Conan and Cthulhu

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About 2 years ago I ran a campaign in a small settlement on a caravan route in the deserts of eastern Shem...

The settlement was built around a lone purple tower. The Tower was recently re-inhabitated by a Stygian Wizard, players ran afoul of the wizard and ended up in the catacombs below the tower which also stretched out throughout the small city. The walls were of a strange green stone of cyclopean size.

They eventually found a room, that glowed softly in which was a lone sarcophagus showing the image of a tall man like figure with reptillian features. On a pedestal nearby was an ancient tome, which thankfully one of the players opened. Though the writing was incomprehensible, words were repeated such as Cthulu and Yog Sagoth and R'lyeh. He saw visions of two of the tall snake men with glowing eyes sent by other members of the Giant Kings constructing the tower through long forgotten magic to studt the stars for signs of the coming. Player made a will save so his soul was not drawn into the tome. The Climax was a fight with a "many tentacled monster which tore the players up pretty good - two Barb's went beserk and ran after it when it mysteriously retreated. My character tripped them up, and because they ran into the pitch dark, knocked themselves out on the walls. Just as the players were leaving the catacombs, the Stygian Wizard showed up in all his power, he was reaking havoc when tentacles were seen over his shoulder and then encompassing his whole body, pulling the wizard screaming deeper into the darkness. I had actually planned the end this way so it was not a "The players are all going to die, I better change things...

I tried using recurring Howard and Lovecraft themes as well as some of Dale Rippke's treatises on Howard. Howard had the Giant Kings as an Elder Race and there description according to Rippke matched the Biblical "Watchers" from the book of Enoch I believe. Howard also used jade colored stone frequently in ruins and catacombs that lead to each dwelling in the settlement. I think both Howard and lovecraft used this kind of stone and used the term Cyclopean.

Now I did not remember R'lyeh was an Island or that Cthulu was there, but geography changes and this could once have been by the sea, and also the ancients tried to glean knowledge from the stars, so perhaps I did not corrupt it too bad...it was a fun adventure.
 
Hadrathas said:
Now I did not remember R'lyeh was an Island or that Cthulu was there, but geography changes and this could once have been by the sea, and also the ancients tried to glean knowledge from the stars, so perhaps I did not corrupt it too bad...it was a fun adventure.

Well, the great tentacled one does have about a billion kids that look like smaller version of him scattered about the world napping too- it could have been one of them. 8)
 
Hello Folks,

Excellent little adventure! Something to be proud of. Note: "Cyclopean" is usualy used as a another word for "honking huge" (paraphrasing here :wink: ) according to the 'ol Websters. No shame though, I play alot of Scrabble :roll: .
 
I think it also refers to the fact the structure uses very large blocks of rough stone in its construction as opposed to regular bricks or such. Could be wrong.
 
Hey Raven,

I've been reading through your stuff and it's great, but I've got a couple of things to point out: Deep One Warriors have an incorrect Iniative (It should be 4, +3 reflex, +1 Dex; you missed the dex component) and Fire Vampires should have a bas will save of -1 (Wisdom of 9 has a -1 modifier.)

Other than that I've been very impressed by the stuff you've put out. Our GM uses your sorcery system, although we've tweaked it slightly.
 
Changes noted and made. I'm planning at some point this winter in going over all the Mythos material I've posted, correcting it and posting it on my Raven's Gate Press mailing list for anyone interested.
 
Raven, what would you think of a variant of Animal Ally that instead summons a Fire Vampire? I assume it would come from Summoning/Binding sphere but whould you consider a Fire Vampire to be the equivalent of an animal companion you can get at level 6 or what?
 
The real problem is that it has 4HP. Yeah, it seems hard to hurt until you realize that throwing sand at it does 1 point of damage.
 
bjorntfh said:
Raven, what would you think of a variant of Animal Ally that instead summons a Fire Vampire? I assume it would come from Summoning/Binding sphere but whould you consider a Fire Vampire to be the equivalent of an animal companion you can get at level 6 or what?

Nada to this. Fire Vampires are Mythos creatires, spawn of the Great Cthugha himself and larval form to much nastier creatures I haven't detailed yet. Unless specified otherwise Contacting, Summoning or Binding a Mythos creatures is an action that provokes a Corruption test and being in the willing company of one for extended periods provokes Corruption tests as usual. There is also the fact that as a creature native to the plane of Fire they would freeze to death on Earth if left there long enough. Not to mention that as per their description they travel in packs of at least hundreds and can 'piggyback' on Summoning spells. So thus summon one- expect a thousand. I'd like to see how you'd plan on binding that many before either a) you and the countryside are a charred ruin or b) your soul is hungrily sucked out of your body- whichever comes first.
 
Tomes of Utalis

New Entry- Volume 4

Revised Skill

Knowledge [outsiders and the planes]
[was Knowledge (the planes)]
Class Skill for Scholar only
Int skill; Trained Only

Description: This skill represents the characters understanding of the dark and hellish dimensions accessible to the Hyborian world and the foul beings that dwell there. Studied mostly by the foul sorcerers that traffic with the beings from these worlds, this skill assists them in the summoning of these creatures into this world. This skill is also studied by those who seek to remove these threats from this world. Both types of scholars must be careful not to delve too deep into secrets not meant for men for the knowledge of such realities can unhinge even the strongest mind and corrupt the purest of scholars. In game terms for each five ranks of Knowledge [outsiders] the character learns, they must make a Corruption Check against DC 5 + number of total ranks of this skill or gain a Corruption point.

Successful uses of this skill allow a character to identify outsiders or know what dimension a type of creature might normally dwell. A DC 20+ check may at the Gamemaster’s discretion provide a character with knowledge of some of an Outsider’s properties, strengths and weaknesses. It may also allow a character to ability to discriminate between a native Outsider from a human or identify an Outsider in human form.

Synergy: Five ranks of Knowledge [arcana] provides a +2 synergy bonus to all Knowledge [outsiders] checks

For each five levels of Knowledge [outsiders] the caster possesses, the character gains a +1 synergy bonus to the Magic Success Rolls of all spells designed to contact, summon, bind or banish Outsiders.
 
Oh, so they released it at last.

Saw the trailer past year, if I recall correctly, and got very impressed. Can't wait to see the whole thing.
 
Cthulhu lives on in The Family Circus:

nd4.jpg



the_cthulhu_circus.jpg



:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
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