Oscar Rios
Oscar is the author of The Legacy of Arrius Lurco from Miskatonic River Press, and his scenarios have appeared in various collections from Miskatonic River Press and Chaosium. His works has appeared in Worlds of Cthulhu and The Unspeakable Oath magazines, and he’s authored several Chaosium monographs, including The Ravenar Sagas and Ripples from Carcosa.
Oscar will be running two 1920’s Classic Call of Cthulhu scenarios and a Cthulhu Invictus Scenario.
One game is called Below, and set in New York. It was published as the bonus scenario for pre-orders of Miskatonic River Press’ Tales of the Sleepless City.
Another is The Lonely Point Light House, to be published as part of Golden Goblin Press’ Island of Ignorance – The Third Cthulhu Companion.
The last is Naufractus, prequel to The Legacy of Arrius Lurco, published as part of Lux in Tenebras from Miskatonic River Press.
Badger McInnes
Badger has been doing book design and layout work for Chaosium, Miskatonic River Press, and Pagan Publishing for untold eons (actually, since about 2003, but who’s counting?). In addition, he’s acted on art director, editor, and writer for several publications.
His Lovecraftian card game, Feed the Shoggoth!, has been under development for over a year, and Badger hopes to launch the Kickstarter later this year.
Jeff Carey
Jeff Carey is better known by his nom de jeu “Mr. Shiny.” He began as a Keeper of Arcane Lore for Call of Cthulhu games at Gen Con 18 in
Milwaukee in 1985 and hasn’t stopped. The ten year long “Journey into Darkness” tournament led to the ongoing “Novus Ordo Seclorum”
tournament. Most recently, he organized and co-ran the entire “Horror on the Orient Express” campaign at this year’s Gen Con as a reward for
Chaosium’s Kickstarter sponsors. He earned his name “Mr. Shiny” as winner of the look alike contest of for the Shoggoth lord (first
featured in the Call of Cthulhu campaign “At Your Door” and based on “Fat Face” by Michael Shea) at the 1992 “Cthulhu for President Rally”
at Gen Con. The rest, as they say, is history.
Call of Cthulhu – his games tend to mix table-top and LARP, so a private room is key – with lighting and music/sound effects.
Mark Morrison
Mark Morrison has written and edited scenarios for Chaosium, most recently the Kickstarter edition of Horror on the Orient Express. His work also appears in Arkham Unveiled, At Your Door, Dreamlands, Escape from Innsmouth, Terror Australis, Mansions of Madness and the Call of Cthulhu 5th edition rulebook.
NIGHTMARE IN EUROPE
A Call of Cthulhu scenario of shadows and uncertainty for five players.
Scott Glancy
Working in Silk: Set in 1925 Portland Oregon, the Investigators are a team of private investigators, family friends and business associates of a lumber magnet who has disappeared. The circumstances suggest a scandal that could derail the Republican bid for the State House. The Investigators must find the missing millionaire and keep the details of his disappearance out of the newspapers.
The Last Flight of the L58: Set in Germany in 1918, The Investigators are the crew of the Imperial German Zeppelin L58. Your mission is to transport supplies to anti-British guerillas in Persia and return home with a group of escaped German and Austrian POWs who made their way to Persia from Russia. Combines everyone’s favorite ways to die: burning, falling and drowning.
The Thing on the Fourble-board: The Investigators are employees of a petroleum company, manning an exploratory drilling platform off the west coast of Greenland in 2013. You’ve got to keep a sharp look out for your corporate competitors and those Greenpeace eco-terrorist types… especially since you’re drilling outside of your lease. Options for burning, falling and drowning are all available, along with bonus freezing to death.
Cold Case File: The Investigators are members of Delta Green, a secret society of government agents who fight supernatural threats. An informant at University of Mexico alerted Delta Green to a possible crypto-zoological or xeno-biological incident… from 80 years ago. Now the informant has disappeared and it’s up to the team to find out if the creature in the worn photo is responsible or if the informant just poked his nose into the wrong corner of Mexico.
Brian Auxier:
Brian comes from a family of gamers, and has been playing role playing game since he could pick up dice and understand basic rules. As a second generation gamer, he’s picked up a lot of tips along the way. He’s just entered the rough and tumble world of RPG development, too. He’s most experienced with CoC,BESM,D&D 2nd and 3rd Edition, White wolf games and tremulous. Brian is always on the hunt for new and interesting role playing games.
