Download - Commoriom Submission v3,25 (1)
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mmoriomA Submission for
Trail of Cthulhu
Commoriom
General/structural comments:
It would be good if, by the end, the protagonists
have an idea of what KZ and his spawn might be,
maybe where they came from. Do they also need a
copy of the Book of Eibon
Include !hule "ociety esoteric conspiracy # vril
stuff $ne of the %ril "ociety ladies is with
&obineau's team.
(ave Ethelrod's manner of death depend on player
actions) If they spot the &erman camp, perhaps he
asks one of them what they think it is, and#or
should we go there. If *E" then &obineau kills him
there. If +$ then the &ermans follow them and
&obineau shoots Ethelrod as they approach#enter
the valley. If both these events are prevented then
&ranger gets drunk and kills Ethelrod ust after theyarrive in the valley -or the &nophKeh kills him/.
!he offspring of KZ have two forms) adult and
uvenile. !he uvenile is simply a fissile offshoot
of an adult. It's about the si0e and appearance of a
leech. $nly the uvenile can parasitise a human.
!hey take about 12 weeks inside a human to reach
adulthood.
!here is a fro0en mastodon carcass in the upper
chamber of the tower.
3hange both clues and instructions to the Keeper
into second person.
3an e4uipment be defined in terms of opportunities
for the use of 5reparedness Eg. 6inches, ropes
etc. 7eview travel, supply levels and some physical
challenges to make them properly playerfacing and
simple to use. But wait to see what 8aws comes up
with in 9ythos E:peditions.
9ake format of clues consistent -bulleted/ as per
above
(ans 7einerth) real archaeologist who did a lot of
work for ;lfred 7osenberg and oined the +"D;5
in
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The Horrible Truth!he archaeological site is the ruin of the lost
(yperborean city of 3ommoriom. Entombed within
it are a descendent of !sathoggua and his
amorphous, parasitic offspring.
The Spine!he team members voyage to Godthb, where they
can confront a Rival Expeditionfrom &ermany.!hey then begin their arduous overland trek in
Evighedsfjorden.
!he protagonists see strange Eskimo watching them
from afar. In addition, a confrontation with the rival
team may have deadly conse4uences.
In The Valley of ommoriom! the protagonists
can find the bodies of the last survivors of the&erman team, mysteriously burned to death.
+earby, there is a strange temple inscribed with a
history of the early prehuman settlers. $n the
valley floor, a shadow under the ice indicates the
location of the archaeological site.
!here is strange singing in the valley and the
protagonists see the elusive figures of blond
Eskimo.
Excavation leads to the discovery of an ancient
tower entombed in ice, containing the remains ofancient astronomical e4uipment.
nseasonal bli00ards harry the team as they work
and they may glimpse a strange creature in the
storm. !he problems escalate with damage to the
camp and people attacked, until the 5rotagonists
neutralise the Eskimo clan that is causing these
problems.
urther digging uncovers a stairway with a frie0e
describing a history of (yperborea and eventually
leads to a ity "nder the #cewhere the teamuncovers a device that sends their minds back in
time to the disturbing origins of life on earth and
merges them with the primordial mind of bbo
"athla.
;s they e:plore and e:cavate, the city's dormant,
parasitic inhabitants begin to awaken and infest the
intruders, leading to the $%a&ening of 'nygathin(haum.
Victory Conditions%ictory in this scenario means discovering the
nature of the site and the horror within it and
escaping alive, preferably with the site safely
sealed.
Antagonist Reactions!here are four factions of potential antagonists in
this scenario.
; private &erman e:pedition of +a0iallied
archaeologists and occultists is investigating the site
as the possible ruin of Fltima !huleG. !hey see
themselves as civilised men, and -with the
e:ception of &obineau/ will initially be inclined to
be cordial. (owever, they see the site as property of
their ancestors and themselves as it's custodians.
!hey will ruthlessly take control of the site or its
artifacts if it seems necessary. 8ikewise, they may
use violence if threatened or obstructed.
