D&D and the Cthulhu mythos: Adventure ideas?
Wraith Form
Explorer
Again, thank you for the fresh batch of incredibly cool ideas, everyone!
Any ideas where The Inside might be found? I have some decent Google-fu, but "inside" "pdf" and "Dungeons & Dragons" is a bit too open.
Any ideas where The Inside might be found? I have some decent Google-fu, but "inside" "pdf" and "Dungeons & Dragons" is a bit too open.
Wraith Form
Explorer
Terrific. I have the book, and ironically my setting features rudimentary firearms. I'd welcome any advice or additional info you'd be willing to provide.talien said:
I'll look for this ASAP!talien said:
Ironically, I just ordered this from Chaosium.talien said:
Are you talking about the OD&D or AD&D (with audio CD) version?talien said:
*gasp* And adventure I don't have?!? I must be slipping....talien said:
I'll take whatever you're willing to offer. My email is wraith [underscore] form [at] msn [dot] com.talien said:
Thank you for all the great advice! I was actually hoping to use the King in Yellow, as one of my players runs a bard who read a copy of a strange play....(wink wink, nudge nudge)
Jürgen Hubert
First Post
Since you mentioned Pagan Publishing among your sources, I assume you also have Delta Green: Countdown (and if you don't, why not?). I used something from this book for my WFRP campaign, but it can also be adapted to D&D:
There is an "evil cult" operating in a certain city - its members are kidnapping high-ranking guild members, merchants, politicians and other important people. And then they drill holes into their heads. Many of the victims die. But the others are apparently brainwashed into joining the cult...
Of course, the real reason is that the town has a major Shan infestation. But will the PCs discover that before it is too late? Or will they instead try to kill the cultists without examining the reasons for their actions?
There is an "evil cult" operating in a certain city - its members are kidnapping high-ranking guild members, merchants, politicians and other important people. And then they drill holes into their heads. Many of the victims die. But the others are apparently brainwashed into joining the cult...
Of course, the real reason is that the town has a major Shan infestation. But will the PCs discover that before it is too late? Or will they instead try to kill the cultists without examining the reasons for their actions?
Adventure ideas. Ok, let's start with a Lovecraft classic plot device.
1. The Asylum: Deep in the mountains (or other stock remote locations that nobody goes to) is a monestary dedicated to a god/ess of healing. It houses the kingdom's criminally insane, ordinary serial murderers of course rather than monsters and those dedicated to dark gods like the advanturers usually deal with. One of these inmates, however, has unfortunately attracted the notice of dark powers, scribbling nonsense on the walls that he believes are real magical formulae. They have granted him/her a modicum of power, somehow psychically connecting him to the other inmates. It isn't long before the inmates, forming a hive mind, overpower their guardians and, somehow, turn them to their way of thinking.
The 'Dark Gift' could come in many forms or be given in many different ways. The gift could be a magical gemstone that must be gazed into in order to 'infect' the madness, or perhaps it's a gaze attack from one of the infected. Maybe the inmate's insanity allowed him to contact the secret knowledge of the Far Realms and, once completed, granted him this special ability. I'd suggest using the rules for hiveminds from the BOVD to give the PCs a real challenge and probably the Mob rules from DMGII. Or, the agent of this special ability could be a Fiend of Corruption granting the inmate's twisted wish to 'stop being lonely'.
The adventure should play on the adventurer's sense of self for the horror. If one of their number does fall victim to the madness, the hive mind has gained a powerful vessal for it's depraved ideals. The madmen don't offer the character death, they're out to bring them over to their way of thinking.
The players could get involved when, say, the abbey calls for help. Or they could be sent to the monestary when contact is lost. Or the madmen could arrive at the closest village and begin converting the local populace.
2. The Cursed Item: These days, it seems like cursed items don't get much play. Nobody halfway sensible even touches an item until it's been checked out by the friendly neighbourhood mage. But what about an item that doesn't need to be touched to cause utter havoc?
Assassins can kill alot of people in cold blood over one lifetime and the assassin Gorag managed to kill possibly more than a million people over the course of his undead lifespan. This is probably a Bard's exaggeration, since Gorag himself couldn't place an exact number on the number of people he'd killed with it, the point is that it was enough for the blade to take on a malignant life of it's own.
The Blade of Gorag loves pointless murder and worse, loves pinning the crime on innocents. In this quest, it has the abilities and intelligence of Gorag combined with the ability to move of its own accord and alter its appearance. It's current owner, a minor noble, has unwittingly inherited it from a former uncle who 'apparently committed suicide'. Determined to sell his uncle's lands and belongings, the noble has concluded his business and returned to the palace of the reigning monarch... with the Blade of Gorag.
