I had previously played an intro adventure for Call of Cthulhu, although I haven't blogged about it. This was something else - as far as I gathered, a simplified, or rather more streamlined version of the system more focused on the mystery and investigation part. Not that I had any idea of what I was getting into... all I heard was "Who wants to play something something Cthulhu?"!
Adventurers:
- Fran - author, wealthy single woman
- Eugene - criminal turned baseball player, black
- Brad - bible salesman turned baseball player, black *me*
- Alex - doctor, looking for adventure
- Amanda - journalist
- Lian - photographer, asian woman
So in short, a band of outliers and misfits in a racist, sexist 1930's America. Except of course the doctor, whose player made a point of spewing as many hurtful stereotypes as humanly possible. On to the adventure!
Fran had been invited to investigate a haunting, and placed an ad in a newspaper to gather like-minded investigators. We had answered the call. As we were heading out in her automobile, driven by her faithful Woodrow, on the night[1] of March the 20th, we were flagged down by a policeman waving a flashlight. This already smelled of trouble, as the two baseball players noticed a large shadow flying overhead.
Our car stops and Woodrow gets out. A flying monster swoops in, swipes at the policeman, grabs Woodrow and flies away. Stability checks for the two of us who knew to expect trouble.
As soon as we recovered, we got out of the car to investigate. The policeman was previously shot and was bleeding, but the monster killed him in one hit. We took his gun and flashlight, and proceeded to the nearby farmhouse emanating light.
We were greeted by a scene of carnage. A large number of animals had been sacrificed in front of the barn, with unholy symbols written in blood all over.[2] Also a police car with one man dead inside, shot through the windshield. We took more guns and flashlights, and investigated the house. We creeped through the darkened house, checking unused, dirty rooms as well as used and dirty rooms, smelly sheets and a moldy kitchen.
Satisfied of nothing at our backs, we entered the single lit room - the study of a madman. More candles, blood, animal body parts. At least here we discovered some useful clues as well. The resident of the farmhouse, one guy called Crane, had gone mad studying a copy of the Necronomicon. His research led him to believe that our driver Woodrow was a direct descendant of the author, one 10th century Abdul al-Hasred.[3] He had prepared two rituals: one to summon a dark servitor, and one to summon an ancestor into the body of a descendant. Pretty clear so far, he had called Fran to access Woodrow and clarify things with the author of the book. The twist: he had mistranslated the second spell, and would kill not only our driver, but al-Hasred as well, in his own time![4]
Finally, I made myself useful by identifying a map leading to a nearby quarry through a shortcut. We hopped back into the car and I drove there. Surprising noone, the quarry was crisscrossed with copper wires and baleful energy was rising at its center, next to a figure tied down and another chanting. We noticed the monster flying about as well. What now?
Well, get into the action, that's what. Fran drove us down into the quarry, completely wrecking the car but at least making it in time. In my arrogance, I jumped out, only to be immediately assaulted by the faceless humanoid dragon.[5] Fortunately, it only managed to grab me. Eugene hit it with a baseball bat, and I shot at it point-blank with my trusty shotgun.[6] It flew away, squawking. I kept watching the skies, while the others rushed the two figures. Alex knocked out the chanting Crane, thus incapacitating him and ending the ritual. Happy ending for all involved, except perhaps the slightly unhinged adventuring party.
All in all, a very fun game session. The system was simple enough to quickly grasp the basics, and the setting was insanely[7] fun - with the proper amount of roleplaying. Follow-up? Maybe!
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