From: To: Subject: Chaosium Digest v36.05 Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2002 1:42 AM Chaosium Digest Volume 36, Number 05 Date: Monday, May 27, 2002 Number: 1 of 1 Contents: * More Advice for Keepers: The Advantage of Occupational Themes (CTHULHU) by Christopher Hardesty * Unnaturally Familiar: Fiendish Friends for Immortal Sorcerers (CTHULHU) by Christopher Hardesty Editor's Note: A pair of Cthulhu articles from Christopher Hardesty are featured this issue. The first discusses the value of themes for Investigators in Call of Cthulhu. The second provides info on familiars for those nasty Mythos sorcerers. As if Mythos sorcerers weren't already nasty enough... Enjoy! ANNOUNCEMENTS * TENTACLES TOMES: Legacy of Pavis at the printers! We are happy to announce that the Tentacles Tomes 2: Legacy of Pavis is at the printers! There will be 50 fresh special-bound copies available at Tentacles! As an extra kick the Tome will include a Pavis Cartoon by Ortiz Guillermo! The Tome is also available at: http://www.tradetalk.de LEGACY OF PAVIS The third in the P&BR Companion series, the 'Legacy of Pavis' contains the last of the original campaign material on which the series was based, plus much more. The Cult of Pavis is at last revealed in all its glorious complexity, and the Flintnail dwarves stand up to be counted. Come with us as we explore the bizarre ruins of Old Pavis as the Hero Wars begin to unfold their epic events around us. Lead your Heroes into danger and glory as the Old City begins to rise again. Check out the complete content: http://users.bigpond.com/jalmar/companion.html Fabian Kuechler -- ~Tentacles Press~ tentacles.press@tentacles-convention.de * Esdevium Games, distributors of games in the UK, sold out of The Black Seal shortly after it was published. Esdevium Games have been resupplied by Brichester University Press, publishers of The Black Seal. Your Friendly Local Games Shop should now be able to reorder The Black Seal for you should you have missed its first appearance. The Black Seal is the magazine of modern horror gaming and is devoted to supporting Cthulhu Now and Delta Green games. It retails in UK stores for £7.99. For those who cannot get to a shop in the UK or live overseas, The Black Seal is available by mail order. Please check out our web site http://www.theblackseal.org for full details of issue contents and ordering information including easy-to-use PayPal buttons. Adam Crossingham editor@theblackseal.org http://www.theblackseal.org * Best of Glorantha 2001 Finally Announced! The GTA hears first about Winners of the Best of Glorantha 2001 awards: Best Glorantha Visual Art Simon Bray's Heortling "wood cuts" in Thunder Rebels and Storm Tribe Best Hero Wars Scenario Saddled with the Nightmare, by Simon Bray and Martin Hawley Best Hero Wars Description Pavis Hero Wars by Ian Thomson and Issaries, Inc. Best Gloranthan Website Nick Brooke's Etyries.com Best Glorantha in Print, English Thunder Rebels, by Issaries, Inc. Best Glorantha in Print, non-English Pavis Hero Wars by Multisim (French) Best Hero Wars House Rule Benedict Adamson's Enhanced Simple Contests to replace Group Simple Contests Best Glorantha Playing Aid Uz, The Trolls of Glorantha, produced by The Unspoken Word Best Glorantha Short Fiction John Hughes's Helden novella Best Issaries, Inc. Publication Thunder Rebels Best Licensed Product Uz, The Trolls of Glorantha, produced by The Unspoken Word Spirit of Glorantha Life of Moonson (Gloranthan material from the LARP of the same name by Nick Brooke, Chris Gidlow, David Hall and Kevin Jacklin, with Rick Meints and Michael O'Brien). Best of the Best of Glorantha 2001 Nick Brooke's Etyries.com Greg Sez: "Fans picked Nick's site and its contents in both categories in which it was nominated. Material from Nick's site also won last year during the Best of Glorantha contest. His site is full of original material, entertaining and humorous in its perspective, and chock full of stuff which is pretty much canon, as far as the Western religions go. The clincher was his parody of the Sartarites in his "Rough Guide to Sartar" (although it was posted in 2002, it is a brilliant example of the material on his site). My congratulations to Nick for a job well done -- and to the other winners." Congratulations to each winner, who should sport the winner's logo on their websites soon. Check for the full story at . GLORANTHAN TOP 20 WEB SITES We would also like to announce the winners of the Top 20 Gloranthan Web Sites. Note that duplicate numbers indicate tie votes. 