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tivate an eidolon.

The main difference is


that instead of the sacrifice, an enchanted
knife is driven through the center of the
wire knot on the final word of the chant,
thus severing the deitys link to the eidolon
(that is, unless someone later reactivates
it). A deactivated eidolon is vulnerable to
normal damage and can thus be destroyed
in this manner. Another notable difference
is that the reversed spell actually raises
the casters SAN by 10% of the amount
that would be gained by defeating the
deity itself. This percentage is most defin-
itely well-earned, since the deity animating
the eidolon is aware of what the caster is
trying to do, and it may use the eidolon to
attack the caster in numerous ways.

Blur Form: This spell creates a light-


distorting field around the caster, blurring
his appearance. Anyone who hopes to
identify someone who is using this spell
must make special Spot Hidden or Idea
rolls. (This special roll is the skill equiva-
lent of the impale attack.) The spell costs
three magic points and lasts one turn. The
caster must make a SAN roll or lose 1-2
SAN points. The caster must wear a spe-
cial ring carved of rock crystal; the band is
triangular in cross-section at every point,
like a long prism bent around into a torus,
but given a 360 twist so each face of the
prism has become a mobius strip. (Unlike
material components in the AD&D game,
the ring may be used over and over again.)

statue might be indestructible. An eidolon Brew Anagathic: There is more than


1987 by Dean Shomshak encounter makes a good climax to an one form of this magical drug; it can be an
introductory adventure, since it lets the ointment, a drinkable liquid, an injection,
No investigation into the unknown and investigators face the awesome power and or whatever. Some of the ingredients will
the unspeakable would be complete with- hideous visage of a Great Old One without always be exotic, but in most versions all
out a few new and bizarre magical spells the slaughter that such contact usually are natural. Typical examples of active
many harmful, some helpful, and all of produces that is, if the PCs are lucky ingredients are ginseng roots (the legend-
them carrying the risk of madness. These and fast. ary longevity drug of the Orient) and
spells may be dropped into any CALL OF This spell activates the latent magic of an glands from large, old carp (supposedly,
CTHULHU game campaign setting, inactive eidolon, thus giving the deity carp can live forever; see the stories
appearing in arcane books or forgotten represented the ability to sense and act Homonculus or The Digging Leviathan
papers. Many of them can have adven- through the statue. At the moment the by James I? Blaylock for further details). In
tures designed around them with ease. eidolon is animated, the deity is aware of the course of compounding the anagathic
Haunted houses will never be the same the statues existence. Activation costs 1 (any drug which slows or stops the aging
again. . . . permanent point of POW and 2d4 SAN process), the caster infuses it with two
assuming that the caster (who is probably magic points, which costs no SAN. When
Activate Eidolon: An eidolon is an some demented priest or evil sorcerer) has used, the drug totally arrests aging within
enchanted statue that a Great Old One or any SAN left. In addition to the usual the user for one week.
(less often) an Outer God may animate for chanting and visualization of bizarre geo- The catch is that if one stops using the
short periods. These statues can be small metric forms, the caster weaves a loop of anagathic, the deferred aging returns; the
enough to fit on a bookshelf, or they can silver wire and ties it into a complicated longer aging has been prevented, the
be as big as a Great Old One itself (though knot. The sacrifice of a sentient being is faster it comes back. The number of days
it is not recommended that an eidolon be then performed in a fashion appropriate it takes for aging effects to fully return
more than 15 high, corresponding to a to the deity, and a bowl of burning blood equals seven divided by the number of
SIZ of about 35). A good CON for an eido- is prepared by mixing the blood of a weeks the anagathic has been used (extra
lon is half that of the Great Old One repre- human with some flammable liquid. The hours and minutes can easily be calcu-
sented; INT is (of course) the beings own; blood-fire must be very hot. Finally, the lated). Although the exotic ingredients are
STR and DEX are whatever the Keeper knotted wire is thrown into the burning typically potent enough (small amounts
thinks appropriate; and, POW depends on blood. When the blood is completely suffice in making suitable doses-of ana-
how many sacrifices the eidolon has had, burned and the chant finished, the eidolon gathic), one can see that the anagathic is
up to the POW of the being the eidolon is fully activated. At this point, it has as really nothing more than a trap in time,
represents. A Great Old One or Outer God many points of POW as the total number maintaining ones supply slowly becomes a
can cast spells through an active eidolon of of victims sacrificed to it, up to the limit of matter of life and death, rather than a
itself if it wishes. When an eidolon is acti- the represented beings POW. matter of vanity. Clearly, aging return can
vated, it can only be harmed by magical What matters for investigators is that a be fatal; the chance of survival is CON x
weapons meaning the variation on the spell can be used to deac- 5% x (70/c)3, where c represents the
52 OCTOBER 1987
recipients chronological age, and 70 repre- sacrifice of a mammal of SIZ 10 or greater,
sents the classic three-score and ten limit then smeared with a dab of each casters SAN Loss Table:
of human life expectancy. When c is less own blood. The bones of the sacrifice are Suspend Animation
than 50, survival is almost certain, even burned in a fire atop the megalith while
for modest constitutions. When c passes the spell is being cast.
70, the chance of survival drops rapidly. The people who cast an Earthquake are Days duration of
After c reaches 120 or so, having the unaffected by the spell. The tremor rolls suspended animation SAN loss
inevitable death climax with the body out from a circle 10 in radius, centered 0-3 
withering to dust makes a nice touch. on the megalith. Within that circle, the 4-8 1
When aging from anagathic withdrawal ground remains unshaken. 9-16 1d2
is obvious (following 10 years or more of 17-32 1d3
continuous use), the anagathic should 33-128 1d4
Horror Stench: This spell creates one 129-512
cause SAN loss both in the person aging, 1d6
of those hideous, mind-blasting stenches 513-2,048 1d6
and about half as much in acquaintances
Lovecraft enjoyed describing. The material
who see how the years have suddenly 2,049-4,096 1d8
component is a cone of special incense. 4,097-8,192
returned. The exact amount of SAN loss is 2d4
Each batch of incense takes a Chemistry 8,193-16,384
left to the Keepers judgment. Seeing some- 1d4 + 1d6
roll to successfully compound. Typically, 16,385-32,768 2d6
one die of anagathic withdrawal should be
no more than 10 cones of incense are 32,769-65,536
a major shock: 1d10 SAN lost for experi- 1d6 + 1d8
made in a batch. Some of the ingredients 65,537-131,072
encing this grisly, bizarre occurrence is 2d8
are quite expensive, and the process 131,073+ 2d10
about right.
requires precisely controlled temperatures
and quick, uniform mixing controls
Earthquake: This spell enables the
which are difficult to achieve in large
caster(s) to create a local earth tremor
batches.
similar to those created by chthonians. As
The smoke from the incense smells quite
with chthonian earthquakes, the Richter-
foul by itself, but when the spell proper is
scale force depends on the number of or target retains a minimal level of con-
cast on the incense, the odor becomes
magic points expended; however, the sciousness through suspended animation,
even more offensive. The spell takes only
spells force equals the magic points which is roughly equal to that of deep
one combat round to cast, and costs 1d3
divided by 10 (instead of by 20, the chtho- sleep in other words, at a shallow
SAN points and up to 10 magic points. For
nian ratio). The base diameter of the enough level to allow the person to be
each magic point put into the spell, the
earthquake is still 100 yards. As with roused to a greater consciousness if there
incenses stench has two points of poison
chthonian earthquakes, the diameter of is some change in their surroundings and
POT. Within the first round of burning,
the effect can be expanded by another 100 the person makes a Luck roll. Thus, this
the stench expands to fill an area 10 yards
yards for every point taken off the trem- state of alertness is similar to a meditative
in radius. Anyone caught within this area
ors Richter-scale force. A constraint on trance. From this state of mind, the person
must pit his CON against the smokes POT
the spell is that for every desired point of may awaken fully within 10-30 minutes,
in the usual manner. If the person fails the
force past five, the earthquake area must thus ending the spell.
resistance roll, he has a (POT -CON) x
be expanded at least 100 yards. Thus, the Suspending animation for a day or less
5% chance of passing out, and his STR,
smallest area in which a Richter-scale costs only two magic points and no SAN at
DEX, and all skills are cut in half. Even if
force 8 earthquake could be made is 400 all. Each additional magic point expended
he makes the resistance roll, nausea
yards in diameter, costing 110 magic doubles the maximum length of time the
reduces all his skills and DEX to three-
points. person can stay in suspended animation:
fourths their normal value. On top of all
Of course, very few sorcerers have the in other words, 2 days for 3 magic points,
this, anyone who smells the full odor of a
magic-point reserves to use this spell to 4 days for 4 magic points, 8 days for 5
Horror Stench must make a successful
great effect. More often, a group of sor- magic points, and so on. A caster who has
SAN roll or lose 1d4 SAN points.
cerers will gather to cast it, pooling their 15 magic points to use could stay in sus-
Lost skill, STR, DEX, or consciousness
magic points. They can be backed up by pended animation for over 22 years with-
are regained 10-(CON/3) minutes after
cultists who dont actually know the spell out any immediate loss to SAN. Over great
the spell ends or after the victim leaves
but chant along anyway, thus donating lengths of time, however, loss of SAN
the area of effect. A cone of incense burns
one additional magic point each. Up to 15 becomes more of a possibility. Suggested
for five minutes. Casting the spell more
cultists per sorcerer can augment the SAN losses for various time spans are
than once or burning more than one cone
spells power in this manner. listed on the SAN Loss Table in this article.
of incense extends the area of duration of
The Earthquake spell is thus more pow- It is unlikely that investigators will ever
the stench, but does not make the effect
erful in some ways than the chthonian have reason to use Suspended Animation
more severe. A moistened handkerchief
earthquake power; at least, its more effi- for decades at a time, although the possi-
held over the nose and mouth reduces the
cient in its use of magic points. This spell, bility nevertheless exists.
odors effect to the reduction of skills and
however, also carries some restrictions
DEX to one-quarter normal levels if the
absent from the chthonian power. The Terror Wail: All who hear this fear-
resistance roll is failed, and no loss at all if
area restriction has already been some, magically enhanced ululation must
the roll is made (but SAN loss remains).
described. The spell also requires about an make a SAN roll or lose 1d3 SAN and flee
Only special air filters, such as those in gas
hour to cast. While chthonians may well in blind panic for 2-5 rounds. Even those
masks, can fully block the hideous odor.
require as much time to create their trem- who make the SAN roll feel twinges of
ors, they dont have to worry about being fear and if they dont know or suspect the
interrupted. Whats more, the spell Suspend Animation: This spell magi- source of the wail, they might decide
requires some rather awkward ritual cally reduces metabolic processes so the theyd rather not find out. The spell
paraphernalia. Each sorcerer casting the caster or a designated target is able to requires a full round of concentration
spell must carry a special enchanted rod exist without food, water, or even air for before uttering the wail, and costs three
while they chant, gesture, and carry on as great lengths of time. A drawback to this magic points and one SAN.
they promenade around a megalith at least spell, however, is that a person using
nine cubic yards in volume. The megalith Suspend Animation is unable to move Yellow Sign: This notorious talisman of
must be previously consecrated by the while under the spells power. The caster Hastur and the enigmatic King in Yellow

DRAGON 53
must always be drawn in something yel-
low, whether it be yellow chalk on the (continued from page 3) each at the booth, and the sale turns
ground or yellow gold covered with black Friday: Bad luck continues when into a feeding frenzy. When I get
enamel outside the Signs outline. Once the Jeff Grubb falls and dislocates his back to my hotel room, I lay out all
Sign is drawn, the caster invests it with left shoulder on another escalator. the articles I have to read for the
one permanent point of POW and loses On the good side, I find a copy of coming magazine deadline, then fall
1d6 SAN. Anyone who sees such an the Ollie North Coloring Book and asleep for 11 hours straight.
enchanted copy of the Sign for the first some 15mm space marines. Six Sunday: In order to spur sales,
time even if he has seen other copies of people come by the magazines booth Roger Raupp draws a glowering
the Sign before must make a SAN roll or looking for Bruce Heard. Robin caricature of my face on a helium
lose 1d2 SAN points. If he makes a Cthulhu Jenkins brother agrees to send me a balloon with the legend: BUY OR
Mythos roll at double normal chance of picture he took showing Robin DIE!!! and flies it over the maga-
success, he recognizes the Yellow Sign for riding a giant pig statue in a local zines booth. Either because of that
what it stands for, and will therefore lose restaurant. FASA and Twentieth or the continuation of our dollar-a-
1d6 SAN instead, or one point of SAN even Century Imports duel it out in a DRAGON Magazine sale, we sell a lot
if he makes his SAN roll. BATTLETECH game in which the and even give away all the copies we
More importantly, anyone who knows attacking players get to hit the min- have of AMAZING Stories. I lose
this spell can cast five magic points into an iature figures of their targets with a count of how many people are look-
energized Yellow Sign, losing 1d6 SAN in hammer; bits and pieces of lead are ing for Bruce Heard, but its all
the process. Anyone who sees the resul- scattered everywhere, and the irrelevant since hes already gone
crowd loves it. home. We have our DRAGON Maga-
tant Sign on that round must make a SAN
roll or lose 3d4 SAN (and 1d6 SAN even if That evening, Barbara and I take zine seminar and its all over.
the roll succeeds). Cthulhu Mythos knowl- DUNGEON Adventures authors The convention ends at 4 P.M., and
Grant and David Boucher out for we tear down the magazines booth
edge does not affect this in any way.
A Yellow Sign remains energized for as dinner at a nearby restaurant. Dur- in one hour. Everyone leaves but
long as it remains unmarred: a few ing the meal, I manage to spill my me, since I have to haul some boxes
glass of milk all over the table as out to my car, which I cant get into
scratches wont dispel its power. To dispel
well as over David Boucher. Every- the loading dock until the current
this items power, the Yellow Sign must be
defaced until its shape is no longer recog- one takes it well, though I consider traffic jam dies down. When the jam
nizable. Defacing an active Yellow Sign entering a monastery to hide my ends, I run back to the parking
nets the defacer one SAN point if he fails shame. Later on, a friend tells me garage to get my car and discover
an Idea roll. If the person makes the Idea that a friend of his overheard a guy that Im $3 short to get the car out. I
roll, he realizes how futile his action is, tell someone else that I must have run back to MECCA, borrow some
and so does not receive the SAN point. really tied one on the night before. money from Judy Gifford (TSR,
What? I ask. Why did he say computer department), and run
that? I dunno, says the friend. back to the garage.
Just thought youd like to know. Hey, man, the attendant says.
Saturday: Escalators now scare We made a mistake. Are you with
me, but I ride them anyway. The the convention? I say yes, and the
superheroes seminar goes well, attendant turns and yells, I told you
though Jeff Grubb could not attend. so! at another attendant. Yeah, he
Warren Spector accidentally says when he turns back. We
describes the Marvel Universe as the charged you the wrong rate cause
real world, and lots of exciting we thought you were being held in
ideas are exchanged, none of which the drunk tank and your car was
I can remember right now. Nine impounded. I realize that the city
people come by the magazines booth police station is directly above the
looking for Bruce Heard. While (underground) parking garage, and
chatting with the people from sigh. I pay a much reduced parking
STARDATE Magazine, I discover that fee and drive to MECCA, where I get
their art director is just as bizarre as my possessions, and I drive home.
our own, and I offer to send Roger The grass in the front yard needs
Raupp over as part of a cultural to be mowed, Im behind on dead-
exchange on editor abuse. A lot of line, and my attention span is about
babies suddenly appear at the con- 60 seconds long. Well, I tell myself,
vention, among them my son John at least thats over with. The next
and Lorraine Williams daughter morning, I wake up with a head cold
Alexis, who tries to pull the buttons and discover the car is leaking brake
off Johns suit. We start selling old fluid.
DRAGON Magazines for only $1 See you next year. . . .
by Craig Schaefer

The Black Book


and
the Hunters
New items for Chaosiums CALL OF CTHULHU game
out, leaving only the very edge of the The other unusual spell is used to sum-
Before his untimely death in 1934, the picture. It remains to be seen what the mon a creature not previously described
renowned professor and occultist, Howard picture was and what importance it had. in the other books of occult lore I have
Brimley, had consulted nearly every tome The first page past the torn sheet holds a perused. Called the Hunter of Shub-
relevant to the Cthulhu Mythos in his popular prayer to Shub-Niggurath. It reads Niggurath, this entity appears to belong to
search for a way to destroy the Elder Gods (when translated): a powerful servitor race, not unlike the
once and for all. Although he never found Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath. Recently, I
the solution to his quest, he compiled set about to conjure and study one of
many notes dealing with nearly every O friend and companion of night,
those servitors, and I was able to learn
facet of the mythos. Presented here is a thou who rejoices in the baying of dogs
something about it.
portion of his recently rediscovered manu- and spilt blood, who wanderest in the
The Hunters of Shub-Niggurath are
scripts a fragment dealing with one of midst of shades among the tombs, who
fortunately seldom encountered. Unlike
the lesser-known works of the mythos, longest for blood and bringest terror
their brothers, the Dark Young, the
The Black Book of Shub-Niggurath. It is to mortals, Gorgo, Mormo, thousand-
Hunters are never called to preside over
hoped that this information will be of use faced moon, look favorably on our
cult ceremonies or to perform similar
to investigators everywhere. sacrifices!
functions. They are called into service and
controlled only by high priests or by Shub-
MS: #02025 book catalog The Black Book is filled with doggerel Niggurath herself.
DT: 10/29/1925 such as this, as well as several sets of The Hunters are called from their home
RE: The Black Book of Shub-Niggurath instruction for ceremonies to Shub- world for one purpose only to hunt.
Niggurath. While the spell Call Shub- When summoned and given the descrip-
I acquired The Black Book two years Niggurath is well known to many tion of a victim, a Hunter tracks down the
ago, purely by chance. Since then, I feel I magicians and practicers of the dark arts, target and will not stop until either it or
have sufficiently analyzed it to give a the adaption in The Black Book is unusual the target is dead. The Hunter has a spe-
proper description of its contents. in that it summons Shub-Niggurath, places cial sense which allows it to home in on a
As every serious student of the occult her in a form of stasis, and forces her to person when provided with something the
knows, the deity Shub-Niggurath is a god- answer any questions the caster of the person has recently touched (such as a nail
dess concerned with fertility. The Black spell asks. The spell is apparently used to clipping or a lock of hair).
Book clarifies this, as it seems to be some force the goddess to appear at important The Hunter that I conjured was about 8
kind of prayer book for her earthly cult ceremonies. tall; it stood on two legs and walked erect.
priests. Not only is it full of prayers to this The book holds several other spells as The Hunter was massive and vaguely
monstrous goddess, it also contains materi- well, only two of which are unusual. One humanoid in appearance, being covered in
al relevant to Nyarlathotep. It is yet of the magical formulas is for the creation filthy brownish-gray fur. Its head was
unknown what kind of connection the two of a Knife of Power, a potent weapon used merged with its torso so that it had no
gods have, or if there is any true connec- most often by cult priests to slay sacri- neck whatsoever and no true face, except
tion between them at all. fices. According to The Black Book, the for its yellow, pupilless eyes and a mass of
The Black Book is a hardbound tome Knife (note that I am judging by extrapola- tentacles between and below them. Its
with a flat black cover; its dimensions are tion; I have not taken the time to create hands were humanlike, except for the
8 x 11 x 1. The copy I found is one of my own) stores the power of those merging of two fingers and the presence
written in archaic Latin, comprising 368 slain with it. On command, a bolt of of webbing between the other digits.
pages and no illustrations of any sort. energy powered by the souls within the Short, ironlike talons projected from each
Nevertheless, this version of The Black blade spring forth from the daggers tip. finger. Despite its bloated appearance, the
Book has evidence of a color drawing on The bolt itself is a very powerful weapon Hunter seemed quite agile and restless,
the very first page. When I received the with apparently enough energy to blast a and paced back and forth on its rootlike
volume, however, the page had been torn hole through a sheet of metal. feet, its facial tentacles writhing and curl-

