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Chaosium Digest Volume 25 Number 12
Chaosium Digest Volume 25, Number 12
Date: Sunday, April 7, 1998
Number: 1 of 3
Contents:
Arc Tangents: A Scenario Kernel (Jim W. Lai) NEPHILIM
CF: Exotic Locations [Overview] (Guy Hail) MYTHOS
Editor's Note:
This time, a short adventure idea for Nephilim and a massive Mythos
article on traveling to Exotic Locations. Overall, submissions have
been very light over the last few weeks, so send in those articles
you've been considering!
Shannon
RECENT RELEASES:
* Call of Cthulhu - _The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana_ (Chaosium, 448 pg.,
$14.95), by Daniel Harms, is now available in a new and expanded
second edition. More than just a reprint, this new ed. simply has
more stuff in it. Lots and lots of new stuff. ISBN 1-56882-119-0.
And with any luck I'll be able to announce the release of the new ed
of _Call of Cthulhu_ in two week's time, for the next Digest. It's at
the printers right now... being printed... one would hope.
* Glorantha - _Tales of the Reaching Moon #17_, _Enclosure #2_, and
_RQA #6_ were all released at GloranthaCon 7 a few weeks ago. Between
them they contain a ton of new Glorantha material: on the seas, the
Hill of Gold, Fonrit, the Stinking Forest, and more. They should now
all be available through Wizard's Attic (800-213-1493) or through
their individual manufacturers. A quick skim through the archives
tells me that I've never mentioned _Tradetalk #3_, an East Ralios
special that came out a few months ago, and is now available
through Wizard's Attic or the Chaos Society.
(FRENCH) MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS:
* Call of Cthulhu - "Dans les grigges de la flamme verte", a four page
scenario, _Casus Belli_ #114 [June-July, 1998]
* Pendragon - "Les quatre filles du chevalier Cadwallon", a four page
scenario, _Casus Belli_ #114 [June-July, 1998]
NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES:
Necronomicon Biography
http://members.tripod.com/~danharms/necfile.htm
An annotated biography of Necronomicon material has now been added to
the site of Daniel Harms--the author of _The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana_.
Dunwich Crafts & Arts
http://www.tigert.demon.co.uk
You can now find original art, prints, and sculptures by Dave Carson
for sale on the web. Dave is the same guy who does the great borders
and chapter heads for the entire line of Cthulhu fiction.
--------------------
From: jwtlai@io.com (Jim W Lai)
Subject: Arc Tangents: A Scenario Kernel
System: Nephilim
Arc Tangents: A Scenario Kernel
An antiquities dealer has announced to the public that he has a suit
of armor that appears to have been sized for a teenaged girl and
believes it to date from the time of Joan of Arc (or more properly
Jeanne d'Arc). Could it be real?
1. It could be the genuine article. It also might happen to be a stasis
object. In fact, she may incarnate once again and steal the suit of
armor.
2. It could be a fraud, a fake created by a secret society in order to flush
out any curious Nephilim.
3. It's a relic. In fact, this relic was the source of some of Joan's
visions. This piece of armor still has a mission, in fact.
4. Another possibility is that the dealer is genuinely mistaken in his dating.
It could turn out to be a fancy created a mere two centuries ago on the
orders of a minor nobleman. But what's this inscription inside the armor
that is only apparent to Ka-vision?
--------------------
From: GRHail@aol.com
Subject: CF: Travel To & From Exotic Locations, Part One [Overview]
System: Mythos
The Card Files:
Travel to & From Exotic Locations
by Guy Hail
Each Exotic Location will be addressed in turn, followed by a
explanation of the means to arrive at and to leave from that Location.
The Locations are listed alphabetically. This essay is complete for
all Exotic Locations and all means of travel and all means of changing
a player's Current Location through the New AEon edition of Mythos.
** RULES & OVERVIEW
All Exotic Locations require some special procedure before playing
that Location. In the New AEon rulesbook, page 36, the general rule
for travel to and travel from Exotic Locations is given: You must
Travel Through Space, Travel Underwater, or travel as otherwise
indicated in the Special Effect Box both to and from an Exotic
Location. Some Exotic Locations have other special requirements which
must be met before they can be played. This rule means you must.
