Chaosium Digest Volume 10, Number 3 Date: Sunday, April 23, 1995 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: Secret Societies: The Early Gnostics (Peter J. Whitelaw) NEPHILIM Black Moon Rising (Jim W. Lai) COC/NEPHILIM Review: Chair et Metal (Frederic Moll) HAWKMOON Editor's Notes: A BOOK OF HORROR: I found a rather intriguing book while out today, and thought I'd shared it with you all. It's called HP Lovecraft's Book of Horror, and it contains Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature, along with 21 of the the short stories that he mentions therein. Among the collected authors are Dickens, Poe, Chambers, Smith, Machen and many more. I find it rather intriguing, because it's a collection of the works that influenced Lovecraft when he was doing his own writing. HP Lovecraft's Book of Horror is ISBN 1-56619-496-2. It was published in 1993 by Barnes and Noble Books. I don't know if it's available anywhere besides Barnes and Noble stores (as that is where I picked mine up), and I should note that they seem to be trying to get rid of this book, as I found my copy on their Bargain Book shelves. MORE DIGESTS FOR WINDOWS: The Winhelp versions of volume eight and nine of the Chaosium Digest are now available for ftp from ftp.csua.berkeley.edu in the directory /pub/chaosium/archives/windows. These archives are in a new format, in which the entire volume is contained in a single file. The volumes are indexed and catalogued, and keyword searches enable the user to find articles by author or game system. Thanks go out to Joab Stieglitz (stieg@ix.netcom.com) for making these Winhelp archives available. Anthologies of previous volumes should be available in the next few months. CHAOSIANA UPDATE: Just as an update, Chaosiana, which was first announced back in V9.9 of the Digest, is definitely happening. The contents of the first issue are now complete, and it's just a question of typesetting, adding artwork, and all that cool stuff. If all goes well, the first issue of Chaosiana should be out in about six weeks time. Recent Sightings: More French sightings, thanks to Frederic Moll. * Call of Cthulhu - "Le Breche Derriere la Flamma", a six page scenerio, Aspara #9 [Jan-Mar, 1995] * Pendragon - "A la Recherche de Clairement le Hardi", a five page scenerio, Aspara #9 [Jan-Mar 1995] * Misc - An Interview with Alan Gassner, artist for Chaosium and Oriflam, Aspara #9 [Jan-Mar 1995] -------------------- From: "Peter J. Whitelaw" <100102.3001@compuserve.com> Subject: Secret Societies: The Early Gnostics System: Nephilim There is some brief coverage given to the Gnostics on p.69 of the Nephilim rulebook. As a 'Secret Society' active from the very early Christian Era and allegedly thence beyond, they have some interesting possibilities. Some of their alleged practices have parallels within the game and I have highlighted some of these in the notes that follow. The Gnostics practiced magic and had Kabbalistic influences. It seems likely to me that Nephilim of the Magician Arcanum might well find it beneficial to work with underground Gnostic sects that continue in the practices and rituals common to them in the third century AD. OTOH, perhaps underground Gnostic magicians seek Nephilim to trap within their Abraxas and thereby harness the powers that this process will grant them. THE EARLY GNOSTICS Disclaimer: The material respectfully presented here is derived from sources that I believe to be reliable and is in no way intended to cause offence to any who practice any of the beliefs herein described. [Bracketed comments] are my own, admittedly ill-informed, thoughts on possible links to the Nephilim RPG and are similarly well intentioned. History The Gnostics are not so much Secret Societies, per se, but sects drawn from a branch of theology concerned with discovering the true meaning of the written word considered as sacred. These sects flourished in the first three centuries of the Christian church as a result of their reformulation of Christian beliefs in terms of science and philosophy. In the Near and Middle East, Christian belief acquired a distinctly Gnostic flavour but to the west, in Greece and Rome, they were distinct and set apart from the orthodox (small "o") congregations. This dichotomy led to Gnostic beliefs being labelled heretical by AD310. Beliefs All Gnostic sects were dualistic, believing in the balancing principles of Good and Evil. In addition, they were all considered to have been founded by Simon Magus. C.W. King in "The Gnostics and their Remains" (London, 1864) states: "The fundamental doctrine held in common by all the chiefs of the Gnosis was that the visible creation was not the work of the Supreme Deity, but that of the Demiurgus, a simple emanation, and several degrees removed from the Godhead." The sects themselves were possessed of no universal practices; both asceticism and licentiousness were believed to have been adopted. As mentioned above, Gnostic beliefs were popular in the