Chaosium Digest Volume 22, Number 12 Date: Sunday, January 11, 1998 Number: 1 of 2 Contents: Hiding a Cultist Among Your Players (Cry.Sys) CALL OF CTHULHU Anarchy's CoC Tactics and Weapon Ideas (Anarchy) CALL OF CTHULHU New Adventures for Mythos (Derek Zimmerman) MYTHOS Editor's Note: Welcome to the first 1998 Chaosium Digest. This week you'll find articles for Call of Cthulhu (in V22.12) and an intriguing piece on Devils and the future for Nephilim (in V23.1). Shannon NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES The Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos http://www.toddalan.com/~berglund/ I've mentioned this site, which is also the home of Nightscapes ezine, in the past. It continues to be one of the coolest Cthulhoid sites around, so I'm happy to plug it again, now that it's been recently updated. Here's Mr. Berglund's notes on the most recent update: The new update to Reader's Guide to the Cthulhu Mythos, at http://www.toddalan.com/~berglund/ is now online. We have added 5 new creator listings, updated 24 others, and started on the H.P. Lovecraft listing. We have brought "A Chronology of the Cthulhu Mythos" up to 1983. And on our two link pages we have added 124 links, updated 10 links, and dropped 10 links. Have also uploaded the revised "The Cthulhu Mythos FAQ" and Chapter 15 of the "Huitloxpetl" round robin. The Cthulhu WebRing http://www.geocities.com/Paris/8164/index.html This ring's been around for a while, but I was amazed to see how big it had gotten recently. There are a total of 66 sites now connected to this ring. The above site is the official home of the WebRing; give it a spin. -------------------- From: "Cry.Sys" Subject: Hiding a Cultist Among Your Players System: Call of Cthulhu Hiding A Cultist Among Your Players by Cry.Sys Warning: If you are reading this, and never plan to be a Keeper, stop. This article is for Keepers to play dirty tricks on players. ;P This is a little guide on how to add some spice to one of your games in the form of hiding a cultist among your players. I don't suggest doing this more than once, however, because then your players will catch on quickly. This guide is meant to inspire you, not explain everything. I've put steps in on how I did this trick, and I suggest you borrow what you like. Being original is cool, so just overlook that when I wrote this it was more of a how-to. Step One: Laying The Foundation The first thing to do is organize a large group of players for a game (I suggest 3 to 5 investigators). Pick someone who is a good roleplayer and can keep things secret well (how you would know this I have no clue but being these players' friend I would think you would have an idea of who would be good for this). Once you have someone picked you have to contact them by phone and ask them if they would like to play a "wolf among the sheep". This is a one-shot deal. If not, you're likely to have this investigator looking at all the other players as cultists, leading to possible cooperation difficulties. If the player is interested then you need to get together with them. When you meet up with them, make up a investigator sheet. Then put in false stats like OO% Cthulhu Mythos and a high sanity score. Talk with them about whatever cult they belong to and give them a little info on the plot. For example if you were using _The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep_ and your investigators were on their way to Cairo, inform the cultist about the Brotherhood of the Black Pharoah cult there. Maybe even let them read over the sections in the book that apply to their knowledge. Or, perhaps, make up a handout that you can give them and let them read over. Figure out their real stats after this. They should probably have 0% Sanity, and some Cthulhu Mythos Knowledge. Step Two: Getting The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Among The Sheep This is a little tricky. You have to be careful not to let too much slip, and not to become too obvious. I found that you have to get the other investigators' trust built up. One way is to let your cultist make up a cultist character and play it once or twice with your