From: "CHRISTINE M THOMPSON" To: Subject: Chaosium Digest v33.05 Date: Thursday, April 19, 2001 11:58 PM Chaosium Digest Thursday, April 19, 2001 Vol. 33, Number 05 Contents * RISE OF THE OPHIDIAN EMPIRE: PART ONE (CTHULHU) by Mervyn Boyd - jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk Editor's Note I apologize profusely for the lag since last issue. Murphy's Law landed on my computer with both feet. The nice, new machine I purchased in January suffered the death of both the hard drive and motherboard. Fortunately, it was still under warranty. However, I lost everything on the hard drive. I had some stuff backed up but not nearly enough. I've finally gotten things back to a workable condition. If you've sent me an email that hasn't received a response or a submission that hasn't been used or refused, please resend those as I've lost them. In the mean time, this issue features a new adventure by Mervyn Boyd, one of our most frequent contributors. This one features the enigmatic Serpent People and an attempt at world conquest. What more could a Call of Cthulhu Keeper ask of an adventure? Personally, I may have to adapt this one to my Nephilim game. That's it for now. Enjoy! ANNOUNCEMENTS 10 April 2001 Issaries, Inc., Press Release Oakland, CA BEST OF GLORANTHA AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED Issaries, Inc. is pleased to announce the winners of the first annual Best of Glorantha awards. These awards, voted on by the fan members of the Glorantha Trading Association, honor creative efforts built on the world of Glorantha. The awards are: BEST GLORANTHA VISUAL ART: King of Dragon Pass, by A Sharp LLC BEST HERO WARS SCENARIO: Chasing Kites, by Jeff Kyer BEST HERO WARS DESCRIPTION: Gagarth's Wolves heroband, by Mark Galeotti BEST GLORANTHA WEBSITE: Wesley Quadros's site BEST GLORANTHA IN PRINT: Tales of the Reaching Moon, Issue 18, by Reaching Moon Megacorp BEST HERO WARS HOUSE RULE: Extended Contests without APs, by Graham Robinson BEST GLORANTHA PLAYING AID: King of Dragon Pass, by A Sharp LLC BEST GLORANTHA SHORT FICTION: The Road of Kings, by John E. Boyle BEST ISSARIES INC. PUBLISHED PRODUCT: Glorantha - Introduction to the Hero Wars SPIRIT OF GLORANTHA: Nick Brooke's Songbook In addition, Greg Stafford, creator of Glorantha, tapped King of Dragon Pass as Best of the Best. "The fans picked King of Dragon Pass the winner of both the categories it was in. This computer game introduces new players with its gorgeous art and engaging play. And Hero Wars players find its hundreds of stories a great inspiration for their own games. My congratulations to the entire team at A Sharp -- and to the other winners." More information about the awards can be found at http://www.glorantha.c om/tribes/best2000winners.html. Stephen Martin Issaries, Inc. 900 Murmansk St., Suite 5; Oakland, CA 94607 Phone: (510) 452 1648 Fax: (510) 302 0385 Publisher of Hero Wars, Roleplaying in Glorantha See our site at: www.HeroWars.com Gloranthan Classics Update: Volume I - Pavis & Big Rubble More softcovers will soon be winding their way back to me and into shops, at least the shops that Esdevium and Wizard's Attic distribute to. I still have a handful of the hardcovers left. PRICE: Hardcover UK £45 (US $70), Softcover UK £30 (US $45). Price includes shipping. Volume II - Griffin Mountain Yes, all 256 pages of it are off to the printers this week. The hardcover and softcover versions will both be available from the outset. Some of the new stuff we've added include some magazine articles about Balazaring clans written by Rudy and Paul, a large section on running Gloranthan campaigns by Greg Stafford, and several pages of designer's notes. We even added in a few of the new bits that were in Griffin Island, like Granny Keeneye, the maps of the major Inns in the three Citadels, and some of the player handouts. PRICE: Hardcover UK £40 (US $60), Softcover UK £25 (US $40). Price includes shipping. How can you order them? You can advance order Griffin Mountain. That way you are guaranteed a copy of the book. I should be able to ship them out by April 17th, if not earlier, depending on when I get it delivered from the printers. Pavis & Big Rubble I can ship today. Payment can be in US Dollars or UK Pounds. If you want to pay in UK Pounds, I can accept payment by cheque or postal money order. If you want to pay in US Dollars, I can accept money orders or electronically via Paypal. My email for Paypal payments is RJMeints@cs.com SPECIAL DEAL IF YOU ORDER BOTH VOL. I & II SOFTCOVER BOOKS: Get a Pavis & Big Rubble Softcover and a Griffin Mountain Softcover for the combo price of £50 or $75. I'll have to ship both books together, so that means you'd have to wait until Griffin Mountain comes back from the printers to receive them. This deal is not available to those wonderful people who purchased Pavis & Big Rubble previously. What's all this about Paypal? Please feel free to check out their website: http://www.paypal.com to find out more, but here are the basics. They