From: "John & Christy Thompson" To: Subject: [The Chaosium digest] Chaosium Digest v37.12 Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 10:35 PM Chaosium Digest Volume 37, Number 12 Date: Saturday, August 30, 2003 Number: 1 of 2 Contents: * The Treasure Hunt (CTHULHU) By: Mervyn Boyd (jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk) Editor's Note: Sorry it's been so long between issues but some family health problems have kept us distracted around here. Let me remind everyone that the end of this month is the deadline for submissions to qualify for this quarter's Chaosium Contest. Any submission dealing with Chaosium's current game lines qualifies and the prize is a $40 gift certificate from Chaosium. This issue features another adventure from frequent contributor Mervyn Boyd that's a follow-up to an earlier submission of his "The Rise of the Ophidian Order" which can be found in the archives. Just point your browser to http://pages.prodigy.net/gobackstage and click on the link for the Official Chaosium Digest Archive. Enjoy! LETTERS TO THE EDITOR * Dear John & Christine, I would like to take this time in thanking both of you unreservedly for the opportunity your electronic publication has afforded me in my meagre search for glory and worldwide recognition. Lynn Willis of Chaosium spotted my scenario The Books Of Uncle Silas through the Chaosium Digest (November 2000), and approached me asking if I'd like to see it published in an upcoming reprint of Arkham Unveiled - which has now been reissued and renamed HPL's Arkham. I, needless to say, accepted the invite. So I thank you again. Were it not for you I'd never have been published. Not bad for a scenario that originally got runner up prize at The Gaming Outpost, then won your competition which netted me $40 worth of stuff. It just goes to show, you never know who's reading your stuff. Thanks, Mervyn Boyd jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk ANNOUNCEMENTS * Hello, If you have an interest in contacting players for Call of Cthulhu then you may be interested in the new Cthulhu Players Directory over at www.yog-sothoth.com. http://www.yog-sothoth.com/players/ Regards, P. Maclean * Hi Folks It's Fergie of Chaosium again, bringing you some quick catalog news The last newsletter of the month finds us with very good news. Chaosium should have several new books out by the end of the year. You may visit http://www.chaosium.com and see which new titles we will release within the next few months. We also have some current products back in stock, as well as some older favorites not seen for quite some time. The wonderful Cthulhu Plaque and two boardgames, Cthulhu Mash and Monster Mash. I hear all three were big hits at Origins and GenCon. Some older shopworn books are back as well, like the Call of Cthulhu 5.2 Rules Book, The Creature Companion (with color plates), and the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign book. Also, underneath a musty, charnel tarp we found empty boxes. Lots of boxes. Old boxes. For all the people out there who need newboxes for old Chaosium games, we may have what you are looking for. These boxes are original boxes left over from their respective print runs. We have four offered here, and as they are selling rather quickly. gets yours while you can. If you need a box for 1st Ed. Dreamlands, 1st Ed. Cthulhu by Gaslight, Spawn of Azathoth, or 1st Ed. Arkham Horror, we got 'em. Also, Chaosium is offering 2 new shirts, and we have had a restock from Mythos Books. Finally, we are just now posting all sorts of goodies from Bad Dog Designs (brains, keys, pendants, and such). That is all, and Chaosium hopes your Summer continues to be warm and fun. If you need to contact Chaosium, please call us at 510 583 1000, or send an email to me at fergie@chaosium.com Fergie * One Gen Con is Over . . . Gen Con Indianapolis has come and gone in a fury of games, pizza, T-shirts, Insanity, and mayhem. We couldn't have survived it without our many steadfast volunteers, the CMT, MU Skulls, & NOS crews, and the presence of plenty of Chaosium supporters willing to roll up their sleeves and lend a hand. Thank you to all who helped make this Gen Con a very successful show. We hope to see you next year! . . . Another Gen Con is Coming Chaosium is planning to attend the inaugural Gen Con California December 11-14th. Since this is a new venue, we need to find plenty of game masters willing to run Chaosium events. If you plan on attending this show and have some time to a run a Chaosium game (or several Chaosium games) please contact us (mailto:dustin@chaosium.com). We have to get all of our events lined up by September 10th, so that we can turn them in to the Gen Con staff shortly thereafter. Our volunteer GM's can expect plenty of swag, good cheer, and an invite to our first Annual California Gen Con Pizza Bash. We hope to see you there! HPL Birthday Party Once again, the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets dudes will be celebrating H.P. Lovecraft's Birthday with an annual Birthday Bash in Vancouver, BC. The event runs Saturday