Delta Green update

Here is a little overview for what has happened in the days after "Puppet Shows and Shadow Plays" and before the new assignment.

"Over the past months, you have continued your daily routine, investigating routine crimes as part of your duties with the FBI. At least, that is what it appears to your friends, family, and coworkers. The training sessions you have recently been called on are not too different from those before, especially since your capture of the vicious killer Emanuel Santana, whose motives during his cross country murder spree remain unknown. You know better, you and your new contacts in Delta Green.

You have been called into Washington, DC, with the excuse of a special “training session” after your handling of the Santana case. Delta Green remains secretive, explaining that the extreme sensitive nature of its operations makes its existence deniable, but it calls on the expertise of many agencies to fulfill its duties in investigating, combating, and destroying paranormal threats to the United States. You have met representatives from the CIA, the NSA, and several branches of the military (at least, that’s what they claimed to be, though their clearances were certainly high enough). You have been formed into “Cell Q,” with contacts in “Cell P” and “Cell R.” You will be providing reports and requests through the mysterious “Cell A,” spoken of but never encountered.

Your Code names are Agent Quincey and Agent Quinn. Also, Agent Quinton is part of your cell as well. You have been in contact with Agent Peter and Agent Regina, though neither know each other. You have also been given a Delta Green encrypted Laptop Computer and cell phone, for use on Delta Green assignments. It has all been very confusing, but so far (in spite of the strange number of odd questions being shuttled back between your Cell and other cells), things have remained calm. For now."

For the next session, I'd like to have a little background info for both your characters; next of kin, short professional history, etc. It may be important, depending on what happens...
Email with any other questions about Delta Green set up, etc.
Be seeing you...

The Journal of Theodore Wilson Burns, vol 2.

3/18/1928

Out of the blue, I received a call from George Carrington today! I knew that our link was too strong to be ignored. It seems that he needs my help, as strange phenomena not unlike that at those at Carrington’s home have befallen one of his friends. I eagerly told him I would do what I could to help and will meet him in a week at his office in New York. I cannot wait to see what awaits me next in my explorations! Why, he said he would even pay me for my troubles!

3/20/1928

Disappointment mingled with confusion today as I write on the train to the featureless interior of America. My trip to New York failed to bring Cecelia out of hiding (is there someone else?) and Carrington’s “assignment” for me seems frustratingly vague. I do not know what I should do. His college acquaintance has made his fortune through gold mining with New World Industries in the mineral rich regions of South Dakota but his operations have recently come under some mysterious hardships. A terrible disease has stricken some of the miners and a rash of inexplicable suicides have claimed the lives of others, as well as the breakdown of some of the mines’ equipment, demonstrated by the sudden end of our telephone conversation with him. I admit to being quite fearful of this journey as my constitution is naturally quite susceptible to illness and I am mystified as to what these problems of business have to do with my interest in the supernatural. However, I must keep to my word as a man of honor and student of the unknowable. Perhaps more will be explained upon our arrival in the town of Rapid City, South Dakota tomorrow. Accompanying me are that awful cad Graeme Smythe who weaseled his way into the investigation and Volker Sauer Mucke, who hopes to paint new visions of the South Dakotan badlands. I am sure he will find much inspiration.

3/21/1928

I am so tired I can barely summon up enough energy to write this account. However, sleep has been long in coming after the terrible things I have seen today. After arriving at Rapid City, a genial man by the name of Mr. Wallace, geologist by trade picked us up in his automobile to convey us to the site of the mining operations. Along the way he explained more about the current troubles, including the fact that they are digging in an area long believed sacred by the local Indians.
Upon our arrival, however, chaos had overtaken the area and distraught men ran everywhere. Wallace was quickly informed that Carrington’s friend had been the latest victim of the odd string of deaths surrounding the mine and we all were ushered to the mine’s administration office. Never will I forgot the scene of horror there! The man was struck through the head with a mining pick! Though I had never witnessed such a scene before, I believe I handled it like a true detective and impressed even the local sheriff, a man right out of the Western pulps. He blamed the murder upon the Indians, some whom resisted the sale of their lands to the company. Through his deductive skills, (of which I had never suspected) Mr. Smythe was able to determine the man died of self-inflicted wound. How horrific! How could a man do such a thing to himself? Also, there were some strange diagrams that seem to have no know symbolism to me. Finally, we visited the infirmary were this disease was taking a terrible toll on the miners; never have I seen such terrible symptoms and I hope and pray it is not contagious. The local doctor was at his wits end, knowing neither the cause nor the cure for the wasting malady. My only guess is that it has something to do with the mines as most were involved in a tragic accident several months before. Perhaps their guilt for surviving is causing their spirtual malaise to effect their bodies. That is my only conjecture. Tomorrow we explore the mine that was the site of the incident.

