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8/19/2019 The Whisperer 05
1/64
8/19/2019 The Whisperer 05
2/64
Opening
the
WaY
Editorial
by
Mike
Mason
You
n
Your
Small
Corner
Cthulhu
ow
cenario
by
Andy
Bennison
$ave the Last Bullet forYourself
The
French
oreign
egion
art
l
by
Adam
Crossingham
lnvitation
o
the
Dance
Twenties/Modern
aY
cenario
by
Jeff
Moeller
The
Mandragora
Project
An
alternative
eality
or
Cthulhu
ow/Delta
by RikKershaw-Moore
They
Who
Wait
The
Children
f
Gaia
by
David
PerrY
To
Make
Your
Aquaintance
George
rice
by
Keary
Birch
The Return of Doctor Moreau
Twenties
cenario
by
David
ConYers
lnside
Out
Cthulhu
ow
torY
eed
by
Liz
Mason
Crossed
Lines
Scenario
eed
by
KearY
irch
CryptograPhY
of
Cthulhu
Breaking
he
code
by
Rik
Kershaw-Moore
Aquaintances
&
Abodes
The
Tenement
by
Andy
Bennison
Items
of
Mutual
Interest
Reviews
Acknowledgements
&
Thanks
www.
tarrYwisdom'
o'
uk
page
3
page4
pageB
page
16
page
24
page30
page
31
page 32
page
49
page
50
page 1
page54
page58
page
63
8/19/2019 The Whisperer 05
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ag
"Chdc is noc dead uhich can eceena( ie,
And iuich srRdnge
aeons even deach nrag die"
The Call of Cthulhu.
H P Lovecraft
Sometimes
he old
gent
has
t right. lt's
beena
while
euphemistically
peaking)
ince he
ast
issue
of
TW and my thanks o thoseof
you
who haveoffered
wordsof
encouragement
nd
support.
his ssueseeTW reborn;withmore
pages,
more
content
nd a colour over
at
ast ).
As ever,
W'smissions to continueo strive o bring
you,
dear
eader,more
Cthulhu'than
you
canshake shoggoth t. hope
ou'll
ind
his
ssue
otwanting.
We'd ike o hear
yourviewsandcomments n his ssue ndgetyour nput nto uturessues nd
publications.
f
you've
otalready iscovered
ww.yog-sothoth.comhen
t's ime o do so,as he
site s home o the official
orum
orTheWhisperer,s wellas a
great
place
or
newsand other
Cthulhoidadness.
It 's
been
ive
years
ince
TW
issue1 wasunleashedpon
he world.At that imesupport
nd
materialor he Callof Cthulhu
ame
was
pretty
minimal, ith
ust
he occasional haosium
r
PaganPublishing
roduct
eing eleased. here
was
no small
press
o speak f
-
the
plethora
f
fanzines
een
in the
'golden
days'of the eightieswere
ong
gone.
The
web
was only
ust
beginningo showsigns
of
promise.
n this
elative
acuum
decidedhatenough asenough
and f nobody lsewasgoing o producehemagazinewantedo read, 'dbetter o t myself
Five
years
on the situation
as
changed;
he BlackSeal,
published
y
TW
'old
boy'
Adam
Crossingham,
s
soon o
reach t's hirdawesome
ssue,
haosium
s
publishing
orebooks han
everand he
web
s spawning
ll manner f
great
sites
ocusing
n Cthulhoid
matters nd
dark
horror
ole
playing yog-sothoth.com,
hoggoth.netnddemonground.orgo
namebut hree.
Not
only
hat,
but n heUS he
guys
of
Rogue
Cthulhu re
bringing
reat ames
o a convention
ear
you l
recently
layed
n oneof RogueCthulhu's'Shubby
unday'scenariosnd
t wasa blast
literally ). hilst
n
the UK,a
hardened adre f Keepersravel
rom
all
over o writeand unCoC
games
if
you
haven't
et played
n
a
'Cthulhu
National'
ameyou're
mlssrng ut
-
come o the
www.continuum.uk.netnd www.eurolog.orgonventiansn 2404.J couldgo on.."
Sowhatnext?
Well t's eally
uite
imple.f
you're
ot
yet
nvolvedn the Cthulhoid ew
wave t's
time
o
ump
n and
get
nvolved;
hethert'swriting
n
article
orTheWhispererr
TheBlackSeal,
submitting
he
next
Masks
of Nyarlathotep'
o
Chaosium,
tartinghatwebsite
ou've
een
meaningo do,or having
go
at
running oCat a conventionear
ou
or simplyurning p o
a
conventiono
play.
t couldbe as easyas
gathering
few riends ogethern order
o
start
play-
ingCoC
egularly gain.Whatever
t
is,
ust
do
t
and
oin
he
restof us
mad ools id ing hewave
fromR'leyh.
Till
hemStars ome
Right
MikeMason
Editor
3
ww. ta
rywisdom.
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k
8/19/2019 The Whisperer 05
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You
in
Your
Sraall Cornerr
o.
by
AndyBennison
Jesus
b id .s us
sh ine
lv i th
a
coo l
c lea r
l igh t t
L ike a
l i t t le cand , le
burn lng
in
the n igh t .
In th is l vo r ld o f da rkness
so
lve
must
sh ine t
You
in
your
sma l l
co rner
and .
I in m ine .
01d Sunday Schoo l Hynn
The Premise
Catherine
oung
disappeared
hreedaysagoaftera
rowwith
her husband.This morning she walke d
into
Greenbank
House,a mentalasylumand asked o be admitted.
n
ust
a
few hours
her conditionhas
rapidlydeclined. he
player
s
either a concerned
riend,
a
private
nvestigator ired by
Catherine's
amily
or a
reporter
eager
or
a story.
The scenario
s
set
n
the
present
ay during
he winter.
Sources
of lnformation
Gatherine'sFamily
Catherine's usband,Frank, s too distraughto see anyone.
He blames himself or what has
happened. heir
six-year
marriage has
always
been stormy, however, hey always
managed o
patch
things
up. Anyonewanting o speak o
Frankwill have o
get
past
his brother-in-law, ichaelHarris,
who has broughthis
pet
Alsatian
og around o the
house o
deter callers.Frankand Michaelare old
schoolmates. ore
like brothers han
riends.
Michael does not hold
Frank responsible or what has
happened.His sister always
had
a short
fuse, but he is
understandablyoncerned boutCatherine's
elfare. ftera
successful ebate oll,Michaelwill reveal hatCatherine
eft
after rowingwith
Frank
about
how to
set
up
the timer on
the
video recorder.Frankhas
been
o see Catherine,
ut
she did
not
recognisenor respond
o
him.
Catherine's
elongings
have
been
handed
over
o Frank:
so
far he has not examined
them.
Three clues can be
found in
Catherine's
andbag.Each
requires a
SPOT HIDDEN roll to
discover.
There is an
unfamiliar
key, a till receipt dated
yesterday
or
13.50
stamped
Emily's"
nd a slip of
paper
on
which
(Catherine)
has scrawled:
"AH
46.
Museum
Press50. Belmont 3. Panther
5"
NeitherFranknor
Michael ecognise
ny of these
tems.
The house s full
of books
and clutter. atherine
was
always
trying out ne w hobbies
-
she
would
become
wildly
enthusiastic
bout a subjectand
then
after six
monthsshe
would drop i t and start something else. Catherine's
obsessions
have included ornithology, aromatherapy,
amateur dramatics,
photography,
earning
Spanish
-
sh e
was even nvolvedwith he
local
church
or
a
few months. he
expense of al l
these whims was the
cause
of
the
majority
of
Frank
and
Catherine's rguments.
Her
current
hobby s metaldetecting.
Should
he
players
hink o look or
her new metal detector, t will be missing og etherwith a
suitcase nd a
few temsof
clothing.)
The Neighbours
The Young'sneighbours,
Mr
&
Mrs Ell iot,will be only too
happy o
gossip
about heir constant ows and fights.
They
will
spare
no
details
nd evenmakesomeup o impress
heir
audience.
They've
ad rows n the streetand she's eft
him
more imes han can count
then
again
what
do
you
expect
when
you
marry
a
loud mouthed out ike'im,"Mrs Elliotwill
tellto anyone
prepared
o listen.
lf Mrs Elliot
s
not
nterviewed
he
will
certainly rriveon
the
scene o offer
her
"help",
ut reallyshe
ust
wants o
find out
what her neighbours
ave
been up
to this ime.
lf
other
residents re
questioned,
t will become clear hat
there has beena long-standingeudgoingon between he
Youngsand the Elliots.
First
there was a dispute about
parking,
hen therewere
problems
bout he trees that Mr
Elliot
planted
lose
o theYoung'sence.The situation ame
to
a
head when FrankYoungallegedly eported he Elliot's
son,Joey,
o
the
police
or receiving tolen
goods.
