Issue 7

May-June, 1997

Free!

Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Contributors Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Down to New England Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Bet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12

Wonko Goes Ghostbusting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

STRANGE VISTAS SUBMISSION REQUEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17

History for the Fallen Empire Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20

Random Universes

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Random Universes

Down to New England Town(CoC)

By Michael C. LaBossiere
Ontologist@aol.com
Call of Cthulhu

1997

Legal Information
This adventure is copyright 1997 by Dr. Michael C. LaBossiere. It may be freely distributed for
personal use provided that it is not modified and no fee above the normal cost of distribution is charged
for it. Visit the Opifex Phoenix web site at http://user.aol.com/ontologist/web/opifex.anchor.html.
Call of Cthulhu is Chaosium Inc's registered trademark for their game of horror and wonder in the
worlds of HP Lovecraft. For more information, contact Chaosium Inc., 950-A 56th St, Oakland, CA
94608 -- or call us at 510-547-7681. Visit Chaosium's web page at
http://www.sirius.com/~chaosium/chaosium.html.

Introduction
The investigators will be driving through a small New England town on their way to some other place
when they will encounter a police road block. There will be two police cars and four officers. They are
armed with 9mm pistols. They are stopping every car and are searching it carefully. When the
Investigators reach their turn, one of them will recognize Officer Jennifer Hansen (she went to high
school with the investigator and they were friends for a while). She will tell the investigator the
following: Its the oddest thing. Old Roger Colwin passed away recently. You know him, hes the guy
that wrote those horror movies a while back. His funeral was set for the other day, but they found the
church broken into and his body gone. Roger was going to be buried with all his jewelry and its worth
quite a bit. The chief thinks someone stole the body. (insert the name of one of the investigators
contacts) told me you were into this sort of weird stuff. You could pick a reward if you can help us
out. If the investigators decline, she will check the car in a cursory manner and let them go. If they
accept, she will tell them to go see the chief.

Meeting the Chief

The police station is an old house that also serves as the city offices. In addition to Hansen and
Chipman, there are four other officers in the town. The chief, Dale Chipman, is a likable man in his mid
forties who speaks in a heavy New England accent. If the Investigators talk to him, he will tell them
some of what he knows. His story is the same as that of Officer Hansen, except the chief tells the
investigators that the body was probably stolen out of the town church, where it was kept before the
funeral. If the Investigators ask about what the police found, he will say that didnt find any useful
clues. If an investigator with psychology skill makes an average roll, he or she will be aware that the
chief is holding something back. If the Investigators are able to persuade him into talking or he thinks he
can trust them, he will tell them that the footprints of large dogs or wolves were found around the
church. He will also tell them that this isnt the first disappearance of a corpse. There have been six
other such disappearances from the church and the local funeral parlor. In most of the cases, the tracks
of large dogs or wolves were found in the dirt near the buildings.

Checking for Clues

If the Investigators decide to check out the church, they will find that there are numerous prints that
seem to be of large dogs or wolves. If an investigator with tracking skill checks the tracks carefully
(and makes his or her tracking skill roll) he or she will learn that while the tracks are dog like, they

Random Universes

were made by man sized creatures walking on two legs. The door to the church has been forced open. A
successful check using an investigators Spot Hidden skill will indicate that the investigator has spotted
a log in the nearby bushes. The log was apparently used as a battering ram. There are some hairs
caught on the log and if they are analyzed at the nearest hospital (about a twenty minute drive) they
will turn out to hairs from no known creature. If the Investigators try to follow the tracks, they will
lose them when they reach the tar road.

To Catch a Crook
If the players dont come up with a plan, the chief will
say Well, I guess we could always wait until somebody
dies and then hide in the church to catch the crook. He
will then come up with a plan. Once he gets permission
from Harvey Carnnet, he will have the local paper post
that Harvey has died and that he will be buried with his
valuable collection of antique scrimshaw. Harvey will go
into hiding prior to the announcement. The Chief will
bring the Investigators in on it . The Investigators, the
chief, and one other officer will hide in the church and
wait for something to happen.
Slightly after midnight, those in the church will hear
something sniffing around outside, and then they will
hear scratching at the door. As they turn to watch the
door, a pack of ghouls will burst through the windows to
attack. If more than half the ghouls are wounded or a
quarter of them are killed, they will flee into the night.
If the Investigators pursue, they will see them head into
the graveyard. Since it has rained recently, the ghouls
will leave easy to follow tracks in the mud. These
tracks will lead up to a stone slab (it weighs 50 kg). If
the slab is removed, a narrow tunnel into the darkness
will be visible and a horrid stench of decay will waft forth. The ghouls will be waiting in ambush in their
warrens and will fight to the death.
If the Investigators do not go along with the chiefs plan, or they come up with one of their own, the
results are left up to the referee.

Ghoul Warren Map

The ghoul warrens consist of tunnels large enough for man sized creatures and larger chambers. The
warrens are unlit and smell like a well ripened grave.
1. Entrance:

The entrance consists of a tunnel shorn up with wood and slabs of stone.

2. Chamber 1:
This chamber, like the others, is shorn up with logs, stone slabs, and hunks of coffins.
There are animal bones strewn about in this chamber. The younger ghouls use this area. There are
initially four younger ghouls in this chamber.
3. Chamber 2:
This chamber is used by the older ghouls. There is a mix of animal and human bones
(all well gnawed) on the floor. There will initially be five older ghouls in the chamber.
4. Chamber 3:
This chamber is used by the ghoul leader. All the bones in the chamber are human.
Many of the bones have been pressed into the walls in patterns and Colwins jewelry has been inserted
among the bones. There are seven pieces of jewelry, ranging in value from $5,000-25,000. There is

Random Universes

10

only one leader.

