Difference between revisions of "Horrors of Averoigne"

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=Campaign Overview=
 
=Campaign Overview=
  
This is the campaign Wiki for adventures in Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne, run on a fork of the Cthulhu Eternal SRD.  
+
This is the campaign Wiki for adventures in Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne, run on a fork of the Cthulhu Eternal SRD, and set around the 1350s.  
  
 
I've been a huge fan of the Cthulhu Eternal project since its inception. I've enjoyed ''Apocthulhu'' enormously, and I completely endorse the principle of a Cthulhu Mythos SRD based on the huge legacy of material developed since the first editions of ''Call of Cthulhu'' in the 1980s. In my opinion, it comprises one of the simplest and most elegant rulesets in the d100/BRP tradition, as well as one with a huge corpus of applicable material. I've worked on developing this for  various other time periods and settings, including Dark Ages.
 
I've been a huge fan of the Cthulhu Eternal project since its inception. I've enjoyed ''Apocthulhu'' enormously, and I completely endorse the principle of a Cthulhu Mythos SRD based on the huge legacy of material developed since the first editions of ''Call of Cthulhu'' in the 1980s. In my opinion, it comprises one of the simplest and most elegant rulesets in the d100/BRP tradition, as well as one with a huge corpus of applicable material. I've worked on developing this for  various other time periods and settings, including Dark Ages.
Line 9: Line 9:
 
These are the pages for creating characters, following the campaign, and generally working out specifics in the rules.
 
These are the pages for creating characters, following the campaign, and generally working out specifics in the rules.
  
*[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Rising_Sun_Eternal:_Character_Creation Creating Characters for Rising Sun Eternal]
+
*[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/cthulhu-eternal-medieval-horrors-of-averoigne.910386/ IC Thread]
*[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Rising_Sun_Eternal:_Combat_and_Weapons Combat and Weapons for Rising Sun Eternal]
+
*[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/cthulhu-eternal-medieval-horrors-of-averoigne.910387/ OOC Thread]
*[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Rising_Sun_Eternal:_Magic The magic system for Rising Sun Eternal]
+
*[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/interest-recruitment-cthulhu-eternal-medieval-horrors-of-averoigne.910325/ Recruitment Thread]
*[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/interest-recruitment-rising-sun-eternal-d100-medieval-japan.902607/ Recruitment Thread]
+
*[https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/435864/Cthulhu-Eternal--Medieval-SRD/ Cthulhu Eternal: Medieval SRD]  
*[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/rising-sun-eternal-d100-medieval-japan.903223/ In Character Thread]
+
*[https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/324775/APOCTHULHU-RPG-Core-Rules/ Apocthulhu SRD]
*[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?threads/rising-sun-eternal.903224// Out of Character Thread]
+
*[http://www.eldritchdark.com/articles/criticism/67/cycles-of-clark-ashton-smith/ Complete online archive of Clark Ashton Smith's stories - starting with Averoigne]
*[https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/408170/Cthulhu-Eternal--Age-of-Revolutions-SRD?manufacturers_id=5143/ Age of Revolutions SRD]  
+
*[https://www.blackgate.com/the-fantasy-cycles-of-clark-ashton-smith-part-i-the-averoigne-chronicles/ Another excellent guide to the Averoigne stories]
*[https://cthulhureborn.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/apocthulhu-system-reference-document-v0.666-1.pdf/ Apocthulhu SRD]
+
*[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Horrors_of_Averoigne:_Character_Page_Template Blank character sheet for Cthulhu Eternal Medieval - please copy the code to create a fresh page, but be careful not to change or erase this one!]
*[https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/japanese-names.php Japanese fantasy name generator]
 
*[https://yokai.com/ Yokai!]
 
