1 Cthulhu Dark Ages 1.75 Stéphane Gesbert

Copyright © 1997-2001 S. Gesbert

CTHULHUDARK AGES“Quod in aeternum cubet mortuum non est,

Et saeculis miris actis etiam Mors perierit”

Horror Roleplaying in the Dark Ages

byStéphane Gesbert

Email s.gesbert@cthulhudarkages.cjb.net

www http://cthulhudarkages.cjb.net/

Stéphane Gesbert Introduction 2

AD 1000.When warlords fought against oneanother like wild dogs…When peasants were afraid of the

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CTHULHU DARK AGESA Supplement for Call of Cthulhu

Horror Roleplaying

Copyright © 1997-2001 S. Gesbert

dark…hen hundred copies of the Necronomicon circulated from abbey to abbey…houls and Deep Ones infiltrated moribund cities, the Young of the Black Goat infestedoundless forests, the Dark Folk haunted bogs and glaciers, and beyond the thin veil ofeality, things with no name gathered and waited – unseen…

haosium's award-winning Call of Cthulhu is a roleplaying game based on the works of H.P.ovecraft, in which ordinary people are confronted by the terrifying forces of the Cthulhuythos.

CTHULHU DARK AGES“Facing the Mythos when nights were darkest”

thulhu Dark Ages supplements Call of Cthulhu, setting the clock of Lovecraftian horrorack 1000 years, right into the Middle Ages! You need a copy of the Call of Cthulhu rules toully use this material.

Prepare for a world of harsh existence and ancient horrors…

CTHULHU BY TORCHLIGHT!

cknowledgmentshanks are due to my wife Lydie, Kevin Anderson, Hervé Boudoir, Frank Heller, and Andreas Melhorn for reviewing Cthulhuark Ages and suggesting many small but decisive improvements. Special thanks go to Hannes Kaiser for checking theistorical consistency of Cthulhu Dark Ages, to Christian Bloom for his scholarly knowledge of dead languages, and totephen Posey for his abnormally high Cthulhu Mythos skill – we pray for his soul!any thanks to our many supporters out there on the web, I can’t name them all for lack of space and for fear of forgetting a

ew (mind the wrath of Mythos cultists). Walk through the gate to the alt.horror.cthulhu newsgroup and the Strange Aeonsailing list hosted by Chaosium to find them all (and maybe a few detractors too). Thanks in particular to Richard Extall ofark Moon Design for his beautiful Dark Ages Investigator sheet and to Matt Wiseman of the Shoggoth net for his support.ast but not least, I want to express my thanks and affection to my three “old” pals Eric Brisson, Philippe Vallet and Jacquesaudrier with whom it all started in the late 70’s. And a sad thought for Eric Devisscher – my first player ever - whoventually lost his sanity because of real life, and with it his desire to live.

Copyright © 1997-2001 S. Gesbert“Cthulhu Dark Ages” paraphrases written material of "Call of Cthulhu" and "Elric!" and supplements by Chaosium Inc.

"Call of Cthulhu" is the Registered Trademark of Chaosium Inc., "Elric!" is the Trademark of Chaosium Inc., and both areused with the permission of Chaosium Inc. "Chaosium Inc." is the Registered Trademark of Chaosium Inc.

3 Cthulhu Dark Ages 1.75 Stéphane Gesbert

Copyright © 1997-2001 S. Gesbert

Introduction“And I saw a beast rise out of the sea; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names.” -

Revelation 13:1

950 AD. The Occident is torn apart: empires andkingdoms have endured two centuries of invasions, andnow warlords fight over the remains like wild dogs. Theclergy is weak and morally depraved, cities aredepopulated, trade is stagnant and violence reignseverywhere. History is coming into the Sixth Age ofmankind, the ultimate age before the end of the world.950 AD. The Byzantine Theodorus Philetas translates theAl Azif into Greek, and renames it Necronomicon. It willtake one century before the blasphemous tome is finallycondemned, and most copies destroyed...

