The Chaosium Digest

Chaosium Digest Classics: The Adventure of the Bequest (PENDRAGON)

2010-11-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

by Timothy Ferguson ferguson@beyond.net.au

Originally presented in Chaosium Digest Volume 31, Number 2, Tuesday, May 2, 2000

Author's Note: This adventure was written during the playtest for the "Saxons!" supplement and may contain references which are not correct for the published version, since it is based on the playtest release.

The adventure revolves around the search for the remains of a character's father, who disappeared and therefore could not be buried by his sons, dishonoring them. At the time of his disappearance the father was equipped with a family heirloom, a spear blessed by Wotan and Thurnor, that would never break in battle and added +1 to it's wielder's spear skill. A traveler will relate a tale in which the heirloom appears, drawing the character into a confrontation with its new owner and providing him with a clue as to the whereabouts of his father's remains. If no player character is appropriate, then an NPC thegn, Caedwalla, will be the heir and will ask the assistance of the player characters in the recovering of the artifact. The rest of the scenario is written presuming it is this NPC who is the heir.

The characters are in the mead hall of their lord. While here before dinner they can use some courtly skills, if they wish. The Gamemaster should emphasize how different this setting is from the usual, by making the manners more earthy and the activities less refined. Dinner is served and the characters lay into their meat and mead, while telling stories of what they and their ancestors have done. Check Temperate to see how drunk the character is by this time.

These tales have a certain form, which should help the players design them about their character's fathers. It starts with a statement of relationship, then a description of the excellence of the man and those things he owned. Then it outlines a problem, adds an opponent, then makes it very clear that the opponent is terrible and potent. Next it praises the bravery and skill with which the relative overcomes the menace. It then concludes with the receipt of his just reward. Characters who make up a story about their fathers may make checks on Honesty, Pride and Orate. If they critically succeed on the Orate roll, they may check Love (family), as it gives them a deeper insight into the greatness of their father's bloodline.

If the characters all have fathers safely burnt or buried, the last tale in the series involves Caedwalla, who tells the tale of his grandfather's victory over Edbert, a Scandi warrior of great might. A visiting Skald will beg the next tale and say:

"As I traveled here, I met another Skald who told me the tale of a warrior living in the woods of Lanburh. He also carried a spear such as you described. It's holder is a mighty bandit, known for his many forays into the Welshlands. It is said that, with the spear you describe, he slew two hundred men at the Battle of Cliffington. He is said to have escaped the bear-pit of the King of Kent only by seducing his daughter."

"Tell us the tale!", call many drunken Saxons.

The skald goes into a tawdry tale indeed of a woman foolishly freeing her father's enemy because he promised her a large bride-price. Although he paid her a large maiden-fee, he did not take her away to marry him, so she was dishonored before all of her family.

Soon after, the Gesith leaves and the Thegn gets sufficiently drunk at his expense to fall asleep. Caedwalla asks the skald for directions too Lanburh. The skald will give them freely, so that the characters realize it is about three weeks away by foot, two by horse. He mentions that there are feats for heroes along the way, but myths indicate they might only be found by those with a fox's hide arm-band. Caedwalla asks the characters to accompany him to overcome this chieftain and regain his heirloom. He is also keen to haggle a fox fur off one of the other warriors, but will leave that to the player characters while he gathers supplies. He has only two horses, one for himself and one to carry provender, so characters will have to supply their own mounts, if they can.

The First Feat: The Lady of the Barrow of Black Stones.

Five days from home, the track the characters are following swerves past a low hill, obviously artificial, made out of black, polished rocks. Should any character touch a rock, a woman with black hair and dark eyes, dressed in black-embroidered clothes and wearing a cape of fur from a black bear, will accuse them of being thieves and attempting to steal her stones. Once they protest their innocence, she will call them liars and curs, then will demand they undertake a trial to prove it. Either they will be tried by hot water or by combat.

A foul beast emerges from this barrow every evening during the dark of the moon, she claims, and she will believe the truth of their story only if they can slay it, or cause it to flee. She will be unable to describe it, but will say that it eats people and leaves few footprints when it travels. It never enters houses, so people shelter from it in the mead hall, but it often kills passers-by and livestock. If the characters ask, she will agree to pay damages for their injuries in battle against the beast, even as a chieftain would, so long as they prove their innocence of her charge.

At midnight the barrow shudders slightly and there is a low, groaning sound as the stones move against one another. A humanoid shape leaps to the top of the barrow. It is like a human, but bent over almost double, with springy legs, black, shiny skin and a long tongue with which it tastes the air. After a moment or two, it leaps to a nearby tree-top, then bounds from tree to tree away from the mound and out into the forest. After a night of rapine, it will return to the mound. Characters wishing to confront it would best do it now, as it is weighed down by a bloated stomach.

The Fiend of Vaults:

SIZ 15 Move 3 / 6 leaping. Major Wound 12
DEX 30 Damage: 4d6 Unconscious N/A (0)
STR 12 Heal Rate: Special Knockdown 15
CON 12 Hit points 27 Armor 15 points, hide of stone

Modifier to Valor: +0
Glory to Kill: 50? 75?
Attacks: 2 Claws @ 10 each or
2 Kicks @ 15 each, damage 5d6 only on two people standing
together or on a single target or
1 Jump @ 20, crushing damage 6d6, but useable only every second
round.

The Fiend will shy away from flame and not fight any character who bares a torch. It also hates sunlight, as this turns it into inanimate stone until the New Moon. If the characters prevent it from hiding back in the barrow, it will seek a sheltered spot where it's body can lie undisturbed during the next month, such as the bottom of a deep stream. If it does get back into the barrow it can be killed by lighting a huge fire that covers the entire mound, as this cooks it against the hot stones.

If the characters are victorious, the Lady of the Barrow of Black Stones will thank them profusely and pay them for their wounds using polished jet. Finally, she will take the left hand of the heir and kiss it, instantly vanishing. The character will take three points of damage as her kiss has branded him, as if by a hot iron, with a rune for "stone". Although he will be annoyed now, the brand will grant him three added points of armor in the battle with the brigand chief, before vanishing away, leaving only a faint, white scar.

The Second Feat: The Maiden of the Field of Berries and Briars.

The characters will come upon scattered clumps of wild berries during their travels and may trap small game to give themselves some fresh supplies. Late one day while foraging, a character with an arm-band of fox-fur will find a large glade with raspberries, blueberries and blackberries growing together by a cool spring. The edges of the glade are surrounded by thick briar-bushes, but a path through these is easily cleared. It is an excellent place to pitch a tent and camp, but early the next morning a carnation-skinned girl with strawberry-blonde hair, who wears a cloak of red deer hide, will rouse them awake, by demanding that they get out of her glade and pay her for the magical berries they have stolen.

The characters will likely again protest their innocence and the maiden will demand a test of them. Either they will be tested by cold water or they will be tried by combat. Again, she will agree to pay the price of the blood they spill if they succeed in the trial. She will tell them that a terrible creature dwells deep in the well. It is drawn forth by the light of the full moon, or the reflection of silver in moonlight upon the water's surface. The creature kills babies and bites people in their sleep, leaving them with boils and blisters for months afterwards, but never enters the mead halls, so the people sleep there while it eats their livestock.

The Robust Fiend of the Spring of the Field of Berries and Briars

This creature has the statistics of a Mersc Feond, from Chapter 8, save that It also has the attack "Bite @ 15: Damage 7d6, plus opposed roll on Con. versus poison potency of 12, or the wound festers and blisters, giving the character 1 point of damage per round if they participate in combat while wearing clothing." It has eight points of armor, due to its aqueous nature, which makes it resistant to stabbing and chopping attacks.

The Robust Fiend is a potent foe, but is very vulnerable to alcohol. It will not attack a character who is not cold sober, or who carries an alcoholic beverage. If mead, for instance, is splashed upon it, it uses the following statistics:

As per Mersc Feond, but reduce damage rolls by two dice, its hit points to 32 and let its armor be 5.

Once the characters are victorious, the Maiden of the Fields of Berries and Briars will congratulate them, apologizing for her earlier claims against their honor. She will pay for their wounds with bottles of berry-wine, toasting them and asking each to raise a horn. As the heir drinks, she disappears and he is branded on the tongue with the glyph for water. Although he loses three hit points and is probably extremely annoyed, the glyph will aid him in the final battle as he will bleed water it produces rather than his own juices. This prevents aggravation of Major Wounds.

Characters travelling on will get to Lanburh, a little community by the woodland in which the bandit chieftain skulks. Suspicious players may be on the look-out for another supernatural occurrence, but these scenes are another venture into the day-to-day life of Saxons. The chief is holding a feast as his people have just raided deep into the Welshlands and have returned with much livestock and many slaves. He invites the characters to sit at his table, so long as they are not ill-thought of, which in game terms is represented by a low Honor Score.

Tales will be told and mead drunk. He will gladly give the characters a fair price for their berry wine in precious metal, so long as they tell him the tale of its earning. He will be greatly pleased by the death of the Robust Fiend, as he had tried to kill it, but it had refused to fight him. Although the chief claims this was due to his great courage, wily GMs may notice it was because he was noted for his great Indulgence. If asked about the Maiden, he says that odd magical maidens are thick on the ground in this bit of the country as a runecarver had come here many years ago and trained some local girls the ways of the written word. Mostly, he says, they keep to themselves. If the characters have sex here, remember to check for pregnancies and charge maiden and bed-prices.

After heading on again, the characters will travel upon a road of gray flagstones, which makes travel remarkably rapid. They come to an enormous tree which has fallen, blocking the path. It is spongy with rot and coated in fruiting bodies of both odd and unsavory hues. It's wood has bleached to a gray color. Characters trying to clear it will be accosted by a woman who claims the fruits as her own. If they travel around the tree, which, due to the placement of gullies on either side of the track is a laborious course, she still waylays them for using her road, but not paying the toll.

The Dame of the Road of Polished Flagstones is elderly and has gray hair. She wears clothing of gray wool and has a shawl of wolf's fur. Her hands are covered with iron gauntlets and she always lays the right over the left. She will also will also abuse the characters, saying that they have damaged her tree, trodden dirt all over her nice road and ruined her crop. She will call them all sorts of horrible names, ask if they are descended of Scandians, then demand they take the trial of hot iron to prove it.

She will accept combat instead, against the Thegn at the end of her road. He is a brute and a bandit, also a well-known rapist and a defiler of graves. He does not, however, attack people in mead-halls, so that is where women shelter from him while he adulterates graves. She agrees to pay the price of their wounds, if the players think to ask, so long as they are victorious.

At their assent, she disappears and the heir feels a stabbing pain in his right hand. He loses three hit points and is
marked with the glyph of vengeance. This will add one to the damage he does with each successful blow of his weapon upon his opponent. The point is added after the subtraction of armor, so that he does at least a point of damage whenever he wins the opposed resolution roll.

At the end of the road is a small motte and bailey structure, wherein dwells the bandit chieftain. Characters are faced with the classical Pendragon dilemma of how to get into a fortified structure. In this case, it is relatively simple. The bandit chief wants the horses and valuables of the player characters and he is more than certain that he can take them. He opens the gates for them and allows them to enter.

Aelfric, the chieftain, is an elderly man who has fought off the years well. He is haggard and has scars aplenty to testify to his bravery and resilience. He asks the characters to dine with him, but at the feast the characters will find themselves the center of attention, greedily stared at by his henchmen. Eventually he will ask for stories from the characters. Caedwalla will arrange with the other characters to speak last. He will tell of his father's victory over the Scandian warrior.

Aelfric will laugh at him, then tell the story of how he killed Caedwalla's father, incinerated him, then added him to his Sack of Ashes. A leather bag is hug from the ridge-pole of his dining hall. He always incinerates his enemies, he says, as it prevents them haunting him. With a critical Awareness check, characters can see something inside the bag wriggling. Caedwalla is incensed, but makes his Hospitality vs. Love (Family) check and so keeps his peace. His host asks the characters to leave in the morning, saying that he will give them a day's start.

The next morning, after the characters have passed out of the gate of Aelfric's stead, Caedwalla will call out to Aelfric, proclaiming him to be ignoble in any number of ways and demanding trial by combat for his spear and the box of Ashes. Aelfric will ignore him. Caedwalla shouts that the leader of the bandits is a Nithing and that all who serve such a one are worse than the lick-spittles of a dog. That gets some attention.

Twice as many followers of Aelfric as there are characters emerge from the gate to do battle. They have their armor on, which is an advantage they have over the PCs, but the PCs are presumably mounted and the bandits have no time to arrange a Scudburh so long as the players attack them quickly. The runes on the hands and tongue of the heir do not activate unless things are going poorly for him. After half of these bandits die, they retreat back inside.

After this success, Aelfric comes to his gate and calls out to Caedwalla that he will meet him in trial by combat. All of the rest of the bandits troop out to form a half-circle and watch their leader in combat. Each is armed and the characters should feel that if he is victorious they are liable to be hunted immediately. Aelfric is armored in finely-worked mail, with an elaborate helmet, giving him 12 points of armor. He carries the spear which was Caedwalla's father's. This makes "Love (Family)" the appropriate combat passion for the heir.

Aelfric's statistics are those of a Rich Thegn, from chapter 8.

If, during the combat, the bag of ashes is burst open, a black cloud that whines like a swarm of mosquitoes will curl out of it then attack Aelfric, filtering in through the slits in his helmet's visor and choking him to death. It will then hunt down any bandits who do not flee for dear life, seeking out any who hide nearby. Finishing it's retributive justice, it slides back into the bag and turns back into a heavy, gray powder.

At Aelfric's death, the three brands begin to fade into thin, white scars. The heir loses his magical powers as soon as he holds the spear in his right hand.

Victorious characters can either take over the motte and bailey, which has no peasants around it so it must be supported by raiding, burn it down, or give it to the lord they feasted with on the way to the conflict. Although there are only three horses here, characters might take the livestock, although it is stolen property, so they can never sell it in good faith. Similarly, most of the items of treasure found here should be the grave-goods of someone or other, so to keep it might prove unfortunate and Pious Saxons will insist on destroying everything they can lay their hands on.

The Dame of the Road of Polished Flagstones will appear to the characters and pay them for their wounds in iron, giving them swords, seaxes and the heads of axes. spears and arrows. She congratulates them and thanks them for avenging so many wrongly dead and badly buried. She gives them an inlaid box in which to keep the ashes until they are safely home, instructing them to burn it. A Recognize roll, with negative modifiers, will note that the design is the battle-banner of the previous King of Kent.

If the characters do not notice this, it will be pointed out to them by the skald at their home, who has waited to hear the outcome of their journey. He tells them that the Princess of Kent suffered so greatly that she went mad, scourged herself until her wounds poured out her lifeblood then fled to the woods, calling all of the gods to grant her justice and revenge. Many years later, as her father lay dying, she returned to her family, briefly. She showed no injury from her time away, having grown into a proud and forceful woman, save that her left hand, now covered by a gauntlet, was never seen to move without the prompting of her right, lying flat again if not held bent by its partner. After burying her father she left again, taking with her such few sections of her maiden-price as were still in the hall. No-one has seen her since.

Plot Hook: The Lady and the Maiden can serve as puzzles for future games. Are they ghosts of two of Aelfric's victims? What is their relationship to the two monsters? Were they his bastards, or the bodies of the women under terrible curses? Are they simply runecarving acolytes of the Princess in Gauntlets, or are they faeries she has called to her? Are they simply her in other guises?

Chaosium Digest Classics: Family Snapshots

2010-10-24T21:28:00.001-07:00

A Tale of Terror for Call of Cthulhu by Nick Middleton, ©2002
Originally presented in Chaosium Digest Volume 38, Number 7, Sunday, November 13, 2004

"The sense of isolation inspires
Inspires me"
Intruder, Peter Gabriel

Celia Anderson is an occultist of dubious reputation and an aquaintance of the Investigators. Possibly, they have crossed paths with her on a previous case. She is an independently educated orphan. Now in her mid thirties, short brown hair sternly cut, always conservatively but durably attired, with a steely gaze and brusque demeanor. She has never been convicted of any wrongdoing and the investigators have no reason to believe she is a cultist, although she certainly has a reputation for sharp practice and a lack of concern over the fate of others. There are dark rumours regarding the ultimate fate of some artifacts known to have come in to her possession and questions have been raised amongst informed Occultists as to the sorts of clients Ms. Anderson works for.

Ideally, Ms. Anderson should be introduced as a peripheral character some sessions before the Keeper intends to run this Tale, and certainly, Ms. Anderson's formidable Occult knowledge and academic training might be of some assistance to the Investigators in a preceding case. Even so, the request to visit her at her family home should come as an intriguing surprise, one they will be willing to take up.

The Investigators will no doubt wish to do some research before they visit Ms. Anderson at home and the invitation should allow them a day or so for such footwork. What they discover depends on which option the Keeper has chosen (see below), but with such limited time only the facts of public record will be revealed before the Investigators have to make their way to the house. It is an aristocratic pile, clearly over a century old (at least in origin) and some what isolated, although sharp-eyed investigators will note that a telephone line and electricity have been installed. A skeleton domestic staff of three is retained but is obviously not capable of maintaining the house and grounds.

Ms. Anderson will be as genial a host as she knows how, although it is clear that much of the house (and grounds) is out of use, and she will freely admit that she doesn't use the house much anymore. In fact, she intends to sell the place soon, which brings her to the reason she invited the Investigators: there is a collection of Occult material (books and artifacts) that has accumulated in the house over the years, some her late father's, some her late brother's and some her own. Since the house is to be sold, she intends to dispose of the collection but chose to consult acknowledged experts (the Investigators) before approaching an auction house. In the field of the Occult and Paranormal, there are risks to any such disposal. Right on cue, the power (and phone) lines are cut, plunging the house into darkness...

Ms. Anderson has not been entirely frank with the Investigators. Her father was a minor Mythos Sorcerer who dabbled and taught his children a little magic. She and her brother George found particular use for the spell, Keenness of Two Alike, especially after their father disappeared and they had to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, George had a particularly gruesome set of experiences in the War and became more than a little unhinged. Ms. Anderson had him institutionalized and is selling the collection and house to be rid of the memories and to generate enough capital for a trust fund to pay for his care indefinitely.

1) She then intends to move away and change her name. Unfortunately, one of the Occult items is a mirror made from Glass of Leng which the Anderson children used as a focus for their spells and which George has used as a target for the other spell he knows, Wandering Soul... George has thus discovered his sister's callous plans and come to wreak revenge on her and all those whom he perceives as helping her. He knows the house and grounds intimately and has the ingenuity, agility, endurance and strength of the insane. He will stalk the inhabitants of the house, beginning with servants, then the investigators, then his Sister. He will also attempt to retrieve the Mirror (which is part of the collection the Investigators were viewing). Both the mirror and his sister are tokens for which George MIGHT bargain.

2) Unfortunately for Miss Anderson and the Investigators, Anderson senior has returned. Or rather, he never left, since his offspring caused his disappearance. Whilst scrying through his magical Mirror of Leng, Anderson Senior's body remained seated in his chair, apparently studying the mirror. When George attempted to shoot his father he was horrified to see the bullet, having passed through his father, smash the mirror. Rather than scatter glass fragments it splashed like quicksilver over Anderson Senior and George. George fled, irrevocably insane, and the quicksilver absorbed Anderson Senior's body. It was forced into the cellar by Ms. Anderson where it has remained, trapped by an electric barrier. Ms. Anderson made the mistake of telling Daddy her plans yesterday and "it" has been desperately calling out for its missing part that was absorbed into George. Now George is home and has cut the power...

3) Unfortunately for the Investigators, Ms. Anderson is a minor Sorcerer and her staff are cultists. Driven mad by her father's experiments with magic and estranged from her devoted brother George by his experiences in the War, she has studied the Mythos too deeply. When George discovered what she was up to he attempted to stop her, but she managed to bribe the right people and he was institutionalized. Fortunately, a pair of his friends managed to intervene to ensure he was not badly treated. They have played a watching game until word of Ms. Anderson's intention to sell the house reached them. Rightly assuming that she intends to disappear to pursue her unspeakable interests elsewhere, George has been sprung from incarceration and he and his two friends have decided to assault the house, capture Celia and destroy as much as possible. George, although not entirely stable, will not initially intend to kill his sister. She, on the other hand, will be prepared to let everyone die (and will summon magical aid to achieve this) if she gets the chance. Although ideally a paranoid stand-off between George and his companions and the Investigators should be arranged before any violence ensues, but after Celia has managed to start the calling of a servitor...

Chaosium Digest Classics: Vehicle Building Rules

2010-10-19T15:27:00.002-07:00

by Dany St. Pierre
Originally published in The Chaosium Digest Volume 32, Number 11, Saturday, December 23, 2000

Although CoC has rules for vehicles it doesn't include rules for building them. I`ve bashed together some quick rules for constructing and driving simple vehicles in my CoC game.

The player has the right to have a normal car for free in the beginning of the game, The Keeper may also simply assign a maximum of points for a player to spend (a total equal to the INT of the PC is a good guideline).

MOVEMENT COST.

TYPE                      BASE COST BY MPH     ADDITIONAL COST
Ground vehicle           1 pt. per 10 MPH
Submarine                  1 pt. per 10 MPH             Adaptability +6*
Boat                           1 pt. per 5 MPH
Helicopter                  1 pt. per 10 MPH              Hover +2
Tunneler                     1 pt. per 1 MPH             +2 for each class of protection above 1*
                                                                           Adaptability +3*
Airplane                     1 pt. per 20 MPH
Supersonic aircraft   16 pts for mach 1             +2 for additional mach, Adaptability +3*

VEHICLE SIZE

SIZE RANGE       (BRP) SIZE      EXAMPLE                     PROTECTION
20 kg to 200 kg     (7 to 24)           Motorcycle/scooter          6 points
436kg to 733kg     (33 to 39)         Small car                          8 points
1 ton to 3 ton         (45 to 55)         Helicopter/limousine         10 points
                                                      Airplane/fighter
4 ton to 10 ton       (60 to 70)         Truck/light tank                12 points
                                                      DC2 and 3/Ford trimotor

*Adaptability protects the pilot or driver from hostile environments.
-- Submarine: underwater preassure and asphyxiation.
-- Tunneling: heat and asphyxiation.
-- Supersonic aircraft: high altitude and asphyxiation.

ACCELERATION & HANDLING OF COMMON VEHICLES.

VEHICLE TYPES      ACCELERATION/DECELERATION                HANDLING
Sports car                       2/10 of maximum speed                                   +20%
Common car                   1/10 of maximum speed                                     +0%
Limousine                       1/10 of maximum speed                                    -10%
Pickup truck, van            1/10 of maximum speed                                    -10%
Light Tank                      1/10 of maximum speed                                    -10%
Police car                        2/10 of maximum speed                                   +20%
Standard plane               2/10 of maximum speed                                    +0%
Combat plane                  4/10 of maximum speed                                   +20%

DOGFIGHT RULES.

Gain +1% to Investigator's Piloting skill per 10 mph the plane has of superior speed (x2 if you have a combat plane and your opponent has an ordinary one). If you win a contest of skill you have the right to shoot your foe with your weapons. When a vehicle has taken a total of 20 points of damage beyond it's defense it is considered out of action. It has to be fixed or replaced.

RAMMING

An investigator can ram a foe, using the mass and speed of his vehicle to do damage. Each 10 mph does 1D6 of damage. A vehicle of size 7 to 24 has a 1D6 of basic damage, 33 to 39 2D6, 45 to 55 3D6 and 60 to 70 4D6. The vehicle takes 1/6 of the damage done. The vehicle's protection counts toward this damage.

COMMON HAZARDS FOR GROUND VEHICLES.

Hitting curb, obstacle or pedestrian -20%
Hitting lose debris -5%
Light rain, gravel on road -5%
Heavy rain, light snow, oil on road -10%
Heavy snow or ice -20%
Colliding or sideswiping any vehicle or large object (shoggoth) -30%
Losing a Tire -25%

EXAMPLE VEHICLES

FORD MODEL T
In simple terms, the Model T changed the world. It was a powerful car with a possible speed of 50 mph and ran 25 miles on a gallon of gasoline. It had a 20 horsepower side-valve four-cylinder engine, two-speed planetary transmission and a 100 inch wheelbase. Important to the long-term success of the Model T was Childe Harold Will's experiments with the properties of vanadium steel which resulted in the lightness and durability that was an important trademark of the Model T.

TYPE: ordinary car WEIGHT: 1 ton(45) SPACE: 1 driver 3 passengers
SPEED: 50 mph PROTECTION: 10 COST: (5+10):15

STUTZ BEARCAT
These are little two-seater convertibles for the fast lane drivers. If speed is your need, look no further. The Stutz is a four-speed, 150 mph joyride. No actor or actress will be caught in anything less.

TYPE: sport car WEIGHT: 733kg(39) SPACE: 1 driver 1 passengers
SPEED: 150 mph PROTECTION: 8 COST: (15+8):23

1935 L6500 MERCEDES-BENZ
The L6500 cargo carrier is one of several Mercedes-Benz trucks that saw considerable use. The cargo area is open for ease of loading and unloading, although a canvas top is often added to provide some protection from the weather. With a cargo capacity of roughly 5,900kg, its the reliable workhorse you use to transport the lost ark or the bizarre altar with strange glyphs on it.

TYPE: truck WEIGHT: 6 ton(60) SPACE: 1 driver 1 passengers
SPEED: 80 mph PROTECTION: 12 COST: (8+12):20

LIGHT TANK MKIIa
This highly effective British design, dating from 1929 was developed by Vickers. The MKIIa is notable in that it is designed to be crewed by only two individuals. One serves as driver, the others as commander/gunner. With a maximum 10mm of armor, the MKIIa is a light, maneuverable vehicle, perfectly suited to shoot-and-scout situations, or infantry support roles. The MKIIa's main armament is two 303 caliber Vickers heavy machine guns (ROF:20 shots:250 range:110 yards malf:99-98-85) increasing the vehicle's effectiveness against infantry or Cthulhu cultists.

TYPE: light tank WEIGHT: 10 ton(70) SPACE: 1 driver 1 passengers
SPEED: 40 mph PROTECTION: 12+8 COST: (4+20):24

That is not Dead Which can Eternal Lie...

2010-10-19T14:05:00.002-07:00

It's been a while but I'm trying to make a comeback.

I'm not going to bore you with the details but let's just say a mix of new job and sundry other things led to me spemding my time and focus elsewhere. I've been wanting to get back here for a while and now, as the signs of Autumn appear even here in California and Halloween approaches, my mind is turning back to the eldritch horrors we all know and love.

I've still got a ton of Chaosium Digest Classics to get posted and I'll be working to get them here as time allows. I'm also open for submissions from any readers that find their way back here. As always, you retain full rights to your work. By submitting, you're just allowing me to post the work in this or future iterations of the Digest.

I'm off now to get the next installment of Chaosium Digest Classics together and posted. I expect to have it up later today, baring any unforseen distractions. I'm going to try and keep to weekly updates. I'll have to see if any particular day works out to be best.

In any case, if you like what you read here, spread the word and feel free to drop me a line.

Sad News about Chaosium's Lynn Willis

2008-09-11T16:25:00.003-07:00

Yog-Sothoth.com hosts a letter from Chaosium's Charlie Krank stating that Lynn Willis has Parkinson's Disease. Chaosium.com has also posted this report. The Chaosium Digest offers our sincerest condolences and best wishes to Mr. Willis and his family. Thank you sir, for all of your work and effort on behalf of Chaosium and the fans.

Chaosium Digest Classics: Turkey and Jaguar

2008-08-21T15:47:00.003-07:00

by Prof. Richard Scott Nokes, Ph.D
Originally published in The Chaosium Digest v38.07 on Sunday, November 13, 2004

Seeing the wild turkey on the hillside reminded Pete Byrd that he would miss Thanksgiving with his family this year. Archaeologists spent most of their time in classrooms and at colleges, but when they had to go out into the field they had to stay for long periods. Only seven months remained on Prof. Sinclair's grant to study the ancient Maya city of Tikal in the Peten rainforest of Guatemala, and he could not afford to lose any of that time. No days off, no slack days. He'd rest when the grant money ran out. Of course, Prof. Sinclair had flown out on Tuesday; No such luck for Pete, his research assistant.

Pete lugged his laptop and machinery through the low brush on a small hillside, the worst part of his job. He was mapping out the still-buried structures of the city, which involved hauling three heavy trunks around each hill in the stifling Peten heat and getting an "image" from sound waves bounced off of about two dozen spots around the hill. The image was a fuzzy jumble of lines and blurs, but in later months he would clean up the images and construct a three dimensional image of each structure. The dirty, sweaty, boring nature of the work, and the excess of turkey droppings on this particular hillside did not make the job any more fun, Thanksgiving fantasies aside.

At first he ignored the muffled sound of someone yelling up the path. The main temple square and north acropolis were off a way, so tourists generally did not get out to where he worked, but when they did they tended to be loud and annoying. As the person on the path drew nearer, though, Pete thought he could make out his name. Yes, it was his name. Sighing, he lumbered down the hill, knees aching. Like many Maya archaeologists, his knees were starting to give out, the result of spending a career climbing up and down steep pyramid steps. If they're aching at the beginning of my career, what'll they be like by the time I retire? he wondered to himself.

Luis was running up the path, out of breath and drenched in sweat. Luis qualified as the laziest assistant Prof. Sinclair had ever hired, so to see him moving so quickly was a surprise. Something was wrong. Even though the graduate student had good Spanish, Luis jabbered with such excitement that he could not make out what was being said. After repeating himself three times, Luis simply shook his head, gestured for Pete to follow, and sped back up the path. Pete followed.

Soon he found the cause of all the excitement, and became excited himself. Recent rainfall had knocked over a tree. Rain in the Peten region had only two settings: on and off. The area saw no drizzles, showers or sprinklings. Rain either thundered down like a waterfall, or not at all. In fact, atop a pyramid you could see the rain coming in like a gray wall, a spot of twilight moving across the sky. Earlier that morning a torrent had come down for about forty minutes. That forty minutes had apparently been enough to fell an old, rotten tree on a hillside near where he was working.

Luis's excitement did not come from a fallen tree, however. The root system of the tree seemed to have burrowed into a buried wall of the city. From his previous work, Prof. Sinclair believed this particular section of the city had been an acropolis, but it had never been excavated before because of the cost of labor, as well as the cost of preserving it from tourists and the elements. Indeed, now that the tree had fallen, the professor's hypothesis seemed correct, because the place that the tree had stood was now a gaping hole in the earth. The fierce sunlight revealed stone walls below.

The excitement Luis had felt now infused Pete, and he recognized an opportunity. With Prof. Sinclair gone for at least another two weeks, Pete would have time to examine the interior on his own. If he moved quickly, he might be able to submit the initial findings under his own name, rather than as "second author" status under Sinclair. This find, Pete realized, could mean the difference between getting his first job at Podunk College for the Semi-Literate, or getting his first job at Ivy-Covered Research University. He would have to cut corners, he would have to move fast, and he would have to document his findings in some public way.

Pete ordered Luis to stay and guard the entrance from tourists, who might disturb the site. He ran - yes, sprinted in the Peten heat - to get a flashlight. Though he was flushed from the heat and the exertion, Pete didn't notice. His career was made, and next time it would be he who flew back to the States for the holidays, while his own assistant stayed behind to do the grunt work. The hotel in which they were staying was not, unfortunately, air conditioned. Some of the nicer hotels were, but they were too far from the site. Pete's shirt was dirty and heavy with sweat by the time he arrived at the hotel. He fumbled for the flashlight, smearing it with sweat and dirt on his hands.

Luis squatted with a friend outside the hole when Pete arrived. They were munching some greasy chicken from "Pollito", sucking the taste off their fingers. Pete panted and gasped. When he brushed back his matted hair, Pete's finger (which had somehow ended up in the dirt) smeared a filthy line across his forehead. Luis looked at Pete with a little disgust, but kept it to himself - it wasn't smart to disrespect the Yankee archaeologists, not if you wanted to keep this cushy job for the next research grant. "Señor Byrd..." he began, wiping his fingers clean. Luis pulled a video camera from his bag. The camera belonged to Prof. Sinclair, and in his excitement, Pete had
forgotten about it. He snatched it from Luis.

Pete stripped off his sweat-drenched shirt, leaving him in just his ripped shorts and worn sandals. Just as Pete started to climb down into the hole, Luis heard him mutter something about "rats." The American then climbed back out, picked up a large branch off the ground, presumably to use to club rats, then descended into the cave-like hole.

When Prof. Sinclair returned from America, the police had already found Luis and his friend, Enrique. Luis had refused to talk about what had happened to Pete Byrd at all, but Enrique, being a more practical man, had shown the police the hole, but refused to go near it, pointing from a distance. Since Tikal was a UNESCO Cultural Heritage of Humanity Site, the police had stayed out of the acropolis entrance, but insisted on sending an officer down to accompany Prof. Sinclair. Once in the hole, they found that only two rooms were connected. Another wall was completely obscured by ages of dirt, which the professor assumed led in the direction of more acropolis. The first room was simply stone, with two jaguar heads carved in relief on either wall. A low doorway led to the second room, which was simply small and cramped. On the ground was the flashlight, batteries dead, but in the "off" position, and the video camera. The dirt on the ground was disturbed, apparently from Pete walking around in the room, but there was no other sign of him, and only the one exit.

The policeman apologized to Prof. Sinclair for the inconvenience, and he promised that someone would be punished for the disappearance of Pete. Obviously, he said, Luis and Enrique were involved in some conspiracy, perhaps a ransom plot gone wrong, and they had waylaid poor Pete when he was cornered in the second room. As Pete had been missing for two weeks and no ransom notice had been given, the policeman did not offer Prof. Sinclair much hope.

That evening, Sinclair watched the video recording in the camera. It was rather short, less than four minutes long. It began from the base of the hole, spent a minute or so panning close-ups along the stone jaguar heads, then went into the next room. On the tape, Pete could be heard to laugh, as the flashlight and camera light revealed that a wild turkey had gotten into the second room and was staring up at the camera light rather indignantly.

The last brief, chaotic images did not reveal much, and were of little use to the police; Pete's finger had come off the camcorder button before anything of use was filmed. A low rumbling noise, almost like a growl, could be heard. The camera swung wildly, randomly. A quick shot of Pete's dirty knees, a few words from Pete, so garbled that they might be English, might be Spanish, maybe neither, then static.

The police never found Pete's corpse. They charged Luis and Enrique, but they knew they had no case, so after the grant expired and the professor returned to Los Estados Unidos, they quietly dropped the charges. They had found a pile of bones not very far away, but the bones were not human. They looked like the bones of wild turkeys and other birds.

Chaosium Digest Classics: The Balance and The Girl

2008-08-08T16:11:00.007-07:00

by Nikos Moshonas
Originally presented in The Chaosium Digest v30.9 on Saturday, March 18, 2000

This is an introductory adventure for Stormbringer/Elric! to demonstrate some aspects of Law, Balance and Chaos.

Background on Troos

The following information can be given partly as background knowledge to the players and partly as a result of research.

A great mystery covers the forest of Troos and the general area of Org. Even the forest's presence contradicts with the barren land that surrounds it. According to rumors, the forest is old, older than the holy states of Vilmir and Ilmiora, older than The Melnibonean Empire, even older than humanity. The opinions of the relationship between the Melniboneans and the forest are many and contradicting, while they agree on one point, both are spawns of Chaos.

After the emancipation of Northern Continent, Troos was located within the state of Vilmir. The governors and the holy men of the new kingdom showed interest in the area. A group of woodcutters and investigators were sent in order to clear the land and search for the truths that it was believed such an ancient place would hide. None returned. An army was sent immediately afterwards but faced the same fate. After that the forest was blockaded and guard points were set around the border with the purpose of prohibiting travel into or out of the forest. The name Org was given to the area, taken from the cries of some repulsive creatures that were known to live there. The creatures, while appearing humanoid, look more like a blasphemy of humanity.

Research in the library of the Church could reveal references to the forest in Melnibonean manuscripts which are thousands of years old. It seems that the Menliboneans were not responsible for its creation, even though many of the clergy have different opinions.

A caravan route goes through the northern part of Org and is the fastest way of communication between three states of Vilmir, Ilmiora and the Weeping Waste as well as many cities.

Another story

It is a warm summer evening in the year of purity 373. The initiate priest and nephew of the Vilmirian king, Calvan Fornova lays abed in his tower in Jadmar, next to his servant girl Anna. He is already sorry. The worst is yet to come.

Anna was pregnant, but she was no servant girl. The young warrior-priestess of Phum received a prophesy of a birth. It spoke of the birth of a child that would help dearly the cause of the Order and spoke of a holy man with royal blood who was a foreigner to this world. Note that West was another world for the Easterners. The rest was hazy for Anna, but then again, so are most prophesies.

After Calvan had learned of the pregnancy he became miserable. He was the nephew of the king and he could aspire only to the title of duke, already possessed by his father. The clergy offered him another opportunity for further advancement, but after the recent revelations everything he possessed and even his family name is in danger. He could not marry a lesser woman and he could not "remove" the problem since it would have been a mortal sin. So, after seeking the advice of Chancellor Pedron he placed Anna in a convent and relinquishing his status as a priest. The whole thing hadn't gone beyond the circle of him, his father and the Chancellor, so he could forget for some time.

When the birth came, Anna gave the newly born girl to a nun and asked the child be take to Calvan. After that she disappeared from the convent and traveled back to the East. According to the prophecy she would have to leave the child behind for six years. The first part of her quest was over and she would leave the rest to Fate.

With the child back in his hands, Calvan became a ghost of his former self. He wanted to be rid of the spawn of his sin and suddenly the gods gave him the solution. At that time a strange black man (Erekose) had visited the city. He showed no respect to the gods and the authorities put him into prison. Calvan found his salvation in this man. He was an outsider with no interest in money and civilization. He had a strange accent and though he wouldn't say where he was from the only thing he wanted was to leave. That was ideal for Calvan who offered him the baby. Refusing any money he took the infant, went away and no man learned anything of him again.

That was six years ago. It is now 379 YK. A caravan, in which Count Calvan Fornova had financial interest, was attacked by the beast-men of Org three months ago. During the ambush by night, one of the surprised guards was chased into the forest and became lost. After running blindly, he fainted. Wounded as he was, he would have died, save for a miracle. He awakened in a hut in the middle of the forest. Nobody thought that humans, save minions of Chaos dwelled within the forest, but here was his savior.

This was Erekose who had retreated to Troos, away from humans and gods. He had a little girl with him. The girl was maybe even stranger than the silent old man. With black hair around a moon-shaped face, her round black eyes were piercing and oddly knowing. The mercenary guard spent most of his time in the forest in a coma and does not remember much. The black man helped him out of the forest after he recovered.

Calvan heard the story and felt the old demons along with new ones to come back to haunt him. How had the black man survived in that place? Maybe he was a wizard preparing the child as a nemesis for him. Maybe the girl would come back and ask for her righteous heritage, or maybe the gods where testing him? Anyway he had to know and here is where (at last) the players come in. One of them should be the mercenary, in order to guide them. Another can be a priest, particularly a young and romantic one. Due to the humid environment of the forest and the swamps that can be found in it, a barbarian hunter of the Weeping Waste can be of some help. They found someone, a slave along with his mother at the mines of Dolgar that can undertake the task in exchange for his freedom. Finally, some other lowlife can be drawn from the prisons, or from the list of supects (a suspected witch, a thief, or both). These people (the players) will be traced by servants of Calvan and agents of the Chancellor.

On a warm summer day, the PCs will meet each other at the office of the Chancellor of Jadmar. Calvan will be in attendance. Chancellor Pedron will tell them of a secret expedition to Troos that he wants them to undertake. Calvan will tell them that he had made a mistake in the past and now he wants the child back (actually he isn't planning to keep the child but to put her in a convent or something like that). The Chancellor will explain the other side of the journey that he has in mind. The priest must keep a diary and take notes of everything of importance to the Church they find in Troos. Many truths concerning Law and the history of humanity could be waiting to be revealed in the ancient forest (Insight rolls may reveal that Calvin is more upset than interested in the fate of the child, also that the Chancellor is a very intelligent man whose interest in the welfare of the Church and the state is beyond doubt). The Leader of the expedition, which is to be kept a secret, is supposed to be the priest.

The adventurers are to be guided, until they reach the forest, by two servants of Calvan and another priest. It is Summer and the weather is warm. They need about 9 days to reach the guard posts outside Org.

On the road (see Atlas of the Young Kingdoms, vol. 1 for more information)

Not all the details are given here, just basic descriptions I considered important. These can, of course, be altered, or others can be added to at the option of the GM.

Duchy of Rignarion

Marble Highways, windmills and endless fields with weak plants. Hints of drought. The farmers look very poor and underfed.

The city, the granite palace, the golden pyramid-temple. Also, the beggars. The adventures are supposed to know about the statue of the prophet Vil Vilario and the supposed miraculous powers of it. Nevertheless, only known followers of Law can be granted immediate entry into the Gardens. The priest is the obvious candidate for that.

If the priest sleeps under the statue, he will be visited by a dream. The dream starts with him in a misty and dark place. He will see the form of an unknown woman and she will call him. He follows and finds himself in a dark room. Light is provided by a glowing object which dominates the center of the room. It is a large golden scale, taller than a man. The woman is nowhere to be seen.

The golden scale doesn't balance perfectly. Instead, it bends a bit towards the left side. Suddenly he will feel something in his right hand that he hadn't noticed before. Ii is a small, oval, black stone, plain but strangely beautiful. The scale seems to be unbalanced and the stone looks like the stones used by the merchants to weigh the products they sell. Whether he puts the stone on the left or on the right side of the scale, destruction is the result. The scale collapses with a deafening sound to the floor. A feeling of ultimate guilt overwhelms him.

The dream is a prophecy of the future dilemma that the adventures will face. The message of it is that they should not try to upset the balance. Of course, they may never understand it.

On the road again the PCs are treated to depressing views of the never ending plains.

One of the stops is a convent. It is a tower-like building with a large yard where gray-dressed nuns work and praise Donblas. Shelter will be given to them due to the presence of the two priests in the party. Anna will be there, pretending to be a young nun. After dinner during the night she will approach one of the adventurers (the one she thinks more likely to support her) and explains that the mother of the child exists and longs for her. She also tells the PC that she would need him/her to support her when the time comes. The approach can happen during the confession of one of the players, somewhere in the convent halls, or in the PCs cell. Anna would do whatever she thinks is necessary to bring the PC to her side excepting violence.