; tiny clan of latterday (yperboreans -or HBlond
Eskimo'/ lives near the coast to the west of thevalley of 3ommoriom. !he Inuit of the region shun
them for their foul religious practices. !heir
ancestral myths warn that people disturbing the
valley will awaken a giant fro0en in a city under the
ice. !hey will do their utmost to protect the valley.
!heir most effective tactic is calling a &nophKeh
to hamper the e:pedition.
6ithin the city itself, is a colony of amorphous and
parasitic entities descended from !sathoggua.
Initially dormant, they will gradually awaken, andattempt to subdue and infest human hosts, gradually
gaining control over their behaviour and using them
to attempt to awaken their leader Knygathin Zhaum
and the other spawn. 6hen sufficient numbers are
awake, they will launch a fullscale attack on the
intruders.
; fourth potential antagonist is the team member
Dr 3huck &ranger, whose alcoholism and mental
health issues may cause him to become violent
under the stresses of the e:pedition.
Running Commoriom withthe Armitage Inquiry
!his scenario begins in late >une of
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&reenland e:pedition to his colleague Dr rancis
9organ and 9organ shared the story with
5rofessor ;rmitage. "oon they were working with
5rofessor Ethelrod in England to organise a follow
up e:pedition.
)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,!his symbol defines
sections that apply only to running the scenario as
part of the ;rmitage In4uiry.
Running Commoriom as astandalone
*ou can also run this scenario as a standalone
adventure or mark a dramatic beginning to an
ongoing campaign.
Ethelrod has organised the e:pedition with the
British 9useum, independently of ;rmitage and his
colleagues.
)*ymbol: *tandalone, !his symbol defines
sections that apply only to running the scenario as a
standalone.
Creating the Protagonists;ppropriate roles for the e:pedition include
archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists,
biologists, e:plosives e:perts, drill engineers and
radio engineers. ;ll team members should be
healthy and fit, and be competent crosscountryskiers @ represented for game purposes as a
minimum $utdoorsman rating of < and ;thletics of
1. !he e:pedition will also need a medic with
9edicine and irst ;id ratings of at least .
!he e:pedition leader is very :enophobic and
rench applicants in particular need not apply.
)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry, !eam members arelikely to be ;merican, perhaps connected to the
niversity. (owever, Ethelrod may have brought
British team members with him.
)*ymbol: *tandalone, !he e:pedition is Britishand most of its members are too. (owever, Dr
&ranger may not be the only ;merican to oin the
e:pedition.
Prologue!he 5rotagonists have each applied for a position
on an e:citing e:pedition to &reenland.
!he following clues are availableabout recent polar
e:peditions)
$rchaeology/$nthropology:
In
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!heir Drive @ their reason for oining the
e:pedition
Insight into one or more of their 5illars of
"anity.
!hese things can be drawn out by the interviewer
asking about the applicant's 4ualifications, reasons
for wanting to oin the e:pedition, their beliefs,
what they would rely on to get through the ;rctic
winter and so on.
)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,If organised by9iskatonic niversity, 3hairman of the
;rchaeology Department, Doctor Ernest 9c!avish
conducts the interview along with ;ssociate
5rofessor rancis 9organ.
)*ymbol: *tandalone, If the e:pedition is
organised by Ethelrod in England, he conducts the
interview himself, accompanied by his friend6ilfred 8ipton, at Ethelrod's office in the British
9useum.
Scenes
!riefing*cene Type:Introduction
.ead0ut:5reparations, !he ;tlantic %oyage
)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,!he briefing takesplace in a seminar room at the ;rchaeology
Department of 9iskatonic niversity. ;ssociate
5rofessor rancis 9organ is a selfassured yet soft
spoken field researcher in his early 1As, who
e:presses regret at being unable to attend the
e:pedition due to it being brought forward by a
year. (e introduces e:pedition leader 5rofessor
Ethelrod, a renowned linguist from 3ambridge and
veteran of the 9athieson E:pedition, who has
voyaged across the ;tlantic to oin them.
