From owner-chaos-digest@chaosium.com Tue Feb 22 20:13:53 2000 Received: (from domo@localhost) by chaosium.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA06610 for chaos-digest-outgoing; Tue, 22 Feb 2000 20:13:53 -0800 Message-Id: <005201bf7db2$9edb8320$dab79cd1@gobackstage> From: "John and Christine Thompson" To: Subject: Chaosium Digest v30.7 Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 23:01:06 -0500 Organization: Backstage at the Theatre of the Mind Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" X-Priority: 3 X-Msmail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2919.6600 X-Mimeole: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6600 X-Mime-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by pimout7-int.prodigy.net id WAA28090 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by chaosium.com id UAA06608 Sender: owner-chaos-digest@chaosium.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: gobackstage@prodigy.net The Thirteenth Man (cont.) BLACK BEAR CAMPGROUND Located in Sebago, Maine, this campground could be easily transferred to anywhere else. I was running a New England campaign, and placed the grounds in Maine. Washington State would be perfect. Wherever you place it, it should be a cold, snowy place on a pond or lake. Players may be able to send Link into the icy waters, and slay him. There are many brown bears in the area, and will attack humans upon occasion. This area is well known for bear attacks. Because of this, Rhode Island gangster George Zingari bought and had the camp ground built to rent run away gangsters, bootleggers, or people wanting to party in private. He has leased it to Krieg's company Neue Weld Filmen, (New World Films), from Dec. 1, 1925 until March 1, 1926. The ten foot fence is adequate enough protection from the bears. If the campground is especially noisy, the animals will probably stay away, looking for food and sleep elsewhere. The campground is located 1 1/2 miles into the woods, reachable only by dirt road. White Sand Pond is a very large pond, somewhat circular and almost a mile in circumference. There is a public beach directly on the other end, but is abandoned in the off-season. The water freezes in the winter and characters with Size of 9 or less can travel to the other side without falling through. There is a 10% chance of going through the icy for every Size point over 9, (i.e. - size of 14 has a 50% chance of falling through). To cross the pond, it will take three successful consecutive rolls. Making a Luck roll will allow a not overly encumbered character to get to the surface for one chance to be grabbed or take hold of the side of the hole with another successful Luck roll. The Cabins The Rauchen's Cabin - The couple keep two wooden and one silver cross, three sets of rosary beads in the cabin. They place a cross on Anna's door as well. Oma prays the rosary every night. The three return from cooking the evening's meal about 6 p.m. every night, as dinner is laid out promptly at five. Anna's grandparents are more than aware of what the men's gazes and whispers are all about. They keep her with them constantly, and this does not really bother the young woman. If investigators are rude or inappropriate in the slightest with Anna, the couple will not speak to investigators except under the most dire circumstances. The have no weapons, but will carry a kitchen knife, mallet or cleaver if they feel a situation could be unsafe. They always wear wooden crosses on rope around their necks. Mrs. Rauchen is the fighter in the group. Dining Hall First Floor: Generic dining area, with one clean dining room and a fully working kitchen. There are three tray slots, which are one foot wide and eighteen inches long. There are sharp knives in the kitchen as well as hot and cold running water. There is no ice-box. The generator is shut off every night at 6 p.m.. Presently, it has enough fuel at its current pace to last until January 21, 1926. The Rauchens lock up at 6 p.m. sharp, and have been instructed to never enter the cellar. Cellar: This place has gone from a food and wine cellar to the dread lair of the vampire Drexel Link. This place is almost at freezing temperature and there is absolutely no light. A.) This room has a large set screen painted completely black covering the doorway to room B. If a flashlight is shone upon it, a Spot Hidden roll is needed to determine it is something other than a wall. Closer inspection will show the true object. B.) Werner has allowed his two pure-bred German Shepards to be used as a line of first defense at those treading too closely to Link. Empty boxes conceal the doorways, and a spot hidden roll -20% is needed to see the upper edges of a door jamb. Taking enough boxes down will obviously reveal the doorways. The dogs will attack anyone but Link, the two vampyres, Werner or Krieg. They are very sensitive to light since they have been kept in the dark cellar with little but three large candles, which