Chaosium Digest Volume 9, Number 5 Date: Wednesday, December 21, 1994 Number: 2 of 3 Contents: Deadwave, Part Two (Mark Morrison) CALL OF CTHULHU -------------------- From: Mark Morrison Subject: Deadwave, Part Two System: CALL OF CTHULHU DEADWAVE, PART TWO by Mark Morrison Copyright (c) 1994 [Continued from V9.4] PLAYER'S INTRODUCTION There is no player introduction. There is no warning. When the Fiend is ready, it comes for them. However, in the weeks beforehand two articles appear in the local daily. On the surface, they appear unrelated, but each is bizarre enough to warrant some attention; later they acquire more meaning. The Dogs Begin to Howl One Thursday night, all the neighborhood dogs are set off. First one dog, then another, then a chorus, howling and growling. If the Investigator has a dog, it too raises its muzzle and wails and then, fur stiff and bristling, hides under the table. Outside, owners curse, and swear at the beasts. After about fifteen minutes they all quiet down. The dogs are upset by the visitation of Nyarlathotep, who appears in town briefly to drop the Fiend. The First Article This appears in the local paper on Saturday morning: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - LOCAL UNDERTAKER DISAPPEARS Body of girl missing. Man sought by police. Police are seeking Mr Clem Baker, a local mortician. Baker (pictured below) was last seen at the funeral parlour of which he is a partner, Baker & Ratchett, on Thursday evening. At six p.m. Baker had told his associate, Stephen Ratchett, that he would be staying behind to prepare the body of a local girl for burial on Friday. Mr Ratchett reports that working late was by no means an unusual practice, and had been done by both men many times in the past. However, when Mr Ratchett arrived at work at eight a.m. on Friday morning, he noted that the lights were still on in the building. The company hearse was missing, and the body of the girl was no longer on the premises. Investigations have ascertained that Baker did not return to his lodgings on Thursday night. A number of tools and chemicals are also missing from the Lake Drive funeral parlour. The name of the dead girl has not been released, to prevent further distress to her family. Police are asking for anyone who knows the whereabouts of Baker, or who may have seen the hearse, to come forwards. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What really happened: the Fiend hit town, and realized that the first thing it was going to need was a mortician. It was in need of embalming. It found Baker, and made him do the job. It then revived the girl as a drone zombie. By this stage Baker had lost his mind, and did what he was told in a kind of stupor. The three drove away in the hearse. Curious investigators might look into the matter. Here are further sources of information, noted briefly: The Funeral Parlour: they'll need the consent of the Police to get in (Debate or Law). A special Spot Hidden notes, in the preparation room, an unused .45 calibre shell rolled under a cabinet. Baker's Lodgings: they'll need to break in, or obtain police permission to inspect it (see above). It's a bachelor apartment. By the looks of it, Baker hadn't packed to leave. The Dead Girl: it is hard to learn who she was. The police must be sincerely convinced (special Oratory) of the investigators' good intentions before releasing the name. Failing that, they could try to trick one of the officers (Fast Talk, with an INT x5 roll from the cop). She was Dianne Castille, of a middle class suburb. She was sixteen at the time of her death; she broke her neck when she dived in at the shallow end of a swimming pool. She had red hair, and was about five foot six. Her parents are shocked senseless at the body's theft. A Witness: in the day following the article, a cab driver contacts the police to say that he saw the hearse heading south, away from the funeral parlour. He maintains there were three people in the front seat. It is one of many reported sightings and associated crank calls, and the police do not pay especial attention to it. That's as far as the case goes. There are further newspaper reports, but no fresh information. The Second Article About a week and a half later, this report follows: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BUS LOST Driver and vehicle reported missing. Police were notified late last night of the apparent disappearance of a town bus. Neither bus nor driver returned to the depot on the conclusion of the night's service. The bus was license number B-039, and was on route 19. The driver is Mr William Marsh. Marsh was last seen setting down a passenger and collecting one at ten minutes to eleven p.m. at Stop 33 on Long Road; since then there has been no sighting. The police urge any citizen who may have seen the bus to contact them immediately. Door-to-door enquiries along Long Road and the surrounding district are presently being undertaken. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - What really happened: the Fiend has been busy. It has acquired some real estate, a disused abattoir. A workshop for fresh walking dead has been set up. Several vehicles are on site, including the hearse and a (stolen) delivery van. The Fiend also saw a need for a bus, and hijacked this one at gunpoint. Marsh, the driver, was forced to drive the bus to the Fiend's hideout, where it has been hidden in a shed. Marsh was killed, and subsequently brought back to life. Again, the investigators might follow this up. They learn: The Bus: is just your standard bus. The Route: is just your standard suburban route. It's a fairly quiet area, south of the central business district. The Driver: William Marsh was about as reliable as the next man. He wasn't a workaholic, but he did his job. His wife has no idea where he is, and is a little cynical about it - she thinks he's just cleared off. If the investigators ask the Marsh's neighbors, they learn that the two fought like cat and dog. The Last Passenger: the police can point them to this person (Oratory or similar to get the name and address, or Law to get a copy of his statement). He is Rudolph Zymenski, a factory worker. He was coming home on the bus after doing a late shift. He got off at his stop as usual. The passenger waiting outside was dressed in dark clothing, and wore a hat. Zymenski said that he had a bad smell about him. If they interview Zymenski, a Psychology roll detects that he is uncomfortable about talking about the man. If asked why, he answers that he doesn't know; he just felt uneasy. In truth, once he was out of the bus, he ran all the way home. Like the undertaker affair, nothing else comes to light in the bus case. STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN About a week later, the Fiend is ready. Bad things start. Use the order given below. Some events may need to be reshuffled or modified in response to the investigators' actions. You need not use every one; some you simply may not be able to implement, others won't be appropriate. Think of them as examples to conduct your own campaign of terror. Add to them. The major thing to remember is that although the Fiend is cunning, it is not invisible. Once the Investigator gets vigilant, they might stake out their own house. Give credit where credit is due; it may be the only way they'll catch their tormentor. Here are some simple precautions the Fiend generally takes: - Disguise. It occasionally dresses up as a postman, a pregnant woman, a repairman, etc. (To be precise, it gets the undertaker to dress it.) So it may be around when they are looking for it, but in an unexpected form. - Distraction. When the investigators are getting wise to it, it arranges bluffs. For example, if the Fiend wants to do something in their front yard, it creates a ruckus in the back yard to draw them away, even if it's only pitching a rock over the roof. If it wants them away from the back of the house, it might get one of its dead to make a phone call to draw them into the hallway. (Of course, the dead have nothing to say, so the conversation isn't a long one.) - Parking a street or two away. It won't just lob up to the front door generally; it parks the vehicle and sneaks around. Sometimes, it prefers to make a bold entrance (see below). - Means of escape. It likes to keep a rescue vehicle handy, or something that will create a distraction while it gets away. This scenario is a mystery that your players aim to solve, so play fair, but play mean. FIENDISHNESS Space these as you see fit. The first ones should be a couple of days apart each; then the pace picks up. THE INVESTIGATOR'S PET VANISHES Their Pet vanishes, quietly. No sign of a struggle or anything like that. It wants to be let out one night, and doesn't come home again. If they think to ask their neighbors, no-one saw anything, although at the third house they make enquiries at someone recalls hearing a heavy car in the street that night. COINCIDENTAL CRUELTIES The Fiend starts popping by in the night, or while the Investigator is out, and doing little odd jobs. At first these seem just bad luck. Some examples: - Their rubbish bin is overturned, presumably by a dog, they think. Their rubbish is strewn across the street. If they think to Track, a successful roll discovers boot prints around the bin, not paw prints. - Snails eat all the mail in the letter box. A Zoology roll indicates that perhaps the letter box is a bit too dry for comfortable snail habitation. - Pickets from their fence go missing, as if someone was taking them for firewood. - Their newspaper stops being delivered. The newsagent maintains they had word that the Investigator wanted the paper cancelled. It must have been a mix-up, they apologize. - A van pulls up, and two men get out and deliver an incredibly ugly and heavy piece of furniture. They ask the Investigator to sign for it. They refuse to manhandle it back into the van; even if it is a mistake, this is the correct address, the item is paid for, and it's their lunch break. The item has no actual significance, but unless the Investigator can convince the men to take it away (Fast Talk, or a bribe), it remains on their porch, making getting in and out of the front door inconvenient. BAD DREAMS The Investigator suffers three bad dreams, each of which herald some new horror when they wake. These are legitimate dreams, and so the Investigator has no control over them. The