The Unspeakable Oath 12, Podreczniki RPG, The Unspeakable Oath
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
The u
nspeakable Oath
Contributors
This issue was assembled by the staff of Pagan
Publishing:
Brian Appleton. John H. Crowe. III. Dennis
DetwilIer. Christian Klepac. and John Tynes.
Artists
in this issue
include Toren Atkinson. Dennis Detwiller. Daniel Gelon.
Heather Hudson. Jesper Myrfors. and Jason Voss.
Writers
in
this issue include Roman J. Andron. Scott Dav
id Aniolowski.
John H. Crowe. III. Kim
Eastland. Philip Garland. Allan
T.
Grohe. Jr. Daniel Harms. Jonas Hedkvist. Bob Kindel. J. Tdd
Kingrea. Christian Klepac. Mark Morrison. Anders Olausson.
Kevin A. Ross. Matthew J. Ruane. Glen Taylor. Michael Tice.
Jeff Tidball. Stephen Trow. John Tynes. and Michael Varhola.
About the Cover
This issue's cover. by Jason Voss. depicts the infamous Dark
Young of Shub-Niggurath.
About the Column 1II0s
This issue's column ilIos are by artist Toren Atkinson. and they
depict the myriad of Gr
eat Old Ones and Outer Gods of the
Cthulhu Mythos.
The Annotated TUO project
Selected articles from TUOl-4 are now available for down
loading (see below). Or. send a 3" Mac or IBM diskette with
a SASE for the files on disk. If you don't have a computer.
send a 9"x12" SASE and
$2
in cash. check. or money order per
issue you need for a printed copy of that issue. Note that this
is just the text-no illustrations. layout. etc.
America Online Notes
We're on the computer service America Online. where our email
name is
Pagan Pub.
Our discussion folder can be found at
keyword GCS (Gaming Company Support). We hold occasional
live conferences and run live CoC games as well. In addition.
the GCS
F.le
L
i.brary
has stuff to download. including
graphic files we created (GIF & PICT). the sound effects from
TU07. our catalog and submission & play testing guidelines.
and Th e Annotated TU. To join. call 1-800-827 -6364.
Internet Notes
You can send email
to us atPAGANPUB@AOL.COM.
We
regularly participate in the
alt. horror. cthulhu
usenet
group. The Annotated TUa. our catalog. and various other
items are also available by anonymous FTP. The address is
FTP. CSUA. BERKELEY. EDU.
and the files are in
PUB/
CHAOSIUM/PAGANPUB.
Also. check out the H.P. Lovecraft
Image Gallery available through the World Wide Web system
at
In Memoriam
Recently. the world suffered the loss of veteran actor Donald
Pleasence. Roles in films like The Great scape and Yo u Only
Live Twice gained him worldwide acclaim. His work in horror
was extremely prolific. Don't mourn him; instead use the time
to check out some of his many films. We recommend Dr acula
(1979). Prince of Darkness. and of course Halloween.
COLUMNS
The Dread Page of Aathoth
................................
1
by john yns
Scream
&
Scream Again
........................................
2
Lettes rom Lunatis
The Paranoia Files
..................................................
4
by Philip Garland
The ase of Mark Edward Morrison
.....................
6
by Mark Morrison
The ye Of Light And Darkness
............................
8
Reviews & spews
Mysterious Manuscript:
A Zoologist's Addendum
.................................
14
by Glen Taylor
A Tale Of Terror:
The Seventh Gateway of the Mirage
...........
16
by Daniel Harms
A Tale Of Terror:
Ghosts in the Schoolyard
................................
17
by Roman j. Andron
A Tale Of Terror:
Too Many Masks
...............................................
24
by Matthew j. Ruane
Mysterious Manuscript:
The Strangue Bible
............................................
28
by Glen Taylor
Meage in a Bottle
.............................................
64
by Michael Varhola
FEATURES
soteria:
Mitchell-Hedges and the Skull of Doom
......
