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Chaosium Digest Volume 20 Number 12
Chaosium Digest Volume 20, Number 12
Date: Sunday, August 3, 1997
Number: 2 of 2
Contents:
The Return to the Past (Robert Koper) CALL OF CTHULHU
--------------------
From: "Robert Koper" <RKoper@msn.com>
Subject: The Return to the Past
System: Call of Cthulhu
The Return To The Past
A CoC Adventure
Copyright 1997 by Rob Koper
This is a continuation of the campaign began in "A Hole In Time" (see
V20.1 of the Digest). It assumes that some of the characters from the
first adventure survived. It also assumes that some or one of the
characters went insane, or lost a significant amount of sanity.
Another point which figures into this scenario is that getting out of
the well without disturbing the Tentacled Horror was nearly
impossible. Even if none of these are true, this adventure will be
useful, with some minor alterations.
The first question is: Did "The Professor" from the first adventure
live? If he didn't, then another scholarly type will need to be
substituted for him. A reasonably curious, sane, and academic
character will be needed to start the adventure. It would be better
if this scholar had some previous connection to the other survivors,
but not critical.
The second question is: Who is going to be The Victim who begins the
adventure? Choose someone who was fully immersed in the well, or
someone who lost a lot of sanity. This character has been affected by
the environment of the caves and the well, and begins this part of the
scenario in an asylum in the home country of the characters.
Time has passed since the first part of this campaign (A Hole In Time)
happened. Aprroximately 5-10 years have gone by. One of the reasons
that the original was run in WWI, was so that this part would be set
in 1925 (the nominal CoC setting). It could be the early 80's (for
Vietnam), or the mid 50's (for WWII). Whatever the time frame, the
Victim has been diagnosed with Shellshock (WWI or WWII) or Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (Vietnam). He is convinced that he
sleepwalks constantly, has strange urges to hurt people, is convinced
that everyone stares at him like he is monstrous, and generally is
overwrought about his physical appearance.
There are three possible answers to what is happening:
1) Because of his exposure to the waters of life and the proximity to
the Old One, he is slowly turning into a Deep One, as has happened to
so many others. He will begin to develop gills behind his ears, and
his skin will gain a bluish cast to it. Other than this (which will
cost 1d6 SAN for him, 1/1d2 for others to see), it will take some 20
years for other symptoms to appear.
2) He is infected with the cells of the Old One, as above, and this
results in a psychic connection with it. He begins to speak in
Tongues (actually the ancient language of the Elder Things), and feels
a pull towards the well. Before long, the character will feel bloated
and languid. Small creatures, half human, half Thing are growing
parasitically inside his body. In five years or so, he will swell up
over a course of days and burst open. 2-5 of these small creatures
will issue forth (1d6/2d6 SAN to see). They are easily killed, and a
scholarly investigation of them could make for another interesting
adventure.
3) It is completly in his mind. The character is not infected, nor is
he being mentally controlled. He is reacting normally to an abnormal
set of circumstances. He has however, been "altered" by his brush with
the pool.
In all of the above cases, the character in question has been gifted
by the Waters of Life. Wounds take half as long to heal; and he is
considered having a 20 CON for purposes of shock, poisoning, or
disease. The character, for whatever reason, is obsessed with getting
out of the asylum. He becomes fanatically strong if threatened at any
point in the scenario with imprisonment, sedation, or confinement (he
gains a STR of 20 for 2-12 rounds). After the character first realizes
this transformation, he will lose 1 SAN everytime these abilities
maifest themselves. This will continue until he dies or goes
insane--there is no cure. An investigator who has gone insane will
become the opponent of the other characters. However, he may act in
their interest inadvertently later, as the scenario changes.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
The "action" begins with a letter writing session. This can take place
between sessions, to avoid boring your other players to tears. Have
the Victim write the first note concerning his delusions and fears to
the Professor. Then the Professor replies, probably wanting to know
more. Let the two of them write to one another as much as is need. No
visits are allowed for safety reasons. The Victim is being treated in
a humane, if condescending, fashion. No others can have correspondence
with the Victim.
