TEXT: Adam Gauntlett  •  Lauren Roy  •  Chris Spivey
  Ruth Tillman  •  Aaron Vanek
  Out Of 
  the WOOds
  
  by
  Adam Gauntlett 
  Lauren Roy 
  Chris Spivey 
  Ruth Tillman 
  Aaron Vanek
  Cover Art by Jérôme Huguenin
  Out Of the WOOds
  
  2
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Credits
  Publishers: Simon Rogers and Cathriona Tobin
  Trail of Cthulhu System Design: Kenneth Hite and Robin Laws
  Authors: Adam Gauntlett, Lauren Roy, Chris Spivey, Ruth Tillman  
  and Aaron Vanek
  Art Direction: Alex Roberts and Cathriona Tobin
  Cover Art: Jérôme Huguenin
  Interior Art: Stefano Azzalin, Jesús Blones, Nyra Drakae,  
  Valentina Filic (xAngelusNex), Christine Griffin, Brittany Heiner,  
  Dave Lewis Johnson, Rich Longmore, Olivia Ongai, Gillian Pearse,  
  Miguel Santos, Ernanda Souza and Alicia Vogel
  Design and Layout: Stiainín Jackson
  Editing and Development: Simon Rogers and Cathriona Tobin
  Copyediting: James Vacca and Cathriona Tobin
  Cultural Consultant: Victor J Raymond PhD
  © 2017 Pelgrane Press Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 
  Pelgrane Press is co-owned by Simon Rogers and Cathriona Tobin.
  Trail of Cthulhu is a trademark of Pelgrane Press Ltd.
  www.pelgranepress.com 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  3
  Playtesters
  Miguel Arnaiz, Mark Bee, Michael Bolis, 
  E.C. Bond, John T. Burgess, Vanessa “Wed” Carballo, 
  Dave Chalker, Chuck Clemens, Sue Clemens, 
  Dave Coulson, David Curtin, Greg Dean, Josh Drobina, 
  Jeffery Eaton, Colby Elliot, Stacy Forsythe, 
  Ray Forsythe, Erika Furuzono, Antonio A. Gil, 
  Jim Goldmacher, Kirsten Hageleit, Kristen Hartman, 
  Daniel Helderman, Janine Hempy, Joshua Hersko, 
  Morgan Hua, Gilbert Isla, Susan Isla, Jason Ives, 
  David Jones, Tracey Jones, James Kohl, Ed Laprade, 
  Didac Loba, Keith Mageau, Jen Miles, Harry Morris, 
  Andrew Morrow, Mike O’Brien, Tim O’Brien, 
  Andrew Oakley, Camille Oliver, Luke Price, 
  Chris Jensen Romer, John Rugwell, Shep, 
  Kevin Sides, Joshua Smolkin, Jill Spivey, 
  Sarah Tuthill, Steve Wallace, Brian Watson, 
  Brandi Williams, Tucker Williamson.
  
  4
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Contents
  Contents
  Midnight Sub RoSa 
  7
  Introduction 
  8
  The Hook 
  8
  The Horrible Truth 
  8
  The Spine 
  8
  Scene Flow Diagram 
  9
  Victory Condition 
  9
  Running the House Party 
  Whodunit 
  10
  Race and Religion in Rural 
  Alabama in the 1930s 
  11
  Principal Actors 
  10
  Ezekiel de la Poer 
  10
  Professor Theodore Derby 
  11
  Irma Derby 
  12
  An Ancestral Connection 
  12
  Ghouls 
  13
  Scenes 
  14
  Briefing 
  14
  Who Called You? 
  14
  Arrival 
  14
  Sheriff Barnes’s Office 
  15
  Sherriff Barnes 
  15
  Makeshift Morgue 
  16
  Graveyard Inspection 
  17
  Color Lines 
  17
  The Company Entire 
  17
  Details of the Theft 
  18
  The Frantic Librarian 
  18
  The Old Man With the Watery Eyes 19
  The Dutiful Daughter 
  19
  The Folklorist 
  19
  The Khol-Eyed Occultist 
  20
  The Ill-Starred Genealogist 
  20
  Room by Room 
  21
  In the Library 
  21
  Kitchen 
  23
  Bathroom 
  23
  Irma Derby’s Room 
  23
  Professor Derby’s room 
  23
  Professor Katz’s Room 
  24
  Attic 
  24
  The Grounds 
  24
  Scouring the Lodging House 
  24
  Jack Starling’s Room 
  24
  Roger De La Poer’s Room 
  25
  Scott Bryant’s Room 
  25
  When Ghouls Attack 
  25
  Ghoul 
  26
  Exploring Rosa 
  26
  Dubois General Store 
  26
  Dawes’ Lodging House 
  26
  Catholic Church 
  27
  Methodist Church 
  27
  Baptist Preacher 
  27
  Mathers Farm 
  27
  The Woods 
  28
  Laid to Rest 
  28
  In the Blood 
  28
  The Secret Under the Ash Tree 
  29
  Resurrection Under the Moon 
  30
  Irma Derby 
  31
  Roger de la Poer (possessed) 
  31
  Rat Swarm 
  31
  Resolution 
  31
  A Sabbat Foiled 
  31
  The Warren is Dead 
  31
  Pest Control 
  32
  Aftermath 
  32
  Appendix A: Ghoul Changelings 
  32
  Ghouls in the Cradle 
  32
  Additional or Alternate Clues 
  33
  Sheriff Barnes’s Office  
  33
  Makeshift Morgue 
  33
  Color Lines 
  33
  Graveyard Inspection 
  33
  Scouring the Lodging House 
  33
  Dawes’ Lodging House 
  33
  Mathers Farm 
  33
  Baptist Church 
  33
  Methodist Church 
  33
  Resolution 
  33
  The Purge 
  34
  Additional or Alternate Clues 
  34
  Sheriff Barnes’s Office 
  34
  Graveyard Inspection 
  34
  Color Lines 
  34
  Makeshift Morgue: 
  34
  Mathers Farm: 
  34
  Resolution 
  34
  Appendix B: The Rosa One-Shot 
  34
  Handouts 
  35
  Handout 1: Salon Invitation 
  35
  Handout 2: Page from Irma’s Diary 36
  Handout 3: Page from Irma’s Diary 37
  Character Sheets 
  38
  Cecily Harlow 
  38
  Dr. Porter 
  39
  Herman Brown 
  40
  James Arnold 
  41
  L. A. LaFleur 
  42
  Lucia Escobar 
  43
  the Silence Mill 
  44
  The Hook 
  45
  The Horrible Truth 
  45
  The Spine 
  45
  White and Black 
  45
  Assistance from the Authorities 
  45
  Diligent Studies 
  45
  Breathtaking Views 
  45
  Where Things Get More 
  Complicated 
  45
  Sitting Up With the Dead 
  45
  Petit Albert 
  46
  Visiting the Werewolf 
  46
  Ill Met By Moonlight 
  46
  Innocent Until Proven Guilty 
  46
  The Time of Trial 
  46
  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 
  Thursday, Friday 
  46
  Seeger’s Final Poem 
  46
  Under the Dolmen 
  46
  Scene Flow Diagram 
  47
  Victory Condition 
  46
  Principal Actors 
  47
  Arthur, aka Tristan Broudig 
  47
  What is Brocéliande? 
  48
  Who are Seiz Breur? 
  49
  Location, Location, Location 
  48
  Magic 
  49
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  5
  Contents
  Fight for Your Right 
  95
  Loggers 
  96
  No Meal Today 
  96
  Crystal Clear Lake 
  96
  Deputy Andy Ink 
  96
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow 
  97
  Ghouls’ Tea Party  
  97
  Ghouls 
  97
  Really... A Castle  
  97
  Gug  
  98
  Inside the Castle 
  98
  Zxaft, Sorcerer and Lord of 
  the Castle 
  99
  Rescuers, Murderers or Cohorts  
  99
  Handouts 
  100
  Handout 1: Camp Smith Map 
  100
  Handout 2: List of Missing People 101
  Handout 3: Medical Records 
  101
  Handout 4: Zxaft’s Journal Entries 102
  Character Sheets 
  103
  Amanda Scott 
  103
  Fingers 
  104
  Jacob Wright 
  105
  Marcus Womack 
  106
  Nora Reese 
  107
  Walter Jackson 
  108
  the coldeSt Walk 
  109
  The Hook 
  110
  The Horrible Truth 
  110
  The Spine 
  110
  Scene Flow Diagram 
  111
  The Victory Condition 
  110
  Antagonist Reactions 
  110
  Scenes 
  110
  Frozen Victims 
  110
  Welcome to Four Pines 
  112
  Missing Persons 
  114
  Ghost Stories 
  113
  Wagging Tongues 
  115
  Family Trees 
  115
  The Town Before  
  116
  The Ojibwe 
  116
  Into the Woods 
  117
  Something Massive in the Trees 
  118
  Cold-possessed Timber Wolves 118
  Shantak  
  118
  The Returned 
  118
  Bennet Dunlap 
  118
  Lea Fischer 
  119
  A Taste for Flesh 
  119
  Character Sheets 
  73
  Madeline ‘Mads’ Grainger 
  73
  Michael ‘Sticky’ Pelham 
  74
  George Pelham 
  75
  Letitia ‘Lettie’ Norrys 
  76
  Frederick ‘Bingo’ Dunleavy 
  77
  Deborah Dunleavy 
  78
  dReaMing of a betteR 
  toMoRRoW foR 30 
  dollaRS a Month 
  79
  The Hook 
  80
  The Horrible Truth 
  80
  The Spine 
  80
  Scene Flow Diagram 
  81
  Victory Condition 
  81
  Antagonist Reactions 
  82
  The Civilian Conservation Corps 
  82
  Frances Perkins and  
  She-She-She Camps 
  83
  Camp Smith 
  83
  Racism and Jim Crow Laws 
  84
  Jim Crow Laws  
  84
  Hours of Operation 
  85
  Life in the Camp 
  85
  Other Camps 
  85
  Scenes 
  85
  A Woodcutter’s Life Is Not For Me 
  85
  Playing with Existing 
  Investigators 
  86
  Deputy George Randall  
  87
  Shady Dealings 
  87
  Chief Liam McShane 
  87
  Lt. Jack Willis 
  89
  Blood for Blood 
  89
  Orderlies 
  89
  Doctor Robert Harrison 
  89
  Murder Site  
  90
  Grudge Match 
  91
  Brad “Elephant” Roger 
  91
  The Match 
  91
  Questioning the Masses 
  92
  Officer Daniel Trouse 
  92
  General Knowledge 
  92
  Negro Town 
  92
  Seen Too Much 
  93
  Tomes and Radio Waves 
  94
  The Golden Age of Radio 
  94
  Create Moonbridge  
  95
  Scenes 
  49
  White and Black 
  49
  Ankou Thugs 
  50
  Tristan Broudig’s Letter 
  51
  Assistance from the Authorities  
  51
  Inspector/Detective Cook 
  52
  Diligent Studies 
  52
  Creatures of Breton Folklore 
  53
  Breathtaking Views 
  54
  Forest Guards 
  55
  Where Things Get More  
  Complicated  
  55
  The Local Authorities 
  55
  The Public Facts of the Case 
  57
  The Church of St Salomon  
  56
  The Locals 
  58
  The Castle 
  58
  Baphomet 
  59
  Sitting Up with the Dead 
  59
  Nain 
  60
  The Nain 
  60
  Ankou thugs 
  60
  Petit Albert 
  60
  Foucalt’s Grandfather (Nain) 
  62
  Revelations of Glaaki 
  62
  Jean Foucalt 
  62
  Alan Seeger (1888-1916) 
  63
  New Spells 
  63
  Contact Glaaki  
  63
  Contact Nain  
  63
  Visiting the Werewolf 
  63
  Ill Met By Moonlight 
  64
  Night Washers 
  65
  Innocent Until Proven Guilty  
  65
  The Time of Trial 
  66
  Ankou Thugs 
  67
  Ankou Kidnappers 
  67
  Playing Daniel as an Investigator 67
  Nain 
  67
  Vehicle 
  67
  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,  
  Thursday, Friday  
  68
  Nain 
  68
  The Lake 
  69
  Glaaki 
  69
  Seeger’s Final Poem 
  69
  Under the Dolmen 
  70
  Jean Foucalt 
  71
  Nain 
  71
  Tristan Broudig, as Nain Rouge  
  (Red Dwarf) 
  71
  Handouts 
  72
  Handout 1: Tristan Broudig’s Letter 72
  
  6
  Cultists 
  120
  Everything’s on the Fritz 
  120
  The Coldest Walk 
  121
  The Cultists’ Base 
  121
  A Warm Fire 
  122
  One Last Look Around 
  122
  The Wind-Walker 
  122
  Call Ithaqua 
  123
  Dismiss Ithaqua 
  123
  Banish Ithaqua to Borea 
  123
  Become Wendigo 
  124
  The Woods Are Lovely, Dark,  
  and Deep 
  124
  Character Sheets 
  125
  Christopher Spencer 
  125
  Cristina Vazquez 
  126
  Ira Eastman 
  127
  Lucy Warren 
  128
  Nat Gray 
  129
  Professor Liang 
  130
  the tReMbling giant 131
  The Hook 
  132
  Spine 
  132
  Scene Flow Diagram 
  133
  The Horrible Truth 
  132
  The Horrible Horrible Truth 
  132
  The Victory Condition 
  133
  Antagonist Reactions 
  133
  Keeper Information on Native 
  American Player Characters 
  134
  History of Native Americans in the 
  Southern Utah Area 
  134
  The Monster Pando 
  135
  The Spirit Dance 
  153
  The Ghost Dance 
  152
  The Ancestors Speak 
  153
  An Alliance? 
  154
  Allied Warrior 
  154
  Fire for the Ages 
  155
  Ritual of Fire Cleansing 
  155
  Mutant Peregrine Hawk 
  155
  Mutant Elk 
  156
  Mutant Jackrabbits (pack) 
  156
  Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath  156
  Making Things Worse 
  156
  Random Onlooker 
  156
  Ashes to Ashes 
  156
  A Leader Rises 
  157
  Handouts 
  158
  Handout 1: The Koosharem Band 
  Reservation Details 
  158
  Handout 2: The Koosharem Band 
  Reservation Map 
  159
  Handout 3: The Koosharem Band New 
  Land Area Map 
  160
  Handout 4: Native American 
  Information for Keepers and 
  Players 
  161
  Appendix 
  162
  Resource List 
  162
  Web Links 
  162
  Character Sheets 
  163
  John Wanekia 
  163
  Tate Walker 
  164
  Paul Ada 
  165
  Annie Telles 
  166
  Thomas Gunn 
  167
  Hope Larsen 
  168
  Scenes 
  137
  The Water Clover People 
  137
  Setting 
  137
  Climate 
  137
  The Reservation 
  137
  Character Introductions 
  138
  Keeper’s Information about the 
  Koosharem Band 
  138
  Important Koosharem Band NPCs 138
  Chief Cody Walker 
  138
  Medicine Man Ammon Tillohash 138
  Catherine Wood (elder artist, 
  weaver) 
  138
  Young Koosharem Hunters 
  138
  Who is Chief? 
  138
  The New Deal 
  139
  Research as a Native American 141
  From the Mouths of Babes 
  141
  Welcome to Your New Home 
  142
  Points of Interest 
  142
  Fish Lake 
  143
  The Medicine Man’s Vision 
  144
  The Grove 
  143
  Mutant Raccoon 
  144
  The Office of Indian Affairs 
  145
  Tribal Knowledge 
  145
  A Paiute Creation Myth 
  146
  Brathwaite Homestead 
  147
  Mutant Rooster 
  147
  Boyd Brathwaite 
  148
  Jacob Brathwaite 
  148
  Inside the Brathwaite Home 
  149
  Antagonist Reactions 
  150
  The Church of Jesus Christ of 
  Latter-Day Saints and Native 
  American Relations 
  151
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Contents
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  7
  MIDNIGHT SUB ROSA
  By Ruth Tillman
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  8
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  doe not call up any that you 
  can not put downe
  – Jedediah Orne, letter to 
  Joseph Curwen
  Introduction
  In a world where overzealous scribes 
  put to paper secrets humans should 
  never know, sharp-eyed rare books 
  librarians and their arcane use policies 
  may be the only thing standing between 
  humanity and its destruction. Yet as 
  such books are bound to disappear, 
  the Arkham Inquiry offers libraries its 
  services for retrieval. When books of 
  occult interest go missing, the Inquiry 
  dispatches teams to retrieve the item 
  or minimize its damage. Librarians only 
  know these teams as qualified retrieval 
  specialists who help them avoid nasty 
  headlines, but they have saved much 
  more than a few careers. 
  The Inquiry sends Investigators to 
  recover the diary of Ezekiel de la Poer, 
  a colonial-era French necromancer 
  hanged for child-murder in 1736. It 
  belongs to the rare books department 
  of the University of Alabama, but was 
  stolen at the home of an emeritus 
  professor in the small town of 
  Rosa, Alabama. The original owner 
  committed abominable acts to gain 
  preternatural powers, all detailed in 
  his diary. The society doesn’t want 
  others following its instructions and 
  unleashing unknown forces.
  The Keeper will benefit from having 
  read Lovecraft’s “Rats in the Walls” and 
  “Statement of Randolph Carter,” though 
  this adventure only alludes and does 
  not mirror.
     To run in Purist mode, build on 
  the strangeness of Miss Derby: 
  her antique clothing, hints about 
  her ancestry dropped by Professor 
  Katz, a malignant glance, or a 
  likeness Roger Derby sees to 
  his departed grandmother. The 
  scenario’s finale doesn’t shut the 
  door on future horrors.
    In a Pulp game, emphasize the 
  implied gore of early scenes, the 
  physical horror of ghouls, and a 
  violent finale.
  The Hook
  April 1936. To mark the 200th anniversary 
  of his hanging, a group of scholars and 
  interested parties have gathered near the 
  burial place of early American colonist 
  and reputed necromancer Ezekiel de 
  la Poer. They plan to discuss his life 
  and how he bridged the European and 
  American occult heritages. When his 
  necromantic journal disappears, parties 
  quickly accuse each other of academic 
  motives, until the dead begin to come 
  home. Can the Investigators unravel the 
  tangled agendas and secure the journal 
  before something worse happens?
  The Horrible Truth
  Irma Derby has endured a great deal 
  in the last two decades. The loss of her 
  fiancé, Jacob Yates, during the Great 
  War, and the ongoing frustration of 
  watching her father take credit for 
  what is increasingly her own work, have 
  generated a simmering mix of grief and 
  resentment, which comes to a head 
  with the sudden shock of her mother’s 
  death. Drawing on her occult studies 
  and secret de la Poer ancestry, Irma 
  sought the power to restore life.
  First, she encouraged her father to move 
  back to his hometown of Rosa, a place 
  she knew to be a source of necromantic 
  power. Following instructions previously 
  copied from de la Poer’s journal, Irma 
  rendered both her mother’s body and the 
  necromancer’s into their essential saltes. 
  She attempted a resurrection in January, 
  offering the life of a local farmer, Bill 
  Mathers, in exchange for her mother’s.
  The effort was apparently unsuccessful, 
  though it drew ghoulish attention. Irma 
  became convinced that she needed a 
  proper connection with her ancestor, 
  such as his journal. She planned the 
  event as an excuse to use the journal in 
  a midnight ritual, but damaged it with 
  wax before the ritual while reading 
  by candlelight. Knowing she could 
  not hide the damage or her late night 
  reading, she broke the desk drawer’s 
  lock, hid the journal in the pocket of 
  her underskirt, and attempted to cast 
  suspicion on Professor Jack Starling, 
  her intended patsy.
  Irma acted quickly, hoping that she could 
  unlock the secret to de la Poer’s power 
  before being caught. Unfortunately, 
  she wasn’t entirely ready to undertake 
  this kind of magic and her first efforts 
  accidentally raised dead townsfolk. By 
  the time Investigators arrive, her spell 
  refinements have given her the power 
  to command ghouls and, if not stopped, 
  raise both her mother and de la Poer.
  The Spine
  The Investigators assemble at the 
  Birmingham railway station for a 
  Briefing. Their Arrival in Rosa 
  comes two days after the theft. A local 
  posse member directs them to head 
  straight to Sheriff Barnes’s Office. 
  