People in the palace have begun dropping like flies, murder, manslaughter and assault are rife, men and women fear leaving their quarters though hiding doesn't seem to help. Worse, with each murder there seems to be someone to blame, someone that always hangs for the crime.
But the Blade does have a motive. Once it manages to anoint itself in the blood of a thousand innocents, Gorag will return from beyond the grave. Even now, his specter can be occasionally seen roaming the halls of the palace.
The King needs to make his palace safe again, he even fears his own guardsmen are in on what he sees as a conspiracy to dethrone him. What he needs are adventurers...
The Blade's love of murder doesn't preclude its having a
1. The Asylum: Deep in the mountains (or other stock remote locations that nobody goes to) is a monestary dedicated to a god/ess of healing. It houses the kingdom's criminally insane, ordinary serial murderers of course rather than monsters and those dedicated to dark gods like the advanturers usually deal with. One of these inmates, however, has unfortunately attracted the notice of dark powers, scribbling nonsense on the walls that he believes are real magical formulae. They have granted him/her a modicum of power, somehow psychically connecting him to the other inmates. It isn't long before the inmates, forming a hive mind, overpower their guardians and, somehow, turn them to their way of thinking.
The 'Dark Gift' could come in many forms or be given in many different ways. The gift could be a magical gemstone that must be gazed into in order to 'infect' the madness, or perhaps it's a gaze attack from one of the infected. Maybe the inmate's insanity allowed him to contact the secret knowledge of the Far Realms and, once completed, granted him this special ability. I'd suggest using the rules for hiveminds from the BOVD to give the PCs a real challenge and probably the Mob rules from DMGII. Or, the agent of this special ability could be a Fiend of Corruption granting the inmate's twisted wish to 'stop being lonely'.
The adventure should play on the adventurer's sense of self for the horror. If one of their number does fall victim to the madness, the hive mind has gained a powerful vessal for it's depraved ideals. The madmen don't offer the character death, they're out to bring them over to their way of thinking.
The players could get involved when, say, the abbey calls for help. Or they could be sent to the monestary when contact is lost. Or the madmen could arrive at the closest village and begin converting the local populace.
2. The Cursed Item: These days, it seems like cursed items don't get much play. Nobody halfway sensible even touches an item until it's been checked out by the friendly neighbourhood mage. But what about an item that doesn't need to be touched to cause utter havoc?
Assassins can kill alot of people in cold blood over one lifetime and the assassin Gorag managed to kill possibly more than a million people over the course of his undead lifespan. This is probably a Bard's exaggeration, since Gorag himself couldn't place an exact number on the number of people he'd killed with it, the point is that it was enough for the blade to take on a malignant life of it's own.
The Blade of Gorag loves pointless murder and worse, loves pinning the crime on innocents. In this quest, it has the abilities and intelligence of Gorag combined with the ability to move of its own accord and alter its appearance. It's current owner, a minor noble, has unwittingly inherited it from a former uncle who 'apparently committed suicide'. Determined to sell his uncle's lands and belongings, the noble has concluded his business and returned to the palace of the reigning monarch... with the Blade of Gorag.
People in the palace have begun dropping like flies, murder, manslaughter and assault are rife, men and women fear leaving their quarters though hiding doesn't seem to help. Worse, with each murder there seems to be someone to blame, someone that always hangs for the crime.
But the Blade does have a motive. Once it manages to anoint itself in the blood of a thousand innocents, Gorag will return from beyond the grave. Even now, his specter can be occasionally seen roaming the halls of the palace.
The King needs to make his palace safe again, he even fears his own guardsmen are in on what he sees as a conspiracy to dethrone him. What he needs are adventurers...
The Blade's love of murder doesn't preclude its having a
Riverwalker
First Post
Stormborn's idea of the graffiti is similar to one part of the plot from Mielville's 'Iron Council' which prompted me to think of ideas from Mieville stories that could be used.
The Slakemoths from 'Perdido Street Station' would be perfect for a CoC type scenario - I think Mielville's orginal plot is stronger than my slight tweak below but if your players have read the novel they would spot the plot a mile off, so it's probably necessary to change it a little to throw them off the scent:
The general populace is becoming more and more edgy, easily angered, etc. This is due to them being unable to properly daydream/relax - they are always alert. This is due to them being preyed on by other-planar creatures that feed off daydreams/hopes/aspirations/etc. The creatures also target particulary 'tasty' individuals who are sucked dry of all their personality - leaving them blank. This happens in day time - often in populated areas.
