TEXT: Blood of the Vine  
  An investigation for
  Call of Cthulhu
  7th Edition
  by Quincy Howe
          Published By Foolish Games:
           www.patreon.com/The_Fool
  
  Index
  Introduction...............................................................................3
  Overview....................................................................................3
  Hooks.........................................................................................4
  Dramatis Personae.....................................................................4
  Events........................................................................................8
  Locations...................................................................................9
  Books, Spells, and Artifacts.....................................................17
  Stats..........................................................................................22
  Patrons......................................................................................22
  
  Introduction
  ‘In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath 
  are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy 
  for the vintage.’
  -John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath.
  This module is intended for new or relatively 
  new investigators, although more established 
  investigators may still find it a worthy 
  challenge.
  It is set in the north east U.S., in wine country, 
  in the fictional town of Belmont, New York. 
  The year is 1925
  Some notes to aid in reading these contents, 
  certain punctuation following words or phrases
  mean that word or phrase references a certain 
  section of the book:
  * Book from ‘Books, Spells, and Artifacts’
  + Spell from ‘Books, Spells, and Artifacts’
  ^ Artifact from ‘Books, Spells, and Artifacts’
  # Creature presented in ‘Stats’
  Overview
  The Story: A young lady, Matilda Trevor, has 
  inherited a vineyard from a family member far 
  removed from her that had no other heirs of 
  closer blood. She is eager to turn the rural 
  parcel of land and accompanying villa into a 
  vacation home. The place needs serious 
  renovations and repairs but workers, both hired
  and neighborly volunteers, keep falling ill. 
  Those that do not fall ill hear strange noises 
  and generally become unwilling to work on the
  restoration. Investigators are called in to either 
  work on the house or find out what’s causing 
  things and put a stop to it. 
  The Trouble: The vineyard conceals the 
  meeting place and temple of a mystery cult 
  headed by a deceased sorcerer. Although a 
  descendant of the cult leader sealed the cultists 
  in their temple alive with no way out and tried 
  to have all recollection of it destroyed, the 
  temple itself survived. The recent restoration 
  has disturbed the disquiet spirits of the cultists,
  which seek to restore themselves to life by 
  possessing living vessels. The mysterious 
  illness is, in fact, a coma caused by the spirits 
  unsuccessfully possessing the workers, unable 
  to take control until the final incantation is 
  uttered. The spirits seek to lead anyone on site 
  to unseal the temple, unleash what is buried 
  within, and cast the incantation to restore them 
  to life.
  3
  
  Time line
  -1850: Reginald Dewford is a well regarded 
  and independently wealthy, but relatively 
  unknown professor of history, mythology and 
  ancient mysticism traveling europe studying 
  ancient Roman and Greek culture. who 
  intensely studies a transcription 
  -1862: Dewford acquires a text (Liberi sacra 
  mysteria*) and artifact (Lycurgus Cup^) at 
  auction in London. Intense study of both leads 
  Reginald to discover their magical properties 
  and become an amoral sorceror. 
  -1868: Dewford flees to New York to escape 
  discovery for his numerous criminal activities 
  tied to his sorcerous research. 
  -1870: Morningdew vineyard is established by 
  Reginald Dewford overtop Iroquois cursed 
  ground and founds the Blood of the Harvest 
  cult in order to continue his sorcery.
  -1886: The Blood of the Harvest cult reaches 
  its height, the strange vintage^ is brewed and 
  the temple is warded. This year is also far too 
  poor for the vineyards and little to no wine is 
  produced.
  -1900: Grant Dewford, upon discovering what 
  his grandfather is doing, seals off the temple 
  with the cultists still inside to stop their evil 
  once and for all.
  -1925 (January): Grant Dewford dies, leaving 
  his second cousin (Matilda Trevor) as the 
  closest heir to inherit the Morningdew 
  vineyard. Renovations begin on the vineyard, 
  which has fallen into disrepair.
  -1925 (March): The construction of a garage 
  is completed but the renovations cease when a 
  worker discovers the soul stone in the wine 
  cellar. The workers suddenly begin to fall into 
  comas after exposure to the stone,with the 
  work site developing a reputation as dangerous
  as a direct result. No further workers are 
  willing to work on the site.
  -1925 (June): The investigators arrive…
  Hooks
  Could be doctor called in to investigate the 
  mysterious illness. A friend of the owner 
  helping to figure things out. A new worker 
  hired to renovate (but not told of the illness). A
  lawyer looking for cause to sue the new owner 
  on behalf of the workers’ families. A curious 
  reporter or an agent of an institution with an 
  interest in the events. Perhaps even just a nosy 
  tourist.
  Dramatis Personae
  Matilda Trevor: Matilda Trevor is a stern, 
  ambitious single woman in her late twenties. 
  She has a B.S. in economics from Barnard 
  College and tends to dress sharply but 
  modestly. She is independently wealthy, having
  both inherited a great deal and invested well. 
  Matilda sees Morningdew as another 
  investment and is eager to expand her financial
  portfolio as well as have a picturesque vacation
  4
  