  9
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  a 
  daring 
  Resurrection 
  Under 
  the Moon—will the Investigators 
  be prepared?
  Victory Condition
  As instructed by the Inquiry, the 
  Investigators’ goal is to retrieve and 
  preserve 
  the 
  journal. 
  Ultimately, 
  however, they must stop Irma from 
  completing the ritual, protect the 
  townspeople, and ensure this won’t 
  While Exploring Rosa, Investigators 
  get a sense of the town’s secrets and 
  conflicts. Once they’ve completed 
  preliminary inspections, they may join 
  the townspeople while the dead are 
  Laid to Rest. At some point, they 
  may wish to speak with Roger de la 
  Poer about the curse he knows is In 
  the Blood. Clues eventually lead the 
  Investigators to uncover The Secret 
  Under the Ash Tree. Everything 
  comes to a head when Irma attempts 
  He’s got a surprise in the Makeshift 
  Morgue, after which they may 
  conduct a Graveyard Inspection 
  or interview The Company Entire. 
  If the Investigators wish, they can stay 
  for supper and go through the house 
  Room by Room or they can start 
  Scouring the Lodging House while 
  their fellow lodgers are at supper. No 
  matter the path they choose, When 
  Ghouls Attack, Jack Starling will 
  meet his fate.
  Scene Flow Diagram
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  10
  plantations to work the land. At first, his 
  actions seemed normal for a rich man of 
  his time. After a few years, his actions 
  attracted more notice. First, Madame de 
  la Poer stopped traveling to Fort Louis, 
  and no longer responded to letters. 
  And second, de la Poer’s continued 
  purchasing of enslaved Africans and West 
  Indians exceeded the number he might 
  conceivably need on his small plantation. 
  Some speculated that he might be 
  building an enslaved army to forcibly 
  take more land from the Creek Nation.
  Rumors about de la Poer came to 
  a head near the end of April 1736, 
  after several children vanished from 
  Oneonta. The superstitious spoke of 
  Walpurgisnacht rituals practiced by 
  for several years before moving north 
  along a trading route, to what would 
  later become Rosa, Alabama.
  Through French traders, De la Poer 
  initially arranged with local Creek to 
  have the use of a large parcel of land 
  directly adjacent to the trading route. 
  His nearest French neighbors lived 
  at a trading post in Oneonta, about 4 
  miles to the south. In 1920, he married 
  a beautiful Frenchwoman, Louise 
  Suleman, and hired local Frenchmen to 
  clear land to build a large farmstead.
  He began corresponding with former 
  acquaintances in the West Indies, and 
  arranged for the import of enslaved 
  Africans 
  from 
  their 
  sugar 
  cane 
  happen again. Therefore, destruction 
  always remains an option, but the 
  Investigators know this means defending 
  that action to the Inquiry.
  Principal Actors
  Ezekiel de la Poer
  b. ? – d. April 30, 1736
  Drawn by the New World’s possibilities, 
  Ezekiel de la Poer emigrated from 
  France (by way of the French West 
  Indies) to the newly-founded settlement 
  of Fort Louis de la Louisiane (present 
  day Mobile, Alabama – the Louisiana 
  territory’s first capital). He lived there 
  Running the House Party Whodunit
  This scenario trades the stock English 
  country house of the classic whodunit 
  for a Southern farmhouse. In place 
  of aristocrats and the smart set—
  academics. In place of a Lord Peter 
  or a Miss Marple—Investigators. All 
  action is local action, and a great deal is 
  interpersonal. Red herrings abound.
  When running this scenario, be 
  aware of time and timing. As the 
  Investigators will discover, the 
  date on which Irma Derby plans to 
  attempt her resurrection, April 30th, 
  has occult significance. Investigators 
  may bog themselves down in trying to 
  get everything out of the academics, 
  in which case the Keeper should 
  push them to explore the house or—
  shockingly!—split the party and 
  alternate between a few searching 
  the house and a few questioning the 
  house party. Darkness can also be a 
  tool to move or restrain the party, 
  as the sun sets a little before 7pm. 
  All but the first and last few scenes 
  are fairly interchangeable and may be 
  assembled in many orders with the 
  same overall result.
  While the final date has thematic 
  significance, the Keeper may have 
  the journal go missing earlier if 
  she wishes to stretch out the time 
  Investigators spend in the town. 
  Having it go missing on Sunday, 
  for example, would give the 
  Investigators an extra day to work. 
  The Keeper could also choose to 
  pack all the ghoul action into one 
  night 
  by 
  keeping 
  Investigators 
  guessing whether or not Starling was 
  guilty and having him killed early in 
  the evening on April 30th.
  This overall timeline of events 
  includes a suggested schedule for 
  structuring the adventure:
  Timeline
  • 1664, Dieppe, France – Ezekiel de 
  la Poer is born.
  • 1706 – de la Poer arrives in the New 
  World at Fort Louis de la Louisiane.
  • 1718 – de la Poer settles in Rosa.
  • April 30, 1736 – Residents of 
  Oneonta hang de la Poer.
  • September 13, 1935 – Sophie 
  Derby dies.
  • November 2, 1935 – Irma and 
  Theodore Derby return to Rosa.
  • January 7, 1936 – Bill Mathers 
  found dead in an apparent 
  hunting accident.
  • Friday April 25, 1936 (evening) – 
  the academic group assembles at 
  the Derby house.
  • Monday April 27, 1936 (morning) 
  – Irma Derby reports journal 
  missing. Scott Bryant telephones 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  Alabama. 
  Their head librarian telephones 
  Arkham Inquiry.
  • Wednesday April 29, 1936 (mid-
  afternoon) – The Investigators 
  arrive in Rosa.
  • (late night) – Jack Starling 
  murdered by ghouls.
  • Thursday 
  April 
  30, 
  1936 
  (midnight) – final confrontation
  
  11
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  • Occult: A popular occult history of 
  French Louisiana from the mid-1800s 
  includes his name on a list of white men 
  who practiced voudoo, particularly 
  zombification. An Investigator truly 
  familiar with the occult recognizes 
  the lurid exaggeration common in 
  such reports, particularly since the 
  modern concept of zombies did not 
  exist until after de la Poer’s lifetime. 
  Spurious sensationalism, or is there a 
  historical nugget of truth?
  • Oral History: Local rumors say 
  he had to leave France after he beat 
  a peasant to death, resurrected the 
  man, and made him continue farming 
  until his body rotted.
  Professor Theodore Derby
  Whether his weak eyes, quavering 
  voice, and shaking limbs merely show 
  No one rebuilt on the site of his house, 
  and over the centuries the ash tree’s 
  offshoots grew up in the foundation’s 
  remains, spawning a grove.
  • Anthropology: 
  Shortly 
  after 
  de la Poer’s arrival in the region, 
  some indigenous inhabitants moved 
  south, closer to the forts. Previous 
  anthropologists had thought it trade-
  related, and a precursor to the alliances 
  in the French and Indian war a century 
  later, but Professor Katz is researching a 
  theory that the two may be connected.
  • History: 
  Ezekiel 
  de 
  la 
  Poer 
  descended from a cousin-line of the 
  de la Poer family whose ancestors 
  lived in France during the unpleasant 
  incident in which Walter de la Poer 
  massacred the family’s main English 
  branch (see Lovecraft’s “The Rats in 
  the Walls”).
  old country sorcerers, and the horrors 
  of child sacrifice. Before the sun set on 
  Walpurgisnacht, the traders at Oneonta 
  formed a search party, and investigated 
  the plantation. First, they gagged the 
  reputed sorcerer, so he might not attack 
  or mislead them with spells. They found 
  a disposal site filled with ashes and 
  child-sized bones, far more than could 
  have come from the missing children—
  many likely enslaved children.
  After hanging him on the ancient ash 
  beside his house, the traders buried him 
  at its base. A Jesuit priest supervised the 
  removal of the bones from the ash pit, 
  and their proper burial at the church 
  in Fort Louis. The house was burned, 
  and the slaves, despite what those who 
  found them knew they had suffered, 
  were auctioned off with the land to 
  newly-arrived French colonizers, who 
  would become the founders of Rosa. 
  Race and Religion in Rural Alabama in the 1930s
  When playing any historical game, 
  the Keeper and players must decide 
  to what degree they wish to confront 
  uncomfortable (and present) truths. 
  Since the country’s earliest days, 
  Americans on both sides of the 
  Mason-Dixon line and far to its west 
  have perpetrated or suffered under 
  endemic racism. While large and 
  small pockets of acceptance bloomed 
  all over the country, one would have 
  been unlikely to find them in rural 
  Alabama in 1936.
  In the 1920s, KKK members in 
  Alabama numbered over one hundred 
  thousand. By the mid-1930s, those 
  numbers had declined to under five 
  figures, but its influence lingered in 
  some counties, including the area 
  around Rosa. If playing for strict 
  historical accuracy, a black, Asian, or 
  Jewish player character might face 
  hostility or violence from townsfolk. 
  A Catholic priest, gay man, or 
  unconventional woman’s attempts to 
  investigate might meet with slammed 
  doors. Just fifteen years before the 
  adventure takes place, a nearby 
  Birmingham jury freed a Methodist 
  minister who murdered the Catholic 
  priest who’d overseen his daughter’s 
  conversion and officiated her marriage 
  to a Puerto Rican man.
  When 
  describing 
  the 
  town’s 
  sociological makeup, Rosa was 
  combined with the post-Louisiana 
  territory French settlement of 
  Demopolis, which had a larger non-
  white population (segregated) and 
  strong French-Catholic influences. 
  This diverse, ahistorical blend of 
  communities does not magically 
  erase the racial and religious issues of 
  the time. It simply creates a playing 
  field, with a bit more diversity. Many 
  other facts of Rosa—its location, 
  its roads, its ghouls—remain true 
  to history.
  For 
  some 
  groups, 
  confronting 
  the social climate of the time is 
  an important part of historical 
  roleplaying. While the Keeper might 
  describe and role-play the Sheriff 
  (or another character) as openly 
  hostile to a black Investigator, for 
  example, you don’t need to use 
  racial slurs in game. Other groups 
  might like to take a campaign 
  character who’s a retired, black FBI 
  agent into rural Alabama, without 
  having to encounter horrors which 
  don’t originate in the mythos. Many 
  groups fall somewhere in the middle. 
  It’s best if Keepers who don’t know 
  their players well deal with racism as 
  written in the adventure.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  12
  missionary found a home for her with 
  a family in Oneonta. If Hélène knew 
  more than she would tell (and she did) 
  she only passed it to her daughter, who 
  passed it afterward to her own daughter.
  When Irma’s grandmother Gabrielle 
  married Jacques Cormier of Rosa, 
  only she knew her connection to the 
  otherwise unremarkable town. Irma 
  learned her ancestry before leaving for 
  college, but only became interested 
  in de la Poer after the death of her 
  fiancé, Jacob Yates. She directed her 
  father’s research work in a more occult 
  of obsequious helpfulness can change 
  in a flash to one of confident academic 
  superiority if a speaker is patently 
  wrong about one of her, she’s sorry, her 
  father’s research topics.
  An Ancestral Connection
  Irma’s mother, Sophie Cormier, was 
  a descendent of Ezekiel de la Poer. A 
  young Jesuit missionary, brave enough 
  to venture inside de la Poer’s house 
  before it was burned, found a girl of 
  twelve calling herself Hélène de la 
  Poer. She knew nothing of her mother, 
  and would say nothing of her father. The 
  his age (early 70s) or point to a mental 
  decay, Theodore Derby has only recently 
  retired from an emeritus position at 
  the University of Alabama. A native of 
  Rosa, Derby was the first of its sons to 
  pursue a college education. He studied 
  at the University of Alabama before 
  earning his PhD in American Folklore 
  from Tulane University of Louisiana.
  Derby married his childhood sweetheart, 
  Sophie Cormier, in 1887. They lived in 
  Tuscaloosa, Alabama for most of their 
  marriage, but Sophie inherited a house in 
  Rosa from her family, and restored it to 
  serve as a summer home. Until a decade 
  ago, Derby held a teaching position at 
  Alabama, but more recently has confined 
  himself to research, publication, and 
  mentoring. After he stopped teaching, 
  he began collecting rare, occult texts. 
  Around the same time, due to the 
  professor’s failing eyesight, his daughter 
  Irma became his amanuensis.
  In the years before Mrs. Derby’s final 
  illness and death, the Derbys often 
  hosted month-long summer salons. 
  They invited young academics and 
  doctoral students to enjoy Rosa’s fresh 
  air, and research subjects covered by 
  the professor’s extensive library. After 
  Mrs. Derby died on September 13, 
  1935, the professor no longer had the 
  heart for his life at the university. He 
  left his emeritus position at Alabama, 
  sold the city house, and on November 
  2nd, 1935, he and Irma moved back to 
  the Cormier house in Rosa. Professor 
  Derby had long ago sold his ancestral 
  home to the Mathers family.
  Irma Derby
  Miss Irma Derby followed in her 
  father’s footsteps, and became the first 
  woman from Rosa to achieve a college 
  education. She has spent her life as her 
  father’s research assistant, secretary, and 
  typist. The professor’s friends speculate 
  she’s much more, and that her father has 
  been riding her academic coattails for 
  the past decade, if not longer. Her air 
  
  13
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  so blatant as to make players suspect 
  its location, at least not until later 
  scenes. Irma’s clothes may seem out-
  of-place in this era, but they recall her  
  happier youth.
  under-petticoat to hide it, as she 
  would only trust its safety if kept on 
  her person. The Keeper may make 
  some vague allusions to the swish of 
  her heavy skirts but should not be 
  direction, particularly toward works 
  concerning ghouls and necromancy.
  After damaging de la Poer’s journal, 
  Irma sewed a pocket into her  
  Ghouls
  Ghouls have existed beside, or 
  beneath, humans for millennia. They 
  subsist on human dead, and steal 
  human children from the cradle, 
  leaving their own in exchange. While 
  a young ghoul changeling resembles a 
  human, it may become hard for them 
  to hide the snouts, rubbery skin, and 
  pointed ears of adulthood. Some 
  return to their people, others act as 
  intermediaries, and a few interbreed 
  with humans, producing ghoul-human 
  hybrids. The North American variety 
  have smoother, less doglike faces than 
  their European cousins, although 
  some European ghouls emigrated 
  on “coffin ships”, and interbred with 
  those along the East Coast.
  Ghoul warrens riddle North America. 
  The major colonies live below large 
  burial grounds, but they make use 
  of sewers, subterranean caves, and 
  their own front paws (perhaps even 
  using a shovel!) to create a network 
  as intricate as the American highway 
  system. Most ghoul colonies form 
  spontaneously, but a sorcerer who 
  pays the charnel price may lure 
  servitor ghouls to a region.
  Most of the ghouls the Investigators 
  encounter in Rosa are part of the 
  Birmingham colony. After de la Poer’s 
  death, the town’s population could 
  not support a warren. It remained 
  on the subterranean network, and 
  wandering packs loped beneath the 
  town, or stopped over for a quick 
  snack. Now, ancient ghouls who 
  may have served de la Poer before 
  his death, and their spawn who still 
  feel the pull of his family’s power, 
  have returned to this warren. (See 
  Appendix A: Ghoul Changelings p. 32 
  for two options that make ghouls an 
  ongoing part of life in Rosa.)
  It’s important to maintain a certain 
  air of mystery, if the Investigators 
  have not encountered ghouls before. 
  Focus on unnerving elements—
  the rubbery skin, the foul odor, 
  the canine features—rather than 
  revealing instantly that the creatures 
  are ghouls. The Keeper will find 
  Hideous Creatures: Ghouls by Kenneth 
  Hite a useful supplement for ghoul 
  mythology, 
  descriptions, 
  and 
  roleplaying flourishes.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  14
  a member of the de la Poer family being 
  present. If the Investigators press her to 
  accompany them, she grows anxious, 
  and explains her nerves prevent her 
  from going. Investigators with Cthulhu 
  Mythos feel a strange empathy with 
  her. Investigators with Archaeology 
  or Geology recall a paper she wrote 
  on glyphs found by the Dyer Antarctic 
  expedition (“At the Mountains of 
  Madness”)—it caused a stir back in 
  1932, and she hasn’t published since.
  Once oriented, Investigators must 
  coordinate their transportation to their 
  final destination of Rosa. If none of the 
  players is a motorist, anyone with a 
  Credit Rating 3+ may rent a car from 
  the station.
  Arrival
  Scene Type: Pipe/Introduction
  Lead-Ins: Briefing
  Lead-Outs: Sheriff Barnes’s Office, 
  The Company Entire
  Read the following text, or paraphrase 
  it, for the players.
  Your automobile pulls into the sleepy 
  town of Rosa (population 113 and 4 
  industries have fallen nearly as quickly, 
  making it the hardest-hit major city 
  in Alabama.
  Lilian Crawford, a stylish woman in 
  her early thirties, arrives shortly after 
  the players and instructs them about 
  their mission, and presents them with 
  their salon invitations (Handout 1: 
  Salon invitation, p. 35). A professor 
  of classics at Huntingdon College 
  (recently renamed from the Women’s 
  College of Alabama), she’s a colleague 
  of Miskatonic’s Dr. Ferdinand Ashley. 
  Players with Archaeology know that 
  she used to specialize in that field before 
  generalizing. Dr. Crawford speaks 
  with a hint of Southern accent, which 
  she’s tried to lose so that Northern 
  colleagues will take her seriously. 
  Despite her stylish clothing, her rough, 
  sun-damaged hands reveal her past 
  fieldwork. She carries gloves, but finds 
  them too inconvenient to use.
  Dr. Crawford only knows the basics 
  concerning the parties involved in the 
  salon. She’s met the host, Professor 
  Theodore Derby, at several conferences 
  and believes his daughter Irma assists 
  him now. She believes they have invited 
  several other professors of folklore, 
  and the librarian said something about 
  Scenes
  Briefing
  Scene Type: Introduction
  Lead-Outs: Arrival
  The Investigators gather in Birmingham, 
  Alabama, a rail hub and less than a day’s 
  drive from Rosa, for a briefing. The 
  Inquiry (or other society) sent each of 
  them a railway ticket two days ago, and 
  an urgent telegram telling them to meet 
  their colleagues at the station and await 
  further instructions. As their trains pull 
  into the station, a large electric sign 
  reading “Welcome to Birmingham, The 
  Magic City” greets them.
  By default, the instructions direct them 
  to the main cathedral-like waiting 
  room 
  of 
  Birmingham’s Terminal 
  Station. The Keeper may choose a 
  more welcoming place for a diverse 
  group to meet, such as a restaurant 
  in the Ensley region, where most of 
  Birmingham’s black, Greek, Jewish, 
  and Italian residents lived. Wherever 
  they meet, Investigators notice signs of 
  the Depression—panhandlers, patched 
  clothes, hungry faces. Birmingham has 
  lost 90% of its steel jobs, and its other 
  Who Called You?
  In a standalone game, the Investigators 
  are called in by the Armitage Inquiry. 
  Each Investigator has worked for the 
  Inquiry before—perhaps on purpose, 
  perhaps by falling into its midst 
  during another adventure. As the 
  Investigators arrive in Birmingham, 
  build ties by asking each a question 
  about the last time they worked 
  for the Inquiry, and how it involved 
  another Investigator at the table. What 
  went horribly wrong? What did they 
  leave out of their mission report?
  For an existing group of Investigators, 
  stories of their exploits have filtered 
  through esoteric backchannels to 
  the ears of the Inquiry. Dr. Lilian 
  Crawford refers by name to someone 
  in a previous adventure—ideally 
  a librarian, academic, or wealthy 
  patron—as having recommended 
  them to Dr. Armitage. Players in an 
  Armitage Inquiry campaign (Trail of 
  Cthulhu p.206, The Armitage Files) 
  receive this mission through one of 
  their usual contacts.
  In some cases, the adventure may fit 
  so neatly with an ongoing campaign 
  as to suggest an alternative group, 
  or that the Investigators happen 
  upon the theft themselves. For 
  example, Investigators who have 
  already brought their Bookhounds 
  campaign 
  (Trail 
  of 
  Cthulhu 
  p.209, Bookhounds of London) to 
  America would naturally hear of the 
  book’s disappearance through their 
  own contacts.
  
