MOB

6th Edition CALL OF CTHULHU is the Deal of Day at DriveThruRPG: only $4.00.

*It is a matter of record that all successful efforts to end the Great Winter culminated at the same time (Clay/Disorder/Earth 1622). In far distant Sartar the Battle of Iceland reached its triumphant conclusion on this day. Locally, Orlanthi heroquesters at the Pairing Stones also returned victorious, and the first wisps of wind were felt since the disaster began. There are many other such heroic and triumphant stories across the vast region affected by the Windstop, from all manner folk of different backgrounds, races, and cults, each resolving the crisis in their own way. A coincidence perhaps, or Arachne Solara once again casting her web?

The prudishness and excessive caution is certainly down to the Sun Domers rather than the Zola Fel folk. Though Vega's willingness to assume the role of Morkatos the Foreman to mobilise the Great Corvée, clad only in a kilt, shows she is willing to take on whatever roles are needed when needs must.

A successfully performed River Ritual is vital for the well-being and prosperity of Sun County. Sea 1621 - Proxy for Count Solanthos in the customary fashion; then the Cradle Episode; Solanthos sends Light Son Wulf to perform the ritual again to make amends, and he fails. Sea, 1622 - River Ritual not performed due to the Windstop [Earth 1622 - Count Solanthos is killed by trolls at Angle Fort. But his heroic sacrifice helps bring forth Yelmalio's Last Light and the Miracle of the Garden, ending the Great Winter in this part of the world*. Solanthos is succeeded by the senior Light Son Lord Invictus.] Sea, 1623 - Belvani, proxy for Count Invictus Sea, 1624 - Belvani, proxy for Count Invictus Here's the current state-of-play, now it is the so-called 'Time of Two Counts': [Storm 1624 - following the death of Invictus at Second Moonbroth, both Belvani and Vega are proclaimed Count; Belvani announces an alliance with Argrath and the resumption of Sun Dragon worship, and later sets up rival court in the Old Sun Dome.] Sea, 1625 - Belvani is adamantly certain the River Ritual will fail when Vega attempts it, on account of her being a woman. He can then gallantly step in, save the day, and secure his legitimacy. Belvani is blindsided when Vega instead sends a senior initiate in her place, and the ritual succeeds as normal. Sea, 1626 - Belvani and Vega clash at the riverbank, and Belvani's forces are driven away. The ritual again succeeds with another senior Initiate serving as a proxy for Vega. (Soon after Belvani is driven out of the Old Sun Dome and retreats to Suntown in New Pavis). Sea, 1627 - Although it is customary for a new count to enact the Zola Fel River Ritual in the first year of their reign, neither Belvani nor Vega has personally done so yet. "Count-in-Exile" Belvani rightly says he has already performed the River Ritual twice: he did so in 1623 and 1624, serving as a proxy for the ill-starred Count Invictus. Others whisper that Belvani fears the consequences to his legitimacy should he fail if he attempts it again now that he has proclaimed himself Count. Lady Vega for the past two years has prudently sent senior (male) initiates to complete the task “in the name of the Count”, while continuing to evade any culpability for the massacre at Five Eyes Temple and the death of the Zola Fel priest Ruupar. In the meantime, her priests delicately consult with Hector the Wise as to the best way for a female ruler to seal the bond with the river nymph Kinope.