$rchaeology:Dr 9organ has a good reputation asa scientist, adventurer and a man of integrity. -
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until a second e:pedition could investigate it
fully. !he ill health and death of 5rofessor
3urtis 9athieson in
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(e wraps up the briefing after three or four
4uestions or if he doesn't like the direction the
4uestions are going.
Henr Ethelrod
;ny attempt to influence Ethelrod or get additional
information from him re4uires British characters to
have a 3redit 7ating of CL. ;mericans and
continental Europeans -apart from the rench/ need
ML. ;nyone else will need to make a
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The +ook of Eibon
.anguage: English#8atin
*&im:1 hours
7ore:MA hours
*&immingthis will provide < dedicated pool point
in ;nthropology, ;stronomy or $ccult and ean 7aymond is highly racist himself, as
well as being somewhat insecure. (e will refuse to
have anything to do with nonwhite people at all
and under stress could react violently to them. If
somehow shown that his idealised theories of his
origins were profoundly mistaken, he would go
irrevocably insane.
$bilities:;thletics 2 -
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2edicine ;core! floating=:Ethelrod is mortally
wounded, but he comes round briefly. (e will tell
the protagonist to follow the route marked on the
map in his personal pack. (e also warns them that
the Fguardian of the temple must be placatedG but
slips into unconsciousness before he can e:plain
how.
; third Reassurance 57oint *pendor5sychological !riage will get &ranger talking. (e
raves and mutters incoherently about Fblond
EskimoG, Fthe maneating beast of the iceG, Fthe
city of evilG, Fthe formless guardian of the templeG
and Ethelrod stealing his whisky. (e soon lapses
into a state of muttering, incoherent catatonia, from
which, as 7sychoanalysisindicates, he is unlikelyto recover without lengthy therapy.
Ethelrods Personal Effects
Ethelrod left most of his personal possessions onone of the sleds. 7eliant as they were on Ethelrod,
the rest of the team do not know with certainty the
route to their goal. !hey may find this material
while looking for his maps.
Ethelrod's possessions include)
ore lue:; detailed map of 6est &reenland
with handwritten markings showing both the
route taken by the 9athieson E:pedition and
the route planned for the current e:pedition
Ethelro#)s *otes on the Liber !onis-see
HEthelrod's "ecrets' sidebar/
lue ;7ipe=:A 'reliminar( nter%retation of
the Tsath-+o Language -see HEthelrod's
"ecrets' sidebar/
'ictogra%hs in the Tem%le of the ,oth-Aua
-see HEthelrod's "ecrets' sidebar/
TBegin "idebarU
Ethelrods Secrets
EthelrodCs >otes on the .iber #vonis
.anguage:English
*&im: hours
7ore:A hours
!hese handwritten notes were written in the late
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; civil war broke out between the followers of
Zoth;44ua and ;dukwu and the heretics were
forced out of the city, and hunted down. ; few
survived in the mountains.
"trange people with no hair on their bodies,
only on their heads, came from the north in
boats made of skin -the ancestors of the
(yperboreans, Ethelrod suggests/. !hey beganto trade, the builders of the city taught them
writing, and the newcomers 4uickly learned the
ways of economics and government.
!he land continued to get colder, and trade
dwindled. !he coming of the cold was a curse
from ;dukwu or his longdead followers.
!here is a prophecy that the bareskinned
people would take the city. Eventually it would
lie abandoned and ravaged by the cold.
TEnd "idebarU
The Valley of Commoriom*cene Type: 3ore
.ead#n:$n the Edge
.ead0ut:E:cavation, &ranger goes 9ad
ore lue: The *hado% "nder the #ce
Arri)ing at the Site
;s the team progresses along the ridge, they see
two mountain peaks ahead, between which they areheading. Beyond that, according to Ethelrod's map,
lies the valley of 3ommoriom.
!he ourney is uphill and hard going, re4uiring 2
;thletics, leeing or (ealth pool points for half a
day.
!he team reaches the top of a rise in the natural
pass between the two peaks and has view of a
mountainous plateau, a valley around a mile across,
with an ice cap covering what was once a valley.