16 OCTOBER 1988
ing like serpents. In certain ways, it resem- turers find. Consequently, nearly every had at the time of its death. That, how-
bled one of the Star-Spawn of Cthulhu, powerful priest of Shub-Niggurath pos- ever, is just half of the special power of the
though it lacked wings. sesses a copy. knife. Upon command, a beam of energy is
The Hunter did not speak except in Spells are gained from The Black Book in emitted from the tip of the knife, automat-
grunts and low squeals (perhaps its native the following order: ically hitting the chosen target. Before
language), though it is capable of a crude 1. Summon Dark Young of Shub- firing, though, the user must specify how
communication through a rough form of Niggurath many POW points he is expending. The
empathy, which transmits the Hunters 2. Bind Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath POW used in the attack is gone from the
intentions and emotions to nearby beings. 3. Call Shub-Niggurath knife forever, having changed into energy
Apparently, Hunters are unable to control 4. Bind Shub-Niggurath (new spell) to fuel the beam. The effective length of
this ability; thus, they project their mental 5. Contact Nyarlathotep the energy beam is 10 meters per point of
conditions (such as they are) constantly. 6. Enchant Power Knife (new spell) POW used.
From the one Hunter I summoned, I 7. Summon Hunter of Shub-Niggurath Next, the victim matches his POW
received very powerful feelings of impa- (new spell) against the POW used in the beams attack.
tience and anticipation; it doubtless 8. Voorish Sign If the beam is overcome by the victims
desired to go on a hunt. The majority of these spells are POW, the attack has no effect and the
The Hunters point of origin is as yet described in the CALL OF CTHULHU game POW used by the knife is wasted. On the
unknown. They could be from an entirely rule book. The three new spells follow: other hand, if the victim is overcome, he
different dimension, or they could be the Bind Shub-Niggurath: This powerful must roll the result of his CON x 3 or
spawn from a nearby planet in our own spell summons Shub-Niggurath, who lower on 1d100. If the victim succeeds, he
solar system. appears at the casters location in a form takes 1dl0 damage from the beam. If he
All in all, The Black Book of Shub- of stasis from which she cannot escape fails the roll, he is instantly blasted to
Niggurath is quite valuable, especially to until the caster frees her, she makes a roll ashes. Because of this weapons evil
devotees of that deity. Otherwise, its value of 10 or less on 1dl00 (made every min- nature, it is seldom used by investigators
depends on the individual investigator. ute), or she is attacked. In the case of but can often be found in the hands of a
Probably the best use of this tome is to being allowed to leave, there is a 20% high priest of Shub-Niggurath. The knife is
study the spell knowledge it contains, chance Shub-Niggurath will kill the caster only usable by its creator.
though I have faithful copied the summon- before she goes. In any other case, Shub- Summon Hunter of Shub-Niggurath: This
ing riyal for Shub-Niggurath; if indeed Niggurath automatically attacks anyone in spell is identical to the other Summon
this creature is summoned in a helpless sight before disappearing. This spell is spells, and it requires an idol of either
condition, more the better to destroy it in commonly used by cultists to bring Shub- Shub-Niggurath or a Hunter to work. As
a relatively safe fashion. One can only Niggurath to preside over certain special described in the text given earlier, this
hope for the best. . . . ceremonies. Her displeasure is hopefully spell summons a single Hunter.
eased by placing many sacrificial victims
around her summoning point. Hunter of Shub-Niggurath
Game notes This spell has another use, however (Greater Servitor Race)
For Keepers who wish to use The Black one that is of potential interest to wizards.
Book, the Hunters of Shub-Niggurath, and When Shub-Niggurath is held in stasis, the Description: A full description of this
any of the new spells in this article, the caster may ask any questions of the deity. creature is provided in the manuscript
following statistics are included. Under the influence of the spell, Shub- supplied by Howard Brimley, given earlier
The Black Book of Shub-Niggurath gives Niggurath is compelled to answer them in this article.
5% Cthulhu Mythos knowledge, with a (unfortunately for the caster, she is under
spell multiplier of 2. The Black Book may no obligation to answer truthfully). Also, Notes: A Hunter, as stated earlier, is only
be found in several different languages, every question asked adds 5% to Shub- summoned to hunt down beings who have
most commonly English or Spanish. The Nigguraths chance of escape (calculated somehow offended Shub-Niggurath or her
SAN loss for reading The Black Book is every minute). Of course, when freed, the representatives. It has a sense that allows
1d6. Since this book is fairly low-powered deity will not hesitate in slaying the mage, it to home in on its target. Once its mission
(in terms of knowledge gained), it may be even to the extent of sending a Dark is complete, it disintegrates automatically.
one of the first Mythos works the adven- Young or a Hunter if her prey escapes.
Only the most powerful or foolish wizards Characteristics Average
use this spell for this purpose. STR 5D6 + 20 37-38
This spell costs three permanent POW CON 5D6 + 10 27-28
points to cast, with another POW lost SIZ 5D6 17-18
upon the word to release Shub-Niggurath INT 2D6 7
from her prison. The spell requires special POW 1D6 3-5
candles, a pentagram, and several other DEX 4D6 14
ceremonial items that cost at least $200 to Hit points 30
procure. Move 10
Enchant Power Knife: This is one of the
Enchant Item spells described in the CALL Weapon Attk% Damage
OF CTHULHU game rule book, pages 76- Claw (2) 60 2d6
77. To create a Power Knife requires a Facial tentacles 90 5d6
silver knife worth no less than $350, a
sacrifice to Shub-Niggurath of at least 10 Armor: A Hunter has thick hide worth 4
SIZ worth of victims, the permanent loss points.
of 3 POW, and a sanity loss of 1d10. It Spells: A Hunter has no spells, but it has
takes two days to cast this spell, and the the homing ability described previously.
result is a very formidable weapon. Skills: Sneak 95%, Hide 55%, Climb 80%,
When the Power Knife is completed and Swim 50%.
is used to kill a being while a prayer to SAN: Seeing a Hunter of Shub-Niggurath
Shub-Niggurath is spoken, the dagger costs 1d10 points of SAN. A successful
literally absorbs the POW that the victim SAN roll still costs 1d6 points of SAN.

18 OCTOBER 1988
1988 by William A. Barton
The following article allows Investigators in
Chaosiums CALL OF CTHULHU role-playing game to
engage in the more mundane occult practices allow-
ing exploration of the unknown (and permiting the
Investigators to share in its dangers as well). This
article was originally a part of the Spiritualist section
of the Cthulhu by Gaslight boxed supplement; unfortu-
nately, it had to be cut because of space limitations.
Although Keepers running 1890s campaigns will find
these guidelines of the most use in their games, pri-
marily because of the growth of spiritualistic and
mediumistic practices during that time period, those
running CALL OF CTHULHU game campaigns set in
the 1920s or later should have few problems incorpo-
rating these rules into their own games.

Seances, possessions, and exorcisms in CALL OF CTHULHU games


36 NOVEMBER 1988
tors Luck fails, the characters have con- character until the spirit leaves or it
Seances tacted a malevolent spirit (a daimon) who toys with him, taking total control only
For reasons of their own during the attempts to possess the Investigator acting when the Investigator tries to seek help or
course of an occult investigation, Investiga- as the medium (or the Investigator with tell someone of his plight. Of course, once
tors might think it desirable to attempt a the lowest POW, if none of them were the spirit within him starts to manifest
seance, either by themselves or using the actually leading the seance). The daimon itself, the Investigators companions may
services of a spirit medium. A successful does this by matching its Magic Points vs. quickly figure out that hes possessed,
Occult or Knowledge roll indicates that an those of the Investigator it attempts to especially if the spirit is malevolent or
Investigator at least knows of such a medi- possess. If it fails in its possession attempt, strikingly different in personality from the
um. Whether the medium in question is a the evil spirit may simply try to deceive Investigator.
clever fraud or an actual medium with the Investigators, leading them astray with Being possessed by a malevolent spirit
true psychic powers is up to the Keeper, misinformation while pretending to be the requires a SAN roll to avoid the loss of 1d8
who also determines an actual mediums entity they seek. Alternately, the daimon points of SAN; nonetheless, 1 point of SAN
chance of success in summoning spirits for may play tricks on them. These tricks will is lost even if the roll is successful. An
the Investigators purposes. be similar to those of the neutral spirit Investigator need not roll until either he
Should the Investigators themselves though of a nastier, more harmful nature. realizes he is possessed or until the spirit
attempt a seance without an NPC medium, Before it leaves, the malevolent spirit finally releases him if he has been under
their chance of a successful summoning is makes a final attempt to possess the Inves- its total control all along.
a percentage equal to the POW of the tigator with the lowest Magic Points. If it When a spirit of any persuasion is in
character leading the seance and acting as fails in this, the spirit leaves, its passing possession of a character (invited or other-
medium, or the average POW of all the marked by a blast of wind and an eerie wise), it can cause physical manifestations
characters together (whichever is greater). howling. through the characters body. It can
Participants, including the impromptu If the Luck roll in summoning a spirit is change the sound of his voice (so that a
medium, may increase their chance of a roll of 96-00, the Investigator/medium female Investigator speaks with a male
success in the seance by contributing either finds himself placed in telepathic voice, or vice versa); temporarily change
temporary Magic Points. Award a 1% contact with a Cthulhoid entity perhaps his facial features or body shape within
increase to their chance of success for even Great Cthulhu himself or inadver- certain limits (a character cannot become
each Magic Point expended. However, tently summons a Cthulhoid monster. so distorted that he no longer resembles a
such a contribution of Magic Points leaves Either of these eventualities has dire generally human shape); and cause ecto-
characters more vulnerable to one of the results. (The choice of deity contacted or plasm to exude from his body to form
dangers of a seance possession by a monster summoned is up to the Keeper; ghostly shapes or images. Ectoplasm
malevolent spirit entity, should they actu- the deity should, however,. be appropriate appears as a white, milky substance that
ally manage to contact one. (A successful to the situation or setting of the adventure glows in the dark. If touched, it feels cold,
Occult roll by any Investigator reveals to in which the seance is attempted.) perhaps even slimy, then suddenly snaps
him the effects of Magic-Point expenditure back into the characters body, causing
in a seance both positive and negative.) Possession him 1d6 points of damage.
The chance for success in a seance is If an Investigator becomes possessed by The evil spirit within can also cause a
reduced by half (after Magic-Point addi- a malevolent spirit, he remains so until the possessed character to float in the air, spin
tion) if the Investigators fail to set up the spirit decides to leave on its own or is around, perform physically impossible
seance with the proper trappings a exorcised. A neutral or benevolent spirit contortions of his body, and resist sleep,
dimly lit room, participants sitting around may possess a character in order to give hunger, pain, or injury without ill effect as
a table in a circle holding hands, a mini- information by speaking to or through the long as it is within him. It can also cause
mum of conversation, etc. After all these character, but does so only if invited to do wounds to open on his body and bleed,
factors are taken into consideration, the so. The benevolent spirit leaves as soon as then make them heal over as it wills. Nor-
1d100 roll must be made in secret by the its task is finished or the Investigator asks mally, only a malevolent spirit performs
Keeper. If the roll is successful, the Investi- it to leave. The neutral spirit acts in like acts harmful to the body it possesses or to
gators manage to contact a disembodied manner unless the Investigator fails a anyone else. Sometimes, however, a neu-
spirit. To determine the exact nature of POW x 5 roll. If this happens, the Investi- tral spirit possessing a person. indulges in
the spirit contacted, the Keeper must gator must drive it out with a POW vs. the less-harmful acrobatics described
make a second secret roll, based on the POW roll. Failing this, the spirit will have above.
Luck score of the Investigator acting as to be exorcised; the Investigator then has It is possible for more than one spirit to
medium or leading the seance. only one chance to drive it out himself. possess a single individual, though addi-
If this second roll is one-fifth or less of A malevolent spirit, once in possession tional spirits must either be invited in by
the Investigator-mediums Luck, the Inves- of an Investigator, attempts to conceal its the spirit already inhabiting the body (or
tigators have contacted either the specific presence as long as possible, making its the dominant one, if more than one are
spirit they were seeking or a benevolent hosts companions believe the Investigator already there), or win a POW vs. POW
spirit guide who can direct them to is quite normal. Even in cases when the attack against the current possessor of the
whom they desire, if no particular spirit spirit allows the Investigator some free- person. Multiple spirits cause the Investi-
was specified at the beginning. A regular dom, however, it is totally in control of gator so possessed to appear to have multi-
success, between one-fifth and the Investi- him. The Investigator may not even realize ple personalities, though only the most
gators full Luck score, calls up a neutral it, but he soon finds himself compelled to powerful spirit is in actual control (except
spirit guide, who acts as the Investigator say and do things he doesnt wish to do. when it allows the others to exert theirs,
wishes if he succeeds in a POW vs. POW He may attribute this to some other super- from time to time).
roll against the spirit to bind and control natural agency a curse or mind-control
it. Failure in the POW struggle indicates spell of some sort or may actually real- Exorcism
that the spirit does not act as a guide for ize that he is possessed (either if the play- Exorcising a spirit from a possessed
the Investigators and either leaves or pulls er figures it out or the Investigator individual can be considered a spell, and
tricks on them animating tables, knock- succeeds in an Occult roll). Once the Inves- the ritual may be learned from any of a
ing things off the wall, dematerializing tigator determines he is actually pos- number of Cthulhu Mythos and ordinary
small objects depending on how badly sessed, the spirit within him either takes occult books. It can also be performed by
this roll was missed. total control of him immediately effec- any clergyman with a Theology/
If the Keepers roll against the Investiga- tively making the Investigator a Keeper Philosophy skill of at least 60%; others