After a few days, on a country road, they will be approached by a hunched-back old woman. She is actually Anna under a Linken Shape spell and will offer to the two priests one of the two breads she carries. Only critical Insight roll will reveal that there is something suspicious about her. Anyway, the other priest will take the bread. It has been laced with a sleeping drug (POT 16). Whoever eats the bread and fails the CON vs. POT roll, will fall asleep in half an hour. Anna does this to get rid of the adventurer's escorts. She approaches the camp in the night wearing a peasant-woman dress and without signs of her Chaos-worshiping nature. She wakes all the adventures up and tells them her story. She tells them that she is the mother and that she was parted from her child because the Count was afraid of the scandal. She says that the Count will never acknowledge the girl as his, that he only wants to avoid the scandal around her and that he will probably have her exiled or killed.

If they ask her how she knows all these things, she will reply that she has conducted an investigation on her own and that she has some friends near the Count. Insight rolls will show her true interest in the child, and that she is a very intelligent and cunning person that can hardly be just a peasant girl.

Sometime during the next day the group will encounter a band of ragged, cloaked people walking in column. The man at the head of the column is bearing a censer and is chanting. A Search roll will reveal that their faces do not look exactly human. A critical Search roll is needed to reveal that they are just lepers. The lepers will not respond to any call, since they are under an oath of silence. The priest may understand the situation with an INTx1 roll. He is supposed to have lived in Jadmar and he has no experience of such sightings.

Nadsokor

The group will have to pass through this land in order to enter Org from the western border. Sightings of beggars might occur. The beggars may be a threat, people just asking for some food, or just observers.

The next and final stop for their guides, is a watch tower at the western border of Org. The soldiers can help them and their animals cross the river. They may choose to cross it from a point further to the north, but Valkark is a wide and deep river. The soldiers will not give them a boat.

Org (see Atlas of the Young Kingdoms, vol. 1 for more information)

The Road to the Forest

According to their information, the hut of the old man is somewhere between two marshes, the Sucking Swamp and Mudmere. The best way in my opinion, to start is to follow the river, which flows along the western side of the forest, north until they reach the Sucking Swamp and enter the forest from there. The description that follows is based on this schedule. It may be left to the players to discover a the less dangerous way.

The trip along the eastern bank of the river to the north lasts about three or four days (with horses). The weather is warm and at the beginning of the journey and met by warm winds. The weak grass and some rocky hills on the west contrast with the rich flora of the eastern bank composed of willows, great poplar trees, bushes and tall grass, and even more with the main bulk of the forest which lies a few miles east. Very few birds live in the trees of the eastern bank.

The trip takes them further to the north. Day by day the vegetation becomes thicker and unrecognizable plants become more frequent. On the third day, a feeling that they are watched will possess the PCs. It will not leave them until after they have left the forest.

At the Swamp

The river leads to the Sucking Swamp, which provides a sight of desperation. It is an endless flat area of black mud, bogs and a few very lonely swamp trees emerging from the gray waters. With an INT check, they can note that there are no birds at this place.

No more than 20 miles separate them from the hut. Considering the thick vegetation of the forest, someone could cover the distance on foot or with a horse in two days if he/she knew the exact place where to find the hut. Daily Navigate rolls from the mercenary will be needed in order to keep moving in the right direction.

In the Green Hell

The vegetation of Troos is weird and of completely unknown species that grow to supernatural proportions. The forest itself is a very dark bulk in the midst of almost desert land and its blasphemous flora looks like a mockery of gods, humanity and even nature. Sometimes it seems like it is one gigantic malevolent being. The GM should create the eerie atmosphere of the forest and give the players the feeling that they are in constant danger. The forest is, of course, dangerous by itself and apart from Orgians does not host any other form of intelligent life, or even fauna. The characters do not know that. It is said that demons and ghosts haunt the forest, and this is all they know. For a more complete description see "Atlas of the Young Kingdoms, vol.1".

They can take the horses with them, or not. Movement is a difficult and tiring process and the horses can only serve as pack animals. The animals are nervous and get easily frightened, throwing off burdens and riders. With or without animals, it will take them 1d6+1 days to find the second swamp and the hut (or the same time for Erekose to find them). Every day the GM should roll the following checks:

a) Check for madness (Atlas of the Young Kingdoms)

b) Check for bogs. The leader should roll under POWx3 in order to avoid falling into a bog.

c) Check for drinking water. A successful Natural World roll is needed. Failing that the water will be harmful (POT 8+1d6) and drinking it may cause stomach problems. Assuming they have fresh water, check every 3 days.

d) Check for burning woods. The one who looks for them should roll under his Natural World/2 skill, or under POWx2, in order to find and cut some harmless burning woods. In a different case roll 1d8:

1): The root lash out and hurt the woodcutter for 1d6+1 points of damage.
2): The juice of the woods cause itching for a whole day (-20% in every roll) and the smoke from the campfire smells awful.
3): The bark is extremely hard and rolling under STRx5 results in breaking the axe.
4): The blossoms of the tree shoot seeds (a POWx2 is needed to avoid being shot). On the next day, if the roll was unsuccessful, a rash grows on the skin of the woodcutter causing 1d3 points of damage per day and loss of 1 point of Constitution. Erekose can heal this.
5): Acidic juices spray the woodcutter (POWx4 to avoid being sprayed in the face and a loss of 1 APP) damaging for 1d6 points.
6): Who ever carry the pieces of wood gets poisoned (POT 13) and gets blisters.
7): Madness of Troos (no CON check).
8): Encounter with a dead tree that looks like a body, but nothing else happens.

A Night Attack

The feeling that they are being watched and followed is not without reason. The Orgians have spotted the group and there is a small band that watches their moves. Due to their knowledge of the forest and stealth, they will remain undetected by the characters. In a few days the Orgians could gather a bigger war band and kill or capture the characters, but in the mean time these four get greedy and ambush the characters during a night when most of them will be asleep. They are mainly after the horses or some of the characters' belonging, so they probably mount a diversionary attack, while one of them steals what they want. In the dark of the night they would look like devils. If one of them gets killed they try to take him, leaving no bodies behind.

Orgians STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX APP Hp db
#1 18 14 13 5 7 10 2 14 +1d4
#2 17 19 12 6 7 11 2 16 +1d4
#3 22 19 12 5 6 10 2 16 +1d6
#4 17 15 13 7 8 11 2 14 +1d4
Armor: 1d2-1 thick muscle
Weapons: Cleaver 60%: 1d6+1+db
Crude Club 60%: 1d8+ db
Dodge: 35%, Jump: 70%.

Erekose

Erekose may find the PCs at a time of danger or the PCs may find him if they are successful enough in finding the right way to the hut. He will treat their wounds and heal their diseases, if any.

He lives in a hut in the middle of a pond of fresh water, just north of the second swamp (Mudmere). He knows the ways of the forest. It seems, also, that the Orgians are afraid of the big black man and they consider him an evil spirit. A young girl lives with him. He calls her Agnes. The girl is of the right age (about 6) and has black hair and piercing black eyes that resemble Anna's. She is actually Anna's daughter.

Erekose would not like the girl to leave. He was like a father to her and he knows that her father is a man that cannot be trusted. He does not say much, but it is clear that the presence and purpose of the characters upsets him. Agnes will immediately recognize the reason for the characters "visit". Her trust could be gained by a sincere and, preferably, female character. Nevertheless Erekose will not be easily persuaded to give them the child. Intense role-playing and maybe a successful Oratory roll could change his mind. Nevertheless, he will escort them out of the forest, not leaving the girl unprotected.

There are a lot of interesting things in the hut. The man has a great variety of herbs and potions, mainly for healing or protecting purposes (not an ointment of Invulnerability though). Apart from that, a successful Search roll could reveal an old but impressive set of armor, some weapons, a golden comb that belongs to Agnes and a few other things from the world of Erekose. The strange man will set fire to the hut before they leave.

After that he speaks even less, his face becomes even darker and his eyes seem to attend the Fate that is about to strike.

The Way Out

The Orgians know the group's moves at all times. They are be afraid to attack Erekose and they will not hurt the girl since they recognize divine qualities in her. Instead, they will try to capture the girl and kill or capture the characters. Erekose suspects this and will propose to follow a trail through places like Mudmere, The Deep Tree, The Barrow Glen or/and The Old Thing. Erekose can provide the priest with details for his diary. These include a theory of the Orgians being unevolved humans (which means that humans were once like that), hints of the long gone existence of a certain people called The Doomed Folk, and anything the GM would feel appropriate and upsetting enough for the Vilmirian priesthood.

Mudmere could provide them with the bark of the silver trees, which after the proper preparation can enhance stamina for a few days. It should be difficult to attain , needing successful Climb and DEX rolls. With it they will be able to move fast and they will be out of the forest in three days. With Erekose with them, the characters will have no problem finding fire wood, fresh water, or avoiding the bogs. With his knowledge of natural potions, the chance of being affected by the Madness results only on a roll above CONx6.

Since the Orgians are following them, they will have to move fast and carry the girl as well. The girl can feel the Orgians, but the characters would need a critical Search roll to spot them. If one of the PCs fails a CONx5 roll, the Orgians will catch them. If this happens, Erekose will propose a duel between two warriors, one of the Orgians and one of the characters. There are 20 Orgians. Use the statistics of the four above. The leader, though, is tougher.

Warband leader
STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX APP Hp db
24 17 13 6 6 11 2 15 +1d6

Armor: 1d2 thick muscle
Weapons: cleaver 78%, 1d6+1+db
thrown rock 50%, 1d4+2+db/2
Dodge 40%

If the character wins, the Orgians will let them go. If the characters still have any of their horses, offering them to the Orgians would be even more convincing.

Leaving Troos

When they are, at last, out of the forest the group will be tired and hungry. Since they cannot cross the river they will have to head south. The same night Agnes will face the character from the Weeping Waste and will say to him: "Your mother is dead".
This is true, since the old woman could not bear the work in the mines any more. If asked she will say simply that she just knows. Insight rolls will reveal that she means what she says, but there is no other way to verify her words. This twist is added in order to free the character (assuming that he believes her) from his duty to his mother, and force him to make a personal choice.

Erekose's face will be like stone. He says almost nothing and Insight rolls will show that he looks like a man with death in his eyes, that he is ready either to die or kill...

A day after, they will encounter a rider from the guardhouses in the south. He will give them some food and water and order them to follow him across the river without explaining anything else. If pressed he will say that these are his orders from the Count.

They will cross the river by a boat. After that they can leave the soldier and head for the place where Anna had asked them to meet her, just a few miles north, or follow the soldier to where Count Fornova is waiting. No matter what they do, there should be a dramatic closing to the story, with both groups facing each other and the adventurers, while waiting for their decision.

Assuming that the characters follow the soldier (the most conservative choice), they will arrive at a hilly field, somewhere in eastern Nadsokor. Some people are waiting for them. There are ten riders standing silent and a heavy dark coach behind them. As soon as they arrive, the soldier will depart without another word.

The riders are obviously of the Gray Defenders and they are actually foot soldiers using horses for transport. At the head of them is Brother Rodrigo, knight-monk of the military order of the Cleansing Flame. The coach hides the Count and his friend, Chancellor Pedron, but only Rodrigo will do the talking. He may consult the passengers of the coach, but will not reveal their identity. Rodrigo is distant and offensive, he is the only one to ask questions and he will only tolerate answers coming from the priest character. He will demand the diary and a briefing of what they encountered. This is a critical moment. Depending on what the characters say they may be considered dangerous heretics or receive their payment. If, for example, they speak of missing links in human evolution and of lost races that created Troos, they will be immediately arrested. Even if they are careful with what they say, Rodrigo will demand they leave Vilmir, except for the priest. After that he will ask for the girl.

At that point, a strangely armored rider, obviously a follower of Chaos will come riding down a slope, followed by four other riders. This is Anna with some bandits that she hired at Valkark Gorge. She will shout that she is the mother of the child and call for the help of anyone who values justice.

Erekose will protect the girl, not giving her to anyone. He will do nothing else and will be killed, probably by Rodrigo unless the PCs intervene. After that Rodrigo and most of his men will attack the riders, leaving behind two soldiers to guard the girl. The coach will depart at the first sight of hostility. What will the players do? Will they side with Law and the father of the child, or with Anna risking with the company of Chaos, or they will just try to keep the child protected, as Erekose
did? The fate of the girl and themselves is in their hands

I played this adventure with two different groups of players. They all sided with one or the other of the opposing groups and only one thought of taking the child away without taking any part, but rather late and he did not succeed to keep the balance.

If Ana wins, she will take the girl (who is to be named Sorana) on her horse, pay the characters that helped her and leave. Obviously the characters have to leave Vilmir and not come back for a long time.

If the Law party wins they will take the girl to the Count. The characters that helped them will receive their payment, but are expected to leave Vilmir. The surviving ones who opposed them will be executed if they are captured.

The characters should also receive some Chaos, Law or Balance points, according to their acts.

Appendix-Characters and parties

Anna, Warrior priestess from the East, mother of the girl

Tall, feminine, well built, with black hair and round charming eyes. She is a woman with many secrets who knows how to get what she wants. Her life is dedicated to Lady Eequor. She is wearing a characteristic black jewel around her neck.
Age 27, C81 B16 L20
STR 14 CON 15 SIZ 13 INT 17 POW 20 DEX 16 APP 16 HP 14 DB +1d4
Longsword 105%, 1d10+1+db
Small Shield 60%, 1d3+db+knockback
Akras 59%, 1d3+3+db
Desert Bow 55%, 18+2+db/2
Armor: Demon plate 1d10+2+1d10
Magic: Sphere of Flesh, Rune of Enhancements. Among other effects, she can produce the following: Demon's Eye, Seduction, Horns of Hionhurn, Linken Shape, Speed of Vezhan.
Skills: Dodge:66%, Ride:100%, Potions:70%, Insight: 40%.

Hired bandits from Valkark Gorge
STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX APP HP DB
#1 15 14 11 12 11 13 09 13 +1d4
#2 14 12 14 10 10 15 12 13 +1d4
#3 12 16 13 12 12 13 14 15 +1d4
#4 16 15 13 13 12 14 13 14 +1d4
Sample weapon statistics:
Broadsword 65%, 1d8+1+db
Flail 70%, 1d6+2+db
Spear, Thrown 50%, 1d6+1+db/2 (db of the horse, if charging)
Shield, small 55%, 1d3+db
Hunting bow 60%, 1d6+1+db/2
Armor: Various, mostly leather and rings: 1d6+1
Skills: Hide: 50%, Ride: 70%
They fight on horseback. They are quite loyal to Anna, expecting a handsome payment.

Erekose, Old Hero from another world

A tall, heavy build black man approaching the winter of his life. He is a man of few words and most of the time he seems lost in deep thoughts. It is not known how he came to this world. He might have been serving Fate or trying to get away from her. He lives the life of a hermit by choice, not wanting to get involved in the affairs of men or the gods anymore.
Age 60, C27 B88 L124
STR 17 CON 16 SIZ 17 INT 17 POW 23 DEX 14 APP 13 HP 17 DB +1d6
Weapons (though he would never use them against another man):
Warsword 180%, 1d10+1+db
Staff 120%, 1d6+db
Large shield 90%, 1d4+db+knockback
Skills: Follow Fate 85%, Dodge 79%, Knowledge Troos 85%, Natural World 90%, Physick
80%, Potions(healing) 70%, Protect Agnes 99%.

Calvan Fornova, remorse haunted noble

Of medium height, with nicely cut blond hair and small brown eyes, Calvan would not be someone to remember as special. Thatis, of course, if there had not been his royal blood and his education that makes him a quite capable debater. He also has a good knowledge of Vilmirian Theology.
Age 32, C13 B05 L34
STR 11 CON 11 SIZ 11 INT 12 POW 10 DEX 12 APP 13 HP 11 DB 0
Weapons: Dagger 35%, 1d4+2
Skills: Art(Conversation) 45%, Insight 25%, Vilmirian Geography 60%, Law Theology 55%, Myths and Legends 35%.

Chancellor Pedron

Tall and gaunt with straight brown hair. Deep wrinkles cut across his face, which hosts an ever-expressionless mouth of thin lips and a pair of grim brown eyes. He is the only man that Calvan trusts absolutely. He is cunning and would do anything to preserve order, the high status of the Church and his position in it.
Age 51, C18 B09 L75
STR 11 CON 12 SIZ 13 INT 16 POW 15 DEX 10 APP 12 HP 12 DB +1d4
Weapons: none
Skills: Art(Organ) 35%, Art(Conversation) 48%, Bargain 65%, Fast Talk 30%,Insight 68%, Oratory 70%, Theology 80%, Politics 90%

Rodrigo, Knight of the Church, religious fanatic

Tall with extremely close cut hair.
Age 34, C08 B11 L70
STR 16 CON 16 SIZ 13 INT 13 POW 13 DEX 13 APP 12 HP 15 DB +1d4
Armor: Chain mail 1d10
Weapons: Cavalry lance:80%, 1d8+1+db
Broadsword:115%, 1d8+1+db
Full Shield:75%, 1d4+db+knockback
Skills: Dodge 50%, Give Orders 80%, Obey Orders 95%, Ride 96%.

Gray Defenders

Sample statistics are given for the nine soldiers.
HP 12, DB +1d4
Weapons: Broadsword: 55%, 1d8+1+db
Kite shield: 45%, knockback
Skills: Ride 45%
They fight on foot.

Chaosium Digest Classics: Conducting an Investigation

2008-08-01T15:54:00.003-07:00

by Tom Liberman
Originally presented in The Chaosium Digest v30.08 on Sunday, March 5, 2000

INITIAL INFORMATION
Any good Cthulhu scenario starts off with some small amount of initial information. It is up to the group to take this and expand to the point where they have a good understanding of their opponents. There exist three main ways to better inform yourself before taking on the enemy in his lair. Research, Stakeouts and Confrontation. They do not always go in that particular order but it is generally a good idea to do some research before a stakeout and a stakeout before a confrontation. The difficulty often arises in the difference between a confrontation and a fact-finding interview. All this is discussed below in the appropriate category. This area often includes searching the corpse. Many times the group becomes involved when someone drops dead in front of them. Always search the corpses wherever they might be found.

RESEARCH
The group has some initial information and is now looking to expand it through research. This takes place at libraries, newspapers, city hall and other places where records of those involved might be lurking. This stage is often returned to each time more information is gathered in the interview stages. Many items of interest are dug up during these sessions some of them valid and others Red Herrings. How you interpret the information gathered here through the interviewing and further research process is essential to solving the problem correctly. Notes are very important during this stage, as it is easy to forget pertinent information during a crisis later.

CLUES
You will gather many clues during this stage and storing this information is vital. Often times you will reference things that make no sense in the current investigation but down the road will prove invaluable. Often a group will note a clue but then when the time comes to use this clue have forgotten all about it. You must physically write down clues and check your notes each time you get new information. Note taking is essential to good investigating. Not all clues are vital but you will most likely gain necessary information for success during this stage. Note everything.

THE FIRST INTERVIEW
You’ve gathered what information from your research that seems pertinent to the task at hand and now you’re ready to interview victims, suspects, bystanders and anyone else who might have a clue. The first thing you must have ready is your story. You’re not going to tell them about Mythos material initially so you must have a good cover story. You never know who the real villain is and if you reveal yourself too quickly you and you’re friends are doomed. Always have a good reason to ask questions. During this phase you will be using your skills. See that section for important information.

HINTS
Some of those involved will give you hints to what is going on. Sometimes you might need to push the interview if this is the case but generally it is good to go back and do more research before pushing your case into dangerous territory. You can always go back and re-interview. Sometimes there is a rush but generally being patient and careful is the proper attitude at this stage.

DECISIONS
You’ve done your interviews, gathered clues and gone back and done more research. Now its time to make decisions. Who is the bad guy, who is an innocent bystander? Who needs to be re-interviews with more pressing questions? Who needs to be told about the Mythos? Most importantly you will still have questions about what to do with certain people. If you are in doubt about anyone, the best solution to discovering more is the stakeout. The option after that is the break-in. Information gathered from the stakeout and break-in will help you greatly in determining who is the enemy.

THE STAKEOUT
Possibly the most important aspect of the entire investigation. People you talk to will often be lying and the stakeout will determine some reasons for those lies. Who comes to visit, where the suspects go. Not all suspects are the villain but they might well have important information they don’t trust the investigators with. Stakeouts answer many questions and lead the group to new suspects. Stakeouts also generally bring up more questions and often result in a renewed research phase.

THE BREAK-IN
When you’re certain that someone has some vital clues and you’ve exhausted legal methods of obtaining that information its time for the break-in. This act is illegal and often holds great danger. If the person is not a cultist then police might be brought in and you could be arrested. If the person is a cultist then there might well be traps and monsters awaiting you inside the forbidden doorway. Take extreme precaution and have a story ready in case you’re caught.

CONFRONTATION
You’ve decided to tell the person about you’re involvement in the Mythos. This is a dangerous tactic often taken too early in an investigation. Players often become frustrated and try to shake up the barrel to see what falls out. This sometimes works. If you take this method with a cultist you’ve revealed your true nature and opened yourself to attack. The more the villain knows about you and your plans the less chance you have of succeeding. This will often lead to the climax of the adventure and if you’re not prepared for the decision-making solution then you are doomed. When you confront someone who is not the villain they might well be willing to aid you if they have knowledge of the Mythos. This is a double-edged tactic and must be used with extreme caution.

VIOLENCE
You know who the enemy is and now its time to destroy. Many scenarios require a violent solution and this often the proper course. Remember though that cultist will respond in kind. Know what you’re dealing with before attacking if at all possible. Have a plan of attack. Coordinate, organize, set diversions, hit hard and finish the job right the first time. Going back after a botched job is the leading cause of death among investigators. Creatures are smart and will make plans against you. Once you’ve reached this stage plan well and do it right or doom awaits.

THE FINAL SOLUTION
Your clues and hints are vital to solving most scenarios. The greater the threat the less likely you are to be able to solve it through shear violence. You will have to use items found to close gates, dispel creatures, and banish nastiness among other things. Often this final solution is only a temporary delay of the inevitable. Accept this. Many times no perfect solution exists and striving for it will only get you killed. Do what it takes to stop this particular manifestation. Remember the world is doomed eventually and so are you. Do what you can and sacrifice yourself if necessary. Be prepared. Don’t start the chain of events leading to the Final Solution unless you have a good idea of what is going on and how to stop it. If you missed vital clues and start this sequence you are doomed.

INNOCENTS
Involving those not directly associated with the Mythos leads to death for those individuals. Anyone you encounter in a Cthulhu game is living on borrowed time. The more people you involve, the more will die. Avoid this at all costs. Send people away to far off places. Hide them as necessary. Your sanity is at stake. The more people who know who you are and what you do the more people who can betray you.

THE LAW
The law is similar but different than innocents. Most of the time you don’t want to bring in the law but sometimes the case is just too big for you to handle by yourself. The research, stakeout and break-in stages are vital to making this decision. The more you know about you enemy and the greater your evidence of illegal (not immoral) activity the better chance you have of letting the law handle the problem. Often law enforcement officers brought in prematurely will die, be driven insane or worst of all join the cult. Be careful involving anyone but don’t be afraid to have someone help if the situation is bigger than you can deal with.

USING SKILLS
This is one of the most forgotten aspects of the game. The Keeper isn’t going to tell you to use your skills when appropriate. You must make this decision. Often you try to do things that skills cover without using those skills. The Keeper isn’t going to help you. Familiarize yourself with all your skills and use them early and often. A list of often overlooked skills follows.
1. Accounting: Useful skill when digging through organizational records.
2. Credit Rating: Much overlooked. Opens doors and mouths.
3. Fast Talk: All the time. Role play it but tell the Keeper you’re using it.
4. Mechanical Repair: Opens locks.
5. Psychoanalysis: Anytime you’re dealing with a loony this can be vital.
6. Psychology: During every interview to check for reaction. Tell the Keeper.

THE GAME SESSION

ROLE PLAYING
Role-playing is everything to Cthulhu. When we sit down you will be asked to become the character in question. You will not be yourself. This is often difficult but is made easier the more you understand the character and his/her motivations. You will probably develop phobias. Role-play your fears. Don’t take a character that is so alien to you that you can’t get into the role. Use your skills and profession as often as possible. If you're a doctor then make sure you're the one who goes to the asylum seeking records. If you're a lawman then you deal with local law. Don’t let others do your job for you. Whatever your characters background keep it in mind during the investigation. Cthulhu often goes beyond the bounds of the written scenario. Surprise the Keeper. Go to areas your character has knowledge about even if they don’t seem involved in the story line. The Keeper will be happy to expand to accommodate your interests. If you speak any language go to a part of town that speaks that and use your knowledge to gain information. Try not to get frustrated.

Chaosium Digest Classics: A New Past Life for NEPHILIM -- MEDITERRANEAN, 10,000 BC

2008-08-01T15:39:00.004-07:00

by Ian Young
Originally presented in The Chaosium Digest v30.08 on Sunday, March 5, 2000

MEDITERRANEAN, 10,000 BC
The Great Compromise and the Drowning of Tarshish

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Once properly embodied you were able to see what was going on. Here is a synopsis of critical events.

A "New Atlantis", founded 14,000 years earlier upon the Promethean principles of harmony between Nephilim and humans, reached its cultural height at this time. Tarshish was an isle of fertility in the middle of a great salt plain now recognized as the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. From this central kingdom, colonists set out and began to settle the lush river valleys where the vast basin met the highlands, creating still smaller kingdoms built upon the same Promethean model. Out of this companionship between Nephilim and Man rose the Great Compromise, an agreement wherein the humans allowed the Nephilim permanent possession of their bodies, permitting the Nephilim continuous progress along the Golden Path toward Agartha. In return, the Nephilim shared with them the secrets of the sky -- astrology, mathematics and the arts of civilization.

In this time, only the Priest-Kings and Priestess-Queens served as Simulacra for the Nephilim. From their positions of authority and power, they imparted the wisdom of the immortals upon the people of Tarshish, and all benefited thereby. The Compromise required that toward the end of a Simulacrum's life, the current ruling Nephilim would offer its life up in ritual sacrifice, returning to its Stasis. The next Nephilim in due succession would be wakened and allowed to manifest in the body of the next priest-king or priestess-queen chosen to house the "divine reincarnation". Within this environment of co-operation and enlightenment, human culture flourished as it has not since. However, here in Tarshish, jealousy flourished as well. This tradition effectively denied whole castes of servitors of the ruling hierarchy access to the divine power of immortality and fostered a resentment of the Nephilim and their rule. Ironically, it was the co-operative nature of the Great Compromise that allowed one of the greatest enemies of the Nephilim access to their power and the opportunity to turn it against them.

The lesser members of the priesthood, those not destined to become Simulacra, were the first to grow resentful of the Nephilim. Certain factions of Orichalka Men, soon to become known as the Black Star, were able to use this dissent as a means of infiltration into the very ranks of the Nephilim. It was often the responsibility of these lesser priests to preside over the ritual sacrifices of their Nephilim leaders. With agents in position to perform the rites, the Black Star gained access to the bodies and the blood of the Simulacra. Years of subsequent research led to the discovery of a distillation of the blood of the Simulacrum into a source of wieldable power -- the Elixir. Soon, the celebration of the passing of one Nephilim leader to the next became an occasion upon which the Black Star would destroy yet another Nephilim, adding another phial of power to their secret storehouses.

The Black Star conspiracy continued to grow spreading to the secular elements of society. Before long an underground organization of soldiers and commanders was formed under the leadership of a Black Star initiate known as Heracles. His army, hidden within the ranks of the faithful soldiers, called themselves the Men of the Lion for the symbol of their strength and their devotion to their Solar cause.

No one is quite certain how the conspiracy came to light. Eventually, the Nephilim must have noticed their inability to revive their compatriots from Stasis and confronted the corrupt priesthood. Their secret exposed, the Black Star must have attempted a popular uprising among the humans of the Mediterranean. What is known for certain is that some time around 9600 BC, a great and terrible civil war erupted among the once-peaceful Promethean kingdoms. The Men of the Lion, with Heracles at their lead wreaked great destruction across the lands, and the sorcerers of the Black Star intoned grave magics upon the legions of their former masters. However, the rebels lacked the popular support to triumph, and ultimately, their efforts slowed under the inertia of a prolonged fight. Faced with eventual defeat, the Black Star decided that their last desperate hope would be to destroy the Nephilim kingdoms entirely. The remnants of the Men of the Lion rallied in a final push toward the Great Dam at Gibraltar. Once there, the rebels fought a staying action, waiting for the Sun to reach the height of it's power. Then Heracles, with the aid of a centuries-old hoard of Elixirs and Orichalka weapons, invoked mighty spells and curses, granting him the might to smash the Great Dam.

The destruction that followed was horrifying. Millions upon millions of gallons of water cascaded through the strait, flooding the basin of the Mediterranean, scouring the very earth as it rushed inward. Tarshish was not only drowned, but uprooted from its foundations. The kingdoms of the river valleys were flooded and destroyed. There were, however, survivors who fled inland to smaller settlements, bearing what elements of Promethean society they could. In the wake of the destruction, Heracles was hunted down and as punishment was forcibly possessed by the remaining priest-king of Tarshish who had managed to escape the drowning. The Black Star was hunted and scattered throughout the land. Though shattered and diminished, Nephilim society survived, spreading outward to establish the rule of the Great Compromise in new settlements throughout the Mediterranean region. However, the last great dream of re-establishing Atlantis had vanished forever.

Secret Societies

The Black Star
The origins of the Black Star have their roots in a subversion and betrayal of the highest order. Seizing upon growing resentment within the ranks of the priesthood, the Orichalka Men found the them ripe for infiltration. Creating a network of priests, scribes, petty bureaucrats and servants throughout the temples, all loyal to their cause, these Orichalka Men established direct access to the estates, and even the bodies, of the Priest-Kings and Priestess-Queens of the Mediterranean. Utilizing their research of Nephilim Stases, they perverted the very life-blood of the Nephilim to their own purposes. Calling themselves the Black Star, they nurtured their influence within the temples of all of the Nephilim kingdoms. Their eventual discovery and subsequent persecution scattered them across the Western world. Their close association with the Nephilim, however, inflicted damage that could never be undone.

The Men of the Lion
Under the leadership of Heracles, the Men of the Lion formed the secular, militant branch of the Black Star conspiracy. Joining in a common cause with the lower orders of priests, these warriors created a conspiracy of arms, waiting for the order to fight against the Nephilim in the name of Humanity.

Your Simulacrum

You awoke for unknown reasons, and had a very short time to find a Simulacrum. Roll 1d100 on this table to find what Simulacrum you chose.

Simulacrum Selection

d100 Simulacra
01-50 Priest-King, male
51-00 Priestess-Queen, female

Priest-King
Art (choice)
Astrological Lore
Build or Farming
Business
Fast Talk
Hunt
Law
Life Experience (Tarshish/Colony)
Read/Write (Tarshish)
Religion
Sorcery, Lower Magic
Sorcery, Higher Magic
Speak (Tarshish)

Priestess-Queen
Art (choice) or Craft (choice)
Astrological Lore
Farming or Pharmacy
Fast Talk
Law
Life Experience (Tarshish/Colony)
Natural Lore
Read/Write (Tarshish)
Religion
Sorcery, Lower Magic
Sorcery, Higher Magic
Speak (Tarshish)

Simulacrum Age
* Roll 3d6 x5. This gives your Simulacrum's age before incarnation.

Simulacrum Skill Points
* Multiply age times 4. This gives your current Simulacrum skill points. You may spend these points on the skills listed with your Simulacrum's profession, up to 50 points per skill in this past life, and to a maximum of 90 points.
* Add pre-incarnation age as value of Life Experience.
* Roll (2d6+6) x5. You may spend these points on any spoken language skills.

Your New Life

You undertook a new life of embodiment. Find out how long you lived in this new body, and what you learned for that time.

Nephilim Age
* Roll another 3d6. This number x5 is the number of years you lived in the Simulacrum after incarnating.

Occult Development Points
* Multiply the number of years your Nephilim was incarnated by 2 to determine how many occult development points you have to spend on occult skills. Distribute occult development points among available techniques, spells, occult Lores or a specific Arcanum Lore, up to 50 points per technique in this past life, and to a maximum of 90 points per technique.

Available Techniques
Sorcery, Lower Magic
Sorcery, Higher Magic

What Did You Do?
You were one of the great priest-kings or priestess-queens of the Mediterranean kingdoms at the height of the Great Compromise. What secrets of civilization did you grant your subjects? Did you do battle with the Black Star and Heracles, or did you manage to escape the conflict?

Stasis Event
What events led to the death of your Simulacrum, and your re-imprisonment in your Stasis?

Stasis Event

d100 Event
01-20 Died peacefully of old age
21-50 Voluntarily killed in ceremonial sacrifice
51-66 Killed by the Black Star
66-85 Killed by the Men of the Lion
86-00 Killed in the flooding of the Mediterranean

Stasis Form
For Nephilim of the first incarnation

Stasis Form

d100 Stasis
01-16 Small stone idol
15-25 Mammoth ivory carving
26-35 Stone axe head
36-45 Obsidian blade (arrow point, knife, or axe head)
46-60 Ceremonial sacrament bowl (stone)
61-70 Jewelry of beaten metals
71-85 Ivory bead
86-92 Animal teeth
93-98 Crystal (quartz, diamond, etc.)
99-00 Natural feature of landscape (Carving of stone outcrop, cave painting, etc.)

Chaosium Digest Classics: The Thirteenth Man

2008-07-22T16:23:00.002-07:00

by Matt "Monster Fashion" Sanborn
Originally presented in The Chaosium Digest v30.06 on Sunday, February 20, 2000

Setting: This adventure is set in Maine, near Christmas 1925. It is made for players of newspaper reporters or freelance writers. When we play tested it, two reporters were sent up to Maine as a punishment for writing pro-Darwinism articles in their paper's editorial columns. They ended up getting a much bigger story than they had been planning.

Players Information: The player's editor or agent received a phone call the day before Christmas from a woman named Wanda. She informed him that world-renowned avante garde film director Max Krieg, has arrived in America and hidden himself away in Maine at a private camp to film his ultimate work, Der Dreizig Mann, (The Thirteenth Man). This would be a huge scoop on all the other papers in the country. "The great Max Krieg filming his masterpiece in America under total privacy, and we will have the exclusive!!!!" The day after Christmas, the investigators are to travel to Sebago, Maine, to see what's going on.

The scenario could be set for a private investigator who is hired by an American film company to see if the rumors of Max Krieg's film are true. Any and all information is needed about the movie, so that the studio can create a similar film, and release it before Krieg, making him look like a sham, and destroying a good deal of his box-office potential. Either way, get the people up there.

Keeper's Information: The rumor is true that Max Krieg has arrived in America and is hiding in Maine with his crew. They have set up several stages, but are only filming stock scenes to be used for filler in company films. Max is much too busy to be bothered with filming right now. The sixty one year-old Krieg is about to do some extremely nasty work for his sworn master, Nyarlathotep.

The world famous director has been a devoted follower of Nyarlathotep since the age of 21 when, as a seminary student on a mission in Nairobi, Kenya he was invited to hear a local preacher. Krieg, whose real name is Max Eissen, a devote' of St. Damien, (a man who treated and cared for lepers until falling prey to the awful disease), attended a service in the basement of a local church. His life changed forever the moment Nyarlathotep took the podium. Speaking to a jammed room of over 300 men and older boys, the unholy messenger was in the form of the Black Man. Insanity and an undying loyalty towards Nyarlathotep was forged into Eissen's brain that night.

Eissen changed his name to Max Krieg in 1916, and, with help from Nyarlathotep, became a world famous director by the end of 1918 with his film about the apocalypse Das Tot, (The Dead). His next three movies Das Phantom, (1919), Die Fraulein, (The Girl), (1920), and Mein Gott (My God), (1923). My God, was a direct attack on the Catholic and Jewish dogma, and hinted at a force more powerful than any monotheistic god. This film was not allowed into America, but was quickly embraced by German bohemian societies.

Because of his loyal devotion, Nyarlathotep has given him a task with a reward. Krieg is to find somewhere to hide. The weather must be cold and the area not exposed to a great deal of sunlight. Using the blood of two healthy adult men, he is to bring back the vampire Drexel Link from the netherworlds. Link is a creation of Nyarlathotep. This monster has been around since 1599, when he was given to some disciples as a gift in Oxford, England. See the Drexel Link section for much more information on this beast. As a reward for bringing the vampire back, Nyarlathotep has instructed Link to stay for 14 days with Krieg. Link has a great deal of knowledge about the "true" history of the world and universe(s), (i.e. - Cthulhu Mythos). He is to teach Krieg some of this history during his two week stay. As you will see in the Link section, the vampire follows his master's directions about as well as Nyarlathotep responds orders from his overlords.

I have given a lot of background for the Keeper. You can easily not include almost all of it, and still have a really scary game. I wanted to give as much information as possible, as the deeper a Keeper's knowledge of the adventure and the more prepared you are, the greater chance of a very memorable game. During game play, players will go in directions you didn't anticipate and you may need to play off the cuff, throwing some of your scripted events out the proverbial window. A strong familiarity with the history of the characters here virtually assures you of not looking like a fool if things don't go as you plan.

Time-Line: Keeper's should make themselves very familiar with the timeline in order to run a smooth game.

December 14, 1925, Monday: Members of Krieg's crew and staff arrive at the Black Bear Woods Private Camp Grounds and begin setting up sets and preparing for the rest of the people. A lot of drinking, drug use and sex take place during the following week.

December 21, 1925, Monday: Max Krieg and Producer Udo Werner arrive at the campground with 12 other people. Included in the arriving party are actors Cosmo Stille and Ut Braun. These two men are drugged during dinner and lead to Krieg's building. They are then knocked unconscious and their throats slit. The blood is used in a ceremony to bring Drexel Link, the vampire, back into this world.

December 22, 1925, Tuesday: Winter Solstice, and at 12:01 am Drexel Link is brought back to undeath. Nyarlathotep is present for this occasion, but is also at 998 more places throughout the universes.

December 23, 1925, Wednesday: Twenty two year-old director's assistant Katy Manning goes missing. She is one of 6 Americans at the camp who are working for Krieg's company in the states. Manning is abducted by Krieg and Werner, dragged back to Krieg's building, and thrown at the feet of a very thirsty vampire. Link does not kill her, but does feed from her. She now becomes his undead slave, taking up residence in his lair. Krieg has two set builders create a few coffins for "a few scenes we'll be filming in about a week."

December 24, 1925, Thursday: Thirteen of the workers leave the camp and head elsewhere for the holidays. Krieg specifically encourages all the men to leave. They are paid and told to return in three weeks. Left at the camp are Krieg, Werner, actress Wanda Lipinski, (a.k.a. Bess Beauty), assistant Jo Jo Johnstone, five hands from Germany, an older married German couple who do the cleaning and cooking for the crew and their granddaughter.

December 25, 1925, Friday: Drexel Link, (in wolf form), attacks Wanda Lipinski in the woods as she returns from the outhouse. Her screams are heard throughout the woods. Fear or drug induced stupors in the other residents lead to no one helping the girl. Krieg and Werner attempt to film the event.

December 26, 1925, Saturday: Investigators arrive around 3:30 p.m. - 31 minutes before sun down. They are let in by Jo Jo Johnstone who immediately brings them into her cabin and bursts into tears. She composes herself and tells investigators that something is very wrong here. All the cars have been tampered with and no one else can leave. She couldn't get a seat in a car the day before Christmas and got stuck here. She believes something terrible has happened to Katy Manning and Wanda Lipinski. She knows neither had anywhere to go for the holidays.

Ms. Johnstone believes there is a werewolf terrorizing this area. Recently wolves have howled at night, and sometimes they seem to be right at her door, ready to taste her blood. She is scared and also concerned for the other girls. Ms. Johnstone is articulate and believable. It is the Keeper's job to sell her story to the reporters.

Players then take residence in their own cabin. Ms. Johnstone will refuse to have men stay with her. A woman may stay with her, and even sleep in the same bed with her. However, sometime during the night, she will be called into the woods for a meeting with Drexel Link and the two man film crew. The wolves howl like mad all night.

Twist Number One: Here's the first twist in this adventure. Players should be under the assumption that there is a werewolf on the prowl. Because there is no full-moon, this creature must be quite powerful. Perhaps darkness triggers it off. If there are any NPCs with the investigators, introduce some of these theories through them. This will get the characters going down the wrong path in preparations for destroying the beast, which is probably going to be their only hope.

December 27, 1925, Sunday: Jo Jo Johnstone is gone from her cabin without a trace. Investigators will also find their car is no longer working. Someone has destroyed the steering wheel and severed the gas line....

And Now.... As investigators find they cannot leave and no one will tell them anything, more than likely they will start snooping around, trying to find out what's what. You can control the game and build some tension. Always make the game seem survivable, and allow intelligent game play to be rewarded by a near miss, or a low Sanity loss every once in a while. If characters drop like rain, who's going to find the game enjoyable? (However, never, ever have pity on the stupid).

Setting: White Sands Pond Escape is located in Sebago, Maine, and is a private campground for people such as celebrities, gangsters, high rolling bootleggers, and the like. The property is owned by a Rhode Island gangster. It is about one and a half miles into Black Bear Forest, which is filled with brown bears. The campground is surrounded by 10 foot tall chain link fence. The front gate cannot be locked, but is secured by a sliding metal bolt, which is operated manually from inside the fence. Being the off season, the place is abandoned giving Krieg and his crew the run of the place. Police never venture into here because of the animals, and no one else knows about the place. It's a perfectly secure, and perfectly secluded, area.

THE CAST
Max Krieg, Director, heroin addict
Str 6
Con 6
Siz 7
Int 13
Pow 15
Dex 12
San 0
Hps 7
Mps 15
Direct Film: 94, Acting: 88, Edit Film: 88, Lighting: 92, Occult: 67, Cthulhu: 35,
Handgun: 66, Drive Auto: 57, Psychoanalysis: 74, Psychology: 44, German: 91, English:
12, Spot Hidden: 20, Persuade: 94

A former seminary student, this 61 year old heroin addict, has been a devout follower of Nyarlathotep for decades. He was given his ability to direct, as well as the "lucky break." His films are avante garde silent films, which, when viewed by someone with a Cthulhu Mythos score of 20 or more will recognize these movies as thinly disguised homages to Nyarlathotep.

