Voice of The Ancestors 2 - Tales of The Man Eaters
Voice of The Ancestors 2 - Tales of The Man Eaters
Voice of The Ancestors 2 - Tales of The Man Eaters
Translator
Kathy Calmejane
Project Manager
Emmanuel Roudier, Jean-François Morlaës
Technical Coordinator
Franck « Booga » Florentin
Proofreaders
Vincent Basset, Kathy Calmejane, François-Xavier Cuende,
Jean-Pierre Hufen, Arnaud Prié, Emmanuel Roudier,
Paul-Henri “Pitche” Verheve, Yodram,
1
Preface
My dear readers,
You are now holding the second edition of Voice of the Ancestors, and I thank you for that. In theory,
you would have had to wait a little longer for this second adventure booklet for Würm, but thanks to
the successful crowdfunding campaign by Editions Icare, you can now discover it at the same time as
the first edition! Hooray for that! It means that you will be able to get an immediate feeling for just how
different they are from one another. As we continue in our plan to explore the many aspects of the
prehistoric universe of Würm, as well as the many game playing possibilities, in this edition we propose
to take you into the world of the “Man Eaters”.
Who are these “Man Eaters”? There are no big cats or wolves in sight this time; instead we will be
taking a closer look at the cannibalistic humans who so pique our curiosity. Just what is cannibalism?
The term refers to humans eating the flesh of other humans. As you will soon discover, there are a
number of different types of cannibalism that we will address here.
Over the next few pages you will find a game aid presenting the details of the various types: whether the
cannibalism is for ritual purposes or for food, exo- or endocannibalism, you will soon know everything
there is to know about it. You will then be able to add this exotic element to your games of Würm. As
repulsive as it may seem to begin with, it can bring us all to think further about our own beliefs and
convictions, and about the relationships that our ancestors had with their families, their enemies, and
their dead.
The game aid is followed by three scenarios.
In the first one, our players are a group of young humans who happen to discover during their
coming of age ceremony that the traditions of their tribe have included cannibalism since the dawn of
time. How will they react to this discovery? Will they overcome this ancestral taboo to play out their
characters, attempting to see a different side to sharing and transmission, two essential parts of societies
based on tradition?
The second scenario involves actual monsters. Legendary boogey-men, goblins and ghouls assemble
for this descent into the darkness, in search of the darkest part of humanity, the part that lurks in the
dark, far from the surface. Let’s wager that our players will never enter a cave in the same way after that
encounter.
The third and last scenario explores a different and interesting take on cannibalism: what if the
monstrous humans who practice this cannibalism are not the strange Neanderthals for a change, but our
own ancestors, the Homo Sapiens? Our own species, in all its glory and its horror, with its unquenchable
thirst for knowledge and discovery, and its terrible lack of consideration for others’ lives...
One thing is for sure: this booklet is not for everyone! If you are used to playing with your six- and
eight-year-old kids, it would probably be a good idea to wait for a while before you play out these
scenarios or give them this edition of Voice of the Ancestors to read....
2
Table of Contents
O
Preface 2
A Guide to Cannibalism 4
A game Aid for WÜRM By Yodram
3
A Guide to Cannibalism
A game aid for WÜRM
4 A Guide to Cannibalism
o Cannibalism can also be the result of
specific beliefs within a human society; in
this case, it is a way for those consuming
the human flesh to obtain part or all of the
strengths or talents of the victim. In this
context, Ritualistic cannibalism is just a part of
the cosmic game that the Spirits play with
mankind. Through its practice, humans can
dominate and flatter the Spirits, offering
sacrifices to them, and trying to increase
their influence on their environment. In this
context, sacrificing a human and eating parts
of the body becomes a shamanic activity,
similar to the others detailed in the Würm
rulebook, through which men can invoke
supernatural powers.
