Leagues of Cthulhu: Codicil

198 Pages·2020·17.939 MB·English

by  Paul 'Wiggy' Wade-Williams

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eagues of thulhu
C
odiCil
M . P “W ” W -W
by r aul iggy ade illiaMs
C : a b , K r , V V
ontributors nthony oyd en iChter itas arnas
l e : a b
ead ditor nthony oyd
g d : r e
raphiC esign obin lliott
t : P W -W
ypesetting aul ade illiaMs
C i : M s
over llustration iChael yrigos
i i : a P
nterior llustrations ndy aCiorek
u r s d : J C
biquity ules ysteM esign eff oMbos
WWW.tripleaCegaMes.CoM
First Published 2019
xxxxxxx
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Printed in the USA
This game uses the Ubiquity Roleplaying System, developed by Exile Game Studio (www.
exilegames.com). Ubiquity Roleplaying System, Exile Game Studio, and all associated logos and
trademarks are copyright, Exile Game Studio, LLC. Used with permission.
©2019 Triple Ace Games. Leagues of Cthulhu and all related marks and logos are trademarks of
Triple Ace Games. All Rights Reserved.
C C
odiCil ontents
Chapter One: CharaCters....................................................... 3
n s .......................................................................... 3
ew kill
n t ...................................................................... 3
ew alents
n l ...................................................................... 4
ew eagues
w s .................................................................... 5
eird CienCe
n F ......................................................................... 6
ew laws
C F ............................................................... 6
OrruptiOn laws
C t : M & M ....................................... 7
hapter wO agiC anusCripts
r .............................................................................. 7
ituals
F ........................................................................... 9
OrMulae
e B ................................................................. 9
ldritCh OOks
e r ................................................................ 21
ldritCh eliCs
C t : w d d ............................... 31
hapter hree here arkness wells
a .............................................................................. 31
FriCa
t a .................................................................... 34
he MeriCas
a ................................................................................. 43
sia
e ............................................................................. 52
urOpe
O F .................................................................... 64
Cean lOOr
O w ................................................................. 65
ther Orlds
C F : g , M , C ...................... 67
hapter Our Ods Onsters and ultists
l g ..................................................................... 67
esser Ods
h .......................................................................... 68
OrrOrs
M B ............................................................... 75
undane easts
C ............................................................................... 76
ults
n p ............................................................ 111
OtaBle ersOns
C F : h M ................................... 117
hapter ive andling the ythOs
C s : t M t ............................. 123
hapter ix he ythOs thrOugh iMe
h ....................................................................... 127
uManity
C s : a s ........................................ 129
hapter even dventure eeds
C e : C .......................................................... 133
hapter ight ats
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eW alents
“There are black zones of shadow close to
our daily paths, and now and then some evil
soul breaks a passage through. When this hap-
pens the man who knows must strike before bloodline: leblanC
reckoning the consequences.” —H. P. Lovecraft,
The Thing on the Doorstep Unique; Only available at character cre-
ation
This chapter details a new options for char- Prerequisites: None
acters investigating the Mythos. The ancestors of the LeBlanc family were
members of the Royal House of Blois, fought
alongside William the Conqueror in 1066, and
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served as Masters of France with the Knights
Templar. Of course, not every LeBlanc went on
to become notable—many slid down the social
hobby ladder as time passed. The character’s branch
of the family has long been engaged in politics.
Specialized Skill Members of the family settled in Canada in the
Base Attribute: Intelligence 17th century and in the United States during
For game purposes, hobbies mostly cover the 18th century.
the collection and study of certain objects. Prac- Benefit: The globetrotter begins play
titioners can appraise, categorize, and where with Con 0 and Diplomacy 0 and Contacts 1
applicable date objects in their field of interest. (Politics). These are in addition to the regular
Your character must focus on a specific four 0-level Skills and two 0-level Resources all
discipline: characters receive.
* Cartography: The collection, study, and Normal: Your character receives no addi-
making of maps and atlases tional free Skills or Resources.