Finish
If the investigators kill the ghouls, they should receive a 1D6 Sanity Point award. Further, the
chief will be extremely pleased and will become a useful contact for them. He has several good friends
in the FBI and will be sure to tell them how the investigators helped him out. In addition, if the
investigators return the jewelry, they will receive a reward of $15,000 from Colwins daughter who
came to town for her fathers funeral. She will also be grateful for their help. She has contacts in the
movie industry and has inherited her fathers wealth (it runs in the millions) . She may be willing to
become a patron for the investigators in their fight against the Dark Conspiracy. If the investigators
keep the jewelry, Colwins daughter will thank them for solving the mystery and may be willing to
become their patron, unless of course, she learns that they have stolen her fathers jewelry. In such a
situation, she will have them arrested. If the ghouls defeat the investigators, any survivors should lose
1D4 Sanity Points. In this case, more ghouls will come into the area and they may eventually become
bold enough to attack and kill the townspeople one night.

NPCs
Officer Jennifer Hansen
STR: 12 Con: 14 SIZ: 10 INT: 12 POW: 11 DEX: 13 APP: 13 EDU: 17 SAN: 55 HP: 12 DB: 0
Skills: Fast Talk 25%, First Aid 35%, Law 23%, Handgun 45%, Shotgun 41%, Nightstick 50%, Listen
39%, Drive Automobile 55%, Martial Arts 32%
Weapons: 9mm 45% Damage 1D10 Range 20 yards Shots/Rd 3 Shots 17 HP 8,
12 Gauge Shotgun 41% Damage 4D6/2D6/1D6 Range 10/20/50 Shots/Rd 1 Shots: 8 HP 10,
Nightstick 50% Damage 1D6 HP 15
Description: Hansen is a young woman who is in good shape. She has red hair, green eyes and a somber
lok. She was an officer in Boston for three years, but moved to Maine after her marriage fell apart
(her husband, whom she was putting through law school, was chetaing on her). She does not believe in
the supernatural, but is brave and will be willing to aid the investigators.
Chief Dale Chipman
STR: 14 Con: 13 SIZ: 14 INT: 13 POW: 13 DEX: 11 APP: 11 EDU: 18 SAN: 65 HP: 14 DB: +1D4
Skills: Fast Talk 35%, First Aid 42%, Law 43%, Handgun 55%, Shotgun 51%, Nightstick 41%, Listen
45%, Drive Automobile 65%, Ride 55%
Weapons: 9mm 55% Damage 1D10 Range 20 yards Shots/Rd 3 Shots 17 HP 8,
12 Gauge Shotgun 51% Damage 4D6/2D6/1D6 Range 10/20/50 Shots/Rd 1 Shots: 8 HP 10,
Nightstick 41 % Damage 1D6+1D4 HP 15
Description: Chipman is a large, quiet man in his mid 40s. He was an officer in New York city for
several years, but returned home to Maine after the violence and unending crime burned him out.
Chipman is very intelligent and prefers to think before acting. He does not really believe in the
supernatural, but his in the Big Apple taught him that just about anything can happen. If the
investigators are cooperative, he will be willing to work with them.
Typical Officer
STR: 12 Con: 12 SIZ: 11 INT: 12 POW: 11 DEX: 12 APP: 10 EDU: 16 SAN: 55 HP: 12 DB: 0
Skills: Fast Talk 22%, First Aid 30%, Law 15%, Handgun 35%, Shotgun 35%, Nightstick 35%, Listen
35%, Drive Automobile 40%, Martial Arts 15%
Weapons: 9mm 35% Damage 1D10 Range 20 yards Shots/Rd 3 Shots 17 HP 8,
12 Gauge Shotgun 35% Damage 4D6/2D6/1D6 Range 10/20/50 Shots/Rd 1 Shots: 8 HP 10,
Nightstick 35% Damage 1D6 HP 15
Description: The typical security officer is between 20 and 40 years of age, in fair physical condition,

Random Universes

11

and of average intelligence. Most of the officers do not really believe in the supernatural.

Mythos Creatures
New England Ghoul, Lesser Independent Race
Characteristics

Rolls

Averages

STR

3D6+8

18-19

23

21

19

18

20

15

CON

2D6+8

15

18

15

17

16

14

16

SIZ

2D6+8

15

19

14

18

20

17

18

INT

3D6

10-11

12

10

12

10

15

POW

3D6

10-11

14

11

12

13

DEX

3D6

10-11

12

10

14

12

13

11

Move 9

HP 15

19

15

18

18

15

17

Damage Bonus

+1D6

+2D6

+1D6

+1D6

+1D6

+1D6

+1D6

Average Damage Bonus: +1D6

Weapons: Claws 40%, damage 1d6+1+DB
Bite: 40%, damage 1D6+1+automatic worry.
Armor: Firearms and other piercing projectile weapons do half rolled damage.
Spells: None.
Skills: Burrow 80%, Climb 85%, Hide 60%, Jump 75%, Listen 70%, Scent Dead Body 65%, Sneak
80%, Spot Hidden 50%
Sanity Loss: 0/1D6 Sanity points to see a New England Ghoul.
Description
New England Ghouls are loathsome beings that are believed to be an even more degenerate and animal
like relative of the common ghoul. These ghouls are relatively new to the surface world, having
dwelt for untold centuries scavenging hideous corpses in the subterranean realm under the earth. Now
that they have come to the surface, they have found that they have a taste for dead humans. While they
generally prefer to gather already dead bodies, but they are not adverse to killing humans. They will,
however, let a corpse age a bit before feasting on it. Given their feeding habits, they are generally
found near graveyards, funeral homes, and hospitals.
New England Ghouls are intelligent, but they are not known to have their own technology. They will,
however use human tools and are skilled at constructing underground lairs. New England Ghouls have
been known to deal with some degenerate and wicked humans, primarily by exchanging valuables in
return for corpses.
In combat, New England Ghouls rip at their victims with their claws and rip with their wolf like fangs.
Thus, a ghoul can make up to three attacks each round. If a ghoul strikes with both paws and bites in a
round, it can hold the victim and rip at him with its teeth. Such attacks succeed automatically and
inflict 1D4 each round. To break away, the victim must match his STR against the ghouls STR.

