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Chaosium Digest Volume 33 Number 05
Chaosium Digest
Thursday, April 19, 2001
Vol. 33, Number 05
Contents
* RISE OF THE OPHIDIAN EMPIRE: PART ONE (CTHULHU)
by Mervyn Boyd - jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk
Editor's Note
I apologize profusely for the lag since last issue. Murphy's Law landed on
my computer with both feet. The nice, new machine I purchased in January
suffered the death of both the hard drive and motherboard. Fortunately, it
was still under warranty. However, I lost everything on the hard drive. I
had some stuff backed up but not nearly enough. I've finally gotten things
back to a workable condition. If you've sent me an email that hasn't
received a response or a submission that hasn't been used or refused, please
resend those as I've lost them.
In the mean time, this issue features a new adventure by Mervyn Boyd, one of
our most frequent contributors. This one features the enigmatic Serpent
People and an attempt at world conquest. What more could a Call of Cthulhu
Keeper ask of an adventure? Personally, I may have to adapt this one to my
Nephilim game.
That's it for now.
Enjoy!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
10 April 2001
Issaries, Inc., Press Release
Oakland, CA
BEST OF GLORANTHA AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED
Issaries, Inc. is pleased to announce the winners of the first annual Best
of Glorantha awards. These awards, voted on by the fan members of the
Glorantha
Trading Association, honor creative efforts built on the world of Glorantha.
The awards are:
BEST GLORANTHA VISUAL ART: King of Dragon Pass, by A Sharp LLC
BEST HERO WARS SCENARIO: Chasing Kites, by Jeff Kyer
BEST HERO WARS DESCRIPTION: Gagarth's Wolves heroband, by Mark Galeotti
BEST GLORANTHA WEBSITE: Wesley Quadros's site
BEST GLORANTHA IN PRINT: Tales of the Reaching Moon, Issue 18, by Reaching
Moon Megacorp
BEST HERO WARS HOUSE RULE: Extended Contests without APs, by Graham Robinson
BEST GLORANTHA PLAYING AID: King of Dragon Pass, by A Sharp LLC
BEST GLORANTHA SHORT FICTION: The Road of Kings, by John E. Boyle
BEST ISSARIES INC. PUBLISHED PRODUCT: Glorantha - Introduction to the Hero
Wars
SPIRIT OF GLORANTHA: Nick Brooke's Songbook
In addition, Greg Stafford, creator of Glorantha, tapped King of Dragon Pass
as Best of the Best. "The fans picked King of Dragon Pass the winner of both
the
categories it was in. This computer game introduces new players with its
gorgeous art and engaging play. And Hero Wars players find its hundreds of
stories a great inspiration for their own games. My congratulations to the
entire team at A Sharp -- and to the other winners." More information about
the awards can be found at
<http://www.glorantha.com/tribes/best2000winners.html>http://www.glorantha.c
om/tribes/best2000winners.html.
Stephen Martin
Issaries, Inc. 900 Murmansk St., Suite 5; Oakland, CA 94607
Phone: (510) 452 1648 Fax: (510) 302 0385
Publisher of Hero Wars, Roleplaying in Glorantha
See our site at: <http://www.herowars.com/>www.HeroWars.com
Gloranthan Classics Update:
Volume I - Pavis & Big Rubble
More softcovers will soon be winding their way back to me and into shops, at
least the shops that Esdevium and Wizard's Attic distribute to. I still have
a handful of the hardcovers left.
PRICE: Hardcover UK £45 (US $70), Softcover UK £30 (US $45). Price includes
shipping.
Volume II - Griffin Mountain
Yes, all 256 pages of it are off to the printers this week. The hardcover
and softcover versions will both be available from the outset. Some of the
new stuff we've added include some magazine articles about Balazaring clans
written by Rudy and Paul, a large section on running Gloranthan campaigns by
Greg Stafford, and several pages of designer's notes. We even added in a few
of the new bits that were in Griffin Island, like Granny Keeneye, the maps
of the major Inns in the three Citadels, and some of the player handouts.
PRICE: Hardcover UK £40 (US $60), Softcover UK £25 (US $40). Price includes
shipping.
How can you order them?