* Faleristics: The collection and study of
medals and decorations bloodline: northaM
* Fossil Collecting: The collection and
study of fossils Unique; Only available at character cre-
* Genealogy: The study and tracing of fam- ation
ily trees Prerequisites: None
* Numismatics: The collection and study of Able to trace their ancestral line back to the
coins, paper money, and other forms of cur- Roman occupation of Britain, at least accord-
rency ing to family lore, the Northams have been
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aristocrats since the first Baron Northam was be protected from the truth, even if it means
invested by King Edward III of England. destroying reputations or having those who
Their ancestral seat, supposedly built from speak publicly of the Mythos committed to
blocks taken from Hadrian’s Wall, is located on asylums for the rest of their lives. As the Club
the wild Yorkshire coast. motto reads, “All for the greater good.”
Benefit: The globetrotter begins play with The Elder Club only accepts members with
Diplomacy 0 and Intimidation 0 due his aristo- sufficient position or status to keep the truth
cratic bearing and Status 1 (Gentry). These are concealed. Among its members one can find
in addition to the regular four 0-level Skills and senior police and military officers, alienists,
two 0-level Resources all characters receive. politicians, academics, and even editors of
Normal: Your character receives no addi- major newspapers. Junior members (Rank 2
tional free Skills or Resources. or lower) wear a silver ring embossed with an
Elder Sign. Senior members sport a gold ring
bloodline: Van der heyl with the same design.
Starting Skill List: Pick two from Bureau-
Unique; Only available at character cre- cracy, Con, Diplomacy, Intimidation, Linguis-
ation tics, Spying
Prerequisites: None
Of Dutch descent, the van der Heyl family the elder raCe soCiety
arrived in America in 1638, eventually settling
near Attica, New York. Scions of the family are There are many Leagues with an interest in
privately educated, before being sent to pres- the history of humanity. Some, like the Society
tigious European universities to finish their of Antiquarians, have a general view. Others,
schooling. Many elect to remain in Europe, such as the New Argonauts, Old Testament
and recent generations have put down roots Society, and Sumeria Club, are more focused
across the continent. on certain cultures or periods. While there are
Benefit: The globetrotter begins play with some scholars and antiquarians who believe
Academics 0, Linguistics 0, and the Well-Edu- in the existence of Atlantis, most accept the
cated Talent (ignoring the Intelligence prereq- standard version of history—Atlantis is a myth.
uisite). These are in addition to the regular Not so the Elder Race Society.
four 0-level Skills and two 0-level Resources all The Society holds that human civilization is
characters receive. The character also speaks far older than suggested. Atlantis, in their eyes,
Dutch, as well as his native tongue. was only the most recent civilization among
Normal: Your character receives no addi- the elder cultures. Unfortunately, all they have
tional free Skills or Talents, nor do they speak to prove their theories are stories of dubious
a second language. origin and a handful of artifacts of arguable
date. This does not prevent them from holding
public lectures and organizing expeditions to
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the far-flung reaches of the globe.
Starting Skill List: Academics: History,
Anthropology, Expeditions, Investigation, Lin-
the elder Club guistics
Requirements: Rank (military or another the non-linnaean soCiety
League) or Status (academic, aristocrat, or
reporter) 1 Several Leagues have an interest in odd
Should the existence of the Mythos be- creatures. The Challenger Club quests for
come known to the world at large, it is likely living dinosaurs, for instance, the Yeti Club
humanity’s collective sanity will shatter. The seeks proof of the supposed Himalayan wild
Elder Club is determined the people must man and his kin, and there are members of the
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Society of Aquanauts endeavoring to find sea
serpents and monsters. Mythos languages
These creatures, whether real or fabled,
conform to the classification laid down by Certain Mythos tomes, such as the Véren-
Carl Linnaeus (1707-78) in his seminal work drye Runestone and Yothic Manuscripts,
of 1735, Systema Naturae. The Non-Linnaean are written in truly ancient or utterly
alien scripts. Translating them requires
Society believes that there are creatures whose
an Elder Lore: Tomes roll as opposed
existence defies the standard structure and
to a Linguistics: Translation roll. Such a
classification of beasts. Some have hypoth- roll would also be necessary to decipher
esized that these entities may, in fact, be of other forms of writing, such as glyphs in-
unearthly origin, though most accept they are scribed on a Mythos-related statue.
merely relics from an earlier epoch. As an option, a Gamemaster may wish to
The Society is interested in collecting live make the language barrier more prob-
lematic for the globetrotters. Two op-
specimens and fossils, as well as studying the
tions are given below.
biology of these unusual creatures.
