Chaosium Digest Volume 7, Number 7 Date: Monday, September 5, 1994 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: Strange Aeons Discussion Group (Jan Engan) CALL OF CTHULHU The Ghastlycrumb Ickies (Michael Tice) CALL OF CTHULHU Unspeakable Book Reviews (Shannon Appel) CALL OF CTHULHU Inter Solar System Species Index (Dru Smith) ENDTIME Editor's Note: New out from Chaosium this week is Nephilim (Chaosium, 230 pg., $21.95), in my opinion one of the coolest games ever published. In it, you play a Nephilim, an immortal spirit who has incarnated in the bodies of men throughout history. The game is full of secret societies, conspiracies, false histories and the occult. Check out V6.10 for the initial announcement of Nephilim and V6.11 for a preview of it, based on one of the playtest drafts. Shannon -------------------- From: Subject: Strange Aeons Discussion Group System: Call of Cthulhu Strange Aeons, the CoC discussion group originally announced in V6.12, is now available through subscription to a listserver. * To subscribe to Strange Aeons, again, just send an email to: listserv@wizards.com with no subject and the single line: subscribe strange_aeons-l your-name in the body of the message * To post to the list, just send the email to: strange_aeons-l@wizards.com and it will automatically go to all the members who signed on (which, in a week or so, should hopefully be everyone!) Thanks Jan Engan - Moderator Strange Aeons LadyeJan@aol.com -------------------- From: "TICE, MICHAEL" Subject: The Ghastlycrumb Ickies System: Call of Cthulhu The Ghastlycrumb Ickies by Michael Tice with apologies to Edward Gorey A is for Azathoth deep in the Void B for the Byakhee who bite when annoyed C for Cthonians far underground D for the Deep Ones wherever they're found E for the Elder Things down in the snow F for the Fire Vampires warm and aglow G for the Ghouls who seldom are tamed H is for He Who Is Not To Be Named I for Ithaqua who walks in the wastes J for wee Jenkin's unorthodox tastes K for the King robed in yellow all tattery L for the Lloigor and oneiric battery M for the Mi-Go with metal brain-cases N for the Nightgaunts who haven't got faces O for the Old Ones awaiting their hour P for the Polyps that fly and devour Q is for age-haunted Quachil Uttaus R for Rhan-Tegoth who's big as a house S for a Shoggoth - malevolent slurry T for Tsathoggua all sleepy and furry U for the prehuman Ubbo-Sathla V for the Voorish Sign: wave and voila! W for Wil Whately, an expert at pentacles X for Xiclotlians' silvery tentacles Y for Yog-Sothoth who's both here and there Z for Zoth-Ommog obscured by Its hair --Mike (tice@physics.ucla.edu) -------------------- From: Shannon Appel Subject: Unspeakable Book Reviews System: Call of Cthulhu In recent weeks, I've read a number of Lovecraftian books set in the modern era. Each one of them was centered around the same basic tenant: In the twenties and thirties, a gentleman by the name of HP Lovecraft wrote a number of horrific tales. The heroes of the books are familiar with the works of Lovecraft and soon learn, much to their dismay, that his stories of fiction cloaked a hideous truth. The Color Out of Time Michael Shea Daw, 1984 This book bills itself as a sequel to Lovecraft's The Colour out of Space, and, to a certain extent, that is true. The story is indeed about two old doctors who find that a strange, unearthly presence still dwells beneath a lake, where, decades before, a certain farmhouse was visited by a creature from beyond. However, Shea departs quite far from Lovecraft's original story. He contends that when Lovecraft wrote The Colour out of Space, he changed many of the facts from the real event, and thus the horror faced in the modern lakeside resort is quite different from the original. The story is one of alien contamination rather than or eldritch horrors from beyond the stars. Although the story might be slightly disappointing to a reader expecting to find the mythos, when taken either as a simple tale of horror, or as a homage to Lovecraft, the book is superb. Michael Shea is an excellent writer who is quite able to create feelings of terror in his readers. Cthulhu Now keepers might especially want to take a look at The Color Out of Time, since it updates many of Lovecraft's ideas to much more modern viewpoints. Although The Color Out of Time is now out of print, it shouldn't be too hard to find a copy in a used book store, since at least a couple of different paperback printings were made. The Philosopher's Stone Colin Wilson Jeremy P. Tarcher, 1989 This book is very interesting one, because, at