Now would be a good time for other investigators to come in. Perhaps
they are friends or relatives of the victim from before the War. They
haven't been allowed to see him. Maybe they are colleagues of the
Professor's. Whatever the case may be, have the Professor write them
an appropriate letter, describining the ailment. Now they are added to
the story, and should begin correspondence.
Be sure to play the part of the asylum staff, and censor anything that
would "upset" the patient. Also make sure to add notes on outgoing
letters, assuring the Professor that these are delusional rantings,
and that the Victim is being given the most considerate and modern
care available. No sketches of the asylum itself, or discussions of
how he is to escape, please. Also, the investigators would do well to
keep any blatant references to the Mythos to themselves, as that would
arouse the suspicions of the staff. They might stop the correspondence
altogether, if they see these letters as being detrimental to the
patient's health. During this session, it would do well to sit between
the Victim and the Professor as they pass notes. Also, to simulate the
distance, have no talking between them. As for the others, they can
write, and after the second letter between them, they can talk as if
on a phone, two at a time.
IRON BARS DO NOT A PRISON MAKE
After the correspondence has gone on for a year or so (at a rate of
two letters a month), or one week after the staff discontinued the
letters, the Victim breaks out. Inform him that he doesn't know what
came over him. It is all fairly dim in his memory. Attendents were
coming to sedate him, and he knew it. He found a barred window, and
knocked out the panes and tore the bars out. He stumbled out into the
rainy night (the rain felt GOOD) and now he is stumbling along a road,
trying to get to the return address on one of his letters he received.
The other investigators hear of his escape second hand, possibly from
one of the staff calling to warn the characters that the Victim may be
coming to them, and to call if he gets there.
DO YOU HAVE A ROOM TO LET?
The Victim now informs the Keeper to which investigator he will
run. This is another opportunity to introduce a new investigator as a
concerned passerby or a Medical Dcotor who have taken the poor man
in. The Victim arrives, disheveled, with only the clothes on his back
and the collected correspondence. The Victim will seek to soak in salt
water as soon as possible (for one of the reasons described above).
This alarming action, as well as the assertion that he must journey
back to the caves in the first scenario should give the other
characters ample worry about the Victim's state of mind.
At this point, the party can have one of three hair raising encounters:
1) The Asylum sends a team of orderlies to collect the stray patient.
It seems that the doctor seeing the Victim has done some outside
reading on his condition. As well as having a low sanity and a current
Cthulu Mythos of 15%, the good doctor is fascinated by the Victim's
recuperative powers. He has told the orderlies not to let anyone stand
in their way.
STR DEX POW Dam Bon HP Attacks
Orderly #1 13 11 10 +0 13 Large Club (55%)
Orderly #2 11 15 12 +0 13 Flicknife (60%;1d4+1)
Orderly #3 16 09 10 +1d6 16 Fist (70%)
Grapple (70%)
Orderly #4 10 15 15 +0 12 .38 Rev (40%)
2) The Police are called by a nervous neighbor who has seen the
Victim. A suitable Persuasion or Fast Talk and showing of the proper
credentials might convince them to go away. Otherwise, they will
search the premises for the Victim, or any signs of foul play.
STR DEX POW DamBon HP Attacks
Officer #1 14 11 10 +1d4 10 [ All Have
Officer #2 11 10 09 +1d4 11 a Large Club (65%)
Officer #3 13 13 13 +0 10 and a Pistol as per
Officer #4 10 15 14 +0 09 the era (50%) ]
3) The village from the first part of this scenario (A Hole In Time)
has sent some of its more spry members to reclaim the Victim for their
own reasons. They are fanatical and violent (use the stats of the
orderlies). They will masquerade as something else (maybe Hospital
Orderlies), and attemt to drag the victim off to their waiting truck
or lorry.
YOU'RE PROBABLY WONDERING WHY I ASKED YOU ALL HERE....