keeper may employ change of perspective, inability to act, and inexorable motion, all of the things which make real nightmares so claustrophobic and disturbing. THE FIRST BAD DREAM One night, they dream the following. They are being chased. They can't see what is chasing them, but they know it is just behind them. They can hear its shambling pursuit. It seems close enough to breathe on them, but they can hear no breathing. They are running along corridors, down stairs, through darkened rooms. Finally, in a room with a window, they feel they have lost their pursuer. Then there is a great shattering of glass and an arm through the window and a voice hissing "I'm back"... A Present ...and they toss in their bed, head fouled with sleep, sheets roiled with sweat. Time for a SAN roll, costing 0/1. Their throat is dry, their limbs are trembling. A time to remember the empty space on their bed where their Pet should be sleeping. The Investigator sure could use a glass of water. As they move around the house, they see that the breaking glass of their dream was reality. A front window has been smashed inward. There is an object lying on the floor. Another SAN roll for the blending of dream and reality, losing 0/1 again. There is a sudden pounding on the front door. It is a neighbor; he heard the breaking glass; is everything okay? When they get to inspect the object, it is some manner of artifact thematically linked with the Fiend in life. That is to say: if the Fiend is Lang Fu (from FUNGI FROM YUGGOTH) it could be a Chinese puzzle box; if the Fiend is Jerry (from "Pickman's Student") it could be a heavy ankh; if the Fiend is Baron Hauptmann (from FUNGI FROM YUGGOTH) it could be an odd pair of binoculars. If the Investigator does not make the connection, let it be an enigma. They'll discover the truth soon enough. The object was thrown from a moving vehicle. Again, if they ask around, on a Luck roll they find a neighbor who saw it, briefly. They had the impression it was a long black automobile (the hearse, in fact). THE DEAD RELATIVE IS STOLEN The next morning a ringing telephone wakes them. It is the police. The grave of their Dead Relative is unearthed, and is now vacant. Could they come down to the station to help with enquiries? A SAN roll should be made as they put the phone down, costing 1/1D3. The facts of the theft are simple. Someone broke into the cemetery overnight and excavated the grave. The coffin has been broken open, the body is gone. The police can't do much. They are obliged to tell the Investigator about the theft, and ask if they have any ideas. They express their shock and outrage, and promise to work on the case day and night. Nothing further comes of it. An Oratory or Law roll can get the police to confess that this is the latest of a series of exhumations. They have lost half a dozen bodies in the last fortnight, from various places. They are keeping details of the cases out of the newspapers, for fear of widespread panic. If the Investigator presses the point, they can learn who these missing people were (Oratory or Debate). All had been dead less than a month. The missing bodies: Joe Plimsoll, 42, mechanic, cause of death: skull fracture from rolling truck. Edna Delaware, 34, nurse, cause of death: fell down flight of stairs. Randy Thompson, 24, student, cause of death: football injury. Klaus Tod, 31, laborer, cause of death: falling masonry. Bess Kellerman, 43, stenographer, cause of death: struck by automobile. The grave-robbing continues, and a few days later the police are forced to reveal the situation. Citizen watches are posted in the cemeteries in town. The thefts then are reported in outlying districts. No-one is seen, or caught. THE SECOND BAD DREAM That night the Investigator dreams that they are walking in a graveyard. Mist swirls around them. Softly, they hear someone calling their name. They follow the sound, and arrive at the grave-side of their Dead Relative. Arms burst out of the earth and pull them down. Change of perspective. The Investigator is now in the coffin, buried. They can smell their own rot and putrefaction. Then there is a bump on the coffin lid, and another. A shovel, digging down, striking the top of the box. A rasping voice from above, "You can't hide in there". The shovel hitting the lid. Bump. Bump... The Pet Comes Back ...Bump. Bump. They wake up. Roll SAN for the dream, losing 0/1. The bumping sound that wakes them is real. It comes from the front door. If they peek out to see who's there, initially they see nobody, not at head height anyway; it is their Pet, returned, bumping at the door, wanting in. If they open the door, the animal walks in. It is home, safe and sound. The Investigator's joy soon sours, as it becomes plain that the animal is not well. It moves stiffly. It collides with the furniture. It is totally silent. It smells awful. How do they first find that their Pet is actually dead? There are many clues. It has no interest in food or water; the flies hover around it, and yet the animal makes no attempt to brush them off; a Listen roll detects that it does not breathe; a Spot Hidden notices that it has no pulse. When the truth comes, SAN loss is 1D3/1D8. Whatever violent emotional