You can advance order Griffin Mountain. That way you are guaranteed a copy
of the book. I should be able to ship them out by April 17th, if not
earlier, depending on when I get it delivered from the printers. Pavis & Big
Rubble I can ship today. Payment can be in US Dollars or UK Pounds. If you
want to pay in UK Pounds, I can accept payment by cheque or postal money
order. If you want to pay in US Dollars, I can accept money orders or
electronically via Paypal. My email for Paypal payments is RJMeints@cs.com
SPECIAL DEAL IF YOU ORDER BOTH VOL. I & II SOFTCOVER BOOKS:
Get a Pavis & Big Rubble Softcover and a Griffin Mountain Softcover for the
combo price of £50 or $75. I'll have to ship both books together, so that
means you'd have to wait until Griffin Mountain comes back from the printers
to receive them. This deal is not available to those wonderful people who
purchased Pavis & Big Rubble previously.
What's all this about Paypal?
Please feel free to check out their website: http://www.paypal.com to find
out more, but here are the basics. They allow you to create an account to
send money to other people with paypal accounts (like me). All you really
need is an email address and a credit card (or similar). International
customers are welcome, so this is a great way for people who want to pay in
other currencies (Marks, Francs, Yen, Zlotties) to send payment. There is NO
fee for sending money (I get charged a little, but that's my problem).
What comes after Volume II ?
Volume III, naturally. Nothing is 100% certain, but Borderlands, a Cults
Compendium, and more are in the works. Please don't pester us about them. If
we had a timetable with dates for when they will be ready we would have
published it. Nuff said for now. We will make an announcement when we have
more info.
Website Updates
I've updated my personal website: http://www.glorantha.co.uk with a variety
of information, including a new Reaching Moon Megacorp price list, a new
list of used original RQ2 items for sale and some Convulsion 2002 convention
info. Please check it out.
Lastly, a word or two on Convulsion 2002.
The five organizers from C2K have all signed up again to run the next one.
Please feel free to email us with suggestions or an offer to volunteer.
Please email Convulsion@glorantha.co.uk
That's all for now. Thanks for your time and support,
Rick Meints
From Chaosium:
The Dragon Lords Are Here!
Worlds of the Eternal Champion: Dragon Lord's Of Melnibone has just arrived
in our warehouse. Our Young Kingdoms worldbook for the D20 system will begin
shipping to game distributors this Wednesday. Your local shops will have
them as early as Friday March 23rd! Do us a big favor and let your retailer
know you want a copy of this book. The Young Kingdoms have never looked so
good.
The first Dragon Lords D20 adventure, Slaves of Fate is still being worked
on by author Jason Durall. SOF is expected to release in April.
Call of Cthulhu Fiction summoned
Our next Call of Cthulhu fiction book, Three Impostors and Other Stories:
The Best Weird Tales of Arthur Machen vol. 1 should hit your local shops
sometime in late April. Three Impostors will give our Call of Cthulhu
fiction line some welcome momentum.
With the re-release of our Call of Cthulhu rulebook, the debut of Dragon
Lords, and the January release of Unseen Masters, we're kicking 2001 off
pretty well. All three books will go a long way towards stabilizing our
otherwise slippery release schedule.
For those if you who have the time to lend a hand, please consider running a
Chaosium demo at your local shop. We don't have any promotional materials to
give ya, but we'd certainly appreciate the help!
Shipping Wednesday March 14th:
Worlds of the Eternal Champion:
Dragon Lords of Melnibone
A New World for the d20 System
CHA #2017
$23.95
ISBN 1-56882-150-6
196 pages, illustrated.
For ten thousand years the bright empire of Melnibone ruled the world. Her
soldiers were ruthless, unspeakably cruel, and well-skilled at arms.
Powerful sorcerers, magic comes easily to them, as easy as breathing. They
forged eternal bonds with the aloof gods of Law and Chaos, with the hideous
demons from other planes, with elemental lords that are of the world itself,
and with the ancient dragons that Melnibone used to enforce her might.
But wealth and age has dulled the Bright Empire, tarnished it beauty, and
weakened its people. The empire rots from within. And outside, young
kingdoms arise on the lands Melnibone's sons and daughters carved from the
stuff of chaos that lies at the edge of the world. They are petty, and
envious of the ancient wealth of their former masters.
A pirate navy is forming, to sail against the Dreaming City of Imrryr. Its
captains hope to recapture stolen riches and to bring a hated overlord to
ruin.
DRAGON LORDS OF MELNIBONE provides a heroic setting for your d20 System game
in a complete and detailed roleplaying world developed by
Chaosium Inc. and based upon the fabulous stories written by Michael
Moorcock.
The island of Melnibone and the world of the Young Kingdoms wage their
eternal battle in a fully developed and extensive storyline. Ancient magic
abounds. Sorcerous swords whisper of forgotten treasure. Spirits and demons
plague the living. . .