DRAGON 37
that are available both to clergymen and possessing spirit by convincing a more
laymen. A character who is an actual powerful spirit to dislodge it in the same
clergyman may add one-fifth of his manner as that of multiple spirits attempt-
Theology/Philosophy to the percentage ing to possess a character. The danger in
chance on the Resistance Table (as deter- this is that the new, stronger spirit, once it
mined by matching his POW against that has dislodged the other by defeating it in a
of the possessing spirit) before rolling his POW vs. POW roll, might decide to stay
final chance for success. Thus, if the nor- and possess the individual itself. Because
mal chance for success is only 30%, but of this, Investigators attempting such feats
the clergyman has a Theology/Philosophy should be as certain as possible that the
skill of 80%, the chance is increased by spirit theyve called up to help them is a
16% to 46%. benevolent (or, at worst, a neutral) spirit
Additionally, any exorcist, clergyman or and not a deceiving evil one.
layman, can increase his chance of casting
out a spirit by invoking the name of the Daimon and daimonion
deity he worships even if it is a In the CALL OF CTHULHU game, malev-
Cthulhoid deity such as Azathoth, olent spirits as well as most neutral and
Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, Hastur, or Nodens some seemingly benevolent ones are
(though the great danger of this would be actually members of an extradimensional
in the possibility of actually summoning race of beings, vaguely similar in nature to
one of these beings or its minions, which the lloigor (see the CALL OF CTHULHU
must have a Theology skill of at least 80% would be worse than the spirit itself). This game rule book). These entities are far
to be able to attempt an exorcism, unless invocation adds 1-20 additional percentage more ubiquitous, in fact, because they are
theyve learned the ritual as a spell. A points to the roll for success, depending not tied to certain areas as are the lloigor.
qualified clergyman can also teach exor- on the strength of the invokers own belief They do tend to congregate by their own
cism to a layman, but the layman must in that deity and (in the Cthulhu Mythos choice in certain locations old houses,
spend a total of 20 hours over a period of only) on the relative strength of the deity swamps, graveyards, etc.
no more than a week learning this ritual called. Thus, a clergyman who invokes the These spirits are normally intangible and
from the clergyman. If fewer than 20 name of his god in casting out a spirit (and invisible but are capable of manifesting
hours are spent within a week, the learn- fully believes in the power of his deity) themselves on occasion as ugly, demonlike
ing period must start again. At the end of could get up to an additional 20% added to beings. They are, in fact, more properly
the period, the clergyman must make a his chance of casting out the spirit. known as daimon (pronounced DIE-moan)
successful roll on his Theology/Philosophy Using the same example cited hereto- or daimonion (die-MOAN-ee-on) Greek
skill, and the layman must make a success- fore, the chance of success in the exorcism for devils or devil spirits. These are the
ful Idea roll. If both succeed, the layman is then raised to 66%. It is up to the Keep- same words that were transliterated into
knows enough to perform a single exor- er to determine the exact number of extra Latin as daemon and into English as
cism, and gains a + 15% bonus to his points toward success that the invocation demon! In Hebrew, they are called dyb-
Theology/Philosophy skill. of a deity adds. He should make his deci- buka disembodied spirits. They are the
To perform an exorcism requires at least sion based on the Investigators past possessing devils and demons of theology
an hours preparation on the part of the actions and statements about his religious and mythology. They have been known
exorcist lighting candles, meditating, beliefs, and thus determine the exorcists throughout history, but they have been
praying, sprinkling holy water, or per- conviction in the power of the deity whose too quickly explained away by modern,
forming some similar ritual. The exact name he has invoked. If there is any seri- rational science. Like the denizens of the
procedure depends on the exorcists par- ous question as to the Investigators sincer- Cthulhu Mythos, the daimon exist just
ticular religion, as the ritual primarily ity in invoking the name of a deity, the beyond the human plane of reality. On the
serves to build his own belief to the point Keeper may simply determine the addi- other hand, unlike many Cthulhoid beings,
where he has full confidence in his ability tional chance of success randomly by they are able to enter this dimension at
to cast out the evil spirit. A clergyman or a rolling 1d20. will, making them in some ways even
character taught by one must indulge in In the case of extremely powerful dei- more dangerous than Cthulhus cohorts.
these theological trappings in order to ties, the mere invocations of their names Because they are invisible and intangible
carry out his exorcism. A character who and the command to leave the possessed in our world (and because no mortal has
has learned the process as a spell from a body may alone be enough to force the ever visited their world and returned to
book has more freedom (depending on the possessing spirit to do so, even if the exor- tell of it), daimon have no physical charac-
text), but he still must spend an hour cist is ignorant of the exorcism spell or teristics, per se, except DEX. They have
preparing (psyching himself up). ritual. In such cases, no POW vs. POW roll varying amounts of INT and POW, depend-
Once the time of preparation is over, the is necessary, but the chance of exorcising ing on their nature. The smaller daimoni-
exorcist must then pit his POW against the spirit is equal to only half the normal on are rather stupid, easily outsmarted,
that of the spirit or spirits; if there are percentage points that the deitys name and of limited POW (human average). The
more than one, he must cast each out usually adds to the chance of success. larger daimon, on the other hand, can be
individually. If he is successful, the spirit Thus, if the Keeper determines that invok- wickedly intelligent, possessing great
must leave as he commands. If not, the ing the name of Nodens normally adds amounts of POW as much or more than
spirit remains and probably manifests 18% to the exorcists chance of casting out lloigor, though they are unable to drain
itself in some manner to mock or harm the a possessing spirit, the total chance of a Magic Points from surrounding humans as
exorcist. If the first attempt at exorcism is character ignorant of the exorcism ritual the lloigor can. When daimon or daimoni-
a failure, the exorcist may try again; he is only 9% with the invocation of the name on are in possession of a human (or an
must then spend an additional hour in alone. Whether the exorcism succeeds or animal, which is also possible), they may
preparation above the first for each extra not, there is the same chance on a second add that individuals Magic-Point total to
attempt at exorcising the same spirit (e.g., roll that Nodens himself shows up (or their own to use as they wish, as long as
the third attempt requires three hours sends several nightgaunts) to show his they continue to possess him.
preparation). displeasure at the unauthorized use of his Daimon and daimonion can cause teleki-
There are various methods of increasing name. netic effects similar to those of lloigor, as
the chance of casting out possessing spirits It might also be possible to cast out a explained in The Cthulhu Companion.
38 NOVEMBER 1988
There is, however, no variation in the in their abilities to affect humans. Except against possession by daimon or daimoni-
amount of Magic Points required to create in cases of possession, daimon and daimo- on. Certain magical spells with nonphysi-
a point of telekinetic STR, based on loca- nion cannot overtly affect mortals unless cal effects prove effective against these
tion, as is true with the lloigor. Daimon one of the following conditions is met: spiritual entities as well, though physical
and daimonion always create one telekine- 1. The spirits have been called up in a attacks affect only the hosts they possess.
tic STR point for every Magic Point put seance. In the characteristics for daimon and
into the effect. They can also cause physi- 2. The areas in which the spirits congre- daimonion that follow, no scores have
cal damage to a character by biting him gate are invaded or disturbed. been given for STR, CON, or SIZ because
psychically. They do this by first overcom- 3. A person has invited the spirits into of the nonmaterial nature of daimon and
ing an Investigator in a Magic Point duel his life. This invitation can be made, con- daimonion. Should these characteristics
(the points devoted to the duel are tempo- sciously or not, by engaging in moral become necessary, as may occur in the
rarily expended). Then every additional depravity, overindulging in drink or drugs, case of a physical manifestation of a devil
Magic Point put into an attack does 1d6 living a cruel and evil life, or even by spirit," the Keeper is advised to use the
physical bite damage to the target on a hit. delving too deeply into occult matters same value as listed for POW or handle
The chance of a successful hit equals the e.g., studying old grimoires or magical the spirits as described below.
daimons DEX x 3. texts, playing with ouija boards or similar
Once a daimon or daimonion is in pos- divining aids such as tarot cards, or allow- Daimon
session of an individual, it can change the ing oneself to be hypnotized or mesmer- (Greater Independent Race)
characters SIZ, APP or voice by expending ized repeatedly (especially for such
Magic Points (its own or the possessed purposes as discerning past lives, com- Characteristics Average
individuals) on a ratio of 1 Magic Point to muning with higher powers, and so on). INT 4d6+6 20
1 point of SIZ or APP changed. One Magic On the surface, it appears that most POW 5d6+6 23-24
Point is all thats necessary to change the CALL OF CTHULHU game Investigators DEX 3d6 10-11
characters voice. The initial change of fall into the category of having studied Hit points Special
features or voice lasts for one hour unless magical texts (if theyve read or seriously Move Special
the daimon allows them to return to nor- examined any book of the Mythos). Oddly
mal sooner. Thereafter, it costs only a enough, that is not the case. The exact Weapon Attk% Damage
single Magic Point per hour to retain the reason for this is not known; perhaps it is Telekinetic DEX x 3 Variable*
entire change. If the daimon decides to because the more powerful beings of the throw
change the characters features again Mythos keep the daimon away from Inves- Psychic bite DEX x 3 1d6/MP**
without allowing them first to revert to tigators pursuing such studies by the Possession MP vs. MP Possession
their original appearance, it costs only half beings own insidious influence. Whatever Dematerialize Special Special
the normal Magic Points to effect another the reason, the mere reading of Mythos
such change. books rarely opens one up for daimon * Depends on SIZ of object used.
Daimon can also create ectoplasm from infestation or possession unless other * * Also MP vs. MP damage.
a possessed characters body (one Magic factors are involved.
Point expended creating one SIZ point of Certain things that affect a person physi-
ectoplasm). To do this, the possessing spirit cally also affect a spirit possessing that Daimonion
must use the hosts Magic Points rather person. For example, if a possessed indi- (Lesser Independent Race)
than its own. When ectoplasm has been vidual is knocked unconscious, the daimon
formed, the daimon may shape it at will. is also unconscious and unable to act Characteristics Average
Ectoplasm lasts for 10 minutes unless unless it leaves the hosts body. If it does INT 1 - 3d6 3-11
renewed with more Magic Points this leave, it can repossess the body at will POW 2d6 + 6 13
time either the hosts or the daimons own. until the character awakens. If it has failed DEX 3d6 10-11
Once within a characters body, the dai- to repossess the individual before he has
mon can cause it to levitate or move awakened, the spirit must make another Hit points, Move, Weapon, Attk%, and
around in any way it pleases; it only costs Magic-Point struggle to regain possession. Damage are all as per the daimon.
1 Magic Point per 5 SIZ points of pos- Additionally, certain drugs that deaden
sessed character for the daimon to do so. parts of the possessed characters brain Armor: In their natural, nonmaterial
When a daimon or daimonion has pos- (where the spirit normally resides) inca- states, daimon and daimonion cannot be
sessed a character, it can take total control pacitate the spirit as well. In such a state, affected by any physical weapon. When
of that characters thoughts, mind, actions, the spirit may defend itself against being one or more inhabit a host body, the host
and feelings at will. Once the initial posses- exorcised but do nothing else. Naturally, can be affected normally, but only the
sion has occurred (described in the section killing the individual hosting a daimon or death of the host affects the spirit and
above), nothing else is required to hold daimonion gets rid of the spirit once and then only to drive it away. Enchanted
and control the person, either intermit- for all but the deceased will hardly be weapons damage these spirits normally
tently or full-time. The invading spirit has able to appreciate it. but also damage their hosts.
full access to that individuals knowledge, Some daimon and daimonion also seem
skills, and abilities, and it can cast any to have aversions to certain holy items. Spells: A daimon or daimonion may
spell that that person knows, whether the Holy water, crucifixes, and other religious know a number of spells equal to its INT.
daimon knew it prior to possessing him or symbols occasionally seem to be proof
not. If more than one daimonion is in against possession by a daimon and may SAN: In their normal states, daimon and
possession of an individual, the one with even drive one away. Unfortunately, just daimonion are invisible; thus, no SAN loss
the greatest POW is the dominant one, and as many of these spirits seem to be for Investigators is possible. Seeing the
the others are able to manifest themselves immune to such protections. It is up to the various physical manifestations of one
only when it so allows them. Usually no Keeper whether or not such measures are (similar to those of a poltergeist) costs 1d4
more than one daimon will be in posses- effective against any particular daimon. SAN points if a SAN roll is missed, or none
sion of a single person, but it may share Note that certain protections, such as if the roll is successful. Being possessed by
the individual with any number of daimo- Elder Signs or Starstones of Mnar, that are one of these spirits costs 1d8 SAN points
nion over which it has command. wards against Cthulhoid entities are just as upon this realization if a SAN roll is
In spite of their seemingly immense effective against daimon. As a result, their missed, or 1 point even if the roll is made.
power, daimon and daimonion are limited employment is total proof A daimon or daimonion can temporarily

DRAGON 39
take on a physical form if it desires (such harm both possessors and hosts. which case no such struggle is required).
an appearance is normally that of an
extremely hideous, demonic being, occa- Move: Daimon and daimonion are not Detection: Unless a character possesses
sionally wreathed in fire and brimstone) if bound by our laws of physics; therefore, psychic powers himself, the only way to
it expends eight Magic Points, plus two they can teleport anywhere they wish detect the presence of a daimon or daimo-
more for sounds and one for odor. Seeing around our planet (but not beyond the nion, either within an area or while pos-
a daimons physical manifestation costs up Earth, for reasons that are not totally sessing another character, is to succeed in
to 1d20 SAN points if a SAN roll is missed, clear, unless they are in possession of a a roll of POW x 1% upon first entering
or 1d6 points even if it is made, as the, character who himself leaves Earth). They the area or encountering the possessed
forms these spirits take are usually can also move through physical barriers as individual. If the roll is successful, the
extremely frightening (though the Keeper though the barriers were not there. Investigator detects the presence of the
may decide the entity takes on a less SAN- Strong magnetic fields or force fields seem spirit as a foul odor (it stinks spiritually).
blasting appearance for reasons of its to slow them down, perhaps due to the Unless the Investigator has detected such
own). Should an Investigator manage to nature of the dimension from which they spirits before and knows what the odor
see a daimon in its own, original dimen- originate (which may in fact be why they indicates, he may then have to make an
sion, the maximum SAN loss should be cannot leave this planet, with its strong Occult roll to realize what it is hes actually
applied regardless of the SAN roll. magnetic fields). Effectively, however, detecting.
these spirits are as swift as thoughts and
Hit points: If any magical spells that are nearly impossible to contain. Conclusion
cause hit-point loss are used against one of It should be kept in mind that, in the
these spirits, or if any attacks are made Dematerialize: Daimon and daimonion course of a CALL OF CTHULHU game
against it with enchanted weapons, use appear to have the ability to dematerialize campaign, it is quite possible that many of
the daimons or daimonions POW for its objects of various sizes. In actuality, these the so-called higher spiritual powers wor-
hit points. If the spirit loses all its POW to spirits do this by telekinetically seizing the shiped by various occult and spiritualist
damage, it has been destroyed. If a spirits objects they wish to dematerialize, then societies are actually very ancient,
Magic-Point total falls to zero, it also dis- teleporting themselves and the objects to extremely wise, and cruelly cunning dai-
perses (at least temporarily), losing its other locations, where they can leave the mon, deceiving their followers for their
possession of a host. If the hosts Magic objects and return instantly. Several of the own malevolent purposes. What purposes
Point or POW totals fall to zero, the host entities can work together to teleport any lie behind such deceptions, if they come
dies, and the spirit is immediately cast object too big for only one of them. To up in play, are left to the Keepers discre-
loose. There is a 50% chance that any such thus dematerialize a living being in this tion and for the Investigators ability of
magical anti-POW attacks against a pos- manner, a daimon must win a Magic-Point discovery as they navigate the dark waters
sessing daimon affects the possessed host struggle with its victim (unless the victim of the occult.
instead of the spirit. Enchanted weapons is an individual the spirit possesses, in

40 NOVEMBER 1988
Unspeakable
will appear here, except for a summary of
some sample tomes. No table or formula
can do what the imaginative Keeper can
when creating tomes that are memorable
and integrated into the campaign.
Avoiding duplication is essential; in fact,

Secrets
it is at the heart of most of the suggestions
that follow. These texts are supposed to be
rare and exotic. Too much similarity
among them tarnishes their mystique. For
instance, there are already several massive
compilations of dark and baleful mythos,

Made Easy
of liturgies, rituals, and incantations both
evil and esoteric like the Book of Eibon. A
description of this book supplies the pre-
ceding quote, and the Revelations of Glaaki
and the Necronomicon also fall into this
category. There are also titles that are
essentially collected descriptions of sinis-
ter cults; Unausprechlichen Kulten and
Building your unspeakable library in Cultes des Goules spring to mind. One new
book of each type could be rationalized on
Chaosiums CALL OF CTHULHU game the grounds of novelty, but more would be
excessive. After all, if a tome is going to be
just like Kulten or Eibon, why not just use
1989 by Dean Shomshak the original?
The more perceptive Mythos writers
Sometime in the course of a campaign, rules, and my own campaign. seem to have kept this in mind. In the
CALL OF CTHULHU game Keepers will The first and most important rule is to CALL OF CTHULHU rules, Eibon and De
find a need for new, exciting Mythos not make a random-number system for Vermiis Mysteriis seem much the same.
tomes. This article has some thoughts on generating Mythos tomes. One of the Their knowledge ratings, spell multipliers,
how to create new tomes to surprise In- CALL OF CTHULHU games strengths is its and sanity losses are nearly equal. Vermiis
vestigators, with examples drawn from emphasis on storytelling over complicated is in Latin; so is one version of Eibon. If
Mythos stories, the CALL OF CTHULHU rules and numbers. No formulas or tables you read the stories in which they appear,