18
by Michael Tice
Shifting Spells
.....................................................
22
by john H. Crowe, III
Jumping at Shadows
.........................................
26
by Bob Kindel
Long Arm of the Law
.......................................
30
byjohn H. Crowe,
III
SCENARIOS
Roadkill
................................................................
40
by jeff Tidball
The Revival
.......................................................
..
50
by Anders Olausson
&
jonas Hedkvist
The Unspeakable Oath. volume 3. number 4. Spring 1995 (whole number 12) is
published quarterly by Tynes Cowan Corporation. 4542 18th Ave.
NE
#4 Seattle.
WA
98105·4232 USA. Individual contents are ©1995 by the respective creators. The term
Call of Clhulhu®
represents Chaosium. Inc.'s trademarked horror role·playing game.
and is used with their kind permission. Printed in the United States of America.
Issue Twelve
GQ
Spring,
1995
Lovecraft lived and died in obscurity.
His life and work (for the two are
almost one in the same) show a consistent
motivation: the drive of a singular vision. He
didn't compromise the stories he wrote for the
sake of getting them sold, preferring to do
what he wanted to do even though this meant
not achieving the kind of success that the
world tends to judge creators by. The result
was an amazing and enduring body of work
that has grown in opularity ever since. Even
all the work done in
Call of Cthulhu
and in
publications for the game has essentially been
a continuous (if ccasionally meandering)
furthering of his personal vision, and it is this
vision that has made the game what it is.
In the marketplace of today, the creative
work of individuals with a personal vision
gets more lip service than dollars. The
individuals that people look up to and respect
are almost always cogs in a larger wheel:
actors, directors, and the like. They achieve
their success not through a personal vision
but through their participation in other. larger
works. The result is a downplaying of personal
vision, and an emphasis on mass entertain
ment that is produced in the most efficient
and cost-effective way possible. About the
only medium today through which a single
creator can reach a wide audience is through
novels, and examples of such creators finding
tremendous and ongoing success and recog
nition are few.
At Pagan Publishing, we're trying to
pursue the path of personal vision. The writers
and artists who produce the work we publish
are generally doing what they do because
they love it, and because they have some
talent or some idea that they wish to express
to the audience. TUO may be a group effort,
but within its pages are lots of individuals
doing individual things. We've come to
believe that this is a good way to go, and that
the results of such efforts are generally
superior to those of other companies in our
industry. To support this goal. everything we
publish is owned by the creators: writers own
what they write, and artists own what they
draw. If a movie studio wants to adapt a
scenario we've published into a film. they
would deal with the author; we wouldn't be
involved at all, and that's fine by us. The
personal vision of creators has made our
company successful (albeit on a small scale).
and it's right that these creators should reap
whatever benefits they might accrue from
their work.
As some of you may know, I work full
time at Wizards of the Cost. the company
that produces the
Mic: The Gatheng™
trading card game. At WotC, I've gotten a
good lok at the way in which a company
can prduce prducts that are not driven by
any one individual's vision, but rather that
support the vision of the company as a whole.
The result is that many, many people are
involved in the creation of every single
product. I think some good things have come
out of this system, but it's also made me more
aware of how much I value the efforts of
individual creators who write or draw the
things they do because they simply cannot do
otherwise: they must create, and their works
must be published without being substantially
altered by others.
Given that at Pagan Publishing we have
chosen to pursue the path of personal vision,
we face a tremendous challenge. How do you
build a business whose publications consist of
lots of disparate visions, each one designed to
be complete unto itself. rather than ones that
are all part of a common whole?
F
ASA, for
instance, can have a television show made of
their
attletch™
game (and indeed. they are)
because they own the rights to all of the
material created for the game. As a result,
they can freely do novels, movies, or whatever
and reap the benefits thereby. (This is not
unique to
F
ASA; every major game company
operates the same way) If we were publishing
a game and had a line of sourcebooks and the
like, a studio who wanted to make a movie
based on all this stuff would have to negotiate
with all the different people who created these
publications. and we wouldn't gain anything
from such an effort. As I aid, this is fine by
us. So how do we build our company without
such customary avenues of profit available?