investigators before making him a enemy of them. Alternatively, if the cultist's investigator dies the players wouldn't be suspicious if you had another character ready for your cultist. I figure that you already have ideas on how to do this without my help. ;) Step Three: Random Monkeywrenching So now you have your investigators suspecting very little, and your cultist is a friend of theirs. It's time for things to start going wrong for your investigators. Look over the plot of your story for points where things could go wrong. For example, places where the investigators would have to split up. Perhaps your cultist could suggest guarding the NPC cultist your investigators captured. Have your investigators play out their scenes and then ask them to leave the room (You might want to ask your cultist to leave prior to this since he's guarding. It'll also help keep suspicion down). Let your cultist release the captured NPC or kill him to keep his silence. If they are having a little trouble being creative, let them have a phone number to a higher member in their cult to ask for advice. Here are a few things I've seen done: 1. Cars sabotaged by removing parts. 2. Car bombs. 3. Cars stolen. 4. Mythos tomes spontaneously combusting. 5. Mythos tomes disappearing. 6. Mythos tomes getting stolen. 7. Sleeping pills placed in investigator's drinks. 8. Guns loaded with blanks. 9. Guns loaded with nothing. 10. Releasing NPC prisoners. 11. Killing NPC prisoners. 12. Cultist Assasins showing up in the investigator's "safe" haven. 13. Investigators being kidnapped. 14. Cultist followers always seeming to be on investigator's tails. 15. Delays, delays, delays. Step Four: The Scapegoat The scapegoat is a NPC to be blamed before the investigators suspect your real cultist. An example of use: John (my hidden cultist) and Teresa (My NPC scapegoat) offer to guard the NPC cultist they and the investigators captured. The investigators leave them to guard (I ask John to leave the room). After I am done with their scenes, I ask all the investigators to step outside, and John to step in. He already has a plan. He slips a few knockout pills into Teresa's drink and she falls asleep guarding the NPC cultist. John quickly unties the NPC cultist and has the NPC cultist knock him out with something. John first makes signs of a heavy struggle. The investigators come back in the room, only to find that John's knocked out, Teresa's asleep, and the NPC cultist is gone. My investigators first thought that Teresa had been ensorcelled by some magic. John spoke with a few of them privately, saying he thought Teresa attacked him from behind and knocked him out. Almost immediately Teresa found herself tied to a chair, the scapegoat of the situation. That example is a little rough, and I hope that your scenes will be much better (maybe put the object John was knocked out with in Teresa's hand?). Last Words Maybe your cultist can survive the whole story, but odds are that he will eventually get caught and/or killed. But, think of all the fun you can have when you ask all the investigators except one to leave the room. My players, in the game after the discovery of the cultist, always started suspecting each other as the cause of their problems. A little tip: Never have your cultist try to directly kill another investigator. Being subtle is the best way to go. Slipping poisons and such into drinks is much better. Attacking only causes a full breach of your cultist's facade. -------------------- From: Subject: Anarchy's CoC Tactics and Weapon Ideas System: Call of Cthulhu Call of Cthulhu Tactics and Weapon Ideas By Anarchy As a veteran GM and player for Cthulhu games, I can do two things for people who like CoC out there: provide advice by recalling interesting/useful parts of games I've been in, and discuss tactics I'd use in the future. This article is mainly intended as advice to the players. You'll find: advice from past adventures; investigator tactics; and some new weapons. PAST ADVICE During one of my GMing sessions, while running the _Horror on the Orient Express_ boxed set, my players came upon an old man in a clocktower. The book I was working