Joey
was
releasedrom
prison
wo weeksago and
s
currently taying
with his mum and dad.
The
Young'sother neighbours, ohn
Watkins and Fiona
Keogh, re a
young
couplewith a babydaughter.
iona s in
most of the time but she does
not want to
get
involved. f
pressed,
he will confirm
hat the Youngs
do
have requent
rows,but then again he Elliotsare just as bad.Their son
oftenhas his riends alling
ound,makingnoise i l l he early
hours.
lt
was
actually ohn
Watkinswho anonymously alled
the
police
aboutJoey
Elliot.)
Greenbank House
Catherine its
in
a catatonic
rance in the centre of her
padded
ell.Occasionallyhe sings
he firstverseof an old
hymn
she
earnt
as a child.
Attempts o
moveherwill
be
me t
with
a
violent eaction. nyoneseeingCatherine
who failsa
Sanity Rol l wi l l
lose 1d2
sanity
points.
This loss
is
automatic
or
anvone
who knew her well.
FatherDominic s a
young
Roman
Catholic
priest
who acts
as chaplain or the
residents. he hospital
staff
end to avoid
himas
he
comesacrossas
very ntense nd serious.
He has
taken a special
nterest
n
Catherine's ase,
as he was
present
when Catherine
marched nto the receptionand
demanded o be
locked n
a
padded
cell for her own
protec-
tion. Once inside she seemed
very relieved,but
quickly
regressedo her current tate.
FatherDominic s amiliar
with
the verse hat
Catherine
ings.
He's ried o speak o
the am-
ily o offerconsolation
nd
support,
but hey don't seem o
be
interested.He will
assist
he investigators
n
any
lawful
way
he can.
The doctorsare
vague
about Catherine's
ondition.
hey are
still carryingout
tests and are unwil l ing
o
commit
to a
diagnosis t this earlystage.
Only
friendsor investigators
ired by the family
will
be able
to access
this information.Reporters
will have to resort to
4
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8/19/2019 The Whisperer 05
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Talk or briberyon the less
professional
membersof
at Greenbanko learn he truth.
an easily be located
n
the local YellowPages
directory. t's a tearoom on the sea front of a
un-down oliday
esort.
The
tearoomcatersmainly
citizens
and
its
young
waitresses re
less
than
No one remembers Catherine.Anyone visiting
making n IDEA ollwill noticea hotel ourdoors
f they
don'tnotice
t,
hey will certainly pot he
police
parked utside.
is
now
out of season,most of the hotelsand all
guest-
re closedunti l he spring.The Regal s the largest
hat s sti l l
open or business.
t
does not
l ive
up
to
it 's
t 's
atty, am
shackled, irtyand n desperate eedof
f the
players
nter hey
will
witness wo
police
nterviewing
he receptionist . hey are
looking
or a
called
Ron Parrish,
who works
part
time as a night
e s
currently n bailand shouldhave eported
n
to
station his morning. hey'vecheckedhis lodgings,
ut
signof him.This s the onlyothercontact ddress
heyhave or him.Apparently, e didn't urn up for work
ight nddidn't
phone
n.
are only a handfulof
guests
currently tayingat
th e
Should he
players
sneak
a look at the
guest
book,
will
notice he following ookings:
Room1: Mr
&
Mrs
Whittle.
(Elderly
ouple elebratingedding nniversary)
Room2: MissH Jamesion
ndMissV Jamesion
(Elderly
isters, ne s convalescing.)
Room 0:Mr
John
Harman
(Middle
gedman
visiting
elativesn own)
Room14:Miss
C
Harris
(Catherines still ignedn under ermaiden ame.)
Room 5:MrH Napier
eceptionist ill
recogniseCatherinerom a
photograph
confirm
hat she
is
stillstaying t the
hotel.
Noneof the
ememberher
with the exception f Harry Napier.
a
part
time
literature ecturer
now in semi
e is staying at the hotel for a fortnight o do
work on his latestbook. He is
over-enthusiasticnd
He tried to strike
up
a
conversation ne
ith Catherine, ut she
gave
him a
polite
brushoff.
one
elsehas
really
poken o her much. o he hotelstaff,
ust
another land
guest.
key
n
Catherine's andbag s
for
room 14.Her bed has
been
lept n and he restof her belongings an be ound
At the foot
of
the
bed
is
a
new
metal detector.On the
able s
a
battered
paperback
copy of Talesof the
MythosVolume 1, edited by August Derleth. nside
a stickerhat eads
AJ's
Bookshop e5".
The
stories n he
are:
Call of Cthulhu
Howard
PhillipsLovecraft)
The Hounds
f
Tindalos
Frank
Belknap ong)
The
SpaceEaters
Frank
Belknap ong)
The Returnof
the Sorcerer
Clark
Ashton Smith)
Ubbo-SathlaClarkAshtonSmith)
The Black
Stone
Robert
E Howard)
The Dwellern Darkness
August
Derleth)
Beyond he Thresold
August
Derleth)
The Salem Horror
Henry
Kuttner)
The
Haunterof the
Graveyard
J.
Vernon
Shea)
How much
CthulhuMythos
nowledge
if any
-
that can be
gained
rom his book s left o
the
discretion
f
the Keeper.
In he wastepaper in n the bathrooms a
screwed p
piece
of
paper.
t is
a
page
torn from
a
yellow
pages
elephone
directory. he
sectionon
Bookshops as
been
ringed.The
addresses or four local bookshopshave
been
underlined.
(See
Bookshops eading or more nformation.)
On a
note
pad
by
the
phone
s
a local elephonenumber.
Anyone alling t
will
get
hrough o
the
town's
public
Library.
The Publ ic Library
The ibrarywas
built
n the late 1950s
and
hasn't
seen a
lick
of
paint
since.
he
d6cor
s
drab, he atmosphere ulland he
buildinghas the
odour of stale air and disinfectant.
t is
usually desertedexcept or a couple of
pensioners
who
come n o
read
he ree
papers
nd keepwarm.The waspish
librarian,
hilipManners, i l l rememberCatherine she vis-
ited
he library wo daysago and spent h e morning ooking
through he card indexes.Mr Mannershates his
ob.
He is
perpetually
oredand will speak o anyonewho comes nto
the ibrary.
Catherinespent some time looking hrough he thin SF,
Fantasy nd Horror ection.One of the books hat Manners
remembersinding or her
was
"The
PlanetBook of Who's
Who
in
Science
Fiction"
a
glossy
coffee able book about
the
pulps.
She was looking
or
an author that Manners
wasn't familiar with. He had a strange middle name. lf
someone
prompts
him with Frank Belknap Long,
he
will
remember
hat
he was
the authorCatherine
was interested
in.Should he
players
xamine he book, t wil lopenhalf
wa y
throughwhere he spine has been recentlybroken.
On
th e
facing
page
s a
shortbiography f
Frank
Belknap ong.
See
HANDOUT nd mark
accordingly.)The
ibrary
has
no
books
by he author.Catherine
as marked
he Hounds
f Tindalos
in the bibliography. anners lso remembershat Catherine
checked omething
n
the YellowPages. f anyone ooks n
the l ibrary
copy
they
will notice that the se ction
covering ookshops
as been orn out.
(Anyone
hecking
complete
copy of the directorywill discover he
four local
bookshopsisted
below.)
Local Bookshops
Ernest
Abbott
and Sons
An
antiquarian ookshop crampedand dusty.The book
dealer
wil l remember
Catherine
f
showna
photograph.
he
was interested
n ScienceFictionbooks.Mr Abbottdoesn't
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8/19/2019 The Whisperer 05
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have much in the way of
SF-
just
a
couple
of
HG Wells
editions and some overpriced Doctor Who
paperbacks
and
annuals.
AJ's
Bookshop
This
dilapidated hop is in the worst
part
of town. Most of the
premises
on the road are closed down or derelict. The
grubby
sign n the window eads:
SpecialAdult Books, Magazines and Videos
American and Scandinavian mports
The sleazy Mr Jones charges extortionate
rices
or the filth
he
peddles.
As well as the expected stock of magazines,
books, videos and DVDs, here is a small stack of battered
horrornovels mainlyStephenKingsand Pan anthologies,
but there are a couple of Lovecrafts, Conan book and an
Arthur
Machen's Novel of the Black Seal
*
all over
priced.
Jones will not volunteerany information
until
he investigator
buys something spending
at least 10. He will
remember
Catherine he
doesn'tusuallyhave
emale
customers she
was looking
or a
book,
but
he
can't
quite
emember
he title.