Krieg stands 5'2" and appears emaciated. His two decades of alcohol and heroin abuse have made him appear 20 years older. Krieg will inject himself at least three times a day, and is physically and mentally incapacitated for about an hour after he takes an injection. After that he may expose himself to extremely cold weather without proper clothing, which could lead to hypothermia or pneumonia.

Krieg is almost inseparable from his lover Udo Werner. He will not talk to investigators and is usually too whacked out on drugs to notice that they shouldn't be on the campground. The director spends most of the day having sex, sleeping, and shooting up. At night he is around Drexel Link as much as possible. He also spends a great deal of time early in the morning watching a graphically violent film, which is detailed in The Unseeable Snuff section.

Udo Werner, Film Producer, heroin addict
Str 9
Con 13
Siz 17
Int 13
Pow 15
Dex 8
San 0
Hps 15
Mps 15
Credit Rating: 89, Fast Talk: 91, Bargain: 96, Handgun: 42 (due to addiction), Spot
Hidden: 32, Persuade: 91

This 61 year-old self made millionaire has been a devout follower of Nyarlathotep for 40 years now. He was a high ranking member of the House of the Pale Man, a coven of powerful Europeans who gain knowledge and power from the Beast. The House of the Pale Man gathers every year at a pre-determined location in Europe to call forward Nyarlathotep in the form of the Pale Man. The Pale Man gave Werner the knowledge of upcoming inventions, such as a mass production of automobiles and new communication products, allowing him to make key investments.

He met Werner 4 years ago at an exclusive homosexual party in Berlin. Six months later Krieg had him hooked on heroin and from there on, he was trapped. He has been the producer of all Krieg's films, and the two men pray homage to the messenger every night after watching "the film," (again see The Unseeable Snuff section). He has military experience, and is very skilled with his 9mm Luger he keeps on him at all times. His drug addiction has made him quite less-than-aware of his surrounding and a poor shot.

Both Werner and Krieg's rancid, drug infected blood is of no use to Link. It is the equivalent of drinking from a corpse, which can kill a vampire.

Rolf, Ernst, Erik, Wolf, und Fritz, Film workers: cameraman, carpenters, etc.
Str 14
Con 14
Siz 14
Int 9
Pow 9
Dex 14
San 75
Hps 14
Mps 9
Make Sets: 95, Camera: 77 (one character), Lighting: 97 (one character), Spot
Hidden: 45, Punch: 60, Handgun: 50, German: 77, English: 20

These men have worked on all of Krieg's films, and are terrified about what is going on. They all share an overwhelming sense of dread. They will not speak to Americans, and spend most of their nights drunk, hiding in their cabins. These men, within two nights of the investigators arrival, will all move into one hut of the Keeper's choice.

Oscar "Opa" Rauchen, cook and cleaning man, former jockey
Str 7
Con 9
Siz 6
Int 12
Pow 6
Dex 8
San 73
Hps 8
Mps 6
Cook: 86, Ride Horse: 78, German: 88, English: 5, Spot Hidden: 13

Opa Rauchen, 71, a former horse jockey in Germany, has worked for Krieg for years now. He is a superstitious and devout Catholic. Very frail of build, with a slight hunch. Opa will not want anything to do with investigators, and speaks almost no English. If cornered, he will be too scared to say anything, continuously making the sign of the cross.

Elsie "Oma" Rauchen, Cook and Maid
Str 5
Con 12
Siz 16
Int 10
Pow 8
Dex 4
San 83
Hps 14
Mps 8
Cook: 85, German: 88, English: 6, Bake: 94, Knit: 81, Spot Hidden: 11

A heavy set frau who is an excellent cook. She dominates the relationship with her husband. She is a devout Catholic and very protective towards her granddaughter. In an emergency situation, she would attempt to give her own life to save Anna.

Anna Rauchen, the Rauchen's grand daughter
Str 6
Con 17
Siz 12
Int 11
Pow 17
Dex 13
App 17
San 79
Hps 15
Mps 17
Ride: 58, Swim: 62, Sing: 72, Quote Passage: 55, Hide: 71, German: 81, English:61

Anna is the 15 year old granddaughter of The Rauchens, the youngest daughter of their thirteenth child. She is stunningly beautiful, with a robust and attractive figure. She can easily be mistaken for a 21 - 22 year old woman. She is charming, with a beautiful allure about herself. She is the translator for her grandparents.

If investigators approach her, they will find she has been warned not to speak to them. If cornered, she will feign the inability to speak English. If pressed in her native tongue, she will begin to cry and bless herself. Although very sexual in her innocent way, she is as devout of a Catholic as her grandparents, wishing to spend an entire life in service to the Lord. Any sexual advances by investigators receive screams and the wrath of the cleaver waving Oma.

Link has his eye on her....

BLACK BEAR CAMPGROUND
Located in Sebago, Maine, this campground could be easily transferred to anywhere else. I was running a New England campaign, and placed the grounds in Maine. Washington State would be perfect. Wherever you place it, it should be a cold, snowy place on a pond or lake. Players may be able to send Link into the icy waters and slay him.

There are many brown bears in the area, and they will attack humans upon occasion. This area is well known for bear attacks. Because of this, Rhode Island gangster George Zingari bought and had the camp ground built to rent to run away gangsters, bootleggers, or people wanting to party in private. He has leased it to Krieg's company Neue Weld Filmen, (New World Films), from Dec. 1, 1925 until March 1, 1926. The ten foot fence is adequate enough protection from the bears. If the campground is especially noisy, the animals will probably stay away, looking for food and sleep elsewhere. The campground is located 1 1/2 miles into the woods, reachable only by dirt road.

White Sand Pond is a very large pond, somewhat circular and almost a mile in circumference. There is a public beach directly on the other end, but is abandoned in the off-season. The water freezes in the winter and characters with Size of 9 or less can travel to the other side without falling through. There is a 10% chance of going through the icy for every Size point over 9, (i.e. - size of 14 has a 50% chance of falling through). To cross the pond, it will take three successful consecutive rolls. Making a Luck roll will allow a not overly encumbered character to get to the surface for one chance to be grabbed or take hold of the side of the hole with another successful Luck roll.

The Cabins

The Rauchen's Cabin - The couple keep two wooden and one silver cross and three sets of rosary beads in the cabin. They place a cross on Anna's door as well. Oma prays the rosary every night.

The three return from cooking the evening's meal about 6 p.m. every night, as dinner is laid out promptly at five. Anna's grandparents are more than aware of what the men's gazes and whispers are all about. They keep her with them constantly, and this does not really bother the young woman. If investigators are rude or inappropriate in the slightest with Anna, the couple will not speak to investigators except under the most dire circumstances.

The have no weapons, but will carry a kitchen knife, mallet or cleaver if they feel a situation could be unsafe. They always wear wooden crosses on rope around their necks. Mrs. Rauchen is the fighter in the group.

Dining Hall

First Floor: Generic dining area, with one clean dining room and a fully working kitchen. There are three tray slots, which are one foot wide and eighteen inches long. There are sharp knives in the kitchen as well as hot and cold running water. There is no ice-box. The generator is shut off every night at 6 p.m.. Presently, it has enough fuel at its current pace to last until January 21, 1926. The Rauchens
lock up at 6 p.m. sharp, and have been instructed to never enter the cellar.

Cellar: This place has gone from a food and wine cellar to the dread lair of the vampire Drexel Link. This place is almost at freezing temperature and there is absolutely no light.

A.) This room has a large set screen painted completely black covering the doorway to room B. If a flashlight is shone upon it, a Spot Hidden roll is needed to determine it is something other than a wall. Closer inspection will show the true object.

B.) Werner has allowed his two pure-bred German Shepards to be used as a line of first defense at those treading too closely to Link. Empty boxes conceal the doorways, and a spot hidden roll -20% is needed to see the upper edges of a door jamb. Taking enough boxes down will obviously reveal the doorways.

The dogs will attack anyone but Link, the two vampyres, Werner or Krieg. They are very sensitive to light since they have been kept in the dark cellar with little but three large candles, which are on the walls, as illumination. They have been kept this way for almost a week now. They are nasty, but will run for the outside at first chance. Each dog has St: 9 Hps: 11 Siz: 12 Dmg.: Bite 40% 1d4 +1.

C.) The inner sanctum of Drexel Link. Herein lies the corpses of actors Cosmo Stille and Ut Von Braun. Both were used in the ceremony to bring Link back to this world. They are in fairly heavy stages of decomposition, and smell terribly. They are both drained of almost all blood. Though the symbol on the floor, drawn out of chicken's blood, looks ominous, there is no danger in someone stepping into it. Just don't let the players know that....

Link's coffin rests on the cellar wall lip which is 2 1/2 feet above the floor. The casket is a tight fit against the wall. The lid opens towards the wall. Because there is no sunlight, Link can be awake during the daytime here if the circumstance should arise. He fights at 3/4 power during the day time while in the cellar.

Drexel Link
This despicable creation of Nyarlathotep is not a vampire in the traditional sense. He was created by Nyarlathotep, not created from a human. Even if destroyed, Nyarlathotep may bring him back to this earth again and again. It is in this way, that Link is like his master and those who Nyarlathotep serves, in that the world can never be rid of them. Nyarlathotep will pay attention if Link becomes a destructive force, and will then aid him again. Nyarlathotep, the ever neglectful parent, makes Link create a foothold before putting him in connection with his money again.

Link is stockier than a prototypical vampire, and very pale. He appears to be an intense, angry looking man, definitely a European, around age 30 - 35. This is a facade to what he really looks like. Nyarlathotep has placed certain spells on him to help in his survival on earth, and one is his camouflaged face. Only those characters with Power scores greater than Link can possibly see his real face. When these players meet the vampire for the first time, the Keeper should secretly roll for success. For every one Power point the investigator has above Link, he or she has a ten percent chance to see his real face: a very pock marked skin pressed against a visible, blue glowing skull with rows of sharp teeth like that of a shark. To really terrify someone, Link can rip this imaginary flesh off his skull and show his real face. Seeing his real face through the spell costs 2 - 2d8 Sanity loss. When Link exposes his face in the violent fashion, it costs 3 - 3d6 Sanity Loss.

Link converses fluently in any language he chooses, right down to area specific accents. He is almost unapproachable, and shuns all contact from anyone he does not know well. Although told by his master to teach arcane lore to Krieg and Werner, Link has done little more than sleep and eat. He enjoys turning into a wolf, which he can do twice a day for up to three hours at a time, with a half hour rest in between. If shot or clubbed while in wolf form, Link will take no damage, but immediately turn back to his vampire form, with his true face exposed. He can turn into a bat five times a day, and a rat six. Link cannot make more than three shapeshifts in a 24 hour period. Link will prefer to shapeshift and flee rather than fight if he feels he may not win. He can summon 2d3 wolves, which will arrive within d20 minutes. Somehow, these wolves seem able to get through the gate.

Link also has an intense hypnotic stare. If he can corner a character alone he may try to hypnotize them. Roll Power versus Power on the Resistance Table. Characters may be hypnotized and given only the following commands: sleep (for 1d10 minutes), forget (the past 1d6 hours), walk away (for 2d10 minutes in the furthest direction), and silence (character is mute for 1d8 minutes). Should Link fail, he can never hypnotize that person. The victim also becomes aware that Link is trying to pull them under some sort of hypnotism or trance. It takes 1d20 minutes minus one minute for every one point of Power Link has over his victim to complete the process. The vampire must not be disturbed during his attempt, and may only try it on one person at a time. There is no limit to the number of times he can do this per night. Link will not make any male investigators slaves. He probably will not half drain a female
investigator, therefore making her a vampyre. He will probably just drink her dry. Link's a thirsty one.... The only reason he has not drank from Werner and Krieg is that their blood is rancid with heroin. He will kill them if he has to through.

Link's history does not need to play into your game if you do not wish. Knowing more about this beast will allow you to have a more fulfilling, exciting gaming experience. As always, it is the Keeper's job to bring the character to life. Link's stare should scare even those who can't see his real face. He is an intense, hermetic individual. Women fear him. Pale blue eyes and paler skin, he is handsome, but too disturbing to approach. His presence is always felt by those near him. Not a lot of acting is needed by the Keeper, just a really good stare.

Drexel Link, vampire
Str 18
Con 18
Siz 14
Int 18
Pow 17
Dex 18
San 0
Hps 25
Mps 18
Damage Bonus: +1 d.6
Special Abilities
Polymorph: Link can change into a wolf at the cost of 6 MPs, a bat for 4 MPs, and to a rat for 2 MPs. He cannot polymorph more than 3 times in 24 hours.

Hypnotism: See above, costs 4 MPs per attempt. If the attempt is successful the cost drops to 1 MP.

Crawl: Link can scale any surface at the speed of 30' a round. He may travel up, down and sideways. He appears to crawl like a spider. Keepers may also want Link to become a spider when crawling, therefore confusing the players even more to what they are really up against.

Regeneration: Link recovers all damage once returning to his coffin and resting for at least 7 hours.

Rage: When attacked, but not when attacking, Link's Strength and Dexterity scores double.

Scale: The beast can climb any semi-flat or flat surface as if they were a spider. Anyone having read Dracula, will remember the vampire scaling the walls of his castle. He may also move from side to side.

Weaknesses
The sign of the crucifix makes Link visibly uncomfortable and touching a cross to his flesh does 1d3 hps of damage.

Exposure to Sunlight will instantly destroy Link, much like one of his master's facades, the Haunter of the Dark.

Stake through the heart always does the trick. A player trying to strike an awake and fighting vampire or vampyre must make a hit and a successful impale, to hit the heart. An asleep or restrained, (who will be under Rage rule - see below), a vampire, is impaled on a successful hit.

Submerging the vampire in icy waters will also get the job done. He must be fully submerged for 1d20 rounds to perish. The creature goes to one hit point as soon as he or she is dunked under the water.

Burning the vampire or vampyres will destroy them. They are quite flammable and will light up 40% of the time when struck with a torch. Workout burning damage as per COC rules book page 52, (Fifth Edition Rules). Acids will achieve the same results against these monsters as per the rules.

Drexel Link's Timeline
Dec. 22, 1599: Created in Oxford England at a winter solstice celebration of the Meeting of the Pale Man. The event takes place in the basement of a church, with Nyarlathotep calling forth his hideous creation. From out of the aether stepped Link, his skull face glowing an intense blue. The worshippers presented Link with a 17 year old virgin, which he feasted on in front of the men. Those who did not flee in horror spoke and celebrated with Link until early the next morning. Little is known what happened to Link after a few nights of terror in Oxford. Link murdered three women and two children over a period of 14 days, then abruptly stopped. He is unheard of until he is seen with the Black Man in a Salem, Massachusetts corn field in 1630.

Link takes residence outside of Salem Village and begins to develop a stronghold. He helps witches and warlocks discover eldritch lore and knowledge, given to him by "greater powers." By winter of 1632, he has killed as many as 35 women, created 4 vampyres, and slain scores of men and boys. His power is feared throughout the countryside and lamb's blood crosses are on every cottage
door.

The night of the summer solstice, 1633, Witch Master Eric Miller travels down from Haverhill, Massachusetts, and with the help of 25 cross wielding men, drives Link out of his abode and into a field of hay. Another team of men lay in wait, then attacked the vampire with torches and oil. Link immolates easily, but does not perish before killing four men in the party, and wounding three others. Witch Master
Eric Miller suffered a bite on the neck, and dies three days later of what we know now as rabies; though the cause of death was thought to be much more insidious at the time.

December 22, 1866: Link is resurrected in a cavern located somewhere in the Colorado Rocky Mountain range. He is brought back by Nyarlathotep and six former Rebel Soldiers who bargained for their lives with the messenger during the last great battle in the American Civil War, Gettysburg. (Nyarlathotep enjoyed the war tremendously, and relished in the amounts of death, deformities and lives ruined).
Captured and feeling they were about to be executed, these soldiers cried out to anyone who would listen, and a black Northern soldier came to their aid. He said they would owe him. Through dreams he called them here and in dreams they met to release this wickedness into the world. Nyarlathotep then sent these men through the dream into the real world with Link.

Christmas Eve, 1865, the group attacks a local supply base, slaying everyone there. Two in the attacking party are seriously injured and three killed. Link drinks the
survivors dry. Over the next ten years Link destroys all parties traveling through there, (much like he is about to run through the base camp in Maine). Many fear the place and by 1870 only the most desperate, snowbound parties end up there. In June 1872, the army raids the base and forces Link into sunlight. Five men who were Link's slaves, now free from his trance, are tried and hanged December 22, 1872.

D.) Herein lies the drained corpse of Jo Jo Johnstone. Her stretched flesh hangs over her skeleton. She is a ghastly sight, with a 1/1d6 Sanity loss. Closer inspection of the body is needed to determine her identity. The vampyres are quite full from all the blood and are presently at fullest power.

E.) The coffins of vampyres Wanda Lipinski and Katy Manning are here. All slaying rules which are listed in the Drexel Link section apply to these two women. Both can appear as normal, frightened humans. They will use this camouflage to lure investigators into a false sense of confidence. They can keep this appearance for 12 hours straight, after this the color fades from their skin and an odor of death takes hold. A successful Sanity roll is needed to not lose 1d6 Sanity points for seeing them in their real form. You may want to make undisclosed Spot Hidden roles for investigators, who, if successful, see the real being. This also requires a Sanity roll. Players having already seen Drexel Link must still make a Sanity check for seeing these two women. They have hypnotism powers, but cannot polymorph. They never leave the cellar.

Ground Floor: Keepers can place large knives, hatchets, etc. here to aid hard working players.

Cabin One
First Floor: A common recreation area with an unstocked bar. Oft-times used for gangster parties or mob tortures. This place is off limits to everyone except Link, Werner and Kreig. Nothing of value to players is here.

Second Floor:
A.) This is the personal lodging area of Werner and Krieg. On the night-stand are several syringes, small vials - some empty, some with a bit of heroin in it, butane lighter, two spoons, several strong elastic bands. Inside the locked drawer, (resistance 6), is close to two ounces of very good, uncooked rock heroin.

Under the bed is a loaded 12 gauge shotgun belonging to Werner. He is a paranoid, and will clutch the weapon during sleep. Some clothing and personal artifacts cover the room.

B.) The door to this room is locked, (Str:11). Once inside, investigators must make a Sanity check or suffer 1d3 loss. Hanging on the walls are dead chickens. Blood is dried all over the floor, originating from the fowl's slit throats. Drawn on the floor in what appears to be excrement, is an unholy symbol. A notebook (see later), lays on the floor, also covered with blood though readable. The two men have been trying to contact a more foul from of Nyarlathotep, with the help of Link. Most of this is necessary for contact, but some of the overkill is just for Link's own amusement.

The notebook is written German and full of no more than scrawlings about topics the men have been discussing with Link. Reading time is base 8 hours, due to the almost incoherent nature of the writing and the practically unreadable script. Glancing over it does nothing, but a full read which is comprehended, gives the player 1d4 to
Cthulhu Mythos, and cost 1d6 Sanity if the ghastly concepts are understood. The book mentions Hastur and Azathoth by name. The main bulk of the text is about a filthy form of Nyarlathotep yet unseen by humans.

C.) Three chairs are set up facing a movie screen. The projector is fed and ready to go. The floor is heavily stained.

The Unseeable Snuff
This film was recently shot by Werner and Krieg and stars the vulgar Drexel Link. Because Link cannot be projected on film, it appears there is an invisible assailant in each scene. Investigators will realize quickly this is real.

Scene One: Three wolves enter on stage, (one located on the beach - Keeper's choice). The film is lit poorly and an ax appears to hang above them without support. One by one the wolves are chopped apart by an unseen assailant. Sanity
Loss: 0 - 1d4

Scene Two: A woman, (Katy Manning) is in a cellar, (Link's lair), and is being whipped with a belt by an invisible being. She is naked and crying. The film is silent, but the investigators hear her screams in their heads. Welts rise on her body until she goes unconscious. Sanity Loss: 1 - 1d6

Scene Three: Jo Jo Johnstone is in a cellar, (again the lair), and is being torn apart at all sides. The scene lasts almost six minutes and is lit fairly well. Sanity
Loss: 1d3 - 1d10

The film ends.

There is a 40% chance of Werner and Krieg being here at any time during the late night or early morning. There is also a ten percent chance Link is with them, though he is quite uninterested in the film. Should the two men fall asleep, he will leave them and go for the night's prowl.

The Night's Prowl
Early every morning Link is on the prowl in a wolf form. He is always accompanied with 2 - 5 (1d4+1) wolves. They have traveled a great distance to arrive here. He can also summon more of the animals. The wolves will fight to the death to protect their master. After killing Anna Rauchen, he will begin to feast on the crew and investigators, summoning them out at night one after another, about three days apart.

To summon Link sends a message through a dream via spell. The verbal part of this spell calls for Link to howl in a certain rhythm while in wolf form. It is then a Power versus Power roll, with Link as the Active Score. Should an investigator lose the roll, he will be summoned, and leave the room without making a sound. Link will then lead the man back to his lair where he will feed. What he does not use, which is very little, he gives to the vampyres. Of course, large investigators can be made slaves or beautiful women made vampyres via a bite. These characters become NPCs and are turned over to the Keeper.

And Now....
The players are now left with little choice. Try to run, which a sudden snow storm can stop; slay the vampire; duck and cover until Link leaves with the vampyres on January fifth, then wait another week for the crew to return. This gives a Keeper a lot of options on how to takes this game. I allowed the players to dictate where we were going and it was quite a memorable. Link was able to fend off the party when they attacked his lair. However, they were able to drive him out near the bulkhead and expose him to sunlight, at the game's climax.

Victory?
If players slay Link, award them 1d8 points of Sanity and one to two points on their Sanity score. Killing a vampire brings one great confidence, and should also benefit the skills of Occult (1d6), Cthulhu Mythos (one point), and any used in slaying the beast by at least 1d4.

Surviving the ordeal, i.e. - making it until Link goes away. Link has big plans and will only stay the 14 days. He will not directly disobey Nyarlathotep, and will stay the entire duration unless he is overwhelmingly threatened with destruction. No Sanity should be given, as the players will know all too well that Link is out there, anywhere, ready to kill and violate as he wishes. Penalize players for cowardly (I do not mean smart), play. Letting Link survive should cost at least 1d10 Sanity points and perhaps a phobia or two. Rhabadophobia, fear of being bitten; Henophobia, fear of blood; Nyctophobia, fear of darkness; Cynophobia, fear of dogs (wolves); hydrophobophobia, fear of rabies; Odontophobia, fear of teeth; are all quite applicable to any character losing Sanity from dealing with Link.

Nyarlathotep
I did not include the unholy messenger in this adventure, nor do I think he belongs here. He is a constant threat which is always one step behind and one step in front of us. Most of the world's evil springs one way or another from him. This, of course, does not mean you cannot add him, or begin a Nyarlathotep based campaign starting here.

I hope you enjoy playing this adventure.

Chaosium Digest Classics: The Adventure of the Red Rose

2008-07-18T17:08:00.002-07:00

by Jorge Palinhos
originally presented in The Chaosium Digest v30.05 on Wednesday, February 9, 2000

This is a very short solo adventure. Well, I personally prefer considering it as something between an adventure and a tale. Therefore I provide a short explanation for it. It was designed for a single knight with a Passion for a lady. It can be run once instead of the Romance solo, if you have the time to run it. You may consider it a mix of a Lost in the Woods and a Romance solo.

THE ADVENTURE
Once, while one of the knights is wandering near or in the woods, he will hear a woman singing. If he goes looking for her, he will come across a small hut in a clearance. The hut is made of shining wood, fresh thatch and with a curtain in the place of the door. If the knight calls, a beautiful young woman, about 17/18 years of age with golden hair, green eyes and voluptuous shape will emerge. The player must make a Chaste check. If he fails the knight will desire her madly.

The young woman smiles and says she knows what he wants. She will toss a red silk scarf to the knight. Here make a Lustful check and if it succeeds the character reaches for the silk. If the knight tries to catch the silk scarf, it will escape between his fingers and fly away although there his no wind. In either case, the lady will beg the knight to catch the scarf. The knight may run after it (DEX minus armor, if any, to run after it). If he doesn't he will see the lady and the hut fade in front of his eyes and the adventure will end. If he succeeds he will find an old, dirty rag.

Either way, while he stops feeling lost in the middle of the forest he will hear quiet steps and a red she-wolf with 3 pups will approach him, call him husband and beg him to go save their home. The she-wolf will be impervious to all logic: that they can't possibly be married since he is a man and she is a wolf but instead will put her head between her paws and emit sounds like she was crying and ask the knight if he will save their home or just do like every other knight does and kill her, cut off her head and take her fur. If the knight kills her he will lose 1d6 of his Passion Love (his Lady). If he just goes away, he will lose 1 point of the Passion. If the knight follows the wolf he will find a cave guarded by a small giant. The knight must fight the giant alone. If he wins, the giant's blood will start running into the cave but the she-wolf will be oblivious to this and will push the knight inside and start licking his wounds. Unless a successful Energetic check his made the knight will fall asleep.

In either case, the knight will find himself wandering through the forest with no memories of having awakened or of how he got there. He will hear someone shouting his name. If he heads for the origin of the sound he will see a hut very similar to the previous one but old and dirty with falling thatch, half-rotten wood and a ragged curtain full of holes. At the entrance a very old and ugly woman is sitting calling his name. She is nearly blind. She will recriminate him for leaving her alone and for not caring for her anymore. Nearly crying she will ask him if he still loves her and demand a kiss as proof. If the knight just goes away or kills her he will get a check in Cruel. If he kisses her out of pity he will get a point for the Passion and a check in Merciful and Generous. If the knight kisses her he will realize he is actually kissing a red rose blossoming on the ground. If he tries to pick it up, and if the player doesn't say specifically that he is careful about the thorns, he will prick himself on the thorns and a single drop of blood will flow and run down the rose leaving a trail before falling to the ground. The knight will notice that underneath the rose is written his name and the name of the lady he loves, gaining 2 points of Passion and checks in Lustful and Generous.

THE MEANING
Usually I don't like explaining the meaning of the things I write. I believe that everyone has the right to place his or her own meaning in it. But in this case I will make an exception since this little tale/adventure will be (hopefully) told by other people who probably will find their work easier if they know what were my intentions behind it and may even improve and enrich it considerably.

Someone told me this one was pretty much like a popular fairy tale. I took that as a compliment. The adventure symbolizes the three stages of marriage. In the beginning, the knight falls in love with the lady when she is in the prime of her beauty. Her beauty is symbolized by the red silk scarf that will always fly away. Just like beauty fades with time. The knight may pursue it trying to fool himself into having caught it. But it will always be irrevocably lost.

The she-wolf represents the married woman in her middle age, having to care for her children and home while the knight is away adventuring. The knight must decide what comes first, his own safety or protecting his home and family. The giant, being similar to humans but living savagely, represents the dangers that may attack the knight's home: which may come from humans and/or Nature. The giant's blood running into the cave means that every danger no matter how successfully defeated always leaves its mark in the home of the knight. The wolf licking his wounds symbolizes that family and home are the places of safety and trust, where the knight comes to heal and rest in peace.

The knight who finds himself wandering lost and without remembrance of what has happened since, represents the old age of the knight, trying to discover where all the time of his life was spent.

The old woman outside the decaying hut symbolizes his wife and his home, which suffered the ravages of time. If the knight kisses the old woman, he shows he still loves her and that their love has stood the tests of time, sense of loss and danger. It therefore turns into a red rose.

The rose represents their mutual love and the drop of blood represents the mark they have left on it. The blood also symbolizes that their material selves will die and go to the earth. But the rose (love), which is like every other rose (love) except it is theirs and bears their mark, will live forever.

Chaosium Digest Classics: Sweet Child of Mine

2008-07-11T13:35:00.002-07:00

by Jorge Palinhos
originally presented in Chaosium Digest v29.5, Wednesday, December 15, 1999

Author's Note: This is an adventure I ran in my current Coc Campaign. I only have 2 players who have characters who are married with each other. I decided that with such a small number of players I needed a more intimate, personal horror campaign and not the normal investigative affair. This is reflected in this adventure.

Setting

This is a short, intimate adventure of personal horror appropriate for a small group off investigators. It is set in a small, conservative village near a medium-sized town.

Joanna Lloyd was always a sad, lonely child, craving the affection she didn't have. Born the middle child of a large locally reknowned and powerful family of conservative values, she never found the love she desired among her brothers and sisters. When she grow up, she looked for love outside the household. She found Frank Webster, a former navy officer who had been discharged for dereliction of duty and insubordination. He sensed in her easy prey and seduced her. They married and Frank set himself up for a comfortable married life amidst a well-off family and started to ignore Joanna's demands for attention. Joanna was alone and unhappy again, until she became pregnant. She started idealizing de not-yet born child, thinking about the love that she would give him or her, and how such love would finally receive the way she wanted. This idea became deeply rooted within her mind and she prepared joyfully for the birth day. It was a miscarriage. With her heart broken Joanna tried again, became pregnant again and miscarried, again. She would have tried again but Frank was growing tired of her constant demands and started distancing himself form her and rejecting her requests.

Then something snapped inside Joanna's mind. She knew she had to have child, whoever the father was. She began to seduce each and every man she met, seriously embarrassing her family who were now aware that she wasn't well. They refused to give her proper psychiatric help, fearing the social consequences. They simply tried to restrain her and ignore the problem.

This continued until one bright early morning, when the family whs having breakfast. Joanna declared with shining eyes that she was pregnant again!

Starting the Adventure

The adventure should start when the Lloyds ask an investigator who is a close relative of the family to come by and provide some help. The other investigators should either be relatives of the family or friends.

The House

The Lloyds live in a farm near Saint Charles, a small inland town. They are a wealthy, respected and well-known family. This is a conservative, old-fashioned area where illegitimate sons and adultery are still frowned upon.

The House where they live is a large manor where cattle are raised. The manor is currently nearly empty since the Lloyds have discharged almost all employees and servants to avoid the danger of gossip. Old Dee is the sole servant still working in the house.

The Family
This is an adventure based in role-playing therefore it is important to develop the main characters of the action. Here are presented the main core of the family.

George Lloyd (age 70)

George is the father of the family. He is a sturdy, strong man for his age. He is mostly a peaceful character whose favorite hobby is to ride alone in the prairies and woods of St. Charles. However, if crossed or insulted he is capable of terrifying fits of rage. He is a simple, independent, country man who prefers to solve his problems with his own hands. Having to suffer passively through this situation unnerves him deeply. He has long become weary of the constant nagging of his wife, Mary Jane, and hardly talks anymore with anyone. He only becomes a little more talkative in intimate situations with one or two people he likes or trusts, and about subjects he likes, such as horses or hunting.

Mary Jane Lloyd (age 65)

She is the wife of George and Mother of Joanna. A small but energetic, nagging, shrew of a woman, she is pretty much the boss around the house since George only cares about his horses and cattle. She has long been aware of Joanna's problems but was unable to help or decide her internment. Although she is unable of showing deep compassion or sentiment, she doesn't lack sensitivity. This problem has affected her more than she wants to admit and has awakened superstitions that have long lain asleep in her subconscious. Lately she has been having a recurring nightmare about the unborn child. It's nothing supernatural, just her inner fears breaking loose.

Joanna Lloyd (age 34)

Joanna is currently the happiest member of the family, in a detached, childish way. Any investigator with a good skill in Psychology can tell that she has already gone across the threshold of sanity. All she cares to talk about is the coming baby, his/her name, clothes, room, etc. When questioned about who the father of the child is, she will giggle, talk mysteriously and just drop some hints about where she met him, how he isn't completely normal, how he lives apart with other people like him, etc. If pushed for exact description, and name, she will became distressed and will start crying and yelling and will run away. If the investigators try to discover the reasons of this behavior they will know that Mary Jane has verbally assaulted her trying to discover who the father was resulting in only upsetting Joanna. The investigator will never have a precise address and description from Joanna. If Frank is mentioned to her she will become disgusted and tell all kinds of ugly/embarrassing stories about him. Some completely true, others not exactly true.

Adam Lloyd (age 23)

Adam is the youngest son of the family. He is a lazy, indolent young man, still undecided about his future. He has done a bit of everything and always end up bored. He is tired of Mary Jane's sarcastic remarks and insults about his laziness, but hasn't made up his mind about leaving the house. This situation has provided more frustration for him since Mary Jane has forbidden him to meet his friends, and he has to hang all day around the house. His only distraction is going around the farm shooting birds and other animals.

Dee (age 72)

Dee is a black woman and daughter of slaves. She is the longest running servant in the house of the Lloyds, indeed she is already part of the family. She was raised with George, helped give birth to all the children of the family, and loves them all like if they were their own. Because of that she was the only servant who wasn't dismissed and knows what is going on.

Other family members

These are the core members of the family, at least in what concerns the adventure. There are other brothers and sisters but you can assume they are away or don't want to get involved. You can, if you want, add a few more of your liking or use those provided in here. Bear in mind though that this is an intimate adventure of strong role-playing, having to gamemaster several NPCs simultaneously will make it more difficult to portray consistent, tridimensional human beings. The conflict becomes more acute in a restricted circle than in a larger one.

Other NPCs

Frank Webster

Frank can be described like an aspiring crook, but a likeable, charming crook. He seduced Joanna to marry her and have access to a comfortable living but never abused her or beat her. He got tired of her constant demands for affection and attention, then for her obsession with having a child. He had stopped making love to her for a long time and felt amazed (and cheated) when she announced she was pregnant. He took advantage of the situation to threaten the Lloyds with spreading the scandal unless they provided him with a golden divorce, a big sum to keep away and quiet. George and Mary Jane would love to get rid of him, but aren't willing to pay the money. Still, they can't afford to let the word spread about the situation. They are stalling, trying to come up with a way out. Meanwhile, Frank, who is himself a little curious about discovering who the father of the child is, (meerly a question of masculine pride) has hired a private detective to find out and to provide him with a little protection against the gun-toting, trigger-happy Lloyds.

Oscar O'Sullivan

Oscar O'Sullivan is a private detective who thinks he as seen it all, cool and polite, he hardly ever loses his grip. This self-assurance can be quite unnerving to others and he uses it to his own advantage. He is now functioning has a bodyguard to Frank and, simultaneously, trying to find what the Lloyds are up to and who is the father of the child.

What is actually going on

The mysterious father of the child is none other than a ghoul called Wrershk. A considerable number of them have been living in an underground cave complex near the farm. They feed on the corpses of dead cows and other animals, and only occasionally, fearing to reveal their presence, do they feed on humans.

Objectives of the adventure

In the adventure, the investigators should get rid of the ghouls and decide the fate of the newborn.

Starting the adventure

The investigators may arrive to St. Charles by car or train. If they arrive by train, Adam will pick them up at the station and will take them by car to the farm. The farm is well maintained and sober, without displaying signs of wealth or poverty. In the center of the farm is built a big manor house, of simple and elegant architecture, displaying signs of wealth, good taste and old-fashion. The investigators will be received with more or less familiarity according to their relation to the family. Individual bedrooms will be given to each investigator. The family has meals at regular times and Mary Jane dislikes having to change them.

The Atmosphere

It is quite important to convey the correct atmosphere during the adventure. Most people in the house display a depressed or bored mood (except for Joanna). Most don't leave the farm. Likewise at the beginning, while the characters are trying to figure out what is going on and who is who and does what they will be around the house or the farm, talking to people or with each other. Investigators can help at the farm, ride horses, or go around hunting for a bit of entertainment, but otherwise their days at the farm should be tedious and frustrating. They may go on a few walks to town, to shop or research in the small local library. The inhabitants, while polite and friendly, will be asking lots of questions, some of them quite insidious, about what is going on in the farm, since the recent reclusiveness of the Lloyds has caused quite a lot of speculation. If an investigator bluntly tells the truth to the locals and spreads the scandal, this will make the investigators quite unwelcome to stay at Lloyds and Mary Jane will tell them this bluntly and harshly. In contrast the night should be eventful and all centered about the farm so to let the investigators feel insecure about the safety of the farm. Overall the investigators should feel like they are sleeping over a time bomb and can't do anything about it.

Events
In this section I describe 8 events that should occur at various times during the adventure.

- Nightmares (Night)

Once, investigators will be suddenly awakened by a soft crying. If they go around the house trying to find where it comes from they will hear it coming from Mary Jane and George's bedroom. Success in a Listen roll will inform investigators of steps upstairs in the attic. If they investigate they will find George walking around in the attic. If questioned he will reply that Mary Jane has been having a nightmare that prevents him from sleeping. If the investigators later question Mary Jane about this, she will look quite shaken but will refuse to reply.

- Someone outside (Night)
Another night the investigators will be awakened by the furious barking of farm dogs. If someone goes to the window to take a look they will see a dark figure near the gates moving away. (It is Oscar checking the farm)

- I'm not following you / Don't follow me (Day)
Once, when the Investigators go to town, they will notice a man in a car is following them. It is Oscar. If they stop him to question him, he will be ironic without being provocative. He will try to pretend not to be following them but doesn't try to be convincing. He won't be intimidated by any threats. He knows his ground.

- Someone inside (Night)
Yet another night, the investigators may hear careful steps around the house. If one or more investigate they will came across a ghoul (Wrershk who comes to check on Joanna). He will run as fast as possible and try to escape in any way he can. Try to give him plenty of opportunity to escape but if he is caught, don't let him be caught alive. If he manages to escape, don't let the players have a clear perception of him, just let slip the putrid stench, the not very human features and little else.

- Lights in the night (Night)

After so many events taking place at night, it is very likely that the investigators decide to keep someone awake as a guard at night. In one such night, the awakened investigator should see a bright light inspecting the house. It is Oscar O'Sullivan checking the house with a potent light, hoping to catch a glimpse of something unusual/interest. If PC's decide to investigate, as they are heading towards the light they will notice that the light will stop then suddenly vanish. If they are still able to find the location of the light (luck or intelligence) they will come across a creepy scene, Oscar O'Sullivan's corpse, half-eaten and with a look of terror in his eyes, near a powerful lantern connected to the battery of the car. If they are unable to find the location they can read about it a few days later in the newspaper after the corpse has been found by a hunter. The explanation is that Oscar O'Sullivan chose a place to examine the house very close to the ghoul's lair. The ghouls, frightened by the proximity and by the fact that he was surveying a house they knew had a ghoul to come, decided to get rid of him.

- The birth (Night)

When you feel the time is right, give birth to the child. This will take place in a closed room of the house. Besides Joanna, Dee and Mary Jane will help during the labor. Any female investigator or males with medical knowledge can also help. Everyone else will have to wait in a room apart. The newborn will be a small monstrosity with a large oblong head a protuberant face and deep, tiny eyes (imagine a dog's head without the fur), small teeth and very weak limbs. Everyone who assists the labor will lose sanity for watching it (1/1d6), everyone else will lose smaller amounts (1/1d4). Joanna will be delighted with the newborn and will hug and kiss it apparently oblivious to his monstrous appearance. The baby will cry all day and night, with a few moments of pause to eat preventing nearly everyone from sleeping and causing irritation and deeper nervousness among the family. He will never sleep.

- The Agony (Night)

A few nights after the birth George will launch into a rage. Unable to sleep, seeing his family being torn apart and lost, he will rail against the "baby". He will go into Joanna's bedroom and take it by force from her hers, decided to throw it to the dogs. Joanna will react histerically and will fight for the "baby" as hard as she can. The other members of the family either watch terrified or try to intervene. Role-play the NPCs to the hilt. It is very likely, if the setting caught the players imagination they will do the same for their characters. Either way, let the behavior of the characters shape up the conclusion of the happening. This event can lead to very interesting and unexpected solutions. (e.g.: in my game, the investigators were able to solve the situation in a way that ended killing the newborn.) Either way, after this episode Joanna will lock herself in her room and will not eat or talk with anyone else.

- The Slaughter (Night)

This is the final event. By investigation or luck the characters will end up finding the ghouls' lair. What happens next is up to them. If they decide to leave the ghouls alone they will continue their existence. The investigators may even decide to return the "baby" to them (if they are able to take it from Joanna's arms). They may decide to get rid of the ghouls. In that case let them come up with a plan then evaluate how good it is and how successful it can be. This event should be tailored to your players' characters and to the kind of CoC style you enjoy the most. You can use the lair to further or start a full-fledged campaign. Either way this should be the climax of the adventure. You can make it a full slaughter with the PC's entering the cave and shooting everything that moves, or they can decide to set it on fire or blow it up with explosives, or they can decide that the ghouls are just a community of different human beings and try to approach them in a friendly way. Investigators' insanities can also take a place here. The options are endless.

Wrapping it up

After all this, either everything is finished or there is yet the monstrous "baby" problem. Joanna is definitely and irrevocably insane and the only option is to place her in an asylum. The only difficulty being convincing George and Mary Jane. They are not to fond of letting it be known that one of their family is insane.

And the child? What to do with it? Again let the players came up with a solution. They can decide to kill it in a painless way, abandon it somewhere, give it to the ghouls or... raise it themselves.

Chaosium Digest Classics: In a Different Light

2008-06-30T12:29:00.004-07:00

by Dean Englehardt
Originally presented in Chaosium Digest v29.12 on Sunday, January 16, 2000

Copyright (c) 1993, 1994, 1996 by Dean Engelhardt

"With five feeble senses we pretend to comprehend the boundless complex cosmos, yet other beings with a wider, stronger or different range of senses might not only see very differently the things we see, but might see and study whole worlds of matter, energy and life which lie close at hand yet can never be detected with the senses we have."
-- H.P.Lovecraft

This scenario pits the Investigators against a terrible and sinister plot instigated by a mysterious and possibly inhuman power. Investigators with some prior experience of the Cthulhu Mythos will find their knowledge gives them a slight advantage. Little, however, will prepare them for the terrible awakenings that soon take place both within themselves and in a dark and hidden site unknown to man.

The hideous events detailed herein are nominally set in Arkham and Boston during the Spring of 1928. However, the Keeper needs to change little to relocate the scenario elsewhere or to a different year.

