Chaosium Digest Volume 9, Number 8 Date: Sunday, February 12, 1995 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: The Pillars of Daar Krin (Matt Hyde) ELRIC! The Altar of Blood (Shannon Appel) ELRIC! Announcement: Hawkmoon! (Lawrence Whitaker) ELRIC! Short Idea for a Dreamlands Game (Ismael Stevens) ARKHAM HORROR Chaosium Digest Windows Help Survey (Joab Ben Stieglitz) MISC Editor's Notes: Welcome everyone to the first issue of the Chaosium Digest's third year. Two years and three hundred thousand words ago, the first issue of the Chaosium Digest went out to 56 subscribers. This issue is being sent to 630 people. I am very happy that so many people have joined the Digest, and decided to stay with it. Let me also thank everyone who has contributed to the Digest over the last two years. Without contributions, there would be no new Digests to send out. Near universally, contributions have been of very high quality. Your efforts are appreciated, and I hope you'll find the Digest useful enough to continue them in the future. With that said, I have lots of mini-announcements here, before I get on to the Digest proper. CHARACTER DOSSIERS: Now available for Nephilim is the Character Dossiers packet (Chaosium, $8.95). This is a large set of spiffy-looking 4 page character sheets for the Nephilim game. MORE ETERNAL CHAMPION CHRONICLES: Although I haven't picked up a copy yet, I've been told that the second volume of White Wolf's Eternal Champion omnibuses is now out. It's the Chronicle of Von Bek (White Wolf, $19.99, ISBN 1-56504-177-1) and contains the three novels, The Warhound and the World's Pain, the City in the Autumn Stars and The Dragon in the Sword, as well as the short story The Pleasure Garden of Felipe Sagittarius. NEW FRENCH PRODUCTS: French readers of the Digest will be pleased to hear that the French translation of the Elfquest RPG is now out, published by Halloween Concept. Oriflam has announced that a translation of Credo! should be out in March of 1995, as will the French edition of Fate of Fools. Finally, a new French supplement for Hawkmoon should be available soon. It is called Chair et Metal, and is set in Sicilia. COC CHARACTER GENERATOR FOR WINDOWS: You can now pick up a CoC Character Generator for Windows from ftp.csua.berkeley.edu as /pub/chaosium/cthulhu/coc/programs/cocgen11.zip. I haven't run it, but I've been told it's quite neat. It contains over 130 classes and 100 skills, and produces printed character sheets. Thanks go out to author, Andrew Lawrenson (lawrens@cs.bris.ac.uk). NEW WINDOWS HELP FILES: Windows users will also be interested in knowing that there are now Windows Help File versions of the Digest up through the end of Volume 7. If you use Windows, you should definitely consider taking a look. The files are all in the directory /pub/chaosium/archives/windows on ftp.csua. These recent ones have been produced by Joab Stieglitz (stieg@ix.netcom.com) who is continuing the work that was begun by Stefan Matthias Aust (sma@informatik.uni-kiel.d400.de). Joab wants to do the best possible job on these files, and so he put together a survey asking what you'd like to see. It's the last article in this issue of the Digest. If you use the Windows Help Files, take a few seconds to fill it out and send it to Joab. Shannon -------------------- From: "M.D. HYDE" Subject: The Pillars of Daar Krin System: Elric! The Pillars of Daar Krin (another location on Pan Tang) In the road approaching the damned city of Hwamgaarl, travellers notice that along a certain stretch, the sides of the road are large pillars carved from obsidian. Most travellers ignore these everyday sites (for Pan Tang), and travel onwards. Others may not be so sensible and will investigate these objects. Each pillar stands over twelve feet tall, and would weigh several tonnes. All over the stones are carved depictions of demons and other scenes of Chaos. Magically minded adventurers may notice, interwoven with the pictures, strange runes. Witchsight reveals a strong magical aura round the pillars. These pillars maybe treated like a grimoire, and researched. The spells gleaned from the pillars are mainly demon summonings, and unique Mabden spell of all sorts. But, as with all seeming gifts of chaos there is a curse. The Curse of Daar Krin All adventurers trying to gain spells from the pillars must make a luck roll, and afterwords must make another at every encounter with the malign stones thereafter. Failure at any point means the curse manifests itself 1D8 days later. The victim's body starts to wither at first, causing 1 CON, 1 STR and 1 CHA loss every 1D8 days. After 2 weeks, if the adventurer is still alive, the victims body starts to warp. Long fangs sprout from its jaw and the hands become talons. The victim can no loonger eat cooked food, but must consume the blood of mammals to live. The body becomes tougher, gaining 2D8 points in STR and CON. Finally the victim gains a phobia for light. Typical Child of Daar Krin - description A victim of the curse of Daar Krin is a skeletal looking creature