A further
purchase
will curehis amnesia.She was
ooking
or
Frank Belknap Long's The Hounds
of
Tindalos. He will
confirm hat he couldn't help, but she was very satisfiedwith
the book she did buy. lt had a funny it le",he wil l remember
"and
a
picture
of an octopuson the
front."
lf anyone asks Jones about other books, he will smile
furtively and whisper that he can
get
a copy of The
Necronomico n. e will admit hat it is slightlydamaged, ut
he
wont
part
with it
for
less than f75. Anyone stupidenough
to hand
over the cash will be
presented
with a copy of the
1977 H.R.
Giger
version
-
and serves them r ight tool
(Mr
Jones
gives
no
refunds
and
has
some
very
nasty and
violent
friends who
just
happen to be in the backroom
enjoyinga
private
screeningof one Mr Jones's atest under
the countervideos.)
The Bargain Book Basement
A
cheap clearinghouse or remaindered
aperbacks.
No one
remembersCatherine
paying
hem a visit.
Lemon-Tree Books
This
high
street shop sells only new books
-
mainly best
sellers,cookerybooks and life style itles.No one remembers
Catherine isit ing ere either.
Background Notes
-
from The Book of Eibon
"...and
lo, Verdhis he Black did imprison Rrhar'il n the Stone
of Jhrelth a being of
great
power.
Evil and malevolent was
Rrhar'il for lt could scent out any man, woman or beast
through the power within t. All who drd see the foulnesscould
not escape, even if they did hide in the deepest cave or
flee
to the
far
shores of Mhu
Thulan.
Lo, Rrhar'il could track
and
feast on their flesh and their minds and their fears and their
lusts. Through mighty spe//s dld Verdhis trap the soul of
Rrhar'il within the Slone of Jhrelth and did use fhe demon to
kill his enemies, smite his rivals and bring terror to the
people
of
Mhu Thulan.....On
the
Night of The Bronze Ox, Yydwayof
The Five did scale the walls of the Towerof Verdhis stole the
Sfone and did hide
it
from the face of men. The Mage's men
did
put
Yydway
o the torture
for many months,
but spoke
he
not
and
when
the
last drops of Yydway's ife was /osf, so
hr's
secret was /osl... Verdhis did call upon mighty magicks, but
fhe Sfone did
remain
veiled
unto his
eyes
and the
power
of
Verdhis
he Black did
wane
and
his
bones
did turn unto dust
and still
was
the Sfone
not found...."
To
complete he tale,Yydway
hid
the stone and buried
t in a
LONG,FRANKBELKNAP
(1e03
1e94)
Grandsonof the man who built he
pedestal
of the
Statue
of Liberty,
FrankBelknapLong studied
at
the NewYorkSchoolof Journalism.
A stalwart
pulp
writer specializingn SF and Horror,he made his first
sale
Desert
Lich' n 1924
o
WeirdTales magazine.He
continued o
write hroughout is life.As the markets or Long's iction
dried
up he
underwent evere inancial ardshio
nd
wrote omantic ictionunder
a
pseuoonym.
Winnerof the World
Fantasv
LifetimeAchievement ward
1978
Novels nclude:
Space Station
No. 1
(1957),
Mars is my Destination
(1962),
The Horror
rom
the Hills
(1963),
t was the Day of the
Robot
(1963),
Lest
Earth
be Conquered
(1966),
This
Strange
Tomorrow
(1966),
ourney ntoDarkness
1967),
The Androids
1969),
he Three
Facesof Time
(1969),
Monsterfrom
Out
of Time
(1970),
Survival
World
(1971),
he Night f thewolf
(1972).
Short Story Collectionsnclude:
he
Hounds of Tindalos
1946),
The
Rim of the Unknown
1972),
he EarlyLong
(1975),
NightFear
1979).
The Planet Wha's Who of SF
casket.
The
secret of its
location was lost for millennia.
Shouldany of the
players
have
access o a copy of
the Book
of
Eibon hey
can
locate he
above
quote
with
a successful
Library Use
or
Gthulhu Mythos roll
(whichever
s highest).
After she fell
out
with her husband, Catherine
decided to
spend a
few days
on
her
own
to considerher marriage.
She
booked nto The Regaland went
on
long walks, dlinghe r
time
beechcombing.
Early
one
morning
she discovered n
iron
box
with
an
inlaid
star
ike
designon
the lid.
She
took he
box back o her room,
opened
t and
discovered
The Stone.
Aftergazing nto t she began o sufferheadachesand night-
mares n which
she saw
the
demon rapped
within
he stone,
actually
Hound
of
Tindalos.
Next morning
she
remembered
stories
that her late
uncle
used
to read o her from magazines hat he
used
to
collect.
There was
one called
Weird Tales.
She
visited the local
libraryand found
a bookabout
SF authors. his
ogged
he r
memory
and she
recalled tale
by
FrankBelknap ong.
Sh e
then
set off
on
a
hunt for
a copy of
Long's The Hounds of
Tindalos. ryingall the local bookshops
she
tracked
down
a
copy
of
Tales
of the Cthulhu
MythosVol.1.After reading he
story
(in
the tearoom)she realised how to
protect
herself.
She had herself admitted o Greenbank,knowing that as
long as
she
was in a
padded
cell with no corners she would
be safe.
However,her
dreams
were
still
haunted and she
soon ost her sanity.
She
constantly epeats he first verse
of
"You
n
your
small cornef'to
remind herselfof the danger. n
her
haste.
she left he Stone
of
Jhrelth n her hotel room.
Plot Developments
Ron Parrish, dishonest omesticat The Regal,stole he
stone
from Catherine's room. This occurred on
the first
morningof the
investigation. hat night Parrishwill look nto
the
stoneand
suffer he same nightmares
s
Catherine.Next
day he will sell the stone to his friend Joey Elliot. On
the
following morning, a milkman will discover Parrish's
mutilated
body.
Newspaper reports wil l mention Ron's
criminal
background, s
well
as
his
associates,
ncluding
Joey Elliot.Joey will
be
the next
person
o suffer dreams of
Rrhar'il.He will trv to
sell
the
stone on.
without anv luck.To
6
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be on the safeside,he will bury t in his neighbour's
arden.
Elliotwill be
safe as
long
as the stone emainshiddenan d
locked n the
box.
f the
stone
s
not
foundwithin
one day,
Michael 'sog wi l l dig i t up.Joeywil l soon
die,
and Frank,
Michael
nd anyone lse
n he house
willbe
n danger.f the
police
iscoverhe stone, hen urtherdeathswill result.
The Stone of Jhrelth
The Stone
is
a many sided semi-transparentrystal.
A
Geology oll will reveal
t to be of no known substance.
t
weights ery it tle
and
s
almost
mpossibleo
breakor chip.
A strange olour uns hrough t, but the patternconstantly
changes hape.Anyone closelyexamining he stone who
fails
a
Luck roll will
gaze
into
the stone and see Rrhar'i l .
(Sanity
oss
1d3/1d20)That
ight, hevict im
wil ldream bout
the historyof the stone
and
glimpse
he
evil of Verd his's
Tower
1d211d6
anity oss).After his, he dreamerwill be
plagued
by a nightmarewhere they are chased and
devouredby Rrhar' i l .
1d211d6
sanity loss). This wi l l
continue very night unti l either he stone
is
destroyed r
Rrhar' i llain.
The
crystal
s
housed n an iron box engravedwith he Elder
Sign. nside s a thick
velvet ike
material hat moulds tself
about he stoneholding he crystal n place.Rrhar'i ls bound
to
the
stoneand
will
attackanyonewho
looks
upon him. t
must irst eave
he stone hroughany of
the
corners.While
thebox
s
closed, veryones safe. f the crystal s somehow
destroyed,
rhar'i l
will be
free.
He will brieflyappear o all
present
nd hen
return
o his own dimension. nyonewho
hasnot
seen
Rrahr'i l n
a dream must
make
he
necessarv
Sanity ol l .
Destroyinghe stone will
gain
the investigators
d6 sanity
points.
inding omewhere
afe
o hide
the stone
will
gain
1d6 sanity
points.
However,
at the end of the adventure,
everyone ustmake
a
finalSanity ollwhen hey ealise
hat
there s nothing hat can be done to help Catherine oung
and save
her from madness.
his
real izat ion
osts
1d3
Sanity
oints.
Catherine i l l
continue ingingand watching
or Rrahr'i l
or
the est
of
her
days.
RRHAR'IL,
HOUND OF
TINDALOS
STR 17
CON 30 S IZ
16
INT
18 POW 27 DEX 9
HP
23 Damage onus
1d6
Attack:
Paw
90% 1d6
+
ichor
+
damagebonus
Tongue 0% 1d3powerdrainper round
Armour:2
point
hide.Regenerates hit
pointsper
round.
lmmuneo normal
weapons.
Spells: lmplantFear, Raise Night Fog
and
Create
Gate.