Illustration by Valerie Valusek


92 OCTOBER 1989
you find that both tomes were written by craft interjected a straight-faced reference shows that only the most important My-
powerful sorcerers. One wizard, however, to the Commoriom myth-cycle preserved thos books like Kulten and Vermiis get a
lived and wrote in medieval Europe, while by the Atlantean high priest Klarkash-Ton. knowledge rating of 12%-15%, while very
the other lived millennia before in Hyper- (Commoriom was an ancient city promi- minor lorebooks and grimoires like People
borea. Maybe these books arent alike nently featured in stories by Lovecrafts of the Monolith and the Zanthu Tablets get
after all. friend Clark Ashton Smith.) In-jokes can be ratings of 5% or less. Anything in between
This illustrates one characteristic of a fun even if they dont contribute to your is a matter of the Keepers taste. The maxi-
good Mythos tome: a sinister origin and carefully crafted atmosphere of paranoia mum possible sanity loss is usually closely
history. Lovecraft went so far as to write and horror. tied to the knowledge rating. For example,
an essay on the History and Chronology The next step is deciding if the tome the Celaeno Fragments gets a knowledge
of the Necronomicon, but you need not go focuses on any particular part of the My- rating of 9%, and can cause up to 8 points
to such lengths. In stories, Lovecraft and thos. Not only does a focused subject make SAN loss. The major connection between
his compatriots settled for a paragraph or a tome feel more like a real book instead knowledge rating and sanity loss is the
two on each book, which is enough. If the of an ad-hoc plot device, it gives you a level of danger posed by the tomes infor-
players want to know more about a books guide to selecting spells for the work. A mation. Monstres and Their Kynde and
history, its easy to make up further details tome could focus on the Great Old Ones or The Golden Bough both have a knowledge
as needed. Of course, a good tome origin Outer Gods, entities of air and space dwell- rating of 5%, for example, but Monstres
can also be used as a hook to draw Investi- ers underground, gods that appeal to lone causes 1d6 SAN loss, while Bough only
gators into new adventures. sorcerers, gods served by frenzied cultists, does 1d2. Bough, however, deals with the
Your own Mythos books arent the only or whatever other corner of the Mythos Cthulhu Mythos only indirectly and acci-
ones that can benefit from added history seems appropriate for the tomes origin dentally through its analysis of ancient
and detail. Many of the works listed in the and the adventure in which it will be European myths and customs. Besides,
CALL OF CTHULHU rulebook have never, encountered. The Rlyeh Text, for instance, The Golden Bough is a real book that has
to the best of my knowledge, been given obviously focuses on Cthulhu and related probably never driven a reader insane. In
any history or description by Mythos beings. It or any similar guide to oceanic general, unless a tome is meant to be a
authors. The Book of Dzyan, Eltdown powers probably will not emanate from major sanity-buster like Vermiis or Kulten,
Shards, and others arent much more than cultists in the arid heart of Asia. 1d4 or 2d4 is a good rating for sanity
names. You can add as many details to Conversely, if the purpose of a tome is to losses from tome reading. Either roll has a
them as you want. introduce a particular spell to the Investi- 50% chance of forcing a check for tempo-
One way that new tomes can differ from gators, the tomes origin and subject focus rary insanity but isnt likely to cause indef-
existing ones is in their origin. Approxi- should be shaped with this in mind. inite insanity.
mately half the books listed in the CALL Another aspect of tome content is the Spell multipliers show how compara-
OF CTHULHU rules are of Western origin. relative proportion of lore to spells. Some tively easy or hard it is to learn spells from
The Middle East, India, and China have works clearly emphasize lore. As a guide a Mythos text. The most common multi-
extensive written occult traditions; it to Mythos cults, there is no reason why plier is x 2; it gives Investigators a fair
seems logical that they would have Unausprechlichen Kulten should have chance to learn a few spells without mak-
Cthulhu Mythos writings. The Mythos many spells. In my campaign, the Kulten ing it easy to learn any spell in particular.
activities of other regions could see print can teach spells because of numerous Second most common are the multipliers
through visitors from literate areas. Drop luridly detailed descriptions of cult rituals x 1 and x 3; x 4 and x 5 are appropri-
a hint to your players that Sanskrit may be rather than by any intent of its author. ately rare, reserved for the Necronomicon
as useful to them as Latin. Other texts, in contrast, are meant to be and those few texts approaching it in
Books are just one way of storing infor- spellbooks. Robert Blochs story, The virulence. Of course, minor lorebooks
mation. Although books dominate post- Shambler from the Star, makes it quite completely lacking spells have no spell
Classical Western cultures, there are also clear that De Vermiis Mysteriis is a gri- multiplier. Aside from these broad catego-
scrolls, tablets, wall inscriptions, and mon- moire loaded with summonings and other ries, there is no intrinsic relation between
uments. Smaller amounts of information dire magic formulae. True Magick sounds a books spell multiplier and its knowledge
single spells or monster descriptions like a less imposing grimoire. Some tomes rating or SAN loss, or between the books
might be revealed in tapestries, paintings, might provide lore and magic more or less spell multipliers and whether that book is
inscribed amulets, or even less likely ob- equally; The Book of Eibon, as mentioned a grimoire for learning spells or not. As
jects. Modern-setting campaigns can add above, contains both rituals and incanta- mentioned above in relation to Kulten, a
various kinds of audio and visual record- tions and dark and baleful myths. lorebook author might clearly describe
ings, microformats, and computer files. The last stage of tome invention, and in how to cast a spell even if he didnt con-
Even if a text isnt encountered in its many ways the least important, is assign- sciously intend to; on the other hand, a
original book format, this can spice up its ing the tomes knowledge rating, spell sorcerer explaining a spell might cloak his
history and origin. multiplier, and sanity loss. The list of instructions in obscure symbolism. Minor
Its a good idea to check whether a for- tomes in the CALL OF CTHULHU rulebook texts might present their few spells in a
mat is appropriate for the tomes original
culture. The Mesopotamian cultures, for The Golden Goblin Mythos Library
instance, wrote on baked clay tablets,
whereas the Egyptians used scrolls in Knowledge Spell
addition to covering their monuments, Title Language rating multiplier SAN Loss
temples, and tombs with carved or painted Book of Elder Aeons English * * + 10% x1 2d4
inscriptions. This research will probably El Codigo de Uxmal Spanish * * +8% x2 1d8
give you lots of ideas for adventures, too. The Uxmal Codex* English +6% x2 1d8
Another useful trick is to tie a tomes Demon Gods of Mu English +6% x1 1d6
origin to some preexisting bit of history or Magic and Mystery of Mu English +5% x3 1d6
legend, whether real or Mythos. Every bit Mu: Lost Land of the Pacific English +3% - 1d3
of verisimilitude helps in building atmos-
phere, and the surprise of recognition * Translation of El Codigo de Uxmal.
gives players the feeling of investigating a * * Work is chiefly available in this language but not originally in that tongue.
real mystery. On the other hand, such
references may be in-jokes, as when Love-
DRAGON 93
The Ponape Scripture and the Necronomi- translation of a scroll found in the ruins of
con offended scholars as much as his wild a heretical Tibetan lamasery. It purports to
claim to have been inspired by Cthulhu, tell the history of the races that came
Shub-Niggurath, and other Muvian gods. before humanity on Earth. It uses the
His descriptions of Muvian rituals were as terms and mythological patterns of Bon,
grotesque as they were detailed. Some of the animistic religion which preceded and
the rituals actually worked, a point Dixons heavily influenced Tibetan Buddhism.
detractors missed. Demon Gods of Mu is a Elder Aeons cycles of race following race,
slightly more important lorebook, with mysteriously linked in some way to Earths
+ 6% knowledge, spell multiplier of x 1, position among the stars, forms a pattern
and 1d6 SAN loss. It contains four spells: familiar to Theosophists. Indeed, the simi-
Contact Cthulhu, Summon Dark Young of larities to Theosophy are deliberately
Shub-Niggurath, Contact Nyarlathotep, emphasized by translator Muriel Rasmus-
and Activate Eidolon (see The Ghastly sen. She argues in her introduction that
Grimoire, DRAGON Magazine issue #126, Elder Aeons confirms Theosophy, al-
for details of this spell). If you want to use though the book itself is partly in error.
this or any other of these tomes in your Muriel Rasmussen is still alive in cam-
campaign, you can give them any spells paigns set in the 1920s, but she will not
you deem necessary. help Investigators in any way. In 1911, she
relatively straightforward manner, while a Dixons final work was Magic and Mys- renounced Theosophy, burned her copy of
major tome could scatter spell instructions tery of Mu (1902). This minor grimoire the Book of Elder Aeons, and entered a
throughout pages of irrelevant informa- describes Muvian sorcery; the preface convent where she lives under a vow of
tion or outright nonsense. It depends on silence. The Book of Elder Aeons has these
the Keepers concept of the tome and the statistics: + 10% knowledge, spell multi-
context of the adventure. If the adventure plier of x 1, and 2d4 SAN loss. Its six spells
hinges on the Investigators learning Call all deal with contacting various Elder
Ithaqua, the text providing it should have Races. The original scroll is held by the
a high spell multiplier. (This assumes you British Museum.
disapprove of fudging dice rolls to advance Golden Goblin tried hard to produce
the plot.) books that went beyond the usual occult
Mythos tome creation is not a systematic tripe. They tried too hard, some people
process. You probably will start at any of said. A final example is its last publication,
the above points and take the rest in any a Mayan grimoire found in the ruins of the
order as inspiration leads you. The only city of Uxmal. In 1901, Dr. Miguel Arros-
rule in tome creation that should be con- cas of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia
sidered ironclad is that no tome has statis- in Mexico City produced a translation
tics surpassing or even equalling the based on notes in Spanish written above a
Necronomicon. few lines of Mayan text. Most archeolo-
Since an example is worth a dozen rules, gists and linguists think that the The Ux-
here is a selection of Mythos books from mal Codex is a magnificently detailed hoax
Golden Goblin Press, occult publishers to which Dr. Arroscas succumbed. If genu-
extraordinaire in the CALL OF CTHULHU ine, this collection of rituals and incanta-
game world. tions supposedly compiled by an ancient
When the real worlds James Church- Mayan sorcerer-priest would revolutionize
ward began writing books of dubious theories about Mayan magic and religion.
scholarship about the lost continent of Mu, (For hints about the Codexs frightening.
he didnt know that Golden Goblins star revelations, see The Cthulhu Mythos in
researcher, Paul Dixon,. had already writ- Mesoamerican Religion in Chaosiums
ten three books on the subject. The first claims that it really works. (This is not Cthulhu Companion.) Subsequently, the
was Mu: Lost Land of the Pacific (1896), in true: half the spells are defective and Spanish El Codigo de Uxmal was translated
which Dixon marshalled a wide range of wont work, as a Cthulhu Mythos roll will into English by Thad Chevaux, a Miska-
evidence for that ancient lands existence, show in each case.) Dixon admitted that tonic University graduate, and published
from folklore to zoology. While no reputa- Magic only contained minor Muvian spells,
ble scholar ever accepted Dixons claims, a but he promised to someday produce a
few might privately admit that Mu is both more complete guide to Muvian wizardry.
more plausible and more disturbing than He never did. He disappeared in 1903
other works of the lost continent school. during an expedition to Nan Madol and
Some of Dixons revelations are quite was never seen again. Magic was, by the
sinister, especially those about Muvian way, the worst seller of Dixons books,
religion, giving Mu a 3% knowledge rating probably because his Muvian sorcery
and 1d3 SAN loss. It has no spells and is a bore no resemblance to what he called
typical, very minor lorebook. the puerile fantasies of popular occult-
In 1900, Dixon wrote a sequel: Demon ism. It has a +5% knowledge, spell multi-
Gods of Mu. Any hint of respect the aca- plier of x 3, and causes 1d6 SAN loss. It
demic community may have felt for Dixon contains Elder Sign, Enchant Brazier,
vanished with this work, which was Conjure Glass of Mortland, Enchant Blade,
widely denounced as lurid, sensationalis- Chant of Thoth, Dread Curse of Azathoth,
tic, and totally lacking in serious scholar- and Contact Lloigor.
ship. In it, Dixon not only claimed that the In addition to its massively expurgated
gods of Mu were real, but he asserted that 1909 edition of Nameless Cults, Golden
they still existed and were worshipped. Goblin published one other major lore-
His reliance on bizarre occult texts like book: the Book of Elder Aeons (1906), a
Illustrations by David Zenz
94 OCTOBER 1989
by Golden Goblin in 1910. jewels, return to Eagle Hollow to be healed
Not surprisingly, Chevauxs translation is and to buy herbs. Magic does not work
not as complete or accurate a source of well in the fortress, so dont buy any!
Mythos information as Arroscass text. The 17. Use healing herbs to free yourself
concepts of Mythos are especially difficult from the spells grip.
to translate, so errors tend to multiply. In 18. At the end of the game, after you
practice, this means that the Golden Gob- return the scrolls, you get your own dis-
lin edition of the The Uxmal Codex gives play. This was a nice reward for complet-
+ 6% knowledge, while the Spanish ver- ing the game.
sion gives +8%. Both have a spell multi- Scott Whittaker
plier of x 2 and cause 1d8 SAN loss. The Lighthouse Point FL
Spanish version contains Contact Yig,
Summon Child of Yig, Contact Deep One, Phantasie I (SSI)
Contact Cthulhu, Contact Nyarlathotep, [Hints courtesy of SSIs product newslet-
Summon Hunting Horror, Bind Hunting ter, Inside SSI.]
Horror, Dread Curse of Azathoth, Hands As you know, there are nine rings that
of Yig, Enchant Knife, and Summon Fire must be found. Here are their locations:
Vampire. The English version deletes Con- find two in the Temple of the Dosnebian
tact Cthulhu, Contact Nyarlathotep, and Clerics; one in Phantasies Armory; three
Bind Hunting Horror. in J. R. Trolkins Castle; and three in
Following Dr. Arroscass suicide in 1908, Bleebs Dungeon. To win this adventure,
the original folded tree-bark edition of The you must slay the Dark Lord and obtain
Uxmal Codex has been kept in a tempera- the Divine Spell.
ture and humidity controlled vault by the
Museo. Chevaux died shortly after the Phantasie II (SSI)
Codexs publication, in the fire that con- [Hints courtesy of SSIS product newslet-
sumed Golden Goblins office, editor, and ter, Inside SSI.]
supply of unsold volumes. No one knows Youll have to find the beasts in this
why Chevaux and the editor were alone at game; beasts 1 and 2 are in the Material
the office in the middle of the night, or the Plane and can show up anywhere, so be
unidentifiable bones found in addition to careful. While on the Material Plane,
their charred remains. check out the desert island: youll find
I hope these examples will inspire you to Beasts 3 and 4 there. Beasts 5 and 6 are on
think up your own new Mythos tomes for the Astral Plane and can be summoned
your campaign or create ways to add spice through use of spell #57. Plutos Castle is
to the tomes listed in the CALL OF the home of Beast 7 and in Plutos Manage-
CTHULHU rulebook. Lovecraft himself rie, yep, heeeeeeres Beast 8.
encouraged his friends to make their own
contributions to the Mythos and its grim Phantasie III (SSI)
bibliography; Mythos writers like Clark [Hints courtesy of SSIs product newslet-
Ashton Smith, August Derleth, and Robert ter, Inside SSI.]
Bloch have given Keepers ample prece- You eventually need to get to the Plane
dent. So get out there and knock em dead! of Light. To accomplish this, while in the
Er, thats just a figure of speech. spirals of the Crystal Castle of Chronos,
type C2 + and pull the lever, then get out
of the dungeon. You must possess the Key
Computers of Light in order to get into the castle.
Continued from page 73 In order to get to the Dark Plane, follow
sageways. Have plenty of healing herbs. the same instructions as above, except
8. The Pirates Lair contains a sapphire type in C2- then leave the dungeon.
coin and a jeweled crown.. Star Command (SSI)
9. You will eventually have to fight in the [Hints courtesy of SSIs product newslet-
castle. When you have a lot of firebolts, go ter, Inside SSI.]
to a section of the castle, wipe out the The Princess Viselda is in one of the
guards, and open the chests. three black holes. The coordinates for
10. The Temptress will offer you either each black hole are: 10,29; 28,14; 23,06.
Charm or Gold. You must enter each black hole and
11. You must have four magic seeds to down scan on every planet of each star in
succeed on the second level. More magic the black hole. The password found inside
seeds are found in the same place after the Insect Missile Factory is THPI.
you use the ones you have.
12. After you solve each dungeon, your
strength will increase. Coming next month: The Beastie
13. The turquoise coin is found on the Awards! Plus, new reviews and more news
second dungeon level. regarding new product announcements.
14. Use the guardian exhibit to open the Dont forget to send in your game hints.
door across from the Spiral room. Mail them to us at 179 Pebble Place, San
15. The distant healer is in Eagles Ramon CA 94583. While you help others,
Hollow. He will give you a ruby coin. perhaps others will help you. Until next
16. After you have the four guard month, game on!

DRAGON 95
Let vampires put the bite on your Cthulhu investigators!
1990 by Kevin A. Ross OF CTHULHU rulebook describes vam- years, these lesser creatures strengthen
Artwork by Thomas Baxa pires briefly on page 131. Information and become greater vampires. But quite
from this source will be referenced herein often their lack of subtlety arouses suspi-
Chaosiums CALL OF CTHULHU game but will not be repeated. cion, and they are hunted down and de-
is sometimes referred to as a gothic horror The vampires described here arent stroyed before they make the transition to
role-playing game. However, in recreating taken verbatim from any single piece of greater vampires.
the cosmic horrors of Lovecraft and his literature. Instead, these rules reflect the
disciples, little space was devoted to the aspects of vampirism most suitable for use Becoming a vampire
petty terrestrial horrors of mans in a role-playing game. In particular, this The most obvious way of becoming a
imagination, the true gothic menaces. The article attempts to recreate the flavor of vampire is to be bitten by one. In some
scenario The Rescue in the first Cthulhu the numerous vampire movies made by legends, the mere bite of a vampire is not
Companion (and the fourth-edition game Hammer Films in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, enough to infect the victim with the curse
rulebook) described one of the more tradi- as many gamers are familiar with these of blood-thirst, although some Game Mas-
tional horrors, the werewolf, in great celluloid undead. ters (GMs might not let their players
detail. This article expands the existing Two types of vampires are discussed in know that. The vampire must have killed
vampire rules so that an entire campaign this article: the fledgling lesser vampires the victim by completely draining all of his
can be based on the hunting and slaying of and their more experienced and much blood. If the proper steps are not taken,
these legendary creatures. These rules can more powerful counterparts, the greater the corpse will rise within a week or two
be used with RUNEQUEST and other vampires. Lesser vampires are relatively (for game purposes, 2d6 days) as a lesser
games based on Chaosiums BASIC ROLE- weak, and their tactics reflect their inex- vampire, which is described later.
PLAYING system. The fourth-edition CALL perience and lack of finesse. After a few Another way of becoming a vampire is
to be excommunicated by ones church. the character should have made at least POW vs. POW roll, this victim has been
According to this belief, the body of the one previously unsuccessful attempt to hypnotized. This hypnotizing effect lasts
excommunicated person will never rest photograph a vampire.) On a similar note, for a number of rounds equal to the vam-
until it is accepted back into the church. In the voices of vampires cannot be recorded pires POW, or until the victim is physically
this case as well, the corpse arises as a by normal means. These problems limit a disturbed in some way (such as being hit
lesser vampire within a few days of its vampires ability to move among humans by a successful attack or being vigorously
burial. and appear to be human itself. slapped, etc., but not by being bitten by
The last method of becoming a vampire A vampire needs to rest during daylight the vampire). The effect allows the vam-
is one that should set any good CALL OF hours in a coffin or crypt that contains soil pire to give the victim unspoken com-
CTHULHU Keepers creative gears in mo- from the country of its birth. If this is not mands that he will then carry out. A
tion. The bodies of men and women who done, it loses 1d6 hit points each day until command for overtly suicidal behavior
were purported to be sorcerers were said it either perishes or has rested on its home breaks the spell, but a command for at-
by legend to rise again to continue their soil. These losses are regained only after tacking ones colleagues does not. Only one
evil doings. Needless to say, these crea- the creature has slept on home soil and victim at a time can be so held by the
tures also need the blood of the living to has then fed on blood. Its hit points are vampire; an attempt against someone else
continue this nefarious afterlife. They, then restored by an amount equal to the automatically frees the first. Most vam-
too, start off as lesser vampires. number of CON it drains during a feeding pires use this ability to force their oppo-
(see The lesser vampire: Feeding); this nents to drop their guard (especially if that
Vampiric disabilities continues until the vampires hit points are guard includes garlic or holy items).
The two types of vampires have a num- restored to their original level. This same
ber of things in common, one of which is deterioration occurs if the vampire is The lesser vampire
their aversion to garlic. This aversion unable to get its quota of blood (see Feed- Means of destruction: The lesser vam-
prevents them from approaching any ing under The lesser vampire and The pire, in addition to the vulnerabilities
closer than 6 from a person wearing or greater vampire). Failure to obtain blood discussed above, takes minimum damage
brandishing garlic. The vampires take no results in a loss of 1-6 hit points per day, from and cannot be impaled by normal
damage from this substance; it merely and this loss can be halted and reversed as weapons of any kind. However, if struck
irritates them in a manner similar to a noted previously. The POW that the vam- with an impaling roll in the chest by a
severe allergic reaction. Vampires can (and pire drains from its victim by touch is wooden weapon such as a stake, sharp-
probably will) use their hypnotic gaze to added to its own POW total (though a ened staff, or the like, they are immedi-
force offenders to drop the garlic. vampire still has a SAN of zero, like all ately destroyed. Also, if struck by an
Both types are also damaged by contact monstrous creatures). impaling roll to the head with a long-
with holy items, in particular the Christian A wounded vampire regains all hit bladed weapon such as a sword, battle-
cross, the Star of David, and holy water. points lost from combat within 24 hours, axe, or similar weapon, they are
The cross or the star does 1d6 points of provided it rests on home soil as detailed immediately decapitated and destroyed. If
damage to a vampire per touch, and the above. If damaged but not brought to zero you are not using the hit-location tables
vampire will try to avoid contact at all hit points, it is quite able to defend itself from the Cthulhu Now supplement, allow
costs, usually keeping about 10 between during the daylight hours. Its only daytime a 25% chance of striking the chest and a
itself and the offending object. As with the supernatural powers, however, are its 5% chance for the head; you may double
garlic, a vampire will probably use its gaze attack and the related blood slavery these percentages if the Investigators state
hypnotic gaze to make the holder drop the telepathy, both of which are discussed they are aiming for these specific loca-
item. A splash with holy water also does later (the latter in the section Victims of tions. Lesser vampires take normal dam-
1d6 damage per hit to the undead. These vampirism). The vampire can still attack age from but are not impaled by silver or
weapons should be in the arsenal of every physically, of course. If brought to zero hit magic weapons. Fire affects them nor-
competent vampire-hunter. points, the vampire is completely helpless mally, but it does not destroy them.
Two of Natures most common phenom- and must revert to a smoky, foggy, or To summarize methods for destruction:
ena spell doom for the vampire: sunlight misty incorporeal form, returning to its decapitation; wooden stake through the
and running water. Immersion in running coffin until fully regenerated. Once inside heart; exposure to sunlight; immersion in
water (and this means immersion, not the coffin, the vampire can only call its running water; prolonged failure to rest
throwing a bucket of water over it) and blood slaves or use its gaze to fend off on home soil; prolonged failure to feed.
direct sunlight each causes a vampire one vampire-hunters; otherwise, it is quite Shapechanging: Lesser vampires have
point of damage per round of contact. A vulnerable to destruction. only one form of this power, and it is
vampire reduced to zero hit points as a One of the most dreadful abilities of assumed only involuntarily, when the
result is permanently destroyed. Neither both types of vampires is the power to creature is brought to zero hit points by
vampire type is able to cross running hypnotize anyone catching their gaze. The nonfatal means. This is its smoky incorpor-
water or open sunlight for this reason. vampire can use this ability on any one eal form. The vampire is able to pass
Obviously, vampire hunters can use the target of its choice that is able to see its through very small cracks or openings to
above vulnerabilities to limit the move- eyes, and the undead must be successful get to its coffin to rest and regenerate
ments of vampires. Blocking their routes in a POW vs. POW struggle against the when in this form.
with crosses, smeared garlic, or water target. Gaze attacks are resolved at the Feeding: A lesser vampire must feast on
courses suggest themselves. beginning of the round and if the vampire blood three times per week, or about
Lesser and greater vampires cast no fails, it is still allowed another action be- every other day. A successful attack drains
reflections, whether in mirrors or other sides a gaze (attack, short movement, etc.) 1d4 each of CON and POW from its victim
glass surfaces or on the surface of water. at the very end of the round. The target per round of feeding. This blood can be
Neither variety casts a shadow. Extrapolat- can try to avert his eyes from the vam- taken from the bodies of animals as well
ing from these properties, it can be as- pires gaze by rolling his POW 5 or less as humans, but this is only done in ex-
sumed that their images cannot be on 1d100 each time the vampire makes treme emergencies as the vampire prefers
captured using normal photographic tech- such an attempt. However, this allows any humans. The lesser vampire will usually
niques. (Characters with the Photography physical attacks made by the vampire on try to hypnotize its victims first; if this
skill should be allowed a roll to see if they that character to be at + 10% to the attack fails, it will batter them into unconscious-
can come up with a way of catching these roll. If the victim is unable to avert his ness or submission.
creatures on film. Before allowing this roll, eyes in time and the vampire makes the Behavior and tactics: Lesser vampires
22 OCTOBER 1990
might resort to drinking nonhuman blood, gaseous incorporeal form discussed for Skills: As a rule, most of the Agility skills
which would sicken greater vampires. For lesser vampires must be assumed by a of a greater vampire should be at least
the most part, the lesser variety is driven greater vampire when it is brought to zero doubled from its living scores to reflect
by animal desires and is likely to make hit points by nonfatal means; this form its ability to scale steep inclines, make
foolish mistakes in its lust for blood. The can also be taken at will by the greater fantastic leaps, and perform other such
results of the lesser vampires loss of hu- vampire. This monster can also assume feats. This does not extend to such skills as
manity is its loss of APP, as illustrated in the form of a wolf or large bat at will. This Swimming and Boating, for obvious rea-
the Lesser and Greater Vampires Statistics process takes a round to complete. While sons. Stealth and Perception skill areas
table. They are not totally stupid, how- in these forms, the vampire cannot use its should probably be doubled from previous
ever; lesser vampires often choose weak gaze but retains its other immunities and living scores. Knowledge skills will prob-
victims such as women and children to vulnerabilities. While in mist form, the ably increase considerably as well due to
assure their own relative safety. The lesser vampire is immune to all forms of damage the additional EDU point (and the accom-
vampire is more likely to create other except magical weapons and attacks until panying 15 skill points) it receives for
vampires because of inexperience, eager- it changes form again. When in human or every additional 10 years of its life. A
ness, blood lust, etc., than the more re- animal form, it can summon each of the greater vampire may still be weak in Ma-
served greater vampire, though they have following creature types once per 24-hour nipulation and Communication skills, and
less of a chance to control their victims (as period: 2d6 large bats, 2d6 rat packs, or only one or two attack forms other than
noted later). They usually dont create 1d3 wolves. These creatures are subject to punching or grappling should have in-
other vampires willingly, of course, for availability in the area, rats or bats being creased very much. Greater vampires
this draws too much attention and usually much more accessible in most attack as do lesser vampires but with a
crowds the marketplace. If another vam- places than wolves. These animals usually 15% bonus to all of their physical attack
pire is inadvertently created, the original arrive within 3d6 rounds and flee when forms.
one may try to destroy it to keep the com- they have lost more than 50% of their
petition down. numbers. Victims of vampirism
Skills: For the most part, the lesser vam- Feeding: The greater vampire is able to As we saw earlier, a vampire can create
pires skills are the same as they were control its urges for blood to some degree. a new vampire by completely draining a
during the creatures life. As time passes, It needs to feed only once per week, but victim of blood. But if the vampire is very
increases occur in the subjects Agility the greater vampire absolutely will not careful or very lucky, it can make one of
(Climb, Dodge, Jump), Stealth (Hide, drink the blood of anything less than a its victims a slave to its will, as if the crea-
Sneak), and Perception (Listen, Psychology, human. As it drains 1d6 + 1 POW and tures gaze attack were permanently in
Spot Hidden, Track) skill areas. During its 1d6 + 1 CON from its victim, it must be effect on that person.
stint as a lesser vampire, Manipulation, relatively careful and in control of its For this reason, the losses of CON and
Communication, and (to a lesser extent) urges or it will create new vampires every POW must be carefully tracked for each of
Knowledge skills remain relatively con- time it feeds. This draining effect makes a vampires victims. When a vampire suc-
stant. Some penalization in the Communi- the greater vampire more likely to be able cessfully subdues a victim by gaze or by
cation skills might not be a bad idea, due to control its victims (see later), making for fist, it then bites that victim. The GM
to the loss of APP (Isnt that Yorga fella more frequent visits to these unfortunates. should roll one dice of the appropriate
kinda creepy? I mean, hes so pale.). In The vampires feeding is often facilitated type (1d4 for lesser, 1d6 + 1 for greater)
combat, lesser vampires attack as per the by hypnotizing or charming its victims or, each round and subtract the result from
details in the CALL OF CTHULHU games failing that, by pummeling them into sub- both the CON and POW of the victim. As
fourth-edition rulebook, on page 131. mission. stated earlier, most vampires will not
The transition: Add together the STR, Behavior and tactics: Because it has a intentionally try to drain their victims
CON, INT, POW, and DEX scores the vam- greater degree of control over its blood- completely. For a lesser vampire, the
pire had when it was alive, then subtract lust, the greater vampire is a far more blood-draining process takes
the total from 100. This gives you the subtle opponent than its lesser counter- 1-3 rounds, depending
number of months the vampire must part. With a few exceptions, the greater on the victims size. The
remain a lesser creature before becoming vampire is infinitely more refined and greater vampire must
a greater vampire. graceful in its appearance, and definitely be more careful to
more attractive and charismatic; this be- keep from killing too
The greater vampire havioral refinement is illustrated by the many of its victims and
Means of destruction: In addition to the greater vampires increase in APP. Like the making them into
vulnerabilities discussed in the text on lesser creatures, the greater vampire vampires. For them,
lesser vampires, greater vampires take no usually refuses to make its victims into about 1-2 rounds should
damage whatsoever from normal weapons new vampires. If the vampire does, it will suffice. If a victims
(with the exception of impaling strikes to probably be for some perverse form of POW or CON is ever
the chest with wooden weapons, as per vengeance against said victim, and eventu- brought to zero by a
lesser vampires above). They do take ally the vampire will have one of its non- vampires draining
minimum damage and no impaling strikes vampiric servants or victims destroy this attack, that person
from silver or magic weapons. unfortunate one. Those whom the greater dies and becomes a
To summarize the ways of killing greater vampire unwittingly infects with vampir- lesser vampire. If a
vampires: exposure to sunlight; immersion ism will also be dispatched by his servants. vampire of either type
in running water; prolonged failure to rest Few opponents are more dangerous or drains a victim of more than half
on home soil; prolonged failure to feed; or more alluring than the greater vampire. If of that victims original POW, then
a wooden stake through the heart plus it feels that it is soon to be discovered, it that person has become a blood
either burning, decapitation, or exposure will create several new vampires before slave to that vampire.
to sunlight or running water (the stake making its escape to safer environs. This The characteristics losses of a victim
alone merely keeps it immobile, decom- way it not only creates further menaces are regenerated at a rate of one point
poses it to the bare bones, and holds it for its pursuers to deal with, it also leaves to POW and CON per day, or 1d3 + 1
completely powerless until the stake is behind seeds that may grow into a power-
removed). ful alliance as well as a bitter form of
Shapechanging and summoning: The revenge. Luck rolls and (more importantly) hit points.