are on the walls, as illumination. They have been kept this way for almost a week now. They are nasty, but will run for the outside at first chance. Each dog has St: 9 Hps: 11 Siz: 12 Dmg.: Bite 40% 1d.4 +1. C.) The inner sanctum of Drexel Link. Herein lies the corpses of actors Cosmo Stille and Ut Von Braun. Both were used in the ceremony to bring Link back to this world. They are in fairly heavy stages of decomposition, and smell terribly. They are both drained of almost all blood. Though the symbol on the floor, drawn out of chicken's blood, looks ominous, there is no danger in someone stepping into it. Just don't let the players know that.... Link's coffin rests on the cellar wall lip which is 2 1/2 feet above the floor. The casket is a tight fit against the wall. The lid opens towards the wall. Because there is no sunlight, Link can be awake during the daytime here if the circumstance should arise. He fights at 3/4 power during the day time while in the cellar. Drexel Link This despicable creation of Nyarlathotep is not a vampire in the traditional sense. He was created by Nyarlathotep, not created from a human. Even if destroyed, Nyarlathotep may bring him back to this earth again and again. It is in this way, that Link is like his master and those who Nyarlathotep serves, in that the world can never be rid of them. Nyarlathotep will pay attention if Link becomes a destructive force, and will then aid him again. Nyarlathotep, the ever neglectful parent, makes Link create a foothold before putting him in connection with his money again. Link is stockier than a prototypical vampire, and very pale. He appears to be an intense, angry looking man, definitely a European, around age 30 - 35. This is a facade to what he really looks like. Nyarlathotep has placed certain spells on him to help in his survival on earth, and one is his camouflaged face. Only those characters with Power scores greater than Link can possibly see his real face. When these players meet the vampire for the first time, the Keeper should secretly roll for success. For every one Power point the investigator has above Link, he or she has a ten percent chance to see his real face: a very pock marked skin pressed against a visible, blue glowing skull with rows of sharp teeth like that of a shark. To really terrify someone, Link can rip this imaginary flesh off his skull and show his real face. Seeing his real face through the spell costs 2 - 2 d.8 Sanity loss. When Link exposes his face in the violent fashion, it costs 3 - 3 d.6 Sanity Loss. Link converses fluently in any language he chooses, right down to area specific accents. He is almost unapproachable, and shuns all contact from anyone he does not know well. Although told by his master to teach arcane lore to Krieg and Werner, Link has done little more than sleep and eat. He enjoys turning into a wolf, which he can do twice a day for up to three hours at a time, with a half hour rest in between. If shot or clubbed while in wolf form, Link will take no damage, but immediately turn back to his vampire form, with his true face is exposed. He can turn into a bat five times a day, and a rat six. Link cannot make more than three shapeshifts in a 24 hour period. Link will prefer to shapeshift and flee rather than fight if he feels he may not win. He can summon 2 d.3 wolves, which will arrive within d.20 minutes. Somehow, these wolves seem able to get through the gate. Link also has an intense hypnotic stare. If he can corner a character alone he may try to hypnotize them. Roll Power versus Power on the Resistance Table. Characters may be hypnotized and given only the following commands: sleep, (for 1d.10 minutes), forget, (the past 1d.6 hours), walk away, (for 2 d10 minutes in the furthest direction), and silence, (character is mute for 1 d.8 minutes). Should Link fail, he can never hypnotize that person. The victim also becomes aware that Link is trying to pull them under some sort of hypnotism or trance. It takes 1d.20 minutes minus one minute for every one point of Power Link has over his victim to complete the process. The vampire must not be disturbed during his attempt, and may only try it on one person at a time. There is no limit to the number of times he can do this per night. Link will not make any male investigators slaves. He probably will not half drain a female investigator, therefore making her a vampyre. He will probably just drink her dry. Link's a thirsty one.... The only reason he has not drank from Werner and Krieg is that their blood is rancid with heroin. He will kill them if he has to through. Link's history does not need to play into your game if you do not wish. Knowing more about this beast will allow you to have a more fulfilling, exciting gaming experience. As always, it is the Keeper's job to bring the character to life. Link's stare should scare even those who can't see his real face. He is an intense, hermetic individual. Women fear him. Pale blue eyes and paler