(Create
ate s only available fter Rrhar'i l s freed rom he
stone.)
SanityLoss: 1D311D20
Afterword.... ifteen
years
on
"You
n Your
Small Corner"
was
original ly
eatured n
Dagon 0
(November
987).
don't usually
evisit
ld
scenar-
ios,
but as Mike asked o reprint his I couldn'thelp
a
little
t inkering.
I 've
esistedhe emptationo
makeany
massive
hanges o
the original. he
additions
hat I 've made
do
not
affect he
basic
lot.The
nformation
n he
public
ibrary s new,
as are
the bookshops ther hanAJ's. 'vealso leshedout someof
the
locations, e-written he book
quote
from
the Book
of
Eibon
and added a
player
handout
biographyof
Frank
BelknapLong,which might be
useful o
keepersunfamiliar
with hiswork.
Aside
rom hese
amendments.
he
scenario
s
pretty
much
as originally
rinted.
The scenario tselfcaused
some controversy
n the Dagon
letters
age.
One
person
alled
t
"childish",
nother aid hat
it
"misfired
orribly."homasLigottihowever, alled t
"very
entertainingand instructive
n the
essentialsof
horror";
understandably,was quitegratified y his comments.
This
was my first attemptat a modernday Call of Cthulhu
scenario. t raised a
question
hat anyone running such
campaignsmust address:did Lovecraftand
his friends
actually
xist
n the
campaign
world? n
"You
andYourSmall
Corner" I treated Talesof
the Cthulhu
Mythos like a low-
grade
mythos ome,similar o Peopleof the Monolith. ome
people
hought
hat hiswas oo much.
In
a short
paragraph
f
notes
(deleted
rom this version)
described he scenarioas a
"no-win
situation".
his also
caused
ome
peopleproblems.
ne reader aid hat he sce-
nario didn't eward
ood
oleplaying ecause he situation
seemed nsoluble. n reflection don't hink t is. t is a no-
win situation
n
thatCatherine'sate s sealed,but how many
horror torieshavecompletely appyendings?
CthulhuMythos tories
ometimes
orm he basisor inspira-
tion for Call of Cthulhuscenarios.With
"You
n Your Small
Corner",
t
turned out to be the other way around. was
flattered
nd surprised o read TheAlkahesfby Laurence .
Cornford
n
Chaosium's
ecently
published
The Book of
Eibon.The first half
of
the
story s basically n expanded
versionof the backgroundo this scenario.
erdhis
gets
a
name
changeand becomes
erhadis,
ut he restof the ale
remainsntactwith
Rrhar'i l ,
he
Stoneof Jhrelth ndYydway
of The Five all appearing.Regrettably,he source isn't
acknowledgedn the book,but t 's
pleasing
o think hat l 've
addedmy own iny contributio no the CthulhuMythos, ven
if it
is
by the back door.
People either loved
"You
in Yo ur Small Corner" or they
detested t
-
l ' l l eave t for
you
to
judge.
Fifteen
ears
on, it
seemshard o see what he
fuss
was about,
Editor's Note:
I 've run many
a session of th is sce nar io at
games
conventions. Whilst Andy intended
the
$tory
to be for a
single
person,
iven
a l i t t leadjustment,he scenario
an
be
run for
group play
oo.
My
suggestion
s
to
have
he
players
take
some or
all
of
the
following
oles:
doctor
-
from GreenbankHause
researchassistant from GreenbankHouse
psychiatric
urse from GreenbankHouse
police
detectives
2)
-
local
constabulary
police
officer
-
local
constabulary
The team s brought ogether o look n
to
the
recent
past
and
likely causes for Catherine's
present
situation, and
to
investiagate hethera crime has actuallybeen committed
by
or to Catherine.
Naturatly, ith
ewer
players,
he
group
could
take the roles of either the police (called n by Greenbank
House)or
the
Greenbank taff
hemselves.
I
agree
with Andy
-
it's
a
perfect
no win scenario. Enjoy.
7
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SNW
TIIE
LA'T
RALLET
FOR
TWRELF
Far
Flung
Military
nits
or
use
with
call
of
cthurhu
by
Adam
Crossingham
'Save
the Last
Bullet or
Yourself
s
a series
of articles
dealing
with military
units
hat
may
be encountered
uring
he
course
of
a Call
of
Cthulhuadventure.
hese
units
have
been
chosen
because
f the
places
n which
hey
served,
he
potential
f
a
mythos
encounter
n the
regions
where
hey
might
be
encountered,
oupled
ogether
with
he
air of
mystery
and
elitism
thatsurround amousmilitary nits.
Last
ssue
we
examined
he
history
and
background
o the
French
Foreign
egion.
n
part
wo we
look
at l i fe
n the
Legion,
ideas
or
running
Legion
based
adventures
nd
character
evelooment.
Life
in the
Foreign
Legion
Joining
he
Legion
'l
was
a
general,
mon
colonel,'-
a recruit,
c.1920
Joining
he French
Foreign
egion
equires
etting
o France.
Any
Gendarme
tation
or
army
garrison
will
be able
o
direct
the
volunteer
o
the nearest
ecruiting
entre.
he
minimum
age
of
enlistment
s
16,
but boys
of
14 have
bluffed
heir
way
into the Legion successfully" riminalconvictions
will not
stop
a man
from
oining
he Legion's
anks,
nor
are
political
refugees
efused.
t
is
customary
or
men
to take
a false
name
or even
another
nationality
s it
allows
he legion
o
deny
knowledge
of a
recruit.
Before
1881, Frenchmen
re
obliged
by
law
to
sign
up as
foreigners;
sually
Swiss
or
Belgian,
hough
once n
the
Legion,
soldier's
ational
den-
tity s
an
open
secret.
Recruits
ign
an initial
ontract
or
ive
years.
Having
igned
the
recruitment apers,
he
new
recruit
s
sent under
guard
to Fort
St.
Jean
in Marseilles.
t Fort
St.
Jean
he recruit 's
civilian
lothes
are taken
and sold,
and
the regulation
lu e
FrenchArmyuniformssued
hence
les
bleus',
he Legion,s
nickname
or new
recruits.
When
enough
men
have
been
mustered
o create
a draft,
hey
are
shipped
under
guard
o
Oran.
The recruits
are then
directed
o
Sidi-bel-Abbes
v
route
march
or by train.
At
the Legion's
epot
he new
recruits
re
examined
gain o
see if
they
are
unsuitable
or
Legion
service,
l l
or
insane.
Those
who
ail
are returned
o France
but not
many
men
are
refused.
The
acceptable
recruits
are then
marched
to
Mascara
or
four
months
of basic
rainino.
Basic
Training
'Here
we make soldiersout of scum tikeyou'
-
Sergeant-major
Lajaune
u',r'
Basic
raining
t
Mascara
was eft
o
senior
ous-officers
nd
although
arsh,
was
designed
o insti l
espect
or
authority,
discipline
nd
to keep
the
new
l6gionnaire
live
in North
Africa.
All
commands
n
the
Legion
are
given
n French,
a
recruit
having
o
quickly
pick
up
the rudiments
of
Military
French
n
order
o
avoid
being
struck
or receive
some
other
punishment.
rench,
dri l l
and
marksmanship
re
quickly
picked
up.At
the
same
ime
he new
recruits
are
constantly
beingput through outemarchesof increasingengthand
worsening
errain.
Marching
egins
n
the
irst
weekwith
marches
f
24km.
bu t
the
distances
are
rapidly
ncreased
over
the weeks
as
stamina s
builtup.
The inal
est s
a march
of 50km
carrying
45kg
of kit
across
mountains
and
bad
roads.
The
time
allowed
or
this
distance
s eight
hours.
6gionnaires
re not
allowed
o
fall
out
and those
who
collapse
are
dragged
by
cart
until hey
start
o
walk
again.
No
man
is
allowed
o fall
out
or be
left
behind,
because
f
captured
by
the
Arabs
he
would
be
put
to
death.
At
the
end
of the
route
march
he
legionnaires
ave
o
build
a
'murail les
d'Afrique'(a
amp
with
trenchesand defensivewalls)and then stand guard unti l
dawn.
This
was
a
ref lect ion
of
actual
operat ing
conditions
n
North
Africa.
After
successfully
ompleting
asic raining
he 169ionnaire
s
posted
o his
new
regiment,
which
s the
one
that has
the
most
need
or
new
bodies.
Punishment
Punishment
n
the
Foreign
Legion
s
swift
and
harsh.