We're doing it slowly but surely. by
deriving our success from the combined
efforts of many creators who will likewise
share in the profits and who own what they
have made. We won't be taking in money
from licensed novels or comics or air
fresheners or whatever: we'll make it one
dollar at a time, one project at a time. This can
be very difficult. but it's also a welcome
challenge,
I hope the parallels between Lovecraft's
ethic and ours are clear. We're doing projects
based on their individual merits, not on what
sells best or what will make a greater
contribution to our image. Whether this
means doing a scenario book about a
legendary and sinister deity ([ike
Walker in
the Wstes)
or a t-shirt featuring cryptic and
disturbing artwork (like the
Clockwork Child
t-shirt), each project must stand on its own
as the result of a personal vision or visions.
It's not easy, but it's fun and rewarding. As
we continue to pursue this goal.
I
hope that
you11 stay with us, and that you11 find the
things we publish to e worth the effort our
creators put into them.
.)
The
Dread
Page Of
zathoth
WE'VE MOVED!
(again)
"Restless" is our middle name, it seems.
We've pulled up stakes and moved
across town to the University Distria
of Seattle, across the street from the
U. ofW. campus and right in the heat
of Fratemity Row. Formalities aside,
here's our new address:
Pagan Publish
in
g
4542 18th Ave. NE #4
Seattle, WA 98105-4232
USA
(206) 528-7665
PAGANPUB@AOL.COM
The Drea d Pa ge Of Azathoth is a
re gular co lumn ofno tes. an ecdo te s
& observation sby the edito r. So me
time s it even has so me thin g to do
with gam in g.
Spring . 1995
•
Th e Unspeakable Oath
-- - - - -
Column 1110: Toren Atkinson
A
has been so often said, H.P.
Scream
And
Scream
ain
Once again, Pagan Publishing proves its
quality. TUOn was another great issue.
Guys. we don't care about the schedule.
as long as the issues keep up the quality.
This one was again worth the wait.
Nice cover. "Cyanotic" was the word
that came to mind for the Pallid Mask
Dread Page: I have to admit. few
authors I know of have the ability to
change one's outlook like HPL does. In
a time of complacency. Lovecraft dared
to challenge the status quo. In a time
when Science was conquering the world.
Humans couldn't deal with the Great Old
Ones. Heck. even Americans couldn't
deal with the Outer Cosmic Horrors.
Lovecraft shok us up. and he still des
it a hundred years after his birth.
Letters page: Boy. it appears to me
that a number of our letter writers need
to unclench. You've gotten flak over the
Randolph Pierce Foundation. and I knew
you were going to get some over Cross
and Crucible. I did not expect it from
Scott Aniolowski. Come on. Scott. relax
a bit. There's room in this game for
everyone. Even though I never intend to
use Cross and Crucible stuff in my
campaign. I think it provoked some
thought on my part. and that is a very
valuable thing in itself.
The only suggestion I would make for
future writers of Mysterious Manu
scripts is to remember that you're dealing
with a Lovecraft-literate audience. You
really needn't spell out every connection
for us. Simple mentioning that something
is related to the Black Man, or any other
fairly well-known form. such as Ahtu.
is quite enough to tell us We-Know
Who is involved. You don't have to pin
it down for us. innuendo ges a lot
further. See what I mean?
The dual film articles complemented
each other nicely. I heartily feel for Kevin
Ross who had to sit through all those
awful films just because they claim to
have something to do with HPL. But at
least now we all know which ones to
avoid. I wonder if it would be possible to
compile a list of effective horror films
that. although not Mythos-related. in
spire thought and Mythos-style horror.
