Chaosium Digest Volume 19, Number 1 Date: Sunday, April 20, 1997 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: Great Corporate Ones (Arthur Boff) CYBERCTHULHU The Necronomicons: Tales of Terror (Arthur Boff) CALL OF CTHULHU The Paper Man: A 1990s Tale of Terror (Arthur Boff) CTHULHU NOW Editor's Note: This week, a trio of Cthulhu articles by Arthur Boff, all set in different times. Shannon NEW RELEASES: * Call of Cthulhu - _Cthulhu Live_ (Chaosium, 160 pg., $16.95), by Robert MacLaughlin, is the long awaited set of Live Action Role Playing rules for Call of Cthulhu. Check out V17.9 for a full preview of the system. NEW (SPANISH) RELEASES: * Call of Cthulhu - _Piel de Toro_, "Bull's Skin" (Joc Internacional), by Ricard Ibanez explores Spain in the 1920s. It touches on social issues, everyday life, politices, prices, and the judicial system. Cities explored in detail include Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, and San Sebastion. Also included are a Spanish bestiary, notes on Spanish Mythos Tomes, and three adventures. RECENT SIGHTINGS: * Call of Cthulhu - "The Sleep of Death, What Dreams May Come", by Shannon Appel, a 4 page 1920s British Call of Cthulhu adventure. This is actually the first installment of my "Chaos Theory" column, which should be appearing every issue, Valkyrie #13. "Delta Green - CoC Sourcebook Preview", by John Tynes & Adam Scott Glancy. Haven't picked up Delta Green yet? This 5-page article explains what it's all about, Valkyrie #13. -------------------- Sender: theboffs@dircon.co.uk (Arthur Boff) Subject: Great Corporate Ones System: Call of Cyberthulhu GREAT CORPORATE ONES A Few Corps for Cyberthulhu This is a short list of corps for use with the Call of Cyberthulhu setting, that appeared in V2.10 and V2.11 and was mentioned in V18.1. Two of them are future version of companies and cults mentioned in Mythos stories. One is my own invention. First, a brief explanation of the layout of the corp descriptions. Public Face: This is the image the corp wants the public to believe. Secret Agenda: What the corp is really doing. This is split into two sections, mythos and non-mythos. Controlled Areas: Any areas that the corp controls. THE EXCHANGE LIFE AND PENSIONS CORPORATION Public Face: This corp deals with life insurance and pensions, selling cheap, affordable insurance packages. Mythos Secret Agenda: Their name, "Exchange Life" is a clue to their true nature. The top executives are actually Yithian time-travellers who are experts in 21st century corporate practices. Using the corp's profits, they are funding a project to genetically engineer the insect species that will become the new Great Race. At the moment, a likely set of genes have been found, and a few Great Race members have entered their bodies for a "test run". Non-Mythos Secret Agenda: The life insurance part is a protection racket, and the pensions part is bribing people to "forget" pieces of information. Controlled Areas: The Australian deserts. INNSMOUTH GROUP (INC.) Public Face: Innsmouth Group (Inc.) is made up of the Marsh Refinery Company, the Marsh Shipping Company and the Innsmouth Fishing Company. It also owns a registered charity, the Esoteric Order of Dagon. Mythos Secret Agenda: Guess. The Deep Ones have been fairly efficient in their attempts to make Deep One-human hybrids. Innsmouth Group (Inc.) serves as an employer of these hybrids and also helps keep them in touch. Non-Mythos Secret Agenda: The Innsmouth Group has a large network of pipes under certain Pacific islands. These pipes are rented out by other corporations for waste disposal purposes. Due to the cost of connecting these pipes to their customer's pipes, the prices of rental are very large. It is worth it though, since the Innsmouth Group (Inc.) guard the pipes from environmental terrorists with... military efficiency. Controlled Areas: Innsmouth, an unknown number of Pacific islands. THE STARRY WISDOM CORPORATION Public Face: The Starry Wisdom Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer of space exploration products. Mythos Secret Agenda: The Starry Wisdom Cult has reformed and expanded since the events described in "The Haunter of the Dark", and now worships many Mythos deities. The originally went into space, to Yuggoth, for the purpose of getting a replacement for the Shining Trapezohedron, which was thrown into the sea at the end of "The Haunter of the Dark". They were able to do this by using the profits they reaped from being a corporation. They and the Mi-Go are researching ways to make Shining Trapezohedrons for all the Mythos deities. So far they have made one for Cthugha, which summons an avatar of him when the crystal is placed in fire, and one for Hastur, which summons the King in Yellow when lines from the play bearing his name are read to it. Non-Mythos Secret Agenda: The "space exploration products" the Starry Wisdom Corp makes are dangerously defective. The odds are that any space shuttle the PCs get on is made from Starry Wisdom parts. Controlled Areas: Providence, several asteroids. Copyright Arthur Boff 1997 Written Beyond Ye Spheres -------------------- Sender: theboffs@dircon.co.uk (Arthur Boff) Subject: The Necronomicons: Tales of Terror System: Call of Cthulhu Tales of Terror for the NecronomiCONs If you have read "The Necronomicon" Cthulhu Cycle book or have glanced over the Occult section of any large bookstore you will know that there are many fake versions of the Necronomicon out there. These are probably the coolest props ever made for a Cthulhu game, second only to a real life human sacrifice. Unfortunatly, human sacrifice is slightly illegal, so getting one of the Necronomicons is generally considered to be a good idea. But what do you do with one once you get it? The "Simon Necronomicon" does not seem to be very useful as it is not very faithful to the Lovecraft mythos, and the "Hay Necronomicon" seems to conform to the