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Chaosium Digest Volume 29 Number 10
Chaosium Digest Volume 29, Number 10
Date: Friday, December 31, 1999
Number: 4 of 5
Children of the Night by James D. Collins (collwood@gte.net)
The Virus
Feramorbus (wild animal disease) is a magical virus that
causes lycanthropy and vampirism. Lycanthropy is the
expression of the virus in a living host. Vampirism is the
virus expressed in an unliving host.
Feramorbus is a blood born pathogen. Blood transfusions,
sexual contact, or exposure to infected blood without using
Universal Precautions may result in infection.
The disease incubates for 6d10 days. During incubation, the
infected person is incapable of transmitting the disease.
Onset follows, lasting 1d10 days. During onset, flu-like
symptoms appear, silver acts as an irritant (causing a
burning sensation or a painful rash, but no damage), and
Feramorbus is contagious. If the character fails a CONx1 on
1d100, then the disease is fatal (but see Vampirism). The
character will die during their first transformation (see
below).
Lycanthropy
If the character survives onset, he or she is a lycanthrope.
He or she gains the ability to transform into an animal form
which is half human and half beast. The first transformation
will always take place on the night of a full moon at
midnight. The transformation from human to animal will take
1d10 combat rounds. It will cost the character 1d10 points
of Sanity. At dawn, the transformation from animal to human
will also take 1d10 combat rounds. The character will
remember a vivid dream that hints at the temporary insanity
suffered and the events during the transformed state.
After the initial transformation, the character will
continue to change during a full moon or stressful
situations. I have characters transform when temporary
insanity occurs or they suffer significant amounts of damage
(i.e., losing more than half their hit points or when hit
points reach three or less). I allow a Sanity roll to avoid
transformation. Each transformation costs Sanity (1/1d10)
and takes 1d10 combat rounds to occur; the character is
unable to act during transformation. If the character makes
his Sanity roll (losing 1 Sanity point), he or she remains
in control of the animal form. If the character fails the
Sanity roll (losing 1d10 Sanity points), the animal form is
played by the keeper (perhaps with appropriate suggestions
from the player). On the nights of a full moon, the
transformation occurs at midnight and will last until dawn.
When the stressful situation has passed, the character will
regain
human form.
At some point, the character will gain control over his or
her transformations or go permanently insane. I allow the
character control over the transformation once the character
has lost 10 points of Sanity due to those transformations.
Once control over the transformation is established, the
time needed to shift between shapes is one combat round.
Transformations will always occur on the night of a full
moon, lasting from midnight to dawn.
Lycanthropes
By far, the human to wolf transformation is the most common
manifestation of lycanthropy. In looking over the Beasts And
Monsters (Call of Cthulhu, Edition 5.5), I would include
transformations for the following: Bats, Bobcats, Black
Bears, Bush Pigs, Dogs, Indian Wild Dogs, Lions, Mountain
Lions, Rats, Tigers, and Wolves. I have included omnivorous
mammals, but change this to suit your own campaign (Condors,
Crocodiles, and Pythons are certainly possible).
I have also included wererats (one of the Dungeons & Dragons
staples), but the Call of Cthulhu rulebook (Edition 5.5)
only includes Rat Packs. I use the Rat-Things found earlier
in the book to model that wererat you've been hankering to
create.
Regardless of the shape assumed, the lycanthrope's mass does
not change. A lycanthrope's CON, SIZ, INT, POW, DEX, APP,
and EDU are not altered by the transformation. Strength is
altered when in animal form until the transformations are
controlled (i.e., a lycanthropic bat gains 2d4 points of
STR -- determined once at the time of the initial
transformation). The transformed lycanthrope gains the Move
(Bobcat Lycanthrope/Move 12), armor (Black Bear
Lycanthrope/3 Point Fur), weapons (Bush Pig
Lycanthrope/Gore 30%, damage 1d8 +dB), and skills (Dog
Lycanthrope/Listen 75%, Scent Something Interesting 90%).
