Chaosium Digest Volume 23, Number 6 Date: Sunday, March 1, 1998 Number: 1 of 4 Contents: My Cultist is a Monster (Guy Hail) MYTHOS I Look Like What? (Guy Hail) MYTHOS When Iatrophobia Can be Cured (Guy Hail) MYTHOS Dominate (Guy Hail) MYTHOS The Black Ziggurat, Part One (Cry.Sys) CALL OF CTHULHU Editor's Note: Welcome back to the Chaosium Digest. This week, a big issue. Starting off in V23.6 I've got four Mythos strategy articles by Guy Hail, followed up by part one of a short Cthulhu campaign set in the Amazon. Over in V23.7 you'll find a cool article expanding on the capabilities of Spawn of Tsathoggua as well as the rest of that Amazon campaign. Then, in V23.8 and V23.9 you'll find the second adventure in the French Nephilim campaign that also ran in V23.4 to V23.5 (see the former for notes about its pecularities). Also, I'd like to plug a few online conferences coming up. These news items are drawn from the R'lyeh Report. GREG STAFFORD UNLEASHED: This month's regular AOL conference will feature special guest host Greg Stafford, the founder of Chaosium and the creator of Glorantha. This is your chance to ask him exactly where the Brithini went, and what precisely did happen when Arkat and Gbaji fought. Conference is on March 24 at 7pm PT/10pm ET in the OGF on AOL. Sorry, AOL members only, but a transcript of the conference will be posted to www.glorantha.com some time in April. CHAOSIUM INTERNET CONFERENCE: And, just because we don't want AOL users to have all the fun, Chaosium editor Shannon Appel will be hosting an internet chat on March 9 at 6pm PT/9pm ET. You can join it by logging on to http://www.worldwithoutborders.com. He'll be happy to tell you about our upcoming plans or answer any other questions you might have. Stop by the site early to set up a chat login (it just takes a minute or two). (To subscribe to the montly R'lyeh Report send the message "subscribe chaos-info" in the body of a message to majordomo@chaosium.com) And that should do it for this week. Expect another special digest next week with part three of the French Nephilim campaign, and then the regular digest again the week after. I've still got a few articles waiting to be posted (Mythos strategy, starting CoC adventures, and Agaratha for Nephilim), but they should all be cleared out in the next regular issue, so send those articles in! Shannon RECENT RELEASES: * Call of Cthulhu - _The Complete Pegana_ (Chaosium, 256 pg., $12.95), by Lord Dunsany, is a classic collection of fantasy that has never before been brought together in its entirity. Here you will find Dunsany's first two collections, _The Gods of Pegana_ and _Time and the Gods_, as well as a set of three stories known as "Beyond the Fields We Know". Together these stories comprise everything Dunsany ever wrote about the fantasy-world of Pegana, the stories which very directly influenced Lovecraft's own Dreamlands tales. RECENT BOOKS OF NOTE: Two interesting comics out in the last few weeks, both adaptations of Lovecraft stories. * Call of Cthulhu - _The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath #2_ (Mock Man Press, 24 pg., $2.95) is the second of five parts adapting Lovecraft's classic Dreamlands novel. The first was out around three months ago, but I managed to miss it. This issue is a very nice adaptation with good art. Check out Jason Thompson's web site at http://www.sonic.net/~jason for complete info. You can even get a five-issue subscription so you don't have to worry about tracking down the individual issues. _The Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft: Beyond the Wall of Sleep_ (Caliber Comics/Tome Press, 32 pg., $2.95) is actually a reprint of a comic put out by Adventure Comics back in 1992. The original was in color, and this reprint is in black and white, and the artwork suffers as a result (as opposed to the Dream-Quest, above, which is also in black-and-white, but was planned for that form, and thus can take better advantage of it). This comic is part of a series of adaptations that Steve Jones has been producing over the last six years, first for Adventure Comics, then Caliber Press, now the Tome Press imprint. Some are direct adaptations of Lovecraftian stories, while others have been "modernized" in various odd ways. If you don't have the original Adventure comic, this reprint is suggested (I'm missing half of the Adventure run, and plan to pick those up in these black and white reprints). You can find info on Caliber's Lovecraft comics, including many back issues, at http://www.calibercomics.com I also hear word that White Wolf's _Kane of Old Mars_ is out, but haven't seen it yet. More on that in