middle East, particularly in Syria, where, in the second century AD, the most important sects were those of Saturninus of Antioch and the Ophites. The largest western sects were the Basilidians and the Valentinians. Basilides, an Egyptian, was at the height of his power in Alexandria circa AD105. The Basilidians espoused that Christ did not die upon the cross but that His place was taken by Simon of Cyrene. The Egyptian sects were practising magicians and used and created magical amulets in the form of gems called Abraxas. The Abraxas was a representation of the Supreme Being with five distinct emanations: * Two serpents from the human body; "nous" and "logos" (symbols of the inner senses and of quickening understanding [Earth-ka and Moon-ka?]). * A cocks head; "phronesis" (foresight and intelligence [Air-ka?]). * two arms bearing the shield of wisdom and the whip of power; "sophia" and "dynamis" [Water-ka and Fire-ka?]. Abraxas was, in fact, the Gnostic appellation for the Almighty because "the letters forming Abraxas in Greek numeration would make up the number 365, that is the number of days in the revolution of their sun." The mystical and intricate inscriptions upon these gems often made reference to Jewish or Christian religions in the words "Iao", "Sabaoth", "Adonai", etc. The occult theme of the serpent biting its own tail was a common inscription. [The Abraxas might be a stasis item bearing the name of the Nephilim contained therein]. The Gnostic sects shared two special beliefs. Firstly, according to the "Pistis Sophia" (the sacred book of the Gnostics), the soul, after death, had to pass, by means of watchwords, twelve crystal spheres that surrounded the earth and, secondly, that the Dragon of Outer Darkness [an Agarthan KaIm, survivor from the Age of Dragons?] would waylay unwary souls. Safe passage was guaranteed, however, by knowing one of the Dragon's twelve true names. The names on the Abraxas may have referred to these "true" names. R. Payne Knight in _The Symbolic Language of Ancient Art and Mythology_ (New York, 1876) mentions that: "The Ophites and Gnostics employed secret signs of recognition." Epiphanius thus describes them: "On the arrival of any stranger belonging to the same belief, they have a sign given by the man to the woman, and vice versa. In holding out the hand in pretence of saluting each other, they feel and tickle it in a peculiar manner underneath the palm, and so discover that the newcomer belongs to the same sect. Thereupon, however poor they may be, they serve up to him a sumptuous feast, with abundance of meats and wine. After they are well filled the entertainer rises and withdraws, leaving his wife behind with the command: 'Show thy charity to this our brother'." One should treat this report with all due circumspection, however, for the story is taken from one of the Fathers, who might well have had a vested interest in discrediting heretics. Since the Ophites are mentioned specifically this practice may well have been true of them. However, at the time of the early Christian church in Rome, Christians as a whole were considered somewhat antisocial and offbeat and were often accused of many acts that they were, most likely, not guilty of. It seems likely that the Gnostic sects may have been tarred by the same brush. Footnote Count von Hammer, a 19th century German orientalist alluded to a belief that the Templars were Gnostics, this being a reason for their persecution and trial at the beginning of the 14th century. It is claimed that this later charge may be disregarded as scholars have demonstrated that the Ophite, or Gnostic heresies of which they were accused, had died out in Syria in the fourth century. Also, that Gnostic doctrine regarding the Godhead was opposed to the Unitarianism of the Saracens whose "pernicious" doctrines were supposedly adopted by the Templars. However, it is true that many of the accusations levelled against the Templars had been used a thousand years before, against the Gnostics and that the present day Gnostic Liturgy mentions, amongst others, Jacques de Molay, Templar Grand Master at the time of their persecution from 1307 to 1314. [Perhaps this scholarly refutation of von Hammer's theories is nothing more than a Templar plot to muddy the waters regarding their own nature and practices]. Sources _Famous Secret Societies_, J. Heron Lepper (Sampson Low, date unknown) _The Trial of the Templars_, Malcolm Barber (Canto, 1993) Gnosticism: http://www.clark.net/pub/murple/gnostic.html and numerous, excellent links therefrom -------------------- From: jwtlai@io.com (Jim "GrimJim" W Lai) Subject: Black Moon Rising System: CoC/Nephilim Black Moon Rising: A Modern Day Crossover Campaign Background Considering the high attrition rate of investigators in Call of Cthulhu, it is amazing that there are enough new investigators to fill the ranks. In truth, investigators have been guided to their calling by the Nephilim for ages: a hint left here, a tome left