Starting Skill List: Pick two from Expedi-
tions, Investigation, Linguistics, Science: Biol- neW elder lore disCipline
ogy, Science: Geology, Survival This option introduces the Elder Lore:
Languages Discipline. While Elder Lore:
Tomes permits a globetrotter to recog-
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eird CienCe nize the name of an eldritch volume, re-
call its general history, and have a vague
comprehension of its contents, Elder
Lore: Languages is required to translate
substratuM Visualizer ancient and alien languages.
This Discipline doesn’t ever allow for
Artifact 3 exact word-for-word translation. Instead,
An enhanced combination of the Substra- the reader grasps a rudimentary compre-
tum Cartographic Engine (see Weird Science hension through certain keywords.
Compendium) and X-Ray Box Camera, the
Substratum Camera allows geologists to peer speCifiC languages
into the earth without the need for digging.
With this option, globetrotters who wish
A viewing screen allows for real-time explora-
to understand eldritch writings require
tion. Turning one of two dials determines the
knowledge of a specific language. In
focal length (the depth the scanner sees) and place of a language group, a character
width (the area of effect) respectively. Pressing with at least one Level in any Elder Lore
a button activates a single frame camera that Discipline can learn one language from
captures the image on the screen. those listed below when they next im-
The device is heavy (12 lbs.) and focus prove their Linguistics Skill.
Aklo: Cursive script native to Serpent
rapidly diminishes with depth. Perception and
Men and certain cults of Yig.
Art: Photography rolls suffer a –2 penalty for
Pnakotic: A series of dots used by the
each 50 feet of depth. Using the scanner at its Elder Things.
maximum focal width allows one to quickly R’yhehan: The pictographic script of
scan a wide area, but small objects may be lost Cthulhu, the Deep Ones, and many cults
at such resolution. of great antiquity.
Enhancements: Extra Sense: X-Ray (+2 Senzar: Atlantean runic system.
Yithian: Curvilinear mathematical de-
Enhancements), Increased Area of Effect: 10
signs used by the Great Race.
feet (+4 Enhancements), Increased Range: 50
Yuggothan: A geometric script employed
feet (+6 Enhancements) by the Fungi from Yuggoth.
Limitations: Increased Weight: 300% (–6
Enhancements)
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They aren’t boastful or malicious—they just
M
anias doesn’t know when to stop talking. You earn
a Style point whenever your character reveals
“Mania” is a generic term among Victo- information that comes back to haunt them or
rian alienists for a variety of mental disor- causes trouble for them or their allies.
ders. In the Leagues world, many can be
Fainter: Whether it is caused by the sight of
handled by the Obsession Flaw, though
blood (especially one’s own), startling revela-
some overlap with other Flaws.
tions, or sudden shocks, the character is prone
to fainting at the most inopportune times.
addiCtion flaW
When a Horror check is failed, fainting is au-
Dipsomania: Consuming alcohol tomatic for a number of combat turns equal
Etheromania: Inhaling ether fumes to the Horror check’s Difficulty. During this
Toxicomania: Drug addiction time they are incapable of taking any actions.
You earn a Style point each time your fainting
obsession flaW causes you or your allies trouble.
Screamer (Severe): Your character isn’t
Ablutomania: Washing oneself
necessarily faint-hearted or highly strung, but
Arithmomania: Counting things
can’t help unleashing a piercing scream when
Bibliomania: Collecting books
startled. Whenever forced to make a Horror
Choreomania: Dancing
Dermatillomania: Picking one’s skin check, or the Gamemaster considers they have
Dromomania: Wandering been suitably startled, they must spend the
Ergomania: Compulsive worker next combat turn screaming. This counts as
Graphomania: Impulse to write an attack action. Two Style points are earned
Hydromania: Drinking water (may also
each time this fainting causes trouble for the
be an Addiction)
character or an ally.
Klazomania: Shouting
Kleptomania: Stealing steal
Logomania: Talking C f
orruption laWs
Metromania: Writing verse
Micromania: Self-deprecation
Morsusmania: Biting (often people) Unless otherwise stated in individual en-
Necromania: Having sex with corpses
tries, the following Flaws may be taken only
Nymphomania: Having sex
by globetrotters who have succumbed to Cor-
Oniomania: Compulsive shopping
Onychotillomania: Picking or tearing at ruption.
finger or toe nails
Plutomania: Acquiring excess, such as physiCal
wealth, status, power, or food
Pyromania: Setting fires Dry Skin (Bloodline: Marsh): Your
Rhinotillexomania: Picking one’s nose
character’s skin is easily dehydrated and they
(may also be Repulsive Flaw)
must submerse in water regularly. You suffer
Theomania: Belief one is a god
Trichotillomania: Pulling out own hair one point of lethal damage for each day you
cannot bathe for at least an hour. You earn a
Style point whenever your character is harmed
by the need to keep moist.