Cthulhu Dark Ages continues with Lovecraft's sinistertradition of men and women struggling against the darkforces of the Cthulhu Mythos. However, Cthulhu DarkAges explores a “Dark Ages” era not yet spanned byLovecraftian tales: 950-1050 AD, nearly thousand yearsbefore the period generally considered in Call of Cthulhu.In this troubled era, in these hundred years whenmanuscript copies of the Necronomicon circulated fromhand to hand, mankind almost yielded to the uncaringforces of the Mythos: the dark young of Shub-Niggurathinfested boundless forests. Mi-go guarded mountain tops,ghouls and miri-nigri haunted burial grounds, and deepones infiltrated coastal settlements. Nyarlathotep wanderedabout the earth in his thousand disguises. Great Cthulhuslumbered in the abyss, dreaming of the Seventh Age,when he would be unchained to rise out of the sea andwalk the earth again. The last magi tried powers that werenot meant for humans, and were lured into Limbo - abodeof Yog-Sothoth...

What This Supplement Covers

Cthulhu Dark Ages is fully compatible with the philosophyand the game system of Call of Cthulhu. Owing toparticularities of the Dark Ages, some adjustments andadditions to the game system have been made. They aredescribed in the following pages.Cthulhu Dark Ages introduces the Old Grimoire of spells,which combines traditional elements of witchcraft andrituals from ancient religions. Cthulhu Dark Ages alsodevelops the notions of Limbo (the interstices betweenspheres of existence) and spirits (Ghosts, Old Ones) thattranspire in the Cthulhu rulebook and in Lovecraft’s work.A selection of new Mythos creatures, deities and beasts isgiven in the Dark Ages Bestiary.Several scenarios near the end of this book introduceCthulhu Dark Ages’ grim world to players and keepers. Inthese tales adventurers will face new unearthly enemies,and may discover scriptures more ancient and moreterrible than the Necronomicon itself...Finally, the “utilities” chapter is a complete guide to the950-1050 AD era.

Cthulhu Dark Ages welcomes Call of Cthulhu players andkeepers into a world of harsh existence and ancient

horrors.

Role-Playing in the Dark AgesCthulhu Dark Ages is historically set and presents keeperand players with a contradictory world of absoluteoppression and wild impunity. In the Dark Ages almosteverybody had a lord to serve, and social status largelypredetermined one’s fate. On the other hand, the worldwas rapidly changing, and the changes bred more freedomthan earlier or later in the middle-ages: ambitious brigandssometimes settled down as frontier warlords, and a farmerboy called Gerbert eventually became pope!In Cthulhu Dark Ages, the players take the part ofadventurers, and attempt to solve some mystery or resolvesome situation. As in other eras, the ability to read Latin orto use a library is often worth far more than high skill witha weapon. Indeed, swords or arrows do not harm the mostpowerful creatures. Besides, Dark Ages societies haddrastic ways of dealing with people who attracted toomuch attention, or presented any form of threat toestablished customs and authority.In the Dark Ages, social status - as represented in the gameby the Status skill - was supposed to reflect a person’sintrinsic valor, as well as personal reputation and monetaryworth. In the absence of personal archives, sheer statuswas often accepted as a guarantee of trustworthiness. DarkAges people would spare no effort to discover the realstatus and the wealth of a stranger.Like “Credit Rating” in the 20s, Status may ebb and flowbecause of a scandal or a heroic action. In specialsituations, the keeper may call for a Status roll instead ofFast Talk, Persuade or even Bargain.

First Encounters

A repeated challenge facing the keeper at the beginning ofplay is why the adventurers come together. Theadventurers inevitably have different backgrounds andoccupations. Combinations of adventurers with verydifferent status may be difficult to justify and maintain in astrictly medieval setting. Such interesting mixtures mayvery well arise in odd circumstances though, and produceexciting role-play.Here follow a few suggestions for first meetings (the lasttwo in particular may bring together adventurers of verydifferent origins):

All adventurers answer an employment offer by theirmutual lord, to perform some deed important to his orher cause.

All adventurers have a mutual friend, who asks themfor a favor.

Stéphane Gesbert Introduction 4

Copyright © 1997-2001 S. Gesbert

All adventurers are confronted with the same mystery.It may be a series of unexplained events, an obscureprophecy, or some vile intrigue.

All adventurers are present at some incident. Theircommon destiny is sealed when all become involved.