August 30, Sunday August 31, and wraps up on Monday September 1st 2003. The event includes a performance by the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, a Cthulhu live action roleplaying event which runs during the concert, and multiple games of Call of Cthulhu, Mythos, Arkham Horror, etc. The venue is the Marpole Curling Club, 8730 Heather St, Vancouver, BC, Canada For more information check out http://www.vancouvergamingguild.com or email the band at mailto:thickets@uniserve.com Shadows of Yog-Sothoth A long time ago in a little house far away, Shadows of Yog-Sothoth was the first supplement released by Chaosium for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game. It is a great adventure, and set the standard for the epics to come. It also contains the only episode in which our brave investigators come face-to-face with Great Cthulhu himself! We have gone over the text to smooth out some of the transitions between sections, and have added some new art, and tweaked the book all over. H'mmm, maybe we should make the bad-guy tougher Release Schedule Update H.P. Lovecraft's Kingsport is shipping now to distributors & retailers world wide. You should see copies in your local Chaosium friendly retail store by the end of the month. White People and Other Tales is at the printer and should release in late August. Secrets of Japan is awaiting some final art, and is currently on track for a September release. Cthulhu Dark Ages is being edited and is expected to release in October along with our Call of Cthulhu rulebook. Other Fall releases include a reprint of our Three Impostors and other Tales, Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, and The Yellow Sign. Finally, we hope to get H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands & Shadows of Yog-Sothoth printed by the end of December. For more info on our upcoming releases, check out the Upcoming Releases News Section of our website. Site Update Chaosium returned from Gen Con with plenty of new stuff for the catalog. We now have jewelry, T-shirts, and plenty of Cthulhu Miniatures restocks for your enjoyment. You can find all this and more at http://www.chaosium.com Rumors, Rumors, Rumors. Several Elder Party Insiders have informed us Cthulhu is considering entering the absurd California Governor race. Has Arnold finally met his match? At least one Chaosium wife is on record threatening a boycott should the Chaosium wives not be invited to attend Gen Con California later this year. It seems they have nefarious plans involving nearby Disneyland. It's been suggested that the Colorado staff are interested in relocating the Leng Embassy to the North West, so as to be closer to the annual H.P. Lovecraft Birthday Party Bash, the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, OR Oct 9-11, and the Chaosium mother-ship currently buried somewhere in Hayward California. If you live in the Northwestern US, beware! Some have speculated that Chaosium should release it's older material as on line PDFs. Chaosium staffers are leaning towards reprinting books rather than making them available in a highly pirated format. Never the less, it is believed Chaosium has created a special committee to look into the matter further. As always, thank you for your continued support. Chaosium couldn't be here with out you! The Chaosium dudes. * Hi Friends!! I hope your summer is going as well as ours. Fergie came back from vacation, and Charlie had a great time at GenCon. We found in our travels new items to entice and confound our fans around the world. Chaosium would like to announce a new Call of Cthulhu RPG sourcebook. H.P. Lovecraft's Kingsport is now available and shipping. Many of you have already ordered it, so Chaosium would like to trumpet the arrival to the rest of you. Kingsport is a sourcebook of the vein of the previous two releases in our Lovecraft Country series, Arkham and Dunwich. Kingsport is a dual stat title, and thus includes both BRP and d20 stats. Please visit http://www.chaosium.com/catalog/products_new.php to find more info on this new book. We now offer dice in two Mythos flavors. Fans of Leng may now game with Sapphire dice from that fabled land, or for the more disturbed, the R'lyeh Jade dice will make any CoC session creepier. Both dice sets may be seen at http://www.chaosium.com/catalog/products_new.php Miniatures fans will be glad to read we have two new RAFM sets based on the M.U. Expedition to the Antarctic set. Each set includes 7 sled dogs and a dog sled, and one of them also contains 3 human handlers. Please visit http://www.chaosium.com/catalog/products_new.php for more info on these nice additions to our figures catalog. We always look for new things to offer to our loyal fans. However, Chaosium's tentacles can only reach a little bit of the surface world at once. Our cultist allies should keep their eyes open for neat things to offer your kin worldwide. If you know of a product that would look good on our website, let us know and we will try to get some. Also, Chaosium would like our friends to give us some ideas for a tee