James Holloway has come up with a
truly new concept: the hard-boiled
detective Mythos novel. What a great
idea. And the attached Tale of Terror was
very effective. Way cool. Holloway.
And. of course, two scenarios. Scott.
where the hell do you come up with the
money to find all these out-of -print
Mythos stories? Or do you just take
quick trips to the Library in Celaeno?
"Cold War" is really interesting. and looks
like it would be a pretty cool one-night
play. It's scenarios like these that can
serve to break down the resistance of
players to playing "that game where
everyone goes mad or ends up dead."
Unfortunately. this one seemed to be for
experienced players only. 'Two Minutes
on High" was a thoroughly enjoyable
read-although it's odd to see the
creatures who can assist the investigators
so ... benevolent. Just one question: what
does the title "mean'7 Is it a reference I
just missed?
Your art remains some of the best in
the business. Not only are they well
drawn. but they just capture the atmo
sphere of the game so well. Especially the
Gelon pic on page 15, and Detwiller's
Y'golonac attack on page 56. The
Wendigo by Hand on page 35 was
suitably ghastly. Conratulations on having
the most menacing art team in the
gaming world.
All in all. another information -stuffed
issue. worth at least half again what I
paid for it. The Unspeakable Oath
continues to show that
aI
of Cthulhu
is a game for adults. not just another
slash 'em up game of 'good' versus 'evil.'
John odich ia meica ne
What does 'Two Minutes on High"
mean? I first assumed it was some sort
of poetic reference to the bank robberies:
for the cultists, each robbery was two
minutes on a pulse-quickening high of
danger and deadly purpose. Th en it
occurred to me that it probably referred
to the state of the corpse blasted by the
energy weapon: as in "two minutes on
high" in a microwave ..)
J)
Letterso The Unspeakab le Oath may
be edited fo r clarity an d brevity. All
letters rem ain the pro perty of the
origin al writes. To sen d us amania
cal missive,write to :
Sc ream An d Sc ream Again
Pagan Publishin g
4542 18th Ave. NE #4
Seattle, WA 98105-4232
US A
2
Column 1110: Toren Atkinson
-- - - - -
The
Unspeakable Oath · Spring , 1995
I've just received TUOll and as usual I
must say that you've done an excellent
job.
The movie articles were, in my opinion,
the highlight of the issue (I'm somewhat
biased, though, being a movie buff
myself). I've seen most of these films, the
noteworthy exception being "Cthulhu
Mansion," which I avoid like the plague.
In the letters page, Scott Aniolowski
makes a very valid point about Chris
tianity in the Mythos but I'd like to point
out the roleplaying game Kult's take on
the subject, which is ripe for integration
into a horror setting. Their take on the
Messiah is almost as disturbing as his
own version. Regarding Scott's love of
monsters, perhaps he could do a write
up of the Space-Eaters?
I'd like to ask you people about one
other thing. In TUOS/9 and TUOIO you
mentioned something called "END TIME."
The idea sounded absolutely fascinating
and I was wondering if we could have
some more information about it.
Paul Hyon
Alloway, J
fEND IME is our long-delayed new
roleplaying game, set after the fall of
humanity and the rise of the Great Old
Ones. Its still in development and will e
for quite a while; we don't currently have
a release date for it)
�
In regards to Kim Eastland's letter in
TUOll: The cultural differences between
time periods needs a delicate touch. On
one hand you can strive for strict
accuracy and make things unplayable. Or
you can go too far the other way and
end up with something like a bad
historical TV show: where Dr. Quinn,
Medicine Woman saves the Indians and
the Environment, hangs out with guys
who look like beach bums, and never
messes up her hair. The reality was
much, much different.
I think the best experience I had in
regards to women's roles was talking
with my mother's mother. I asked her if
she had ever wanted to be anything
other than a farmer's wife. In her day -
that Great Depression we've heard so
much about - she felt she had three
choices: she could be an unmarried nurse
or school teacher or get married. To do
otherwise would have been to break
every cde she had ever learned as a girl
growing up on the Canadian Prairies.