there, or perhaps even a friendship with a Nephilim incarnate. The Nephilim are the true guardians of the Earth, seeking to stave off the increased presence of the Black Moon, that has been caused by the nuclear testing instigated by the Templars in their mad quest for power. Horrors were unleashed that made even the Selenim seem benevolent by comparison. Now the stars are right, but for whom? Tips on Converting from Call of Cthulhu to Nephilim For humans (and thus Nephilim): POW becomes Sun-Ka. This Sun-Ka is awakened if the human can cast spells. SIZ is ignored. The other statistics remain the same, more or less. Occult skill becomes Hermetic Lore. Cthulhu Mythos Lore is a new skill. (Nephilim do not suffer from SAN loss, though humans who become newly aware of Nephilim may lose SAN!) SOC will have to be estimated, and Life Experience calculated. Assign magical skills as evidenced by magical capability. For monsters: STR must be recomputed from the monster's damage bonus. CON must be recomputed from the monster's HP. SIZ is ignored save for actual size considerations. POW becomes Ka, often Black Moon-Ka, though it could conceivably even be Orichal-Ka if the gamemaster is particularly cruel. POW drain and POW costs become Ka costs; MP costs become Ch'awe costs. Nephilim do not suffer from any phenomenon similar to SAN loss, as they are considered monsters in Call of Cthulhu. Mythos spells now require Ch'awe and Ka, not MP and POW; an enterprising GM may require a dominant Ka or Sun-Ka threshold to cast such spells. Nephilim may or may not be able to create analogs of Mythos magic using sorcery, summoning, or alchemy; if not, they must rely on any simulacrum skills to cast Mythos spells. GrimJim (Jim W. Lai), jwtlai@io.com -------------------- From: Frederic Moll <100350.1766@compuserve.com> Subject: Review: Chair et Metal System: Hawkmoon Chair et Metal by Olivier Saraja Cover by Alain Gassner; art by Alain Gassner, Jean Luc Sala and Franck Capelli; Maps by Bruno Martin published by Oriflam 126 pages, 144 FF, ISBN : 2-906897-58-2. Reviewed by Frederic Moll "Chair et Metal" is the fourth installment in a series of original supplements for Hawkmoon in French, covering Europa areas. Previous supplements were "La France", "La Kamarg" and "l'Empire Tenebreux" (GranBretan). The first part of this book is a gazeeter of the Sicilia island in 5298. It contains: geographic descriptions; populations; political organizations; sects; science and knowledge; armies; prominent people; interesting sites; history; notes on travelling in Sicilia; Sicilians of the sixth millenium; and ideas for adventures. In 18 pages, the island is summarily described, but at least this gives a good idea of the situation and of future events (a kingdom with a weak king, Granbretons and a resistance movement). As a sidenote, the mafia is still active (but only as family business in Sicilia)! The second part (15 pages) is titled Sicilian Bestiary and includes optional rules on genetics programming, a description of four Sicilian races and a long description of the cyborgs (humans with cybernetics modules for senses, protection, weaponry, tools and special equipment) that can be found in the scenarios and elsewhere in the world. The third part (10 pages) is a gazeeter of Malta, which has the same organization as the Sicilia gazeeter. The New Knights of Malta Order is the unique source of authority for this area. The fourth part is a big campaign composed of 5 scenarios : - L'oeuf du demon - Dans les griffes du dieu rugissant - Dans les marais sanglants - Le premier sang - Represailles This is an epic campaign that starts as a small egg hunt and ends with great fighting, treachery, cyborgs and aliens. In each scenario, additional background information can be found as sidenotes, and all the NPCs are well described. The fatalistic feeling of Moorcock's works is rendered by the deaths of some of the NPCs during the adventures. The last part (18 pages) is made of Annexes (miscellaneous stuff that could not be included in the previous parts). "Chair et Metal" is a good supplement for Hawkmoon with the usual quality of Oriflam products. However, with the wealth of information found in this supplement, an index would have been a very useful addition. The mix between background and scenarios is perhaps too balanced. The background resulting from years of adventuring mentioned by the author in the introduction seem to have been shrunk to leave enough space for the scenarios. If the Hawkmoon! project presented by Lawrence Whitaker in the Digest (V9.8) becomes a definitive product, it could lead to a renewal of interest in the Hawkmoon world, and maybe we will see in the future supplements of this quality, in English bthis time.... Frederic Moll e-mail : 100350.1766@compuserve.com or fm10@calvanet.calvacom.fr -------------------- 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 ftp.csua.berkeley.edu in the directory /pub/chaosium, and may be retrieved via FTP.