Keeper's Information

Half-remembered tales recall that in aeons long ago the Great Old Ones came down from the heavens to occupy our planet. These stories tell of hundreds of such creatures descending upon our globe, each a horribly individual and unique entity. Yet in the Mythos lore known to modern humanity, a mere handful of such entities is thought to exist on the Earth.

Could it be that the reason for this discrepancy lies not in the disappearance of these deathless things, but in the narrowness of our perceptual faculties? Could the remainder of these eldritch things be in some way invisible to our sensibilities, surviving in imperceptible slumber in long-forgotten places? This scenario deals with one such survival.

Beneath a small hill in the gently rolling landscape west of Arkham lies a shrine that is invisible to all humanity's senses. Within this place sleeps an antediluvian horror, a lesser power among the ranks of those who descended with Cthulhu from the hideously living star Xoth. Being a lesser entity of its kind, the mystical bonds that prevent its existence during certain cosmic phases are weaker. This, coupled with the imminence of the stellar configuration which will free all members of its race, means the time is ripe for this being's awakening. For this to occur, however, the Great Old One must be fed curious occult sustenance and exposed to the non-electromagnetic radiation emitted by the star it once came from.

To arrange such conditions an unknown force has constructed a deceptive conspiracy. Adopting the form of a dark-skinned merchant at a Boston bazaar, it began subtly weaving its strands of deception. As the basis for this evil web it sensed the ambition of an elderly Engineering Professor it knew to frequent the place in search of curios. This man, Professor Graham Duncan of Boston University, soon stumbled into the merchant's trap.

Chancing upon the bazaar stall, his attention was particularly drawn to the curiously opalescent electric lamps on display. His trained eye recognized that these were unlike any conventional forms of electric lighting. In time he unearthed the secrets of the lamps, and learned how to construct them himself.

What he did not discover immediately was the curious effect the light from these lamps had upon living creatures. For this light possessed the power to activate long dormant perceptual faculties within the brain granting a 'second sight'. The gland that embodies this new sense is the pineal.

The motivation behind the deception of Graham Duncan lay in the fact that the fully functioning pineal body contains many occult substances. Several of these are chemicals necessary for the awakening of the entity beneath the hill. The unknown force behind the scheme hoped that Professor Duncan would spread the curious illumination technology throughout the world.

This sinister propagation, it hoped, would produce a sufficiently large 'harvest' of human pineal bodies to revive many of Cthulhu's brood.

To an extent this evil plot is already reaching some fruition. Several weeks ago a set of twelve new street lights were erected on a sleepy street in Arkham's Southside, the long awaited outcome of decades of calls for reform. These lamps, however, do not utilize traditional arc light technology, but instead use a curious new technique recently 'discovered' and documented by Professor Graham Duncan. This technology is, of course, that from the bazaar merchant's lanterns.

Now, three weeks after the installation of the pilot scheme in Southside, strange things are beginning to happen. Stories of a wild pack of rabid dogs roaming the neighborhood are becoming increasingly common. Curiously mutilated animal corpses have been discovered nearby. Many of the more sensitive residents have noted curious short-lived hallucinations. The situation is, however, about to take a serious turn for the worse.

The Pineal Gland and its Latent Perceptual Function

The pineal is a gland present in the brains of humans and all other vertebrates. Scholars have recognized its existence since the time of the Latin physician Galen (second century AD). Over the centuries they have attributed this small pine-nut shaped gland with many functions, both medical and mystical in nature.

Descartes identified it as the organ which received and 'synthesized' perceptual impressions received from the sensory organs. He also believed the pineal to be the "seat of the soul."

Less mystically, in 1695 Humphrey Ridley theorized that the pineal had the function of receiving lympha from the lymphducts which pass the third ventricle of the brain to the infundibulum and the pituitary gland. This was the predominant medical theory until the early twentieth century.

Mystical significance of the gland also developed from Descartes' seventeenth century hypotheses. By the 1920's, Theosophists commonly held that the gland would, in a future perfection of the human race, accommodate the "seventh sense." This sense they held to be the power of divine insight.

Despite a significant research effort this century, medical science still does not have a good understanding of the purpose of the pineal gland.

This scenario expands upon the hypothesized semi-mystical perceptual role of the pineal. It takes as its direct inspiration Lovecraft's tale "From Beyond." The basic premise is that the gland is a vestigial sense organ akin to the visual sense organs, but sensitive to a radiation altogether outside the understood concepts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

At some point in distant prehistory, some ancestor of humanity was endowed with this additional sense through a fully functional "third eye." Through some consequence of the grand cosmic cycle, this sense gland slowly atrophied into the modern pineal body. Given the correct stimulation, however, these glands still have the potential to mutate back into the sense organs they once were.

Investigator Information

It is a pleasant Sunday morning in Spring. Gentle sounds of bird-song drift on a light breeze. The Investigators, currently between outre assignments, are taking this rare opportunity to relax from their driven efforts against the unknowable. While some bolster their spirits with worship, others merely take the opportunity to bask in the warm sunlight spilling through the window.

At the regular residence of one of the Investigators (of the Keeper's choice), this peace is prematurely shattered. Shortly before midday, the Investigator in question and any others present at the Investigator's house, find themselves roused by a clamor outside. The loud and clumsy noises emerge either from the garden behind the residence (if such exists), or an alleyway running behind the Investigator's abode. The noises seem to be of trash cans or garden tools carelessly being knocked over. As the Investigators strain to hear more, they additionally detect faint sounds of a gibbering human voice.

Whether or not the Investigator's choose to investigate these noises, they shortly afterwards become aware of a second sound: that of a police officer's whistle.

Investigators curious enough to head out to the rear of the house (or into the alleyway) quickly catch sight of a tall thin man. He is dressed in some form of light colored jacket, doubled over in a corner. He is facing away from the direction of the Investigator's approach and they can discern no features of his face.

He stands amid a disorganized collection of upended trash cans, watering cans and broken earthen pots. The man seems not to notice the approaching Investigators, instead occupied with his ceaseless mutterings and whimperings.

As inquisitive Investigators approach, they become aware of running footfalls nearby adding to the police whistles that now seem very close. Additionally, sharp eared Investigators (those who succeed in a Listen roll) begin to make out words in the stranger's low muttering: Huge ... stars ... living -.. waiting ... waiting.

Once the Investigators are within 5 feet of the tall and lanky intruder he suddenly notices them. He spins about to face directly toward those approaching him. It is only then that the Investigators will see, to their horror, that where the man's eyes would normally be exist only empty blood-caked sockets; his eyes have been completely and messily gouged out (0/1D2 SAN). The man's ravaged face bears dozens of tell-tale scratches and cuts; his sandy hair still contains blood-clotted tangles. It is now obvious that the canvas jacket he wears is an unbuckled straitjacket.

An expression of abject fear spreads across his face as he turns his head to 'stare' directly at the face of each approaching Investigator in turn. Each feels unnerved by the way the man's gaze moves directly from one subject to the next. His perception of their precise location seems too exact for a blind man.

Before the Investigators have an opportunity to examine this situation further, three police officers burst onto the scene. The three force their way past the gathered group of onlookers and grapple with the eyeless stranger. After a short scuffle, two officers emerge from the fray with the blind man forcibly restrained between them. The prisoner struggles little, instead concentrating on his now-frenzied low muttering. Any attempts by the Investigators to intervene in the police apprehension of the man are not appreciated. At the very least they risk stern warnings, at the worst threats of violence if they persist.

As the two police officers drag away the eyeless lunatic, the third officer, a Sergeant, apologizes to onlookers for the disturbance, reassuring them that all is now in order. If questioned about the escapee, the extent of the Sergeant's knowledge is that the man somehow escaped from an ambulance carrying him from St. Mary's Hospital to the Sanitarium.

Any Investigators watching the captive as he is led away by the police officers notice that the man's eyeless gaze fixes on some point on a nearby tree. His head turns as he is dragged away, keeping his stare always towards the same spot. A moment after the madman is gone, perceptive Investigators (those who succeed in a Spot Hidden roll) notice a small butterfly take flight from the same spot.

Arkham Preliminaries

The blind madman whose recapture the Investigators have witnessed is a young man by the name of Michael Farr. The horrible mutilations to his eyes are self inflicted, insane attempts to blot out the sights of an eldritch horror he witnessed last night. These unearthly visions were a result of his latent pineal sense becoming active. Ironically, although Farr's bloody act robbed him of his normal vision, his outre second sight still functions. With this sense he still sees the horrors which drove him insane as well as shadowy intimations of more conventional living things.

The unnerving mannerisms of the deranged Farr should pique Investigator curiosity; his actions seem to imbue him with a sense of sight he could not possibly still possess. Investigators choosing to look into the matter further have a number of avenues they could consider.

This Morning's Newspaper

Any Investigator who has read the morning paper will recall a news article which seems related to the Farr incident.

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Disturbance in Southside

Residents in the Simpson Apartments in Arkham's Southside were last night awakened by what witnesses describe as horrid and unholy screeching. The source of these deranged sounds of screaming was apparently Apartment 5, rented by a reclusive man in his mid twenties. Once police had been called, and a locksmith employed to open the fastened door, a horrible scene was discovered. While the specifics of the bloody scene are unsuitable for publication in a reputable newspaper, it is sufficient to say that the man had apparently lost control of his senses and hideously blinded and mutilated himself. He was taken into custody to protect him against further insane actions against his person.
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Visiting the Sanitarium

Investigators may wish to question the insane man about the events of the previous night. A visit to the Arkham Sanitarium can facilitate this. Before any visitors are permitted to see the new patient, however, they must convince institution head Dr. Hardstrom of the necessity of their visit. A plausible medical or legal reason (successful Law, Medicine or Persuade Roll) will gain Investigators entry. The doctor himself offers no opinion on the patient's state of mind, pointing out that he has yet to have an adequate opportunity to observe the man.

The blind Farr is in a small room with barred windows, his strait jacket now removed. He sits precariously on the wood-frame bed, staring vacantly at a point on the far wall. He seems oblivious to the presence of any visitors. If questioned, he turns to face whoever is speaking and begins the same incoherent rambling as before. As he speaks, his eyeless gaze turns away from his questioner's face and instead focuses on something unseen behind the Investigator's shoulder. His vacant eye sockets track the motion of this invisible object.

A successful Psychoanalysis roll brings the young man back to a semblance of sanity for a moment. Even under this spell of lucidity, all he will tell inquiring visitors is that the star, the tentacled star ... it's out there ... it's coming ... I found it ... will they name it after me? After this he will collapse into an insane giggling.

Farr's room

The Simpson Apartments are situated in a poor district of Arkham, huddled between French Hill and South Hill. The building is on Walnut Street in an area predominately populated by Italians. Despite a certain degree of squalor, and the randomly strewn remnants of some recent city construction, the street has a certain simple beauty. As the Investigators approach the apartment building they see smiling Italian children playing marbles and riding Pogo sticks. All along the street, women cheerily perform domestic chores, hanging out laundry and beating rugs.

Inside the Simpson Apartments the atmosphere is subdued but still pleasant. It seems that even the horrible events of the previous night cannot spoil peoples' enjoyment of so fine a Spring day. When the Investigators enter the building, the smell of a zesty Italian dish assails their noses. The odors waft through the open door to Apartment 1, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Cilauro.

Although her husband is working, Mrs. Cilauro will agree to answer any questions. As far as she is concerned: "I always knew that Farr man was not right in the head .. He would stay up until all hours of the night just peering .. peering out of his window at the stars. Does that sound a normal way to spend your life? And another thing .. they say that he's a divorcee .. heavens!"

Despite the fact Mrs. Cilauro will happily talk to the Investigators for several hours more, this is all she knows of Farr.

In the course of their chat with the rotund Italian woman, the visitors will notice a tortoise-shell cat saunter casually in from the stairwell and settle on a lounge chair next to Mrs. Cilauro. "Tsk Tsk Tsk, she says, you shouldn't be in here, Sammy. You can't fool me .. I know Mr. Sabatino feeds you good." She smiles, excuses herself from the Investigators for a moment and fetches the cat a saucer of milk.

Apartment 5 is on the second floor of the building. When the Investigators approach, they notice that the door to this room is ajar. Inside, two men in white overalls clean splattered blood from the walls of the apartment. The room reeks of ammonia.

The two workmen are not very talkative, but if pressed one explicitly recounts a dramatized story of how the insane Farr was found with eyes gouged out writhing on the floor. He graphically tells how all four walls of the apartment were splattered with blood. Any Investigators squirming at his lurid description will only spur the man on to even greater heights of morbidity. He obviously enjoys disgusting the inquisitive visitors. If he feels that his tale has sufficiently horrified the inquisitive strangers he will finish with one tasteless tiny tidbit: "You know, we've cleaned through this entire apartment, and we've found no sign of that madman's eyes. Maybe what they said is true after all -- that he ate them himself."

If the Investigators wish to search through Farr's belongings, no one impedes them. The two cleaners simply don't care, and the authorities have already made their searches of the premises. Two articles among the amateur astronomer's possessions may be of interest: his telescope and his notebook. Any investigation of Farr's telescope determines it to be perfectly normal and uninteresting. Farr's astronomical notebook is a thin blood-splattered volume. An Astronomy Roll learns that, for the most part its entries are mundane observations of the moon and various
constellations. The last page, however, is more interesting to the Investigators.

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clouding over.

Better skip looking at Pleiades, go straight to Saturn rings. I wish those lights would be switched off... can't see a damned thing with all that light streaming
in. Wish to blazes they'd never put them in!

(10:00 pm) Must be getting tired. Just saw strange geometric hallucination. Take a rest then resume, get some fresh air! Must be working too hard .. ha ha!

(12:00 am) Still looking at those beautiful rings -- God, I fall in love every time I see the blasted things! Saw a shadow of a moon across the rings.

(12:15 am) Another wretched hallucination ... really, what's wrong with me tonight. Must remember to buy a new brand of cocoa next time.

NOOOOOOOO! After me! Coming ... now.

STOP!! Evil putty jelly ... Close my eyes! Yes! Yellow! Yellow! But red in the middle! Go AWAY!

There is only one way! NO!!
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Southside Characters

During their questioning, the Investigators will encounter many residents of Arkham's Southside. The following individuals are available to the Keeper as sources of information or frustration. Some characters have specific roles in the plot as victims or witnesses of the Walnut Street murders. Others may be used in whatever role the Keeper sees fit. Bear in mind that the general attitude of all individuals on or near Walnut Street changes as events unfold. Early in the scenario the Southsiders are a smiling and jovial group, happy to talk to strangers. Later they become sullen and brooding, barely interested in conversing with anybody.

-- Georgio Caruso

Stocky and olive-skinned, the 46 year old milk deliverer Caruso is a powerful looking man. The constant physical exercise occasioned both by his job and his former hobby (amateur boxing) has kept him lean and fit. His face, however, shows his years very heavily. Immediately noticeable amid his careworn visage are a multiply fractured nose and many small scars.

Not all these injuries stem from the boxing ring, however. For many years Caruso was involved with the gang headed by well-known Southsider Joe Potrello. Several years ago he renounced this life and "went straight."

Talking to Georgio, Investigators will discern the Italian's lack of formal education. He seems to particularly have difficulty in grasping abstract concepts, a trait that may prove frustrating to questioners attempting to learn about the strange visions he witnessed. He is, however, very enthusiastic and will do almost anything within his capabilities to help.

Unless the Investigators are very quick in eliminating the threat to Walnut Street residents, Georgio will become the first murder victim.

-- Dominica Cilauro

Short, black-haired and rotund, Mrs. Cilauro is the very picture of the stereotypical Italian 'mama'. At 58 her face and hands are beginning to show the accumulated wear of a lifetime of domestic work. Her spirit, however is bright, bubbly and above all friendly.

Dominica spends most of her life either collecting rent from tenants in the Simpson Apartments (which her husband owns), or cooking. The latter is her great passion -- she prides herself on being able to cook a better Italian meal than the chef at nearby Anton's Restaurant. Most people who have been fortunate enough to sample her food have agreed.

Mrs. Cilauro's attitude and outlook alter drastically as the scenario progresses. Early meetings with her will show her to be happy, contented and above all loquacious. Her favorite topic of discussion is the moral decline of the young people of today. Her strongest condemnation is reserved for the rising incidence of divorce in Arkham, something that her Catholic sensibilities abhor. Later in the scenario, she becomes morose and fatalistic, barely able to raise a smile. This dramatic transformation lasts until the lights on Walnut have been destroyed.

-- Wojtek Przedworski

At 47, Wojtek's appearance seems more appropriate to a seventy year old. His face is leathery and wrinkled, his useless eyes sunken pools amid these fleshy undulations. The small shock of hair atop his head is pure gray, as is the raspy stubble he sometimes allows to grace his chin. The rest of his body seems limp and flabby, the product of a long and painful life as a cripple.

Blind and crippled from birth, Wojtek's life has little to give it meaning. His brother Chris sees to all his needs, giving him little reason to ever leave his house on Walnut Street. Besides his brother, he has no friends - his is a world of loneliness.

In the course of events in this scenario, Wojtek will gain a sight of sorts in time to witness his brother's shadowy outline being devoured. This occurs as part of the "Bizarre Night on Walnut Street" (see section below). After watching this horrible slaying his tender mind will retreat into temporary insanity.

-- Chris Przedworski

Like his brother, Chris bears a face scarred by many years of suffering. His skin is coarse and pockmarked, a product of countless years of manual labor. The most readily noticeable feature of his worn and tired countenance is his bushy moustache, a veritable forest of gray hair. More often than not it conceals a frown.

At heart Chris Przedworski is a kind and unselfish man, although he often feels that his nature leads others to take advantage of him. Additionally he constantly curses the miserable life that fate has dealt him: for the past forty years his life has been dominated by the necessity to look after his younger brother. He feels that in a sense this part of his life has been stolen from him.

As part of the prescribed events for this scenario, Chris is destined to become the second victim of the "Walnut Street Slasher."

-- Herbert Wade Slocum

Tall and thin, almost to the point of gauntness, Slocum is a very odd-looking man. His face is sunken and hollow, making his curiously dreamy blue eyes the immediately obvious feature. The remainder of his facial features are fine, almost to the extent of being feminine. He walks with a stoop, his motions oddly stilted.

By profession, Slocum is a freelance author of pulp fiction. A few of his short tales have been published in small magazines. This has served to make Herbert Wade Slocum a figure of some adulation among the small body of pulp fans in New England. Since many of his stories have heavy overtones of the occult, Slocum was invited to join the Eye of Amara society. He declined, however, since other than in fiction, the man has no interest in the supernatural.

During the third night of planned mayhem in Southside, Herbert Wade Slocum disappears never to be heard from again. In truth he has become another victim of the alien forces hunting for pineal food.

-- Ruth Macintosh

Something of an oddity in the region, Ruth Macintosh is a well-dressed well-educated wealthy young woman. She dresses in all the latest fashions (including trousers), wears her hair bobbed and beneath a stylish cloche hat, and wears lipstick in public. Other Southsiders view her as a walking scandal.

As 24 year old only daughter of a wealthy Boston family, Ruth can have whatever material goods she desires. To her parents' dismay, Ruth insists on "slumming it" in one of the poorer districts of Arkham. The reason she chooses such unusual living arrangements is that she is fascinated with Herbert Wade Slocum almost to the point of obsession. Her one desire in the world is to seduce him. Thusfar her efforts have all been failures.

As part of the events in this scenario, Ruth Macintosh will witness the disappearance of her idol Slocum. She will be anxious to report what she saw to anybody who will listen. However, neither her story nor her character are particularly credible, hence most will ignore her story.

-- Joe Sabatino

Weedy and nervous, Sabatino is a man who exudes suspicion. His face is rat-like and sallow, covered with numerous odd-looking sores. Additionally the man has an obvious tic in his right cheek. All these features, along with his grating nervous laugh, combine to make a man that few could easily like.

Sabatino works as the janitor at the Arkham Historical Society, a position he likes because he doesn't often have to deal with people. He is very much an introverted loner who finds more solace in his collection of stamps than in the company of people.

-- Maria Sapio

Tall, leggy and bottle-blonde, Maria is an attractive 27 year old who prides herself on looking younger. She is mildly self-conscious about her appearance, frightened that one day she might lose her beauty. Of particular concern to her is the large mole on her neck. Her taste in clothes and jewelry is gaudy but expensive, and is often arranged carefully to hide her 'Achilles Heel'.

Maria's personality is bright and bubbly, but conceals a secret. For besides her normal job as a seamstress she has another profession. From time to time she models in a bikini for photographers, who in turn sell these pictures to shady publications. Although Maria never talks about this part of her life, she is not ashamed of it. Indeed, several of these photos hang about her apartment.

Walnut Street Gossip

Investigators wishing to question Southside locals about the recent happening have little difficulty finding talkative individuals; reticence seems not to be a problem with these folk. The neighbors have nothing more to add to the story of the previous night, besides additional scandalous comment on the fact that Farr was a divorcee.

In conversation, however, one Southsider tells the Investigators: "I swear it's getting mighty hard to get a good night's sleep around here nowadays. What with the Star boy last night and the Milk deliverer a few nights back." If questioned further about this previous incident, the garrulous neighbor will say more. Three nights
ago, the street was awakened in the early hours of the morning by the sounds of incoherent screaming from the street. The police were called then too, but by the time they found the howling man, who turned out to be the local milk deliverer, he was all right.

Other Newspaper Clues

If the Investigators search through the Newspapers previous days in search of this earlier happening, they find nothing. If they conduct a search of the Advertiser morgue (which only journalists or Persuasive others have access to), however, they soon discover that an article was written about the incident but never published.

The article states that Milk deliverer Georgio Caruso reportedly had some form of hallucinatory fit or seizure three days prior to the Farr happening. The terrible cries he gave out as he ran screaming down Walnut Street caused many residents to contact the authorities. By the time police had arrived on the scene, Caruso, who was found cowering in a slim alleyway just off Walnut, had regained his senses. Though obviously shaken, he was given a clean bill of health. A small piece of paper is attached by paper clip to the morgue article. On it is written an address on S French Hill Street.

The same information concerning the hallucinations of Georgio Caruso can be found in police records. These records are only available to Investigators who have either worked previously with the Arkham constabulary, or who succeed in a Law roll. The address on S French Hill Street is listed on these records as the home of Mr. Caruso.

Investigators interested in checking Newspaper records in an attempt to locate unusual happenings on Walnut Street prior to the Caruso affair, discover the following:

-- Ten days ago the Advertiser carried a small article reporting the circulation of a pack of rabid dogs about the area of Walnut Street. Residents were warned to keep careful watch when walking that neighborhood at night.

-- A week ago, a cache of curiously mutilated animal carcasses, primarily cats and dogs, was discovered in a small alleyway just off Walnut. The article offers no definite explanation as to how these freshly killed creatures came to be piled in the alley, but uses this as another opportunity to condemn fraternity pranksters.

Hunting Down Caruso

It is possible for Investigators to interview the Milk deliveryman any time during the two days following the Farr incident. After that time, however, he is fated to become another victim of the awakening and his story will be lost.

Visitors arriving at the S. French Hill Street house before about 4 pm will run the risk of waking the delivery man and placing him in a foul mood. The man's story is simple and short: he was doing his delivery round, as he does each morning, when suddenly everything seemed to change. He could see weird transparent jelly things floating everywhere he looked. The bewildered Caruso watched them sliding into and out of solid objects, devouring one another and hovering in mid-air. He watched these strange hallucinations for a moment, but suddenly, from the corner of his eye he spied something else, a large thing which made him afraid. The next he remembers he was running down the middle of the street screaming, barely in control of himself. Acting on intuition he ran into an alleyway running off Walnut, and suddenly everything returned to normal.

Death Stalks Walnut Again

Two nights after the strange happenings that left Farr insane, sounds of madness once again shatter the peace in Walnut Street. In the early hours of the morning, screams from the street reach the ears of residents. Georgio Caruso in his first shift back on Walnut has been awakened once more to the sights of the outré incorporeal life that invisibly occupies all space. This time, however, his insane screeching is prematurely and suddenly cut short. The story of Caruso's death naturally makes front page news in Arkham.

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Man Hideously Murdered in Southside Arkham
Mutilated Corpse Found Bathed in Blood

In the early hours of this morning, police were called to investigate an unholy shrieking and wailing heard by residents of Walnut Street in Arkham's sleepy Southside. The racket apparently was coming from the street. But, by the time the police had arrived on the scene the clamor had ceased. Casual investigations lead them to discover the horribly mutilated body of a man in his early forties.

The man, respected Southsider Georgio Caruso, was found decapitated, with hundreds of deep slashes covering more than half his body. His skull had been cloven in two, surgical incisions made into the brain within. Walnut Street was bathed in his blood.

The disgusting extent of the mutilations inflicted upon the corpse has lead police to suspect the involvement of some form of obscene cult. As yet, however, the police have not formally announced any suspicions as to the motive for the slaying. It is understood that they are awaiting the findings of an autopsy to be performed today. As yet no eye witnesses to the grisly murder have come forward.

A local resident told this reporter that the prevalent mood among the community in Walnut Street is one of shock. "People just don't want to believe that a monster of the type that could do this could be roaming our street."

Readers of the Advertiser will recall that last week we reported the finding of mutilated animal carcasses in the neighborhood. Today's occurrence seems to cast an altogether more sinister light on this earlier discovery.

While it is not our intention to panic residents of the area, we respectfully suggest that people take care when visiting the streets of Southside at night.
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Visiting the Scene

On Walnut Street the atmosphere is notably more brooding than when last the Investigators visited. The residents are generally uninterested in talking to nosy visitors, even those they had previously been friendly towards. Everybody seems tense and irritable. A few sour looking children play in the street, teasing a tortoise shell cat and pulling its tail.

Everybody avoids the site of the murder. Despite the chemicals laid down by police, the place still stinks of death. Passers-by look strangely at Investigators who prod around the murder scene. Furthermore, such analysis discovers nothing more than the newspaper article reported.

The Autopsy Report

The autopsy on the remains of Georgio Caruso is performed by Dr. Ephraim Sprague in the afternoon. The report produced from the findings of that autopsy is confidential police information, and unless the Investigators have contacts in the force they will be unable to view it. Persistent Investigators, however, can gain an account of the information contained in the report either from Dr. Sprague himself (a Medicine Roll is required to persuade him) or from a less-than-reputable police officer (large amounts of cash can help here).

The report finds that the cause of death was a broken neck, and that the mutilations to Caruso's skull and brain occurred after death. The only other finding of interest was that a small portion of Mr. Caruso's brain, centered around his pineal gland, was apparently removed with some degree of surgical precision.

Preventing Further Murders

The direct cause of the Walnut Street Slaying lies in the curious street lamps which cast their unholy radiance across the street. Keepers should bear this in mind when fresh murders are described later in the scenario. If all twelve of the lamps are destroyed, no further slayings will take place.

However, even in the instance that Investigators effectively halt the murders, it is still possible to stage the final awakening scene (outlined in the section entitled "Showdown at the Cave" below). The Keeper needs only provide some new motivation for the sudden actions of Professor Duncan described therein.

New Light, New Sight

It is important that at some stage the course of the Investigators' studies turns toward the new lighting on Walnut Street. It is through an investigation of these matters that the remainder of the clues in this scenario will be unearthed.

The discovery that there is more to these lamps than meets the eye can come about in several ways. This section lists several resources which Investigators might stumble upon. Keepers may need to introduce others if their Investigators stubbornly refuse to head off on the appropriate tangent. As a last resort, a halved Idea roll might tell thoroughly lost Investigators that the new public works they observe on Walnut Street are atypical of Southside: it is a district renowned for neglect and urban decay.

Public Records

Investigators scanning Newspaper files for references to Walnut Street are likely to discover the following article, dated approximately six months ago.

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Mayor Announces Public Works in Southside

Mayor Peabody today announced a program of "radical upgrade" for public facilities in Arkham's Southside. This region of the city, says Peabody, is "sadly neglected - a situation we plan to remedy immediately." As the initial phase of the upgrade plan, Arkham's Council of Selectmen last night approved a small budget for a pilot plan to replace the street lights along a small stretch of Walnut Street. The new lights will incorporate "the very latest in illuminating technology" said City Engineer Basil Endicott.

Cynics might be forgiven for thinking that the Mayor's sudden announcement of proposed works is merely a promise to please the public. Reports from undisclosed sources suggest Mayor Peabody is highly nervous with regard the upcoming Mayoral election. This generous promise of reform long called for can only serve to boost the Mayor's popularity.
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Checking through public records of the Council meeting in which the Selectmen adopted the new lighting plan, or visiting the office of Basil Endicott will ascertain the following facts:

-- The plan for the pilot project on Walnut Street was proposed by the City Engineer as the result of an investigation into the matter requested by the Mayor.
-- The Engineer's report identified Walnut Street as the spot in Southside most in need of public upgrade.
-- To present an expert opinion on different options for the pilot project, Endicott asked Miskatonic University's Dr. Hamlin Hayes to make a short presentation to the Council.
-- Dr. Hayes presented three options, one of which was a very recently developed lighting technique. This newly invented technique was twice as efficient as traditional lighting methods. This new technology, said Dr. Hayes, "seems likely
to be the way of the future."
-- After some consternation and a stirring speech by Councilor Ash Southcott, the Council voted to endorse the new and less expensive alternative advocated by Dr. Hayes.

Walnut By Night

Sooner or later Investigators are likely to want to check the operation of the lighting on Walnut Street first hand. Once they have been exposed to the non-electromagnetic radiation from the lamps, subtle changes will begin within their brains. The Keeper should keep careful track of just how long each character has been exposed to this radiation. Once a sufficient dosage has been absorbed, their latent pineal sense organ will begin functioning, as described in a nearby box.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Strange Awakenings

Once Investigators become exposed to the non-electromagnetic radiation from any of the revolutionary new light sources, the sensitive among them will have their pineal glands begin the process of awakening. There are three phases that the stirring sense organ progresses through during its return to proper function.

In the first phase of the awakening, the brain receives random stimuli from the gland as it begins to resume its perceptual role. The brain interprets these stimuli as short random hallucinations. These weird visions could be of anything. Lovecraft's "From Beyond" has some excellent examples of such hallucinations, but creative Keepers should be able to think of equally evocative visions. At any rate, these images are witnessed only when in the presence of a pineal-stimulating light source, and normally only at random times (POW% chance each 10 minutes of exposure). However, individuals who concentrate on a pineal awakening light source receive such visions continuously.

The second phase is characterized by the beginning of proper pineal function. That is, the brain will begin to receive consistent signals from the gland. These are the gland's perception of its surroundings. The individual will begin to see a completely different vista superimposed over normal sight. The most immediately noticeable aspect of this new vision is the ubiquitous floating semi-transparent creatures which occupy every space. At this phase, the new vision functions only in the presence of a pineal-stimulating light source, although it is fully functional the entire time such stimulation is present.

The final stage that the pineal gland may progress to is permanent awakening. The gland's operation at this stage is identical to the previous phase, except the perceptual function of the organ is now permanent and operational regardless of external stimulation. That is, the brain receives perceptual impulses from the pineal at all times whether or not a stimulating light source is present.

The potential for pineal sense awakening within an individual depends largely on how atrophied the individual's gland has become. The extent to which an individual's pineal can progress through this activation, and the rate at which such awakening occurs are governed in game terms by the POW statistic. Characters with high POW have the potential for full pineal awakening with a minimum of exposure. Others may find their gland may only proceed to an earlier phase, and do so at a slower pace. The furthest stage of awakening possible with a particular POW is summarized more precisely below.

POW stat Max stage of awakening
< 10 No awakening of the pineal gland can occur
10-12 Stage One: hallucinations
13-14 Stage Two: full function in presence of stimulus
> 14 Stage Three: full function at all times

Whenever an individual is exposed to pineal-stimulating radiation they accumulate "exposure points." From exposure to the street lights in Walnut street individuals gain their POW in exposure points every hour. Venturing into the cave near Crawford's Rise with a light source will accumulate POW x 5 per hour. If the hillside explodes at the conclusion of this scenario, all present will accumulate POW x 2 per minute.

Exposure points are lost very slowly through lack of pineal stimulation; the rate is sufficiently slow that it does not affect this scenario. For campaign play a loss rate of one point per week might be considered.

Once an individual's accumulated exposure points have reached 70 they enter phase one of the awakening process (assuming POW >10). Reaching 100 point causes the pineal to enter stage two (if POW >12). An accumulated total of 150 is sufficient to permanently awaken the perceptions of the gland (if POW >14).
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Night visitors to the street will notice immediately that there is something unusual about the light given off by the street lamps. Unlike the standard arc lamps which illuminate most of Arkham, the radiance emitted by these lamps has a vague tinge of green about it. Its illumination is also possessed of a curiously opalescent aspect.

Despite the recent happenings, quite a few folk may still be found on the streets at night. These residents and wanderers are, however, atypically dour and will refuse to answer all but the simplest questions. No animals can be found on the street.

If one or more of the Investigators visiting Walnut after dark is possessed of an active pineal gland, the scene they will witness is less mundane. In addition to the ubiquitous jelly things, vague intimations of larger shadowy entities can be seen in the distance. Perceptive Investigators viewing this scene (and who succeed in an Idea Roll) will note that the concentration of the jelly creatures is greatest about people wandering the street.

The shadowy forms lurking on the edge of vision are Renders and Dissolvers (described nearby). Any Investigator with an activated pineal sense who tarries about the street for more than a minute or so, invites attention from these beings. A single Render will approach and attack. Less perceptive Investigators will see nothing until the creature makes itself corporeal. By then, of course, it may be too late to help their perceptive companions.

Denizens of the Spaces Between

The world as we normally perceive it is a hospitable place populated by countless different forms of life, each possessed of perceptual faculties roughly similar to our own. However, those faculties do not reveal the fullness of the reality in which we live. Indeed, whole races of beings exist that are totally invisible to our five senses. In this scenario a latent human sense is awakened in some, allowing a rare glimpse of a precious few of these normally imperceptible creatures.

-- Jelly Things.
Most of what we normally term empty space is not truly empty, but occupied by gelid creatures not unlike jellyfish. These beings are seemingly non-intelligent, spending the majority of their time floating mindlessly in mid-air or melding into one another. The jelly things appear semi-fluid and constantly change shape. They continually devour each other and slither effortlessly through normally solid things. They are totally incorporeal. Their concentrated presence, however, has a subtle negative effect on the emotions of mundane creatures and humans. Sanity loss to view a world full of Jelly Things is 1/1D4.

-- Renders.
More intelligent than the jelly creatures which occupy most of our world, the Renders are also more inimicable to humans. This minor servitor race exists for the sole purpose of capturing the curious food that sleeping Great Old Ones require to exist. Ultimately through a combination of such sustenance and propitious stellar cycles, the slumbering things will awaken. Unfortunately for humanity, many of the substances required for this sustenance and revival are found within the awakened human pineal. Hence individuals possessing such a gland are natural prey for Renders.

Renders appear as smoky rubbery cloud-like things, ever changing shape. Although their form is normally completely incorporeal, they can manifest up to five corporeal tentacles. Each has razor-sharp, bone-like protuberances in two lines along its length. These tentacles attack independently in a round. Once a being has been struck, the tentacle wraps around it inflicting 1D6 damage per round until freed. To escape this hideous entrapment the captive must overcome the creature's STR on the Resistance Table. Alternatively, a tentacle may be severed by inflicting 10 points of damage to it.

characteristics rolls averages
STR 7+2D6 14
CON 7+2D6 14
SIZ 30+1D20 40-41
INT 2D6 7
POW 1D6 3-4
DEX 4D6 14
Move 10
HP 27 Av.
Av. Damage Bonus +2D6
Weapons: Tentacle (x5) 45%, Damage 1D10 + db + target held
Armor: When incorporeal, Renders take no damage from physical attacks. When corporeal their tentacles have 3 points of armor.
Spells: None
Sanity Loss: 1/1D6

-- Dissolvers
Another servitor race of the Great Old Ones, Dissolvers exist for similar purposes to Renders. These creatures are, however, significantly more powerful and crave human flesh as much as they hunger for their masters' sustenance. Luckily these beings can only perceive prey that is bathed in the non-electromagnetic radiation emitted by Duncan's lights.

Dissolvers appear as great festering black masses the size of a small house. Strange green-black bubbles float in the oily sheen coating the things. These monstrous creatures can make all or part of their enormous mass corporeal at will. Its single mode of attack is to envelop victims in its mass and attempt to dissolve them in the oily green-black substance that oozes from its pores. Once enveloped most normal matter, including humans, can only withstand two rounds before it is utterly dissolved.

characteristics rolls averages
STR 35+1D10 40-41
CON 30+1D10 35-36
SIZ 75+1D10 80-81
INT 2D6 7
POW 2D6 7
DEX 2D6 7
Move 8
HP 58 Av.
Av. Damage Bonus +7D6
Weapons: Envelop 100%, immediate damage is db. All non-enchanted earthly material dissolved in two rounds.
Armor: Invulnerable to physical attack when incorporeal. Otherwise 3 points. Also, impaling weapons do minimum damage.
Regenerates 5 hp per round.
Spells: None
Sanity Loss: 1D3/1D10]

Investigators with activated pineal vision who cast their eyes to the night sky may notice yet another curiosity. Those succeeding in an Astronomy roll determine that a completely new, bright yellowish star is now visible overhead. This star is totally invisible to anybody not in possession of 'enhanced' vision. Any Investigator who chooses to examine this stellar object through a telescope is in for a nasty surprise. For the yellow object is not truly a star, but an enormous living entity called Xoth. It is from this 'star' that Cthulhu and his brood descended to Earth aeons ago.

Its putrid visage is horrible, even from millions of miles away. The sickly yellow mass visibly heaves and pulses in rhythms that seem to the viewer vaguely blasphemous and unclean. Xoth shoots long thin tendrils thousands of miles into space, seeming to slowly pull itself along by these extremities. The most horrific aspect of its appearance, however, and the one that drives men mad, is the hideous gaping red maw which occupies a third of the pulsing body of the thing. Sanity loss to view the unclean thing is 1D6/1D20.

Visiting Dr. Hayes

Investigators interested in learning more about the new technology used by the Walnut Street lights will want to pay a visit to Dr. Hamlin Hayes at Miskatonic University. This is easier said than done; with work proceeding on the Arkham Advertiser wireless station atop Kingsport Head, Dr. Hayes spends most of his time out of Arkham. Persistent Investigators who think to organize an appointment to see the electrical engineer, however, ultimately meet with success. He is, after all, a gentleman.

Hayes will initially view the Investigator's intrusion into his busy schedule as an annoyance. However, once they broach the subject of the Walnut Street lights he becomes significantly more interested. The technology embodied in these lamp prototypes, he will tell the Investigators, was designed by a professor at Boston University by the name of Graham Duncan. Duncan has been an academic in the field of illumination engineering for many years, but until now has produced nothing of any real importance. His eagerness in his current endeavor has surprised many, who thought the elderly professor too old to pursue something so ground breaking. His experiments with this new lighting method, all undertaken in a mere 12 months, have been consolidated in an academic paper shortly to appear in a leading journal.

Furthermore, the professor has made a point of presenting the results of his work as seminars at almost all the major seats of higher learning in New England. It was at such a lecture that Hayes first heard about the new technique.

Investigators with some expertise in the field may wish to read Dr. Hayes' pre-publication copy of Duncan's paper. An Electrical Repair roll is necessary just to grasp the general gist of what Duncan is explaining. In essence he describes the construction of a spherical glass lamp with an incandescent filament in the center. This is, of course, nothing new. What is unique about Duncan's design is the phosphorescent coating he applies to the inner surface of the glass sphere. It is this coating that gives the new lamps added luminescence. Hence less energy needs to be consumed by the filament to achieve a particular level of illumination.

Investigators who succeed critically in their Electrical Repair (i.e., roll less than 20% of their skill) and also succeed in an Idea roll note that while the paper is very detailed in most regards, it is very sketchy when describing the composition of the phosphorescent coating. This is essentially the most important aspect of the design yet Duncan seems to deliberately leave its description cursory.

Boston

Investigators keen to learn more about Professor Duncan and his invention may consider telephoning or telegraphing him at Boston University. This tactic proves fruitless, however. Any such attempts are met with a curt reply from the Department of Engineering secretary to the effect that Professor Duncan is currently on leave from his position. Under no circumstances will the brusque secretary agree to take a message or provide details on how the Professor can be contacted. Clearly, if the Investigators want to learn more of Duncan and his work, they must do it in person. This occasions a brief visit to Boston.

BU Engineering Department

Boston University's small Department of Engineering is housed in the third story of Science Hall. Visitors to the department first encounter the departmental secretary who, if anything, is even more ornery in person. The man is short and scrawny with facial features reminiscent of a rodent. As before, this unpleasant man will blatantly refuse to give out any details of Professor Duncan's leave or how the man may be contacted.

However, Investigators who can convince the secretary that their researches are serious, through a Persuade or Fast Talk roll, will be permitted to confer with Duncan's colleagues. The secretary will make it quite plain that he is doing this as a favor to the Investigators, and that they should feel honored.

Investigators granted 'permission' to speak with the academics are directed toward a lunch room down the corridor, from which sounds of an argument can be heard. As the visitors enter the room, they see two middle-aged men, each with a coffee cup in hand, gesticulating wildly at some formulae written on a blackboard along one wall. The two men continue their technical argument apparently oblivious to the presence of the Investigators.

A third, younger man rises from his seat to greet the visitors. The tall and gangly academic wears wire-rimmed spectacles and seems more than a little nervous. He introduces himself as Christopher Langford, a graduate student. Langford halts the argument between the other two men and introduces them. They are Professor Bartholomew Krister, the head of the Engineering Department, and Dr. Andreas Eckermann a lecturer.

Krister is a short stout man who is almost completely bald except for the speckled gray goatee which graces his chin. His face is red and blotchy, a result of his frequent illegal tippling of fine wine. Eckermann is fair-skinned and very Germanic in appearance. His blond hair, blue eyes and good looks have made him a source of some attention among female students on campus.

When queried about the absence of Professor Duncan, Krister says that the absent academic was granted special leave to recover from severe stress. This, he says was induced by a frantic schedule of research. A Psychology Roll learns that this is not the complete story. If pressed, Krister admits that he actually suggested Duncan take an extended leave of absence after having received several complaints from other members of the faculty.

