The tower

The investigators read a newspaper report about a mysterious stone tower that has recently been investigated by the authorities. The tower is of unknown origin and is located on a desolate island owned by wealthy fisherman Marcus Moore outside of Nova Scotia.

The tower stands 30 feet tall and has been constructed using stones from and around the island. It is hollow and has a doorway at its base. Markings of unknown origin cover several of the stones, and can clearly been be seen on the photograph of the tower that accompanies the newspaper report.

Possibilities

1 According to local rumour, the tower has only been raised recently and the small fishing community on the island stays away from it. The islands’ owner, Marcus Moore, wants to tear the tower down - but the authorities have prevented him as they want to make sure the tower is not older than the local community claims.

The tower was actually constructed six months ago under the direction of two sorcerers - it is part of their plan to summon Yog-Sothoth. They have already arranged for a platform to be constructed and it just needs to be place it at the top of the tower and wait for the right moment to perform the ritual.

2 The tower is the meeting point for a local cult practicing animal and human sacrifices. The cult worships Dagon and was started 50 years ago when a fisherman named Jacob Moore arrived and told them about a powerful entity called D’go that lived in the ocean. D’go is a distorted version of Dagon, and Jacob discovered this “entity” when he read a very old and fragmented version of a scripture containing chants and rituals. Jacob quickly rose in power as he convinced the other villagers that D’go was the one true god. Those who were not convinced either left the area themselves or were chased away.

The stone tower was built to honor D’go. As the non-believers disappeared, the cult became more and more paranoid and bloodthirsty They usually stay away from the outside world and neighboring communities stay away from them. The cult is currently lead by Jacob Moore’s grandson, Marcus Moore. However, the cult is slowly dying since few children are allowed to live and the cult has failed to attract new members.

The report in the newspaper concerns an investigation by the police of several skeletons found near the tower by a fisherman.

3 The tower is a magical beacon that, when used correctly, attracts monsters and creatures from the deep. The tower is the last remnant of a human civilisation that worshipped Dagon. The civilisation is new to science, and archaeologists from several universities have been sent to examine the tower - and it is this that forms the report in the newspaper.

© Björn Hanson

To the Future

Antiques are being stolen from houses throughout the area. Only items over a hundred years old are removed and any other valuables are left alone. The only clue left by the thieves is a slogan scrawled across a wall: “To the Future!”

Possibilities

1 There is a group, perhaps based around the artistic movements of Futurism and Vorticism, that is destroying old things as a matter of principle. They wish to rid the world of its past in order to hurry in a new, utopian society. The group could be worshippers of Yog-Sothoth and seek to open a gateway to the future.

2 The group is as above but they are really being manipulated by a group of art thieves. The furnace that the antiques are being sacrificed in is actually a complicated set of lights and mirrors concealing a conveyor belt that leads to a neighboring building. Here the antiques are evaluated and packaged before being distributed throughout the illegal art trade.

3 The thefts are all part of an elaborate insurance scam. The “victims” of the thefts are all close to bankruptcy or are in dire financial need. They have been approached by the thieves who are willing to remove and sell on the antiques for a large percentage of their value.

(Something like this could cause quite a stir among Nephilim as their stasis items would be ripe targets for the thieves.)

© Simon Hopper

Lost City Found!

An archaeological research team has found what appear to be the remains of an ancient city - in a relatively recently developed town just off a major highway. Upon examination, it appears that the ruins are just below the surface, such that it is highly unlikely that they would have not been noticed when the towns’ foundations were laid, or, for that matter, when the highway was built. The building records and surveyors’ reports are all completely silent on the matter.

Image created using Wombo

Possibilities

1 Developers don’t like pesky inconveniences like sacred sites, endangered animals or archaeological digs showing up in their surveyor’s reports or impact assessment statements. Consultants know this, and some are quite willing to tailor their reports accordingly. The ruins are a marvellous find, but have always been there.

2 The ruins are the remnants of a city which - thousands of years ago - was cursed, and sealed in a remote part of the Dreamlands. Isolated, the civilisation turned in upon itself, and became corrupt and wicked. The stars are now right for its sorcerers to try and return the city to the waking world. As the spells gather power, more of the city will manifest, and the apparent ruins will become more substantial, displacing the town’s buildings. Before long, the degenerate inhabitants of the city will be able to cross over into the town at will, seeking human sacrifices to complete their magics.