Random Universes

12

The Bet 1997

By Michael C. LaBossiere
Ontologist@aol.com
Dark Conspiracy
Legal Information
This item is not authorized or endorsed by Tantalus Inc. and is used without permission. The item is
for personal use only. Any use of Tantalus Inc.'s copyrighted material or trademarks in this file
should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition,
this item cannot
be republished or distributed without the consent of the author.

Introduction
At some point the PCs will be short on cash and will be looking for a quick source of money. A PC will
come across an ad that attracts their attention. This ad claims that the person placing it has a real
haunted house that no one can stay a full night in without fleeing in terror. The owner is so sure of this
that he is willing to match any amount of money at 5 to 1 (for each dollar the person puts up, hell
match it with five). The ad has a number at which the person may be reached.
If a PC calls the number, the phone will be answered by a woman who say Haunted House
Enterprises, how may I help you? If the PCs want to make a bet, she will tell them that there will be
an event this weekend and that they are to come to the office to make the arrangement.
If the PCs go to the office, they will find it to be well appointed, with several secretaries and
officers. They will be asked to have a seat while they fill out forms and sign liability waivers (which
makes Haunted House Enterprises responsible for nothing that happens to the PCs while they are in the
house). Once they get the forms completed, they can place their bets. Haunted House Enterprises
accepts cash, money orders, and major credit cards. They do not accept personal checks from first
time customers.

A Little Checking
If the PCs decide to check up on Haunted House Enterprises, they will find it to be entirely above
board. It began ten years ago when the companys founder, Nathan Paskin, inherited the house from his
uncle. The house has always had a dark reputation and several people have been killed or have
committed suicide within its walls (none since Haunted House Enterprises has taken over, however).
Further checking will reveal several news stories about the house and the business. Most of the photos
and films show terrified people fleeing the house. There are, however, no photos of the inside (no
cameras or other recording devices are allowed in the house).

Haunted House Map

The house is a very frightening structure, its windows like the eyes of an empty skull. Looking at it
gives rise to a feeling of fear in people. This is all the result of cleverly concealed images and patterns
in the paint of the house that have been carefully designed to trigger a fear response in people. A roll
against one quarter of a persons observation skill (if they announce they are examining the house
carefully) will reveal these patterns. The rooms inside the house also have similar modifications.
Everything is set up in an extremely subtle manner to disturb the human psyche. These modifications
will make people edgy and nervous. Further the lighting is set up so that it always seems like things are
moving in the corner of ones vision.The same roll is required to spot the other modifications inside as
the roll required to spot the exterior modifications. If these modifications are spotted and the Haunted
House Enterprises representative is told about them. he will say that they are the work of the spirits.
Since there is no way to prove that HHE is guilty of modifying the house (there are, in fact, no records

Random Universes

13

of such modifications being made anywhere), there is little

the PCs can do. HHE will not refund their bet and if they
leave, they lose.
The houses windows and external door are equipped with
sensors which set off extremely load sirens if someone
attempts to open them once the event is in progress. There
are also infrared cameras set up around the house. All of
these systems are run by a respected security company.

Basement
1.

Basement
1. Main basement area:
of old mold and mildew.

2.

The basement is dark and smells

3.

2. Storage Area:
This area contains a portable generator
and two cans of fuel for it.
3. Furnace:
This area contains the furnace, water heater
and so forth. The furnace is kept running.

First Floor

First Floor
1. Kitchen:
The kitchen is stocked with food and has slightly
outdated, but usable appliances.

1.

2.

2. Living Room:
This room is well furnished and has deep
shadows which seem to move.
3. Dining Room:
The dining room has a large oak table with
a dark spot on its surface with a knife mark in the center. The
HHE representative will say that Martin Jones killed his wife
on the table (this is true). The walls of the room are
decorated with animal heads. The heads seem somehow wrong
(they have also been modified) and the lighting makes them
seem to move when they are seen out of the corner of ones
eyes.
4.Bathroom:
A standard bathroom. The pipes have been set
to produce eerie gurgling noises.

4.
3.
5.

Second Floor

1.

4.

2.

5.

1,2,4,5 Bedroom:
Each bedroom has two single beds, a
dresser, desk and so forth. The floorboards have been set to
3.
creak when walked on. The rooms are also lit so that it
appears that shadows move around. The trees near the house
have been grown so that they scrape against it when the wind blows.

6.

5. Laundry Room:

A standard laundry room.

Second Floor

3, 6 Bathroom:

Each is a full bath, set up like the downstairs bathroom.

The Event Begins

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The PCs will be picked up in the early evening of the day they are to stay in the house by a van driven
by a HHE employee. There will be three others in the van. One is a Bloodkin Vampire who is posing as a
beautiful model who needs the money to revive her career. One is a corporate security guard name
Bruce Huntington (use the stats for security guard) and the other is an Eco-Warrior named Jill Weston
(use the eco-warrior stats). She is posing as a college student seeking tuition money, but she is
actually trying to get enough money to purchase black market explosives to blow up a chemical factory.
The PCs will be brought to the house. There they will be searched for cameras and weapons. All such
items will be taken for safe keeping and returned later. The PCs and NPCs will be joined by a HHE
representative who will conduct them into the house. The HHE representative will then leave. He will go
to an area behind a clump of trees where an underground chamber is concealed.
During the course of the evening, the HHE representative, a highly empathetic human, will use his
project emotion ability to instill fear into each person and project thought to motivate them to flee. The
Power Level of this tasks is generated by the following formula: Empaths Skill + 1D6 +1 per hour
spent in the house -Targets willpower. This is due to the environment of the house.
The empath will use his abilities to create images of ghosts and moving objects in the minds of those
present. He will, however, be extremely careful not to allow anyone come to harm.