The Game:
Tremulus a role playing game by Sean Preston.
A storytelling RPG where you and your friends get together and create a haunting story in the vein of HP Lovecraft’s works.
Setting:
In one small mining town in 1920’s Maine.. What heroes will rise up
to meet their destiny? Will good triumph against such horror?
or will all of them be doomed by the trouble that came to Little Creek? Look to for answers, seek the truth and dig your own grave.
Jessica Saniuk:
Jesse has been playing board games since she was a kid watching her older cousins play RISK during the summer. The more involved the game, the better! Which is why Arkham Horror is one of her favorites. Admittedly, it isn’t as complicated as it seems, but it is one of the most engaging games she’s played apart from anything on a gaming consol.
So, in addition to helping run the overall gaming madness at NecronomiCon, she will be running Arkham Horror with and without expansions.
Arkham Horror is set in H.P. Lovecraft’s New England in the 1920s, you are part of a group of townspeople and adventurers who find clues as to why there are weird monsters roaming the streets and gates to alternate dimensions randomly appearing everywhere. It’s a race against time to close all the gates and prevent the Ancient One from awakening while battling crazy Cultists and Glugs and other nefarious monstrosities
Andre Kruppa
Andre runs a theatrical style game with a presentation designed to create an immersive role-playing experience. Characters are provided with a full bio and description to give players a solid role to play. Lights, sound, music, handouts, and some props are used to help set the scene and the mood. Players should expect a long session and some fun role-playing opportunities.
Three convention-style Call of Cthulhu scenarios, by Andre, have been published by Chaosium as monographs. These scenarios, The Vault, Rise of the Dead, and Rise of the Dead: Part 2 – The Raid, include detailed characters, handouts, and staging advice.
Andre recently launched Game Soapbox Productions, a studio and publishing company dedicated to the passion and power of storytelling. In the works are campaigns set in the dark 50s and a shadowy post Lovecraftian 30s, core rules for gritty role-playing, audio books, soundscapes, e-books, and immersive RPG tabletop production elements.
www.gamesoapbox.com
Mysteria Matris Oblitae
Call of Cthulhu (Chaosium)
For Mature Players
This Call of Cthulhu scenario is written by Dennis Detweiler and presented by Andre Kruppa. No rules knowledge is required, but skilled roleplaying is a must. A theatrical-style tabletop game using lights and sound, Mysteria Matris Oblitae is a scenario intended for mature players only. (Please no players familiar with the scenario.) This session may be recorded for podcasting and/or video and players may be asked to sign a release.
It is the summer of 1929 and a letter and a truly odd photograph from Tula, Mexico has arrived at the University sent by the village priest. The photo shows a bizarre pale and misshapen multi-limbed crustacean-like creature clearly dead from gunfire surrounded by a group of Mexicans and Indians. It is clearly a new species that must be examined and its origin must be investigated. The university is sending a handpicked team to have a look. As the team prepares, giddy with excitement, horror and madness await.
The Inheritance
Call of Cthulhu (Chaosium)
For Mature Players
This 4.5 – 5 hour Call of Cthulhu scenario is a theatrical-style tabletop game using lights and sound, The Inheritance is intended for mature players only. (Please no players familiar with the scenario.) This session may be recorded for podcasting and/or video and players may be asked to sign a release.
After the trials of your youth you have come far. College was wonderful and everything now seems grand. You and your fellow orphaned siblings and cousins are on the eve of your inheritance. The time has come to return to your ancestral home and learn of the wonders that the foundation has in store for you. Only one thing mars your experience, the nightmares of so long ago have returned…
Method to Madness
Call of Cthulhu (Chaosium)
For Mature Players
This Call of Cthulhu scenario is written by John Almack and presented by Andre Kruppa. No rules knowledge is required, but skilled roleplaying is a must. A theatrical-style tabletop game using lights and sound, Method to Madness is a scenario intended for mature players only. The game will run a bit late, as sessions are expected to go 5 – 6 hours. (Please no players familiar with the scenario.) This session may be recorded for podcasting and players may be asked to sign a release.