response is wrought from the Investigator, the Pet has no reaction whatsoever, but stands dumbly and looks on. When they recover from the shock, they must decide what do about it. They can leave it be, but the animal takes to following them around everywhere, and smelling worse and worse. Each day it is around costs an automatic 1 point of SAN. Or they can kill it, which takes a couple of blows. The animal just stands there and takes it. This is just as upsetting, and costs an automatic 1D4 points of SAN. They'll then probably bury it. When they pick it up, a Spot Hidden notices a scattering of red dust in the animal's matted fur (this is from the abattoir yard). A Geology roll notes that this red dust is common around the south eastern fringe of town, mostly industrial suburbs. It blows across many of the yards and back lots there. If they head off on a random search for dusty red yards, the magnitude of the task overwhelms them. They have only a 5% chance per day of stumbling across the right place by this method, but the keeper should drag out the exploration of a few innocuous sites first (graveyards, rubbish tips, quarries). ANONYMOUS ATROCITIES The small inconveniences become twisted and inexplicable, and it is clear that they are not ill luck or coincidence. Some examples: - Two bottles of milk are left on the step, as usual. Except instead of two white bottles, there's one white and one red. 1 pint of milk, 1 pint of fresh human blood. (SAN 0/1D3) - A letter is delivered. The envelope contains a small clump of human hair. An Idea roll indicates that the color is the same as that of the Dead Relative. Caught along the gum sealing the flap are a few grains of red dust (see above). (SAN 0/1D2) - Overnight the front yard is filled with frogs and toads. Some are mildly poisonous. All are disgusting. (SAN 0/1) - A neighbor cheerfully delivers a small package 'mistakenly' delivered to them (the addressee has written the name of the Investigator, but put down the wrong street number). The package contains a bundle of old rusty spent bullets. A note is affixed: 'HAVE THEM BACK'. (These are bullets which the Investigator or their friend shot at the Fiend, which it has gouged out of its flesh. Only use this if they gunned down the Fiend back when it was alive.) (SAN: no loss, unless they've guessed the Fiend's identity, in which case 0/1) - Washing left on the line is crawling with flies. If the insects are all brushed away, traces of excrement are found smeared on the material. (SAN 0/1) IF THEY LEAVE HOME It would be a wise move around now for the Investigator to leave. An unknown villain is after them - why stay around and be easy prey? Abandoning one's home though is a drastic move, and signals both victory to their unknown persecutor and the end of their former life. Moving out costs the Investigator 1 point of SAN. Where do they relocate? A hotel? A friend's house (putting that friend at risk too)? The back seat of their car? Another town? If they leave totally, the scenario is, for now, over. But the patient dead Fiend tracks them down eventually. You will need to extend and modify the scenario, but, somewhere, a bus-full of dead people roll through the night on their trail. If they stay in town, the Fiend will try to find them. You must judge how long this will take, judged on the ingenuity of their smoke screen. As soon as it becomes apparent that they've left, the Fiend places an ad in the Personal Notices: "[Investigator's Name], Please come home. I know we can work it out. Things will only get worse if you stay away, much worse. Believe me. Much worse. Please come home. [Fiend's first initial]." IF THEY STAY AWAY The Fiend means it. If they don't return in two days, it breaks in. It leaves one of its drone zombies to stand guard in the shadows in the front yard. It then goes around and quietly breaks in the back door. It artfully arranges a large sack full of body parts, in varying states of decay, all over the house. As decorations, in the icebox, in the umbrella stand, in the bed, in the wardrobes, all over. It then leaves via the back door, after unsnibbing the front door and leaving it ajar. When the coast is clear it calls away the drone zombie. The Fiend then rings the police, and reports a break-in. The police come around, see the open door, and step in. Discoveries are made. GRISLY DISCOVERY IN SUBURBAN HOUSE reads one headline the next morning. CANNIBAL HOUSE OF HELL screams another. SAN loss for opening up the morning paper and copping this is 1/1D3. The Investigator's face is everywhere. Even if they report to the police immediately to give their side of the story, people in town always recognize them with a shudder, and have as little to do with them as possible. If they don't turn themselves in, of course, they are assumed to be the criminal. Life becomes impossible for them. And the Fiend is still on their trail. [Continued in V9.6] -------------------- The Chaosium Digest is an unofficial discussion forum for Chaosium's Games. To submit an article, subscribe or unsubscribe, mail to: appel@erzo.berkeley.edu. The old digests are archived on ftp.csua.berkeley.edu in the directory /pub/chaosium, and may be retrieved via FTP.