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Chaosium Digest Volume 25 Number 02
Chaosium Digest Volume 25, Number 2
Date: Sunday, April 12, 1998
Number: 1 of 4
Contents:
Announcement: Convulsion '98 (Lewis Jardine) MISC
Return to the Monolith, Part One (Mike LaBrossiere) CTHULHU NOW
Editor's Note:
Welcome back all, to my last "catch-up" issue of the Chaosium
Digest. I've got a few small articles left in the queue, but this
pretty much does it. Next issue will be out in two weeks, and be sure
to send in those submissions!
This week, two long Call of Cthulhu 1990s pieces, first a two-part
adventure called "Return to the Monolith", second a keynote address on
the effects of the Mythos on the world called "Gathering
Darkness". Also, the latest info on Convulsion '98, the British
Glorantha and Chaosium convention.
Shannon
RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE:
* Pendragon - _Excalibur_ (St. Martin's Press, 436 pg., $24.95) is the
final book in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles. The first two
were _The Winter King_ and _Enemy of God_. I thoroughly enjoyed this
entire sequence and recommend it heartily. Cornwell plays with my
favorite Arthurian concept: what might have been the real basis of
the Arthurian myths. He presents the story of Arthur, bastard son of
Uther, a great warrior who has been called back to Britain to uphold
the throne of Uther's true son, Mordred. This is not Malory's Arthur.
It is heavily based on Welsh and other early sources and offers a
believable picture of British life at the end of the fifth century.
Cornwell is also a very good writer, and the trilogy is gripping and
emotional throughout. In the U.S. the first two books are available
as trade paperbacks from St. Martin's Press. Look for them all in
the fiction/literature section rather than f/sf (for what that's
worth). ISBN 0-312-18575-8.
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
Nightscapes #7
http://www.toddalan.com/~berglund/index.html#sccapes
The seventh issue of Berglund's e-webzine, featuring fiction, poetry,
artwork, and even a game scenario.
A New Mythos Fiction Web Page
http://members.tripod.com/~snf/minnis.htm
Featuring about 12 different Mythos stories.
--------------------
From: jardine@rmcs.cranfield.ac.uk
Subject: Announcement: Convulsion '98
System: Misc
********** LAST CHANCE TO BOOK RESIDENTIAL PLACES **********
Convulsion 98
24th to 26th July 1998
College Hall, Leicester University
Events start on Friday 6pm and go on until around midnight Sunday.
Latest update - Greg Stafford & MOB are confirmed,
sadly Sandy Petersen can't get the time off.
However Ken Rolston is now coming.
Exciting New Stuff - Robin Laws - author of Glorantha the Game will be
our guest and will be demoing the new Gloranthan RPG.
Hi All,
I know that quite a few of you have already signed up, but for those
who haven't done so yet and want to come.
We must close residential bookings this Tuesday (14th April).
So if you want to come and want to take advantage of the residential
offer you had better get in contact with me ASAP. After this date
residential places will only be available through people dropping out
(an extremely rare event).
Remember this is very good value (3 nights B&B for 50 pounds) plus the
added advantage of only having to crawl back a few yards when the bar
closes (and not having to worry about alcohol limits).
Cheers
Lewis
--------------------
From: Mike LaBrossiere <Ontologist@aol.com>
Subject: Return to the Monolith, Part One
System: Call of Cthulhu
Return to the Monolith, 1998
By Michael C. LaBossiere
Ontologist@aol.com
Call of Cthulhu
They say foul beings of Old Times still lurk,
In dark forgotten corners of the world,
And gates still gape to loose,
On certain nights,
Shapes pent in Hell.
- Justin Geoffrey, People of the Monolith
LEGAL INFORMATION
This adventure is copyright 1998 by Dr. Michael C. LaBossiere. It may
be freely distributed for personal use provided that it is not
modified and no fee above the normal cost of distribution is charged
for it. Visit the Opifex Phoenix web site at:
http://user.aol.com/ontologist/web/opifex.anchor.html
Call of Cthulhu is Chaosium Inc's registered trademark for their game
of horror and wonder in the worlds of HP Lovecraft. For more
information, contact Chaosium Inc., 950-A 56th St, Oakland, CA 94608
-- or call us at 510-547-7681. Visit Chaosium's web page at
http://www.sirius.com/~chaosium/chaosium.html.
