The following are the rules for Secrets of the Necronomicon, a work of interactive fiction. You are responsible for knowing these rules. If there is something that you aren't sure about, ask a Gamesmaster before it comes up, or you may find yourself unpleasantly surprised.

All Gamesmaster decisions are final
even if they directly contradict the rules.

Many of these rules are difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. Therefore, this game relies heavily on the Honor System. Bending or ignoring the rules is not a clever or inventive stratagem, it's cheating. Remember, this is a game, played for fun, and we hope you agree that it is no fun to win by cheating.

Before you begin to play in this game, we ask you to swear (or affirm) to the following Oath:

"I realize that Secrets of the Necronomicon runs on the Honor System, so I promise to keep trying to obey the rules honorably, to play in character, to remember that it's only a game, and to not get all bent out of shape when things don't go the way I plan."

All game materials for Secrets of the Necronomicon copyright © 1991 Stephen R. Balzac, Charles A. Goldman, John H. O'Neil. Revisions copyright © 1993, 1994, 2000, Stephen R. Balzac, Aimee Yermish.
All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started

1.1. Game Notebooks
1.2. The Real World
1.3. The Game World
1.3.1. Gamesmasters (GMs)
1.3.2. Time and Space
1.3.3. Voluntary Inactivity
1.3.4. Items
1.3.5. Information

2. Violence

2.1. Fair Escape
2.2. Combat
2.2.1. Your Combat Card
2.2.2. Guns
2.2.3. Disarming an Attacker
2.2.4. Hand-to-Hand Combat
2.2.5. Combat Modifiers
2.3. Consequences
2.3.1. Injury and Death
2.3.2. Fun Things to Do With Bodies

3. Special Cases

3.1. Non-Corporeal Characters
3.2. Disabilities
3.3. Languages
3.4. Magic
3.4.1. Learning Spells
3.4.2. Casting Spells
3.4.3. Reserve Time and Duration
3.4.4. Unwilling Targets
3.4.5. Boosting Spell Effects
3.4.6. Casting Spells in Combat
3.5. Thieving
3.6. Interrogation

4. Amenities

4.1. Player Lounge
4.2. Picture Board
4.3. The Daily Rumour
4.4. Message Board
4.5. Mailboxes
4.6. Police

5. The Habeas Corpse Clause

6. The Elastic Clause

1. Getting Started

1.1. Game Notebooks

You should have received the following things in your notebook along with these rules. If you are missing anything, talk to a Gamesmaster (GM).

• Introduction: This document gives you general information about Interactive Literature and how it works.
• Schedule: This tells when and where prearranged game events will take place, and when GMs will be on duty.
• Strategy Hints: Tips for playing with style and success. If you need more advice, GMs and more experienced players are usually full of helpful ideas.
• Scenario: These documents give you information which is publicly known prior to the beginning of the game.
• Character Profile: The yellow document with your character's name at the top is the centerpiece of your notebook. It tells you who you are, how you think, why you are here, who your friends and enemies are, and so forth. As this represents your personality and beliefs, it may never be shown to anyone.
• Combat Card: This is a pink index card with various physical skills listed on it. Its use is explained in sections 2.2, 3.4, and 3.5.
• Spell Ledger (pink paper): This is an addition to your Combat Card, to help you keep track of your Psychic Strength Points (see section 3.4). It must be kept up to date at all times.
• Badge: The white badge with the Secrets of the Necronomicon logo on it shows that you are playing in the game. You must wear it visibly at all times while active. GMs wear green badges. Players whose characters are injured, dead, or otherwise directed to go inactive by a GM wear pink badges saying "I'm Not Here." Fuzz (see section 4.6) wear blue badges. Characters wearing yellow badges are non-corporeal (see section 3.1).
• Blank Paper and Pen: Just in case you want to write anything down. Information in your notebook is not a game item and cannot be taken from you (see section 1.3.5). If you need more paper, ask in the Control Room.
• Page Protector and Binder Clip: To help you keep loose items from running away. We suggest that you fold over the top of the page protector and then clip it in that position. If you drop a transferable item, it will not be replaced.

You may also have received any or all of the following. Again, if you think you are supposed to have something you don't, ask a GM.