Skills may be improved, but may not be available in human
form.
Lycanthropes are very resistant to damage. They can only be
harmed by fire, silver, or magic. Lycanthropes regenerate
one point of damage (unless damaged by silver) per combat
round. For every point of damage regenerated, the
lycanthrope is forced to spend one day resting. I penalize
the lycanthrope's skills if they forgo resting (10% per day
of rest required).
Silver is poisonous to the lycanthrope. Damage done to a
lycanthrope with a silver weapon is treated as poison
(weapon damage vs. lycanthrope's CON). If the damage
overcomes the lycanthrope's CON, the lycanthrope dies. If
the lycanthrope resists the silver weapon damage, the
creature takes half damage. Any damage caused by a silver
weapon must be healed normally (1d3 hit points per week).
Silver weapons leave scars and may cost the lycanthrope
points of APP (I allow a Luck roll to avoid the loss of 1
APP per wound with a silver weapon).
Anyone viewing a transformed lycanthrope may suffer Sanity
Loss (0/1d8). A lycanthrope is immune to Sanity loss when
viewing his own species (another werewolf will not suffer
Sanity loss seeing another). I use a maximum Sanity Loss
(after a werewolf has lost 8 points of Sanity fighting
werebats, he or
she won't lose any more to werebats).
The effects of Feramorbus extend beyond the grave. If a
lycanthrope dies after the incubation period ends, then he
or she will rise 1d6 days later as a vampire.
Vampirism
The vampire is a character that died while infected with
Feramorbus. While death does not cause Sanity loss, rising
from the grave does. The character loses 1d20 points of
Sanity (if the character becomes permanently insane, the
keeper has a new character to work with). A vampire's CON,
SIZ, INT, POW, DEX, APP, and EDU are not altered. Strength
is doubled once the vampire rises from the grave.
The bite of a vampire can transmit the Feramorbus virus (use
a Luck roll to avoid infection). Each bite of a vampire
following the first infectious bite will count as 1d20 days
of the disease's incubation period (giving rise to the myth
regarding the third bite of a vampire). If the victim
survives the onset of lycanthropy, follow the above rules
regarding lycanthropy. If the victim dies during the
disease's onset, he or she becomes a vampire in 1d6 days.
Vampires
A vampire retains the abilities that it gained as a
lycanthrope. In addition to the skills gained as a
lycanthrope, vampires can Scent Blood 75%. If a vampire died
during the onset of Feramorbus before becoming a
lycanthrope, the character cannot transform without magical
assistance. If the vampire
died after the onset of Feramorbus, they retain the
transformational abilities that they had in life. A
vampire's transformational abilities depend upon its
existence as a lycanthrope, but there are constants to the
vampire's nature. Many of the powers attributed to the
vampires are the magics of individual sorcerers (many of
which were vampires or became vampires).
Vampires are unliving creatures. As such, they do not heal
with the passage of time, do not possess body heat, and
cannot regenerate Magic Points naturally.
Vampires are highly resistant to damage. They do not die at
0 Hit Points, but the vampire cannot move until it has
healed itself. Vampires heal themselves by expending Magic
Points (one Magic Point heals one Hit Point). There are
spells that are much more efficient.
A vampire's lack of body heat makes it easier to discern
their supernatural nature. A successful Spot Hidden skill
check will reveal the lack of body heat. A successful Occult
skill check will reveal the fact that an individual is a
vampire (however, proving it to other's may be somewhat more
difficult).
Vampires do not go unconscious at 0 Magic Points. They must
drink blood to regenerate their Magic Points. If a vampire
kills another vampire by draining their blood, they will
gain a permanent point of
Power (but no Magic Points).
Vampires are very resistant to damage. They can only be
harmed by fire, magic, silver, or sunlight. Silver is
poisonous to the vampire. Damage done to a vampire with a
silver weapon is treated as poison (weapon damage vs.
vampire's CON). If the damage overcomes the vampire's CON,
the vampire loses all hit points. If the vampire resists the
silver weapon damage, the creature takes half damage. Silver
weapons leave scars and may cost the vampire points of APP
(I allow a Luck roll to avoid the loss of 1 APP per wound
with a silver weapon). Sunlight causes a vampire to ignite.