  home. She is subconsciously disdainful of men
  in general and openly critical of chauvinism or 
  misogyny, often mocking men without her 
  obvious success if they express any opinion 
  perceived as denigrating women.
  Reginald Dewford: Originally a professor of 
  history and mythology with an unhealthy 
  interest in the occult and ancient mysticism. 
  Reginald Dewford was a quiet academic who 
  lived comfortably in New England. This 
  changed in 1868 when Dewford purchased at 
  auction the Liberi sacra mysteria*, which he 
  began to study and translate. For the relatively 
  unknown academic this was the opportunity of 
  a lifetime and Dewford poured everything he 
  had into translating the text. As he progressed 
  into the depths of the tome he learned that it 
  was unlike anything he had ever read, 
  describing foul rites never spoken of outside of
  the initiated of an ancient Bacchus mystery 
  cult. His obsession turned for the worse when 
  he accidentally cast one of the simpler spells 
  contained within the text, once he knew the 
  book contained legitimate magic the 
  temptations that the magic within offered were 
  too much for him to resist. After the ritual 
  sacrifice of nearly a dozen people Dewford 
  moved himself and his family away to New 
  York in order to distance himself from possible
  capture and prosecution.
  He established the Morningdew Vineyard in 
  1870, atop ground considered cursed by the 
  native Iroquois, which he was able to purchase 
  cheaply. Once established, Reginald decided 
  that in order to continue his practices he would
  need a network of capable servants and so 
  established the Blood of the Harvest cult, 
  modeling it after a Bacchus mystery cult and 
  using his sorcerous powers as evidence of his 
  divinity. The cult functioned for a significant 
  period of time, operating mostly unnoticed in 
  the small town. When Reginald attempted to 
  convert his grandson, Grant Dewford, it met 
  with disaster as Grant sealed the underground 
  temple with the cultists still inside. Rather than
  face their deaths Reginald ritually stored the 
  souls of himself and his followers in the soul 
  stone^ and cast it into the wine cellar through 
  the small hole they managed to dig open. 
  If asked about in town among those old enough
  to remember him day Reginald was known as a
  charismatic and knowledgeable man. He 
  disappeared along with 10 other people in 
  1900 in the same night right about when his 
  grandson took over his house. Many theorize 
  (correctly) that Grant Dewford murdered 
  Reginald.
  Grant Dewford: Grant Dewford was the 
  grandson of Reginald Dewford. Known to a 
  practical and courageous man he worked as a 
  miner for several years before an accident 
  forced him to take a job working on the family 
  vineyard. Once there, his grandfather, who had 
  never aged even while Grants’ father had 
  5
  
  grown old and died, attempted to indoctrinate 
  the man in the ways of the Blood of the 
  Harvest. Grant was appalled and disgusted, but
  managed to hide it well enough that he was 
  able to survive knowing the secret. Once the 
  entire cult had gathered for a ritual Grant used 
  dynamite to blast closed the tunnel to the 
  underground temple of the cult, sealing their 
  doom. After this he destroyed any references 
  around his grandfathers’ home to the cult or its 
  activities that he could find (unfortunately 
  missing a few as they were encoded). Grant 
  spent the remainder of his life in retirement on 
  the vineyard, warning people away lest the evil
  beneath the house be released. His seclusion 
  led to suspicion from others. He was known by
  people who encountered him as a suspicious 
  and surly man, many suspected him to have 
  murdered his grandfather and a few believe he 
  was a witch that cursed his vineyard and the 
  surrounding area. With his death, ownership of 
  the vineyard passed to his next of kin, Matilda 
  Trevor, and his collection of books passed into 
  the custody of the local church. People in town
  remember Grant as a a decent but gruff God 
  fearing man, although surly and protective 
  when it came to the vineyard which he didn’t 
  properly utilize. Outside of church he was not 
  very sociable and was generally a mystery to 
  the people of the town, a mystery they filled 
  with numerous theories about his past and 
  character which they will freely share with the 
  investigators. Keepers are encouraged to get 
  creative with these theories, the only one for 
  certain to be mentioned is the theory that he 
  killed his grandfather to claim Morningdew 
  vineyard. 
  Sara May: A bubbly, cheerful, middle aged 
  woman who founded the Belmont tourism 
  agency with her husband Gilliard May. Gilliard
  rarely appears in public anymore but Sara runs 
  the tours. She is helpful and cheerful, often to 
  the point of denial when faced with 
  unpleasantries. 
  Daniel Valson: The local protestant minister 
  operating out of the church. He is a thin man in
  his mid twenties who wears large rimmed 
  glasses. He tends to be overly agreeable to 
  avoid conflict and is a bit hesitant to take on 
  responsibility for fear of failure. Valson was 
  the original heritor of Morningdew but had no 
  inclination to manage the property and so had 
  it given to Grants’ next of kin instead. Valson 
  has the key to the Dewford family mausoleum 
  but will not unlock the tomb without a HARD 
  social success (INTIMIDATION requires only 
  a normal success) or permission from a 
  member of the family. 
  Dr. Wallace Webber: Dr. Webber is the only 
  medical doctor in the town, operating out of a 
  small practice toward the center of the town 
  and often making house calls. He is a man of 
  serious disposition who appears to be in his 
  6
  