1. Wesley Quadros' Glorantha site III 2. Nick Brooke's Etyries.com 2. John Hughes' "Questlines" 4. Peter Nordstrand's Hero Wars page 5. David Dunham's Glorantha Page 6. Bruce Ferrie's Glorantha Page 6. James Frusetta's "Troll Wonderhome" 6. Simon Phipp's RuneQuest/Glorantha Site 6. Bo Rosen's "Arumbobo's Heroes" 10. Efendi's "Liber ob Sciscitatora" (Japanese language) 10. Malion's "TOME: The Book of Secrets of Glorantha" (Japanese language) 10. Master Gollum's Glorantha Page (Spanish language) 10. Multisim's official Hero Wars site (French language) 10. Michael O'Brien's Glorantha Page 10. Jamie Revell's "Trotsky" 10. Jonas Schiott's "East Wilds" and Hero Wars pages 10. Hiroki Shimizu's "Gathering Storm" (Japanese language) 18. Kalikos (Finnish language) 18. Steve Marsh's HeroQuest Home Page 20. Ian Thomson's "Pavis" Congratulations to the winners. As soon as we have full details on the RPGHost Top RPG Sites lists, we will have details at . ORLANTH IS ALMOST DEAD! We have been having our usual problems with layout, but Orlanth is Dead!, volume 2 of Sartar Rising, is nearing completion. We expect to send it to the printer at the end of next week. After that, both Hero's Book and Imperial Lunar Handbook volume 1 are nearing completion, and editorial work has started on volume 3 of Sartar Rising. We still do not have a final release date for HeroQuest, but hope to make an announcement soon. HEROQUEST PATRONAGE We have decided to list all current GTA members in HeroQuest (except for Anonymous members, of course), even if they do not choose it as the book they receive for their patronage choice. If you have been thinking of joining the GTA or upgrading your membership, now is the time to do it! Ensure that your name is enshrined forever in HeroQuest; go to or email us at for details on how to join or upgrade! Hawkbear aka Mark Leymaster * Howdy Folks! This Month's report is a brief one. Hopefully we'll have lots of good news for you next month. Origins Awards We here at Chaosium are honored to have received several Origins Awards Nominations from The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Designs. Best Game-Related Short Work: How Nyarlathotep Rocked the World by Greg Nicoll. From Song of Cthulhu . Best Graphic Presentation of a Book Product: Call of Cthulhu 20th Anniversary Edition. Best Illustration: Call of Cthulhu 20th Anniversary Edition : interior art - by Paul Carrick Best Roleplaying Adventure: Unseen Masters - by Bruce Ballon. You can vote for your favorite books and games at http://www.aagad.org/originsawards/ The Summer Cons We're really looking forward to see you folks this summer ate Origins & Gen Con. Those shows are always a good reminder as to why we work so hard all year. Because somewhere out there, you folks are enjoying our books and games. We still need volunteer GM's to run events for us at Origins & Gen Con. If you're planning to attend these shows, and have some time to spare, drop us a line! mailto:dustin@chaosium.com Our d20 plans & the fate of BRP (one last time) While we've tried to make it clear in the past that Chaosium is not abandoning our classic Call of Cthulhu line, we're still (as of May 17th) getting email from upset cultists who think we're switching entirely to d20. So it bears repeating: Chaosium will continue to support our Basic Role Playing Call of Cthulhu & Stormbringer lines. While some of our future releases will be dual stat releases (including BRP & d20 material), we will continue to print BRP only releases as well. We've been publishing BRP system books for over 20 years, and with your support, will do so for the next 20 years as well. So why are we printing ANYTHING using the d20 system? Because there are thousands of gamers out there we'd like to introduce to our game lines, who might not look at our books otherwise. We want and need those extra sales, and those new Chaosium gamers, so we can continue printing Books and Games for another 26 years. So we hope most of you will see this as an opportunity to find more Chaosium players, and ensure we can keep printing the books you want. Here's our upcoming releases: Go let your local shop know you want these books! Support your local shop - it's where new Chaosium gamers come from. At the printer: The Creature Companion #2375 $21.95 ISBN 1-56882-133-6 Our Manual of Mythos Monsters is expected to release in June/July. http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/rpg/2375.shtml H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands (Hardcover) #2394, $34.95 ISBN 1-56882-157-3 We'll be releasing a hardcover edition of our Dreamlands Sourcebook in June/July. http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/rpg/2394.shtml For Call of Cthulhu Fiction: Encyclopedia Cthulhiana (reprint) #6022 $16.95 ISBN 1-56882-119-0 Our reprints have been delayed in favor of newer books. Expected SUMMER http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/fiction/6022.shtml Disciples of Cthulhu II #6033 $13.95 ISBN 1-56882-143-3 February Release. This Book should be sent to the printer soon. Summer release. http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/fiction/6033.shtml The Necronomicon 