A Guide to Cannibalism 5
(see Würm page 79) to check which evil or shaman’s probing. Therefore if the victim
benevolent Spirits might inhabit the person drinks the potion, the shaman gets a bonus
who is designated to be eaten. Remember of +2 for the detection of his Strengths and
that the DT depends on the strength of the Weaknesses.
Spirits in question, and that a -2 penalty is If the clan does not have a shaman among
applied if the person is already dead. It is its members, it can simply carry out a
therefore better – albeit more difficult – to thorough examination of the intended victim
capture an adversary alive in order to get to to try and detect the presence of a possible
know him better. evil Spirit and get an idea of one Strength at
most. This is done with a simple Perception
For each of the victim’s Strengths or Test with a DT 12. For this Test Wisdom of
Weaknesses that the shaman is trying to the Mammoth or Magic of the Rhinoceros can be
detect, a new Contact the Spirits Test must be applied. The option of using the Sleep Potion
carried out, with a cumulative penalty of -1 is also available in this case.
for each extra Test. Therefore to detect a
possible curse, and then the victim’s three Step Two: Ritual Butchery
(or more) Strengths and any Weaknesses, the (new Secret Skill)
ceremony will require 4 to 6 steps, each one Knowing how to prepare a body for a
more difficult than the previous one. cannibalistic ritual is a new Secret Skill. The
Ritual Butchery Skill can be acquired in the
Options same conditions as others, in other words
There is a variation on the Sleep Potion (Secret over one season. The preparation of the
Skill Sorcery, Teachings of the Marshes) body can follow several “recipes”. It’s up to
that is not considered a new Secret Skill for the GM to let his imagination loose in this
someone who already knows the original, respect.
and it can be used to lower the victim’s There are a few known elements that can
willpower and make him more open to the help illustrate the ceremony. In some cases,
the execution itself is a key part of the ritual
and therefore follows a specific protocol.
Terrifying Appearance Then the body can be gutted and cleaned,
(New Secret Combat Technique) or on the contrary every orifice can be
The members of a cannibal clan can learn the Terrifying closed up to ensure that no Spirit leaves
Appearance Secret Combat Technique. This consists the body. It can then be eaten raw – at least
of using human remains as body decorations – other some of the noble parts of it – or cooked
than the breastplate of bones – and taking on a before it is consumed. Different body
fearsome appearance by using body painting and cries parts can be prepared in different ways.
and gestures that terrify human opponents. When this The character carrying out the ceremony
technique is used by a group of six opponents or more, carries out a Ritual Butchery Test with a DT 7
any human adversary must pass a DT 7 Resistance Test before moving on to the Ritual Feast. If he
for the fear they inspire, or suffer a -2 penalty for all knows what Strengths the victim had, he
actions for the whole duration of the scene. If 5 people can carry out a Ritual Butchery Test with DT
or fewer use the technique, the DT is only 5. 9 to attempt a Spirit Transfer. During the
ceremony, he can be assisted by chanting,
dancing and music, each successful action
6 A Guide to Cannibalism
Table of Anatomical Analogies
Eaten body part Ritual Feast (+1) Spirit Transfer
Brain Memory, wisdom, insight Wisdom of the Mammoth, Secret of the Bear
Eye Perception, tracking, orientation Sight of the Owl, Eye of the Panther
Nose, ears Perception, tracking, orientation Cunning of the Weasel, Nose of the Wolf
Tongue, throat Eloquence, lying, singing, cursing Song of the Blackbird, Magic of the Rhinoceros
Genitals Fertility, sexual power, seduction Might of the Bison, Protection of the Vixen
Legs, buttocks Running, dodge, reflexes Speed of the Horse, Quickness of the Lynx
Feet Agility, dancing, jumping, balance Agility of the Ibex, Grace of the Swan
gives a bonus of +1 for the Ritual Butchery character will have to roll against a DT 5.