3 The ruins are of an immense, city-sized temple dedicated to Yog-Sothoth. A cataclysm destroyed the temple and scattered the remnants throughout space and time, and fragments of the foundations have appeared here and now. The pieces are still metaphysically bound, and the connection might allow a strong (or fractured) mind to travel the universe. It would certainly allow the sorcerer-priests of Yog-Sothoth to travel here.

© Barbara Robson and Stuart Barrow

March Madness

Miskatonic University has never been known for its team athletics, that is until recently. This year began differently, as 7’4” Seth Whateley strolled onto the campus and was almost immediately given a full basketball scholarship.

There was initially some trouble with Seth because he couldn’t produce any health or school records and he refused to submit to a physical. Miskatonic U’s basketball coach soon cleared these obstacles with some help from some basketball-loving administrators. Seth was able to pass the universities most stringent entrance exams and his refusal to take a physical was waived on religious grounds.

Since then Seth (#44) has broken nearly every single season scoring and defensive record in Cephalopod and conference history. As the big college championship tournament approaches, many people have lots of questions about Seth and several interested parties are willing to find out more about this strange giant out of Dunwich County. Seth refuses to be interviewed and has no friends on campus. Anyone who has tried to find out more about him has come up against strong resistance from family and university officials alike. That’s where the investigators come in – they’ve been asked or hired to find out what exactly Seth Whateley has to hide.

Possibilities

1 Seth is kin to Wilbur Whateley who tried to steal the Necronomicon for his own evil purposes. Seth, like Wilbur, is not totally human. He plans to continue his cousin Wilbur’s work by becoming a college athletic superstar. With free reign as far as the universities restricted books shelves are concerned, he plans to steal the Necronomicon and free the Great Old Ones from their exile.

2 Abraham, Seth’s father came upon an old Whateley grimoire and with a little study he came up with an arcane method to grow his young son Seth to his current size. Money, not the Necronomicon, is the motivation for Seth’s fathers plans. He will do anything to protect his son and his secret, even murder. Abraham has some grasp of what the Whateley grimoire contains, so investigators should beware of spells and other mythos horrors if they should dig too deep or pry to hard.

3 Seth is totally free of any evil ulterior motives. He just wants to get an education and leave the backwoods of Dunwich behind. He is deeply religious and wants to be left alone.

© Kevin Kaier

The Odin Disc

The Odin Disc is a monohedron; it has only one side. It can be felt, and if moved glistens slightly – but is otherwise invisible (although the Powder of Ibn-Ghazi will make it apparent).

Compounding the problem of actually finding the disc is its size – typically no greater than a large coin. A sorcerer can spend Magic Points to enlarge the disc, which has a maximum size (for humans, anyway) of about 10 feet.

The disc is actually a portable Gate spell. Anyone standing on the disc (which needs to be of a suitable size) will be transported to whatever location they have in mind (with the usual penalties). The disc follows the (last) traveller, ready for the return trip. Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find once through the gate, as it invariably returns to its natural size.

As well as mere travel, the Odin Disc has another effect. Each time the disc is used,
Yog-Sothoth is summoned to the location that the traveller just left. Yog-Sothoth’s mood on arrival seems to be directly related to the distance travelled through the disc; the further afield the traveller journeys, the greater the number of sacrifices Yog-Sothoth helps itself to. (It should be said that a rigorous, scientific study has not been made, given the obvious limitations.)

Worse, as there is a time-lag before Yog-Sothoth appears, travellers may not realise that it is their operation of the disc that causes the Outer God’s appearance.

Possibilities

1 A cryptic reference to the disc can be found in the handwritten marginalia of a section in a mythos tome dealing with ‘The Opener of the Way’. It ambiguously states that not only the traveller can use the disc, and that the disc is ‘at hand’. The disc is bound into the cover of the book (one side is raised, the other has no apparent rise or depression), and the cover of the book must be destroyed to retrieve it. Pulling the cover to pieces activates a fire-warding spell which destroys the book and may burn the house down. Of course, the disc will be very hard to find in the cinders.

