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Chaosium Digest Volume 34 Number 08
Chaosium Digest Volume 34, Number 08
Date: Wednesday, August 1, 2001
Number: 4 of 4
The Deep Ones of Shellbourne (pt. 4)
by Mervyn Boyd - jack@ktana.freeserve.co.uk
The Invocation
A little before midnight, all the Deep Ones gather in the Cathedral cavern
to begin the ceremony. As the rite gathers pace clouds begin to roll in
from the sea. A storm brews, but there is no rain or wind. The Deep One
shaman calls all who sleep to the cavern. It seems the entire town is
affected (only a very few are not affected). Characters are required to
succeed a resistance roll against a value of 15 to remain unaffected. Those
overwhelmed walk, zombie-like, still in their bedclothes, through town, and
across the downs, and make their way to the caves and into the Cathedral
Cavern, where they arrange themselves around the central point. The caves
are lit just barely enough for the sleepwalkers to see, but not enough to
cause discomfort to the Deep Ones. Those who cannot, do not, or are not
asleep when this occurs can count themselves to be very fortunate. Those
unaffected few, sense a disturbance in the ether. A presence never felt
before. Undeniable. Everywhere. Stopping a sleepwalker is easy, but it will
struggle to continue on its way. Communication is impossible, they just
stare blankly about. Attempting to awake a sleepwalker is very difficult and
requires a POWx1 check on the behalf of the somnambulist. Once awakened the
walker will be very confused and unable to remember anything save for vague
images.
Attempting to blend with the mass is easily done as long as the characters
do not act too suspiciously. Smuggling weapons in is also easy. A LUCK roll
(per person) is required to get passed unnoticed. Failure results in a Deep
One guard approaching to disarm the character. If shooting begins, Deep One
guards will pour in to stop the players, and anyone supporting them, (Be
careful of missed shots. Stray bullets may hit innocent civilians. Each
civilian killed causes 1d3-1 sanity loss.) in order to prevent them from
ruining the ceremony. The sleepwalkers continue as normal as though nothing
is happening.
Passing without incident, the sleepwalkers arrange themselves around the
central point of the Cathedral cavern. The Shaman, two acolytes, two guards,
and Rev. Shipley are there central stage. The shaman is waving his arms
around, intoning something in his native Deep One croak. He sprinkles a
liquid over the coral representation of Cthulhu. The acolytes likewise
chant. The guards, and Shipley hold the three children who cry out. As the
ceremony progresses, a dozen Deep One guards wend their way through the
crowd with clay jugs of drinks, which each sleepwalker consumes. If players
partake of this vile unctuous concoction, brewed from strange and exotic
substances known only to Deep One shamans then they need to succeed a POWx2
check to remain unaffected.
It takes four rounds for everyone to get a drink, after which the shaman
launches into the ceremony proper. The sleepwalkers, begin to sway after
drinking. The shaman intones the rite for six more rounds before the
children are slaughtered in unison by the acolytes and Shipley. This gives
ample time for the players to react. Upon the sacrifice, those who are awake
see an apparition of Cthulhu's head form above the idol which causes 1d8/2d8
sanity loss. For those who are under the drink's influence, a dream visage
begins to take form...
Darkness. Suffocation. The feeling of drowning. A strange watery world. Dull
mottled colours. A foreboding sunken island rises from the cold depths.
Towering distending spires and stony peaks. Black and slimy. Dimly perceived
oozing masses, and bloated shapeless creatures hop, slither and languish in
the muck. Always at the edge of vision - never direct. There are thousands
of stone buildings and malformed monuments standing rigid upon this
nightmare landscape. Although alone, the character can sense others.
The dreamer is drawn to a solitary black building atop the tallest mountain
at the centre of the island. Gargantuan sealed doors give way. Beyond, the
entombed eldritch monstrosity known as Cthulhu. Its intense psychic aura
penetrates deep into the character's soul. Individual identities are
swallowed up and lost in the seething tumult of other condemned souls. Their
thoughts are one. Mixing; merging; conjoining; unable to escape. A swirling
maelstrom of conscious thought. For this brief moment in time they form part
of the living universe itself. Logic and proportion gives way to occult lore
and knowledge of other unearthly realities, each brimming with demented gods
and fantastic monsters who roam the vastness of the universe, with little or
no regard of human life.
