Chaosium Digest Volume 12, Number 3 Date: Sunday, November 19, 1995 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: New Summoning Spells (Geoffrey C. Grabowski) NEPHILIM Hymnsinger: A Lawful Runesword (Paul Caley) ELRIC! Editor's Note: Welcome to another issue of the Chaosium Digest, this time containing a brand new Elric! article, as well as a Nephilim article originally published over on the Nephilim mailing list. In skimming through the old digests, I've noticed that it's (suprisingly) been a full two months since any Cthulhu articles have graced the electronic pages of this publication. If anyone has been working on new ideas for CoC, now would be an ideal time to send them this way, for inclusion in a future digest. Shannon RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE: * Elric! - _Lunching with the Antichrist_ (Mark V. Ziesing, $25.00, ISBN 0-929480-46-5) is not an Elric! book, but this new Michael Moorcock collection no doubt contains some of the same themes which have spanned all of his literature. This particular tome is a collection of seven stories concerning the von Bek family, from 1925 to 2015. * Nephilim - _A History of Secret Societies_ (Citadel Press, $10.95, ISBN 0-8065-0857-4) is an excellent resource on Secret Societies which has just been re-released. The chapters document various secret societies, from the Assasins, the Templars and the Sufi, to the Order of the Peacock Angel and the Decided Ones of Jupiter the Thunderer, all to a fairly high level of detail. It's an excellent resource for Nephilim gamemasters. -------------------- From: The Raindog Subject: New Summoning Spells System: Nephilim I decided to fill in some of the Summoning Hierarchy today while flipping through the book. Here are a few of my finer creations, omitting the immor(t)al; Obedient Servants of the Leather Clad Princess, In Drag; The Small Hairless Dogs of Far Away Mehico, Across the Stormy Gulf; or The Willing Love-Ponies of the Sensual Paddocks, With Stepstools. I don't think they'd be useful in most Nephilim adventures. Well, okay, in most Nephilim games, I don't want to say what adventurous Nephilim might or might not do. SEALS, REALM OF ELEMENTAL AND SPIRITUAL COMPREHENSION ----------------------------------------------------- The All-Seeing Sages, With Scarlet Censers, Disciples of the Hidden Altar Circle: Seals Ka-element: Fire Threshold: 65% Contract: 14 Rupture: Capture Duration: 1 Investigation Range: Location Summoned To Autonomy: Total Decription: This Invokation summons three Sages into the Pentacle. The sages, hale and ruddy old men with long grey-red beards and black and scarlet cloaks, bring with them each a scarlet-enameled censer wrought of bronze. When commanded, they can recite the nature of any deed of violence or anger they are brought to the scene of, after a 1d10 minute investigation, which requires a fumigation of the area with the sulpherous incense in their censers. The Sages cannot tell of events that took place over a year and a day before their summoning. While they can describe the circumstances and methods of the violence, and can give a minutely accurate desciption of the perpetrator(s), they have no power to reveal the name of the perpetrator unless some servant of the Hidden Altar was entrusted with that name during the perpetrator's initiation into Summoning. Also, unless the crime was one of hatred or passion, rather than, say, a calculated murder or assassination (GMs must use their judgement as to the nature of a crime), they can give no insight into the motives or reasoning behind it, only a factual description. The Sages are often useful to those Nephilim investigating the murder of other Nephilim, and to the members of the Judgement Arcanum. Once invoked, they cannnot be invoked again by the same summoner until next Tuesday. PENTACLES, REALM OF EMOTIONS ---------------------------- Brazen Scaled Soldiers From The Scarlet Rivers, Acolytes of the Hidden Altar Circle: Pentacle Ka-element: Fire Threshold: 70% Contract: 20 Rupture: Capture, the Summoner will be effected instead Duration: Until Next Tuesday Range: Unlimited Autonomy: Total Description: The Soldier answering the invocation appears as a tall, thickly muscled man with a thick red beard and hair, with brazen scales instead of skin. Its eyes are terrible blue flames, and it has long bronze claws and fangs. It is invisible except to Ka-vision. The Soldier will follow the caster for up to eight hours, or until it is commanded to attack. When so commanded, the Soldier will begin to follow the target instead. Whenever the target is subject to anger, the Soldier will strike them with its brazen talons, increasing their rage and anger. Those effected must make a Ka check or fly into a hot rage, screaming, yelling, and very possibly becoming destructively violent. The check must be made each round the irritation persists, and is of increasing difficulty. The first round it is made at Ka x 5, the second round, at Ka x 4, and