*[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Rising_Sun_Eternal:_Rising_Sun_Eternal_Character_Page_Template Wiki template for Rising Sun Eternal characters]
 
*[https://journals.openedition.org/cjs/658  The Position and Role of Provincial Governors at the Height of the Heian Period]
 
  
 
=Characters=
 
=Characters=
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! Resources
 
! Resources
 
|-
 
|-
|[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?members/atlictoatl.83596/ Atlictoatl]
+
|[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?members/robhthedm.69884/ robhthedm]
|[[Matsunaga Nobuatsu]]
+
|[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Horrors_of_Averoigne:_Robert_de_Chalisse Robert de Chalisse]
|11
 
 
|14
 
|14
|70
+
|10
|56
+
|50/44
|13: 6/6/1, [][][]
+
|30
 +
|9: 6/3/0, []
 
|-
 
|-
|[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?members/delazur.198238/ Delazur]
+
|[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?members/archer.10289/ Archer]
|[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Hidetaka_Aoyama Hidetaka Aoyama]
+
|[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Brother_Gr%C3%A9goire Brother Gregoire]
|10
 
 
|11
 
|11
|55/54
+
|12
|44
+
|48
|6: 6/0/0, []
+
|36
 +
|2: 5/0/0, []
 
|-
 
|-
|[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?members/sam-i-am.17480/ Sam I Am]
+
|[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?members/airk.18639/ Airk]
|[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Komatsu_Koniko Komatsu Koniko]
+
|[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Horrors_of_Averoigne:_Ana_Elora_Foret Ana Elora Foret]
|??
+
|13
|??
+
|12
|??
+
|48
|??
+
|36
|?: ?/?/?, []
+
|4: 4/0/0, []
 
|-
 
|-
|[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?members/bikewrench.1063/ bikewrench]
+
|[https://forum.rpg.net/index.php?members/btranwrites.215189/ btranwrites]
|[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Shinrin_Hiroto Shinrin Hiroto]
+
|[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Horrors_of_Averoigne:_Lucien_Reynard Lucien Reynard]
|15
+
|12
|11
+
|7
|54
+
|42
|44
+
|30
|2: 1/0/0, []
+
|14: 6/6/2, [] [] []
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
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Pre-modern Japan:
+
"Vyones was the principal town of the province of Averoigne. On two sides the great, shadow-haunted forest, a place of equivocal legends, of loups-garous and phantoms, approached to the very walls and flung its umbrage upon them at early forenoon and evening. On the other sides there lay cultivated fields, and gentle streams that meandered among willows or poplars, and roads that ran through an open plain to the high chateaux of noble lords and to regions beyond Averoigne." - Clark Ashton Smith, "The Maker of Gargoyles"
  
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Pre-modern_Japan#Q130436
+
Averoigne is a fairly isolated upland area of southeast central France, with many volcanic mountains, cut off from easy access to the rest of France by a more or less circular range round its fringes, and shielded internally and externally by thick primeval forest. Therefore, the province is spared from much of the warfare and marauding that defiles the rest of mid-14th century France, but is also rather backward, superstitious and haunted by dark presences.
  
Interactive map of 12th-century Heian-kyo:
+
Prices of medieval items: http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/120D/Money.html
  
http://www.arc.ritsumei.ac.jp/archive01/theater/html/heian/
+
[https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Horrors_of_Averoigne:_Chateau_de_Chalisse The household of the Chateau de Chalisse.]
  
Historic large-scale map of Kyoto:
+
[https://www.dndspeak.com/encounters Grand random encounters page]
  
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/1696_Genroku_9_%28early_Edo%29_Japanese_Map_of_Kyoto%2C_Japan_-_Geographicus_-_Kyoto-genroku9-1696.jpg
+
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alchemical_substances List of alchemical substances]
  
List of Japanese mythical and legendary beings:
+
=Important People=
  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_creatures_from_Japan
+
Azédarac - Bishop of Ximes, with a rather dark reputation
  
[https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/13811052/japanese-folk-tale/ The Yanagita Kunio Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale]
+
Clement - Archbishop of Averoigne, based in Vyones
  
[https://sengokudaimyo.com/address/ Medieval forms of address and honorifics]
+
Joan I, Countess of Averoigne - nominal sovereign of Averoigne, but in practice too occupied with her husband John the Good's wars to assert her authority
  
=Important People=
+
Raoul, Comte de la Frenaie - most powerful actual noble in Averoigne, effective ruler of northern regions
 +
 