After the Victim staggers into the home of the person he decided to go
to, all of the investigators gather to decide what to do next (or
not...you may have to deal with some characters joining later). They
must decide if they are indeed going to follow the request of the
Victim, and how they are going to go about it. This depends on exactly
they left the Well and the Tunnel Complex years before:
1) If they barely escaped with their lives, they will certainly be
hesitant about going back. Make certain they know in advance that the
Victim is going, with or without them. The next section will deal with
another reason for the characters to revisit the site. Some may still
have lingering phobias about those particular caves. Preparations to
destroy the Well, the Old One, and the Tunnels may be in order. Remind
the characters of the lingering animosity of the local inhabitants
toward the former combatants. This would especially be true of
Vietnam.
2) If the characters dealt with the affair in a more scholarly
fashion, then inform the investigators (mostly the Professor) of the
local authorities' growing distaste for PCs poking about. They give
rise to tales of the region being haunted or cursed. People are moving
away at a time when there are so few around anyway. Besides, between
them and "Those damned Germans/Vietnamese" (see next section) it feels
like the war never ended.
3) If the characters blew the Heck out of everything (not so
far-fetched an idea as it sounds), then they will have to make
arrangements for an excavation/dig. Military characters will realize
how dangerously lethal this can be, with 1 in 10 artillery rounds in
WW1 being a dud, hidden ammo stores waiting to be crushed in an
excavation of a Nazi bunker, or booby traps laid around the former
sapper tunnels in Vietnam. The investigators will find to their
surprise, however, that someone else has started to excavate the site
already.
In any case, have all characters roll 1/2 their normal History roll to
have read about the recent dig in the old site. The process is slow
and deliberate, being funded by a private financier.
ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF...
The characters now get to meet what will turn out to be their greatest
adversary. He will arrive whenever there is a lull in the action, or
shortly after he is contacted about the current dig. When he first
meets the characters, he will be nonchalant and cordial... that is
unless he sees the Victim or the characters mention the Victim's
condition, or their encounter with the Old One.
He will credit scattered accounts of the character's journey into the
tunnels as what prompted him to dig at the site. He claims that the
dig has been uneventful, and that the tunnels begin farther
underground than he imagined. If it is suggested that he cease
digging, he will refuse, saying that he has spent too much money to
not have satisfaction. He will permit the characters to accompany him
on his next visit to the site in a few weeks.
If he sees the Victim, he will start a friendly but intense set of
badgering interrogatives. "How are you feeling?" "Do you sleep well?"
"Do you sleep on the bed or the floor?" "Why do you feel the need to
return to the tunnels?" These questions will continue until it becomes
apparent that he is making the subject angry or upsetting his hosts.
If the War was WW1 or WW2, the financier's name is Hans Von Greeber, a
wealthy Municher (strange in the depressed post war economy). If
asked, he will simply explain that he inherited his money, but not (he
adds dryly) his intellect. If the war was Vietnam, his name is Xian Lo
Minh, a Chinese-descended resident of Hong Kong who deals in rare
artifacts and curios. In either case, he will explain that his dig is
personal, not business-oriented.
Hans Von Greeber or Xian Lo Minh
STR:13 DEX:14 INT:17 Idea:85%
CON:15 APP:11 POW:20 Luck:100%
SIZ:13 SAN:00 EDU:19 Know:95%
HP:14 DamBon:+1d4 MP:20 Age: 31 (Really 50)
APPEARANCE: He is the epitome of a well dressed (slightly
conservative) older gentleman of his time. He is never without his
walking cane. His manners are impeccable, and he can be both graceful
and charming if need be. If any female investigators get interested,
though, they may well be disappointed. The Doctor's tastes are
somewhat strange--he likes little boys. He is also a complete sadist.
WEAPONS: (While seeming like he would have nothing to do with anything
other than a foil or dueling pistol, that cane the financier carries
is no sword cane, but a vicious mythos artifact. It fills those struck
with feelings of guilt, inadequacy and depression.)