The River Ritual for 1621 had been already been successfully enacted at the start of Sea Season 1621, before the coming of the Cradle took everyone by surprise. But the Sun Domers then choosing to side with Lunars abrogated the compact with Zola Fel, who unsurprisingly viewed this as a great act of betrayal. The Count tried to enact the River Ritual again to make amends, but the Light Son Wulf failed, turning up drowned. By the start of the new year 1622 the Zola Fel should have been back to full flow from the spring melt. But instead due to the Windstop the river had slowed to little more than a trickle, and it proved impossible even to commence the River Ritual in the few stagnant pools that remained. Daga’s drought had a terrible grip on the land: parched fields that were once thick with golden corn lay dry and hard, and withered corpses of farm animals lay clustered around empty canals and wells. Zola Fel assumes the role of Heler in the Sun Dome version of Daga’s Banishment, and following a heroquest path taken by the Counts of old, the Light Captain Invictus sought the aid of the river. The Cradle affair still rankled Zola Fel, but Invictus helped make amends by rescuing the ancient catfish priest Brighteye. It was trapped in the dwindling dregs of a pond, deep in the parched mudflats of the New Bog. Through stinking mud, Invictus dragged the great fish over the riverbed to the safety of a deeper pool, all the while fighting off a swarm of leechlike broo. In gratitude, Brighteye brought Invictus to Zola Fel, who had withdrawn in alarm to a secret shrine as the waters dried up around him. The river god was still angry with the Sun Domers and Invictus in particular as the leader of the assault on the Cradle. Nevertheless, he was grudgingly thankful that the Light Captain had saved his oldest devotee, and listened to the promises the Yelmalian made to heal the rift between the River and the Sun lands. Invictus ventured back into the parched countryside, stalking the drought god through scenes of devastation, death and suffering. Daga himself eluded him, until early one morning before the dawn a piercing golden light appeared on the horizon. Taking it as a sign, the Light Captain headed north. Several days later, in the dry bed of the Zola Fel just below the now-mockingly named hamlet of Highwater, he once again faced Daga. He found the drought god standing contemptuously over the wilted form of Kinope, the gentle daughter of Zola Fel. As Daga laughed, the poor water spirit was attempting to drag herself through the dry sand to a last puddle, visibly drying up in front of her. Stepping between her and the leering specter, Invictus invoked the bond between land and river, calling out for Zola Fel.. The river god’s response was immediate and emphatic, as a tremendous wall of furious water suddenly surged down through the dry gorge towards the combatants... ...For several weeks, a great sheet of water spread far over the flatlands of Pavis County and the breadbasket of Sun County, causing further misery for the people. But when the floodwaters finally receded, they saw that Zola Fel had left them with a gift: the fields were now covered in a thick layer of fertile silt. It was too late in the year for planting, so the hungry times continued, though the farmers all agreed that the next planting season offered incredible promise. (When the waters abated, there was much to be done to take advantage of the precious soil deposited by the flood. Vega Goldbreath as Guardian led the efforts to repair the damage in the Lands of the Sun. Using an ancient tattered scroll from the temple archives depicting the fabled Gods Wall in distant Dara Happa, Vega evoked the story of the Ten Sons and Servants. The entire population was mobilized into a Great Corvée, with even Light Sons and priests putting their hands to mattock and spade. Although initially scandalized to see the Light Lady taking on the role of Morkatos the Foreman, clad only in a kilt, in a remarkably short time the people cleared away tremendous quantities of debris, dug out irrigation channels and repaired the riverbanks.) In Sea Season 1623 Lord Belvani duly completed the river ritual as a proxy for the count, conclusively healing the rift with Zola Fel and guaranteeing that the hungry land at last would enjoy a bountiful harvest. (the above abridged from 'The Great Winter and Time of Two Counts')

How they say it Sartar...

And continue to enact every year. The reigning Count is expected to perform it at the beginning of his reign, and then may delegate the role to a proxy (usually a Light Son) in subsequent years. In the recriminations after the Cradle episode, it was clear that Zola Fel was angry with the Sun Folk for siding with the Lunars. Tremendous magical and physical resources had been diverted to the failed Cradle venture, and agriculture across all of Sun County duly suffered; compounding this, irrigation channels would burst, clog or divert at inopportune times, and waterways were frequently plagued with stinging botflies. At Count Solanthos' command, Lord Invictus had the River Ritual reenacted, seeking at least to make amends with the river. But the chosen participant, the popular rune lord Wulf*, was later found drowned despite a full suite of chanting priests supporting him and hundreds of farmfolk fervently praying along the riverbanks. Clearly the river god remained unappeased. It was only after the Great Winter that amends were made, conclusively healing the rift with Zola Fel and guaranteeing that the hungry land at last would enjoy a bountiful harvest. *yeah, from Rune Masters

Then, quite simply, this is not the book for you.

A quintet of Silver Best Sellers: Congratulations to the creators of all five initial Jonstown Compendium releases. And 'Temples and Towers', Martin Helsdon's follow-up to his best-selling 'Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass' has already achieved Copper Best Seller status too.

No horses, for one thing. As @Jeff noted though, Sun County in Prax explicitly does permit women to become initiates, Light Servants, Light Priests, and Light Sons. The current Count (1627) is indeed a woman, (though in Hatshepsut fashion, she does style herself Count, not Countess).

Members of our Cult of Chaos gamemaster program can now download 'On the Banks of the Ohio', the fourth and final part of Flotsam and Jetsam, our new Organised Play campaign for Call of Cthulhu. Flotsam and Jetsam is presented as four separate and loosely linked scenarios, released on a monthly basis. Each part is essentially stand-alone, offering one or more sessions of play. They do not require the same players to take part, although returning players will, of course, enjoy a deeper level of fun by the fact they are engaging with a wider story. If you'd like to take part, join the Cult of Chaos, Chaosium’s volunteer network of gamemasters.- it's free! More details about the campaign at the Flotsam & Jetsam FAQ. If you're in the Cult already, go to The Chaos Library in our special password protected section for the Cult of Chaos at our BRP Central Forums to download. Six files are now available to download: "On the Banks of the Ohio" (Part Four) plus, released previously: "The Star Brothers" (Part One) Flotsam and Jetsam Campaign Introduction Pregenerated Investigators "Inheritance" (Part Two) "Insanitarium" (Part Three)

Here is the final update: https://www.chaosium.com/blogthe-semester-is-over-and-taylor-u-students-call-of-cthulhu-scenario-refractions-of-glasston-is-now-out Congratulations to students at Taylor U!