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Mange: Your character has a non-infectious
skin disease that causes their skin to be scabby
and their hair to grow in unsightly clumps. You
Mental suffer a –2 penalty to all rolls where appearance
is a factor. You earn a Style point whenever
Blabber Mouth: Your character couldn’t your character is shunned or rejected because
keep a secret if their life depended on it. of the condition.
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“Words have a force far beyond that of ink The sorcerer makes a Casting roll with a
stains on pages or spoken sounds... Whether Difficulty equal to the victim’s Willpower rat-
written or spoken, language found in forbid- ing. With success, any followers of the same
den books can warp space-time and tear the deity as the Mark automatically recognize them
fabric of reality.” as an enemy of the Great Old One in question.
—Daniel Harms, The Necronomicon Files: Note that each avatar of Nyarlathotep is
The Truth Behind Lovecraft’s Legend considered a separate deity for the purpose of
this ritual. Thus, there are separate rituals for
Mark of the Black Man, Mark of the Black Sun,
r
ituals
and Mark of the Yellow King, for example.
Mark of (Deity) is subject to Range modifi-
ers, as well as the modifier below.
drain life Mark of (Deity) Modifier
One hour +2
Rank 3
This ritual drains the life out of an ene- One day +0
my and heals the caster’s wounds. Make a One week –2
Casting roll modified for range and area of
One month –4
effect versus an opponent’s Passive Defense.
Because the Attack is invisible, the opponent One year –6
does not get to use their Active Defense. Each
success inflicts one point of lethal damage on Mark of Madness
the target and heals one nonlethal wound (or
downgrades one lethal wound to nonlethal) Rank 4
on the caster. While the Fear ritual can cause a sudden
onset of madness, the Mark of Madness inflicts
Mark of (deity) a gradual erosion over a period of days.
The magician makes a Casting roll with a
Rank 3 Difficulty equal to the victim’s Willpower rat-
The mortal cultists of the Great Old Ones ing. The victim loses one point of Sanity imme-
may be insane, but they are not stupid. When diately and another 2 points each day for every
threatened, they are likely to retaliate, but in additional success on the Casting roll. Range
order to do that they must first know their modifiers apply to the Mark of Madness ritual.
enemy. This ritual magically brands an enemy The Mark of Madness appears as a faint
of the deity named in the ritual. physical blemish on the victim’s forehead. De-
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magician through the Summon (Horror) ritual
a
vatars of anywhere on the same planet. Instead of its
usual reaction to being summoned, the crea-
n
yarlathotep
ture automatically tracks down and attempts
to slay the possessor of the runes.
You’ll notice several references to spe-
The runes have a maximum duration, de-
cific avatars for Call or Commune Nyar-
lathotep rituals in this book. Although termined during their creation. See the table
Leagues of Cthulhu lists just a single Call below. Once the duration ends, the paper
or Commune ritual for the Crawling Cha- crumbles to dust, negating its power to attract
os, he has myriad forms. Some are specif- Mythos entities.
ic to human cults, while other guises he It is worth mentioning that using Mark of
favors when dealing with intelligent alien
the Hound is not a guarantee of success. The
races. It may yet be that each avatar has
paper, if discovered, can be destroyed or dis-
no knowledge of the others’ schemes.
His avatar in the tomes of elder lore de- carded, thus rending it impotent.
tailed in Leagues of Cthulhu have no ava- Mark of the Hound Modifier
tar attached. This is deliberate, as it gives
the Gamemaster the final say. One hour +2
In some instances, those eldritch texts One day +0
may actually include multiple rituals
dedicated to Nyarlathotep, each invoking One week –2
a distinct avatar. The Al-Azif, for example, One month –4
might contain Call Nyarlathotep (All-See-
One year –6
ing Eye avatar), Call Nyarlathotep (Black
Pharaoh avatar), and Call Nyarlathotep
(Haunter of the Dark avatar). Each is a Mark of Withering
specific ritual and must be learned sepa-
rately.
