Cthulhu Invictus (Supplement)
Details
Publisher: Chaosium
Product Code: 23115
Publishing Year: 2009
Pages: 168
Cover Price: $26.95
Author(s): Chad Bowser, Andi Newton, Deane P. Goodwin
Artist(s): Steven Gilberts (cover), Max Badger, Thomas Boatwright, Stefano Marinetti
Setting(s): Ancient Rome
Format(s): Softcover
ISBN: 1-56882-305-3
Contents
From the Publisher
Horror Roleplaying in Ancient Rome
ROMAN CHILDREN TREMBLE in their beds as their mothers tell them stories of Medusa, the Hundred-Handed Ones, and the War of the Titans. They pray that the Fates have woven a long skein for them, free from encounters with the Minotaur and Cerberus. Little do they know that things more horrible than the creatures of myth and legend inhabit the world. A dark god stalks the streets of Rome stealing the souls of the rich and the poor, the young and the old, to populate his empire on the other side of the wall of sleep.
Thousands of miles away, on the coast of a freshly invaded island, Roman centurions huddle around campfires entertaining themselves with dice and ghost stories. They trust their fortifications to keep the barbarians at bay. But the barbarians are the least of their concerns. Outside the ramparts, small shapes scuttle through the darkness, looking for new hosts.
In the midst of the largest sea the world knows, an Egyptian merchant scans the horizon looking for land—and safety. Pirates prowl the sea, avoiding the Roman navy and preying on merchant vessels. The merchant’s men are well-armed to fend off any pirates, but he won’t relax until the coast is in sight. He doesn’t notice the forms swirling under the waves, reaching up with their claws to pull the boat down. His men are ill-prepared to fight them.
Greek scholars in Athens are ecstatic when they uncover scrolls relating to an African god from the deepest interior of that dark continent. They’re eager to read all they can in the cause of science. Their education hasn’t prepared them for the fact that the god is already in Athens, and they fail to notice that the city hasn’t changed for hundreds of years.
Young women scurry through the streets of Herculaneum to the Temple of Vesta, shunning the advances of lecherous old men and soldiers who’ve returned from the front looking to spend their coin. Only these women know that their chastity protects the world from an unspeakable horror. Should they fail in their mission, all of Rome is doomed to fall under a depraved god’s whim.
Sweat and grime cover a young Persian woman as she pulls her sword out of yet another monster that’s risen from the sand. As she glances around, several more unbury themselves and charge toward her. She casts one last look over her shoulder to make sure the families that were ambushed have escaped before she raises her sword and charges the monsters, her battle cry echoing over the dunes.
This is the world of Cthulhu Invictus, horror roleplaying in the first century CE, the time of the Roman Empire.
This book is the core rulebook and setting sourcebook for running Call of Cthulhu in Ancient Rome (and the lands of its dominion). It is a revision (and significant expansion) of material originally presented in Cthulhu Invictus (Monograph), one of the first of the MULA Monographs.
The book includes a 15" x 20" foldout map of the Roman Empire.
The sourcebook is divided into chapters as follows:
- Welcome to Rome, Capital of the Known World
- A Day in Rome
- Roman Society
- Roman Family
- Roman Housing
- Roman Entertainment
- Eating in Ancient Rome
- The Roman Calendar
- A Brief History of Rome
- Short Tour Around Mare Nostrum
- Travel
- Arabia Magna
- Asia Minor
- Britannia
- Aegyptus
- Gallia
- Germania Magna
- Graecia
- Hispania
- Iudea
- Kush
- Northern Africa
- Parthia
- Scythia
- Syria
- Character Creation
- Characteristics
- Birthplace and Language
- Gender
- Name
- Education
- Age & Aging
- Money
- Occupations
- Skills
- Opposed Skill Rolls
- Skills Clarified
- Weapons Skills
- Equipment and Supplies
- Roman Currency
- Clothing
- Pets
- Transportation
- Various and Sundry Supplies
- Recovering Sanity
- Violence and Sanity