Over the past few months, Krister explains, the Professor's demeanor had altered dramatically, from sociable to more than slightly paranoid. He refused to let anybody but Langford, the graduate student under his supervision, enter the laboratory in which he was testing his new lamps. He was obsessed with the notion that other members of the faculty were trying to steal his ideas. To the best of Krister's knowledge this wasn't the case.

Eventually Duncan's obsessive behavior became a major source of irritation and Krister was forced to insist his colleague take a rest. When forced to leave, Duncan removed all material from the lab, presumably taking it to his home. This has left his student Langford in a difficult position, since he had intended to base his thesis on experiments performed with Duncan's lights.

If asked, any of the three academics are more than happy to supply the Investigators with Graham Duncan's residential address. If asked about the supply of prototypes to Arkham Edison, Duncan's colleagues know nothing about it. Indeed it is the first news they have heard suggesting the new technique has been applied to any practical purpose.

-- Professor Graham Duncan

Tall and bulky, 66 year old Duncan cuts a figure that is at once physically imposing and pitiably ill-proportioned. Where a decade ago his body was fit and well-toned, recent aging and lifestyle have left him paunchy and out of shape. Several short-lived attempts to regain his former fitness have left Duncan with a variety of muscular injuries. He walks with a slight limp as a result of the newest of these.

The Professor's facial features are fine, but remain for the most part hidden behind the thick horn-rimmed glasses he must wear. His eyes are small and squinted, his small thatch of remaining hair almost white. The broad expanse of his brow is furrowed with an intricate network of lines and wrinkles.

Graham Duncan was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1862. Always an intelligent individual, he achieved remarkable academic success first in his schooling and later at the University of Edinburgh. He graduated from the latter institution in 1882 with a degree in Engineering. Following this, he continued his studies in Engineering, in 1887 attaining his doctorate. The research work he reported in his doctoral thesis was generally regarded as full of promise. In 1888 a revised version of the manuscript was published in book form.

After Duncan's impressive entry into academia, the remainder of his career was largely unremarkable. After receiving his doctorate, he took up a lecturing position at the University of Glasgow, performing what little research he could on the side. Following this, he changed positions often, working in universities in England, Germany, Switzerland and Australia. Each change of job was occasioned by an increase in status.

Eventually, in 1921 he accepted a post as professor in Boston University's small department of Engineering. This position allowed him more time to pursue matters of research, an aspect of his career that had scarcely been touched upon since his time at Edinburgh. Realizing that he was rapidly approaching an age where such activities would be curtailed, he dived into his research with some vigor. He was determined to discover something that would immortalize his name, before age claimed him as a victim.

It was this unbridled and desperate ambition that became a kernel for the hideous events of this scenario. For the important 'discovery' he made in 1927 was actually a carefully planned bait laid by an otherworldly force. His eagerness to adopt this invention as his own, and the readiness with which he has spread the dangerous technology, are exactly the characteristics the unearthly entity hoped for.

The past months, since the Professor's fateful encounter with the curious bazaar vendor have seen him steadily decline into insanity. Since first his mind awoke to visions of the life existing in and around what man can perceive, he became increasingly more paranoid. At the same time, each new coherent vision served to bolster Duncan's conviction that what he saw was not mere hallucination but a different aspect of the reality we think we know. Even after some cursory experimentation, however, he remained unsure.

When Duncan read the article in the Boston Globe describing Caruso's foul slaying in Arkham, his mind recognized the horrible truth. The weird sights of a world filled with jelly creatures and hideously malign shadows were not just things he had hallucinated. It was some mode of perception his lamps had preternaturally granted him, and similarly granted the poor residents of Arkham.

Part of him felt a deep sense of guilt, another part great fear that someone would discover how he was responsible for this man's death. Amid his confusion an inner voice of reason told him what he must do: go to Arkham and destroy the lamps before others were placed in danger. By the time the Investigators visit his home in Boston, Duncan has already destroyed the lamp prototypes in his workshop and left for Arkham. In Arkham he chooses to lay low, renting a cheap basement flat in a tenement on S. French Hill St. under a false name. There, he is almost impossible to find

Professor Duncan's role in this scenario is a complex one, played mostly in the background. Despite what Investigators may think from first impressions, he is by no means the villain of this piece, rather he is an unwitting victim of forces unknown. In fact, in his own twisted and insane way, Duncan is very much an ally: his motivation is to undo the terrible wrong he has inflicted upon the world, even as the Investigators ultimately wish to achieve this noble end. Unlike the Investigators, however, the Professor is far from resolute in this aim, his unstable mind fluctuating wildly between anxiety, guilt and fear. These powerful emotions leave him at times pathetic and cowardly, and at other times stern and forthright.

Towards the close of this scenario, desperation forces the unpredictable Duncan to desperate measures. Defying his terrible paranoia he chooses to confide his fears in souls he believes work towards a common goal, the Investigators. See "A Note From A
Cryptic Ally" below for the barely-coherent form this contact takes. Later again in the scenario, his trust of the Investigators fails due to some hint of evil the insane man perceives in something they say or do (see "Duncan on the Telephone"). This precipitates an eleventh hour turnabout in Duncan's plans -- now he must elude the Investigators, agents who aim to foil his grand plan, carrying out his drastic action alone.

Duncan's House

The address the Investigators have for Professor Duncan's house is in a marginally wealthy suburb not far from the University. The house itself, like many in the area, is an immaculately maintained two story Victorian residence. A pretty yet slightly overrun garden graces the rear of the grounds. Along one side of the property runs a driveway and an empty garage with parking space for a single automobile is also situated in the back yard.

No manner of knocking upon either front or back door elicits a response. Both entries are securely locked with expensive foreign locks, bought during a recent wave of break-ins in the neighborhood. Picking these locks is difficult -- would be burglars need to roll below half their Locksmith skill to gain entry. The ground floor windows are securely shut and locked in place. They offer no means of entry short of forcing or breaking them. Such suspicious activity, however, will almost certainly cause Duncan's nosy neighbors to telephone the police. In that instance the local constabulary will arrive within about 15 minutes.

Inside the house all seems in order. Everything is neatly packed away, and there is no sign that anybody has been in the house in the last few days. Two rooms will be of interest to Investigators: the Study and the Basement Workshop. The remaining rooms hold no clues, and are in every way unremarkable.

The Basement Workshop

This place is a mess. Hundreds of shards of broken glass lie strewn amid overturned stools and benches. Nothing remains intact or salvageable. A baseball bat lies against a wall, presumably the instrument used to wreak much of the destruction upon what were once Duncan's prototype lamps. Many of the shattered pieces of glass are still coated with an off-white powder which feels mildly abrasive to the touch. This is the secret coating which gives the lights their special properties. If characters take samples of this powder and have it analyzed, see the section titled "The Cave" below for details of their findings.

The Study

Duncan's study appears the most heavily used room in the house. Bookcases reaching to the ceiling cover three of the walls, an open roll-top desk and a window cover the fourth. A small wooden stepladder for reaching the top shelves of the bookcases sits in one corner of the room. Atop the desk sits an ornate looking electrical desk lamp, its power lead tastefully concealed from view. Next to the lamp a recent photograph of Professor Duncan stands in a gaudy frame. The place is tidy: besides a stack of a half dozen books on the desk, all volumes are neatly placed in the bookcases.

The books atop the desk are all philosophical treatises on perception; Descartes, Boyle, Locke and Voltaire are each represented in the pile. Investigators thumbing through the worn-looking volumes find a few places where passages have been underlined. Each highlighted passage deals with the nature of man's perceptual faculties, and their interaction with reality.

The three drawers of the professor's desk are locked with the key nowhere to be found in the house. Investigators using their Lockpicking skill (or just brute force) have no difficulty in gaining access to them. For the most part the drawers contain little of interest, mainly supplies of stationary. The bottom draw, however, contains a slim diary. The first entry in the diary bears a date approximately two years ago. The last is dated two months ago, on the day Duncan was asked to take a leave of absence from the University. A description of the diary's contents appears in a nearby box.

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Duncan's Diary

(Dated 12 months ago) "Today I saw the most amazing thing. I was walking through the Bazaar near campus when I came upon a stall I had never seen there before. Some new trinket shop I believe.

Anyway, I was just about ready to walk straight past the place when I spied some curious desk lamps the foreign gentleman was selling. I'm still not sure how to describe the qualities of this light, even though I can see the desk lamp I bought from him as I write. There's some kind of opalescence about it which I've never seen from any electric light. Also its brightness and strength are better than anything I've seen running on domestic voltage! I took the lamp down to the workroom and did some experimenting with it. God! Even with half the normal voltage its light is as clear and illuminating as a normal desk lamp. How could that be? I must seek out the foreign gentleman who sold it to me and find out more."

(The next day) "The dark skinned foreigner claims he makes the lamps himself! He says he takes normal electric lights and coats them with some 'secret' powder he alone knows of and they take on the properties I observed. Sounds like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to me. How could some powder coating improve the efficiency of the lamp? I challenged the shopkeep to show me this highly improbable process in action so I could judge the veracity of his claim. Amazingly enough, he agreed: the day after tomorrow he's going to show me not only how the lamps are made, but also his source of this 'miracle' ingredient. I am, of course, highly skeptical. We shall see..."

(Two days later) "It's true! Incredible, but true! Everything that weird, dark-skinned man said was right. I saw it with my own eyes -- he took a cheap common desk lamp of the kind one might buy anywhere, added the weirdly textured grayish powder and ... presto ... the light from the thing was at least twice as bright as it originally was, and considerably more opalescent. My scientific mind is at a loss to
explain it, but it recognizes how important this phenomenon could be! And it could be I that introduce it to the academic world! But I skip ahead of myself ... after the demonstration I was more than eager to take the man up on his offer to see the place he knew where this amazing powder could be found. He told me the place was a cave in a hill not far from Arkham. I drove, he directed... I could tell some of the directions he was giving were designed to make it difficult for me to later replicate the trip, but I think I managed to keep my head straight enough to keep track of where we went. I shall set down..."

The next page has been torn from the diary.

The next few months worth of entries are very short. The entries from just after the professor's "discovery" talk briefly about research he was carrying out at the University. He mentions a paper he had written and sent to a number of academic journals. Later entries talk about the trips he undertook to give presentations of his work at a dozen New England Universities. After these trips, his entries take on a considerably more paranoid tone.

(Dated 6 months ago) "He's out to steal my ideas, I know it. That wretched German! Anyway, it's too late ... my paper will be published soon, and nobody will be able to deny it was I who revolutionized the face of Engineering! I received a letter today from Arkham Edison -- they want to trial my lamps for street lighting. They want 12, ready within four months. Methinks I will be busy, but I know I can do it! But the scum at the Uni who want to steal my glory mustn't know about this. I can do all the work in my workshop, with plenty of time to spare!"

Three months of sporadic entries follow, usually single lines to the effect that work was proceeding well. Starting about three months ago, several references to "hallucinations" appear in the journal. A month later the diary suddenly stops. The last entry reads as follows.

(Dated 2 months ago) "Krister thinks I need a rest does he? Ha! Let him think what he wants. This temporary leave of absence should mean I can finish off the lamps for Arkham Edison within the week. And at least with all my equipment here at home, I KNOW nobody is using it at nights. Let's see Eckermann steal my work now!"
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Investigators choosing to search through the several bookcases in the study find nothing of interest unless they search the very top shelves. This will occasion the usage of the step ladder, since these books are above eye level for even the tallest. On this shelf sit Duncan's philosophy books.

Scanning the spines of these books and making a Spot Hidden Roll, Investigators will discover that one volume is fake. This book contains a cavity in which is sequestered a small notebook. On the first page of the book is written, in Duncan's hand, "Researches into a Perceptual Power Beyond the Five Known Senses." Below this neatly inscribed title is a date, from approximately six weeks ago.

Only the first three pages of the notebook contain writing, the vast majority of it remains blank. The text of what the professor has written is quite jumbled, but the general gist of his thesis is that somehow he has become possessed of a new sense. He calls this sense 'higher sight'. This higher sight is not hallucination, not some random trick of the mind. He can, he claims, see a consistent view of an alien world superimposed over his normal vision whenever a strong light source is present. He briefly describes this alien aspect of reality as "full of quivering semi-transparent things that float like a jellyfish about and through everything." He also hints at shadowy creatures which malignantly hover at the edge of his higher vision.

Persistent Investigators who choose to scan through all the empty pages of the notebook will discover a further secret. Toward the back of the book two pages have been neatly glued together about the edges to form a pocket. Holding the pages up to the light reveals that a folded piece of paper is hidden within this pocket. The only means of removing this sheet is by tearing the pages of the book. Investigators doing this discover that the folded paper is the missing page from Duncan's diary. It contains the professor's makeshift map describing the location of the cave to which the shopkeeper guided him. The map is very crude showing Arkham, many minor back-roads, a country town called Sudbury, a deserted village and a hill.

The Bazaar

Investigators intent upon visiting the stall in the bazaar where Professor Duncan first discovered the weird lamps are in for a disappointment. Neither the trinket stall described in the diary, nor the dark skinned vendor are anywhere to be found. Talking to other shopkeepers in the area reveals that they are a dim memory in most people's minds, having suddenly moved on almost a year ago. Nobody admits to having known or socialized with the foreign shop-owner. Indeed, nobody can even say that they knew his name.

However, one bazaar vendor by the name of Shepley Herber, a seller of second hand books, claims to know something of the dark skinned man. If the Investigators question him (and incidentally agree to buy a book or two), red-headed and fast-talking Herber will relate the following tale.

"Yes, I remember the man you're asking about. Dark skinned man he was .. like an Arab only his features were finer. And do you know why I remember him so vividly? Eh? It was because every time I cast eyes upon him .. and that were quite often since his stall was just across there ... every time I saw him I was convinced that he were someone I'd seen years and years ago. Course I didn't think much about it at the time ... but later, not long after he just up and left one night, I were thinking about him .. and all of a sudden it hit me! That man looked EXACTLY like someone I seen when I was a child, over fifty years ago. And he looked exactly the same.

"I remember, it was when I was staying with my uncle away upstate near Arkham on holiday one Spring in the late seventies. My uncle lived in a tiny farming town called Crawford's Rise. Anyhow, this particular Spring a traveling salesman rolled into town. Now there were nothing unusual about that, but it were the man himself what were unusual; he was the spitting image of the dark skinned man you're asking me about today.

"Course he suffered a fair bit of abuse on account of his color, but the man never said a word, just got on with the business of selling his wares. I remember he had a batch of the prettiest lanterns you ever did see. All ornately inlaid with gold and silver ... and the light these lanterns gave off was the softest light I've ever seen. Anyway I recall these were right popular with the townsfolk who begrudgingly set aside their dislike of the man's color and bought them to the very last one. And then as suddenly as the man had arrived, he left."

If the shopkeeper is questioned further about Crawford's Rise or his uncle's farm, he will tell the Investigators that "the Rise" lay about seven miles west of Arkham in a valley between a couple of rolling grassy hills. He remembers it as an idyllic place. Oddly enough a matter of months after his lengthy holiday stay, his uncle decided to sell the property and move his family back to Boston. The bookseller says he never found out why.

Who is this Dark Man?

The dark skinned shopkeeper who started the chain of events that lead up to this scenario, is not encountered as part of the scenario. By the time the Investigators are interested in seeking him out, he is well and truly gone without any hint remaining of how to find him. Thus, no matter how inventive the Investigators are, they will never solve the mystery of just who this man truly is. Keepers, however, may be curious to know just what earthly or unearthly force set this whole complex sequence of events in motion. Two obvious possibilities are given below. The imaginative Keeper can doubtlessly think of many more.

(1) The Dark Man is Nyarlathotep. Tricking humans into bringing the race one step closer to extinction seems a favorite ploy of Nyarlathotep, though no one knows what manner of amusement he derives from it.

(2) The Dark Man is an immortal sorcerer intent on bringing about the expedient revival of the Great Old Ones. Keepers who prefer a less overt Mythos presence in their campaign may feel more comfortable if the progenitor of the intricate scheme to awaken a lesser Old One, is a human. The sorcerer needs to possess unnatural longevity, however, unless the Keeper has another explanation for how the dark man can appear unaged after fifty years.

Arkham Happenings

Three days after the slaying of Georgio Caruso on Walnut Street, possibly while the Investigators are in Boston, strange happenings return to the street. The events of this evening make front page news in both Arkham and Boston the next morning.

Bizarre Night on Walnut Street

Lurid headlines scream from the front page of the newspaper proclaiming another murder in Arkham's "sleepy Southside." Again the murder has taken place in Walnut Street. The facts of the case, as reported in the large and sensational articles beneath the headlines, are more involved than before.

The victim, Polish immigrant Chris Przedworski, was found murdered in his own home on Walnut Street. Police were initially alerted by neighbors who heard wild almost bestial shrieks coming from the small house. On arriving at the scene the source of this clamor was found to be Przedworski's brother Wojtek. By his hideous wailing it was evident the man was out of his mind. Beside him, on the floor of the small sitting room lay the dead Przedworski, hideously dismembered and mutilated. Although details haven't been made available to the public, the mutilations inflicted upon the Pole are believed to be very similar to those carried out upon the body of Georgio Caruso.

Police escorted the brother to the Arkham Sanitarium, and questioned the residents of nearby houses. Their enquiries unearthed several interesting leads. Firstly, a number of neighbors reported having heard the sound of a gun being fired shortly before the screams of Wojtek disturbed the silence of the street. Secondly, witnesses claim to have seen a man wandering in the street about the time Przedworski must have died. One witness is adamant that the figure was pulp author and local resident Herbert Wade Slocum. When police called to visit Slocum at his home he was nowhere to be found.

The newspaper articles go on to admonish local residents to be careful when traveling the streets at night. To this is appended the typical reassurance from the Arkham Police Department that Southsiders have nothing to fear, and that the perpetrator of these gruesome crimes would very soon be brought to justice.

The Scene of the Crime

Investigators visiting Walnut Street in the aftermath of these horrific events find the general mood of the place very brooding. Everybody goes about their business with a scowl on their face, and nobody is much interested in talking to strangers. Where once happy children played cheerily in the street, the place is now devoid of youngsters, no parent allowing their children out to play. From the door of the nearby Simpson Apartments a stony-faced Mrs. Cilauro angrily shoos a tortoise shell cat out into the street.

Searching the street itself yields two clues. Investigators specifically checking the street lights, or other searchers who succeed in a Spot Hidden Roll will notice that one of the twelve lamps is broken. A small pile of broken glass lies beneath the lamp post. Sharp eyed Investigators searching the ground near the broken lamp (and succeeding in a Spot Hidden) unearth a spent bullet casing from a pistol.

The house in which the deceased Mr. Przedworski and his brother lived is locked up and empty. The police have already performed the unenviable task of removing the decapitated corpse and cleaning up. Investigators interested in poking about in this house must either be willing to obtain the keys to the house from the police or break in.

In any event, searching the house reveals very little. The place is spartan, but quite neatly kept. From the stains on the carpets it is possible to determine that the murder took place in the front room of the house, a mere ten feet from the street. This room is bare aside from an old piano and a single overstuffed chair. The large threadbare carpet is crisscrossed with many long, narrow wheel tracks, possibly from a heavy wheelchair. If any Investigator opens the curtain facing the street, they notice that a street lamp lies directly across the street from the Przedworski house.

Witnesses and Curious Tales

Although the residents of Walnut Street are dispirited and untalkative, persistent Investigators can find locals with interesting stories to tell. It may take some form of persuasion to convince these witnesses to divulge what they saw.

One witness claims to have seen a man on the street just prior to the time that the screaming began. The witness says that the main reason he was noticeable was that he seemed to be avoiding the brightly lit portions of the road, lurking for the most part in shadows. Because of this, it wasn't possible to see the man's face. The witness was, however, able to determine that the man wore a long coat of some dark color.

If Investigators are thorough in their door-knocking of the district they will eventually discover two or three other residents who can verify this story.

A second witness, Ruth Macintosh, makes more unusual claims. Between hay-fever-induced sneezing fits this woman relates what she saw. About an hour before she first heard the sounds of Wojtek's wailing, she saw the author Slocum wandering the streets. This was, she says, not unusual for him, he apparently preferred to stroll the streets after dark. He seemed somehow distracted, although the woman thought nothing of it at the time. As the witness was watching Slocum, she saw a huge dark shadow fall across him. His face twisted in fear as the darkness enveloped him. For a moment there was a blot of impenetrable almost tangible blackness there on the street. Then it lifted, fading into nothingness, but where the author had been was just empty street. He had disappeared.

No matter how many other people the Investigators talk to, they can find nobody to corroborate this story. If they talk of the woman and her tale to other locals they scoff and say "she reads too much of that pulp fiction."

Many other of the local residents the Investigators interview express horror at the sudden and brutal death of Chris Przedworski, who everyone holds to have been a good man. They further wonder who will now look after Chris' younger, blind and crippled brother.

Investigators who think to visit the surviving Przedworski brother in the sanitarium are allowed to do so only if they can convince the sanitarium director that their investigations are important. Those successfully Persuading the director are admitted to the cell where Wojtek now lies slumped in his wheelchair in a catatonic state. Without a successful Psychoanalysis roll, the man makes no response to Investigator questions.

Succeeding in such a roll brings Wojtek to a temporary state of lucidity. In this state he gazes blindly around the ward and waves his arms in distress as he verbally relives the dismemberment of his brother. "Look out! Chris ... Lookout! Behind you ... what is that smoke thing I see? See? What do I mean see? I never see anything in my life. But yes, I can see it .. a ... thing ... behind you, Chris! Behind you! My God! Run Chris! Run! The thing has sharp things ... it will attack you. No! Leave me ... save yourself! Run!" Wojtek then falls into a state of hysteria, his screams eventually bringing sanitarium staff.

Investigators who ignore the nurses' forceful suggestion that they leave, and instead attempt a second Psychoanalysis roll manage to get another few half-shouted sentences from the man. "Leave him! Leave him I say! What want you with him ... already you've killed him ... leave him in peace. No! The beast stole a part of his head. Why? Why!" After this he descends into a far worse state of hysteria than before. Investigators should feel guilty that they have caused a worsening of this man's condition. Sanitarium staff will certainly not be too warm toward them in the future.

Checking with the medical records transferred to the sanitarium by Wojtek's doctor, or asking around Walnut Street confirms that he has been blind from birth.

What Really Happened?

Several distinct happenings combined to create the confusing events reported last night. Firstly, the author Herbert Wade Slocum, a regular late night stroller, had his evening walk interrupted when spontaneously his latent pineal sense awoke. For a short time he gazed about taking in the weird and wonderful vistas he perceived. His wonderment ceased abruptly however when, from out of this curious scene emerged a huge dark mass that sought to envelop him. Despite a slight struggle, the thing easily managed to enclose the author in its bulk and dissolve him, keeping his precious pineal gland as a trophy.

Later in the evening, a second figure wandered the street. Professor Duncan had finally resolved to destroy his creation to prevent further suffering. He deliberately chose to slink about in the shadows to avoid locals catching sight of him. His vision swam again with the strange sights that had already driven him half insane, but he forced himself on. No sooner had he destroyed one lamp with a well-aimed bullet, than the evil rubbery things he feared more than anything began to close in on him. He fled in terror from the street.

Almost simultaneously, the unfortunate Przedworski brothers both experienced their first glimpse of paranormal vistas. For Wojtek it was the only sight he had ever experienced. The same things that the Professor's pineal attracted now hungered after those others it could sense nearby. It took only a short time for the Render to decapitate and dismember Chris Przedworski, stealing his third eye to bring to its master.

A Note From A Cryptic Ally

As the Investigators swarm around Walnut street trying desperately to piece together the horrors that seems to have rained here uninvited, they are themselves being scrutinized. From a number of vantage points -- in a high apartment window, behind a newspaper read on an anonymous bench, under a rickety fire-escape -- a lone, unremarkable figure watches them undetected. This shabby, ultra-cautious man is none other than the elusive Professor Graham Duncan. He watches the Investigators with a keen interest: wondering all the while whether these inquisitive people are working for or against him.

Assuming the Investigators do nothing untoward during their investigations, the good Professor will eventually come to the reluctant conclusion that these strangers are indeed allies. As such, the unstable man attempts to make contact.

Later in the day following the second happening at Walnut Street, one of the Investigators has a strange letter arrive at their home (or hotel). It bears no stamp, apparently having been hand-delivered, although neither the Investigator nor any servants recalls having seen or heard signs of a delivery. Inside the coarse envelope is a single sheet of crumpled paper. The confusing message it bears is reproduced below.

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The Letter From Duncan

From the Darkness, you follow the same Path. Can it be. Can it be. Or have I been tricked again, I wonder. But oh, how could I resist so great a light -- a different light, a light of my invention. Now I live forever in its hell.

But I digress, I ask for no forgiveness for mine own weakness. Each man has his Grand Failure on the spiral path downwards, I suppose. All that I wish is the chance to fix what I have been tricked into inflicting upon those innocents. Walnut Street, you suffer so. Can I help you?

I write to you because I think that perchance we both desire the same thing. That is the cessation of that influence which I have brought here. I have a plan -- the mountain must fall, and perhaps you can aid me. I will contact you again soon to instruct you further.

In the meantime, I am yours in the cult of one

Lucifer.

PS: watch carefully around you. There are agents working for them everywhere. Destroy this note once you have read it and tell no-one of the secrets I have entrusted you.
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Crawford's Rise

Just seven miles west of Arkham, beneath the shadow of the hill locals term "Eye Bone Hill," lays the now-deserted farming town of Crawford's Rise. Half a century ago this tiny settlement thrived, its forty-strong population all making a good living off the land. The sudden abandonment of The Rise in the year 1880 is a mystery which persists to this day. In the course of this scenario its solution may be unearthed.

Library Researches

Investigators discovering either Professor Duncan's crude map or the tale of Shepley Herber will most likely be interested in learning more about the region west of Arkham. Investigations in Miskatonic University's library can reveal some of the more mysterious aspects of this region.

Attempts to find the village of Crawford's Rise on any recent map of the region will meet with failure. Older regional maps drafted prior to 1880 clearly show its location, however. Such maps show The Rise to lie approximately two miles east of the larger town of Sudbury. The terrain of this country is shown to be gently rolling
hills. None of the hills bear names on any map.

Investigators searching the Miskatonic University Library's extensive folklore collection for bizarre happenings in the region are rewarded. A half dozen or so books mention what is usually termed the "Sudbury Disappearance." The most comprehensive treatment is offered in the thick volume "Mysteries of Essex County" in which the following quotation opens the chapter on mysterious disappearances.

"Perhaps the most startling tale of disappearance in Essex County is that of the so-called 'Sudbury Disappearance'. This tale concerns itself with the small farming community of Crawford's Rise, not far from Sudbury. The strange events that transpired in this rustic farming village in the Spring of 1880 are for the most part recorded only in the memories of Sudbury locals.

"Many tales and wild speculation have arisen, but all stories agree on one fact -- that one night in April 1880 the entire population of Crawford's Rise disappeared. Visitors to the village next morning were greeted with empty houses, empty shops, and an empty town common.

"No sign of any of the forty or so residents of Crawford's Rise were ever unearthed. Their earthly possession all still lay in empty houses, arranged as they would have been had their owners still been there to use them. Nothing was found missing or disturbed. To this day, nobody has been able to give an explanation of just what happened to the community of Crawford's Rise that fateful night."

Additional tales of unusual goings on in the area about Crawford's Rise may be found in a few volumes concerning themselves with the legends of local Indian tribes. The scholarly "Mythology and Religion of Massachusetts Indians" (1912) reports the existence of a small (and rapidly dwindling) tribe in the Sudbury region who held a number of singular beliefs.

The folklore of this tribe placed great weight on the periodic awakening of certain unclean spirits of light. At the times of such awakenings, they believed, men and women would begin to go missing -- taken by the spirits as food for some greater entity. In time, once this greater being had consumed enough, he would wake from his great slumber and threaten the tribe. It was only through the ritual chants handed down from the elders, and practiced each year, that the tribe could be saved.

The author comments that he had witnessed the ritual in question and found it to be unlike any religious observance he had witnessed in any other Massachusetts tribe. He goes on to mention that the chant that forms the major part of this ceremony is made up entirely of nonsensical words or sounds. He cites the word-ounds "M'bukthoo" and "Aybon" as examples of this curious linguistic phenomenon. In a footnote he mentions that the latter of these words was the only part of the chant for which the tribe knew any meaning -- Aybon was remembered as a great savior of the tribe from many generations past.

Clever Investigators may recognize the name Aybon as a corruption of the name of the Hyperborean Mythos commentator Eibon (generous Keepers might allow a halved Cthulhu Mythos roll, others might leave the players to make the connection themselves). Such insight provides a means of learning more about the Indian chant. For the chant handed down by the Indian tribe was originally taught to them by the descendants of the Hyperborean colonists who chose Arkham Country as their home. Through scanning the infamous Liber Ivonis in either its Latin or French translation, the appropriate incantation may be discovered:

M'buchthu yltol th'nalek-Xoth
Eibon p'gothoth N'kai chgollng ftagn

The book identifies this as "A Chant Whereby The Powerful May Steal Sight From The Weak" and notes that the spell (described below) can only be cast at night, when
the "Mercifully Unseen One" rises above the horizon.

Since this spell forms the most effective way of succeeding at this scenario, Keepers should allow Investigators the opportunity of learning it in shorter time than the Call of Cthulhu rules would ordinarily allow. One way of handling this situation is to allow a normal spell learning roll after 40-INT hours intensive study of either Liber Ivonis or Jamison's Notebook (see below). The multiplier used for this roll depends on which volume is studied and whether the remainder of the book has already been studied as per the normal rules.

If an Investigator has previously completed a reading of Liber Ivonis, he or she should receive the book's normal multiplier for the roll. If, however, this volume has not been absorbed, the multiplier should be x2 for Jamison's notes and x1 for Eibon's book. Only one Investigator should be permitted to study a single volume at a time.

Once learned, the Investigator may teach the chant to as many others as desired. Learning under these conditions takes 30 minus the INT of the student in minutes.
Furthermore the student must succeed in an INT x 5 roll.

Steal Perception

Aeons before human civilization graced the planet, the great Hyperborean sorcerer Eibon crafted many powerful magicks. This spell is one such incantation. Its principal effect is to temporarily steal the perception of another person or being. That is, for the duration of the spell the target has no input from any of its usual senses, those sensory impulses it would normally receive are redirected to the caster.

The ritual chant which causes this state of perceptual theft can be participated in by as many chanters as desired, although only one person actually casts the spell. Once the chant has been performed continuously for a full hour, a fine net of translucent energy becomes visible. The size of the net is determined by the number and power of the casters. The maximum SIZ of being which the net can fully enshroud is equal to twice the caster's POW plus 4 for each non-casting chanter. The caster can move this net of magical energy at will provided it remains within 15 feet of the caster; as long as the chanting continues it will remain in existence.

If the net is guided in such a way as to entirely encapsulate a being, the spell-caster may attempt to steal the perceptions of that creature. Note that a being need not be a physical manifestation, but could, for example, be a non-corporeal creature. To attempt to steal the perceptions of an enshrouded creature, the caster must match his or her POW against the target's POW on the resistance table. For every non-casting chanter the caster may add 5 points to his or her effective POW for the purposes of this roll.

Failing the roll causes the web to immediately dissipate. The entire chanting ritual must be repeated to bring it into existence again.

Immediate effects of successful theft of a being's perceptions are as follows: the caster temporarily loses all his or her own perceptual capabilities and gains those of the target. The immediate sanity loss for this sudden contact with the mind of another being is 1D4. If the creature's perceptual faculties are grossly alien to those of the caster, the sense input the caster receives may cause additional sanity loss. In the most extreme case (e.g., when the caster is receiving sense data from an utterly alien being such as a Great Old One), this could be as much as a further
1D8 SAN.

The state of stolen perceptions lasts as long as the caster wishes, assuming the chant is being kept up. However, for each hour the target creature's perceptions remain the caster's, the target gets another POW versus POW roll with the same modifiers. If it succeeds, the spell is broken and the web dissipated.

The spell costs the caster 12 magic points and each non-caster loses 5 magic points. It may only be cast at nights when the hideous invisible star of Xoth is above the horizon. This is because, like many spells designed by Eibon, the incantation draws power from the "Evil Star Beyond Sight." At the time of this scenario, this means that no successful casting may commence before 11 pm.]

Rustic Folktales

Investigators questioning residents of Sudbury find them more than eager to discuss the 'Disappearance'. Although the happenings in question occurred almost a half century ago, they remain vivid in the memories of old-timers, and still an occasional topic of conversation.

Sudbury Locals

While pursuing the story of the 'Sudbury Disappearance', Investigators will meet several Sudbury locals. The keeper may use the characters below for whatever purpose desired. Only one, Jed Ashcroft, has a specific role to play.

-- Henry Kastelan

Short, balding and ruddy faced, Henry Kastelan cuts a ridiculous figure as Mayor of Sudbury. Most locals regard him as harmless, and are happy to have him continue in the post he gained by default, as long as he does nothing radical. Adding further to Kastelan's whimsical appearance is the sad attempt at a moustache that graces his face and the old and outdated suits he insists upon wearing.

When talking with Investigators, the Mayor will try to project an air of authority but will most likely come across as self-important. The entire time he will clumsily fumble with his gold-plated fountain pen, dropping it several times.

Additionally, if the conversation takes place in a public place, Kastelan will constantly be peering over his shoulder looking for eavesdroppers. His paranoia in this regard stems from the fact that several rumors have circulated town which could only have started from "malicious overhearing" of his conversations.

-- Thomas Carey

Middle aged and paunchy, Thomas Carey owns and runs the town's General Store. Carey's wife Violet works alongside him, and the two bicker constantly. Most of the time Carey exudes an aura of tired resignation, an outlook of futility and fatalism. However, once away from his wife, the man seems to become a different person. His worn features take on an unexpected vigor, and a sparkle creeps into his eye.

Carey is particularly superstitious and will be firm in his condemnation of the foul nature of the former residents of Crawford's Rise. Of course, he himself was not even born at the time of the disappearance, but has constructed his strong feelings from the stories his father told him as a boy. Therefore, his views aren't particularly objective or useful.

-- Violet Carey

Garrulous and vain, Violet is perhaps an unlikely wife for Thomas. She likes to think of herself as a glamour idol, daydreaming that she is Lillian Gish or Clara Bow. This attitude grates constantly on her husbands down-to-earth sensibilities, and is the source of many a domestic argument. Violet likes to ensure that such altercations occur in public.

Getting Violet to talk will not be a problem the Investigators suffer. Getting her to stop, however, may be. Her favorite pastime is trading tidbits of gossip, particularly about scandalous secrets of respected Sudbury residents. Many such morsels of information come from 'accidentally' overhearing conversations while working on the town switchboard located in the store.

-- Jed Ashcroft

At 71, Jed Ashcroft is the oldest resident of Sudbury and one of the few whose knowledge of the events of 1880 is firsthand. In appearance, Jed is tall, lanky and quite fit for a man his age. He lives alone on a farm just outside town, still plying the family trade of bee-keeping. His skin is leathery from long years of exposure to the sun. His teeth are blackened and uneven from a lifetime of chewing honeycomb.

Jed's outlook on the world is insular; he has lived alone on the farm for more than three decades, and has never longed for company. He finds his frequent visits to Sudbury to be unpleasantly claustrophobic, with too many people in too small a space. The few times he visited Arkham were like nightmares. He has never been further afield. Most people regard Jed as a hermit, an epithet he does
nothing to deny.

While the tales spun by the residents of Sudbury agree in all factual details with the version presented in "Mysteries of Essex County," they are significantly embellished with speculation and superstition. Most of the townsfolk questioned about the events of 1880, piously believe the folk of Crawford's Rise were taken by the Devil to become his servants. In support of this, the rustics point to the 'Devil Lanterns' that the folk of The Rise used regularly in the time just before they suddenly departed. They further point to the way their neighbors in Crawford's Rise changed completely in personality after using these evil lamps. Where once the farmers were cheery and amiable, they became irritable and suspicious, wanting nothing to do with the good folk of Sudbury.

If the Investigators are particularly thorough in their pursuit of rustic folktales surrounding the Sudbury Disappearance, they will eventually be directed to speak to "Old Jed." Septuagenarian Jed Ashcroft is the local apiarist. Visiting his farm just north of Sudbury and interrupting him from his bee-keeping rounds, interested strangers can hear a different version of the 'Disappearance' tale. Sitting on the farm's ample porch, chewing on some honeycomb with his blackened teeth, Old Jed seems to almost fall into a trance as he tells his story.

"You know, back when the events you're a-asking me about were taking place, I was just a young man. Twenty-three I was. I had a brother then, a younger brother by the name of Jeremiah. A fiery boy was Jeremiah, always disobeying our Pa's orders and doin' what he wanted. Anyhow, just a month or so before the Disappearance, Jeremiah went and fell in love with one of the Rise girls; Rose Macintosh she was called.

"O'course Pa told him he didn't want no son of his having aught to do with them folk after they'd suddenly turned queer. But Jeremiah didn't take Pa's pronouncement to heart, and often after everyone was asleep he would sneak out of the farmhouse and go and visit his Rose.

"Well, as it happened, this is just what Jeremiah was doing on the night of the Disappearance, 'cept this time when he got to Rose's window, he found she was nowhere to be seen. So he poked around the house awhile, but there was nobody to be found. The place was completely empty. It was then he noticed the weird greenish light coming from the town common. This light was part familiar to him: it reminded him of the Devil Lanterns he'd seen other residents of The Rise carry.

"I guess the lure of curiosity for this weird light got the better of his sensibilities, or maybe he was just searching for his Rose. Whatever the reason, Jeremiah walked to the village common and saw ... well I'm not perfectly sure what.

"Pa and I were woken in the slim hours of the mornin' by the sound of him scrabbling to get in through the door. All desperate like he sounded. Pa was about ready to show him the rough side of his belt, but when we opened the door and saw the terror in his eyes... well we sat him down and he shook and he mumbled things we could barely make out.

"Anyway after a few hours of us consoling Jeremiah, he began to gain his senses again and he spun us the tale I jus' told you. When he came to tell about what he saw in the common, his voice faltered a lot, and his words came out in a big jumble. From what I could work out it seemed that the light he had seen came from a huge bonfire that someone had lit in the common, only it weren't no ordinary bonfire. All around the place he saw broken glass lanterns -- Devil Lanterns. Someone had thrown them all into the fire, and somehow that had make the flames look queer.

"He could see dozens of people standing around the fire, maybe the entire population of the place. A few of them were chanting something ... my brother couldn't tell what, but he noticed one man, ol' Edgar Jamison, was leading them. But before Jeremiah could scan the crowd for his Rose, or learn more about what was transpirin', somethin else happened.

"It's when telling this part of the tale that poor Jeremiah just broke down in tears and screams, and refused to tell us any more. We made him breakfast and comforted him awhile more, but he still would not talk about whatever it was he saw, cept to say the one thing over and over 'Twer the mountain that ate them.'

"I never did find out what my brother meant by those words. He's dead now ... not many days after he saw what he saw, he took a shotgun out to do some hunting. Well that's what he said, but... well I know he meant to use that shotgun on himself. Tweren't no accident."

Visiting the Ghost Town

Most of the buildings in the long-abandoned farming village of Crawford's Rise still stand, although all items of value have long since been taken. Investigators are free to roam about this ghost town for as long as they wish, but there is little of interest to unearth. Most of the houses and shops remaining are humble one story structures, severely aged by their exposure to the elements.

One somewhat more grand dwelling can be found: a large Gothic country house with discolored walls. This was the home of a semi-retired Arkham Professor of Anthropology by the name of Edgar Jamison. Jamison held a strong scholarly interest in the unusual indigenous tribe that once lived near The Rise. He retired here in the 1850's to continue his study of them at a more leisurely pace.

The notebooks outlining his research remain in the study of the house, evidently passed over by looters as worthless. Reading Jamison's notes takes the Investigators several hours, but in that time they learn a number of things. Firstly the notes cover the lifestyle and religious beliefs of the tribe in minuscule detail. Assimilating this multitude of observations is simple (an INT x 5 roll should suffice), and provides the reader with all the facts described in the "Mythology and Religion of Massachusetts Indians" volume.

The notebook also contains an extensive record of the rituals of the Indians, including a full version of the chant found in the Liber Ivonis. The brief annotation
outlining the purpose of the chant is also included.

Finally, the back of the last notebook contains some sketchy notes on the events leading up to the Sudbury Disappearance that may prove valuable to Investigators. It was not long after the departure of the dark-skinned merchant, relate the notes, that locals began to go missing. At first the folk of The Rise treated these nocturnal disappearances as isolated accidents or secretly motivated departures. As time wore on, the frequency of these strange vanishings increased, and the consternation of the villagers increased.

It was not until a dozen or more townsfolk had gone missing that Jamison realized the parallels between these happenings and the Indian tales of abduction by the light spirits. He surmised that somehow the presence of the weird lamps had awoken these spirits. In his last entry in the book, he resolves to convince the townsfolk the lanterns are evil and that they must be destroyed.

Besides the Jamison house, the only other place of interest in Crawford's Rise is the town common. Although the site of the great bonfire Jed describes is now long overgrown with spindly and unhealthy-looking grass, it is still possible to see the ring of blackened stones which contained the fire. Furthermore, closer investigations reveal that the earth within the circle is covered with a grainy blackish ash. Analyzing this substance reveals it to be essentially identical to the phosphorescent lamp coating (see "The Cave" below for more).

The Cave

Investigators eager to explore the cave from which Professor Duncan fetched his phosphorescent powder find it easy to locate. The hill noted on Duncan's crude map lies less than a mile north of Crawford's Rise. The weirdly hemispherical bulk of this hill, named Eye Bone Hill by locals, overshadows the ghost town casting an even more sinister air upon the place.

Halfway up the northern side of Eye Bone Hill, amid some rather unstable rocky outcroppings, lies a partly obscured entrance. Beyond, a narrow tunnel descends at a shallow gradient. After approximately twenty feet, this tunnel opens out into a huge cavern.

Almost no sunlight graces the cave, requiring Investigators to use their own illumination. When light of any sort strikes the uneven walls of the cavern they begin to glow with a soft light. This light has all the qualities of Duncan's street lamps. Examining the walls up close reveals them to be caked with the same powder used in the Professor's constructions. Tons of the curious whitish powder are present, all of it producing pineal awakening radiation once light has touched it.