skin, he is handsome, but too disturbing to approach. His presence is always felt by those near him. Not a lot of acting is needed by the Keeper, just a really good stare. Drexel Link, vampire Str 18 Con 18 Siz 14 Int 18 Pow 17 Dex 18 San 0 Hps 25 Mps 18 Damage Bonus: +1 d.6 Special Abilities Polymorph: Link can change into a wolf at the cost of 6 MPs, a bat for 4 MPs, and rat for 2 MPs. He cannot polymorph more than 3 times in 24 hours. Hypnotism: See above, costs 4 MPs per attempt. If the attempt is successful the cost drops to 1 MP. Crawl: Link can scale any surface at the speed of 30' a round. He may travel up, down and sideways. He appears to crawl like a spider. Keepers may also want Link to become a spider when crawling, therefore confusing the players even more to what they are really up against. Regeneration: Link recovers all damage once returning to his coffin and resting for at least 7 hours. Rage: When attacked, but not when attacking, does Link's Strength and Dexterity scores double. Scale: The beast can climb any semi-flat or flat surface as if they were a spider. Anyone having read Dracula, will remember the vampire scaling the walls of his castle. He may also move from side to side. Weaknesses The sign of the crucifix makes Link visibly uncomfortable and touching a cross to his flesh does 1 d.3 hps of damage. Exposure to Sunlight will instantly destroy Link, much like one of his master's facades, the Haunter of the Dark. Stake through the heart always does the trick. A player trying to strike an awake and fighting vampire or vampyre must make a hit and a successful impale, to hit the heart. An asleep or restrained, (who will be under Rage rule - see below), vampire, is impaled on a successful hit. Submerging the vampire in icy waters will get the job done. He must be fully submerged for 1 d.20 rounds to perish. The creature goes to one hit point as soon as he or she is dunked under the water. Burning the vampire or vampyres will destroy them. They are quite flammable and will light up 40% of the time when struck with a torch. Workout burning damage as per COC rules book page 52, (Fifth Edition Rules). Acids will achieve the same results against these monsters as per the rules. Drexel Link's Timeline Dec. 22, 1599: Created in Oxford England at a winter solstice celebration of the Meeting of the Pale Man. The event takes place in the basement of a church, with Nyarlathotep calling forth his hideous creation. From out of the aether stepped Link, his skull face glowing an intense blue. The worshippers presented Link with a 17 year old virgin, which he feasted on in front of the men. Those who did not flee in horror spoke and celebrated with Link until early the next morning. Little is known what happened to Link after a few nights of terror in Oxford. Link murdered three women and two children over a period of 14 days, then abruptly stopped. He is unheard of until he is seen with the Black Man in a Salem, Massachusetts corn field in 1630. Link takes residence outside of Salem Village and begins to develop a stronghold. He helps witches and warlocks discover eldritch lore and knowledge, given to him by "greater powers." By winter of 1632, he has killed as many as 35 women, created 4 vampyres, and slain scores of men and boys. His power is feared throughout the countryside and lamb's blood crosses are on every cottage door. The night of the summer solstice, 1633, Witch Master Eric Miller travels down from Haverhill, Massachusetts, and with the help of 25 cross wielding men, drives Link out of his abode and into a field of hay. Another team of men lay in wait, then attacked the vampire with torches and oil. Link immolates easily, but does not perish before killing four men in the party, and wounding three others. Witch Master Eric Miller suffered a bite on the neck, and dies three days later of what we know now as rabies; though the cause of death was thought to be much more insidious at the time. December 22, 1866: Link is resurrected in a cavern located somewhere in the Colorado Rocky Mountain range. He is brought back by Nyarlathotep and six former Rebel Soldiers who bargained for their lives with the messenger during the last great battle in the American Civil War, Gettysburg. (Nyarlathotep enjoyed the war tremendously, and relished in the amounts of death, deformities and lives ruined). Captured and feeling they were about to be executed, these soldiers cried out to anyone who would listen, and a black Northern soldier came to their aid. He said they would owe him. Through dreams he called them here and in dreams they met to release this wickedness into the world. Nyarlathotep then sent these men through the dream into the real world with Link. Christmas Eve, 1865, the group attacks a local supply base, slaying everyone there. Two in the attacking party are seriously injured and three killed. Link drinks the survivors dry. Over the next ten years Link destroys all parties traveling through