The creatures are invisible/unable to be percieved by people in their normal state. However users of a particular new drug that has entered the market are able to see them. Of course their sightings are discounted as drug induced hallunciations. The drug induces a state where the user experiences other people daydreams/secret fantasies/etc.
The drug is actually the mother's milk of the creatures. The creatures were summoned by a evil/chaos cult specifically to harvest the milk for use in rituals. They also worship and attempt to breed the creatures.
However some/all the creatures managed to escape and are now preying on the city.
So the party could either get involved completely on their own - i.e. they are affected by the creatures, or even directly attacked (i'm sure the daydreams of adventurers counts as particulalrly tasty). Or they could be hired by the cult (in disguise probably) to capture the creatures alive. Or government/forces of good/law/etc could hire the party to end the menace.
In any case to be able to see the creatures would invlove using the drug or similar - cue Lovecraftian dream sequences. And the whole city would be taking on a horror aspect as people gradually become more agressive etc.
The Slakemoths from 'Perdido Street Station' would be perfect for a CoC type scenario - I think Mielville's orginal plot is stronger than my slight tweak below but if your players have read the novel they would spot the plot a mile off, so it's probably necessary to change it a little to throw them off the scent:
The general populace is becoming more and more edgy, easily angered, etc. This is due to them being unable to properly daydream/relax - they are always alert. This is due to them being preyed on by other-planar creatures that feed off daydreams/hopes/aspirations/etc. The creatures also target particulary 'tasty' individuals who are sucked dry of all their personality - leaving them blank. This happens in day time - often in populated areas.
The creatures are invisible/unable to be percieved by people in their normal state. However users of a particular new drug that has entered the market are able to see them. Of course their sightings are discounted as drug induced hallunciations. The drug induces a state where the user experiences other people daydreams/secret fantasies/etc.
The drug is actually the mother's milk of the creatures. The creatures were summoned by a evil/chaos cult specifically to harvest the milk for use in rituals. They also worship and attempt to breed the creatures.
However some/all the creatures managed to escape and are now preying on the city.
So the party could either get involved completely on their own - i.e. they are affected by the creatures, or even directly attacked (i'm sure the daydreams of adventurers counts as particulalrly tasty). Or they could be hired by the cult (in disguise probably) to capture the creatures alive. Or government/forces of good/law/etc could hire the party to end the menace.
In any case to be able to see the creatures would invlove using the drug or similar - cue Lovecraftian dream sequences. And the whole city would be taking on a horror aspect as people gradually become more agressive etc.
greywulf
First Post
Call of Cthulhu makes for great D&D! Remember that Robert Howard, the author of Conan, was a pen-friend of Lovecraft's and you're more than halfway there. You've got snake cults, evil wizards and enough curses to make Samuel L Jackson blush.
At low-level when everything taller than a goblin is frightening, throw a monster at them that's way above their CR level and watch them flee in terror. Use a Pseudonatural Displacer Beast for a Hound of Tindalos and have a few corpses be found in the PC's village. Eventually they discover that the local priest of the God of Knowledge has come into possession of an Unspeakable Tome. He's slowly becoming insane, suffering nightmares and accidentally Summoned it in his "sleep". Only by destroying the book can the Beast" be returned to it's own dimension. The priest escapes, his last words spoken in a unfamiliar language that chills the soul.......
Then of course there's Herbert Westread Necromancer.
Use the Pseudonatural template. A lot. Make sure the players get a clear sense of the wrongness of the creatures. Nothing says I love you more than a Pseudonatural Black Dragon. Chaos beast are cool too, especially if they see someone they love transform into one. Ickypoo.
Make the setting urban, but let the players feel like they're isolated nonetheless. They could be strangers in an unfamiliar city. Freeport is (of course) a natural setting for this, but Sanctuary (from Thieve's World) is great too. Even a small fishing town could hold secrets below the surface. Perhaps the local tavern is built upon the foundations of a far older structure - maybe even the impenetrable roof of a Structure Older Than Mankind. While examining the unusual floor - it's got life-sized carvings of ancient folks fighting strange cone-like beings - they press something and a hole opens up. Describe the smell of 100,000 year old air escaping. A deep thrum echoes like a giant's heartbeat. Then the entire floor collapses.