so on. After the fifth round, the checks are made at Ka x 1. If the target loses their temper they will continue to lose their temper until they make a Ka x 1 check (allowed every minute). If they become irritated after they regain control of their temper, the whole process begins again. A botched check indicates the target has fallen victim to the Soldier, and enters a homicidal rage from which they will not recover until the spell expires. For the purposes of the effects of the spell, 'irritation' is defined as anything which causes the character's emotional temperature to rise, from missing keys and unavailable parking spaces on up. PENTACLES, REALM OF HIDDEN KNOWLEDGE ------------------------------------ Keriel, Princess of the Hidden Altar, Altar Itself and Centerpiece Circle: Pentacles Ka-element: Fire Threshold: 50% Contract: 30 Rupture: Capture: The Nephilim loses one point of Ka and Kerial leaves. Duration: Time to execute one task Range: Unlimited Autonomy: Total Description: Keriel appears as a naked young woman with a firm, voluptuous body and thick red hair. She bears a fiery sword in her right hand and a candleabra with five candles burning in it in her left. She is quick-tempered, often prone to hot anger. She is resentful of her superior, and will not conduct business with a Pyrim who has learned The Daughters of Noubosse from Raphael. The powers of Keriel regarding Fire spells are the same as those of Gabriel, but only regarding Fire spells of High and Low magic Sorcery and Summoning spells related to the Hidden Altar. She will only perform these acts freely for Pyrim. All other Nephilim must pay one Ka point per spell corrected. She can also teach these spells, demanding one Ka point in payment from Pyrim, and three from other Nephilim. These versions of the spells are better than the common versions, giving the caster the option of sacrificing one Ka point to evade the rupture result of the Contract roll. Keriel delights in violence, and will happily tell the invoker the circumstances of any act or deed of violence for no Ka points. She will reveal the name of the perpetrator(s) for one Ka point if they have revealed their name to her through herself or one of her servants or if the act was motivated by hatred or rage. If the act was not motivated by hatred or rage, she must be given five Ka points to reveal the name of the perpetrator. There is no time limit on her ability to perform this act. Keriel can halt the effects of any Invocation related to the Hidden Altar, but will only do so if the Nephilim bribe her with one Ka point per circle of the Spell. She will also release anyone captured by the servants of the Hidden Altar, but only if the Nephilim offer her twice as much Solar Ka in the form of blood sacrifice as the captured target posesses Ka in their primary element, and a substitute (who need not be willing) to serve her in the captured victim's stead. |Geoffrey C. Grabowski|gcgst1+@pitt.edu|Undergrad, U.Pittsburgh|Swing Heil!| [O] [O] cynic, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not [O] as they ought to be. -------------------- From: Paul Caley <100555.345@compuserve.com> Subject: Hymnsinger: a Lawful Runesword System: Elric Hymnsinger is a truly powerful weapon. It is used to rival Stormbringer, Mournblade or any other Chaotic runeswords. In the example below the weapon was created when Mournblade was used to kill Callundus, knight of Donblas, the runesword absorbing so much power that it became what it destroyed. The sword could be created by any means or just be a gift from the gods. Its high characteristics are reflective only of the power of Callundus. Feel free to make this weapon fit into your games; it has endless possibilites and a thousand stories that could accompany it. HYMNSINGER The Sword of Calandaur "The blade was made from white silver, emitting a strange pale blue light. It had intricate golden runes carved into it. It was pure perfection. To those not aligned with Law this sentient weapon was painful to gaze at; for lawful followers, the sword was beautiful and celestial, almost mesmerising. "Rarhl now held the weapon. So great was his loss that he felt uncertainty in himself and in his ability to continue. Chaos had taken everything from him and yet he now had this sword. He knew it to be powerful; he had seen what it had done to Callundus. He had also seen it change. It was as if Callundus had become part of it, for it seemed to radiate pureness. He was unsure as he had reached for the sword whether it had come to his hand or not; that of which he was clear of, was its beauty. He watched the pale blue light flicker as it danced around the blade. A very faint and tranquil sound of music could be heard coming from within. Rarhl spoke 'You shall serve me, for together we have purpose. We shall protect one another from the darkness of Chaos and serve the good of humanity. I have waited long for you to arrive. Now that you have, I shall wield you in the name of Law, my