a week or two. RECENT MAGAZINE SIGHTINGS: * Call of Cthulhu - "Call of Computer", by Joshua Marquart, is a 12-page Paranoia adventure with a Cthulhu Mythos background. Can you say Kath-U-LHU? Go, buy three copies of this issue, and then write letters to SJG demanding more. Pyramid #28 [Nov/Dec, 1997]. -------------------- From: Subject: My Cultist is a Monster System: Mythos My Cultist is a Monster Of all the Allies only Cultists may be played to the threat without using an Artifact, Event, or Spell. In all editions up to and including Dreamlands, all Cultists are also Corrupt, and this causes some confusion. Only Cultists may be played to the threat. Not Corrupt Friends, Corrupt Undertakers, or any other Corrupt Ally. A Corrupt Cultist should be played to the threat when the chance is good that that the Corrupt Cultist may be discarded by Spells, Events, Monsters or some combination of these. No one who plays a unique Corrupt Cultist, for example, any Whateley, Brewster, Marsh, or Scott, who is neccessary for an Adventure, can expect that Ally to remain in play for long. But to play a Corrupt Cultist to the threat requires more than play of it as an Ally. While normally an Ally card, if played to the threat, the cultist becomes a Monster card. Play of a Monster requires a gate. Play of a Corrupt Cultist requires a gate in the region and sub-region where the Cultist may be found. For example, a Boston Corrupt Cultist (John Scott) may be played only at gate Locations in Boston in Lovecraft Country. Certain special combination allow exceptions to this limited play. Any means of adding a Gate Attribute to a Train would permit play of a Corrupt Cultist at the Train's gate, provided the Corrupt Cultist could be played in the current region. * * * G R Hail grhail@aol.com -------------------- From: Subject: I Look Like What? System: Mythos I LOOK LIKE WHAT? Using the Innsmouth Look Play the Innsmouth Look upon armed Allies, especially Allies armed with large weapons (+3 or greater), since the owners of these Allies will be counting on them in defense, and upon Allies whose abilities are necessary for play of other cards in their owner's hand (for example, moving William Channing Webb to the Threat prevents him from translating Eltdown Shards; moving Wilbur Whateley to the Threat prevents him from burying Tomes, etc.). In practice I've seen players use Innsmouth Look only against an opponent's weak Allies, because that Ally is likely to be directed against the player of the Innsmouth Look card. When an Ally is moved to the Threat, it becomes a Lesser Independent Monster. If before playing the Innsmouth Look, the Circles of Thaol Spell is played to a Tome or an Ally, then the Spell may be used to re-direct the converted Ally to attack the player of one's choice. Since this will occur during the Spells & Artifacts phase of combat, it is too late for the opponent of the newly-directed threat to place Allies in defense. A nine-point Ally (Raymond Legrasse + Dynamite) converted into a Lesser Independent Monster, then re-directed at the victim of one's choice is an inexpensive, surpising and devastating attack. This fails on Living Dead Allies, however, whose type is not converted to Lesser Independent, but Living Dead can be controlled by the Command the Dead spell. If your opponents are like my opponents, some have the Chime of Tezchaptl artifact, which permits the cancellation of a spell. Cancelling Circles of Thaol would be catastrophic, if the Ally-turned-Monster is aimed at one's self. The only tactic to beat use of Chime of Tezchaptl during combat is deception. Use another spell to tempt the owner of the Chime into using the Chime. For example, use Sign of Eibon to bury the Ally-turned-Monster, or use Wave of Oblivion to bury a Location. After the Chime is used, then cast Circles of Thaol. * * * G R Hail grhail@aol.com -------------------- From: Subject: When Iatrophobia Can Be Cured System: Mythos When Iatrophobia Can Be Cured Got Iatrophobia? Forget to include another way of burying phobias? It happens. Halfway through deck-building, I say, "What was that church for," or "I don't need this ally." Then during play - Iatrophobia. "So what," you say, "It's not that bad." Then disaster strikes at the rate of 1 Sanity point per turn when your Investigator unexpectedly suffers from Claustrophobia and Iatrophobia. A simple solution can be found in a card you probably already have in your deck, which is widely available if you don't: The Tiara of Opulent Fantasy (MSGS). The Tiara of Opulent Fantasy replaces all the attributes from one's Current Location with the attributes of the target