Wormwood Asylum for the mentally insane is home to a number of disturbed individuals seeking solace. The patients at the asylum have been institutionalized by a well-meaning family member or for the rehabilitation of a wide variety of metal problems. As the Roaring Twenties roll on by, some hope for peace and quiet and a return to normalcy, others are beyond hope. What possible horrors could await the patients of Wormwood?
Additional Notes for All Games: The same single private room is needed for these games, as the initial setup time is approximately 5 hours for lights and sound. There is no additional cost for each event and all needed materials for play are provided including characters. A rectangular table about 2 to 4 feet wide and 8 feet long is ideal. I would need to arrive to setup on Thursday in the early afternoon and complete removing my equipment on Sunday.
Neil Remiesiewicz
Neil is one of the developers for Hull Breach, a sci-fi cards and dice game based here in Providence. Hull Breach is a tactical and strategic game that pits 2-4 commanders against one another in fast-paced head-to-head space combat. Use a variety of ships, companies of hardy Marines, and clever events or tactics to crush your enemies and secure dominance of your corner of space. Developed right here in Providence by a motley crew of veterans, pirates, journalists, and Lovecraft fans. There typically aren’t many horror elements in the game but the team has a never-before-seen special game mode in the works just for this convention that Lovecraft buffs will enjoy (unknowable alien space horror anyone?).
Robert Auxier
Robert has been gaming FAR TOO Long. Truth be told he saw and played Original D & D with books printed BEFORE the White box set. But, after a while, living in Providence, in the ‘Shadow’ of the ‘Gentleman’ [H.P.L.] worked its dark magic on his soul. He was turned from the True Path and start playing and moderating Call of Cthulhu – it darker content, more “REALISTIC” setting, complex thematics, and character mortality made the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ far more plausible. In a game where player character’s Death is not only possible but eventually likely — it is interesting to find that that is NOT the worst thing that can Happen!
example: two woman playing female characters in a house slowly being over-run by Deep Ones deciding to save their last bullets for each other to avoid a ‘trip to the BREEDING PITS – not something that was threatened but what THEY ‘knew’ about the habits of the Fishmen from their real world reading.
Robert also has a lot of experience running games at a few different conventions, mostly on the East Coast.
Call of Cthulhu – ‘table top RPG’ is too generic a term… a good CoC scenario OUGHT to put a serious case of the hebe-gebes on the players — perhaps not every minute — some dark humor can lighten the time — but they are not afraid at least part of the time the ‘KEEPER’ isn’t fully doing his job.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE RULES IS OPTIONAL!!!
Basically, Call of Cthulhu is a ‘real world’ skill set game based on a percentage chance of success – game mechanic are reasonably straight forward and can be picked up on the ‘fly’…
This is game is about HORROR and mood — the players will have guns — but, is is not firepower that will save the day… though it may modify the outcomes …
Segment One:
One Night at The Savoy —
Starting in 1922 London you are a candidate for an Expedition trying to ‘prove’ the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel ‘The Lost World’ was based on a place in the real world – by going back to that location.
You are a handpicked hero trying out for one of the remaining slots on an elite team of interpid Explorers. You are in a luxury hotel in the most refined and civilized City of the World — so why do people keep dying?
Who is the mysterious person backing the expedition and what does he really want? Why is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle denying the ‘reality’ of his story? Who is the strange woman in white who seems intent on stopping the mission and what does this all have to do with the Legend of Jack the Ripper?
Segment Two:
The Heart(s) of Darkness —
Your Life so far… after Months of travel, by Luxury Steamer, Tramp Freighter, River Boat, and canoe your Expedition and The dry season finally arrive in the Amazon River Basin. For more than two weeks you have trekked deep into this green hell. It is hot, humid and dangerous in the dense jungle thickets. But, it seems that poisonous snakes, alligators, huge insects and disease are likely to be the least of your worries.
Finally the goal of your long quest seems to be at hand — you have found the huge plateau that was described in the novel. Is it full of Prehistoric People and ‘extinct’ Dinosaurs? What is your Leader really looking for? Why do you still have native bearers when there is nothing to carry? Why are the bearers being ‘guarded’ by a band of headhunters? What is the Truth behind these rumors about a Lost Temple guarded by “Alligators-That-Walk”?