Characters who are awake at this point witness the screams of everyone else
who are tormented beyond reason. These screams of a likes never before hear
cause a further 1d4/1d8 sanity loss. Some people fall over in severe
twitching spasms, others pull their hair out by the roots, others claw at
their faces tearing the flesh away...
Cthulhu has a POW of 42, but because of his dream-state and certain
limitations, all sleepers and those under the spell's influence should make
a POW check against a value of 21 to remain unaffected by his will. 2d8/3d10
sanity is lost for this experience, at the end of which everyone gains 1/3
the sanity loss as Mythos gain (rounding up). Those who fail the resistance
roll undertake the Binding Oath of Cthulhu; a set of vows taken by
worshipers to ensure loyalty and obedience to Cthulhu and his cult. The oath
binds the follower, so that he/she will not allow the cult be brought to
harm. It also decrees that they forsake all else that they used to hold
dear, and that they shall tirelessly work so that R'lyeh may once again
rise. Undertaking the oath causes a further 1d10 sanity and 1 POW
(permanent) loss. Anyone who's sanity is reduced to zero or less becomes a
frothing fanatic... They continually hear the voice of Cthulhu. He speaks to
them. Through them. They do as he commands without question. Successfully
resisting enables a character to be headstrong and self aware enough to
reject the binding oath. Soon after the rite is complete, the mob slowly
begins to awake. Approximately 10% of the population successfully resist and
can act as normal - sanity permitting. The rest are sadly lost to Cthulhu,
and immediately begin to seek out the unbelievers, a task which most likely
will last throughout the night and into morning.
Once Cthulhu's Chorazin has been invoked, killing the shaman does nothing.
It'll be too late by then. However, destroying the idol (12 damage or more
will destroy it) severs the link between the mass and Cthulhu. Doing this
early on may result in less sanity being lost. The mesmerized crowd will
gradually come round and regain their senses after a while - all very
disturbed and shaken.
Conclusion, Summing Up & Sanity Gain
* Tuesday, 14 September. 1920. The Aftermath.
The scenario shouldn't really get this far, but if it does 90% of the town
may now be under Cthulhu's control. Those who can be considered "normal" or
"sane" should leave town right away. The day begins cold and damp. A heavy
permeating mist draws a shadowy veil over everything, though this begins to
lift by 9.00 am What happens today is based upon last night's outcome.
If the town is converted into a cultist hive the players and other local
survivors will have to try to escape Shellbourne alive. Those who are
captured are later sacrificed to Cthulhu. Use the cultists in any way you
want. Don't be too concerned about capturing the characters alive, however.
If the characters have cars, or other transport - disable them. Chase the
characters out onto the moors. Hunt them down. Corral them. If the character
do manage to escape, they'll have one hell of a story to tell.
Pre-empting the ceremony, successfully, stopping it, or preventing the
conversion is certainly something to be proud of - especially if the missing
children are rescued The town will want to know what happened. Can the
players explain it? Once all is said and done, Shellbourne will be forever
grateful to the characters ands there'll nothing more to do other than seal
the caves with copious amounts of dynamite. These is no dynamite in
Shellboune, however. None at all. Players have to go to one of the nearby
towns or into one of the cities.
With all said and done, what will the characters do now? There's more of
those things out there - and worse. The gate has opened and there's no going
back, so-to-speak. There are several loose ends that the players (or
keeper) can chase up and get involved with - any of which may lead to
greater horrors and greater knowledge - and less sanity. But for now it's
over... But, at what cost...
Sanity Rewards
Each child rescued +1d3. Each child killed -1d3
Eradication of Deep One colony & destruction of idol +1d10
Running away like a coward leaving Shellbourne to its fate -1d10
Battling valiantly but failing to stop the subjugation -1d6
Allowing Shipley to live and getting him psychological help +1d6
Getting Involved, Looking Into Things & Talking to People
Player involvement isn't all that necessary. They can just sit idly by and
let things happen and not get involved, but that'd make for a boring
scenario... well more boring than it already is I hear you say. However, for
those who can't sit around, these sections give added details for the kinds
of things the players may want to know.