 +
Theophile - Benedictine Abbot of Perigon, controlling much of southern Averoigne
 +
 
 +
Fra Bonaventure - prior of the Franciscans, based in Vyones
  
Below are a few of the key figures, as well as others who'll be added as they appear in the course of the campaign.
+
=Local Acquaintances / Bonds=
  
*Retired Emperor Go-Daigo: restorer of Imperial primacy in the Kenmu Restoration.
+
* Etienne de Chalisse - elder brother of Robert and heir to the family fortunes (wife Isabelle, steward Gaston Duret, family priest Brother Guillaume)
*Emperor Go-Murakami: reigning emperor of restored Imperial line.
+
* Charlotte - barkeep at the ostel de la Corne de serf
*Kusunoki Masashige: loyalist general and Shogun, based in Eastern Capital.
+
* Michelle - Ana's crippled father and former gamekeeper
*Kitabatake Chikafusa: courtier and writer, key advisor of Imperial house.
+
* Philo - cobbler's son and Ana's former sweetheart
 +
* Father Boniface - curé of Bours
 +
* Arnaud Gauthier - the guardsman Lucien is fond of
 +
* Odile Bouvier - Lucien's co-runner of the apothecary
 +
* Beatricia - infamous thief, Odile's secret lover
  
 
=Important Groups and Places=
 
=Important Groups and Places=
  
* Kyoto (also Heian-kyo): The ancient capital, seat of the Emperor.
+
Map of the province of Averoigne
* Edo: The new Eastern Capital, seat of the Shogunate.
+
 
* Tōsandō: The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dsand%C5%8D Eastern Mountain Circuit], the traditional administrative and judicial circuit covering Japan's mountainous northeastern districts, stretching through the Japanese Alps far north into Tohoku.
+
https://wiki.rpg.net/images/e/ea/X2-averoigne-12.png
 +
 
 +
Smaller Averoigne map:
 +
 
 +
[[File:Averoigne_map.jpg]]
 +
 
 +
Hex sizes are 12 square miles each, or 3.5 square miles across.
 +
 
 +
Travel times: 3 hexes / day on roads on foot; 4 hexes / day on roads on horseback; 1 hex per day off road. 3 mph on roads; 1 mph in forests/hills.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
Chalisse - small fief and village by the road east of Fausseflammes
 +
 
 +
Fausseflammes - ruined castle with dark and sinister reputation
  
=House Rules and Quirks=
+
Inn of Bonne Jouissance - principal inn on main road between Vyones and Ximes
 +
 
 +
Isoile - main river of Averoigne, running roughly north/south through province
 +
 
 +
La Frenaie - castle of the Comtes de la Frenaie, famous wine district
 +
 
 +
Les Hiboux - marshy wilderness in southern Averoigne
 +
 
 +
Malinbois - location of the haunted double tomb of the Sieur Hugh du Malinbois and his chatelaine
 +
 
 +
Moulins - town in north-west Averoigne
 +
 
 +
l'ostel de la Corne de serf - inn on the road hard by Chalisse
 +
 
 +
Perigon - seat of Benedictine Abbey of Perigon
 +
 
 +
Sainte Zenobie - village near Perigon
  
 +
Sylaire - enchanted tower in eastern Averoigne
  
'''Spending Willpower to Make Rolls Succeed'''
+
Vyones - provincial capital of Averoigne, northern centre of province
  
You can spend your Willpower Points on a 1-to-5 basis to improve most skill rolls (but not SAN rolls or damage rolls, or POW tests, or to change normally successful rolls into crits etc.): 1 WP = up to 5%. This represents making that extra effort of will to achieve a success. But in doing so, you're running down your Willpower Points, which can be dangerous. Also, you have to take the full 1-to-5 conversion - no fractions. If your roll has failed by 6%, you have to spend 2 WP for the full 10%.
+
Ximes - main southern town of Averoigne
  
Remember that you can also spend Willpower to project SAN loss onto Bonds, or to repress insanity. This is different to the above use - and a reminder how important it is to hang on to your WP. Fumbles can cost you WP; resisting interrogation definitely does. WP are needed to fuel rituals and objects, and are sometimes targeted by offensive rituals. They're also very important for survival in hostile environments.
+
Ylourgne - sinister ruin and nearby Cistercian monastery in northern hills of Averoigne
  