3/22/1928

What a terrible day! The weather is cold and windy here in the Black Hills, not at all conductive to my well-being. I slept terribly, wracked by horrid dreams I cannot recall. It must be the pall of sorrow over the mines. The food is vile and the miners are not at all men of whom conversation means much, which is understandable given the situation. And to make matters worse, I sprained my ankle while climbing into that damned, dank mine shaft! It hurts terribly, but not as bad as the headache that has plagued me all day as well. The only thing we found in the mine, site of the accident was another mysterious diagram, almost mathematical in its precision. The sciences have never been my area of expertise, and neither it would seem with Mr. Smyhe or Volker. We can make nothing of it. Time to go to sleep tonight, if I can sleep in this stiff, uncomfortable cot.

I have gone over the mine logs recently, though I am no businessman. Only one thing of note; they are mining a lot of some ore called “pitchblende” but they are not shipping it out. What is it used for, I wonder?

3/23/1928- morning

An even worse dream last night, and my headache has increased to a nearly unbearable pounding behind my temples. The dream was full of menace and I fear something bad is going to happen, dreams are very prophetic. This one was awful, I was in a pit filled with disgusting beetles and large buzzing insects said horrible things to me before I was buried in bugs. Truly unspeakable! I will think no more on it. Today I have suggested that we visit the local Indians, though the sheriff and miners contend that they are hostile and violent to all whites. This is their ancient land, so I feel that they may have important insights to impart upon us if we only but listen. Primitive peoples, have, I feel kept closer to the ancient ideals of the spirit then we scientific civilized men.

Later

Unbelievable! I had no idea of the horrors that lurk under the Black Hills! The Sioux medicine man has explained all but it is up to us to stop this terrible infestation. The miners do not know what they have awoken; terrible evil spirits that science cannot account for!

We trekked out to the reservation where the local Indians live. None of us was skilled riders but horseback was the only way to get to the Sioux village and none of the more experienced outdoorsmen would risk the wrath of the Indians. As we were nearing our destination, a few of the younger men brandished rifles and threatened us. They must have thought us a sorry sight when all three of us tumbled off our horses at the first sign of trouble. I tried to calm them but they were enraged, shouting at us “company men” to get out of their land. Just as things started to look bad, another man appeared on horseback, the Indian sheriff and ordered the ruffians off. He had heard of our activities at the mine and wanted us to meet the local medicine man. I was intrigued, despite my pounding head and wanted to meet this wise man as soon as possible. I was sure he would have great spiritual insights, and I was proven correct in my assumptions.

He asked us to sit in a circle inside of his sweat lodge and told us the story of the evil spirits that dwelt beneath the hills (I shall have to record the full story in another account). The miners awoke them from their sleep and now they were active in the world of men once more. And then something happened that I can barely recall, let alone write. I shall do my best to record it. The medicine man began a chant and a dance unlike any I have seen before. Then, I do not know how to render it in words, my head exploded. It felt like that at least. When I came to, he was stomping on some horrible insect upon the floor of the hut. It was an evil spirit, called Shan that had dwelt inside my very mind, twisting me to its foul bidding. Mr. Smythe and Volker both looked physically ill at the scene. The holy man told us that many at the camp were host to such evil parasites and taught us the song to combat them.

We returned to the camp and set about trying to force any Shan from Mr. Wallace if he was infected by one. In an awkward scene we convinced him to let us show him what we learned, dancing and singing the song we had learned. Unfortunately, we did it incorrectly and had to do it again before Mr. Wallace could get away. The next time it was flawless and, to everyone’s shock a Shan spirit burst out of Wallace’s forehead (without leaving a mark) and the man fainted away. The creature was hideous, glowing a strange blue with many legs and eyes, it flew around at great speeds. Volker and Graeme were horrified and shot at the bug with their pistols, but it was too quick for them. Finally, someone managed to smash it with a broken chair leg. After the sound of gunfire and Mr. Wallace’s state of unconsciousness, many miners were suspicious of us. We tried to explain that there were snakes, but it seemed that many did not believe us. However, they did not question us further and we all retired to bed, which is where I am reading this now. I am exhausted, but almost too frightened to sleep. What if the shan come back and get in my head again.

