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Chaosium Digest Volume 27 Number 04
Chaosium Digest Volume 27, Number 4
Date: Tuesday, December 29, 1998
Number: 4 of 4
Contents:
Shadows of Yesterday, Part Three (Paul Williams) CALL OF CTHULHU
--------------------
From: Paul Williams <paulw@betanet.co.uk>
Subject: Shadows of Yesterday, Part Three
System: Call of Cthulhu
SCENE 30: SEARCHING FOR CLUES
The Investigators may wish to search Monsieur Hautpoul's office after
the hours of darkness. Security is fairly lax as he is not expecting
any trouble. However, his dogs live at the office and these protect
the premises from casual intruders.
Entering the office requires a successful Locksmith roll. Smashing
down the door or breaking the windows is an option, but within 1d10
rounds several locals will come to investigate.
Inside, the office consists of three rooms. The smallest is a small
toilet and washroom, where Monsieur Hautpoul can freshen up during the
day. The second room is the main office, containing a desk, several
plush chairs, a small coffee table, a telephone, and a waste paper
bin. The last room is the filing room, where the company's files are
kept for safety.
Naturally, the Investigators will want to snoop around and search for
clues. There are three obvious places to search and each of them
contains a clue. Characters who search these areas may make Spot
Hidden rolls to find useful information.
In the waste paper bin, there is a crumpled piece of paper (amongst
many others there) referring to the collection of a package that
Hautpoul had shipped down from Arques. The letter [Player Handout #4]
is dated the same day that Professor White's body was found, although
this requires a second successful Spot Hidden roll to deduce, unless
the Investigators check the date on which it was written, in which
case the information can be revealed immediately.
In the filing cabinet, filed under "Private Transactions" is a letter
from an antiques dealer in Marseilles, dated two weeks ago [Player
Handout #5]. The letter refers to the authenticity of an artifact
shipped to the dealer by Monsieur Hautpoul. The letter confirms the
authenticity of an item referred to only as the "head." The address of
the dealer is given. The head refers to the head found in the church
by Prof. White, and it is now safely hidden in a secret cave in the
mountains (i.e. the Investigators cannot find it no matter how hard
they search).
Inside the desk drawer is a page from an old book. It is written in
Latin and refers to astronomical alignments. The book refers to the
alignment of certain stars, and an Investigator making a successful
Astronomy roll can determine that such an alignment occurs in two
days' time. The alignment occurs two days from whenever the
Investigators find the document--if they do not discover it, then the
alignment occurs one week after they arrive in France.
SCENE 31: BAD DREAMS
If the Investigators have left signs of a break-in and remain in
Arques or were violent or too inquisitive towards Hautpoul, he uses
his Send Dream spell to attack of them the next night.
Have each Investigator who visited Hautpoul make a Luck roll. Whoever
fails by the most, or succeeds by the least if all succeed their
rolls, is the target of the spell. Hautpoul invests 15 Magic Points in
the spell, which must be used to overcome the target's Magic Points.
If successful, the victim is haunted by visions of Yog-Sothoth, seeing
glowing spheres forming bizarre patterns and hearing strange chanting
in an unknown language. Hautpoul has been sent visions of Yog-Sothoth
by the gods himself and so can use them in his spell. The victim must
make a Sanity check or lose 1d10 Sanity points for the nightmarish
visions he suffers, Even if successful he loses a single point.
SCENE 32: THE ANTIQUES DEALER
The Investigators may wish to pay the antiques dealer mentioned in the
letter in Hautpoul's filing cabinet a visit. The train leaves Arques
only once per day, so the Investigators will be away overnight
(although they could use a car to get back). If the Investigators have
left signs of a break-in at Hautpoul's office then they are followed
on the train, otherwise they have a safe journey.
The antiques dealer's shop is in one of the quieter districts of
Marseilles, situated between a baker and a bookstore (no Mythos
books). The shop is open between 8.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. every day,
except Sunday.