A new 20 page Jonstown Compendium work by best-selling 'Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass' creator Martin Helsdon, and once again superbly illustrated by the author: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/297497/Temples--Towers

More Mythos monsters! – masterful work-in-progress from Loïc Muzy for the new MALLEUS MONSTRORUM, one of most anticipated Call of Cthulhu releases for 2020: —The Martense Kin, from HPL's 'The Lurking Fear'. —Inhabitants of L’gy’hx, from Ramsay Campbell's 'The Insects From Shaggai'. —Nioth-Korghai, from Clark Ashton Smith's 'The Tomb Spawn'. —Spawn of Nyogtha, from Chaosium's 'Fatal Experiments'.

Ahoy! Julia, our merc or merch, has now added a rollicking collection of art from the 7th Sea RPG to our Redbubble store: https://redbubble.com/people/chaosium/collections/1228513-7th-sea

Kieron Gillen's comic series DIE is a dark story of midlife crises, adolescent trauma and tabletop RPGs - "goth Jumanji" it has been described as. The latest issue features a very nice shout-out to the King Arthur Pendragon rpg... (image comics)

Over in the the RuneQuest forum:

THE ARMIES AND ENEMIES OF DRAGON PASS is one of the initial releases for the Jonstown Compendium. Within 24 hours it was the #2 best-selling title on DriveThruRPG and shortly after reached Silver Seller status. The work is magnum opus of Martin Helsdon. After meeting Martin at Dragonmeet late last month, we spoke to him about the book: https://www.chaosium.com/blogtalking-to-martin-helsdon-author-of-the-armies-and-enemies-of-dragon-pass-jonstown-compendium Martin Helsdon (L) presenting Chaosium's Jeff Richard with a pre-release copy of The Armies and Enemies of Dragon Pass at Dragonmeet, London UK on November 30.

DEAD LIGHT AND OTHER DARK TURNS contains two scenarios dealing with the theme of roadside adventure, along with six story seeds for the Keeper to expand and develop. In the classic 'Dead Light' scenario, now revised, a chance encounter with a distressed young woman leads the investigators into the hideous aftermath of a crime gone terribly wrong. While in the brand-new 'Saturnine Chalice' scenario, seeking help from a nearby homeowner after their vehicle runs out of gas traps the investigators in a house where nothing is quite what it seems. Available in PDF now, with print to follow: https://www.chaosium.com/dead-light-and-other-dark-turns-pdf Also available in PDF from DriveThruRPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/297068/Dead-Light-and-Other-Dark-Tales So What's New in this Version of Dead Light? This new edition of Dead Light features new art throughout by Magda Meiszczak, Doruk Golcu, and Caleb Cleveland, with the scenario revised and reorganized to address a few minor issues in the original (such as the reference to an NPC, Walter the Pump Jockey, who does not actually appear in the scenario). We have included five player handouts providing further insight into the plot and agendas of the characters concerned. In addition, the book includes a new scenario, Saturnine Chalice, by Matthew Sanderson, which also takes place during a roadside stop that leads to danger and mystery. Carrying on the roadside theme of both Dead Light and Saturnine Chalice are six new adventure seeds, each with ideas for encounters on the road that Keepers can use as inspiration for short sidetracks, one night games, or to develop into full-blown scenarios.

Chaosium has made the ARGAN ARGAR ATLAS available free for creators to use in their own products in the Jonstown Compendium, the new community content site for Glorantha on DriveThruRPG. The Argan Argar Atlas is a comprehensive set of 120 maps of the world of Glorantha, originally created as a companion volume to Chaosium's Diana Jones award-winning Guide to Glorantha. Creators have the right to incorporate these maps into their own Jonstown Compendium products, and can even overlay details of their own on them, such as adding new trails, locations, and so on. The Argan Argar Atlas is available as a FREE download from DriveThruRPG and Chaosium.com.

and remember, the book is credited "with invaluable assistance from Jeff Richard".

Please note:

Wow, the top 5 best-selling community content items on DriveThruRPG are all works from the JONSTOWN COMPENDIUM - congratulations to their creators! https://www.drivethrurpg.com/browse.php?filters=45683&src=by_the_fans

13TH AGE GLORANTHA 40% off! — the 13th Age RPG from our friends at Peglgrane Press is currently a Bundle of Holding (check it out here: https://bundleofholding.com/presents/13thAge2019), so we've made our own 13th Age Glorantha supplement 40% off until the Bundle offer ends. A great opportunity to pick up both 13th Age, and the "love letter to Glorantha" written by the game's creators Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet. https://www.chaosium.com/13th-age-glorantha