;bout miles away, on the other side of the valley,a dark cube -The Temple of (hotha++uah/ s4uats
on the lower slopes of the highest mountain. ;bout
one mile away, on another slope of tundra is a small
camp.
!he wind blows harshly through the high valley,
whipping up particles of ice and snow into dancing
phantoms. ; "ense !rouble test against Difficulty 1
allows 5rotagonists to hear a strange droning sound.
!his is a natural effect caused by the wind blowing
between the mountains and through the valley.$nce this is established, allow any "ense !rouble
points spent to be reclaimed.
Evidence ollection! 0utdoorsman or Geology
;ore lue=: ;lso about a mile away, close to themiddle of the icecovered valley is a shadow that
matches the one Ethelrod showed the group in the
briefing -see The *hado% "nder the #ce/.
Geology:!he ice could be up to a thousand feet
thick.
Evidence ollection: ;s you approach the cubeshaped structure, you see a blackened, scattered pile
of debris on the ice.
In fact, this is the remains of the &erman e:pedition
-see The End of the -auer Expedition/.
The &erman Camp
!he camp consists of two tents with two sledges
parked nearby. !here is bedding for three men here.
It appears to be deserted.
0utdoorsman: !he camp has not been used for
days.
*imple *earch: !he camp contains some supplies
of food, kerosene, skis, ice picks, rifle ammunition,
and so forth.
Evidence ollection 5 point spendis re4uired to
find each of the following in the camp)
A dynamite charges with detonators and
fuse wire
ournal of Ekkehardt Bauer
!he ;krafall "aga
TBegin "idebarU
)*ymbol: 7ulp,
!echselapparat !e,5lamethrower
6hile it's unlikely to do much more than delay the
horror they will face later, you could include anintact flamethrower at the camp.
!his model is surplus from the &reat 6ar and
consists of a backpack with fuel cylinders and a
no00le connected by a hose. ; 9echanical 7epair
test against Difficulty 2 is re4uired to understand
the firing mechanism, with failure resulting in a
wasted shot. &asoline, kerosene or diesel can be
used as fuel. ;
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leeing Difficulties by
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thir# occasion0 he re!eale# his #i!ine form an#
#e!oure# man( of the %eo%le until the last of them
fle#. +ears later0 one of the inhabitants of the cit(
returne# an# foun# the cit( %o%ulate# ith a race
#escen#e# from the go#s. Thus began the
ci!ilisation of Thule an# the Ar(an race.
!his myth, argues 6irth, is an account of the divine
seed from which the supreme +ordic;ryan raceappeared on !hule before they went on to rule the
ancient orl#. 2e also s%eculates e1tensi!el( on
the relationshi%s beteen the %ictogra%hs an#
*or#ic runes.
lue ;.everaged=: If using Ethelrod's !sath*o
dictionary, every si: hours work and 5 point
spendsin $rchaeology, .anguages,
ryptography, $nthropologyor thulhu
2ythos, one of the following points is translated)
"oldiers from 3ommoriom captured the outlawKnygathin Zhaum and brought him back to the
city.
;ccording to rumour, Knygathin Zhaum was
the product of the union of the Shakli%@ the
Hgranddaughter' of the god,hothauahand a
subhuman %oormis.
!he city e:ecutioner beheaded him three times
and each time, witnesses later saw him alive,
more monstrous than before. $n the first and
second occasion, Knygathin Zhaum killed and
ate one of the inhabitants of the city.
By the third reappearance, he had
metamorphosed into a fully alien entity, and had
devoured many of the citi0ens, forcing the final
abandonment of the city.
; former inhabitant of 3ommoriom returned to
the city one day and discovered it repopulated
with the monstrous offspring of Knygathin
Zhaum.!ranslating it or reading an accurate translation will
grant < point of 3thulhu 9ythos.
!he Keeper might consider using or adapting 3lark
;shton "mith's story The Testament of Athammaus
for the content of the main body of the story.
The End of the +auer E,pedition
Evidence ollection:
!here are three charred bodies here in a
blackened mass.