* Travel in Space to or from Space Locations
+ Celaeno
+ Cykranosh
+ DBZ Spacelab
+ Far Side of the Moon
+ Tycho Base
+ Yuggoth
* Travel Underwater both to and from underwater Locations
+ Lost Temple of Atlantis
+ Y'ha-Nthlei
* Travel by Air both to and from Locations whose Special Effect Box
specifies Travel by Air
+ Castle of the Great Ones on Kadath
* Walk both to and from Locations whose Special Effect Box specifies
that you must walk
+ N'Kai
+ Splendid Cathuria
* Travel to or from an Island by those means permissible for Island
travel
+ R'lyeh
GENERAL NOTES ON TRAVEL TO AND FROM EXOTIC LOCATIONS
The general notes on travel which follow are applicable to all Exotic
Locatons.
Subtleties
There is a difference between Walking and as if Walking. For both a
Location card is played sideways across your Story Deck, then on a
later turn rotated right-side-up. Unless the Special Effect Box of an
Artifact or of a Location permits it, Walking is forbidden as a means
to play Exotic Locations or to leave an Exotic Location. Those
Artifacts, Events, or Spells that use the phrase as if Walking are not
forbidden by the rules that forbid Walking.
A Travel Requirement requires that a specific card or type of card
must be your Current Location before the Exotic Location may be
played. In most cases, this is a Travel Event. (Recall that a Travel
Event becomes your Current Location when it is the top card of your
Story Deck; pages 27-28 of the New AEon rulesbook.) For some Exotic
Locations, the Travel requirement is a Location card, for examples see
Splendid Cathuria and N'Kai. A Special Requirement is a requirement
for a card or cards to be in play, for examples see R'lyeh and Castle
of the Great Ones on Kadath.
In general Transdimensional Travel does not circumvent Travel
Requirements for going to Exotic Locations. It never circumvents
Special Requirements. Only Travel Events that specifically allow
travel to Exotics may be used. A few of these (Cats of Ulthar, The
White Ship) may ignore Travel requirements due to their special effect
boxes.
When leaving an Exotic Location, the Travel Reqirements for traveling
from that Exotic Location are superceded by the Special Effect Box of
the card used to Travel between Dimensions--due to the card conflict
order.
Cards that permit Transdimensional Travel are: Silver Key, Time
Machine, Cats of Ulthar, The White Ship, UFO, Gate of Oneirology, and
Monatomic Translocation.
Some cards permit movement of a Location card from somewhere in your
Story Deck to the top of your Story Deck, where the moved card becomes
your Current Location. This is not travel. It is unaffected by all
travel restrictions. Moving a card from your Story Deck to become your
Current Location is playing the card. For this reason you must still
meet special requirements.
Allies
At the Cavern of Flame, Nasht & Kamen-Thah may not be used to play an
Exotic Location.
Artifacts
When there is a conflict between two cards' special effect boxes, the
last card played or used as a player's action takes precedence. You
may use Silver Key to travel from an Exotic Location to a Location in
another Dimension. Silver Key requires the use of a Gate, so if you've
used the Exotic Location's gate to play a Monster, you may not use
Silver Key. Some Exotic Locations have multi-use gates, however.
Silver Key prohibits walking to Exotic Locations. You may use Time
Machine to walk from an Exotic Location to a Location in another
dimension. The Time Machine prohibits walking to Exotic Locations.
These two Artifacts are exceptions to the rules that forbid Walking
from because they require transdimensional travel.
Unless otherwise forbidden, the Sphere of Nath may be used to remove
an Exotic Location from atop your Story Deck. You may not play the
Sphere of Nath on yourself. See page 32 of the New AEon rulesbook for
the consequences of having your Current Location buried or discarded.
You may bury Carter's Clock to re-play any Location buried in your
Story Deck. Carter's Clock may be used to leave and to arrive at an
Exotic Location. See page 37 of the New AEon rulesbook for how to move
a Location from your Story Deck to become your Current Location. When
you're moving a card from your story deck and putting it back into
play, you're playing it anew. Because of this, Carter's Clock has some
restrictions on which Exotic Locations may be played. See Castle of
the Great Ones on Kadath and R'lyeh. Other than these two, any Exotic
Location may be played without restriction. Playing an Exotic Location
by burying Carter's Clock does not costs Sanity, as explained in the
Special Effect Box of the Carter's Clock card. The Zanthu Tables: A
Conjectural Translation does not forbid your use of Carter's Clock
because of the phrase may not be used against you found in its Special
Effect Box.