DRAGON 23
A blood slave is kept in mental contact second and subsequent SAN rolls, but if vampires are known to anyone with an
with its vampiric master at all times. This they, too, fail, this weak-willed individual Occult skill of 15% or more, while the
mental contact merely allows the sending must wait another 1d10 5 minutes and more obscure means (such as the fact that
of messages between the two minds, not then attempt yet another SAN roll, contin- greater vampires are not slain by staking
visual or audial sensations. The victim will uing this process until the SAN roll is alone) are known to those with an Occult
follow any command the vampire gives made, someone else stakes the vampire-to- skill of 30% or more. The methods for
provided the order doesnt involve suicidal be, or the vampire-to-be wakes up! fending off vampires (garlic, cross, etc.)
behavior as per a gaze attack. However, Staking any already risen vampire (of are known to anyone with a skill level
the blood-slave effect is permanent and is either type) costs 1 SAN if the roll fails, but better than 5%. (These figures may seem
usable by the vampire during the day, the character is still able to participate; if rather low to some, but remember that we
usually to aid the vampire if its resting the roll is successful, there is no loss. in the 1990s have had 60 years of vampire
place has been found. This contact can be Staking a vampire, risen or not, who was films to teach us about the ecology of the
broken only by the destruction of the known in life to the one doing the staking vampire. Folk in the 1920s were limited to
controlling vampire and is effective at any requires a roll for a SAN loss of 1d6 (or 1), written sources of vampire lore. Keepers
distance. and if the roll fails the character cannot running campaigns set in the 1990s may
A victim slain by a vampires blood immediately take part in the act. A charac- wish to lower these minimum skill levels
draining (i.e., brought to zero POW or ter with a failed roil must make SAN rolls by 5% or so to reflect the Investigators
CON) arises within 2d6 game days as a every 1d10 5 minutes as before, but each education via the cinematic vampire.)
lesser vampire, independent of the greater failed roll still causes a loss of 1 SAN. Most of this information can be found at a
vampires control. There are ways to avoid Viewing the disintegration of a vampire nearby library with a couple hours re-
this, most notably the grisly method of due to most usual methods of vampire- search and a few successful Library Use
staking the defenseless creature before it killing costs 1d3 or zero SAN, depending rolls.
arises. Another successful method would on the success or failure of the SAN roll. It should be apparent that vampires
be cremation, provided the undead victim On the other hand, destroying a lesser need to change their feeding grounds
has not yet initially risen from its grave. vampire restores 2d4 SAN to those who every so often to avoid suspicion. Some-
More subtle methods such as prayer vigils took part in its execution, while the de- times they may be forced to move because
or the use of holy items or garlic might be mise of a greater vampire gains 2d6 SAN suspicion has already been aroused. Vam-
successful, according to the GMs wishes, for each of his killers. The Keeper may pires almost always have some sort of
but this is not recommended. Vampire also wish to give an additional point of human slave or contact to take care of
exterminating should be a dirty, gruesome SAN for each nonplayer character blood major travel arrangements; this is espe-
business. slave freed by a vampires death. cially true of movements across bodies of
water. These slaves are usually victims of
Sanity and vam pires V am pires in cam paigns the vampires POW-draining that have
The various aspects of vampirism can When using vampires in CALL OF
been promised eventual full vampirehood
affect the SAN of the viewer. Seeing a CTHULHU adventures, note that these
for their aid. These slaves often transport
lesser vampire and knowing it to be such rules are by no means carved in stone.
several coffins for their vampiric masters,
costs 1d6 SAN unless a SAN roll is made, in The Keeper can and should tinker with
as these monsters tend to have several
which case there is no loss; a greater these ideas to create a few unique vam-
spread about their hunting and haunting
vampire requires a roll for a possible loss pires to be encountered in addition to
grounds.
of 1d8 SAN (or 1 SAN if the roll is made). If those described herein. Imagine, for in-
A final note: When a vampire gets in a
the vampire was known in life to the stance, a vampire who is unaffected by the
free-for-all with the PCs, if at all possible
witness, an additional loss of 1d4 (or 1) usual banes detailed above (sunlight, holy
just knock them around until theyre un-
SAN is taken. Being bitten by a vampire (of items, running water, etc.) until the night
conscious. Then have the vampire bite
either type) requires a SAN roll; 1d4 is lost, on which it must feed, at which time it
em. If it suits your needs, you should try
or 1 point is lost if the SAN roll is made. becomes a sort of bestial were-vampire.
to make one of your PCs (or at the very
Seeing a vampire feed on another human Or picture an atheistic vampire immune to
least an important or powerful NPC) into a
being costs 1d3 SAN unless a SAN roll is religious trappings such as holy water and
slave of a vampire. This may involve fudg-
made, in which case no SAN is lost. holy symbols, but otherwise like the un-
ing the die rolls during the vampires
Participating in the staking of a new dead described in this article. Or perhaps
blood-draining (it wouldnt do to kill the
vampire that has not yet risen also re- a vampire unaffected by sunlight and with
Investigator too quickly; just make him
quires a SAN roll. If the roll is successful, no special powers during the day, but in
and his companions squirm). The charac-
the character loses only 1 SAN and can all other respects like the vampires de-
ters will then have an even better reason
continue the procedure; if the roll fails, scribed above. Using this article as a guide-
to hunt down the nefarious bloodsucker,
that character loses 1d4 SAN and cannot line, the possibilities are virtually endless.
to free both their friend and the world of
take part in the staking at that time. At One of the most important jobs of the
this menace. Then again, if the vampire
least 1d10 x 5 minutes must pass before prospective vampire-hunter is cutting
does happen to kill one of the Investiga-
that character can get up the nerve to try through all the myth and legendry sur-
tors, the remainder of the party will have
again, at which time another SAN roll rounding these creatures and finding their
to deal with the victim in addition to the
must be attempted; there is no loss for the true banes. Most methods for destroying
original horror. Imagine the horrible scene
when the Investigators set out to stake
Lesser and G reater V am pires C A LL O F C TH U LH U G am e Statistics
their former colleague!
W h ile As Lessers As G reaters [O ther recent articles on vam pires that
C h aracteristic livin g lesser average greater average have appeared in D R A G O N M agazine
STR 3d6 3d6 + d6 14 (3d6 + d6) x 2 28 include: H earts of D arkness and A
CON 3d6 3d6 + d6 14 (3d6 + d6) x 2 28 Touch of Evil, in issue #126 (on A D & D
SIZ 2d6+6 2d6+6 13 2d6+6 13 gam e vam pires); The M A RV EL -Phile, in
INT 2d6+6 2d6+6 13 2d6+6 13 issue #126 and in this issue (on M A RV EL
POW 3d6 3d6 10-11 3d6 x 2 21 SU PER H ERO ES gam e vam pires); and
DEX 3d6 3d6 10-11 3d6 x 1.5 16 Fangs A lot! in issue #150 (on A D & D 2nd
APP 3d6 3d6 d3 8-9 3d6d3+d6 12-13 Edition gam e vam pires).]
HP (average) 12 - 14 - 21

24 O C TO BER 1990
1993 by Sandy Peterson
Artwork by Paul Daly

The supernatural worlds of horror


created by H.P. Lovecraft again come to
life (or unlife) in Chaosiums CALL OF
CTHULHU* game. Players take the roles
of human Investigators in the 1880s,
1920s, or present day. As they look into
strange events and analyze unusual ob-
jects, they uncover evidence of monstrous
plots to enslave or destroy humanity. Alien
gods of insanity and darkness wish to take
control of the Earth, and only the Investi-
gators can delay their coming though the
Investigators risk madness and doom at
every turn.

Deep in the heart of the Keepers favor-


ite old city dwells Mr. Josh Wellmeat or
someone who claims to be him. The truth
of the matter is stranger than any Investi-
gator would ever imagine.
Millions of years ago, during the Permi-
an age, Mr. Wellmeat was Ssvalpynos
Skenanss, a typical Serpent Man, more
sorcerous and ambitious than most, but
nothing too exceptional for that primordial
epoch. With the rise of the early mammal
precursors, Ssvalpynos Skenanss foresaw
the extinction of his own species, and he
made preparations for his own survival,
seeking out magicks of concealment, lon-
gevity, and protection.
During the Triassic, Ssvalpynos imitated
the forms of the rulers of that age, the
feared Great Race of Yith. He mastered
their science and hid away some of their
technology in time capsules. When the
Great Race was wiped out, he lived on in a
barbaric world thrilled with raging dino-
saurs. To survive, he used the biological
knowledge of the Great Race to perma-

DRAGON 41
nently change his own body, growing to
immense size and strength. Soon, only the
largest dinosaurs could threaten him, but
his magical powers rendered him safe
from even these.
From his readings among the Great
Race, Ssvalpynos knew that eventually
humanity would develop a complex civili-
zation. In time, he took up residence
among these detestable descendants of the
apes and became known as Josh Wellmeat.
Now that the humans have finally devel-
oped electrical technology, he can use
their power sources to operate the devices
contained within his time capsules.
Unfortunately, all of his capsules have
been unearthed and carried off by inquisi-
tive humans. The capsules were protected
by the technology of the Great Race, so
the thieves, being mere humans, could
not open the stolen capsules, but neither
could Wellmeat easily recover his lost
property.
Wellmeat grew to colossal size during
the age of the dinosaurs, and he retains
this immensity. He has grown too large to
leave his house, which has been built
specially around him to conceal his form
from human eyes. To assist him, he has
combined magical and biological lore to
create artificial lifehomunculi.