  fifties. Previously a professor of medicine who 
  was forced from his position due to internal 
  politics, he ‘retired’ to a quiet medical practice 
  in Belmont. Although learned enough to 
  handle most typical problems within the 
  community he is baffled by the illness 
  afflicting the workers, and houses them 
  temporarily while they await transport to the 
  city hospital. He is hesitant to speak to anyone 
  about the illness afflicting his patients unless 
  they are a doctor due both to his Hippocratic 
  oath and due to his failure to help the 
  condition. A HARD FAST TALK success may 
  be enough if someone attempts to convince 
  him they are a doctor in town to help or the 
  next of kin of a patient and a HARD 
  PERSUADE success may work to get him to 
  share what he knows if the investigator can 
  convince him they can aid the patient, but no 
  other social skill will push him to talk even on 
  an extreme success. 
  Workers: The simple laborers and neighborly 
  helpers who have worked on restoring 
  Morningdew vineyard to its former glory were 
  fairly many. Most, but not all, of these workers
  fell comatose after touching the soul stone^ 
  and becoming possessed by the spirit of a 
  deceased cultist. The few who remain 
  untouched by the ‘illness’ are unwilling to 
  return out of fear for their health. In total 11 
  workers are possessed and comatose at the start
  of the investigation.
  Ghosts: Rather than dying when they were 
  entombed alive the spirits of the Blood of the 
  Harvest cult remain on this earthly plane by the
  use of magic. When they were sealed in the 
  underground temple the cultists quickly 
  worked to dig themselves out, and they would 
  have had time to do so if the strange vintage^ 
  lasted more than 24 hours. The cults’ own 
  guardian saytr# would kill them all before they
  could clear the rubble sufficiently to escape. 
  Rather than accept death, Reginald proposed 
  they use ritual magic to transfer their souls into
  a stone and live on by taking the bodies of the 
  first to come in contact with the item. To this 
  end Reginald bloodily sacrificed each one as 
  part of the ritual ‘Life within the stone’+. With 
  his own dying action he tossed the stone 
  through the small opening they had cleared 
  into the wine cellar.
  Samuel Anson: A thin, sharp nosed man 
  reminiscent of a weasel and a seagull at the 
  same time. Anson is a lawyer looking to make 
  a profitable case out of the illness of the 
  workers at the Morningdew vineyard. To this 
  end he conducts his own investigation in order 
  to find evidence necessary to prove Matilda 
  Trevor liable for the illnesses. He is a deeply 
  unpleasant person, abrasive and argumentative 
  when he knows he can win. He delights in 
  condescending and causing people problems 
  when they can’t retaliate in kind (if they attack 
  him physically he’s happy to sue them for 
  7
  
  assault). He hides behind the claim that he is 
  looking for justice for his clients but in reality 
  is only acting on greed. 
  Events
  The final incantation: If the Awaken the 
  Revelers+ is cast successfully, without 
  alteration, the spirits of the cultists take over 
  their host bodies and wake up. Ostensibly, the 
  investigators have succeeded in saving the 
  workers from their illness. The Conclusion 
  changes accordingly and follows immediately 
  after this event.
  The rite of reversal: If the Awaken the 
  Revelers+ is cast successfully, with proper 
  alteration, the spirits of the cultists are killed 
  and their victims awaken from their comas. 
  The investigators have succeeded in saving the
  workers from their illness. The Conclusion 
  changes accordingly and follows immediately 
  after this event.
  Traverse the mist between worlds: If Traverse 
  Elysium+ is successfully cast, all participants 
  find themselves in a realm beyond earth known
  as the mist between worlds. It appears to be an 
  endless, foggy forest where visibility is always 
  limited to fifty feet away and the world beyond
  this range is not set. For instance if one finds a 
  cabin in this realm and moves more than fifty 
  feet from its edge then returns the cabin is 
  likely to no longer be there. This makes 
  traditional methods of navigation impossible. 
  How the investigators escape this realm, if they
  even can, and where or when they arrive if 
  they do is all left up to the keeper. 
  Reading on the wine of tears: If a believer in 
  the mythos has benefited from a dose of the 
  wine of tears^ later learns of its origins then 
  that person loses 1d6 sanity at the realization 
  of the dire cost of their gains.
  Conclusion:
  Burning or destruction of any of the books that
  have a mythos rating is worth 1 point of sanity 
  for each investigator per book, 2 for the 
  destruction of the Liberi sacra mysteria*.
  If she is made aware of them, Matilda will 
  demand any books found on the property. So 
  long as they are not described to her as having 
  any special significance she will lock the 
  books away in her collection where they will 
  cause no trouble except for the Liberi sancra 
  Mysteria* which she will sell to a museum 
  where it causes no further problems. If she is 
  made to believe the books contain any sort of 
  actual magical secrets (such as by 
  demonstration of a spell or the results) she will
  succumb to the temptation and restart the 
  Blood of the Harvest cult, although the 
  investigators are not likely to learn of this 
  unless they purposely look into it.
  8
  
  If the investigators give up or are thwarted 
  somehow the workers spend the rest of their 
  lives comatose, for most this is not a long 
  period of time (-3 sanity). Matilda eventually 
  sells the property to a real estate company at a 
  significant loss and is rather disappointed in 
  the failure of the investigators.
  If the investigators cast either version of 
  Awaken the Revelers+ the workers awaken and
  the investigators gain 5 sanity. 
  If they cast the spell with no alterations then 
  the workers are diagnosed with having short 
  term disorientation after their coma or possibly
  brain damage due to the changes in their 
  personalities that result. Shortly, each of them 
  appears to be getting better before vanishing 
  entirely (Leaving to restart the cult elsewhere), 
  causing the investigators to become aware that 
  something was wrong with how things ended 
  and lose 2 sanity each from unease. In 
  addition, the cult will seek to retrieve their 
  holy texts from anyone in possession of them 
  (but they know nothing of copies made) and do
  not hesitate to attempt to kill anyone who has 
  knowledge of their existence and secrets.
  If the investigators cast the spell in a modified 
  manner and wake the actual workers the 
  workers return to their homes and families as 
  well as the worksite. Investigators gain 3 
  additional sanity and the gratitude of numerous
  families as well as the current owner of 
  Morningdew.
  Locations
  Locations marked with a (G) tag are main 
  locations containing many of the smaller 
  described locations. Locations with a tag 
  containing a letter and a number, like (A1), are 
  keyed to specific locations on the maps given. 
  For instance (A1) is a location marked ‘1’ on 
  map ‘A’.
  Belmont, New York (G): Belmont is a village 
  in New York at the base of the catskills. Hardly
  a town, it has a post office, a few small houses,
  a general store, a town hall, a church, and a 
  tourism office focusing on the vineyards.
  Post Office: This is a small United States post 
  office. It has little relation to the story aside 
  from its location. The post office has a 
  telegraph line should one be required, and is 
  generally the only outside contact the town has
  with the outside world.
  General Store: The general store keeps plenty 
  of general sundries needed for a fair standard 
  of living. Items it does not stock can be 
  ordered, deliveries arrive weekly on mondays. 
  The store also handles large shipments of 
  fertilizers, animal feed, and other goods needed
  9
  