• Bluesheets (blue paper): Information which is common knowledge among a group of people. You may show each other your bluesheets if you wish. However, you may not force someone to show you his bluesheets, nor do you gain access to them if you kill him.
• Special Abilities (blue 4x6" cards) and Disabilities (orange): These contain rules explaining particular skills, powers, or limitations your character possesses. These are not transferable among players. Their use is covered in section 3.
• Spells (white paper): These describe magic spells you already know; their use is described in section 3.4. While they may be hand-copied and shared (see section 3.4.1), you cannot force someone to show you his spells, nor can you see them if you kill him.
• Items: These are usually white 3x5" index cards with a description of the object, but may be other things. Yellow items cannot be seen or touched without the special ability to do so (see section 1.3.4). With the exception of bullets (see section 2.2.2), all Secrets game items are clearly marked as such. Counterfeiting of game items and money is not permitted.
• Money (green paper): The local currency is the Greenback. No real money may be used for game purposes.
• Checks (green paper): For spending Greenbacks from your bank account. To use a check, write it out normally and put it in the bank box in the Control Room. There may be a slight delay while we ascertain the availability of funds. If you need more checks or would like to open an account, see a GM. It is not possible to forge signatures without a special ability.

1.2. The Real World

This game does not give you the right to do in reality anything which is normally prohibited by law or by common sense. Running, feigning of illness or injury, screaming, drawing real or costume weaponry, petty theft, rummaging through other people's possessions, blocking the hallways, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, smoking in the Player Lounge, annoying people who are not playing this game, and anything else which could possibly cause injury, anxiety, or inconvenience to others, or even lead a bystander to wonder if you might be something other than a perfectly normal, well-adjusted member of society, are all strictly prohibited. The GMs reserve the right to sadistically over-react to anything they don't think is appropriate.

People who are not playing in Secrets of the Necronomicon, even if you know them, are referred to as civilians. You may neither ask nor allow them to participate in or help with any game action. This includes, but is not limited to, helping you spy on someone, holding game items for you, passing game-related messages to other players, or hanging around near you to prevent you from being attacked. Asking for advice from civilians is okay, as long as it's kept within reason. If people are interested in playing or watching for a while, send them to the GMs.

It is quite possible for civilians to affect the game, however. For instance, if a civilian accidentally comes into possession of a game item, you will have to figure out how to get it back. More importantly, if you participate in any suspicious or illegal act (searching a body, attacking or kidnapping someone, casting a spell, and the like) in the presence of civilians, whether or not they are looking or say they won't tell, you must contact a GM immediately. Real actions attract far more attention than our simulations.

1.3. The Game World

1.3.1. Gamesmasters (GMs)
The Gamesmasters are your link to your memory and to the world around you. GMs cheerfully spend the entire weekend:

• Helping confused or frustrated players get going. Don't hesitate to ask a GM for a pep talk or to help you clarify your thoughts and work out a plan of action. The purpose of the game is to have fun, after all.
• Arbitrating rules disputes and resolving the effects of combat or special ability use.
• Extending the rules to cover new situations. If there's something you'd like to try, explain to a GM what you'd like to do and why you think it should succeed.
• "Jogging your memory" if there's something you think your character should know that wasn't mentioned in your character sheet.
• Roleplaying any characters in the world who are not assigned to any player, such as the Arkham Chief of Police, a Miskatonic reference librarian, your friend Jimbo from high school, or anyone else you might want to talk to. Note that these characters are fallible and not necessarily honest.

1.3.2. Time and Space
Voluntary verbal interactions and item transfers between active players are permitted -- nay, encouraged! -- at any time, in any place.

During times that the GMs are off duty (Friday, and rest and meal breaks), you may not engage in any actions which might require the intervention of a GM (combat, use of special abilities, magic, thieving, or anything else discussed in sections 2 or 3) no matter how cut-and-dried you think the situation is, even if the action started before the break time began, even if everyone involved wants to keep going. Unless a GM gives you explicit instructions to continue, you must break off action when the clock says to. Stalling on purpose is, of course, bad form.

Game actions are permitted in any place, even inside private hotel rooms or outside the hotel. The presence of civilians doesn't keep you safe; it just means that the local police will know of any unusual activity and may choose to intervene.

If you share a room with another player, he may not take items you leave untended in the room, nor can he bring someone else into the room to take them. They are considered to be in a separate room which he cannot enter, so you don't have to hide things under the mattress. If you are in the room and actively participating in the game, you are active, the items are on your person, and you and any other active characters in the room, including your roommate, are in the same physical location. Please be reasonable in accommodating each other's real-world needs for the room.

Some places in the game world will be assigned locations in the real world, posted in the Player Lounge as the need arises. To go to one of these game locations, go to the real location. If you are in one of these real locations, you are in the game location. There are no virtual walls or overlapping areas -- wherever you go, there you are.

To go to a place which is not available in the real world (someone else's hotel room without their permission) or the game world (the Miskatonic dining hall), talk to a GM.