shirt to print. If there is a clear favorite, we just may print some up and sell them. Now is the chance to make your voices heard. And please log out of your account after ordering from us, as it helps your order process completely. In closing, Chaosium would like to thank you for your continued support. We wouldn't be a company without you. Thanks Fergie, and the rest of the Chaosium gang. * Issaries Press Release Concord, CA August 15, 2003 HeroQuest is Here! Voted "Most Anticipated Roleplaying Game of 2003" on an RPG.net poll, HeroQuest has finally arrived. Really. We got our copies today, and the book should be showing up in game stores as soon as the distributors can get them there. Surely it is only coincidence that this coincides with the mysterious event that knocked the power systems of much of the eastern seaboard of North America off-line? Years in the making, HeroQuest is epic roleplaying amidst the myths and magic of Greg Stafford's fantasy world of Glorantha. HeroQuest, Roleplaying in Glorantha is the culmination of 27 years of creation, revision, and difficult questing. Designed by Robin D. Laws and Greg Stafford, HeroQuest contains the same basic rules system as the ground-breaking Hero Wars game, but it has been revised, streamlined, and expanded. While previous Hero Wars supplements are compatible with HeroQuest, the game is better, faster, and stronger than it was before. This 288-page perfectbound book includes everything you need to start adventuring in Glorantha, including three new introductory scenarios and a new heroquest, in which the heroes travel into the land of myth. For years, Glorantha has captivated its fans with its rich and exotic cultures, myths, and wonders. In the words of Glorantha's creator, Greg Stafford, "For 27 years I've said it would be out 'next year.' Well, now it is next year! HeroQuest is the system I have always wanted for Glorantha -- powerful and flexible enough to cater to every kind of hero, from the hunter trying to feed his family when the death of a god brings magical winter to his land, all the way to the champions of their homelands, dueling with demigods on the glassy bowl of the sky." HeroQuest is available for retail sale at fine retail stores everywhere or else direct from warehouse 23 . For distributor sales, contact Ross Jepson of Steve Jackson Games at . For further information, see the Issaries, Inc. website or contact Stephen Martin at . HeroQuest, Roleplaying in Glorantha ISS 1001, $39.95 ISBN 1-929052-12-X 288 pages, perfectbound Stephen Martin Issaries, Inc., publisher of HeroQuest, Roleplaying in Glorantha P.O. Box 272914 Concord, CA 94527 Phone: (925) 680-8897 See our extensive web site at * Hi Friends!! It's Fergie from Chaosium again. We hope your summer has been as fun as ours. Chaosium is happy to announce that our website is now safer. We have implemented a security certificate, which encodes and encrypts all your data while you are visiting www.chaosium.com. Also, Chaosium will like to remind you to log-off at the end of your session, to help successfully complete your order and avoid delays in shipping. September will be a busy release month. NAMELESS CULTS is back in stock next week. The highly acclaimed KEEPER'S COMPANION 1 is in the midst of a reprint and will be available again in late September. And last, but certainly not least, for all the fans out there waiting for Machen's WHITE PEOPLE, we have good news. THE WHITE PEOPLE AND OTHER TALES is at the printer as we speak, and should be in our warehouse in a few weeks. Please check www.chaosium.com for updates. Chaosium has also added a neat collection of Mythos-inspired jewelry. Many of you have already seen and purchased some pieces, so the rest of you may want to come by and take a look. For fans of the game CTHULHU MASH we also have its predecessor, MONSTER MASH, available on our website. Thanks for the support of all fans from around the world, Charlie, Lynn, Dustin, David, and Fergie. Chaosium 2003 ---------------------- The Treasure Hunt By: Mervyn Boyd jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk Foreword While this scenario can be played as a stand alone in it's own right, it should be noted that it has been taken, and adapted, from a larger 50-odd page scenario entitled: Rise of the Ophidian Empire: Part Two. To be eligible to be published here, a bucket load of material has been ruthlessly cut. If you would like the rest of it, please contact me (Mervyn) at: jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk. No special skills or knowledge is required to carry out this scenario. No timeframe is used either, so it can take as long as is necessary. There is really nothing to it anyway, the characters are required to sacrifice a weekend to go cave-delving. While there they uncover a fantastical discovery that could make them famous - and RICH. Their fortune and success, however, is short lived when IT comes to reclaim what they steal. The scenario is intended to be played in the modern era. Play begins in whichever city the keeper decides. Characters need not know each other