Test. A failed roll will prevent the ceremony A Success grants a bonus for 2d6 days; a
from being completed. A Critical Success Critical Success lasts a whole moon. If the
will give the participants a 1d6 bonus for the character fails, he will suffer a penalty caused
Spirit Transfer or Ritual Feast Tests. by a possible Weakness or an evil Spirit in
the victim, for 1d6 days.
o Ritual Feast
Each clan member who takes part in the o Spirit Transfer
Ritual Feast can benefit from a +1 bonus With a roll against a DT 7, a character can
from eating one of the various body benefit from the victim’s Strengths for a
parts detailed in the table of anatomical whole moon – as long as the celebrant has
analogies on the next page. Be warned, successfully carried out the Spirit Transfer
however, that each bonus for a part of the Test. If the Test fails, the character will
human body can be awarded to one and only suffer a penalty for a moon caused by a
one clan member, even if several of them Weakness or an evil Spirit in the victim. A
eat the same part. To benefit from the critical success makes the bonus last for a
bonus associated with their chosen part, the whole season.
A Guide to Cannibalism 7
It may simply be to lay the deceased to rest
in peace and transmit his memory to the rest
of the participants. If this is the case, the
same rules apply as for the Exocannibalism
Ritual Feast detailed above: DT 7 for the
celebrant, and DT 5 for the participants.
However, the effect lasts for longer: one
moon for a success, a whole season for a
critical success.
The ceremony can also be used for a Spirit
Transfer. One of two cases can apply:
8 A Guide to Cannibalism
Summary Table of Ritual Cannibalism
Critical +1d6 for participants for the +1d6 for participants for the
Success Spirit Transfer or the Ritual Feast Spirit Transfer or the Ritual Feast
Ritual Feast
Success Bonus +1, 2d6 days Bonus +1, 2d6 days
Participant - DT 5
Failure Weakness or Curse for 1d6 days Weakness or Curse for 1d6 days
Critical
Bonus +1, one moon Bonus +1, one moon
Success
A Guide to Cannibalism 9
What We Did To
Introduction
After the long, warm season of Ao, the first This year, during a bison hunt, one moon to
chills that announce the coming of winter the north of the winter camp, a young “flat-
have swept over the hunting lands. It is time face” (the Lion clan’s nickname for the Long
for the members of the Lion clan to travel Men) hunter was captured. As every year, the
to the safe haven that they have occupied clan’s captive was washed, fed, treated well,
during the cold season since time began. and only recently did the clan begin to drug
Nestled in the heart of a deep gorge, it him. For a few days now, he has been in a
provides a few small game animals for the constant state of semi-consciousness. Soon,
winter, a hot spring that bubbles at the back he will be devoured by Scilax as an offering
of a cave chamber, and most importantly a to the powerful Spirit for the protection of
plentiful plant life which, combined with the the clan... That is all the clan’s children know
hot springs, remains relatively luxurious and about the strange ritual that they have always
maintains a warmer temperature in the whole been excluded from for as long as they can
of the gorge. At the top of the valley, just remember.
downstream from where the river turns from
a series of rapids into a thundering waterfall, The Clan’s Legend
is the gaping Maw of Scilax (entrance to the The Lion clan was once a peaceful Bear-man
sacred cave where the annual rituals take clan. When the flat-faces arrived in the area,
place, for the adults of the clan only). the river Spirit that protected the clan was no
longer enough to prevent the attack of an occurs within the clan, a Ritual Feast is held,
evil Spirit. Many perished. allowing 1 to 4 youngsters (depending on
Scilax the clairvoyant appeared to Arvar the the Strengths of the deceased, maximum
ancestor. He gave him the Fury of the Lion. 4) to acquire the third Strength required to
He taught him the ways to defend his clan. become adults.
Since then, the flat-faces have not returned
to the area, and Scilax watches over his Scilax is Hungry!
people in all his generous fury. At least, until The challenge is to manage, in a short game
recently... play period, to give the players the equivalent
of the childhood memories of the PCs they A scenario for
are playing. Here are a few essential bits of Bear-men characters
What the PCs Don’t Know at and an experienced GM
information that they must know, and some
the Beginning of the Scenario
suggested scenes to help you transmit them.