Inside, the shop is full of curiosities, antiques of all types, and
novelties. The owner, Monsieur Gerard, is never far from the main shop
and is always eager to help customers find exactly what they are
searching for. When the Investigators enter, he is dusting a 17th
century French cabinet.
Gerard politely inquires as to how he can help the Investigators (in
French naturally). If they say that they are merely browsing, then he
asks if there is anything specific they are looking for. Monsieur
Gerard knows his antiques and Investigators knowledgeable in the
subject will be hard pressed to catch him out.
If the Head is mentioned Monsieur Gerard will temporarily be caught
unawares (a successful Psychology roll will allow the Investigators to
spot this). After regaining his composure, he nods once or twice and
then says that a bronze head was brought into the shop a while back
and that he dated it to the 13th century. He quickly goes on to add
that although this is a very rare find, it is not entirely unusual as
this part of France has long associations with the Knights Templar,
who venerated a severed head.
Further questions are avoided by Gerard saying that he has an
important meeting with a client and that he must leave
immediately. Violent Investigators can try to scare him into revealing
more, but he is completely afraid of Hautpoul and reveals nothing
more, preferring death as a better alternative. If the Investigators
begin searching his shop he begins shouting that he is being robbed
and 1d6 locals arrive in two rounds.
SCENE 33: A SHOT IN THE BACK
If the Investigators have been followed by one of Hautpoul's agents,
he makes his presence known now. A single shot rings out, smashing the
shop window, and blasting Gerard in the head. He falls down dead.
Fast moving Investigators can spot a man outside running off down the
street. Although a chase is likely, the man soon loses the
Investigators in the streets and crowds of Marseilles. However, during
the chase he does drop his gun, which the Investigators can find with
a successful Spot Hidden roll. The gun is a .38 revolver and has four
bullets left in the cylinder.
The police will be on the scene in 1d10 minutes, so the Investigators
will need to hurry if they wish to search the antiques shop. A
successful Spot Hidden roll reveals a small, elaborately carved statue
of a Knight Templar in one of the display cases. An Investigator
making a successful History or Art (antiques) roll can date the statue
to the 13th century. Although the statue is of no relevance to the
adventure, it is likely to be thought of as such by the Investigators.
SCENE 34: THE RITUAL
The ritual to summon forth Yog-Sothoth is destined to take place at
the tower on the night pointed to in the scrap of paper in Monsieur
Hautpoul's desk drawer.
On the night in question a group of thirty cultists, all from the
local area, ascend the mountain to the tower to prepare for the
summoning. They arrive at ten p.m. and take two hours to prepare the
area.
At exactly midnight Monsieur Hautpoul begins the invocation, a low
chanting, soon accompanied by the other cultists. Over the next two
hours the chanting increases in intensity until it reaches a
crescendo, at which point the summoning is complete. A total of forty
Magic Points have been invested in the ritual, giving the cultists a
100% chance of actually summoning Yog-Sothoth.
If the Investigators are present and wait until the end of the ritual
before they act then the ritual succeeds and Yog-Sothoth is summoned
(this will warn them not to hang around waiting for gods to be
summoned). The god appears as incandescent globes, continually flowing
into one another and breaking apart. At this point the Investigators
need to make Sanity checks or lose 1d100 Sanity. Those who succeed
still lose 1d10 points.
Things go from bad to worse at this point as two of the cultists (now
gibberingly insane) drag forth the necessary sacrifice from the
tower--Madame Edith! If the Investigators still haven't acted,
Yog-Sothoth extends forth a sphere, which encompasses Madame Edith and
drags her forth into its shifting mass. Investigators watching this
must make a successful Sanity check or lose 1d6 SAN points. Those
making the roll are unaffected.
After devouring her corpse, Yog-Sothoth communicates with Hautpoul,
offering him spells in return for more sacrifices. Hautpoul readily
agrees and offers the god the whole of Arques as a sacrifice!
Investigators still watching see the god flow down the mountain at a
great speed and wash over the town. The screams of the inhabitants
fill the night air, causing the Investigators to make another Sanity
check or lose a further 1d10 points. Even those who succeed lose a
single point. After the carnage ends, in a little over ten minutes,
Yog-Sothoth returns to his own dimension, leaving the town of Arques
devoid of life.
