How I Start 'Call of Cthulhu' - part 2, The First Investigation
Last time I arrived at a wish list for the start of my CoC mini campaign. I will have to design a short introductory investigation to include as much of this list as possible.
(This, by the way, is why I am doing this blog. The thought processes are pretty much what I am going through as I design the investigation, and getting it down helps me organise my thoughts. I also thought it might be interesting to other GMs to see how I do it. Please feel free to share your techniques in the comments).
The Wish List
Last time I came up with what I wanted to include in the first scenario;
# using Arkham as a base.
# the investigators might not know each other.
# they may be from out of town.
# something will draw them together and force them to work against a Mythos threat.
# they may well be observed in this by someone who later pulls strings and brings other mysteries to their attention.
The location of Arkham is easy. I have the sourcebook (plus umpteen years playing CoC, quite a bit of it set in Arkham) and its my choice.
The next three points I will address by having them drawn together on their journey to Arkham. Why are they going there? I'll leave that to the players to think of their reasons, but I'll specify that the intention of the series is that they will be settling in the town, at least for a little while. I'll also ask them to design investigators that have a reasonable chance of having the time to investigate, either through their professions or lifestyles. I want the game to seem realistic, as much as is possible, to highlight the horror of the Mythos when it appears. I don't have a problem with giving the players the freedom/responsibility to do this. I will probably leave them to generate their characters before the first session so we can get straight on with play.
Clearly something happens to them on the journey. For them to be drawn together it sounds like something threatens them; they have to work together for their own survival. Does something attack them? This risks killing or incapacitating a character or several right at the start of the game, not good. Pulling punches to ensure survival only lessens the danger and risks trivialising it.
Perhaps another person is the target of some form of attack? The characters can be witnesses, and if they interfere, or even just if they see something, the attacker threatens them with a 'your next' sort of thing. This has the advantage of allowing me to emphasise the danger on an NPC. The nastier the death of the NPC, the more the players should worry for their characters. The unearthly nature of the attacker will draw the investigators right into the Mythos. While I don't normally like using the really powerful creatures, this is a time to go all out, but I will need to think of some way for the investigation to end and make sure there is a chance for (at least some of) the investigators to survive. I'm going to be looking for something suitably monstrous, so not Ghouls, Deep Ones etc. Something that can with a lot of luck be dispatched with weaponry, but that should be very difficult to do. There should also be the option to use other means to get rid of it, such as a vulnerability to something or some form of Magick to dismiss or banish it. I can easily design some sort of ritual, but if it already exists for the creature type, all the better. I'm looking for more than one way for the investigators to win here, if everything rides on one spell, then an investigation can easily stall or end very badly (for the characters at least).
The fifth point could be covered by another witness to the attack, or an acquaintance of the victim who has some idea of the threat. That person will believe the investigators' wild stories (perhaps they already have reason to trust the individual) and will provide them with some support and perhaps be able to smooth things (unofficially) for them. This person will have sufficient clout to be able to get the investigators involved in future investigations. And if you know the plot of The Condemned, this patron is sure to be one of the numbered, which should personalise the final story nicely.
Something to Run?
Whilst I've not settled on a final version, my current draft has the investigators as strangers on a bus travelling to Arkham for, as the kids say, Reasons. Other people are on board, one of whom has some Mythos knowledge, and has angered a powerful Mythos practitioner (the sorcerer). Perhaps he has stolen something? He either knows, or has strong suspicions of the danger he is in, and is looking for the missing piece of some ritual that will protect him from the sorcerer. However, the sorcerer has sent something after him, and it catches up with him on the bus, killing him in a gruesome manner emphasising the unnatural nature of the thing. Somehow the investigators will realise that they are also in great danger. Something the victim has left behind (papers? books? letters?) indicates a way to protect themselves and perhaps turn the thing against its master, but that will need further research in Arkham (as the victim had planned to do).
The additional passengers gives me more victims for the entity as a way of emphasising the danger. If the players are dragging their heels they will read about another shocking death, and recognise the new victim as a fellow passenger. This is also a failsafe if I can't find a way to pas on that they are all in danger as witnesses, and the dawning realisation that something is after all of them should help bring them together.
One of the fellow passengers will be the important person I mentioned. To keep this person out of immediate physical danger, I think making him or her less capable physically might be advisable; given that WW1 was less than ten years ago, someone of rank who was injured in France (and possibly saw horrors beyond those of trench warfare, so has a somewhat open mind about the Mythos) should fit the bill.
OK. That's not a fully written investigation, but it gives the bare bones of what I will later run. Still to do are fleshing out the NPCs, deciding which Mythos entity is the nasty and how the investigators can defeat it, and developing a paper trail that gives them information to help them in the final confrontation against the nasty.
I suspect that by the time this is posted I'll have firmed up these details. Certainly, this is not a long investigation, and I don't expect it to last more than a couple of sessions.