as play begins. Keeper Info Dave Gorman, a spelunking enthusiast places an advert in some periodicals looking for some similar-minded individuals who are willing to join an expedition he is going on. Hopefully for the sake of the night's play the players are indeed interested. For those same reasons the characters, whatever their ability, are welcomed aboard and soon they are driving to Kansas. Dave, through research, has discovered the location of a network of subterranean caverns he thinks may store some treasure. While true, that's not all he's discovered... Introducing Kevin McCarthy This loose character can be introduced at any time and used in whatever manner the keeper wants. He's essentially here to put a dampener on things and try to discourage the expedition from taking place. He pays particular attention to Dave Gorman, seeing as he is team leader. He spotted Dave's advert in a magazine. Kevin comes across as a nut, but he isn't all mad, and nor is he at all bad. He's seen first hand what lies beneath Kansas. He used to be an armature cave delver, and back in '98 he and a few mates went in and what they found profoundly shocked them. The explorers did not pause for detailed observations, and those who escaped alive never returned. At first he'll slip notes into Dave's letterbox, then he'll phone him like a crank caller, but he's never straight with his warnings. "Do not go to Kansas". "I'm telling you, you'll find nothing but danger there - and death" He never elaborates on it. Create and use Kevin as you see fit - or ignore him. Note: Using last caller identification brings up a phone number. Anyone who has the resources can discover that the number comes from a local payphone.There is a 01% chance somebody picks up if the number is called. Two letters of note are these, the keeper can make others too. Dave will obviously be distressed at them to a certain degree, and will inform the characters of them at their next meeting. They players can try and investigate, but there is nothing really for them to find. Mr. Gorman. You do not know me, but I know you are planning on going to Kansas. Do not! Do you hear me. I beg of you, do not intrude on their world. Let them stay there undiscovered. They Live! I have seen them. Do not go to Kansas - or YOU WILL surely DIE. Mr. Gorman, You must listen to me - to the warning. I cannot stop you if you do not listen. I understand that you cannot understand my reasons, and nor will I explain them, but it is necessary that you listen to me. Your expedition must not happen. If you persist in your endeavor, then you will almost surely die - as so many others have. Even if you survive and live you will not be the same rational man you are now. Look at me. I was like you - once. Let them live with their secrets. Please, for your safety. TURN AWAY. Go someplace else. Tell the others. Player Intro While flicking through the classified ads in a random occult, ufo, geology, outdoors enthusiast, or rockhounding periodical or magazine - the character finds something that for some reason interests him/her (see handout 1). The advert is looking for hardy potholers, spelunkers, treasure seekers or people who are just plain bored who are looking for something to do over a weekend. Handout 1 WANTED. ARE YOU A HARDY POTHOLER, spelunker, or other enthusiast, or are you just plain bored with no previous experience. I am looking for people to accompany me on a weekend expedition into a cavern network in Kansas. Only serious applicants need apply. Some additional funding may be required. Contact: Dave Gorman. Phone: 405-555-6424, Fax: 405-555-1256, or Email:spelunkingdave@netbot.com. If the characters phone Dave there is an 80% chance he answers personally otherwise his answer machine picks up saying: "Hi, you've reached Dave Gorman. I'm not in at the moment, but if you leave your name, message and phone number after the tone, I'll get back to you. BEEP" Dave is happy that his advert generated interest, and will indeed phone back if he has to. He'll talk openly on the phone about the project, hoping to generate more interest - although there's not much to say at this time. You go exploring caves, and crawl down tunnels. What more can be said, except that this time round it seems to be more than that. Dave can't say much more than that for now. He does say that a week or so before the expedition proper he'll host an informal dinner so that all the participants can get to know each other, iron out the details and discuss possibilities, and hopefully by then he'll know more about what they are going to do or see. He'll also mention that there may be some additional funding required to be paid by the character - but that shouldn't be more than a few hundred tops. It depends on whether they have the right safety equipment and stuff. Investigating Dave If the characters have the know-how or the resources, they can track down Dave's home address, access his tax records, electoral records, police records, and the like. At the dinner party he'll divulge this anyway when it comes to introductions Dave is unmarried (never has been) and lives at 1623 Elgin Court in Oklahoma City. He's 38 years old, and was born in Columbus on the New Mexico / Mexico Border. No children. No criminal record. He's a freelance photographer and makes a living selling photos to assorted travel, and nature magazines. Learning about potholing or spelunking. Basically the art of exploring caves. 