POLICE INVESTIGATION or TOWNSFOLK RIOT, first to a neighboring TOWN or
VILLAGE, then a different CITY, and finally EUROPE. During the Great
War, AN UNEXPECTED CALAMITY turns a SOLDIER ALLY into a vengeful
LIVING DEAD MONSTER. Now the Dead have taken an interest in you!
THE UNNAMEABLE ONE
Corrupt Adventure
+7, +2 Sanity Points
As ALDEBARAN MOVES IN THE SKY, travel to PARIS looking for some trace
of THE KING IN YELLOW and its mysterious AUTHOR. While there, meet a
CORRUPT CULTIST who claims to be the Keeper of the Yellow Sign (any
SPELL with the YELLOW SIGN icon). He reveals that soon HASTUR will
awaken in Carcosa beside Lake Hali and send forth his BYAKHEE
servants. You are now a member of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign
(a Secret Society).
Derek Zimmerman
DZimmer520@aol.com
Mythos Mailing List Lurker
--