1.3.3. Voluntary Inactivity
You may wish to take a temporary break from the game, to participate in a non-game activity, go out to dinner, or just relax for a while. This is perfectly legal: all you have to do is go someplace where there are no other active players (say, your hotel room) and take off your badge. To reactivate, go back to the same place and put your badge back on. If you plan to be inactive for two hours or more at a stretch, please let the GMs know, as a courtesy to your fellow players.

While you are inactive, you may not participate in the game in any way whatsoever. Don't hang around where there are active players, listen to conversations, follow active players, and so forth. If you're talking in character, discussing game events, working on a game puzzle, waiting for a friend to show up, or anything else related to the game, even if it looks like you're not doing anything, there's no one else around, or the people you're with all went inactive together, you will generally be ruled active if a disagreement arises.

The purpose of this rule is to allow you to take a total break from thinking about the game. You may not go inactive for any reason having to do with the game. Thus, going inactive to avoid or escape being confronted or attacked, create artificial "safe" zones, pick and choose which characters you'd like to interact with, or "teleport" around are all out-of-bounds. Your enemies have just as much right to find you active as your friends do. If you wish to talk with or being in the same place as another character, you risk him doing something less-than-friendly to you. If you've made someone mad at you, you'll have to watch your back. If someone's outfoxed you, take your lumps like a good sport.

1.3.4. Items
All game items (except bullets, see section 2.2.2) are clearly marked as such. If you would like a game item to represent a real item which your character could reasonably come into possession of, speak to a GM. Note that folded, torn, spindled, or mutilated objects may not function. If you have a real item which looks like it might be a game item, please make sure that any players you show it to are aware that it is just a prop.

Unless otherwise indicated, all game items are freely transferable among players. If you find a game item lying around, feel free to walk off with it.

If someone has left an obviously useful real item lying around (a room key, for instance), you may "steal" it. Place a small sign on it saying "STOLEN" and contact a GM, who will give you a game item to represent the real item and inform your victim of his misfortune.

All game items in your pockets, character notebook, or other baggage on your person, regardless of their form, are equally vulnerable to pickpockets, spies, or other special abilities. If your character can hide something particularly well, you will have an appropriate special ability card (see section 3). For these purposes, a clip of bullets is a single item.

If you find a notebook lying around unattended (more than ten feet away from its owner outside of his hotel room), please bring it to a GM, who will sort out the transferable items for you, by way of reward. Never go through someone else's notebook! This rule is to reduce the headaches resulting from lost notebooks, not to provide a way for you to steal other people's items without a special ability. You may not purposefully steal a notebook.

Some items have special abilities (see section 3). Just follow the rules as printed on the card to use them. Unless otherwise stated on the card, anyone may use an item's special abilities.

Some items, such as books, will have an envelope or cover page saying that you can only interact with them under certain circumstances ("You may only read this book if you can read Serbo-Croatian."). As in all things, follow the rules as printed on the item.

Some items are printed on yellow cards or paper. Most characters are completely unaware of them. Without the appropriate special ability (see section 3), you cannot look at, touch, move, draw anyone else's attention to, or in any other way interact with yellow items.

1.3.5. Information
Most information in this game is carried around in your head, or printed or written in your character notebook, which represents your infallible memory and cannot be taken from you. You may reveal, conceal, or lie about any information, and what you don't know, you may feel free to make up. The only exception to this rule is that you may never misrepresent the rules, your knowledge of them, or a ruling you may have been given by a GM. If you plan to perpetrate some sort of scam on the other characters, the GMs will be happy to play along -- just warn them in advance.

If a piece of written information (including a page taken out of your notebook, but not including your character sheet or bluesheets) is not in your personal notebook, it is a game item. Real-life encryption and decryption are perfectly permissible. Notes written by non-corporeal characters (section 3.1) are equivalent to items on yellow paper (section 1.3.4) and cannot be seen or touched by players who do not have a special ability allowing them to.

2. Violence

2.1. Fair Escape

If you spot someone coming toward you with malice on his mind, you may not wish to stick around. The Fair Escape rule makes dangerous high-speed chase scenes unnecessary and illegal.

To make a Fair Escape, simply announce that you are doing so and walk purposefully but slowly away from your potential attackers. Everyone else around should hold their positions while you resolve the escape. If anyone you move within five feet of during your escape refuses to let you pass, your Fair Escape fails and you may be attacked. (Note that if you are already interacting with someone and the talk turns ugly, it's not easy to make a Fair Escape.) Characters who are unconscious, tied up, or otherwise incapable of objecting, cannot stop a Fair Escape.

After a successful Fair Escape, neither party may interact with the other for five minutes.