from said something like "Surely the party will not use force on an old man". But the people who wrote the book hadn't counted on my players. Oh, no. They attempted at first to knock out the old man with a heavy club. When that failed, the body-builder of the party grappled the old man, while another member of the party slit his throat. After killing him half of the party rolled the old man up in a carpet and threw him off a bridge. This did not surprise me much, but I felt that it might've surprised those who wrote the campaign. There are some lessons to be learned from this, mostly for players. The largest is that if you can get away with something that's helpful, do it. A secondary lesson is that players often times will test limits, and if you don't play realistically, your CoC campaign will tend to crumble, quickly. If the GM tells the players that they cannot slit an old man's throat because it's "wrong", or something to that effect, it'd be hard to rationalize an attack on any humanoid. However using the police (conservatively) against the players is an ample deterrant, usually. So, play realistically, as player or GM. While playing (in my first-ever CoC game) in _Masks of Nyarlathotep_, I had my character make a book to keep clues in, as I had done in real life to keep track of handouts. I had also done something very smart: I mailed a copy (I made, by hand) of the cluebook to my next character, a close relative. This saved us a lot of trouble in the event of my/our death/capture. SEMI-NEW TACTICS Always sleep in shifts. 3 or 4 hour shifts usually work out to at least half the party sleeping/guarding at the same time. Try to get animals to help stand guard, and give your character some way to explain not falling asleep. If possible use people's fears, beliefs, values, for your own good. Trade crap for useful objects, if possible, and dress up like their vengeful gods, etc., if it'll help use them. Before voluntarily encountering a creature, find out anything you can about the creature. Investigate folklore, past attacks, old wives' tales, artifacts related to it, etc. If the creature comes out in the dark only, use light against it. If it leaves a trail of slime behind that's extremely flammable, burn it. You get the idea. Cultists are so dazedly insane, they won't notice you if you can manage to dress/act like them. Make a character, if possible, who works with demolitions, so you have an excuse to own dynamite, and lots of it. Give him/her a good throw, for tossing it, too. At least 70. WEAPONS Here are some new weapons (ideas) First, as seen in the Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell (the actual book), a shotgun shell can be modified so that a wooden dowell (rod) can be fired from the shotgun. This makes for useful weapons, creatable with a Mechanical Repair roll. Some good ideas are simple sharpened dowel/spears, and a Molotov-cocktail on a stick. This does not harm the shotgun, and changes a weapon that could formally use only buckshot or shells into a very versatile weapon indeed. If you have a firearm, and it's possible, it's useful to put a glass bottle over the nozzle before firing. This not only decreases the sound of the shot somewhat, but the glass shrapnel tends to do significant damage, anywhere from 1d4 to 1d10 pts. (GM's decision) Use blade-rings if you decide to punch. These are metal rings, worn on your fingers, which not only make your fist heavier, but also are sharpened on the outer edge, enabling cutting damage. Chemistry-inclined players should be able (perhaps with medicine) to make poisons, making any weapon dangerous. Large-scale attacks work very well on large creatures. Pit-traps, boulder-attacks, or sharpened tree-trunks do excellent damage against large creatures. Besides steel-toed boots and sap-gloves, hand and feet attacks can be improved by adding blades to their coverings. Boot-knives (boots with blades attached to the front or side) are extremely useful, and your GM may even add +10 percentiles to your climbing skill when using them on a fairly soft surface. (There are climbing devices that you attach to your feet like this called Crampons.) Gloves with blades attached are helpful too, and make accurate tools too. If a flammable liquid can somehow be sprayed out and later ignited, it makes a great weapon for most campaigns. This weapon, however, depends on the skill and resources of your party. If dynamite, or some other explosive is fairly easy to acquire, it is generally a good idea to keep some on your person as a last resort. A suicide bombing works well in Cthulhu, especially right after you're swallowed by something. .