  15
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  Sheriff Barnes’s Office
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Arrival
  Lead-Outs: Makeshift Morgue, 
  Graveyard Inspection, Color Lines, 
  The Company Entire
  Investigators find the sheriff talking 
  quietly with some men on the street, 
  but he immediately directs them to his 
  office. He starts the scene hostile toward 
  Investigators. The librarian assured him 
  that the university would call in people 
  to handle the stolen book situation 
  discreetly, so he hasn’t investigated it. 
  Given everything that’s happened, he’s 
  rethinking his decision to allow outsiders 
  into Rosa. Once he gets them alone, he’ll 
  ask them what they know about the book.
  • Cop Talk: Barnes doesn’t know how 
  the book was connected, but he wasn’t 
  born yesterday and knows they’re tied 
  together somehow. He’s told everyone 
  at the Derby house to stay there, or at 
  the boarding house. The library, where 
  the crime occurred, is locked. He has 
  the key for the Investigators. He’d 
  prefer to give it to someone with at 
  least a PI’s level of authority.
  • Cop Talk: They’re having an issue 
  with wild animals. No need for law 
  enforcement, but the town’s not safe 
  right now. What kind of wild animals? 
  Must be wolves. Haven’t had them 
  around here in a decade, though. It’s 
  not safe.
  • (core) 
  Reassurance: 
  If 
  the 
  Investigators tell him the society 
  called them in about a missing book, 
  McGrath won’t relax, but tells them 
  he guesses they’d better speak to 
  the sheriff, and points them to the 
  sheriff’s place up the way.
  • Assess Honesty (1-point spend) 
  reveals that he’s telling half-truths 
  about the situation.
  As Investigators drive through Rosa, 
  they pass Mrs. Dawes’s lodging house, 
  a general store with the fading letters 
  DUBOIS painted over the door, and 
  the Catholic church. Men armed with 
  shotguns and farm implements sit on 
  the lodging house and general store 
  porches. Just past the sheriff’s, they see 
  the Methodist church. Small clusters of 
  men huddle in the graveyards behind 
  both churches.
  guests) bouncing in the striking red clay 
  earth you’ve seen throughout Alabama. 
  The last time you saw a paved road was 
  nearly 35 miles ago, just outside  
  of Birmingham. You’ve crunched over 
  perhaps another thirty miles of packed 
  gravel, but since passing through  
  Oneonta you’ve been on rutted, country 
  roads. The pollen-dusted clay clings to 
  your tires, creating such a slick surface 
  you’re grateful for the ruts keeping  
  you on track.
  As the first house comes into view, an 
  older man hefting a shotgun over his 
  shoulder steps out of the trees and raises a 
  hand. “Y’all hold up a moment.”
  The 
  man 
  introduces 
  himself 
  as 
  Samuel “Sam’ll” McGrath. He tells 
  the Investigators they’d better drive 
  straight through the town. The sheriff’s 
  deputized him and some other men 
  to make sure nobody stops in Rosa. If 
  the Investigators try to intimidate him, 
  he’ll motion and bring in a few other, 
  younger, men with shotguns. While 
  they could begin the game by fighting 
  the townsfolk, it would increase the 
  difficulty of gathering information 
  later on.
  Sherriff Barnes
  Abilities: Firearms 8, Health 8, 
  Scuffling 4, Stability 8
  Alertness modifier: +1
  Weapon: +1 (Winchester M1912 
  12-gauge pump shotgun), +0 (Colt .32)
  Ever since Sheriff Barnes returned 
  from the Spanish-American War, he’s 
  served his hometown with dedication 
  seasoned by combat. Now nearing 
  his sixties, he’s generally content 
  in his work. With only 113 folks, 
  Rosa’s a pretty decent place to be a 
  sheriff. There’s never been a murder 
  in all his time there. Most of his work 
  consists of settling squabbles between 
  neighbors, and occasionally locking 
  up someone who was too drunk to 
  go home. In his younger days, you’d 
  be more likely to find him in his 
  fields than his office. Now, he keeps 
  a large garden out back, and can be 
  found there or sleeping at his desk.
  When acting in an official capacity, 
  Barnes uses the original one-room 
  house his great-great grandparents 
  built near what’s now Route 38. He 
  added a single wall dividing the space 
  into a front room with a single desk 
  and woodstove, and a back room with 
  a conventional cell door. Barnes calls it 
  the “holding cell,” but it has held more 
  firewood, sandbags, and miscellaneous 
  farm equipment than prisoners. He 
  keeps a cot and blanket in there for 
  the rare occasions someone needs 
  a place to sleep it off. Folks around 
  here can’t afford any alcohol but what 
  they make themselves, and that’s 
  mighty unpredictable.
  Two things: Looks Investigators 
  straight 
  in 
  the 
  eye. 
  Always 
  chewing tobacco.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  16
  marks on what’s left of his neck, 
  and across his belly. The sheriff 
  explains the corpse spent several 
  days in the woods before it was 
  found, but it doesn’t bear other 
  marks of animal predation.
  – Emmaline Breton: Adult female in 
  her seventies or eighties. Died of 
  natural causes two years ago. Most 
  of her skin has rotted away. Her legs 
  broke off at the hip joints, possibly 
  due to a pre-mortem vulnerability. 
  Dirt cakes her cracked fingernails.
  – Dan Dubois: Died six years ago of 
  natural causes. His body is so badly 
  decomposed that he could only be 
  definitively identified by the rosary 
  placed around his neck when he 
  was buried, and the tatters of his 
  best suit. If he’d managed to eat that 
  meat, he had no organs with which 
  to digest it.
  • (core) 
  Biology: The 
  creature 
  is humanoid, but definitely not 
  human. The front of its skull slopes 
  unnaturally forward, and its canine 
  teeth extend more prominently than 
  a human’s. Each of its fingers has an 
  extra segment made of hard cartilage. 
  Its pelvis would give it a loping walk, 
  and its feet splay oddly.
  • Outdoorsman: The creature has an 
  unusually tough hide and a smell of 
  burned hair persists. It calls to mind 
  an animal which was cooked without 
  being properly skinned. A faint odor 
  of death clings to it.
  – 1-point spend: The sheriff sees you 
  examining its skin, and remarks 
  how ineffective they found pistols 
  and shotguns against that hide. One 
  man hit it with an axe, and another 
  with his father’s artillery sword. 
  Those two finally took it down.
  The Investigators may choose next 
  whether they proceed with a Graveyard 
  Inspection (p. 17) or visit the house and 
  interview The Company Entire (p. 17). 
  They may also wish to visit the Lodging 
  House to take their rooms.
  with the black folks up the road (see 
  Color Lines, p. 17). They take care of 
  their own burials.
  Makeshift Morgue
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Sheriff Barnes’s Office, 
  Graveyard Inspection, Color Lines
  Lead-Outs: Graveyard Inspection, 
  Color Lines, The Company Entire, 
  Exploring Rosa
  Barnes leads Investigators to the small, 
  square, sunken ice house behind 
  the General Store. Instead of the 
  professionally-made ice the Investigators 
  might expect, over the winter someone 
  packed snow inside, and covered it with 
  layers of sawdust. Putting in the bodies 
  has spoiled what little ice the town had, 
  but it was the only way to keep them 
  from becoming worse until they could 
  be examined and reburied. Only one 
  Investigator can easily fit inside at a time, 
  but a second person can squeeze in to 
  help move the bodies outside.
  The ice house contains three beheaded 
  human corpses, all now lightly dusted 
  with sawdust, whose bodies show 
  miscellaneous other marks of injury. 
  The fourth body, a blackened humanoid 
  the size of a human male, has burned 
  too badly for cursory inspection to 
  reveal more than that it recently came 
  into contact with a great deal of fire.
  • (core) 
  Forensics: 
  All 
  three 
  townspeople 
  have 
  post-mortem 
  gunshot wounds. The sheriff explains 
  shooting them didn’t stop them, 
  which is why they resorted to 
  beheading. None of the bodies have 
  been embalmed.
  – Bill Mathers: Adult male in his late 
  twenties. Freshest body. Was killed 
  three months ago in a presumed 
  hunting accident. He has a shotgun 
  wound to the face, which the 
  sheriff points to as being from the 
  accident. He also has deep claw 
  • (core) Oral History: Last night, 
  Mrs. Dubois woke up the town 
  screaming fit to raise the devil. 
  She’d heard someone breaking into 
  the store and come running only to 
  stumble upon her late husband Dan 
  Dubois, helping himself to the raw 
  rabbit in the store’s ice box. 
  Miss Emmaline they found on the road 
  outside, just the top half of her. No idea 
  where the bottom half is, but someone’s 
  out looking for it now. She was pulling 
  herself along by her fingers, headed in 
  the direction of her old home. And Bill 
  Mathers was skulking around outside 
  his house, almost sniffing the air. Sheriff 
  Barnes is relieved they found him before 
  his wife or one of his little ones did. 
  She’s about due to deliver and the fright 
  might have brought the baby right then.
  • (core) Forensics: Sheriff Barnes 
  invites the Investigators to examine 
  the bodies out in the ice house 
  – he can’t make hide nor hair of 
  the situation.
  • (core) Biology: There’s something 
  else he’d like them to look at. When 
  they were checking the cemeteries 
  last night, making sure nobody else 
  was walking around, they came 
  across a…thing, which lashed out and 
  attacked the men. It’s dead now and 
  torched just to be safe. He’s keeping 
  it with the other bodies.
  • Bureaucracy or Notice: Three 
  church record books are piled in a 
  heap on his desk. The sheriff explains 
  the three who came back all attended 
  different churches, so he was trying to 
  figure out what they had in common. 
  The Investigator spots that these three 
  people are the three most recent 
  burials in Rosa. The one other who 
  died more recently than Bill Mathers 
  was an old Catholic woman buried 
  over in Oneonta, at a family plot.
  As an after-thought, the sheriff may 
  suggest that someone should check in 
  
  17
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  Everyone heard the shots and yelling 
  last night, but nobody dared visit the 
  town. It’s unwise to go there after 
  dark, even without all the commotion. 
  Some of the men made a fire and 
  stayed out all night with weapons, 
  just in case trouble came here. They 
  bury their dead in a cemetery at the 
  black church outside Cleveland, not 
  here in Rosa. Jim Caldwell, one of 
  the men, is its preacher—only he’s 
  off looking for work today.
  • (core) Evidence Collection: If the 
  Investigators ask her about anything 
  out the ordinary, she’ll mention 
  that she’s heard barking out in the 
  woods since the winter. It makes 
  her dog howl, but there’s never a 
  howl in return, just barking. At first, 
  they wondered if someone over in 
  Rosa would organize a wolf hunt, 
  but nobody’s lost livestock, so they 
  simply live and let live.
  • Oral History: She’s aware of the 
  basics of the town’s history, about 
  as much as anyone in Rosa. Her 
  concerns are more immediate, 
  although Klan activity has died down 
  in the region. Still, when the coroner 
  held an inquest about Bill Mathers, 
  she and others worried that one of 
  their men would be charged.
  The Company Entire
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Arrival, Sheriff Barnes’s 
  Office, Makeshift Morgue, Graveyard 
  Inspection, Color Lines
  Lead-Outs: Graveyard Inspection, 
  Room by Room, Scouring the Lodging 
  House, In the Blood
  The party of scholars and guests await 
  the Investigators at the Derby house. 
  Although the house has seen some wear, 
  it’s a respectable Southern abode, likely 
  dating from the early 1800s. Unlike 
  other houses in town, its wraparound 
  porch has not been screened in, likely 
  Lead-Outs: Makeshift Morgue, 
  Graveyard Inspection, The Company 
  Entire, Scouring the Lodging House, 
  Exploring Rosa
  In Rosa, as elsewhere in Alabama, 
  residents 
  follow 
  myriad 
  racial 
  restrictions, from prejudice, habit, or, 
  for some, a desire for safety. The few 
  black residents—six families—live to 
  the west of the town, toward Cleveland. 
  Most descend from post-Civil War 
  sharecroppers, although the woods have 
  reclaimed the historic fields. Before 
  the Depression, some of the men did 
  odd jobs at the mill, or in Rosa; others 
  worked for farmers near Cleveland. The 
  women cared for children, and worked 
  smaller garden plots remaining from 
  the fields. They occasionally found jobs 
  in Rosa, sometimes helping Mrs. Dawes 
  wash her sheets after a large party, or 
  took positions as cleaners and farm 
  workers in Cleveland.
  The community made do with little 
  even before the Depression hit, but 
  it’s dried up what opportunities they 
  had, or forced them to cede work to 
  unemployed white men. Three families 
  moved north to live with relations 
  who found them a little work; another 
  moved to Ensley in Birmingham, 
  but the rest are trying to weather the 
  Depression in Rosa. Their dwellings 
  reflect the poverty apparent on the 
  white side of Rosa, only more so. When 
  they can, they shop at the back of the 
  Dubois general store. As long as they 
  abide by the conventions of the region, 
  they are tolerated passing through, or 
  even stopping in, Rosa.
  As Rosa’s black citizens did not 
  encounter anything out of the ordinary 
  the previous night, most of the men have 
  gone to Cleveland again today, hoping 
  for work. Marsha Clark, a middle-aged 
  woman, cautiously approaches the 
  Investigators when they arrive.
  • Reassurance: Neither she nor the 
  others knew what happened in Rosa. 
  Graveyard Inspection
  Scene Type: Pipe
  Lead-Ins: Sheriff Barnes’s Office, 
  Makeshift Morgue, Color Lines, 
  The Company Entire, Room by 
  Room, Scouring the Lodging House, 
  Exploring Rosa
  Lead-Outs: Makeshift Morgue, 
  Color Lines, The Company Entire, 
  Scouring the Lodging House, 
  Exploring Rosa, Laid to Rest
  Each graveyard sits adjacent to, or 
  behind, its respective church. The 
  Catholic graveyard is the oldest, with 
  tombstones dating back to the mid-
  1700s. Father Martel has not been in 
  the church since the incident.
  The Dubois grandson, fourteen-year-old 
  Jean, has served as an altar boy there for 
  years, and is more than happy to show the 
  Investigators around. In the graveyard, 
  they find Mr. Dubois’ open gravesite. Jean 
  won’t approach it, but crosses himself and 
  remains at a distance. He hopes the priest 
  will return his grandfather to consecrated 
  ground as soon as possible. Human boots 
  and animal-like paw-prints blend in the 
  dirt outside the grave.
  • (core) Outdoorsman or Evidence 
  Collection: The animal footprints 
  in the fresh dirt match the feet of the 
  hideous creature found in the morgue. 
  Claw marks at the grave’s edge look as 
  though the creature was working from 
  the surface to help Dubois dig out.
  Investigations at the Methodist church 
  yield similar results. The Methodist 
  minister, Armand Sperry, can be found 
  in the graveyard attempting to tidy up.
  Color Lines
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Sheriff Barnes’s Office, 
  Makeshift Morgue, Graveyard  
  Inspection
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  18
  Two 
  things: 
  frequently 
  wipes 
  spectacles. Talks rapidly when excited 
  or upset.
  • Reassurance or Intimidation: 
  He can reveal as many of the details 
  of the theft (sidebar, p. 18) as the 
  Keeper needs. He remembers hearing 
  a floorboard creak in the night at the 
  boarding house. He took his Luminal 
  to sleep better (Pharmacy knows 
  this is phenobarbital, a barbiturate), 
  and doesn’t remember anything else.
  – (1-point spend of either): He 
  recalls Irma insisted, on her father’s 
  behalf, that he bring the book itself. 
  Her father, she said, was too unwell 
  to make the trip to Tuscaloosa. She 
  read him a lecture on the loyalty 
  owed to her father for so many 
  years of service to the University.
  • (red herring) Library Use: He saw 
  Professor Katz in the reading room 
  at Alabama, just a couple of months 
  ago. She spent several days taking 
  notes from old journals, including  
  this one.
  Each party member also has a 
  secret, which the Keeper may use in 
  combination with the red herring to keep 
  Investigators off balance at first. To obtain 
  the secret, Investigators must combine an 
  Interpersonal Ability with another piece 
  of information, such as a red herring 
  thrown out by another character. Though 
  the secrets are listed here, they will likely 
  come up in later interactions with the 
  characters, after the Investigators have 
  had a chance to talk with everyone.
  The Frantic Librarian
  Scott Bryant, the librarian from Alabama, 
  is responsible for shepherding the book 
  on its unprecedented departure from the 
  rare books department. Always a high-
  strung and fastidious man, he verges on 
  the brink of hysteria as he reinforces to 
  the Investigators the need to recover the 
  book. His concern vacillates between 
  the department’s reputation, and his job 
  security. Though, like everyone else in 
  the group, he’s heard about last night, he 
  wouldn’t care if the world were ending, 
  as long as he recovers the book.
  because it had not been regularly 
  occupied since the death of Mrs. 
  Derby’s parents in the 1890s.
  Stepping into the Derby house, like 
  Mrs. Dawes’s boarding house, moves 
  the Investigators out of the world 
  of the Depression and into a shabby 
  gentility, where food and goods aren’t 
  scarce, even if they’re not abundant. 
  Underneath it all, most of this more 
  prestigious company struggle as well—
  if not with current financial difficulties, 
  then with the fear of academic funding 
  cuts, or other capital catastrophes.
  One core clue is the details of the 
  theft (see sidebar, p. 18). This may be 
  obtained from anyone present using a 
  relevant skill. The Keeper can divide up 
  facts among characters, if she chooses. 
  Each character has additional clues and 
  information which they think relevant, 
  but which is actually a red herring 
  (labeled). If the Keeper prefers to space 
  things out, conversations with Starling, 
  de la Poer, and Bryant may occur at the 
  lodging house (p. 24).
  Details of the Theft
  Here are the facts:
  • The company has had the book out 
  each night. When not in use, Irma 
  locks it in the drawer of Professor 
  Derby’s desk in the library.
  • The night of the theft, discussion 
  concluded around 10:30 p.m., and 
  Irma locked the book in the study, 
  supervised by the scrupulous Bryant.
  • Bryant, Starling, and de la Poer 
  walked back to the lodging house 
  together. They arrived around 
  11pm. Starling and de la Poer 
  smoked a pipe on the porch, 
  Bryant went straight to bed.
  • Irma, 
  Professor 
  Katz, 
  and 
  Professor Derby slept in the Derby 
  house. Professor Derby retired 
  shortly after the gentlemen left. 
  Professor Katz helped Irma with 
  final kitchen clean-up before bed. 
  Nobody locks their doors in Rosa.
  • The group reconvened for breakfast 
  around 8 a.m.
  • Around 10 a.m., Irma went to 
  retrieve the book from the study. 
  She returned with the news they’d 
  been robbed.
  • The lock on the drawer was 
  broken. One window in the 
  library was open. Bryant called the 
  sheriff, but once neither footprints 
  nor fingerprints of a thief could 
  be identified, he insisted that 
  the Alabama library would take 
  responsibility for the situation.
  • For the two days it took the 
  Investigators to get to Rosa, 
  the door to the library has been 
  locked. Sheriff Barnes had the key. 
  When Bryant expressed concern 
  about the windows, the sheriff 
  placed several large rocks beside 
  the sash lock, where they would 
  cause a loud noise if knocked off.
  • The last two days have been 
  extraordinarily uncomfortable for 
  everyone. The day the theft was 
  discovered, they tried resuming 
  academic discussion in the evening. 
  Yesterday, everyone entertained 
  themselves with reading, walking, 
  or small discussions.
  
  19
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  decided to make their final salon a 
  small affair.
  • Flattery: Why yes, her attention to 
  detail gives her excellent recall of 
  Details of the Theft. She recounts 
  them punctiliously. 
  • (red herring) Occult: She hadn’t 
  originally planned to invite Jack 
  Starling, but he wrote and requested 
  an invitation. She discovered he 
  already knew Roger de la Poer. It’s 
  possible the two of them are involved 
  in something.
  No skill uncovers Irma’s secret—she 
  dunnit. See The Horrible Truth (p. 8).
  The Folklorist
  Seeing her graying hair pulled back 
  in a bun, spectacles, and sensible 
  clothes, new faculty and staff often 
  mistake Roberta Katz for a librarian. 
  She precludes Investigator confusion 
  by confidently identifying herself as 
  a professor of folklore and American 
  anthropology at the University of 
  Georgia. Professor Katz is a longtime 
  friend of the Professor, and has known 
  Irma since the latter’s birth. Professor 
  Derby mentored her during her 
  undergraduate years at Alabama, and 
  encouraged her to pursue her career.
  The goings-on in the town have deeply 
  concerned her. She pushes off the 
  Stability-jarring effects by running 
  through her academic opinions. If the 
  conversation tends that way, she gives 
  the players some of the information from 
  Ghouls (see p. 13), though phrased in 
  terms of myth and folklore.
  Two things: puts even more sugar in 
  her tea than the average Southerner. 
  Often lapses into teaching voice.
  • Evidence Collection: Anticipating 
  she’d be asked about the Details of the 
  Theft (p. 18), Katz made a careful, 
  bulleted list of everything she knows.
  • (red 
  herring) 
  Photography: 
  Yesterday, when everyone was on 
  their own, he saw de la Poer walking 
  down the path toward the grave. He 
  was carrying a hand-held camera, 
  probably a Kodak.
  • Reassurance after learning Katz’s 
  secret: Only a few years into his 
  marriage, he pieced together that 
  his wife descended from de la Poer. 
  She could keep a secret, but not from 
  someone who’d studied the man. 
  When his daughter revealed she also 
  knew and her plans for her mother’s 
  body, he assisted her in bringing it to 
  Rosa but has been utterly terrified 
  of her ever since. He does his best 
  to hide it behind general frailty. He 
  knows she’d trade his life for her 
  mother’s without thinking twice.
  The Dutiful Daughter
  Once Bryant releases the Investigators, 
  Irma welcomes them with lemonade. 
  Her clothes are exceptionally cared-for, 
  but not a single one of them appears 
  to have been made after 1918 and she 
  gives off an Edwardian sense. It could 
  be due to the Depression – their only 
  money is her father’s pension, and 
  whatever savings they’d amassed. 
  She maintains the warm veneer of a 
  Southern hostess, though the events 
  seem to have left her slightly shaken. 
  Investigators who’ve experienced it 
  and those with Psychoanalysis notice  
  the signs.
  Two things: a compulsive hostess, she’s 
  determined to make sure her guests 
  are having a good time. Frequently 
  wipes her hands on her apron or skirt, 
  whether or not they’re wet.
  • Anthropology: She’s coordinated 
  meetings like this for years. The 
  company is a bit different this time, 
  normally they invite more students 
  and have a larger gathering. But 
  without her mother to help, she’s 
  overwhelmed by the thought and 
  • (red herring) Intimidation: Bryant, 
  as will be drawn out in red herrings 
  and side clues, had secretly hoped to 
  use this trip as an opportunity to assess 
  Derby’s library for items which could 
  be sold to the American Antiquarian 
  Society. Though they’d rejected him for 
  a position, he hopes to prove his worth 
  by referring Derby. He’s now afraid 
  of someone discovering his intention, 
  or that he’d written to the Society’s 
  librarian to obtain a list of titles which 
  the library wished to obtain.
  The Old Man With the 
  Watery Eyes
  Inside the house, Professor Derby attempts 
  to greet Investigators. He may stand to 
  meet them, but he does so while leaning 
  heavily on a cane. His watery blue eyes 
  peer at the Investigators from behind thick 
  spectacles. He appears mildly disturbed by 
  the goings on in town, but mostly sad.
  Two things: often drifts off to sleep as 
  conversations happen around him. His 
  voice creaks like an old rocking chair.
  • Oral History: He gives a shaky 
  account of Details of the Theft 
  (p. 18). He can only recall things he 
  was directly present for.
  • (core) Anthropology, History, or 
  Occult: The Investigator persuades 
  him to slowly recount the full story of 
  Ezekiel de la Poer, as he knows it (the de 
  la Poer biography includes additional 
  clues with appropriate skills). He asks 
  Irma to draw the Investigators a map 
  into the woods where they can visit the 
  remains of de la Poer’s house. On it, he 
  draws a shaky X to mark the ash tree’s 
  location. He notes there isn’t much left 
  beyond the foundations. They’ll find a 
  large stone marking the grave. He does 
  not mention de la Poer’s daughter.
  • Reassurance: Derby confides he’s 
  been heavily dependent on Irma since 
  his vision started declining about a 
  decade ago.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  20
  • Occult: He attended because he’s 
  currently 
  researching 
  European 
  families and their connections to lost 
  knowledge. He believes that humanity 
  once knew the secrets of resurrection 
  and immortality. He’s a bit disappointed 
  none of de la Poer’s writings mention 
  where he learned his arts.
  • (red herring) Anthropology: If 
  asked who would gain from the theft, 
  he’ll immediately point a finger at 
  Katz. He considers her attitudes 
  “practically antediluvian” and suggests 
  an “old fossil” like her must be 
  desperate for something to maintain 
  her relevance in the field.
  • Interrogation and investigating his 
  room: Starling’s secret is multifold—
  he doesn’t know the whole of it. 
  Irma invited Jack Starling to serve 
  as a patsy for her planned theft. She 
  offered to filch valuable research 
  notes from Professor Katz for him, 
  promising him her assistance in using 
  them for publication. He does not tell 
  Investigators that he left the boarding 
  house to meet Irma, who gave him 
  Katz’s papers. Had things gone to 
  plan, he would have been killed by 
  ghouls the same night the journal 
  went missing, Investigators would 
  have found Katz’s papers, and with 
  his famous love of séances, everyone 
  would have assumed his guilt – 
  perhaps he couldn’t help himself with 
  a dead necromancer so close.
  The Ill-Starred Genealogist
  Like the 18th century necromancer, 
  the unlucky Roger de la Poer descends 
  from a cousin of the de la Poers of 
  Exham Priory (see “The Rats in the 
  Walls”). After his American cousin’s 
  tragic attempt at restoring it piqued 
  his interest in family history, he’s been 
  on an increasingly-depressing quest to 
  discover the secrets of his ancestors. 
  He has already visited the old Virginia 
  estate ruins, and he’s here at the kind 
  invitation of Miss Derby.
  – 1-point spend: Irma is still a 
  spinster because her young man, 
  a student of Derby’s, was killed in 
  the Great War.
  – 2-point 
  spend: 
  Few 
  people 
  know that Irma spent a year in 
  Tuscaloosa’s Bryce Hospital, a 
  formerly progressive but now 
  infamous sanitarium, after news 
  of his death caused her to have a 
  complete mental collapse.
  The Khol-Eyed Occultist
  With his long black Chinese jacket, ankh 
  necklace, be-ringèd fingers, and hint 
  of khol around the eyes, Jack Starling 
  stands out from the others. If he were 
  being played by an actor, it would surely 
  be James McAvoy in a smarmier version 
  of his Professor Xavier. At only 30, Jack 
  Starling has risen abnormally quickly 
  to popular and academic prominence. 
  Though technically an anthropologist, 
  he’s bragged of spending time in 
  Crowley’s circles, holds open séances 
  at his local Theosophical society, and 
  was recently hired by the German 
  government to assist on one of their 
  occult projects. He is, of course, the 
  reincarnation of an Egyptian Pharaoh.
  Players with an “in” in true academic 
  circles, particularly Anthropology, 
  know of rumors of academic dishonesty 
  too nebulous, so far, to stop his career. 
  Most prominent scholars refuse to 
  work with him, which he dismisses as 
  professional jealousy of his success. He’s 
  a popular lecturer, but has not published 
  any original research. Starling shows 
  immediate disdain for any Investigator 
  without an academic occupation. 
  Under his veneer, he is deeply shaken, 
  though it may be hard for Investigators 
  to detect, as he lies so often.
  Two things: looks into mirrors every 
  chance he gets. Sounds so patronizing as 
  to make some Investigators’ fists itch.
  • Interrogation: He gives a minimal 
  account of Details of the Theft (p. 18).
  • Cop Talk: Professor Katz has her 
  own quandary. She’d like to help the 
  party understand more about her 
  work regarding de la Poer’s time 
  in this region, but her notes went 
  missing the day before the book’s 
  theft. She suspects Jack Starling and 
  had intended to ask the sheriff to 
  quietly search his room, but opted 
  to wait for the Investigators once the 
  journal went missing. She thinks he 
  may have taken that as well. These 
  notes are vital for her career, and 
  she expects Starling could do quite a 
  bit with them as well, if he were to 
  publish her research.
  • (red herring) Library Use: She’s 
  surprised to see Bryant here. Last 
  time she was researching at Alabama, 
  she heard a rumor that he was leaving 
  the university to work managing 
  acquisitions 
  for 
  the 
  American 
  Antiquarian Society.
  • (red 
  herring) 
  Intimidation: 
  Professor Katz has known the Derbys 
  for decades. As a folklorist, she collects 
  and correlates stories much better 
  than most. From seemingly-offhand 
  remarks made by Mrs. Derby and then 
  Irma, she’s begun putting together a 
  theory that de la Poer had one or more 
  children, whose descendants live in 
  the area today, and include Mrs., and 
  Miss, Derby. Her research on de la 
  Poer and the migration of indigenous 
  groups covers a second purpose—
  reading primary source materials to 
  find support for the theory. If she’s 
  lucky, she’ll end up with two papers 
  to publish. She won’t use real names 
  in her finished paper, of course, just 
  references to “D” and so forth.
  • Oral History: Gets her talking 
  about Mrs. Derby. While they weren’t 
  close, she remembers Mrs. Derby as 
  a clear-headed, intelligent woman, 
  although not educated beyond high 
  school. Irma was dotingly fond of her 
  mother and she’s been a bit worried 
  about the girl since her death.
  