You may also make a Fair Escape after a round of combat (see sections 2.2.3 and 2.2.4), if no one within five feet of your escape path objects.

2.2. Combat

Occasionally, your best persuasive efforts will fail, and you may find yourself in hand-to-hand combat…

2.2.1. Your Combat Card
Your combat card has your ratings in various physical skills on it. Most normal humans fall between 1 and 20 in all skills, with peaks of about 7 for the untrained and 13 for the trained. A quick guided tour…

• Gunmanship is your skill at keeping control of your gun in a struggle (see section 2.2.3).
• Martial Attack is your skill at knocking your opponents senseless (see section 2.2.4).
• Martial Defense is your skill at keeping yourself safe in a fight (see sections 2.2.3 and 2.2.4)
• Thieving Defense is how difficult you are to steal things from or trick things out of (see section 3.5).
• Psychic Strength is the mental power used for casting spells (see section 3.4).
• Psychic Defense is the strength of your will and mental toughness enabling you to resist hostile spells (see section 3.4.4).

2.2.2. Guns
Guns are printed on pink index cards, while ammunition is represented by 3/4" sound stickers, color-coded as follows:

red normal bullet  (blood)
blue tranquilizer dart  (hold one's breath until you turn blue)
black silver bullet  (silver tarnishes to black)
green wooden bullet  (trees have green leaves)

Unless you are otherwise instructed, all bullets have the same effects on all characters and all ammunition fits all guns.

To shoot someone, stand within five feet of him and hold the gun card in one hand, obviously "pointing" at him. With the other hand, gently place the sticker on him, marking the entry wound. Stickers are not reusable, even if they miss.

2.2.3. Disarming an Attacker
If someone within five feet of you attacks you with a gun, and you have not been taken by surprise, you may attempt to disarm him. You may declare a disarm any time after you see the gun, or as an immediate reaction to being shot (so you need not argue over whether the words were said before the sticker was placed). If you have a choice of actions, you must declare your intentions before any numbers are revealed.

Compare your Martial Defense to your attacker's Gunmanship. If your Martial Defense is greater than his Gunmanship, his gun and the clip of bullets in it are tossed harmlessly to the side; no one, whether in the combat or not, may pick up the weapon until after the combat is over. The sticker in his hand is expended (the gun went off in the struggle but the bullet missed).

If the gun is behind you when you attempt to disarm (you were being shot in the back), your Martial Defense is halved (round up). If your defense is unsuccessful, the attacker may opt to have you continue facing away from him, or spend a bullet to shoot you immediately.

If you also have a gun in your hand, you may shoot while attempting to disarm, but your opponent may also apply his Martial Defense to your Gunmanship. Your shots and defenses are simultaneous.

If there is more than one person on either side, defenders add their Martial Defenses together and disarm as a unit. They choose one gunman to disarm, and subtract his Gunmanship from their total. If the result is greater than zero, he is disarmed. They continue choosing people to disarm, reducing their total Martial Defense as they go, until they fail to disarm someone (even if there were other gunmen they could have disarmed).

The people with guns, in turn, pool their Gunmanship scores and attack as a unit. They pick one defender to shoot, and subtract his Martial Defense form their total. If the result is greater than or equal to zero, he is shot. They continue choosing people to shoot, reducing their total Gunmanship as they go, until they fail to shoot someone (even if there were other people they could have shot).

Both sides take losses (get shot or lose their guns) simultaneously. If there are still some armed people involved, this part of the combat may continue to another round.

2.2.4. Hand-to-Hand Combat
Combat involving bare hands, knives, clubs, or other non-projectile weapons is resolved using the Martial Defense and Martial Attack numbers. You must be within five feet of your opponent to engage in hand-to-hand combat. If you have a choice of actions, you must declare your intentions before any numbers are revealed.

Compare the Martial Defense of the defender to the Martial Attack of the attacker (if it is unclear who is initiating the attack, flip a coin). If the difference is 4 or less, the result is a standoff. If the difference is 5 or more, the loser is unconscious for fifteen minutes (see section 2.3.1).

If there is more than one person on either side, attackers add their Martial Attacks together and attack as a unit. They choose one defender to knock out, and subtract his Martial Defense from their total. If the result is 5 or more, he is knocked out. They continue choosing people to knock out, reducing their total Martial Attack as they go, until they fail to knock someone out (even if there were other defenders they could have knocked out).

The defenders, in turn, pool their Martial Defense scores and defend as a unit. They pick one attacker to knock out, and subtract his Martial Attack score from their total. If the result is 5 or more, he is knocked out. They continue choosing people to knock out, reducing their total Martial Defense as they go, until they fail to knock someone out (even if there were other attackers they could have knocked out).

