Chaosium Digest Volume 14, Number 7 Date: Sunday, May 5, 1996 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: Announcement: Glorantha Con IV (Andrew Joelson) MISC The House of Dreams (Iain Rowan) ELRIC! The Adventure of the Deceitful Faerie (Shannon Appel) PENDRAGON Editor's Note: Well, I'm getting started on the Chaosium Digest late tonight because I just spent the whole evening playing Mythos. I had a few designed decks, but everyone else had Starters, with a scant few Booster cards mixed in. I was impressed by how well it worked: I only won a single (Basic) game out of four. Of course, I'm sure my meticulously tuned decks would have done much better in a Campaign game. Though everything ran really cleanly, I got to thinking about having more adventure cards which solely depended upon the more common Starter cards. I'm going to try and write some Adventures that meet this criteria for next week's digest. If anyone else would like to contribute more new adventure cards (or anything else related to Mythos), send them this way. This week, scenerios for Elric! and Pendragon. If you've been thinking about writing articles, especially for Nephilim and Call of Cthulhu, which have been a bit quieter of late, again, email them in this direction. Shannon NEW (FRENCH) RELEASES: Thanks to Frederic Moll for information on French releases and sightings. If you've got information on releases and sightings of non-US products, send them in so they can be included in the Digest. * Mythos - _Mythos Starters_ and _Expeditions of Miskatonic University Boosters_ have reached French stores. The French edition cards should also be out soon. Current rumour says that Oriflam is still working on a revision of the French Hawkmoon RPG for Summer, 1996, but there's no further information at this time. (FRENCH) MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS: * Call of Cthulhu - "L'horloger, le voleur & la mort", a four page modern scenario for CoC, Casus Belli #94 [May, 1996]; "1920s Investigator Checklist", a one page play-aid, Casus Belli #94 [May, 1996]; "Modern Investigator Checklist", a one page play-aid, Casus Belli #94 [May, 1996] -------------------- From: joelsona@cpdmfg.cig.mot.com (Andrew Joelson) Subject: Announcement: Glorantha Con IV System: Misc Public Service Announcement! Public Service Announcement! >>-----> Glorantha Con IV <-----<< When: Friday January 24th through Sunday January 26th, 1997 Where: Ramada Hotel O'Hare Complimentary shuttle service 6600 N Mannheim Rd from Chicago's O'Hare airport Rosemont, Ill 60018 Phn 847-827-5131 $72/night (+tax); single/double Fax 847-827-5220 $82/night (+tax); triple room Membership: $40 Featured LARPs: "The Coming of the White Bull" "The Broken Council" (Argrath gathers the Tribes of Prax) (The Creation of Nysalor) Guests of Honor: Greg Stafford & Sandy Peterson Please send us you Smail/Email addresses, so that we can put you on our mailing lists! (Our first flyer should be coming out in two weeks or less) Are you interested in Judging or Volunteering? Please let us know! Andrew Joelson Scott Schneider joelsona@cpdmfg.cig.mot.com SWhiteBull@aol.com Orlanth-Cola is proud to be the official sponsor of Glorantha Con IV! Orlanth-Cola, a real Windy City drink! -------------------- From: ROWAN Iain Subject: The House of Dreams System: Elric! The House of Dreams An encounter on the roads of the Young Kingdoms for Elric! Introduction: This is an encounter for a party of PCs of any number or proficiency. It is one of a series of such encounters intended to be used to add interest and atmosphere to otherwise uneventful journeys, and can be set on a fairly empty country road anywhere throughout the Young Kingdoms. The Encounter: The countryside through which the party is travelling is not regarded as particularly wild or dangerous, but caution and the desire to make good speed ensure that most travellers follow the narrow beaten earth of the road. Off the road, the countryside is mostly rolling moorland, with the occasional small copse of trees in the more sheltered dips. The heather of the moor is a rich deep purple, broken up attractively ever now and again by a yellow-berried tanglebush. The party may have noticed the occasional white flash of a rabbit's tail disappearing into the heather at their approach, and will probably have heard the sweet yet sorrowful song of the moorgales, circling high above the moor. For the last few hours the sky has been clouding over, and without the direct warmth of the sun the travellers can feel the chill of the slight breeze. The clouds seem fairly high, however, and