Location. Here's the quote from Chaosium's card file on the Tiara: The Tiara replaces your Current Location's attributes with those of an opponent's Location. Attributes specifically include: the Locational Attributes (listed under the card's Title), the Gate Attribute (located in the top left corner), and the Public Attributes (the icons running down the left margin). They specifically do not include: Title, Dimensional Indicator, Region, Subregion, Sanity Cost or Special Effect Box. The Tiara does not change the special effects box of one's Current Location. It is the special effects box of a Sanitarium Location that permits the curing of phobias. The Iatrophobia Event says "You may not remove this Phobia at a Sanitarium." Sanitarium is a Locational Attribute, which can be replaced by using the Tiara. For example, by replacing the Locational Attributes of Arkham Sanitarium (City, Sanitarium) with the Locational Attributes of Arkham Mystical Supply (City, Business, Artifact), the Arkham Sanitarium Location loses the Sanitarium Attribute but retains its ability to cure phobias. Note, however, that use of the Tiara, which costs one Sanity point, is an action that uses one turn. A phobia could not be cured in the same turn that the Tiara is used, but must wait until he next turn. Similarly, if the Tiara is used to borrow the Tome or Artifact attributes, a Tome or Artifact cannot be found until the next turn. * * * G R Hail grhail@aol.com -------------------- From: Subject: Dominate System: Mythos Dominate (with a detour to the Tiara of Opulent Fantasy) Dominate is similar to The Tiara of Opulent Fantasy, and is useful in similar situations. First, an explanation of the Tiara of Opulent Fantasy. Use of Tiara of Opulent Fantasy replaces one card's attributes with that of another. For example, if * my Current Location is Penn Central Station, New York * and Penn Central doesn't have the attributes I need * and an opponent's Current Location is The Forgotten Crypt, Kingsport then... I use the Tiara of Opulent Fantasy to replace the attributes of Penn Central with the attributes of The Forgotten Crypt, Kingsport. Penn Central loses its attributes (City, Station, Gate, Water, Inside) and gains the attributes of The Forgotten Crypt (City, Tomb, Underground, Artifact, Water, Cemetery, Inside, Gate). Note what is not replaced. Even after use of the Tiara of Opulent Fantasy, my Current Location's title is still Penn Central. Its subregion is still New York. Its region is still Lovecraft Country. My Current Location still has the Gate attribute. If I'd already used the Gate, the Tiara does not cause the gate to become un-used. Although The Forgotten Crypt is a -1 Sanity Location, I do not lose Sanity. Now that Penn Central has these attributes: City, Tomb, Underground, Artifact, Water, Cemetery, Inside, Gate. I may * walk to N'kai * play an Artifact * play a Ghoul as an Ally, if the Gate had not been used and if Richard Upton Pickman (Corrupt Friend), whose special power permits this, is in play. * count Penn Central as an Artifact Location for the Interesting Shop but I must still * walk to Kingsport, because Penn Central is still in New York * can't count Penn Central (one card) as a gate location is two different cities, which would require two cards Penn Central retains the attributes of The Forgotten Crypt until it is no longer my Current Location, even if my opponent leaves the Forgotten Crypt for another Location. Dominate (you were wondering when I'd get back to this) is similar to the Tiara of Opulent Fantasy. Cast Dominate to replace one own's Ally with the Ally of an opponent. Unlike the Tiara of Opulent Fantasy, however, Dominate acts as if one's own Ally Card were replaced with the Opponent's Ally card (no actual cards are moved, however). It's worth reviewing Chaosium's erratum to this card. Here is what the special effects box should say: It reads "Replace the languages and card benefits of one of your Allies with the target Ally's languages and card benefits, for as long as your Ally remains in play. Flip target Ally." Note that the words "one use" from the original card are absent! The transfer by Dominate, like that of the Tiara of Opulent Fantasy, is retained until the transformed Ally card is buried. I have Robert Harrison Blake in play (1, Steadfast Artist, Knows English, +1 Sanity, Providence, Lovecraft Country, no special effects). An opponent plays Wilbur Whateley (3, Corrupt Cultist, Knows English, Dunwich, Lovecraft Country, bury Tome special effect). During my turn, I cast Dominate on Wilbur Whateley, transferring his benefits to Robert Harrison Blake. I may * bury my