At higher levels start to have some fun. Maybe all spell-casters begin to go crazy as a 38,000 year plantetary cycle reaches it's zenith. When both arcane and divine magic fails completely it's up to the Heroes to find you where it went - and why a new island has appeared on the horizon. Maybe the magic fails one spell level per day, starting at 9th and working down. When the highest level wizard in the land is found murdered in a particularly gruesome fashion (Nyarlathotep 1, Elminster 0), that's one thing, but when even 1st level spells fail, chaos ensues. Soon the players are fighting for their lives against insane wizards and the temples echo with strange chants to the forbidden Elder Gods. Hey, it could happen.
Oh, and think back to the Crusades. Picture a victorious army returning with the spoils of the Infidel - including a casket containing Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, or even a half-insane slave who's furiously scribing the text of the Necronomicon onto any available surface, including onto his own skin. The adventurers might find that the only way to stop the wave of insanity spreading through the city is to return the madman and casket back to their own lands. That'll involve a long sea voyage (mmmmmm.... the open sea.......deep....so deep....), fleeing crazed villagers and demons of their own making before breaking into the Forbidden City where the walls themselves loath your presence.
Hope that gives you some ideas!
At low-level when everything taller than a goblin is frightening, throw a monster at them that's way above their CR level and watch them flee in terror. Use a Pseudonatural Displacer Beast for a Hound of Tindalos and have a few corpses be found in the PC's village. Eventually they discover that the local priest of the God of Knowledge has come into possession of an Unspeakable Tome. He's slowly becoming insane, suffering nightmares and accidentally Summoned it in his "sleep". Only by destroying the book can the Beast" be returned to it's own dimension. The priest escapes, his last words spoken in a unfamiliar language that chills the soul.......
Then of course there's Herbert West
read Necromancer.Use the Pseudonatural template. A lot. Make sure the players get a clear sense of the wrongness of the creatures. Nothing says I love you more than a Pseudonatural Black Dragon. Chaos beast are cool too, especially if they see someone they love transform into one. Ickypoo.
Make the setting urban, but let the players feel like they're isolated nonetheless. They could be strangers in an unfamiliar city. Freeport is (of course) a natural setting for this, but Sanctuary (from Thieve's World) is great too. Even a small fishing town could hold secrets below the surface. Perhaps the local tavern is built upon the foundations of a far older structure - maybe even the impenetrable roof of a Structure Older Than Mankind. While examining the unusual floor - it's got life-sized carvings of ancient folks fighting strange cone-like beings - they press something and a hole opens up. Describe the smell of 100,000 year old air escaping. A deep thrum echoes like a giant's heartbeat. Then the entire floor collapses.
At higher levels start to have some fun. Maybe all spell-casters begin to go crazy as a 38,000 year plantetary cycle reaches it's zenith. When both arcane and divine magic fails completely it's up to the Heroes to find you where it went - and why a new island has appeared on the horizon. Maybe the magic fails one spell level per day, starting at 9th and working down. When the highest level wizard in the land is found murdered in a particularly gruesome fashion (Nyarlathotep 1, Elminster 0), that's one thing, but when even 1st level spells fail, chaos ensues. Soon the players are fighting for their lives against insane wizards and the temples echo with strange chants to the forbidden Elder Gods. Hey, it could happen.
Oh, and think back to the Crusades. Picture a victorious army returning with the spoils of the Infidel - including a casket containing Things Man Was Not Meant to Know, or even a half-insane slave who's furiously scribing the text of the Necronomicon onto any available surface, including onto his own skin. The adventurers might find that the only way to stop the wave of insanity spreading through the city is to return the madman and casket back to their own lands. That'll involve a long sea voyage (mmmmmm.... the open sea.......deep....so deep....), fleeing crazed villagers and demons of their own making before breaking into the Forbidden City where the walls themselves loath your presence.
Hope that gives you some ideas!
LostSoul
Adventurer
I have a strange fascination with that mad old hermit in Keep on the Borderlands, since I lost my first two PCs to him (Questor the Elf and his brother, Questor II).
Anyway, I wrote up that guy with some mythos flavour. Looking at it again, I'd probably consult a thesaurus for different words for "fungus."
I think it has 3.0 stats.
Anyway, I wrote up that guy with some mythos flavour. Looking at it again, I'd probably consult a thesaurus for different words for "fungus."
I think it has 3.0 stats.
Wraith Form
Explorer
Safe assumption. Rest assured, we does have Countdown, oh yes we does my preciousssss.Jürgen Hubert said:
Wraith Form
Explorer
If you need issue numbers, I'd be happy to oblige.Chimera said:
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