As a gamemaster (“Keeper of Arcane Lore,” in Call of Cthulhu parlance [1] ), I design campaigns that are very character-focused, and so this module was written for my players’ four characters. To introduce each of them to the campaign, I designed a “session zero” that would draw them into the mystery, give them some early clues, and teach the players the game system. It was a good way to get players invested early on and establish their connections to the game world.
(All page numbers refer to the Seventh Edition of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper Rulebook, published 2015 by Chaosium, Inc. I am in no way affiliated with Chaosium or the writers of the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game system. Content notes for this chapter: death, violence, mentions of sexism and racism, some discussion of WWI, and a very brief mention of the Armenian Genocide.)
Ernest Wilde: field medic turned botanist
Ernest was raised Catholic, but has come to question his faith; he takes a rational approach to the world and believes in the scientific method. Of all the investigators, he is the most reluctant to believe in the supernatural, and insists on a scientific explanation for everything. He served as a medic for the British Army in the war, and is now an adjunct professor of botany at the University of London [2] .
STR 35 CON 65 SIZ 40 DEX 60 INT 80
APP 60 POW 70 EDU 90 SAN 70 HP 10
Damage bonus: -1
Build: -1
Magic Points: 14
Credit Rating: 40
Move: 8
Attacks per round: 1
Fighting: Handgun 33
Dodge: 30
Skills: Anthropology 24, Archaeology 41, Electrical Repair 40, First Aid 70, French 21, German 21, Library Use 90, Mechanical Repair 40, Medicine 75, Natural World 60, Psychology 30, Biology 91.
Ernest’s Session Zero
Wednesday, February 8, 1922: Ernest comes in to work, where he is researching a mysterious plant blight. He has a letter on his desk and an appointment scheduled for the afternoon.
The Blight
Beginning in December, Ernest has been seeing examples of a strange affliction on local plants, generally in vegetable gardens and small family farms.
- It was first brought to his department’s attention when a rural farmer brought a number of samples for “those brains at the University” to look at.
- It generally appears in isolated cases, but quickly spreads throughout surrounding vegetation. Generally, removing all affected plants will stop it from spreading to other plants, though no one has been able to stop or reverse the blight once it affects a plant.
- He has so far been unable to isolate a cause, such as a parasite or something in the soil.
- The blight first manifests with a blackening inside the heart of the plant—stalks and roots in particular, but seed-pods and other generative organs also show dramatic signs. The blackness spreads throughout the plant, visible in the veins and capillaries. Once the plant is completely consumed, it begins to dry out and crumble into ashy, gray dust.
- The specimens have been few and far between, as it is not the growing season; it is unusual that something like this is appearing and spreading while the weather is still so cold (though the ground never freezes in southern England).
The Letter
Dr. Wilde:
I understand that this letter comes to you without much explanation, but I must warn you. I fear that your life and your work, like mine, are in danger. Over the last several months, a mysterious group of individuals have taken an interest in my research and have been following my movements and impeding my progress. I now have reason to believe that they may threaten my life. As disparate as our fields of study are, I know now that your research and mine are connected, and so you are also in the same danger that I am. I urge you to be cautious, and to guard your research carefully.
I apologize for the lack of detail, but I am already taking a serious risk by sending this letter. I ask you to trust me for the time being. When I am more certain of my safety, I will send you another letter, and we can further discuss the matter. Regretfully, I have not yet had the chance to meet you in person; if and when the danger is evaded, we can meet and I will explain everything.
Be safe, and best of luck,
Emundr Ragnarsson
Oxford University
- Ernest is vaguely familiar with Ragnarsson’s name—he is an archaeology professor at Oxford. He may remember him giving a talk at the British Museum.
The Appointment:
- The name on Ernest’s calendar is Richard Pryce, and he comes in carrying a potted plant that is visibly affected by the blight.
- He explains that he keeps a greenhouse as a hobby. This is the only known example of a greenhouse plant being affected.
- The plant is a tropical orchid [3] , and is in the late stages of corruption.
- He will ask questions about what Ernest knows about the blight so far.
- Have you discovered the cause?
- How does it spread?
- Where did it come from?