Josh Wellmeat (Ssvalpynos Skenanss) The homunculi


CALL OF CTHULHU* Game Statistics Wellmeat has grown a number of hu-
manoid creatures in vats. These beings,
STR 88 CON #$ SIZ 132 INT 22 homunculi, are built on skeletons which
POW 32 DEX 6 Move 10 HP 94 Wellmeat imports from India, giving them
APP 10 (homunculus) human form. They have shiny pink plasti-
Weapon: Bite attack 95%, damage 13d6; tongue attack 95%, damage 1d6, plus wraps clike skin and smooth faces, lacking noses,
around and grasps prey. Wellmeat cannot leave his house to deliver a bite attack unless external ears, and hair. Their eyes are
he rises up, completely demolishing the house and leaving it a pile of rubble around his lidless and round, they have only holes for
haunches. However, he can flick forth his tongue to attack foes up to 15 meters away ears, and their mouths are lipless, but they
from the house, so long as he or one of his homunculi can see the target. Anyone hit do have excellent vocal cords.
by Wellmeats tongue is automatically grasped and pulled into the house to be attacked Homunculi have no minds of their own
by the monsters Bite on the following round. Only a successful STR vs. STR roll against and are animated by Wellmeat himself,
the tongues STR of 22 will break the target free. acting as extensions of his psyche. He uses
The tongue has 32 hit points of its own, but no armor, and can be attacked before it them as his hands and eyes to interact
grabs someone. However, it flickers so fast that the chances of scoring a hit on it are with the outside world. He can also cast
halved. If it is reduced to zero hit points before it makes its attack, it is crippled; his spells through the homunculi.
Wellmeat then withdraws it and will not use it anymore. To give the homunculi the semblance of
humanity, Wellmeat uses a variation on the
Armor: Wellmeat himself has 13 points of armored scales. Through occult means, he spell of Consume Likeness. He devours the
has made himself and his tongue completely immune to fire and heat damage. If sorely flesh of a person whom he wishes to imi-
pressed, he may detonate the gasoline tanks he has stored in the basement of the tate, just as in the normal spell, but the
house and issue forth, covered with towering flames to roast all those who torment person can be of any size, not just within 3
him. If he does this, everyone within 6 meters of him while the fire burns takes 1d6 SIZ points of himself (more details follow).
heat damage each round. Everyone within 3 meters of him takes 3d6 damage from the Wellmeat does not himself transform into
flames. This might make a good spectacular ending to a scenario involving Wellmeat. the form of his victim. Instead, he projects
Spells: Through his epochs of study, Wellmeat knows all the basic Mythos spells. In the image of his victim over one of his
addition, he knows the following magicks from the Lesser Grimoire, found in the back homunculi. So long as that homunculus
of the fifth edition of the CALL OF CTHULHU game (pages 148-158): Bless Blade, Con- lives, it has the appearance of the selected
jure Glass of Mortlan, Create Mist of Releh, Deflect Harm, Dominate, Fist of Yog- victim. When the homunculus dies,
Sothoth, Flesh Ward, Mesmerize, Wither Limb, and Wellmeats version of Consume Wellmeat loses the power to create that
Likeness. particular persons illusion ever again.
The homunculis statistics are all 10,
Skills: Wellmeat knows all CALL OF CTHULHU knowledge-oriented skills (such as except for INT and POW (which are
Occult, Zoology, Linguist, etc.) at 100. He knows all skills requiring a physical form at Wellmeats), so they are easily killed. They
25 (Wellmeat has huge, clumsy claws); the homunculi can use all the physical skills as live forever unless killed. They have sim-
well as Wellmeat himself. plified digestive tracts and can eat only
Sanity Loss: 0/1d6 +2 Sanity points to see Wellmeats full form (0/1d4 to see a small mushy, easily digested food, such as pre-
part of him in his home). pared baby food. If questioned about this
diet, the homunculi will claim to have an
42 OCTOBER 1993
ulcer. aging form of a homunculus is getting too end of the lump is a hemispheric structure
Unfortunately for Wellmeat, when one obvious, he looses a second homunculus containing eyes, nostrils, and a slavering
of his homunculi is killed, its human illu- and has it take up existence as an indepen- mouth filled with fangs each .7 meters
sion fades within an hour. So far, he has dent personality under a different name. long. An immense tongue, even longer
always managed to regain or destroy the After a few months, he has his first ho- than the bulbous body, flickers out from
corpse of a dead homunculi before suspi- munculus sell all his property at market the mouth and waves menacingly at the
cions were aroused. He does not dare send prices to the second homunculus. Then astonished passersby. Titanic claws pro-
a homunculus too far away from home, the first homunculus pretends to move out trude from the horrors form, but there
where its body would be inaccessible to of town (actually, Ssvalpynos eats it), and are no true legs or even feetWellmeat
his other homunculi were it to die. the second homunculus takes over as the moves by rocking his body from side to
For his Consume Likeness spell, new persona for the monster. side, flopping along in a crippled-looking,
Wellmeat has his homunculi search for almost pathetic manner. Still, the monsters
adult male humans who will not be missed The hollow house vast size enables it to proceed by this
(e.g., vagrants, illegal immigrants, and Wellmeats house is simply a hollow means fairly quickly.
petty criminals). Once these unfortunates shell, containing his own true, grossly Perhaps the worst part of the horror is
are led to his home, he then devours them swollen form, along with his seven spare not the whole, but the details: the intelli-
in order to gain the ability to project their homunculi, which groom and clean the gent, sensitive eyes; the burnished scales,
likenesses onto his homunculi. He does not monstrous shape. There is also a vat con- polished and tended with loving care by
publicly use a free-roving homunculus taining a human skeleton, which Wellmeat the homunculi over the decades; the
based on a particular victim until at least a will use to create a new homunculus if the sparks of alien energy leaping from the
century has passed, so nobody living will need arises. Finally, in the basement of the creatures body as it prepares a deadly
recognize the shape and he can safely house are some large covered vats of spell. Even more dreadful, if he blows up
claim it as his own. gasoline connected to an ignition system his house (see Armor in the game statis-
At the moment, he has four century-old a recent addition. tics box), the monster is likely to be en-
spares available, plus three more that If an intruder enters Wellmeats house cased in a sheath of flames, burning but
have not aged a century yet and must be and opens one of the inner doors, he is not consumed.
kept indoors (they were created 70, 45, confronted by a pulsating mass of scaly
and 6 years ago, respectively). This gives flesh, possibly punctuated by a claw, an Personality and goals
him seven total homunculi which stay eye, or other organ. Wellmeat himself Wellmeats main reason for interacting
inside his house, along with one that trav- cannot be seen in full unless he destroys with any party of Investigators is to regain
els freely, currently professing to be Mr. his house by leaving it. When fully mani- his lost time capsules. He should first
Josh Wellmeat and tending to the mon- fested, Wellmeat is exceedingly hideous. appear to a party of Investigators as a
sters business and social interactions. He is basically an undulating lump of friend. Obviously, hell never let them
When Wellmeat fears that the never- tissue, like an armored pudding. At one come inside his house, but he is happy to
meet them in fancy restaurants for meals
(for which he foots the bill, being comfort-
ably wealthy).
Wellmeat tells the Investigators that he is
seeking certain ancient archeological dis-
coveries (in reality the time capsules). He
wishes to acquire them because of their
occult significance. If their nature is evil,
he naturally wishes to have them de-
stroyed or rendered harmless. If they are
beneficial, he wants to use them, and
offers to share their lore with the Investi-
gators. However, when any capsule is
recovered, he claims in every case to have
learned that it was malign and had to be
destroyedhe never actually shares any
information with the Investigators.
Wellmeat pays the Investigators hand-
somely for their assistance in recovering
each archeological discovery (the exact
number of time capsules being searched
for is left for the Keeper to decide). Each
capsule has occult defenses, and Wellmeat
warns the Investigators that they are
dangerous. Wellmeat has performed magi-
cal rituals to find the current location of
each of the capsules, but has only been
able to localize the capsules in a very
general way (e.g., somewhere in Balti-
more or the Isle of Man). The capsules
were long ago enchanted to adopt shapes
that would disguise their natures; such
shape-changing has become rather chaotic
over the eons, however, and they could
look like anything from the size of a car
down to a clothes chest.
Wellmeat offers to pay the Investigators
reasonable expenses on the search. He
44 OCTOBER 1993
may even give them some magical assist- an old photo of a man who looks exactly Three sample adventures
ance (casting Conjure Glass of Mortlan for like Josh Wellmeat (a picture of a minor Time Capsule One: Wellmeat knows that
them, or giving them a Blessed Blade), thief who vanished a century ago after the capsule looks like a six-foot blackened
revealing himself to be an amateur magi- escaping police custody). By that time, iron meteorite, and that its on the Isle of
cian as well as a occult archaeologist. Wellmeat should have the use of the con- Man. Here a tiny sect of Druids are trying
With any luck, soon the investigating party tents of several time capsules, and so will to figure out how to master its secrets
shall look upon Wellmeat as an ally and be more difficult to defeat. with the help of a patron Dark Young.
patron. The exact contents of the time capsules Time Capsule Two: Wellmeat says that
Ssvalpynoss skill in running his human are up to the Keeper. You should design this capsule, which looks like an Egyptian
persona is flawless, and Josh Wellmeat them such that, when recovered from sarcophagus, is in Baltimore, Maryland.
should be played exactly as what he appears Wellmeat, they come in handy in solving Here, a would-be devil-worshiper rules his
to be. Though Ssvalpynos finds humans whatever grand campaign the players are roost of 12 would-be witches. They hope
rather abhorrent and couldnt care less currently involved with. Or you could to open the capsule by invoking dark
about their fate, he is quite willing to work make the capsules artifacts weird alien powers, after which theyll get real magic.
with them to recover his capsules and some- devices that humans cannot use without a Time Capsule Three: This capsule looks
times thinks humans are fascinating-if only great deal of study. The artifacts could like a petrified log, and is somewhere in
a little bit. Hes seen better and more inter- lead to new adventures, especially if they Trieste (in fact, its in a natural history
esting races rise and fall in his hundreds of are dangerous. Perhaps one is weakening museum). The museums curator is a Deep
millions of years of life. the space-time continuum and gating One hybrid, who is in contact with his
monsters through in its vicinity. The Inves- brothers in the Adriatic. They hope to use
Keepers notes tigators would need to find some way of the capsules powers, once they get it
Wellmeat is best used as an occasional rendering the artifact inoperativean open, to sink Trieste beneath the waves.
source of adventure, not a campaign in outcome Josh Wellmeat might not like.
himself. Periodically, he contacts the Inves- Both the innate capsule defenses and the l indicates a product produced by a company other

than TSR, Inc. Most product names are trademarks


tigators and sends them forth on straight- contents are left up to the Keeper, as best owned by the companies publishing those products.
forward search-and-recovery expeditions. suits his campaign. The defenses should be The use of the name of any product without mention
Of course, eventually the Investigators such as to make it reasonable that the of its trademark status should not be construed as a
should get suspicious of Wellmeat. Perhaps folks trying to open the capsule could not challenge to such status.
they wonder why all the artifacts they do so without great effort and risk.
recover turn out to be bad, or they find

46 OCTOBER 1993
An untapped source of Mythos horror for Chaosiums CALL OF
CTHULHU* game is the myths and legends of ancient cultures.
Described in stories and legends are terrible creatures, many of
which need very little work to provide horrific foes to intrepid in-
vestigators.
Classical Greek mythology is perhaps the best known such cul-
ture. An imaginative Keeper can find a wealth of monsters to adapt
to her campaign from the various Greek legends, Below is the ex-
ample a description of one monster from the myths, the Echidna
(whom the Greeks described as a half-woman, half-serpentine
beast). I have included beyond the creatures statistics and portions
of a journal written by one ill-fated professor that can be used in an
adventure dealing with the echidna. More mention of campaign
uses for the echidna can be found at the end of this piece.
36 OCTOBER 1994
Add the Greek echidna to your CALL OF CTHULHU*
games roster of horrors
by Steve Berman
Artwork by Jim Holloway

The journal excerpts below are offered ly, the beast must be just a myth though.
as a springboard for adventures with the Still, my thoughts keep coming back to the
echidna. The journal may be found years detailed reports of the witnesses. This
they were written amid Professor Goh- bears further study.
miers effects. A reporter or writer PC may June 6th: I am now convinced after read-
be asked by an academician NPC (or per- ing through so many pages that the echid-
haps by one of the dear departed Profes- na lives! Though my eyes are raw and my
sors relatives) to compile, edit, and head aches, I feel flushed, near ecstatic.
authenticate the writings. Or, the encount- Oh, the creature is no mythological
er with the Professor may be more recent, teratism, but rather some enormous ser-
with the investigators being hired by the pent to be sure. The ancients must have
Professors university (Keepers should confused the animal with something more
choose an institution appropriate to their sinister. I wonder how such a thing could
campaigns) to discover what has happened remain obscure to this day. But I intend to
to a member of their staff. find it nonetheless. I shall request my sab-
The last entry of the journal is optional. batical, so more time can be devoted to
Some Keepers may feel it reveals too much this.
information, spoiling the horrific effect of October 27th: I have done all the work
first encountering the echidna. Feel free to possible in these hallowed halls. Thank
omit it, leaving the fate of Professor Goh- God my sabbatical begins this winter. I
mier in doubt. How the journal finds its have already planned my itinerary. The
way to PCs is then more problematical, exact location of the village where the
though. Perhaps the professor survived the echidna was first mentioned must be
experience and is now locked up in some found.
Greek insane asylum, an unidentified mad- January 14th: The salt-laden Atlantic sea
man. air is quite refreshing. Still, for all this
cruise ship has to offer, I look forward to
Excerpts from the Journal of Dr. Alex- reaching Greece to once more begin the
enor T. Gohmier Ph.D., Associate Professor task of finding the echidna. The University
of Classical Studies. of Athens should hold some accounts, per-
haps even the report of a witness, if I may
February 17th: The university recently be so lucky.
acquired the notes from the estate of Nikos March 10th: My second night in the village
Denopoli. While poring over the notes of and still I feel uncomfortable among these
the revolutionary that lived during the Ot- folk. Though their outward treatment of me
tomans rule, I noticed mention of some is without complaint, I seem to sense a hostil-
sort of beast living in the hills of central ity behind their simple faces. Is it directed at
Greece. What interests me so is that the me, or my researchand why?
creature is described as part woman, part I must return to the village church. I
serpent. One does not have to hold a grad- noticed several odd woodcuts in the
uate degree in the classics to realize what vestry. They portray some creature that
such a thing sounds like the echidna! Sure- looks like a cross between woman and
viper luring men into caves. The priest decide. Now I wonder what more did quills. Some of these creatures possess
will not discuss the carvings with me. I that man know and did not dare to say rudimentary arms, more like a frill of
shall try once more to pry forth some Odd sounds again. Much stronger and tendrils by which they can drag them-
details. coming from behind. What in blazes selves more easily, otherwise they move
March 12th: I have had enough of about like slugs, leaving a glistening trail
searching through manuscripts and pa- March 15th: At last I can write again. behind them.
pers. It is past time for me to bring a more Here I lay in a shepherds cottage. My The echidna (used both in the singular
personal element to my hunt for the echid- fever has broken, my wounds tended to. I and plural) are a degenerate race worship-
na. Though I have some doubt about ex- wondershould I explain the lapse in ping the Outer Gods, usually Nyarlathotep.
ploring the caves to the north, a grand entries? Though what sort of therapy They dwell underground, often in weird
discovery awaits me, I am sure. To find would be gained by once more experienc- Grecian-style ruins. Whether they once
tangible proof of this serpents existence ing the horror? Yet, I know that I must for constructed such cities or have merely
would propel me to the zenith of my field. my own sanity, if not scholarship. usurped the past builders is unknown. But
Schliemann beware! I shall soon surpass those historians who have encountered
your beloved Troy! I was sitting down beside the statue. I the creatures often worry on the impact
March 12th, later: The villagers saw the heard those awful sounds. Turning my they might have had on the early Greeks.
spelunking equipment I bore and became head, I began to scream my throat raw. Echidna have been sighted in the Balkan
most alarmed. Several tried to stop me, For coming out of the ruined structures countries, the mainland of China, and
arguing most emphatically that the caves were these horrible things. Large pale many parts of Greece.
were not safe. I thought at one point to be slugs was my first thought, crawling to- The echidna are blind, but possess a
physically prevented, but I managed to ward me. Their front ends were reared up highly developed sense of smell by which
stare them down. The hike to the caves like cobras, but there was no fanged they track their prey. A sure sign of the
was mildly fatiguing, and I plan to rest for mouth, no face. Only a black pit set in the presence of the echidna are trails of glis-
an hour and check all my equipment be- center of the things quivering flesh. A tening slime. They use such trails and
fore entering the caves. My hand nearly mane of black quills were set around each patches to mark their territory and com-
trembles from the mounting excitement. creatures heads, like some mockery of mon passages. For the most part, the
The caves have a damp atmosphere. I hair. creatures seem content to stay in their
should have worn warmer clothing. I could see now how ancient man might ruins and worship obscene gods. However,
Theres no sign of any lifeodd glisten- have caught a glimpse of the echidnafor when presented with an opportunity, they
ing trails here and there. Is this some sort I know without doubt, that is what I was have a voracious appetite for human
of mineral secretion? faced withand thought it a monstrous blood.
The tunnels branch often. I shall mark mix of woman and serpent. I ran from Their bite attack is leech-like, with the
the ones I enter with chalk. them, thankful for the slow, shuffling maw holding on and draining one point of
I have stopped my gawking at the im- crawl of the creatures. I headed for the STR worth of blood each round. The vic-
mense cave I entered not an hour ago. My outskirts of the ruins and the tunnel that tim must make a successful CON 2 roll or
colleagues back at the university would would lead me back to sanity and safety. a POW 2 roll to be able to perform any
not be able to contain themselves. I my- As I passed the buildings, I saw within action other than screaming in agony.
self, no archeologist, feel my breath catch. many recesses more of the hideous echid- Should the creature be torn away with a
Pre-Hellenic ruins, to be sure! My lamp na sliding forth toward me. Thank God I successful STR vs. STR roll, the drain will
rests upon ruined marble, then finds a had been content to walk past those an- stop, but the individual suffers a further
series of ancient columnsperhaps an cient structures and not enter, else I would 1d4 hit point loss from the echidna being
entire city, beneath the earth. How did have been lost to them. ripped from the wound. Lost STR returns
these ruins become mere earth and rub- I had made the tunnel, trying to climb at at a rate of one point per days rest. The
ble? Did the earth open and engulf them? I a fast pace. I must have slipped on a trail beasts also have a tail attack that is used to
feel like a protagonist in a Verne novel. I of slime, nearly breaking my leg and leav- knock opponents down, so that the echid-
must explore further. ing me helpless to the maws of the things na may more easily apprehend its prey.
I hear odd soundssort of a slithering below. But aside from scrapes and bruises, Note that stronger members of this race
noise. Water perhaps? I pulled myself forth whole, my mind still may possess a damage bonus.
Dear God, whoever carved the stone had reeling. Researchers still conjecture about the
abominable thoughts on his mind. Terrible quills fringing the head of the echidna. It
bas-reliefs. My hands tremble at the sight. What are my intentions now? I cannot has been suggested they act in reproduc-
Found a focal point to the ruins. A large simply leave the area and arrive back at tion for a carcass of the creature revealed
statue set on a malachite dais. Bronze, yet the university, and hope to return to safer no sex organs. Further study might reveal
showing no sign of verdigris. Figure is studies. I feel my idle thoughts returning more.
male and reclines, with one hand out- again and again to the horror I was wit-
stretched as if regarding the fingers. The ness to. A veil has been rent aside for me, ECHIDNA, Slug-like Cave Lurkers
face is twisted, laughter perhaps. Odd to and I shudder to think what other terrible Characteristics Rolls Averages
find empty eye sockets. The craftsmanship truths there are to the myths of our ances- STR 2d6 +4 11
is very good. tors! No, I must take action else I shall CON 3d6 +6 16-17
Hold! There is another visage on the never rest. I seem to recall the library of SIZ 2d6+6 13
rear of the head. With only my lamps Miskatonic University in Massachusetts INT 2d6 7
light, it is hard to see, but there it is. A has some esoteric tomes on such POW 3d6 10-11
smaller face scowling. Could this be a subjectsperhaps its time for another DEX 2d6 7
representation of Janus? journey.
Have to sit down a moment and think. Move: 6
Why would a Roman deity be found here?! ECHIDNA Hit Points: 14-15
A few colleagues have often conjectured at Lesser Independent Race Average Damage Bonus: +0
what the worship of Janus offered. Re- These creatures resemble large pale
member reading in Frazier that the true worms. They possess no eyes, only a huge Weapon:
nature and functions of Janus the ancients gaping maw filled with rasping teeth and Bite 20% 1d4 + STR drain on
themselves were puzzled; and where they file-like members. Around the bloated following rounds
hesitated, it is not for us confidently to head is mane of long black or dun-colored Tail 45% 1d6
38 OCTOBER 1994
Armor: 3 points of slime coated, gelati- may lead to further adventures with the part of the services to the god became
nous flesh horrid race. common knowledge. Folk began to invoke
If the Keeper feels very creative, he Janus on their doors and gates to keep
Spells: An echidna has a small chance might design a long-running campaign, him out of their homes and cities. Time
of knowing magic. Roll percentile dice, based on the notion that Nyarlathotep is eroded much of the horror, leaving mod-
and if the result is lower than the crea- awakening various Mythos creatures once ern researchers only whispers of the
tures INT + POW, it knows 1d4 spells. thought to exist in legends and mythology. truth.
Usually such incantations deal with The echidna would only be one foe fought, But in certain tomes, the real nature of
Nyarlathotep or some other Outer God. a small scenario along the way to defeat- Janus is mentioned and revered. Besides in
Suggestions include Consume Likeness, ing the Crawling Chaos. Other such leg- ancient Greece and Rome, Janus was
Contact Janus (Nyarlathotep), Dread Curse endary monsters that might be expanded worshiped in such countries as Surinam
of Azathoth, and Nightmare. upon by the Keeper are the hydra (per- and the Plateau of Leng, as evident by the
haps really a cthonian?), huge sea ser- preponderance of two-headed artwork at
Sanity: It costs 1d8 to behold an echid- pents, and the heraldic yale (tentacles those locales.
na, but a successful SAN roll lessens the instead of horns would be apropos). These days, the cult of Janus is few and
mental blow to the loss of only 1 point. small, scattered around the globe. Many of
New spell the cultists have the Mark of Janus, a
Adventure ideas Contact Echidna: This spell takes two second set of facial features. Such freaks
Beyond the method described by the magic points to cast. It must be intoned at are quickly indoctrinated into the cult,
journal, there are many other ways for a a site that the echidna are known to dwell. whether through other members or
keeper to use the echidna in a campaign. The wilds of Greece and some of the Bal- strange dreams.
A lair of echidna may have been uncover- kan countries are the most well-known
ed through a mining accident or during an enclaves. Such creatures often will arrive Notes
archaeological dig. Slowly the miners or in a band of 1d3 members. The caster 1. Sir James George Frazier, The Golden
researchers disappear, and the investiga- suffers a loss of 1d3 SAN. Bough, volume 1, abridged ed. (New York:
tors are called in. Finally, in the narrative was mentioned Macmillian Co., 1951) page 191.
Should a Keeper not wish to build an Janus (or Ianus). What more sinister na-
entire scenario around the echidna, she ture could be revealed than have this god
may use them simply as opponents sum- turn out to be another of Nyarlathoteps * indicates a product produced by a company other
than TSR, Inc.
moned by the principal threat in the ad- avatars. Once he was worshiped secretly,
venture to slay the meddling humans. his rituals too blasphemous to be revealed.
Later on, the investigators might wish to But many of the cults were routed out into
learn more about such things, and this the open and destroyed. What was once