---. ( \ / ) Anarchy ).-.( Head of AoC, the Agents Of Chaos '/|||\` http://www.disembodied.com/agentsofchaos/ '|` -------------------- From: DZimmer520@aol.com Subject: New Adventures for Mythos System: Mythos A LIFE OF CRIME Corrupt Adventure +6, + 1 Sanity Points An occasional MUGGING at gunpoint (WEAPON) is no way to make the big time. You need to find a CORRUPT ALLY and some THIEVES IN THE ATTIC as partners. Then you can rob a BUSINESS or MUSEUM LOCATION. After that, even a BANK VAULT should be easy pickings. Who says crime doesn't pay? A WING AND A PRAYER Mythos Experience +8, +2 Sanity Points Your friends told you it was crazy to FLY across the Pacific Ocean alone in you CLOSED-COCKPIT MONOPLANE. Maybe they were right, because a CATASTROPHIC FAILURE forces your plane down on an uncharted ISLAND. The STEADFAST CHIEF takes you to a hidden ISLAND SITE and shows you the strange idol (any NON-WEAPON ARTIFACT) worshipped by the local tribe. Luckily, a passing TRAMP STEAMER takes you aboard just before a TYPHOON ravages the island. THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE Mythos Experience +8, +3 Sanity Points While wandering the MISKATONIC VALLEY, you come across a COUNTRY HOUSE. Its inhabitant, a STEADFAST FARMER, tells you a strange tale of a meteor that struck in a nearby COUNTRY/GATE LOCATION. The next DAY, the local UNIVERSITY sent out several investigators (any TWO PROFESSORS, REPORTERS, or SCIENTISTS) who were baffled by the mysterious rock. Now at NIGHT the well shines with a COLOUR OUT OF SPACE. DEMONS BE GONE! Heroic Adventure +7, +2 Sanity Points A STEADFAST PRIEST has come to ask your help in ridding a sacred shrine (any CHURCH, MOSQUE, or TEMPLE) of a malignant spirit. This is no simple POLTERGEIST, but a real MONSTER from the abyss. First, find a holy TOME (that does not have a Sanity Cost) and perform an EXORCISM. Then at the DAWN OF A NEW DAY, you must BLESS the creature's foul remains and give it a proper burial at a CEMETARY LOCATION. DREAMS IN THE WITCH HOUSE Corrupt Adventure +9, +3 Sanity Points While attending the UNIVERSITY, you and a CORRUPT STUDENT ALLY rent an oddly-shaped room at 197 E. PICKMAN ST. One day you stumble across a disturbing TOME (that has a Sanity Cost) attributed to that old witch KEZIAH MASON. Soon, the witch and her ratlike familiar, BROWN JENKIN, appear to you in dreams. You have a NIGHTMARE vision of a ritual sacrifice that casts a CREATE GATE SPELL and summons NYLARTHOTEP. Suddenly you realize that it's not a dream! IMPRISONED WITH THE PHARAOHS Heroic Adventure +9, +3 Sanity Points While on holiday in Egypt, you have a SURPRISE MEETING with HARRY HOUDINI. You agree to see the sights together and hire a GUIDE who takes you around town (TWO different CITY LOCATIONS in CAIRO) and arranges a trip to see THE SPHINX. All is not as it seems, however, as your guide turns out to be a CORRUPT CULTIST! The cultist and his allies AMBUSH you and drop you into an unknown UNDERGROUND/CEMETARY LOCATION. You manage to evade a MUMMY and make your escape while the cultists worship a GREAT OLD ONE or OUTER GOD. MANHUNT Heroic Adventure +8, +2 Sanity Points You and your partner (any POLICE DETECTIVE or PRIVATE EYE) have been assigned to the POLICE INVESTIGATION of a suspected SERIAL KILLER. That REPORTER from the local PRESS believes that the strange evidence (any ARTIFACT or TOME that has a Sanity Cost) indicates the work of a CORRUPT CULTIST. You follow the grizzly trail of victims to TWO different CITY LOCATION until finally you capture the MONSTER in his hideout (any CITY/SITE LOCATION). PICKMAN'S MODEL Corrupt Adventure +6, +2 Sanity Points Everyone says that your