3/25/1928

I am writing this on the train back east towards home. Graeme and Volker are both feeling quite ill, and I fear they may have been effected by the disease that had stricken many of the miners, and I only hope that they recover. However, I am sure that spiritually they feel much better, as I do, for we have put an end to the terrors of the Black Hills.

The night we drove the shan from Mr. Wallace, we heard some activity in the camp late at night. Investigating we found a group of miners secretly transporting supplies. Following them surreptitiously we discovered that they traveled to a hidden mine entrance about a mile from the camp. There they unloaded a lot of ore- must be that pitchblende. In the morning we explored the place and found that it went deep into the mountainside, a mile or more underground. There we found the home of the shan, a huge glowing pyramid structure. It filled me with terror and I suddenly realized the illness of the other miners; this place had emanations that were not healthy for humans and I insisted we leave that instant. As we were escaping we encountered several of the terrible shan spirits! They attacked us and one struck me with a ray of light in projected, incapacitating me with terrible pain, worse then any I have ever felt! Fortunately Volker and Graeme were able to avail themselves of the heavy shovels we brought with a crushed the evil insects. Escaping from the horrid pit, we collapsed the mine entrance with the ample dynamite left nearby. How convenient! Returning to camp, we spoke to Mr. Wallace who had recovered by that time and he informed us that, after the explosion several miners all collapsed (each part of the secret errand of the previous night) and some claimed they saw some kind of insect nearby. Our measures were enough to force the shan from their hosts, but I fear they are still out there. Thankfully we are on the way home now.

4/10/1928
I have received word from the New York hospital that both Volker and Mr. Smythe have recovered from their inexplicable illnesses, though it seems that both have temporarily lost all of their hair. Radiation poisoning they called it. Very rare, very mysterious!

Cowboys, Spaceships, or Cthulhu?

The Age of Worms campaign has but one session left and then it will be wrapped up. With it we will be wrapping up the general D&D campaign that has been going for almost 15 years. Quite an achievement, and certainly one worthy of praise.

But looking to the future I don't want to stop gaming on Sundays. It seems to be a pretty reliable day where nothing else goes on, so why not keep going with something? I can find no reason to not. That does leave us with the question of what to do now, however.

In answer to that question I have three possibilities. I'll outline each in brief:

1. Deadlands: I've got a couple of Deadlands scenarios I'd like to do to wrap up that campaign completely. Probably four or five sessions at most, so not terribly long. New characters welcome, as well as the existing posse.

2. Traveler GURPS: I have been itching to play a space game for quite a long time. This would be a GURPS campaign set in the Traveler: Interstellar War setting. It would have a very Firefly-esque feel to it, but would probably take the route of freelancer traders/smugglers in a wide galaxy dominated by an imperialistic regime at odds with the Terran Federation. Unknown campaign length as of now, but I envision it being more open and freestyle than others.

3. Day of the Beast: We started my Call of Cthulhu campaign a few weeks ago on a Friday, and the original idea was to play it on Fridays when we weren't playing Star Wars. Well, we seem to be playing Star Wars most weeks and the weeks we're not there's something going on occupying most of the people's time. So we could move it to Sundays as a regular game. About twelve sessions in total is what I anticipate.

So - cowboys, spaceships, or Cthulhu? What's the vote?

The Journal of Theodore Wilson Burns, vol 1.

This is the personal diary of one Theo W. Burns, student at Miskatonic University, a record of the "Day of the Beast" campaign, of which the first session was January 30, 2009.

5/30/1927

Another semester completed. I am beginning to enjoy my choice of Ancient Greek as my new course of study; much more dignified than English. The Greeks always were wise in matters of the spirit. Explains the majesty of their mythology as such a primal force in human culture. Madame Dulagi’s consultation was hopeful today, and it echoes my own reading of the cards.