there is no sign of any immediate rain. Within half an hour, however, this situation has changed dramatically. Dark storm clouds are gathering, and the slight breeze has turned into a gusty wind, with a chilling edge to it. The PCs may notice any indigenous small wildlife taking cover in their burrows or nests. In a matter of minutes the clouds open, and an enormous downpour begins, the huge drops of rain being caught up by the wind and thrown into the PCs faces, soaking them to the skin in seconds. One of the PCs notices what appears to be a light through a small copse of trees up ahead. If the PCs investigate further they will find a small wooden house, built in the prevailing style of the region, which has a storm lantern burning brightly in one window. Before the party can get any closer, they see a face appear briefly at the window, and then dart away. After a few seconds, the door of the house opens, and a small old man appears in the doorway, beckoning the party in. As the party enter the house the old man ushers them in hurriedly, passing out rough woollen blankets which the PCs can use to dry off or wrap around themselves for warmth. As the last PC enters, the old man fastens the door against the torrential rain and howling wind and turns to the party. "Greetings travellers, I am Hulgar, and I welcome you to my humble lodgings. You are welcome to stay until this foul storm has spent its fury. Please, please, come through. There is a fire burning and I have some wine mulling which will banish the cold". Hulgar leads the PCs through to a room at the back of the house. A log fire is roaring, and the PCs can smell the unmistakable and most welcome scent of spices and wine. As the PCs come in, Hulgar busies himself fetching mugs for the wine. He is a small old man, only just over five foot tall, with a mostly bald head surrounded by a frame of snow white hair. Although obviously of some considerable age, he is nimble and deft in his movements. The house is well furnished, although all the furnishings are in a modest style. Groaning shelves at the end of the back room hold a large quantity of books; more are scattered about on any available surface. A casual scrutiny will reveal that they appear to be a mixture of historical texts, philosophy, and herbal lore. Hulgar will do his best to see that the PCs are comfortable, and is generally the model of a hospitable and generous host. If any of the PCs refuse the mulled wine (which really is just mulled wine) he will offer them an alternative but then will not press them any further. He will sit and make small talk with the PCs for a few minutes. If asked about his trade, or what he is doing so far from the rest of humanity, he will inform the party that he is a sage and scholar, and performs his studies best when not surrounded by the clamour of mankind. Not, he adds hurriedly, that he objects to the presence of his current guests on such a foul and inclement day. After a few minutes of this small talk, Hulgar will cross over to the fire. He bows slightly to the PCs, pulls a pouch from his pocket, and scatters its contents on the fire. The flames of the fire briefly turn to blue, and then a soft, soporific smell, redolent of autumn bonfires and the soft fruits which are gathered as a child, the smell of baking bread and mulling wine, rolls its way around the room, and the PCs sink slowly into the comforting arms of sleep. The referee should allow no roll against this effect, and from the moment Hulgar tosses the herbs onto the fire the PCs are effectively paralysed by a sweet lassitude that does not so much stop them moving as remove all desire to do so. When the PCs awaken, they are lying in the heather just in front of a copse of trees, wrapped in rough woollen blankets. It has obviously been raining, as the blankets are damp, but the sky is now clear and the late afternoon sun is warming on the skin. A large doe rabbit watches the PCs warily from the edge of the copse. The players feel weak and drained, but appear to be physically unharmed. All their possessions remain with them. The road lies just on the other side of the copse, but there is no sign of Hulgar, or indeed the house. When the party's heads clear a bit they will realise that where they are lying is where the house had appeared to be. The blankets that are wrapped around them are ordinary in every way save that they have a sweet warm smell that will linger for a few days (and ensure that anyone who sleeps under the blanket will have the most restful night's sleep that they have ever known). All the PCs will have lost all bar