Things Go Wrong
During the night, the PC with the highest empathy rating will have a strange feeling. Immediately
afterwards, the images and fear will increase in intensity and they will become horrible and disturbing.
The Trollkin Vampire that has entered masquerading as a participant has killed the HHE representative.
It will continue to generate fear in the participants, feeding on their fear before killing them and feeding
on their blood. It will continue until it is stopped or kills or drives everyone away. If the PCs flee, the
Bloodkin will join the HHE staff and feed on those participating in the bet. More of its kind will
eventually infiltrate and take over HHE and turn the house into their feeding ground. Dealing with the
Bloodkin Vampire will be extremely difficult. The only available weapons are the knifes in the kitchen
and pieces of furniture and the fuel in the basement, which could be used to create molotov cocktails.
Bloodkin Vampire
Strength: 4 Education: 3
Move: 3/9/16/32
Constitution: 7
Charisma: 12 Skill/Dam: 8/1D10
Agility: 9
Empathy: 15
Hits: 25/50
Intelligence: 8
Initiative: 6
#Appear: 1
Special: It is treated as having an overall armor value of 1, does not suffer double damage from head
hits, and heals quickly. See p. 214 of Dark Conspiracy.

Finish
If the PCs flee the house, they will lose the bet and the Bloodkin Vampires will eventually take over
HHE. If the PCs expose the Bloodkin Vampire and drive it away or kill it, they will be lavishly rewarded
by HHE for their actions (and to keep their mouths shut). They may even be hired on to keep watch over
the house so something like this doesnt occur again. If the PCs talk, HHE will lose business and the PCs
will be targeted by the Dark Minions since they pay close attention to the human news services.

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Wonko Goes Ghostbusting

1996-1997
By Ricardo J. Mndez,ricardo@tecapro.com
Call of Cthulhu
For some reason, people get to associate AD&D with just hack and slash and no roleplaying. I can see
how things like this can happen, since the fact that the most detailed rules in AD&D involve combat
tends to speak about the intentions of the game. But I believe that there are some simple rules that
make people start roleplaying almost automatically. Well, maybe not that simple, but worthyall the
same.

DR. ARMITAGE, I PRESUME

One problem that I won't devote a lot of time discussing are stereotypes. Every wizard wants to be
Raistlin Majere, and every professor wants to be Henry Armitage. That's fine for a start, but should
be discouraged on the long run. If not, they won't roleplay it enough, or each session will be just the
same boring deal.

I *HAVE* TO REMEMBER HIS NAME, LOOK AT MY INTELLIGENCE STAT

This is the bane of most gamemasters: stats-based play. I don't give a damn if a character has 35
out of 20 in his intelligence stat. If the player didn't pay attention to a name, the fact is lost on the
shadows of time. Even Einstein and Newton slipped on some things.
Another problem with stat-based gameplay is that if a character doesn't have the stats the player
believes he needs, he will bequite discouraged to keep on playing. "Why should I worry aboutanything?
Look at that constitution! I can't even take a bath at night without getting sick." Well, if that is so, it
should be used for roleplaying, not against it.
And if a character has a strength of 19, that is not necessarily a good thing. He might tend to break
things.

REACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS
On any game, the environment should react to what the players do. On Call of Cthulhu that's easier to
accomplish, since you can't go around merrily shooting everything in sight. But on fantasy games like
AD&D or Elric people feel inclined to deal with anything suspicious by killing it. Whacking it's freaking
head off.
What if the encounter happens in a town? Indeed, those bandits might have been trying to kill them,
but maybe people just heard the poor guy's dying screams as Wonko the Destroyer jumped up and down
on him until he didn't even go squish. Did anyone witnessed the 'self-defense act' Wonko just performed
over and over on the thief? Every city must have its guards, and those might be interested to find out
what's that gray/red stuff on Wonko's boots. Specially if they heard something. Something like an
muffled, last 'ugh'.
The point is, everything a character does should build a reputation, be it good or bad, just as it is in
the real world or as it would be on a fantasy world. Even on those, people don't have teflon memories
and things do tend to stick to them.
I believe that rule is specially important in Call of Cthulhu. Forexample, Professor Wonkling might
have a reputation that any rare occult tome from a library that falls into his hands ends up missinga
page or two. And wasn't that page were the old ritual was writtenin? Since CoC is even more close to
the real world than any fantasy game, you can't just let your characters go around the world feeling
that they can get away with murder. They could indeed, but not publicly. And should they try, you
should let them think about the consequences and let the world react about it. Which brings us to my
second point.

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THE "TO DO THINGS I CAN'T" APPROACH

A lot of players I've run into say that they are playing fantasy games to do things they can't in the
real world. While that might be a reason in Call of Cthulhu too (who wouldn't like to go against the
Crawling Chaos, huh? What? No one? Hmpf), unfortunately in fantasy games a lot of time that means
trying to do whatever they damn well please, and let the world screw itself.
If that approach is accepted by the gamemaster without any change on the way the world feel about
them, it just encourages the kill-maim-mutilate way of doing things, and roleplaying starts to get lost
amidst all the blood and guts. But let me put forward a case I had with one of my players, who is by the
way a really sick puppy. The fact that he is indeed pretty screwed up really served us well when
playing AD&D, since the things he couldn't do in the real world really enhanced playing.
William of Iranon was a fighter. But, unlike most fighters, he had a head on it's shoulders, and
wouldn't you know it, a brain inside.
But William was also one bloodthirsty mother. Once they were looking for employment. What William
was most used to doing was fighting, so the best thing was guard the roads. But things had been pretty
quiet, so it was unlikely they could find a job. What's a honest fighter to do? Well, go out an murder
someone, so people don't feel all that comfortable.
I remember there was a young maiden with the caravan they attacked, a 0 level character. William
went straight to her, attacked her with her bastard sword ... and rolled a 20. Double damage to a
character with 3 hit points. As her head rolled off, Harry, who was playing William, jumped up from
his chair and let out a blood curling howl.
After that, they decided on razing small villages, and left a sign that said "They didn't listen to Vlad
the Warlord". The legend started spreading.
It was Ravenloft, and the plane welcomed him and sent him a present.
Of course that sort of thing can also happen in non-fantasy games, although not on that scale. For
example, in CoC there's a player who plays a gangster called Jack Gunn. That's another tricky
bastard, who, when things are getting out ofhand, uses to trust his two .45. The moment I saw Bruce
Willis on "Last Man Standing", Jack was the first thing that came to my mind. But he also believes in
kidnapping small-time cultists and snapping their fingers off for information, and afterwards dropping
them if at all possible on the police with some evidence, or if not on a river with concrete shoes.
Such examples of roleplaying should be encouraged.

