ARCHINT: The Abacus

From PLUNGE #3; art by Stuart Immonen, colors by Dave Stewart, letters by Deron Bennett

In my previous post, I mentioned a necromantic abacus as a possible artifact. Here's a writeup for it, more in line with mellonbread's game design philosophy.

Artifacts and Devices

The Watcher, from Brian Poor

Introduction

I don’t really like how Delta Green handles artifacts. The Handler’s Guide says that they allow characters to use rituals without having to make a Ritual Activation roll. You just pay the costs and apply the effects. It’s elegant in its simplicity and it’s not bad, but you end up with the odd situation where unnatural entities and 0 SAN NPCs have no reason to use artifacts. The former have a 99% chance to succeed on any given Ritual Activation roll, and the latter can just automatically activate them in the first place.

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Another issue is that sometimes "you automatically activate a ritual" doesn’t make sense for a specific artifact. Maybe it’s an alien weapon that you still have to aim in the right direction where we would normally call for an attack roll, or maybe it’s some inscrutable device that you can roughly puzzle out how to use with your human brain, something more suited to a skill check. Artifacts and rituals aren’t interchangeable in the fiction and they should be meaningfully distinct in the game too. 

The following framework isn’t intended as a complete replacement for the one in the Handler’s Guide. It’s meant as a tool for Handlers to use situationally. Sometimes using an artifact can be as simple as “pronounce the words carved into the amulet and pay the costs to activate the effect,” but sometimes it isn’t.

Whispers of the Dead (Shub-Niggurath)

 

Shub-Niggurath by Albert Che

The Ritual 

The operator must enter the wilderness and make a blood sacrifice on an altar. Stereotypically, this occurs in a dark, dense forest. However, those with skill in Anthropology or Archeology (or a high Occult rating) know that lush islands, bogs, and even grasslands are suitable. The only thing that matters is that the operator must not be able to see the sprawl of civilization. As such, more modern versions of this ritual suggest that the operator walk until they can't see whatever vehicle they traveled in anymore.

Whispers of the Dead (Yig)

 

Original Weird Tales illustration by Hugh Rankin

The Ritual 

The ritual must be performed in an area suited to snakes and reptiles, such as a swamp, jungle, or desert. The operator drapes one or more snakes over their body and traces curves and spirals into the muck, dirt, or sand with a staff carved or painted to look like a snake. They hum or hiss along to an odd melody played on the flute and drums. Those with Anthropology know that a digital recording will be sufficient. It's the sounds and the effect they have on the operator's mind that is important rather than the instruments or act of playing them.