Chaosium Digest Volume 11, Number 8 Date: Sunday, September 10, 1995 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: Arthurian Name Generator (Jonas Pope) PENDRAGON Books to Study (Ulises Santos Espino) CALL OF CTHULHU Editor's Note: Welcome to another issue of the Chaosium Digest. Enclosed you'll find articles that should be quite useful in just about any Pendragon or Call of Cthulhu game. As ever, thanks for the submissions. In skimming through the Digests from the last few months, I've noticed a peculiar lack of ELRIC! articles. Any one out there dreaming up new ideas for the Young Kingdoms? If so, send them this way. Until later. Shannon NEW RELEASES: * Call of Cthulhu - _Coming Full Circle_ (Pagan Publishing, 160 pg., $17.95) is another huge campaign book for CoC. It contains a set of four linked scenerios, set between 1929 and 1939. They are especially notable because they are all non-mythos horror; instead, the build upon the gruesome folk lore native to New England. * Glorantha - _Glorious ReAscent of Yelm_ (Wizard's Attic) has been reprinted, and supplemented with 20 new pages of star lore, maps and myths. If you haven't picked up this book yet, it contains all kinds of Solar Gloranthan Lore. If you already have an older edition, you can mail it in with $5 to get this new one. Give Wizard's Attic a call at 1-800-213-1493 for more info. _Les Dieux Nomades_ (Wizard's Attic) is the French revision of Nomad Gods, compatible with the Dragon Pass game. You can now get it in the US, along with an English copy of the new rules. Again, call Wizard's Attic at 1-800-213-1493. MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS: * Call of Cthulhu - "Evil of the Centuries", a three page 1920s adventure which is a sequel to earlier adventures in Challenge issues 65 and 76, Challenge #77 (FRENCH) MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS: Thanks once more to Frederic Moll for these French sightings. * Elric - "Pour quelques bronzes de plus...", a 10 page scenario, the first of a two part adventure, Tatou #24 [June/July, 1995] * Hawkmoon - "Ascenscion et Chute du Tenebreux Empire", 10 pages of background history, Tatou #24 [June/July, 1995] * Pendragon - "Vengeances", an 11 page scenario, Tatou #24 [June/July, 1995] NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: Pendragon Campaign Logs ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/chaosium/pendragon/fellowship These directories contain campaign logs, timelines and characters from the Pendragon campaign of Dale Meier, The Fellowship of the White Lion. -------------------- From: Jonas Pope Subject: Arthurian Name Generator System: Pendragon I have found coming up with names for NPCs in Pendragon can be difficult. To ease the task, I offer this Arthurian Names generator. To use, simply roll 2 D10 and consult the First Element table, then roll D6 and D10 and consult the Second Element table. Combine first and second elements to create the name. For first elements ending in a vowel in parentheses (e.g., Car(a)-) add the vowel or not according to taste. Example: A roll of 3, 8 on the First Element table yields the element Dur-; a roll of 5, 3 on the second table yields -gran. Combine them to get the name Durgran. The tables are rather rough-and-ready. Some of the results they give are not very euphonious. Also, they are set up to generate male Arthurian names--female ones tend to have a very different flavor. Additional note: when generating families of NPCs, it can be effective to use the same first or second element for all of them. Thus Durgran could have brothers named Durstan, Durlois, and Durheris; or Peligran, Nerogran, and Lamogran. FIRST ELEMENT: Die Die 1 2 3 4 5 1 Acca- Agla- Agra- An- And(o)- 2 Ar- Aug- Ba- Bal(a)- Bande- 3 Baude- Bed(i)- Bel(e)- Bellan- Ber- 4 Berci- Ble- Bod- Bra- Bran- 5 Bre- Bru- Ca- Cad- Caher- 6 Cal(o)- Cane- Car(a)- Celi- Clama- 7 Clau- Dago- Di- Din(a)- Dodi- 8 Dris- Dru- Dur- Ec- Eli- 9 Er- Esca- Esco- Ev(a)- Fal(a)- 10 Fer- Foran- Ga- Gale- Gan- Die Die 6 7 8 9 10 1 Gar- Ge- Ger- Ging- Gir- 2 Gola- Gor(a)- Gorne- Gorve- Gringe- 3 Guine- Har- Her(i)- Hum- I- 4 Iva- Lamo- Lan- Lar(a)- Leode- 5 Lio- Ma- Mabona- Mad- Mar- 6 Med- Melea- Mer- Meria- Mor- 7 Mord- Nero- Or(a)- Pal(a)- Par- 8 Pedi- Pel(i)- Perce- Pere- Sagre- 9 Sar(a)- Sel(e)- Sor- Tor- Tris- 10 Tyo- Uri- Val(a)- Vel(i)- Vorti- SECOND ELEMENT: Die Die 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 -dan -das -deles -din -dinis -doc 2 -don -dor -dos -dur -ens -flet 3 -gan -ger -gern -gore -gran -gros 4 -halt -heret -heris -holt -hus -lac 5 -lan -lant -les -lin -lois -lon 6 -mant -magus -mart -medes -mor -nant 7 -nas -nel -net -nor -ons -rain 8 -ran -rant -reint -red -ret -reth 9 -ris -ron -sor -stan -tan -tor 10 -vain -val -ver -wain -wyn -wys Jonas Pope popej@cofc.edu -------------------- From: Ulises Santos Espino Subject: Books to Study System: Call of Cthulhu Following is a set of books used and created in my games. Most of them are funny, but I think they can fit in a serious campaign. -Ulises Santos Espino- Format: _______________________________________________ | "Name"[Translation] (Language) Author | | +Plus Mythos xMultiplier -Sanity Loss | | *Brief description. | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "O manual das boas meigas" [The Book of Good Witches] (Spanish) Anonymous +2% x5 -1D10 *Written about sXIII, it is the most important book about Gallician Witches (Meigas, the most notorious in Spain). It contains several ceremonies, summonings and satanic masses. Customs of Meigas are well described here. "Orchiotopeia proctophyla" (Greek) Thassos of Lesbos +8% x2 -1D6 *Thassos wrote this volume in sIII BC, trying to describe all the pagan practices performed in the Greece of his time. Special attention is given to Nyarlathotep and Dagon cults. "Anaaiban babaliba habibi" (Arabic) Rahmat Al-Guarism +16% x3 -2D8 *The author was an ascetic of sX, who went completely mad in what is now the Desert of Yemen. He wrote these verses as he was travelling through time (he talks about atomic bomb and a beetle civilization). He reveals some useful drugs and warns the mortal men about the Hounds of Tindalos. "Bibabuluba Shismaybeibi" (Arabic) Jebel Ben-Hansa +10% x4 -2D10 *Summonings and pacts with the Elder God. Includes notes about cults around Persia, Syria and the Arabian Peninsula. Contains descriptions of Cthugha, Nyoghta and Azathoth. Mentions a being which turns to stone to those who dare look at it. "Les cages malveillantes" [The Evil Cages] (French) Jean-Louis Palmier +16% x4 -1D10 *Customs of Fungi of Yuggoth, as well as devices and weapons developed by the Plutonian inhabitants. Byakhee and other Minor Races are described. Palmier makes special note of humans enslaved by the Fungi. The shivering realism of this chapter could be the explanation for his disappearance in 1895, when he was studying an Alpen mountain. "Ils sont notre perdition" [They Are Our Ruin] (French) Antoine-Louis Pereire +8% x2 -1D6 *Generalities about the Theogony, all the races and gods. Includes some new beings (Iktacasua, Bheel-Sher) which have never been confirmed. Many experts of the Mythos have decided that this book is full of mistakes and incoherences. However, it has many good references. Pereire committed suicide by strangulation in 1902. "Plus ultra legio" [The Legion From Further On] (Latin) Catulus Pontaureum +15% x3 -2D10 *This is a horrible and realistic collection of beings and happenings hardly equaled by the Necronomicon. It places the human at an insignificant level of the Universe. Contains history pre- and post-human. It emphasizes the leadership of Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep and Y'Golonac. Written in sI BC. "Phylotanathos" (Greek) Meonides of Abdera +10% x3 -2D10 *Life after death, includes techniques of resurrection and life preservation. Also, it follows every technique with its counterpart. Meonides talks especially of Cthulhu, Tsathogghua and Hastur (indirectly). He makes a map of different doomed places over the Earth (known in sII AD). "Al azif jalufi" (Arab) Ben Aki +12% x3 -1D10 "Al azif auladi" (Arab) Ben Shale +16% x5 -2D10 *These are versions of the Necronomicon. In 1237, Mohammed Fayat Cadi of Hashimi founded a School of Dark Studies and tried to spread the knowledge of Al Azred among all the people. Then, he ordered Ben Aki and Ben Shale to adapt Al Azif for peasants and children, respectively. Both books have many pictures and are very descriptive (especially the second one). In 1258, Hulagu, chieftain of the Tljanes, destroyed Bagdad and the School. "Necronomicon pro puberi" (Latin) Giovanni Scopoulos +10% x3 -2D8 *Latin version of Al Azif Auladi performed in the Italian Trecento. "A la rosette de l'Arabie" [The Rosette from Arabia] (French) Jean Planchette +6% x5 -2D10 *Pre-babylonian work from Mesopotamia, found on the Arabian Peninsula. Descriptions of Shudde-Mell, the Cthonians, the networks built by them under the sands, and the site where the lost city of Irem is placed. The author came to Egypt with Napoleon and joined the Turks. He was executed by treason. "Zebubi tabulam" [Tablettes From Zebub] (Latin) Claudio Euxino +10% x3 -2D8 *Claudio Euxino was a Roman Prince, leader of the Velites placed in Asia. He discovered and studied some mud tablets found in Persian ruins. In sI AD, he completed their translation, which were full of mentions of Nyarlathotep and Y'Golonac. There are also some references to Snakemen and Yith. "Il