A REALLY UGLY GOBLIN

NPCs should be characters. Even if you don't want to pay a lot of attention to the average goblin or
thug background, they can't just be all the same. If they are, what you'll just end up sending different
monsters each time, until you have run out of Monstrous Manuals.
But if that thug have something that sets him apart, like maybe a scar right on his throat and he is
really silent, the player's might pay a little more attention to him. That way you would convey a
feeling of being threatened, even if you don't directly tell them that he has an Appearance of 4.

WHAT A SILLY HAT!

To finish with this rants, something that can really freshen a party up is moving to another town.
Those can, on most cases, look different, and people will behave in a different manner. A perfectly fine
example is when running Horror on The Orient Express, when your characters keep going from country
to country, each with its own political situation. Another is the Dark Sun campaign setting, where each
of the city states is different and reacts differently to outsiders.
Until the next time. I I Shub-Niggurath,

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STRANGE VISTAS SUBMISSION REQUEST

1997
By Ricardo J. Mndez, ricardo@tecapro.com
Call of Cthulhu
Call of Cthulhu is a game that can be set all over the world. It is more likely than not that a keeper
doesn't know any specific information about the country (or state) he's setting the adventure in than
not, and one most of the time can't just go on with the information provided by the supplements. For
example, what was the exchange rate for the dollar in Italy in the 1920s?
What is it now?
Also, it is possible that you don't have any information for, say, Guatemala in the 1920s, and
therefore can't set there an adventure idea which you believe would fit perfect with their pyramids.
Chaosium has done a great job with their sourcebooks, but we can't just sit down and wait for them to
do a World Almanac Sourcebook.
The idea with Strange Vistas is to compile information about each countries in the world in different
periods. It might beinformation about a period in which CoC adventures aren't usually set, like the
1530s, but the information can serve you as a background on further campaigns.
So, what is Strange Vistas exactly looking for? Information, anykind of world information.
Whatever historical, weird or local myth information is welcomed. Please state if the informationis
factual or only local folklore. I'll be compiling the information and posting it on my personal web page,
so you can send your submissions to ricardo@tecapro.com.
Now, what isn't Strange Vistas looking for? Problems. Which can be translated to copyrighted
materials, images or maybe even original adventures. I'm planning for a second stage in which to
include original adventures that are cross-linked to each period/country, but first I want to have
clearance with Chaosium since it's there system after all. Also, I haven't decided about an image
format, so please don't send anyimages yet. Also, images can be a tricky copyright issue if they were
scanned.
It might be obvious, but please don't send any copyrighted material even if it's copyrighted to the
sender. Why? Well, because it's going to be posted on the Net, up there for grabs for anyone who
wants to get it.
I'm sorry for taking all of this security measures, but theinformation is going to be my the company'
site, and I don't want to jeopardize them because someone thought his scenariowas being ripped off.
I guess the following could be a submission format. Please contact me with any suggestions you might
have.
NAME AND E-MAIL: Of the person making the submission, so that you are reachable if anyone wants to
ask about it. Please notify me if you don't want your e-mail included.
COUNTRY: Name of the country to which the data pertains. If it is a country that doesn't exist any
more, please include both the old and the new name.
PERIOD/YEAR: Year of the data.
STATUS: Historical fact, local folklore, etc.
DATA: The data itself.
Again, please don't mention anything like "an apparition was sighted that made everyone loose
1d6/1d20 sanity points" ok? Think of it like you're writing to an occult tabloid. A perfect example is
the following posting I received from Italy, which is included at the end of this request. Of course,

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18

there is no need that the posting is that long.