- Combat
- Recording Damage
- Healing
- Poisoning
- Melee Weapons
- Shields
- Missile Weapons
- Armor
- Medicinal Herbs
- Poisons
- Roman Siege Weapons
- Bows
- Launchers
- Incendiaries
- The Grimoire
- Roman Religion
- Roman Augury
- Magic
- Mythos and Occult Tomes
- Mythos Creatures
- The Bestiary
- Apep
- Ataka
- Azi Dahaka
- Ba’al Hammon
- Bardi
- Basajuanak
- Basilisk
- Blemmyes
- Blue Men of the Minch
- Bouda
- Brocken Spectre
- Buggane
- Centaur
- Cerberus
- Cercopes
- Charybdis
- Children of Cthugha
- Children of Lamia
- Cu Sith
- Cuegle
- Cyclopes
- Dea
- Dybbuk
- Furies
- Gandareva
- Gorgons
- Grindylow
- Harpies
- Horses of Diomedes
- Jinn
- Kalikantzaris
- Keto
- Kul
- Laestrygonians
- Lamia
- Lesij
- Lou Carcolh
- Magliore
- Mas-da Sakkaru
- Mazikeen
- Meretseger
- Minotaur
- Mot
- Muses
- Pegasus
- Sandwalker
- Satyr
- Scorpion Men
- Scylla
- Sirens
- Taranushi
- Tengri
- Trenti
- Typhon
- Ut’ulls-Hr’ehr
- Vodyanoy
- Zaratan
- Cults and Secret Societies
- Argonauts
- Beag ma Aisus
- Blade of Zarthosht
- Bull Dancers
- Christianity
- Cult of Magna Mater
- Custus Notitiae
- Daughters of Isolation
- Fishmen of Lierganes
- Followers of Dagon
- Followers of Urakhu
- Gnosticism
- Harii
- Kukeri
- Lotophagi
- Mithraism
- The Olympians
- Priests of Melkarth
- The Qore
- Republicans
- Sicarii
- The Titans
- Vestal Virgins
- The Roman Legions
- Scenario: Prophylaxis Panacea Efqa
- Scenario Seeds
- Selected Reading
- Guide to Major Topics
- Investigator Sheet
- 2-Page Map of Rome
- Fold-Out Map of the Roman Empire (inside back cover)
Scenarios: Prophylaxis Panacea Efqa
Front Cover Text
A Sourcebook for Ancient Rome
Back Cover Text
Cthulhu Invictus
ROMAN CHILDREN TREMBLE in their beds as their mothers tell them stories of Medusa, the Hundred-Handed Ones, and the War of the Titans. They pray that the Fates have woven a long skein for them, free from encounters with the Minotaur and Cerberus. Little do they know that things more horrible than the creatures of myth and legend inhabit the world.
This is the world of CTHULHU INVICTUS, a horror roleplaying supplement for Call of Cthulhu set in the first century CE, the time of the Roman Empire.
INCLUDES THESE CHAPTERS: Welcome to Rome, Capital of the Known World • Short Tour Around Mare Nostrum • Character Creation • Skills • Equipment and Supplies • Recovering Sanity • Combat • Roman Siege Weapons • The Grimoire • The Bestiary • Cults and Secret Societies • The Roman Legions • Prophylaxis Panacea Efqa • Scenario Seeds
<also includes an advertisement for Chaosium's lines of Call of Cthulhu fiction and roleplaying books>
Comments / Trivia
This book is supported by four free PDF downloads:
- Cthulhu Invictus: Bestiae (2 pages of additional creatures)
- Cthulhu Invictus: Fabulae (1 one-page scenario seed)
- Cthulhu Invictus: Patrocinium (one-page containing notes on Roman Patronage)
- Cthulhu Invictus: Populus (2 pages of non-player characters)
The fold-out map is also sold separately.
When the MULA format was first launched, it was billed as a "testing ground" for getting proposed works to an audience in a "raw" form, allowing the most popular monographs to be re-worked into into a release in Chaosium's main line of Call of Cthulhu supplements. This book represents an instance of that plan bearing fruit, with a monograph's material successfully transitioning into the main range.
Playtesters: Dennis Miller, Karl Rodriguez, Matthew Garza, Oscar Rios, Robert Davison, Tony Fragge, and Tyler Hudak
Links
Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only
Players should not read any further.
References to Mythos creatures, tomes, artifacts, and Lovecraftian locations that appear within this book's scenarios are described in the pages detailing these scenarios. There are, however, numerous such references made in the source sections (and thus not associated with a specific scenario). These references are detailed below.
Source Material References
Locations:
Creatures:
People:
Tomes and Artifacts:
Sourcebook New Rules
New Spells:
New Skills:
New Creatures:
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