Chaosium Digest Volume 2, Number 5 Date: Sunday, May 1, 1993 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: Review: Escape from Innsmouth (Jason Corley) CALL OF CTHULHU Comments on Grace Under Pressure (John Tynes) CALL OF CTHULHU Sanity and Spells (Liam Routt) CALL OF CTHULHU The Adventure of the Golden Fountain (Eric Rowe) PENDRAGON Editor's Note: Castle of Eyes, Chaosium's newest work of fiction is now out. It isn't tied to any particular world or anything, but looks ok. I can't really say much more right now since I haven't had time to get past the first few chapters. Shannon -------------------- From: corleyj@GAS.uug.Arizona.EDU (Jason D Corley ) Subject: Review: Escape from Innsmouth System: Call of Cthulhu [WARNING: Spoilers for Escape from Innsmouth below] There comes a time in every CoC player's life when they just get frustrated. They missed a clue somewhere, or there is a time period involved where they don't know what they're supposed to do. The GM has given all the hints he can, but the players still are tearing their hair out, _knowing_ that THEY are out there somewhere...but not knowing where or why. Sometimes this feeling can last for several game sessions and leave a horrible feeling in the stomach even when it's all over. The players are so fed up, so frustrated, so filled with tension, that they want just to go and kill something. Enter _Escape From Innsmouth_. The book is divided into three sections: The first is a city guide much like that of Arkham or Kingsport, except much, much nastier and shorter. It is, after all, a nearly deserted, almost totally inbred town. Fairly good, easily up to snuff. The second is a preliminary scenario, introducing the investigators to Innsmouth. It's pretty easy as investigation goes, but one part confuses me... Back at the end of the book, there are about 20 small Innsmouth Ideas (or something like that), which are hooks for adventures in and around Innsmouth, easily enough to stage an entire Innsmouth campaign. They say you are supposed to run these immediately after the first scenario in the book. But, at the end of the first scenario, the investigators are fleeing Innsmouth in a car, shooting at pursuing Deep Ones who are storming them with pitchforks and muskets! I would say to switch these two around...use the mini-plots in the back (or ones of your own devising) to get the investigators involved in Innsmouth. THEN do the first one in the book to get them out. By far the largest section in the book is the third: the story of the assault on Innsmouth in 1928 by combined US forces. This is _violent_. This is _fast_. This is _tense_. This is everything the "real" raid would have been, and then some. You got your Marine assault on the Esoteric Order, you got your Marine extraction team on the mayor's house, you got your Navy infiltration of the tunnels underneath the city, you got your Coast Guard cutters offshore making sure nobody flees by boat, and you got your Navy _submarine_ headed downward to torpedo the underground city. Just level the place. Boom boom boom. I like their idea that investigators get to play secondary characters (like the young Marine punk, or the grizzled WWI vet) on the side, mainly because I don't have enough investigators in the campaign to put one in every mission, and I don't want them to miss out. This adventure is off-beat...but it's just the thing for players suffering from "He's got that one last handout sitting back there, what do I have to do to get it from him?" disease. However, it's not for everyone....and it's certainly not from anyone who wants their campaign to visit Innsmouth ever again... PS The book says that by the mid-thirties, Innsmouth lies deserted again. Yeah, sure, whatever. I said that in my campaign, the fishing industry picked back up again in the fifties and by the nineties it was a bustling little town. No, not many people live there, and it's very quiet, very nice...hm...well, she doesn't blink a lot, but she looks like a very pleasant lady nonetheless...;-) -------------------- From: John Tynes Subject: Re: Review of Grace Under Pressure System: Call of Cthulhu In-Reply-To: V2.4 Review: Grace Under Pressure I enjoyed reading the review of "GUP," and I'm glad the writer took the time to describe his experience. I know the same game doesn't come off the same way with all groups, and I'm sorry it didn't work out well for you. We've run "GUP" almost a dozen times at conventions. Having two keepers works *very* well, since as mentioned it's next to impossible not to split the party. Not having any investigator-types on board worked well in the games we ran. We approached the whole thing like it was a grown-up version of playing "star wars" or something. The players really got into organizing their work, messing around with the equipment and, of course, helping each other out when they screwed up. They made careful plans and worked together as a team to accomplish the goals. As things got weird, they coped the best they could. The idea was to take normal people with advanced skills and intelligence and throw them into a horrific situation to see how they can beat it. (Besides, can you imagine the reaction of a trained investigator when someone says "hey, how'd you like to spend two weeks in a deep, unexplored part of the ocean?") The reprint of "GUP" will include more information on staging the scenario. When we run it, it's in a dark room lit only by green glowsticks and penlights. Two tape decks run in the background; one has a long tape of whalesong, the other a short endless loop tape of sonar pings. A pair of walkie-talkies is used to keep the two groups in touch when they split up (and of course, someone always ends up screaming maniacally into the microphone). A