If the Investigators are still sane at this point then they are truly
blessed, and damned to know that they were in part responsible for the
atrocity that took place. Killing Hautpoul now is a token gesture as
the damage is done.
SCENE 35: STOPPING THE RITUAL
The Investigators can stop the ritual by one of several methods.
Firstly, they can try to blow up the tower. Although guaranteed to
stop the ritual, there is no dynamite in or around Arques. Trying to
demolish the tower by hand is next to impossible in the time
remaining.
Secondly they can kill Hautpoul just before the ritual
starts. Although effective, they are likely to be killed by the thirty
ravenous cultists who attack them without regard for their own
life. Sadly, two other cultists know the ritual, although the chance
of success drops to 75% due to the cultists being less willing to
sacrifice Magic Points to them (they are not as charismatic as
Hautpoul). If they kill Hautpol before the day of the ritual then one
of the seconds takes over, but the number of attending cultists drops
to 20 and there is only a 60% chance of the spell working.
Thirdly, they can shoot Hautpoul during the ritual. This has the
effect of aborting the ritual and also giving the Investigators two
rounds to flee before the cultists recover from their shock and start
hunting them down.
SCENE 36: AND IF THEY MISS THE CLUES
If the Investigators have not discovered the clues and put two and two
together by now then they may be in trouble. Have each Investigator
make a Luck roll to notice several small bonfires near the tower on
the night of the ritual. These should be spotted no more than one hour
before the end of the ritual.
Naturally, if the Investigators do not pay any attention to them then
they suffer the same fate as the rest of Arques when Yog-Sothoth
arrives.
Scene 37: Epilogue
There are two possible endings for this adventure. With Hautpoul dead
and the ritual a failure, the Investigators have saved the
unsuspecting town of Arques from destruction and can also acquire the
bronze head for themselves. The non-cultists locals are unlikely to
believe claims of summoning Outer Gods, but will believe
devil-worshipping. The local police are likely to want to question the
Investigators though!
If Arques is destroyed, then the Investigators has best flee the area
with what little sanity they have remaining. The French authorities
investigate the matter but cannot solve the case (all the people
missing, but the town undamaged). The cultists who survive move to
different areas to start other cults. Hautpoul goes into hiding for at
least a decade to study his new-found knowledge.
SCENE 38: REWARDS
Throughout the adventure the Investigators can recover some of their
SAN by defeating the various Mythos creatures they encounter.
Defeating the ghouls in some manner is worth only 1d6 SAN points. If
more than half the ghouls are destroyed, the reward increases to 2d6.
If the Investigators are attacked by the nightgaunt and defeat it they
each receive 1d6 SAN points.
For completing the entire adventure and protecting the world from
Yog-Sothoth for a few more years, each Investigator receives 2d20 SAN
points.
** APPENDIX A: MYTHOS BOOKS
THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE POOR KNIGHTS OF CHRIST AND THE TEMPLE OF
SOLOMON - in Latin, Bertrand de Chartres, 1458
Written some one hundred and fifty years after the dissolution of the
Templars by a member of the Knights of Christ. It details the true
motives of the Knights Templar, explaining how they worshipped dark
and hideous gods, and made sacrifices of humans to these entities. The
book continues to detail some of their rituals, and also explains how
they made secret deals with the Islamic group of murderers known as
the Assassins. The last chapter is dedicated to the work of the Church
in helping to overthrow and destroy the Templars and their dark gods.
Sanity loss 1d2/1d4 Sanity points, Cthulhu Mythos +1 percentile, spell
multiplier x3
Spells:
Engraving the Rune Sword of Percival (Bless Blade)
Entrancement of the Wandering Spirit (Journey to the Other Side)
Summoning Those Who Walk Between Worlds (Summon/Bind Dimensional Shambler)
Brining Forth the Distant Travelers (Contact Mi-Go)
JOURNAL OF THE FIRST SUMMONING - in Latin, Raymond de Blanchefort,
1226
This is not a true Mythos book, but is instead a detailed account by a
member of the Knights Templar on their first attempt to summon forth
Yog-Sothoth. The diary explains what trappings were needed for the
ceremony, including the need for a tall tower to be built. It also
explains that the ritual went hideously wrong and that many of the
Templars present went irrevocably insane.