- Could it be sabotage/done deliberately? (Pryce’s orchids are prize-winning)
- How did you first discover it?
- While he will try to seem like he is just concerned about his plant collection, he is trying to figure out how much Ernest knows. A Psychology roll can help determine his motive.
Richard Pryce, grower of rare orchids (click the link to go to his profile)
Pryce is a rich dilettant recently turned cult member. His greenhouse, once his pride and joy, is now used as a testing ground for the mysterious blight. He brings an infected orchid to the university under pretense of searching for answers, when he is actually testing the researcher to find out how much has been discovered about the blight.
After the meeting, Ernest can go about his day. He goes out drinking with Carlton, an old army buddy.
- On his way home, Ernest will be attacked by three cultists.
- They will attempt to kill him, and also take any plant samples he might have on him, but they do not want to get caught. [4]
- The police will show up after a couple of rounds and the cultists will run away.
These are low-ranking cult members chosen for their strength and willingness to commit direct violence. They usually are sent to intimidate, harm, and sometimes kill those who are obstructing the cult’s progress, but are often replaced with higher-ranking, more powerful operatives when the target becomes aware of the cult and its motives. Professor Ragnarsson made note of a few with distinguishing characteristics: “wooden leg,” “moustache,” and “red hair.”
Eloise Westmont: lady detective
Rejected by her wealthy family after breaking off her engagement, Eloise decided to put her determined and inquisitive nature to work and make her way in the world as a private investigator. When she found that she was not being taken seriously as a woman detective, she hired Kurt to be the face of the operation and assumed the role of his secretary. In reality, it is she who solves the cases.
STR 40 CON 45 SIZ 45 DEX 70 INT 80
APP 70 POW 80 EDU 70 SAN 80 HP 9
Damage bonus: 0
Build: 0
Magic Points: 16
Credit Rating: 55
Move: 8
Attacks per round: 1
Fighting: none
Dodge: 35
Skills: Accounting 50, Photography 15, Charm 30, Disguise 15, Fast Talk 65, Law 55, Library Use 20, Listen 70, Locksmith 51, Persuade 20, Psychology 65, Sleight of Hand 20, Spot Hidden 70, Stealth 50.
Kurt Cross: American expatriate actor
Kurt served in the American military, and he decided to stay in London when the war and the quarantine for the Spanish Flu was over. He fell in love with a fellow actor, and found himself blacklisted from the theatre scene when the relationship fell apart. Unable to find work, he was willing to accept Eloise’s offer and play the hard-boiled American detective.
STR 70 CON 40 SIZ 65 DEX 70 INT 40
APP 80 POW 65 EDU 74 SAN 65 HP 10
Damage bonus: 1d4
Build: 1
Magic Points: 13
Credit Rating: 30
Move: 9
Attacks per round: 1
Fighting: Brawl 30, rifle/shotgun 50
Dodge: 35
Skills: Acting 65, Charm 80, Disguise 65, Drive 40, Intimidate 75, French 26, German 11, Listen 30, Persuade 15, Psychology 28, Track 25.
Kurt and Eloise’s Session Zero
Thursday, February 9, 1922: Kurt and Ellie, while celebrating their recent success, get a phone call with a new job: a professor is convinced he is being followed and needs a detective to help identify his pursuers.
Eloise christened her business Sunset Investigations, and they have been in business for about a year. They have a reputation for being discreet, and work with lower- and middle-class people, as well as those the police might ignore. Most recently, they switched the places and identities of a cocktail waitress in debt to the mob and a pregnant nun, under the watchful and very nearsighted gaze of the Mother Superior.
The Phone Call
- In the early evening, the office phone will ring. The caller will ask for “Mr. Cross” and insist on speaking to him and not to the secretary. He is perhaps overly formal (“Mr. Cross”; “Miss Westmont”).
- The professor will introduce himself and explain his problem: he is being followed and believes his life is in danger.
- His apartment was broken into and turned upside-down, and he managed to lock himself in his office before the perpetrators could get through the university bureaucracy and ransack it.
- They have been following him, he believes, since early August. He filed a police report after a few weeks, but the police believed he was paranoid and nothing came of it. The officer he spoke to was Julian Walters, of the Oxford police, who is no longer employed there.