2nd edition #6034 $19.95 ISBN 1-56882-162-X Summer Release http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/fiction/6034.shtml Other Nations A Cthulhu Mythos Novel #6025 $13.95 ISBN 1-56882-128-X Summer Release http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/fiction/6025.shtml The White People & Other Tales The Best Weird Tales of Arthur Machen Vol. 2 #6035 $14.95 ISBN 1-56882-147-6 Summer Release http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/fiction/6035.shtml For Call of Cthulhu Miskatonic University a 1920's Sourcebook for Call of Cthulhu (BRP) by Sam Johnson and Friends A Manuscript is now in house, and we hope to release this book in August. #2389 $39.95 ISBN 1-56882-140-9 http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/rpg/2389.shtml Pulp Cthulhu: Reckless adventures in the 1930's (dual stat d20 & BRP) A new setting for Call of Cthulhu & Call of Cthulhu D20. 8800 $29.95 256 pages ISBN 1-56882-159-X Expected July http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/d20cthulhu/8800.shtml d20 Cthulhu GM Screen #8801 $19.95 ISBN 1-56882-159-X June release http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/d20cthulhu/8801.shtml Secrets of Japan Modern Day Exploration of the Land of the Rising Sun #2392 $27.95 ISBN 1-56882-156-5 by Michael Dziesinski A manuscript is in house, and we hope to release the book this Fall. http://www.chaosium.com/cthulhu/rpg/2392.shtml For Stormbringer & Dragonlords of Melnibone Cults of Law & Chaos A New Dragon Lords of Melniboné D20 sourcebook. This book is currently being written by Gareth Michael Skarka. Release Date Unknown. 2020 $23.95 192 pages ISBN 1-56882-158-1 http://www.chaosium.com/woec/2020.shtml Arkham Horror Classic Game of Lovecraftian Monster Hunting #1051 $59.95 ISBN 1-56882-163-8 Expected Fall 2002 http://www.chaosium.com/arkham_horror For more information about our upcoming releases, see our web page! Thank you for your support everyone. We literally couldn't be here without you! Dustin Wright- Chaosium Colorado "Leng Embassy" /|\_(@jjjj@)_/|\ http://www.chaosium.com 27 Years of Quality Mayhem and counting Support your local game shop! ------------------- More Advice for Young Keepers: The Advantage of Occupational Themes **How does it all begin?** A Cthulhu campaign is never quite so hard for many Keepers as in the very beginning. On one hand, players often resent being streamlined into "investigators", and yet this is exactly what the rulebook and sourcebooks always assume, with very little information for Keepers on how the transition is supposed to take place. Are the investigators retired from their chosen professions? Are they just "weekend warriors"? Do they have an eccentric and wealthy patron? Only Great Cthulhu himself seems to know, and he/she/it does not seem willing to reveal this information anytime soon. **Linking a Campaign** I have found that one of the best ways to get a campaign started is for the Keeper to decide upon a specific occupational theme. By choosing such a theme, Keepers will find it far easier to involve investigators, without the abandonment of a player's respective occupations. When using published scenarios and sourcebooks, a few changes to fit your theme are in order, but such changes are often necessary in most cases in order to comply with a current campaign anyway. As an example, suppose the Keeper chooses to use "Organized Crime" as a theme for his campaign. At the outset, he should decide if the players will actually be members of an organized crime ring, or simply individuals that become accidentally involved with such activity. In either case, the Keeper should also provide players with an approved list of occupations that will easily integrate into the chosen theme. Good communication with players is the key to success, and a wise Keeper will explain to his players exactly why he does not want someone to play a "Tribal Fisherman" or "Anarchist". Most players will be understanding and more than willing to cooperate. Anyone who is not will make a nice appetizer for a wandering Dhole. Now that you have decided upon your theme and made a list of available occupations, it is time to work out all the little details that actually form a campaign. Continuing the example above, perhaps the Keeper decides that the crime lord of a rival syndicate is the twisted pawn of the Mythos. The Keeper than sets upon the specifics concerning the main plot, red herrings, NPC statistics, etc. There is no need for the Keeper to fret over how players become investigators, because in such a case, the players are automatically involved in the action simply by virtue of their approved occupations. Keep in mind that it is not necessary to assume that players must begin with inclinations to investigate the supernatural. Let the supernatural elements of Lovecraftian horror unravel around