Looking into things
Who was Lenny?
Approximately 40 years old and overly simple (just 5 INT). He could just
look after himself and no more. He lived alone in his house on the outskirts
of town. By the time when he died, Lenny was just barely tolerated by the
locals. But it wasn't always like that. He wasn't born stupid. As a child he
was fairly bright, outgoing and well liked, often doing odd jobs for the
pensioners... but then an accident occurred when he was thirteen years old.
He was kicked in the head by a horse which disfigured him for life, and left
him severely brain damaged. He was still cared for by his mother until she
died 20 years ago, and since then he has lived alone in his dingy little
hovel. Then one day 15 years ago he was found with several young girls in
his care. They weren't exactly abducted per se, but they were taken without
the consent of their distraught parents. They were missing for several
hours. The girls were found scared and confused, but otherwise no worse for
wear. On several other occasions Lenny was seen with girls, which were
promptly taken from him. The most horrific time was when he did abducted a
holiday-maker's child for more than 48 hours, and when she was discovered
she was badly bruised. How his fixation with little girls came about is not
known. It is well known, or at least assumed that Lenny means no harm. He's
just a big kid who wants to play, but because of his shear size and lack of
mentality it is feared that his rough style of play could lead to misery and
suffering - or worse. Because of this shameful perversion, Lenny seldom
comes into town, knowing that he is not really welcome. He also worked on a
local farm doing menial labour and sheep herding.
The Missing Children
The families of the missing children are well known in the community and
have been ruled out in any involvement. The families of the children largely
have nothing to say to the players. Anyone not on official police business
require a PERSUADE or FAST TALK roll to gain the parent's trust. Those who
do speak to the characters answer their questions to the best of their
ability and it is obvious that all are traumatized by the experience.
Talking with Inspector Thatcher can gain the same information.
The information that can be learnt:
* Their names and ages: Elsie Pennyworth (8), Connie Brook (8), & Lynn
Wallace (10)
* The circumstances: Elsie was sent on errand to the post office. She never
came back. Her red bike was later found by her sister who was sent to look
for her when Elsie never returned. Connie was last seen playing in the back
garden, and Lynn just went missing. Lynn's parents thought she was in her
bedroom playing with dolls.
* All three girls were friends. Elsie and Lynn are cousins.
* Nobody seen or heard anything at the time of the abduction. Except for
Mrs. Brook who saw Revd. Shipley pass by about 5 minutes before hand. He
stopped and waved at her then spoke with Connie.
Shipley has been interviewed by Thatcher about what he saw and heard when
he passed by. Unfortunately he was unable to help. He saw and heard nothing
out of the ordinary. This statement may not wash with the characters who may
believe Shipley to be lying.
Who's Prime Suspect for Lenny's murder?
Alexander Walsh. A local huntsman, who has a deep seated hatred for Lenny.
No one knows why he hates him so much. Although not the only one in town to
dislike Lenny, he is the most fervent of them all. It is widely known that
Alexander has threatened, on several occasions, to kill him, but perhaps
that was just the alcohol talking. Alexander has also been arrested on
numerous occasions for having a go at Lenny - also while intoxicated.
Inspector Thatcher has already spoken to Walsh and is so far satisfied with
what he has to say. Alexander won't appreciate being hassled by the
players - especially if they begin to accuse him of the murder. He denies
any involvement in the whole affair and does not know who else could've done
it. He proclaims he and a few friends were up late on the night in question
playing cards and drinking. They broke up around midnight and he went to
bed. PSYCHOLOGY checks reveal him to be telling the truth, as does
questioning his friends. Pissing Alexander off isn't a good idea. First, he
strongly suggests that the players leave his home. If they ignore his order,
he goes and gets his double barreled shotgun and comes back and tells them
in no uncertain terms to fuck off. Alexander isn't stupid enough to actually
fire the gun, though it may accidentally go off in a struggle.