Cane: 55% On a succesful hit, it does 1d6+DB, and draws one point of
POW from the target into itself. Feeling this for the first time
causes a 1/1d3 sanity check. Seeing someone beat into submission like
this cost 0/1 SAN. The adventure begins with 2d4 POW stored in the
cane. Greeber/Xian can expend these POW in place of MP for
spells. This is similar to the spell Enchant Cane.
SPELLS: Cloud Memory, Contact Yog-Sothoth, Create Mist of Releh,
Dominate (which he loves to use), Enthrall Victim (see dominate),
Implant Fear (for use against those who have especially annoyed him),
Send Dreams, Shrivelling, Voorish Sign.
SKILLS: Archaeology (60%), Astronomy (30%), Chemistry/Alchemy (25%),
Credit Rating (50%), Geology (15%), History (55%), Law (10%), Library
Use (65%), Martial Arts (Xian Only 45%), Medicine (45%), Natural
History (70%), Occult(70%), Chinese/German (95%), Persuade (00%),
Pharmacy (65%), Psychology (75%), Psychoanalysis (50%), Spot Hidden
(60%)
PERSONALITY: Play him as an innocent obstacle at first. A little
bumbling, and completely obstinate and unstoppable, he will become
more domineering when at the site. He wields his precious cane like a
true Freudian phallic symbol, waving it about and emphasizing points
by rapping it on the table or tapping it on the floor. Keep in mind
his peculiar mindset. He thinks he is superior to the characters, and
will seek to keep control of the situation, no matter what. If the
characters want to do something other that dig at the site, he parts
company with them cheerfully.
He is constantly alert for those who wish to analyze him or figure
him out. Anyone who wants to use Psychology to find out who he really
is will fail. If the character passed you a note, tuck it in your
pocket. If he asks you out loud, then roll the dice behind the screen
and say, "I'll tell you later, privately." Then forget about it.
Subtract 1d6 magic points from Xian/Greeber for staring at the
character and Clouding His Memory.
As you may already have guessed, he is an accomplished sorcerer. His
one problem though, is that he has a fixation with living forever. The
character's recent invasion of the sanctuary of Alacus Magnus/Son
Xiung brought his attention to the villagers that he had heard of
before, and their strange longevity. He has now initiated an attempt
to uncover the secrets of the ancient loremasters for himself. He
knows other sorcerers, although he will not call on their aid during
the adventure under any circumstances. He is jealously guarding his
new find. He knows Klaus Hunderprest from Vienna (Cthulu Casebook),
and Omar Shakti (Masks of Nyarlathotep). He may even have vivid
descriptions of one or more veteran investigators.
AND NOW THE BONUS ROUND...
Some characters may have done some of their own research into either
Alacus Magnus or Son Xiung. They will find precious little except
mention of their subsequent execution for excessive cruelty to their
soldiers or treason. There is also mention of an item called the "Sun
Disk", or the "Light Disk". No other mention of this item is made,
other than it was always with the ancient sorcerer.
In actuality, the Disk is called "The Disk of Enlightenment", and is
buried with the sorcerer in the very first chamber of the tunnels. It
is 10.5" across, made of a strange bronze or copper material (Copper
>From Above), with inscriptions 1/8" high scrolling inwards on its
surface. These writings are similar to those on the walls, and detail
the spells Steal Life (Intx5) and Eibon's Wheel of Mist (Intx5, the
symbol is on the back). The sorcerer became somewhat remorseful of the
grisly experiment she conducted here, which drew the Ghouls to the
foul temple like flies to a rotting carcass. It was the Ghouls which
brought down the wrath of the local governors. Rather than face the
prospect of final death, Xiung/Alacus drank a poison that would leave
him physically unharmed, and buried himself in his precious soil. His
calculations were inexact, and so he died slowly, over hundreds of
years, howling and crying. The temple became so feared that the local
soldiery were instructed to bury the temple under a mountain of soil,
and the mention of the temple was fastidiously censored from every
work that could be located, to prevent the exhumation of the "howling
temple".