People on both sides get knocked out simultaneously. If there are still conscious people on both sides, the combat may continue to another round.
After any round of hand-to-hand combat is resolved, you may take whatever actions you wish (continue fighting, pull a gun, attempt a Fair Escape, etc). If the combat continues, the attackers and defenders reverse roles each round.

2.2.5. Combat Modifiers
Some items, such as weapons, may increase your martial combat scores. Unless otherwise indicated on the cards, you may only use one weapon in any single combat round. You can change weapons or draw a new weapon between combat rounds if you wish.
Some characters may have special abilities (see section 3) which can affect combat scores or results. Some of these abilities have a Martial Attack score which must be greater than the target's Martial Defense in order to function.

2.3. Consequences

After any occurrence which might have resulted in a character's injury, unconsciousness, or death, all parties involved must contact a GM immediately.

If a player sees any strange or illegal act going on, you must inform him of exactly what he sees. If a civilian sees any such act, even if he appears not to have noticed, contact a GM immediately.

2.3.1. Injury and Death
If you are knocked unconscious, you will remain so for fifteen minutes after the current combat is over.

If you are shot with any kind of bullet, even if only in an extremity, the pain is so severe (or the tranquilizer drug is so potent) that you pass out at the end of that combat round and are unconscious for fifteen minutes after the combat ends. If you are shot with a lead, silver, or wooden bullet in the head or torso, you are probably so badly injured that you will die without medical help.

If you are knocked unconscious or shot, you may have to spend some time in the hospital recovering. Additionally, your combat card may be permanently altered to reflect a serious wound.

While you are unconscious or in the hospital, you are inactive. A GM will give you a pink "I'm Not Here" insert to wear in your player badge until you are able to hobble around again. While you are inactive, you may neither participate in nor observe any game actions, nor may you give even the slightest indication of how you came to such a sorry state.

If you are killed, the GMs will apprise you of your options. Rest assured that we do our best to avoid forcing you to spend the rest of the game bored.
If you are killed and your body is not looted, please turn over any game items remaining on your person or in your room to the GMs, in case someone else searches later. Please try to be a good sport about dying: it was probably nothing personal.

2.3.2. Fun Things to Do With Bodies
An unconscious person is effectively helpless, so it is easy to keep someone unconscious by attacking him every fifteen minutes.

If no one around objects (or is capable of objecting), you may kill an unconscious person simply by saying so.

Dead or unconscious bodies may be looted. You must have privacy for as long as it takes for the player being searched to pull out and hand over all of his transferable game items, including item cards, money, documents (other than the notes in his character notebook), and physical items. If you are interrupted, whatever you already have is what you get.

Dead or unconscious bodies may also be carried off. One person can move a body no more than ten feet at a time (just walk together). You must wait five minutes before you can move it again, although you may abandon the body if you wish to leave before that time. Two or more people can move a body as far as they like, at a normal walking pace. If you move a body to any place in the hotel, that's where it is. If you keep your victim in your hotel room, your roommate does not have access to him (see section 1.3.2) while you are not there.

A kidnap victim is inactive except to the people who go visit him, and should wear an "I'm Not Here" badge. The GMs must be informed of the location of any kidnap victim or hidden corpse.

3. Special Cases

Using some of your character's skills in the real world might be dangerous (combat), illegal (thieving), or impossible (magic). Therefore, if your character has any of these abilities, you will have an index card explaining the use of the ability and its effects. Some special abilities may supercede some sections of these rules. Special abilities are not transferable among players.

You must be able to produce your ability card to use an ability. If you want to use an ability without showing the card (for example, to lie under a compulsion of truth), you must still show your card to a GM.

3.1. Non-Corporeal Characters
Characters wearing yellow badges are non-corporeal. They are visible, but they cannot hold items, engage in combat, thieving, or magic (although they may be the targets of spells), or be forced to stay in or leave an area. You can see them and talk to them, but unless you have a special ability allowing you to hear them, they can only talk to you through nonverbal means (charades are permitted, while writing and speech are not). Note that the mere presence of one person who can hear a non-corporeal character does not confer the ability to hear him on everyone else in the room.

3.2. Disabilities

Some characters have "disabilities," printed on orange 4x6" cards. If the conditions described on the card are met, you must use the disability. Most disabilities are not transferable between players, but there may be exceptions.

3.3. Languages

All players in the game are assumed to speak, read, and write English at all times (except when writing margin comments in a document, as described below), unless you wish to actually converse in a real foreign language.