Who last saw Lenny?
The last person to see Lenny alive was Farmer Brown after paying him his
daily dues. Lenny was last seen in town three days ago buying assorted
stuff. It was also on that day that an inebriated Alexander was physically
hauled away before pummeling Lenny to a pulp.
Farmer Brown.
Lenny's former employer is a solid, down-to-earth fellow, and hard working.
Plain-spoken and brusque. Brown maintains livestock: pigs and cows mostly,
with a few chickens, geese and what have you. It takes 10-15 minutes to get
there over the fields to the north of Shellbourne. Brown won't like it if
the players suspect him of being somehow involved, or if he's covering up
for Lenny. He'll like it less if they demand to search his house, his farm
and outlying terrain, explaining that Inspector Thatcher has already been
out and did that - just in case. He found nothing suspicious. A FAST TALK.,
or PERSUADE roll and an apology for the trouble will satisfy Brown of the
necessity in case Thatcher had missed something. If this is a legitimate
search (as organized by Thatcher) then Brown won't complain. Players being
more thorough will want to search everywhere, loose floorboards in the barn
leading to secret rooms, water towers, lesser used storage sheds, barns and
all sorts of places. An extensive search such as this may take all day and
uncovers nothing..
Brown is one of the few villagers not convinced of Lenny's involvement with
the child abductions, despite what happened before. He explains that he had
a long talk with Lenny about the disappearances and believes him to be
innocent. He's been working Lenny hard for the last two weeks, sometimes as
much as 14 hours a day. He'll speak of Lenny as being a nice lad, hard
working, but prone to day-dreaming if he didn't have anything to do. He
loved moving stuff - doing menial labour, mucking out. That sort of stuff.
Also he's been working here for at least 10 years.
The Belfast Connection
Thinking this might be relevant, the players may wish to research this
further by getting in contact with the East Belfast authorities. The
newspapers are only limited to what the police tell them, so information
here will be limited. Getting in direct contact with the Belfast Police can
gain a little more information if a FAST TALK, PERSUADE, or LAW roll is
achieved. Information won't be readily available to the players over the
phone. It will take time to collate relevant information which can be read
over the phone, telegraphed, or sent through the post. A little off-the-cuff
information is available, however, though this is limited to: 1) Confirming
the disappearance of the girls. 2) Confirming none were ever found. 3)
Nobody was ever caught. 4) There was nothing out of the ordinary in the
regards of webbed footprints, lights in the sky, etc. Whatever information
is to be had is left to the keeper to expand upon. It's possible Belfast had
a little Deep One trouble that was taken care of, or not... Maybe Belfast is
now under Deep One control. Then again, maybe the girls were simply abducted
by a gang of depraved psychos. All this is left for the keeper to work on.
If Deep Ones are involved, that could give an opportunity for a follow on
scenario...
Any occult significance...
With regards to date, a successful OCCULT (and maybe LIBRARY USE) check
reveals, there are no occult significance to this week or the coming days.
For local history the players find only what's already been mentioned in the
book Witchcraft in Devon and the standing stones.
Optional Events
These events are optional and need not be used at all, though they will give
the players something else to react to.
Survivor
A surviving fisherman staggers into Fishleigh House (or some other suitable
place), having just washed up on the beach. He's the sole survivor from the
trawler. He's exhausted, battered, dirty. His clothes are torn. He collapses
from serious fatigue loss. A FIRST AID roll will stabilize his condition,
but he's too week to be interrogated. He passes out. He won't wake for
another 14 hours at least. When finally he does wake, he is wide eyed, his
pupils dart to and fro. His body is tense. He won't want to talk of what
happened on the boat. A PSYCHOANALYSIS check brings him round temporarily,
only for him to babble, sometimes incoherently, about a sea monster. "We
caught it in our nets, but it broke loose. God, what was it. We tried to
kill it... I... where's Sam and Howie... did they make it, are they here?
It's so horrible..." That's as much as he says before curling into a ball,
staring straight ahead. Silent. All is not lost for this poor soul, in time
he will get better.
A sudden thought
IDEA roll to remember reading a newspaper sometime in August last month.