them while they go about their "normal" activities. For example, perhaps your players are in a cemetery late a night, digging up the body of a recently deceased gangster, in order to transport the body to another location. While digging up the grave, one player notices strange movement among the gravestones and decides to "investigate". Meanwhile, the other players discover that the corpse is missing. Not wanting to report to their boss this ominous fact, they search for clues and discover the evidence of a small tunnel leading further underground. At the same time, the player who stumbled off to investigate the movement among the graves comes face to face with a ghoul. The possibilities abound. In the example above, the ghouls might be allies to the rival crime lord, who himself might be a ghoul hybrid. With this simple premise, the Keeper has provided players with the motivation of further investigations, while at the same time providing an anchor for their individual occupations. **Some Suggested Themes** *Organized Crime* As above, the theme either involves the investigators actively as members of an organized crime ring, or as "regular Joes" tangled up in mob activities. Suggested occupations for players include Bookie, Bootlegger/Thug, Fence, Forger/Counterfeiter, Gambler, Gangster, Hit Man, Hooker, Loan Shark, Punk, Shifty Accountant/Lawyer, Uniformed Police Officer (Corrupt), Private Eye, Police Detective (Corrupt) and Smuggler. The Investigator's Companion (#2370) contains details for all of these occupations. Keepers who opt to make the investigators "regular Joes" should approve a player's chosen occupation to make sure it will work in his campaign. What better way is there for a player to "Escape from Innsmouth," than haphazardly firing their Tommy gun while speeding away in their Model T from a Deep One mob? *Take the Money and Run* A slight variation of the organized crime theme, the Keeper adopts a more generalized approach with the criminal element. Suggested occupations include Bank Robber, Burglar, Con Man, Forger/Counterfeiter, Fence, Hooker, Pick Pocket, and Punk. As a starting point for a campaign, the Keeper might begin with the players planning a bank robbery, using an abandoned house as a hideout. Later, as they work on the details of their clever plan, an evil presence within the house itself hatches a sinister plan of its own. *Good Cop, Bad Cop* Another variation on criminal themes includes this classic opposite, wherein the investigators fight crime. Suggested occupations include Agency Detective, Bounty Hunter, Federal Agents, Forensic Specialist, Police Detective, Private Eye, Uniformed Police Officer, Bail Bondsman, Judge, Practicing Attorney, Prosecuting Attorney, and Forensic Surgeon. This type of theme works well with many published scenarios, as most begin with the mysterious death of some noted individual or the theft of a mythos artifact. *Reading, Writing, Arithmetic* Nothing could make investigations easier than belonging to some benign institution as Miskatonic University or some similar educational stronghold. This theme provides Keepers a simple way to unite players, as members of the institution directly, or as participants on a school-sponsored event. Suggested occupations include Field Researcher, Professor/Teacher, Researcher, Student/Intern, Dilettante, Librarian, Museum Curator, Psychologist and Parapsychologist. *Fringe Benefits* In this theme, players are automatically individuals with an interest in what is weird, strange, or disturbing. Suggested occupations include Parapsychologist, Occultist, Museum Curator, Librarian, Librarian, Flapper, Dilettante, Book Dealer, Antique Dealer, Professor/Teacher, Student/Intern, Field Researcher, Madhouse Attendant, Gravedigger, Psychologist, Alienist, Photojournalist, Columnist, Private Eye, Explorer, and Treasure Hunter. *Holier Than Thou* In this last suggested theme, players assume occupations with a religious orientation, providing them with a background in supernatural belief. An interesting theme for roleplaying, players will be forced to fit their ever-growing knowledge of the Mythos into their traditional religious beliefs. Suggested occupations include Catholic Priest, Bible Salesman, Charismatic Cult Leader, Deacon/Elder, Itinerant Preacher, Missionary, Protestant Minister, Rabbi, Parapsychologist, and Occultist. **Last Words** Of course, all of the above are merely suggestions. Many other possibilities exist for clever Keepers. Perhaps the investigators are members of a Ghost Society or other organization that investigates paranormal activities. The investigators might have a wealthy patron, a former investigator himself who now directs the players from behind the scenes and provides them with much needed funds and equipment. At best, this article simply opens Keepers to new considerations before