there, (much like he is about to run through the base camp in Maine). Many fear the place and by 1870 only the most desperate, snowbound parties end up there. In June 1872, the army raids the base and forces Link into sunlight. Five men who were Link's slaves, now free from his trance, are tried and hanged December 22, 1872. D.) Herein lies the drained corpse of Jo Jo Johnstone. Her stretched flesh hangs over her skeleton. She is a ghastly sight, with a 1/1 d.6 Sanity loss. Closer inspection of the body is needed to determine her identity. The vampyres are quite full from all the blood and are presently at fullest power. E.) The coffins of vampyres Wanda Lipinski and Katy Manning are here. All slaying rules which are listed in the Drexel Link section apply to these two women. Both can appear as normal, frightened humans. They will use this camouflage to lure investigators into a false sense of confidence. They can keep this appearance for 12 hours straight, after this the color fades from their skin and an odor of death takes hold. A successful Sanity roll is needed to not lose 1 d. 6 Sanity points for seeing them in their real form. You may want to make undisclosed Spot Hidden roles for investigators, who, if successful, see the real being. This also requires a Sanity roll. Players having already seen Drexel Link must still make a Sanity check for seeing these two women. They have hypnotism powers, but cannot polymorph. They never leave the cellar. Ground Floor: Keepers can place large knives, hatchets, etc. here to aid hard working players. Cabin One First Floor: A common recreation area with an unstocked bar. Oft-times used for gangster parties or mob tortures. This place is off limits to everyone except Link, Werner and Kreig. Nothing of value to players is here. Second Floor: A.) This is the personal lodging area of Werner and Krieg. On the night-stand are several syringes, small vials - some empty, some with a bit of heroin in it, butane lighter, two spoons, several strong elastic bands. Inside the locked drawer, (resistance 6), is close to two ounces of very good, uncooked rock heroin. Under the bed is a loaded 12 gauge shotgun belonging to Werner. He is a paranoid, and will clutch the weapon during sleep. Some clothing and personal artifacts cover the room. B.) The door to this room is locked, (Str:11). Once inside, investigators must make a Sanity check or suffer 1 d.3 loss. Hanging on the walls are dead chickens. Blood is dried all over the floor, originating from the fowl's slit throats. Drawn on the floor in what appears to be excrement, is an unholy symbol. A notebook, (see later), lays on the floor, also covered with blood, though readable. The two men have been trying to contact a more foul from of Nyarlathotep, with the help of Link. Most of this is necessary for contact, but some of the overkill is just for Link's own amusement. The notebook is written German and full of no more than scrawlings about topics the men have been discussing with Link. Reading time is base 8 hours, due to the almost incoherent nature of the writing and the practically unreadable script. Glancing over it does nothing, but a full read which is comprehended, gives the player 1d.4 to Cthulhu Mythos, and cost 1d.6 Sanity if the ghastly concepts are understood. The book mentions Hastur and Azathoth by name. The main bulk of the text is about a filthy form of Nyarlathotep yet unseen by humans. C.) Three chairs are set up facing a movie screen. The projector is fed and ready to go. The floor is heavily stained. The Unseeable Snuff. This film was recently shot by Werner and Krieg and stars the vulgar Drexel Link. Because Link cannot be projected on film, it appears there is an invisible assailant in each scene. Investigators will realize quickly this is real. Scene One: Three wolves enter on stage, (one located on the beach - Keeper's choice). The film is lit poorly and an ax appears to hang above them without support. One by one the wolves are chopped apart by an unseen assailant. Sanity Loss: 0 - 1 d.4 Scene Two: A woman, (Katy Manning) is in a cellar, (Link's lair), and is being whipped with a belt by an invisible being. She is naked and crying. The film is silent, but the investigators hear her screams in their heads. Welts rise on her body until she goes unconscious. Sanity Loss: 1 - 1 d.6 Scene Three: Jo Jo Johnstone is in a cellar, (again the lair), and is being torn apart at all sides. The scene lasts almost six minutes and is lit fairly well. Sanity Loss: 1 d.3 - 1 d. 10 The film ends. There is a 40% chance of Werner and Krieg being here at any time during the late night or early morning. There is also a ten percent chance Link is with them, though he is quite uninterested in the film. Should the two men fall asleep, he will leave them and go for the night's prowl. The Night's Prowl Early every morning Link is on the prowl in a wolf form. He is always accompanied with 2 - 5 (1 d.4+1) wolves. They have traveled a great