The number of "exposure points" accumulated by remaining in the presence of this unholy fluorescence is five times as much as from one of Duncan's lamps.

The landscape that an Investigator perceives to exist in the large central region of the cavern depends on whether he or she is possessed of an active pineal gland. In the case that a cave explorer's third eye has not been awakened, the cave will appear empty aside from the abundant fluorescent powder.

Such Investigators who move into the central region of the cave begin to feel cold and slimy surfaces blocking their progress. These surfaces are totally invisible, yet are clearly physically present. Investigators who navigate their way around these unseen pillars soon find themselves at the base of an equally invisible flight of ascending stairs. These steps are treacherous because of their slimy texture, but any explorer ascending slowly enough is in no danger.

After a dozen or so steps, the stairs end, apparently at a platform of some sort. Investigators brave enough to explore this invisible plateau of slimy rock, soon find themselves brushing against some form of unseen hair or fur. The hair seems coarse and warm to the touch. Any further progress toward the center of the cave is barred by a huge and uneven wall of this hairy texture.

Investigators exploring this invisible landscape should suffer some small loss of sanity, the exact amount depending on how far they explore. As a guide, this should be 1D4 at most.

If, on the other hand, an Investigator venturing into the cave possesses an activated pineal gland, they will perceive a more alien vista. Amid all the usual chaos of floating transparent jelly-things can be seen a weird and non-Euclidean structure. Huge and twisted pillars of purple-veined stone fill the central area, rising all the way to the ceiling far above. The veins in this stone seem to writhe back and forth within the rock to some unheard rhythm. The pillars are placed in a seemingly random arrangement forming a forest of stone.

Beyond this forest, in the very central part of the cave, stands a raised dais of the same stone with stairs leading up to its summit on all sides. From the cave entrance it is difficult to see what lies atop this dais. Those who proceed beyond the forest of pillars, however, can clearly make out the details of the hideous creature that motionlessly sits atop the dais.

The Great Old One appears as a massive conglomeration of black tentacles, each covered in a disgusting uneven mat of red fur. Up close it is apparent that the individual hairs that make up the 'fur' are themselves minute tendrils covered with even smaller protuberances. SAN loss for seeing this sleeping evil is 1D3/1D10.

In the air surrounding the Great Old One fly three Dissolvers and eight Renders. These creatures mercilessly attack any Investigator with an active pineal who ventures closer than the edge of the pillar forest.

If an Investigator takes a sample of the fluorescent powder from the cave and subjects it to scientific testing, they obtain some curious results. Firstly the powder is not actually a mineral at all, but a conglomeration of tiny micro-organisms. These micro-organisms are totally unknown to science. Experiments which expose the organisms to electromagnetic radiation learn that somehow they are able to re-radiate more than twice as much energy as they absorb. No scientific explanation is available as to where the additional energy comes from.

Another observation arising from testing is that the organisms themselves seem impossible to kill. Testers can expose them to extreme heat, extreme cold, radiation, and any number of chemicals, to no apparent effect save a change in the powder's color.

Night of Many Awakenings

Short of remarkable resourcefulness on the part of the Investigators, the hideous revival of the thing beneath Eye Bone Hill will take place the night following the murder of Wojtek Przedworski. No action available to the Investigators can stop this occurring. They may, however, possess enough information (in the form of Eibon's chant) to ensure that the Great Old One's awakening is short lived.

Successfully using this ancient magic to achieve this end requires the Investigators to be present at the hill as the eldritch sleeper rouses. Luckily, the reappearance of the elusive Professor Duncan, a man they're sure to want to catch up with, should lead them to be in the right place at the right time.

Unless the Investigators have destroyed the street lamps in Walnut Street, the night of the awakening is also a night of carnage in Arkham. Five Southside residents go insane, two will be found murdered and mutilated in a now-familiar fashion, and another two will simply disappear. Tales of strange happenings witnessed in the street will scream from the front page of the Advertiser the following morning. In all likelihood, however, the Investigators will have other more pressing matters to contend with by then.

Duncan on the Telephone

In the wake of the confusion caused by this latest set of terrible murders, the Investigators are likely to be stumped. In all likelihood all their leads have dried up by this point, leaving only a desperate desire to somehow stop these horrible visitations. Into this frantic situation comes a ray of hope in the form of the perhaps-long-awaited second contact from the unpredictable Professor Duncan.

While one or more of the Investigators are at home, or in some public place possessed of a telephone, the harsh metallic ring pierces their desperate thoughts. Answering the imperative mechanical call, a voice is heard -- scratchy, unmodulated, but undeniably bearing a hint of a Scottish accent. The caller speaks quickly, almost incoherently. In a wild, almost hysterical scream he tells the Investigator "Tonight, it must be tonight. The horrible thing has been eating all too well. I know that now. I think it's almost ready. Meet me outside the Municipal Works Warehouse at seven tonight."

The Investigators will probably seek clarification from this elusive character. Duncan is largely unresponsive to questions asked of him, continuing instead with his monologue. Any concerted effort to elicit information results in the strained voice going suddenly silent. After a moment of this stark quiet, Duncan mutters in a dull drone "Oh my Lord, I have made a terrible mistake." With that, the connection is broken.

Even in the case that Investigators do not push the point with Duncan, something they do or say should ultimately trip this paranoid reaction. Something, it could be anything, will make him suddenly "realize" that the Investigators have been working with the terrible monstrosities all along, and that the hints he has given them have already endangered his plan. His resolve now shifts towards carrying out his plan unaided, and perhaps to destroy the foul agents in the process.

Duncan Over The Edge

At seven o'clock, the Investigators will probably be waiting patiently beneath the murky street-lighting outside the ugly gray Municipal Works Warehouse for their promised meeting with Duncan. As time passes it becomes obvious that their elusive quarry/ally will not show. Seven comes and goes, as does half-past. Just as the Investigators are ready to give up and leave the site of the arranged meeting, the scene suddenly erupts into action.

From within the Works Warehouse, the sounds of a motor starting up can be heard, closely followed by the loud impatient noises of a puttering revving. And then, without any warning, all hell breaks loose. The wooden door which takes up almost a third of the street frontage of the Warehouse suddenly disintegrates into tinder-wood as a large, powerful truck is rammed through its face. Any Investigators standing outside this part of the Warehouse must Dodge or be struck by the rampaging vehicle (for 1D10 Damage).

Looking at the cab of the truck, swift Investigators can just catch a glimpse of the face of the insane driver. Even despite its obvious thinning of face, prickly white stubble and sagging reddened eyes, it is familiar to everyone who has seen a photograph of Graham Duncan. A thoroughly insane light dances in his eyes, some kind of idiot resolve stronger than anything a sane man can hold within his heart.

The truck, its sides painted with "Arkham Council" rapidly zooms away from the scene of the carnage, weaving erratically through the streets in a westerly direction. Investigators with vehicles nearby may wish to give chase. They may readily do so, but the Keeper should bear in mind that the main purpose of such pursuit is to draw the Investigators to Eye Bone Hill and the climactic closing scenes of the scenario. Hence, Investigators should probably not have the opportunity to stop or overtake the Professor's vehicle. The concluding sections that Duncan arrives at the site of the immanent awakening several minutes ahead of any Investigators. If for some reason the Professor is somehow stopped or otherwise prevented from executing his plan, see "Duncan Foiled" nearby.

Groups of Investigators who don't have vehicles at hand when Duncan's truck rattles past them can still effectively follow the Professor. Any success at an Idea roll guesses correctly that given the truck's westerly velocity, Duncan's likely destination is the region surrounding Crawford's Rise. Investigators who make this connection and proceed to the Rise by whatever form of transport is available to them, observe activity on Eye Bone Hill as soon as they arrive. Exactly what they see taking place depends on when they arrive. Use the Showdown scenario presented below modified so that the first happenings after Duncan's arrival have already been played out. If Duncan has fully executed his plan before the Investigators arrive, assume he has been trapped and killed, the latest victim of the servitors.

Duncan Foiled

If by some means the Investigators have prevented the Professor from carrying out his plan, the Keeper may be required to alter the scenario climax. Exactly how great a modification is necessary depends on whether the Investigators have destroyed the Walnut Street lights or not.

In the case that one or more of these pineal-awakening lamps still shine, the Great Old One's revival will still take place tonight. One or more of its servitors will bring active pineal bodies to the sleeper, fresh from the murderous happenings in Southside. These morsels of occult sustenance will be the last the being requires to shake off its aeons of slumber.

Awakened, the thing forces its way out of the cave shrine, causing a landslide similar to the one the Professor's plan would have induced. From this point onwards, the plot proceeds as in the normal resolution.

Alternatively, if Duncan's plans are foiled and the Walnut Street lamps have all been destroyed, the Investigators have effectively prevented the awakening of the Great Old One. That is, of course, until such time as it is fed its last pineal meal. And who knows just when that might be?

Showdown at the Cave

By the time the Investigators arrive on the scene, Duncan has already scaled midway up the side of Eye Bone Hill to near where the cave entrance is located. His silhouette is clearly visible in the strong light of the full moon. As his pursuers ascend after him (or watch him), the Professor inexpertly lays several explosive
charges around the cave mouth.

Once the desperate Duncan catches sight or sound of close pursuit he redoubles his efforts to hastily complete the deployment of the charges. Unless Investigators manage to sneak up behind him and catch him unawares, the Professor will detonate the explosives before anybody can prevent him doing so.

It is only once the charges have been set off that Duncan's lack of demolitions expertise becomes manifestly obvious. For, rather than causing the cavern entrance to collapse, the blasts actually destabilize a large area of rock surrounding the opening. The result is a small landslide: hundreds of tons of rock and dirt slip down the western face of the hill, sweeping Duncan and any other hill climbers in its wake. Everybody caught up in the landslide suffers 1D6 damage as they are buffeted down to the base of the hill.

Once the dust clears, onlookers witness an altered scene. Firstly, the once narrow cave opening is now approximately fifty feet wide. Light from the full moon overhead spills gently into the opening and thus into the cavern within. A much stronger green-tinged light issues forth from the hole, phosphorescence from the cave walls. The whole vista seems drenched in this illumination, its quality reminiscent of the street lamps. This light seems, however, considerably brighter and more pervasive. It is a strong pineal stimulus. Each minute of exposure to this evil illumination causes the accumulation of exposure points equal to twice an Investigator's POW.

Investigators with awakened pineal bodies, or whose glands are surreptitiously activated by the sudden light from the cave, see that six Renders and two Dissolvers now float about the mouth of the cave. As onlookers watch, two of these creatures separate from the group and begin to make forays against individuals whose active glands contain the food their master needs.

Since the sleeper needs but one more meal before he can rouse from his slumber, the roving servitors will attack with some desperation. If the hunting servitors are slain, replacements from the company guarding the cave will take their place and continue the attack.

A likely target for attack is the now-helpless Professor Duncan. He lies trapped beneath stone and rubble at the foot of the hill not far from any Investigators similarly swept down the hillside. Only his head and one shoulder protrude above the pile of rock. He has only 5 hit points remaining. Investigators searching for the partly-buried Professor need a successful Spot Hidden roll. One such roll can be attempted per round. It takes six man-rounds to dig the weary academic out from his stony prison.

The pineal-hungry servitors will continue to harass those at the base of the hill until their master has received his last meal. This can occur in several ways. Firstly the creatures may scoop a functioning gland from the still-warm brain of anybody slain under the shadow of Eye Bone Hill. Professor Duncan will be a likely target, being incapacitated and already weak.

The other potential source of the sleeper's last meal is the people of Walnut Street. If any of Duncan's street lights still shines over the accursed street, Renders and Dissolvers will murder more residents to obtain the last glands their master needs. If this source of sustenance is still open, a Dissolver with the needed food will arrive at the hill fifteen rounds after the explosion.

Once the servitor bearing a captured pineal is safely in the cave, all others will also withdraw into the cavern to await their master's revival.

The Sleeper Stirs

The full awakening of the Great Old One beneath Eye Bone Hill will take quite some time even after it consumes the final morsel of food. It is during this time, while the sleeper is only partly awake, that the Investigators still have a chance of preventing the monstrosity from attaining permanent freedom.

Even having consumed the occult substances it obtained from the human pineal bodies, the thing still requires a second unearthly reagent before its revival is permanent: the non-electromagnetic radiation emitted by the invisible living star Xoth.

If, through stealing the thing's perceptual faculties, the Investigators deny the sleeper of this weird light, the Great Old One's awakening will be limited to a mere three hours. After this time, the thing will retreat back into its shrine, there to descend again into slumber awaiting a more fortuitous time to reenter the world.

Immediately following the sleeper's consumption of the last pineal, changes begin taking place within the cave. The hundred black tentacles, each patchily coated with uneven red hair, begin to move slowly and rhythmically. Their movement is in time with the same unheard music to which the column veins sway. The sleeper's attendants, the remaining dissolving monstrosities and their rending brethren, dance in a curiously asymmetrical pattern around the base of their master's podium.

After ten minutes, the Great Old One slowly begins to move from his place of rest. A hundred tentacles, each covered with a thousand smaller tendrils, begin to slowly draw the thing from the podium and down the stairway closest to the now-huge opening to the world outside. Once its snail's-pace of slimy locomotion has lead it to this threshold it halts.

The hideous form, bathed in the evil green light from the cavern, is now visible to all at the hill's foot who can sense the non-electromagnetic radiation the thing reflects. Those unfortunates who witness the waving, twitching tentacles of the Great Old One suffer a SAN loss of 1D6/1D20. An Investigator who has already lost SAN for previously witnessing the thing's inanimate form only suffer a 1D3/1D10 loss now.

The partly woken sleeper will remain at the threshold for almost three hours, almost motionless, gently swaying its tentacles at the stars unseen. This time is a perfect opportunity for Investigators to use Eibon's chant to capture the perceptions of the blasphemous being. To effectively guide the net of magical energy to wholly encapsulate the alien creature requires that the spell caster climb to within a dozen feet of the cave entrance. While this may seem a dangerous proposition, it is actually safe. During this stage of the Great Old One's awakening it will attack no one, instead intent on bathing in the alien glow of its home world. The visions that a successful caster steal are utterly alien in nature: half-dreams of outre cities which are at once too organic and too asymmetric, vistas of non-Euclidean geometric shapes, visions of squirming living dead things, and a myriad of other less identifiable sensations.

Successfully depriving the entity of its perceptions for more than half of its appointed waking time (i.e., an hour and a half) ultimately has the desired effect. At the end of its three hours of waiting, the Great Old One will blindly retreat into its cave shrine. As it does so, it emits a curious cry, half gurgling half high pitch wailing.

Once inside the cavern, the unspeakable thing will feel its way through the rock forest and ascend the stone dais. It will enigmatically wait there for several minutes, tentacles and tendrils flailing wildly about, ejecting caustic clouds in all directions. After ten minutes, this frantic violence stops quite suddenly. The Great Old One has voluntarily lapsed into its safe state of inanimacy, content to wait until such time as the stars are closer to their appointed patterns.

Investigators with a more violent or desperate bent may attempt to use physical force against the partly awakened thing. This is a dangerous proposition. As soon as any damage is done to their master, all remaining servitors emerge from the cave to protect it. It may, however, still be possible to force the revived Great Old One back into its shrine. If Investigators manage to reduce the thing's hit points to zero, it will retreat into the cave as described above. In this instance it will likewise descend into inanimacy awaiting a more suitable time for its awakening.

If the Investigators do not manage to successfully deprive the creature of its perceptions for at least an hour and a half, and do not drive the thing off with weapons, they have failed. The black tentacled monstrosity, tendrils waving with a new-found freedom, will slither down the side of Eye Bone Hill, now completely awake. Unless the Investigators interfere, the thing, looking disgustingly like an enormous mass of writhing black hairy worms, will make its way toward a small wood a half mile north of the hill. There it will brood and make unknowable plans for the demise of local populations.

Conclusion

The Investigators succeed in this scenario by either completely halting the awakening of the creature beneath Eye Bone Hill, or making the thing's awakening brief. The former can be achieved only by destroying every one of Duncan's street lamps before the requisite number of pineal glands has been collected and preventing Duncan's suicidal plan. Investigators achieving this are awarded 2D6 SAN each, as well as an additional 1D10 SAN if they understood the nature of the thing beneath the
hill.

The second, and far more likely method by which success may be achieved is by using either Eibon's Chant or physical damage to force the awakened thing back into its cave shrine. The SAN reward for achieving this is 1D20 -- Investigators will have more than deserved it.

If the Investigators fail to contain the worm thing's awakening, the consequences are potentially severe and long term. While a single lesser Great Old One is nowhere near powerful enough to consider overtly subjugating the local populace, covert violence against humanity is a definite possibility. The number of disappearances in and around Arkham will skyrocket as the awakened blasphemy makes ready the way for others of its race to return. Investigators who link the sudden rash of disappearances with their failure stand to lose 1D6 SAN.

Regardless of whether the Investigators succeed or fail, the disappearances and insanity on Walnut Street continue so long as some of Duncan's street lights remain. While the Renders will no longer stalk the street (they hunt only for their master's food), the Dissolvers will certainly still be interested in eating those humans it can perceive. For a similar reason, the lands around Eye Bone Hill will not be safe until the gaping hole in the hillside is somehow covered. Investigators may get a nasty shock if they have succeeded in this scenario but continue to read news of disappearances that seem related.

Statistics

Michael Farr, insane astronomer

STR 10 CON 12 SIZ 14 INT 16 POW 18
DEX 7 APP 10 EDU 18 SAN 12 HP 13
Skills: Astronomy 95%, Spot Hidden 55%

Georgio Caruso, fated Milk Deliverer

STR 15 CON 14 SIZ 18 INT 10 POW 17
DEX 11 APP 14 EDU 9 SAN 43 HP 16
Damage Bonus: +1D6
Weapons: All at base chances.
Skills: Accounting 35%, Fast Talk 50%, Locksmith 80%

Shepley Herber, book seller

STR 11 CON 14 SIZ 13 INT 17 POW 11
DEX 14 APP 15 EDU 12 SAN 65 HP 14
Damage Bonus: 0
Weapons: Baseball Bat 45%, damage 1D8; .45 Revolver 25%,
damage 1D10+2
Skills: Bargain 75%, Fast Talk 60%, Natural History 20%

Wojtek Przedworski, blind and insane witness

STR 6 CON 5 SIZ 13 INT 10 POW 17
DEX 12 APP 9 EDU 11 SAN 8 HP 9
Skills: Scream Incoherently 80%

Jed Ashcroft, apiarist

STR 13 CON 18 SIZ 17 INT 12 POW 15
DEX 13 APP 9 EDU 13 SAN 74 HP 18
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Weapons: 12-gauge Shotgun (two barrel) 55%, damage
4D6/2D6/1D6
Skills: Avoid Bee-sting 60%, Drive Auto 40%, Natural History
65%

Graham Duncan, Bostonian Professor of Engineering

STR 14 CON 12 SIZ 18 INT 18 POW 13
DEX 11 APP 6 EDU 20 SAN 4 HP 11
Damage Bonus: 0
Weapons: .32 Revolver 30%, damage 1D8; Pocketknife 40%,
damage 1D3
Skills: Electrical Repair 100%, Cthulhu Mythos 7%, Library
Use 60%

Eight Renders
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7
#8
STR 13 14 15 17 12 16 16
11
CON 14 10 14 12 12 16 13
12
SIZ 44 48 36 44 44 38 39
40
INT 7 7 8 3 6 11 6
4
POW 2 3 6 6 1 6 6
1
DEX 16 14 10 15 12 15 19
13
HP 29 29 25 28 28 27 26
26
Move --------------------10 --------------------
Damage Bonus +3D6 +3D6 +2D6 +3D6 +2D6 +2D6 +2D6
+2D6

Weapons: Tentacle (x5) 45%, Damage 1D10 + db + 1D6 per round target held
Armor: When incorporeal, Renders take no damage from physical attacks. When corporeal their tentacles have 3 points.
Spells: none
Sanity Loss: 1/1D6

Three Dissolvers
#1 #2 #3
STR 44 44 45
CON 31 39 34
SIZ 82 81 80
INT 9 4 6
POW 5 4 10
DEX 11 10 10
HP 57 60 57
Move ------- 8 ------
Damage Bonus +7D6 +7D6 +7D6

Weapons: Envelop 100%, immediate damage is db. All non-enchanted earthly material dissolved in two rounds.
Armor: Invulnerable to physical attack when incorporeal. Otherwise 3 points. Also impaling weapons do minimum damage.
Regenerates 5hp per round.
Spells: none
Sanity Loss: 1D3/1D10

The Sleeper, Great Old One

The creature that sleeps beneath Eye Bone Hill is a lesser member of the alien race of beings which counts Cthulhu as its High Priest and Leader. Being a less powerful individual of the species, the mystical forces that bind the Great Old Ones "until the stars are right" hold this being less strongly. Thus, it can conceivably arise slightly before the appointed time.

The Sleeping Great Old One is entirely invisible to normal vision. However, humans with developed pineal-sight may view the thing's gruesome visage. In appearance the being reminds the observer of nothing so much as an enormous knot of writhing hairy worms. A hundred tentacles, each coated with countless smaller red hairlike tendrils, comprise the thing's body. It has no eyes, or any other sensory organ to which humanity might relate. Nor does the being have a mouth, instead absorbing its food through the million sucker-like protuberances which grace the ubiquitous red tendrils. These protuberances can break down most organic matter by excreting a highly caustic powder (actually a conglomeration of micro-organisms).

Investigators unfortunate enough to find themselves in combat with the tentacled monstrosity will have a hard time. Firstly, the thing has at least sixteen tentacles that can be simultaneously used to attack, although each must strike against a different (man sized) target. The Great Old One, unlike its servitor races, is fully capable of sensing any human in any illumination, pineal-awakening or otherwise. Thus, anybody is a fair target.

Besides the tentacle attack, the thing may attempt to crush opponents with its sheer weight. Unrestrained targets of this attack should be allowed some manner of Dodge Roll to avoid this attack. The Sleeper's final mode of attack is to cause all the suckers on a single tentacle to eject a 10 foot spherical clouds of caustic excreta. This is the standard manner by which it purges unwanted substances from its body.

Anyone unlucky enough to find themselves in a cloud of excreta not only takes damage, but can be blinded for a short period of time. Targets must match their CON against the cloud's POT of 12. Failure means the individual is blinded for one round per 5 he or she failed the roll by.

Once the caustic 'powder' has been exposed to air for more than a few minutes it begins to lose its corrosive properties. It is this unreactive form of the Great Old One's excreta which adorns all corners of the thing's cave shrine, not to mention Duncan's street lamps.

STR 32 CON 50 SIZ 40 INT 26 POW 25
DEX 11 Move 8 HP 45
Damage Bonus: +3D6
Weapons: Tentacle 80%, damage db x2 + 1D3 caustic excreta damage per round
Crush 100%, damage 8D6
Caustic Excreta Cloud 75%, damage 3D3 + blinding
Armor: No armor, but all physical attacks do minimum damage.
Additionally, the Sleeper can regenerate 2 hits per round, although it cannot regenerate damage done to a severed tentacle.
Spells: All Call and Contact spells.
Sanity Loss: 1D6/1D20 Sanity points to see the Sleeper awakened.

Chaosium Digest Classics: The Trail of Ysgar

2008-05-06T10:34:00.005-07:00

by Frank Sronce
Originally presented in Chaosium Digest v29.11 on Friday, December 31, 1999

[Editor's Note: Thanks to our anonymous commenter for finding the author of this article.]

INTRODUCTION
This adventure assumes that the PCs are waking world investigators, preferably ones who have at least a passing acquaintance with the nature of earth's Dreamlands. It is designed so that it could be inserted into an existing Dreamlands adventure without much modification. The basic idea is that the PCs need magical aid from a Dreamlands wizard, and the difficulties involved in getting it. The Chaosium Dreamlands supplement is probably necessary, although a creative Keeper could do without it.

SETUP
The investigators are contacted by a relative of Simon Brown, a part-time occultist with whom they have occasionally corresponded. Simon's personality has undergone a dreadful change, and Simon's brother hopes that the investigators may be able to shed some light on his condition.

SIMON BROWN
Simon is a public accountant by day, whose only notable oddity has been his collection of antiques and occult materials. He is not a particularly respected figure in the field of occultism, being more of a dabbler and private enthusiast than an expert on the subject. PCs who have talked with him before will remember him as a well-dressed but somewhat awkward man, highly intelligent, but not particularly sure of himself.

Outwardly, Simon still appears to be the same, albeit a little more ragged. Conversation will soon reveal the cause of his family's concern. Simon seems more like a soulless husk than a full human being. His emotions are drained, his manner sullen and he seems almost lobotomized. He may stare into space past an investigator's shoulder, or suddenly drop a thread of conversation in midsentence and refuse to resume it.

A talk with Simon's doctor will reveal little. The patient is sullen, irritable and has trouble sleeping. He regularly loses patience with his therapy and refuses to cooperate. In particular, he became violently upset when questioned about his dreams, maintaining that he never has any. The doctor is theorizing that Simon may have had some sort of minor stroke, but as yet has been unable to detect any signs of it.

The PCs can get access to Simon's collection without much difficulty. Simon dislikes the very subject of his collection and talks about wanting to have all of it thrown out. This upsets his family even more, because Simon's collection has been his pride and joy for many years.

THE COLLECTION
Simon's collection of antiques is full of bric-a-brac and oddities. Ornate lamps, old books, a bizarre musicbox that has little dancing satyrs that move up and downwhile it plays. If the Keeper desires, he can insert additional objects or texts useful to the investigators here. Simon also kept a journal, which the investigators will doubtless peruse. The journal contains innumerable notes about the antiquity and origins of his various pieces, but it is the last few entries that are most useful. Simon wrote enthusiastically about the wondrous effects of a particular quartz crystal on his dreams at night, and considered it his favorite piece. The crystal itself he keeps in a small, ornate box with velvet lining.

The crystal is just a large shard of quartz, about the size of a man's hand. It appears to have been broken off of a larger piece, but is otherwise unremarkable. Any scientific tests performed upon it will yield nothing out of the ordinary. It is just a hunk of quartz.

A successful Library Use roll will piece together the fact that Simon would simply sit and stare at the crystal for 20-30 minutes before going to bed. He would apparently then have the most remarkable dreams that night, although his journal never goes into particularly great detail. If no one succeeds in the roll, they will still know that the crystal was used to enhance his dreams in some fashion, but will be unclear exactly how it did so. Simon's journal never quite spells it out simply because the process is so simple he never needed to write it down. Some experimentation may be necessary for the investigators to figure it out, but it probably won't take them very long.

Investigators familiar with the Dreamlands may recognize a few of the names he mentions in his journal as cities of the Dreamlands, the most recognizable one being Celephais. Many of the others are unrecognizable, probably being the names of small towns and specific people.

ENTERING THE DREAMLANDS
If the PCs are at all familiar with the nature of the Dreamlands, they should be able to piece together that something has happened to Simon's dream-self. The dream-Simon hasn't merely died. That wouldn't normally bring about such drastic changes to his personality. Simon's dream-self is somehow trapped and can't return, even though his waking world form has regained consciousness.

Hopefully, the investigators will resolve to try and use the crystal. Attempting to find Simon's dream-self without it will be very difficult, as they have no obvious leads. If they do try the hard route, they can start going through the names mentioned in his journal and travelling to all of those places. In this manner they can doubtless eventually find their way to Rinar, but using the crystal would be much, much, easier. Note that even if the investigators don't figure out Simon's notes, anyone who spends a good period of time studying the crystal will probably trigger its properties by accident.

Basically, anyone who focuses on the crystal shard for any real length of time will find their dream-selves drawn into the Dreamlands when next they sleep, always appearing in the same place in the hills northeast of Rinar.

THE HILLS
The dreamer(s) will always appear in the same spot: next to a great, man-sized outcropping of pink quartz crystal jutting out of a rocky hill. Any close examination will spot a jagged area where a chunk of the crystal has been broken off. It exactly matches the shape of Simon's crystal chunk.

The only effect that the crystal has on the dreaming rules is that investigators who use it can enter the Dreamlands automatically, but that they will always arrive in the same spot. Investigators who try can force themselves to return to the waking world by concentrating on the empty spot where the crystal shard originally joined with the outcropping. An Idea roll, as usual, is required to retain anything more than vague memories of their time in the Dreamlands. The investigators will arrive wearing Dreamlands equivalents of their normal gear. Guns will be translated to swords, and most smaller weapons to knives. Whatever money they would normally carry will take the form of small silver and copper coins.

RINAR
Once the nature of the crystal shard is established, hopefully the investigators will dream themselves to Rinar en-masse and investigate further. Rinar doesn't receive much attention in the Dreamlands book: the extent of its description is "Rinar's walls and buildings are made of large blocks of yellow moss-agate inlaid with copper. This is yet another seaport with frequent communication with Celephais." The 4th edition rulebook adds "Rinar is particularly notable for its merchant quarter, and for its temple of the Great Ones, which looms over the processional boulevarde." Just about any other small dreamlands community could be substituted if the Keeper desires.

LOOKING FOR SIMON
Rinar is a bustling place, and the investigators are clearly foreigners (although few folk will even grasp the idea that the investigators are from another world). Queries about Simon are almost certainly doomed to failure, as he did not use that name here. If an investigator is skilled enough to draw Simon's face, or if they question people extensively about the quartz outcropping outside of town, they may find a few people who vaguely remember a smiling fellow who used to enter and leave town in that direction, but he hasn't been seen for many months. If they ask about his name, different people remember different names, or can't quite remember ever hearing his name at all.

The priests of the temple of the Great Ones are serene, kindly men who are relatively well educated. They know of the Waking World, and will probably recognize the investigators as such unless they take pains to hide their nature. The priests know nothing of Simon, nor of anything in the area that might be able to trap a man's soul, but they are willing to pray for the investigators' good fortune. Attempts to get them to make contact with the Gods of Earth on the investigators' behalf will be treated with contempt.

If the PCs make a good impression on any of the locals, perhaps impressing a priest by making a contribution to the temple, they will suggest that the investigators speak with the wizard Hawklin, who maintains an isolated home to the south of the city. He is said to be very powerful, and very skilled at divination.

HAWKLIN'S HOME
Hawklin lives alone in an isolated, vine-covered, two-story house surrounded by a high bronze fence. The gate has a bell attached to it, and a path leads from the gate up to the house proper. The fence and the house itself are covered with a clinging vine of some strange variety. It has white flowers and small thorns. A successful Spot Hidden roll may notice tendrils of the vine moving on their own, or the skeletal remains of several small animals caught in the vines. The vines quite noticeably do not touch any part ofthe gate or the door of the house.

Anyone who foolishly attempts to climb the fence or scale the side of the house will trigger the vines to attack. They constrict with a Strength of 12, and inflict 1d3 damage per round. Dodging this attack normally means leaping away from the vines. It would be nearly impossible to avoid being entangled by them while climbing the fence or house (a DEXx1 check is necessary, otherwise the investigator is constricted). The vines obey Hawklin's verbal commands. Currently, they are set as a guard against intruders, and will kill anyone they catch unless Hawklin orders them to release their captive.

HAWKLIN
Hawklin is a powerful mage with dark hair and beard and gray eyes. He claims to hail from the ancient kingdom of Lomar, although he dislikes discussing his past or why he now lives in a land so distant from his original home. He appears to be about fifty years old.

Hawklin of Lomar, Ancient Wizard
STR 11, CON 12, SIZ 12, INT 16, DEX 14, APP 11, EDU 15, POW 24, MP 40, SAN 45, HP 12

Important Skills: Cthulhu Mythos 45%, Dodge 35%, R/W Serpent Tongue 35%, Alchemy 45%, Dreamlore 75%, Occult 85%

Spells Known (spells with asterisks are described later): Deflection, Emerald Darts of Ptath, Summon/Bind Shade, Summon/Bind Byakhee, Lavender Spheres of Ptath, Crystomancy*, Woeful Itch, Soul Stealer, Malign Growth*, Spiritual Well*, Opaque Wall, Seraph's Glory, Gate, Dread Curse of Azathoth, Devolution*, Lesser Ward*, Lassitude of Phein, and Voorish Sign.

When the investigators first speak with Hawklin, he will be brusque and unhelpful. He is in the middle of an experiment and he cannot waste time with their request. He maintains that his magic can EASILY locate this missing 'friend' but that he is simply too busy at the moment and advises them to return in a few months.

Hawklin will produce various excuses why he cannot help them, and unless one of the investigators reveals themselves as either a wizard or a traveler from the Waking World, Hawklin will refuse to aid them. Hopefully the investigators will be able to get across to Hawklin that they are not locals, and that they are skilled at ferreting out information. If Hawklin has any reason to believe that they can be of any aid to him, he will ask them inside for a private discussion.

After extracting a few promises not to reveal this information to the locals, Hawklin will explain that he uses Crystomancy for his divinations, a method he considers superior to all other forms of divination in every way save one: it requires a specially enchanted crystal to scry with, and Hawklin's has been stolen. Without it, he cannot find Simon or anything else for that matter. While his magic is quite powerful, his divinatory abilities are the primary source of his income. Hawklin is in quite a stew. His pride forbids him to admit to the theft for fear of damaging his reputation. He doesn't know how the crystal was stolen. The thief somehow not only passed through his magical vines unharmed, he somehow bypassed the ward on the door to the room where Hawklin kept the crystal. If the investigators can find the perpetrator and return the crystal to him, he will gladly turn all of his powers to locating their missing friend. He is clearly furious and frustrated at the theft and his inability to resolve it himself.

THE SCENE OF THE CRIME
Wise investigators will doubtless want to examine the evidence for themselves. Hawklin will show them around. There are small marks on a window sill where someone climbed in, and the vines on that part of the house are oddly damaged. Their roots have been pulled free of the house in places, as though someone climbed them without triggering an attack.

The door to Hawklin's scrying room can only be opened by him. Anyone else will trigger a nasty ward that shocks them for 1d3 damage and magically holds the door shut with a STR of 24. There are no signs of forced entry, and in any case Hawklin maintains that successfully forcing the warded door open would dispel the ward and it is still intact. Hawklin describes the crystal as a translucent yellow-orange ovoid crystal about the size of a man's head. It is clearly unrelated to the shard of quartz the investigators found in Simon's collection, although somei nvestigators may jump to a different conclusion.

Along with the crystal, the thief took several minor arcane symbols cast in gold and a bowl filled with silver and gold coins, some of which were quite ancient. If asked for a description, Hawklin will state that most of the currency was local, but that several of the gold coins were from the far West and had an ornate dragon design on both sides ofthe coin.

TRACKING DOWN THE THIEF
The investigator's best bet is to check out the merchants in Rinar. Eventually, they should reach Hiram the Moneylender, who will recognize the description of the dragon coins. So long as no impropriety on his part is insinuated, Hiram (a rotund, friendly fellow) will be quite helpful. He does know of a young widow who recently bought her family out of debt with some old coins, some of which had dragons on them. He can direct the investigators to Janeta's house.

JANETA AND YSLIN
Janeta and her teenage son, Yslin, live alone in a somewhat ramshackle home on the outskirts of Rinar. Janeta is a blonde woman in her late thirties, who until recently earned a living as a maid for an upper-class merchant family. She is polite, happy, and more than a little vapid. If pressed about her newfound wealth, she will stammer some explanations about inheriting it from a recently deceased uncle, and will be reluctant to discuss it any further, taking any opportunity to change the subject.

If asked about Simon, she will remember him as Ysgar, a charming traveler who roomed with them for a time and was practically a surrogate father to her son Yslin. Her description of Ysgar will physically match Simon perfectly, but her description of his manner will be totally different. Where Simon was a staid family man, Ysgar was a swashbuckling rogue, given to wanderlust and fanciful stories.

Janeta's son, Yslin, is a sullen and suspicious type who will be uncommunicative if the investigators take the wrong tack with him. He can be drawn out, though, by discussing distant lands and fantastic adventures. He remembers Ysgar quite fondly, and says that the man taught him a number of things, like how to climb trees and how to read and write. Ysgar was always in and out of town in a hurry, never staying for more than a couple of months, but Yslin still treasures the memories of their time together. He has not seen Ysgar for more than a year, though, and has given up hope that Ysgar will ever return.

Daring investigators who manage to snoop through Yslin's room may discover a hidden box containing Hawklin's crystal and one of the golden icons he lost, but neither Janeta nor Yslin would ever voluntarily let the investigators search the house.

YSLIN, young thief-mage
STR 10, CON 13, SIZ 9, INT 15, DEX 17, APP 13, EDU 6POW 10, MP 10, SAN 65, HP 11

Important Skills: Dodge 55%, Climb 85%, Sneak 85%, Spot Hidden 75%, Pick Locks 40%, Jump 60%, Read/Write 45%

Spells Known: Ysgar's Suppression*, Eyes of the Cat*

RESOLVING THE PUZZLE
Obviously the investigators must return Hawklin's crystal to him in order to progress any further. There are several ways in which this can be accomplished. They could steal it back from Yslin, blackmail Janeta into turning it over, or simply tell Hawklin who took it and let Hawklin handle it himself.

If the investigators return with the crystal, the first thing that Hawklin will want to do is to scry the whereabouts of the thief so that he can properly mete out his vengeance. As soon as he knows that Yslin is responsible, he will rush out of his house, heading straight to Janeta's home. Unless the investigators interfere, he will render Janeta unconscious with Lassitude of Phein, then cast Soul Stealer on Yslin, trapping his consciousness in a tiny sphere.

Hawklin will ask the investigators to bring Yslin's body back to his house for safe keeping. He will speak to the sphere containing Yslin's mind, taunting him and furiously demanding to know how the thief bypassed his defenses. If the investigators ask, Hawklin will let them speak with the boy's soul as well, which only requires the investigator to hold the sphere and concentrate.

YSLIN'S STORY
Yslin's mind is terrified, tearful, and apologetic, but Hawklin just is more interested in ranting at him than actually questioning him. If the investigators speak with him, he will gladly confess everything. Ysgar was more than just a wanderer. He was a skilled and daring thief, who used potent magic to aid his thefts. He not only taught Yslin to climb and sneak about, he also taught him a few spells he had found useful. Yslin used Ysgar's Suppression* to bypass Hawklin's defenses, but he claims he only did it to get his mother out of debt. He doesn't know where Ysgar is now, but knows that Ysgar had grown bored with the Dreamlands and had left seeking a new realm to explore.

Once Hawklin has a bit of time to think, he will announce his solution for the problem. He will use the Devolution spell to turn Yslin into a bestial, mindless guardian under his control and set the boy to defend his house against any future thieves. If the investigators do nothing to interfere, he will do just that.

HAWKLIN'S AID
Once the issue of Yslin is settled, Hawklin will gladly use his crystal to scry for Ysgar. He will determine that Ysgar has left these lands of Dream and entered a deeper realm where the goblin spirits live. In return for their aid (or all of their money if their aid was lacking), Hawklin can open a 1 POW gate between this realm and that one, letting the investigators continue their search for Ysgar.

SANITY AWARDS
If nothing is done to prevent Yslin from becoming Hawklin's guard dog, investigators will lose 1d6 Sanity apiece for seeing what becomes of the boy, not to mention the tearful protests of his mother. The local courts will frown on Hawklin's actions if they learn of them, but they will not be willing to do much to dissuade him. Theft is a serious crime, and thieves have been hung here before. The boy was clearly guilty and Hawklin has a fearsome reputation (moreso once word of the boy's fate gets out), so persuading the locals to do more would be quite difficult.

A much nicer solution is to suggest to Hawklin that he make the boy into his apprentice and have him work off his debt. Yslin already knows some spells, and Hawklin could even learn those spells from him. He has already shown himself to be skillful and clever, for how else could he have managed to steal from the mighty Hawklin? With skillful flattery and appeals to his greed for new spells, Hawklin can be persuaded to spare Yslin. If Yslin is spared, investigators will receive 1d6 Sanity apiece for resolving the issue without additional suffering. Other solutions may merit different Sanity awards. The Keeper should determine those himself, using these as guidelines.

USING THE ADVENTURE
This adventure was originally used in my Dreamlands campaign as a prequel to a quest into the Goblin Realms to rescue Ysgar. It has been modified to use Waking World investigators. While the adventure assumes that the investigators are trying to find Ysgar, the only real requirement is that they end up needing Hawklin's aid.

Instead of needing his divinatory skills, they might need Hawklin to teach them a spell, or give them some magical artifact they need. If they are already travelling in the Dreamlands for reasons of their own, Hawklin might even hire them to help him, fearing that if he employed any locals to do so his reputation would suffer.

There isn't much danger for the investigators in this adventure, but there are lots of opportunities for them to use social and detective skills, and a nice little moral quandary for them to resolve once Hawklin finds out who stole his crystal.

It's also an excellent opportunity for the Keeper to introduce new spells to the investigators, as well as giving them a magical ally to consult when necessary. While most of Hawklin's spells will not work in the Waking World, some of them (such as Dread Curse of Azathoth) will work almost anywhere.

NEW AND UPDATED DREAMLANDS SPELLS
What follows are some new spells important in this adventure. Few if any of them are likely to work in theWaking World unless the Keeper wants to increase the magical abilities of the investigators.

Crystomancy (8 mp, 1 san, 10 minutes)
This spell requires an enchanted crystal with at least 1 POW sacrificed in its creation. A separate spell (Enchant Crystomancy Crystal) is required to create it. Whenever this spell is used, a hazy image will appear in the depths of the crystal, visible only to the caster. A POW roll is required to determine how clear and understandable the image is. The base chance of success is POWx1. Every additional POW invested in the crystal after the first will add +5%. Results above POWx1 are increasingly vague and blurry, and above POWx3 they are completely useless. Crystomancy may show a dim or blurry image, but never lies unless other magic is involved. Crystomancy is the best at showing things in the present, and can scry the past and the future only poorly.

[Basically, this is a fortune teller's crystal ball, and only works in the Dreamlands. The user asks the crystal to show them something, and it tries to comply. A botched POW roll (96+) can cost the caster an additional 1d6 San, or worse, may attract the attention of some potent entity, so the spell should not be used too casually. Trying to scrythe actions of an Outer God, for example, would likely be suicidal and can be assumed to botch automatically.

Hawklin's crystal has a total of 5 POW invested in it, granting +20% to scrying checks, so Hawklin receives a clear image on a roll of 44 or less, and a vague image with a roll of up to 92. This makes it an extremely valuable artifact, albeit only in the Dreamlands.]