A WARM WELCOME....
If they don't decide to strike out on their own, the characters should
end up at the dig with the financier. He is nearly done excavating the
(trench system/bunker/sniper tunnels), and about to reveal the temple
proper below. When the investigators move down into the newly
excavated tunnels, they will again encounter the terrors they thought
they left behind years before.
Unless the characters were farsighted enough to remove the bodies of
the military escorts which died early in "A Hole in Time", then the
bodies will still be down in the temple when they return. Some may
note that bodies floating in water should have decayed long ago. They
should have, except that this is Aqua Vitae (of sorts). They are now
walking corpses, that seek only to destroy the living out of
spite. The exact number appearing should equal the number of guides
sent with the characters in "A Hole in Time".
Walking Dead (Zombies)
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7
STR: 16 13 20 15 10 12 21
CON: 20 18 19 20 21 24 17
SIZ: 10 11 07* 16 13 09** 12
POW: 01 01 01 01 01 01 01
DEX: 11 10 11 15@ 08 13 13
HP: 15 15 13 18 17 17 15
Dam/Bon: +1d4 +o +1d4 +1d4 +0 +0 +1d6
Weapons: Large Club (Gun Butt 25%, 1d8+DB)
@: Uses Bayonet as spear (30%, 1d8+1d4--20% of contracting tetanus)
Armor:One point max. from impaling weapons, half from all others.
*: Consists of only the upper torso, Mv:3.
**: Has no right arm, has a 15% to hit.
SAN: It normally costs 1/1d8 SAN to see a zombie, but if any of the
characters knew the first names of any of the escorts, then add 2 to
the loss.
YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED SOME CHANGES I'VE MADE....
Still in the first chamber, the characters will notice that the floor,
although damp, is not covered in water as it was the first time they
came here. The lowest part of the room surrounds the Stone Bench
mentioned in the "A HOLIER PLACE YOU WILL NEVER FIND..." section of
"A Hole in Time". The bench is really a slab weighing half a ton
covering the exact spot of Alacus/Xiung's burial. It was placed there
as a measure to silence the wailing sound issuing from the temple. Now
visible underneath the block is a smaller slab, 4 feet square with
pictograms/writing identifying it as a burial marker for the
sorcerer. It is fragmented by the weight of the second block. Removing
the pieces takes only a few minutes, revealing a sealed lead coffin
buried upright in the soggy soil.
The coffin weighs nearly a ton because of its contents and
structure. Those pulling it up will swoon at the fumes coming from the
object itself. Characters must roll (Con x3) or less to avoid tossing
their cookies (Losing 1 HP in the process). The fumes are from (CS
concentrations/Diesel Fuel/Phosgene Gas) that have collected in the
coffin. Breaking the seal of the coffin proves to be a two hour
task. When the lid is lifted, the body inside sits bolt upright! It
opens its melting mouth and screams one last time as it (bursts into
diesel flames/dissolves in a cloud of Phosgene mist/crackles and
smokes from the CS gas). It flails around, and if any PC was unlucky
to have been near the coffin, he has a 10% chance of being struck by a
smoking appendage for 1d6 points of damage. All those in the room are
then subjected to the POT:11 fumes, which take an hour to filter up
and out of the cave. This series of events cost the characters 1/1d4
SAN, or 1d2/1d6 if they were attacked by the flailing corpse.
Inside of the coffin are the Disk of Enlightenment and the sorcerer's
sword (which is treated as a Enchanted Lance). Both need to be cleaned
before they can be handled. These are the objects of Xian/Greeber's
quest (along with the writings on the walls). He will stop at nothing
to have them. If the writings have been defaced, and the characters
have photos or copies, he will seek them out.
THE SPACES IN BETWEEN....