Events
You may travel to or travel from an Exotic Location by play of The Cat
Chieftan & The Cats of Ulthar combination. You may travel to or travel
from an Exotic Location by play of The Captain of the White Ship & The
White Ship combination. The Cats of Ulthar may be played only when
your Current Location is in the Dreamlands. The White Ship may be
played in any Dimension. These two Travel Events override the normal
Travel Requirements for an Exotic Location (see transdimensional
travel, above for why). They do not override the Special Requirements
for an Exotic Location.
Without the Captain of the White Ship in play, the White Ship is a
Travel by Sea Event. When the White Ship is played in combination with
a Dreamer Ally, you may travel between Dimensions. Its destination,
even with a Dreamer Ally, must be Water Location reachable by a Travel
by Sea Event. Of all the Exotic Locations only R'lyeh may be reached
by a Travel by Sea Event. See R'lyeh.
Although they aren't Travel, some cards may change the top card or
Current Location of your Story Deck. Exotic Locations are not affected
by Events or Spells that directly affect your Current Location or the
Top Card of your Story Deck (page 32 of the New AEon rulesbook). The
Cthulhu Rising Event may not remove an Exotic Location from the top of
your Story Deck. Neither may the Earthquake Event.
Rude Awakening is not an Event that directly affects the top card of
your Story Deck. You may not play Rude Awakening on yourself. When
Rude Awakening is played on you, you may play a Waking World Location
as your next Location. Any Waking World Location that does not have
Travel Restrictions may be played. Special Requirements must also be
met. In effect, the only Exotic Location that may be played when you
are rudely awakened is R'lyeh (due to the fact that it is an Island,
and thus only forbids certain types of Travel, including walking and
Travel by Air), and then only if you have all three pieces of the
R'lyeh disk in play. Rude Awakening may be played only on an opponent
in the Dreamlands. See R'lyeh.
Locations
The Wreck of the Hellene may not be used to play Exotic Locations. The
Basalt Pillars of the West may be used to play Dreamlands-Dimension
Exotic Locations with the Space attribute; see Cykranosh, Far Side of
the Moon, and Yuggoth.
Monsters
When Hastur is in play, all Locations are treated as if they belong to
same Region. Hastur does not create a single "Hasturian" region, nor
does it change the Region of every Location into Lovecraft Country,
New AEon, The Underworld, etc. The effects of Hastur are limited to
the dimension you're in. The effects are not limited to the dimension
the player of Hastur is in.
For example, if Alex plays Hastur at The Nameless Lake, his
Enthusiastic Chorus Girl Investigator may use Hastur's presence to
walk to any other Dreamlands Locations that does not have travel
restrictions or special restrictions. His Investigator may not walk
to a New AEon or Waking World Location. Libby, who is at the New
AEon United Nations Location, may walk to any New AEon Location
that does not have travel restrictions or special restrictions.
Jeremy, who is at the Waking World Hangman's Hill Location, may
walk to any Waking World Location that does not have travel
restrictions or special restrictions.
No Investigator may use Hastur's presence to walk from one dimension
to another. Hastur does not change how to travel between dimensions.
Hastur does not remove any requirements for travel to or travel from a
specific Location. While Hastur is in play, the region of an Exotic
Location remains Exotic, the subregion remains Exotic, the Special
Effect Box is unchanged, and the Dimension is unchanged. If an Exotic
Location is an Island, the restrictions on Travel to Islands are still
in effect. If an Exotic Location requires Travel by Air, then to
travel to or from that Exotic Location still requires a Travel by Air
card. Hastur will not help you travel to Exotic Locations because most
Exotic Locations have travel requirements or special requirements that
must be met before the Exotic Location may be played. These
requirements are in the Special Effect Box of the Exotic Location and
are unaffected by Hastur.