The
Legion
s
notorious
or
its
discipline,
ut in
a
tough
environ-
ment,
surrounded
by
hostile
natives,
he
Foreign
Legion
needs
o maintain
rder,
ometimes
ith
an
iron
hand.
public
corporal
punishment
ccompanied y insults, s commonly
meted
out by
NCOs,
or if
the incident
s
serious
enough
by
the
officers.
he
next
stage
is
corporal
punishments
nd
withdrawal
f
privi leges
such
as
sleepingn
cells;
enied
all
contact
with ellow
6gionnaires;or ack
drill
wice
daily
with
a
20
kg
pack
of stones.
he
punishment
t
this
stage
can be
ri tual ised
nd
publ ic ly
umil iat ing
nough
o'encourage
he
others'.
Some
punishments
uch
as
'la
crapaudine,and
'la
pelote'
are severe
enough to
be
infamous
outside
the
Legion.
Time
could
also
be spent
n
the Legion
prison,
or
'Totte',
for
offences.
uch ime
spent
n
prison
s
added
o
the
duration
of the 169ionnaire'sontract.One peculiar egion raditions
that imprisoned
169ionnaires
re inspected
daily
by
an
officer,
but
only
an officer
with
the
same
medals.
Thus
a
169ionnaire
ith
he Legion
'Honneur
an
only
be inspected
by an
officerwith
the
same award.
The
Legion
also has
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Cruel
and Usual
La crapaudine
The most
notoriousof Legion
punishments
nvolves ashing
the victim's
wristsand a nkles behind his bac k whilst n
a
prone
position.
Withinminutescrampwould set in
and aftera
few hours would
cause agony.Some men were
placed
in
grain
silos
and
left or
days
n
the dark withoutwater or
being
able to stand or lie
straight.
The
crapaudinewas officially
bannedn 1920and supposedlyeplaced
y
mprisonment
n
barrack ells,
pack
dri l lor both.The
punishment
as used n
the Gaslightperiodand almost certainlycontinued nto the
mid-1920s.
Le
pelote
lsa humiliatingitual n which
he 6gionnaires
orced
o keep
performing
rill and tricks or NCOs and officerswhilst
carry-
ing
a sackof
rocks
wired o his back.Hesitation,
lownessor
falterings rewarded
with a beatingwith a wet, knotted ope.
Le
pelote
endswith
the
l6gionnaire
eing made o
crawl back
to his
barracks oom on his stomach.
amps where legionna ires
re subject o hard
constant
nspection
n the Saharan un.
worstpunishment s a posting o one of lhe 'Battalions
Army
punishment
attalions h ere ife s
even for a l6gionnaire.
typical day might involve
o makea thousand
mud bricks; ailure o
do
results
beingdenied or
that day.
unishment
was harsh,
a
l6gionnaire
who feels
y an NCO can always hallenge
is ormentor o
off-duty
rivate
ight
n order o
settle
he
matter.However,
are NCOs because they can
fight. Only a
experienced 6gionnaire
should consider
is bullying ous-officier .
Legion's orld-wide eadquarters
nd depot s located
0 miles south
of Oran.'Bel-Abbes'(to hose n
know) s
a new own
planned
and builtby Legionon the
of an Arabvillagenamed
aftera
local
hermit. he own's
rew
to over 40,000
people
serving he depot,
an initial
opulation
f
only 500.
6gionnaires
ould live
outside of the barraeks,
s
the
Quartier
i6not. he Legion ook
an active
part
he civil
side
of
Bel-Abbds s well as the military,
soldiersserving
as councilofficials.Ex-l6gionnaires
et up
businesses erving he
garrison
fterLiberation.
are also
other attractionsn Sidi-bel-Abbds
uch as
brothels
and
gambling
dens of the VillageNegre.
an also be a dangerous
lace,
specially n
s legionnaires
ttempt o drown heir
sorrows,
get
and o settleold
scoreswith civilians nd soldiers like
numerousist
and knife ights.
new
recruits
have a different view
of Sidi-bel-
t 'swhere
basic raining akes
place
and NCOs ake
n destroying ew
recruitsand rebuildinghem as
and the
L6gionnaire
Legion maintains he l iberalFrench attitude
ex.A l6gionnairewho
plays
by
the
Legion's
ules
will
hat
his
requirements f food,wine
and women are aken
of. Food
and wine rationsare
good
whilst n
barracks,
of only two
basic meals whilst in the field.
When
he
Legion
goes
on campaign t takeswith t
a
number
of
camp
'followers'.
Some are canteen women who are
usuallymarried o 169ionnaires,ut the Legionalso takes
with it the
officiallyapproved
prostitutes
n
the
form
of the
'Bordel
Militairede
Campagne'.
n Indo-China,
he conglais
qualify
s unofficial anteen
women.
Every
garrison
will have t's
own
Legion
brothel,where he
prostitutes
are medically
checked by the Legion's own
medical
fficers. idi-bel-Abbds
as nfamousor it 'sVillage
Negre
district
ull
of approved
and
non-approvedadies
of
horizontalefreshment.
Desertion
Many men realise
heir mistakeof
joining
he Legionwhen
confronted ith
he harsh ealit ies
f
life,
usually
n
desolate
environments. esertion s often the only way out of the
Legion
short
of
a
bullet.Postings n
Oran and Algeria are
harder
to desert from
because of the
landscape
an d
environment, ut because f this
opportunities
or
desertion
are
also
greater.
he Legiondoes not
consideran escapee
l6gionnaire
deserter until after
six da ys as either the
desert,Legion rackers r Arab
bounty
hunterswould
usual-
ly
claim
he
deserterbefore he six days were up.
Dying n the desert
or being
caught
by Legion rackersare
the
preferred
options,
as
the Legion
pays
Arab bounty
hunters heir reward regardlessof whether
the deserter is
dead or alive.Consequently,ounty hunters usuallyonly
bring back the deserter'shead
as
proof
for the reward.The
Arab
tribes will occasionally
id deserters
f they
feign
conversion o lslam
or assist he desert tribes uprising
however his means
court-mart ialand almost certain
execution f the Legion ater captures
hem.
Most attempts
at desertionare made when travelling o an
overseas
osting.
umping hip at Suez s the most
popular
option
but
the
deserter
will have
the run the
gauntlet
of
armedFrenchmarineswith orders
of shoot-to-k ill.
Desertionwith
a
weapon
s consideredmore serious han
desertingwithout.Desertingcarries a standardsentenceof
40 days n
ail
n
addition o the roughing p the deserterwill
receive rom his
sous-officiers.
Pay,Gontracts and Pensions
l'1fi
#u
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In the
nineteenth entury,a ldgionnairewas
paid
a sou a day.
A l6gionnaire s
not
allowed
o have a bank account, nstead
the Legion maintains a regimental
account for
him. The
169ionnaireontributes
art
of his
pay
nto
egion undswhich
are used o
pay
or
such
as legioncelebrations,egionwhore
housesand such ike.
Initiallya recruit signs on
with
the
Legion or five
years
and
can
choose to re-enlist in five-year engagements.Some
sous-officier anks
are
only
available
o
men who re-enlist.
L6gionnaires an retireand
claima
pension,
but
only after
15
years of service.A larger pension is paid after 20 years
service.
20
years
is also the maximum officially
permitted
length of
service. Career soldiers have to re-enlist
under
anothername n
order o continue erving.
The GompagniesMont6e
The
MountedCompanies
CMs)
were createdby Colonelde
N6grier
n 1BB1
o counter nomadic Arab war bands by
combining mobility, endurance and firepower. Two men
shared a mule which carried both men's equipment, ations
for both he men and
the
mule,as well as one man riding.
The other
legionnairemarched
beside
the mule at double
pace.
Men and mule could march or up to 15 hours a day,
the men swapping
position
every hour, and there were no
knapsacks o carry or baggage wagons to slow
down the
column.
The men selected to
serve
in the CMs were fit, mentally
stableand only served or two
years
-
the rationswere very
basic(biscuitsand dried figs/dates),water was very scarce
and
he
CMs operated n a forbidding nd onelywilderness,
hundreds
of
kilometres rom support.The range and martial
prowess
soon made hem an 6lite within he nascentelite of
the Foreign egion.
Leaving the
Regiment
The Mythos and the Foreign
Legion
Fifteenmythos connections or
a Legionnaire ampaign:
1. Cultistsof many gods and races can found in North
Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. The most
prevalent
cults
seem to be those dedicated to serving
Cthulhu,Shub-Niggarathr
Nyarlathotep.
2. Sand
Dwellerscan be found hroughoutNorth Africa and
the Middle East.
These creaturesnormallyshy away from
contact with heavily armed humans such
as
l6gionnaires,
but should a
straggler become separated rom the main
column the last thing he mi ght see is a Sand
Dweller
stalking im.
3. Ghouls
have
a long history intertwinedwith humanity's
and are ound almostwherever he
Legion s
to
be found,as
the Legion s found at the sceneof death and conflict.Egypt
and the Middle East have very well establishedwarrens.
4.