Eight girls, all under 12 years of age went missing in East Belfast over a
period of three days. If players wish to investigate it's relevance they
have to get in contact with the East Belfast authorities either by telephone
or telegram.
Storm
A storm brews and continues for most of the night gaining in intensity
around 3 am. About this time the characters are rudely awoken with a
blinding
flash and a god-almighty crack of thunder from directly over head. The wind
has jarred the storm shutters free (in a random character's room) and they
clatter and bang. As the character tries to wrestle them closed again he/she
must succeed a DEXx5 roll otherwise they are wrenched from his grip, during
which time he/she is soaked from the driving rain. If this happens a LUCK
roll must also be made otherwise the shutter whips back upon itself only to
strike the head of the character inflicting 1d3 damage.
Fog rolls in
The night and morning air is filled with a chilling dense fog, anyone out in
it between the hours of 1.00 am and 3.00 am has a 25% chance of running into
a
patrol of 1d3+1 armed Deep Ones. The fog doesn't begin to dissipate until
8.00 am, finally lifting half an hour later. The ground, moistened in places
maybe inset with one or two footprints - webbed prints.
Shafts of light
Anyone out and about at night will soon have his/her gaze drawn to the moon
to see strange shafts of light
projecting from it. This is unnatural phenomenon and is unexplainable - even
on a successful ASTRONOMY
roll.
Child number four missing.
Frantic cries of a woman in distress. A man anxious for resolution. Young
Daisy Deeks (5) was last night abducted from her home. The door has been
forced open, and no one heard a thing.
What is that?
As the players return from a search, they are drawn to a commotion down on
the beach. A gathered crowd of men, women and children gasp and comment on
the scene - both repulsed yet intrigued, unable to look away... A strange
three and a half ton, twenty-legged, fur-matted creature is discovered by
two local boys when skipping school. The disgusting smelly blob causes a
loss of 1/1d3 sanity points for viewing it. It looks as though it has been
dead for quite some time and is in a state of decomposition. Partially
consumed and maggot infested. Just what it is exactly will baffle even an
expert of Natural History studies.
What is it?
A Deep One has been killed and brought in and put on display in the town
square. Its slayer is being bombarded with questions from curious onlookers.
A short time after the players have joined the bustle, the local
photographer arrives and sets up his camera and tripod and commands every
one to move aside so that a picture can be taken with its killer. This
picture, as is the story to go with it soon appears on the front page of the
local rag. As news spreads, the find draws crowds from neighbouring
villages... Viewing the Deep One corpse causes 1/1d4 sanity loss.
His story
The slayer is Sergeant Steven Nesmith (one of the three who returned from
WW I). "We, that is, me and my son Daniel had gone camping two days ago up
around Dawson's Lake. I was teaching the boy self reliance and survival
techniques, and while engaging in a spot of night fishing at the lake, I
noticed something big and black in the water. As we stared at it, we saw it
was some kind of animal, but an altogether strange kind of creature. It was
swimming about aimlessly, turning from one direction to another without much
noise above that of gently lapping waves. It then glided towards us. I then
ordered Daniel to go get my rifle from the tent. As Daniel returned, I shone
my torch at it to illuminate the subject. That's when it became frenzied, it
reared out the water in a threatening manner and lunged towards us. I fired
3 times before it fell over. Then once again in the head at point blank
range just to be sure it was dead.
The players may want to visit Dawson's Lake, which isn't that far from town.
If they go, they eventually find Steven's campsite, evidence of a campfire,
and (with a SPOT HIDDEN or TRACK check) the exact spot where the shooting
took place, along with spent cartridges (.303 cal), glinting beneath the
water at the water's edge. Searching for webbed tracks can be accomplished
if a second TRACK roll is made. There are several sets of tracks (spanning
several days) though it seems as though they were made by the same
individual who kept returning to this place. Where they go from here is for
the keeper to decide.
The monster from the deep
If the Deep Ones are repulsed, the keeper may - if he/she desires, have the
Deep Ones return later in greater numbers and strength, for a retaliatory
strike. Or, several Deep One shamans band together to summon a being so
terrible that nothing can stop it. It rises from the deep inky blackness of
the ocean to destroy Shellbourne and all who dwell there.