  21
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  refreshments and supper for the group. 
  On the second floor, the house has four 
  bedrooms, a small bathroom, and a 
  staircase into the attic. The attic covers 
  the whole house, but its slanted roof 
  reduces the amount of truly usable 
  space. The yard behind the house has 
  a colonial-style brick oven used for 
  outdoor cooking in the hotter months. 
  It also contains a neglected outhouse 
  and a root cellar.
  The Derbys invite the Investigators to 
  search the library, where the librarian 
  insisted they store the book before 
  it was stolen. The Investigators may 
  observe anything else on the ground 
  floor or outside, but getting upstairs 
  requires at least some effort on their 
  parts. Encourage players to exercise 
  their creativity. Do they use Cop Talk 
  or Intimidation to insist they need 
  to search upstairs? Do they choose a 
  General skill like Stealth to sneak up 
  the stairs or Athletics to climb onto 
  the porch roof and go in from there? 
  Do they role-play or spend to create a 
  distraction, ensuring the NPCs don’t 
  have the chance to notice? No matter 
  what choice they make, they’ll cause 
  less suspicion when attempting subtlety 
  if only a couple of players search the 
  second floor.
  In the Library
  The library’s most important feature 
  is the desk which contained the stolen 
  journal. The desk, in itself, is rather 
  ordinary. Its middle drawer should 
  have a lock, but something broke 
  in the mechanism and the drawer  
  slides freely. 
  • Cryptography: 
  Recognizes 
  Polygraphia and Steganographia. Both 
  books teach cryptography while 
  masquerading as books of magic.
  • Locksmith: Investigators can tell 
  from examining the marks on the 
  lock and wood that an amateur forced 
  it using a large knife.
  But he started having dreams 
  from the moment his cousin’s 
  renovation began; strange dreams, 
  ancestral dreams which leave him 
  simultaneously repulsed and thrilling 
  with nervous excitement. In his 
  dreams, he restores the manor to 
  its ancient glory, ancient priestesses 
  whisper secrets in his ears, and 
  strange creatures bend awkwardly at 
  his feet. Beyond adding a bit of a red 
  herring and color, Roger’s dreams 
  leave him open to occult influences 
  in the final confrontation. Players will 
  have the opportunity to address this 
  in In the Blood.
  Room by Room
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: The Company Entire, 
  Scouring the Lodging House
  Lead-Outs: Graveyard Inspection, 
  Scouring the Lodging House, When 
  Ghouls Attack, Exploring Rosa, The 
  Secret Under the Ash Tree
  The Derby house has two floors and 
  an attic. The 12’-14’ ceilings on the 
  ground floor give the place an airier 
  quality than homes in the North. It is 
  the only house in town whose electric 
  wire meets up with the line that runs 
  along the telephone poles. The Derbys’ 
  supply of oil and tallow indicates that 
  they don’t use electricity much, except 
  when hosting gatherings—they have 
  few modern appliances and likely don’t 
  have the money for pre-Depression 
  electricity bills.
  The front and back (kitchen) door are 
  never locked. The main floor contains 
  the entrance hall, a drawing room on 
  the left, a library on the right, a dining 
  room toward the rear with the kitchen 
  and a coat closet (converted into a water 
  closet) behind it. Investigators meet with 
  the entire group in the drawing room.
  They may accompany Miss Derby 
  into the kitchen, where she prepares 
  A quiet, middle-aged man, Roger 
  wears an air of resignation, born of his 
  experience in the Great War and his 
  genealogical project. Yet he fatalistically 
  continues his research. He wears a 
  signet ring inscribed with a “D,” which 
  he purchased from an antiques dealer in 
  London. He is willing to fill in any bit of 
  information about Ezekiel de la Poer (p. 
  10) which Investigators didn’t already get 
  from Derby. Additionally, if the Keeper 
  wishes to add in details about de la Poer 
  taken from “The Rats in the Walls,” he 
  would be the best NPC to do so.
  Two things: Often fiddles with his 
  signet ring. Stops and restarts sentences.
  • Reassurance: The Investigators’ 
  reassurance backfires as he finally feels 
  able to unburden what he’d stolidly 
  kept quiet. He recounts Details of the 
  Theft (p. 18), then quickly spirals into 
  blaming himself and his interest in 
  digging up what should be buried. He 
  compares it to his cousin attempting 
  to rebuild the Priory. Look how that 
  ended—cannibalism, insanity, and 
  destruction. 
  • Photography: 
  He’s 
  used 
  his 
  camera to document his genealogical 
  journey. He left his photographs at 
  the boarding house and he would 
  be happy to show them to the 
  Investigator (see In the Blood, p. 28). 
  He hasn’t had the opportunity to 
  develop any photographs taken in 
  Rosa, of course. When viewing the 
  photographs later, the Investigator 
  will have an opportunity to pursue 
  developing the film from Rosa.
  • (red herring) Occult: Jack Starling 
  has offered to conduct a séance for 
  him before he leaves America. Roger 
  is unsure whether he wants to hear 
  what his ancestors have to say.
  • (red 
  herring) 
  Reassurance: 
  Roger says hearing of his cousin’s 
  failed attempt to rebuild the family 
  property started him on this quest. 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  22
  The essential Saltes of Animals may be so 
  prepared and preserved, that an ingenious 
  Man may have the whole Ark of Noah in 
  his own Studie, and raise the fine Shape of 
  an Animal out of its Ashes at his Pleasure; 
  and by the lyke Method from the essential 
  Saltes of humane Dust, a Philosopher may, 
  without any criminal Necromancy, call 
  up the Shape of any dead Ancestour from 
  Johannes Trithemius, a typed copy of 
  The Statement of Randolph Carter, and 
  Margaret Murray’s The Witch-Cult in 
  Western Europe.
  • (core) Library Use: Magnalia easily 
  opens to a page where Investigators 
  read the following, which Mather 
  ascribes to Borellus:
  • Occult: Investigators identify books 
  of interest in the library. These  
  are: 
  Unaussprechlichen 
  Kulten 
  in 
  the original German, a typed 
  reproduction of Cultes des Goules, 
  Commentaries on Witchcraft by one 
  mysterious 
  Mycroft, 
  Magnalia 
  Christi Americana by Cotton Mather, 
  Polygraphia and Steganographia by 
  
  23
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  to be Latin in a cryptographic hand. 
  Wax drippings completely obscure the 
  writing on a few. Likely, after the writer 
  rejected these, they repurposed them 
  to protect a desk from a long-burning 
  candle. Though Investigators will not 
  realize it without seeing the journal, 
  this is how it was damaged, when a 
  sleep-deprived Irma set the candle on it 
  instead of another paper as she worked 
  in the wee hours.
  • 1-point Cryptography spend: After 
  several hours’ work, you decipher the 
  notes. This is best done back at the 
  lodging house or in a secure location.
  The notes yield 6 versions of what a 
  player may piece together as:
  Per Adonai Eloim, Adonai Jehova, 
  Adonai 
  Sabaoth, 
  Metraton 
  On 
  Agla Mathon, verbum pythonicum, 
  mysterium 
  salamandrae, 
  conventus 
  sylvorum, antra gnomorum, daemonia 
  Coeli God, Almonsin, Gibor, Jehosua, 
  Evam, Zariatnatmik, veni, veni, veni.
  Once it is translated, players with  
  Occult 
  or 
  Languages 
  (Latin) 
  recognize 
  this 
  as 
  a 
  summoning 
  incantation which uses the names 
  of more than one deity. See p. 30 
  for how this may be used in the 
  final confrontation.
  Professor Derby’s room
  As the professor has noted, he needs his 
  daughter’s help to read, so his own room 
  contains no books or writing desk. 
  Investigators notice he has only slept 
  on one side of the bed – unsurprising, 
  considering how recently his wife died. 
  Several of the late Mrs. Derby’s dresses 
  hang in his closet.
  curtains on the window keep out prying 
  eyes. A new flush toilet looks out of 
  place against the old wood. An ancient 
  claw tub, likely used in the back yard 
  for generations, has been placed under 
  a wall faucet and drains through pipes 
  laid into the floor.
  Irma Derby’s Room
  Irma’s room contains a basic bed, 
  wardrobe, and desk. The tidy dresses in 
  the wardrobe date primarily from the 
  1910s, nothing made since the end of 
  WWI. On her neatly-organized writing 
  desk sit a pile of folded letters, tied with 
  a ribbon; an inkwell and pen; a copy of 
  the 1936 Ford Farm Almanac and Facts 
  Book; a candle burned to the stub; and 
  a typewriter. The letters, addressed to 
  Irma at school, all bear her mother’s 
  signature and dates from the mid-1910s.
  • (core) 
  Evidence 
  Collection: 
  Investigators open the almanac to 
  April. They find the entries for sunset 
  and moon set on April 30th circled. 
  Next to it in the margin is some basic 
  arithmetic in pen. “1:57 – midnight 
  = 1:57 & 1:57 – 6:53 pm = about 
  7 hours.” See below for the line for 
  April 30th in its entirety.
  • (core) Occult: April 30th is 
  Walpurgis Eve, a Sabbat when 
  witches and sorcerers commune with 
  their spirits or deities. This would be 
  a logical time for someone who had 
  not previously had success with a 
  ritual to re-attempt it.
  Investigators find both typewriter and 
  letter paper in the desk drawer, and 
  half-a-dozen sheets discarded in the 
  waste bin. These have been written 
  over several times in what appears 
  the Dust whereinto his Bodie has been 
  incinerated. (Book 2, Page 37)
  – 1-point spend: Whoever uses this 
  library has most recently read 
  from Cultes des Goules and Magnalia 
  Christi Americana. Cultes opens most 
  naturally to an unsettling illustration 
  of creatures which resemble the 
  burned 
  specimen 
  Investigators 
  saw at the sheriff’s office. One 
  creature perches on its haunches 
  on a gravestone while another 
  peers cunningly from behind a 
  gravedigger’s hat, a shovel over his 
  shoulder. Three pages about ghouls 
  in Prussia have been cleanly cut out.
  – 2-point spend: Besides books, the 
  library contains years of research 
  notes, carefully organized into 
  folders. Looking through the folder 
  for 1929, the Investigator quickly 
  identifies two pages of interest in 
  Miss Derby’s precise hand. See 
  Handouts 2 & 3, pp. 36 and 37.
  Kitchen
  Among 
  other 
  ordinary 
  kitchen 
  implements, a simple search reveals 
  the knife used to break the library desk 
  lock. Its blade bears scratch marks 
  from the force of opening the drawer. 
  Whoever used it replaced it among the 
  others. Miss Derby, if she accompanies 
  you, puts it aside for sharpening later. 
  If Investigators choose to search the 
  kitchen in greater depth, they find 
  nothing which stands out at this point, 
  although the meat grinder has been used 
  so heavily it’s practically worthless.
  Bathroom
  No clues here. This had been a smaller 
  bedroom 
  until 
  recently. 
  Heavier 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  24
  For more details on the lodging house, 
  see Dawes’ Lodging House p. 26. To enter 
  other guests’ rooms, Investigators must 
  either use Lockpicking when they’re 
  sure no one else is nearby or make a basic 
  Filch test to steal Mrs. Dawes’ spare 
  set from the private sitting room in her 
  annex. If they fail, they’ll have to find a 
  way to keep her from getting the sheriff, 
  or explain the situation to him. If Starling 
  has died by this point, Mrs. Dawes simply 
  unlocks his door for them, but not the 
  other men’s. Investigators may also use 
  Cop Talk to convince Sheriff Barnes to 
  ask Mrs. Dawes to let them into all three 
  men’s rooms.
  Jack Starling’s Room
  Jack Starling has unpacked his clothes 
  neatly into the wardrobe, and left a few 
  uninteresting papers on the writing 
  table. Under his bed, Investigators find a 
  briefcase which requires Lockpicking 
  to open. In this briefcase, they find more 
  academic papers. Unless they’ve talked 
  to Katz, it takes a player with Law, or 
  a Criminal, Police Detective, or Private 
  Investigator, to notice signs of a false 
  bottom. Here, they discover Professor 
  Katz’s missing papers, as well as a few 
  pages cleanly cut out of Cultes des Goules 
  (the title heads several pages). Library 
  Use lets players recognize these pages 
  as those missing from the Derby copy 
  (p. 23).
  • History: The papers include a list of 
  journals with dates and an unfinished 
  genealogical tree. The bottom name 
  on the tree? Sophie Derby. It works 
  backward several generations, but the 
  beginning is incomplete. The list of 
  journals includes several names, but 
  noted next to Father Joseph Maria 
  Berthieu’s name is “Jesuit missionary to 
  Louisiana territory. Said to be present 
  at de la Poer hanging. Jesuit archives 
  St. Louis. Reference required.”
  Katz’s notes include passages which 
  anyone with Languages (German) 
  can read and those with Occult 
  an outhouse, and the trap door of a 
  root cellar. A very new electric pump 
  attaches to the well and sends water 
  into the house. Vines cover a semi-
  collapsed wooden structure—likely the 
  remains of slave quarters. The Derbys’ 
  Ford Model A sits in a run-down stable. 
  The stable’s roof probably leaks, but the 
  car handles it better than a horse.
  Opening the root cellar’s hatch reveals 
  a square yard of opening about four feet 
  deep. On hands and knees, one may see 
  into the cellar itself. The cellar has a 
  two-foot dirt ceiling, extends five feet 
  back and two feet deep. In it sit bushel 
  baskets of apples and carrots, jars of 
  other fruits and vegetables, and, in the 
  front, two large jars of coarse salt, one 
  with a ribbon tied around its neck. 
  If a player attempts to taste the salt in 
  either jar, they’ll have to make a 4-point 
  Stability test later on.
  • Outdoorsman confirms that these 
  are all normal things to find in a root 
  cellar. Moreover, Alabama’s root 
  cellars are not likely to be as deep 
  as those farther north, owing to the 
  water tables. 
  • Craft: An amateur hand attempted to 
  re-plaster the oven’s bricks in place, 
  likely in an effort to prevent heat 
  leaking. The repaired bricks are less 
  than a decade old. It would have been 
  a better decision to use bricks of a 
  similar age, or rebuild it entirely.
  Scouring the  
  Lodging House
  Scene Type: Pipe/Red Herring
  Lead-Ins: Graveyard Inspection, 
  Color Lines, The Company Entire, 
  Room by Room, When Ghouls Attack, 
  The Secret Under the Ash Treee
  Lead-Outs: Graveyard Inspection, 
  Room by Room, When Ghouls Attack, 
  Exploring Rosa, The Secret Under the 
  Ash Tree 
  Professor Katz’s Room
  Professor Katz’s waste-bin contains used 
  blotting paper. Investigators find fresh 
  ink in the well. Evidence Collection 
  leads them to a stash of papers under 
  Katz’s mattress. These appear to be her 
  attempt to recreate the notes she alleges 
  Starling stole. Notable highlights:
  • Father Joseph Maria something? If priest 
  comes Sunday, ask him for regional history. 
  Or wait until visit to Jesuit archives.
  • Diary of Christine Laurent in Loyola 
  library had note about Mrs. Derby 
  grandmother.
  • Heard barking when we arrived. Must 
  find Un. Kult passage again. Borrow 
  Theodore’s once library is reopened?
  Attic
  Investigators find neatly-packed trunks 
  of what appear to be the late Mrs. 
  Derby’s clothes. The odor of mothballs 
  initially chokes Investigators who open 
  a trunk. It’s possible Irma is saving them 
  for when hers wear out, as they’re in a 
  similar size and style. The attic contains 
  wooden boxes and empty trunks used 
  to transport the Derby’s possessions 
  from Tuscaloosa to Rosa.
  • Forensics: Marks and dust on the 
  floor indicate one very long box 
  arrived with the rest but was not 
  unpacked until much later.
  • Outdoorsman: The temperature 
  up here isn’t much different than 
  the outdoors. It looks like whatever 
  insulation was built into the house has 
  been torn out. This winter, the attic 
  must have gotten very cold.
  The Grounds
  The house sits close to the woods. A 
  path in the back leads into the woods, 
  and the path from the front door leads 
  to the town.
  The back yard contains a colonial-style 
  outdoor oven for summer cooking, 
  