This adventure is based on "People of the Monolith" which appeared as
a bonus scenario in _Shadows of Yog-Sothoth_, published in 1982 by
Chaosium. This scenario was in turn based on "The People of the
Monolith" from Robert E. Howard's Tales from the Cthulhu Mythos, which
was published by Arkam House.
INTRODUCTION
This adventure is set in the 1990s and is intended to be a follow-up
on the events that took place in 1920s Hungary, as detailed in
Chaosium's "People of the Monolith."
In this adventure, the investigators will be part of a team creating a
documentary on ancient occult sites. More specifically, the
investigators will be traveling to Hungary in search of a monolith
with a dark and troubling past. They will find the monolith, but they
will also find more than they bargained for.
Getting the Investigators Involved
The investigators will be contacted by a man name Bruce Baston who is
representing Steiger Incorporated. Baston will inform the
investigators that Steiger Incorporated is producing a show for
television. The show is to feature several site around the world that
have occult significance. Since many shows have already covered the
best known areas (such as Stonehenge), this show is going to cover
more obscure, but still interesting locations and features. Because of
their reputation in such matters, Baston will say, Steiger
Incorporated wants to hire them to work on one of the segments.
If the investigators are interested, Baston will arrange to meet with
them, at a restaurant, to discuss matters. Baston will tell the
investigators that he wishes to hire them as special consultants for a
segment on a curious black stone in Hungary. If they ask for more
details, Baston will say that he has been informed that the stone has
a dark and curious history, but that part of the investigators' job
will be to learn more about the monolith and its history.
If the investigators agree to take the job, Baston will assign them
appropriate responsibilities and prepare contracts which specify
appropriate payments for the completion of the tasks. For example,
investigators with high Library Use will be hired to do research.
Also assigned to the documentary are: David Rolfe, director; Brent
Travis, vocal talent; Christopher Russell, photographer; Sam Gussett,
camera; and Diana Gussett, camera and sound. They are all described
toward the end of the adventure.
Some alternative means of getting the investigators involved are given
below.
Keeper's Background
Untold years ago, people who worshipped a foul, toad-like being came
to an area in what is now known as Hungary. These people raised up a
monument to their god and performed terrible rites around the stone,
the vilest rites taking place on Midsummer's Night (June 23). The
presence of a minion of their god, which took on the appearance of a
green, toad-thing and their wicked rites imbued the stone with a great
and evil power: shadows of the very beings who worshipped and presided
there became part of the stone itself.
The area festered with evil until Turkish soldiers encountered the
toad-thing and destroyed it using blessed weapons, ancient magic and
fire. Unfortunately, the death of the toad-thing did not entirely
dispel the horror. As mentioned above, the stone itself had become
tainted with evil and madness. Because of this, shades from the past
appear around the stone on Midsummer's Night, bringing madness and
horror to any foolish enough to visit the stone.
The stone's existence was only known to the local people and a few odd
scholars, until an English poet named Justin Geoffrey visited the
stone, wrote a poem about it, and then went mad. Shortly after
Geoffrey died in an asylum, a few brave souls were hired by his
publisher to investigate the monolith. They visited the stone on
Midsummer's Night and witnessed the horror and madness. Returning
home, they took up the battle against the Mythos.
The stone was largely ignored by outsiders until 1995 when Dave
Bunson, David Metz (now known as Christopher Russell), and Sarah
Killeans went to the monolith for an occult magazine. Metz, who was
into the occult, suggested that they visit the stone on Midsummer's
Night and the others agreed. This fateful decision would result in
Metz (who was never very stable) going insane. In his madness, Metz
killed his friends as "sacrifices." After hiding the bodies in a
nearby cave (ironically, the same place the Turks killed the
toad-thing) Metz wandered the world, hoping to find a way to serve his
new god.