7/8/1927

A perfect opportunity to further my explorations of the occult has opened to me! In the Arkham paper, I came upon an advertisement that invited those interested to “experience the supernatural.” For the nominal fee of fifty dollars, I could finally put first hand knowledge of these subjects behind all of the books I have studying so avidly. For so long, I have felt certain that mystical ideas are hidden behind the façade of the mundane, that humans have abilities that the stolid businessman and the scientist scoff at. Oh, if the gray citadels of temporal power are correct and the universe remains the sole domain of the “jealous God” and we have only to keep to the path and not question, then the world will remain as dead to me as the November skies of my northern homeland. If even worse, as the skeptics purport, the universe is under the sole custodianship of blind chance and the idiot rule of pure natural law, than all life is meaningless and without reason at all. Such a thing I cannot accept! We humans are gifted with wonderful eyes for the symbolic, and as Jung and Fraser have shown, these themes remain remarkably consistent through the world.
In short, what some would dismiss as a mere “haunted house,” well, in it I see a total confirmation of my beliefs! I could never pass up such an opportunity! It is scheduled to be held in a small Massachusetts village. Next week, I shall travel to New York City to meet Paul Lamont, the acclaimed spiritualist who will be guiding us on this endeavor.

7/12/1927

I have arrived at Carrington House and I am impressed both with the house and with the famed spiritualist Paul Lamont. He appears to be a gentleman of unquestionable honor and if what he says is correct, he has a rare skill with communicating with the afterlife. His agent on the other hand is a most disagreeable sort, the kind of annoying toad of a man that gives critics of the mystical arts call to condemn the lot of them. He is a self absorbed, greedy nitwit of a man interested only in his own fame. I don’t know what Paul is thinking for working with him, but I will try not to let his ill presence interrupt my appreciation of the mysteries.

The Carrington House itself certainly looks like a place where the spirits of the dead can communicate with the living. Several hundred years old, it has long been the host of unexplainable apparitions, our host George Carrington attesting to them himself. His family owns the house, but his is not a man taken to flights of fancy. Ah, tonight’s séance promise to be most interesting. Perhaps only half as interesting, though, as Cecelia, the most beautiful member of the female species that ever I have laid eyes on! Oh, Cecelia, forever more will the acrid odor of harsh European tobacco be associated for me with the pangs of love! A young lady of the most sensitive and sophisticated nature, I feel a kindred spirit with Cecelia. We both share the pain of lost loved ones, and are both deeply interested in the unseen world as well. If all goes well, I shall propose to Cecelia when the opportunity presents itself.
I should mention the other members of our little party as well. There is a strange artist, Junker. German, I think. His work seems very skilled, but of the recognizable style of the New Objectivity, not to my taste. He seems a good sort though, as I definitely feel akin to artists of all types. Then there is a mysterious older woman by the name of Audrey. She is quiet and rarely associates with the rest of us. She is one to watch I think. Finally, there is Graeme, a common and annoying man. He appears to have little knowledge or interest in the occult at all. It is a mystery to me as to why he is here, but he seems to stick his nose into everything. It is very vexing. Definitely should end here for now, I hear dinner is being called. Our host’s housekeeper has been esteemed for her cooking and I haven’t eaten anything all day!

Later

Tonight’s séance was far more than I ever could have hoped! As soon as John began, he quickly got into contact with a spirit; it proved to be none other than our host’s young sister, who died in the house. He was quite beside himself with unbidden memories at her easily recognized voice. I have never seen such a successful channeling. However, our young guest was frightened herself by the appearance of another apparition, this one in the physical! Graeme was strangely affected and ran upstairs to an empty room, where the air had become unnaturally cold. It was at least 40 degrees in there, and in the middle of July! Here, at John’s suggestion we performed another séance and this time he got into contact with another spirit! This was that of an old Puritan woman who called herself Catherine. She claimed to be protecting the house from some kind of demon spawn and seemed much less pleasant than the little girl. I think that devotion to such a savage and crude religion as the Congregational church could certainly keep an angry spirit here on this plane (in fact, they burnt a witch in this very town!). Catherine claimed to have murdered a child to keep the Devil at bay. How horrific, such a self deluded spirit. It is no wonder she clings to this world.