allow you to create an account to send money to other people with paypal accounts (like me). All you really need is an email address and a credit card (or similar). International customers are welcome, so this is a great way for people who want to pay in other currencies (Marks, Francs, Yen, Zlotties) to send payment. There is NO fee for sending money (I get charged a little, but that's my problem). What comes after Volume II ? Volume III, naturally. Nothing is 100% certain, but Borderlands, a Cults Compendium, and more are in the works. Please don't pester us about them. If we had a timetable with dates for when they will be ready we would have published it. Nuff said for now. We will make an announcement when we have more info. Website Updates I've updated my personal website: http://www.glorantha.co.uk with a variety of information, including a new Reaching Moon Megacorp price list, a new list of used original RQ2 items for sale and some Convulsion 2002 convention info. Please check it out. Lastly, a word or two on Convulsion 2002. The five organizers from C2K have all signed up again to run the next one. Please feel free to email us with suggestions or an offer to volunteer. Please email Convulsion@glorantha.co.uk That's all for now. Thanks for your time and support, Rick Meints From Chaosium: The Dragon Lords Are Here! Worlds of the Eternal Champion: Dragon Lord's Of Melnibone has just arrived in our warehouse. Our Young Kingdoms worldbook for the D20 system will begin shipping to game distributors this Wednesday. Your local shops will have them as early as Friday March 23rd! Do us a big favor and let your retailer know you want a copy of this book. The Young Kingdoms have never looked so good. The first Dragon Lords D20 adventure, Slaves of Fate is still being worked on by author Jason Durall. SOF is expected to release in April. Call of Cthulhu Fiction summoned Our next Call of Cthulhu fiction book, Three Impostors and Other Stories: The Best Weird Tales of Arthur Machen vol. 1 should hit your local shops sometime in late April. Three Impostors will give our Call of Cthulhu fiction line some welcome momentum. With the re-release of our Call of Cthulhu rulebook, the debut of Dragon Lords, and the January release of Unseen Masters, we're kicking 2001 off pretty well. All three books will go a long way towards stabilizing our otherwise slippery release schedule. For those if you who have the time to lend a hand, please consider running a Chaosium demo at your local shop. We don't have any promotional materials to give ya, but we'd certainly appreciate the help! Shipping Wednesday March 14th: Worlds of the Eternal Champion: Dragon Lords of Melnibone A New World for the d20 System CHA #2017 $23.95 ISBN 1-56882-150-6 196 pages, illustrated. For ten thousand years the bright empire of Melnibone ruled the world. Her soldiers were ruthless, unspeakably cruel, and well-skilled at arms. Powerful sorcerers, magic comes easily to them, as easy as breathing. They forged eternal bonds with the aloof gods of Law and Chaos, with the hideous demons from other planes, with elemental lords that are of the world itself, and with the ancient dragons that Melnibone used to enforce her might. But wealth and age has dulled the Bright Empire, tarnished it beauty, and weakened its people. The empire rots from within. And outside, young kingdoms arise on the lands Melnibone's sons and daughters carved from the stuff of chaos that lies at the edge of the world. They are petty, and envious of the ancient wealth of their former masters. A pirate navy is forming, to sail against the Dreaming City of Imrryr. Its captains hope to recapture stolen riches and to bring a hated overlord to ruin. DRAGON LORDS OF MELNIBONE provides a heroic setting for your d20 System game in a complete and detailed roleplaying world developed by Chaosium Inc. and based upon the fabulous stories written by Michael Moorcock. The island of Melnibone and the world of the Young Kingdoms wage their eternal battle in a fully developed and extensive storyline. Ancient magic abounds. Sorcerous swords whisper of forgotten treasure. Spirits and demons plague the living. . . . . and a new albino emperor has taken the Ruby Throne, promising to restore the terrible heritage of Melnibone and bring the young upstarts to heel. APRIL 2001 THE THREE IMPOSTORS & OTHER STORIES The Best Weird Tales of Arthur Machen vol. 1 CHA 6030 $13.95 ISBN 1-56882-132-8 pp. 320 Some of the finest horror stories ever written. Arthur Machen had a profound impact upon H.P. Lovecraft and the group of stories that would later become known as the Cthulhu Mythos. This first volume of Chaosium's Arthur Machen collection begins with the chilling "The Three Impostors" in its complete form, including the rarely seen sections "The Decorative Imagination" and "The Novel of the Iron Maid." Rounding out the first volume are "The Great God Pan," "The Inmost Light," and "The Shining Pyramid," all are excellent tales. Introduction by S.T. Joshi. April 