. . and a new albino emperor has taken the Ruby Throne, promising to
restore the terrible heritage of Melnibone and bring the young upstarts to
heel.
APRIL 2001
THE THREE IMPOSTORS & OTHER STORIES
The Best Weird Tales of Arthur Machen vol. 1
CHA 6030 $13.95 ISBN
1-56882-132-8 pp. 320
Some of the finest horror stories ever written. Arthur Machen had a profound
impact upon H.P. Lovecraft and the group of stories that would later become
known as the Cthulhu Mythos. This first volume of Chaosium's Arthur Machen
collection begins with the chilling "The Three Impostors" in its complete
form, including the rarely seen sections "The Decorative Imagination" and
"The Novel of the Iron Maid." Rounding out the first volume are "The Great
God Pan," "The Inmost Light," and "The Shining Pyramid," all are excellent
tales. Introduction by S.T. Joshi.
April 2001
SLAVES OF FATE
A Dragon Lords of Melnibone(r) D20 adventure
CHA 2018
$8.95
32 pages
Written by Jason Durall
ISBN 1-56882-152-9
Far out to sea, captive on a Vilmirian slave ship, the adventurers' troubles
are just beginning. If judged worthy they are destined for the slave markets
of corrupt and terrifying Pan Tang, If not, they will be callously
slaughtered at sea, their souls left for the dread undead galleys of the god
Pyaray, Tentacled Whisperer of Impossible Secrets.
While struggling to escape before matters get any worse, the Chaos goddess
Eequor, Blue Lady of Dismay, takes an interest in the adventurers' plight.
Their fates are forever changed.
A D20 adventure for character for levels 1-3.
--
Dustin Wright-Free lance spider wrangler
Chaosium Dude http://www.chaosium.com
Green Knight Publishing Support http://www.greenknight.com
Wizard's Attic Liaison http://www.wizards-attic.com
---------------------------------
RISE OF THE OPHIDIAN EMPIRE: PART ONE
by Mervyn Boyd - jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk
Foreword
This scenario is written for characters who have been around the block a few
times. Should the scenario seem too easy or too hard for your old grizzled
veterans or new fresh-out-the-packet players then it should be modified
accordingly - the specifics being left to the keeper. No special skills or
knowledge are required for its successful conclusion. A time frame is used,
but this can be changed or ignored to allow new players of Call of Cthulhu
time to adjust and settle in, though events should ultimately move along.
The bad guys won't sit around waiting for the players to get their act
together. They've got important things to do. The scenario is intended to be
set in London, England in the year 1887. Gaslights, cobblestones,
horse-drawn cabs, good old Queen Vic and the mighty British empire. Hurrah!
As the title implies it is only part of a larger campaign I have in mind.
Because I am not a great creative writer there will probably be many entries
that are vague in content and description - or even missing - thus causing
the adventure to appear disjointed. Don't be put off by this. While
provisions have been made for all places that the investigators are likely
to visit, it is up to the keeper to improvise, and flesh out all other
areas - as well as NPC personalities and reaction. Hopefully, in part II,
these vague bits will be explained better.
For the most part, your players will be reacting to events, going from a to
b to c and so on; always being swept along and not really having the time to
settle in one place to investigate, ponder, or gather clues. It's a matter
of being caught in the middle of something you barely know anything about,
and that there's nothing they can do about it. "Clues" to find out what's
happening, are limited, if they exist at all. Everything is concealed and
happening behind the scenes. How will players react? Will they take it in
their stride, or will the become frustrated and impatient and try to force a
confrontation of some kind? The end is unconventional in a way which means
the players may, or may not play an active part in it unless they go off on
one of their trademarked tangents.
Keepers Information
Noble and mighty. Powerful sorcerers and great scientists they were. The
Serpent race created their first kingdom 275 million years ago, before even
the time of the dinosaurs. But, through wars and plague their empire
crumbled and the survivors retreated under ground forming small isolated
pockets. Later, in human prehistory, the serpents re-emerged and built a
second kingdom though by now much of their science and magic was lost - or
forgotten. Both races flourished, each developing new (and rediscovered)
technology. Both humans and serpents rushed to take control of as much
territory as possible before the other side had a chance to. The humans,
motivated more by their desire to expand their civilizations for the good of
their overall societies; and the reptilians - possibly aided by humans
traitors who had collaborated with them - were motivated largely through
Imperialistic tendencies, which included the desire to establish god-like
control over all creation without regard for universal law. War raged, and
the serpent race were decimated and again they were driven under ground. It
was unlikely that their numbers would ever recover. Man then, in his
parasitical way, infested and colonized the world for himself and soon
forgot about his old adversary...