If anyone is interested, I'll post a brief run down of the investigation, once the players have finished with it of course.
(This, by the way, is why I am doing this blog. The thought processes are pretty much what I am going through as I design the investigation, and getting it down helps me organise my thoughts. I also thought it might be interesting to other GMs to see how I do it. Please feel free to share your techniques in the comments).
The Wish List
Last time I came up with what I wanted to include in the first scenario;
# using Arkham as a base.
# the investigators might not know each other.
# they may be from out of town.
# something will draw them together and force them to work against a Mythos threat.
# they may well be observed in this by someone who later pulls strings and brings other mysteries to their attention.
The location of Arkham is easy. I have the sourcebook (plus umpteen years playing CoC, quite a bit of it set in Arkham) and its my choice.
The next three points I will address by having them drawn together on their journey to Arkham. Why are they going there? I'll leave that to the players to think of their reasons, but I'll specify that the intention of the series is that they will be settling in the town, at least for a little while. I'll also ask them to design investigators that have a reasonable chance of having the time to investigate, either through their professions or lifestyles. I want the game to seem realistic, as much as is possible, to highlight the horror of the Mythos when it appears. I don't have a problem with giving the players the freedom/responsibility to do this. I will probably leave them to generate their characters before the first session so we can get straight on with play.
Clearly something happens to them on the journey. For them to be drawn together it sounds like something threatens them; they have to work together for their own survival. Does something attack them? This risks killing or incapacitating a character or several right at the start of the game, not good. Pulling punches to ensure survival only lessens the danger and risks trivialising it.
Perhaps another person is the target of some form of attack? The characters can be witnesses, and if they interfere, or even just if they see something, the attacker threatens them with a 'your next' sort of thing. This has the advantage of allowing me to emphasise the danger on an NPC. The nastier the death of the NPC, the more the players should worry for their characters. The unearthly nature of the attacker will draw the investigators right into the Mythos. While I don't normally like using the really powerful creatures, this is a time to go all out, but I will need to think of some way for the investigation to end and make sure there is a chance for (at least some of) the investigators to survive. I'm going to be looking for something suitably monstrous, so not Ghouls, Deep Ones etc. Something that can with a lot of luck be dispatched with weaponry, but that should be very difficult to do. There should also be the option to use other means to get rid of it, such as a vulnerability to something or some form of Magick to dismiss or banish it. I can easily design some sort of ritual, but if it already exists for the creature type, all the better. I'm looking for more than one way for the investigators to win here, if everything rides on one spell, then an investigation can easily stall or end very badly (for the characters at least).
The fifth point could be covered by another witness to the attack, or an acquaintance of the victim who has some idea of the threat. That person will believe the investigators' wild stories (perhaps they already have reason to trust the individual) and will provide them with some support and perhaps be able to smooth things (unofficially) for them. This person will have sufficient clout to be able to get the investigators involved in future investigations. And if you know the plot of The Condemned, this patron is sure to be one of the numbered, which should personalise the final story nicely.
Something to Run?
Whilst I've not settled on a final version, my current draft has the investigators as strangers on a bus travelling to Arkham for, as the kids say, Reasons. Other people are on board, one of whom has some Mythos knowledge, and has angered a powerful Mythos practitioner (the sorcerer). Perhaps he has stolen something? He either knows, or has strong suspicions of the danger he is in, and is looking for the missing piece of some ritual that will protect him from the sorcerer. However, the sorcerer has sent something after him, and it catches up with him on the bus, killing him in a gruesome manner emphasising the unnatural nature of the thing. Somehow the investigators will realise that they are also in great danger. Something the victim has left behind (papers? books? letters?) indicates a way to protect themselves and perhaps turn the thing against its master, but that will need further research in Arkham (as the victim had planned to do).
The additional passengers gives me more victims for the entity as a way of emphasising the danger. If the players are dragging their heels they will read about another shocking death, and recognise the new victim as a fellow passenger. This is also a failsafe if I can't find a way to pas on that they are all in danger as witnesses, and the dawning realisation that something is after all of them should help bring them together.
One of the fellow passengers will be the important person I mentioned. To keep this person out of immediate physical danger, I think making him or her less capable physically might be advisable; given that WW1 was less than ten years ago, someone of rank who was injured in France (and possibly saw horrors beyond those of trench warfare, so has a somewhat open mind about the Mythos) should fit the bill.
OK. That's not a fully written investigation, but it gives the bare bones of what I will later run. Still to do are fleshing out the NPCs, deciding which Mythos entity is the nasty and how the investigators can defeat it, and developing a paper trail that gives them information to help them in the final confrontation against the nasty.
I suspect that by the time this is posted I'll have firmed up these details. Certainly, this is not a long investigation, and I don't expect it to last more than a couple of sessions.
If anyone is interested, I'll post a brief run down of the investigation, once the players have finished with it of course.
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