You may also have a special ability saying that you can read other languages. Documents that are written in foreign languages have covers stating which language they are written in. You may not read these documents unless you have a special ability to read the language in question. This rule is the only situation in which you may use an ability card while the GMs are off duty: you may read any document for which you have the appropriate language ability at any time.

If you wish to hand-copy the text of a document from a language you can read into English on a separate piece of paper or into your notebook, you may, but you must actually hand-copy it. If you wish to read the text of a document aloud, "translating" it into English as you go, you may, but you must actually read it aloud, and if your audience wishes to retain a copy of what you have read, he must actually copy it down by hand. The document itself remains written in the foreign language and is unchanged by the process.

If you write margin comments and such on a foreign-language document, they are in the same language as the document.

If you wish to do anything potentially harmful to a document (photocopying it, changing or obliterating words, tearing pages, destroying it, taking it off campus, etc), contact a GM.

3.4. Magic

Even though every sane person knows that magic doesn't really exist, you might still find information floating around which tells you that if you take certain actions, certain results will occur. One of the wonderful things about the world of H. P. Lovecraft is that you do not need a special ability to cast magic. All you need is a sense of adventure and a willingness to endure the consequences.

3.4.1. Learning Spells
To learn or create a spell, you must first write out the text of the spell and its intended effects. A GM must approve the spell when you cast it for the first time, unless you were given the spell in your notebook in complete form at the start of the game. When the GM approves the spell, he will tell you how many Psychic Strength Points (PSP) the spell costs to cast and how powerful it is. In general, longer spells are stronger, but are more expensive to cast. Note that GMs cannot answer hypothetical questions about what new spells will do until you actually cast them.

You may hand-copy (not photocopy) the text of someone else's spell into your notebook. The effort involved is a simulation of the effort involved in learning a new spell. If you copy only part of the spell, no matter how insignificant you believe the omission to be, you must have the spell checked by a GM when you attempt to cast it the first time.

3.4.2. Casting Spells
To cast a spell, read the complete incantation aloud and perform any appropriate rituals (as in all things, dramatic roleplaying is encouraged, provided it won't upset civilians).

Once you complete the incantation, any Psychic Strength Points you spend in attempting to cast a spell are gone, whether or not the spell is successful or has the effect you intended.

You must write in your Spell Ledger the time the spell was cast, the number of Psychic Strength Points you spent in casting it, its Psychic Attack Strength (if appropriate, see section 3.4.4), its reserve time, and the time you trigger it (see section 3.4.3). If you gain or lose Psychic Strength Points through any other route, you must indicate the time and the source or destination in your Spell Ledger. If your Spell Ledger is not up to date, your spells will backfire in unusual, creative, and highly painful ways. If you need more pages, ask a GM. We regret having to be ogres on this point, but past experience has shown it to be necessary.

Certain complicated spells may require more power than a single person can provide. More than one person may work together, and all may contribute Psychic Strength Points to the spell. Only the primary caster has to know the spell. If the spell's effect is not instantaneous, one person must be designated to control the spell.

Psychic Strength Points cannot normally be transferred from one person to another.

At 7pm Saturday and 9am Sunday, your Psychic Strength regenerates to its level at the start of the game. If you are already above that level, you lose nothing. Your Psychic Defense does not change, barring unusual circumstances.

3.4.3. Reserve Time and Duration
Because spells take a relatively long time to cast, people often wish to cast them at one time and to trigger them at a later time (for instance, when they are attacked).

Once cast, a spell remains in reserve for 60 minutes or until triggered, whichever comes first. This reserve time is distinct from a spell's duration. You can trigger a spell on reserve at any time before its reserve time expires, as long as you are conscious. A few spells trigger automatically when certain events happen, even if you are taken by surprise - you do not have to be conscious for those to trigger.

The duration of a spell, indicated on its spell sheet, is the length of time the spell will actually function, once it is triggered.

Note that the clocks on reserve time and duration continue to run even during game breaks (so a spell cast ten minutes before a dinner break would expire before the break was over).

3.4.4. Unwilling Targets
Spells which can work on an unwilling target have a Psychic Attack strength associated with them, found on the spell sheet. To determine whether the spell worked, compare the Psychic Attack of the spell (not of the caster!) to the intended victim's Psychic Defense, found on his combat card.

Attack is greater than Defense
You succeed, with whatever results are indicated on the spell sheet.

Attack is equal to or 1-4 points less than Defense
You fail, but get away cleanly. Unless it was obvious from your actions or words, the victim does not know that a spell was attempted.

Attack is 5 or more points less than Defense
You fail, and are caught in the act. The intended victim knows who tried to attack him and with which spell.