Devolution (24 mp, 1d10 san, 2 rounds)
If the target of this spell fails a POW vs. POW contest,they begin to devolve into a brutish, animal-like thing. This process takes 1d6 rounds. Once transformed completely, the target becomes almost mindless, and very violent, attacking anything within reach. A victim of this spell will be afraid of only one thing: the caster. Anything else, even old friends or lovers, will be attacked with murderous intent. This CAN be dispelled with appropriate magics, causing the subject to slowly return to normal. The longer they have been transformed, the longer the change takes to reverse itself ranging from 1d6 rounds to 1d6 weeks for someone who has been transformed for years.

[The target's STR is doubled, while their INT and EDU become 1, their APP zero, and their DEX 1/2 normal. The spell is permanent until dispelled. Seeing the bestial form costs 0/1d3 San, or 0/1d6 San if the investigator knew the victim. This spell is a modified version of one given in the Dreamlands adventure Pickman's Student, found in some editions of the Dreamlands guide.]

Eyes of the Cat (2 MP, 0 San, 3 rounds)
This spell enables the caster to see in darkness as well as a cat. For the duration of the spell, his eyes will reflect light like those of a cat. The spell lasts 1 hour.

Lesser Ward (8 MP per Ward, 1d3 San, 1 hour)
This spell lets the caster trace an invisible rune over an inanimate object such as a door or chest. Anyone besides the caster trying to handle it will receive a nasty electric shock inflicting 1d3 damage. It will also hold the object in place with a strength equal to the caster's POW. If the ward is successfully forced, it will be dispelled.

Malign Growth (12 MP and 1 San per day for 7 days)
This spell requires the caster to plant the seeds of the rare Lomarian snow vine over an area. Over the course of the week, the vines will grow into a living guardian of the area, and will obey the caster's commands. They cannot unroot themselves, but will capture and/or strangle intruders according to their master's orders. It can take upto a year for the vines to reach full size.

Spiritual Well (1+ POW, 1d2 San, 1 hour)
This spell enables the caster to store additional MP in another dimension. Every POW invested in a Spiritual Well allows the caster to store an additional 1d3 MP in their Spiritual Well. These magic points can be used at will. Basically the spell grants the caster additional MP above and beyond their natural POW rating. It is commonly used by mages to increase their spell-casting powers.

[It is dangerous to use this spell too much. If the MP limit of a person's Well should ever exceed their natural POW, they run the risk that their soul will rupture, costing them 1d3 POW, 2d6 points from the Spiritual Well, and as much San as the two losses added together. The base chance of a rupture is equal to 5% per point that their Well exceeds their POW. If a single rupture does not eliminate the problem, their soul may rupture again... It is up to the Keeper to decide whether or not these additional MP are available to the investigator in the Waking World or only in the Dreamlands.]

Ysgar's Suppression (1 POW, 1d6 san, 1 minute)
This spell temporarily suppresses ongoing magic in the area around the caster without dispelling it. Spells around the caster will slowly weaken and cease to function, returning to full strength when the spell expires. Ysgar's Suppression lasts for as many minutes as the caster's POW. Its effects are not rapid. It can take a full minute or more before a spell near the caster is completely suppressed.

Spells created by extremely powerful beings (such as Outer Gods) will likely be completely unaffected by this spell. Cast upon a bound creature, this spell can temporarily free them from the binding, giving them a few minutes to do as they will.

Antarctic Discovery?

2008-04-21T10:27:00.003-07:00

Conversation for Exploration, a talk show hosted by Laura Lee, claims to have seen video of an Antarctic archeological dig at a city similar to Lovecraft's descriptions of Kadath in the Cold Wastes. It does seem that Laura Lee is a bit off on her Mythos Lore as Kadath in the Cold Wastes is in the Dreamlands. It's The Mountains of Madness and the lost city of the Elder Things that is in the Antarctic.

Click the title to read the full story. Let us know what you think. Is this a joke? Hoax? Viral Marketing for del Torro's filming of At the Mountains of Madness?

Chaosium Digest Classics: Children of the Night

2008-04-15T13:46:00.002-07:00

by James D. Collins
originally presented in Chaosium Digest v29.10 on Friday, December 31, 1999

The Virus
Feramorbus (wild animal disease) is a magical virus that causes lycanthropy and vampirism. Lycanthropy is the expression of the virus in a living host. Vampirism is the virus expressed in an unliving host.

Feramorbus is a blood born pathogen. Blood transfusions, sexual contact, or exposure to infected blood without using Universal Precautions may result in infection.

The disease incubates for 6d10 days. During incubation, the infected person is incapable of transmitting the disease. Onset follows, lasting 1d10 days. During onset, flu-like symptoms appear, silver acts as an irritant (causing a burning sensation or a painful rash, but no damage), and Feramorbus is contagious. If the character fails a CONx1 on1d100, then the disease is fatal (but see Vampirism). The character will die during their first transformation (see below).

Lycanthropy
If the character survives onset, he or she is a lycanthrope. He or she gains the ability to transform into an animal form which is half human and half beast. The first transformation will always take place on the night of a full moon at midnight. The transformation from human to animal will take 1d10 combat rounds. It will cost the character 1d10 points of Sanity. At dawn, the transformation from animal to human will also take 1d10 combat rounds. The character will remember a vivid dream that hints at the temporary insanity suffered and the events during the transformed state.

After the initial transformation, the character will continue to change during a full moon or stressful situations. I have characters transform when temporary insanity occurs or they suffer significant amounts of damage (i.e., losing more than half their hit points or when hit points reach three or less). I allow a Sanity roll to avoid transformation. Each transformation costs Sanity (1/1d10) and takes 1d10 combat rounds to occur. The character is unable to act during transformation. If the character makes his Sanity roll (losing 1 Sanity point), he or she remains in control of the animal form. If the character fails the Sanity roll (losing 1d10 Sanity points), the animal form is played by the Keeper (perhaps with appropriate suggestions from the player). On the nights of a full moon, the transformation occurs at midnight and will last until dawn. When the stressful situation has passed, the character will regain human form.

At some point the character will gain control over his or her transformations or go permanently insane. I allow the character control over the transformation once the character has lost 10 points of Sanity due to those transformations. Once control over the transformation is established, the time needed to shift between shapes is one combat round. Transformations will always occur on the night of a full moon, lasting from midnight to dawn.

Lycanthropes
By far, the human to wolf transformation is the most common manifestation of lycanthropy. In looking over the Beasts And Monsters (Call of Cthulhu, Edition 5.5), I would include transformations for the following: Bats, Bobcats, Black Bears, Bush Pigs, Dogs, Indian Wild Dogs, Lions, Mountain Lions, Rats, Tigers, and Wolves. I have included omnivorous mammals, but change this to suit your own campaign (Condors,Crocodiles, and Pythons are certainly possible).
I have also included wererats (one of the Dungeons & Dragons staples), but the Call of Cthulhu rulebook (Edition 5.5) only includes Rat Packs. I use the Rat-Things found earlier in the book to model that wererat you've been hankering to create.

Regardless of the shape assumed, the lycanthrope's mass does not change. A lycanthrope's CON, SIZ, INT, POW, DEX, APP,and EDU are not altered by the transformation. Strength is altered when in animal form until the transformations are controlled (i.e., a lycanthropic bat gains 2d4 points of STR -- determined once at the time of the initial transformation). The transformed lycanthrope gains the Move (Bobcat Lycanthrope/Move 12), armor (Black Bear Lycanthrope/3 Point Fur), weapons (Bush Pig Lycanthrope/Gore 30%, damage 1d8 +dB), and skills (Dog Lycanthrope/Listen 75%, Scent Something Interesting 90%) of the appropriate animal. Skills may be improved, but may not be available in human form.

Lycanthropes are very resistant to damage. They can only be harmed by fire, silver, or magic. Lycanthropes regenerate one point of damage (unless damaged by silver) per combat round. For every point of damage regenerated, the lycanthrope is forced to spend one day resting. I penalize the lycanthrope's skills if they forgo resting (10% per day of rest required).

Silver is poisonous to the lycanthrope. Damage done to a lycanthrope with a silver weapon is treated as poison (weapon damage vs. lycanthrope's CON). If the damage overcomes the lycanthrope's CON, the lycanthrope dies. If the lycanthrope resists the silver weapon damage, the creature takes half damage. Any damage caused by a silver weapon must be healed normally (1d3 hit points per week). Silver weapons leave scars and may cost the lycanthrope points of APP (I allow a Luck roll to avoid the loss of 1 APP per wound with a silver weapon).

Anyone viewing a transformed lycanthrope may suffer Sanity Loss (0/1d8). A lycanthrope is immune to Sanity loss when viewing his own species (another werewolf will not suffer Sanity loss seeing another). I use a maximum Sanity Loss (after a werewolf has lost 8 points of Sanity fighting werebats, he or she won't lose any more to werebats).

The effects of Feramorbus extend beyond the grave. If a lycanthrope dies after the incubation period ends, then he or she will rise 1d6 days later as a vampire.

Vampirism
The vampire is a character that died while infected with Feramorbus. While death does not cause Sanity loss, rising from the grave does. The character loses 1d20 points of Sanity (if the character becomes permanently insane, the keeper has a new character to work with). A vampire's CON, SIZ, INT, POW, DEX, APP, and EDU are not altered. Strength is doubled once the vampire rises from the grave.

The bite of a vampire can transmit the Feramorbus virus (use a Luck roll to avoid infection). Each bite of a vampire following the first infectious bite will count as 1d20 days of the disease's incubation period (giving rise to the myth regarding the third bite of a vampire). If the victim survives the onset of lycanthropy, follow the above rules regarding lycanthropy. If the victim dies during the disease's onset, he or she becomes a vampire in 1d6 days.

Vampires
A vampire retains the abilities that it gained as a lycanthrope. In addition to the skills gained as a lycanthrope, vampires can Scent Blood 75%. If a vampire died during the onset of Feramorbus before becoming a lycanthrope, the character cannot transform without magical assistance. If the vampire died after the onset of Feramorbus, they retain the transformational abilities that they had in life. A vampire's transformational abilities depend upon its existence as a lycanthrope, but there are constants to the vampire's nature. Many of the powers attributed to the vampires are the magics of individual sorcerers (many ofwhich were vampires or became vampires).

Vampires are unliving creatures. As such, they do not heal with the passage of time, do not possess body heat, and cannot regenerate Magic Points naturally.

Vampires are highly resistant to damage. They do not die at 0 Hit Points, but the vampire cannot move until it has healed itself. Vampires heal themselves by expending Magic Points (one Magic Point heals one Hit Point). There are spells that are much more efficient.

A vampire's lack of body heat makes it easier to discern their supernatural nature. A successful Spot Hidden skill check will reveal the lack of body heat. A successful Occult skill check will reveal the fact that an individual is a vampire (however, proving it to other's may be somewhat more difficult).

Vampires do not go unconscious at 0 Magic Points. They must drink blood to regenerate their Magic Points. If a vampire kills another vampire by draining their blood, they will gain a permanent point of Power (but no Magic Points).

Vampires are very resistant to damage. They can only be harmed by fire, magic, silver, or sunlight. Silver is poisonous to the vampire. Damage done to a vampire with a silver weapon is treated as poison (weapon damage vs. vampire's CON). If the damage overcomes the vampire's CON, the vampire loses all hit points. If the vampire resists the silver weapon damage, the creature takes half damage. Silver weapons leave scars and may cost the vampire points of APP(I allow a Luck roll to avoid the loss of 1 APP per woundwith a silver weapon). Sunlight causes a vampire to ignite. Each combat round spent in sunlight causes 1d6 points of damage. Once out of sunlight, the burning ceases (but a Sanity roll is required to get out of the sunlight as soon as possible; a failed Sanity roll indicates panic). Sunlight burns scar the vampire and may cost the vampire points of APP (I allow a Luck roll to avoid losing 1 point of APP). If sunlight drops a vampire's Hit Points to zero or negative, they will be destroyed at the end of the following combat round unless they regain one or more hit points.

Vampires cannot regenerate Magic Points naturally. They must drain blood to regain Magic Points. A vampire's bite causes 1d4 points of damage. A successful Grapple attack may be required before biting. On the second and following rounds, the vampire will drain blood, causing the victim to temporarily lose 1d6 points of Strength (due to blood loss), an equal number of Magic Points, and 1d4 Hit Points. The victim will be unable to fight against the vampire's bite after the first round (although nothing should stop friends and associates from interfering). If Strength falls to 0, he or she will become unconscious and further losses will come from Constitution. If Magic Points fall to 0, the victim loses one point of Power (which generates an equal number of Magic Points). If Hit Points fall to 0, the victim dies at the end of the following combat round.

If the victim survives the vampire attack, Strength, Constitution, and HitPoints will heal with the passage of time (1d3 points each per week). Magic Points regenerate naturally. Power losses are permanent. Don't forget that the vampire carries theFeramorbus virus. Medical attention (blood transfusions, First Aid or Medicine) can speed this recovery. Any Magic Points in excess of the vampire's Power are retained for a number of hours equal to their Power.

Vampires gain power with age or by killing other vampires. A vampire gains one point of Power for every hundred years of existence. If a vampire drains all the blood from a second vampire, they will gain a point of Power and destroy the second vampire. Killing another vampire in this manner is very difficult. The attacking vampire must first successfully grapple the defending vampire. On the second and following round, the attacking vampire must succeed with a Strength vs. Strength contest. If successful, the attacking vampire drains blood, causing 1d6 Hit Points of damage. If unsuccessful, the defending vampire frees himself. If the defending vampire is reduced to 0 HitPoints, he will be destroyed at the end of the following combat round by the attacking vampire. The attacking vampire gains a point of Power.

Anyone viewing a transformed vampire may suffer Sanity Loss (0/1d8). Vampires are immune to Sanity loss when viewing another vampire.

Spells
As noted above, many of the vampiric powers are the magics of individual sorcerers. There are numerous spells within A Mythos Grimoire that an enterprising vampire may use.Vampires are not immune to Sanity loss from casting spells. Due to their unliving nature, vampires do not benefit from the Heal spell or the Healing spell.

Repair: mends inanimate matter with a Size equal to or less than the caster's Power. The spell costs 1 Magic Point and 1 Sanity. Due to their unliving nature, vampires with sufficient Power use this spell to restore Hit Points.

Strength of Heracles: grants the caster prodigious strength for one combat round (the round following the casting of the spell). Each Magic Point spent adds 1d6 to the caster's damage bonus. The spell costs 1 Sanity point per Magic Point spent.

Conclusion
These vampires are not required to sleep in a coffin and maybe active during the daylight hours (don't forget their vulnerability to sunlight). Garlic, holy symbols, mirrors, running water, and the other legendary vulnerabilities do not affect this type of vampire.

Lycanthropes and vampires are highly resistant to physical damage, but their mental fortitude is vulnerable to Sanity loss just like anybody else. Unless care is taken, the Keeper will end up with an insane character that knows most of the various skeletons residing in the Player Characters' closets.

Chaosium Digest Classics: The Lighthouse

2008-04-10T21:25:00.002-07:00

by Shane Jackson
originally presented in The Chaosium Digest v29.10 on Friday, December 31, 1999

It's my opinion that there is a shortage of Call of Cthulhu adventures designed to bring a new party together. At one point, rather than try to come up with some explanations for how everyone knew each other, I decided to run an adventure that would bring them together for the first time without any additional explanation being necessary. I also wanted to expose them to enough spookiness that they would have some motivation to stick together and continue as investigators after the adventure was over. I thought it would be fun to insert the players into some situations where they could make some choices that would later turn out to be bad choices.

This is the scenario I ran to attempt to accomplish those goals.

The scenario can be set at any time period, although I'm sure it's much more appropriate to the 1920's as the players will feel more isolated. It could be set anywhere there could be a lighthouse on an island, although I assumed a location in New England.

The PC's have received a letter from a friend with whom they have corresponded for years on varied topics:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My dear friend,

Over the past few years of our correspondence we have discussed numerous aspects of our existence: philosophy, science, religion and medicine. We've covered the gamut of topics that have confounded man since the dawn of history.

I'm now ready to show you some of the fruits of my own personal labors. I'd like to invite you to come and visit me at the lighthouse so that I can show you my success in defeating the ultimate enemy of all mankind, Death.

I hope that statement startled and intrigued you. I've taken the liberty of inviting a few others that I correspond with and, hopefully, they will join us. The best time for you to visit would be next Tuesday, as that is the day that supplies are delivered to the lighthouse. If you could be down at the docks on that day at 6:00 p.m. sharp, the men who bring the supplies will be happy to ferry you across to the island. You're welcome to stay until the following Tuesday supply shipment, or you can make arrangements with them to be picked up at some other time.

I hope to see you soon.

Dr. Aaron Bradley

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If the players don't take the bait, then they really need to be playing another game. Things go just as the doctor said they would and the PC's meet each other for the first time down at the docks. They can take some time to introduce themselves. Perhaps the doctor would have mentioned a few of them by first names in some of his letters?

A few minutes before 6:00 P.M. a few men arrive by truck. They are Dale Stanton and Chris Parker. They take some supplies from the back of the truck and load them onto a boat that is just barely large enough to accommodate the party. If the party is exceptionally large, perhaps Chris can volunteer to stay behind if the PCs will promise to help unload the supplies at the island. If the PCs don't initiate a conversation, then the men will ask if they are the people Dr. Bradley invited. Once the PCs have announced that they are, everyone can get underway and head out to the lighthouse just visible on the horizon.

In the event that the PCs attempt to hire their own boat, anticipating some future desire to get off the island with some haste, try not to let them. It seems that most of the boats are out currently and there isn't much in the way of recreational boating done here. If the players are insistent, let them rent out a rowboat too small to accommodate the whole party and let them arrive at the island an hour after the rest of the party, dog tired and ready for bed (-10% to all actions). Anyone not taking the rowboat gets to the island in good time in the motorized supply boat.

Upon arriving at the island, the supplies are unloaded and the investigators are free to make their way to the lighthouse. It's still a few minutes stroll down a well-worn path as the island is rather large with the lighthouse on the seaward side. The supplies are dropped off at this end as this side is the only part of the island with a beach. The rest of the island slopes up to a cliff face overlooking the Atlantic. The supplies, which mainly consist of nonperishable foodstuffs, candles, kerosene and the like, are stored in an unlocked shed. There are no weapons of any kind present, although there are some picks and shovels. The men drop off supplies, get back in the boat and go, just as they always do. Hopefully, the players remember to remind them to pick them up sooner than next Tuesday's scheduled supply drop.

The island itself is rather peaceful looking. For the most part it is covered in grassy fields with a few small patches of trees. Making their way up to the lighthouse, the investigators pass a few dairy cows that roam around the island grazing. To anyone who would know allow an Idea roll: The cows don't appear to have been milked today.

The lighthouse structure itself is a simple tower containing a spiral staircase that stands about thirty feet from the house. It's getting dark now and some storm clouds can be seen rolling in over the horizon. The lighthouse beacon is unlit.

The front door is open. Investigators calling out to the doctor hear no reply.

Entering the darkened lighthouse, the investigators may notice (they can rustle up a candle if they have no light source with them) that the living room is a little messy with some books on the floor, opened haphazardly. There are books present on all of the various subjects that the doctor has corresponded with the PCs over the past few years. As could be expected, there are several books on anatomy and medicine. No Mythos books are present. There seems to be no pattern to the books that are on the floor. It appears that they may have been knocked off of a table. There are also folded up cots and sleeping bags here in anticipation of guests.

In the kitchen a chair has been knocked over, but nothing else is amiss. The doctor's bedroom is also untouched. The bed is made.

Of course it's in the basement that things get really interesting.

The basement is as large as the level above it, and the doctor lies face down at the foot of the stairs. The other half of him lies over by the door to a small storage room. Something has torn the doctor in half! Blood has been sprayed and spattered everywhere and there is an overpowering stench of death and chemicals. The blood has dried, and those with the appropriate knowledge, along with a successful roll, will estimate that whatever happened occurred sometime last night.

The room has all of the normal medical equipment that one would expect a doctor experimenting with life after death would have, with the exception of a Tesla coil. There are scalpels and bone saws and scary looking hypodermics strewn about. Lots of bottles of pills and powders and odd colored liquids have been smashed to the floor, creating all sorts of noxious combinations. A table with torn leather restraints sits in the middle of the room. Somewhere in the sopping mess of chemicals and blood on the floor is the doctor's journal.

DR. BRADLEY'S JOURNAL

The journal contains notes relating to Dr. Bradley's experiments with reanimation. He has been getting cadavers from a nearby university, under the table so to speak, for purposes of his experimentation. For some time, the doctor has been able to reanimate dead tissue, but until recently he was unable to recover any of the intelligence of the subject. He describes the results of the experiments as horrible, mindless things. Disturbingly, it seemed only of clinical concern to him that these things also appeared to be in great pain.

Recently, things seemed to have taken a turn for the better when the doctor managed to purchase a specimen from a Mr. Darke in Boston.

Using a serum (serum "B") derived from this purchase, he was finally able to preserve the intelligence of one of his subjects. It was his joy at this success that prompted him to invite his friends out to the lighthouse.

However, last night things took a turn for the worse and the subject began to devolve. The doctor speculates on problems with the formula and suggests possible changes to the next batch. The journal ends abruptly at this point.

THE STOREROOM

A door in the far wall of the basement leads to a small room that holds some additional supplies. Here the PCs can find extra vials of serum "A" and "B" as detailed in the journal and another marked "C". Also, in a cage on one of the shelves the PCs will find a creature. It appears to be a huge toad, about the size of a large rabbit. Gray, tentacular growths protrude from the back of the creature's head. Cthulhu Mythos (if anyone has it) may suggest that it resembles a Servitor of the Outer Gods, although it is small. It seems to be in a state of hibernation. This is the specimen purchased from Mr. Darke, and extracts from this creature were what made it possible to preserve the intelligence of the reanimated subject for as long as it was maintained.

The creature continues to sleep, oblivious to the PCs throughout the adventure. [It's worth noting that when I actually play-tested this adventure, one of the PCs wouldn't leave the frog-thing alone. He kept poking it and prodding it with sticks, trying to get it to wake up. I finally did let it wake up when the other PCs were out of earshot and had it tell him something that blasted his sanity and resulted in his being institutionalized. To this day the player still wants to know what the frog-thing told him, but, just as Lovecraft understood so well, nothing I can come with will be as horrible as what the player imagines it might be.]

THE DILEMMA

It's almost a certainty that there is something not very pleasant on the island with investigators and there should be much discussion about how to deal with the situation. Assuming the information in the journal is true, how exactly will they handle the thing on the island? How do you kill a man who is already dead? And if the doctor was mad and hasn't reanimated a dead man, who or what _did_ tear him in half? I think the skeptics in the group will have a hard time arguing their position.

At this point, it's up to the players to decide what they want to do. Here are some possible courses of action they might follow:

REANIMATE THE DOCTOR AND ASK HIM WHAT HAPPENED

The PCs should have some motivation to do this since only the doctor has any first-hand knowledge of what they are up against.

As the journal described, Dr. Bradley reanimated his latest experiment a few days ago. Dr. Bradley had kept the subject restrained for the past few days and had almost decided to call the experiment a complete success when the subject began to rapidly devolve last night (although the doctor has no way to be sure of how much time had passed). As the doctor monitored the rate of decay, the subject began thrashing and straining against the leather straps which held him to the table. Eventually he broke them and attacked the doctor. He doesn't remember anything else.

He can tell them that the subject is superhumanly strong and resistant to pain. He doesn't know of any way to kill the creature outright. He has always dismembered his subjects and cast their remains into a pit on the island.

Disturbingly, the doctor seems untroubled by his current state of dismemberment, instead finding the whole thing fascinating. I imagine some very creepy scenes could be played out by having a torn-apart, reanimated doctor carry on otherwise innocuous conversations with the PCs about their personal lives.

Additionally, one could have an interesting conversation with the doctor about the morality of his actions. He could argue the point that it is immoral for medicine to allow people to continue to die if it can be stopped, even if his test subjects have to suffer in the process.

GO OUT AND FACE THE THING ON THE ISLAND

If the players go out and face the thing, you could surround the lighthouse with some fog, or perhaps unleash that storm. Either way, you can give the party a few scares by having a cow run out of the darkness at them. They could also find a cow that has been brutally torn apart. That's when the thing that once was a man finds them . . .

WAIT FOR THE THING TO COME AND GET THEM

If the PCs try to board up the house and wait till daybreak, the monster gets to pick the most appropriate time to attack. The house's construction isn't that great, and a dead, groping hand punching through a wall is certainly possible. Try to separate the PCs and attack them one by one. Have the monster attack for a few rounds and then disappear again. That should make the PCs nervous.

If there is a storm outside, what do the PCs do when they hear the horn of a ship approaching the rocks with no light from the lighthouse?

THE REANIMATED

I prefer not to include stats in adventures, as I tend to change them to suit the situation. I would suggest that the Keeper imbue the creature with extraordinary strength and endurance. It also seems appropriate that impaling weapons would do minimum damage as the thing is already dead. The only way to deal with something like this would be to hack it into pieces, and wouldn't it be disturbing if those pieces never stopped moving?

FINAL NOTES

Some GMs may feel particularly sadistic and may have the creature kill several of the PCs, forcing the players to use the serum to bring each other back in turn. Of course, once the creature has been put down, the PCs will have to decide what to do with the reanimated PCs (and their half-doctor/mad-scientist friend). Perhaps batch "C" may actually work permanently. It might be interesting to have a dead guy travel on investigations with the party for a while. Of course, it might not be worth taking the chance that he will devolve as well . . .

Chaosium Digest Classics: Cat Song

2008-02-28T16:04:00.002-08:00

by Andy Clements
Originally presented in Chaosium Digest v29.06 on Wednesday, December 15, 1999.

Introduction: The police department of the town in which the PCs live has once more been puzzled by odd murders. Again, the trade-mark sign of bones found seemingly having had the meat gnawed from them by small animals. This time, two bodies have been found in the woods near the house of an old widow, in a similar state of fleshlessness. Weirder still, the nights have been filled with an eerie song,which though beautiful to hear, is also strangely unsettling.

Keeper Information: The old widow is not a sinister agent of the Mythos, nor a priestess of Bast. She is completely innocent of the deaths. However, she does own an inordinate number of cats, about twenty, give or take a few. The two bodies belong to a couple of vagrants who decided to burgle the old lady, having noticed she lives an easy ten minutes outside town and therefore is more isolated than most.

Bast,in the true Christmas spirit [Go with me on this one. It is a seasonal adventure after all...] sent her children after the vagrants who had broken in. The old lady didn't even know she'd been burgled until the police came to ask her about the bodies near her home, which had been found with a few of her belongings. The eerie song in the night is the collective sound of the town's cats all meowing in time, preparing for the coming of Bast. Everytime the players go to sleep, describe the eerieness of the song. If anyone in the group owns a cat, it will join in the song, which will require of its owner a SAN check, for 0/1 SAN loss.

By the way, not all the adventure info is in this section... I've left a little twist at the end, which I'll explain then... Keepers should get the joy of some surprise, just like the players...

The Adventure: If the players are quick, they might arrive at the old lady's house while the police are still there, on a final sweep to see if any other clues can be found. This is more a forlorn hope of the police than anything else, since (especially if this is Arkham) they are used to weird unexplainable stuff happening. If any of the players turn up and introduces themselves as a professor 'interested in this sort of thing', the police will sigh in relief and turn over any useful facts they can think of. Professors who solve weird crimes are also a matter of deja vu for them.

The bodies will already have been taken away, but some good role-playing, plus a few fast talk/ persuade rolls should let the characters see some autopsy results. If any of the characters have taken part in previous adventures involving cats such as Cat's Cradle, or Cats Eyes, then they will experience a horrible sense of familiarity. This will require a Sanity Check for a loss of 0/1. (It's more a vague dread than anything else). However, this will probably tell them what they should be looking out for.

If the players have not taken part in the other Cat adventures, they may well find it useful to examine occult books down at the library, especially Egyptian ones (where Bast had the greatest hold...). The books may add up to 3% to the character's Occult ratings, if they take a few hours to study them thoroughly. They will also learn that Bast was rumored to send her children to kill those who mistreated cats. They may also find that some people may also send these cats for their own purposes. This will probably mislead the players somewhat...

If the players manage to persuade the police-woman leading the investigation (a Semitic woman named Ashari Elisha - her grandparents emigrated to the USA from Egypt) to show them the items found on the bodies, (This would take a *lot* of role-playing. Ashari is not at all comfortable about letting civilians run around police investigations, despite what her colleagues advise.) they will be shown the rags that were once clothes, and some golden jewelry which the widow had been given by her husband when he came back from Egypt. He was posted there in the second world war. Unless one of the characters has a reason to be familiar with the culture of Egypt, they are unlikely to realize the origin of the jewelry.

If the players talk with the old widow, she will seem slightly senile, although a nice enough person. She has a tendency to call male characters Harry, and, if there are any females in the party, will probably randomly match up people and say "You'd make a nice couple." This is entirely for comic effect, if this would annoy your players, don't bother. Another comic device will be the twenty odd cats milling around. The widow will enlist a random party member to help her feed the cats, ask another to help with the kitty litter, etc. Players will have to clean cat fur off anything they want to sit on or examine, and at one point or another, a cat or two will recline upon the players. Players mistreating the cats will get no help from the widow, and will result in the entire party being asked to leave.

While the players are talking to the old lady, she will insist on making tea for the players, regardless of whether or not they want it. Biscuits will be offered slightly less forcefully. During this, a letter will pop through the letter slot. The old lady will ask one of the characters to get the letter for her, her legs are not what they were. As the old lady reads the letter, a look of absolute horror will cross her face. If the players ask what is wrong, the widow will show them a letter from the Town Council, saying that the police noticed that her house looked unsafe, and that they recommended that she move to an apartment in town while the council examines the house, to judge how safe it is.

The old lady hasn't left the house for years, not since her husband died, and is completely against the idea. At this stage of the adventure, the players can go two ways:

1) Persuade the lady to leave the house for her own good -it might be dangerous to stay.
2) Defend the widow's right to stay in her house, and investigate why on earth the council is so anxious to examine the house, when ordinarily they would put the widow on a five month waiting list.

Because this is Call of Cthulhu Cthulhu, naturally there is a sinister reason...

A bit more Keeper Information: Someone has read the police reports and noticed certain cat like designs in the jewelry, and decided to organize a search of the house, to see if anything else belonging to the worshippers of Bast resides in the house.

If the players decide to help the widow (which they should... try to appeal to their better nature), they might want to investigate the origin of the council letter. If they want to do this, they will need to organize several meetings with council members, most of whom know nothing about the letter. One of the members of the council is an Egyptian middle-aged woman, who refuses to speak to the PCs. If the players dig a bit more, i.e. break into the town hall at night and look through relevant records, they will find a letter signed by her, asking an unnamed member of the police force to request a safety inspection. The reasons are left very vague, players will have to fill this in using their imagination.

Other players who have relevant skills, may want to launch their own study of the safety of the house. ALternatively they could hire a construction worker to examine the structure. This will cost $300, and will take a week. The old lady can pay for about 200 of this. The worker will say the house looks safe, but he can't look at the cellar because there's a big padlock on a oak door. The widow will express puzzlement and after a few minutes thought, finally remembers that her husband had the key but she doesn't know where he kept it. A few good rolls on Spot Hidden, and four hours of searching, will finally find it taped to the back of an old oil painting.

At about this time, there will be a knocking on the door. Keepers should try to get characters to investigate the origins of the safety letter before they examine the safety of the house. It's the police, lead by Ashari. There are ten officers in total. They say that they are responding to an emergency call. Specifically, someone called 911 and said that the widow and anyone with her was in grave danger.

When the players open the door, gunshots will erupt from the woods, and two of the officers will be gunned down. The others will either take shelter behind bins outside (three of the survivors), the others (five of the survivors) will pile inside the house and slam the door shut as soon as they can. Gun shots will echo from outside, from both the police and the surprise attackers. The widow will panic for a few moments, and then go hunt for the shotgun in the cupboard. Outside there is a hideous screaming sound, coming from the police officers. If the players want to know what happened, they can look outside. If they do look, they will probably be shot, but not before they see the mangled remains of at least one officer, requiring a SAN check for a loss of 1/1d4.

The assailants outside will start trying to smash down the door, so now would be a good time to see what is down in that cellar. The old lady will have come back by now with a shotgun, but it'll be clear to anyone with a brain that the old woman is the last person who can be trusted with a gun.

Down in the cellar is a large and battered chest, covered in strange Hieroglyphics, which translate roughly to: 'Hail all, mother of [battered and scraped beyond recognition], Hail all Bast'
The padlock on it is severely rusted, and can be easily smashed off. Inside can be found a strange book, accompanied by a letter from the widow's husband. It will reveal that while in Egypt, he came across a dying priestess of Bast, who entrusted him with the book, for there were those who would use its knowledge to serve 'Nyarlathotep', for it teaches of strange gates which can reach into the past, when the stars were different. The letter further says that the priestess wished the book to be passed to her descendent one day, who would use the book to repel these servants. The book is written in Egyptian. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence will hand the book over to Ashari, the only Egyptian around. If the players are hesitant, now is a goodtime for the front door to be smashed down, accompanied by unholy howls of triumph [SAN check, 1/1d6].

When the book is passed to Ashari [If the players don't hand over the book, everyone will die], the cat song will become once more clear to the players. As Ashari opens the book, the mysterious assailants will start to smash down the heavy oak door. I do hope the players remembered to bolt it. Be sure that the players never see the assailants, otherwise part of the potential fear will be lost.

As the door is burst open, and *something* dark stands screaming in the doorway (fortunately the lights upstairs in the house have been smashed, or the electricity has failed), Ashari begins to chant loudly in Egyptian. The cat song now seems to echo out from the shadows of the cellar and a loud purring seems to reverberate from the room. At this point, gunshots flash from around the door, for the 'human' servitors of Nyarlathotep have arrived, seeking the book. The players have a few rounds of trying to provide cover for Ashari. Firing at the doorway should force the cultists to stay away, out of self-preservation. The thing, undaunted, will start to move down the steps, but it will content itself with killing a few policemen. Malevolent Keepers may force players to come up with a distraction to prevent the thing killing everyone. (I won't stat the creature, as I'm sure most Keepers will happily select their' preferred denizen of the cold universe). The old lady will try to do her bit with the shotgun, but she will generally miss (10% in shotgun), and will have to see a doctor for recoil-bruises. Also, she only has two rounds.

About three or four rounds of combat will allow Ashari to finish her spell. Hundreds and hundreds of cats will pour from the shadows, and run upthe stairs. Screams will come from the doorway, from all too human throats, accompanied by futile gun-shots. Ashari will then face the thing and in the darkness she will seem to grow taller. Anyone shining a torch on her will see a manifestation of Bast, and a spear will appear in her hand. Ashari will then run the creature through, followed by a blinding flash. Electricitywill be restored, allowing the players to take in the scene.

Ashari will be lying on the floor, in her natural form, a spear in her hand. On the end of this spear, is a blackened skeleton of something grotesquely evil (SAN check, 1/1d6), and there will be three more officers lying on the floor, either strangled by the thing, or shot by the cultists. (1/4 SAN loss). Anyone checking Ashari's pulse will see that she is still alive, although she has a hideous scar across her right cheek, in the shape of a paw.

The old widow will be looking for her glasses, which are lying smashed by the hideous creature. This would be a good time for a kindly player to usher her somewhere clean, tidy,and SANE.
Anyone going upstairs will see a huge pile of cats (all healthy and fine, thank you) perched on the cultists (about six of them), fighting for position, their heads bowed towards the bodies. As players walk past, a few will lift their heads to reveal red-stained muzzles. (SAN loss 1/1d6).
It will take any survivors a few days to heal in the hospital, and Ashari won't be up for a few weeks. Even then, she won't say much, except that her great-grandmother explained a lot of things to her. Players should draw their own conclusions. Ashari adds that she's taking a holiday to Egypt this year, to visit the house of some relatives, and that she's re-considering her career in the police.

The widow will suffer from amnesia, and not remember anything of the horrific night. She'll keep asking players and NPCs if she will be allowed to stay in her house, and will want reassurance from everyone present, including people she has never met before.

Note to Keepers: Despite this being Call of Cthulhu, you should try to make this hospital scene as happy (if in a melancholy way) as possible, with hope for the future.

Players going home will all find a small box wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper, depicting cats playing with balls of yarn amongst x-mas presents. The card on the box is marked 'from an old friend', and inside each box is a small gold figurine of a cat, with obsidian eyes. Apparently Bast has a sense of humor, because each has a small black sticker on the bottom saying "Made in Taiwan".

That night, the cat song sounds for the last time, but it sounds awfully like "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Players who made it through to the end of the adventure recover 1d10 sanity, and get a fetching statue.

Those who decided to persuade the widow to move into an apartment won't lose all of the sanity that resulted from the general mayhem, but will deeply regret it when the cultists get their hands on the book in the cellar... Although to be honest, they won't regret it as much as everyone else within a three mile radius.

I hope you enjoy this adventure of semi-festive cheer.

Chaosium Digest Classics: Woods Haven

2008-02-04T17:24:00.000-08:00

by Ricardo J. Méndez Castro
Originally presented in Chaosium Digest v29.04, Wednesday, December 15, 1999

PROLOGUE

Daniel Matheson stumbled into a familiar clearing, the five-pronged rock sculpture stretching out of the ground like the hand of a buried-alive god.

"Oh Christ," he thought, "I have been wandering around in circles."

He took his compass out of a pocket, damning the moment he had made a wrong turn. Holding it carefully in his left hand, he used the fingerless glove in his right hand to wipe off the muck covering the glass. It was a little difficult, since he was also holding his flashlight in his armpit, but he managed. He stared at the compass for two seconds before his gaze wandered around the darkened woods for an aeon and he had to force himself to stare at the useless instrument again. He was sure that fifteen minutes ago it was indicating a different north.

That was impossible, of course. Even an inexperienced indoorsman such as he knew that. He must have just taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the same place. Maybe when he thought he heard something behind him and stumbled when he looked back.

Surely it would be easier to judge the direction if his hands weren't shaking as much. The compass would be a far simpler instrument to manipulate if he could just keep his eyes on it instead of peering at the shadows for predators that didn't inhabit this area. And everything would be just a damned lot simpler if he hadn't taken the stupid assignment or had been wise enough to listen to the townsfolk and take the shots earlier.

But no, he wanted to have some interesting lighting: the sun setting behind the strange rock formation was sure to catch the eye of some major newspaper from out of town, and then he would be on his way! Up and away, on to bigger things than those which he could find in a small town newspaper in backward Arkham.

Dan muttered a curse and threw his compass into his backpack. If the damn gadget wasn't going to be useful it might as well stay out of the way. He gazed at the sky for a few minutes, trying to put his non-existent knowledge of astronomy to good use. If the moon was that high in the sky and those shadows over there on the horizon were the hills he had seen, then that little bright thing had to be the something-or-other that sailors used to guide themselves and south should be that way.

Absolutely. He didn't even know the name of the blasted stars, much less how he was going to guide himself by them.

Heaving a resigned sigh, Dan sat at the foot of the claw-like monolith and tried to think straight. His mind refused to just sit tight and kept running around in circles, smacking into walls every now and then. Nevermind you, Dan decided, I'm going to get out of here whether the forest wants it or not.

He took another long, hard look at the compass. Sure enough, the needle pointed towards him, past the monument and back into the hills. Just as it had when he had started out of here countless hours ago. Dan decided that he needed a plan. He gathered all his wandering thoughts for a conference. All but one, that is, one that just kept staring out the window and pointing at something nasty coming up the road that nobody else could see. Fair enough, he was allowed to be scared to be here.

After thinking for some time, Daniel picked up his backpack, faced straight south and went back into the woods, his splitting headache just a step or two behind him. He was using his machete to mark the trees he passed, a brilliant plan that he should have thought the first time around. Cruising along in a straight line, Dan chopped those branches that were closer to where he was going to pass. That way, if he for some reason turned and stumbled from his southbound vector, it would be easy to set the correct course again by just finding the original path. Yes indeed, this plan was surely going to work.

At least he thought that until his machete got stuck in a branch. Dan tried to wrestle it free, but the branch whipped out of reach and took his tool with it. Dan just stared at it while another two branches hurtled towards him, one grabbing him by the waist and the other one getting hold of an arm. His flashlight fell onto the ground, illuminating something like a goat's foot. However, what Dan really noticed was the scores of sharp, dirty teeth that were rushing to meet him. A moment before the thing's mouth egulfed him, Dan finally found the will to scream.

The scream didn't last long.

INTRODUCTION

This scenario was originally created to bring some new investigators into a running campaign of Walker in the Wastes. It deals with a Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath, an old Mi-Go mining area and experimental breeding ground, and a town that may just convince the investigators that they are all cultists.

While it is certainly short and rather straightforward, this scenario could prove to be deadly for your players, so exercise caution when deciding which items to include. It is also a scenario that I'm sure will work best with experienced players. Since the strange happenings in the forest near Woods Haven would be easier to investigate using the technology from the 1990s, it is suggested that this scenario be played only in the 1920s.

A word: I'm not aware if there are any areas like the one I've described near Boston. The only reason I set the adventure there was because my players were in the area and I needed a small scenario set there. In any case, it's generic enough that it can be moved to the wooded area of your choice.

BACKGROUND

That old mining town...

Indeed, the Mi-Go are here. They are looking for those strange minerals that they can't find anywhere else but on our planet, located in those strange dimensions that overlap with ours.
Three thousand years ago, give or take a year, a group of Mi-Go found a large amount of said minerals in the small woods near what would later become Woods Haven. Since proper exploitation of the area could take them years, the Mi-Go set into transforming the area into something a little more suitable to their purposes. Transportation was accomplished using their gate technology. The Mi-Go set up a gate squarely in the center of the mining area and a simple, by their standards, magnetic perimeter and there they operated for years.

Eventually the zone started drying down. The Fungi, however, had further plans for the area.

The experiment...

The Mi-Go can't normally reproduce on Earth, since Earth's gravity would crush the larvae. Fungi scientists decided to experiment with altering the gravitational field in a small area and a team-entity of five Fungi set to the task.