  for the local farms and vineyards. If an item is 
  truly exotic the shop does not have it but if in 
  doubt over whether an item is in stock have the
  investigator seeking the item make a LUCK 
  roll, on a success the item is in stock.
  Town Hall: The local town hall is a cramped 
  building seemingly too small for all the 
  functions it needs to serve. The town hall 
  contains the police offices, the jail, the 
  courthouse, the hall of records, and the 
  mayoral offices. Most pertinent to the 
  investigation are the police station and the hall 
  of records, both which have documents relating
  to events in the history of Morningdew Grove.
  Records kept in the town hall include:
  • A record of purchase of the land 
  Morningdew was established on by 
  Reginald Dewford in 1870.
  • The will of Grant Dewford, which 
  establishes that all his possessions be 
  donated to the local church (The minister
  passed on the Morningdew property to 
  his next of kin), and that it be ‘sanctified 
  and exorcised to the fullest possible 
  extent or burned, at the discretion of the 
  church’.
  • The wills of each of the cult members, 
  which all indicate Reginald Dewford as 
  the one their remains are entrusted to. 
  • The wills of the workers are stored here 
  as well. Being largely youthful and poor 
  the workers have mostly not drafted 
  wills, only 3 are to be found and those 3 
  are very typical.
  • A newspaper article from the nearest city
  (Belmont has no publications of its 
  own), dated to 1900, chronicling the 
  disappearance of eleven people from the 
  village of Belmont in seemingly a single 
  night. Information is scarce on the 
  possible cause or fate of  those who 
  vanished. 
  The records kept in the police station include:
  • Missing persons reports for all 11 cult 
  members (not indicated as cult members 
  in the documents) filed roughly around 
  the same times. Each report indicates all 
  of these people were last seen either the 
  night before, leaving home for some 
  reason, or very recently before that (if 
  they lived alone). These reports are tied 
  together due to the timing but no trace 
  was ever found of any of them. An 
  attached police report suggests 
  potentially that Reginald Dewford is at 
  fault, given all these missing people 
  except him had him marked as a 
  beneficiary in their respective wills. 
  Grant Dewford is also a suspect, given 
  his relation to Reginald and being the 
  one who filed the missing person report 
  on his grandfather but no evidence was 
  ever found. 
  10
  
  • Missing persons reports of various adults
  from 1873-1900. Seemingly unrelated 
  and mostly travelers. Roughly 1 every 
  year, this pattern does not continue after 
  1900. Some of these persons were found 
  in the mountains alive (these were 
  people just lost in the mountains, not 
  taken by the cult), but 1 remains lost 
  every year.
  The records kept in the town hall are public but
  records kept in the police station are going to 
  require a social success or more extreme 
  measures to access. Even with access to the 
  sets of records a LIBRARY USE success with 
  a topic in mind is going to be required to find 
  anything of importance. 
  Church: The local protestant church serves as 
  the only, public, outlet of spirituality for the 
  people of the town and surrounding area, as 
  well as local library and schoolhouse. After the
  cults secret temple was sealed most of the 
  collection of books containing references to 
  their practices managed to survive destruction 
  by being encoded and disguised as normal 
  books. After the death of Morningdews’ most 
  recent owner all the books of the estate were 
  donated to the library where most still remain 
  uncategorized and unshelved. The books 
  donated and contained here of interest are 
  ‘New England Recipes’* and ‘Dewford Family
  History’*. The cemetery on the grounds has 
  the Dewford family mausoleum.
  Mausoleum: Due to Reginalds’ influence in the
  town the Dewfords became a prominent local 
  family in their time. So much so that they 
  could afford a permanent mausoleum on the 
  local church grounds. This prosperity only 
  lasted for two generations, however, as it died 
  with the cult. The sarcophagi here are: 
  • Gretta Dewford (Reginalds’ Wife) 1844 
  - 1888, no symbol
  • Adam Dewford (Reginalds’ first born 
  son and father of Grant Dewford) 1865 
  -1898, a maple leaf is engraved 
  prominently on the lid of the 
  sarcophagus. 
  • Sara Dewford (Adams’ wife) 1867 - 
  1910 
  • Barnabus Dewford (Reginalds’ second 
  son) 1870 - 1917, a grape leaf is 
  engraved prominently on the lid of the 
  sarcophagus. 
  • Mary Dewford (Reginalds’ only 
  daughter, died in infancy) 1840-1840, a 
  symbol for rain is engraved prominently 
  on the lid of the sarcophagus. 
  • Grant Dewford (son of Adam, grandson 
  of Reginald) 1887 -1925, a sword is 
  engraved prominently on the lid of the 
  sarcophagus, which is newer than the 
  others.
  • Reginald Dewford 1835 - 1900 
  (symbolically, no body is interred) a vine
  11
  