Things are about to go from simply bad to a whole lot worse! The question is not what to do when to get back to London. The question is how many of you will see the next dawn… and, now, it is starting to rain…
Sandy Petersen
Perhaps you’ve heard of him…?
RPG Author: Call of Cthulhu and many supplements
Computer Games as Designer: Doom, Quake, Age of Empires series, Halo Wars, many more.
Board Game Designer: Cthulhu Wars (upcoming)
Planning to run Call of Cthulhu sessions, 6-8 players. Characters will be provided by me.
Sandy will be running a few public demos of my upcoming Cthulhu Wars game.
Bret Kramer
Bret has been gaming since 1983, playing Call of Cthulhu since 1993, and is the author of “Machine Tractor Station Kharkov-37” and the editor of the (eventually) forthcoming Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion.
His full RPG c.v. can be found here – http://winstonp.wordpress.com/what-ive-wrought/
Herbie Hicks
Herbie is creator of the game he’s running – Reality A. Having been a gamer for over 20 years and running games for over 15 years, he’s very well qualified.
Friday 12-4 Saturday 4-8 “Cthulhu’s Advance” Welcome to the world of Reality A! This is a world in which nothing is what it seems, and nothing seems to be quite what it is. This is a fun romp through graveyards, sewers, and R’ lyeh all while trying to figure out why you may or may not be in the 50’s after chasing Lovecraft’s zombie corpse
Friday 4-8 Sunday 8-12 “Mystery Egg” Welcome to the world of Reality A! This is a world in which nothing is what it seems, and nothing seems to be quite what it is. So, here’s the deal. One of your party seems to have found this odd egg. It’s about the size of a normal human head and is a deep, vibrant red. Where did it come from? What’s inside it? How did it end up here? You may have found it, but someone else is hunting it. Save it or turn it in… it’s all up to you. For Beginner Level Characters. Any players with characters previously made in this system are free to bring them.
Saturday 12-4 Sunday 12-4 “Assmancy” We are going to get a Chinese fortune cookie, open it up, read it, and Herbie will make a mod from it.
Robert Dosdurian
Bob is also one of our games events organizers. He specializes in table-top role-playing games, particularly of the Call of Cthulhu horror genre, by Chaosium
Naked End – Call of Cthulhu, Now (variant) Bob Dosdurian
“Here are most of the files we have and more reports are filtering in here and there…” Inspector Bourbon’s voice trails off while dropping them on the table. “Why people are committing murder/suicide sans clothing is a mystery to us and I hope you people of the Quest Institute can figure out what is going on. Oh… we found a reference to a Cthulhu. It’s in some of the handwritten letters all full with gibberish. Does that word mean anything to you?”
Naked End – Call of Cthulhu, Now (variant) Bob Dosdurian
“Here are most of the files we have and more reports are filtering in here and there…” Inspector Bourbon’s voice trails off while dropping them on the table. “Why people are committing murder/suicide sans clothing is a mystery to us and I hope you people of the Quest Institute can figure out what is going on. Oh… we found a reference to a Cthulhu. It’s in some of the handwritten letters all full with gibberish. Does that word mean anything to you?”
Texas Tea Party – Call of Cthulhu Now, (Variant) Bob Dosdurian
You are aboard a supply ship that is bound for a drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The tired crew working on the Slikk & Wiley Oil Corp. Inc.platform these past four months hit oil and now they are looking forward to a break. It’s your turn to take a shift doing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. There is a banker on board who talks to no one (and you thought lawyers were bad!). Oh, and there is the lawyer on board. He doesn’t talk to anyone either. Characters will be provided.
Clipperton Adventure – Call of Cthulhu / Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Variant) Bob Dosdurian
Clipperton Isle is a barren, ring-shaped coral atoll in the Pacific that contains a stagnant, fresh water lagoon. It is the home to thousands of sea birds and millions of land crabs. The American medical and scientific research group assigned there reported making an astounding discovery before communications were lost. The Seaview is in the area and is en route to investigate. Characters provided.
Rescue the Endeavor – Call of Cthulhu / Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Variant) Bob Dosdourian
The RS Endeavor is a research vessel from the University of Rhode Island. It has not reported to McMurdo station Antarctica and the researchers there are desperately in need of the supplies aboard that ship. The investigation begins at the Museo Regional de Ancud in Chile, her last port of call. Endeavor left there two days ago and the Chilean Coast Guard hasn’t found her yet. Characters provided.
