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Chaosium Digest Volume 29 Number 01
Chaosium Digest Volume 29, Number 1
Date: Wednesday, November 17, 1999
Number: 1 of 1
Contents:
* Harvest Festival (PENDRAGON)
by Gidjabolgo gidjabol@hem2.passagen.se
Editor's Note:
There's a Big announcement this week! Thanks to Dustin
Wright of Chaosium Southwest a.k.a. Leng Embassy, the good
folks at Chaosium have offered a copy of the new Call of
Cthulhu Hardcover rulebook (2386) as a prize for the best
submission between now and the end of the year. All
submissions that are published in the Digest, starting with
this issue and ending with the issue to be published the
week of December 26, are eligible for consideration. Let's
see what you've got!
Now, as to this issue, we've got a nifty Pendragon article
dealing with all the fun of the local harvest festival.
However, it does have a bit of "adult" content so reader
discretion is advised. Don't get me wrong, it's a good
article but like the earlier "Faerie Bed" article published
under Shannon's editing of the Digest, it has just enough
mature content that I feel it necessary to issue the caveat.
In any case, enjoy this issue and keep sending those
submissions!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
* Hi, My name is Dwight Grosso. If any of you fellow CoC
players use figures for your games you should really check
out the Reviresco home page. Reviresco is John McEwan's
miniature casting company that has been around for about
thirty years. It's a small operation as casting production
goes, but his work is really top notch. John has been
working on several new lines of interest to CoC players.
First he puts out a very large range of vehicles, weapons,
troops and miscellania from the Great War. Secondly he also
makes a wonderful line of 20's and 30's automobiles, just
perfect for those high speed chases and escape attempts.
John also has several packs of figures from the roaring
twenties that make nice figures for PC's and NPC's. Please
check this out! His prices are very reasonable for what he
produces, and he's a big CoC fan himself! His web address:
http://www.halcyon.com/shamrock
John's figures are a true 1/72 scale, or true 25mm in size.
He even makes a train for the East African Railroad that can
be built up for transporting passengers, or soldiers off to
fight the Hun in the Congo!
Need a 75mm cannon for those PC's who have one of every kind
of ordinance? John makes them! How about some Askaris, or
Tommys patrolling the Gaza? He has them!
Sincerely,
Dwight Grosso
DarkDwight@juno.com
Ps. As far as suggested movies to watch The High Road to
China definitely tops my list after the Indiana Jones
movies. The Mummy goes without saying, and if you want to
see what North Africa was like check out Legionnaire.
PPs. If you have cable, USA network is rerunning The Young
Indiana Jones Chronicles on Sunday mornings 11:00 a.m. PST.
These are being shown in their original two hour format,
without the flashback preamble. A must for all those
diehards out there!
RECENT AND UPCOMING RELEASES
>>>NOVEMBER/DECEMBER Release
For Call of Cthulhu Fiction:
>Nameless Cults
6028 $15.95 ISBN 1-56882-130-1
by Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard is the world-renowned author of the Conan
series and the stories that were the basis of the recent
Kull movie. He also was one of H.P. Lovecraft's frequent
correspondents, and an author of many pivotal Mythos tales.
This book collects together all of Howard's Mythos tales,
including the tales that originated Gol-Goroth,
Unausspreclichen Kulten, and Friedrich Von Junzt. Also
included in this book are articles by L. Sprague de Camp,
Robert Price, Lin Carter, and others, discussing Robert
Howard and his effect on the horror and fantasy genres.
-----------------------------
Harvest Festival
While this article is primarily aimed at Pendragon, it may
be used (albeit with some tweaking) in most rural settings.
For the landed knight, the annual harvest festival offers an
opportunity to relax from the stiff formality at court and
indulge in the simple pleasures. There will be an out-door
banquet, games, competitions and interesting events. For
knights with neighboring manors, a grand feast can be held
together, inviting the people from both holdings. This, of
course means either that they share the duties of the host,
or that they alternate between the locations on different
years.
The food served is not luxurious, but abundant, and those
who wish can indulge in the robust, dark ale, the roasted
pigs and oxen, the honey-coated apples and the sweet
raspberry jam on freshly baked bread. If the harvest has
been poor, this will naturally reflect on what is offered,
but a [Generous] lord might want to sponsor the feast in
order to improve his peasant's loyalty. In general, 1
FOOD/POP will insure a well-set table.