2001 SLAVES OF FATE A Dragon Lords of Melnibone(r) D20 adventure CHA 2018 $8.95 32 pages Written by Jason Durall ISBN 1-56882-152-9 Far out to sea, captive on a Vilmirian slave ship, the adventurers' troubles are just beginning. If judged worthy they are destined for the slave markets of corrupt and terrifying Pan Tang, If not, they will be callously slaughtered at sea, their souls left for the dread undead galleys of the god Pyaray, Tentacled Whisperer of Impossible Secrets. While struggling to escape before matters get any worse, the Chaos goddess Eequor, Blue Lady of Dismay, takes an interest in the adventurers' plight. Their fates are forever changed. A D20 adventure for character for levels 1-3. -- Dustin Wright-Free lance spider wrangler Chaosium Dude http://www.chaosium.com Green Knight Publishing Support http://www.greenknight.com Wizard's Attic Liaison http://www.wizards-attic.com --------------------------------- RISE OF THE OPHIDIAN EMPIRE: PART ONE by Mervyn Boyd - jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk Foreword This scenario is written for characters who have been around the block a few times. Should the scenario seem too easy or too hard for your old grizzled veterans or new fresh-out-the-packet players then it should be modified accordingly - the specifics being left to the keeper. No special skills or knowledge are required for its successful conclusion. A time frame is used, but this can be changed or ignored to allow new players of Call of Cthulhu time to adjust and settle in, though events should ultimately move along. The bad guys won't sit around waiting for the players to get their act together. They've got important things to do. The scenario is intended to be set in London, England in the year 1887. Gaslights, cobblestones, horse-drawn cabs, good old Queen Vic and the mighty British empire. Hurrah! As the title implies it is only part of a larger campaign I have in mind. Because I am not a great creative writer there will probably be many entries that are vague in content and description - or even missing - thus causing the adventure to appear disjointed. Don't be put off by this. While provisions have been made for all places that the investigators are likely to visit, it is up to the keeper to improvise, and flesh out all other areas - as well as NPC personalities and reaction. Hopefully, in part II, these vague bits will be explained better. For the most part, your players will be reacting to events, going from a to b to c and so on; always being swept along and not really having the time to settle in one place to investigate, ponder, or gather clues. It's a matter of being caught in the middle of something you barely know anything about, and that there's nothing they can do about it. "Clues" to find out what's happening, are limited, if they exist at all. Everything is concealed and happening behind the scenes. How will players react? Will they take it in their stride, or will the become frustrated and impatient and try to force a confrontation of some kind? The end is unconventional in a way which means the players may, or may not play an active part in it unless they go off on one of their trademarked tangents. Keepers Information Noble and mighty. Powerful sorcerers and great scientists they were. The Serpent race created their first kingdom 275 million years ago, before even the time of the dinosaurs. But, through wars and plague their empire crumbled and the survivors retreated under ground forming small isolated pockets. Later, in human prehistory, the serpents re-emerged and built a second kingdom though by now much of their science and magic was lost - or forgotten. Both races flourished, each developing new (and rediscovered) technology. Both humans and serpents rushed to take control of as much territory as possible before the other side had a chance to. The humans, motivated more by their desire to expand their civilizations for the good of their overall societies; and the reptilians - possibly aided by humans traitors who had collaborated with them - were motivated largely through Imperialistic tendencies, which included the desire to establish god-like control over all creation without regard for universal law. War raged, and the serpent race were decimated and again they were driven under ground. It was unlikely that their numbers would ever recover. Man then, in his parasitical way, infested and colonized the world for himself and soon forgot about his old adversary... Since their destruction, the serpent race has bred profusely and spread themselves throughout deep subterranean chambers in an attempt to regain their lost knowledge, but still they lack the numbers for an all out war. In order to reclaim the land that once belonged to them 275 million years ago, they propose to infiltrate society and subvert and replace key members of power, with the view of ultimately extending their influence through Parliament and even the Royal Household. Once they control the great British Empire, it will take