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Chaosium Digest Volume 22 Number 11
Chaosium Digest Volume 22, Number 11
Date: Sunday, December 28, 1997
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
Hunting Pink: A Tale of Terror (Peter Devlin) CALL OF CTHULHU
The Cylinder: A Tale of Terror (Andrew D. Gable) CALL OF CTHULHU
Sphere: A Tale of Terror (Andrew D. Gable) CALL OF CTHULHU
Anarchy's Call of Cthulhu Handbook (Anarchy) CALL OF CTHULHU
Editor's Note:
Welcome to the last Chaosium Digest of 1997, this time around
featuring a bundle of articles for Call of Cthulhu. As always, thanks
for all the support that everyone has provided this year. I look
forward to 1998: keep those articles coming!
Shannon
NEW RELEASES
* Call of Cthulhu - _Adventures in Arkham Country_ (Chaosium, 128 pg.,
$19.95) is a reprint of the Lovecraft Country scenario book. This
tome contains five adventures, set in Arkham, Bolton, Dunwich,
Falcon Point, and Kingsport. A perfect companion to the recent
_Escape from Innsmouth_ and the upcoming _Dead Reckonings_. Also
features a short visit to the Dreamlands.
_Nocturnum: Long Shades_ (Fantasy Flight Games, 120 pg. $19.95) is
the first Call of Cthulhu book from a brand new licensee, Fantasy
Flight Games. It's set in a modern world of conspiracies and
corporate intrigue. This book, the first in a series of three,
includes three adventures as well as background material on a new
Mythos threat.
* Mythos - _New Aeon_ (Chaosium, $8.95 Starters or $2.95 Boosters) is
the newest release for the Mythos CCG. This new 200-card set delves
into the mysteries of the modern day and the future. Greys and Men
in Black slug it out with Mi-Go and Serpent People in this new
vision of a dark and conspiratorial future.
* Pendragon - _The Boy King_ (Chaosium, 144 pg., $20.95) is a reprint
of the classic Pendragon supplement, detailing the 80-year Pendragon
campaign. Also included in this new edition are 8 new pages,
featuring Fourth Edition conversions, a graphical timeline, and a
stable of horses.
Note: _The Boy King_ and _Adventures in Arkham Country_ are still in
the process of shipping due to the vagaries of the holidays. They
should show up in most stores the week of the fifth. _New Aeon_ and
_Nocturnum_ have already appeared in stores and should be on sale.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
Peter Worthy's Mythos Online
http://www.geocities.com/Atens/Forum/4162
The November/December issue of Mythos Online is now available,
featuring stories by Pugmire, Berglund, Sargent, Searight, and others.
Xtulu MUX
telnet://kami.keble.ox.ac.uk 2104
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Realm/7170/
The Cthulhu Mythos meets the X-Men. Really.
--------------------
From: Peter Devlin <pdevlin@scotsys.co.uk>
Subject: Hunting Pink: A Tale of Terror
System: Call of Cthulhu
Hunting Pink
Peter Devlin copyright (c) 1997
A Rolls Royce Silver Lady is parked at the side of the road. An
elderly chauffeur, uniform jacket removed, struggles to change a flat
tyre. A little way along the road stands a well dressed gentleman,
hoping to secure assistance.
Simon Beaumains (Bart) of Clovenford is the epitome of English
nobility; intelligent, educated, charming, and handsome. His ancestors
may be traced back to Norman times. He is a staunch Conservative and a
defender of law, order, King, and country.
Beaumains is very grateful to anyone who helps the elderly Grimes to
change the tyre on his Rolls. Good samaritans (and their friends)
receive an invitation to spend a weekend as guests of the
Clovenfords. It is impossible to refuse without causing offence.
Astarte Hall is an impressive English manor set amid immaculate
gardens and rolling wooded English countryside. The nearest
civilisation is the small village of Clovenford five miles from the
Hall. Once the investigators are settled at the Hall, the elderly and
very infirm Baron Clovenford is "wheeled" in to thank the good
samaritans for assisting his son. He invites them to take part in a
weekend of hunting and shooting activities, then retires.