7/13/1927

What a strange night! While I was having trouble sleeping in the spooky old house, I heard a noise from deep in the house. I summoned the others before we investigated, discovering old Margaret the housekeeper in the basement carrying an axe! I am concerned that she may be being affected by the house. She did do us the favor of bringing our attention to a strange locked door in the basement, behind which we found some profoundly disturbing evidence. A nail was found to ooze spectral blood. Even worse, a human skeleton was unearthed in the corner. Audrey was able to determine it as a child, the cause of death being blunt force trauma to the head (she is quite knowledgeable about anatomy, it seems). These, no doubt, are the sad remains of Catherine’s young victim. I wonder what proper procedure is in this case. Should we notify the authorities? It is nearly breakfast, after which Cecelia and I will take a walk into the village to see if we might be able to find out more about the history of the Carrington house.

Afternoon

Much was discovered in the records of the old church in town, coupled with some documents we have found in the Carrington house itself. I believe I am beginning to peace together the tragic history of the house. Built for Catherine’s husband, the childless colonial woman claimed the son of an executed witch for her own, later going mad and killing him as she believed he had his mother’s “curse.” After her death, she stayed on in the house and later drove others mad, including George Carrington’s sister, whom she forced to commit suicide in the belief she too was a witch. Tonight we shall attempt to contact the spirit of the murdered boy. Oh, and Margaret continues to act strangely; her meals are not up to normal standards. She may be in spiritual danger.

Late

Tonight we were not able to accomplish much; Paul Lamont is physically drained from his encounters with the spirit realm. We cannot ask much more of him, he has earned our money and more. We can only hope now to put some of these poor spirits to rest. The young boy seems to be especially difficult to contact. Tomorrow shall be the last day of our visit, so I hope we are able to succeed.

7/14/1927, very early

Another long night; again Margaret was found wandering the house with an axe, muttering to herself. Audrey put her on some medication, so I hope her episodes are over. I do believe that the spirit of Catherine is having a malign influence on her. In the morning I shall propose we attempt to force the Puritan ghost from the house.

Later in the Day

The day has proved to be the most event and successful we have had; all are satisfied by Paul Lamont’s wonderful gifts (save for his agent, who selfishly wanted to keep the house “haunted”) and we are all linked in our spiritual accomplishments. The morning started when Paul attempted to contact the boy, succeeding! He answered our questions through knocking and he and George’s sister appear to be friends in the world of the dead. They both have an undying fear of Catherine, and imply that she is always near. We determined to rid the house of her malign influence and we all joined our thoughts to forcing her to move onto her final rest, Paul’s mind linking with ours. Without warning Margaret came bursting through the room as we were near to completing our task, attempting to strike Greame with an axe. He attempted to defend himself with a pistol, but fortunately missed as Catherine’s evil ghost was forced from the old housekeeper leaving her in control of her actions once more. It was a miracle no one was injured, but all fear was extinguished when we saw the graceful spirits of the two murdered children dissipate gratefully into their final reward. I feel that we did a very good thing in helping these restless ghosts to move along in their spiritual progression. I have never felt more accomplished in my life, Lamont has helped to show me how right I was in holding that the world held great spiritual power. I can only imagine what wonders he will lead us to next!

Cecilia has agreed to visit me Arkham as well, so I am nearly floating on a cloud right now. I cannot remember when I last was so happy, probably not since mother and father died. Perhaps I can finally improve myself to the place I know I should be.

Call of Cthulhu: Day of the Beast

I'd like to start up a new Call of Cthulhu campaign for Fridays when we're not playing Star Wars. The campaign is "Day of the Beast" - a more traditional Cthulhu campaign, rather than the action-pulp oriented "Complete Masks of Nyarlathotep". It's not terribly long either, probably about 12 sessions in total give or take a few.

The campaign begins in July of 1927. Create an investigator who would be attracted to the following New York City newspaper ad:

"Experience the Supernatural!

Responsible persons of both intrepid and open-minded nature are invited to join famed New York spiritualist in a weekend of observation, investigation, and verification of a haunted house in New England. Contact with the spirit world is guaranteed. Not for the faint of heart. No experience necessary.

Write Box G 28 New York
* $50 fee, inclusive of full catering and transport to the site"

Characters of all types are welcome to join. This campaign will span several years in game time, and there exists the possibility of death and madness 'round nearly every corner. We'll be using the traditional Call of Cthulhu BRP system - it's just simpler that way, and I've never had a chance to use that system.

