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Chaosium Digest Volume 09 Number 06
Chaosium Digest Volume 9, Number 6
Date: Wednesday, December 21, 1994
Number: 3 of 3
Contents:
Deadwave, Part Three (Mark Morrison) CALL OF CTHULHU
--------------------
From: Mark Morrison <bassst@zikzak.apana.org.au>
Subject: Deadwave, Part Three
System: CALL OF CTHULHU
DEADWAVE, PART THREE
by Mark Morrison Copyright (c) 1994
[Continued from V9.4]
THE THIRD AND FINAL BAD DREAM
The Investigator may well have given up sleeping at night now; if so,
they must roll CON x3 to avoid nodding off in the long watches of the
night. If they manage to stay awake, proceed to the section below,
when the Ex-Investigator drops in.
In the final dream, the Investigator wanders in a dark place. There
is a warm and fetid smell of blood and death. In the darkness they
can hear the ponderous shuffle of beasts, they can hear heavy things
swinging slowly on chains, they can hear the weighty meaty thunks of
heavy objects squarely striking unyielding flesh.
Suddenly an overhead light swings across, a naked bulb dangling from a
hanging wire. They are in a large concrete room. The floor is swept
but bloodstained. Drifts of reddish dust congeal in the corners. The
roof overhead is corrugated iron. There seems to be someone standing
by a table off to the left-hand side.
As they approach, they see the figure is wearing a bloody apron, and
holds a meat cleaver. The light never swings high enough to show the
face. On the table lies the Dead Relative. The figure gestures to
it, rasping "Which portion would you like?" And it lifts the chopper
and swings it downwards...
The Ex-Investigator Arrives
...Thunk. The Investigator wakes. SAN loss for this dream is 0/1D2.
Thunk. The sound echoes again. It is someone knocking slowly and
heavily on the back door.
It is the Ex-Investigator, who probably hasn't aged well. It is
probably green and grey, with parts of its dead flesh hanging limply
from its rotted torso. It croaks the Investigator's name. "Let me
in." SAN loss is 1/1D6, or 1D3/1D8 for those who knew the person in
life.
The Ex-Investigator was exhumed by the Fiend. The corpse was
retrieved from wherever it lay, with the aid of Nyarlathotep, and
brought to this town. The Fiend animated it, and kept it imprisoned
at the abattoir. During the frenetic activity at the Fiend's base
leading up to the coming attack (see below), it slipped away, and has
shambled across town to warn the Investigator.
The Ex-Investigator is desperate to get inside, and pushes past if
necessary. Three things drive it: terror at the fact that the Fiend
is probably after it; the urgency to tell the Investigator of the
imminent attack; and a mixture of self-pity and self-disgust at
finding itself alive again. These conflicting desires make its speech
garbled. It also has the less-than-endearing habit of clutching the
Investigator with both hands and staring them in the face. It is
likely that the Investigator finds this gesture abhorrent (SAN roll
for 0/1), so the conversation probably unfolds as the Ex-Investigator
shambles after them from room to room. Reddish dust drifts from its
soiled clothing in small crimson puffs. Smaller quantities of sawdust
trickle from cuffs and wounds.
This is the information it imparts. This speech is hacked out in
great gobs, gasps of pain which spit particles of grey matter out onto
the floor.
"[Investigator's Name] - we always knew that it might lead to death -
but not beyond - I am awful - it is him - he is back - he was dead too
- no longer - he wants you - he wants you to break - then he will kill
you - and worse - this night - he is coming for me - for you - they
are all coming - here - he hides by day - not far - in an ab - an ab -
aba - ABABABAB-"
This last is stuttered as it starts to heave to and fro. Its agony is
obvious, and intense. The Fiend has ordered the black blood to quit
the cadaver, and it pitches around the room, smashing glass and
gouging wallpaper and toppling furniture. Its scream gapes wider as
its mouth rips and tears, and in a torrent the blood sprays out,
spewing the investigator with an acidic gout. Lifeless again, the
Ex-Investigator slumps to the floor. SAN roll for this end is 0/1D4.
In the sudden silence, a Listen roll detects the sound of a large
vehicle idling out front.
DEADWAVE
The Fiend decides it's time for a direct approach: zombie apocalypse.
It has driven up to the house in the bus. The bus is full of
passengers, and they all start to alight. They're all dead. Moaning
and grunting, they reel and stagger across the neat suburban lawns
like drunkards. Most flood towards the Investigator's house, but a
few lurch off for other, softer prey.
Anyone stationed on guard while the Ex-Investigator was breaking down
sees the bus pull up. A Spot Hidden realizes that it's no ordinary
bus, and they can get off two rounds' gunfire as the passengers file
out.
There are forty zombies. They knock down fences, trample gardens,
batter down doors, smash through windows, rip and rend and tear their
way in. They do not stop until obliterated.
These are the missing corpses, plus extras not reported yet, plus
others who perhaps weren't dead when they went missing. They are
mostly robust specimens, chosen for build and strength. Their number
includes (Spot Hidden) the bus driver William Marsh, and the missing
dead girl Dianne Castille; but not the Dead Relative or the undertaker
Clem Baker.