DRAGON 39
by Gregory W. Detwiler
Artwork by John Dollar

From the private memoirs of Major we encountered in the very center of that we were two men short and had to make
General (Ret.) Jared Pembroke-Smythe: damnable swamp country. I dared not do with nine men instead of 11. Not a
reveal it to the world at large, or even my pleasant prospect, especially since the tall
The Burmese War of 1885 was a ghastly superiors, for fear of speedy placement in marsh grass around us could hide any-
show all around, God knows. The swamps an insane asylum. thing from a horde of swordsmen to a
and fever, along with the crocodiles, I was only a subaltern then, leading a war elephant with swivel-mounted can-
pythons, leopards, and tigers our troops squad of infantry on a routine patrol near nons on its back.
encountered were trouble enough, even the banks of the Irrawaddy, in search of Still, my men were all veterans, and
without the human dacoits that were our fleeing bandits. Our battalion had just Lance Corporal Tompkins, the only surviv-
nominal enemy. But the most hellish stormed one of their stockades the day ing non-commissioned officer, had spent
opposition our troops ever faced was what before, with heavy casualties. As a result, years chasing lesser bandit bands before

96 OCTOBER 1995
the war broke out. Know the swamps like We must have gone at least 100 before Indeed, I hesitate to repeat this, but it
the backo me and, I do, he said. I was we found the first object, barely glinting in seemed as though the creature actually
glad someone did. the light of our torches. It was a short took several wounds, but healed them up
We had encountered nothing on our curved sword, or dha, such as the local within moments. Then the thing was
patrol, and were about to return to camp natives used. Part of it seemed to be upon us, actually hurling itself on the bay-
when we heard a loud thrashing several stained with something that proved to be onets set to receive it. I got in one good
hundred feet away from us. We took up dried blood, yet the odor it gave off was blow with my sabre before a lashing tail
firing positions within a small grove of not familiar, not like that of a human stroke sent me reeling back.
trees, anticipating an attack by one or being, or indeed, any ordinary animal. I landed hard, on my back, and by the
more war elephants. But no attack came, As we advanced farther, we found more time I was standing again, the battle was
nor were there any sounds that could def- sword blades, as well as spearheads, dag- over. The men screamed in agony as they
initely be ascribed to an elephant. gers, and several badly corroded muskets. were slowly crushed or clawed to death.
The noise coming from the tall grass There were even several spiked helmets The cries of two of them ceased abruptly
sounded like a large animal thrashing such as Burmese troops wear, but no uni- when the monster sank its fangs into
about, but it could just as easily have been forms or other clothing. Nor were there them. Tompkins was the last to die, trying
a water buffalo or a rhinoceros. However, any bones or other remains of men or to use his torch to force the creature back
we heard no sounds such as any of those animals, and we had yet to find any other far enough for him to squeeze past it. The
animals commonly give voice to, or any clues as to just what sort of creature had beast simply snatched him up in its jaws
other cries, for that matter. The noise entered this impossible cavern. and swallowed him whole, torch and all!
finally died down, and after a hasty con- We must have traveled over 1,000 yards I staggered to my feet, shaken by the anni-
sultation with Tompkins, I decided to down that single, sloping tunnel before we hilation of my entire command. My torch,
investigate. heard the sound. At first it sounded like now lying on the cavern floor, was about
You must understand that the swamp the distant chant of a group of tribesmen to go out. Taking advantage of its remain-
country along the Irrawaddy was totally at one of their heathen rituals, but the ing light, I sheathed my sword, pointed
without rock formations of any sort. There closer we got to the source, the less myself toward the exit, and ran for my life.
was only water-saturated soil beneath our human it sounded. Indeed, the sound was If I had lost my footing even once, it would
feet. How, then, can anyone explain what not made by a human voice but seemed to have been my-end, for I could hear that
we found? Next to a quarter-acre of be a type of hissing that occurred in rhyth-
ground in which the high grass was mic intervals like those of human chants.
smashed flat there stood a tunnel or cav- As we made our way past more discard-
ern of solid rock, its mouth gaping wide ed equipment, one of the privates acci-
Naga: Serpentine Human
like a cellar door 10 across. dentally kicked a spiked helmet, sending it Degenerates
In the muddy ground beside that cave clattering off into the darkness ahead of
mouth lay a curious track, like that of an us. Almost immediately, the rhythmic hiss- Character Rolls Averages
enormous serpents belly, yet with small ing stopped, with an abruptness that STR 4d6 + 12 25
footprints right beside them. These prints could only be described as sinister. CON 3d6 11
were not unlike the hands and feet of a We stood still in shocked silence, not SIZ 4d6+24 35
human being. It was as if a python had knowing whether to go on or retreat. INT 1d6+12 10
grown limbs with grotesquely elongated Then we heard the scraping sound of POW 6d6 22
hands and feet. I shuddered inwardly at claws on rock, and a rustling sound indi- DEX 3d6+4 13
the thought. cated that some heavy body was labori-
With this mystery before us, there was, ously hitching its way up the tunnel in our Weapon Chance Damage
of course, no thought of turning back. We direction. The tunnel was still wide Bite 70% 3d6 + poison,
were able to find some branches and enough for the men in my squad to form equal to the
lengths of grass dry enough to burn, and a double firing line-front rank kneeling, nagas CON
we fashioned them into makeshift torches. rear rank standing-so we took up our Claw 30% 2d6+1d6
Tompkins and I held them, of course, as positions in haste. This done, we waited Coils 60% 3d6+4
our privates had to keep both hands free anxiously, peering vainly at the darkness Tail 45% 3d6+3
to use their rifles. Due to the constant pos- beyond our little ring of torchlight.
sibility of ambush in the tall grass, their When the thing finally appeared, it took Move: &
bayonets were already fixed. Once the all our self-control to avoid bolting for the Hit Points: !
torches were lit, we proceeded down the cavern mouth; would that we had. It was a Average Damage Bonus: +3d6
gently sloping tunnel that lay before us. writhing, twisting, coiling mass over 20 in Armor: 3 points of scales, in addition to
Inside, the rock construction of the tun- length, covered with rough gray scales. The the nagas ability to regenerate 3 points
nel was quite solid. Although it was sur- great head, larger than that of a horse, was of damage per round.
rounded by a swamp, not so much as one mostly serpentine in shape, but the elon- Spells: Some nagas know 1d3 spells,
drop of water dripped from the roof. There gated cranium in back was horribly like a particularly Contact Chthonian, Contact
was moisture on the floor, but this was distorted human skull. As it came nearer, Flying Polyp, Contact Formless Spawn of
obviously tracked in by whatever had we could see that it had hands and feet. Tsathogghua, Call Nyogtha, Contact
entered a short time ago. There was a There were no limbs per se, just a pair of Tsathogghua, and Contact Yig. Most,
wretched musky odor that we all recog- long-fingered hands up front and equally however, have mentally degenerated too
nized as being similar to that of snakes, misshapen feet behind, all growing directly much to use conventional magic and are
and this stench grew stronger the farther from that snakelike torso. The creature quite content with their formidable
we progressed. regarded us with glittering yellow eyes for a physical abilities in combat.
I was rather glad that I had drawn my moment, then gave voice to a hissing roar Sanity: It costs 1d10 Sanity points to see
sword, rather than the revolver, for my that was only partially drowned out when I a naga (1d3 with a successful Sanity roll).
free hand. Such a weapon would be more gave the command for a volley. This is because the clear degeneration
useful if it came to fighting a writhing, Now, a Martini-Henry rifle fires a size- of the human form is so horrible.
coiling serpent in the semidarkness of the able bullet of soft lead that is quite capa- Anyone who fails a Sanity roll around a
cavern. Tompkins was not so lucky, but ble of tearing a man open, and we had naga is a prime candidate for ophiapho-
then, he had already proven himself to be eight of them firing at once, but this thing bia (fear of snakes).
a better shot than I. just seemed to shrug off the rounds.

DRAGON 99
ghastly rustling sound behind me all dur- Naga: Lesser Independent Race to the surface in search of food, and their
ing my flight. At last I made it out, bending The nagas are the degenerate descendants rampages in Europe have given rise to leg-
my head as I emerged to spare my eyes of a humanoid race, possibly akin to the ends of legless dragons such as the guivre.
the worst of the tropical sunlight that serpent people, who live in underground They are not restricted to areas where
greeted me so abruptly, and I ran for the caverns ranging from Great Britain to the caverns lead to the earths surface, for
edge of the trampled space. American West, and who are variously another innate magic ability enables a
On the very edge of the jungle, I referred to as fairies the people of the naga to construct its own tunnel of stone
stopped to catch my breath, drawing my dark, and the worms of the earth. These to the surface whenever it wishes to hunt
revolver as I did so. And as I rested, the hideous folk were once surface-dwellers, in an area where no connecting caverns
thing loomed up out of the darkness, but they retreated underground after los- exist.
framed in the very mouth of the cavern, ing a series of wars against more normal Depending on how long the naga wish-
blinking in the harsh sunlight. I raised my humans (Indians in America and Picts in es to hunt, such tunnels stay in place for
pistol, but instead of firing, I began to Britain). The stunted folk dwelt in the nar- anywhere from a single hour to a week.
tremble. rowest caverns, the better to evade pur- If a party of investigators follows a naga
Now that the thing was standing still in suit, and as the millennia went by, they down a tunnel thus created, and the beast
broad daylight as its eyes adjusted to the evolved more and more in keeping with then dispels it (as it may well do to trap
sun, I was able to study it in some detail. their chosen environment. the party), they will be stranded in the cav-
The scales did not greatly resemble those Living the life of a serpent, these erns of the inner earth. They must either
on pythons or other snakes, or on any of descendants of the original refugees find a surface-leading passage or wait for
the many other reptiles I had seen in years developed scaly skin and fangs to resist a naga or other being to create a tunnel or
of service in Asia and Australia. In fact, they the rigors of the environment and help other magical means of travel. Most likely,
reminded me of nothing so much as the them catch prey. At first, they maintained however, they will simply die.
scales I had seen on a type of opossum that a semblance of their old civilization
lived in Australia. The implication, there- underground. Some still do, but as time Adventure Ideas
fore, was that this great monster might not went by, more and more of them com- Despite its purely Asian name, the serpen-
be a reptile, but rather a mammal. pletely reverted to a purely animal way of tine naga is found around world, and as
My roving eyes discerned other details. life. such, can be a recurring menace for an
The creatures hands and feet obviously Shunned by their former kin, they com- investigating party that wishes to explore
provided little or no aid to movement, peted with them for limited resources, the darkest caverns of the earth. Many
though the hands were furnished with gradually developing adaptations that gave serpentine monsters of legend, such as
great hooked claws for tearing prey. They them an advantage. Whereas their ances- the legless wyrms of Europe, the amphis-
looked so damnably like distorted human tors and competitors were small, they baenae of ancient Greece, and the arkaroo
extremities that I looked away from them. grew large. They eventually saw their of Australia may all be explained by the
That was a mistake, for my attention limbs atrophy, with only the hands and presence of nagas.
was now centered on the monsters head. feet remaining. Growing narrower so as to As a candidate for a monster on the
Its eyes narrowed to mere yellow slits as it better fit in the slender tunnels, they took rampage, a naga is better than most, as
peered at me in the sunlight. It was all too the form of true serpents at last. Now they any investigators who pursue it down a
plainly displaying an intelligent interest in inhabit cavern complexes the world over, tunnel of its own making may promptly
me, precisely as a hostile human oppo- though they are generally known only by find themselves cut off from the surface
nent might have done. When my gaze cen- their Asian name: nagas. and all human aid. This, in turn, can lead
tered on the shape of its skull again, it no The size of the largest anaconda or to a fascinating adventure of cavern explo-
longer seemed distorted; rather, its python, a naga is a formidable opponent ration, as the investigators try to reach the
lengthening seemed to be the result of a in combat. It has powerful jaws with great surface before they run out of food,
natural process. My blood turned cold as I curving fangs, from which drip a lethal ammunition, and other essentials.
realized the truth: the monsters ancestors poison. Though its feet are more or less If you like nagas but dont want them to
had once been men! useless, its hands have developed huge be star performers, you can throw them
Whisperings from my subconscious hooked claws with which it can hold and at the party in a recurring role as lesser
seemed to echo in my ears, half-forgotten tear prey. As a result of millennia of com- monsters. The investigators can constantly
snippets of native lore I had overheard petition with its poisonous kin, it is now stumble upon them while exploring vari-
since coming to Burma. The savages immune to all poisons. It can twine itself ous underground regions such as blue-lit-
spoke in hushed tones of the naga, around an opponent and truly crush him ten Kn-Yan and black-litten NKai beneath
half-man and half-serpent, a great being to death-not merely suffocating him-in it, a possible underground temple dedicat-
of powerful magic. My heart sank as I an instant, and its tail is a lethal whip. ed to the likes of Nyogtha or Tsathogghua,
realized how accurate the old legends had As a final defense, it has modified the or a passage leading to one of the last
been, the legends my brother officers and races innate magic ability to give itself the strongholds of the flying polyps.
I had laughed off with the arrogant folly of power to regenerate all battle damage at
which only civilized man is capable. Far the rate of three points per round. This New Spell
beyond fear for myself was a deeper ter- includes damage from fire as well as nor- Contact Naga: This spell must be cast at
ror for the fate of my entire race. If man mal weapons. However, electricity, magic, the mouth of a cavern where one or more
could fall so low from his high estate and acid all do normal damage, which nagas live. The artificial tunnels created by
once, why may he not do so again, or sink must be healed at normal rates. the strange beings themselves are ideal (if
even deeper in the future? Although nagas have kept their eyes they are still standing when the spell is
The gorged creature evidently decided no one knows why-they rely on other cast). Due to the races hatred of light, the
that further pursuit of me would not be senses in darkness or underground. spell must be used on an overcast day or
worth the trouble, and after regarding me Having evolved a regular telepathic sense (preferably) at night. One naga will come
with what can only be described as con- after living so long in the dark, they can in response to the summons. The spell
tempt, it gave a hissing wheeze and unerringly find prey under any condi- costs three magic points and 1d3 Sanity
turned back into the darkness. tions. Darkness, fog, smoke, and even points to cast.
Thoroughly demoralized, I staggered magical illusions are totally useless as pro-
back to camp. I was no longer able to hold tection from a naga on the hunt.
in my heart any emotion but bleakest Because they are larger than their
despair for the fate of the human race. ancestors, nagas are more likely to travel

100 OCTOBER 1995


Matching Monsters and Scenarios Chaosiums Call of Cthulhu * game is
replete with the monsters of H.P.
in Call of Cthulhu Lovecrafts Cthulhu Mythos, with more
being created all the time in both game
by Gregory W. Detwiler supplements and literature by would-be
new Lovecrafts. This article gives exam-
ples of just how the monsters that already
Artwork by Jim Holloway and Michael Scott exist can best fit into scenarios. Were not
dealing with the massive Great Old Ones
and Outer Gods here, but with the lesser
creatures that are far more common in a
campaign. This list of ideas is not inclusive,
of course; feel free to come up with your
own. The list is restricted to creatures in
the normal waking world.

The Creatures
Byakhee: Given the resemblance of these
things to the gargoyles of the Middle Ages,
the best place to start here is at an old
haunted castle of that period. Perhaps the
castles main claim to fame is that it is not
only decorated with gargoyles ( la Notre
Dame Cathedral), but that at regular inter-
vals, one or more of these ugly but inno-
cent-seeming statues may wind up miss-
ing, and always when a horrible murder
or mysterious disappearance takes place
in the region. This is a good way to intro-
duce into a campaign; the shock
of the gargoyles actions wont be as
great if the investigators have seen
byakhee before. Perhaps in the depths of

DRAGON 81
the castle is a gate leading to the great well if previous work crews have uncov- from the standard scenario of racing to
Library of Celaeno, which is guarded by ered any spherical mineral formations prevent evil druids from sacrificing inno-
hordes of these things. and brought them to the surface. cent victims to the Dark Young and com-
Given the fact that byakhee are able to fly (Trekkies have noted by now the resem- manding them to attack the locals, we
through the vacuum of space-sometimes blance to the adventure with the burrow- have some great surprise scenarios.
with a suitably protected rider-this is a ing Horta in the old Star Trek episode, Imagine going for an innocent walk in
great monster to spring on astronaut PCs Devil in the Dark.) And if the PCs break the woods, or having a picnic there, and
in the Cthulhu Now supplement. If the any of those formations, we now have a running into a Dark Young. Less innocent-
investigators are at all connected with the vendetta that will last until (and probably ly, at certain times of the year, a hunting
government, they may be called upon to bring about) the end of the campaign. party can run into one instead of its usual
investigate the losses of orbiting satellites Chthonians are also good for a phony prey. At least the PCs already have their
and spacecraft, and perhaps even deaths vampire scenario, as they drain blood guns handy (for all the good theyll do). In
and sabotage at a top-secret lunar colony. from their victims. A party of investigators the modern era, biologists can be con-
The fact that byakhee are vulnerable to could hear of hapless locals being drained ducting a wildlife survey, to discover a
ordinary weapons will not eliminate terror of blood in the vicinity of an old monastery more varied fauna than they counted on.
here; how many astronauts carry guns? (which is in turn near an abandoned Heres an idea for you: Assume the
And unless they have recoilless arms, a mine) and hear local legends of how the party discovers that there is a gate leading
shootout in a zero-gravity environment can monks-whose Gregorian chanting can back to medieval Scotland and
be hazardous. Investigators will have to still be heard from time to time-strayed Shakespeares play Macbeth was based on
rely on improvised weapons, mostly melee from the path of righteousness and were a more horrid event than history records.
arms, as in Alien 3. Of course, Ripley didnt turned into vampires as punishment. Any Maybe the party will discover that Macduff
have spells like shriveling at her disposal. PCs who draw obvious, but quite erro- lost something of his purity in preparing
neous, conclusions from this and show up for vengeance against his enemy. Does
Chfhonians: Read Brian Lumleys novel with garlic and wooden stakes will soon everyone remember the line till Birnam
The Burrowers Beneath for inspiration. wish theyd brought along heavy artillery Wood do come to Dunsinane? Now what
The quickest and most blatant explanation instead. Similar legends could arise kind of trees could possibly walk up to a
for their introduction could be a massive around an old abandoned mission in castle and attack, hmm? Between
earthquake, either caused by them or a Africa, say, near a certain deserted city... Macbeths crimes and the monsters of the
natural one that happens to expose a path Mythos, investigators could well be hard-
to their underground cities. On a less Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath: If you pressed to decide which side they would
apocalyptic scale-at least at first-is the want to adventure in a forested area, fight on, if either. Lay on, Randolph
missing miner adventure, where work- youve got to include at least one of these Carter!
ers in a deep mine are disappearing or things. Theres nothing better for turning a
dying horribly. This works particularly haunted forest into the real thing. Aside Deep Ones: The standard adventure here
is The Shadow Over Innsmouth, in
which the investigators blunder into a
town of weirdos, all of whom have the
Innsmouth look. This is a highly danger-
ous scenario, not least because your play-
ers may turn on you for running such a
derivative adventure. Try small-scale raids
for an opening adventure, where deep
ones in a coastal area are kidnapping
locals for their own nefarious purposes,
and the investigators must rescue them
before it is too late. Alternately, the party
could try and capture a deep one for
experimental purposes, to determine the
secret of immortality.
Underwater exploration is one of the
best ways to encounter deep ones, particu-
larly as the human PCs have a built-in
handicap called air supply, which is
guaranteed to increase tension in any
encounter. While diving suits exist in the
original game, diving is far more common
in the modern world of Cthulhu Now, a
supplement which has a complete listing
of scuba gear and-in the first adven-
ture-stats for underwater weaponry such
as spearguns and bang-sticks. The odds
would certainly be improved in combat,
though the outcome of the fighting would
by no means be a foregone conclusion.
Perhaps a local island or cove is the
scene for legends about merfolk, with dis-
appearances of fishermen and beach-
combers being attributed to beautiful
mermaids luring them away. Embracing a
mermaid that turns out to be a deep
one cloaked with a magical illusion would