Metz dyed his hair, had some minor cosmetic surgery, changed his name
to Christopher Russell and established his new identity. After that,
he spent the next few years researching books better left unread and
meeting with people and things who possessed knowledge better not
known. Russell learned a spell to contact beings, the Lesser Toades,
which serve the god associated with the black stone. Summoning one of
the Toades, he was told he would be rewarded with power if he were to
revive the ancient sacrifices at the stone. Completely and irrevocably
insane, Russell eagerly agreed.
Through his connections (Russell had rapidly built a reputation as a
weird but strangely gifted photographer) Russell learned about the
Steiger documentary and has arranged to get on the team. Russell does
not know that Steiger has some knowledge of the Mythos and is, in
part, sending the investigators to see if anything is going on with
the black stone.
INVESTIGATION
The investigators will, of course, want to acquire some information
before leaping into things. The following sections detail some of the
information the investigators can turn up.
Books and Articles
There are several books that the investigators might find, through
Library Use or other means, in the course of their search for
information.
The Monolith
If the investigators seek for a reference to a monolith in what is now
Hungary, they might find Dostmann's _Remnants of Lost Empires_, which
was published in 1809 in Berlin. This book is rather difficult to find
and the full edition is available only in German. There is a partial
translation in English, which was written by an American graduate
student in 1973. There are only a few copies of the English partial
translation, which was done by Hilary Stanton. Stanton died of a drug
overdose before she completed the work.
Dostmann claims that the monolith is a relatively recent construction,
probably erected to commemorate a Mongolian victory. Dostmann bases
this on his claim that the defaced characters on the monolith are
Mongolian in origin. Dostmann does admit that he was never actually
able to clearly make out the characters on the monolith, yet he does
not let this count against his claim about the origin of the
stone. Dostman does note that the village near the stone is known as
"Stregoicaver", which translates as "witch town."
If the investigators find the partial translation by Stanton, they
might decide to follow up on that lead. If they do, they might find an
article, written in a rather dry anthropology journal, will be of
interest. In her article, "Cult Artifacts in Eastern Europe",
published in 1972, she cites Von Junzt's _Inaussprechlichen
Kulten_. (_Nameless Cults_): "Otto Dostmann's theory that the monolith
is a remnant of the hunnish invasion and had been erected to
commemorate a victory of Attila over the Goths is as logical as
assuming that William the Conqueror reared Stonehenge." (from page 63
of _Shadows of Yog Sothoth_).
Stanton's article refers to several books which will prove useful to
the investigators. These books can also be found by independent
research if the investigators do not find the Stanton article.
In 1901 _Magyar Folklore_, by Dornly, was published. In his chapter on
Hungarian Dream Myths, he mentions a stone knows as the "Black
Obelisk." According to Dornly, this obelisk has strange and terrible
powers. If someone sleeps near the obelisk, he will be plagued with
terrifying nightmares for as long as he shall live. Dornly also
mentions various folk tales that speak of people visiting the obelisk
on Midsummer's Night. Such visits, the tales claim, end in madness and
death. Dornly also notes that the area in which the obelisk was
located was called "Xuthtlan." Dornly points out that "Xuthltan" is
not a Magyar name and is, in fact, a rather odd name.
The investigators might wish to investigate the word "Xuthltan"
further. A book by Schuman called _Myths and Magic_ was published in
New York City in 1912. This book is rare and will take some effort to
find. The book explicitly mentions Xuthltan as a town with an evil
reputation. According to ancient takes, the inhabitants were prone to
capturing young women as sacrifices in their evil rites. Schuman
writes that the inhabitants of the village were slain by the
Turks. Later people from Schomvaal, a nearby village, moved into the
ruins and, after rebuilding, called the place "Stregoicavar."
Stregoicaver
The investigators might also wish to investigate more into the place
known as Stregoicaver, Schomvaal and the Turkish invasion.