third cassette tape is used twice in the game: once at the start (containing a message from the surface about the day's goals) and once later on (when there's trouble on the surface). We use a separate room for the minisub, often a bathroom (to be cramped and uncomfortable). As the saying goes, Your Mileage May Vary. One reader wrote, "well, it's a good description of a submarine." Others have recounted wonderful experiences (especially when they use special lighting & sound effects). In the end, I guess it's the luck of the draw. John Tynes Pagan Publishing -------------------- From: lro@melb.bull.oz.au (Liam Routt) Subject: Sanity and Spells : An A Sytem: Call of Cthulhu Sanity and Spells in Call of Cthulhu : An Alternative Approach Premise: It is not possible to project a sufficient force of will to make a spell actually work when you are thinking rationally. Therefore, a sane person cannot adequately control a spell to cast it effectively (altough some result may occur). Rather, one must be suffering from some form of insanity to cast a spell. Sucessfully casting a spell does decrease one's sanity, though, adding to a downward spiral into maddness. Notes: Many people claim to, and attempt to, cast spells. Belief is a central factor in the success or failure of a spell. Without a true belief in what you are doing, you are unable to focus your energies enough to control whatever forces you call upon. Indeed such forces often will not respond unless the caster is properly focused. The necessary focus can be attained in a number of ways: 1. The most common, amongst those who work frequently in the field of occult magic, is to place one's self in a very focused trace. Such a trance requires a significant amount of specialized training, however, and is not really an option for the amatuer. 2. In many situations a group can be worked into a trace-like frenzy, with similar results. The conscious inhibitions in the mind are bypassed, and the controlling occultist can focus the attentions and energies of such frenzied people fairly easily. The people themselves do not usually posses enough conscious control to direct their own actions, however. 3. Finally, in situations of stress and pressure, even a novice might be able to transcend the conscious control of their inhibitions, and focus themselves upon a spell. In situations where one is losing a grip on reality, the mind can be fooled into trying almost anything that might provide a way out of a difficult situation. In such a situation a normally rational person, who would normally be unable to allow themselves to focus their energies upon something as irrational as a magic spell, is able to apply themselves to such a venture. Such is the gift of impending insanity. >From the point of view of Call of Cthulhu, this calls for a slight restructuring of the rules surrounding magic and sanity. The most significant change is the requirement that most characters be suffering from some sort of insanity (however minor or brief) to be able to cast a spell properly. This might be best extended to include any character who has suffered a SAN loss that required a further roll (an INT roll, or an insanity roll), regardless what the outcome of the roll was. Some may even be willing to extend the concept further, to encompass all those characters who have suffered a recent SAN loss, regardless of the severity of the loss. The outcome of a spell that is cast without the requisite insanity should depend upon the nature of the spell, the situation and possibly some random factor (or the whim of the keeper). In some situations the spell might simply fail (for example, the Space Mead does not do its stuff - too bad); in other situations, however, the spell might function in an uncontrolled manner (the most obvious example being that of a Contact Deity spell that does not work quite right - it might alert the deity anyway, but its reaction might be both unpredictable and fatal). Keeper's wishing to use a roll to determine the outcome of such a spell might like to use MP x 5% (similar to Luck, but not always the same): a sucessful roll indicates that the spell had some minor, uncontrolled effect, with a low roll indicating a more pronounced (ie dangerous) effect. A failure might indicate that the spell simply did not function at all. In a situation where a group is being worked into a trace-like frenzy, there are two possible choices for keepers who feel that they need mechanics to support this concept: * All particpants must roll over their MP x 5% to sucessfully sublimate themselves to the group. If the leader of the ritual can make a sucessful Oratory (or equivalent non-reason based communication skill), then the roll might reduced to MP x 3%, or less (keeper discretion, but it should never be automatic). Those who make the roll are unable to release themselves completely, and their MP and POW cannot be used in the ritual. * The other option is almost identical. Each participant makes a roll. They are able to contribute up to 1/5 of what they roll in MP or POW to the ritual. The effects of a successful communication skill (as above) should be to allow them to contribute up to 1/3 of the MP or POW. In this way all participants will be able to contribute something to the ritual, but some will be able to contribute only part of themselves, while others will be fully participating. Personally, I think that this method is not as clean as the previous one, but it does allow people to partially contribute, which may be useful. I can see using one of those methods to determine how effectively a group of PCs can cast a critical spell at the climax of a dangerous scenario. Insane PCS would not have to make the roll, and could contribute all of their magical ability