S T A T I S T I C S
Deep Ones
A race of immortal beings that dwell within the oceans. Their very existence
dwarfs that of mankind. Preferring to remain apart from humans, Deep Ones
live out their lives in vast colonies beneath the oceans, but sometimes,
they establish cults among seafarers and coastal towns and offer treasures
of the deep in return for a peaceful coexistence. There are enough Deep Ones
alive to completely wipe out humanity, if they had a mind to, but Deep Ones
are content at this time to coexist in secrecy with mankind, as long as
mankind keeps its distance.
Deep Ones are stocky, stooped over, chubby bipedal amphibian-like creatures.
Ungainly in posture and gait, they stand on squat hind legs so that their
long cumbersome arms and hands are free to grasp objects. Grayish-green in
colour with an off white or sometimes yellowish under-belly, these
anthropomorphic scaled beings are mucus-covered. Shiny and slippery. Their
heads, frog or fish-like in appearance with prominent unblinking, heavy-set,
lack-luster bulbous eyes sits atop a stubby near non-existent neck in which
gills subtly pulsate. Communication between Deep Ones are conveyed by
telepathy and/or deep throaty croaks - unintelligible to humans, however
they can speak to humans in a crude rudimentary dialect.
Note: Because Deep Ones favour low light levels, harsh light will dazzle
them and hurt their sensitive eyes. One or two Deep Ones can easily be
driven off or kept at bay by shining a light (either flashlight or flaming
torch) directly into their eyes. A successful DEXx5 roll is all that is
required. Any Deep One affected will shy way from the light source unless
it succeeds a POWx2 check. Those kept at bay will do all they can to disable
the light source, such as throwing rocks, etc.. It should be mentioned that
the more Deep Ones there are the less likely this tactic will work. Use your
judgment.
STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX MOVE HITS
14 10 16 13 11 11 8/10 13
WEAPON ATTK % DAMAGE Armour: 1 point scaly hide.
Claw 35% 1d6+1d4 Spells: None, though the keeper may give a Spear
55% 1d6+1d4 few privileged Deep Ones access to a Trident 50% 1d8
+1d4 spell or two.
SAN: 1/1d6
Deep One Shaman
STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX MOVE HITS
14 10 16 14 15 10 8/10 13
WEAPON ATTK % DAMAGE Armour: 3 point scaly hide.
Claw 25% 1d6+1d4 SAN: 1/1d6
Spear 25% 1d6+1d4 Equipment: Head-dress, bracelets, Staff (see
Trident 35% 1d8+1d4 below)
Spells: Attract Fish, Alter Weather, Breath of the Deep, Command Shark /
Porpoise, Contact Star Spawn of Cthulhu, Contact Cthulhu, Create Mist of
Releh, Dampen Light, Grasp of Cthulhu, Invoke Chorazin of Cthulhu, Raise
Night Fog, Wave of Oblivion The staff is a magical item and stores 10 extra
magic point on which the shaman can draw, if required.
The monster from the deep
Flowing, ropy tentacles, innumerable slender tendrils whipping back and
forth. Pulpy. Elongating. Squirming. Writhing. Crawling. Utterly alien to
the zoological world. Distorted heads, crooked needle-like teeth, clawed
appendages. Bloated, warted, oily. Obscenely gigantic. An abomination of
nature. A grotesque manifestation of the like man has never seen. It pulls
itself along with great effort, gouging a trench 30 feet wide. Flattening,
crushing, and demolishing everything beneath its great bulk.
STR CON SIZ INT POW DEX MOVE HITS
630 420 840 10 100 3 7/12 630
WEAPON ATTK % DAMAGE Armour: 20 points cartilage and blubber.
Crush 99 18d6 SPELLS: None.
Thrash
/Whip 70 5d6 SAN: 1d10/1d100
Bite 50 6d6 *
* Any damage equal to or greater than the character's SIZ results in that
character being swallowed. If this is too big, they might just send a
Shoggoth instead.
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