82 NOVEMBER 1995
certainly run up the SAN loss. investigators can run into if they take a other physical attack he can think of
Illusions work for totally human forms gate back to prehistoric times, when the could be introduced. Consider them the
as well; vacationing investigators who polyps strove with the Great Race of Yith ultimate dungeon monsters.
want to flirt with the local beach bunnies for dominance, or worse yet, when they
may get more than they bargained for. For were the sole rulers of the world c. 600 Ghouk: In Lovecrafts short story
that matter, deep ones who can pass as million BC. Pickmans Model, the author said ghouls
humans (perhaps due to a magical cul- For that matter, time travel can land the live in sizeable tunnel complexes beneath
tural exchange with the serpent people) party in trouble with a wide variety of the many cities, with easy access to grave-
could infiltrate coastal communities with- alien races of the Cthulhu Mythos. yards; but this is not the only place one
out fear of an impending Innsmouth Because the polyps currently dwell can encounter them. The story itself
look blowing their cover. Hybrids in the underground, they-like the chthonians shows the possibility of their appearing in
early stages of this condition should be far may be discovered by hapless miners or anyones basement or cellar. Pickmans
more common, however, and would make spelunkers, or an earthquake may give painting, Subway Accident, even displays
equally good spies. them access to the outer world. In fact, a them attacking people on a subway plat-
chthonian-induced earthquake may have form. It takes little imagination to come up
Dholes: Aside from the physical appear- two objectives: to damage the community with a series of hit-and-run attacks all over
ance on the scene of a Great Old One like itself, and to create a passageway that will town, with entire families disappearing
Cthulhu, this is CoCs best candidate for a allow subterranean monsters like the from their homes overnight, or the resi-
Godzilla-style scenario. Take a look at the polyps or the formless spawn (see below) dents of apartment buildings suffering the
comparative size listings for humans and to come to the surface and wreak their same fate, with only a hole in the base-
Mythos monsters, and pay particular own havoc. ment to show where they went. Eventually,
attention to the greater and lesser dholes. the investigators will have to make their
The greater dholes are too big to fit on a Formless Spawn of Tsathogghua: These way through the narrow, cramped tunnels
two-page spread. Magical gates are a vital monsters are more cave-dwellers that to confront the raiders.
necessity if the scenario is to have a dhole, come to the surface as a result of mining For Cthulhu Now enthusiasts who favor
whether to bring one to Earth, or to cause operations or earthquakes. The spawn a secret government war against the
the party to travel to a world inhabited by provide the keeper with a bit more variety beings of the Mythos, imagine the trouble
them. Without massive firepower, however, than other monsters, because of their that could arise from ghouls breaking into
investigators will be able to do little other many attack forms. Indeed, there is no bomb shelters, underground military or
than run around screaming in terror. reason the Keeper should restrict himself presidential command posts, etc. A
to the whip, tentacle, bite, and bludgeon nuclear crisis would certainly be more
Dimensional Shambler: These attacks in the rulebook; the shapechang- interesting if accompanied by a coinciden-
ape/insects deserve more attention than ing nature of the spawn means that any tal(?) ghoul invasion of NORAD headquar-
theyve gotten in literature. Their only
appearance so far has been in the H.P.
Lovecraft/Hazel Heald collaboration, The
Horror in the Museum. Still, a creature
that can pop in and out of various dimen-
sions at will is not an opponent to be
ignored. Although they have middling
armor protection at best (as Mythos mon-
sters go), their ability to simply leave a
combat zone for another universe is a far
better defense than a thick hide.
They are also thieves and kidnappers par
excellence, and a rash of unexplained dis-
appearances and robberies is the best way
to introduce them into a campaign. A war
with them could be the ultimate guerrilla
conflict.

Fire Vampires: These creatures generally


appear only as summoned attackers,
whether the one who called them forth is
an evil occultist or the Great Old One
Cthugha himself. Thus, unless the party
blunders into a gate leading to the fire
vampires point of origin, they will only
face them in the standard summoned
monsters attack locals scenario.

Flying Polyps: These are ideal inhabitants


of lonely valleys and canyons where the
wind blows frequently and no humans
live (at least for long). Any mysterious
windstorm, particularly one that destroys
out-of-the-way communities, has the
potential for being an eruption of flying
polyps.
Remember that these creatures are a
dying race. Imagine the trouble a party of

DRAGON 83
ters at Cheyenne Mountain. With natural or Hunting Horrors: Like fire vampires, prehistoric fauna somewhere in the trop-
magical earthquakes, of course, the same these creatures generally appear only ics, only to discover a major outpost of
invasion could be attempted by any of the when someone or something has sum- these monsters, is also viable. This last,
other underground races of the Mythos. moned them. In that case, the partys mis- incidentally, best works in the Victorian
sion might be to defend their designated Era supplement, Cthulhu By Gaslight*,
Gnoph-Keh: Due to their choice of habi- target; or they may be the target them- when there were still plenty of blank
tat, these creatures should only be found selves. A scenario that combines action spaces on the map. At any rate, an oppo-
in an arctic or antarctic adventure. Aside with detective work can pit the party nent who can draw off your own magic
from guardians of ancient ruins, these against an occultist that keeps sending points to destroy you with is not to be
creatures serve best in the Mythos mon- hunting horrors or other summoned sneezed at.
ster attacks isolated human settlements monsters against them, to keep them from
scenario. Given their freezing and blizzard finding him. Only by slaying him can the W-Go: Weve covered a number of mon-
powers, there is a good chance that the party bring the attacks to an end, and for sters that might be uncovered by human
first attacks will be written off as hostile every day of sloppy detective work, there miners; now we come to beings that
acts of nature. Thus, if the party is cut off is an attack by some horror the following maintain mining colonies of their own on
from civilization by one of those attacks night. This gives the Earth. Because these are orga-
say, the personnel at an isolated railway investigators nized beings like the deep
depot are frozen to death-outside help ones, they are particularly dan-
could be a long time in coming. gerous to intruders; especially
when they have cultists as agents
Great Race of Yith: The only realistic among the local population. If human
scenario for meeting these beings industry has uses for the same minerals
is time travel, but with two the fungi from Yuggoth are mining, then
subcategories. Either the we have the potential for a full-scale war
investigators travel over resources, not just the standard
back in time to low-level conflict.
encounter them, Since the party is likely to know a few
or they must scientists, even if they dont have any in
deal with one their midst, we also have the potential for
or more pos- a most unusual kidnapping scenario. The
sessed mi-go like to kidnap men of learning, cut
humans with out their living brains, and ship them to
Yithian minds in their bodies. For a Yuggoth in metal cylinders for later inter-
really nasty variant, have the rogation. Would-be rescuers now have not
entire party of investigators one but two deadlines to beat: the brain
get their minds displaced surgery as well as the actual
into the distant past by a transport of the victim to
team of Yithians. both plenty Yuggoth. If they miss the first
Not only will they have to of action and an deadline but not the sec-
accustom themselves to their excuse to get crack- ond, the kidnap victims ultimate fate
new conelike bodies before they can ing on their research. will be very interesting.
even think of escaping, but the Note that the mi-go share with
actions of the Yithian team in their Lloigor: These vortices the byakhee the ability to fly
old bodies can provide endless of living energy are through the vacuum of space, so they, too,
complications in the campaign among the alien races that might join can do considerable damage to human
long after that particular adventure has in a general for the mastery of space programs in Cthulhu Now.
ended. With all the weird research that Earth. Granted, their eternal pessimism Since the fungi from Yuggoth can form
the studious Yithians engage in, who may combine with the might of the oppo- organized armies and there is high-tech
knows what the investigators might wind sition to make them doubt victory, but equipment to arm them with, apocalyptic
up in the middle of when they return to even many humans who despair of victory Keepers may consider them the likeliest
their original bodies? in war have fought to the bitter end. Since candidates for a Mythos version of the
they can drain magic points from human War of the Worlds. Imagine the confusion
Hounds of Tindalos: As with the great victims and use that power to create tele- when alien armies drop in from space
race, the hounds will only be encountered kinetic effects and destructive implo- without any spacecraft being sighted, even
when one side or the other is engaged in sions-to say nothing of being able to pass assuming ghouls or other creatures arent
time travel. If the party doesnt encounter through walls in their natural state-their attacking those same headquarters simul-
them on their home territory, then escap- pessimistic doubts of victory may well be taneously. Wells Martians had more
ing the hounds it might seem to be a sim- unwarranted. common courtesy than that.
ple matter of waiting out in a room with In their natural form, lloigor are excel-
no corners (every party should have a lent occupants of haunted houses. Nightgaunts: These mysterious beings are
room in their headquarters prepared for Poltergeist effects and frequent illness mainly encountered in lonely areas such
this purpose); but as stated in the original among human residents can be easily as caverns, deep forest, and old ruins.
Frank Belknap Long story, The Hounds of explained by their powers. Their more Aside from the obvious action involved in
Tindalos, they can get help to break spectacular appearance is as giant mutant fighting off an attack, consider the occult
through (in the form of earthquakes and reptiles resembling dinosaurs and drag- detective scenario, in which the party
the like) from fellow Mythos monsters ons. Any number of sea serpent reports must discover the location of a previous
such as the chthonians. Wealthy dilet- can be explained by the lloigor, and such victim (either a party member or an NPC)
tantes might consider funding the con- reports can be bait to draw in innocent and rescue him.
struction of a room-sized spherical cham- investigators.
ber of steel, which can take a great deal of The lost world scenario, in which
external abuse without changing its shape. explorers investigate rumors of an isolated

84 NOVEMBER 1995
Old Ones: Heres yet another race best could be reporters or government agents the Pre-Cataclysmic kingdom of Valusia.
suited to a time-travel adventure, though sent in to monitor the fighting, watching In the short story, The Shadow
the Old Ones may still have colonies in the out not only for the combatants, but also Kingdom, Howard vividly describes a
depths of the ocean. Unless the party is for cultists and Yithian military historians kingdom riddled with agents of the ser-
involved in a SeaQuest-style oceanic who like tidy records. Between the alien pent people, who use their illusory magic
colony or survey ship, theres not much anatomy of the star-spawn and polyps, the to appear as human beings and infiltrate
chance of investigators running into these high-tech weaponry of the mi-go, and the the highest positions of power. Paranoia
things in a modern scenario. Unless... genetic engineering skill of the Old Ones should reign supreme among the investi-
We keep reading in Lovecraft about how (remember, these are the guys who gave gators once it has been established that
all these alien races came to Earth, but, us the shoggoths), its anyones guess who serpent people are about.
save for the Great Race of Yith, it was would win in the end. With their history of empires in the
never specifically stated that all the aliens Permian Period, they are among the likeli-
left their home planet or system to come Sand-Dwellers: These monsters may gen- est of other races to join the warfare men-
here. Earth might just be a colony to the erally be used only as desert marauders tioned in the Old Ones section. Curiously,
Old Ones, mi-go, star-spawn, etc.; possibly and as guardians of sacred sites in the arid both they and the flying polyps build cities
one of many. After so many millions of regions of the world. Irem, the City of of black basalt; did one race usurp the
years, even the most insensitive aliens Pillars in the Arabian Desert, would seem cities of the other? We may have here a
might send a military team to investigate to be the best candidate for such guardian- grudge among the polyps second only to
the lack of contact with the colony and ship. Any archaeological expedition seeking that against the Great Race of Yith.
find out where everyones gone. ancient relics may face far more trouble
We have here a true apocalyptic sce- than the curse of some dead pharaoh. Oil Servitors of the Outer Gods: These hor-
nario: a colonial war between at the very companies planting rigs all over the Sahara rors are rarely found alone, at least for
least the Old Ones, mi-go, star-spawn of are also potential targets. For a modern long, being often in the company of the
Cthulhu, and possibly the flying polyps. Them scenario, try using nuclear radiation Outer Gods themselves or various crea-
Other Mythos races, of course, can get in places like the Negev, Los Alamos, Outer tures they have whistled up using their
involved in the fighting, while mankind Mongolia, and Chinas Sinkiang province to own magic. They may also provide musi-
would be in the dubious position of the beef up the critters in Cthulhu Now. cal accompaniment to groups of insane
American Indians when the English, cultists, as in Lovecrafts short story, The
French, Spanish, and Dutch came to the Serpent People: Thanks to the writings of Festival. With their ability to get help by
New World. Lovecrafts pen pal Robert E. Howard, this summoning other monsters, they also
Even if human vermin are deemed too is the race for the aliens among us make good sentries at sacred sites and the
lowly to serve as allies in battle, a lot of adventure. Before creating Conan, like. If a party encounters one acting in
innocent bystanders are certain to get Howard wrote about the adventures of this capacity, they would be well-advised
caught up in the fighting. Investigators Conans ancestor, Kull of Atlantis, king of to kill it quickly, before it can summon
reinforcements. One Mythos monster is
bad enough.

Shans: The insects from Shaggai are


refugees from their home planet, which is
slowly being eaten by what is apparently
the granddaddy of all dholes. With their
ability to fly into human brains and take
control of mens minds, shans are among
the most insidious of the Mythos threats
to Earth. An adventure featuring them
almost invariably concerns itself with PC
attempts to both resist possession them-
selves and keep the shans from control-
ling anyone else. If someones mind does
get grabbed, itll take some pretty power-
ful magic to throw the thing out again.
Note that infiltration by agents who are
already possessed will be a major threat.

Shantaks: These horse-headed, slimy


flying things share with the byakhee and the
mi-go the ability to fly through the vacuum
of space, possibly with a rider, and are thus
good encounters for space travelers in
CthuIhu Now. They are, however, among
the least likely of Mythos monsters to be
encountered on their own, as their raison
detre is to serve as steeds for others. If PCs
in the standard or modern campaigns can
get their hands on one or more military air-
craft, we have the potential for a rather
bizarre dogfight.

Shoggoths: Originally created as servants


of the Old Ones, the shoggoths rebelled
Continued on page 118

86 NOVEMBER 1995
be, an airplane call take me to Margaret in transported to Krynn, they could meet only seems right that the outcome of
just a few hours. Tanis and carry on a conversation with Dragons of Summer Flame has inspired a
Both partners think their work benefits him. new DRAGONLANCE game, due out from
from the partnership. Says Hickman, Ive Hickman says he sees the DRAGONLANCE TSR, Inc. in August, 1996.
come to believe that Margaret and I Saga as a cooperative union with the The authors are excited about the game
together are greater than the sum of our fans. Authors can only put so much on possibilities the books outcome presents
parts. the page; its the readers imagination that for player characters. One of the most
provides the rest of the vision. This vision interesting elements, says Weis. Is that
A World for Us All gives life to the story. The reader is an theyre going to have to go searching for
active participant and really makes the magic. Not to give away too much (you
Weis and Hickman have created a setting story come alive. have to read the book, after all), Tasslehoff
that feels real to readers. DRAGONLANCE has Fans help shape this world at another discovers how magic will have to work
pretty much taken on a life of its own, level as well. For instance, the authors differently on post- Summer Flame Krynn.
Hickman says, adding that, when writing, incorporated into Dragons of Summer Do the authors have any ideas for the
they often feel like were chronicling his- Flame a very memorable magical item games designers?
tory. That is the life we impart to the world conceived at the GENCON Game Fair Hickman stresses that the goal of the first
and to a certain extent its the life the about five years ago. Each year at the con- DKAGONLANCE modules was to tell stories in
worldwide readership imparts to it. vention, the authors host a game tourna- an adventure setting, a goal he thinks
Worldwide is right. Currently the ment called the Killer Breakfast. The goal should still hold true today. [Game design-
DRAGONLANCE novels are published in 13 of the game? The events name says it all: ers should] tell stories in DRAGONLANCE, he
languages. The two regularly receive fan Only the very brave-or the very enter- says, rather than just plot adventures.
mail from Australia, Russia, and Israel. taining-survive the adventure. We kill Weis suggests that people remember the
They also receive international e-mail about 250 characters every year, Hickman importance of good and evil in the
(addressed to the Internet newsgroup says. DRAGONLANCE Saga, and present characters
alt.fan.dragonlance). Being on the One player character, venturing into a with ethical dilemmas, so that people
Internet, we just talk to people from all Tower of High Sorcery, encountered a learn a little something about themselves.
over, Weis says. horrible undead creature. This resource- Dragonlance has always been to me a
What is it about the DRAGONLANCE Saga ful kender reached into his pocket and grand-scale vision, Hickman says. I see it
that speaks to such a varied readership? pulled out a spoon, brazenly announcing in wide-screen grand vista imagery. My
How can Krynn stand strong year after that it was the dreaded Kender Spoon of advice would be not to think too small.
year while so many other fantasy worlds Turning. Much to my chagrin, recalls Make it expansive, make it large.
fall in the battle for bookstores shelf Hickman, when I rolled the die, it was!
space? The character survived, and a piece of
Its a world in which people feel very Krynn lore was born.
comfortable, Weis explains. As Tracy
says, we live there, and I think a lot of DRAGONLANCE: The Role-playing
people live there. Game
The key is that readers can relate to the
characters, who Weis describes as ordi- Role-playing has always gone hand-in-
nary people caught up in extraordinary hand with novels in the Saga. The first
situations. People feel like, if they walked series of 12 DRAGONLANCE adventure mod-
out of their house one day and were ules paralleled the Chronicles trilogy. It

chthonians as potential Godzillas in the ally of theirs, or to guard a particular site.


Right Monster
campaign. Aside from their obvious poten- Their ability to move and attack unseen
Continued from page 86
tial in party-killing, and alien vs. alien war- will raise the level of tension among a
several times, eventually all but destroying fare (as mentioned above) consider the party to almost unbearable levels.
their masters civilization. They are not possibility of a gruesome scam. Unless the
only good monsters in their own right, investigators have earned a lot of knowl- Xiclotlans: These giant alien servants of
but can also be logical precursors for edge in the Cthulhu Mythos skill, they may the shans may, under some circum-
even greater horrors. After all, since the not know that Cthulhu is 400 high. Thus, stances, be mistaken for trees, as is the
Old Ones favor genetic engineering so anyone running into one of the Star- case with the Dark Young of Shub-
much, why wouldnt they design even Spawn may well think he is facing Cthulhu Niggurath. (They may substitute for them
more terrible monsters as a counter to himself, and react accordingly. This sort of in the Macbeth scenario mentioned earli-
the shoggoths? A good adventure would thing has the potential to cause parties to er.) Unless the investigators find a gate
be for the investigators to accompany and do everything from misidentify clues to that leads to Xiclotl, however, they will
try to stop the Starkweather-Moore running away from a lesser-albeit still never be found in an adventure unless the
Expedition mentioned by Lovecraft in At terrible-opponent under the impression shans are also present. They are the mus-
the Mountains of Madness, or at least that he is a Great Old One. If the investiga- cle to back up the shans mind-control
clean up the mess afterwards, when the tors face several at once, dont be sur- activities, and any party that successfully
shoggoths are provoked into launching a prised if someone blurts out, Cthulhu can resists the latter can expect a good old-
new wave of invasions. But perhaps there even clone himself! fashioned physical assault by the
really arent any shoggoths on Earth; Xiclotlans sometime in the near future.
would Abdul Alhazred lie? Star Vampires: Like fire vampires, these
invisible, nightmarish entities are generally * indicates a product produced by a company
Star-Spawn of Cthulhu: These creatures encountered only when some occultist has other than TSR, lnc
are second only to dholes and (possibly) summoned them to attack the party or an

118 NOVEMBER 1995

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