Sanity loss 0/1 Sanity points, Cthulhu Mythos +2 percentiles, spell
multiplier x4
Spells:
Summoning He Who Opens the Way (Call/Dismiss Yog-Sothoth)
Traveling Through the Opener's Gate (Create Window)
** APPENDIX B: THE BESTIARY
THE BLANCHEFORT FAMILY
Degenerate Ghouls
Str 16 Con 13 Siz 13
Int 13 Pow 13 Dex 13
Move 9, Hit Points 13, Sanity cost 0/1d6 points
Weapons:
Claws 30%, damage 1d6 + 1d4
Bite 30%, damage 1d6 + automatic worry*
* A ghoul may attack with both claws and its bite in a single
round. If the ghoul's bite strikes home, then it hangs on instead of
using its claws, and worries the victim with its fangs, continuing to
do 1d4 Bite damage automatically. A successful STR against STR
Resistance Table roll dislodges the ghoul, breaking what amounts to a
successful Grapple, and ending the Bite damage.
Armor: Firearms and projectiles do half rolled damage; round fractions
up
Spells: Ghoul number 6 (Anne de Blanchefort) knows the spells
Summon/Bind Nightgaunt and Shrivelling.
Skills: Burrow 75%, Climb 85%, Hide 60%, Jump 75%, Listen 70%, Scent
Decay 65%, Sneak 80%, Spot Hidden 50%
THE NIGHTGAUNT
The Faceless
Str 15 Con 7 Siz 11
Int 3 Pow 10 Dex 11
Move 6/12 flying, Hit Points 9, Sanity cost 0/1d6 points
Weapons:
Grapple 30%, damage held for tickling
Tickle 30%, immobilized 1d6 + 1 rounds
Armor: 2-point skin
Skills: Hide 90%, Sneak 90%
HAUTPOUL'S GUARD DOGS
Loyal Guard Dogs
Str 9 Con 14 Siz 6
Pow 7 Dex 13
Move 12, Hit Points 10
Weapons:
Bite 35%, damage 1d6 - 1d4
Skills: Listen 75%, Scent Something Interesting 90%
HAUTPOUL'S THUGS
More Loyal Dogs
Str 14 Con 14 Siz 14
Int 9 Pow 8 Dex 12
Move 9, Hit Points 14
Weapons:
Punch 60%, damage 1d3 + 1d4
Wooden club 45%, damage 1d6 + 1d4
Skills: Cthulhu Mythos 5%, Hide 30%, Listen 30%, Obey Hautpoul 100%,
Sneak 30%
MONSIEUR HAUTPOUL
Ancestral Sorceror and Cultist
Str 10 Dex 11 Int 17
Con 14 App 12 Pow 16
Siz 13 San 0 Edu 18
Move 9, Hit Points 11, Magic Points 16
Weapons:
Punch 50%, damage 1d3
Engraved Dagger 40%, damage 1d4 + 2
Skills: Accounting 25%, Archaeology 15%, Credit Rating 60%, Cthulhu
Mythos 25%, History 55%, Occult 45%, Other Language (Latin) 35%, Own
Language (French 90%), Psychology 20%
Spells: Call/Dismiss Yog-Sothoth, Summon/Bind Nightgaunt, Contact
Ghoul, Send Dreams
** APPENDIX C: PLAYER HANDOUTS
PLAYER HANDOUT #1
Boston Telegraph Company
15th May 1926
Come quickly stop am at holiday home stop have found exciting finds
stop need your advice stop use discretion stop Doctor Emil White stop
PLAYER HANDOUT #2
Arcanum Books business card
PLAYER HANDOUT #3
30th April - Have arrived in Arques for another season of digging. My
research has given me valuable insights into the church of the
Blancheforts and I am certain that we will find the missing crypt
without having to destroy the entire church. The locals have been
friendly as usual and many of the young boys are eager to earn some
money acting as my laborers. Will report my presence to the villa to
the police tomorrow.