first glance, it doesn't seem to be a Lovecraftian story at all. Rather, it is a tale of a man obsessed by the human mind, and the inability of most humans to make full use of it. For the majority of the book, the plot jumps all over, as the protagonist studies psychology and medicine in an attempt to develop his mind to its full potential. It's only after the protagonist finally expands his mind, raising himself to the next level of evolution, that the Lovecraftian elements come into play. Probing into the past, he discovers barriers, and shortly afterwards, the beings that erected those barriers begin to move against him. Like The Color Out of Time, The Philosopher's Stone is not set totally within the world of Lovecraft's Cthulhu horror. Rather, only a few of the elements are used (in this case, the Great Old Ones themselves, who have dwelled sleeping for aeons). However, The Philosopher's Stone is still a very good Lovecraftian story. It is a story of the mundane world, where the horrors of Lovecraft only intrude when man tries to step beyond his normal world. The Philosopher's Stone is still in print, and should be fairly easy to get a copy of. Strange Eons Robert Bloch Pinnacle, 1979 Of these three books, Strange Eons is the only one that I would truly call a Mythos novel, set in the world that Lovecraft first described in _The Call of Cthulhu_, and so many other stories. It is, to be precise, a last tale of the Cthulhu mythos, a tale of the time when the stars finally are right, and Great Cthulhu tries once more to rise from his watery grave. Strange Eons is delightful for a number of reasons. Not only is a tale of The End, one possible conclusion to the entire Cthulhu Cycle of Mythology, but it is also a homage to Lovecraft himself, and to his stories. Throughout the book, elements from many of Lovecraft's most memorable stories are met. Bloch almost seems to make a game of it, daring the readers to figure out the reference before he announces it himself, through his characters recounting the pertinent Lovecraft story. Overall, Strange Eons is a very fun read, a fitting cap to decades of stories of the Mythos. Unfortunately, Strange Eons is also the hardest of these three books to get ahold of. Although both hard cover and paperback editions were published, they are all now long out of print, and diligent searching will be required to find the book. However, the searching is well worth it. Shannon -------------------- From: Subject: Inter Solar System Species Index System: Endtime INTER SOLAR SYSTEM SPECIES INDEX (HPL works ONLY!) -------------------------------------------------- [this article originally appeared in alt.horror.cthulhu] With the upcoming arrival of ENDTIME, a new game from Pagan Publishing, I thought this index of "monsters" living within our own Solar System might prove useful. Why, in the name of Cthulhu, is this useful? Well, primarily because of the premise of ENDTIME. ENDTIME is a role-playing game set in the late 21st century, after the "stars are right", and thus after the rise of R'lyeh, and the subsequent rise of Cthulhu, and the return of the Old Ones. Needless to say, humans aren't really happy with this arrangement, and have fled to Mars. It was this concept of human inhabitation of other planets that lead me to think it would be interesting to introduce all of those frequently overlooked little species that HPL wrote about, but which were never developed for Call of Cthulhu. This index is a cut down/edited version of a complete list of HPL works. The only things I've kept in this list are those things which are active in or around our solar system. The list is incomplete, in that no other authors besides HPL are included (except for 1 Robert Bloch story) and of the HPL stories, only about 80% have been read and cataloged (cut me a break, I've got a dissertation to work on, too!). Almost all page #'s in the index are references to the Del Rey paperback versions of the stories. As an example of how the index works, look at the entry below for "MOON BEASTS": MOON BEASTS (44) 20-26*,89,90,91*,98-103,105*,107,108* Veiled High Priest of Leng (11) 7* (44) 15*,77*,90*,93,94*,97,99,105,110,115,118,119 Read it like this: MOON BEASTS (in capitals, implying it is the primary reference) is found in story 44, on pages 20-26, 89, 90, etc (where a "*" indicates a particularly important or descriptive reference to Moon Beasts... Story 44 being "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath", from the list below). Also, under MOON BEASTS is "Veiled High Priest of Leng" indicating that this entity is a Moon Beast (Upper/Lower mixing indicating a sub-class of the primary reference, MOON BEAST). This priest is found in stories 11 and 44 (Celephais and Dream Quest..) on the pages indicated. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Story # Story name, year written LOVECRAFT, HP (4) Beyond the Wall of Sleep, 1919 (6) The Doom That Came to Sarnath, 1919 (11) Celephais, 1920 (21) The Nameless City, 1921 (30) The Festival, 1923 (44) The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, 1926 (47) The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, 1927-28 (49) The Whisperer in Darkness, 1930 (51) At the Mountains of Madness, 1931 (52) The Dreams in the Witch-House, 1932 (53) Through the Gates of the Silver Key, 1932 (55) The Shadow out of Time, 1934 (56) In the Walls of Eryx, 1935 (57) The Haunter of the Dark, 1935 (68) The Lurker at the Threshold OTHER AUTHORS Bloch, Robert (71) The Shambler from the Stars MONSTERS AND CREATURES CATS FROM SATURN (44) 26* DHOLES (44) 41-44*,103,104* (53) 37*,38,40,41 (68) 106,169 Doels (49) 39 EFJEH WEEDS (56) 20*,22,26,29,30 FORMLESS SPAWN OF TSATHAGGHUA (51) 46 FORNOTH FLIES (56) 8,13,16,17,22,26 GASES (11) 7 (44) 70* (53) 32* S'ngac (specific name) (11) 7 (44) 70,140 MI-GO (49) 2*,3*,4*,5,8*,11*,13,14,17*,19*,21,22*,38*,46 (51) 46,70*,79 (53) 26* (68) 106,169 Abominable Snow-Men (51) 46,70 Million Favored Ones (49) 15 Outer Ones (49) 25,26*,27*,34,35,37,39,40*,41*,42,44* Outside Beings (49) 46 Outside Things (49) 39 Outsiders (49) 47,48 MIRAGE PLANT (56) 4,6 MOON BEASTS (44) 20-26*,89,90,91*,98-103,105*,107,108* Veiled High Priest of Leng (11) 7* (44) 15*,77*,90*,93,94*,97,99,105,110,115,118,119 SIFICLIGHS (56) 16,17,22,26 SKORAHS (56) 3,20*,21,31 STAR VAMPIRE (71) 10-12* TSATHOGHUA (51) 30*,46 (53) 32 (55) 21 (49) 12,15,38* (68) 107,169*,176*,177* Ossadagowah (68) 17*,18*,176*,186 Sodagui (68) 176* Zhothogguah (68) 176* MISCELLANEOUS/UNNAMED CREATURES ARACHNID DENIZENS OF EARTH'S LAST AGE (55) 21 BLACK SNOUTED WINGED CREATURES (55) 23* COLEOPTEROUS SPECIES/BEETLES TO FOLLOW MAN AS EARTH'S PRIMARY INHABITANTS (55) 21*,22*,28,40 CREATURES OF YADDITH (See Also WIZARD ZKAUBA, ARCH-ANCIENT BUO) (53) 36* ELDER BEINGS WHO LIVE WHERE ZOOGS LIVE NOW (44) 5* ENTITIES FROM THE CENTRAL CAVERNS OF AN ESPECIALLY INTERESTING DARK STAR BEYOND THE GALAXY (49) 41 FLAMING THING (47) 36 FURRY PREHUMAN HYPERBOREAN WORSHIPPERS OF TSATHOGGHUA (53) 32** (55) 21* GREAT HEADED BROWN PEOPLE OF S. AFRICA, 50,000 B.C. (55) 21* HALF-PLASTIC CREATURE (55) 39* INHABITANT OF NEPTUNE (49) 41* INHABITANT OF VENUS (55) 21* (56) 2*,3*,5,8,10,11,13*,17,21*,22*,23,24,25*,26-32 INSECT PHILOSOPHERS OF THE 4TH MOON OF JUPITER (4) 11 (55) 21* MEN OF YELLOW HAIR AND BLUE EYES (6) 7 MIND FROM A LARGE ASTEROID (55) 43 PEOPLE FROM THE BLACK GALLEY (44) 14*,15,16,17,18,21,22,27,89,98,104,107,111,112,113 REPTILES OF THE NAMELESS CITY (21) 8*,14 VAPOROUS BRAINS OF THE SPIRAL NEBULAE (53) 26 VEGETABLE BRAIN OF THE FUTURE (53) 32* VEGETABLE ENTITIES OF MERCURY (55) 22* VERY WORM THAT GNAWS (30) 10 ZEBRA SLAYER (44) 32* PLACES ALDEBERAN (30) 1,5 (44) 3 ANTARES (44) 134 ARCTURUS (4) 11 (53) 32* ARGO NAVIS, CONSTELLATION OF (52) 11,13 BETELGUEZE (68) 168*,171* CARCOSA (68) 106*,138,170,175 ERYX (56) 5*,31 FORMALHAUT (44) 3 (68) 169* HALI (See Also LAKE OF HALI) (68) 158,175 HYDRA, CONSTELLATION OF (52) 11,13 JUPITER (53) 8* LAKE OF HALI (See Also HALI) (49) 12 (68) 106*,170 LITTLE BEAR, CONSTELLATION OF (44) 73 MAGELLANIC CLOUDS (49) 30 MARS (53) 43* MILKY WAY, GALAXY OF (44) 40 MOON (44) 6*,13,19*,20*,26 (51) 68* NEPTUNE (53) 42 PLUTO (See YUGGOTH) SATURN (44) 26 SHAGGAI (57) 2,18* YUGGOTH, PLANET OF (49) 12,15,17,22,23*,27,35,37*,38*,40,46 (53) 42* (57) 12,18* (68) 169 New Planet Beyond Neptune (49) 13,46 Pluto (49) 46,51 UNNAMED PLACES AN ESPECIALLY INTERESTING DARK STAR BEYOND THE GALAXY (49) 41 CITY ON MOON INHABITED BY MOON-BEASTS (44) 20*,22*,23 DARK RADIOACTIVE COMET OF INCONCEIVABLE ORBIT (53) 32* LARGE ASTEROID (55) 43 REGION WHERE FORM DOES NOT EXIST (11) 7 (44) 70* UNKNOWN TRANS-PLUTONIAN PLANET (18 MIL. YEARS IN THE FUTURE) (55) 39* ARTIFACTS/SYMBOLS FLUTE OF THE MOON BEASTS (44) 23*,24*,93*,112,113,130*,138 LYGATH TREE (44) 81 MOON-TREE (44) 20,109 MOON-WINE (44) 6,10,16,20,110 -------------------- The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial discussion forum for Chaosium's Games. To submit an article, subscribe or unsubscribe, mail to: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu. The old digests are archived on soda.berkeley.edu in the directory /pub/chaosium, and may be retrieved via FTP.