Wilbur Whateley to bury a Tome * play an adventure that requires Wilbur Whateley * play an adventure that requires a Corrupt Cultist * play an adventure that requires a Dunwich Ally * defend with Wilburized Robert Harrison Blake as a 3 point ally I may not * use the artist Robert Harrison Blake to fulfill and adventure's requirements, because his new title is Wilbur Whateley * count the artist Robert Harrison Blake as a Providence Ally, because Wilbur Whateley is from Dunwich Robert Harrison Blake does not regain his natural attributes until he is buried in my Story Deck. He will retain his Wilbur Whateley attributes as long as Robert Harrison Blake is in play, regardless of what happens to my opponent's natural Wilbur Whateley. Instead of Wilbur Whateley, imagine that I replace Robert Harrison Blake with Abdul Alhazrad (3, Corrupt Cultist, knows Arabic & Hyperborean), Middle East Past, Middle East, Can know any two spells). When the artist Robert Harrison Blake is replaced through use of Dominate by Abdul Alhazrad, I may use Robert Harrison Blake * as a Corrupt Cultist * as a 3 point Ally * as a translator of Arabic or Hyperborean Tomes * as a receptacle for two spells * as a Middle Eastern Ally * as an Ally from the Past Robert Harrison Blake retains these fantastic powers until he is buried. There is no reason why Dominate (-2, Cthulhu) shouldn't be in every deck, either placed in an Ally or Artifact that can know spells, or in the Necronomicon, Dee Edition (English), an easy-to-translate Tome. * * * G R Hail grhail@aol.com -------------------- From: Hamdula@neosoft.com Subject: The Black Ziggurat, Part One System: Call of Cthulhu The Black Ziggurat By Cry.Sys CONTENTS In V23.6: 1. Keeper Info 2. Player Info 3. Part One: Arrival at Manaus 4. Image: The Mary Kay 5. Part Two: The Mouth of the Maidira In V23.7: 6. Part Three: Down the Maidira 7. Image: The Campground 8. Image: The Statue 9. Part Four: The Canuma River and the Naki 10. Image: Good Naki Soup 11. Part Five: The Acari River and Sabotage 12. Image: Power Statue 13. Part Six: Danku Village and the Escape 14. Image: Danku Village 15. Part Seven: An Unlikely Ally 16. Part Eight: The Black Ziggurat 17. Author's Words 18. Stats KEEPER'S INFO Evil's up to no good in South America. A Lesser Outer God known as Naaganaaga has gained sentience. It thinks earth would make a perfect place for its paradise. However, in its mind paradise is a scorched wasteland of a planet. Naaganaaga formed a plan and has contacted a tribe that lives in the Amaszon Basin by affecting their dreams. The tribe is descended from the Tcho-Tchos, but is known as the Danku tribe. Their only settlement is a small town on the Acari River, a location uncharted in the 1920's. The Dankus have started to pave the way for opening a gateway for Naaganaaga to enter onto Earth by building a huge black ziggurat in the deep jungle. In return, the tribe's genetic structure will be changed so they can survive on Naaganaaga's paradise. Once Naaganaaga arrives on Earth, it will start a huge atomic blast, and the remaining fires will destroy the rainforest. This will result in many problems for humanity, like less oxygen in years to come, more pollution, and a radioactive Amazon Basin. That is the first step in its plan to bring humanity to their knees, and to bring in a new paradise. Lucky for mankind, a small expedition happens to be travelling down the river that the Dankus live on. Its plan is to chart this unknown land. The fate of the world depends on their efforts against the tribe's ritual to summon Naaganaaga to Earth. PLAYER INFO This is what the players know so far: * The players have donated funds to the expedition and, as a result, secured themselves places on the steam boat. * The expedition's purpose is to chart the little known Acari River. * The expedition is led by two explorers: Capt Jack Horner and Mr. Franklin Rivin. * Horner is known for the acutely correct charts he has made in the past of the Amazon River, and rumor says he's a alcoholic. He owns the steam boat being used in the expedition, the Mary Kay. * Rivin is known for his trips around the world, often for hunting big game. As he is getting older, he has started to turn to just exploring and charting. * The plan is as follows: The party will arrive by plane at Manaus, where equipment will be loaded onto the steam boat, the Mary Kay. Then, the boat will travel upstream to the mouth of the Maidira River. From there, downstream to the mouth of the Canuma River. The first tributary on the right is the opening to the Acari River. PART ONE: ARRIVAL AT MANAUS The investigators will arrive by plane at