Greeber/Xian also wants travel past the well to see the writings on
the arcade walls (if they indeed exist), or find the Ghoul tunnels
which may lead to the Dreamlands (both possibilities from "THE LIGHT
AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL" section of "A Hole in Time"). The problem
here lies in that the tunnel between the well and the tomb is
collapsed, whether by the actions of the characters, or some later
happenstance. In any case, the party (and Greeber/Xian) will have to
find a way in. Three possibilities exist:
1) The well was cemented up by the authorities (possibly as the
characters requested), and now seems unreachable. The concrete will
have to be cracked open by heavy machinery, which will take
Greeber/Xian weeks or months to procure and transport. The creature
beneath is very much alive and unharmed by the ordeal of darkness, but
since the well was blocked up, the villagers had to move.
2) The well seems closed as in #1 above, but there is a secret
entrance from a basement or trapdoor in on of the villager's houses.
It is a damp passageway twisting in a wide spiral down to the now
closed cave. Whether they were or not in the initial scenario, the
villagers are now cultists. They all have high CON stats generated by
rolling 2d6+6, but are otherwise the same as cultists worldwide. Their
leader has 30% Cthulu Mythos knowledge, and knows the spells Curse of
the Stone and Contact Deep Ones. There should be 20-35 practicing
members to the cult. They will be resistant to Greeber at first, but
over a course of a few weeks, he will have the Cult Leader under his
power.
3) The well has been reopened, and the villagers have gone down to
investigate since the PC's encounter so many years ago. They drink
from the well daily, and have come to worship the Thing That Waits
Below. The villagers have become cultists as in #2, but will prove
more resistant to the living Sorcerer's efforts.
BUT WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?
Now the characters have some clearly defined objectives. They must
close the well for good, which will prove difficult. Any thing they
try to seal up or destroy the well will generate a legend that will
attract other cultists. They will find help in one of three ways:
1) The Cultists and Greeber/Xian do not see eye to eye on the
situation. The sorcerer will attempt to use the party to lure the
cultists' leader out so he can destroy him and take control of the
well. The cultists will prevail for sheer weight of numbers, however,
and Greeber/Xian will meet an untimely end in the well itself.
2) An unknown benefactor gifts one of the investigators with a handful
(6) of largish coins. Each has an elder sign on it and some writing on
the back. In an accompanying note, or a cryptic speech as he hands
them to the character, the benefactor says "Make a Wish." If tossed
into the well, the coins act as a seal, forcing the creature even
deeper into the underwater caves where it lives, thus making the well
impotent. Greeber/Xian will be furious, and a final confrontation will
take place.
3) Greeber/Xian, prior to the PCs finding him out, will say that the
cultists around the village must be destroyed. He will offer his
assistance in this matter, having hired 6 local mercenaries for
muscle.
Mercenaries #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
STR 11 12 14 11 15 11
DEX 11 12 10 09 11 14
CON 11 12 15 17 13 11
SIZ 10 16 12 10 10 09
SAN 50 65 45 40 60 60
HP 11 14 14 14 12 10
DamBon +0 +1d4 +1d4 +0 +1d4 +0
WEAPONS: As appropriate to the era.
Pistol/Rifle/Assault Rifle (40%; varies)
Club or Bayonet (30%; 1d8+ DB)
4) A fourth option (I don't recommend it except for veteran
investigators...) is to offer no help at all. The main point is, the
party should get help with one of the three main threats
(Xian/Greeber, the local cultists, or the Thing), but no more.
"BUT THE REWARDS...", YOU SAY!
Investigators get 1d10 SAN back for permanently(?) dealing with the
Thing that Waits Below. They also get 1d8 for dealing with Greeber if
they found out about his cruel nature first. Any character lucky
enough to beat him with his own cane get s another 1d6 back for poetic
justice. If the character does not immediately dispose of the cane
however, he loses this bonus. Using the cane on other humans is SAN
robbing also. Defeating the cultists regains the investigators another
1d8 SAN. The adventurers have prevailed over a force that has revealed
to them that the evil is not an ancient one, not just waiting below,
but is active and working in the light of day to bring the world
before the Great Old Ones. Characters should now have a mission to
stop these men at all costs.
I hope you have enjoyed this as much as we did creating it.
--