The Mediterranean ies on top of what was once the
Hyborianage's Stygian Empire.Remnantsof it's
evil
glory
can
be
found
along
the
shores of North Africa and the
Middle East. Serpent People may occasionallybe found
amongst he hordes in the ancient metropolisof the East
attractedby
the
climate, he
prey,
he
cover
and
the
Stygian
artefacts.
5.
Deep Ones may
be encounteredon the
Mediterranean
coast of Morocco and Algeria, in the Indian Ocean, the
South
China
Seas
and
the Pacific. heir
practices
f
mating
with humans s the same and the threat s the same the
world over.
6. Cthonianswere imprisonedbeneath he
pre-human
city
of G'harne n
Mali.
Do
any Cthonians emain n he vicinity?
7. ln
T'gaori,
Ghana,
people
summon the Gn'icht Tyaacht
tree spirits o do their bidding.Spiritsor DarkYoung?
B.
A
presence
n Djibouti
gives
France
access to
the
Red
Sea and he Arabian
peninsula
interland hould t
need
t.
lrem and he HiddenCity are
ust
within each.
9. The Tcho-Tcho
may
be
encountered
n Indo-China n
the
Laos-Cambodian orders.
10.
Mi-Go may
supposedly
be
found in the
hills and
mountains f Cambodia. heirminingoperationsmay stray
east in Indo-China.
he over
curious may find themselves
on Pluto n a brain-case.
11.
The
Tree-men f
M'bwa
serve
he God of the
Red Flux
in Central
Africa, somewhere
beyond
he
Mountainsof the
Moon.
12. Nug
and Yeb are
worshipped
by
certain
Druze sects
n
Lebanon,abhorredeven by other Druze.
13.
Avatarsof
Nyarlathotep Ahtu is worshipped n Africa.
Shugoran s worshipped n Africa and the hills of western
Indo-China.B'moth is worshipped by some of the more
primitive
and superstitious frican
ribes.
The SkinlessOne
is still worshipped by former Ottoman remnants of the
Brotherhood f the Skin in NorthernSyria.
14.Something ives n a deserted emple n Cambodiasome
miles from the Indo-China border. l f too many
travellers on
the
border disappear, a Legion expedition
might be despatched o investigate,
possibly
o
suffer
the
same
fate
of
Delta
Green's Special Forces operation in
1969.
15. Nyogtha, the Dweller in Darkness, who served by
ghouls,
can be summoned to Earth's surface through a
number of
secret caverns
and
fissures, one of which is
reputedly ocated n Syria,This s
guarded
by a cannibalcult
of
humans and
ghouls,
he
secret
of
which is
guarded
and
handeddown
rom
father o son.
r0
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he end of his agreed
period
of service, l6gionnaires
presented
with
an honourabledischargecertif icate n a
eremony of Liberat ion. With this cert i f icate the
x-l6gionnaire
an apply
or French esidency r naturalisa-
seeds
Heart
of the
Storm
manninga small isolatedoutpost he
players
are
besieged y Arab ribesmen. ver several
ights,
he Arabs
mount
increasingly
dangerous attacks on the outpost.
Casualties re taken on both sides.Whilst he
players
ar e
aiting
or
he inalassault, desertstormdescends n the
reaand visibil i ty rops o zero. n the stormdo the
players
hear
screams r the howling
gale?
After severalhours, he
storm bates, ut
where
Arabswere here
s now
nothing
not even
bodies.
The next night
guards
think they see
'something'prowling
the
perimeter
f the outpost.
Cursed
he
players
ffenda
'waliy'or
holy man whilstcarryingout
heir
rders.He curses hem.Not by wavinghis handsabout,
not n a bad way,or by
putting
he e vil eye
on the soldiers.
Instead e curses hem with kindness. s strange ncidents
increase,he
players
ecomeaware hat heyare blessed, r
ctual lycursed, they wi l l have to f ind someway of
removing
he curse.Whichmay be a
problem
f they
shot he
aliywhenhe
got
in theirway.
ThreePharaohs
One of the
player
charactersdiscoversa treasure map
concealed n the
person
of a capturedBerber. he ancient
piece
f
papyrus
s
disgusting,
aving
been oo close o the
Berber,
ut
s
covered
n what
ooks ike
azy
hieroglyphics.
Anybody
ith a knowl edge f ancientEgyptianDemotic an
OccupationTemplates
CompagniesMont6e L6gionnaire
Ski l ls: Bayonet, Mi l i tary Science, Natural History,
Navigate, ther Language:French,Ride,Rifle,Survival,
andone skil l o represent formercivilian rade
Musthave a CON of 12 or better .and POW of 11
or
better.
L6gionnaire
Ski l ls:
Bayonet, Fist/Punch, Heavy Weapons
or
Machine-gun r Ar tillery,Knife, MilitaryScience,Other
Language: rench,
Rif le, Survival ,and one ski l l to
represent former
civilian rade.
Officer
Skills:Credit Ra ting, History, Law, Military Science,
Navigate,
istol,Psychology, ide,& Rifleor Sword.
Sous-Officier
NCO)
Skills:Bayonet,Block,
Fist/Punch,
Heavy Weapons or
Machine-gun r Arti l lery,Kick, Martial Arts or Knife,
Military cience,OtherLanguage: rench,Rifle,Survival,
andone skil l o represent formercivi l ian rade.
read he
precise
nstructions
n the location f a
Pharaonic
treasury
omewhere
n
the wastesof the GreatSandySea,
betweenSanussi Libya, Bri t ish-control led gypt and
French-held
had.
Soonnewsof the discovery
s
known o all of the
players'
company. o the
players
esert
and attempt
o
get
the
gold
the
gold
or him and he restof the company?
Addedcomplicationsnclude n whose erritoryhe treasury
is located,
potential
iplomatic
ncidents, aids
by
the local
tribes
and inallywhatever,f anything, emains o
guard
he
treasury ftera mil lennia r two.Then here s the
problem
f
gett ing
he
gold
home,..
Roleplaying
nd
he French
Foreign
Legion
A role
playing
dventure et in the Foreign egionwill be in
a
strict
military nviro nment here he
players
will
subject
o
orders
and
conditions
utside
heir
ability
o
control,
his may
lead to
s i tua t ions
where Keepers
are conf ront ing
usually maverick nd care-free
layers.
eepers
hould
no t
be afraidof followinghroughall the consequences f play-
ers'actionsand
responses.f
a
player
character s
insubor-
dinate
o
a
superior ff icer,herewill
be
repercussions.f
a
character s cowardlyhe may face
court-martial r at
least
the contempt
f
his
comrades.
The Keeper
may
want
to consider allowing one of the
players
o
be a
junior
officer
and
another
o
be an
NCO, he
remaining
players playing
169ionnaires.f
some
of
your
players
re ikely o object o beingorderedaroundby other
players,
make all the
players
humble l69ionnaires. hen
during
he adventure
emove
he NPC leadership hrough
combat asualties r simpleseparationrom he main egion
group.
Be
prepared
or l6gionnaire haracters
ttempting
o desert
on the irst
good
opportunity
if
i t 'ssuitableor he
plot
allow
the escape ttempt.Rememberhatdeserters an alwaysbe
capturedby
native
cultistsand show up later.Be equally
prepared
or
players
o fullyembrace he ethosof the Legion,
and o fight ike ionsunti l he deathand refusingNPC offers
for theirsurrender. ut he Keeoer houldalso bear n mind
that
he
Legion'sArab,Chineseand
African
enemies
arely
gave
quarter
o
soldiers
hey capture a wounded
player
character s l ikely o be a dead character, r a sacrif ice,
f
caughtby the enemy.
One final
piece
of
advice
alwayskeep the commanding
officer n NPC or
guest
player.
his allows h e Keeper o
iiterally rder he
players
round, hould herebe a need o.
l l
NationalityTables
Use hese ables o randomly eterminehe nationality f
a NPC l6gionnaireor c ountry of birth of a
player
character.Use of the tables in character
generation
s
optional.
Gaslight: 1880& 1890s
Nationality
Alsace-Lorrainers
German
French
Belgian
Swiss
Austrian
Other
roll
1d4)
1, 2 Spanr'sh
3 British
4 Turkish
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Optional
-
Touched by
Baraka
Baraka
s an ancient
Legion ermapplied o
i€gionnaires ho seem
o be blessed
with he ability o ignore
nemy ire and
emerge
unscathed
rom situations
hatwould eaveother
men n
pieces.
ometimes
araka tays
with he l6gionnaire
ho eventually nd
inexplicably
eaches
etirement ge;
sometimes
t leads he oolish o his death;
ometimes
eathwill gnorebaraka.
n Arabic,
Baraka
means
divine
blessing'ands associated
ith holymen
or women,either
l iveor dead.Baraka
an be transferredrom
one
person
o another, r from
a materialtem
o
a
person.