3rd May - Have been busy at the dig. I believe that we are only a few
hours away from reaching the missing crypt.
4th May - At last we have found it! After nearly six centuries a human
has once more walked among the dead of the Blanchefort family! It was
more than I could hoped for. I have already found several minor pieces
but I know that more is in store. I shall wire the French authorities
for permission to open the crypts.
6th May - Digging in the crypt has revealed a most magnificent find! A
carved bronze head of human proportions! The head has writing on the
back but I cannot make it out. I shall spend the next few days trying
to decipher it whilst the diggers catalogue the finds.
8th May - Have been called to the dig site. Whilst cleaning one of the
walls a digger has uncovered some artwork hidden beneath a thin layer
of plaster. [Afternoon] I have seen the artwork for myself and must
say that I was horrified by its content. What madness caused the
artist to paint such scenes, and what does it mean?
9th May - I have copied down the artwork for safety as the paint is
very flaky and could crumble away before it can be preserved. I have
ordered the dig halted whilst I continue on the translation of the
head text.
10th May - Received a strange visit today from a man I have never seen
before. He asked me how the dig was going and was very persistent that
I tell him about all the finds. When I explained about the minor finds
and said that that was all I had found he became quite loud, demanding
to know what else I had discovered. Only after telling him that my
colleagues would be around for drinks in a few minutes caused him to
leave.
11th May - Reported the strange man who visited me to the police. Have
made a break-through on the head text. It seems to be a ritual
incantation of some sort.
12th May - Whilst walking through town this evening I was convinced
that someone was following me. Several times I got glimpses of someone
darting into doorways behind me. Maybe I have been working too hard. I
am now certain that the text on the bronze head is a ritual
incantation. Could this be one of the actual heads that the Templars
were supposed to worship? What a find!
13th May - Rain kept me at the house all day. Thought I saw someone
lurking around the garden.
14th May - Still raining. There is definitely someone watching the
house. Once the rain stops I will go to the police.
15th May - Rain stopped. Went to police. They said that they will
investigate the area around the villa for clues. Maybe I should get a
second opinion on the head text from my old friend?
16th May - Have asked my old friend to have a look at the finds. I am
now convinced that someone, or something, is following me and that
they want the artifacts. What do those designs mean?
17th May - Someone tried breaking in to the house today. I shouted
loudly and they fled. The police came again but do not have the
manpower to keep a permanent eye on the place. Maybe I should put the
finds into their care?
18th May - I cannot take much more of this. All last night I kept
hearing strange voices in my head and I keep seeing the images from
the church wall. They must be important but what can they mean? What
were the Blanchefort's doing in that crypt? The dig continues lowly
now as many of the workers have gone to work at the tower.
20th May - Have had very little sleep recently. Those voices keep
talking to me in that God-forsaken tongue!! Leave me alone! I have
sent the rest of the diggers away.
21st May - When will he? Oh, to see a friendly face again. The
voices....they do not stop.
22nd May - Need sleep.......cannot continue like this much
longer.......the voices......the spheres are coming soon!
23rd May - [No more entries]
PLAYER HANDOUT #4
A letter from Marseilles:
All praise the Gate!
I have received the package you sent from Arques. It has been suitably
dealt with.
Your obedient servant.
PLAYER HANDOUT #5
Gerard's Antiques
Rue de Nice
Marseilles
Dear M. Hautpoul,
I have had sufficient time to study the Head you sent me. I am please
to be able to confirm that your suspicions were correct. The Head does
indeed date from the 13th century, as can be told by the bronze
casting method. The inscription at the rear also confirms your
suspicions.
Congratulations on this find! With any luck we will be open to unlock
the Gate successfully. I look forward to seeing you for this
monumentous occasion.
Your obedient servant,
[signed] Gerard Saint-Clair
--