Each combat round spent in sunlight causes 1d6 points of
damage. Once out of sunlight, the burning ceases (but a
Sanity roll is required to get out of the sunlight as soon
as possible; a failed Sanity roll indicates panic). Sunlight
burns scar the vampire and may cost the vampire points of
APP (I allow a Luck roll to avoid losing 1 point of APP). If
sunlight drops a vampire's Hit Points to zero or negative,
they will be destroyed at the end of the following combat
round unless they regain one or more hit points.
Vampires cannot regenerate Magic Points naturally. They must
drain blood to regain Magic Points. A vampire's bite causes
1d4 points of damage. A successful Grapple attack may be
required before biting. On the second and following rounds,
the vampire will drain blood, causing the victim to
temporarily lose 1d6 points of Strength (due to blood loss),
an equal number of Magic Points, and 1d4 Hit Points. The
victim will be unable to fight against the vampire's bite
after the first round (although nothing should stop friends
and associates from interfering). If Strength falls to 0, he
or she will become unconscious and further losses will come
from Constitution. If Magic Points fall to 0, the victim
loses one point of Power (which generates an equal number of
Magic Points). If Hit Points fall to 0, the victim dies at
the end of the following combat round. If the victim
survives the vampire attack, Strength, Constitution, and Hit
Points will heal with the passage of time (1d3 points each
per week). Magic Points regenerate naturally. Power losses
are permanent. Don't forget that the vampire carries the
Feramorbus virus. Medical attention (blood transfusions,
First Aid, or Medicine) can speed this recovery. Any Magic
Points in excess of the vampire's Power are retained for a
number of hours equal to their Power.
Vampires gain power with age or by killing other vampires. A
vampire gains one point of Power for every hundred years of
existence. If a vampire drains all the blood from a second
vampire, they will gain a point of Power and destroy the
second vampire. Killing another vampire in this manner is
very difficult. The attacking vampire must first
successfully grapple the defending vampire. On the second
and following round, the attacking vampire must succeed with
a Strength vs. Strength contest. If successful, the
attacking vampire drains blood, causing 1d6 Hit Points of
damage. If unsuccessful, the defending vampire frees
himself. If the defending vampire is reduced to 0 Hit
Points, he will be destroyed at the end of the following
combat round by the attacking vampire. The attacking vampire
gains a point of Power.
Anyone viewing a transformed vampire may suffer Sanity Loss
(0/1d8). Vampires are immune to Sanity loss when viewing
another vampire.
Spells
As noted above, many of the vampiric powers are the magics
of individual sorcerers. There are numerous spells within A
Mythos Grimoire that an enterprising vampire may use.
Vampires are not immune to Sanity loss from casting spells.
Due to their unliving nature, vampires do not benefit from
the Heal spell or the Healing spell.
Repair: mends inanimate matter with a Size equal to or less
than the caster's Power. The spell costs 1 Magic Point and 1
Sanity. Due to their unliving nature, vampires with
sufficient Power use this spell to restore Hit Points.
Strength of Heracles: grants the caster prodigious strength
for one combat round (the round following the casting of the
spell). Each Magic Point spent adds 1d6 to the caster's
damage bonus. The spell costs 1 Sanity point per Magic Point
spent.
Conclusion
These vampires are not required to sleep in a coffin and may
be active during the daylight hours (don't forget their
vulnerability to sunlight). Garlic, holy symbols, mirrors,
running water, and the other legendary vulnerabilities do
not affect this type of vampire.
Lycanthropes and vampires are highly resistant to physical
damage, but their mental fortitude is vulnerable to Sanity
loss just like anybody else. Unless care is taken, the
keeper will end up with an insane character that knows many
most of the various skeletons residing in the player
characters'
closets.