The adults have all been initiated to
cannibalism, always heavily ritualized, as 1 Scilax’s Maw (the sacred cave in the
much inside the community as occasionally gorge) is just one of many caves in the
outside it. area. As children they often played in
these cavities. Some of them are shallow
Exocannibalism can also occur cul-de-sacs, others contain the sulfurous
without any special occasion, but it mainly hot springs that trickle down to the main
happens when the clan returns to the winter river and play their part in the strangely
camp each year. To mark the occasion, temperate microclimate in the gorge.
the clan’s alliance with Scilax is reinforced: 2 Argun, the last young man to have
a outsider to the clan must be sacrificed come of age two seasons ago, returned
(sometimes after months of captivity within from his initiation after having disappeared
the clan). The Ritual Feast is held, shared for several days. When he returned, he
between the able-bodied adults (the elders came over the mountain, down from
look after the children), and the trackers have the highest point, over the waterfall that
to offer certain parts of the body to a cave marks the entrance to the valley. The PCs
lion that they must track down beforehand. remember it because they saw him walking
all alone, his body painted black and white,
Endocannibalism is rather special: his eyes wide and unfocussed and a skull
the Elders spend the night reciting a long list hanging from his belt. But what they
of the names of the ancestors (the children remember best is that he seemed to be
have taken part in this ceremony without having an intense conversation with a cave
truly understanding the meaning). This lion!
demonstration of their memory helps them
to learn the names of around a hundred 3 When the clan’s legend is told, there is
ancestors, all the way back to the legendary a litany that is recited during the chants,
Arvar. When they reach adulthood, each after every four names of their ancestors:
clan member is given the name of one ”Scilax chewed up Arvar; Scilax spat out Arvar;
of his ancestors – this symbolizes the Scilax fed Arvar ».
transmission of the ancestor’s memory, but 4 From a number of amused looks and
it is also a practical concern. When a death persistent questioning from the Elders, the
Yodram
At that point, the GM can have the players At least one character (at the GM’s
carry out some Perception Tests (DT 7) and discretion, and preferably in chamber 6) will
let those who succeed know that they have be entranced by these drawings. Indeed,
the vague feeling that there is something they do seem to give off a strange feeling
nearby watching them, without being able to of calm in this stressful environment. The
actually see anything or anyone. GM should feel free to have this character
Note for the GM: in fact, the creatures are moving (or characters) enter a real trance, triggered
around near them in places that the characters by the contemplation of the drawings, but
So it was that, during the annual debate between the Skull Chewers and the Eye Gobblers, two young hunters were
watching their elders ponder the meaning of life by pounding each other with war clubs.
Hidden out of the way in a ditch, they were waiting for the sun to rise again over the sinister plain echoing with groans
of agony. The younger of the two decided to pop out and hunt for heads. His elder brother tried to convince him not
to, but he wouldn’t listen.
The other hunter cried quietly for the rest of the night. Then all of a sudden, he heard the sound of galloping feet and
with an awesome jump, his brother landed back in the ditch.
The beginning of the cold season has As they get under way, Nirhne asks if it
arrived, and it looks like it’s going to be a is true that it is becoming harder to find
harsh one. game animals when they were so plentiful
All the members of the PCs’ clan before. The hunters reply that it is indeed
are wearing half-season clothing true. Over the past few moons, the game
(1 Protection Point). animals have become rarer, as if they were
Once the group is ready, Nirhne is presented avoiding the Haven. They have to go further
with a beautiful fire-hardened spear (page and further afield to hunt. Mu Boas adds
54 of the core rulebook) and his slingshot. that it is for this reason that they often hunt
The other hunters of the clan, who have with the men from the White Lynx clan.