automatically, and others would have to attempt to ignore their inner reason by making a MP x 5% roll, as described. That seems to make more sense than simply allowing them all to place their souls in the hands of a series of words on a sheet of paper without even thinking twice... I'd be hesitant about using any hard and fast rules for more professional spell users. By and large I think that traditional occult skills could be seen to include the trance-like meditation required, and a simple skill could be added to other spell users if required (something like Ritual Magic, or Magic Focus, or something). A lot of the spell users would be insane, anyway. At least the cultist NPCs usually are. And I am cynical enough to make the assumption that most other occultists are fakes, and really have no true magical skills. But, I think that such things are left to the individual writers and keepers to sort out for themselves. It is worth noting that I still consider that spells should often cause a SAN loss for the caster, at least if they succeed: having it demonstrated that chanting a sequence of words can call up horrible creatures or cause tables to levitate is the sort of thing that does eat away at the sanity. Indeed it should be quite possible to fail an attempt to cast a spell (because of a lack of insanity), and find oneself deranged enough to try it again for better effect. I feel that the current rules for magic in Call of Cthulhu do not properly take into account the inherently irrational nature of magic: it is crazy stuff that no one would expect to work unless they were seriously unbalanced. As it stands, though, it becomes a tool which perfectly rational characters can wield, like a flame-thrower; it should not be so widely accessible. In effect, what I am saying is that a belief in magic (ie that it will actually function) is contrary to our standard belief structure, and for that reason, anyone who really believes a spell will work must be at least a little insane. Continuing on from that, I am asserting that to some extent you must believe in the magic you are trying to cast for it to take full effect. I don't think either claim is all that wild. I guess the most controversial statement I am making, actually, might be that SAN is a reflection, on some level, of a person's belief structure. I am saying, in effect, that if you believe in magic then you are insane, which might not seem, at first, to be neccesarily true. Look at the link between Cthulhu Mythos and SAN, though. The more you know, and one must suppose, believe, about the Mythos, the less SAN you can have. That indicates to me that just subscribing to the Mythos belief structure limits your ability to think in what we classify as a rational manner: that understanding the Mythos beliefs (and believing that they are true) actually makes it increasingly difficult for you to remain clasically sane. But this is just my opinion. Anyone have any comments or suggestions? Liam Routt Darcsyde Productions -------------------- From: Eric Rowe Subject: The Adventure of the Golden Fountain System: Pendragon Introduction: This adventure begins with the player knights being summoned before their lord to escort someone for him. This person is Gwrfelling the Druid. He has come to the lord to collect a favor owed to him for past deeds. The favor he needs is aid in safely taking him to a sacred golden fountain in a magical glade in his forest. Recently, a wicked witch has taken over the forest that he has sworn to protect and is menacing the inhabitants. Gwrfelling is sure he can destroy the witch's power, but only with the aid of the fountain, and this is surely guarded by her evil minions. The basic plot of the adventure is simply to escort the Druid to and through the forest to the magic glade without being stopped or distracted by the witch and her allies. The lord will place the knight with the highest glory in charge, but will not be clear on whether or not the Druid has absolute say over the knights. The Druid himself will be part of the problem as he is reknowned for being Proud and Lustful. He has no respect for knights unless the obey him without question. The Unicorn: Once the knights have their affairs in order, they begin their trek to the druid's forest. The first encounter along the way is the sighting of a Greater Unicorn grazing in the forest. Awareness rolls will spot the Unicorn and criticals will note the presence of a woman hiding in the shadows near the beast. The head of a Unicorn is a priceless wall trophy and the GM should tell the knights of the great glory that can be had by tracking and slaying such a creature. The players will either choose to attack the beast or continue on and ignore its presence. The Druid will insist (correctly) that this is just a ploy of the witch to delay and mislead the knights and will try to continue on his way. If the knights hesitate in their decision, Gwrfelling will not fail to insult them. The knights who decide to follow the Druid may receive checks in either Prudent or Loyalty(Lord) while those that chase the Unicorn may take Reckless or Proud. If the Unicorn hunt does occur, the Druid will follow along angrily, deriding the knights whenever given the opportunity. The mysterious woman will have disappeared, but the Unicorn will be quite easy to follow (Hunting +10). The Unicorn will try to lead the knights deep into the woods and then get them lost. If the players successfully catch up to the Unicorn (Crited Hunting) it has the standard stats for a Greater Unicorn from Pendragon page 204. Slaying this Unicorn however, is only worth 25 glory, for it is not real. When it is killed it will fade away, for it was only a Glamour. Injuries and even deaths sustained during the fight will