!here are rifle cartridges scattered around. ;t
least M shots were fired.
hemistry:
!he group was burned with fuel, probably
kerosene
!here is an odd tarry residue here that you don't
recognise as a normal byproduct of chemicalfires like this. It seems to be organic.
o -iology:!his isn't any known organic
substance
8orensics:;ll three men appear to have died fromburns caused by an inflammable li4uid
Evidence ollection:+e:t to the first man is a
dark stone statuette. It is a s4uat, grotes4ue, vaguely
toadlike form with a fat body, halfclosed eyes,
large ears and a lolling tongue. "eeing this is a
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!hey fled, pursued by the spawn. !hey fired on it to
no effect, but managed to set it on fire with their
flamethrower. It attacked them, causing the
flamethrower to rupture and burning the entire
group, including the spawn, to death.
The Temple of.hothaqquah
!his mysterious, ancient, weathered cube s4uats on
the mountainside like a tomb or a memorial to
something incomprehensibly ancient. It is built of
dark grey stone with sides fifty feet, narrow slits
high in the walls and an open, s4uare doorway
about nine feet wide.
Evidence ollectionor0utdoorsman:!here is afaint, short path leading from the ice plain to the
doorway.
Geology:!he building is constructed of basalt. !heprofound erosion of this hard stone appears to
imply that it is unfeasibly ancient.
$rchitecture:Each wall appears to be formed of a
single natural block.!he building bears norelationship to any known architectural style.
!he walls and floor are covered in thick frost. !here
are footprints across the floor and in places the frost
has been scraped from the walls.
Theology:
Evidence ollection 5 7oint spend: In otherplaces, the frost has been melted from the walls as
indicated by dark scorch marks.
>ust inside the door is a huge, threelegged basin of
a corroded greenish material that forms a pool of
green, several feet wide around it. hemistryor$rchaeology recognises it as e:tremely ancient
bron0e covered in thick verdigris. !he bowl is si:
feet across and three deep. If e:amined, the inside
of the bowl is untarnished, in nearperfect
condition. Evidence ollection:!he feet are in the
shapes of felinelike claws.
!he floor is seen to be tiled in a strange pattern of
large, irregular, fivesided flagstones. 7hysics or
$rchitecture:!his pattern of tessellated pentagons
is unfamiliar and implies a sophisticated
understanding of obscure geometry.
"trange hieroglyphs -identifiable as a primitive
version of !sath*o/ can be seen covering the
walls, in some still covered in frost and some
already e:posed. !he glyphs relate a history of the
original builders of the city as translated inEthelrod's'ictogra%hs in the Tem%le of ,oth-
Aua.
$n the back wall is an empty twotiered altar.
Evidence ollection:; bare spot in the frost andwear on the stone indicates that an obect rested on
this altar for a long time time. 57oint spendrecognises the outline of the statuette found at TheEnd of the -auer Expedition.
The -urial hamber
Behind the altar, what may once have been a hidden
doorway lies open with fragments of corroded
bron0e chain on the floor nearby.
hemistryindicates that the chain fragments have
been in this position for only a few years. &reen
stains on the door itself imply that the door was
probably chained for millennia.
!he windowless chamber beyond is almost fifty
feet wide and about ten feet deep. $pposite the door
seated on a large, bron0e throne is the striking
figure of a mummified baboonlike ape dressed in
the remnants of a red and purple robe and a
feathered headdress. !ufts of orange hair poke
through holes in the robe. !his is a 15oint "tability
test -9ythos related/.
-iology:!he creature is of no known species of
ape and possesses certain features, for e:ample the
structure of the foot, which places it closer to
human beings.
!he throne is again of heavily corroded bron0e, butin better condition than the basin.
!here is a long stone table at one end of the
chamber, which is empty apart from a few
fragments of ancient organic matter -the remains of
flowers, fruit and other foods/.
The Shadow under the 4ce
+ear the centre of the ice cap, there is a dark spot of
roughly circular shape and about forty feet in
diameter. Evidence ollection:; structure of
some kind, the top of which is around fifteen feetbeneath the surface, descends deep into the ice.