Guests arriving for the weekend include a selection of famous
socialites, wealthy businessmen, artistes and politicians. As the
weather worsens the enormous fireplaces are banked with logs and
brandy is served. The after-dinner party ends in the wee small hours
with everyone in a fair state of inebriation.
Next morning there is commotion at (late) breakfast. The Baron has
been found dead near the enormous outdoor maze. His body appears to
have been torn apart by a wild animals and there appear to be cloven
hoof footprints around the body. The Baron is laid in state in the
cold of the family crypt.
The telephone lines are down due to the still-raging storm. The
chauffeur returns with the news that the main road bridge at
Clovenford has been swept away during the night. The area is cut off
until the storm abates. There is no need to worry as there are
supplies aplenty in the cellar and a backup generator in case the
electricty lines are knocked out. "Honest, guvnor".
Possibilities:
1.) The Clovenford Hunt (of which many of the guests are members) is
an archetypal English tradition, hunting foxes on horseback,
accompanied by hounds. It provides a convenient cover for the cult
activities of the Beaumains family, who have been associated with The
Black Goat of the Woods for hundreds of years. Their favourite sport
is hunting a human. The Beaumains horses are an unusually robust and
temperamental breed as they are fed on human flesh in classical Greek
tradition. The hounds are likewise barely domesticated wolves.
Last night the old Baron was forcibly removed as Master of the Hunt by
his son. The new Baron immediately takes charge of the situation and
organises a rather unseemly wake to commemorate his father's passing.
The wake becomes a drunken orgy and soon the Hunt members get into a
sporting mood. Tonight is again the dark of the moon and the Master of
the Hunt must organise a special feast to celebrate his ascension.
This celebration will climax with the summoning of a Dark Young to
assist the Hunt in pursuing their prey. Guess who is to be the prey?
2.) The Beaumains bloodline has been contaminated ever since the
British campaigns against Napoleon in Egypt; there is a ghoulish
ancestor somewhere down the family tree. It is a matter of historical
record that the Beaumains usually pass quitely with only an obituary
in The Times, all the better to cover up their degeneration into
ghouls. It is a family duty to take care of the Beaumains ghouls (the
elders) who live in the extensive family crypts, obtaining a steady
supply of recently buried corpses.
The new Baron has been properly schooled by his late father in his
duties, but the lessons did not take. His studies in the extensive
Beaumains occult library have prompted him to an alternative course of
action. The new Baron intends to make use of this family curse by
offering immortality to many of the influential guests (who are
confidantes of his). The first step for them is to become cannibals, a
well-documented method of greatly extending the human lifespan.
The elder Baron refused to accept this idea and so was lured outdoors
and killed by his son. The guests in the know all participated in a
sorcerous quickening ceremony and had a taste of the Baron. They were
scared off by the elders, prowling out of the crypt, who become
restless around the time of their regular feeding. Using their own
magical means the elders will soon know of the new Baron's plans and
they will not approve.
One of the guests disappears later that day, kidnapped by the
elders. The Baron realises what is happening and looks for suitable
volunteers to descend into the crypt to deal with the family
legacy. He makes a private faux confession of the family legacy in the
hope of gaining sympathy and assistance. If the brave volunteers
survive the ghouls then the cannibals may have fresh meat that night.
3.) For untold years the area known as Clovenford has sheltered a
large coven of witches. The witches were persecuted by the Beaumains
in the years following the Norman conquest, and since then the coven
has been very secretive. Many of the Beaumains males have died by
violent means, attributed to a non-existent curse laid by the innocent
coven.
The new Baron is in considerable debt due to poor play at the bridge
table. Angered by his father's recent refusal to cover his debts,
Simon has taken violent action. The previous evening Simon killed his
father using a rather blunt dagger from the Great Hall, spirited the
body out side via the hidden stairway in the master bedroom, then
faked the animal attack. The cloven hoofprints were made with a family
heirloom; a plaster casting of "The Devil's Footprint" which sits
beneath glass in the study, a curio dated 1867.