Manaus. Let them buy their equipment in their hometown and make sure to warn them that they will be cut off from civilization for a while. Charge them for porters and such if they are carrying a lot or heavy equipment. Once the investigators land and collect their gear, a few porters (if hired) will help them carry their stuff from the primitive landing strip, through town, and to the docks. The town is not pretty, filled with poor in the streets; a faint rotting smell follows on the air. The buildings are in a state of disrepair and if a investigator has been to Innsmouth, it might remind them of that place. As the investigators pass through town, there is a 55% chance to get spotted by a pickpocket in the marketplace. Many people will press up against the investigators with open hands, begging. This is when the pickpocket will strike, 45% chance of succeeding. Unless the investigators pay the porters well, not cheating or bargaining them down from their $5-a-porter price, a random porter may run off with a investigators things. If you choose for this to happen, roll a percentage for each. The investigator with the highest percentage's porter breaks off in a run when the investigator gets pressed on by beggers. If tracked, the porter will be found in a alleyway, selling the items he doesn't want to keep. When the investigators reach the docks, they will see the Mary Kay. It is a 3 level steam boat, much like the one in the movie _Anaconda_ (a good movie to see this before running this campaign, as it has the same mood as you want for this). The Captain is overseeing porters move fuel, equipment, and other things into the hold. He will have little time for the investigators at the moment, but he will have time much later. Rivin will probably be the one the investigators spoke to through telegrams, so he will be awaiting their arrival. He will have their gear put in the hold or the staterooms (Not much room in them for big things) at their choice. Then, he will show them over the ship. On the bridge is John, the first mate of the Captain. He will be checking charts and maps for last minute course changes. He too will be busy, but able to speak later. Once the tour is over, most of the porters leave and everyone meets on the deck. Now that everyone is on the deck, much mingling will go on. John will hit on female investigators, Rivin will start up his pipe and talk about the animals he has killed, and the Capt will tell about his experiences on the Amazon River and cook up some soup on a heater on the table. It's friendly all around and there is a lot of confidence placed in the expedition's success. Once fed and ready, the Captain will pull out of the docks and start upstream. PART TWO: THE MOUTH OF THE MAIDIRA By nightfall, the Mary Kay reaches the mouth of the Maidira River. Here, the Captain sets down the anchor and kills the engine. Dinner is held on the deck, soup again. The Captain says that he's glad that everyone could make it: "I'm glad you all could make it down here to join the expedition. The last one that tried this river hasn't come back yet, and we fear they could have been captured by natives. There are rumors of headhunters, and they could have gotten the last expedition, but I wouldn't place any truth in it. I've arranged for us to meet up with some friends of mine. A tribe called the Naki, who ARE headhunters, but they won't bother us since I've helped them before. They are nomadic, and if anyone's interested in learning their language, swing by the cabin for a few hours and I'll teach you while I drive." (For sitting for half a day listening to the Capt rave on about the language, investigators get 1d20+10% in Other Language: Naki.) At this point, there is a crash of lighting and rain begins pouring down. All the NPCs decide to head off to bed after they finish eating because "you're gonna need your energy for the trip." But, first mate John suggests that the investigators "should stay on the deck to watch the stars. Very clear out here under this sky." Should anyone happen to leave shotgun shells out in the open, they get wet and will not be useable used during the rest of the campaign. That night a lone bunyip will climb up onto the deck for food. Down stream the Hunting Horror that the Dankus have summoned and bound has been eating bunyips and this one has decided to relocate. If confronted, it will fight for a round or two, then try and run. Should anyone happen to kill the creature, the body will fall over board, sink, and be washed away to be eaten by the Hunting Horror. Of course the NPCs will come up on deck just after it got away. [continued in V23.7] --