Remember that you suffer an emotional breakdown when your WP hit 2 or below, and total collapse when you hit 0 WP. You regain 1d6 WP after a full, proper night's sleep. Exhaustion and sleeplessness cut into that.
+
=House Rules and Quirks=
  
  
'''Parrying with Melee Weapons'''
+
* Weapons - to flesh out the basic weapons list and make it more fun and diverse, [https://www.chaosium.com/content/FreePDFs/BRP/BRP%20SRD%201.0.2.pdf/ here's the link] to Chaosium's free BRP SRD from way back, including a detailed weapons list. Weapon types and base damages can be used in this campaign.
  
The rules are a little unclear on this point, so to clarify: You can parry a Melee Weapons attack against you if you have the skill (e.g., not surprised), are able to use it, and have a weapon of your own. If your parry roll succeeds and beats your attacker's roll, you successfully parry the attack and take no weapon damage. If your parry roll succeeds but is below your attacker's roll, your weapon takes 1 point of damage (Light weapons have 5 points, medium weapons 10 points, heavy weapons 20 points), plus your attacker's Damage Bonus.
+
* Equipment - here's [http://zioth.com/roleplay/equipment/biglist/ a big equipment list]. Any time you need an item, you can always check it here, and we can discuss actual price/Resources difficulty/availability.
  
If you're attacked by multiple assailants, you can opt to split your Melee Weapons skill between them and roll each parry separately, but your percentage chance per parry is divided by the total number of attackers. If you're splitting your skill, you have to declare this before the first attack, and you can't change the chances if one attacker fails and your parry succeeds.
+
* Mounted lance - a mounted attacker wielding a lance gets the usual 4.10.4 Fighting on Horseback advantages. BUT, if they charge with a couched lance, they can inflict the horse's damage bonus on their target. Furthermore, the lance is armor-piercing. Max chance is the attacker's Ride skill, and this attack needs space to build up momentum for a charge. It cannot be inflicted with a normal long spear: only a cavalry lance: DAM 2D6+horse db, Lethality 10%, Armor Piercing 5.
  
You can't parry Huge attackers, only Dodge them.
+
* Once per scene when a character conducts a successful action in line with one of their Motivations, they gain one WP. This remains until spent, or until the character sleeps, but does not affect permanent WP.

Latest revision as of 16:58, 9 March 2024

Campaign Overview[edit]

This is the campaign Wiki for adventures in Clark Ashton Smith's Averoigne, run on a fork of the Cthulhu Eternal SRD, and set around the 1350s.

I've been a huge fan of the Cthulhu Eternal project since its inception. I've enjoyed Apocthulhu enormously, and I completely endorse the principle of a Cthulhu Mythos SRD based on the huge legacy of material developed since the first editions of Call of Cthulhu in the 1980s. In my opinion, it comprises one of the simplest and most elegant rulesets in the d100/BRP tradition, as well as one with a huge corpus of applicable material. I've worked on developing this for various other time periods and settings, including Dark Ages.

Essential Resources[edit]

These are the pages for creating characters, following the campaign, and generally working out specifics in the rules.

Characters[edit]

The player-characters

Player Character HP WP SAN BP Resources
robhthedm Robert de Chalisse 14 10 50/44 30 9: 6/3/0, []
Archer Brother Gregoire 11 12 48 36 2: 5/0/0, []
Airk Ana Elora Foret 13 12 48 36 4: 4/0/0, []
btranwrites Lucien Reynard 12 7 42 30 14: 6/6/2, [] [] []

Important Information and Materials[edit]

"Vyones was the principal town of the province of Averoigne. On two sides the great, shadow-haunted forest, a place of equivocal legends, of loups-garous and phantoms, approached to the very walls and flung its umbrage upon them at early forenoon and evening. On the other sides there lay cultivated fields, and gentle streams that meandered among willows or poplars, and roads that ran through an open plain to the high chateaux of noble lords and to regions beyond Averoigne." - Clark Ashton Smith, "The Maker of Gargoyles"

Averoigne is a fairly isolated upland area of southeast central France, with many volcanic mountains, cut off from easy access to the rest of France by a more or less circular range round its fringes, and shielded internally and externally by thick primeval forest. Therefore, the province is spared from much of the warfare and marauding that defiles the rest of mid-14th century France, but is also rather backward, superstitious and haunted by dark presences.