In
game
ermsa Keeper hould
grant
baraka
o
a
l6gionnaireharacter
ho calls or a
Luck oll o avoidalmost
certaindeath.
The
player
must
cali or he Luck oll ;
baraka hould
not result rom a Luc k oll
awarded y
he keeper.
f
the
player's
uck
oll
s
successful
nd the
result
s also
equal
or
less han
his
current
POW,
he characters
touched y baraka or
a while. he Keeper
should oll 1d20
secretly nd record
he result. his
number s the number f times
he character
an escapebeinghurt
by enemy
fire.Normalhitsshouldbe ignored. r it ical i tsbecome lesh-woundsoing1 or 2 points f damageat worst.An 01 rollwill hit but
wil l only do
minimum amage.
he Keeper hould
ecord he
number f times he character
ouldhavebeen
hit.When he char-
acter's araka
has beenusedup
he maybe hit as
normal.Barakawil lwork
against ult ists sing
weapons, ut t
doesnot
protect
against
minions f the
mythos. character
osesno
SAN
or
being ouched
y baraka.
Role
playing
he effects
f baraka hould
be subtle. he
player
houldnot be aware hat
his character
as been ouched;his s
somethinghat
he character
earns
rom
other169ionnairesnd when
new
ecruits
tart o
whisper'baraka'whenhe
character
passes
hem.
L6gionnaires ill
not mmediatelyee
a comrade s blessed
fter
ust
one
escape
rom
death,
as war s
ful l
of simi-
lar ncidents,
utwhen t
happens hreeor
four imes he old sweats
tart alking bout'baraka'and
he character.
foolish har-
acterwill est
he
limits
of
his blessing nd
wil lsoon use up
the
gift,
allowing eath
o claim
ts
prize.
A characterwho ecomes
cautious
n learning e has been
ouchedby baraka houid
not be allowed
o keep he
gift
baraka
ouches hosewho
have
already
been ouched
by death, but are
fated or more, but will
moveon if wasted.
l iterally
rder he
players
round,
hould herebe
a need o.
L6gionnaire's
Seryice
Number
The
Ldgionnaire's
Service
Number is known
as the
'Matricule'.
Originally
he matricule
umberwas 3
digitsand
then around 1935
became
four digits long.
Randomly
generate
matricule
y rolling d10,
or 4d10.The
matricule
may
used in
place
of
duplicate urnames
within a unit
to
avoidconfusion.
Choosing
a Regiment
Depending
on the time
chosen for the
adventure,only
certain egiments
will be
available. ee the
Brief Historyof
the Legion publ ished n TW3 for detai ls of specif ic
reg
mental perations.
1er R6gimentEtranger
1er
RE) based n
$idi-bel-Abbes,
Algeria.
2e
R6gimentEtranger
2e
RE) based n
BOne, hen Saida,
Algeria;
ater Morocco.
1er
RdgimentEtranger e Cavalerie
1er
REC)
ormed
1921
basedSouse,
Tunisia
Autonomou$
ompagnie
Montees
rom
1882
For ease of play,Keepersshouldensure hat charactersare
either
rom the
same
unit or experience
onditions
n which
men from several
differentbattalions
r
even
regiments
may
end up
serving ogether, uch
as a batail lon e
marche.
Legion Stereotypes
The
Legion s a multinati onalforce
nd t
has beenobserved
that
each national
grouping
develops certain
traits.These
might be crude stereotypes,
ut like all stereotypes
ave an
elementof
truthabout hem.The traits
are also
quite
useful;
allowing he Keeper
to
quickly
characterise
NPCs and
allowing
players
a
quick
template on which
to base their
169ionnaire'sublicpersona n at least.
The Swiss and
Germans are
good,
wel l discipl ined
l69ionnaires, though
German sous-officiers
have
a
reputationof brutality
which
they
often
live
up
to. The $wiss
are often
ightingmen looking or
a war.
Le cafard
A cafard
s a madnessbrought
on by stressand
canstant
ear"
The
egionnaires anning
ortsand outposts n
the'bled'cr
wastelands f North
Africawere subject
o
the
cafardas hos-
tile
tribesmen urrounded
hem. Officersand
sous-officiers
eared
he cafardand fought
t with constant riv-
ial
duties.Where hese
ailed
hey
reliedon harsh
egion
pun-
ishment.
A cafard s a
small blackbeetleand the
madness $ likened o
having
beetles unningaround
n
the
soldier'shead
(or
'cafard
en fefe). Le cafard
s a deep suicidal
depression nd
under t's
influence 6gionnaires
ttacked omrades,
ommitted uicide
at
their own hand or
by
charging
he enemy,
mutilated hemselves
ar fell intoa cetalonic tupor.
The
Spanishare battl ing
womanisers; t
ease with women,
quick
o
pick
a fight n bar
or barrackand
braveenough o
get
themselves
n trouble
n the battlefield.
The talians,
he Poles
and
he
Hungarians ave
a
reputation
for enjoying he
Legion's
way
of life
and of soldiering,
and are
particularly
noted
or supporting he
women of the
Legion's
brothels.
The
Britishare knownas
good
soldiers,
ut
ones
prone
o
insubordination nd desertion.
However,
hose who haven't
been busted back to l6gionnaire2nd class or who have
deserted, re
often
ound
stepping
nto he breach
when he
section
eaders
re killedor incapacitated .
Weapons of the
French Foreign
Legion
Mle 1866
Bayonet
A
'yataghan
-style
sabre bayonet
ssued
with
the
Chassepot
and Gras rifles.Supersededby
the
Mle
1886 bayonet,
but
livedon in the
ranks becauseof
usefulnessas a tool.
Mle 1886
Bayonet
The Lebel rifle's 6pee-style,
riangular-section ayonet
was
unpopularwith troops as it was 55 cm long, and too easy o
break
using it for
the
real
jobs
like opening
tins, that
bayonetsare also
used or other han stabbing
people.
t2
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Mle 1855 nfantry Officer's
Sabre
lssued to Legion officers
and warrant officers in the
nineteenth nd early wentieth entury.
1lmm Mle 1873service revolver
t-ength: 41 mm
eight: .08kg
Length: 54 mm
Weight: .79kg
Operation: oubleaction
Capacity: 6 chambers
Operation: oubleaction
Capacity: 6 chambers
he Modele1873
service evolverwas the first centre
ir e
eapon dopted
by the FrenchArmy.Manufactured t the
St.Etienne rmoury, t
is a solid, ob ustand heavydouble-
action evolver.t is side oading
with a Colt-s tyle jector od.
Half-cockingocks
he hammerand cylinder or carriage nd
handling. upposedly
eplaced by the Mle 1892 service
revolver,he Mle
1873was carriedby adjutants ntil 1910,
andNCOsafter hat.
8mm'Lebel 'Mle 1892service
evolver
he Moddle
1892
service evolver
lso originatesrom the
St.Etienne rmouryand
is
popularly
nownas the Lebelor
Model ' Ordnance. mal lerand
easier
o
handle han he
Mle1873, he
Lebelhas a swingout cyl inder
the
i rs t
such
revolver dopted n Europe) or quicker eloading, nd no
safety. nfortunatelyhe
cylinder wings o the rightmaking
reloadingy righthanded
usersharder.
French Foreign Legion
Ranks
(with
equivalentUK
ranks)
TheKeeper
ecides ankof the
player
haractershrough
onsultation ith he
players.
lternatively
llow he Keepermay
allow he
players
o
purchase
heir current ank by
using character
eneration oints.
f the character
s
demoted he
player
oes not
get
the
points
spenton the former ankback,once
hey are spent hey
are ost.
Certain ous-officier
anksare only availableo re-engag6es
hich meanscharacter
will be at least25
years
old, f not
older.
% Points equired Foreign egion Britishequivalent
nla
Mar6chal e France Field
Marshal
nla
G6n6rald'Arm6e
General
nla
G6n6raldeCorpsd'Arm6e
Lieutenant-General
nla G6n6ralde
Division
MajorGeneral
nla
G6n6ralde
Brigade
Brigadier
nla Officiers
up6rieurs Colonel
Colonel
200
Lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant
olonel
100
Commandant
Major
80
Officiers ubalternes Capitaine
Captain
7A Abolished
890
Capitaine djutant-major
65 Abolished 890 Capitaine e tir
60 Lieutenant
Lieutenant
40
Sous-Lieutenant
SecondLieutenant
35
Aspirant
75
Sous-officiers Major
Warrant
Officer
70
Adjudant
Warrant
Officer
l
65
Sergent-major
55
Sergent-chef
Staff Sergeant
45
Sergent
Sergeant
40
Hommesdu rang Caporal-chef
20
Caporal
Corporal
5
Soldat
lt*gionnaire)
e 1re
classe LanceCorporal
0
Soldat
l6gionnaire)
e 2e classe Private
.