'Nuff said. The Dinner Party The evening begins with an informal gathering with introductions all round and assorted small-talk. The dinner is a congenial affair. Much to player misfortune as the dinner is set, Dave says that they should bow their heads and give thanks. He'll lead them in prayer: "Hail Mary, full of grace. Come and sit upon my face. Amen." Hopefully this further breaks the ice and generates a laugh. "Right lads. Dig in." Introductions all Round It's only fair and natural for Dave to start the ball rolling. He recaps the information found under "Investigating Dave". In addition to that he says that he is a dedicated enthusiast to potholing, and because of his work he's done it the world over. His fascination springs from a childhood event when he went wandering down some local caves and got lost for several hours. Eventually he found his way out and he knew what he wanted to do in life. The thrill was exhilarating. The rush flowed through him, especially after what he discovered there. He found a box of Spanish Doubloons and made front page news in the local rag. The haul was worth just under $3000. Ok it's not a lot, but to a 12-year old boy, it's a veritable fortune. Specialists were brought in and soon several other caskets were found with Spanish treasure that amounted to $150,000. Even though he doesn't fully expect anything of the likes again - there is always that undying hope. That said, he believes that after all this time he's found a place in Kansas that may hold some treasure... which he'll come back to after everyone else has introduced themselves. And seeing that he's not part of a potholers group or association, that is why he placed the advert seeking similar-minded people. Now the players can introduce themselves... Background & History Once dinner is over with, Dave takes the players through to another room where he has maps, books, and photocopies of newspaper articles set out. Gentlemen, this is our target. Here, at a place called Pinnacle Rock, Kansas. I discovered it quite by accident when I was researching where my next jaunt would take me, and it has intrigued me. I've done a preliminary scouting of it and it seems legitimate. By accounts, the caves have been known about for over 170 years, but rarely visited. Many cases over the decades have appeared in the newspapers of the nearest town of people and groups of people going in, but never coming out. I've gone back as far as I could and the earliest news account appears in The Healy Times in 1825. Of the several who did find their way out, some were hopelessly insane. At least that's what the newspaper said about them. The last known case of somebody coming out was back in the 1880's by a fellow by the name of Alvin Brewer from Canton, Missouri. The last known expedition to the caves was in 1963. Nobody ever heard of them again. Anyway, apparently Alvin brought out of the cavern quite a few, by his reckoning, "ancient" plates. Some of them were gold, some silver, brass, copper and clay. And many bore the inscription of an unknown language. It is also said that he saw many strange things, but he wouldn't talk about it. Months later he was tortured and killed by some unknown person or persons trying to force the secrets out of him. It was well known the church wanted the plates in the worst way. And today, nobody knows what happened to them.... Unfortunately there is nothing more to learn of that. The trail has gone cold. So, gentlemen. What do you think? Do you think there's more treasure there, just waiting -- for us? Talk things over a little more, and arrange a suitable date for the expedition to give the characters time to suit up with appropriate equipment. If characters wish to conduct their own investigation then they may do so, but nothing more than what Dave has said can be found. He did a good job of it. Another informal get-together will be had to iron out wrinkles. Suggested Expedition Equipment Change of clothing Personal Hygiene Stuff Camping Gear including Tent Decent Boots Rope Route Markers Emergency Flares Cameras Tools Land Rover & spare Wheel Mobile Phone and spare battery Humungous roll of twine - just in case Small Daypack (35 liter capacity) Suitable First Aid kits including manual Longlife Food & Bottled Water Safety protection Gear: Helmets, Gloves, & Pads Flashlights, Batteries and spares Anything else is left to the players to decide upon, though why they'd want to take guns and ammo is beyond my limited understanding. Just because it's a Cthulhu scenario doesn't mean there's going to be monsters in it. (cont.) _______________________________________________ Chaos-digest mailing list Chaos-digest@chaosium.com http://www.chaosium.com/mailman/listinfo/chaos-digest