  is engraved prominently on the lid of the
  sarcophagus. 
  Tourism office: The tourism office is run by 
  Sara May (see Dramatis Personae) who is 
  present at the office most hours of the day. The
  office runs bus tours of the local vineyards, 
  with samplings at select vineyards that 
  cooperate with the tours. Tickets for the tours 
  are $1 and they are run once a week in early 
  summer and once a day in late summer and 
  fall. The tourism office also provides vintage 
  guides* for ten cents and sells various local 
  wines by the bottle. Their guides and stock of 
  wines only go as far back as 1870 and omit 
  1886 entirely. If asked why it is readily 
  explained that that year was so terrible for 
  wines that practically none were made or sold. 
  Morningdew Grove (G): Morningdew grove 
  appears to be a vineyard in a stage of renewal. 
  The buildings are obviously poorly kept but 
  with scaffold and new construction evident. 
  The 3 acres of fields are planted with only 
  immature vines just starting to climb the 
  trellises and all of the equipment is dated and 
  decayed but waiting in a pile for disposal. 
  Morningdew Grove is where Matilda Trevor 
  meets with the investigators she has hired for 
  the first time, although she is very busy and 
  leaves after 3 days to return to her business 
  elsewhere (she leaves an address and informs 
  them the post office has a telegraph ). 
  Morningdew itself is a place with a dark 
  history, having been built on ground the 
  iroquois considered cursed (although this is 
  intended as a red herring and has no bearing on
  the investigation) in 1870 by Reginald 
  Dewford to live in and conceal his cult in the 
  temple he constructed beneath the house. It 
  was taken over in 1900 by Grant Dewford who
  refused visitors or field laborers so the place 
  fell into disrepair before his death. It was then 
  donated to the local church along with all of 
  Grants’ possessions but the local minister 
  passed the vineyard on to his next of kin 
  instead of utilizing the property. The house on 
  the property has had a garage build to modern 
  standards and all the windows replaced. The 
  insides of the house have been equipped for 
  running water (although no source is in place 
  yet) and are in the process of being prepared 
  for electricity (the walls are torn open and 
  wires mostly in place). The insides are still lit 
  by candles when there is no natural light from 
  outside.
  Map: A
  Entry Hall (A1): Peeling crimson wallpaper 
  and partially rotten hardwood floors greet 
  entrants into the house. Wrought-Iron candle 
  holders still rest on the walls, the left wall has 
  an old, yellowed photograph of Reginald 
  Dewford and his family (wife, children, 
  grandchildren) hanging from it but Reginalds’ 
  12
  
  face has been burned out. Entrances to the 
  living room, the other halls, and the first 
  bathroom are here.
  Living Room (A2): A room relatively well lit 
  during all daylight hours by its three large 
  windows, this room contains a fireplace, on the
  mantle is the soul stone^. The artifact is out of 
  place in the room, in color and in theme and so
  attention should be drawn to it. The room 
  contains a long coffee table, numerous wall 
  and mantlepiece decorations, two comfortable 
  chairs, and a long sofa. An empty cabinet 
  against the wall presumably once held books 
  or games.
  Halls (A3): The halls of the home are narrow, 
  giving space only for two average people to 
  stand side by side. They are currently damaged
  from the renovation work and cluttered with 
  tools and materials. The walls are largely 
  undecorated save for the peeling wallpaper.
  Kitchen (A4): The kitchen is one of the few 
  rooms that appears mostly complete. It has an 
  empty icebox, a woodstove, a nonfunctional 
  sink, and fine wooden cabinets. Several of the 
  cabinets are designed to hold wine bottles in a 
  manner that displays them elegantly. A long 
  central counter would serve as a workspace if 
  the kitchen were in use.
  Storage (A5): A storage closet, containing most
  of the tools and resources needed for home 
  cleaning and maintenance.
  Bathrooms (A6): One of the few nearly 
  completed alterations to the household are the 
  13
  
  bathrooms, each is a full bath with a sink, tub, 
  and toilet. Due to the lack of running water 
  neither of these rooms are functional at the 
  time of the investigation.
  Guest Bedroom (A7): The guest bedrooms are 
  the only rooms that show no signs of 
  renovation as they are lower priority to be 
  finished and suffered less from neglect than 
  other parts of the house. They appear to be 
  small, rustic bedrooms with finely crafted 
  antique furniture where everything is covered 
  in a thin layer of dust. The beds have been 
  stripped of mattresses and sheets.
  Dining Room (A8): This room is one of two 
  that is best lit during daylight hours, having 
  two large windows to the outside. A cabinet for
  dishes sits empty in one corner while a finely 
  made antique table and chair set, suitable for 
  ten people total, fill the center of the room.
  Master Bedroom (A9): The master bedroom 
  has yet to be touched by any workers aside 
  from being dusted and cleaned and the mattress
  and sheets replaced with high quality modern 
  ones. The bedframe and dresser are finely 
  crafted antiques and the walls are largely 
  unadorned aside from wrought iron candle 
  holders. A plain side table rests on either side 
  of the bed. 
  Garage (A10): The garage is a new addition to 
  house, built to modern standards. Inside is a 
  full set of tools and materials for automotive 
  maintenance and repair. The garage has space 
  for multiple vehicles but only ever contains 
  Matilda Trevors’ car, if she is present, or any 
  cars the investigators bring.
  Garden (A11): The garden consists of a bench 
  and some flower bushes kept inside the fences 
  surrounding the yard of the house. 
  Cellar Doors (A12): The old oaken cellar doors
  are rotten around the edges and have rusted 
  hinges but still hold firm. The iron handles are 
  held closed by a new, thick iron chain and lock.
  The key is in the possession of Matilda who 
  will only hand it over if presented with a good 
  reason why they need to investigate the wine 
  cellar (she perceives the cellar as holding the 
  most valuable things present at the house). The
  chain or lock can be broken with the proper 
  tool and a STRENGTH success, if no tool is 
  used a HARD STRENGTH success rips the 
  old doors off of their hinges, still chained 
  together. The lock can be defeated with a 
  successful LOCKSMITH roll as well. 
  Map: B
  Wine Cellar (B1): Accessed from the cellar 
  doors (A12), the wine cellar appears to have 
  mostly survived better than the rest of the 
  house. It is a dry, cool, stone basement lined 
  with wine racks holding both barrels and 
  14
  