Rank 4
The magician makes a Casting roll with a
Difficulty equal to the victim’s Willpower rating.
tecting it requires a Perception roll (Difficulty The victim suffers 2L damage (no Defense)
3), while recognizing it for what it is requires immediately and another 2L damage each day
an Elder Lore (any Discipline) roll. thereafter for every additional success on the
Casting roll. Range modifiers apply to the Mark
Mark of the hound of Withering ritual.
The Mark of Withering appears as a faint
Rank 3 physical blemish on the victim’s forehead. De-
The various horrors of the Mythos often tecting it requires a Perception roll (Difficulty
summoned by cultists to harass their enemies 3), while recognizing it for what it is requires
are far from omnipotent. Without knowing the an Elder Lore (any Discipline) roll.
location of their foes, the caster is stymied un-
less they possess the ability to invoke this ritual. sign of Koth (r)
During the casting, the magician must write
a sentence of arcane runes on a strip of paper Rank 2
using their own blood for ink. These need not Pumping hot lead or thrusting finely-honed
name the intended victim. The magician then blades into Mythos beasts rarely produces the
makes a Casting roll. In order to be effective, desired result. In order to escape with their
the runes must be passed to the victim. For lives intact, if not their minds, a globetrotter
obvious reasons, this is usually done surrep- often needs time to turn tail and run, buying
titiously. time until he can find a more permanent
Once magically charged, the runes can solution. That time can be bought using the
be detected by any creature conjured by the mystical Sign of Koth
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agic anuscripts
A potent warding symbol, the Sign must must make a Willpower x 2 roll. The Difficulty
be carved over a doorway, cave entrance, or depends on the strength of the ward. With suc-
similar portal through which eldritch horrors cess, the protection is breached and the vile
might seek to pass. The Sign of Koth only creature free to assault its intended victims. On
affects creatures in Leagues of Cthulhu books a failure, the Hound cannot pierce the arcane
listed under Great Old Ones or Horrors. magic, resulting in it giving up the chase and
The symbol exists in two forms. The Lesser returning to its native dimension—at least for
Sign provides a temporary reprieve, warding now.
a portal for no more than a few days at the The ritual is subject to area of effect modifi-
most. The Greater Sign permanently seals the ers, and those below.
entrance against the passage of elder abomina-
Sign of Tindalos Modifier
tions. The potency of the Sign is only as good
Minor sign (Difficulty 3) +0
as the caster, though.
To enchant a carved sign, the magician Major sign (Difficulty 4) –2
must make a Casting roll. Mythos entities with Superior sign (Difficulty 5) –4
a Willpower rating lower than the caster’s
number of successes cannot pass beyond the
f
orMulae
Sign until the ritual ends (which may be nev-
er). Great Old Ones have a Willpower rating of
10 for this purpose. In addition to dread rituals, eldritch tomes
The Sign of Koth ritual uses the modifiers may contain one or more formulae. Whether
below. ultimately powered by means arcane or scien-
tific principals far beyond the ken of conven-
Sign of Koth Modifier
tional science, they enable mortals to construct
Duration
certain eldritch relics. Each formula relates to
One combat or scene +0 one specific relic, and must be learned in the
Permanent –10 same manner as rituals in Leagues of Cthulhu.
Having learned a formula, the character
Maximum Width of Portal
may create it in the same manner as weird sci-
5 feet +0 ence gadgets, with two differences. First, the
10 feet –2 design phase is ignored—the globetrotter is
using an existing formula, not creating some-
25 feet –4
thing entirely from scratch. Second, regardless
50 feet –6
of the relic’s nature, the construction roll is
100 feet –8 always Elder Lore: Artifacts.
250 feet –10 Globetrotters can learn only formulae for
the construction of the eldritch relics in this
volume marked “*” and Essential Saltes and
sign of tindalos (r)
Powder of Ibn Ghazi from Leagues of Cthulhu.
Rank 3
e b
ldritCh ooks
This rare ritual provides protection against
the dreaded Hounds of Tindalos. It takes the
form of a pentagram, the lines of which are
curved. Drawn on the ground, its curved sides the assassins’ Creed: an exposé
ward those inside against intrusions from
of the true hashshashin
creatures native to angular space. Once drawn
and enchanted, the ward remains active for the
remainder of the combat or scene. Language: French; Author: Christophe
In order to pass through the ward, a Hound de la Croix; Published: 1632; Complexity: 3;
9