Caporal-chefs a rank hat
s
peculiar
o French orces,only achievedwith
at leasteight o ten
years'service.
t is
a unique
rank
as the l6gionnaire
an't
progress
urther.
f the l6gionnaire ater decides
hat he wishes o
progress
urther hen he
will evert
back o the
lower
rank
of Caporaland then re continue.
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rywisdom.
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Weapons
ummary
able
Date n
Ski l l Damage
Service
1866
BaYonet r1d8+1+db
o r
Kn i f 1d4+2+db
1 8 8 6
B a y o n e t r 1 d 8 + 1 + d b
o r
K n i f 1 d 6 + 1 + d b
The Moddle 1874 Gras rif le replaced he famous
Mle 1866
Chassepot rifle, and is essentially a centrefire cartridge
updateof the consumable artridge
Chassepot. he Gras s
a single shot bolt-action ifle. The
Gras was
progressively
replaced y the Lebel n the mid-1890s.
8mm Mle 1886 Lebel & Mle 86/93 if les
Length:1295mm Operation:Bolt ction
Weight: .22k9 Capacity: 8 tubular
mag
The Moddle 1886 Lebel rifle replaced he Gras in French
service
and continued n service n one variantor another
unti l he SecondWorldWar.The Lebel
if lewas he irstsmall
bore military ifle in the world using
smokeless
powder.
The
rifle
used
a similarbolt to the G ras and has an eight shot
tubularmagazine. ingle ounds ould oaded, llo wing uick
top-ups, eaving the magazine as a reserve.
However, he
GreatWar demonstrated hat the tubularmagazinewas slow
to reloadonce t was empty. he tubularmagazine lsodis-
torted
he rifle's balanceas shots were fired.The Lebelwas
modified n 1893 with no affecton
game
mechanics.
8mm Mle 1890& 1892carbines
Name
Bayonet M1866
Bayonet
M1886
Sabre
Mle 1873
Lebel Mle 1892
Gras
Lebe l
M1890& M1892
Ber th ie r
Hotchkiss
75mm M1894
11mm Mle 1874Gras rif le
Length : 016mm
Weight:3.4 g
Length:945mm
Weight:3.1 g
S w o r d 1 d 8 + 1 + d b
Base
Range
Touch
Touch
Touch
1 0
1 5
80
1 0 0
70
1 0 0
1 1 0
Magaz ine
N/a
N/a
N/a
6
6
Mal f nc t ion
0
n
n
n
9 9
9 9
Handgun
Handgun
Ri f e
R i f e
Rif e
1 d1 0
1 d 8
2d6+5
2d6+3
2d6+3
2d6+3
2d6+3
HPoF
I J
1 0
1822
1
873
1892
187
4
1886
1890
20
10
I U
I
1/3
112
1/2
0
0
1902
Ri f le
1 8 9 7
M a c h i n e g u
n
Operation:Bolt action
Capacity: 1
Operation:Bolt ction
Capacity: 3 clip
1894 Ar t i l l e ry 1Od6 /2y 5 00
1t4
1 /2 3o r5c l i p
burst
30
stripor
250 belt
1 1 2
8 + 1 1 2
3 o r 5 c l i p 1 1
12
12
40
lssued o Frencharti l lery nd cavalry n 1890 nstead f the
longerLebel if le. he carbinewas designed y Berthier, ad
a Lebel-stylebolt action and a permanentMannlicher-style
box magazine, oadedusing a chargerclip.The 1890 and
1892 models had a 3 round magazine. he carbinewas
adopted by the mounted companies at the turn of the
century.
8mm Berthier Mle 1907'Colonial' ifle
Length: 320mm Operation:Bolt ction
Weight:3.8 g Capacity: 3 clip
This r ifle was issued to colonial troops in the
Arm6e
d'Afrique. t was developed rom the Berthiercarbine.When
faced by weapon shortages
during the Great War, the
Berthier was also issued to metropolitan
roops as it was
quicker
o reload han he Lebel.
8mm Mle 1897& Ml e 1904Hotchkiss heavy
machine-gun
Length:1270mm Operation:Gas perated
Weight:23.58g Capacity: 30 stripor belt
The standard French
machine-gun rom 1897 onwards.
Reliablebut heavy, t's biggestdrawback
s the use of strips
of cartridges ather han belts.Thesewere in 24 or 30 round
sizesand couldalsobe linked ogeth er o form an unreliable
belt.The ripodweighedanother 0 kg.
75mm Mle 1897Field Gun
The
Legion formed several artillery companies before and
after the Great War, using the standard Moddle
1897 field
gun
n FrenchArmy service. he Mle 1897
was
the first ield
gun
to solve the
problem
of recoil but was
quickly
supersededby other countries. n the hands of trained
gunners
he Puteauxcould ire 10 rounds a minute.Th e
ammunitionwas carried n a separatecaisson.
Other weapons
The ForeignLegiondid make use of otherweapons
during
it's history.For he
period
hat this articlecovers t should be
noted that other ield guns were also used by some Legion
units,and hat someunits n lndo-Chinamay have
access
o
semi-automatic ifles. The stats for these are left to the
interestedKeeper.
14
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Bibliography
Ezel l , dward l inton di tor; 983.
SmallArmsof theWorld:
a basicmanual f smal l
rms,
11th
edit ion. tackpo le ooks,
Harrisburg,SA. SBN
0-81 7-1558-2
Geraghty,ony;1986.
Marchor Die:Franceand he
Foreign
Legion.
rafton ooks, ondonUK. SBN0-246^11975-6.
Hunter,Robin; 1997.True
Stories of the
Foreign
Legion.
Virgin ooks, ondon,
UK. SBN0-7535-0130-9,
Parker,
John;
1998. lnside
the Fcreign Legion: the
sensationaltoryof the World's oughest
rmy.
udyPiaktus
(Publ ishers)
td.,London,UK.
SBN
0-7499-1856-X.
Windrow,
art in;1981.
Uniformsof
the FrenchForeign
Legion 831 1981.Blandford ress,Poole,
UK"
SBN
0-
7137-1010-1.
Young, ohn Robert;1984.The French
ForeignLegionl he
inside
story of the world-famous ight ing
orce. Gui ld
Publ ishing,
ondon,UK. SBN
0-5000-1342-X.
WargamesMiniatures
lf
you
wish o use mini*tures o
play
combatbetween
the Foreign
egion
and
he orces
of the Mythos
here
are
several
anges
availablen 25-28 mm, the
scale
RAFM
and GrenadierCthulhumonsters
re
made or.
DixonMiniatures roduce Dahomey ange eaturing
Ldgionnairesand French regulars
as wel l as
Dahomean pponents.
MatchlockMiniatures
lso
produce
6gionnaires nd
colonial renchminiatures
n 25 mm suitableorTonkin
and NorthAfrica.
Old Glory havea
'Sons
of
the Desert' angewhich s
suitable for
the
classic
age of the
pre-Great
War
Legion. he range
also ncludes
rab
opponents.
RedoubtEnterprises
roduce'March
r
Die',
a similar
range o Old Glory; eaturingpre-WW1 dgionnaires
and
Arabs.
Be warned however hat Redoubt igures
are more30 mm than25 mm and do not mix vervwell
with
other ranges.
www.starywi$dom.
o. k
t5
8/19/2019 The Whisperer 05
16/64
Lr..itation
to the
Dance
lntroduction
Invitation
o the
Dance
s
a shortscenario et n Bennington,
Vermont,
which can
be
stagedeither n the 1920sor in the
modern day
and
works best
with a small number of
investigators. t must be stressed at the outset that the
scenario deals with
'witch-riding',
whereby New
England
witches
of legendwould havesexual elations ith
sleeping
men and
ride
them'through he sky, n
parallel
o
the Lil i th
legendscommon o Judaic olklore. lthough
uch
relations
between
humans
and he forcesof the Mythos
are a frequent
element
of Mythos
ales
and
published
cenarios,hey are
usually
part
of the back-story,
r at
least
occur'off camera'.
In hisscenario,heyoccurvery much
on
camera', nd hose
who might be offendedby this
may wish
o run
a less adult
scenario. Caveat ector.
What's Going On,
n a Nutshell
In the
quiet
churchyard
f St. Peter'sChurch n Bennington,
Vermont
VT),
he headstones
f JeremiahMoon
(d.1790),
and
Constance effries
d.1789),
ave mysteriously
oved
from
one corner
of
the
yard
to
the
opposite
end
without
apparent
explanation.Why? Poor
Jeremiah
was buried oo
close
to a
plot
of unconsecrated
ground
used to bury
witches.
One
of these witches was Co