Any comments are welcomed. Good luck,
Ricardo J. Mndez

ricardo@tecapro.com

SAMPLE POSTING
From: Davide Mana <doctor.dee@iol.it>
Country of interest: Italy
Period: early 1900 - 1920s
Status: Historical fact
This is the single most lovecraftian piece of news from the early 20th century I found about my
hometown. It was later made into a rather lurid novel, in the thirties, caled "Il Mostro dai Piedi di
fauno" ("The Monster with Faun Feet"), but what follows are the bare facts as recently reprinted.
The novel has been long out of print.It all begins in Turin, former capital of the Kingdom of Italy, in
the winter of 1902.
January 12th, 1902 (sunday) - Veronica Zucca, aged 5, disappears in broad daylight while at play in
the Piazza Savoia/Via della Consolata Area (an upper class neighborhood in the very center of town).
Police investigation leads to the arrest of 16 year old Alfredo Conti, a former waiter in the coffee
house managed by Veronica's father. Conti, that can give a convincing alibi, is set free in a few hours.
In the following days, further investigations lead nowhere.
April 1902 - in Via della Consolata, begins the refurbishing of Palazzo Paesana, home of the family of
Count Paesana-Saluzzo - an ancient family with plenty of ties with both political and academic circles (the grandfather of the current count was the founder of the Accademia delle Scienze in the 1800s).
Angelo Damiano, one of the carpenters at work on the mansion, enters the maze-like basement of the
building and, upon perceiving a distinctive bad smell, finds the body of the child inside a wooden box.
Medical examination reveals that Veronica was phisically abused, raped, and then killed by 16 stabs
in the back. The case is again in the news. Talk about "Il Mostro della Consolata"(the Consolata Monster)
begins.
Alfredo Conti is jailed again, on the strenght of a very confused story told by one of the local
children, but again proves his innocence beyond doubt. Needing a culprit to quiet down the public opinion,
the police arrests Carlo Tosetti, 40 years of age, coachman to Count Paesana-Saluzzo. There
arenoproofs, and the man claims his innocence, but to no avail - in the press he is described as a hulking
monster, and death penalty is asked for him.
Only after 55 days of jail, the whole thing folds, and Tosetti is set free. He has lost his job and the
mark of the monster is upon him in the public's eye. Once again, further investigations lead nowhere.
May 1903 - Teresina Demaria, aged 5, disappears in broad daylight in Via della Consolata. Informed
of the fact, Calo Tosi, a keeper in Palazzo Paesana, runs to the basement and, in short time, finds the
child still alive, but in terrible conditions (she has been stabbed three times). Giovanni Gioli, aged 22, a
dust-man with free acess to the basement, is arrested by the police.
Pressed by the interrogators, he confesses the acts of violence on both Teresina and Veronica, plus
more similar acts on a number of other small children.
About the stabs that killed one child and nearly killed another, he denies the charge, saying that "The
knife was no good at slashing, it only punctured". In the following days, he is examined by doctors and
psichiatrists; asked about the reason of his acts, he replies that the cause is bad dreams: he has been
sufering from nightmares, recently; he dreamed (in his own words) "of water, vast quantities of
water... and a big shadow, a ghost"; the big shadow apparently chased him in his dreams. The man acts
like a moron, and is found to be completely insane.

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January 1904 - Giovanni Gioli is found not guilty of murder one by the Court, and sentenced to 25
years and two months in a mental hospital,the first three of which he will spend in a high security
compound.
A lynch-mob quickly forms outside of the Court, and only the intervention of the Carabinieri (military
police) prevents the lynching to take place. And Gioli, that up to this moment has been acting like a
mental deficient,suddenly stands tall, and laughing and shouting, hails the mob, grinning and repeating
"A quarant'otto anni saro' fuori" ("I'll be out when I'm 48"). And that's all. Nobody ever mentioned
again Giovanni Gioli in the newspapers.
But if all went as expected, he was again free on the streets of Torino, aged 48, in 1929.
Pretty gruesome, I fear.
I will keep posting further infos in the future (time permitting).
I'd be pleased to know your opinions.
Cheers.
Davide Mana
Torino, Italy

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History for the Fallen Empire Campaign

Michael C. LaBossiere
Ontologist@aol.com
Fantasy Role Playing

1984,1997

Introduction
This is a background
timeline for a fantasy
campaign. It was
originally done in the
1980s for my AD&D
campaign in Old Town,
Maine. I updated it in
1997 for a RuneQuest
campaign. In future
issues additional
material relating to this
campaign will be
published. This material
may be used or modified
freely for private use,
but may not be used or
modified for public or
commercial use without
the express consent of
the author. The dates in the timeline have been set in accord with the Jarv Kingdom calender. The
Javalger Empire calender dates year 0 as the Jarv Calender Year -2500 (the founding of the Empire).
Both calenders use years that are approximately 365 days long.

Date
-6000
-5600

Events
Humans first arrive on the coastal area of the west, arriving from the
legendary Far Continent of the Fathers.
First human kingdom formed.

-2500

Reputed founding date of the Javalger Empire: The great warrior Toreg unifies
the Jav and Alger kingdoms through his marriage to the princess of Alger. Later
the same year, Toreg Javalger leads his armies against the Tribes of Elskan.
Who hold vast tracks of rich farm lands. Toreg defeats the Elskan and
incorporates them into his newly formed empire by marrying his oldest son to an
Elskan princess.

-2000

Victory by the Empire over the Ventanni: The Ventanni Kingdom, a great sea
power, is defeated by the Empire in a series of costly naval battles. These
battles place the Ventanni islands of Arete and Ferekin under Empire control.
Having secured such great victories, Emperor Askrey Javalger is honored
greatly by his people.

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-1978

Empire explorers land in the Western Lands. Finding the land to be rich and
fertile, the Empire sends colonists to build towns and cities.

-1931

Empire explorers encounter Elves for the first time. After a period of
mistrust, the Elves accept the humans.

-1925

The Empire learns of the dwarves of Tiorta from the Elves and sends
ambassadors. Impressed by the Empires great wealth, the dwarfs agree to a
profitable trading arrangement.

-1904

The first Iron Horse is forged by the dwarves of Tiorta for the Emperor, thus
sealing a lasting alliance between the Javalger Empire and the dwarven kingdom.

-1950

The island of Adrete is renamed Corsgar in honor of Admiral Likandrut

Corsgar. Admiral Corsgar received this honor for defeating the last known
Ventanni war fleet.

-1806

The Vendri (a divine being) Gadrenal reputably brings the words of his master
to the boy Emperor Hudarkal. The Church of the Followers of Light appears as
Hudarkal renounces the throne to become the First Priest of the Followers of
Light. Hudarkals family attempts to bring Hudarkal back to his senses but
fail. His family eventually rennounces him and his younger brother, a boy of six,
is placed on the throne.

-1700

After a long period of prosecution by Hudarkals family, the Follower faith is

recognized as a tolerated religion in the Empire.

-1200

The cities and towns of the Western Lands become so heavily populated and
developed that the Emperor decides to establish the Western Empire as a distinct
political entity. The Western Empire is to be ruled by a Lord, officially under the
authority of the Emperor and his Council.

-450

Durakor, a malign supernatural being of great power, appears in Corsgar and

begins to gather power and influence. Naturally, Durakor appears in a fair guise
and carefully conceals his true nature and intentions.