The Investigator and friends can barricade themselves in, or they can
flee out the back door and over the back fence. Hunkering down
probably gets them killed, as by weight of numbers and sheer
unstoppability the dead will get them. The zombies come faster than
it takes to reload. Use the map you've prepared of the Investigator's
house to show where they start getting in. Give them a couple of
early chances to escape, but if they stay put, they're finished.
If they flee immediately, they can probably get away easily. The
shrieks and screams are just starting up and down the street as the
zombies fan out and start to feast.
There is no effective way to save everybody. There are too many
zombies. Some citizens do their best to defend their families and
their homes; some manage to hide. Most die. Eventually the first
emergency vehicle arrives. Not trained or equipped to deal with this,
they die as well. But more and more police units are called in, and
after bitter and desperate fighting they eventually exterminate the
last of the monsters. The entire area is cordoned off. The official
story is hooligan attack. People try to forget what they see. Many
survivors go mad, or suicide not long after. After an initial
reporting frenzy, the more the papers learn of the MURDEROUS RAMPAGE
IN CITY STREETS the less they have to say about it.
SAN loss for when the bus pulls up is 1/6 points (there are lots of
them). SAN loss for fighting them is 0/1 each combat round. SAN loss
for fleeing is 1D3/1D10 as the carnage starts behind them (all their
fault, after all). If they stayed to take a few shots, and called the
police, in other words if they did what they could, SAN loss is 0/1D6
instead.
Some Zombies
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10
STR 21 11 16 18 21 18 15 16 18 24
CON 20 15 29 11 18 15 12 21 09 21
SIZ 10 14 16 15 09 13 11 17 09 15
DEX 03 05 04 06 08 07 06 07 05 04
Attk 15 25 20 30 40 35 30 35 25 20
Claw D4 D4 D4 D6 D4 D4 D4 D6 D4 D6
Bite D2 D2 D2 D3 D2 D2 D2 D3 D2 D3
HP 15 15 23 13 14 14 12 19 09 18
The Escape of the Fiend
Once everyone is off the bus, the Fiend drives away. If someone is
quick they could pile into a car and give chase, but it's likely that
they'll have to mow down some zombies to get out. The Fiend drives
for half a mile to where the hearse is waiting. It gets in. The
undertaker is waiting at the wheel. They drive off. Bus Number
B-0309 is left for the Company to reclaim. The upholstery is in need
of work, though.
The undertaker drives like a madman (which he is), and three Drive
rolls are needed to stay on the tail. The hearse returns to the
abattoir. On a Luck roll from the Investigator, a police car joins
the chase.
TRACKING DOWN THE FIEND
The Investigator should now be able to find the Fiend. They know that
its lair is in the southern suburbs, presumably on an industrial site;
and the combination of the dream and the Ex-Investigator's warning
should suggest an abattoir. All they have to do is get out and go
looking for it.
The search takes 1D4 hours. Whether the slaughterhouses are operating
or not depends on what time they undertake their search. Finally they
find one which has CONDEMNED slapped over the business sign. Another
sign proclaims SOLD. It is apparently closed up and locked.
The Fiend is waiting for them, of course. It is confident that the
toll on their sanity has already been extreme, and feels the
satisfaction of a job well done.
As the car pulls up, the Fiend kills the undertaker, and reanimates
him so fast he doesn't even know he's dead.
The Abattoir Yard
A leaning wooden fence surrounds the yard, with a coiled wreath of old
barbed wire. A wire gate is padlocked, although a Tracking roll notes
recent use.
Looking into the yard, the lot is very dusty - the prodigious red
dust. There is one large main cement and tin building, with a few
sagging annexes. There are a few outbuildings, one large enough to
take vehicles. Empty pens stretch to the left and around behind the
great shed.
Getting through the fence is no great problem. The lesser sheds
contain nothing of interest, except the largest one has the hearse and
a delivery van parked in it. It is big enough to park a bus in.
Entry into the Main Building
There are three points of entry into the main building, but two are
blocked. To the left, enormous double doors give access from the
cattle pens, but these are seriously padlocked. A back door looks
good, but heavy equipment has been piled up against it. The front
door is the way in. It leads into the annex to the right of the
building. It is unlocked.
The Office
The front door opens into the office. It is a crude and dusty affair,
a sordid room of fading calendars and crooked filing cabinets. On the
wall a large map of the city is tacked up. Someone has marked all the
graveyards with red crosses. Colored pins further define the ones
that have been raided so far.
The undertaker sits at the desk nonchalantly reading the paper, garbed
in stiff and crusted black clothing. His eyes are shot through with
red. A Psychology roll detects his absolute madness. He inquires
politely as to their business. Whatever it is, he thinks they should
see the manager. "Walk this way" he invites, and shuffles to the door
that opens onto the main building. Blood courses slowly down his legs
from inside his trousers, pooling into his shoes and overflowing,
leaving red smears as he walks. A SAN roll for this, 0/1D6. A Spot
Hidden confirms that this man does not breathe: he is dead. A
Psychology roll hints that he doesn't know it (another SAN roll for
0/1D3).