distance to arrive here. He can also summon more of the animals. The wolves will fight to the death to protect their master. Wolves are located on page 185 of the fifth edition rules. After killing Anna Rauchen, he will begin to feast on the crew and investigators, summoning them out at night, one after another, about three days apart. To summon Link sends a message through a dream, which he does via spell. The verbal part of this spell calls for Link to howl in a certain rhythm while in wolf form. It is then a power versus power roll, with Link as the active score. Should an investigator lose the roll, he will be summoned, and leave the room without making a sound. Link will then lead the man back to his lair where he will feed. What he does not use, which is very little, he gives to the vampyres. Of course, large investigators can be made slaves or beautiful women made vampyres via a bite. These characters become NPCs and are turned over to the Keeper. And Now.... The players are now left with little choice. Try to run, which a sudden snow storm can stop; slay the vampire; duck and cover until Link leaves with the vampyres on January fifth, then wait another week for the crew to return. This gives a keeper a lot of options on how to takes this game. I allowed the players to dictate where we were going and it was quite a memorable. Link was able to fend off the party when they attacked his lair. However, they were able to drive him out near the bulkhead and expose him to sunlight, at the game's climax. Victory? If players slay Link, award them 1 d.8 points of sanity and one to two points on their Sanity score. Killing a vampire brings one great confidence, and should also benefit the skills of Occult (1 d.6), Cthulhu Mythos (one point), and any used in slaying the beast by at least 1 d.4. Surviving the ordeal, i.e. - making it until Link goes away. Link has big plans and will only stay the 14 days. He will not directly disobey Nyarlathotep, and will stay the entire duration unless he is overwhelmingly threatened with destruction. No sanity should be given, as the players will know all too well that Link is out there, anywhere, ready to kill and violate as he wishes. Penalize players for cowardly, (I do not mean smart), play. Letting Link survive should cost at least 1 d. 10 sanity points, and perhaps a phobia or two. Rhabadophobia, fear of being bitten; Henophobia, fear of blood; Nyctophobia, fear of darkness; Cynophobia, fear of dogs (wolves); hydrophobophobia, fear of rabies; Odontophobia, fear of teeth; are all quite applicable to any character losing sanity from dealing with Link. Nyarlathotep I did not include the unholy messenger in this adventure, nor do I think he belongs here. He is a constant threat which is always one step behind and one step in front of us. Most of the world's evil springs one way or another from him. This, of course, does not mean you cannot add him, or begin a Nyarlathotep based campaign starting here. I am presently writing some other adventures stemming from here. In Closing I hope you enjoy playing this adventure, and will openly welcome feedback. Please give me hints, pointers, and I'd love to hear about your playing experience with this scenario. You can reach me directly at Monsterfashion@earthlink.net and visit my website at http://home.earthlink.net/~monsterfashion/index.html Just click and paste the addresses. And in closing, never give a sucker an even break..... ----------------------------------- PERSONALITY RULES FOR ELRIC! It seems strange that a game that "should be more about hate, love, vengeance, greed, and lust than tentacles and unnamable things" has no rules concerning personality. I hope that these Personality Traits rules do the job. I have not playtested them, so any advice or suggestion is warmly welcomed and thanked in advance. First, let me say what Personality Traits are. They represent a character's subconscious and instinct. They come into play when the character responds to a situation according to his inner self, as opposed to his rational self - the player. His POW represents the control he exerts over his instincts; this is why the player has to oppose the character's POW against the Personality Trait value if he wants his character to stay in his control. There is not a definitive list of Personality Traits because such list would be infinite although Honest, Wise, Sensible, Valorous, Lustful, Passionate are all valid examples. Note how they overlap: it is up to the player to decide which Traits influence his character's personality and how. Each Trait is also rated with a value between 1 and 10, with 6 being the threshold above which the character behaves maniacally in accordance with the Trait. Traits can increase and decrease. When a Trait reaches 0 it disappears. There is no such a thing as negative Trait scores - just take a positive score in an opposite trait. HOW TRAITS ARE ACQUIRED Personality Traits can be acquired during the adventurer