Pegasus Press, the German publishers of
Call of Cthulhu, have rightfully
gained a reputation as creators of high-quality CoC products. They
weren't merely content with translating older Chaosium products (and I
hear they are planning to publish a revised and translated version of
Delta Green as well), but printed
new works, such as sourcebooks on Wales and Berlin, as well as many
articles in their magazine
Cthulhuide
Welten. With Cthulhu 1000 AD, they have published a sourcebook on
Europe in the Dark Ages - to be specific, the time period between 950
AD, when the monk Thedorus Philetas translated the dreaded
Al Azif into Greek and named it the
Necronomicon, and 1050 AD, when the
patriarch of Constantinople banned this volume. It was a dark and
violent period full of superstition - and it is thus a perfect time for
some non-traditional
Call of Cthulhu
adventures...
Art and Layout
Before I start discussing what is
in the book, let me tell you what it
looks like.
The cover is simply beautiful. To the left, you can
see a lone, torch-bearing warrior stalked by a horrible gug. In the
background, you can see a detailed magic circle overlaid by Latin words.
The interior layout by Maik Krüger is gorgeous, and its quality
is, in my opinion, easily comparable with games such as
Nobilis. The interior art ranges
from adequate to stunning, and includes a quite a few period pieces as
well. The only down point are the page margins - the tentacles don't
look quite as good in greyscale as they did in color.
Now on to the contents.
Einleitung (Introduction)
"Und ich sah ein
Tier aus dem Meer steigen, das hatte zehn Hörner und sieben
Häupter und auf seinen Hörnern zehn Diademe und auf seinen
Häuptern lästerliche Namen" - Offenbarung des Johannes,
13:1
A short overview of this product. It also gives some
advice on how to form a group of investigators - PCs of vastly different
backgrounds are even less likely to form a coherent group in the year
1000 than in the year 1920, and thus some thought needs to be put into
what kind of group the keeper wants to have...
Spielmechanismen (Game Rules)
"So wie es sich
für Schüler schickt, ihrem Meister zu gehorchen, so schickt
es sich für den Meister, in allen Dingen mit Umsicht und
Gerechtigkeit zu handeln. Mache deshalb die Regel zur Richtlinie in
allen Angelegenheiten, und laß nicht zu, daß jemand
vorschnell davon abweicht." - Die Regel des Heiligen Benedikt von
Nursia (Grundlage des Benediktinerordens)
This chapter provides all the information you need
to create a CoC character suitable for Dark Ages Europe, including new
skills (and a new look at old ones), new occupations, and a revision of
the CoC combat system that deals with all kinds of medieval weapons and
armors. A few notes about poisons, diseases, insanity and common modes
of transporations round this chapter off.
Das Alte Grimoire (The Old Grimoire)
"[Simon Magus]
wurde in die Lüfte erhoben, und alle konnten mit anschauen, wie er
hoch über Rom und seine Tempel und Hügel hinwegflog." -
Apokryphen des Peter
"Ein Wunder
ereignet sich nicht im Widerspruch zur Natur, sondern bloß im
Widerspruch zu dem, was uns von der Natur bekannt ist." -
Heiliger Augustin
This chapter descripes the forms of magic common in
Dark Ages Europe, from saintly healers to dark practicioners of
witchcraft. It has a fair selection of new spells, many of which are
kept rather generic - but the keeper is encouraged to vary effects,
names, descriptions, and even visual displays of the spells to suit his
campaign - and keep magic mysterious. Also described is the "Limbo", a
strage parralel dimension connected with Yog-Sothoth that features
prominently in many spells and magics. A compilation of Mythos tomes
available in the time period completes this chapter.
Bestiarium (Bestiary)
"Dort wirst du
Götter dienen [...] die weder sehen noch hören, weder essen
noch riechen." - Deuteronium 4:28
This chapter showcases various Mythos entities that
investigators might run into - or flee from (for all the good it will
do them...). This isn't merely a list of beasties - the chapter begins
with a discussion of various beings from real-world myths and legends,
from angels to unicorns, and makes suggestions about which Mythos
beings could be the truth behind the tales. After which we can find a
list of various beings, from minor ghosts to Outer Gods, which either
have been copied from other sources and revised, or are original
inventions.
Finstere Jahre: 950 - 1050 (Dark Years: 950 - 1050)
"Wenn der Tag zur
Nacht wird, wird die Zeit der Menschen enden, und sie werden
zurückkehren, woher sie gekommen." - Necronomicon
This is a gazetter on the Dark Ages, and gives a
good overview over life and society in these times as well as the
various nations that exist in Europe at the time. Most likely you will
want to do some research on the period on your own in addition to
reading this information, but it provides a good starting point. It
certainly gives the
players pretty
much everything they need to know about the period - what kinds of
people they might rub their shoulders with (or bow to), how everyday
people live, and what kinds of realms they might have heard about. Two
timelines are presented, one for "mundane" history, and one for natural
disasters and supernatural events. A glossary of common terms and a
short list of important NPCs close this chapter.
Die Gruft (The Tomb)
"Die Lebenden
schließen den Toten die Augen, aber es sind die Toten, die den
Lebenden die Augen öffnen." - Altes slawisches Sprichwort
This adventure serves as a good introduction to a
Dark Ages Cthulhu campaign. The first part is pretty good - while some
of the events are rather cliched for CoC scenarios, the novel
surroundings keep the adventure from being stale. I especially liked
how the Mythos entities were described - it is easy to mistake them for
fey creatures instead of recognizing them as the aliens they are. And
this is only fitting for the Dark Ages.
The second part is something of a letdown in my eyes
(did the ancient Celts really dig grave complexes that were that big?). Still, overall this
adventure remains an enjoyable vacation to the Dark Ages, and a keeper
and his or her players will most likely have fun with it.
Conclusion
For anyone who has the slightest interest in either
Call of Cthulhu or the European Dark Ages, and is able to read German,
this supplement is an excellent buy and a steal at the price. And for
anyone who is interested in these topics but
isn't able to read German... well,
consider this an opportunity to learn it. The excellent track record of
Pegasus Press makes acquiring the Other Language (German) skill a good
investment...
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