3.4.5. Boosting Spell Effects
At the time you cast a spell, you can spend extra Psychic Strength Points to give the spell more power. Each PSP you spend allows you to do one of the following:

• increase its reserve time (not its duration) by 30 minutes, up to a maximum total reserve time of six hours
• increase its Psychic Attack strength by 1 point, with no maximum

You may combine these two effects if you wish. For instance, if you choose to spend 5 extra PSP, you could give a spell an extra hour of reserve time and +3 to its Psychic Attack strength.

You must declare your intentions and write the results in your Spell Ledger at the time you cast the spell. You cannot extend a spell's reserve time or increase its Psychic Attack strength by spending more points after you have cast it, but must recast the spell entirely. Conversely, if you never trigger the spell, trigger the spell earlier, or need less power to overcome your victim's Psychic Defense, you do not get any excess points back.

You may cast the same spell more than once if you wish, holding more than one copy of the spell in reserve for later use. However, a spell effect cannot be triggered more than once on the same target at the same time, regardless of who cast the spells (there can be no overlapping durations). For instance, if you have a spell which increases the target's Martial Attack by 5, and you cast it three times on yourself, you are at +5 on your Martial Attack, not +15. If a spell has an equivalent effect but at a higher level (more targets, a longer duration, larger plus, etc), only the most powerful spell remains in effect; the other is dispelled. For instance, if you cast your +5 Martial Attack spell on yourself, and a friend later cast a +10 Martial Attack spell on you, your Martial Attack is at +10, not +15.

3.4.6. Casting Spells in Combat
Any spells in reserve may be triggered during combat if you wish, even if you are engaged in physical combat at the same time. However, there are a few limitations:

• · You must be conscious to trigger a spell, unless the spell is one which triggers even if you are taken by surprise.
• · You cannot trigger the same spell effect more than once per round of combat.
• · You cannot trigger more than one spell per opponent in each round of combat, but you can trigger multiple different defensive spells on yourself.
  For example, if you have two iterations of a sleep spell in reserve, you can only trigger one of them per round, but you could trigger a person-to-frog spell in the same round on a different person. These limitations hold whether or not your spells are successful.

It is extremely difficult to cast spells in combat if you don't already have them in reserve. To do so, you must actually perform all of the required actions, including reading any incantations aloud in full. You can speak one line per round. If any attack lands on you (a bullet hits, someone engages you in hand-to-hand combat, a hostile spell takes effect), you are interrupted and must begin the spell again. You do not lose any Psychic Strength Points from the failed casting. Some spells may be of such awful potency that they cannot be interrupted once begun.

3.5. Thieving

Most thieving abilities (such as picking locks) and some abilities related to thieving and deception have a Thieving Attack strength associated with them. Your Thieving Defense (TD) is found on your combat card. It represents your general awareness and your ability to protect your belongings.
To use a thieving ability, compare the Thieving Attack to your intended victim's TD.

Attack is greater than TD
You succeed, with whatever results are indicated on the card. He has no idea of who you were, what you did to him, or even that you tried something at all. Please roleplay this to the best of your ability.

Attack is equal to or 1-4 points less than TD
You fail, but get away cleanly. He has no idea of who you were, what you were attempting to do, or even that you tried something at all.

Attack is 5 or more points less than TD
You fail, and are caught in the act.

Unless there is some other restriction printed on the card, an individual thief may only use each thieving ability once per victim per fifteen minutes. People tend to get suspicious of persistent pickpockets...

If you have a very good reason to need to ensure your anonymity (for instance, if you are stealing from someone who believes you to be his loyal follower), you may ask a GM to serve as a Thieving Assistant (TA). A GM may well take hours or refuse the errand entirely. You may only use a TA for one thieving attempt at a time, and the TA must be able to locate your target merely by looking around. The TA may ask you to pass within close proximity to the target before accepting the errand. While the TA is acting, you are inactive and must stay in the same place as you were when you asked for help. While TAs will generally make reasonable attempts to be subtle about whom they act for, they are under no obligation to do so. (It is bad form for a victim to watch a TA to figure out who the thief is.) Do not abuse this privilege, or it may desert you when you least expect it.

Two thieves may work together, if they have the same ability (the cards are identical, except perhaps for the exact attack strength). The second thief adds one half (round up) of his attack to the first. It is not possible for more than two thieves to work together on a single attack.

