[Call of Cthulhu] A whole passel o' questions

[Nero's Boot]

1) What would be a good Cthulhu Mythos score for a budding Mythos cultist who had just begun delving into the pantheon of madness, and who lacks any spells? I want to give her around 5%, but I'm wondering if that's too much. She's only been studying for a little under a year, as the BBG seduced her and started indoctrinating her at that time.

2) How many Mythos tomes does Miskatonic University have, anywho? I have a Mythos tome (centered on Cynothoglys, the Mortician God), and I'm wondering if it would be in-genre for M.U. to have a copy. It certainly fits the backstory of the BBG...

3) Given less than 7 months to recruit, how far could a Mythos sorcerer with some genuinely frightening spells get in recruiting a cult, especially in a place like M.U.? I have a rough estimate in my head, but I'm afraid I went a bit overboard in my numbers.

4) How far away from Miskatonic University is Kingsport? Innsmouth? Arkham?

--thanks! NB

[Qusoor]

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

1) What would be a good Cthulhu Mythos score for a budding Mythos cultist who had just begun delving into the pantheon of madness, and who lacks any spells? I want to give her around 5%, but I'm wondering if that's too much. She's only been studying for a little under a year, as the BBG seduced her and started indoctrinating her at that time.

As much as you like. The Mythos score of your average cultist doesn't matter a fetid pile of ding's kidneys. Remember you get 5% for going insane the first time. Have they had the Come to Cthulhu moment/experience? Depends greatly on the effect you want the cultist to have.

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

2) How many Mythos tomes does Miskatonic University have, anywho? I have a Mythos tome (centered on Cynothoglys, the Mortician God), and I'm wondering if it would be in-genre for M.U. to have a copy. It certainly fits the backstory of the BBG...

Yu need to read Ex Libris Miskatonici: A Catalogue of Selected Items from the Special Collections in the Miskatonic University Library, available from Necronomicon Press. The provinance of the book is more important then the book itself. What period is this, and how would it have gotten to MU? Make the story good, and yes, MU would have it.

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

3) Given less than 7 months to recruit, how far could a Mythos sorcerer with some genuinely frightening spells get in recruiting a cult, especially in a place like M.U.? I have a rough estimate in my head, but I'm afraid I went a bit overboard in my numbers.

As far as you like. How are they recruiting, what is their front? What kind of cult is it, what is it promising people, and who's doing the recruiting? From 1-100, depending on the circumstances.

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

4) How far away from Miskatonic University is Kingsport? Innsmouth? Arkham?

Ten miles from Innsmouth, in Arkham, and about fifteen to twenty from Kingsport.

[ChrisHockabout]

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

1) What would be a good Cthulhu Mythos score for a budding Mythos cultist who had just begun delving into the pantheon of madness, and who lacks any spells? I want to give her around 5%, but I'm wondering if that's too much. She's only been studying for a little under a year, as the BBG seduced her and started indoctrinating her at that time.

A good starting point, I think, would be to ask what mythos tomes has she read? They do take quite a long time to read, so a year might not be long enough to have read very many. If she's just receiving instruction from a priest or other cultist, I think a 5% is valid. Your typical inbred back-woodsman whose been in a mythos cult all his life might have 10 or 15%.

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

2) How many Mythos tomes does Miskatonic University have, anywho? I have a Mythos tome (centered on Cynothoglys, the Mortician God), and I'm wondering if it would be in-genre for M.U. to have a copy. It certainly fits the backstory of the BBG....

MU has as many mythos tomes as fits with your campaign. Its pretty well documented that they have a couple of the big ones: Necro, Cultes des Goules, Unausprichlichen Kulten. Word is, outside of an established and powerful cult, MU has the largest collection of Mythos tomes in the US.

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

3) Given less than 7 months to recruit, how far could a Mythos sorcerer with some genuinely frightening spells get in recruiting a cult, especially in a place like M.U.? I have a rough estimate in my head, but I'm afraid I went a bit overboard in my numbers.

I imagine Mythos cults pick their members very carefully. They have to be very cautious about who they let in and so to make it easy some cults, I imagine, keep an eye out for anyone who seems to have an interest in the occult and use their interest to draw them in. It is conceivable that they would have some sort of front for the cult, a means of invisibly judging those who might be best suited for the cult. A fraternal organization, a mystical society, a theoretical metaphysics think-tank; something that gives them a vehicle to draw in like-minded individuals and the means to observe and judge potential cult members.

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

4) How far away from Miskatonic University is Kingsport? Innsmouth? Arkham?

MU is in Arkham. If possible, pick up the old Arkham, Innsmouth, and Kingsport sourcebooks. Utterly invaluable, with great maps.

Enjoy the madness

[Nero's Boot]

Originally Posted by Qusoor

As much as you like. The Mythos score of your average cultist doesn't matter a fetid pile of ding's kidneys. Remember you get 5% for going insane the first time. Have they had the Come to Cthulhu moment/experience? Depends greatly on the effect you want the cultist to have.

Well, Sarah has seen some minor Mythos entities (mostly a pair of gugs), but has not yet beheld the mind-shattering majesty that is her god.

Yu need to read Ex Libris Miskatonici: A Catalogue of Selected Items from the Special Collections in the Miskatonic University Library, available from Necronomicon Press. The provinance of the book is more important then the book itself. What period is this, and how would it have gotten to MU? Make the story good, and yes, MU would have it.

Yay!

As far as you like. How are they recruiting, what is their front? What kind of cult is it, what is it promising people, and who's doing the recruiting? From 1-100, depending on the circumstances.

It's a cult of Cynothoglys, a suicide/murder cult devoted to eventually summoning Cynothoglys into the campus. The cult leader, it should be noted, is NOT a cultist of Cynothoglys, and is merely manipulating a cult he did not originally even found for his own purposes. He serves a different Mythos god altogether...

Ten miles from Innsmouth, in Arkham, and about fifteen to twenty from Kingsport.

Thanks!

--you're a life-saver, hon NB

[Mechwarrior5]

Ooh, ooh, it's Sarah isn't it? She's the cultist!

*reads on a smidge*

Ooh . . . perhaps I shouldn't have read that. Oops. :rolleyes:

[Nero's Boot]

Originally Posted by Mechwarrior5

Ooh, ooh, it's Sarah isn't it? She's the cultist!

*reads on a smidge*

Ooh . . . perhaps I shouldn't have read that. Oops. :rolleyes:

Bastard! I knew I should have put a spoiler space and a warning to my players, in the first post!

--oh, well, I can count on you to seperate player knowledge from character knowledge, can't I? NB

[Coyraven]

Originally Posted by Nero's Boot

1)3) Given less than 7 months to recruit, how far could a Mythos sorcerer with some genuinely frightening spells get in recruiting a cult, especially in a place like M.U.? I have a rough estimate in my head, but I'm afraid I went a bit overboard in my numbers.

Why recruit one when you can take over an existing one?

CR

[Nero's Boot]

Originally Posted by Coyraven

Why recruit one when you can take over an existing one?

CR

Which is what he did. Sarah had a small and nearly stagnant Cynothoglys cult going on, and someone else, with genuine Mythos magic, came in and took it over. Now, with this warlock's assistance, the cult is growing slowly but steadily.

--so, it's a measure of both NB