  bottles of wine. Each labelled with its given 
  vintage and organized in order of year. The 
  shelves cease to be stocked after 1899. A 
  moldering book* containing the details of the 
  cellars contents can be found. The rack for the 
  year 1886 lies in front of the hidden tunnel 
  (B2). A large but empty barrel blocks the wall 
  here and the top of the rack contains two 
  unopened bottles of strange vintage^. If the 
  barrel is removed the wall here is clearly 
  bricked over, in stark contrast to the natural 
  stone wall of the rest of the cellar. Only if the 
  bricks are removed can the hidden tunnel be 
  accessed. This can be done quickly with a 
  STRENGTH success but can be done with a 
  few hours of labor without any rolls.
  Hidden Tunnel (B2): This tunnel is filled with 
  rubble that needs to be removed in order for 
  anyone to traverse the tunnel into the Grand 
  Hall (B3). A single skeleton lies, facedown 
  with arm outstretched, atop the rubble; 
  seemingly reaching for the cellar. These are the
  remains of Reginald Dewford, like the other 
  skeletons his ribcage contains a hole above the 
  heart. The tunnel, and all the chambers beyond 
  it, are naturally completely dark unless a 
  lightsource is introduced. Beside the skeleton 
  is a silver sacrificial dagger, it functions as a 
  large knife but is not exceptional or magical. A 
  DEMOLITIONS success will alert 
  investigators to the fact the rubble was caused 
  by an explosion. 
  Grand Hall (B3): The grand hall was the 
  primary worship site of the Blood of the 
  Harvest cult and ultimately became their tomb.
  The stone walls of the chamber are decorated 
  with various symbols carved into the stone, 
  most are obvious representations of grapevines
  or human hearts. A HISTORY, 
  15
  
  ANTHROPOLOGY, or appropriate LORE 
  success identifies the work here as an imitation
  of ancient roman designs. An EXTREME 
  SPANISH success or a HARD EDUCATION 
  success may also suffice at the keepers’ 
  discretion. The central fixture of the chamber 
  is a tiered, stone pyramid. At the top is a 
  sacrificial altar and two unlit braziers as well 
  as the Lycurgus Cup^ and a bottle of the wine 
  of tears^. At the base of the slide to the bottom 
  placed in front of the altar is a heap of 10 
  human skeletons. Each has a distinct hole in 
  the rib cage above the heart. These are the 
  remains of the cultists other than Reginald, 
  sacrificed in the ‘Life within the Stone’+ ritual 
  in order to place their spirits in the soul stone^. 
  An archway to the south leads to the chapel. 
  Chapel (B4): The chapel is the place where 
  sermons and meditation were carried out in 
  twisted imitation of christian practices. The 
  pillars here are carved to appear as if crawling 
  with vines or veins, with little clear distinction 
  between the two. On a raised platform at the 
  far end of the chapel is a podium, atop which is
  the book ‘Divine Blood’* the holy book of the 
  cult. Next to the altar, and behind a decaying 
  tapestry, is a wall with twenty three coin-sized 
  circles carved into the surface, each containing 
  a unique symbol. If pressed these symbols 
  prove to serve as buttons and remain recessed 
  until five are pressed or the correct three are 
  pressed. If the correct three are pressed, in any 
  order, the wall slides open to reveal the study 
  (B5). Inputting an incorrect combination three 
  times in a row results in a satyr being 
  summoned to attack anyone present, this 
  summoned saytr# ignores the effects of the 
  strange vintage^. The symbols are as follows, 
  with the correct symbols in bold:
  1. Maple Leaf
  2. Grape Leaf
  3. Grapes
  4. Bottle of Wine
  5. Bacchus
  6. Dagger
  7. Flame
  8. Sun
  9. Human Heart
  10.Moon
  11.Vine
  12.Rain
  13.Lion
  14.Eagle
  15.Pyramid
  16.Skull
  17.Satyr
  18.Book
  19.Chalice
  20.Lightning
  21.Snowflake
  22.Symbol for stone
  23.Symbol for wind
  The correct symbols represent Reginalds’ three
  children. Two may be learned of in the 
  ‘Dewford Family History’ book* but the third 
  16
  
  died in infancy and so was not recorded in the 
  book. The third is, however, entombed in the 
  family mausoleum where all three symbols can
  be found.
  Study (B5): The private study of Reginald 
  Dewford has remained untouched since before 
  his death and contains a wealth of research 
  materials related to mystery cults and the 
  occult. Most of the collection has been water 
  damaged in the years following his death. It is 
  likely the original Liberi sacra mysteria* can 
  be found here in addition to any other books 
  the keeper wishes to impart to the 
  investigators. Additionally a set of notes* ‘On 
  the wine of tears’^ can be found here. 
  Books, Spells, and Artifacts
  Books
  New England Recipes: English (Encoded) 
  1884, Reginald Dewford
  Mythos: 10
  SAN: 2/8
  STUDY: 4 Days / 4 weeks
  This book appears to be a peculiar cookbook 
  filled with recipes that seem mundane until 
  examined more closely. Oddities such as using 
  2 dozen eggs and a teaspoon of flour to bake a 
  cake become apparent with a careful reading. 
  With a successful CRYPTOGRAPHY roll the 
  book is revealed to be encoded and can be 
  decoded and studied in the study time. If a 
  decoded copy is made that copy has half the 
  study time due to already being decoded. This 
  book is really an incomplete copy of Divine 
  Blood* designed to be hidden in plain sight, 
  for use by members of the Blood of the 
  Harvest cult. The book provides most of the 
  doctrines of the complete book but contains no 
  spells, it merely alludes to their power. 
  Divine Blood: English 1871, Reginald 
  Dewford
  Mythos: 14
  SAN: 4/10
  STUDY: 4 Days / 4 Weeks
  This book is created in the style of an 
  illuminated manuscript, with illustrations 
  depicting gruesome scenes of human sacrifice. 
  The content within is a twisted mixture of 
  Christian, Bacchus mystery cult, and a number 
  of references to ancient Aztec and other 
  traditions drawing heavily on the importance 
  of blood found ubiquitously throughout human
  spirituality and the occult. It promotes a 
  society where a priest caste rule absolutely and
  forever, deriving immortality and power from 
  the blood sacrifice of the slave caste, which is 
  the only other caste mentioned as being part of 
  this society. The book not only describes rites 
  and spells but also provides step by step 
  pictorial instructions to complete them. 
  Spells: All contained in this module.
  17
  
  A record of wines / vintage guide: English, 
  Unknown date and author
  Mythos: 0
  SAN: 0/0
  STUDY: 10 minutes / 8 hours
  This booklet contains pages with information 
  on wine years in the New York wine growing 
  areas. Standing out in the book is the year 
  1886, which has no information aside from 
  ‘poor year, no wines’.
  Moldering book: English, Various dates and 
  authors
  Mythos: 0
  SAN: 0/0
  STUDY: 1 minute / 1 hour
  This book is a handwritten catalog of all wines 
  contained in the cellar of Morningdew. With 
  various additions and amendments as wines 
  were added or removed. The year 1886 is listed
  as having 3 bottles. The final addition was in 
  1899.
  Dewford Family History: English, Various 
  dates and authors
  Mythos: 0
  SAN: 0/0
  STUDY: 1 minute / 1 hour
  This book contains information on the lineage 
  of the Dewford family, as well as major events 
  in the family history. Each member of the 
  family born into it is granted a unique symbol 
  to serve as a seal in a tradition reminiscent of 
  nobility. This book contains many entries but 
  the ones of note are:
  • Adam Dewford (Reginalds’ first born 
  son and father of Grant Dewford) 1825 
  -1890, a maple leaf
  • Barnabus Dewford (Reginalds’ second 
  son) 1828 - 1875, a grape leaf
  • Grant Dewford (son of Adam, grandson 
  of Reginald) Born 1860, a sword
  • Reginald Dewford Born 1795, a vine
  On the wine of tears: English, undated, 
  unsigned
  Mythos: 0
  SAN: 0/0
  STUDY: 1 minute / 20 minutes
  This short series of notes are cleanly 
  handwritten but incomplete, and describe the 
  attributes of something known as ‘the wine of 
  tears’^.
  “...the priests of the fallen one described this 
  elixir as the ‘Wine of Tears’. Made from the 
  fruit of a vine that only grew from the heartless
  chests of sacrificed victims, the seed of which 
  was stolen from one of the thirteen heavens. It 
  seems all at once to be both ichor and 
  ambrosia, the distillation of all the worthy 
  qualities from the corpus of lesser men who 
  are fit only to be harvested for the sustenance 
  of their betters. Those who partook of the wine
  lived longer, healthier lives on time and vigor 
  18
  
  rightly harvested from those it was wasted 
  upon...”
  Liberi sacra mysteria: Revealed, 293 A.D., 
  unknown author
  Mythos: 20
  SAN: 4/14
  STUDY: 8 hours / 28 weeks
  This tome is a transcription of a series of 
  reports by a spy introduced into a roman 
  mystery cult surrounding Bacchus. It details 
  the practices of the cult, including initiation 
  rituals as well as spells. (Mystery cults rarely 
  kept writings of their activities in order to keep
  their practices secret from the uninitiated).
  This is the original book from which Reginald 
  Dewford derived his sorcerous learnings. It 
  contains all the information held within Divine
  Blood* with additional, undiluted knowledge 
  yet untapped by even reginald at the time of 
  his death.
  Spells: As Divine Blood* plus any spells the 
  keeper deems appropriate, suggested additions 
  include one contact deity spell and one 
  summon spell. 
  Spells
  Awaken the Revelers:
  MAG: 5 per participant
  SAN: 1 per participant
  POW: 0
  Effect:
  This chant requires five participants, although 
  only one must know the spell and can instruct 
  the others in the chant. The chanters must 
  gather in a circle around a soul stone^. This 
  triggers all souls released from the stone to 
  overtake the bodies they are currently 
  possessing, killing the bodies’ original owners 
  and replacing their POW, EDU, INT, and 
  LUCK with the spirits’. This triggers the ‘final 
  incantation’ event (see events).
  A successful CTHULHU MYTHOS roll can 
  allow a clever spellcaster to cause the chant to 
  instead kill all of the invading spirits, waking 
  the comatose victims of a soul stone^. The 
  chant needs to be spoken with certain 
  keywords having their places switched in the 
  chant. Casting the spell in this way triggers the 
  ‘rite of reversal’ event (see events).
  Traverse Elysium:
  MAG: 10 per participant
  SAN: 1d10 per participant
  POW: 0
  TIME: 10 minutes (longer to prepare the 
  paints)
  Effect: 
  The caster and any participants who want to 
  join them link hands and walk into a wall 
  specially prepared with arcane symbols of 
  paints of specific compositions. They are then 
  transported to the Realm of Tlaloc (see 
  ‘Traversing the Mists between worlds’ event 
  19
  
  for details).
  Embrace the dead:
  MAG: Variable
  SAN: 1d6
  POW: 0
  TIME: One action
  Effect: 
  This spell involves a specific intonation being 
  spoken and then a target to be touched while 
  standing upon a grave. 
  With a touch, the caster of this spell causes the 
  target to teleport into the nearest available 
  space, that they can fit within, under their feet 
  if the target loses an opposed POWER roll. 
  The intended use of this spell is to trap the 
  target in a coffin six feet underground. Causing
  them to die horribly.
  This spell costs an amount of magic points 
  equal to the distance in feet the target must 
  teleport. If the caster does not have enough 
  magic points to reach the nearest underground 
  space the spell fails and they lose all but one 
  magic point but lose no sanity.
  Distill the wine of tears:
  MAG: 5
  SAN: 
  POW: 5
  TIME: 10 minutes 
  Effect:
  This spell allows a caster to distill the wine of 
  tears^ from the fruit that grows from a corpse. 
  A plant that grows from seeds found in the 
  mist between worlds. In the human world these
  seeds only germinate in the empty chest cavity 
  of a fresh human corpse. It takes the fruit of 5 
  such plants to distill a single dose of the wine. 
  Life within the stone
  MAG: 5 (from the victim not the sorceror)
  SAN: 2d6
  POW: 5
  Effect:
  This ritual allows a caster to store the soul of a 
  victim inside of a stone roughly the size of a 
  human heart. The caster must kill the victim by
  driving an obsidian dagger into their chest and 
  removing their heart while chanting words in 
  ancient Aztec. Then lift both the heart and the 
  stone above their head while the victim 
  expires. This spell then creates a soul stone^ 
  containing the victims’ soul. 
  Artifacts
  Soul Stone: A fist sized light grey stone with 
  calcified protrusions surrounding a polished 
  green crystalline structure (common enough to 
  not be valuable). Previously, this stone 
  contained the 11 souls of the Blood of the 
  Harvest cult members, but each possessed a 
  worker who touched the stone. Now it lies 
  empty, a nearly normal stone, if a perfect 
  vessel for the spell to be cast once more. When
  a soul stone does contain a soul and is touched 
  20
  
  each spirit within may make an opposed 
  POWER roll against the one who touched the 
  stone. The first to succeed against the toucher 
  may occupy the touchers body and wrestle for 
  control. This results in the toucher of the stone 
  falling comatose until the spirit is exorcised by 
  some means, the body dies, or the spirit wins 
  control via a casting of Awaken the Revelers+. 
  By the time any investigators can find the 
  stone it has no remaining souls within, but 
  remains a conduit to them, those touching the 
  stone receive subtle flashes of insight 
  (disguised as intelligence rolls) leading them to
  the sealed temple of the cult. Destroying the 
  soul stone has no effect, and each fragment 
  weighing at least a tenth of a kilogram retains 
  both the effects of the soul stone and the ability
  to be used as a focus for Awaken the 
  Revelers+. 
  Wine of tears: ‘...both ichor and ambrosia, the
  distillation of all the worthy qualities from the 
  corpus of lesser men who are fit only to be 
  harvested for the sustenance of their betters’. 
  The wine of tears is the product of the spell 
  ‘Distill the wine of tears’, a clear fluid that has 
  no taste but causes euphoric sensation when it 
  touches any sensory organ. Ingestion of a dose 
  of the wine of tears reduces the drinkers’ 
  effective age by 5 years immediately (to a 
  minimum of 20), changing their physical 
  abilities accordingly if it changes their age 
  category. In addition it increases all their 
  scores (except SIZ, POW, SAN, and EDU) by 
  5 to a maximum of 80. And increases their 
  POW by 5 to a maximum of 150. Someone 
  who knowingly drinks the wine of tears while 
  knowing its origins loses 1d6 sanity. Someone 
  who has previously partaken of the wine of 
  tears who later learns the origins loses the 
  same 1d6 sanity.
  Curious vintage: A thick, tar-like liquid that 
  tastes of raisins and salt. Drinking a dose of the
  curious vintage (10 per bottle) causes the 
  drinker to be completely imperceptible to the 
  Saytr# for 24 hours. 
  Lycurgus Cup:
  Purchased at auction by Reginald Dewford 
  along with the Liberi sacra mysteria* this cup 
  is an artifact of a Bacchus mystery cult. It is a 
  roman glass cage cup, a cup made of glass 
  bound by metals. The metal and glass are 
  patterned depicting the king Lycurgus being 
  held by vines while dionysus and two 
  followers taunt him. The glass seems to change
  color based upon the angle and lighting in 
  which the cup is viewed. When any grape wine
  is imbibed directly from this cup the drinker is 
  subjected to maddening visions and 
  overpowering euphoria. The drinker needs to 
  make a sanity check. On the first use of the cup
  failure results in the loss of 5 sanity and the 
  acquisition of 5 points of Cthulhu Mythos skill.
  Subsequent uses have the same sanity loss and 
  21
  
  grant only 2 points of Cthulhu Mythos skill. 
  Success does not count as a use of the cup and 
  results in loss of 3 sanity. In addition, those 
  who drink from the cup and fail their sanity 
  check go temporarily insane, but only resulting
  in a fugue state or a berserker rage, during this 
  temporary insanity the affected is 
  overwhelmed by drunken euphoria and laughs, 
  smiles, and sways like a happy drunk. 
  Stats
  Satyr:
  Actually a dimensional shambler (see the 
  keepers handbook), but the one who is 
  constantly present as guardian of the cult 
  chamber is subjected to some additional 
  restrictions: It cannot make use of its ability to 
  shift dimensions and it cannot attack, perceive,
  or interact with any creature that has used a 
  dose of the strange brew^ for 24 hours after the
  usage of the brew. 
  The one summoned by the combination door 
  has no such restrictions. 
  Patrons
  A special thanks to all these people, who
  helped make this module become a reality:
  Luminous Designs.
  22
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Call of Cthulhu (CoC) (BRP) [multi]/Adventures/1920s/CoC - 1920s - Adv - Blood of the Vine (.pdf