Derleth Mythos, with the Elder Gods being supreme, which is different from the CoC mythos. (I won't even mention the version which is just page after page of repeated text.) These Tales of Terror give possible answers. Since they are closer to the CoC mythos, I have left out the ones included in the "Necronomicon" Cthulhu Cycle Book. A TALE OF TERROR FOR THE SIMON NECRONOMICON "Simon" was once a student at Miskatonic University who had heard about the Necronomicon. He was never allowed to even look at the restricted access books, so as an immature form of revenge he made a fake Necronomicon, with the Mythos references being constructed from phrases the head librarian was often heard muttering under his breath. He told a white lie about the source of the book. Possibilities: 1.) An enemy of the Investigators sends a copy of this Necronomicon to them. He then waits, knowing that sooner or later they will try to use one of the exorcisms in it to defeat a monster (which won't work). 2.) Nyarlathotep likes Simon's plagiaristic traits, and tries to recruit him into a cult of the Outer Gods. He offers him a real Necronomicon, written and signed by the ghost of Abd al-Azred. What bibliophile could refuse? 3.) Simon actually believes what he has written is real, and thinks that he has been possessed by the Mad Arab. A TALE OF TERROR FOR THE HAY NECRONOMICON This book's origins is actually explained in it. It is a decoded part of a manuscript by Dr. John Dee, called "Liber Logaeth". In it are the descriptions for these spells: Call/Dismiss Shub-Niggurath Call/Dismiss Yog-Sothoth Elder Sign Powder of Ibn-Ghazi Voorish Sign Enchant Stone Tablet What seems to be Journey to the Other Side There are also a few things that have no CoC equivalent (or none that I can find). These are: two new Signs (Kish and Koth); instructions for making the Incense of Zkauba, the Talisman of Yhe, and the Scimitar of Barzai; the Unction of Khephnes; notes on the Alphabet of Nug-Soth; and a spell to control spirits ("Globes") of Yog- Sothoth. A sequel has been released, the R'lyeh Text (not related to the Mythos book of the same name). This claims to contain extra parts of the Necronomicon. The only game spell contained in the R'lyeh Text is Command Ghost. These non-defined spells are also contained: * A spell for preparing a dead body to contain the mind of a Great Old One. * Instructions for making the Vessel of Balon, the Ring of Hypnos, and the Amulet of Nodens. * A spell to transform the caster into a Great Old One (probably only a _very_ minor one). Possibilities: The Necronomicon: 1.) The listing for Enchant Stone Tablet is incomplete. It does not mention that the stone must be from R'lyeh, or that the spell requires a sacrifice. A few high-school kids, not cool enough to sneak into nightclubs to get drugs, and unknowing of how good Chaosium games are, try the spell anyway, attracting the anger of Cthulhu. 2.) For a time the Mad Arab was fooled into thinking that the Elder Gods were supreme, and the parts of "Liber Logaeth" that have been deciphered were written around this time (hence the Derlethian bias of the Hay Necronomicon). Of course, we needn't let the Investigators know that. 3.) In the Hay Necronomicon is the technique for controlling some spirits under the control of Yog-Sothoth. One of them has the power to bring you money. An especially greedy sorceror has been asking this spirit for loads of money, whilst his country's economy goes to pot, with the vaults of all the major banks being emptied after a series of impossible robberies. The R'lyeh Text: 1.) This book has great potential for confusing the players. ("I thought the R'lyeh Text was Chinese!") 2.) A cult decides to make a lovely corpse for their favourite Great Old One or Outer God to live in. They could already have done this, or they may have their eye on one of the Investigator's bodies. 3.) A sorcerer uses the spell that makes you a Great Old One. And, guess what: he's not sleepy. Maybe a bedtime snack will do the trick... Copyright Arthur Boff 1997 You don't want to know where. -------------------- Sender: theboffs@dircon.co.uk (Arthur Boff) Subject: The Paper Man System: Call of Cthulhu The Paper Man: A 1990s Tale of Terror Mindful of modern concerns about the environment, the investigators' local authority has started a magazine recycling scheme. The residents each get a blue bag, which they leave outside, and wait for them to be collected on Tuesday. However, people start noticing a man going up to the bags whilst they are left in the street, rummaging through them, and taking some of the newspapers. Possibilities: 1.) The man is (or at least was) an investigator, like the players. He used the money he got from his stock market deals to fund his investigating. However, he made a major error, with the result that he has now lost all his money and his possession. He is collecting newspapers to find cases he might investigate, so that he may start his career again. 2.) The man is a local fireman. In one blazing inferno, he and some of his colleagues were caught in a chemical explosion and were sent into comas. In the hospital, Cthugha came to them in their dreams and asked them to become his priests and start his first major Earth cult. Those that agreed soon got better, while those that refused never woke up. After a while, the people whose papers were stolen become involved in odd fires, and the fire brigade fails to turn up in time. 3.) There is an old belief that if a wizard gets ahold of one of your possessions, such as one of your hairs or something you've thrown away, that wizard can make a doll shaped like you, which can be used to hurt or control you. The truth behind the legend, of course, is entirely up to the Keeper. Copyright Arthur Boff 1997 Somewhere near N'kai -------------------- 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. 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