She they tells the PCs that she has been Taman and Gruhn: “It was very difficult
having nightmares for a few weeks. In these to find the plants we needed to prepare
dreams, she sees a spider holding a shining Nirhne’s initiation ritual. In several places to
speck of dust between its legs. The spider the North of the Haven and near the forest,
seems to be wondering at the spark, then where we usually gather our ingredients, the
it plays with it for a while and swallows it. plants have wilted, dried, or rotted away.
Then the whole spider begins to shine with Some trees even seem to be in far worse
a blinding light. This light becomes that of condition than they should be even with this
the moon, shining on a disturbing scene: harsh start to the cold season.”
tall, fragile beings dancing through a forest
with expressionless faces. They are floating Motwe who is responsible for the food
above the ground and the plants wilt at their stocks, or other hunters, can tell them:
touch. The wilting spreads little by little until “Game animals are getting rarer, and
it reaches the river. The river grows dark gathering food was more like a trek than a
and dries up to reveal the body of a man harvest this year. It is true that over the last
and a feline, both rotting in the mud. Haki two years we haven’t seen quite as much
tells them that she couldn’t identify the body abundance as we did when I was younger,
of the man, or that of the feline, as she but this year it really is a disaster. We are
always awakes in fright before she can see going to have to ration the food very strictly.
the details. She adds that the strange dancing Furthermore, this cold season is looking like
beings seem to match the way Motwe and it will be rougher than any of the ones we
Taman always describe Long Men. The two have seen since our ancestors arrived in the
Elders are also the only ones in the clan who Haven...”
have actually seen the Long Men. Some NPCs will tell them that this is all
Wu Loi’s scars
Wu Loi was better at evaluating danger than anyone else in the clan. He preferred retreat to
senseless conflict, and could avoid loss of life by convincing the most hotheaded members of
the clan not to attack the Bear-men who had just arrived on their lands, given that the newcomers
were fleeing from the Long Men from the East. However, one year, Wu Loi’s clan was forced to
leave its territory at the beginning of the cold season. Wu Loi, who had spoken to the chief of
the invading clan, realized that its members had already suffered a lot from confrontations with
the Long Men. They were therefore desperate and aggressive. Wu Loi feared that a conflict with
this clan could lead to many deaths.
So the Grey Tree clan prepared to leave for the South. Unfortunately, on the day before they
were due to leave, a group of young hunters went to attack the invaders. The other clan fought
back and Wu Loi’s clan suffered serious losses: five people were killed and the hunters who
returned had suffered various degrees of wounds. Their departure was a hurried one and they
couldn’t take much food with them. Their situation got worse when a pack of starving wolves
began to harass the survivors. The first snow of the season rapidly became a blizzard and made it
difficult to see. The clan’s leaders were paying more attention to the wolves than they were to the
landscape around them. That’s how the wolves managed to corner them on a cliff above a river.
There was no way out: the wolves outnumbered them, the hunters were in no condition to defend
their families and, even if the river wasn’t blocking their path, Wu Loi’s sister was heavily pregnant
and wouldn’t be able to keep walking for long at a fast pace. Who knows if it was despair or the
Spirit of the river that moved Wu Loi to order his companions to jump into the icy water. The
fear, hunger, cold and fatigue accumulated during the last week of their exodus led the Bear-men
to follow his instructions without question. The quick current swept the clan away...
The Elders know that Wu Loi was the last one on the cliff as the others jumped into the river. He
managed to hold back the wolves, but it earned him some impressive scars on his right arm.
If the PCs do choose the more violent route, revenge endangering the whole clan. If any
they will have to do so without informing of the PCs are not part of the expedition,
the Elders, and they risk the consequences if they will be assigned to watch Mu Boas (who
they are discovered. will suggest they sneak out of the camp
during the night to go and strike revenge on
Towards the end of the discussion, the four the Grim Ones).