starting a campaign. Either way, the individual Keeper always has the last word. ------------------- Unnaturally Familiar: Fiendish Friends for Immortal Sorcerers Those cultists who through their loyalty and accomplishments have become faithful servants of the Mythos often receive as gifts powerful familiars to assist them. This article deals primarily with three types of such allies: the animalistic demon, the scholarly daemon, and the channeling beast. Individual Keepers are left to theorize exactly how such beings fit within the framework of the Mythos. ** Animalistic Demons ** Nyarlathotep seems to be the primary giver of such fiends, and he grants these demonic entities only to the most faithful of servants. The best example of such a creature may be found in the Cairo section of The Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep (#2361), where investigators might have the misfortune of meeting Omar Shakti and his "pretty white cat," Hetep. Nonetheless, such entities may take any animal form, though cat is by far the most common. The bestial form is itself dependent upon the sorcerer's chosen host, which is a specially prepared (mummified) animal corpse. In most cases, no animal greater than the size of a large dog (SIZ 7) is used. Once the sorcerer prepares and offers the mummified corpse to Nyarlathotep, the Messenger of the Gods will then send forth an evil spiritual being to possess it. Now animated by the indwelling spirit, the animal corpse assumes its natural living appearance. If the sorcerer should ever die, the demonic spirit abandons the host corpse and returns to its own realm. However, if the familiar should ever perish, such is not the case of the sorcerer, who lives on. The demonic spirit is able to transform the host body into a highly exaggerated form. In the example of Hetep, it was able to change from the innocent form of a white cat into that of a demonic cat-thing whose appearance was much like that of a hairless lion. Such transformations increase the host size by 2d6 points. Each demonic being is unique and has its own special attack, which it may use in either form. While the natural attacks of the host are also available to use, the demon familiar prefers to use such attacks only when in its hybrid form, thus drawing upon its increased strength and size. Animalistic demons are primarily guardians, never straying very far from their master unless commanded to do so. Such familiars can learn any language possessed by their master, though their proficiency never increases beyond 30%. The sorcerer is able to communicate telepathically or verbally with his familiar, though the demon itself usually only communicates telepathically, since the tongue of its animal host is often unable to mimic the human language effectively. Any spell known by their master may be learned by the familiar at an accelerated rate. The fiendish familiar also has knowledge of the Cthulhu Mythos beginning at 50% and increasing as normal. * Characteristics for Animalistic Demons * While in host form, these familiars retain all the characteristics of the host when alive, with the exception of Intelligence, Power, and natural armor (if any), which never changes in either form. Hit points and damage bonuses change accordingly. The change from animal to hybrid takes one full round. When in hybrid form, characteristics are as follows: STR 10 plus 2d6; CON 10 plus 2d6; SIZ as host plus 2d6; INT 12 plus 1d6; DEX as host plus 1d6; POW 16 plus 1d6. Animalistic demons have any basic skill that was available to their animal host, with the addition of Track (75%) if not usually available to it. Keepers may provide other skills as desired. However, when changed into hybrid form, the familiar often suffers a penalty to skills such as Sneak and Hide due to the increased size. Suggested penalties are from -10% to -20%, though Keepers may choose to ignore this effect. As noted above, each animalistic demon has a special attack available to it in both forms. Keepers should design and develop a special attack that would surprise investigators. In the case of Hetep above, its tongue could extend like a tentacle rather quickly in order to strangle its victims. This, of course, was quite a disturbing experience for any cat-loving investigator. Sanity losses are as follows: When the demon dies or abandons the animal host after the death of its master, investigators suffer 0/1d3 sanity loss for realization that the animal was a mummified corpse. Witnessing the hybrid form costs 1/1d6. If witnessed in combination with the actual transformation, sanity loss changes to 2/1d6+1. Killing this dreadful creature returns 1d4 sanity points to an investigator. ** The Scholarly Daemon ** This type of familiar was first introduced in "The Secret of Castronegro" (Cthulhu Companion #2304). In that scenario, investigators matched wits