- He says he has a detailed record of wherever and whenever he has noticed his pursuers.
- He learned of Sunset from Will Grey, the owner and bartender of the Cross and Coin, whose sister is the new Sister Marie-Claire.
- He wants you to identify these men, discover their affiliation, and put a stop to their threats. He isn’t particularly concerned about how you do this, as long as he is not held responsible for anything extralegal.
- The professor is offering 250 pounds for you to take this case, and another 250 upon its completion [5] . It’s possible to negotiate him a little higher, if the detectives are feeling greedy, but money is not infinite.
- The more the detectives ask for, the less Ragnarsson’s daughter will stand to inherit, though no one will know this until she talks to the solicitor.
- He wants to arrange a meeting at the Cross and Coin for late this evening, around 10pm. At the meeting, he says he will bring the first installment of the money, his records, and any other information the detectives ask for. He asks them to be discreet and be wary of being followed.
- Other details, if the detectives ask:
- Ragnarsson believes this whole ordeal has something to do with his work, and some shady organization wanting to put a stop to his research, but he will admit that it is mostly a hunch—though the attempt to break into his office might lend it credence.
- He first started noticing the same individuals turning up around his work and home a few months after he returned from an expedition to the North Sea (the expedition was called off in September, and he started noticing people in February. They were not frequent enough to concern him until August, when he filed the police report).
- He does not believe that any of his colleagues are in danger, though he has tried to warn a former student who moved away. He does have contact information for some of the other people on his expedition, and can give that to the detectives at the meeting.
- The detectives may not believe that he is seriously under threat. He will reiterate that he is paying them, and will pretend that he has other options in terms of detectives to hire.
Professor Emundr Ragnarsson, Oxford archaeologist
Once one of Europe’s leading experts in archaeology, Ragnarsson has receded from academic attention after a failed expedition to the North Sea. Since then, he has grown increasingly paranoid, believing he is being followed and his research impeded by a mysterious organization. He reaches out for help just before he is found dead in a hotel room in London.
The Meeting
Kurt and Eloise can do what they want to prepare, and then they can head to the Cross and Coin, an eclectic pub in central London. Obviously, because this is a murder mystery, Ragnarsson will not show up. Will Grey, the bartender, will be happy to see them, and thank them again for rescuing his sister. She is adjusting to convent life, but is much happier there than as a cocktail waitress in debt to the mob. He knows the professor—he comes by every once in a while, sometimes has a drink with Nigel—but hasn’t seen him yet today.
Also present at the pub are Nigel Blackthorne, a self-styled Gentleman Occultist, and his captive audience, a pair of students by the name of Eli Rosenfeld and James Birch.
- Nigel Blackthorne will get drunk and try to explain the difference between a “gentleman occultist” and a “wizard” to James and Eli.
- He is obsessed with “fish people,” and accuses the unfortunate-looking dishwasher named Samuel of being one of these beings [6] . Will tells him to shut up.
- Nigel will continue to become more drunk and disorderly, until he is picked up by a police officer.
William Grey, bartender at the Cross and Coin
Will is in his late twenties but often complains he’s “too old” for the shenanigans that occasionally take place at his establishment. He bought the Cross and Coin from its previous owner for a suspiciously low price, and now works as its primary bartender. His sister was recently rescued from her mob debts by a private investigator.
Nigel Blackthorne, gentleman occultist
Nigel comes from a wealthy family and has no job, instead styling himself as the last of a breed of well-to-do part-time sorcerer that was more numerous in the Victorian age, if not earlier. He met Ragnarsson at an exhibition at the British Museum last year, and the professor started seeking him out for advice on the supernatural a couple months ago. He is obsessed with “fish-people” and believes they put curses on people and control certain segments of government and business, and that Samuel the dishwasher is one of them. He holds his liquor very poorly and is prone to going on semi-intelligible rants.
Antony St. John, beat cop and fencer
Antony is an experienced, no-nonsense police officer usually tasked with keeping the peace and quelling riots and drunken rages. He approaches his job with good humor, taking any comments on his profession, his race, or his name as well as threats of violence in stride (at least outwardly). Very little is known about his personal life, other than that he fences as a hobby.