2 The investigators find a brief description of the Odin Disc and details of how to create one. The spell requires a 3” gold disc, about ten pints of fresh blood, and the sacrifice of a baby. While the investigators may not create a disc, if the spell falls into the hands of cultists they will not be so squeamish.

The spell description forgets to mention that this spell also acts to summon Yog-Sothoth.

3 The investigators return home one night to find a sorcerer (one they have encountered before) stealing their mythos-related bits-and-pieces. Realising he has been spotted, the sorcerer activates the disc and escapes; quick investigators may be able to follow him.

Meanwhile, Yog-Sothoth will be paying a visit.

© Charles Ross

A Family's Heritage

A close friend’s family has, for hundreds of years, owned a homestead in a sylvan mountainscape. However, their neighbours watch carefully because there is supposed to be a curse on the family.

It is said, that every 40 – 50 years one family-member suffers from an extreme change in personality.

There is also a story of an ancient hideout in a cave nearby. Is there an association?

Possibilities

1 The family has always bred strong dreamers, and a long time ago they created an access to the dreamlands in the cave. This door leads to the enchanted wood, wherein family-members are welcomed by the Zoog. This secret is passed on from one door-keeper to another. (The ability to physically enter the dreamlands is a closely guarded secret.)

The change in personality occurs when the door-keeper hands over to a new keeper. The new door-keeper, upon experiencing the dreamlands, becomes more filial, is happier, lets loose of covenants, but gains friends, and has wonderful fairy tales to tell.

2 The family was once genetically altered by the mi-go (the cave is an entrance to one of their mines). It is written in the family’s genetic constitution, that one family member guards the cave.

When the existing guard dies (normally of old age), then the genetic manipulation kicks in, affecting one of the existing family members who then retreat to a cabin near the cave where they remain on guard for the rest of their life.

3 One of the ancestors made a contract with Yog-Sothoth, he refused to bring the appropriate victim and so the Key and the Gate cursed the family. Every fifty years he absorbs one of the family.

Every fifty years one of the family dies of an unknown disease, which leaves their body mummified glistening like mother of pearls.

In a secret corner of the family’s hideout is the heritage, which provides the means to the end of this horror.

© Jochen Koltermann

Book of Bones

Weeks or months after a brush with the Mythos, the modern-day investigator notices an irregular bruise spontaneously forming on one arm. Though painless, the bruise appears to resemble illegible writing. Over days, despite all efforts, the bruise spreads and grows legible. An X-ray or CAT scan shows that the investigator’s bones are engraved with small, precise letters in an alien script, which the growing bruise duplicates.

Possibilities

1 In the earlier Mythos encounter, Nyarlathotep noticed and cursed the investigator. The alien words, when fully formed in a week, transform the investigator into a Living Bruise, an invalid who lives in continual agony. Certain tattoos cure the curse (without conferring other protection), but the only qualified tattoo artist lives in Burma. Alternately, the victim can call Nyarlathotep, who grants a year’s relief from the curse in return for a service, such as destroying an Elder Sign in a distant ruin.

2 Decades ago the investigator’s grandfather, a secret worshipper of Yog-Sothoth, performed a ritual on his unconscious daughter that marked all her descendants. The investigator’s siblings are also forming bruises, which describe the spell Call Yog-Sothoth. Each victim experiences dreams that translate the alien script. The investigator’s attempts to inform his siblings may heal or create family breaches. The bruises fade normally, but will reappear in the next generation.

3 Despite the victim’s entreaties, the doctor who performed the CAT scan can’t resist sharing the peculiar case with fellow physicians. Word reaches a Brother of the Yellow Sign in a nearby hospital, who identifies the investigator as a sacrificial victim chosen by Hastur. A group of cultists posing as doctors capture the investigator and friends and read the bruises aloud. The resulting spell transports the investigators to the underground world of K’n-Yan, where Brothers wait to flense the flesh from the victim’s bones and inter them in a sacred library. If the victim escapes, the bruises fade.

© Allen Varney