also magically go away. Normal hunting rolls will be required for the knights to find their way out of the woods. Gwrfelling will continue to deride the knights for falling for the witch's trick. The Ogre: The next encounter occurs when the knights come across a crying woman running towards them. When she sees the knights, she will tell them how a giant ogre has eaten her child and will continue to become more and more hysterical. Again the knights will be given the choice between continuing to escort the Druid or being lured aside by the woman's plight, for she fears for the lives of her other children. As before, Gwrfelling will insist it is a trick and the knights should just continue to escort him to the fountain. This time however the appropriate personality traits are Valorous and Merciful while ignoring the plea is Cruel or Loyal(Lord). The woman can easily lead the players to the Ogre. He will be gnawing on the leg of a young child. When the Ogre spots the knights, he will get a surprised look upon his face and drop the child. If the knights attack, he will scream at them while leaping up and down and waving his arms about. He will not defend himself. Use stats for Small Giant from Pendragon page 203 to represent him. If the ogre is quickly slain the killer will be in for quite a shock. The Ogre will shrink to the size of a small child while the child seen earlier will metomorph into an even smaller rag-doll. The mother, who mistakenly assumed the Ogre had eaten her child when she found it instead of him, will faint upon recognising the dead child as hers. Players will discover a strange amulet around the next of the child. When placed on a live person it tranforms them into a hideous Ogre. Religious or superstitious knights should probably try to destroy it, which can be done simply by crushing the ruby center piece. It is worth 50 glory to slay the child, but this is not good glory. Gwrfelling is not above an 'I told you so' even at this sad time. (On the off chance the knights act Prudently and try to talk to the Ogre, it is possible to resolve this encounter without violence and death, assuming the players continue to behave reasonably.) The Goblin: After another week of travel, the knights will be within two days of the Golden Fountain. At this point, their camp will be disturbed by a small goblin at night. The goblin will be very friendly and offer whomever is on watch a huge golden coin (worth 15L) to make sure the Druid does not wake up. If there are no takers, he will also try to offer a smaller (5L) gold coin for them not to participate in an attack upon his 'friend' who guards the Golden Fountain. The goblin will magically disappear if physically threatened, but will return whenever someone else is put on watch for this night and the next night. If questioned about his 'friend' he will eventually reveal it to be a mighty serpent who has eaten many knights and that he wouldn't want such nice knights as these to be eaten as well. The Serpent and the Fountain: Finally, the knights will reach the glen with the Golden Fountain spraying its magical waters gleefully into the air. Pacing menacingly around the Fountain is a large serpent. Use the stats of a wyrm from page 204 of Pendragon. At this point, Gwrfelling will tell the knights to slay the beast while he runs off to deal with some other business. He will not reveal his plans, and will demand the players slay the serpent immediately if they hesitate. Players will need Valorous rolls at -5 to approach the serpent. If and when they slay it, the Druid will return to the Fountain dragging a comely woman by the hair. He has captured the witch and demands that a knight hold her down while he deals with her. She will plead with the knight for release, swearing to end her evil ways, promising the womanly arts or begging not to let the Druid slay her; whatever she thinks may work. As part of the ritual involves the Druid taking some of her blood with a dagger, her pleas may carry some weight while he approaches her with it. He will not deign to explain his actions to the players. In the end, he will finish his ritual by dripping water from the Fountain on her head, destroying her magical powers. After this, Gwrfelling will then state that the magic he has just worked has greatly taxed him and that he needs to renew his magical energy. He requests to be allowed to be alone with the now helpless witch in the woods for a short bit of time. If the knights refuse, he will get very angry and tell them the lord will punish them for their disobedience. Given his way with the witch, he will be smug the rest of the trip home. If he is not, the next day he will collapse and have to be placed upon a horse for the return trip. Conclusion: The Lord will see the players in his court when they return. If they followed the Druid without straying and allowed him all his whims, they will be thanked and invited to the Lord's table for dinner that night. If anything else occurred, then the reaction of the Lord will depend upon who the Lord is and what his religion is. Tailor his reactions to this as well as his Just personality. In any case, if the Druid is returned unconscious, the Lord will not be very pleased and will let the knights know that. Punishments may be appropriate depending upon the actions of the players. General glory for completing the mission is 50 per knight. Double that if the mission was a complete success. The witch will be burned for her crimes and the Druid will eventually recover if he became unconscious. -------------------- The Chaosium Digest is a Discussion Forum for Chaosium Games which do not have another specific area for discussion. To submit an article, mail to: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu