commoriom submission v3,24
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,24
1/39
A Submission for
Trail of Cthulhu
Commoriom
General/structural comments:
It would be good if, by the end, the protagonists
have an idea of what KZ and his spawn might be,
maybe where they came from. Do they also need a
copy of the Book of Eibon
Include !hule "ociety esoteric conspiracy # vril
stuff $ne of the %ril "ociety ladies is with
&obineau's team.
(ave Ethelrod's manner of death depend on player
actions) If they spot the &erman camp, perhaps he
asks one of them what they think it is, and#or
should we go there. If *E" then &obineau kills him
there. If +$ then the &ermans follow them and
&obineau shoots Ethelrod as they approach#enter
the valley. If both these events are prevented then
&ranger gets drunk and kills Ethelrod ust after theyarrive in the valley -or the &nophKeh kills him/.
!he offspring of KZ have two forms) adult and
uvenile. !he uvenile is simply a fissile offshoot
of an adult. It's about the si0e and appearance of a
leech. $nly the uvenile can parasitise a human.
!hey take about 12 weeks inside a human to reach
adulthood.
!here is a fro0en mastodon carcass in the upper
chamber of the tower.
3hange both clues and instructions to the Keeper
into second person.
3an e4uipment be defined in terms of opportunities
for the use of 5reparedness Eg. 6inches, ropes
etc. 7eview travel, supply levels and some physical
challenges to make them properly playerfacing and
simple to use. But wait to see what 8aws comes up
with in 9ythos E:peditions.
9ake format of clues consistent -bulleted/ as per
above
(ans 7einerth) real archaeologist who did a lot of
work for ;lfred 7osenberg and oined the +"D;5
in
-
8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,24
2/39
The Horrible Truth!he archaeological site is the ruin of the lost
(yperborean city of 3ommoriom. Entombed within
it are a descendent of !sathoggua and his
amorphous, parasitic offspring.
The Spine!he team members voyage to Godthb, where they
can confront a Rival Expeditionfrom &ermany.!hey then begin their arduous overland trek in
Evighedsfjorden.
!he protagonists see strange Eskimo watching them
from afar. In addition, a confrontation with the rival
team may have deadly conse4uences.
In The Valley of ommoriom! the protagonists
can find the bodies of the last survivors of the&erman team, mysteriously burned to death.
+earby, there is a strange temple inscribed with a
history of the early prehuman settlers. $n the
valley floor, a shadow under the ice indicates the
location of the archaeological site.
!here is strange singing in the valley and the
protagonists see the elusive figures of blond
Eskimo.
Excavation leads to the discovery of an ancient
tower entombed in ice, containing the remains ofancient astronomical e4uipment.
nseasonal bli00ards harry the team as they work
and they may glimpse a strange creature in the
storm. !he problems escalate with damage to the
camp and people attacked, until the 5rotagonists
neutralise the Eskimo clan that is causing these
problems.
urther digging uncovers a stairway with a frie0e
describing a history of (yperborea and eventually
leads to a ity "nder the #cewhere the teamuncovers a device that sends their minds back in
time to the disturbing origins of life on earth and
merges them with the primordial mind of bbo
"athla.
;s they e:plore and e:cavate, the city's dormant,
parasitic inhabitants begin to awaken and infest the
intruders, leading to the $%a&ening of 'nygathin(haum.
Victory Conditions%ictory in this scenario means discovering the
nature of the site and the horror within it and
escaping alive, preferably with the site safely
sealed.
Antagonist Reactions!here are four factions of potential antagonists in
this scenario.
; private &erman e:pedition of +a0iallied
archaeologists and occultists is investigating the site
as the possible ruin of Fltima !huleG. !hey see
themselves as civilised men, and -with the
e:ception of &obineau/ will initially be inclined to
be cordial. (owever, they see the site as property of
their ancestors and themselves as it's custodians.
!hey will ruthlessly take control of the site or its
artifacts if it seems necessary. 8ikewise, they may
use violence if threatened or obstructed.
; tiny clan of latterday (yperboreans -or HBlond
Eskimo'/ lives near the coast to the west of thevalley of 3ommoriom. !he Inuit of the region shun
them for their foul religious practices. !heir
ancestral myths warn that people disturbing the
valley will awaken a giant fro0en in a city under the
ice. !hey will do their utmost to protect the valley.
!heir most effective tactic is calling a &nophKeh
to hamper the e:pedition.
6ithin the city itself, is a colony of amorphous and
parasitic entities descended from !sathoggua.
Initially dormant, they will gradually awaken, andattempt to subdue and infest human hosts, gradually
gaining control over their behaviour and using them
to attempt to awaken their leader Knygathin Zhaum
and the other spawn. 6hen sufficient numbers are
awake, they will launch a fullscale attack on the
intruders.
; fourth potential antagonist is the team member
Dr 3huck &ranger, whose alcoholism and mental
health issues may cause him to become violent
under the stresses of the e:pedition.
Running Commoriom withthe Armitage Inquiry
!his scenario begins in late >une of
-
8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,24
3/39
&reenland e:pedition to his colleague Dr rancis
9organ and 9organ shared the story with
5rofessor ;rmitage. "oon they were working with
5rofessor Ethelrod in England to organise a follow
up e:pedition.
)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,!his symbol defines
sections that apply only to running the scenario as
part of the ;rmitage In4uiry.
Running Commoriom as astandalone
*ou can also run this scenario as a standalone
adventure or mark a dramatic beginning to an
ongoing campaign.
Ethelrod has organised the e:pedition with the
British 9useum, independently of ;rmitage and his
colleagues.
)*ymbol: *tandalone, !his symbol defines
sections that apply only to running the scenario as a
standalone.
Creating the Protagonists;ppropriate roles for the e:pedition include
archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists,
biologists, e:plosives e:perts, drill engineers and
radio engineers. ;ll team members should be
healthy and fit, and be competent crosscountryskiers @ represented for game purposes as a
minimum $utdoorsman rating of < and ;thletics of
1. !he e:pedition will also need a medic with
9edicine and irst ;id ratings of at least .
!he e:pedition leader is very :enophobic and
rench applicants in particular need not apply.
)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry, !eam members arelikely to be ;merican, perhaps connected to the
niversity. (owever, Ethelrod may have brought
British team members with him.
)*ymbol: *tandalone, !he e:pedition is Britishand most of its members are too. (owever, Dr
&ranger may not be the only ;merican to oin the
e:pedition.
Prologue!he 5rotagonists have each applied for a position
on an e:citing e:pedition to &reenland.
!he following clues are availableabout recent polar
e:peditions)
$rchaeology/$nthropology:
In
-
8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,24
4/39
Insight into one or more of their 5illars of
"anity.
!hese things can be drawn out by the interviewer
asking about the applicant's 4ualifications, reasons
for wanting to oin the e:pedition, their beliefs,
what they would rely on to get through the ;rctic
winter and so on.
)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,If organised by9iskatonic niversity, 3hairman of the
;rchaeology Department, Doctor Ernest 9c!avish
conducts the interview along with ;ssociate
5rofessor rancis 9organ.
)*ymbol: *tandalone, If the e:pedition is
organised by Ethelrod in England, he conducts the
interview himself, accompanied by his friend
6ilfred 8ipton, at Ethelrod's office in the British
9useum.
Scenes
!riefing*cene Type:Introduction
.ead0ut:5reparations, !he ;tlantic %oyage
)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,!he briefing takes
place in a seminar room at the ;rchaeology
Department of 9iskatonic niversity. ;ssociate
5rofessor rancis 9organ is a selfassured yet soft
spoken field researcher in his early 1As, who
e:presses regret at being unable to attend the
e:pedition due to it being brought forward by a
year. (e introduces e:pedition leader 5rofessor
Ethelrod, a renowned linguist from 3ambridge and
veteran of the 9athieson E:pedition, who has
voyaged across the ;tlantic to oin them.
$rchaeology:Dr 9organ has a good reputation as
a scientist, adventurer and a man of integrity. -
-
8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,24
5/39
crash of
-
8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,24
6/39
M ;t an international archaeology conference in
5aris last year, Dr "ummers of Edinburgh
niversity, heard reference to a forthcoming
e:pedition to e:plore what was Hnonsensically'
described as Hruins of !hule found in 6est
&reenland'. It isn't known what si0e the rival team
is or when they will arrive.
(e will wrap up the briefing after three or four4uestions, or if he doesn't like the direction the
4uestions are going.
$ssess 3onesty:6hen asked about the specifics of
the first e:pedition, why the details were not
released or why the second e:pedition was delayed
for so long, Ethelrod seems somewhat evasive. 4
5oint *pend: (e is deliberately hiding something.
Ethelrod will wrap up the briefing after three or
four 4uestions, or if he doesn't like the direction the
4uestions are going.
Henr Ethelrod
!o interact with Ethelrod significantly, British
characters need a 3redit 7ating of CN, ;mericans
and other Europeans need ON. ;nyone else will
need to make a
-
8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,24
7/39
'esearching &reenland
.ibrary "se:!ime spent in a maor library will
grant a dedicated pool point for investigative
spends in any field as it relates to &reenland, for
e:ample, ;nthropology, ;rchaeology, (istory,
&eology, $ccult or $utdoorsman. ; 4point spendwill grant dedicated pool points. ; 9point spend
will grant 1.
'esearching the (tholog of&reenland
.ibrary "se:;fter his travels between 11A B3 and
1A B3, the &reek e:plorer 5ytheas makes the first
known reference to the mysterious island of !hule
Fsi: daysR sail north of Britain, and near the fro0en
seaG. (e claimed that people keep bees in this place
and in summer, nights are only two or three hours
long. It's not clear whether he is referring to
Iceland, &reenland, +orway or somewhere else
altogether.
!he ;ncient &reeks also tell of the (yperboreans
who live beyond the north wind -the literal meaning
of H(yperborea'/. !heir land was perfect, with the
sun shining 2 hours a day, and the people free
from war, disease and old age and always happy.
!he people were blond and very tall. (yperborea
has variously been located in northeast ;sia,
6estern Europe or Britain. In the
-
8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,24
8/39
5oringover it -unlikely in time for the departure of
the e:pedition/ provides N< to 3thulhu 9ythos, N
for someone who has encountered !sathoggua or
his minions.
The (athieson E-pedition of ./01
.ibrary "se: !he information on the 9athiesonE:pedition report, the Dorset 3ulture and the
distribution of polar bears described in the-riefingcan be uncovered in a goodsi0ed academic library
by substituting point spends in 8ibrary se.
The &erman E-pedition
inding out more about this e:pedition is very
difficult as there is nothing published about it
publically. Reassurance or lattery will get Dr9organ or 5rofessor Ethelrod to reveal that an
associate of Ethelrod's, Dr "ummers of Edinburgh
niversity, heard a reference to a privately funded&erman e:pedition at an international archaeology
conference in 5aris last year.
2utdoor Training
%arious independently sourced courses in outdoor
skills may grant a protagonist up to dedicated
pool points in ;thletics or $utdoorsman, to be used
in ;rctic and "ubarctic environments.
The Atlantic Voyage*cene Type:$ptional, !ransition
.ead#n:Briefing, 5reparations
.ead0ut:&odthb
!his is an opportunity to roleplay various
interactions between player characters as they get to
know one another and their leader.
!he voyage for &odthb takes si: days, giving the
5rotagonists plenty of time to get to know the other
members of the team or to read in their cabins if
they prefer.;n ;thletics test against Difficulty 1 is re4uired
avoid seasickness. !he effect is the same as being
(urt and lasts for 2 hours.
TBegin sidebarU
The Crew!he ship's crew consists of the 3aptain, irst 9ate,
3hief 5etty $fficer and a crew of Q sailors.
Captain 3ames (acAllen
; tall, lean, dour man who looks older than his 2C
years. (e doesn't say much, but commands the
respect of his crew.
$bilities:;thletics 2, (ealth C, "cuffling O,
6eapons
3it Threshold:1
8eapon: -fists/, < -boat hook#improvised/
4irst (ate )ill Hewlett
;n e:perienced seaman who has worked closely
with 9ac;llen for years, (ewlett is a somewhat
portly man in his early 2As, with red hair.
$bilities: ;thletics 1, (ealth C, "cuffling 2,
6eapons
3it Threshold:1
8eapon: -fists/, < -boat hook#improvised/
Chief Pett 2fficer Anders Pihl
5ihl is a large, friendly man of Danish nationality.
(e is 1P, has a full beard and enoys a drink.
$bilities:;thletics O, irearms 2, (ealth P,
"cuffling Q, 6eapons 1
3it Threshold:1
8eapon: -fists/, < -boat hook#improvised/, N