David S Hamman
David is a manager and appraiser for Second Story Books in Maryland, and a lifelong reader and collector of classic weird fiction. He ran the Call of Cthulhu games for all the past NecronomiCons, so he’s extremely experienced here.
He will run three game scenarios. Two are pulp fiction that mix Lovecraft Weird Tales with Black Mask detective fiction in depression era Baltimore (David never tries to run a New England scenario in New England with new England accents!) The third will be the same period but in Berlin mixing Lovecraft with expressionistic horror.
Gene Lancaster
Gene is from California, and is another old school gamer having gamed since the late 70s – starting with the D&D blue box edition. He currently games about once or twice a month, and plays Roller Hockey on a weekly basis, so he knows how to get rough!
These days, Gene prefer rules-lite systems due to time constraints.
GAME
Crypts & Things OSR 0E D&D “Weird Fiction” Sword & Sorcery Gaming
DESCRIPTION
New players welcome! No Demi-Humans
Magic is a double-edge sword and will surely cause one to lose their very sanity. Think Conan rather than Tolkien. Three players needed to play as a Barbarian, Fighter, or Thief.
Sanity Mechanics, eldritch horrors, mad magicians, strange elixers, and more!
Sneak preview of Crypts & Things is here: http://d101games.com/files/2011/10/CTPreviewOct2011.pdf
Thousands of years ago Nizar-Thun was a fearsome Sorcerer who lived high in the mountains in his palace. This palace was a complex of rooms and corridors carved into the living rock itself. Here Nizar-Thun did his great works of magic, housed his armies and hid his treasures. Some said he was working on a potion of immortality when a rival brought his reign of terror to an end. Despite looting the palace they never did find the Sorcerer’s treasure.
A benevolent magician has sent you to retrieve the potion and perform a task while in the halls. The long winded magician seemed to ramble on and on and talked more about himself then he did the task at hand. Surely the wasn’t important enough to remember or was it?
With map and key in hand you make your way to The Halls of Nizar-Thun just north of Zarn the Wasted City. Having travelled the winding and rocky path up the mountainside, you find yourself far from civilization, and outside the entrance to the Halls of Nizar-Thun.
Light up a torch and enter!
Corey Whitworth & Philip C. Robinson: MYTHOS
MYTHOS GAME DESCRIPTION:
Winner of the ’96 Origins award for Best Collectible Card Game, MYTHOS let’s you play an investigator who is pitted against the forces of the Cthulhu Mythos. It is very player interactive as you build the narrative of your investigator’s travels through Arkham Country and beyond, gathering allies, discovering ancient tomes & artifacts, summoning forth Mythos beasties…all while trying to stay as sane as possible. From a deck of 52+ cards you draw 13 and take turns playing one at a time so it moves at a brisk pace. You will attempt to complete adventures with strategic card play as well as have a bit of fun as you narrate the story of your intrepid, yet perhaps doomed, investigator as you go along. Game play time is 1 hour+ for newer players, 45 minutes or under for experienced players. Several rounds will be played. Perhaps there will even be an appearance by a gang of Meddling Kids with the Scooby-Doo mock expansion!
Corey Whitworth Bio:
Corey Whitworth has been a fan of all things Lovecraftian since 1990 when an english literature teacher graciously lent him a copy of a Scholastic published “Shadow Over Innsmouth and Other Stories”. Ever since he has been hooked. He regularly plays Lovecraftian games; everything from Mansions of Madness to MYTHOS CCG to Cults Across America. He was founder of The Shub-Niggurath Fanclub website in the 90’s and developed the Scooby-Doo mock expansion for the MYTHOS CCG along with Philip Robinson.
Philip C. Robinson has a discerning love for all things squamous. A fan of Lovecraftian horror since he was a larvae, exploded with the advent of his coming of age encounters with the Internet. The founder of the venerable and now hoary Mythos Haiku website and co-producer of the Scooby Doo mock Mythos CCG expansion set has left their mark on his psyche. All of which is not dead.. Merely dreaming. Awaiting the proper moments to awaken and strike horror on a new and unsuspecting populace.