generation, after and consistently with step 5. The player chooses as many (or as few) Traits he wants and assigns them a value. Only a third of the chosen Traits can have a score of 7 or greater - this rule ensures that no character is a caricature. The Gamemaster may wish to enforce cultural restrictions or modifiers. A Trait can also be acquired during play. If a character shows a consistent behavior which could be represented by a Trait the Gamemaster may assign, with the player's agreement, to that Trait a score usually between 1 and 3. The exact value is decided together with the player. HOW TRAITS ARE CHANGED Personality Traits are changed by experience, as with skills, and by a deliberate effort to change on the part of the character. They also interact with changes in the Allegiance scores. When a character behaves strongly according to a Trait, maybe because he lost the Resistance Roll, the player can check the Trait as he does with skills. To increase the Trait by one point, roll lower than 10 with a d00. This roll can be performed as the same time of Allegiance checks or Experience rolls. A character can also spend some time "practicing" the Trait, accomplishing small actions in accordance with it, and generally behaving that way without there being any significant event which tests the Trait. He cannot train during this period, nor can he go adventuring and so on... After a time equal to his Trait score in weeks, the player can try to increase the Trait as above. Finally, when the character increases one of his Allegiance scores, all the Traits that the GM judges to be linked to that Allegiance are checked. A Trait score is immediately decreased by one point when the character overcomes his instinct with his POW on the Resistance Table. Likewise behaving generally contrary to its nature can decrease a Trait. This is done as to increase its value by training (see above) but after the required time has elapsed, if the player rolls less than 10 with the d00, the Trait score is reduced by one point. Finally, when the character increases one of his Allegiance scores, the Traits that the GM judges to be opposite to that Allegiance are checked as above to see if they diminish. HOW TRAITS ARE USED IN PLAY Traits are used to determine a character's reactions in some instances and provide the inspiration that augments the chance to accomplish actions attempted under the influence of the Trait. When a character is taken by surprise, or when a situation tests the character's control over his instincts, the player must overcome with the character's POW the Trait value +10 on the Resistance Table. If the Trait value is 7 or more, this roll must be made every time the character attempts an action contrary to the Trait - he is in fact ruled by such a powerful personality. When two Traits are opposed simply roll on the Resistance Table opposing the values. The winner is the side of the personality which attracts the character, and against which he has to defend. The Traits may also provide inspiration provided that the character is willing to abandon himself to his inner personality. When he is under the influence of a Trait, and for the duration of the scene which has triggered the Trait, the player may add the Trait score x5 to one skill of his choice that is pertinent to the situation. EXAMPLE During character generation, Sickboy's player (cf. last issue) assigns his character the following Trait scores: Shrewd 5, Prudent 4, Merciful (Abandoned Children) 7 - Sickboy was one of them after all. Then, during an adventure, the characters are fleeing from a party of Darijorian knights through the streets of Gromoorva. Turning a corner, Sickboy finds a sleeping child upon a pile of trash. The GM instructs Sickboy's player to oppose his Prudent to his Merciful. If the former wins, Sickboy keeps on running, but if the winner is the latter he stops to check for the child's conditions. Since he is still alive, Sickboy's instincts tell him to take the child with him. But he hears the sound of horses drawing near, so his player would like to have him flee with his companions. The player opposes Sickboy's POW against 17 (the Trait value +10) on the Resistance Table. If he wins, Sickboy subtracts one from his Trait value and keep on running. Otherwise he checks the Trait, take the child and turns around to face the knights who are now upon him, adding 35 percentiles to his Dodge skill against their attacks until he has taken the child to safety. Note that this tension between what the player expects and what the character actually does should be a great source of role-playing ideas - remorse, for example. ¤ -- To unsubscribe from the chaos-digest ML, send an "unsubscribe" command to chaos-digest-request@chaosium.com. Chaosium Inc., Call of Cthulhu, and Nephilim are Registered Trademarks of Chaosium Inc. Elric! and Pendragon are Trademarks of Chaosium Inc. All articles remain copyright their original authors unless otherwise noted.