with a pair of long fangs and a set of sharp talons. Their skin is dried and torn in places whilst their eyes are mere vacant pits of darkness. They hunt for mammals in the darkness, to consume their flesh and blood. ave STR 4D8 18 Armour- 4p dried skin CON 4D8 18 SIZ 3D6 11 Weapons- claw 45% 1D8 INT 3D6 11 fangs 30% 1D4+ability POW 3D6 11 DEX 2D8 9 CHA 1D8 4 MOV 2D8 max 12 Abilities- Exanguinate - 1D6 hp a round. Create Darkness - 1D10 foot area, centered on creature. Needs- Stay in darkness Consume mammal blood. (The spell, curse of Daar Krin is noted on one pillar. Those interested in the necromantic arts may cast it.) Range: Touch Mp. Cost: 25 + 1POW Define children of Daar Krin like other necromants. There is a runic version of the spell but none know of its location. -------------------- From: Shannon Appel Subject: The Altar of Blood System: Elric! I've been enjoying the writeups that Matt Hyde has been doing of interesting locations in Pan Tang. Thus, I've decided to write up a magical locale of my own. THE ALTAR OF BLOOD "Upon the rock was a building, a great castle all colored scarlet. And the scarlet rippled as if water had somehow been molded into a permanent shape. A familiar, salty smell came from the scarlet castle." -Description of Duke Teer's Castle, _The King of the Swords_, Book 2, Chapter 2 In the wilderness of Ilmoria, amidst the grasslands that are still untamed by the young nation, there is an ancient altar to chaos which was once worshiped at by a people that are now long dead. It has been abandoned for ages, but very recently, new worshipers have been drawn to it. The altar is a shrine to Duke Teer, the Lord of Blood. It is approximately rectangular in shape, five feet long, two feet wide and two and half feet high. The entire altar is composed of blood. It is fluid, constantly rippling, yet it is set into its current form. Occasionally, shapes can be seen in the rippling surface, sculptures made of blood. The altar is not fully solid, but there is increasing resistance if anyone tries to reach into it. The stench of blood can be smelled for hundreds of feet around. Carrion eaters constantly circle the altar, but seem unwilling to actually touch it. Duke Teer has been banished from the Young Kingdoms for long age, but now that Old Ollen has rediscovered the altar, he is reawakening the worship of Duke Teer. He has over a dozen cultists who have joined in his worship, and he is preparing to spread the cult of Duke Teer further. The PCs can be drawn to the area of the altar when the followers of Duke Teer begin kidnapping local people to drain their blood in rituals to Duke Teer. They will likely end up in conflict with Old Ollen, many cultists and creatures of blood. If they defeat Duke Teer, they will still need to figure out what to do with the Altar of Blood, since it cannot be destroyed by normal, mundane means. If the PCs are unable to stop the followers of Teer now, the Cult will slowly spread across the Young Kingdoms, and become an important force in the future. SPELLS OF BLOOD Followers of Duke Teer may learn certain spells of Chaos unique to the Lord of Blood. To do so, they must worship at the Altar of Blood for a week, and then suceed at an INTx1 roll. Below are the two spells available in this way. Shape Blood (1 POW + varies) - Range is touch. Chaotic. This spell allows the caster to shape a quantity of blood into some solid form. One magic point must be expended when casting this spell for every SIZ point worth of blood that is shaped. All such items created are sacred to Duke Teer. Teer's followers believe that it is their duty to one day cover the entire world in blood. Stop Blood(3) - This spell disrupts the flow of blood within a victim, causing them considerable pain. If the caster suceeds in overcoming the victim in a MP:MP roll, the victim immediately takes 1D3 damage. In addition, the victim will be unable to act in the next round unless he suceeds at a CONx3 roll. THE CULTISTS Below are stats for Old Ollen, the current high priest of Duke Teer. Statistics for cultists should be created as appropriate. They should be moderate warriors, who are utterly amoral. A few will know Duke Teer's special spells. Old Ollen, High Priest of Duke Teer Chaos 62, Balance 18, Law 2 STR 9 CON 13 SIZ 11 INT 17 POW 18 DEX 16 APP 6 HP 12 Damage Bonus: none Weapons: Blood Dagger 75%, damage 1D4+2 Armor: none Spells: Affliction (BG), Hell's Razor, Shape Blood, Stop Blood Demons & Enchantments: see Blood Monsters below Skills: Craft (Blood) 93%, Disguise 51%, Dodge 78%, Fast Talk 49%, Hide 83%, Insight 75%, Oratory 97%, Own Language 85%, Search 67%, Young Kingdoms 34% Old Ollen has totally accepted the ways of Duke Teer, and is committed to bringing them to all of the Young Kingdoms. He sees humans merely as vessels. Some, he allows to be tools to spread the ways of his lord to all. BLOOD MONSTERS Duke Teer has gifted his greatest worshiper in the Young Kingdoms with creatures composed entirely of blood, to protect him, and help him to spread the word of Teer. All