Nate Brown
Bio: I’ve been a gamer for about a decade now, and been running games almost as long. My gaming library now contains about 40 different game systems from the entire spectrum of genres. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for survival horror, and the Cthulhu Mythos exemplifies that more than any other setting I’ve seen. I’m glad for the chance to bring the Mythos to the people of Providence in a hopefully fresh and exciting way, and I know you’re going to enjoy it.
Bring the fear. I know I will.
Title: The ‘Good’ Ship Intrepid
Description:
It is the year 2271.
Outer space is the new frontier — humanity exploits the galaxy for its own ends.
Millions of colonists — employees of either the United Earth Federation or one of the many megacorporations — live out their lives on worlds light-years from Earth. Corporate-funded exploration craft push ever-deeper into space. It is only a matter of time before one of these craft stumbles upon some remote, alien edifice, a cosmic mausoleum of the Great Old Ones. But who is to say this has not already occurred?
Join us for a unique tabletop experience utilizing the Cthulhu Rising RPG rules. Pregenerated characters will be provided. Max of 8 players. No prior experience required.
Title: To Boldly Go
Description:
It is the year 2271.
Outer space is the new frontier — humanity exploits the galaxy for its own ends.
The interstellar exploration ship Intrepid docks at Miskatonic Station, the galaxy’s largest and most well-funded research outpost, to refuel and give the crew a chance to relax and let off some steam.
But the station recently took possession of several shipments of strange artifacts, and Something Else may have come aboard.
Join us for a unique tabletop experience utilizing the Cthulhu Rising RPG rules. Pregenerated characters will be provided. Max of 8 players. No prior experience required.
Title: The Last Remaining
Description:
It is the year 2271.
Outer space is the new frontier — humanity exploits the galaxy for its own ends.
Having mostly survived their adventures thus far, the crew of the interstellar exploration ship Intrepid decides to chart the Fringes on a journey that may take a year or more but promises fabulous rewards. As the ship sets off, the last message they receive before leaving transmission range is that a number of ships have disappeared in the area to which they travel. But by then, it is too late to turn back.
Join us for a unique tabletop experience utilizing the Cthulhu Rising RPG rules. Pregenerated characters will be provided. Max of 8 players. No prior experience required.
Lisa Padol
BIO: I have been playing RPGs since the 1980s and running them since 1991. Wanting scenarios to be stronger, I moved into editing and proofreading for Miskatonic River Press and Golden Goblin.
“Life After Death”: Players are not playing investigators, but ghouls, a serial killer, a necrophiliac cemetery caretaker, and a rat thing.
Fiasco: Bookhounds, where the PCs are shady bookdealers in the 1930s.
The other is Unauspechlichen Klutzen, about would-be cultists.
It’s a very free-form game, very narrative oriented, about people with high ambition and poor impulse control. I’d bring both playsets and let the table decide.
Sean Foster
His first exposure to HP Lovecraft was the “Colour Out of Space” which left its terrible mark on his nine year-old mind. From this terrifed and sanity-draining beginning, he would dive deep into all sorts of horror, fantasy and science-fiction tales. When he took up role-playing games in high school, he soon crafted his own tales of unnameable horrors. This love of games and horror have led to numerous sessions that have left many a mad Investigator in their wake.
He has, for the last four years, been playtesting and running games at various conventions at first for Miskatonic River Press and now for Golden Goblin Press. He has also had one of his scenarios published in MRP’s “Lux in Tenebras”, a collection of resources for Cthulhu Invictus.
Mystery In Sardinia – Friday (8am – 12pm):
Mystery In Sardinia – Two years after fulfilling the legacy of Arrius Lurco, Arrius Melito marries. He inherits a farming estate in Sardinia, lands which have a dark history. His advanced survey team has gone missing and he is beginning to fear the worst. Arrius Melito enlists their help in solve this Mystery in Sardinia.
Blood and Glory – Saturday (9am-3pm)
Blood and Glory – Three days of gladiatorial games are being held in the city of Rome. The investigators attend the games as guests of one of the gladiator schools, where they’ll meet Hadrianis, a famous gladiator who’s the school’s newest trainer. But, things immediately take unexpected turns. Then people begin to die. Can the investigators put a stop to the spiral of death?