  25
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  the Lodging House, The Secret Under 
  the Ash Tree
  Lead-Outs: Scouring the Lodging 
  House, Exploring Rosa, In the Blood, 
  The Secret under the Ash Tree
  “When” is the operative word here. 
  This attack should occur at night, and 
  at some point after the Investigators 
  have had a chance to meet and initially 
  question Starling. If Investigators choose 
  to walk back from the Derby house to 
  the lodging house along with Starling 
  and others, this would be an opportune 
  time. If they visit the graveyard after the 
  Derby house, the attack may occur as 
  they’re returning to the lodging house. 
  You may trigger a Sense Trouble test, 
  but it only protects the Investigators, 
  not Starling.
  1.5 ghouls per player (for ghoul 
  statistics, see p. 26) attack Starling 
  and the party. Ideally this begins with 
  a dramatic moment. For example: 
  “Starling steps out on the porch to light 
  a clove cigarette when a clawed hand 
  reaches out of the shadows and tears 
  open his jugular.”
  Investigators not already tipped off 
  by the Sheriff’s description of the 
  townspeople’s fight, or who didn’t 
  secure blades or creative alternatives, 
  discover in combat that ghouls only 
  take half damage from firearms and 
  projectile weapons. If the Investigators 
  are badly damaged in this fight and seem 
  on the verge of dying, it may be a good 
  time for the ghouls to lope off, satisfied 
  that they’ve achieved their mission of 
  killing Starling.
  The fight triggers a 3-point Stability 
  test. Success negates the need for a later 
  test during the Resurrection Under the 
  Moon (p. 30). Failure not only causes 
  Stability loss, it increases the test’s 
  difficulty on future occasions by 1.
  After the sheriff and others have 
  examined Starling’s corpse, several 
  local men carry it to the same makeshift 
  I only hope that the hand which took it 
  is human and not that of my abhorred 
  antecedent. I lie awake each night, pistol 
  in hand, listening for either ghostly voices 
  whispering the name of Magna Mater or 
  the scuttling of rats, for I would rather 
  put a bullet in my own head than become 
  such an abomination.
  See In the Blood (p. 28) for more 
  information the photographs, which 
  de la Poer also willingly shares 
  with Investigators.
  Scott Bryant’s Room
  • Evidence 
  Collection: 
  The 
  Investigator finds letter from the 
  American Antiquarian Society and a 
  5-page typed list folded in with one 
  of Bryant’s shirts. Underneath the 
  signature is the title “Secretary to 
  the Librarian.”
  Mr. Bryant,
  In response to yours of February 16th, 
  please find enclosed this list of titles which 
  the American Antiquarian Society seeks 
  to augment its collection. The society’s 
  funds are limited and we gratefully accept 
  donations whenever possible.
  • Library Use: If Investigators have 
  inspected the library, they recognize 
  multiple titles from the list, including 
  Magnalia Christi Americana. The list 
  does not mention the de la Poer diary 
  specifically, although the final item 
  reads “The society accepts donations 
  of manuscripts and diaries completed 
  before 1870.”
  (See The Frantic Librarian, p. 18 for this 
  letter’s context. It may be resolved 
  through use of Interpersonal abilities to 
  get the truth from Bryant.) 
  When Ghouls Attack
  Scene Type: Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: Room by Room, Scouring 
  recognize specifically as a passage from 
  Unaussprechlichen Kulten.
  • Languages (German):
  von Junzt: After reading Balfour’s Cultes 
  des Goules, which only hinted at the facts, 
  I traveled into the heart of les Massif des 
  Vosges, where the necromancer de la Poer 
  lived with two pupils before his move to the 
  Americas. There I found the superstitious 
  town of St. Lazare, a collection of huts 
  nestled in a valley just off the Ruisseau du 
  Seucy. I spent a week at the feet of a Greisin 
  (German: “old lady”) and listened to stories 
  of her childhood when the pupils of de la 
  Poer held sway over her village. De la Poer 
  demanded the bodies of the dead, which 
  several braver boys witnessed him feeding to 
  dog-like ghouls. If too few villagers died of a 
  winter, a child or old man might disappear, 
  though that could been the starving wolves. 
  The woman hinted that these men were, 
  perhaps, living still. The hair rose on my 
  neck as I lay awake that night, listening 
  to the barking wolves, surely it was wolves.
  Roger De La Poer’s Room
  Roger de la Poer’s room contains his 
  traveling clothes, a camera bag with 
  photographs, a pistol, and a small journal. 
  • Evidence 
  Collection: 
  The 
  journal briefly documents his travels 
  researching family history in the 
  country around Exham Priory (the 
  destruction of which spurred his 
  genealogical endeavors), his trip to 
  America, and his visit to a historical 
  society near the remains of the 
  Virginia de la Poer estate. Players 
  taking the time to read it notice its 
  tone gradually growing more fatalistic 
  as he reflects on his own place in the 
  family. Multiple pages have been torn 
  out. The final entry:
  I hold myself responsible. If I had not 
  written to Miss Derby, she would never 
  have obligingly arranged this event. 
  Surely it is the curse of my family that the 
  journal would go missing at such a time. 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  26
  firearms if the Keeper feels kind 
  (though they’re of less use against 
  ghouls, so perhaps it’s full of firearms 
  if the Keeper feels wily), gasoline, 
  and various bludgeoning farm tools.
  • (core) Flattery: She’s proud of her 
  stock and happily tells Investigators 
  that she almost never has to order 
  anything special for her customers, 
  and they never have to drive out to 
  Oneonta or Birmingham. Only time 
  she can recall any special orders in the 
  last year was when Miss Derby ordered 
  several bags of new-fangled hot-
  burning coal despite her suggestion 
  to pay a local boy a few pennies for 
  enough cords to last the winter. She 
  dismisses this as “city folk ways.”
  Dawes’ Lodging House
  Mrs. Dawes keeps the town’s lodging 
  house, an irregular place with several 
  generations’ worth of additions, and a 
  screened wraparound porch populated 
  by wicker chairs and scuffed rockers. 
  She hardly does robust business, but 
  what else is she going to do with the 
  architectural monstrosity? Her eight 
  children have dispersed to various cities 
  or died in the war, and her husband 
  is dead, so she rents the rooms and 
  lives in the house’s annex, built by her 
  husband’s parents. The Derbys have 
  given her good business over the last 
  dozen or more years, paying to house 
  students there for a month or two in the 
  summer. Her children each send a little 
  money, and she doesn’t need much.
  When not hosting guests, she opens her 
  house up to local folks in the evenings. 
  It’s one of the few cheerful places in 
  town—young folks pick out songs on 
  the parlor piano while families shoot the 
  breeze on her front porch. As the three 
  men visiting the Derby house occupy 
  rooms already, Investigators must make 
  do with three rooms between them, 
  although some have two beds. There’s a 
  patch of dirt out front which looks like 
  a suitable place for parking a car.
  The Depression hit Rosa hard. In the 
  early years, boll weevils and a local 
  mill closure caused more trouble than 
  irrelevant stock crashes. Many men 
  left to try their hand at industry in 
  Birmingham. They sent money home 
  and returned only occasionally. But 
  by the mid-30s, decline in industry 
  drove most back to attempt subsistence 
  farming and share-cropping on their own 
  land. Clothes are patched and mended. 
  Some women have definitely sewn their 
  dresses and their children’s clothes from 
  feed sacks, although the floral patterns 
  make them quite charming.
  The Keeper may use setting details below 
  as color or for full scenes. Few clues are 
  necessary for the core adventure—core 
  clues should be considered floating 
  core clues. Instead, they build a fuller 
  picture of Rosa, add small plot threads 
  and clues, and include assistance and 
  supplies Investigators may need.
  Dubois General Store
  Caroline Dubois can’t offer Investigators 
  anything fancy, but she carries general 
  store staples and basic farming tools. In 
  the warmer months, residents acquire 
  ice for their iceboxes from the small 
  ice house out back. The store was her 
  late husband’s family legacy, but she 
  carries it on with pride. Six days a 
  week, dressed in the same gray smock, 
  she opens the shutters and unlocks the 
  door at 7am and remains behind the 
  counter, knitting, until supper. Her 
  grandchildren help her manage the 
  stock and heavy lifting, not that there’s 
  much nowadays. Some townspeople 
  purchase on credit or barter. There’s 
  a fine layer of dust on most of the 
  non-perishable items.
  After recent events, Mrs. Dubois has 
  moved in with her sister, Mrs. Dawes, 
  and can be found there when not in 
  the store.
  • Credit Rating 2+: Investigators 
  keen on shopping find ammunition, 
  morgue (p. 16) as the other bodies, 
  while the sheriff makes arrangements 
  with Starling’s next of kin.
  Ghoul
  Abilities: Athletics 9, Health 7, Scuffling 9
  Hit Threshold: 4 (5 underground)
  Alertness 
  Modifier: 
  +2 
  (+0 
  in daylight)
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: +1 (claw), +0 (bite); if two 
  bite attacks in a row succeed against the 
  same target, the ghoul is worrying the 
  poor devil with his mighty canine jaws, 
  and the second attack thus does double 
  damage. The ghoul need not roll to hit 
  that target thereafter, but will continue 
  to do normal damage to it each round 
  until killed or driven off.
  Armor: firearms and projectiles do 
  only half damage (round up)
  Stability Loss: +0; +1 if the ghoul 
  was known to the witness when alive 
  Exploring Rosa
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: Makeshift Morgue, 
  Graveyard Inspection, Color Lines, 
  Room by Room, Scouring the Lodging 
  House, When Ghouls Attack, Laid to 
  Rest, In the Blood, The Secret Under 
  The Ash Tree
  Lead-Outs: Graveyard Inspection, 
  Scouring the Lodging House, Laid to 
  Rest, In the Blood, The Secret Under 
  the Ash Tree, Resurrection Under 
  the Moon
  In 1936, Rosa, Alabama lies along State 
  Route 38, between the cities Oneonta 
  and Cleveland. The 1930 census list two 
  cities with a combined population of less 
  than 4,000 souls, with far fewer scattered 
  in the wooded farmland between. As the 
  Investigators walk along the main street, 
  they may notice the telephone line which 
  runs down it, connecting Rosa to the 
  outside world. Only three locations have 
  access to the party line, Dawes’ Boarding 
  House, Dubois general store, and the 
  sheriff’s office.
  
  27
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  help Investigators set up explosives 
  at the ghoul warren or craft a flame 
  thrower (Point-Blank: +4; Close: +2; 
  Near: 0; Long: X; even against ghouls) 
  with a Difficulty 7 Mechanical 
  Repair 
  test 
  (Investigators 
  may 
  cooperate to help him). An Investigator 
  in the Military, or someone who 
  served in the Great War, may use Oral 
  History or Reassurance to bond 
  with him over shared experiences. 
  Should Investigators not encounter him 
  but need the assistance, someone in the 
  town remembers that contraption Jim 
  built when they hired him to burn out 
  an area, or blow up old stumps.
  • Theology: What they tell him 
  sounds like the book of Revelation, 
  when the dead will rise and God 
  will come to judge. He hadn’t been 
  much interested in that book before 
  the war, but the carnage he saw in 
  France convinced him that it must 
  be God’s judgment on humanity for 
  their sins. He’s not seminary-trained, 
  but he’s studied with other pastors at 
  meetings in Birmingham. And this? 
  This looks like the End Times to him.
  Mathers Farm
  When young Bill Mathers died in what 
  was ruled a hunting accident back in 
  January, people weren’t sure whether 
  Louisa would stay or go back to her 
  folks in Liberty. Each week, she silently 
  comes into Dubois’ store, preceded by 
  her growing belly and followed by her 
  two children. Nobody knows her plans 
  for the summer, but both the Catholic 
  and 
  Methodist 
  churches 
  scraped 
  together the money to help her get by 
  for now. The fields lie unplowed, but 
  nobody’s getting much return from 
  their fields to begin with.
  Investigators find her in an argument 
  with the Methodist minister, Armand 
  Sperry. Her husband’s return clearly 
  shows that his spirit cannot rest easy 
  while his death remains a mystery. 
  She refuses to let anyone reinter her 
  used his powers to assist Christians 
  battling occult forces. Does this make 
  the church a sanctuary from dark 
  forces? Keeper’s judgment rules.
  Methodist Church
  Pastor Armand Sperry is the only 
  resident of Rosa, other than the Derbys, 
  to have obtained a college degree. As a 
  man of faith, but also reason, he quietly 
  fights an internal battle between what 
  he’s seen and his belief in the existence 
  of a rational explanation. His quiet, 
  firm nature calms Investigators’ nerves 
  if they lose too much Stability. Sperry 
  has 4 points of Psychoanalysis.
  Baptist Preacher
  If Investigators go looking for Baptist 
  preacher Jim Caldwell (ordained in 
  the National Baptist Convention, 
  a 
  historically-black 
  denomination 
  founded in Alabama, but spread far 
  beyond by this point), they find him 
  on a second visit to the black part of 
  Rosa, or a visit to the Baptist church. 
  The church stands between Rosa and 
  Cleveland, just under three miles 
  down the road from Rosa’s center, and 
  just over a mile from where the black 
  community lives. Like most small-
  town preachers, Caldwell spends more 
  time working fields or doing odd jobs 
  than composing sermons or providing 
  pastoral care. He walks with a stick and 
  works sitting down, as he came back 
  from the war with shrapnel in his left 
  leg. His two teenaged sons do the heavy 
  lifting for him as he barks out orders.
  Caldwell is a useful ally, provided 
  Investigators 
  use 
  Cop Talk 
  or 
  Reassurance 
  to 
  overcome 
  any 
  resistance from the sheriff. When WWI 
  broke out, the Army drafted Caldwell 
  into one of its segregated labor brigades, 
  and shipped him to France. He ended 
  up as close to the action as anyone, and 
  specialized in preparing explosives for 
  Army Engineers. He’s got Explosives 
  6 and Mechanical Repair 4. He can 
  After the terror of her husband’s 
  return, Mrs. Dubois has temporarily 
  moved in with her sister, Mrs. Dawes. 
  Unlike Louisa Mathers, she wants her 
  husband back in the ground as soon  
  as possible. 
  • Assess Honesty: You get the 
  impression that, while she wouldn’t 
  wish to speak ill of the dead, she 
  doesn’t miss him very much.
  • Oral History: The sisters’ ancestors 
  settled Rosa immediately after de la 
  Poer’s death. They grew up hearing 
  stories from their grandmother about 
  things her grandmother had seen as 
  a little girl, but always assumed they 
  were tall tales. About a week after 
  their grandmother’s funeral, Mrs. 
  Dubois saw her at their bedroom 
  window, looking in and grinning 
  horribly, like her husband did when 
  she saw him that horrible night. Mrs. 
  Dawes insists her sister was dreaming 
  the first and imagined the second.
  Catholic Church
  Jesuit missionaries present at de la 
  Poer’s death decided to cleanse the 
  area by building a church for the 
  farmers who parceled out his land. 
  They dedicated Saint Cyprian’s Catholic 
  Church in September 1736. Methodist 
  tent revivals caused religious fractures 
  in Rosa about a century later and, two 
  hundred years on, the church has only 
  a few families in regular attendance. 
  Father Martel comes up from Oneonta 
  one Sunday afternoon a month. On 
  the other Sundays, early risers see a 
  couple of trucks loaded up with the 
  town’s last Cajun-Catholics heading out 
  for Oneonta.
  • Theology: An inscription in the 
  church reads “Saint Cyprian defend 
  us.” Saint Cyprian of Antioch was 
  supposedly a magician with great 
  power over demonic forces, who was 
  converted by the holy virgin Saint 
  Justina. After his conversion, Cyprian 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  28
  • Cop Talk or Forensics: You are 
  able to convince her that no further 
  information can be gathered from her 
  husband’s body. Investigators who have 
  not autopsied him on either opportunity 
  may promise to ask the sheriff for the 
  coroner’s report (see Mathers Farm).
  • Anthropology or Oral History: 
  Mrs. 
  Dubois 
  remembers 
  her 
  grandmother talking about pyres in 
  the town back when she was a little 
  girl. Said it kept a body safe, and asked 
  for her body to be burned. Some 
  kind of superstition. Of course, they 
  buried her like a proper Christian.
  In the Blood
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: The Company Entire, When 
  Ghouls Attack, Exploring Rosa, Laid 
  to Rest
  Lead-Outs: Exploring Rosa, The 
  Secret Under the Ash Tree
  Roger de la Poer invites a player with 
  Photography back to his room to see his 
  photographs from the trip. He welcomes 
  tag-alongs who express curiosity.
  • Photography: De la Poer eagerly 
  shows the Investigator his photographs 
  from the Virginia estate. It’s mostly a 
  ruined plantation. Macabre carvings 
  decorate the family’s mausoleum—
  grinning gravediggers and enlarged 
  rats playing around skulls.
  – 1 pt. spend: De la Poer gives you his 
  negatives and remarks that he saw 
  photograph processing chemicals 
  in the general store. The process 
  requires a minimum of one hour, and 
  approximately eight more hours for 
  the film to dry somewhere fairly safe, 
  and entirely dark. The Investigator’s 
  skill allows them to develop film 
  more professionally than de la Poer 
  ever would. In the enhanced image, 
  from a hole beneath the gnarled 
  roots of the largest ash tree, a pair of 
  pinpoints reflect the sunlight.
  The Woods
  For country folk, the inhabitants of 
  Rosa have an unusual dislike of the 
  woods. They can’t, or won’t, explain 
  why. Only children play in the woods, 
  against their parents’ express orders, 
  and many of them begin to avoid it after 
  strange feelings of being watched, or 
  uncanny sounds which seem to come 
  from under the trees. Unfortunately, 
  their poverty and hunger force them to 
  set traps for small game, and hunt larger 
  game, which only reinforces the deep 
  discomfort they experience there.
  • Outdoorsman: 
  The 
  woods 
  are lovely, dark, and deep. And 
  unnaturally quiet. By 1920, hunters 
  and farmers had eradicated the 
  population of wolves. Something else 
  must be disturbing the local wildlife.
  Laid to Rest
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: Graveyard Inspection, 
  Exploring Rosa, The Secret Under the 
  Ash Tree
  Lead-Outs: Exploring Rosa, In the 
  Blood, The Secret Under the Ash Tree
  Now that both the Investigators and the 
  sheriff have examined the returned, it’s 
  time to put them back in the earth. A 
  little girl deputized by Pastor Sperry 
  brings the Investigators a note, inviting 
  them to attend a communal evening 
  service at the Methodist church. 
  The two pastors have invited the 
  entire population of Rosa to attend, 
  although the note suggests that, while 
  the Investigators are welcome, those 
  at the Derby house should remain  
  at home.
  When the Investigators arrive, they 
  find Louisa Mathers, Mrs. Dubois, and 
  Armand Sperry in the midst of a heated 
  discussion. If the Investigators have not 
  yet talked to her (Mathers Farm, p. 27), 
  they may get that scene’s information 
  out of her now or after the service.
  husband until someone brings the 
  person responsible to justice.
  • Outdoorsman: Her husband was 
  a seasoned hunter. He would build 
  blinds in the woods and stay out for a 
  day or two at a time. She only became 
  worried when he wasn’t home on the 
  fourth day. It took them another day 
  to find him.
  • Oral History: While the coroner 
  ruled her husband’s death an 
  accidental shooting by another hunter, 
  no one would admit responsibility. 
  The sheriff suggested a hobo or other 
  traveler was most likely to blame, but 
  she remains convinced someone in 
  the town killed him.
  • Law: Louisa appeals to any character 
  with a law enforcement background. 
  They found Bill in the old ash grove. 
  He’d often told her about a childhood 
  nightmare after going to the ruins on 
  a dare, and took great pains to avoid it 
  when they were courting.
  • (core) Forensics: Investigators had 
  the chance to conduct an autopsy in 
  the Makeshift Morgue. If they chose not 
  to do so then, they may do so now, 
  or request the coroner’s report on 
  his original cause of death. He has a 
  gunshot wound to the face and deep 
  claw marks on his neck and across 
  his belly. The coroner’s report notes 
  most of his internal organs had been 
  “consumed by wild animals.”
  – 1-point 
  spend: You 
  find 
  a 
  photograph from the scene of 
  his death which someone clearly 
  tried to hide. A dark stain spreads 
  on the snow around his body. It 
  seems unlikely a gunshot wound 
  to the face would cause that kind 
  of exsanguination.
  Unless players wish to spend points 
  of 
  Interpersonal 
  Abilities 
  when 
  encountering Louisa now, her desire 
  to stop her husband’s burial won’t be 
  settled until later.
  