Call of Cthulhu - Walker in the Wastes

I'm going to be starting the Pagan Publishing campaign "Walker in the Wastes" soon (like Saturday?) for something to do on Saturday afternoons. I'll be using the standard Call of Cthulhu rules, so character creation is a breeze, and I'll have player packets available when we start for investigator ideas.

The hook for the campaign is all investigators are members of a two-year expedition to the farthest reaches of Canada, in part to study the people and nature of the area and in part to find out what happened to a previous expedition that disappeared in 1848.

Really I just need 2 players, but the more the merrier. So give a shout out if you're interested. I'll also be putting the feelers out closer to the weekend to see what peoples' plans are.

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu f'thagn!

Trail of Cthulhu Thursday

Trail of Cthulhu
Miskatonic University Expeditions

Trail of Cthulhu (which uses the Gumshoe engine) takes a lot of interesting ideas to the investigatory horror genre of gaming; I really like its take on clues, for instance. Whereas in Call of Cthulhu, one failed Spot Hidden check will make things much more difficult for both players and Keeper, in ToC the clue will be found, only the results will be left unknown. Like in CSI, the test results always come back (instead of rolling a forensics check) but conclusions must still be drawn. It also cuts down on useless or confusing scores such as Appearance and Size as well as adding more power to the character’s backgrounds. While I really like Call of Cthulhu, I want to see if I like Trail of Cthulhu better and if it suits the gaming style of our group better. I'd like to start on Thursday.

The campaign will start in Arkham in the summer of 1928. Here is the scene- the Arkham Advertiser has published an interesting story on the front page.

MU Prepares for Arctic Expedition

In Greenland, the glaciers move across the land slowly, their progress measured in centuries. One such slow moving glacier has recently revealed a great wall of stone, covered in ancient hieroglyphs that are thought to be thousands of years old. Details are still sketchy, but reports say that the massive slab of stone, which apparently protrudes from a glacier features a massive bas-relief of an ancient Eskimo god. Odd hieroglyphs surround the figure, and it is hoped that they may reveal the secrets of a civilization thousands of years old.

Professor Curtis Mathieson of Miskatonic University has recently secured permission from the Danish government to head an expedition to conduct research in the area. He has already begun to select his team, and has recalled the Darlena, a research vessel leased by the University, to carry the expedition to Greenland. Mathieson expects to have the expedition under way in mere weeks.

When asked to speculate about the origins of the wall, Mathieson said, “I am not prepared to do so at this time, although I will be happy to make a full statement when accurate research of this phenomenon has been accomplished. Suffice to say, the wall seems to be extremely ancient, and the sketches I have seen of the hieroglyphs seem to indicate that they belong to no known linguistic family.”

Mathieson is still looking to fill out Greenland research team. Individuals already selected including Doctor Henry Ethelrod, a staff member of the British Museum; Charles Granger, a graduate student at Miskatonic University; Terrence Bhule, a young though renowned anthropologist, and a team of French mountaineers under the leadership of the esteemed climber Phillippe Luvois. Currently, Professor Mathieson is interested in expanding the participants of the expedition, and urges anyone who is interested in helping (particularly Miskatonic students) to contact him at the Department of Archeology at Miskatonic University.


Trail of Cthulhu character creation is fairly simple, it should only take a few minutes, but it will be useful to have a concept ready. If you want, you could remake old characters (even those who might have died in CoC) to provide interesting characters in the Trail of Cthulhu universe. Here is the basic rundown of investigator creation.

Choose Occupation: Full List- Alienist, Antiquarian, Archaeologist*, Artist*, Author*, Clergy, Criminal, Dilettante*, Doctor*, Hobo, Journalist*, Military, Nurse*, Parapsychologist, Pilot, Police Detective, Private Investigator, Professor*, Scientist* (asterisks indicate occupations better suited to the adventure)

The occupation will determine skills, special abilities, and credit rating.

Choose Drive: Adventure, Antiquarianism, Arrogance, Artistic Sensitivity, Bad Luck, Curiosity, Duty, Ennui, Follower, In the Blood, Revenge, Scholarship, Sudden Shock, Thirst for Knowledge.