one of their magic points; these will be regained at the usual rate. If the PCs comment on their story when they reach the next village or town along the road it will be meet with solemn nods and much muttering. Eventually the party will be approached by one of the respected elders of the local community who will inform them that they have doubtless encountered the House of Dreams and its owner. For over one hundred years now, many travellers on the road in this region have found themselves Hulgar's guest in the midst of a terrible storm, and have experienced exactly the same as did the party of PCs. No-one has ever been physically harmed in any way. There are many conflicting rumours about Hulgar's origins. One is that he is a Champion of the balance, engaged in powerful struggles with cosmic forces, who requires the use of travellers' souls for one hour to perform his mysterious work. Another rumour states that Hulgar is the revenant of a great sage and scholar who was murdered in the night by a gang of travelling bandits, who haunts the roads of the region, feeding on the strength of those he finds, constantly looking for his enemies, not knowing that they are long dead and buried. Further possibilities: Several further opportunities for adventure exist. * The PCs might attempt to find out what it is that Hulgar is doing that requires the use of so much spiritual power. * They might hear a rumour that those who have slept in the House of Dreams are marked in some way, and that when they eventually die, their souls will pass to Hulgar for all eternity. * Hulgar watches over those who have (however inadvertently) aided him, and will appear once at an hour of great need to help them. * The local authorities might regard those who have slept in the House of Dreams as tainted and dangerous. * A powerful sorcerer and agent of Chaos might hear about the party's experience and wish to find out everything that they know which might aid him or her in their quest to find Hulgar and steal the dreamhouse from him. Iain Rowan April 1996 -------------------- From: Shannon Appel Subject: The Adventure of the Deceitful Faerie System: Pendragon This is another adventure from the Talgarth Campaign. Unlike the last couple, however, I've pretty much totally genericized it, so that it can be easily used in any campaign. For those of you interested in the Talgarth context, following The Adventure of the Worshiping Picts, the players began to plot what they could do to gain power when the old dynasty fell. They finally decided upon the strategy of wooing old King Brychan's granddaughters, Lassar, Mor and Orlaith. As part of proving their worth, the players helped Brychan resolve a peculiar problem in the land, near the magical lake, Llyn Cwm Llwch. THE ADVENTURE OF THE DECEITFUL FAIRIE [Copyright 1996, Shannon Appel] Time: Anytime shortly after Beltaine Setting: A small peasant village near to wild valleys and lakes Problem: Peasants complaining of a curse afflicting their village Characters: Tad the Deceitful Faerie, numerous peasants Secrets: Tad escaped from Faerieland last Beltaine Solutions: Capture Tad and Resolve the Peasant's Problems Glory: 30 for ending the problems, 20 for returning Tad home, 10 for slaying a particularly mean bear. The players are drawn to a small peasant village, near the edge of civilization, due to rumors of a curse lying upon it. Perhaps the Lord of the village specifically asks for the player's aid. Alternatively, they might stumble upon it totally accidently. INITIAL INVESTIGATIONS When the players arrive at the village, they will indeed find that it has been beset by a number of problems. Though they will not know it yet, this is because Tad the Deceitful Faerie recently escaped from the Other World, and has taken up residence in their village. Predictably, he has been causing problems. Every villager the players talk to will have a different complaint. Random Peasant Complaint Table 1. My hen has been stolen. 2. My pig has been stolen. 3. My puppy has been stolen. 4. My cat has been stolen. 5. I hear strange sounds at night. 6. A devil whispers into my ear at night. 7. I hear a dead spirit wailing at night. 8. I keep hearing footsteps behind me. 9. My neighbors have started feuding with me. 10. Lies are being told about me. 11. Everyone is saying bad things behind my back. 12. Evil words spring forth from my mouth. 13. My wood-chopping axe is missing. 14. My spare shirt is missing. 15. Someone keeps stealing all my chopped wood. 16. My three-handled granduza, a family heirloom, has been stolen. 