---------------------
"The Lighthouse"
by Shane Jackson
It's my opinion that there is a shortage of Call of Cthulhu
adventures designed to bring a new party together. At one
point, rather than try to come up with some explanations for
how everyone knew each other, I decided to run an adventure
that would bring them together for the first time without
any additional explanation necessary. I also wanted to
expose them to enough spookiness that they would have some
motivation to stick together and continue as investigators
after the adventure was over. I thought it would be fun to
insert the players into some situations where they could
make some choices that would later turn out to be bad
choices. This is the scenario I ran to attempt to accomplish
those goals.
This scenario can be set at any time period, although I'm
sure it's much more appropriate to the 1920's as the players
will feel more isolated. It could be set anywhere there
could be a lighthouse on an island, although I assumed a
location in New England.
The PC's have received a letter from a friend with whom they
have corresponded for years on varied topics:
******
My dear friend:
Over the past few years of our correspondence we have
discussed numerous aspects of our existence. Philosophy,
science, religion, medicine-we've covered the entire range
of topics that have confounded man since the dawn of
history.
I'm now ready to show you some of the fruits of my own
personal labors. I'd like to invite you to come out and
visit me at the lighthouse so that I can show you my success
in defeating the ultimate enemy of all mankind, Death.
I hope that statement startled and intrigued you. I've
taken the liberty of inviting a few others that I correspond
with and they will hopefully join us. The best time for you
to visit would be next Tuesday, as that is the day that
supplies are delivered to the lighthouse. If you could be
down at the docks on that day at 6:00 P.M. sharp, the men
who bring the supplies will be happy to ferry you across to
the island. You're welcome to stay until the following
Tuesday supply shipment, or you can make
arrangements with them to be picked up at some other time.
I hope to see you soon.
Dr. Aaron Bradley
******
If the players don't take the bait, then they really need to
be playing another game. Things go just as the doctor said
they would and the PC's meet each other for the first time
down at the docks. They can take some time to introduce
themselves. Perhaps the doctor would have mentioned a few
of them by first names in some of his letters?
A few minutes before 6:00 P.M. a few men arrive by truck.
They are Dale Stanton and Chris Parker. They take some
supplies from the back of the truck and load them onto a
boat that is just barely large enough to accommodate the
party. If the party is exceptionally large, perhaps Chris
can volunteer to stay behind if the PCs will promise to help
unload the supplies at the island. If the PCs don't initiate
a conversation, then the men will ask if they are the people
Dr. Bradley invited out to the island. Once the PCs have
announced that they are, everyone can get underway and head
out to the island that is just visible out on the horizon,
the lighthouse jutting a defiant finger into the sky.
In the event that the PCs attempt to hire their own boat,
anticipating some future desire to get off the island with
some haste, try not to let them. It seems that most of the
boats are out currently being used by their owners and there
isn't much in the way of recreational boating done down at
these
docks. If the players are insistent, let them rent out a
rowboat too small to accommodate the whole party and let
them arrive at the island an hour after the rest of the
party, dog tired and ready for bed (-10% to all actions).
Anyone not taking the rowboat gets to the island in short
time in the motorized supply boat.
Upon arriving at the island, the supplies are unloaded and
the party members are free to make their way to the
lighthouse. It's still a few minutes stroll down a
well-worn path as the island is rather elongated with the
lighthouse on the seaward side. The supplies are dropped
off at this end as this side is the only part of the island
with a beach. The rest of the island slopes up to a cliff
face overlooking the Atlantic. The supplies, which mainly
consist of nonperishable foodstuffs, candles, kerosene and
the like, are stored in an unlocked shed. There are no
weapons of any kind present, although there are some picks
and shovels. The men drop off supplies, get back in the
boat and go, just as they always do. I hope the players
remember to remind them to pick them up sooner than next
Tuesday's scheduled supply drop if that is their desire.
The island itself is rather peaceful looking. For the most
part it is covered in grassy fields with a few small patches
of trees. Making their way up to the lighthouse, the PCs
pass a few dairy cows who roam around the island grazing. To
anyone who would know allow an idea roll: The cows don't
appear to have been milked today.