Since their destruction, the serpent race has bred profusely and spread
themselves throughout deep subterranean chambers in an attempt to regain
their lost knowledge, but still they lack the numbers for an all out war. In
order to reclaim the land that once belonged to them 275 million years ago,
they propose to infiltrate society and subvert and replace key members of
power, with the view of ultimately extending their influence through
Parliament and even the Royal Household. Once they control the great British
Empire, it will take but one small step to conquer the rest of the world.
They, however, cannot do this alone and so have enlisted the help of the
Mi-Go - the Fungi from Yuggoth. In return for their help the Serpent race
has offered to share the world with them. Once the world has been subjugated
and its population brought under control, the Serpent People will once again
be free to live as they once did, without resorting to hiding and forming
secret enclaves.
Originally the Serpent-men planned to abduct key people and swap brains but
this was rejected because they would be discovered all to easy as they would
not have the mannerisms or knowledge of the man they were replacing. On top
of this, their experiments with straight brain swaps constantly failed -
something about genetic compatibility degradation. So the idea was formed to
contact the Mi-Go (who are known for their advanced knowledge of medical and
surgical techniques) who would construct very authentic human-looking
bodies - into which Serpent-men brains would be transplanted. Now instead of
replacing actual people, the serpent men would simply insinuate themselves
into society and be placed into key positions. To further ease their
domination plans a renegade traitorous band of individuals from within the
British Government have been enlisted into collusion with the Ophidian race.
They've already accomplished several objectives and are now on phase two of
their plans - to cause civil unrest and round up known and suspected
"trouble makers".
Character Creation, Personal Friends & Allies
The keeper is advised to constrain all the characters to one social level -
preferably upper-middle or higher; for example: eminent explorers, retired
colonels, chief physician, Member of Parliament, successful entrepreneurs,
merchant bankers or contractors of businesses with long standing service to
the empire. However, the keeper is free to have a party from the lower
classes, or a mixed combination, but that's for him/her to decide, and
provisions must be made to reflect their social standing. Friends and allies
can be introduced at any time to lend a helping hand, whether it is in
obtaining a clue, turning the odds in combat, bailing somebody out of jail,
or whatever. Of course, this help may come with a price - be it financial,
future favour or anything else...Personal friends, no matter how good or
loyal they are will require a reason, or incentive, before blindly helping
out. Why should the Desk Sergeant of the local Metropolitan Police let the
players in to view the corpse and its possessions without good reason. It
doesn't matter if they have been friends for 15 years and are good drinking
buddies, or belong to the same club. It is possible, however, that the
Sergeant will divulge tidbits of information. It is suggested that the
keeper moderate what is feasible when they are chosen. For example, it
would be rather unlikely for a simple east-end chimney sweep to have Queen
Victoria as a close personal friend or know Snotty-nose Gladstone (the Prime
Minister), an old room-mate, from boarding school. It is further suggested
that friends should be limited to within that of the character's social
level. It would be more likely that the chimney sweep to have as a friend,
Bob the night watch-man of the local museum or perhaps PC Plod of the local
constabulary. The availability of these potential allies is left to keeper
discretion and player willingness to ask for, or accept, such help.
Recent News & Current Affairs
Life in England, and the rest of the UK is in turmoil. It's been a long time
in coming, but in recent weeks unemployment has exceeded two million. The
standard of living has dropped slightly and inflation has nearly doubled
prices. General strikes often bring industry to a halt. Disaffected youths
and unemployed people are rallying to Socialist meetings. Marches and
demonstrations protest against the unfairness towards workers' rights;
anarchists and dynamiters set fires, and plant bombs. Mobs riot. Many police
have been injured and several have been killed in clashes. Racial tensions
run high as several Jews, Blacks and Chinese have been killed. Many arrests
of suspected ringleaders have been made. It is generally accepted that this
is a Bolshevik ploy to undermine the British way off life. Not even
Parliament is safe; constant bickering about whose fault it is, is unending.
This coupled with widespread accusations about homosexuality, financial
mismanagement and other subversions make sure the Prime Minister and his
Cabinet are politically weak, and may force a vote of no confidence or
resignation. On a lighter note though, everyone is gearing up for Queen
Victoria's Golden Jubilee on 21st June. All this upheaval is a direct result
of Ophidian desire. Backed with their human confederates it won't be long
before the government falls and with it the mighty British Empire.
(Continued)
--
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