Simon plays upon the idea of the Curse of the Beaumains, telling many
old family tales to back up his story. He even shows off the curio in
the study. Unfortunately he was seen returning last night by one of
the guests, the actress Mary Bartlett, his fiancee. She confronts
Simon later that morning within sight of one of our heroes, then an
hour later accidentally falls to her death from the second floor
balcony. Simon again speaks of the Curse but this time he is watching
carefully.
Cheers :-) --> :-0
Peter Devlin.
pdevlin@scotsys.co.uk
--------------------
From: Andrew D. Gable <agable@falcon.lhup.edu>
Subject: The Cylinder: A Tale of Terror
System: Call of Cthulhu
THE CYLINDER
By Andrew D. Gable
Here's the first in my planned series of Tales of Terror based on
strange events of the past and present. The following account appeared
in a Reuters dispatch on May 27 of this year; I found it chiefly eerie
because it mirrors almost exactly the opening scenes of "Tunguska," a
fourth season X-Files episode. This Tale of Terror was originally
written for use in Pagan Publishing's Delta Green setting, but should
prove easy enough tho convert to Cthulhu Now. This story probably
wouldn't work in "traditional" 1920s CoC.
**
MILITARY TO INSPECT "MYSTERY CANISTER" FOUND AT NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT
May 27, 1997
The Army Chemical Biological Defense Command will inspect a foot-long
pressurized stainless steel canister seized on May 22 by security
personnel at New Orleans International Airport.
An unidentified man attempted to pass the "mystery canister" through
the X-ray machine on his way to the airport concourse, according to a
Reuters report. Security officers asked the man to open the container,
but he refused, saying that "it would release a noxious odor." When
officers questioned him, the man fled the scene, according to airport
spokeswoman Michelle Duffourc.
The Army's Technical Escort Detachment at Pine Bluff, Arkansas,
dispatched a three-man team to transport the canister to Aberdeen
Proving Grounds in Maryland for analysis. Police have not released a
description of the man who tried to sneak the canister into the
airport concourse.
Possibilities:
1.) The man was a cultist. The Mi-Go taught him some of their surgical
techniques, and the man is more than familiar with the removal of
brains into brain-canisters. The cylinder in the above story was one
such canister. It was a Delta Green (or MJ-12, take your pick) team
that retrieved the cylinder. Now that the Army has it, though, the
Mi-Go may try to retrieve the canister.
2.) The cylinder is empty. The man was delusional, and believed
himself to be an international terrorist.
3.) The cylinder contains a genetic sample of a Shoggoth. The man is
identified as Dr. Peter Grundy, who travelled to Antarctica on a
scientific expedition to study polar fauna. In a replay of "At the
Mountains of Madness," Dr. Grundy's team found the lost Elder Thing
city, and the remains of a dead Shoggoth. The team was, indeed, from
MJ-12, and now that the Army has the genetic sample they can rebuild
the Shoggoth race.
Andrew D. Gable
--------------------
From: Andrew D. Gable <agable@falcon.lhup.edu>
Subject: Sphere: A Tale of Terror
System: Call of Cthulhu
SPHERE
by Andrew D. Gable
****
THE BETZ "MYSTERY SPHERE"
The Mystery Sphere, found on March 26, 1974, shortly after a brush
fire, on Ft. George Island, near Jacksonville. It is about eight
inches in diameter. Terry Betz, who found the sphere, noted certain
acoustic anomalies--the sphere, at times, vibrated "like a tuning
fork," made noises "like a motor was running inside," and Betz's dog
seemed to avoid the sphere. Also, it had a habit of moving of its own
accord.
Metallurgists at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station declared that the
sphere's outer shell, which was approximately half an inch thick, was
of stainless steel. When the sphere was taken to New Orleans for
examination, APRO scientist Dr. James A. Harder took X-rays which
revealed that the sphere was constructed of some far denser material,
and that the majority of its weight was due to the inner
material. Dr. Harder has also speculated that the sphere's interior
could be composed of some atomic metal, similar to uranium.