Elders remind them all that it is their duty
to act, both to protect their allies from the The group prepares the gifts to be brought
White Lynx clan and to defend the Spirits to the Long Men. These include the antlers
of the Haven and the Sparkling River. They of the megaloceros that the PCs hunted
will insist on the fact that the Spirits of the at the beginning of this scenario and three
Haven have always protected the members well-prepared wolf skins.
of their clan, against drowning, hunger, cold,
illnesses and still births. At sundown, as the drums beat, the Elders
wade into the river. They perform a ritual
Preparing to leave chant to ask the Spirits for their support in
The next day, the Elders choose who will be this attempt for reconciliation. The other
part of the group that will go to meet with clan members go back to their activities
the Long Men. The PCs who volunteer will before they go to sleep. This leaves time for
all be picked, unless they were opposed to the PCs to interact with some of the NPCs
the diplomatic solution. Mu Boas, who has (if they haven’t already done so), exchange
become very grumpy since the death of their points of view on the situation and
his friend, will not be allowed to go. Two discuss what they should do next. They can
hunters are designated to watch him: the also convince some of the younger hunters
Elders don’t want a hotheaded attempt at to come with them to spy on the Grim Ones.
54
eats that cursed flesh. You are wise, and ‘That has never been witnessed, it
you probably know this already: only one only occurs in tales so old that the end
fearsome Bear-man tribe, ever tried to of those stories is lost in the mists’, I
make an alliance with the Great Hyena, interrupted. ‘And believe me, it could not
long ago: the Morvoi. They soon realized end well. One thing is for sure, however:
that the Spirit could only lead anyone any hunter who eats a hyena liver, even
who sought for such an alliance to their though he may gain some bonuses until
own destruction. So they turned to the the next dawn, he will also be cursed
Spirit of the Great Lion, the one they with the Sickly Weakness for a whole
called Scilax.’ moon. It will give his gaze a creepy look,
‘So nobody knows exactly what would make his breath stink, and give him a
happen is one of my hunters was to eat -3 penalty for all his Tests for social
the liver of a hyena? Not even you, Lynx interactions.
Beard?’
Rock Shadow did not say a word. He
I spat into my mortar once more and nodded and thanked us, then took his
added some grease from yesterday’s roast leave and wished us peace and a good
goose to the mixture. digestion.
‘Nobody really knows, that is true. But
what I do know, I can tell you: Later, I learned that one of his
hunters, a man named Flapping Tongue,
A man who eats the liver of the had fought a hyena in mysterious
hyena will gain the Cackle of the Hyena circumstances. He had managed to
Strength. This Strength grants a 1d6 kill a large female, but hadn’t eaten its
bonus for the Evil Eye and any other liver. The beast had cursed him all the
form of curse, but it does not protect same, giving him the Cackle of the Hyena
from the counter effects that affect those Strength and the Sickly Weakness. Then
who are foolish enough to toy with the she had taken over his mind... Luckily, an
dark Spirits.’ apprentice shaman Bear-woman was able
to exorcize him before he tried to drink
At that point, Steady Buck spoke up: the blood of his hunting companions.
‘To be perfectly honest, Rock Shadow, Before he tried to eat them alive.
you should know that eating a hyena’s
liver does also have a few advantages: a So it always is with those creatures.
hunter can for example get a 1d6 bonus Even the terrifying Morvoi and the most
on all of his Butchery Tests, in order to evil of shamans know better than to
scrape even the tiniest scrap of meat, meddle in the affairs of hyenas.
guts and marrow from a slain animal.
Some also say that if three men share a Emmanuel Roudier
hyena liver and then attack a single target,
they get a 1d6 bonus for hits, and attack
while cackling hysterically in a macabre
fashion.’
55
Afterwords of Acknowledgement
The Author wishes to express his warmest thanks to Kathy Calmejane, who has done a
outstanding job translating and proofreading the entire contents of the Voice of the Ancestors
booklets (and an important part of the Rulebook). Sing praises for her !
56
II