When they were finished, the scientists had set five magnetic pilons in a circle one kilometer in radius around the central area where the gate had stood. In the gate's place now was a concentrator which would amplify the energy from the other pilons and make it flow in a cycle.
The pilons had been created with special metals brought to this dimension, so that the energy they generated worked not only in our plane of existence but it also reached through the dimensions and altered the materials present there too. When activated, the area would become an environment much better for Mi-Go than the one they had setup for themselves on our moon.

In unison the Fungi scientists carved the last rune into the stone and the soldiers sacrificed the last worker whose life energy would serve to feed the stone batteries. A small, low hum perceptible only to the Mi-Go started coming from the rocks.

And then something went wrong. One of the counterparts for the extradimensional pilons exploded, its shockwave was felt in our plane. The energy balance around the pilons suddenly shifted and a great gravitational push crushed the unsuspecting Mi-Go at the site. At the same time, an energy wave flowed from the central hub towards the satellites, altering or killing any living thing in its path. And then it was quiet.

Fungi scientists who weren't at the site concluded later, through repeated simulations of the experiment, that something must have interfered with the flow of energy on one other dimension and unbalanced the hub, a problem that echoed in the pilons. With typical Mi-Go rationale they decided that the experiment could be affected by outside sources and was unpredictable by nature. Mi-Go don't like random, unpredictable results, and they decided to abandon the area for good, leaving behind the structure they had built.

For years the pilons were silent. But slowly the vegetation started growing again. First some specks of grass, then a few bushes, then trees started sprouting and their seeds spread. Their roots reached deep into the soil. Sooner or later they were bound to collide with the bases of what the Fungi had left. The malfunctioning Mi-Go apparatus started slowly to drain the life energy from the area and brought itself to life again.

The Ceremony...

Move forward a little over two thousand years. It's 1862. Sol Goodman, who has spent most of his 47 years of life looking into the occult, believes that he finally has something that will work. He found a scroll with a description of how to summon the Life-Giving Mother, whose milk shall make him immortal.

Any good occultist knows that a place of power greatly improves the chance of any given spell working, and Sol has got just the right place. He mounts his horse and rides north of Boston, towards the place that he found by accident so many years ago. He still shivers remembering the hideous shape of the trees, how the branches embraced each other and how vines ran from branch to branch, mixing the whole forest into one pulsing, twisted organism.

He slows his pace as he enters the normal area of the woods, that section where he can still he the sky. His horse feels something already and making it go forward is getting harder and harder. The bag he carries with him has started twitching again. Sol dismounts and ties his mount to a tree. He'll be back soon, a new, immortal man.

Carefully he walks forward. Careful of the treacherous roots and low branches, dragging his sack behind him. He knows that he is nearing the area where it begins. He can feel it in the back of his head, in the marrow of his bones.

Fearlessly he enters the place where the trees start twisting into unrecognizable shapes. Sure-footed, he strolls the distance towards the center of the cancer that has been deforming the woods. He knows that much now at least, the structure in the clearing has been causing the damage for God knows how long.

But that doesn't concern him as he enters the clearing, his twitching, shrieking package behind him. Sol doesn't pay attention to it as he carefully unfolds the parchment and starts reciting the words in Latin, half of which he doesn't understand. He puts aside the throbbing in his temples while he chants, and he manages to ignore the yelling until it's time to take his cargo out to continue with the ceremony.

Sol removes the newborn baby and, for lack of a better place, balances him on the five-pronged thing in the center. He recites the dedication facing his makeshift altar and digs his filthy nails into the child's neck, the soft flesh parting before him as easily as if he was using an obsidian knife. The little creature gurgles and kicks aimlessly as Sol lifts it above his head, letting the blood stream into his face. "Iä, Iä, Shub-Niggurath," he chants, "liberame de morte aeterna." A clamor of drums inside his head, he brings the little boy down before the life finishes flowing out of him and swiftly bites into the throat.

His knees fail him, the strength leaves his arm. The lifeless lump he was lifting falls soundlessly to the ground. Sol's head is spinning, his gaze unable to focus on just one thing. And then he sees the baby.

"Oh my God," he thinks, sobering up, "what in Hell have I done?" God doesn't answer. Sol covers his bloodied face in his hands and is about to start weeping when he feels the presence. He opens his eyes and sees the blasphemous thing in front of him, all drooling mouths and cloven hoofs and dripping udders.

She has come.

Sol throws himself forward, reaching towards one of the glistening teats. He will drink of her milk. He will live forever.

WOODS HAVEN

The Disappearance...

Woods Haven is a small farm town twenty miles north of Boston. Its population as of 1929 is 39 people and growing. The town is usually quite calm. People there mind their own business and don't meddle with anybody's affairs. And if people like to go into the woods, well, they warn them. If they don't listen then it's none of their business.

In January, 1928, a young photographer from Arkham named Daniel Matheson came to Woods Haven to look into a story about an old apparatus hidden in the woods. The local folks, who know that there is something wrong with that forest, tried to warn Daniel against going there. But he just wouldn't listen to them, too proud and cocky to pay attention to old fairy tales.

Daniel left his horse in the care of a farmer called Elijah Jackson, walked into the forest and was never seen again. The towns-folk, who have lived in awe of the forest all their lives, decided that nothing more could be gained by losing some policemen to the thing in the woods. When the police came asking about Daniel, they all told them that Daniel had come out of the forest, taken his horse and rode back to Boston.

The police didn't ask any more questions.

In April 1928 Robert Mathias inherited a small plot of land in Woods Haven from a relative. Old Elijah Jackson was chosen to let Mathias know about the thing in the woods, a thing that walks amidst the trees and howls in the wind. Mathias had spent some time living in Canada, and the stories they told him sounded to him a lot like the Wendigo myth. He wasn't a superstitious man, so he decided to spenda night in the woods to prove that it was just an old folk's tale. Luckily for him he found the southernmost Mi-Go pilon and the night caught him examining it. Thus he was near the edge of the creature's influence area when it came at him. Mathias ran screaming back to town and barely made it back alive.

The next day he went to the Boston Courier and told his story to a reporter names Harrison Ligotti. Mathias was sure that the thing that had chased him was the same thing that had killed Matheson and that the whole town was covering up the murder. The Boston Courier was having a slow week and Ligotti humored him by publishing a small note about the Wendigo myth and mentioning Matheson as thes ource.

And there the article lies waiting to be found by the investigators.

The Forest Today...

The forest north of Woods Haven covers an area of roughly twelve square miles. However, walking from the town about a mile into it the visitor will notice strange changes in the configuration of the trees. Everything starts twisting and decaying, as if it was just about to die. The branches mix above the trees in a way that makes judging where the sun is a tricky proposition, even for those with experience in guiding themselves in the outdoors, and the grass has a mush-like consitency like the area had just flooded.

The cause is the Mi-Go machinery, discarded by its creators ages ago but still active. Nearly five hundred years after being abandoned, the device started draining energy from the plant life around it. It turned itself back on after some years, but due to its malfunction it has been leaking its own energy into the forest for the past two thousand years. This unwanted energy has slowly poisoned the area around the pilons, twisting the forest into the shape that the locals fear so much.

The apparatus is made of five pilons placed in a star shape around a central hub. Each pilon is about 5-feet high and 2-feet in diameter. The central hub consists of a 5-foot base from which sprout five arms, each one pointing towards a pilon. Every piece of machinery is covered in Mi-Go runes.

This machine has also altered the state of the forest in away the Mi-Go didn't expect. When one of the pilons tore through the dimensions another plane crashed into ours. Now the properties of the whole area are in between those of our world and the ones of that unwanted plane. Its very nature doesn't allow photographic cameras to work and will make using Geiger counters and other such devices difficult, since particles can escape towards other planes as easily as they stay in ours.

The Magnetic Fields...

The machine has also had a side effect undesirable for humans. There are magnetic fields flowing between the pilons and the hub that are harmful to human life, and any human that spends too much time in them is bound to be affected. While in this area, humans feel a throbbing in their heads that intensifies by each hour they spend there. This has both a disorienting effect and lowers the mental capabilities of those affected.

These strong magnetic tides also affect any machinery that has iron in it, including watches and (most obviously) compasses. Within the contaminated area a compass will always point towards the nearest pilon, and when between pilons it will spin wildly.

For every hour a person spends in the area of effect of the magnetic fields, which is also the tainted section of the forest, they must make a check against their Power. If they fail, the apparatus will drain 1d4 magic points from them. People who reach 0 magic points will faint and be at the mercy of the inhabitant of the forest.

The Inhabitant...

One of the worst dangers waiting for unwary investigators is Sol Goodman, to whom the milk of Shub-Niggurath has indeed granted eternal life. Unfortunately for him it also turned him into a Dark Young who is now bound to the forest. The creature can't leave the area of influence of the Mi-Go machine, which bound him to the area while he was transforming. This and the dim recollection of his lost humanity enrages the Dark Young, who vents its anger on anyone who trespasses in its territory.

The Dark Young is active through both day and night. However, it is able to feel its prey much better after dark, when the sun's energy isn't interfering with the flow. During the day, a fumbled group Luck roll will make the investigators run into it. However, as soon as the night falls it will start feeling the magnetic tides for interruptions which it will investigate, and will track its prey through them like a shark tracks a moving victim.

Getting the Investigators Involved...

The most obvious way to get the investigators involved is through the article in the Boston Courier. Other possibilities include hiring them to look into Matheson's disappearance or writing an article about how a myth has traveled from Canada to the United States. I'll leave that to the imagination of the Keeper. If you're running Walker in the Wastes, however, the obvious link is the mention of the Wendigo. This should attract your investigators like moths to a flame.

If they contact Mr. Harrison Ligotti, he will certainly remember writing the article. He will insist, however, that the investigators don't pay it a lot of attention. It'sjust the sort of stuff that gets published when you have nothing else to run.

A trip to Woods Haven itself will prove fruitless unless they speak with Robert Mathias, since the rest of the town is hell-bent on keeping outsiders from knowing what's going on in the forest.
Mathias has been turning into a paranoid convinced that the whole town is against him for revealing their secret, and will talk with the investigators if they follow his paranoid talk about the Wendigo and the town that worships it. He is convinced of this and believes that the only reason why he is still alive is because his name got published in that newspaper article a year ago. In reality the rest of the town is as afraid of the creature as Mathias is, but he believes it so strongly that he may manage to convince the investigators.

Serious cross-examination of the townsfolk is bound to detect some inconsistencies in their stories of what happened with Daniel Matheson. This is certainly explainable as muddled memories but it should serve to unnerve the investigators.

Investigating the Magnetic Fields...

Once they have their first encounter with the magnetic fields, and if they don't encounter the prowling Dark Young, the investigators are likely to want to know why those magnetic fields are there.

They have two main options: they can look for a physics professor at the nearby MIT or they could take the drive towards the good old Miskatonic University. In both universities they will be met with disbelief and told that magnetic fields that large can't be stable. However, Lazlo Berenger at M.U. may prove of help.

If they insist on how a theoretic magnetic field created by such machinery would function, he will tell them that magnetic impulses between two magnets tend to flow as waves. Normally the energy would flow on a somewhat straight line from one pilon to another. However, assuming that energy flow from pilon 1 flows towards pilon 2, the central hub will likely attract it. If it is not absorbed by the hub and continues until it reaches pilon 2, it will create a curve. The same would be true about pilons 2-3, 3-4, 4-5,and 5-1. Berenger will then scribble on the back of a napkin a diagram to explain the way it would work. This will form a shape that is much like a hand-drawn Elder Sign.

The Symbol...

While this may not be the way it is really working, the purpose of the image is to give experienced investigators the idea that the magnetic field might be protecting something either from coming in or from going out.

If they don't know anything about the Mythos, anthropology personnel around Miskatonic Campus may tell them that the five-pointed star has traditionally been a symbol of warding and protection, usually carved on items to protect them from being stolen by demons. It was also drawn on the floor when summoning an extra-planar creature, who would then be bound by its limits until dismissed by the summoner.

Investigating the Woods...

If the investigators wish to dig into myths surrounding the woods north of Woods Haven, they may run into some asking around in Boston. While there isn't any written story over the Ligotti article, old men will remember stories told about one Sol Goodman who wasn't exactly well in the head. If convinced that the investigators really wish to hear the story and won't make fun of them, they'll tell them that Sol was a warlock who is suspected with having kidnapped the newborn Rogers's baby with some unholy purpose and fled. Some people went looking for him and finally found a lead from a farmer who had just established himself in what was to become Woods Haven. The posse went into the forest to get Sol back and hopefully rescue the child but they never came back.

Destroying the Dark Young...

There is more than one way to skin a cat, and such is the case with the Dark Young. The main options that the investigators are likely to explore is, of course, firepower. But there are subtler ways to accomplish the same goal.

While the investigators don't know that the creature is bound to the land and is one with the Mi-Go machine, a successful Idea roll may suggest that. Destroying the machine would make the forest slowly return to normal, slowly killing the Dark Young in the process.

This, however, must be done carefully. The hub must be dynamited first or destroying one of the pilons would upset the already delicate balance and cause a repetition of the original accident, which the investigators would be lucky if they survive.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

For more information on the Mi-Go, the only book I can think of right now is Pagan Publishing's Delta Green, Eyes Only Volume 1: Machinations of the Mi-Go. It's a 52-page booklet that deals with all you wanted to know about the Mi-Go but had your brain put into a metallic jar before asking. (Editor's note: The collected Delta Green, Eyes Only is now available from your favorite rpg vendor.)

The short Latin phrase I lifted from a text by Ricardo Christe, who in turn had taken it from Faurè's Requiem (I think).

Chaosium Digest Classics -- Trust No One, Especially Yourself

2008-01-28T16:30:00.000-08:00

by Geoff Smith
originally presented in Chaosium Digest v29.03, Wed. Dec. 15, 1999

Introduction:

"You drop to the ground drooling."
"You scream and run out of the room in terror."
"You start shooting blindly at everything in the room."

If you're sick of saying this stuff when a character loses his mind, read on. Insanity can add a lot to role-playing. Unfortunately, it's too often glossed over or treated in the most stereotypical of ways. Hopefully, this article will help you make a memorable gaming experience out of a little insanity. Use it as a subplot and seed it into an existing adventure. The next time a character goes mad, just pull this out and away you go. We're going to explore the darker corners of an insane character's mind. More importantly, we're going to try and do it without the player knowing. In the details that follow you will find references to terms used in Call of Cthulhu, but this really is system neutral.

Putting the madness back into insanity:

The party, led by Simon P. Robinson, Esquire enters the old building. Suddenly they're faced with the sight of a semi-rotted corpse which is blasphemously active. In fact, they seem to have interrupted it's awful meal. Everybody makes a sanity check. Simon loses it. Badly. All of the characters are momentarily too stunned to move. The horrid creature (never come right out and say "Ghoul" or give away any information the party hasn't earned with quick thinking, blood and lots of terror) spots the investigators and comes rushing hungrily towards them.

Freeze.

It's time for some fun. We're not going to let Simon off with just a little drooling or wetting himself. No way! We're gonna give him the full treatment. Simon (the character) is gonna lose his marbles. At the same time we're gonna make the player (let's call her Sally) so paranoid she doesn't know what's going on or who to trust. In fact, we're gonna try and make her question the sanity of everyone around her, including her own character. Because of the shock and extreme terror, Simon is now quite mad. Simon (the character) is now suffering from indefinite insanity in the form of acute paranoia. Along with the paranoia are occasional blackouts and hallucinations. Without Sally's (the player) knowledge you must build the framework for her character's insanity. In an attempt to remain intact, Simon's mind has now constructed an elaborate web of lies and delusions. The world must now bend to his perception.

Unfreeze.

The gore-covered fiend is rushing at the party. Now you ask Sally (the player) to step out of the room and leave her character. (Let's get a little Player - Character separation anxiety going.) The fight now progresses as normal, but you run Simon (the character) for the moment. Make sure the character empties his gun, gets scratched, falls and bumps his head, muddies and tears his clothes or some other obvious things. When the smoke clears allow Sally to return. Inform her, "You must have blacked out for a minute there. The creature is lying dead (and remember to sometimes let them think a monster is dead when it's really still alive or unalive as the case may be). You don't remember the fight, but your shirt is ripped and you're bleeding from a cut on your arm." Now let play progress as normal. The other players can fill Sally in on anything else that happened (make them role-play it. From here on your goal is to convince Sally that the other PCs, or at least one of them, have gone mad. This is just one example of how the threshold between the sane and the demented would first be crossed. Try to choose an appropriately traumatic experience to trigger all this. This isn't hard in Call of Cthulhu.

How do we convince the player that something is very wrong? That perhaps the other characters are members of a cult… That for some reason they're trying to make Simon think that he's crazy - of course he knows they're the crazy ones… That THEY are out to get him… That the whole world has gone crazy…

Well, let's try a few things and remember it's your story, these are just ideas. Add your own personal touches. Keep'em guessing and keep it fun.

-- Simon pulls out his gun to shoot something. He pulls the trigger and 'click' it's empty. Although he doesn't recall doing it, he emptied it himself. As subtly as possible he should be led to believe another character is trying to sabotage him/get him killed.

-- While the characters have separated for whatever reason, Simon glimpses (hallucinates) one of the other PCs walking into an obviously seedy/unsavory place. If he goes in he can't find them. If he mentions it to them later they will quite rightly deny it. Was he mistaken or are they lying?

-- A note in crazed and wild handwriting is left for him someplace only he and other PCs go. e.g. He wakes up in his hotel room with the note pinned to his pillow. It says, "IKNOW THAT YOU KNOW SIMON! IF YOU TELL ANYONE YOU'RE DEAD!DEAD DEAD!!!! DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD DEAD" Maybe it's just cultic looking gibberish written in goat's blood. If someone highly skilled in psychiatry and compares the note's handwriting with handwriting samples from the character they'll be able to identify it as the character's own writing.

-- By chance Simon spots one of the feared Cthulhu Mythos texts in the possession of another PC. Maybe at first, he just gets a glimpse of odd writing and troubling pictures. Simon might want to nab and destroy it, or just keep it as evidence. He will remain convinced that the Sears & Roebuck catalog (or whatever it really was) is an unholy text.

-- When another PC gives him a drink of wine (coffee, milk…) Simon gets a fierce headache after just a sip. He even finds himself throwing up while his stomach cramps horribly. Be sure that the player gets the idea that it was an attempt to poison him!

-- Late one night when all the PCs are sleeping at the same place (hotel, tent …) pull the other players aside one at a time very briefly. Ask them some mundane questions about security precautions or whatever. Then talk to Simon'splayer. Inform him that something wakes him up in the middle of the night. Before he can get back to sleep he hears the others outside his door (adjoining room, tent). Have him make a Listen roll and either way, tell him he only catches snatches of their conversation. Something like"mumble mumble …Simon's suspects…mumble…get rid of him…..notyet….."

-- Maybe Simon has a pet parakeet/cat/dog. He should find that friendly companion nailed to his kitchen door. Perhaps, he's got a nasty scratch that he can't rememberwhere it came from.

-- Simon is talking to someone on the phone and after the person hangs up, he hears another person hang up!

-- Pass notes back and forth at odd times with the other players asking them for one bit of information or another.

-- Someone shows up and insists that Simon called them and said it was an emergency. That they had to come immediately. Simon of course knows he didn't call. Someone either pretended to be him or the person that showed up is lying. But why?

-- At some point the other characters will probably become concerned for poor Simon. "He's sure been acting funny." Perhaps another character tries to convince him he needs help, professional help. Maybe he should commit himself for a couple of weeks. Have him make a psychology roll and then pass Simon's player a note saying that the other character seems kind of twitchy and overly anxious to see him put away. Maybe Simon suddenly "notices" the other character is wearing a ring with cultic symbols on it.

Conclusion:

Just how far things go is up to you. Does the character secretly want to be found out and helped? Is he leaving a little trail of clues behind that will eventually point to him? Does his mind deteriorate into further delusions and even murder? Be careful to keep the mystery alive. Most of the overt acts, by necessity, will have to take place when other characters are either distracted or not around. Some of them however are figments of the character's own troubled mind and therefore can happen even in the middle of a crowded room.

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in it."
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Secrets of Los Angeles -- Review

2007-11-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

The newest in Chaosium's "Secrets of" line is out. This time, we get to see Los Angeles in the Call of Cthulhu setting. This is a nice book with a fine layout and some great period photos for illustration. It covers the birth of Hollywood and the film industry and throws in a good bit of noir style that blends well with Lovecraft.

Included are stats for period celebreties such as Charley Chaplain, Will Rogers, Cecil B. DeMille, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Raymond Chandler. Over all, the book is has fine coverage of the history and geography of the City of Angels and its surrounding areas of interest. An Index, Bibliography and Chaosium's famous player handouts increase the utility of the book.

Should you happen to not be into the film noir styling of an L.A. campaign, there's still some utillity here. The book includes sections on Native California Myths and Magic, Mexican Brujeria and Chinese Magic which continue CoC 6's trend of showing how real magical traditions can be translated into Call of Cthulhu without everything magical being Mythos.

So just grab Secrets of Los Angeles, pop in The Maltese Falcon, and it's off to LA LA Land in Call of Cthulhu style!

Chaosium Digest Classics -- Harvest Festival

2007-11-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

by Gidjabolgo gidjabol@hem2.passagen.se
Originally presented in Chaosium Digest v29.01 Wednesday, November 17, 1999

While this article is primarily aimed at Pendragon, it maybe used (albeit with some tweaking) in most rural settings.

For the landed knight, the annual harvest festival offers an opportunity to relax from the stiff formality at court and indulge in the simple pleasures. There will be an outdoor banquet, games, competitions and interesting events. For knights with neighboring manors, a grand feast can be held together, inviting the people from both holdings. This, of course means either that they share the duties of the host, or that they alternate between the locations on different years.
The food served is not luxurious, but abundant, and those who wish can indulge in the robust, dark ale, the roasted pigs and oxen, the honey-coated apples and the sweet raspberry jam on freshly baked bread. If the harvest has been poor, this will naturally reflect on what is offered, but a [Generous] lord might want to sponsor the feast in order to improve his peasant's loyalty. In general, 1FOOD/POP will insure a well-set table.

Traditionally hosted by the lord, he is the one to declare the festivities opened with some words of thanks (or possibly blame) to God/the Gods. He presides over the high table set at the center of the feast, is first served, and on this occasion is also available to his tenants, ready to hear complaints and praise, resolve disputes and grudges and in general show that he cares.

Other duties of the lord is to serve as judge in competitions:
* The best ox, pig and sheep are judged, bringing the winner (or rather the winner's owner) a small token and a fractionof glory.
* Log-tossing, running competitions, wrestling matches and weight-lifting (pick up a heavy stone and carry it for fifty paces, demanding both STR and CON) tournaments are held. There is often a judgement needed here, and it might be tempting for the lord to judge in favor of his soldiers instead ofhis peasants [Just/Selfish]. After all, whose loyalty are you most likely to need? Prizes might be donated by the lord, or might simply be the local glory won.
* For more rustic entertainment, you might want to offer the players "Hunt the greased pig" and "Climb the greased pole".

Naturally, the lord and his personal guests might want to participate in the games. This is really a matter of humility. It is understood that in doing so you enter on the same terms as everybody else. And if the lord's own animals wins the prices and his friends and soldiers wins all the competitions, a certain amount of grumbling is to be anticipated. Remember that your respect for the peasants will affect theirs for you.

What's going on, then?

Well, this is an occasion to renew old friendships and enmities, to show off and to observe. Old men sit on benches talking about how things were better in their days, children run about playing, screaming and giggling, young maids are coquettish and young men cocky. As the night draws closer, the bonfires seems to burn brighter, the ale looses its bite and the maids are getting prettier.

Some things that might happen during the festivities are:
* A little child is lost! His worried mother pleads for help, but roll a die to see if the little rascal (ca 3 years old) has: 1. Hidden out of mischief. 2. Got lost in that forest over there. 3. Been abducted by his mean big brother. 4. Been abducted by his pretty sister's spurned suitor. 5. Fallen asleep under a table. 6. Been abducted in order to be 'heroically' found by his pretty sister's suitor.
* A monster comes from the nearby forest to trash the party! Roll a die to see if it is: 1-2. A wyvern. 3-4. A lion. 5. A large bear. 6. A small giant. Regardless of monster, it is already furious.
* By the end of the night a young woman is screaming "Rape!" but some say she did so only to embarrass the young man who she wanted who did, in fact, not want to. He denies all carnal interest, and his young wife confirms that he is ever faithful, but the girl who screamed wants recompense and justice done.
* The prize-winning pig has escaped from his temporary pen. The previously so proud owner stands devastated before the Lord, his hands holding tightly to the green ribbon signifying his honour, humbly asking for assistance. Anyone up for a tame boar hunt?
* Someone is eating a bit too heartily and chokes on a bone. [Awareness] and [Dexterity] to save him by fortuitously stumbling on the Heimlich maneuver.
* A large burly farmer with bloody knuckles is dragged before you by his visibly pregnant daughter. Urged by her he asks for the help of your physician to see to his son in law. The poor boy is horribly beaten up, and it is revealed that he actually is not the son in law of the farmer. Yet, but before he passed out he managed to promise to marry the girl.
* Fire! Fire! A stubbled field has been ignited by sparks from the bonfires, and the fire is threatening the manor. Gather people and organize a bucket chain and blanket quenchers [Battle] and [Peasants' Loyalty]. Results as follows:
- Double fumble: no one organizes or does anything useful. Two barns with 4 FOOD and twenty sheep, screaming in anguish, burn as does the stable. 2d3 horses killed, including the lord's favorite riding horse. Lower [Peasants'Loyalty] by one.
- Single fumble: you make a mess of the lot, but someone else steps in and saves the day. Nevertheless, two barns with 4 FOOD and twenty sheep, screaming in anguish, burn as does the stable. 1d3 horses killed, but not any one of the expensive ones.
- Double failure: you make a mess of the lot, but someone else steps in and saves the day. Nevertheless, a barn with 4FOOD burns.
- Single success: You lose 2 FOOD and a barn is slightly charred.
- Double success: You save the day, nothing is lost. Check on [Peasants' Loyalty].
- Critical: You save the day, nothing is lost. Raise [Peasants' Loyalty]. In the case of failure or worse, a successful [Orate] and [Folk lore] might mitigate the situation a bit as far as the peasants' loyalty is concerned. "In this hard time ..."
(c) 1999 Orjan Westin
--

Chaosium Digest Classics: Halloween 1923

2007-10-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

by Geoff, Susan, Alex & Isaac
Originally appearing in Chaosium Digest v28.11, October 18, 1999

One of the investigators receives the following invitation a week or two before Halloween.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are cordially invited to experience the wonders of Professor Lee DeForest's incredible Audion and the unveiling of his newest invention PhonoFilm. The theme of this year's Halloween Ball is the Ancient Pharaohs of Egypt, our guest of honor will be the famed Egyptologist Howard Carter. Dr Carter is just back from the sands of mysterious Egypt where he, along with the Earl of Carnarvon discovered the remains of Tutankhamen, greatest pharaoh ever to reign in the land of Cleopatra.

October 31st 1923.
Festivities begin at 8:00 PhonoFilm at Midnight! 1
302 149th Street.

RSVP with number attending.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have each investigator decide what they will wear to the party. Many costumes will not allow them to tote weapons along. Guns are of course discouraged among high society gatherings.

Professor Lee DeForest is an inventor with a knack for coming up with great ideas, starting a business around them and then having that business fail. He is now trying to raise money to build a company around this newest invention, which makes talking movies possible. This time around he's brought in the aid of a promoter, Harold McIntyre, to help him raise the money. McIntyre is an extraordinarily outgoing fellow who insists that everyone call him "Mac". Anyone who has or may know someone with money has been invited, including the investigators. Although, they had only the smallest of commitments from Howard Carter to be at the party Mac thought it would be a fantastic idea to tag along on Carter's fame to raise attendance.

The main goal of the party is to raise money. DeForest (dressed as Anubis) talks up his invention and all the interest he's gotten from Hollywood, but never raises the topic of money. Mac (dressed as the Sphinx) pumps anyone and everyone for money. No amount is too small. He constantly refers to DeForest as "The Father of Radio" and talks about the opportunity for getting in on the ground floor. He is the consummate salesman and flatters constantly. He plays on people's vanities promising acting opportunities to some or the chance to own a piece of Hollywood to others.

Carter may or may not show up. If you prefer, replace any references to Carter with Dr. David Pierce a colleague of Carter's, who was hoping to see the more famous archaeologist here tonight. Pierce was one of the lucky ones who was able to go inside Tutankhamen's tomb after it was opened. If Carter does show up (dressed in full archaeologist gear), admirers almost always surround him. At some point he (or Pierce) will have a coughing fit and later one of the investigators or someone else that was near Carter at the time will start to develop a cough. This is nothing but a red herring, but feel free to hint at the Curse of the Mummy.

Professor DeForest mentions at some point when talking with the group that the "screening" will take place in the room behind the black curtains. Of course, he says, they must promise not to go poking about in there until Midnight.

The investigators get a chance for action when at about 10:30 anyone who makes a Spot Hidden notices a figure wrapped up like a mummy (one of eight mummies at the party) slip behind the black curtain. If they take no action a smashing sound comes from the room as an enraged John Detweiller smashes the PhonoFilm projector to pieces. Prompt action will get them there in time to stop him. Lethal force should be discouraged and will result in the investigators being jailed for murder. Detweiller was a partner in one of De Forest's earlier ventures and lost everything he had. After he's smashed the machine he won't put up much of a fight, but will scream and swear at De Forest until dragged out by force. If asked DeForest will say that the man is insane and stole from DeForest when they were partners.

If the PhonoFilm projector is smashed DeForest brings out an earlier prototype which while cruder in design, functions identically to the other. When midnight comes everyone is ushered into a large sitting room with a white sheet hanging on one wall. The PhonoFilm runs for about four minutes. Starting with a barber-shop quartet singing on stage at Coney Island and ending with various shots of the rides at the amusement park.People on rides scream as they whirl and tumble about. The whole thing is amazing up until now there have been only silent pictures. However, the sensitive investigators alsofind the film somewhat curiously disturbing. There are moments when the screams seem horrible, not the delighted screams of thrill seekers, but the damned and terrifying screams of insanity. Carter (or Pierce) turns ashen after watching for a short time and runs from the room with the film still going.

If an investigator follows, they find the badly shaken Carter out on the front steps smoking a cigarette. Carter seems to have heard something that no one else did. If asked to describe it he says it sounded like the dead screaming for revenge. He remains agitated and intent on leaving and welcomes any offer for a ride home.

Does the PhonoFilm pick up sounds that normally go unheard? Is Carter (Pierce) under the Curse of the Mummy or is he just exhausted from his travels? Perhaps the investigators befriend Carter (Pierce) and he later asks them to accompany him on a dig in South America or Egypt. The truth is left up to the Keeper to decide, depending upon the tone you wish to set for your campaign.

By the way any money invested in The De Forest Phonofilm Corporation is lost when it folds in 1925.

(Note: DeForest and Carter were actual people and although such a party never took place, if you're willing to be within a couple months of reality, it could have)

Resources
- Picture of DeForest at
http://www.invent.org/book/book-text/30.html
- Various DeForest bios at
http://www.cinemedia.com.au/SFCV-RMIT-Annex/rnaughton/DEFORE ST_BIO.html

Chaosium Digest Classics: Cat's Eyes - A follow up to Cat's Cradle

2007-10-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

By Andy Clements
Originally appearing in Chaosium Digest v28.10 on October 3, 1999

Introduction:
The home city of the investigators is being plagued by more bizarre and grisly deaths, similar to those occurring during Cat's Cradle. People are being found as mere piles of skeletons, the bones picked clean of all flesh with scratches on the bones. The strangest part is that evidence from witnesses suggest the 'murders' occurred within a time period of about ten minutes - surely not long enough for a serial killer to strip away the flesh and make his/her escape? This should be enough to draw most Investigators into the adventure, but it should be especially the case for any who played in Cat's Cradle.

Keeper Information:
These latest acts against humans are not the work of vengeful cats, as in Cat's Cradle. In this case, a priestess of Bast is sending the Holy Children (slightly more vicious and larger versions of modern cats) to kill people who have wronged her. There are three victims before the events come to the attention of the Investigators. The first is the ex-husband of thePriestess (unaware of her secret vocation) who divorced her after an affair with a co-worker. The second is the lawyer who helped the ex-husband gain custody of their children. The third was the co-worker. However, this will not be the last of the murders. The Priestess is slightly unhinged at losing everything that life had to offer, and is more than a little vindictive. Which is why she isnow picking more random victims.

Evidence:
1) Mortuary reports: These will reveal little information, other than the suggestion that the victims were eaten alive by fairly small, maybe cat or dog sized, animals.
2) Personal effects of victims: These will also reveal very little, except who had the *motive*. The lawyer's writings will not reveal much - he did not bother to look into the Priestess's feelings. However, the diary will show that the ex-husband got custody of the kids. The mistress's diary will show that she thought the Priestess was jealous and vindictive - which she feels is justified, but still scares her. The ex-husband's diary will suggest he left her because he never knew what she was doing, and that she held people in contempt.
3) Occult writings: Investigators will more than likely run across nothing but the same works that appeared in Cat's Cradle, which suggest that cats are sent to punish those who are cruel to Bast's children.
4) Mythos writings: Investigators who know where to look will find a Mythos book entitled The Book Of The Cats (imaginative I know). This book grants +3% to Cthulhu Mythos, but most importantly, tells of a prophecy, where the cats shall rise in times to come, to eat man, and to rule over the survivors. (It wouldn't be Cthulhu without an apocalyptic prophecy).

What Can The Investigators do?
The only way to deal with the priestess is to kill her, although an especially good group of investigators may have the skill to talk sense into her. This, however, would have to be a remarkable feat of role-playing.

The Priestess:
I suggest that Keepers give statistics to the Priestess as suits their own campaign. However, she should not be given an excessive level of spells: A spell to summon Bast, as well as one to send the Holy Children against people should be entirely sufficient. In campaigns where Investigators are gun happy, equip the Priestess with a shot-gun.

Chaosium Digest Classics: Cat's Cradle

2007-10-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

by Andy Clements
Originally appearing in Chaosium Digest v28.08, August 15, 1999

Over-view: This adventure is not so much concerned with the mythos as it is with a fringe element of Cthulhu, Bast (although strictly speaking she does not appear in this adventure [not to the investigator anyway]). It may be helpful to read 'The Cats of Ulthar' short story (by Lovecraft, for those who don't know) in order to understand the tone of this adventure...

Anyway, the adventure takes place at a cat boarding home (located in or near the investigators home town/city), where a series of bizarre and grisly murders are puzzling the police. This adventure is set modern day but can be adapted to other eras with a bit of effort.

What the Investigators can be told before the adventure: The cat's home (feel free to select a name for this location which demonstrates the human ability to find a silly pun for any business proposition) has been the site of three grisly murders, where the victim in each case has been a worker found with all the flesh stripped from his bones. The workers have been identified by their dental records. The police are confused... Evidence suggests that the flesh (which has never been found) was stripped from the bodies while they were still alive, and yet took only ten minutes at most in each case (due to window of opportunity of other people passing through etc.).

What is going on: The cat's home unscrupulously hires people who can't find work anywhere else (immigrants are a favorite), and pays them incredibly low wages. The cats are not well treated, partly due to conditions at the cat home (prospective clients are only shown a nice area, where they believe their cat will be looked after in a luxurious manner...), and partly due to low standards and poor training. As a result, the cats have been getting annoyed, to say the least (especially when several of their number became afflicted with malnutrition), which has come to the attention of Bast. She has granted the cats the power to escape from their cages on full moons and to subsequently feast upon one victim on that night. So far, only minor employees have been attacked while the manager, who most deserves this punishment, has been left unmolested since he works from an office elsewhere in cat home, not in the cage area.

Looking for Evidence: Here are some summaries of what players may be able to find - feel free to add to or edit the information given here depending on how hard you want your players to work to get to the truth.

* Autopsy results: characters in the police force, or forensic scientists may be able to find records of the autopsy results. These suggest that the bones recovered have many small scratch marks upon them. A comment is added (in writing) by the police officer in charge of the investigation that no animals were loose in the area. The players will probably need to do some espionage and sneaking around, as this document will quickly be recovered by Delta Green and placed in classified section.

* Interviews with workers at the cat home: These should reveal the lack of skill and experience among the workers at the cat home, but is unlikely to reveal anything else, other than that most are scared and would quit if they could find work anywhere else. Some extreme cases may beg the players to offer them manual work (e.g., mowing the lawn).

* Interview with the manager: He will claim that he follows high standards at the cat home, and if the players manage to see the location of the cat cages, he will try to bribe them to keep quiet about what they've seen (this is how he prevented the police from calling in the authorities in respect to animals). He will be willing to pay up to $500. However, the players may need to make ethical checks if they accept.

* Research in an occult library (probably a firm favorite for experienced players): Will turn up very little, unless a player is clever enough to search for references to cat deities, in which case a reference to Bast will be found, as well as modern claims by authors that Bast sometimes punishes those who mistreat cats. Make sure the players are aware that these latter claims are in the league of people who claim that Elvis has been abducted by aliens...

What can the characters do?: The only way to prevent the deaths (as they'll never be able to convince the police of the truth) is to somehow bring the manager to justice. If the players are moral, this will involve trying to find non-corrupt police officers and showing them the state of the cat home. If the players cannot do this, they might want to contact the cat owners when they return from holiday, who will either sue the manager (thus ending the business), or take the law into their own hands (some owners have been known to kill for their pets...). However, it is more poetic if the players work out from the dates of the deaths that this occurs only on full moons, and then trick the manager into being a victim of the cats, which will finally end the killings.

The method of ending the suffering of the cats is not particularly important, so long as it occurs. If the players fail to solve this mystery, the following murders will cost them 1d4 sanity per case, until about the 4th, when they will gradually become callous to the murders. Of course, the continued suffering of the cats may eventually bring them to the home of the Investigators... If the players do succeed, Bast *may* be grateful enough to reward them with a SMALL gift. Remember that Bast is more likely to send the players pet cats to care for, than a spell which causes wide spread death... at most the spell might offer some protection to the owner from mundane (or possibly mythos) threats.

Hints to the Keeper: The horror in this adventure mostly occurs off stage. If you want to bring the horror to the investigators, casually comment on the increasing numbers of alley cats in their neighborhood, and the way they always stop to watch the players. When they go to the cage area, comment on how the cats make a tremendous amount of sound before they go through the door to the cage room, but become completely silent when they enter the room. Little things designed to make the players scared to death of cats...

Chaosium Digest Classics: Ethical Dilemas in Call of Cthulhu

2007-10-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

byMichael Schwartz mschwartz@mindspring.com
Originally appearing in Chaosium Digest v28.07 on Sunday, August 1, 1999

A thread on the DELTA GREEN mailing list concerned the resolution of ethical dilemmas and matters of conscience in CALL OF CTHULHU campaigns. Without delving too deep into the so-called "angsty" White Wolf style of play which many DGML subscribers seem to abhor, I would like to offer this quick-and-easy mechanic, based around pre-existing CALL OF CTHULHU rules, with which gamemasters may adjudicate the psychological consequences of characters' actions.

WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE: A BRIEF RECAP OF SANITY MECHANICS
CALL OF CTHULHU uses Sanity as a gauge of the character's absolute psychological health. As part of the mechanic, a character who loses sufficient Sanity to warrant Temporary Insanity must then make an Idea Roll to determine if he or she, in fact, is aware of the implications of whatever events caused the Sanity loss. A successful roll reflects the character's sudden recognition of the inherent"wrongness" in that which occurred, with a corresponding retreat into blissful insanity. A failed Idea Roll reflects the character's incomprehension of that wrongness, although Sanity still decreases. The character does not lose control of his or her faculties, even though he or she is rather unsettled by the situation.

AN YE HARM NONE: CONSCIENCE IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
The mechanics for resolving ethical dilemmas and matters of conscience are more-or-less the reverse of the Sanity mechanics. The character first must make an Idea Roll. Failure implies that the character is unable to separate right from wrong *for the moment*, and can proceed as he or she chooses. The truly fiendish gamemaster will bring the matter up again, once the character has opportunity to reflect on his or her actions. Success means that the character recognizes the morally dubious nature of his or her behavior, either intended or acted-upon.

If the Idea Roll succeeded, a Sanity Roll becomes required. Success on this roll indicates that the character experiences a crisis of conscience and is wracked with guilt. The rules effect of this anguish is a variable loss of Sanity, the amount lost being dependent on the severity of the moral lapse. Failure indicates that the character feels little or no remorse for his or her actions, representing a sort of "depraved indifference" toward morality like that displayed by psychopathic or sociopathic individuals. Only the minimum Sanity is lost.

Witnessing a friend or relative's violent death costs 0/1d6Sanity, but inflicting a friend or relative's violent death personally might cost 1/1d8 or 1/1d6+2 depending on how close a tie the character felt toward the victim. A sense of proportion is vital, as penalizing the character too much or too little will ultimately undermine the delicate balance of fairness vs. responsibility which these rules require.

I recommend using the "Sanity Loss Guide" from page 78 of CALL OF CTHULHU 5th Edition for inspiration, but be prepared to fudge when necessary. These guidelines comment that "few experiences other than Resurrection should so mangle the Sanity of any investigator" as to inflict a 1d20, 2d10 or 3d6 Sanity loss, while "single-handedly and willingly causing the destruction of the entire human race" *might* qualify for a Sanity loss of 3d10.

I found the Madness rules from John Tynes' and Greg Stolze's splendid game, UNKNOWN ARMIES, to be very inspirational in the writing of this piece, and would recommend it to those who may be interested in an alternative mechanism for Sanity. The rules presented therein could be fairly easily adapted for use with CALL OF CTHULHU.

Thoughts? Opinions?
Michael Schwartz mschwartz@mindspring.com

Changes for your Editor

2007-05-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings and Salutations!

As the one year anniversary of this newest incarnation of the Digest approaches, changes are on the horizon for your's-truly. Mrs. Editor got herself a new job that will have us moving to the South Bay area in July. In fact, it looks like we'll be about 30 miles south of the Chaosium offices. Once we get settled out west, I'll be putting some effort into getting the Digest updated more regularly. In addition, we'll be looking for some fellow gamers. So keep an eye out for future updates and keep spreading the insanity.