Possibilities:
1.) The orb was simply some sort of Naval contrivance; possibly a sort
of sea-bottom marker, meant to give submarines a stable reference
point in the launching of ballistic missiles. If this is the case, the
orb should have an audio-emitting mechanism.
2.) It is one of the Great Race of Yith's spherical grenades (as
mentioned in the scenario "Bad Moon Rising"). The items are magical
weapons, so mere immunity to physical weapons does not protect one
from one of these devices. This could lead into a plot where the
sphere is stolen by government agents in attempt to replicate the
weapon and possibly triumph in their shadow-war against Cthulhu.
3.) There was a meteor shower a few days before the brush fire, which
was purely coincidental: a normal fire. The sphere Betz found was a
Traveler spacecraft. The Traveler parasitized Betz shortly after his
discovery of it. As it was living in Betz, it felt no need to destroy
its craft while the scientists were analyzing it. The creature, which
by now is a full adult, needs nourishment. Possibly the investigators
become involved after a series of murders in which the victims are
left bloodless and cannibalized.
Andrew D. Gable
agable@falcon.lhup.edu (for text)
gable@redrose.net (for attachments)
The CryptoWeb: www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/7270/
Nyogtha's Cthulhu Now Resources: members.tripod.com/~nyogtha/
--------------------
From: Anarchy <agentsofchaos@geocities.com>
Subject: Anarchy's Call of Cthulhu Handbook
System: Call of Cthulhu
Anarchy's Call Of Cthulhu Handbook - A handbook for players
SKILLS
Contrary to what most GMs say, there are some skills which are more
important than others. Here they are (In my opinion):
* Firearm - You'll need a damn good weapon for defense
* Spot Hidden - You'll constantly roll this to see if you notice
important things
* Dodge - Used constantly in battle
* First Aid - Some of you will be injured, a lot. Get this and use it.
* Library Use - You'll need to research clues, etc. A must.
* Listen - Used half as often as Spot Hidden, but still important
* Knife/Punch/Kick - When your GM takes away your gun...
There are also a few skills which SOMEONE in your party should have.
These are:
* Fast Talk - You'll need to bypass hazardous situations quickly.
* Medicine - First Aid can only do so much.
* Mechanical Repair - For fixin' guns.
* Locksmith - Gotta have this, at least when in a place with locks.
* Sneak - Don't let those cultists hear you.
* Climb - Gotta sneak into some places.
* Throw - For grappling hooks, knives, etc. This goes with climb.
* Photography - Otherwise no one will believe you.
* Law - Jail sucks.
* Coneal - Hide your stuff when you don't want it found.
* Psychoanalysis - If you have it, it can slowly get back sanity.
GAMING TIPS
If you all choose "shotgun" as your firearm skill, you get three
advantages:
* You can use each other's weapon, should you need to.
* You do a lot of damage.
* You begin with 30% skill
Sleep in shifts, with one investigator, or two if possible, watching
over everything. Get equal amounts of sleep.
Keep your backs covered. In battle, always fight back-to-back if
possible, and never assume that the enemies being fought will be the
only enemies. Others may join.
If possible, kill everyone you fight. Extract information first, if
needed, and then kill them.
EQUIPMENT
If possible, carry two of each weapon, at all times.
Try to enhance hand attacks with sap-gloves/brass-knuckles and your
kick attacks with steel-toe boots.
Get rope, handcuffs, etc. for capture of enemies.
A magnifying glass is a good tool to have, for fire creation.
Disfigure your character somehow, or give the police, etc., some way
to identify your body should you be injured or murdered.
Read every Mythos-related book you get your hands on, no matter the
cost.
Put out rewards in local newspapers if useful. To raise money, become
P.I.'s
ANARCHY'S BIGGEST TIP
Once you begin the campaign, any characters that are made while the
campaign is already in session, should be shaped TO the campaign. If
all you do is fight, pick a character who can. If the party badly
needs a doctor, be one! This is usually allowed/unobserved by the GM,
so do it!
Anarchy - Agentsofchaos@geocities.com
http://www.disembodied.com/agentsofchaos/
--