  29
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  Exploring Rosa, Laid to Rest, 
  Resurrection Under the Moon, A 
  Sabbat Foiled, The Warren is Dead
  Investigators may start on the path 
  behind the Derby house to go back to 
  the old de la Poer place, or they may ask 
  Mrs. Dawes about any possible short-
  cuts. She’ll discourage them from going 
  back to that wicked place, but draws 
  her own house on the map, and shows 
  a stream they can follow back toward 
  the ruins.
  If they follow the path from the Derby 
  house, they’ll have to turn right off a 
  wider path that continues on to a river. 
  While the fork toward the de la Poer 
  ruins is narrower than the main path, it 
  clearly still gets enough use to keep it 
  from growing over. Investigators may 
  have to hop a fallen tree or two and pull 
  back a few thorns, but in daylight, they 
  should find it an easy trip. The walk takes 
  about 15 minutes. If the Investigators 
  come from Mrs. Dawes’s house instead, 
  the trip takes a good half hour. While 
  they’re not twice the distance as the 
  crow flies, following the stream leads 
  them on a curving and disused path.
  Whichever 
  path 
  they 
  take, 
  the 
  Investigators arrive at a slightly more 
  open space in the woods, populated 
  entirely by white ash trees, where 
  nothing but worn stones and a large 
  hole betray the de la Poer house ever 
  existed. The only other human structure 
  nearby is a large brick oven, similar to 
  the one at the Derbys’.
  • Craft: This oven shows the same 
  signs as that in the Derbys’ yard, but 
  someone has used it since the repair. 
  Unlike the oven in the Derbys’ yard, 
  these bricks are close in age to the 
  originals. It’s possible they were even 
  taken from the Derbys’ oven.
  • (core) Evidence Collection: In 
  the oven’s fire pit, the Investigators 
  find heaps of coal, more than would 
  produce a safe fire. In the oven’s 
  make a Difficulty 4 Scuffling test to 
  punch some sense back into Roger, 
  in a fashion he’s come to expect from 
  American westerns.
  In a pulp game, Investigators with 
  Hypnosis may make a Difficulty 4 
  Hypnosis test to recover ancestral 
  memories he’s absorbed through the 
  Dreamlands. If they succeed, de la Poer, 
  whose Stability is currently at 4, must 
  then make a Difficulty 3 Stability test 
  to handle the effects of unleashing such 
  a flood of horrors.
  The first three memories add color; the 
  last two function as minor clues.
  • A coming-of-age ritual. The whole 
  family welcomes him. He takes the 
  stone knife to the altar. Something 
  struggles in the darkness.
  • Rats, everywhere rats. But he only 
  feels half-disgusted. He struggles 
  against elation.
  • Hunched, bestial creatures range 
  among an army’s tents. The standards 
  appear Roman. A Druidic figure, 
  silhouetted against the moon, raises 
  his hands. The ghouls fall on sleeping 
  soldiers and devour them.
  • A line of prisoners shuffles toward 
  a bronze cauldron. A priestess clad 
  in white stands ready to cut their 
  throats. The blood rises. The priestess 
  resembles his grandmother and…
  someone else… Miss Derby?
  • Inevitability. Nothing can keep the 
  ghouls out forever. The grave and the 
  tree call him. Firearms hardly make a 
  dent. But explosives, fire, and acid kill 
  more quickly and destroy their bodies.
  The Secret Under the 
  Ash Tree
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Room by Room, Scouring 
  the Lodging House, When Ghouls 
  Attack, Exploring Rosa, Laid to Rest, 
  In the Blood
  Lead-Outs: Scouring the Lodging 
  House, When Ghouls Attack, 
  – 2 pt. spend: De la Poer recalls he 
  still has negatives of photographs 
  taken at the Virginia estate. He 
  eagerly proffers them, and asks 
  you to see what you can do. Over-
  exposing one taken inside the 
  mausoleum reveals a dark space 
  behind the vines at the base of the 
  far wall. It is definitely big enough 
  for a human to crawl through.
  • Pharmacy: You notice several loose 
  pills on the night stand. De la Poer 
  explains that ever since he’s been 
  here, he’s had difficulty sleeping 
  (Assess Honesty gets the feeling 
  it may have been longer). His vivid 
  dreams frighten him awake. He spoke 
  to Mr. Bryant, who sold him a few 
  Luminal pills (if you ask the price, 
  you know it’s double what they’re 
  worth – de la Poer doesn’t have a 
  solid understanding of American 
  currency). They help him sleep, but 
  his dreams have become much more 
  intense. He’s not sure which is worse.
  • Art History: You spot several half-
  completed pencil drawings in de 
  la Poer’s luggage. These depict the 
  original de la Poer abbey in England. 
  Roger admits to doing these himself. 
  He’s not much of an artist, but the 
  impressions of his dreams were so 
  vivid. He’s begun adding details from 
  things he saw at the Virginia estate.
  Players may choose to spend points to 
  mitigate the effects of Roger’s family curse. 
  These have minor effects on his outlook 
  now, but affect Resurrection Under the Moon.
  – 1-point Pharmacy spend: The 
  Luminal makes him vulnerable to 
  influences from his dreams. You 
  advise against it, and remove the 
  pills. Effect: If Roger de la Poer 
  becomes possessed, take 2 points 
  off his health. The spirit may be 
  strong, but the vessel is weaker.
  – 1-point Cop Talk spend: You convince 
  de la Poer that things are different here 
  in America. Effect: When brought to 
  the final confrontation, you may now 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  30
  If uninterrupted, Irma begins a chant:
  Magna Mater, Magna Mater, O friend 
  and companion of night, thou who 
  rejoicest in the baying of dogs and spilt 
  blood, who wanderest in the midst of 
  shades among the tombs, who longest 
  for blood and bringest terror to mortals, 
  Gorgo, Mormo, thousand-faced moon, look 
  favourably on my sacrifices!
  She pours the salt from the plain jar 
  over de la Poer’s grave, chanting ever 
  faster and louder:
  Per Adonai Eloim, Adonai Jehova, 
  Adonai Sabaoth, Metraton On Agla 
  Mathon, verbum pythonicum, mysterium 
  salamandrae, conventus sylvorum, 
  antra gnomorum, daemonia Coeli 
  God, Almonsin, Gibor, Jehosua, Evam, 
  Zariatnatmik, veni, veni, veni.
  When she completes the summoning, 
  Roger de la Poer begins to change. 
  He snaps out of the trance, and stands 
  upright. Where the man the Investigators 
  met jumped at his own shadow, the man 
  beneath the tree might confidently walk 
  into hell and back, and perhaps he has. 
  Ghouls emerge from under the tree 
  until about 1.5 per Investigator form a 
  half-circle around Irma, de la Poer, and 
  the grave. They lower their heads before 
  the pair and meep. Hundreds of rats (for 
  statistics, see p. 31) swarm from beneath 
  the tree and run in all directions, though 
  only ten or twenty come in contact with 
  the Investigators.
  If the Investigators have only watched 
  up till this point, the ghouls attack 
  them (for ghoul statistics, see p. 26). 
  Meanwhile, Irma attempts to conduct 
  the same ritual for her mother’s saltes, 
  this time with de la Poer’s aid. Should 
  the ghouls kill an Investigator, and the 
  numbers become more than 2 ghouls 
  per Investigator, one or more stops 
  and begin eating the corpse, while 
  the others continue the fight. This 
  triggers a 4-point Stability test for any 
  remaining Investigators.
  On the tree’s far side, in the tangle of 
  roots, gapes a dark hole, big enough 
  to swallow a person. Assuming the 
  Investigators have visited the graveyard, 
  it doesn’t take any special skill for them 
  to recognize tracks around the hole as 
  matching those in the graveyard, and 
  resembling the feet of ghouls they may 
  have already killed. If the Investigators 
  are unwise enough to do more than 
  poke a limb, flashlight in hand, into 
  this hole, feel free to inflict a Difficulty 
  4 Stability test on them when they 
  realize the warren’s extent. If they 
  decide to go in, use the details in The 
  Warren is Dead.
  Resurrection Under 
  the Moon
  Scene Type: Resolution
  Lead-Ins: The Secret Under the Ash 
  Tree, Exploring Rosa, Laid to Rest
  Lead-Outs: A Sabbat Foiled, The 
  Warren is Dead, Aftermath
  Unless the Investigators find a way to 
  stop her (in which case, see A Sabbat 
  Foiled), Irma Derby attempts the ritual 
  after dark on April 30th, as the power 
  of Walpurgis Eve grows. Investigators 
  may tail her to de la Poer’s grave 
  with a Difficulty 4 Shadowing test. 
  She brings the two jars of salt (which 
  the Investigators may have been seen 
  earlier in her root cellar) and de la 
  Poer’s journal, hidden in her under-
  petticoat. She has long since worn 
  off her shaken condition and moves  
  with confidence.
  Roger de la Poer stumbles into the 
  clearing along the path from the 
  lodging house, evidently in a trance. 
  If not interrupted, he walks to the 
  grave. If interrupted, he attempts to 
  use Scuffling (5) and Athletics 
  (5) to reach the grave. (Actions taken 
  during In the Blood may modify this). 
  Attempting to interrupt him alerts 
  Irma to the Investigators’ presence, 
  triggering a ghoul attack.
  maw, Investigators find remains of a 
  mixture of ash, rock salt, and small 
  bits of bone. Biology or Medicine 
  confirms the ash is also human.
  – 1-point Biology or Medicine 
  spend: In a well-sealed oven, a hot 
  coal fire burning for half a day or 
  more would greatly burn down the 
  human body, to the point where 
  its bones could be ground up 
  with the right effort and tools. If 
  Investigators noted the well-used 
  meat grinder, the player who spent 
  the point puts the two together. 
  Otherwise they may search the 
  house for appropriate implements, 
  and find said meat grinder (see 
  p. 23).
  At this point, anyone who tasted the 
  saltes in the Derby root cellar on The 
  Grounds must make a 4-point Stability 
  test. To avoid making things too easy for 
  Investigators who respond by setting off 
  to destroy the saltes, the Keeper may 
  decide that Irma has moved them as an 
  Antagonist Reaction to noticing their 
  snooping in the root cellar, and either 
  challenge Investigators to determine 
  the location, or keep them out of play  
  for now.
  About fifteen feet from the old 
  foundation, in the direction indicated 
  by 
  Professor 
  Derby’s 
  shaky 
  X, 
  Investigators find the white ash tree 
  from which de la Poer was hung. Several 
  smaller ashes entwine or conjoin with 
  the ash, enhancing its twisted, gnarled 
  appearance. The tree stands around 
  seventy feet tall, with a diameter 
  approaching five feet in places.
  A small boulder sits at the head of a far-
  too-recently disturbed grave. The soil is 
  not fresh, but Outdoorsman can tell 
  it’s been dug up within the past year. 
  If Investigators choose to dig it up, the 
  process takes them about half an hour, 
  with two people working at a time. 
  Once they’ve emptied the grave, they’ll 
  find it’s missing a body.
  
  31
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  Should 
  the 
  Investigators 
  attempt 
  to prevent Irma from entering the 
  woods by confronting her earlier, she 
  will undertake two attacks. Firstly, 
  she will summon ghouls to attack the 
  Investigators, and perhaps even the 
  group gathered at her home. If this 
  fails, she still has the derringer her 
  father gave her for protection years 
  ago when she began traveling alone on 
  research expeditions (see p. 31 for her 
  stats). She will draw this from her skirt 
  pocket, and attempt to shoot whichever 
  Investigator initiated the confrontation. 
  If not stopped (Difficulty 5 Scuffling 
  test), she will use the second bullet on 
  herself, triggering a 2-point Stability 
  test for Investigators. Like the fight in 
  the woods, no more ghouls will spawn 
  if she dies.
  Should the Investigators choose to wait 
  until the morning of May 1st to confront 
  Irma, they wake up in the middle of 
  the night, surrounded by Irma, de la 
  Poer, and the ghouls. The Keeper may 
  decide to force Sense Trouble rolls, 
  and kill or wound any Investigator  
  who fails.
  The Warren is Dead
  Scene Type: Alternate/Conclusion
  Lead-Ins: The Secret Under the Ash 
  Tree, Resurrection Under the Moon, A 
  Sabbat Foiled
  Lead-Outs: Aftermath
  For an additional challenge after 
  defeating Irma, some Investigators 
  may wish to clear out the warren 
  permanently. This is a great time for 
  anyone with points in Explosives to 
  have their moment.
  Investigators can access the warren by 
  making a Difficulty 4 Athletics test 
  to crawl between the tree roots, and 
  safely wiggle into its main cavern. If 
  they fail, the fall gives them a -1 to all 
  tests until a teammate applies a point of  
  First Aid.
  de la Poer’s saltes before Irma can 
  summon him, she fights to protect 
  her mother’s, but does not attempt a 
  further ritual. Instead, she joins the 
  ghouls, using her knife and derringer. 
  Destroying or removing the journal has 
  the same effect.
  If the Investigators have deciphered the 
  notes from Irma’s wastepaper bin (see 
  Irma Derby’s Room, p. 23), an Investigator 
  with Occult may make a 2-point spend 
  to create a counter-spell to block 
  the summoning. Using this formula 
  requires a Difficulty 5 Stability test. 
  If the Investigator succeeds, they obtain 
  1 point of Cthulhu Mythos. If they 
  fail, they take a 5-point Stability loss, 
  acquire 2 points of Cthulhu Mythos, 
  and, just before briefly fainting (they 
  can be revived, but the shock will 
  temporarily make them swoon and 
  leave them vulnerable), they have a 
  vision of a vast ghoul warren under 
  the American continent, in sewers and 
  subways and subterranean caves.
  If the Investigators have had the 
  forethought to bring either Professor 
  Derby or Professor Katz to the spot, 
  both can be persuaded to plead with 
  Irma that her mother would not have 
  wished this kind of un-life. This may 
  allow the Investigators to make Stealth 
  tests to surprise Irma. They can succeed 
  on a 5, as her Sense Trouble is lowered 
  by her loved ones.
  If the Investigators bring Sheriff Barnes 
  to witness the event, they have an easier 
  time explaining any deaths—assuming 
  he survives. If he comes, add another 
  1.5 ghouls.
  A Sabbat Foiled
  Scene Type: Alternate Conclusion/ 
  Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: The Secret Under the Ash 
  Tree, Resurrection Under the Moonn
  Lead-Outs: The Warren is Dead,  
  Aftermath
  If Roger de la Poer has been killed or 
  killed himself before this final scene, 
  Irma herself transforms, and acquires 
  the second set of stats. She maintains 
  her original weapons.
  Irma Derby
  Abilities: Athletics 7, Firearms 3, 
  Fleeing 4, Health 9, Sanity 3, Scuffling 
  8, Stability 6, Weapons 5.
  Alertness modifier: +1
  Weapon: +0 (Remington .41 Short 
  double Derringer, 2 shots, only point-
  blank range, +1 to Difficulty to 
  find on carrier), -1 (kitchen knife), 
  ghoul servitors.
  Roger de la Poer (possessed)
  Abilities: Athletics 10, Firearms 8, 
  Health 12, Scuffling 8, Weapons 8
  Alertness modifier: +1
  Weapon: +0 (Colt .32)
  Rat Swarm
  Increase Health and Scuffling by 2 for 
  every 10 rats, and damage by +1 for 
  every 30 rats. Every hit against a swarm 
  kills 1 rat and disperses 9 others.
  Abilities: Athletics 5, Health 3, 
  Scuffling 3
  Hit Threshold: 3 (small and nimble, 
  but target-rich)
  Weapon: -2 (bite); may be infected
  Armor: none
  Stability Loss: +0 unless phobic
  Resolution
  The Investigators must bring Irma’s and 
  de la Poer’s (if possessed) Health to 0 in 
  order to stop the ghouls from spawning 
  (the Keeper may decide if bringing their 
  health to 0 kills them or merely renders 
  them unconscious). If the Investigators 
  kill Irma or Roger, they must then 
  convince the Sheriff and the party at the 
  house not to arrest them.
  Shooting either jar of saltes requires a 
  Called Shot with a +3 to the Difficulty 
  in addition to any distance penalties. 
  If the Investigators destroy or remove 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  32
  Appendix A: Ghoul 
  Changelings
  The price of a changeling, I suppose—you 
  know the old myth about how the weird 
  people leave their spawn in cradles in 
  exchange for the human babes they steal. – 
  Pickman’s Model
  What’s more horrifying than ghouls 
  haunting your woods and cemeteries? 
  Ghouls at the breakfast table. In a 
  darker version of this scenario, de la 
  Poer’s ghouls remained below Rosa, 
  stealing human children and leaving 
  their own behind. Soon after settling, 
  townspeople began to notice small traits 
  that just weren’t right. Strange gaits, 
  disappearances, inadvertent meepings, 
  awkward incidents at funerals—those 
  who remembered Old World stories of 
  changelings knew something was afoot.
  How did they respond? The Keeper may 
  choose from two options. The first fits 
  a Purist play style better, the second is 
  more compatible with a Pulp ending.
  Ghouls in the Cradle
  After 
  two 
  hundred 
  years, 
  the 
  townspeople have grown accustomed to 
  this strange way of life. It affects black 
  residents as well as white, although in 
  lesser numbers—possibly because of 
  their distance from the town. Their 
  churches, even Baptist and Methodist, 
  practice a kind of syncretism with 
  a focus on the communion wafer’s 
  transformation into Jesus’s physical body. 
  Women may cry softly in the night when 
  their baby undergoes an uncanny change, 
  but the town is fiercely protective of its 
  strange children. Some have gone on 
  to marry and have their own hybrid 
  children. A conservative estimate puts 
  Rosa around 30% changeling/hybrid, or 
  about 30-odd people.
  Suggested changelings and hybrids: Mrs. 
  Dawes, Jean Dubois, a Mathers child, 
  Armand Sperry (non-local, came to 
  On a failure, the ground may collapse 
  under Investigators or a ghoul below 
  may hurl it back. Investigators may set 
  off the bundle from inside the cavern 
  at a Difficulty 3 Explosives test, but 
  must make a Difficulty 6 Athletics 
  test to run a safe distance down  
  the tunnels.
  Aftermath
  Scene Type: Conclusion
  Lead-Ins: Resurrection Under the 
  Moon, A Sabbat Foiled, The Warren 
  is Dead
  Assuming de la Poer’s journal survives 
  the scenario, give Investigators the 
  choice in its disposition. They could 
  return it to Scott Bryant, however 
  it has proved more dangerous than 
  anticipated and might be safer at 
  Miskatonic. Wax from Irma’s candle 
  glues several thin pages together, but 
  a careful conservator might return the 
  book to nearly its former state.
  Should Irma, if she survives be 
  imprisoned or committed? Sheriff 
  Barnes has never had to deal with a 
  problem like this before, especially 
  from such a nice young lady. He’ll ask 
  the Investigators for input.
  If, by a series of spectacular failures, the 
  Investigators do not thwart Irma and de 
  la Poer, the population of Rosa simple 
  disappears overnight. The first person 
  to notice is the Catholic priest from 
  Oneonta, who calls the Dubois store to 
  see why none of his parishioners from 
  Rosa made the trip for Sunday services. 
  After a few days without a response, 
  he borrows a car and investigates. 
  Some of the houses show signs of 
  violent disturbance and some blood, 
  but he finds no bodies. The ghouls 
  have returned to their comfortable 
  warren, taking the townspeople with 
  them. As for Irma and de la Poer...
  who knows where they will show  
  up next?
  Down in the warren, dark, dank 
  branches lead in three directions off 
  the central space (South-South-West, 
  North, South-East). The tunnel branch 
  leading North comes out in the woods 
  just outside town. If Investigators do 
  not choose the Northern tunnel, they 
  must walk several hours before coming 
  to a place where they can reach the 
  surface. (A kinder alternative has the 
  South-South-Western tunnel coming 
  out near the Mathers farm, and the 
  South-Eastern surfacing in the woods 
  not far from where Sam’ll McGrath 
  first met them.)
  If the Keeper wishes, the tunnel contains 
  1.5 ghouls for every Investigator, who 
  immediately attack when Investigators 
  invade their sanctuary (for ghoul 
  statistics, see p. 26). Ghouls have 
  excellent night vision. With flashlights, 
  torches, or another light source, the 
  ghouls’ Hit Threshold increases by 1. 
  Without a light source, the warren is 
  barely lit by the hole above, raising the 
  ghouls’ Hit Threshold by 2, and the 
  disorientation triggers a Difficulty 4 
  Stability test. 
  Pest Control
  • Occult: Nothing they can do 
  permanently keeps out ghouls. The 
  best the town can do is destroy the 
  bodies of its dead through cremation, 
  cutting off their food supply.
  Investigators with Explosives find a 
  small supply of dynamite in General 
  Store, kept safely in the back. A bundle 
  of dynamite in the cavern’s approximate 
  center causes an implosion, bringing 
  down the tree and temporarily closing 
  the tunnels. Ghouls can easily dig a new 
  passage, but this much attention makes 
  them disinclined to do so any time soon.
  Successfully dropping the dynamite 
  bundle into a cavern (possibly full of 
  ghouls!) and having it explode once 
  everyone has reached a safe distance 
  requires a Difficulty 6 Explosives test. 
  