The lighthouse structure itself is a simple tower containing
a spiral staircase that stands about thirty feet from the
house. It's getting dark now and, if you are on the dramatic
side, some storm clouds can be seen rolling in over the
horizon. The lighthouse beacon is unlit.
The front door to the house is open. PCs calling out to the
doctor hear no reply.
Entering the darkened house, the PCs may notice (they can
rustle up a candle if they have no light source with them)
that the living room is a little messy with some books on
the floor, opened haphazardly. There are books present on
all of the various subjects that the doctor has corresponded
with the PCs over the past few years. As could be expected,
there are several books on anatomy and medicine. No mythos
books are present unless you want them to be. It wouldn't
be entirely inappropriate as the good doctor has certainly
been dabbling into secrets man was not meant to know. There
seems to be no pattern to the books that are on the floor.
It appears that they may have been knocked off of a table.
There are also folded up cots and sleeping bags here in
anticipation of guests.
In the kitchen a chair has been knocked over, but nothing
else is amiss. The doctor's bedroom is also untouched. The
bed is made.
Of course it's in the basement that things get really
interesting.
The basement is as large as the house up above it, and the
doctor lies face down at the foot of the stairs. The other
half of him lies over by the door to a small storage room.
Something has torn the doctor in half! Blood has been
sprayed and spattered everywhere and there is an
overpowering stench of death and chemicals. The blood has
dried, and those with the appropriate forensic-related
knowledge, along with a successful roll, will estimate that
whatever happened, happened sometime last night.
The room has all of the normal medical equipment that you
would expect a doctor experimenting with life after death
would have with the exception of a Tesla coil (This doctor
wasn't entirely "mad"). There are scalpels and bone saws
and scary looking hypodermics strewn about. Lots of bottles
of pills and powders and funny colored liquids have been
smashed to the floor, creating all sorts of noxious
combinations. A table with torn leather restraints sits in
the middle of the room. Somewhere in the sopping mess of
chemicals and blood on the floor is the doctor's Journal.
DR. BRADLEY'S JOURNAL
The journal contains notes relating to Dr. Bradley's
experiments with reanimation. He has been getting cadavers
from a nearby medical university, under the table so to
speak, for purposes of his experimentation. For some time,
the doctor has been able to reanimate dead tissue, but,
until recently, he was unable to recover any of the
intelligence of the subject. He describes the results of the
experiments as horrible, mindless things. Disturbingly, it
seemed only of clinical concern to him that these things
also appeared to be in great pain.
Recently, as the journal describes, things seemed to have
taken a turn for the better (?) when the doctor managed to
purchase a specimen of something not described from a Mr.
Darke in Boston.
Using a serum (serum "B") derived from this purchase, he was
finally able to preserve the intelligence of one of his
subjects. It was his joy at this success that prompted him
to invite his friends out to the
lighthouse.
However, last night things took a turn for the worse and the
subject began to devolve. The doctor speculates on problems
with the formula and suggests possible changes to the next
batch. The journal ends abruptly at this point.
THE STOREROOM
A door in the far wall of the basement leads to a small room
that holds some additional supplies. Here the PCs can find
extra vials of serum "A" and "B" as detailed in the journal
and another marked "C". Also, in a cage on one of the
shelves the PCs will find a creature. It appears to be a
huge toad, about the size of a large rabbit. Gray,
tentacular growths protrude from the back of the creature's
head. Cthulhu Mythos (if anyone has it) may suggest that it
resembles a Servitor of the Outer Gods, although it is
small. It seems to be in a state of hibernation. This is
the specimen purchased from Mr. Darke, and extracts from
this creature were what made it possible to preserve the
intelligence of the reanimated subject for as long as it
was maintained. The creature continues to sleep, oblivious
to the PCs throughout the adventure. [It's worth noting that
when I actually play-tested this adventure, one of the PCs
wouldn't leave the frog-thing alone. He kept poking it and
prodding it with sticks, trying to get it to wake up. I
finally did let it wake up when the other PCs were out of
earshot and had it tell him something that blasted his
sanity and resulted in his being institutionalized. To this
day the player still wants to know what the frog-thing told
him, but, just as Lovecraft understood so well, nothing I
can come with will be as horrible as what the player
imagines it might be.]