3.6. Interrogation

Torture is amusing but inefficient. Even the strongest will can be broken, but it may take quite a while. Describe your method of persuasion to your victim, including any intimidating patter, and he will roleplay accordingly. It is entirely up to the victim what, if anything, he will say, and whether he will tell the truth.
Truth-reading drugs, abilities, and spells are a little more reliable, but they too have their limits. Most only allow a few questions, and while victims may be compelled not to lie, they may not compelled to give you the information you want. Read the rules on the card or spell carefully, and ask your questions prudently.

4. Amenities

4.1. Player Lounge

During the hours the GMs are on duty, the game's main function room serves as a player lounge. The doors must remain open during those times, and any active character may enter or leave freely. If you want a private meeting, find a private location for it.

The back doors of the function rooms lead into service hallways. These are for hotel staff only and should remain closed at all times, unless a GM asks you to prop them open for ventilation. Players are not allowed in the service hallways.

4.2. Picture Board

To help you recognize each other, there is a picture board in the player lounge. Your character notebook has a card clipped to the front. If we have your picture already, it is on the card; if not, have a GM take your picture. Before you go off to read your notebook, find your character name on the board (they are organized by public identity) and cover it with your picture, showing that you have arrived. If a character has no picture, but has a player name already posted, the character is cast but the player has not yet arrived. If there is only a character name posted, that character has not yet been cast. Please do not move or tamper with pictures, even your own.

4.3. The Daily Rumour

The main source of news in Arkham is a rag called The Daily Rumour. There is a bulletin board in the Player Lounge which will display news reports of interest as they occur. You may not post anything there yourself, nor may you remove anything. If you have a hot tip or would like to submit a press release, write your story legibly and hand it to the Editors [any GM] in the Player Lounge.

It may be possible for certain dishonorable people to modify, suppress, or create news, if they cross an Editor's palm with enough Greenbacks. Discretion is guaranteed, unless the other guy pays a better bribe...

4.4. Message Board

The Message Board in the Player Lounge is for signs, announcements, public messages, and the like. You may read anything that is up there, including notes to other characters. You may not, however, cover, alter, or remove anything, unless you are the poster or the sole addressee, or the message serves only to announce a meeting which has already concluded. Scratch paper and removable tape has been provided; please do not write on the board itself.

4.5. Mailboxes

Each character has been issued a mailbox, located in the player lounge, where you may leave messages and items for each other. Your box is below your name.

You may neither examine nor remove anything in any box (including your own or a GM's), unless you have a key with the correct name, even if you were the person who put it there. Thieving attacks directed against locations (such as rooms) work against mailboxes as well - contact a GM to see if you succeed. If your key is lost or stolen, just call the police (any GM).

GMs will also occasionally need to leave you notes to ask you a question, to give you information you had asked for earlier, or to resolve the effects of a special ability. Please check your message box often. Even if you have the key to someone else's mailbox, you may never read a GM note that is addressed to someone else.

4.6. Police

The police force consists of characters associated with law enforcement agencies, dead players who choose to reenter the game as Fuzz, and other policemen run by the GMs. Upon identifying themselves, they have the right to arrest anyone who is actively committing a crime or who fits the description of a known criminal. If they have sufficient evidence, they may request search or arrest warrants from a judge (contact a GM). Depending on the situation, they may also request backup.

Fuzz or GM-run police, who wear blue badges, can be killed, but they reenter the game five minutes later as the officers from the next beat over, with all ofthe information they had up until the moment of their deaths, including accurate descriptions of their attackers.

Any violent altercation,
even if no one is injured or killed,
must be reported immediately to the GMs.

5. The Habeas Corpse Clause

Any time you think you need a GM, you are entitled to ask for one to assist you. Please do not call for trivial matters, but if you are involved in a complicated combat, being kidnapped, interrogated, or killed, or for any other reason feel that events are moving too quickly or that you do not understand your options, call a GM. They will ensure that you are treated fairly.

6. The Elastic Clause

Remember, all Gamesmaster decisions are final, even if they directly contradict the rules. Common sense, naturally, takes precedence over the exact wording of these rules.

In any game based on an existing work of fiction, there will be some parts of the game in which your interpretation of the works differs from that of the GMs, and other parts of the game where the GMs have deliberately altered things for the sake of keeping the game balanced and fun. We have done our best to remain true to the spirit of H. P. Lovecraft's work while also providing you the best game possible. We ask you to be patient and understanding.

The purpose of these rules is to provide a framework for roleplaying. Don't try to exploit, twist, or beat the rules. Don't argue, whine, or try to play GMs off against each other. That's not what this game is all about. Instead, go out and meet people, face setbacks heroically, play your character, stay alert, and have fun!

Good Luck!

and remember…
Cthulhu loves me, this I know
Because al-Hazrd tells me so