  33
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  – 1 pt. spend. The infant’s smile 
  raises hairs on the back of your 
  neck. It’s hard to say why, but it 
  might be the full set of teeth.
  Mathers Farm:
  The 
  argument 
  the 
  Investigators 
  overhear between Louisa Mathers and 
  Armand Sperry does not suggest Bill’s 
  return has anything to do with solving 
  his murder. Instead, she is furious that 
  he wasn’t allowed to come home, and 
  was murdered all over again. “We could 
  have been a family!” She goes mum 
  on this score before the Investigators. 
  Sperry, 
  meanwhile, 
  argues 
  that 
  “He wasn’t right. He was raised by 
  dark forces.”
  Baptist Church:
  • Theology: Jim Caldwell worries 
  less about the end of days. He 
  philosophically remarks that, as 
  they’re told, all earthly life shall go 
  back at last through the great circle of 
  time to Ubbo-Sathla.
  Methodist Church:
  If the Keeper uses Sperry as one of 
  the 
  ghouls, 
  his 
  Psychoanalysis 
  gradually loses effectiveness as the 
  scenario progresses.
  Resolution
  Once Investigators realize the truth, 
  they may handle the situation in a 
  variety of ways including:
  • Solving the issue at hand and leaving 
  Rosa to its traditional practices—at 
  least they’re not the ones who crashed 
  the stock market in ’29.
  • Taking advantage of the situation. With 
  a 2 pt. Bargain spend, Investigators 
  convince 
  Reverend 
  Sperry 
  and 
  Mrs. Dawes to yield to their darker 
  ghoulish natures (use ghoul stats, 
  p. 26) and fight on their side against 
  the invaders in the final scene. In 
  return, the Investigators promise to 
  spare others in the town from any 
  outside retribution. Witnessing the 
  transformation requires a Difficulty 3 
  the sounds of him digging up their 
  recently-deceased cat. When the 
  sheriff arrived, he was trying to eat it. 
  The other two remain the same.
  Makeshift Morgue:
  • Forensics: The sheriff attempts to 
  keep Investigators from paying too 
  much attention to the human corpses. 
  However, an Investigator notices they 
  all have abnormally-sharp teeth, and a 
  strange, slight splay to the feet.
  Color Lines:
  • Oral History: Instead of mentioning 
  the Mathers case, Marsha describes a 
  kinship it created in the early town 
  and a kind of mutual respect they 
  share with the White people. To 
  anyone familiar with the South—
  this could be an outlier, but it mostly 
  sounds very strange.
  Graveyard Inspection:
  • Anthropology notices far fewer 
  graves than might be expected for a 
  town of this size, even supposing some 
  of the dead were buried in Oneonta.
  – 1 pt. spend. The Investigator finds 
  more than a few cases where an old 
  gravestone designates “wife of” or 
  “husband of” but no stone exists for 
  the spouse.
  Scouring the Lodging House:
  • History: In Jack Starling’s room, 
  Investigators find an additional note 
  from Katz’s research: “1845, priest 
  run out of town after delivering a 
  homily on ‘demons living among 
  us’ and hinting at ‘changelings.’ No 
  priest for 8 years until local boy 
  graduated seminary.”
  Dawes’ Lodging House:
  Mrs. Dawes keeps a framed photograph 
  of her family on the mantle in the sitting 
  room. 
  • Photography notices something 
  unusual in 1930s portraiture—this 
  photograph was taken indoors, 
  at night.
  Rosa as an adult), and even Irma Derby 
  as a hybrid of necromantic and ghoulish 
  blood. The Keeper may wish to approach 
  a player about discovering their secret 
  heritage by accidental exposure. See 
  Hideous Creatures: Ghouls for more 
  about hybrid awakening. 
  A ghoul changeling or hybrid acts like a 
  normal NPC but has a high Scuffling 
  score, a bonus to Conceal at night, 
  a +1 Alertness Modifier, and no 
  penalties for darkness. As they age past 
  normal human years, or give in to their 
  heritage, these changelings and hybrids 
  acquire fuller ghoulish attributes, and 
  often depart to be with their other kin. 
  They may be described as abnormally 
  pale, squinting in the sunlight, putting 
  off a sweet odor of decaying leaves, 
  smiling unnervingly, or being young to 
  have so many teeth.
  Irma’s disruption of the status quo 
  angered the townsfolk, as did the threat 
  of strangers discovering their secret. 
  Her resurrection method brought their 
  human loved ones back in a ghoulish 
  form—unnatural 
  even 
  for 
  their 
  definitions of nature. Her attempts to 
  dominate those with ghoulish blood 
  upsets years of what they consider 
  peaceful coexistence. The ghouls she 
  summons come from other colonies—
  rivals, not kin—and they have few 
  qualms killing these additional outsiders.
  Only the house party and Investigators 
  as 
  potential 
  witnesses, 
  and 
  too 
  much trouble to take on en masse, 
  keep the townsfolk from going after 
  Irma themselves. They may nudge 
  Investigators in her direction, hoping 
  these outsiders will take the problem 
  off their hands.
  Additional or Alternate Clues
  Sheriff Barnes’s Office: 
  • (core) Oral History: Mrs. Dubois 
  was roused, not by the sounds of 
  her husband in the ice chest, but by 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  34
  wishes to pull strings, the posse is too 
  damaged from the fight to provide more 
  assistance. Therefore, the Investigators 
  may succeed, but with a great loss of 
  townspeople. Or, the townspeople may 
  succeed against the ghouls, only to have 
  the Investigators let them down by not 
  stopping Irma.
  Appendix B: The 
  Rosa One-Shot
  While a full play-through of the 
  adventure takes multiple sessions, or 
  a very long day, it was conceived as a 
  convention game, and can be played in 
  about 4 hours.
  Jump right into the action with the 
  Investigators’ arrival in Rosa. The locals 
  are at least a degree friendlier. They visit 
  Sheriff Barnes, who still takes them to 
  the morgue. The graveyard inspection 
  can be brief. Focus on goings on at the 
  Derby house and investigation of the 
  boarding house. Ghouls should kill Jack 
  Starling on the Investigators’ first night 
  in Rosa, pressing the action forward. 
  The next day, Investigators still need 
  to uncover the secret under the ash, 
  search the house if necessary, meet with 
  Roger de la Poer, and foil Irma’s plans 
  at resurrection.
  The Keeper will want to curtail 
  interviews with the townspeople, and 
  drop the Bill Mathers subplot, or just 
  use it as hints that something’s been 
  wrong in this town for a while. Dish out 
  red herrings sparingly. Visit the other 
  side of town, but fold in meeting Jim 
  Caldwell, in case they need a hand at 
  the end.
  anything out the ordinary, she’ll 
  mention she’s heard barking out in 
  the woods since the winter. It makes 
  her dog howl but there’s never a howl 
  in return, just barking. Sheriff Barnes 
  asked several of the older men to join 
  him and his deputies for a hunt “like 
  the olden days.” She deflects further 
  questioning by suddenly talking about 
  old wolf problems.
  Makeshift Morgue:
  • Assess Honesty: The sheriff may 
  say he doesn’t know what it is, but 
  he seems awfully unshaken for a 
  man with a monster in his town. He 
  seems more—angry.
  Mathers Farm:
  As Investigators arrive, they overhear 
  Louisa Mathers saying “I already lost 
  one child to this blight and now it’s 
  taken my husband?” 
  Resolution
  Investigators get answers from Sheriff 
  Barnes or either minister with a 
  1pt. Intimidation (or any other 
  Interpersonal) spend as a threat to get 
  authorities involved. The Keeper may 
  simply use this as additional setting 
  color, but it also offers the opportunity 
  to enlist townspeople in fighting 
  ghouls. Investigators may either recruit 
  the sheriff and Jim Caldwell for the final 
  fight, or pull in an entire posse.
  Since rolling for each ghoul vs. the posse 
  would take too much time, set aside 6 
  points for both posse and ghouls. Each 
  round, roll to see how the fight around 
  the Investigators is going. Following 
  GUMSHOE standards, a success by the 
  posse occurs on a 4 or higher. Subtract a 
  point from the losing side.
  When the Investigators’ fight concludes, 
  whichever side in the other fight has the 
  most remaining points wins. If either 
  side has lost all their points before the 
  Investigators finish, the background 
  fight concludes, but unless the Keeper 
  Stability test.
  • Solving the issue, and then reporting 
  the situation to outside authorities for 
  an Innsmouth-style purge.
  As always, remain open to players’ 
  creativity in handling the situation. 
  Committing 
  any 
  kind 
  of 
  purge 
  themselves, however, would require a 
  hefty Stability test and would involve 
  killing at least one changeling child.
  The Purge
  Nobody talks about it now, but in 1782 
  about a dozen persons of various ages 
  disappeared from Rosa overnight. A 
  passerby that August evening might have 
  heard the sounds of rabid dogs being put 
  down. The community guards its secret, 
  knowing city folk would never believe 
  them. Parents teach their children the 
  signs of a changeling and, every few 
  years, an infant dies of a “mysterious 
  illness.” Nobody mentions the subsequent 
  immolation of the tiny corpse.
  To its people, Rosa is a town under 
  perpetual siege. They fear involving 
  external authorities, but no amount of 
  prayer has saved them this far. Some 
  parents refused to believe their children 
  had been replaced, leading to ugly 
  scenes. A few changelings may even 
  have escaped detection.
  Additional or Alternate Clues
  Sheriff Barnes’s Office:
  • Bureaucracy 
  or 
  Evidence 
  Collection used on church registers 
  also notices a rate of infant mortality 
  far higher than normal.
  Graveyard Inspection:
  • Biology: Investigators notice an 
  average number of tombstones for a 
  town of this size.
  Color Lines
  • (alternate) Evidence Collection: 
  If Investigators ask Marsha about 
  
  35
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  Dr. Theodore Derby, emeritus University of 
  Alabama, and his daughter request the honor of 
  your presence at a salon discussing the diary of 
  French colonist and occultist, Ezekiel de la Poer.
  This salon commemorates the 200th anniversary 
  of de la Poer’s hanging for suspected child 
  kidnapping and murder. Dr. Derby thanks 
  the rare books department of the University of 
  Alabama for the gracious loan of the diary.
  Location: Derby residence, Rosa, AL
  Dates: April 26th through May 1st, 1936
  Handout 1: Salon Invitation
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  36
  (Translated from the French)
  5 September, 1726 
  Visit to Fort Condé as they are calling it now more 
  fruitful than anticipated. Dined yesterday eve at home 
  of Indies trader. Englishman, another guest, recognized 
  family’s name and gave the sign of Magna Mater. 
  Discussed matters concerning my special researches 
  and by what means a man’s life may be prolonged. 
  Mssr. Orne, whom I would not have thought had seen 
  more than thirty summers, described such successes as 
  required him to quit his home of Salem in the colonies 
  and venture abroad lest he be persecuted. He hints that 
  some of the town fathers are not so disinterested in 
  his work as they seem – cf. Mather, whose treatise he 
  insisted I acquire – but the common folk feared his 
  perennially youthful countenance.
  Handout 2: Page from Irma’s Diary
  
  37
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Midnight Sub Rosa
  (Translated from the French) 
  12 September, 1726
  Further difficulties with Louise. 
  Discovered her beyond the pines 
  in secret conference with one of 
  the traders. How she left the house 
  without my being alerted, I must 
  discover. Regrettable, as I had to 
  ask my men to handle him. How 
  fortunate that he did not have 
  companions. Now that she is 
  weaned, perhaps Hélène no longer 
  needs a mother. Surely it were not 
  well for Louise to begin poisoning 
  the child against me.
  odd 
  choice of 
  word here 
  but must 
  mean 
  men
  Handout 3: Page from Irma’s Diary
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: Cecily Harlow
  Drive: Sudden Shock
  Occupation:2 Antiquarian
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points:
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  2
  Bargain
  2
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  1
  Bureaucracy
  1
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  1
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  4
  Cryptography
  2
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  4
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  2
  First Aid
  0
  History
  2
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  4
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  12
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  6
  Library Use
  4
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  1
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  8
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  6
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  1
  Scuffling
  4
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  3
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  4
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  8
  Photography
  2
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Investigator Name: Dr. Porter
  Drive: Arrogance
  Occupation:2 Scientist
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  1
  Athletics
  6
  Anthropology
  1
  Bargain
  1
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  1
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  3
  Electrical Repair(I)
  4
  Biology
  2
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  1
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  1
  Intimidation
  2
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  6
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  2
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  9
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  6
  Library Use
  2
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  1
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  2
  Sanity9
  8
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  8
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  1
  Scuffling
  6
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  6
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  4
  Outdoorsman
  1
  Stealth
  2
  Pharmacy
  1
  Weapons
  6
  Photography
  0
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: Herman Brown
  Drive: Bad Luck
  Occupation:2 Private Investigator
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  10
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  1
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  2
  Driving
  6
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  1
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  5
  Cryptography
  1
  Intimidation
  1
  Firearms5
  10
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  2
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  3
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  1
  Health9
  7
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  2
  Preparedness
  2
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  5
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  5
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  2
  Scuffling
  10
  Forensics
  1
  Sense Trouble
  6
  Locksmith
  2
  Shadowing
  4
  Outdoorsman
  1
  Stealth
  6
  Pharmacy
  1
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  1
  4
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Investigator Name: James Arnold
  Drive: Artistic Sensitivity
  Occupation:2 Dilettante
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  9
  Anthropology
  1
  Bargain
  2
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  2
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  5
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  4
  Explosives(I)
  2
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  2
  Firearms5
  8
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  0
  History
  1
  Reassurance
  1
  Fleeing7
  2
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  Health9
  10
  French, German
  Hypnosis8
  4
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  6
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  6
  Library Use
  1
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  2
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  7
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  2
  Stability9
  7
  Theology
  1
  Evidence Collection
  1
  Scuffling
  4
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  2
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  4
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  5
  Photography
  1
  4
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: L. A. LaFleur
  Drive: Adventure
  Occupation:2 Criminal
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points:
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  6
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  2
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  1
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  1
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  2
  Filch
  4
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  2
  Firearms5
  4
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  2
  First Aid
  6
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  4
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  9
  Hypnosis8
  4
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  4
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  1
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  5
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  6
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  2
  Scuffling
  6
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  6
  Locksmith
  4
  Shadowing
  4
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  6
  Pharmacy
  1
  Weapons
  8
  Photography
  0
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Investigator Name: Lucia Escobar
  Drive: Scholarship
  Occupation:2 Professor
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  6
  Anthropology
  1
  Bargain
  1
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  1
  Bureaucracy
  2
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  1
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  2
  Oral History
  2
  First Aid
  8
  History
  1
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  4
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  8
  Latin, German
  Hypnosis8
  4
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  4
  Library Use
  2
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  1
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  1
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  9
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  10
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  1
  Scuffling
  2
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  2
  Outdoorsman
  1
  Stealth
  4
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  6
  Photography
  0
  
  THE SILENCE MILL
  By Adam Gauntlett
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  45
  The Silence Mill
  has endured over the years. The last 
  to turn werewolf blamed the Devil 
  Marquis, who keeps his temple in 
  Brocéliande. They can also gather local 
  lore about Brittany, the Templars,  
  and Brocéliande.
  Breathtaking Views (p. 54)
  The Investigators make their way to 
  Plouescat, and in so doing they pass 
  close to the forest of Brocéliande, 
  getting their first glimpse of that ancient 
  landscape. This sets up the later scenes 
  Ill Met By Moonlight, and Monday, Tuesday, 
  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. They see one 
  of the great dolmens from a distance, 
  and some unidentifiable humanoid 
  figures. If they attempt to enter the 
  forest at this point, they are warned off 
  by foresters.
  Where Things Get More 
  Complicated (p. 55)
  The Investigators arrive in Plouescat 
  to discover that their friend Arthur, 
  now known as Tristan Broudig, is dead, 
  possibly of natural causes (actually 
  poison, mixed with witchcraft) and 
  that his son Daniel is believed to 
  be the werewolf. The preliminary 
  investigations 
  begin, 
  and 
  the 
  Investigators meet important NPCs: 
  the doctor, the mayor, the priest, and 
  the marquis, Jean Foucault. 
  Sitting Up With the Dead (p. 59)
  Their friend is laid out in his home, 
  awaiting burial, but because of the 
  circumstances of his death none of 
  his neighbors or friends are willing 
  to sit nights with the corpse. Should 
  the characters choose to, they can foil 
  an attempt by the Ankou to steal the 
  body. They also get their first look  
  at the Nain. 
  If he succeeds, Daniel will take up 
  permanent residence in Brocéliande, 
  and the Investigators will most likely 
  have been devoured by the Nain.
  The Spine
  White and Black (p. 49)
  A letter arrives from Brittany, asking 
  the Investigators for help. However, it 
  almost doesn’t arrive; the Investigators 
  see the mail carrier being attacked, and 
  have to rescue him in order to rescue 
  their mail. The attackers are members 
  of the Breton terrorist group Ankou, 
  who are trying to stop the PCs from 
  going to Brittany. Though unsuccessful 
  here, the group will go on to plant a fake 
  incendiary device at the protagonists’ 
  doorstep, with the chilling message, ‘it 
  could so easily have been gelignite.’ 
  Assistance from the Authorities 
  (p. 51)
  The Investigators may choose to go to 
  the police after the bomb threat. The 
  police, led by Inspector Cook, are able 
  to identify the group responsible, and 
  show the protagonists photographs 
  of suspects, hoping that they are able 
  to recognize one of the mail carrier’s 
  attackers. These photos may come in 
  handy later on, when the protagonists 
  go to Plouescat. Enlisting Inspector 
  Cook as an ally may also be of assistance 
  later in the scenario.
  Diligent Studies (p. 52)
  If the Investigators follow up by 
  studying a newspaper archive, or seek 
  information about Plouescat, they 
  can discover information which may 
  be useful in later scenes, such as the 
  several werewolves that Plouescat 
  In which the protagonists investigate 
  Arthurian mythology, only to discover 
  death and despair in the legend-haunted 
  forest of Brocéliande.
  The Hook
  The characters are asked to come to 
  the Breton village of Plouescat by a 
  man, possibly a relative, they thought 
  died in the War. Not only did he not 
  die, he deserted, and made a life for 
  himself in Brittany, the north-west 
  region of France. His son, Daniel, has 
  been arrested on charges of murder; 
  they say he’s the werewolf of Plouescat, 
  responsible for the cannibalization of 
  a young girl. If something isn’t done, 
  Daniel will go to the Silence Mill – 
  the guillotine.
  The Horrible Truth
  These 
  killings 
  were 
  deliberately 
  arranged by a local occultist and witch, 
  Jean Foucault. He’s the wealthiest man 
  in Plouescat, a significant member 
  of Breton nationalist movement Seiz 
  Breur, and his family owns a large 
  portion of nearby Paimpont forest. 
  There, he keeps the old religion of 
  Glaaki alive, at his dolmen chapel deep 
  in the woods, and he preserves the 
  severed head of the seer, aka Merlin, 
  or the Templars’ Bahomet, in the trunk 
  of a tree. His most recent Bahomet 
  is failing, and will soon wither away. 
  He has been grooming Daniel to be 
  the replacement Bahomet his whole 
  life, and the werewolf plot – which 
  he has engineered, thanks to his close 
  connection with the Nain – is another 
  part of his scheme. He intends to kill 
  him in the ritual manner, and sever 
  his head with a guillotine made from 
  sacred wood taken from Brocéliande. 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  46
  while Foucalt carries out his plan. The 
  protagonists may encounter Glaaki’s 
  fane, risking drawing the attention of 
  the Old One. 
  Seeger’s Final Poem (p. 69)
  This scene assumes the use of 
  Outdoorsman or clues found in 
  Visiting the Werewolf. The Investigators 
  encounter the severed head of Alan 
  Seeger in Merlin’s tree, and are told 
  by Seeger what Foucalt intends. 
  Seeger can advise on how best to  
  defeat Foucalt.
  Under the Dolmen (p. 70)
  The Investigators encounter Foucalt, 
  possibly other guards, and the Nain, 
  as they prepare for the ritual that will 
  make Daniel a suitable replacement 
  head for Seeger. They have the option 
  of going head-to-head with the sorcerer 
  and his allies.
  Victory Condition
  The Investigators’ primary goal is to 
  prove Daniel Broudig’s innocence, and 
  save him from Foucalt’s plan to execute 
  him by guillotine. Ideally, they should 
  also prevent Foucalt from getting a 
  replacement Baphomet head, to end the 
  Baphomet oracle.
  Innocent Until Proven Guilty  
  (p. 65)
  Should the Investigators try to prove 
  Daniel innocent, they will have to 
  investigate his crime, talk to witnesses, 
  and possibly prove his alibi. Several of 
  the witnesses are members of Foucalt’s 
  Ankou, and his alibi can be proven by the 
  priest, who took Daniel’s confession. 
  If the protagonists go down this path, 
  they will face antagonist reaction from 
  the Ankou. 
  The Time of Trial (p. 66)
  Assuming Daniel isn’t proved innocent 
  beforehand, then the trial commences. 
  However, if Daniel is not convicted, 
  or he is proved innocent before the 
  trial, then there will be an antagonist 
  reaction. Foucalt is determined to 
  have the werewolf’s head, come  
  what may.
  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 
  Thursday, Friday (p. 68)
  The Investigators enter the forest, 
  either looking for more clues, or 
  chasing after the cultists. Here they first 
  see signs of the Nain, and the ancient 
  sites they inhabit. It becomes clear that 
  the other landholders are aware of the 
  problem, and deliberately staying away 
  Petit Albert (p. 60)
  The Investigators may try to find out 
  more about Foucalt, and even search 
  his house. Dare they unchain the Petit 
  Albert he keeps there? What is the 
  significance of the strange symbols 
  Foucalt’s putting on the guillotine? This 
  scene introduces a Mythos tome, the 
  Revelations of Glaaki, and the information 
  it contains may be useful when the 
  protagonists go to Paimpont forest.
  Visiting the Werewolf (p. 63)
  The Investigators may try to visit the 
  accused in his prison cell, which is in 
  the regional center, Rennes. The young 
  man is in shock, and wandering in his 
  mind; he finds it difficult to answer 
  questions. However he seems haunted 
  by a snatch of poetry: Alan Seeger’s 
  “Brocéliande”. Clues here can lead to 
  Seeger’s Final Poem.
  Ill Met By Moonlight (p. 64)
  The Investigators meet some of the 
  fair folk for the first time. Foucalt has 
  decided to attack, by using his oracle 
  to send the protagonists into a shared 
  nightmare. This nightmare begins as a 
  flashback to the scene Breathtaking Views, 
  except this time they’re on horseback, 
  medieval-style. They also encounter 
  the night-washers.
  