This will provide a concrete reason why your character would be interested in pursing investigation of the Mythos and is based on your investigator’s backstory and occupation. You can be as specific as you like. Failing to pursue your drive may result in Stability loss (explained later).

Next, you spend build points on abilities, making sure the party has a wide variety of skills.

Finally you choose your Pillar(s) of Sanity (an abstract principle your investigator implicitly believes in, such as a religion, family values, scientific progress, or whatever) and your Source(s) of Stability (a person or people who keeps you sane when things get bad). Last, you can choose to write about any other contacts your investigator might have.

Here are some character ideas for the campaign.

Archeologist- another archeologist would be welcomed on the expedition.

Artist- a painter, sculptor, or photographer would be needed on the trip to keep visual records of the sights, and a student artist might need the school credits or excuse to see such beautiful and exotic sights as the arctic.

Author- like an artist, may be a student or simply a interested party who might accompany the expedition to keep records or simply find inspiration.

Dilettante- a great way for a wealthy student to escape parental control during the summer, and to brag to the guys/gals in the club, as aiding an archeological expedition could be quite an adventure.

Doctor/Nurse- a doctor or nurse, or even a medical student would be very useful on an expedition in case of injury or disease, and one would be encouraged to join. Credits in a social science may also be useful to a pre-med or nursing student as well.

Journalist- either a journalism student working for the school paper or a professional from one of Arkham’s major newspapers (or other city) deciding to accompany the expedition for the inside scoop into its discoveries, a journalist would find themselves put to work as well by the scientists.

Professor- another professor or academic grad student could also be invited to accompany, either for their erudite knowledge on a subject or simply as brute labor in the more dirty aspects of archeology.

Scientist- a person with knowledge of a hard science, such as a geologist or biologist might also enjoy the expedition, and even an engineer might wish to test out new arctic designed motors or other technology. Students in the sciences may need humanity credits available from participating in the expedition.

Under Mound

Because "Weird Dave" will be in the midst of a transition from his apartment to a new home in the next few weeks and the majority of his stuff will go into storage making it difficult for him to run the Age of Worms temporarily, we agreed I'd step in a do a short session or two scenario for the Call of Cthulhu RPG. Here is the setting info;

Under Mound

This is a short Call of Cthulhu campaign set in Mound, MN in contemporary times. I find that to truly bring the horror of the setting closer to home, nothing beats actually setting it at home, as it were. Even the seemingly boring town of Mound has dark and terrible secrets that will destroy the lives and sanity of the normal, everyday people who happen to stumble upon them, their knowledge bringing terrible insight into the very nature not only of an insignificant lake town in the western Twin Cities but the entire universe. This will be a very freeform campaign based on what you as players do and your characters. Depending on your decisions, any number of dark secrets and events could take place, and even I'm not sure what will happen.

Characters

Making your characters, or investigators in CoC parlance, should be a group effort. They should have a reason to, well, investigate, as well know, if not like, each other. Something mysterious happens and they find themselves trying to find out why, hence investigators. Just look at any groups of people meeting up around Mound today, even this very group! Any one of them could discover the Mythos where they least expect it all with a little curiosity or bad luck. Also, think of what your investigator would be like if you bumped into them, say, down at SA or something.

Here are some examples off of the top of my head for group concepts; these are just ideas, so feel free to come up with anything you can think of, so don't feel confined;

High School/Middle school students/teachers, a gaming group (or other hobby group), clerks (video rental, liquor store, etc.), Scout troop, Church group (Our Lady, St. John's, etc.), group of elderly people (fishers, crafters, etc.), plumbers/computer repair (other professionals), Historical Society members, a local TV show star back home with their entourage, or funeral home employees.

Of course many of these could mixed and matched as well- a Church group could also be interested in fishing, or gaming group could be made up of video store employees. For instance, a dentist might know a young family who has just moved into town, one of which is a grand child of a historical society member.

The most important things to ask in Call of Cthulhu are about your characters life; these are just as important as your stats, so add a least of sentence of thought into them.

Who are you? Where do you live? Who are your friends and family? Where do you work? What is your relationship to the supernatural? What is your personality like? And so on.

I'll bring all needed equipment for you to make your characters this Thursday. I may be able to put a short scenario together as well. Hopefully, I can manage a bit of atmosphere and make it a pleasurably chilling experience!

Ia Cthulhu!