17. Another peasant gives me the evil eye. 18. I had a three-legged calf born. 19. My cow's milk has gone bad. 20. My wife and children have been killed (said peasant has never been married and is quite mad). [Note that 17-20 are peasant overreactions, and not Tad's fault.] Tad's Tricks While the players are going about their initial investigations, Tad will play tricks on them. Tad Random Trick Table 1-3 A random small animal disappears. 4-9 A random small item disappears. 10 A random animal seems to audibly threaten players. 11 A peasant seems to say something derogatory to a player. 12 A peasant seems to say something pleasant to a player. 13 Players hear strange sounds from an empty shack. 14 Players hear monstrous sounds (dragon, etc). 15 Strange sounds draw players somewhere dangerous (down a ravine, into a patch of itchy plants, etc). 16 Rotten fruit gets thrown at players. 17 Big stone gets thrown at players. 18 Player's horse is spooked. 19 Player's squire is spooked. 20 Faraway laughter is heard. Tad will also be playing tricks on the peasants, so the players might meet terrified peasants, angry peasants, unconscious peasants and feuding peasants. ON THE TRAIL OF TAD Hunting Tad Whenever Tad is in visible range (which will be often when he is playing tricks), players who try and scan for their assailant should be allowed to make [Deceitful] rolls, as is noted in Tad's description. [Hunting] or other skills may also be used to examine places where Tad has played his jokes. Unfortunately, Tad is a very agile little fellow, often leaping from ground to roof to tree and back again, thus such rolls should be at big minuses. If the players figure out that a Faerie is behind the problems, a [Faerie Lore] roll will tell them that Deceitful Faeries are often attracted by lies. [Orate] rolls combined with [Deceitful] checks may be used to attract a faerie in this way. Near the city, this will attract Tad, while near the lake (see below) this will attract Ratat the Redcap. This won't cause Tad to talk with the players or anything, but it may encourage him to play tricks on them, or cause him to fall into their traps. Players may come up with other ingenious plans for locating Tad, including covering him with flour, covering the ground with flour, throwing nets, building traps and encircling him. Tad isn't exactly the brightest thing to ever walk on two feet, so any of these plans should have at least some chance of success. When they've finally run Tad to ground, the players may very well kill him. This will just make him mad, and when Tad returns at midnight, he'll make the players his personal project. Capturing Tad Once the players have realized that killing Tad isn't much help, they'll probably end up capturing him. Normal ropes or cloth bags work, though superstitious peasants will say to use Iron. If the players are [Cruel] enough to try and maim Tad, he'll fall over dead, and be back at night. Clearly some permanent solution is needed. If threatened (especially with Iron) Tad will eventually give up the fact that he's from a nearby Lake, where a gate to the Other World opens on Beltaine. This year, the powers of the portal were particularly great, due to a Pictish ritual done on March 21, and as a result the gate remained open, and Tad was able to escape. If taken back home, the local ruler of the Faeries will gladly make sure that Tad stays out of trouble. Tracking Tad's Treasures Players may also be interested in tracking down Tad's stolen treasures. All the missing animals are hidden away in a valley not too far away. Things are a bit chaotic, as the dogs, cats, chickens and pigs are all fighting, but aside from that, most of the animals are OK. The missing items are hidden away in a cave which is unfortunately the lair of a particularly mean bear. See Pendragon pg. 339 for the bear's stats. If forced, Tad will reveal the location of these items, or the players may find it themselves through [Hunting]. TAKING TAD HOME Getting Tad to His Island... The last problem is taking Tad home. As he has noted, he comes from a nearby Lake. There's an island upon it, but it's invisible. Players who make [Deceitful] rolls can faintly make it out, while players who crit [Deceitful] rolls can see it clearly. A player will need to swim Tad out to the island. If someone who hasn't seen the island attempts it, they will just end up back at shore. Anyone who has seen it, even just faintly, will arrive on the island if they make a successful [Swimming] roll. Such players can also drag disbelievers along with them. A failed Swimming roll will result in the player starting to