But some women did: the exceptional
ones, as Inez pointed out. Such as one of
our great Canadian painters, Emily Carr,
a wealthy, middle-class beauty who
chucked it all to live in poverty in the
wilderness of Vancouver Island so that
she could paint. o, there is the norm and
there are the exceptions to the norm.
Keepers need to be aware which they are
representing.
G.w.
hom s
Mackenie,
B.C.
A New TUO (Sot O)
We're making some changes with this
magazine, changes that you'll see a bit of
in this issue but much more in the next
issue. Long-time readers will know that
TUO has never been a static entiy. We've
always inkered hee a.nd there, adding
new thins and dropping old ones. This is
ypical in most periodicals, as the tases
and alens of the publishers-and the
readers-always hange over time.
This issue sees the end of two regular
columns: Philip Garland's "The Paranoia
Files: and Mar< Morrison's (and ocasion
ally Penelope Love's) "The Case of Mar<
Edward Morrison." In their place you'll
ind a n�w opinion column in TU013 hat
is open to any writer. "soterica" is also
coming
o
an end; it's become a sot of
umbrella under which most any in-depth
artide could appear, so we dedded to
just print such atides as aides, without
any window dreSSing. The layout of TUO
will also be changed dramatially, and
we hope to maKe more room for he
excellent wor< of our aiss as a result
. The inal change you'll notice is a
change in he cover price. TUO has sold
for
$4
(U.S.) since TU01, and after our
years we've realized that we need to
raise the price. Unlike most magazines,
TUO is not suppoted by advertising rev
enues: it's paid for almost exclusively
through sales and subsripions. This
means you get more stuf han in any
maazine of similar size, but italso means
that TUO has been a break-even opera
tion at best and a inandal loss at wot
Raising the price to
$5
will ease this
diiculy considerably, and we hope that
you won't ind the added cost
o
be a
burden. Subscription prices will also in
crease accordingly, but current subscrip
ions will not be aected in any way.
We thinkyou'lilike the new TUO. Most
of the changes are cosmeic and organi
ational, beause we do believe that
we're doing a prety ood job with the
content and with he kinds of material
we print
s
TUO comes to look more and
more professional, I hope hat it won't
dissuade unpublished creators rom ap
proaching us. We print los of material
from people who don't write profession
ally, or even as a hobby, and we've never
required that reators have esablished
credits on theirresume or any such hing.
That isn't changing. The spirit of enlight
ened amateurism and encouragement
of efot that H.P. Lovecrat embodied
drives this maazine, too.
,
.)
To comment on TUOll: very good! I
personally take exception to page 7
wherein Mark Morrison claims "gun
battles are dull, dull. dulL" Maybe to
Keepers whose wits are better used in
keeping investigators' guts churning in
anticipation. but not in real life. Gun
fights are terror. Plain and simple. But I
guess it's tricky. if you can't roleplay
someone whose pulse and blood pressure
just went out the roof with an adrenaline
overdose. However, being a GMlKeeper
with lots of firefights under my belt, I
believe a gun fight can be terrifying to
an investigator whose life and limb are
at imminent risk of being punctured or
severed or maimed.
"Cold War," pages 30-31: Where's the
den in the apartment? There's no circular
fireplace in the centre of the living room.
If the living room overlooks the rooftop
garden, I'm an aardvark. If the bedroom
shares that same view, I'm a Yithian in
an aardvark. Or is all this misdirection a
plot, eh? Regarding the plot, it's quite
god: especially the planted evidence.
I close with a quote from Alfred
Hitchcck: 'There is no terror in a bang,
only the anticipation of it."
Allen son
heim,
CA
Regarding the "Cold War" map, I1l close
with a quote from Homer Simpson:
'Doh!'1
spr ing , 1995 . The Unspeakable
Oath --------------- 3
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]