Slaughterhouse
The main shed is huge, and badly lit. The Investigator recognizes it
from their dream, although it is not exactly as they dreamt it. It
stinks, abominably (CON x3 to stifle a gag).
It may once have been organized, but now it's in chaos. The more they
see of it, the less they like it. Nothing moves in the jumble of meat
and equipment. Here are some of the sights:
Great winches for suspending the animals; rusty tools, sledgehammers
and axes; a forest of meat-hooks overhead, long lines of them
dangling, with the occasional decayed human torso or miscellaneous
body part swaying from it; slop buckets with offcuts and entrails;
cutting tables smeared with congealed blood and gristle; clouds of
black flies; an open mortician's bag from which stained and filthy
instruments protrude; bottles and jars of embalming fluids, some
tipped over and running together; bonesaws and sawed bones.
SAN roll for just being in here is 1/1D4.
The Fiend Speaks
As they move around taking all this in, a voice quietly addresses them
from one dark corner. They can stealthily approach, but the voice
shows no concern, droning on. It is a rasping whispered voice,
familiar to the Investigator from their dreams, but also familiar from
somewhere else.
"Welcome to my house. I have often visited yours, as you know. Is it
not more peaceful here? A fit place for the dead. That reminds me,
Clem, you're done here now. Thanks for everything."
Suddenly lifeless, the undertaker folds to the floor, the same black
blood they saw come from the Ex-Investigator crawling slowly and
easily away from him. No SAN roll for this one; it has a macabre
gentleness to it. The voice continues on.
"I'm glad we meet again at last. You killed me once, so I have killed
you in turn. We have killed each other. The difference between us is
that you are dead in life, and I am alive in death. Come here. Let
us be together, for the very last time."
By now they will have moved through the jungle of hooks and equipment,
and get their first close glimpse of it.
FACE TO FACE WITH THE FIEND
The Fiend stands easy beside a slab on which lies the Dead Relative.
It holds a .45 revolver. (If the investigators open up on it, it
fires back. It is far more bulletproof than they.)
This is of course the full realization of who their tormentor is, not
to mention its horrific appearance: the wasted body with old wounds
still gaping, the leering dead expression of studied hatred and poised
madness. Time for that SAN roll, costing the victimized Investigator
1D6/1D10. Others lose 1/1D8, or 1D4/1D8 if they knew it in life.
The Fiend speaks to the corpse, "Don't just lie there [first name of
Dead Relative], say hello to [first name of Investigator]." The Dead
Relative slowly sits up. "Helllloooo dearrrr." This costs others 0/1
(they've seen many dead people by now, and this one is in relatively
good shape), but the related Investigator loses 2/1D6.
The Fiend Wins
If the Investigator looks unhinged during this whole encounter, either
in despair or anger, the Fiend feels it has achieved victory. It acts
calmly.
First it pulls a lever under the table. This causes a murderous
flight of hooks suspended high above to fall on the area around it in
a twenty feet radius, striking each character for 2D6 damage. Any
character who makes a Listen roll hears it coming, and may attempt a
Dodge. The hooks also smash down on the Dead Relative; headless, it
falls back onto the slab. The Fiend then shoots the Investigator in
the leg to bring them down. It then turns its attention to the
others, carefully shooting to kill.
If brought down in the ensuing combat, it is still assured of
victory. "As I was then, as I am now, you are dead," it gurgles
at the Investigator.
If it wins the fight (and it may; bullets don't harm it, and its
massive strength makes wrestling its gun away unlikely) then when the
others are all downed, it goes to each one delivering the coup de
grace. It then reanimates them all one by one. It walks away, bloody
procession in tow, chuckling "See you in hospital". It telephones for
an ambulance for the wounded Investigator on the way out. SAN loss
for the sole survivor is 1D6/1D20.
The Fiend Loses
If the Investigator acts rationally and coolly through this encounter,
the Fiend loses its composure. "Break, damn you, break! I have
destroyed you, don't you see?" it rages, letting the gun fall,
springing at them, "DON'T YOU SEE?", locking its hands around their
throat. "Seeee whatttt, dearrrr?" inquires the Dead Relative muzzily.
Without the revolver, having forgotten about the suspended hook trap,
and not paying attention to anyone but its quarry, the others should
be able to finish it off before it can throttle the Investigator. Its
last words are incoherent blustering.
THE END
This scenario has been a long and vicious attrition to health and
sanity. Stiff rewards are called for.
Gauge player emotion. If they look wasted, drained and despondent,
dejected in their victory and numbed by the overall horror, they gain
1D20. The Fiend has won. However, the Investigator should regain a
minimum of 10 points from the roll, for sheer survival.
If the players look confident, exuberant, flush with victory and ready
to strive onwards, they gain 2D20. The Investigator should get back
at least 20 points.
Notwithstanding that, remember that their house has been wrecked, and
the police may have them down as suspects in the suburb horror.
Moving on to a new town could be part of the healing process. Before
they go, reburying their Dead Relative or the Ex-Investigator gains
them an extra 1D4 SAN per ceremony.
--------------------
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