-425

Durakors minions succeed in corrupting the Follower church on Corsgar and

eventually take secret control of it.

-410

Durakor and his followers act openly against the Council of Corsgar. The great
lords who have not already joined Durakor are slain or transformed into hideous
undead servants. Using his dark magics and the cleverness of his followers,
Durakor is able to conceal the change in power from the normal citizens. The
rulers of Corsgar, now known as the Corsgar Lords, secretly send out black
ships to raid and plunder merchent vessels.

-401

Durakors takeover of Corsgar is complete. All the normal inhabitants are

either scarificed on Durakors dark altars ortransformed into the undead (or
both). Empire agents finally bring word of the horror to the capital of the
Empire.

-400

An Empire fleet attacks the island of Corsgar, taking heavy losses from
Durakors dark magic. The Emperor ultimately calls upon his greatest mages and
priests to curse the island and drive it beneath the waves. Durakor is defeated,
but at a terrible cost.

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-399

Admiral Tal is granted ownership of an island for his heroism in the defeat of
the Corsgar Lords. He and his descendants rule the island with marked
benevolence from -399 to -301.

-350

The famous sea captain and explorer Jocan leads an expedition to a mysterious
island. Evidence of a pre-human civilization, with hideous gods, is found. The
expedition ultimately ends in disaster. The island is eventually named after
Jocan.

-325

Lord Pel, a master of sorcery and the Lord Regent of the Western Empire,
begins his research to determine the existence and nature of realms beyond
this one. Some of his colleagues in the College of Magic warn him of the
potential dangers, but he fails to heed them and presses on.

-304

Warned by the great Elven mage Olandria of the recent outcomes of Pels
experiments, the Elves begin to leave the lands controlled by the Western
Empire.

-301

The Four and the One are unearthed by the dwarfs in Tiorta, while they are
digging for ancient artifacts at the behest of Pel. The Four and the One,
terrifyingly powerful Daemons, slay the dwarven king, most of the dwarven
lords and drive the survivors out of Tiorta.

-300

Though now driven completely mad by his terrible experiments in sorcery, Pel
manages to complete his great project. The results are utterly horrifying as Pel
opens a gateway into other realms. Alerted by the outburst of magical energy,
the High Priest of the Empire and the Magus Supreme journey from the capital of
the Empire to Pels fortress. When the arrive, they are forced to call down the
great powers of the elements upon themselves to close Pels gateway. The
forces released get out of control when the Magus Supreme is slain by a crazed
Pel. These forces spread out across the Western Empire, laying waste to cities
and towns and slaying people by the thousands.

-299

Finally, the forces released in the Great Cataclysm completely exhaust

themselves and a dreadful silence, broken only by the weeping of the few
survivors, prevails. Many of the human survivors head further west and some
find refuge with the barbarian tribes that dwell there. Others chose to remain in
the empire lands. Later, an expedition from the Eastern Empire arrives on the
coast. Finding horrible destruction and horrible monsters (released during the
cataclysm), the expedition rescues a pitful few survivors and returns to the
Eastern Empire with tales of terror.

-298

The Eastern Empire encounters and becomes embroiled in a war with the
Chokabahn. The Chokabahn, a powerful union of warrior tribes under the
leadership of a great warleader, proves to be a great threat to the Eastern
Empire. The cost of the war prevents the Eastern Empire from launching any
further expeditions to the west.

-290

Lead by the dwarven lord Tharv, dwarven survivors, wandering since the
Four and the One took Tiorta, and human survivors, begin construction of a new
Hold.

-61

The Chokabahn breaks up as competing factions within it turn against one

another. The Eastern Empire is able to regain some of the land it lost and begins a
gradual return to prosperity.

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-50

Human barbarian tribes, often lead by descendants of survivors from the

Western Empire, begin to explore the former Western Empire lands. While they
encounter haunted ruins, hideous monsters, and worse, they also find fertile
land and treasures from the fallen empire.

-21

The Empire launches an ambitious campaign to retake the retake the remainder
of the lands lost to the Chokabahn.

-11

The cost, both in resources and lives, ends the Empires campaign against the
Chokabahn. The Empire manages to retake some of the lost lands, but the
campaign is considered to be a failure. The failure of the campaign creates a
significant amount of internal turmoil in the Empire.

-5

Internal unrest comes to a head. Riots occur in some cities and the Emperor
realizes that something has to be done to take the peoples minds off the failure
of the campaign. Not eager to battle the Chokabahn again, the Emperor announces
that the Eastern Empire will regain the lands of the Western Empire.

-2

Eastern Empire ships set sail for the Western lands. Outposts are established
near the ruins of some of the coastal cities.

Finding the lands of the fallen empire to be rich farm and grazing lands (and
relatively free of the imagined terrors), barbarian tribes begin to move into the
lands of the former empire in large numbers. Historians of barbarian descent
mark the return of humans, in large numbers, as year 0 in the New calender.

The Eastern Empire outposts are expanded and loot from the fallen cities of the
west is shipped back to the Empire. The wealth is used to fund entertainments
for the increasingly restless population.

Eager for more wealth, the Emperor orders military units to explore more of
the old Western Empire lands. To molify and distract the population, the Emperor
institutes a series of games.

An Empire foot unit, the Denhi, encounter followers of a Druidical faith. The
soldiers quickly notice the abundance of gold items among the people and send a
messenger back to the leader of the Empire expeditions. The leader Vatar Torj,
noted for his love of wealth, orders the Denhi to seize as much gold as possible.
He also orders the soldiers to seize some of the natives to bring back to the
Empire for the games. Following their orders, the Denhi attack the druids. In the
course of the battle, they set fire to the druids sacred grove. After the battle,
the surviving druids invoke the power of their deities and curse the Denhi. The
Denhi are transformed from human soldiers into savage wolf-headed beings,
cursed to make war without rest or sleep forever. Captain Reverre and his men
manage to temporarily escape the fate of the Denhi with the aid of the great
wizard Tal and his magical fountain.