friend RICHARD UPTON PICKMAN has a vivid imagination, but you know better. Few realize that PICKMAN'S APARTMENT is in an old neighborhood that borders on TWO CEMETARY LOCATIONS. The last time you were there, he took you into his basement studio and showed you a GHOUL at gunpoint (any WEAPON). The whole experience gave you quite a fright (any PHOBIA). RATS IN THE WALLS Corrupt Adventure +7, +2 Sanity Points It was CAPT. EDWARD NORRYS who first told you abou EXHAM PRIORY. The first NIGHT there, you could swear you heard a PACK OF RAT THINGS swarming through the walls. You convinced TWO STEADFAST ALLIES to help investigate and discovered a hidden UNDERGROUND/CEMETARY LOCATION. I guess your allies didn't know that your family was under the CURSE OF THE RAT THING. Now that you're all alone, you might just SUCCUMB TO TEMPTATION and indulge your appetite... SHAG THE WORLD! Heroic Adventure +10, +3 Sanity Points The Evil DOCTOR and his TWO CORRUPT ALLIES have managed to steal a TACTICAL NUCLEAR BOMB and are using it to threaten the UNITED NATIONS. You assign a top agent (MALE WAKING WORLD ALLY) who hasn't seen the light of DAY since you could first CREATE STASIS. He decides to immediately HITCH A RIDE with a STEADFAST FEMALE ALLY, and confront the Evil Doctor at his hideout (UNDERGROUND LOCATION). Thanks to a trusty WEAPON and a BLACK BELT in Judo, the Doctor is defeated. Now about those teeth, baby... THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD Corrupt Adventure +9, +3 Sanity Points Together with CHARLES DEXTER WARD you agree to SEEK EVERLASTING LIFE II. Searching around (TWO different CEMETARY, LIBRARY or MUSEUM LOCATIONS in PROVIDENCE) leads you to an old HOUSE/TOME LOCATION and a DISTURBING PORTRAIT. Behind the portrait, you DISCOVER (a) SECRET CACHE of notes, including the HUTCHINSON CIPHER and the ORNE FORMULA & DIAGRAMS. Soon, the secrets of the LIVING DEAD (ALLY or MONSTER) will be yours. If only that STEADFAST DOCTOR would leave you alone. THE HAUNTER OF THE DARK Corrupt Adventure +9, +4 Sanity Points A STEADFAST AUTHOR introduces you to his friend (ROBERT HARRISON BLAKE) who lives in a CITY/HOUSE/GATE LOCATION that overlooks the CHURCH OF STARRY WISDOM. Inside the Church you find a disturbing TOME (that has a Sanity Cost) and mysterious SHINING TRAPEZOHEDRON. Staring into the object, you attract the attention of a GREAT OLD ONE or OUTER GOD. Now a sudden STORM and illtimed BLACKOUT have left you at the mercy of an INVISIBLE MONSTER. THE LURKING FEAR Heroic Adventure +8, +2 Sanity Points You and a REPORTER ALLY are assigned to investigate what became of a small TOWN or VILLAGE LOCATION during a STORM the previous NIGHT. You search the surrounding area (TWO CATSKILLS LOCATIONS) and discover an UNDERGROUND warren of tunnels. WEAPON in hand, you crawl through the tunnels and stumble across the blasphemous MARTENESE KIN. They kill your friend (EVENT that affects Opponent's Ally), but you manage to escape with only battered nerves (any PHOBIA). THE REANIMATOR Corrupt Adventure +12, +3 Sanity Points While at the UNIVERSITY you become friends with a CORRUPT STUDENT or DOCTOR with a macabre interest in the contents of the local CEMETARY. During THE GREAT EPIDEMIC you turn your first corpse into a LIVING DEAD MONSTER. Shortly thereafter, you are forced to TRAVEL to avoid a POLICE INVESTIGATION or TOWNSFOLK RIOT, first to a neighboring TOWN or VILLAGE, then a different CITY, and finally EUROPE. During the Great War, AN UNEXPECTED CALAMITY turns a SOLDIER ALLY into a vengeful LIVING DEAD MONSTER. Now the Dead have taken an interest in you! THE UNNAMEABLE ONE Corrupt Adventure +7, +2 Sanity Points As ALDEBARAN MOVES IN THE SKY, travel to PARIS looking for some trace of THE KING IN YELLOW and its mysterious AUTHOR. While there, meet a CORRUPT CULTIST who claims to be the Keeper of the Yellow Sign (any SPELL with the YELLOW SIGN icon). He reveals that soon HASTUR will awaken in Carcosa beside Lake Hali and send forth his BYAKHEE servants. You are now a member of the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign (a Secret Society). Derek Zimmerman DZimmer520@aol.com Mythos Mailing List Lurker --