drown. When a player steps foot upon the island, he will disappear to his friends' sight. Time passes differently in the Other Side, and it will be at least a week before the player returns, even if he turns right back around. This may worry other players, and cause them to swim out to join their friend. ...And the Encounters Therein Players who arrive on the island will see a magnificent castle, as great as any in Britain. A short man, finely dressed, strides forth from it to greet the players. This is Ratat the Redcap, Ruler of this Place. Ratat will be very pleased to see Tad returned, and will demand that the players stay for a feast. Ratat is utterly Hospitable, and will do absolutely nothing inimical to the players unless they go mad and start killing his people or something. Nervous players brought up on tales of evil faeries may not believe this though. Allow players to roll [Faerie Lore] to learn some blatant lies about not eating faerie food, not accepting faerie presents, etc. They're all false, though, at least as far as Ratat's Realm is concerned. [Suspicious], [Trusting] and [Hospitality] checks may all be applicable. Use the Feast Table roll (Knights Adventurous pg. 114) abundently to spice up this feast, but give all the events the air of strange otherworldishness. You may also change things up with the following table, to provide variety: Faerie Feast Events Table: 1. Ratat offers to play a game of backgammon with a player, offering a bet of a faerie backgammon board (.25L) versus some apparently worthless item belonging to a player. [Gaming] 2. [Intrigue. Success = Tad is going to overthrow Ratat as King]. If the player does nothing, he will get to see Tad play out a farcical rebellion, invisibly wearing a suit of heavy armor, leading an army of pigs, chickens, dogs and cats against Ratat. If the player warns Ratat (or alternatively stops the farcical rebellion), he will be awarded lavishly... with wildflowers. Strangely, they will not wilt away, however. 3. Several faeries leap up for a [Swimming] race. 4. Two faeries begin playing out a farce as a player's parents. [Love (family) / Forgiving or Modest] 5. A nearby faerie with [Sword 10] jumps upon a table and challenges a random player to a fight for love, for no apparent reason. 6. A player's food begins talking to him. When the feast is over and done, the players will slowly fall asleep. When they awake, they will be upon the shore of the lake, and one full week will have gone by. Tad is trapped back in his own realm (for now), and the players will be able to report the problem abated. NPCS Tad the Deceitful Faerie Tad is a small and stocky fellow, just two foot tall. He's usually unseen to the eye, but if he actually makes himself visible, he appears old and gruff, like an aged miner. Back in the faerie realm, Tad sometimes wears a suit of platemail. Although he'll still be invisible, his haunted-looking plate is not. SIZ 3 Move 6 Major Wound 10 DEX 18 Dam 2d6 Unconscious 3 STR 8 Heal 4 Knock Down 3 CON 10 HP 13 Armor 0 Notable Traits: Deceitful 20 Combat Skills: Throw Rock 14, Throw Rotten Fruit 18 Other Skills: Play (Pipes) 15 Magical Skills: Audible Illusion 19, Make Disappear 19 AUDIBLE ILLUSION: Tad can create audible illusions up to 50 feet away from him. These illusions can imitate human voices, animals and other soft sounds (an arrow being fired, a door being closed, etc). MAKE DISAPPEAR: Tad can make an object no bigger than a chicken or a small pig invisible and inaudible for 1d6 minutes. Tad is invisible to normal sight. A [Deceitful] roll will give a player a general sense of where Tad is for one round, while a critical [Deceitful] roll will allow a player to see Tad clearly for one round. Tad's own clothes are also invisible, but items he pick up will not be, though he can make them invisible with his power. Stratagems such as covering Tad with flour will make him visible to normal sight. Tad is a magical being, and if he is slain, he will be back at midnight. Ratat the Redcap The ruler of the faerie kingdom that Tad comes from is Ratat the Redcap. He is barely four and a half feet tall, small but not diminuitive. His bearing is noble, and he appears young. Ratat wears a bright red cap which is colored with blood. SIZ 8 Move 3 Major Wound 12 DEX 15 Dam 4d6 Unconscious 5 STR 14 Heal 6 Knock Down 8 CON 12 HP 20 Armor 0 Notable Traits: Cruel 16, Honest 16 Notable Passions: Hospitality 16, Loyalty (Subjects) 20 Combat Skills: Dagger 16 Other Skills: Gaming 15, Hunting 15, Stewardship 20 -------------------- 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.