but one small step to conquer the rest of the world. They, however, cannot do this alone and so have enlisted the help of the Mi-Go - the Fungi from Yuggoth. In return for their help the Serpent race has offered to share the world with them. Once the world has been subjugated and its population brought under control, the Serpent People will once again be free to live as they once did, without resorting to hiding and forming secret enclaves. Originally the Serpent-men planned to abduct key people and swap brains but this was rejected because they would be discovered all to easy as they would not have the mannerisms or knowledge of the man they were replacing. On top of this, their experiments with straight brain swaps constantly failed - something about genetic compatibility degradation. So the idea was formed to contact the Mi-Go (who are known for their advanced knowledge of medical and surgical techniques) who would construct very authentic human-looking bodies - into which Serpent-men brains would be transplanted. Now instead of replacing actual people, the serpent men would simply insinuate themselves into society and be placed into key positions. To further ease their domination plans a renegade traitorous band of individuals from within the British Government have been enlisted into collusion with the Ophidian race. They've already accomplished several objectives and are now on phase two of their plans - to cause civil unrest and round up known and suspected "trouble makers". Character Creation, Personal Friends & Allies The keeper is advised to constrain all the characters to one social level - preferably upper-middle or higher; for example: eminent explorers, retired colonels, chief physician, Member of Parliament, successful entrepreneurs, merchant bankers or contractors of businesses with long standing service to the empire. However, the keeper is free to have a party from the lower classes, or a mixed combination, but that's for him/her to decide, and provisions must be made to reflect their social standing. Friends and allies can be introduced at any time to lend a helping hand, whether it is in obtaining a clue, turning the odds in combat, bailing somebody out of jail, or whatever. Of course, this help may come with a price - be it financial, future favour or anything else...Personal friends, no matter how good or loyal they are will require a reason, or incentive, before blindly helping out. Why should the Desk Sergeant of the local Metropolitan Police let the players in to view the corpse and its possessions without good reason. It doesn't matter if they have been friends for 15 years and are good drinking buddies, or belong to the same club. It is possible, however, that the Sergeant will divulge tidbits of information. It is suggested that the keeper moderate what is feasible when they are chosen. For example, it would be rather unlikely for a simple east-end chimney sweep to have Queen Victoria as a close personal friend or know Snotty-nose Gladstone (the Prime Minister), an old room-mate, from boarding school. It is further suggested that friends should be limited to within that of the character's social level. It would be more likely that the chimney sweep to have as a friend, Bob the night watch-man of the local museum or perhaps PC Plod of the local constabulary. The availability of these potential allies is left to keeper discretion and player willingness to ask for, or accept, such help. Recent News & Current Affairs Life in England, and the rest of the UK is in turmoil. It's been a long time in coming, but in recent weeks unemployment has exceeded two million. The standard of living has dropped slightly and inflation has nearly doubled prices. General strikes often bring industry to a halt. Disaffected youths and unemployed people are rallying to Socialist meetings. Marches and demonstrations protest against the unfairness towards workers' rights; anarchists and dynamiters set fires, and plant bombs. Mobs riot. Many police have been injured and several have been killed in clashes. Racial tensions run high as several Jews, Blacks and Chinese have been killed. Many arrests of suspected ringleaders have been made. It is generally accepted that this is a Bolshevik ploy to undermine the British way off life. Not even Parliament is safe; constant bickering about whose fault it is, is unending. This coupled with widespread accusations about homosexuality, financial mismanagement and other subversions make sure the Prime Minister and his Cabinet are politically weak, and may force a vote of no confidence or resignation. On a lighter note though, everyone is gearing up for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee on 21st June. All this upheaval is a direct result of Ophidian desire. Backed with their human confederates it won't be long before the government falls and with it the mighty British Empire. (Continued) -- 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. 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