7
8

Tal and Reverre seek to find a way to lift the curse from the Denhi.
Acting under the curse, the Denhi are driven to attack Reverre and his men. In
the course of the battle, Tal is slain, his companion unicorn is transformed, the
fountain is sealed and Raverre and his men are brought under the curse.

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12

Sensing the weakening of Druidic power, The Four and the One leave Tiorta
with a force of Moraks, Kobolds, and Ur-Moraks. Their army ravages the land,
pillaging Druidical villages and destroying sacred Druidical sites. The Great Druid
confronts the One and the Four and is slain by them. His skull is taken back to
Tiorta as a trophy.

35

Human engineers put up heavy stone walls around the town of Davin, vastly
improving its defenses. Word of the fortifications spreads, drawing many
humans from the wilds into the town. Over the course of the year, the population
swells enough to transform Davin from a town to a small city. Davin soon
becomes a major trading center as merchents feel safe within its walls.

36

A powerful merchent finds a deposit of gold and sets his men to mining it.
Unfortunately, the land turns out to be sacred burial ground of the Druids. The
Druids attempt to persuade the merchent to leave the area. After a
misunderstanding, the merchents soldiers slaughter a group of worshippers at
prayer. This sets off a a series of attacks against merchent caravans heading to
and from Davin.

37-39

The conflict between the followers of the Druids and the merchents continues
to escalate. Davin, whose lifeblood has become trade, is drawn into the

40

Pressured by the wealthy merchents, the Follower Church issues a decree that
Druidism is an evil that must be scourged from the land.

41

The first actual battle between the followers of Druidism and crusaders from
the Follower Church occurs, starting the Druid-Follower War.

42-44

The Druid-Follower War is waged intermittently. Causualities are high on the

Druid side as the forces of Davin employ iron armor, iron weapons and Divine
Magic against the Druids.

45

The Druid-Follower War comes to an end when the Druids and their followers
are all but exterminated. The surviving Druids flee to the last Sacred Grove in
the region.

50

The followers of the evil god Durakor are exposed by a band of intrepid
adventurers. The exposed followers of Durakor are defeated and the survivors
flee into deep caverns. The black gem of Durakor is destroyed, thus preventing
Durakor from acting directly in this world for another 250 years.

55-57

Lord Jarvander of the clan of Jarv arises as a powerful leader and expands his
power to include the outlying tribes, towns and lesser cities in the region.

60

Lord Jarvander arrives in Davin. Faced with his power, the High Priest of the
Follower Church declares him King of the land, thus starting the Kingdom of
Jarv.

70

Extensive research by a Follower convert from Druidism reveals the true

story of the Follower-Druid War. Based on these findings, the Church issues a
decree that the war against the Druids was, in fact, a grievous error. The few
surviving followers of Druidism take this as a small consolation.

80

Born of an unholy ritual involving the bones of the Druids slain by the Four and
the One, the Black Druids appear in the land. Leading an army of twisted
monstrosities, the Black Druids destroy a Jarv village.

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81

The Black Druids and their minions take control over some areas of the Jarv
kingdom and occupy ancient sites of power. With the power from these sites,
the Black Druids are able to keep the soldiers of the Jarv kingdom at bay.

82-94

The Black Druids evil swells and corrupts much of the land, despite the best
attempts of the knights of Jarv.

94

Desperate to defeat the Black Druids, the Kingdom of Jarv sends an emissary
to enter the Sacred Grove of the Druids. The emisarry, Talsa, contacts the
Druids in the realm they have retreated into. The Druids agree to aid the knights
of Jarv against the Black Druids.

95

Aided by the Druids, the knights of Jarv and the Follower Priests are able to
defeat the Black Druids and drive them from the lands they have seized.

100

The last surviving Black Druid undertakes a ritual that transforms it into an
even more hideous and powerful undead being.

101

The Black Druid places an evil stone in the Sacred Grove after he kills the
guardian Druids. The placement of the stone initiates spiritual combat against the
spirits of the grove. The evil spirits of the Black Druids corrupt the grove,
twisting it and transforming it into a place of spiritual evil. The knights and
priests of Jarv are unable to aid the Druids in the grove.

140

Scouts from the Kingdom of Jarv explore the coastal region, looking for a
place suitable for a town.

150

The town of Velaynder is constructed on the coast. Trade routes gradually

open up and ships from other lands visit Velaynder.

154

Followers of the greatest evil god, known only as the Adversary, move into
Davin in the hopes of corrupting the inhabitants.

155

The servants of the Adversary are exposed and flee the city of Davin.

156

The Tower of Glyarnd is constructed on the site of the old battlefield where
Durakor was defeated.

160

Under the guise of travelling merchents, the servents of the Adversary arrive
in Glyarnd in the hopes of resurrecting the evil of Durakor.

162

The Servents are driven from Glyarnd after they are exposed once again.
Many of them are slain, but some are able to flee.

163

The Servents flee from Glyarnd to Velaynder, under the guise of wandering
monks. Having learned from the past, the Servents are careful to keep their
activities as hidden as possible.

170

A Paladin from Glyarnd travels to Velaynder after having a holy vision that
evil is threatening Velaynder. Shortly after his arrival, he recognizes one of the
Servents of the Adversary and exposes them for what they are. The Servents
are decimated and the few survivors flee further down the coast.

172

The Servents of the Adversary arrive on Tals island and begin work on a
temple to their evil god.

182

The Servents of the Adversary complete their temple of evil on Tals island.

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200

Miltrans expedition sets sail aboard the vessel Windholme, in search of

Jocans island. Miltrans expedition is wiped out and the Windholme is sunk by an
evil sea spirit upon its return.

298

The Servents summon up a devil named Tokar TKag who assumes the form of
a man. He takes on the role of a merchent to travel the land.

300

Start of the campaign.