Prices of medieval items: http://medieval.ucdavis.edu/120D/Money.html

The household of the Chateau de Chalisse.

Grand random encounters page

List of alchemical substances

Important People[edit]

Azédarac - Bishop of Ximes, with a rather dark reputation

Clement - Archbishop of Averoigne, based in Vyones

Joan I, Countess of Averoigne - nominal sovereign of Averoigne, but in practice too occupied with her husband John the Good's wars to assert her authority

Raoul, Comte de la Frenaie - most powerful actual noble in Averoigne, effective ruler of northern regions

Theophile - Benedictine Abbot of Perigon, controlling much of southern Averoigne

Fra Bonaventure - prior of the Franciscans, based in Vyones

Local Acquaintances / Bonds[edit]

  • Etienne de Chalisse - elder brother of Robert and heir to the family fortunes (wife Isabelle, steward Gaston Duret, family priest Brother Guillaume)
  • Charlotte - barkeep at the ostel de la Corne de serf
  • Michelle - Ana's crippled father and former gamekeeper
  • Philo - cobbler's son and Ana's former sweetheart
  • Father Boniface - curé of Bours
  • Arnaud Gauthier - the guardsman Lucien is fond of
  • Odile Bouvier - Lucien's co-runner of the apothecary
  • Beatricia - infamous thief, Odile's secret lover

Important Groups and Places[edit]

Map of the province of Averoigne

https://wiki.rpg.net/images/e/ea/X2-averoigne-12.png

Smaller Averoigne map:

Averoigne map.jpg

Hex sizes are 12 square miles each, or 3.5 square miles across.

Travel times: 3 hexes / day on roads on foot; 4 hexes / day on roads on horseback; 1 hex per day off road. 3 mph on roads; 1 mph in forests/hills.


Chalisse - small fief and village by the road east of Fausseflammes

Fausseflammes - ruined castle with dark and sinister reputation

Inn of Bonne Jouissance - principal inn on main road between Vyones and Ximes

Isoile - main river of Averoigne, running roughly north/south through province

La Frenaie - castle of the Comtes de la Frenaie, famous wine district

Les Hiboux - marshy wilderness in southern Averoigne

Malinbois - location of the haunted double tomb of the Sieur Hugh du Malinbois and his chatelaine

Moulins - town in north-west Averoigne

l'ostel de la Corne de serf - inn on the road hard by Chalisse

Perigon - seat of Benedictine Abbey of Perigon

Sainte Zenobie - village near Perigon

Sylaire - enchanted tower in eastern Averoigne

Vyones - provincial capital of Averoigne, northern centre of province

Ximes - main southern town of Averoigne

Ylourgne - sinister ruin and nearby Cistercian monastery in northern hills of Averoigne

House Rules and Quirks[edit]

  • Weapons - to flesh out the basic weapons list and make it more fun and diverse, here's the link to Chaosium's free BRP SRD from way back, including a detailed weapons list. Weapon types and base damages can be used in this campaign.
  • Equipment - here's a big equipment list. Any time you need an item, you can always check it here, and we can discuss actual price/Resources difficulty/availability.
  • Mounted lance - a mounted attacker wielding a lance gets the usual 4.10.4 Fighting on Horseback advantages. BUT, if they charge with a couched lance, they can inflict the horse's damage bonus on their target. Furthermore, the lance is armor-piercing. Max chance is the attacker's Ride skill, and this attack needs space to build up momentum for a charge. It cannot be inflicted with a normal long spear: only a cavalry lance: DAM 2D6+horse db, Lethality 10%, Armor Piercing 5.
  • Once per scene when a character conducts a successful action in line with one of their Motivations, they gain one WP. This remains until spent, or until the character sleeps, but does not affect permanent WP.