fuoco della testa" [The Fire In The Head] (Italian) Luisse Pesoni +2% -- -1D3 *Collection about drugs and objects which allow astral travels. Glasses of Leng, oils, herbs, etc. It does not include spells, but some monsters are mentioned here, such as Knopf-Keh, Dagon and Nodens. Written in 1835. "Der Hauptdarsteller" [The Whisperer] (German) Josiv Mijail Ostans +3% x1 -1D6 *He uses many metaphors and twisted paragraphs to tell the history of the Elder Gods, the Theogony, the coming of the monsters and so on. It is a very dense book, but mostly incomprehensible. Herr Ostans lived and worked in Bratislava. "The Book Of The Dismemberment" (Japanese) Akira Ginsua +10% x3 -2D8 *Japanese practices of evil rituals in sXVI. Several tales of sea monsters, Cthulhu, Dagon and Hydra. He makes a discussion of the beings from the sky, the sea and the land. "Werewolves" (English) Anonymous +2% x1 -1D3 *Lycanthropes and their kin. It is an old book, apparently written in Scotland, that shows the wild life of these doomed men and their pacts with the Elder Gods. It may be written before sXVII. "Dasse Schpettur Seher" [The Threshold Observer] (Ancient Prusian) Anonymous +13% x3 -2D10 *A classic book about Middle Age cults in Central Europe. There are several bad copies in German and English around the World, but the book have been never correctly translated due to its difficulty. One of the notable sections of this book includes an epic poem of a Warlord that converted his own castle in a viscous mass of mud. "My Life In Yuggoth" (English) H.P. Lovecraft +5% x1 -1D10 *Just before HPL died, he was changed by a biomechanic clone and sent to Pluto by the Fungi. There, he was subjected to a treatment of cryogenics, and he became virtually immortal. The Fungi had followed his career and they were impressed by his writtings. Then, a hexagonal dome was erected for him and since that moment, he has dedicated his life to writing books like this. This volume was brought to the Earth by a group of investigators who used a portal. "Baku todd" [Smith From Baku] (Armenian) Anonymous +8% x2 -2D6 *In the tenth century, some rebel peasants and smiths were united by a leader called Vrastas. As a revenge, they killed horribly all the nobles in the country. Afterwards, they performed a ritual to Yog Sothoth and finally went crazy. The summoning of Tawil al Umr converted a wide area into desert. "Zyamalaka Tantra" [Black Book] (Sanskrit) Anonymous +12% x3 -2D10 *Full of summonings, ceremonies and worship ceremonies. A list of monsters and their cults makes this book a valuable file of Mythos knowledge. Part of this book is lost but it is thought that a complete copy is at Borneo. "Sdraa" (Ge'ez) Ulesis the Saint +25% x5 -2D20 *The most horrible book of the Earth, written in the lost semitic language. It is better for the investigator not to learn this idiom, and never to find this doomed book. EVERYTHING is crudely writen here. The evil shamman Ulesis will be damned by the sons of the men until their extintion. He is guilty of the doom of Sahara's Grasslands. "Ancient Cultes In Center Europe" (English) Francis Calldit +3% x1 -1D6 *A brief description of the most worshipped gods in Europe, from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Sweet stories from Shubb-Niggurath and her dark sons. The author drowned in 1798. "Lowertown" (English) Gilbert Marking +8% -- -1D10 *Victorian London, through the eyes of a Lord who kidnapped beggars and prostitutes for experiments and sacrifices. "Reportage a L'Indochine" (French) Ernest Ageites +8% x2 -2D4 *Many photographs from Vietnam and Kampuchea, of temples and dark clerics. There are images of Cthulhu, Nyarlathothep and other Primogens. The text is short but descriptive. It was published in 1923. "La huella de Kobi" [Kobee's Print] (Spanish) Eduardo Hernandez +1% -- -1D3 *Mr Hernandez found some prints of the Minor God Kobee, the gummy monster. The book was compiled by Esther Vega from the letters that Hernandez sent her before he died. It is supposed that he finally found the God. Written in the last century. ********************************************************************** * 1989-1995 Ulises Santos Espino, Canary Islands, Spain * * * * is: * * vystrik@sopa.dis.ulpgc.es * * a1288@correo.dis.ulpgc.es * * * ******************************************************************** -------------------- The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial electronic 'zine about Chaosium's Games. In no way should it be considered representative of the views or beliefs of Chaosium Inc. To submit an article, subscribe or unsubscribe, mail to: appel@erzo.org. The old digests are archived on ftp.csua.berkeley.edu in the directory /pub/chaosium, and may be retrieved via FTP.