In his 1892 work, _Back Roads of Hungary_, Rachismoff writes about
Stregoicavar. In his book he asserts that Stegoicavar is a "beautiful
and fertile" valley in the Carpathians. As a point of historical note,
he mentions that a battle took place in 1526 at Schomvall. In this
battle, Count Boris Viadinoff fought against the forces of Suleiman
the Magnificent. The town, according to Rachismoff, is a three day
coach ride from Biscke. Rachismoff suggests that the traveler watch
for various ruins from the Turkish war along the road sides.
If the investigators pursue their investigations, they can find
Larson's 1890 book, Turkish Wars. This massive six volume series
mentions, in a chapter, the battle of Schomvaal. According to Larson,
An aide brought to [the Count] a small lacquered case which had been
taken from the famed Turkish scribe and historian, Selim Bahadur,
who had fallen in the fight. The Count took therefrom a roll of
parchment and began to read, but he had not read far before he
turned pale and, without saying a word, replaced the parchment in
the case and thrust the case into his cloak. At that very instant, a
hidden Turkish battery opened fire, and ... the walls crash[ed] down
in ruin, completely covering the Count. (from page 63 of _Shadows of
Yog-Sothoth_.)
Without the leadership of the Count, his army was crushed by
Suleiman's forces. The chapter closes with the lines: "Today the
natives point out a huge and moldering ruin near Schomvaal beneath
which, they say, still rests what the centuries have left of Count
Boris Viadinoff."(from page 63 of Shadows of Yog Sothoth).
Justin Geoffrey
The only recent book mentioned in Stanton's article, David Dormley's
_Men, Myth, and Madness_ (1970) mentions Xuthltan as well as Justin
Geoffrey. Geoffrey is said to have been a brilliant young poet whose
career was cut short by his commitment to an asylum and his untimely
death in the early 1900s. Dormley asserts that Geoffrey's strangest
poem, "People of the Monolith", was written as the result of his
journey to a place called "Xuthltan." Dormley also asserts that
Geoffrey was driven mad by what he saw and experienced in Xuthltan.
If the investigators seek out further information on Geoffrey, they
will be able to find a collection of his poems. The work, _Complete
Works of Justin Geoffrey_, is still being printed by a small
press. "People of the Monolith" is his last and strangest poems. The
other poems are of high quality, but are quite different from "People
of the Monolith."
In the 1920s Justin Geoffrey went to Hungary in search of the
monolith. If the investigators found the _Complete Works of Justin
Geoffrey_ they will learn from the introduction that Geoffrey went to
Hungary and then went mad. If the investigators contact the editor of
the book, Diane Hutton, she will be able to tell them a great deal
about Geoffrey's poetic style and early history. If she is asked about
"People of the Monolith" she will say that it is his most unusual
poem. If asked about his fate, she will tell the investigators that he
went to a village called Stregoicaver. There, the story has it, he
found a black stone that drove him mad. Hutton is mainly concerned
with poetry and she has little information about the black stone.
If the Keeper wishes an alternative way to get the investigators
involved, they could be hired by the small press to research the
"black stone." The small press has very limited resources, so the
investigators would have to provide their own transportation.
The Missing People
If the investigators are thorough, they will learn that they are not
the first people to go in search of the monolith. Justin Geoffrey
visited the stone in the early part of the twentieth century and went
mad. There are also some rumors and stories about other people who
visited the stone, some of whom never returned.
The most recent story, which is also the only one backed with hard
evidence, is about two free lance journalists who went missing in
1995. According to the story, which made some newspapers in 1995, Dave
Bunson and Sarah Killeans were doing a story on a "black stone"
located in some obscure part of Hungary. According to the story, the
two journalists never returned from Hungary. The local authorities
investigated the disappearance, but found nothing.
Some journalists privately speculate that the journalists, who were on
assignment for _Secrets of the Occult_ Magazine, stumbled across some
local criminal activity and were killed. It is also speculated that
the local authorities were paid to "find nothing." The two reporters
are missing and presumed dead. Their families are still holding out
hope and have made several efforts to find them.
Another alternative way for the investigators to become involved in
the adventure is to have them contacted by the families of the two
missing people.The families have limited resources, so the
investigators would have to provide their own transportation.
[continued in V.25.3]
--