Law. From this day on you shall be known as Hymnsinger and I shall be your only master.' And then the sword replied, 'Yes.'" Hymnsinger Created from the death of Callundus, this runesword was once host to the demon Mournblade; now it is host to the soul of Callundus, the lawful god. The blade is made from white silver and it emits a strange pale blue light. It has intricate golden runes carved into it that seem to be in constant motion. It is a picture of pure perfection. To those not aligned with law, this sentient weapon is almost painful to gaze at. For lawful followers, the sword is beautiful and celestial, almost mesmerising. Chaos 0, Balance 0, Law 999 STR 180 CON 160 SIZ 3 INT 220 POW 2034 DEX 180 APP 190 HP 160 Damage Bonus: +10D6. Skill: Great Sword 1000%, 10D8+1D8+DB Abilities: 10D8+1D8+DB. Lift = STRx2. Communication. Plane travel. Allegiance. Drain power, POW:POW roll. Store soul. Transfer strength. Pureness. DAMAGE: Hymnsinger can inflict any amount of damage that its wielder wants, although this must be within its own damage limits. Thus it is capable of doing from 1pt-148pts, not taking any armour values into account. The sword can also heal/repair itself once a day. MOBILITY: The sword is sentient and thus capable of its own actions, with its own skill. It can, if need be, fight on its own, though it much prefers to join with its wielder. When the sword and wielder join together they effectively become one and are capable of unimaginable feats, ie, parrying attacks that come from behind, etc. COMMUNICATION: Hymnsinger can communicate with its wielder via a form of sound. Although to the wielder, this can be understood like any normal language, to others it sounds like a musical triangle or wind chimes gently ringing. Hymnsinger is inquisitive by nature, and so will often strike up a conversation. It also has an insurmountable amount of knowledge that can be used and is constantly looking to increase this. PLANE TRAVEL: Hymnsinger has the ability to both open plane rifts and travel the moonbeams, at will. WARNINGS: In times of anticipation a warm, yet pale blue-white glow can be seen dancing around the blade. This is a warning that something is about to happen that may effect its wielder. ALLEGIANCE: The wielder of the sword can gain 1d6 law points or lose 1d8 chaos points per week. This comes from the purification effect that Hymnsinger has on its wielder's soul. What is more, the wielder can, if he so chooses, grant these blessing to another, although they must willingly accept it. Due to the perfection of the sword and the fact that it is the prison of a lawful god, it cannot be used by any mortal who is not a Lawful champion. Further more, the wielder of Hymnsinger must have a skill level of at least 200% in the use of greatswords, plus they must posess good Lawful intentions. Hymnsinger is incredibly loyal. If stolen or even given away, the sword will return to its owner as long as they are alive. It is the sword's belief that it takes a life time to be wielded properly and the perfection of the relationship between it and wielder must be maintained. PRESENCE: The sword's presence and perfection incites the wrath of demons. It makes champions of chaos indignant and disquiets allies of chaos. To all of these, the sword is painful to look at. PURENESS: Hymnsinger is pure Law and thus can bring about order to that which has none; this is the power to stabilise and normalise, ie, to stabilise the chaos mass or elements that have been mutated from the normal. This power can even go as far as to do extra damage against elementals by disrupting or negating their form. DRAIN POWER: The runesword sucks away D100 POW from a target each time it takes one or more hit points from the target. If it does not exhaust the target's POW, it can stay in the target until the next DEX-rank it could strike, then drink again, until the unfortunate soul has been drained dry. This is only automatic when fighting chaos. STORE SOUL: Drained of all POW, each soul drained which is chaotic in allegence is stored within Hymnsinger, there to commingle forever with all the runesword's other victims. When a soul is thus absorbed, Hymnsinger emits a bright flash, this can be seen easily across any battle field and the effects of this can cause problems to an enemies' moral. TRANSFER STRENGTH: For each two points of POW the runesword drinks, it can feed one point of STR or CON until one's limits have been reached. When the owner is wounded in battle, first remove the extra hit points so created. Being of Law, Hymnsinger dislikes this power and its use, thus it will only use it when in a dire situation. For each point thus transfered the wielder gains an equal amount of chaos points. Thanks, Paul. -------------------- The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial discussion forum for Chaosium's Games. To submit an article, subscribe, or unsubscribe, mail to: appel@erzo.org. 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