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Chaosium Digest Volume 30 Number 04
Chaosium Digest Volume 30, Number 4
Date: Sunday, January 16, 2000
Number: 5 of 5
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In a Different Light (pt. 5)
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
protuberance. 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 microorganisms. These microorganisms
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
the box titled "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.
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