against the highly evil Bernardo Diaz and his intelligent familiar, Greedygut. The greatest difference between animalistic demons and scholarly daemons is reservation. Daemon familiars are more reserved and never engage in physical combat. Bound by Nyarlathotep to a specific item worn or carried by their master, such as a ring or necklace, a scholarly daemon will assist its master in mystic research. Such familiars are valuable assistants, having an extremely high Cthulhu Mythos, Power, and Intelligence, as well as an abundant knowledge of the occult. This knowledge lends great assistance in matters of spell research, adding +1 to the spell multiplier of any tome used to learn a spell. The complex ritual used by Nyarlathotep to fashion the binding item limits an individual wearing the item to only one daemon. Once a daemon dies, the item will not attract another until a different individual wears it. The number of such items throughout the world is very few and chances are that an active investigator will never stumble upon one in his lifetime. If an investigator should ever find one, it would be quite foolish to wear it, since Nyarlathotep often curses such items. Chopping off the finger was the only way one could remove the ring worn by the cultist, Bernardo Diaz, in "Castronegro". Scholarly daemons communicate with the wearer of the binding item telepathically. This telepathic link is constant, so long as the person wears the item, allowing the daemon to know his every thought and whim (though not vice versa). These familiars often already know 1d6 spells initially and can learn any spells known by their master at an accelerated rate. * Characteristics for Scholarly Daemons * Scholarly daemons have the appearance of humanoid toads or rats, though they vary in color and skin features. The skin of such daemons may be fur, quills, scales, slime, etc. Their eyes are quite large and yellow. Basic characteristics are as follows: STR 1 plus 1d6; CON 3d6; SIZ 1 plus 1d6; INT 16 plus 1d6; POW 16 plus 1d6; DEX 12 plus 1d6. Skills include Cthulhu Mythos (50%), Listen (70%), Spot Hidden (90%), Hide (80%), Sneak (100%), Climb (80%), Dodge, and Jump (90%). Sanity loss for meeting this familiar are 0/1d4, unless the daemon is one personally bound to you, in which case the loss changes to 1/1d8 due to the unnerving effect of the telepathic link. Killing the daemon will return 1d4 sanity points to an investigator. ** The Channeling Beast ** This last familiar is somewhat more mundane than the previous two. An animal is killed, usually no greater than size 7, and its inner body parts removed. These various parts are mixed with a pint of the sorcerer's own blood in an enchanted bowl. While mixing the components, the sorcerer invests the bloody concoction with a point of POW. The sorcerer then cooks it all over low heat until it becomes a nasty mess of dried blood and burnt flesh. At this point, the sorcerer eats half of it while sewing the other half into the corpse. The following night, exactly 5 minutes before midnight, the corpse will "revive" and appear before its master. This familiar has all of the physical and mental characteristics common to it during life. Thus, most sorcerers choose a species with good intelligence and power. The sorcerer can also see and hear through his familiar with minimal concentration (one round and 1 MP). Using the familiar in this way, the sorcerer is able to cast any spell known to him as though physically present. This type of channeling can only occur while the sorcerer "possesses" the familiar. Any physical damage done to the sorcerer breaks the link, as does the death of the channeling beast. The familiar is also able to "mimic" death. Investigators who encounter a channeling beast may find that it appears alive, stuffed/mummified, or as fresh corpse. It is quite unsettling to witness a dead cat surrounded by flies and worms suddenly springing to its feet and bounding away. Once killed, the familiar reverts to its natural state. Sanity loss for meeting this familiar: Realization that spells are being channeled through it, 0/1d3. Witnessing it spring to life after appearing dead, 1/1d3. Killing this beast returns 1d3 sanity points to an investigator. ** Endnotes ** Familiars are not limited to the three types mentioned in this article, and many possibilities exist for imaginative Keepers. No one has yet delved seriously into the curious nature of Keziah Mason's nasty familiar, Brown Jenkin (see Arkham Unveiled #2325). The three familiars discussed here are not physically very powerful. The danger, however, lies in their ability to surprise opponents and cast spells. Combined with an assault by their masters, these familiars become a frightening extension of any cultist's raw power and a great addition to any Keeper's campaign. -- 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.