The detectives will not have their meeting, and they will find out tomorrow that the professor is dead.
Iskandar Meshkia: Scotland Yard inspector
Iskandar was a cavalry officer in the Ottoman military [7] . When an injury forced him to return home from the war, he chose to commit treason against his government by hiding his Armenian neighbors in his country estate and smuggling them over the border to Bulgaria. Unfortunately, this brought the Spanish Flu into his house, which claimed the lives of his wife and young daughter. With nothing left to stay for and the fear of reprisals as the Empire fell, Iskandar fled, eventually ending up in England, where he worked his way up from a bobby to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector.
STR 70 CON 55 SIZ 60 DEX 65 INT 50
APP 90 POW 50 EDU 60 SAN 50 HP 11
Damage bonus: 1d4
Build: 1
Magic Points: 10
Credit Rating: 35
Move: 9
Attacks per round: 1
Fighting: Brawl 25, Sword 70, Handgun 70
Dodge: 32
Skills: French 50, Greek 50, English 50, Turkish 50, Law 50, Listen 20, Persuade 80, Psychology 50, Spot Hidden 60.
Iskandar’s Session Zero
Friday, February 10, 1922: Iskandar is sent to check on a possible crime scene. While it appears as though no violence has taken place, he can look around and gain some information for later. He can then returns to Scotland Yard before going to fencing practice.
Scotland Yard
Emilia greets Iskandar as he arrives and says that the commissioner has an assignment for him (also, his coffee is ready). She is almost finished with the typesetting of the paperwork from the last big case, and promises to have it done by the end of the day. The whole affair—a proto-fascist demagogue inspiring violence and vandalism, whom Iskandar finally arrested after challenging him to a non-lethal duel—generated a lot of paperwork.
Winston Pembroke Sr., the current fictional commissioner, will chat about the weather (“Cold enough for you?” “Oh, the winters last a long time in England, you’ll get used to it, old chap”) and explain that there is the very small matter of a corpse in a hotel room. Nothing too unusual, but the hotel manager just wants a policeman to make sure nothing goes amiss. Simple and easy. The coroner will then take a look at the body, determine cause of death, and everything will be over and done with.
Iskandar is given the address for the scene, and sent on his way.
Emilia Niyazova, secretary for the Metropolitan Police
Emilia was not hired so much as she showed up one day and declared she had the job. She keeps a tight schedule, is an excellent typist, and is the only other person in this entire Godforsaken country who can make proper Turkish coffee. Her national origin remains a secret, and she often claims to be from various places in Eastern Europe. She is charming and popular with almost everyone she meets, particularly the junior officers, and is able to open doors and make connections a detective could not on his own. The only person she does not get along with is Winston Pembroke Jr., the commissioner’s son, who largely ignores her and how much she detests him.
Winston Pembroke, Sr., police commissioner
Pembroke is a pompous, mustachioed figure in his 60s who was awarded his position after a period of service in India before the war. He runs Scotland Yard with a less-than-iron fist, allowing much to go on under his nose as long as arrests are made, and having given his son a job as a detective in an effort to teach him some responsibility. Nonetheless, he is an affable, friendly sort, and difficult to outright dislike.
The Scene
The hotel is a cramped bed-and-breakfast on a busy London street. There is already an officer, by the name of John Taylor, on the scene, trying to calm down the hotel owner. The hotel owner, Mr. Matthews, is frantic. He immediately draws the most drastic conclusions, such as murder or some kind of new plague. Matthews can show you the guest log where Professor Ragnarsson signed in.
- The professor seemed a little nervous, but nothing too unusual.
- He paid for one night only.
- He used the phone in the lobby early yesterday evening (when he called Sunset Investigations), and then returned to his room and did not leave it again. Matthews found him early this morning.
The professor’s room is number 11, and it contains a desk, a chair, a gas-powered light fixture on the wall, a bed, and a small wardrobe. The wardrobe is empty and the bed is untouched.
- The body is in the desk chair, slumped over the desk, and it looks like he has been dead for several hours.
- Ragnarsson was 58 years old and in excellent health. His hair and short beard are white, and his clothes are of good quality.
- He is dressed and is wearing his shoes.