creatures of blood have the following characteristics: * impaling weapons do no damage * edged weapons do half damage * blunt weapons do normal damage * when they are slain, they explode, sending blood in all directions One example of a Blood Monster is given below. Old Ollen should have several more at his disposal. Simply adapt demons as necessary for these. Blood Monster STR 24 CON 20 SIZ 25 INT 5 POW 10 DEX 12 APP 3 HP 23 Damage Bonus: +2D6 Abilities: Absorb Missile at 90% Vomit Acidic Blood at 50%, POT 1D10, 5 yard range Weapons: Claws 90%, damage 2D6+db Bite 60%, damage 3D8+dbp Armor: none, but see special notes above Skills: Act Threateningly 99%, Climb 50%, Dodge 30%, Wrestle 60% Need: 1 SIZ of blood each day -------------------- From: Lawrence Whitaker <100520.3552@compuserve.com> Subject: Announcement: Hawkmoon! System: Elric! Some of you may remember Chaosium's original stab at a Hawkmoon game. Based heavily on Stormbringer, it had many failings, but did suggest a strong campaign background and was a sincere attempt to bring Moorcock's Dorian Hawkmoon to life. I'm a freelancer for Chaosium, and I'm currently working on a new Hawkmoon supplement for Elric! The new version is not a game in its own right; rather it is a supplement/ alternative campaign setting for the Elric! game and as such requires familiarity with the Elric! rules system. Naturally, Hawkmoon! will feature technology such as flamelances and ornithopters, but additionally there will be extensive background information on Granbretan and Europe, as well as new rules for the workings of the Runestaff and how it influences the adventurers' actions during play. The background material provides countless scenario ideas, and a full digest of NPCs adds even more; the book rounds out with a starting scenario designed to lead into a full campaign. If anyone wants to know more, or you have any questions, mail me at Internet:100520.3552.compuserve.com and I'll be happy to help. -------------------- From: "ISMAEL W. STEVENS" Subject: Short Idea for a Dreamlands Game System: Arkham Horror I have been playing around with an game idea based on the ARKHAM HORROR system. You take the boxed set Dreamlands CoC supplement and photocopy the big map. Then, overlay a grid system or irregular boundary system to divide the map into areas for movement. You can use the characters (or make up new ones) from Arkham Horror and use the game system itself: sanity, strength, skills (but now you can have more than one), items, spells, etc. You can then make up some new items and spells cards on 3 by 5 index cards cut in half or quarters. For monsters, use an encounter table like in D&D, i.e. d10s for 1-100 with a bell shaped curve for frequency. For situations at locations, make up some 2d6 tables for 2-12 results. The object of the game could be to complete one of several possible quests: 1. Find Kadath and implore the residents to grant you your visions. 2. Defeat Lathi or Zura. 3. Somehow thwart the plans of the Old Ones. For fleshing out, the Dreamlands boxed set has booklets on places and encounters. Just a quick idea, and one I will NEVER have the time to fully develop. Ish Stevens -------------------- From: stieg@ix.netcom.com (Joab Ben Stieglitz) Subject: Chaosium Digest Windows Help Survey System: Misc I have recently taken over the production of the Windows Help File version of the Chaosium Digest, which can be found at the berkeley FTP site (ftp.csua.berkeley.edu /pub/chaosium/archives/windows). As a technical writer, and author of online documentation on a variety of technical subject for my work, I am accustomed to writing manuals rather than journals. In order to make the files most useful to their readers, I would like to know your preferences as to format. Please mail me a reply to the following questions with "Chaosium Digest Windows Help Survey" in the subject. Please look at help files from others Windows programs for comparison purposes. 1. Are you a regular reader/user of Windows Help Files (in general)? 2. Do you prefer reading on the screen, or printing and reading from paper? 3. Would you prefer that articles in the Chaosium Digest be kept in one large topic, or would you rather see screen sized/logical subtopics to make navigation on the screen/finding what you are looking for easier? 4. Would you use the Search button to find information if search items were included (not currently done)? 5. Do you like the one help file per issue format? Would you prefer one help file per volume (12 issues)? Both individual issues and an end of volume all inclusive version? I currently have volume 8 in the queue for production, but I have been holding back pending resolution of the issues raised in this survey. Once they are resolved, my goal is to have the help version out within a week of receiving the ASCII version. Thanks in advance for your assistance. Joab. -------------------- 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. All articles submitted to the Digest remain copyright their respective authors, unless noted otherwise.