THE DILEMMA
It's almost a certainty that there is something not very
pleasant on the island with PCs and there should be much
discussion about how to deal with the situation. Assuming
the information in the journal is true, how exactly will the
party handle the thing on the island? How do you kill a man
who is already dead? And if the doctor was mad and hasn't
reanimated a dead man, who or what _did_ tear him in half?
I think the skeptics in the group will have a hard time
arguing their position.
At this point, it's up to the players to decide what they
want to do. Here are some possible courses of action they
might follow:
REANIMATE THE DOCTOR AND ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED
The PCs should have some motivation to do this since only
the doctor has any first-hand knowledge of what they are up
against.
As the journal described, Dr. Bradley reanimated his latest
experiment a few days ago. Dr. Bradley had kept the subject
restrained for the past few days and had almost decided to
call the experiment a complete success when the subject
began to rapidly devolve last night (although the doctor has
no way
to be sure of how much time had passed). As the doctor
monitored the rate of decay, the subject began thrashing and
straining against the leather straps which held him to the
table. Eventually he broke them and attacked the doctor.
He doesn't remember anything else.
He can tell them that the subject is superhumanly strong and
resistant to pain. He doesn't know of any way to kill the
creature outright. He has always dismembered his subjects
and cast their remains into a pit on the island.
Disturbingly, the doctor seems untroubled by his current
state of dismemberment, instead finding the whole thing
fascinating. I imagine some very creepy scenes could be
played out by having a torn-apart, reanimated doctor carry
on otherwise innocuous conversations with the PCs about
their personal lives.
Additionally, one could have an interesting conversation
with the doctor about the morality of his actions. He could
argue the point that it is immoral for medicine to allow
people to continue to die if it can be stopped, even if his
test subjects have to suffer in the process.
GO OUT AND FACE THE THING ON THE ISLAND
If the players go out and face the thing, you could surround
the lighthouse with some fog, or perhaps unleash that storm
if you showed the PCs clouds earlier. Either way, you can
give the party a few "cat scares" by having a cow run out of
the darkness at them. They could also find a cow that has
been brutally torn apart. That's when the thing that once
was a man finds them . . .
WAIT FOR THE THING TO COME AND GET THEM
If the PCs try to board up the house and wait till daybreak,
the monster gets to pick the most appropriate time to
attack. The house's construction isn't that great, and a
dead, groping hand punching through a wall is certainly
possible. Try to separate the PCs and attack them one by
one. Have the monster attack for a few rounds and then
disappear again. That should make the PCs nervous.
If there is a storm outside, what do the PCs do when they
hear the horn of a ship approaching the rocks with no light
from the lighthouse? It would be most entertaining for the
group to secure all of the doors and then be forced to
either go outside to light the lighthouse or allow the ship
to
crash.
THE REANIMATED
I prefer not to include stats in adventures, as I tend to
change them to suit the situation. I would suggest that the
GM imbue the creature with extraordinary strength and
endurance. It also seems appropriate that impaling weapons
would do minimum damage as the thing is already dead. The
only way to deal with something like this would be to hack
it into little pieces, and won't it be disturbing if those
pieces never stopped moving?
FINAL NOTES
Some GMs may feel particularly sadistic and may have the
creature kill several of the PCs, forcing the players to use
the serum to bring each other back in turn. Of course, once
the creature has been put down, the PCs will have to decide
what to do with the reanimated PCs (and their
half-doctor/mad-scientist friend). Perhaps batch "C" may
actually work permanently. It might be interesting to have
a dead guy travel on investigations with the party for a
while. Of course, it might not be worth taking the chance
that he will devolve as well . . .
*END*
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