Here are examples of compatible occupations (see GameSystem for more details on occupations):

All players pertain to a noble familia or are related toit. Nobles are more or less free to do what they please,have resources, etc., good conditions for investigativerole-playing. Occupations: Warrior, Guard, HouseholdOfficer, Sergeant, etc.

All players are men of Church or are related to aclerical institution or a religious order. Such“adventurers” must observe the laws of the Church,are generally well instructed and only rarely bound toservile work, and they are (presumably) devoted to theeradication of evil. Ideal occupations for investigatingthe horrors of the Mythos. Occupations: Scholar,Priest, Monk/Nun, Cleric, Mayor, etc.

All players are from the same community or arerelated to it. This could be a farmers’ village, afishermen’s village, or a craftsmen’s or a merchants’guild. Restrictions: such communities are often boundto a particular locality. Occupations: Farmer,Woodsman/Fisherman, Craftsman/Shopkeeper,Merchant, Small Trader, Sailor, etc.

All players are “misfits” or outcasts of society.Restrictions: most of these people have to operate onthe fringes of society, and possibly lack resources orstatus. Occupations: Beggar, Healer, Hermit/Heretic,Juggler/Minstrel, Pilgrim, Mercenary/Brigand, etc.

Don’t take the above classification at face value. Forinstance, adventurers from a village community may bepeople with very different backgrounds: a sergeant, apriest, free and unfree farmers (including craftsmen andwomen, the local militia), a trader, a healer, and so forth.Remember that the purpose of horror role-playing is tohave a good time. Rules and historical settings are justvehicles of play. Whether you stick to them or ignore themis secondary to having fun...

ReferencesHere are the main sources for Cthulhu Dark Ages. Manylittle details were gathered from a large number ofsecondary references, much too long to be listed here. TheKeeper is invited to read some of the Lovecraftian fictionto get context for his or her Cthulhu Dark Ages adventures.

Call of Cthulhu Fiction

The Dunwich Horror and Others, H.P. Lovecraft, ArkhamHouse (1985) – The Colour out of Space, The Haunter ofthe Dark, The Dunwich Horror.At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels, H.P.Lovecraft, Arkham House (1985) – Through the Gates ofthe Silver Key.Dagon and Other Macabre Tales, H.P. Lovecraft, ArkhamHouse (1987) – From Beyond, The Hound, The Horror atRed Hook.

Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, H.P. Lovecraft, ArkhamHouse (1990) – The Black Stone, The Hounds of Tindalos.Cold Print, R. Campbell, TOR (1987) – The Church inHigh Street, The Moons Lens.Miscellaneous Writings, H.P. Lovecraft, Arkham House(1995) – Nyarlathotep, The Very Old Folk.The Encyclopedia Cthulhiana, D. Harms, Chaosium(1998).Nameless Cults, R.E. Howard, Chaosium (2001) – TheBlack Stone, People of the Dark, The Worms of the Earth,The Shadow Kingdom.

General References

Sacred origins of profound things, C. Panati, Penguin(1996).Encyclopaedia Brittanica (1995).The Holy Bible, new revised standard version, Oxford(1989).The book of Enoch, trans. by R. H. Charles, SPCK (1977).Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu, The Keeper’s Companion,The Creature Companion, The Complete Dreamlands,Gaslight, and Elric!

Game System

Poisonous plants & animals, H. Altmann, Chatto &Windus (1980).Man and the sea, P. Banbury, Adlard Coles (1975).

Bestiary

Dictionary of mythology, F. Comte, WordsworthReference (1994).Gods and myths of Northern Europe, H. R. Ellis Davidson,Penguin (1990).Les nains et les elfes au moyen age, C. Lecouteux, Imago(1988).Je découvre les animaux sauvages, S. Thomassin and J.J.Marquart, André Leson (1978).

The Dark Ages

La France de l’an mil, R. Delort, Seuil (1990).Le Haut Moyen Age, J. Dhont, revised and updated by M.Rouche (1976), Bordas.Atlas of the year 1000, J. Man, Penguin (1999).La vie quotidienne en l’an mille, E. Pognon, Hachette(1981).The castle story, S. Sancha, Collins (1991).