Traditionally hosted by the lord, he is the one to declare
the festivities opened with some words of thanks (or
possibly blame) to God/the Gods. He presides over the high
table set at the center of the feast, is first served, and
on this occasion is also available to his tenants, ready to
hear complaints and praise, resolve disputes and grudges and
in general show that he cares.
Other duties of the lord is to serve as judge in
competitions:
* The best ox, pig and sheep are judged, bringing the winner
(or rather the winner's owner) a small token and a fraction
of glory.
* Log-tossing, running competitions, wrestling matches and
weight-lifting (pick up a heavy stone and carry it for fifty
paces, demanding both STR and CON) tournaments are held.
There is often a judgement needed here, and it might be
tempting for the lord to judge in favor of his soldiers
instead of
his peasants [Just/Selfish]. After all, whose loyalty are
you most likely to need? Prices might be donated by the
lord, or might simply be the local glory won.
* For more rustic entertainment, you might want to offer the
players "Hunt the greased pig" and "Climb the greased pole".
Naturally, the lord and his personal guests might want to
participate in the games. This is really a matter of
humility: it is understood that in doing so you enter on the
same terms as everybody else. And if the lord's own animals
wins the prices and his friends and soldiers wins all the
competitions, a certain amount of grumbling is to be
anticipated. Remember that your respect for the peasants
will affect theirs for you.
What's going on, then?
Well, this is an occasion to renew old friendships and
enmities, to show off and to observe. Old men sits on
benches talking about how things were better in their days,
children run about playing, screaming and giggling, young
maids are coquettish and young men cocky. As the night draws
closer, the bonfires seems to burn brighter, the ale looses
its bite and the maids are getting prettier.
Some things that might happen during the festivities are:
* A little child is lost! His worried mother pleads for
help, but roll a die to see if the little rascal (ca 3 years
old) has:
1. Hidden out of mischief.
2. Got lost in that forest over there.
3. Been abducted by his mean big brother.
4. Been abducted by his pretty sister's spurned suitor.
5. Fallen asleep under a table.
6. Been abducted by in order to be 'heroically' found by his
pretty sister's suitor.
* A monster comes from the nearby forest to trash the party!
Roll a die to see if it is:
1-2. A wyvern.
3-4. A lion.
5. A large bear.
6. A small giant.
Regardless of monster, it is already furious.
* By the end of the night a young woman is screaming "Rape!"
but some say she did so only to embarrass the young man who
she wanted, who did, in fact, not want to. He denies all
carnal interest, and his young wife confirms that he is ever
faithful, but the girl who screamed wants recompense and
justice done.
* The price-winning pig has escaped from his temporary pen.
The previously so proud owner stands devastated before the
Lord, his hands holding tightly to the green ribbon
signifying his honour, humbly asking for assistance. Anyone
up for a tame boar hunt?
* Someone is eating a bit too heartily and chokes on a bone.
[Awareness] and [Dexterity] to save him by fortuitously
stumbling on the Heimlich maneuver.
* A large burly farmer with bloody knuckles is dragged
before you by his visibly pregnant daughter. Urged by her he
surly asks for the help of your physician to see to his son
in law. The poor boy is horribly beaten up, and it is
revealed that he actually is not the son in law of the
farmer. Yet, but before he passed out he managed to promise
to marry the girl.
* Fire! Fire! A stubbled field has been ignited by sparks
from the bonfires, and the fire is threatening the manor.
Gather people and organize a bucket chain and blanket
quenchers [Battle] and [Peasants' Loyalty]. Results as
follows:
- Double fumble: no one organizes or does anything useful.
Two barns with 4 FOOD and twenty sheep, screaming in
anguish, burns, as does the stable. 2d3 horses killed,
including the lord's favorite riding horse. Lower [Peasants'
Loyalty] by one.
- Single fumble: you make a mess of the lot, but someone
else steps in and saves the day. Nevertheless, two barns
with 4 FOOD and twenty sheep, screaming in anguish, burns,
as does the stable. 1d3 horses killed, but not anyone of the
expensive ones.
- Double failure: you make a mess of the lot, but someone
else steps in and saves the day. Nevertheless, a barn with 4
FOOD burns.
- Single success: You lose 2 FOOD and a barn is slightly
charred.
- Double success: You save the day, nothing is lost. Check
on [Peasants' Loyalty].
- Critical: You save the day, nothing is lost. Raise
[Peasants' Loyalty]. In the case of failure or worse, a
successful [Orate] and [Folk lore] might mitigate the
situation a bit as far as the peasants' loyalty is
concerned. "In this hard time ..."
(c) 1999 Orjan Westin
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