- There is a small amount of water on the desk in front of the body, and some of the papers on the desk are water damaged.
- Taylor will tell you that the window was open when he arrived, but he shut it when it was raining earlier.
- A Spot Hidden check will reveal some footprints in the flowerbed below the window.
- A briefcase is open on the desk in front of the body, and several papers are spilling out.
- Several blank sheets of paper, covering the others.
- A handwritten chart containing a list of locations around a university (“Library,” “Commons,” “Yard,” etc.) with dates and times. Each has a single descriptive feature (“wooden leg,” “moustache,” “red hair”). The dates begin in August 1921. As far as you can tell, there are more occurrences of whatever he is keeping track of as time goes on, but the chart is a bit difficult to parse.
- Two photographs, slightly damaged around the edges. One shows a woman in a wedding dress standing beside a tall, bearded man, and the other shows a much younger Ragnarsson with his wife and daughter (who is around five years old in the picture).
- A ferry ticket to France, dated this evening (the 10th).
- A page of text in an alphabet the inspector doesn’t recognize (Handout 1-1)
- A cheque made out to Sunset Investigations, for 250 pounds (or whatever amount was agreed upon).
- There is also a book of Old English poetry. Tucked in between the pages is a business card for “Milton’s Rare Books,” with an address on the South Bank. Opening the book to where the card sits shows a passage from a poem called “The Wife’s Lament” (Handout 1-2).
- A Spot Hidden check will reveal something fallen behind the desk: a note in a different handwriting. It says, “Before you leave, meet me at the Cross & Coin. —N” (Handout 1-3)
When Iskandar is finished examining the scene, the coroner will arrive to take the body away. Any clues found will be placed in evidence, and anything not found (if Iskandar failed his Spot Hidden) will remain behind.
Frederick Matthews, anxious hotel owner
Matthews has been running a bed-and-breakfast in London for several decades. He is a nervous man, but this is the first terribly bad thing that has ever happened in his establishment—he’s never even had mice. He will cooperate with the investigation but does not want to bring public attention to the matter and potentially scare away customers.
Iskandar then has free rein to go about his day. He should return to Scotland Yard at some point, where he will have to sign yet more paperwork. If asked about the professor, Emilia will vaguely recall that he gave a talk at the British Museum a year or two ago.
Iskandar can also go to fencing practice to learn combat mechanics. Antony will be waiting for him (as he missed a couple of practices due to the mountain of paperwork) and congratulate him on his most recent successful case.
- He knows very little about it, being mostly assigned to clean up the mob’s messes, including broken windows on a deli owned by a Jewish couple (the Rosenfelds).
- He tells you that one person he arrested told him to “go back to Africa.” Antony has never been to anywhere in Africa. His parents live in Surrey.
- It is also a little surprising that such a high-profile case went to Iskandar instead of Pembroke Jr. The commissioner’s favoritism is something of an open secret, even among the London Police, to which Antony belongs [8] .
- As swordplay was involved in the arrest, Antony will claim some of the credit for training Iskandar.
- He has been working late nights and has not had nearly as much excitement lately, mostly breaking up barfights and picking up the fascist stragglers. He did bring in some fancy fellow who was drunk and raving about being a wizard or some such.
Antony St. John, beat cop and fencer
Forward to Chapter One (Part One)
Or, as one of my players dubbed me, “The Malevolent Force that Loves Us All.”
The University of London is now called London College. (ETA: I have no idea where I found this information, as it seems the University of London still exists.)
My players decided that this plant was not, in fact, an orchid, and Richard Pryce was terrible at identifying plants.
In my game, the cultists took the seeds in Ernest’s pocket but left his wallet.
250 pounds in 1922 is around 11k in modern pounds, or almost $15k in modern dollars. This is a lot of money.
The fish people are a red herring.
At the time Iskandar left his homeland, Ottoman Turkish people did not have surnames. The name “Meshkia” is a fiction, assumed for purposes of filling out British paperwork; at the time of this writing, Iskandar’s player has not decided what the name signifies to the character.
For Americans (like me): the City of London police are responsible for (as the name suggests) the City of London itself, while the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard, the Met) is the rest of the London metropolitan area.
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