Evidence ollection5 7oint spendor$rchitecture:It is difficult to see through thedistortion, but it has a resemblance to the top of a
tower complete with railed balcony.
If, at any stage, the 5rotagonists balk at e:cavating
the structure @ to ensure they can leave the site
before the searoute is closed off by ice for e:ample
@ you can use a 3ard
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Setting up Camp
;t some stage, the protagonists will probably want
to build their cabin. ;nyone with 0utdoorsmanor
$rchitecturewill know to build it on solid ground
rather than on ice. !here are several spots on the
foothills at the edge of the valley to choose from.
Building the cabin takes four days. If the
5rotagonists wish to do so, they can spend pool
points from ;rchitecture or a relevant 3raft and
reduce construction time by half a day per point
spent.
6hile the team members are sleeping in tents and
building the cabin, it might be a good time for their
first e:perience of !he "inging -see sidebar/.
$nce completed, the cabin has two rooms @ a living
space with a stove and simple kitchen and 4uarters
that sleep eight people in bunks. $thers may need
to sleep in the living space. Both rooms have one
small window. !here is an outhouse for storage and
another for the dogs.
Attac/s %y the)y"er%oreans
*cene Type: ;ntagonist 7eaction
.ead#n:!he %alley of 3ommoriom
.ead0ut:!he (airy !hing in the Bli00ard
!he tiny clan of Blond Eskimo has camped near thevalley in order to drive the outsiders away and
interfere with the dig. !his takes the form of
sabotage and singing the ancestral song for
summoning the &nophkeh from the iceplains to
wreak havoc in the valley.
(aving tracked the outsiders to the valley, they
build their snow shelter and male members of the
clan take turns to be dropped off by sled, on a
possibly suicidal mission to draw the gnophkeh to
their enemies' camp.nfortunately for them, while their song summons
the creature, it offers no control or protection from
it. If the caller is successful, they are as likely as
not, to become victims themselves. Either toss a
coin, a die or make a decision according to what is
dramatically interesting in each instance. !his also
means that all the men of the clan bar one are likely
to be dead by the time the creature has been
summoned about si: times.
The Hperboreans!hese natives are, to the best of their knowledge,
the last of an ancient race that once had great cities
here. 9ost of their civilised culture has been lost @
they are now simple huntergatherers, living harsh
lives in the more remote parts of &reenland. !heir
ancient religion has been lost and they make their
offerings and prayers to 3thulhu, who they call
HKulu).
5hysically, they look very different from other
Eskimo people, being blond, with long faces,elongated earlobes and substantial facial hair. !hey
wear hoodless, widecollared parkas with hats.
!hey believe that the thing that comes from the ice
in answer to their song is a H6hite Bear "pirit' and
wear amulets, mistakenly believing that they can
offer protection from the &nophKeh.
$nthropology:!his primitive ewellery is an
amulet depicting a fierce, stylised polar bear and
possibly intended to offer protection of some kind.
-iology:!he pendant looks like polar bear boneand the necklace is decorated with bear teeth and
claws.
$nthropology:!hese men do not appear to be amembers of any known Eskimo tribe, either in
terms of their clothing or in terms of their fair hair,
slender build, long faces, large noses or long ear
lobes. $ne man, who may be a shaman, has motifs
on his clothing and ornamentation in an unfamiliar
style and a4uatic theme. 57oint spend:%ilhalmur
"tefansson reported blond Eskimo in northern3anada in
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3it Threshold: 1
4eapon) < -knife/
*tealth 2odifier:L
$lertness 2odifier:L
*pells:Dread +ame of ;0athoth, 3ontact &noph
keh, 3ontact 3thulhu, 3ontact "pawn of 3thulhu,
3ontact Deep $nes
The 8ather! #sma
;ged 2M, this gri00led patriarch is the head of the
clan. (is hair is greying, but he is still fierce and
strong.
If unable to escape, Isma will defend himself
ferociously with his spear.
$bilities:;thletics N, "cuffling O, 6eapons =,
(ealth M
3it Threshold: 2
4eapon) LA -spear/
$rmor) < vs all -hide/
*tealth 2odifier:L