An Aside: What Hastur is Good For
After all that, you're probably asking when Hastur's Special Effect
is useful. All Locations are treated as if they belong to same
Region primarily affects the play of Allies, Travel Events, and
Events and Spells which affect the play of Allies and Travel
Events. For example, the Spell Keeness of Two Alike allows play of
an Ally from the same Region. While Hastur is in play, an Ally from
any Region in the same Dimension as your Current Location can be
played by casting Keeness of Two Alike. While Hastur is in play,
you may walk between Locations in different Regions, for example
from Sarkomand to the Cavern of Deeper Slumber. Hastur will prevent
the play of Travel Events that require play of a new Location in a
different region, for example, Ship of Clouds or Titanic.
When Yog-Sothoth is in play, all Locations in all Dimensions are
treated as if they belong to the same Region. Yog-Sothoth does not
create a single "Yog-Sothothian" region, nor does it change the Region
of every Location into Lovecraft Country, New AEon, The Underworld,
etc. Yog-Sothoth does not remove travel or special requirements for
the play of any Location. When Yog-Sothoth is in play, Investigators
may walk to Locations in different dimensions. Yog-Sothoth does not
remove any requirements for travel to or travel from a specific
Location.
Spells
The Fly Spell may not be used to travel to an Exotic Location with one
exception. The Fly Spell is not Travel by Air, Travel Underwater,
Travel in Space, Travel by Sea, or Travel Underground or any other
specific means of travel. It may not be used to travel to or travel
from an Exotic Location which requires a specific means of travel. Of
the Exotic Locations, R'lyeh alone may be traveled to and traveled
from by use of the Fly Spell, because it uses the Island travel rules,
Exotic Locations are not affected by Events or Spells that directly
affect your Current Location or the Top Card of your Story Deck (page
32 of the New AEon rulesbook). Your opponents may not remove an Exotic
Location from on top of your Story Deck, whether it is sidways or
right-side-up by casting the Green Mist of Doom or Wave of Oblivion
Spell.
Create Time Warp does not directly affect the Top Card or Current
Location of your Story Deck. It may be used to re-play any buried
Location. Create Time Warp may be used to leave and to arrive at an
Exotic Location. See page 37 of the New AEon rulesbook for how to move
a Location from your Story Deck to become your Current Location. This
card has some restrictions on which Exotic Locations may be played.
See Castle of the Great Ones on Kadath and R'lyeh for those
restrictions. Otherwise, any Exotic Location may be played from your
Story Deck by Create Time Warp. Playing an Exotic Location by casting
Create Time Warp costs Sanity for the costing of the Spell but does
not cost Sanity for re-playing the buried Location. Spells may be cast
at no Sanity cost by a variety of means: when Nyarlathotep is play,
when cast by an Ally, when cast from an Artifact, etc.
Should an opponent cast The Vortex of Far Journeying upon you, when
you turn over the top card of your Mythos Deck, if that card is an
Exotic Location, it becomes your Current Location. The placement of an
Exotic Location atop your Story Deck by the Vortex of Far Journeying
is not affected by Travel Requirements or Special Requirements. You
must pay the Sanity cost (or delight in the Sanity gain) for any
Location played by the Vortext of Far Journeying.
Monatomic Translocation is transdimensional travel. It does not
directly affect the top card of your Story Deck. It may be used to
leave an Exotic Location. The Special Effect Box of Monatomic
Translocation forbids play of Exotic Locations. Gate of Oneirology may
not be used to play an Exotic Location. It may be used to leave an
Exotic Location.
Tomes
The Necronomicon, Dreamlands Edition permits your Investigator to Walk
between Waking World Locations and Dreamlands Locations as if two
Locations were in the same Region. It does not alter the travel
restrictions or special restrictions for travelling to or from a
Location. Unlike other methods of travelling between dimensions, the
Necronomicon, Dreamlands Edition does not have the except Exotic
restriction. However, no Exotic Locations in the Dreamlands permit an
Investigator to Walk to them except Splendid Cathuria, which may be
Walked to only from Basalt Pillars of the West. Every Exotic Location
in the Waking World has travel restrictions that the phrase as if they
were in the same region does not over-ride. The Necronomicon,
Dreamlands Edition may not be used to Walk to or from any New AEon
Dimension Location. See N'Kai.
[continued in V26.1]
--
