Tag: Tabletop

Midwinter Gaming Convention 2020!

As promised, here is my Very Exciting News: I will be running two Call of Cthulhu games at Midwinter Gaming Convention in January! This con takes place every year in downtown Milwaukee. We’ll be playing the first two chapters of my module, The Well Below the Valley. Part One will take place on Thursday, January 9th, at 5:30 pm, and Part Two will be Saturday, January 11th, also at 5:30 pm. Both games will be at Table 4 in the MacArthur Room. Tickets are free (you’ll need a convention badge), but there are only 5 slots per game, so if you want to play with me, get them fast!

Here is the event page for Part One.

Here is the event page for Part Two.

Here is where you can get convention badges.

To avoid spoilers, I will be hiding all the posts from Chapter One and Chapter Two of my module until after the con, but the introductory material will remain available. I also won’t be posting any new parts of the module, and will instead be updating Beyond the Frost-Cold Sea every week. We’ll resume with Chapter Three and the normal posting schedule the week of January 13.

I am so excited to host this game and look forward to playing with you!

Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Three)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The time of the summoning grows closer and closer. Can the investigators find the cult’s base of operations and stop the ritual?

(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: kidnapping, murder, blood sacrifice, potential mob violence, eldritch horrors.)

Continue reading “Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Three)” →

Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Two)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The cult of the Great Mother is well-established here in Oxmoor, and the investigators need to find out whom they can trust. The notes written by Professor Ragnarsson’s murderer indicated that the cult is seeking a book at the Westmont estate. Finding that book will be the key to the investigators’ next steps, but time is of the essence: the cult is preparing to summon an eldritch horror from ages long forgotten.

This section includes the Westmont Estate, notes on the book, and other locations around Oxmoor.

(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: violence, death, murder, cult activity including blood sacrifice and implied forced pregnancy.)

Continue reading “Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part Two)” →

Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part One)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The investigators have discovered the murderer of Professor Ragnarsson and brought to light the terrible cult he belongs to.  They now have their next lead: the village of Oxmoor, where Ragnarsson’s former assistant is now living. She was entrusted with one of the artifacts the professor removed from the island, and has more information about the ill-fated expedition.  In a stroke of phenomenally bad luck, the cult is also gathering there to seek out an artifact from the island and a mysterious text. The investigators must travel to Oxmoor, find Jasmine, and put a stop to what the cult has planned next, which seems to also be putting Eloise’s young cousin, Aurelia Westmont, in danger as well. 

In this section, the investigators will visit Jasmine and find out what she knows about the cult and its practices, and have their first encounter with the dark magic of the island.

(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: mentions of sexism/racism and suicide, forced pregnancy, body horror.)

Continue reading “Chapter Two: Green Grows the Lily (Part One)” →

Chapter One: The Souls of the Heathens (Part Two)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

The investigators return to London after gathering clues in Oxford and learning of the tragedy that befell Professor Ragnarsson’s expedition to the North Sea. While they try to hunt down the professor’s murderer and make sense of what he left behind, they find that something far stranger is happening here—and they are all in grave danger.

(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: murder, mentions of sexism and racism, drowning, possible mind control, discussion of WWI and loss of loved ones.)

Continue reading “Chapter One: The Souls of the Heathens (Part Two)” →

Chapter One: The Souls of the Heathens (Part One)

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

It is February 13, 1922, and it is a cold and rainy Monday morning in London.  Three days ago, Professor Emundr Ragnarsson was found dead in his hotel room. The investigators will visit and revisit various important locations, speaking to witnesses and gathering clues in order to find out who killed the professor.  Meanwhile, a rival detective at Scotland Yard will be conducting his own investigation, and an acquaintance of the victim’s has his own theories as to what happened. The real killer is out there, however, and the investigators must discover the truth before he and the mysterious organization he serves strike again. 

(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: murder, mentions of sexism and racism, memory loss/mind control, drowning.)

Continue reading “Chapter One: The Souls of the Heathens (Part One)” →

The Well Below the Valley: Player Characters/Session Zero

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

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.)

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley: Player Characters/Session Zero” →

The Well Below the Valley: Handouts

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

Links to PDF downloads, as well as transcriptions where possible, are provided in each chapter, but all the PDFs can be found here.

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley: Handouts” →

The Well Below the Valley: NPC Profiles

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

This is an appendix of sorts where all the NPC profiles will be kept.

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley: NPC Profiles” →

The Well Below the Valley: Introduction

The Well Below the Valley cover image: A dead tree stands on a field of short grass, against a blank gray sky. Bottom text reads, "A fan-made Call of Cthulhu module."

Table of Contents

It is February 13, 1922. Three days ago, Oxford professor of archaeology Emundr Ragnarsson was found dead in a London hotel room. At first, it was assumed that his death was a natural one, but there are too many questions surrounding it. Who has been following the professor around Oxford? What happened on his last field expedition, that was cut short and declared a failure? What does his work have to do with a mysterious blight affecting plants around the country? And how did he drown, miles from the harbor and with no other sources of water nearby? 

Continue reading “The Well Below the Valley: Introduction” →