  47
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  when things were particularly active in 
  his section of the Front, so at the time 
  it was thought he was missing in action. 
  Soon afterward he was presumed dead, 
  one of the many casualties in a dismal 
  assault. That’s the story that everyone 
  knows, and believes.
  Meanwhile Arthur made his way 
  to Brittany, where he felt safe. The 
  locals knew he wasn’t one of them – 
  despite his reasonable command of 
  the language, his accent was definitely 
  English – but they didn’t care. Too many 
  of their own sons had gone to war and 
  not come back. They were willing to 
  help hide this refugee, and in time he 
  Arthur was called up in 1917. He 
  didn’t want to go; several of his friends, 
  including many of his classmates, 
  had already gone to the trenches, and 
  most of them were slaughtered within 
  a few weeks. However, Arthur felt he 
  couldn’t avoid service, and so – after 
  several stormy talks with his parents, 
  who suspected him of cowardice – he 
  was sent to the Front with all the rest. 
  He soon discovered that things were as 
  bad, if not worse, than he had feared. 
  Fortunately for him, he had a fairly 
  good command of French, from time 
  spent in Brittany as a boy. When he 
  decided to desert, he was able to blend 
  in with the locals. He chose a moment 
  Principal Actors
  Arthur, aka Tristan 
  Broudig
  The Investigators get involved because 
  Tristan Broudig – formerly known as 
  Arthur, and thought to have died during 
  the Great War – asks them for help. The 
  scenario assumes that Arthur is a close 
  relative, possibly a brother, of one of the 
  Investigators, but Arthur could as easily 
  be an old school friend, or other non-
  familial connection. Should an existing 
  NPC be more suitable, by all means use 
  that NPC.
  Scene Flow Diagram
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  48
  What is Brocéliande?
  Brocéliande is a legend. There is no 
  way of knowing if it ever existed, but 
  according to tradition this majestic 
  forest is the scene of many Arthurian 
  tales. The Lady of the Lake can be 
  found in Brocéliande, and Merlin is 
  supposed to be entombed here. The 
  forest first appears, in literature, in 
  Wace’s Roman de Rou of 1160, a verse 
  history of the rulers of Normandy 
  up to King Henry I’s victory over the 
  Normans at the battle of Tinchebrai 
  in 1106. Wace describes the forest as 
  “a place of many legends”, and over 
  the centuries since, those legends 
  have only grown in the retelling. It is 
  said to be a numinous, magical place, 
  subject to strange weather, and 
  inhabited by monsters and creatures 
  of all kinds. Though it is possible 
  that Brocéliande does not exist, and 
  never has, there are scholars who 
  believe that the forest of Paimpont 
  is the original of the Brocéliande 
  myth-story. Paimpont is a massive 
  stretch of ancient oaks and beeches, 
  privately owned, for the most part, 
  and its owners reserve all rights to 
  themselves. People are not allowed to 
  visit the forest without permission, 
  and the forest’s owners hire guards to 
  ensure that this is so. At certain times 
  of year people are permitted to hike 
  established trails, gather mushrooms, 
  and enjoy the forest, but usually it is a 
  private place. 
  The scenario assumes that Jean 
  Foucalt is one of the owners of 
  Paimpont forest, and that Paimpont 
  is in fact the Arthurian forest of 
  Brocéliande. His guards are all 
  members of the Seiz Breur splinter 
  section Ankou, and are therefore 
  cultists and terrorists. It also assumes 
  that at the back of many of those 
  Arthurian tales are stories about 
  lake-dwelling Glaaki, the Old One 
  who promises immortality, but at a 
  terrible price. The Paimpont in this 
  scenario is, of course, fictional, and 
  as a consequence will not exactly 
  resemble the original.
  The Investigators may wonder if Daniel 
  Broudig’s arrest hit the newspapers 
  where they live. It’s unlikely that a 
  relatively unimportant crime, even with 
  the werewolf angle, gets significant ink 
  in North America. There’s a wide, wet 
  ocean between it and Brittany, after 
  all. However, the Keeper may choose 
  to let any of the 0-point clues available 
  in Diligent Studies appear in newspaper 
  articles. Given the distance involved, 
  any article about the attacks is probably 
  weeks old by the time the characters 
  read it. 
  It’s much more likely to have had some 
  recent coverage in papers in Europe, 
  and any 0-point clues available in 
  Diligent Studies can be had in a European 
  newspaper. It definitely gets in-depth 
  coverage in French language papers, 
  and any players clever enough to go 
  looking there can get the 1-point clue 
  concerning Plouescat (p. 52) for free. 
  French language papers can be bought in 
  North America, but they’re rare outside 
  of a large metropolitan area, and are 
  probably days, if not weeks, out of date. 
  guillotine – and afterwards, he intends 
  to harvest the head, and install it in  
  Merlin’s Oak. 
  Tristan Broudig is desperate, and in 
  his haste to contact the Investigators, 
  he inadvertently let Foucalt know that 
  he was summoning help. That’s why 
  Foucalt murders Broudig before the 
  Investigators get to Plouescat. From 
  Broudig’s notes, Foucault knows where 
  the Investigators live, and with the help 
  of his oracle, he can trace the letter; 
  now, he needs to prevent them from 
  finding out what’s going on.
  Location, Location, 
  Location
  In playtest the issue of where the 
  Investigators live came up. The scenario 
  makes no assumptions – they can start 
  the game wherever’s most convenient. 
  Wherever they travel from, they will 
  need to go through the city of Rennes 
  to get to Plouescat (Breathtaking Views, 
  p. 54).
  became part of the community, under 
  his new name Tristan Broudig. He 
  married a local girl, had a son, Daniel, 
  and lived peacefully. He never once 
  thought about contacting his family. As 
  far as they were concerned, Arthur was 
  dead, and he decided not to break that 
  illusion. He has kept a limited watch on 
  their doings, and if the Investigators have 
  done anything remotely newsworthy, he 
  knows all about it. He also knows about 
  their occult investigations; all the more 
  reason to contact them when Daniel is 
  accused of being a werewolf.
  He’s known for some time that the 
  marquis, Jean Foucalt, has been 
  planning something foul. Foucalt has 
  acted as a second father to the boy, but 
  Tristan never trusted Foucalt, or his Seiz 
  Breur (p. 49) friends. Foucalt has been 
  grooming Daniel to become his new 
  oracle, but for that to happen, Daniel’s 
  head must be severed by magically 
  treated 
  implements. 
  That’s 
  why 
  Foucalt has arranged it so that Daniel 
  is accused of murder; Foucalt wants 
  Daniel to go to the Silence Mill – the 
  
  49
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  mail bag; not enough money for it 
  to be worth their time. The attackers 
  are wearing worker’s overalls, with 
  their caps pulled down over their 
  faces, presumably to conceal their 
  identities. 
  They act as a team, two of them beating 
  up them mail carrier, a third grabbing 
  the post bag, one keeping watch, and 
  the final one is keeping the getaway 
  car’s motor running. The motor car, for 
  purposes of Fleeing, is 2 rounds away. 
  If interrupted, the thugs run off with 
  the mail bag. The mail carrier tries to 
  stop them, but he’s too badly injured to 
  do more than grab uselessly at them as 
  they flee, so it’s up to the Investigator(s) 
  to stop them. It’s possible they may fail, 
  and that the thugs will get away with 
  the mail bag. This doesn’t have to be 
  disastrous. Assume in that event that 
  the mailman actually had the important 
  letter in his hand when the attack took 
  Authorities, 
  Diligent 
  Studies, 
  Breathtaking Views
  The 
  scenario 
  opens 
  with 
  the 
  Investigators witnessing an assault.
  The exact setting will depend on 
  where the Investigator linked to Tristan 
  Broudig lives, but the situation is this: 
  the mail carrier, as he starts delivering 
  mail on the street, is attacked by five 
  men. The attackers don’t move quickly 
  enough to silence the man, and he cries 
  out for help. 
  • Streetwise: 
  The 
  attackers 
  are 
  obviously strong and violent, but 
  don’t look like the usual brand 
  of street thug. They’re too neatly 
  dressed, and clean shaven; smash-
  and-grab crooks aren’t usually so 
  well turned-out, or as coordinated 
  in their assault. In any case, seasoned 
  crooks wouldn’t bother stealing a 
  Magic
  At several points in the text, reference 
  is made to the Magic ability, described 
  in the Rough Magicks supplement for 
  Trail of Cthulhu. Magic is a General 
  Ability pool, which can be used to 
  power special abilities, or to cast spells. 
  The Keeper can also allow it to be used 
  as an Investigative Ability, to work 
  out what kind of spell is (or has been) 
  cast, and what its effects might be. In 
  the main Trail of Cthulhu rulebook, 
  Stability spends are used instead. If 
  the Keeper would rather not use Magic, 
  then ignore these pools. 
  Scenes
  White and Black
  Scene Type: Introduction
  Lead-Outs: Assistance from the 
  Who are Seiz Breur?
  Seiz Breur – Seven Brothers, after 
  a popular legend – is a nationalist 
  group, founded in Brittany in 1923 
  as an artistic movement, dedicated 
  to preserving the culture of Brittany. 
  The people and traditions of Brittany 
  have, at the time of the scenario, long 
  been under attack. The Bretons are 
  one of the six Celtic nations, and they 
  consider themselves to be distinct 
  and apart from the rest of France. 
  They have their own traditions, 
  culture, dialect, and, while Catholic, 
  like the rest of France, their brand 
  of Catholicism is distinctly Breton. 
  This has earned Brittany official 
  scrutiny and rebuke from the French 
  government; signs reading “It is 
  forbidden to speak Breton, and to spit on 
  the floor”, were put up on classroom 
  walls across Brittany. 
  While Seiz Breur began as an artistic 
  movement, by the 1930s it was 
  embracing fascism and direct action 
  to preserve Breton traditions. As 
  Celts, Germany considered Bretons 
  to be just like them, and many Bretons 
  believed that a fascist victory would 
  grant Brittany independence. Seiz 
  Breur had no patience for democracy, 
  and many members were virulently 
  anti-Semitic anyway, so for a time 
  an alliance with the Nazis seemed a 
  perfect fit. Seiz Breur was by no means 
  the only nationalist group on the scene 
  in the 1930s; Gwenn ha du – aka white 
  and black, the colors of the Breton 
  flag – called itself the military wing of 
  Breton nationalism, and carried out 
  several bomb attacks before the war. 
  Again, many members of this group 
  would go on to collaborate with the 
  invading German army during the war. 
  This scenario assumes that a splinter 
  section of Seiz Breur, led by Jean 
  Foucault, 
  embraced 
  terrorism 
  as a means of ensuring Breton 
  independence. This group has one 
  goal: to free the Breton nation 
  from the hated Gallic yoke. While 
  many are cultists, they do not fully 
  appreciate the enormity of their 
  actions; if they knew what really 
  dwells in the lake, they would be 
  driven insane. Only Foucalt truly 
  understands the connection between 
  their activities and Glaaki worship, 
  because Foucalt’s family has been 
  involved in Mythos activity for 
  generations. This splinter section 
  calls itself Ankou, after the Breton 
  death-spirit. Officially its members 
  are still Seiz Breur but, unlike their 
  artistic fellows, they don’t restrain 
  themselves to protests.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  50
  they attempt to escape by whatever 
  means necessary, and they’re not afraid 
  to kill. If this does become a break-out, 
  and the Keeper wants to beef them up 
  a bit to provide more of a challenge, 
  assume one has Magic pool 6 and knows 
  Dominate (Rough Magicks, p. 19), or 
  that Foucalt summons up a minor entity 
  – perhaps a byakhee or a couple of 
  ghouls – to help them get away.
  Once they recover the mail, the 
  protagonists discover the letter from 
  Tristan Broudig (p. 51) that the thugs 
  wanted to keep them from getting. 
  • Assess Honesty: If the name Tristan 
  Broudig is mentioned to any of the 
  thugs, it’s clear that they know, and 
  despise, Broudig, but they still refuse 
  to talk.
  A day or so after this, the Ankou 
  make one last attempt to deter the 
  Investigators. A package is left on their 
  doorstep, wrapped in brown paper 
  and tied with string. It’s a collection of 
  nails and scrap iron in a jar, attached to 
  a cheap mechanical trigger and what 
  looks like blasting jelly. 
  • Evidence Collection: The device 
  is simple, but potentially deadly, the 
  kind of bomb used by terror groups 
  like the Irish Republican Army, or, 
  since there is a Breton connection, 
  the armed nationalist movement 
  Gwenn ha du. It’s set to go off if 
  disturbed in any way. The jelly is 
  just jelly, not explosive at all, though 
  should the Keeper want to give the 
  players a scare, tell them that, if real, 
  it had the potential force of a pipe 
  bomb; +2 damage point blank, +1 
  damage close. A note attached to the 
  device reads, ‘It could so easily have been 
  gelignite.’ 
  If the Ankou thugs were all captured 
  or wiped out in the previous chase 
  scene, assume that other Ankou thugs 
  not present at that scene left this 
  bomb behind.
  Breton dialect; though they understand 
  English, they belligerently refuse to 
  speak it. 
  • Evidence 
  Collection: 
  There’s 
  enough on them – cigarettes, tailor’s 
  and cleaner’s marks on their clothing, 
  train and ferry tickets – to indicate 
  where they’re from.
  • 1-point Interrogation, Reassurance 
  or other Interpersonal Ability spend: 
  One of them is rattled enough that 
  he says “It doesn’t matter anyway. The 
  werewolf has already …” before one of 
  his companions, furious, tells him to 
  shut up. 
  They say nothing else, and soon after 
  capture – assuming that they are handed 
  over to the authorities – a high-priced 
  lawyer shows up to spring them. The 
  lawyer, Springer, has effective Cop Talk 
  3, Assess Honesty 3, Law 4, and is under 
  instruction to get his clients out of jail 
  as soon as possible. He knows very little 
  about his client, except that the person 
  giving him instruction lives in Brittany, 
  and is very wealthy. 
  No matter what bail conditions are 
  issued, as soon as they’re free the thugs 
  hot-foot it back to Brittany, where they 
  immediately vanish. If the thugs are not 
  handed over to the authorities, then 
  place, and that he was about to put it 
  in the Investigator’s mailbox just as the 
  thugs caught up with him. The thugs 
  just have the bag, but not the important 
  letter. 
  Ankou Thugs
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Disguise 3, 
  Driving 8 (getaway vehicle driver 
  only), Firearms 5, Fleeing 4, Health 3, 
  Scuffling 6, Weapons 4
  Weapon: +0 (revolver), -1 (blackjacks 
  and knives), -2 (fists)
  The thugs’ vehicle is a cheap touring car 
  with enough room for five, just about, 
  even if one of them has to stand on the 
  running board. Assume a top speed of 
  75 mph, no armor. In a car chase scene, 
  one thug has a revolver. He’ll stand on 
  the car’s running board and shoot back 
  at pursuers. If the driver fails a test 
  by 2 or more, the car crashes – if that 
  happens, all occupants take 2 damage. 
  The Ankou are Breton, and if this scene 
  takes place in a country with different 
  rules of the road (Great Britain, say), 
  the Difficulty of all enemy Driving 
  tests is increased by 1.
  The thugs don’t have the contacts to get 
  a stolen car, so they had to buy this one 
  second-hand. 
  • 1-point Bureaucracy (or similar) 
  spend: The car can be traced; the thugs 
  never bothered to cover the license 
  plate, thinking that they would dump 
  it at the first opportunity. The seller, 
  Harold Toomey, was paid in cash, 
  by men with French accents. One 
  of them asked to use his telephone, 
  and made a call to France. Toomey 
  heard him say something about loup-
  garou, “which is one of the few words of 
  French I know. I loved that Houseman 
  novel. It means werewolf, doesn’t it? Now 
  why would they be talking about that, do 
  you think?”
  If captured, the Ankou thugs keep 
  silent. They only speak French, in a 
  
  51
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  scenario. In game terms, it gives them 
  a 1-point dedicated pool in Evidence 
  Collection (Breton terrorists). 
  Finally, Cook can provide letters of 
  introduction to important French 
  police officials, should the Investigators 
  tell him that they are going to Plouescat. 
  In game terms, the letters give the PCs 
  an effective 1-point dedicated pool in 
  Cop Talk (French police). Cook’s 
  contacts are all Gallic, so the letters 
  will not be as effective when used on 
  Breton-born police officers. However 
  even the Bretons cannot ignore the 
  rest of France, much as they would like 
  to, and so the letters act as a 0-point 
  dedicated pool in Intimidation 
  (Breton police).
  in his early 40s, has been leading a team 
  investigating serious crimes, particularly 
  terrorist-related. He knows a little about 
  the Breton nationalist groups, but not 
  much; he’s more concerned with other 
  threats. He promises to investigate this 
  crime thoroughly.
  • Assess Honesty: Cook is competent, 
  and genuine in his commitment to 
  bringing the terrorists to justice.
  Cook 
  shows 
  the 
  Investigators 
  photographs of suspected terrorists 
  working for Breton nationalist groups, 
  in the hope that they will recognize some 
  of them. While this has no immediate 
  benefit, it allows them to potentially 
  identify Ankou terrorists later in the 
  Assistance from the 
  Authorities 
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: White and Black
  Lead-Outs: Diligent Studies, Breathtaking  
  Views
  The Investigators may decide, after 
  being attacked by the Ankou, to go to 
  the authorities and ask for help.
  The police, led by Inspector/Detective 
  Cook (exact rank varies depending on 
  where the protagonists are located), take 
  bomb threats and assaults very seriously. 
  Cook, a hard-bitten, granite-faced man 
  Tristan Broudig’s Letter
  This letter is postmarked Brittany, 
  France, and has a return address in 
  Plouescat, a small village near the 
  town of Rennes. Keeper’s note: 
  Although there is a real commune 
  named Plouescat in Brittany, the 
  Plouescat in this scenario is fictional, 
  and bears no relation to the original.
  •	 Evidence 
  Collection: 
  The 
  handwriting and use of idiom 
  indicates that the writer is not a 
  Breton, and French is probably not 
  his first language. To the Investigator 
  who knew, or is related to, Arthur, 
  the handwriting seems hauntingly 
  familiar. 
  The letter (Handout 1, p. 72) reads:
  First things first: I am not dead, though for 
  a long time it suited me to pretend to be so. 
  You know what it was like, during the War. 
  If I had taken my chances and stayed with 
  my unit, I probably would be dead now, or 
  worse. I ran, and by the grace of God made 
  it away from that dreadful place. 
  For the last few years I have been living in 
  Brittany, under the assumed name Tristan 
  Broudig. I married; I wish you could have 
  met her, but the Flu epidemic carried 
  Marie off many years ago. I have a son, 
  Daniel, who does not know my past, and if 
  things had turned out the way I hoped, he 
  would never have known.
  Daniel is under arrest. They are going 
  to send my son to the guillotine, unless I 
  do something.
  I am at my wit’s end. The crime he’s 
  accused of is murder, but it’s far worse 
  than that. They’re calling him a were-
  wolf, can you believe it? In what kind of 
  a world – 
  I don’t know what to do. I need help. I 
  need to save my son, but I can’t do it on 
  my own. Come to Plouescat, if not for my 
  sake, then for the sake of old friendship 
  and memory. Come soon. The trial will 
  start before long, and I think the marquis 
  will ensure that the verdict is a foregone 
  conclusion. There’s something he’s hiding 
  out in those woods of his, and it has to do 
  with what Daniel’s accused of being, but I 
  don’t understand it and I don’t know why 
  this is happening.
  Please come. If something isn’t done soon, 
  Daniel will die.
  Yours,
  Arthur
  Once the letter has been read, 
  any information relating to Arthur 
  before the War is a core clue for the 
  Investigator who knew, or is related 
  to, him. 
  The Keeper can include any 
  extra information about Arthur’s 
  background that works with her 
  game. Information tied directly to 
  the Investigator’s Drive could be 
  very useful; a protagonist with the 
  Follower Drive might have seen 
  Arthur as a leader, and so on.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  52
  of Gallic authority, and outspoken 
  Gallic politicians. So far, there have 
  been no deaths.
  • Library Use or Law: A savage 
  murder recently took place in 
  Plouescat. According to reports, a 
  local girl, Anne Le Goff, was attacked 
  and brutally ravaged; the killer all 
  but dismembered her, and partially 
  devoured the remains. Daniel Broudig 
  has been arrested for the murder, and 
  the trial is expected to be brief.
  – Law (1-point spend): Since 
  Daniel is accused of a major felony, 
  subjugation of Brittany to the French 
  crown. Even then the Bretons 
  continually resisted French rule, 
  fomenting several revolts. Since 
  the 19th century, a comprehensive 
  program of Gallicization has tried, and 
  so far failed, to completely eradicate 
  Brittany’s languages and traditions.
  – Library 
  Use 
  or 
  History 
  (1-point spend): Some of the 
  nationalist groups have turned to 
  terrorism to get what they want. 
  There have been several bomb 
  and arson attacks throughout the 
  1930s, directed against symbols 
  Inspector/Detective Cook
  Abilities: Athletics 5, Cop Talk 3, 
  Firearms 5, Health 5, Law 2, Scuffling 
  8, Weapons 4
  Weapon: +0 (revolver), -2 (fists)
  Diligent Studies
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: White and Black, Assistance 
  from the Authorities, Where Things 
  Get More Complicated, Innocent Until 
  Proven Guilty, Visiting the Werewolf, 
  Petit Albert, Ill Met By Moonlight, 
  Sitting Up with the Dead
  Lead-Outs: Breathtaking Views, The 
  Time of Trial
  The Investigators may choose to go to 
  a research library or similar, to find 
  out more about Brittany, Plouescat, or 
  werewolves. They can do this either in 
  their local area before they go to Brittany, 
  or after they get there. Plouescat itself 
  doesn’t have a big library, but Rennes is 
  close by, and as it’s the region’s capital, 
  its library has everything the protagonists 
  could ask for.
  • Library 
  Use, 
  Anthropology 
  or History: Plouescat is a small 
  commune, or village, in Brittany. It 
  is accessible by rail as well as road. 
  Regional tour guides describe the 
  main sights to see as the nearby ruins 
  of a medieval castle, thought to have 
  been a Templar stronghold, and the 
  covered market square, which dates to 
  the 13th century. According to recent 
  newspaper reports, there was a small 
  scandal when the war memorial was 
  erected in the town square; residents 
  complained that it was too Gallic, and 
  didn’t represent Breton culture.
  • The Bretons are an ancient, Celtic 
  people, and hold themselves apart 
  from Gallic France. Brittany didn’t 
  become part of the Kingdom of 
  France until the 15th century, after 
  the Mad War of 1485-88, when 
  an abortive rebellion led to the 
  
  53
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  have a strong affinity with the occult 
  and spiritualism, since Breton culture 
  is heavily influenced by folklore and 
  myth. Some are self-proclaimed 
  druids, or spiritual leaders; many 
  of them hold Aryan beliefs, and are 
  on good terms with the Nazis. As a 
  movement, Breton nationalism tends 
  towards fascism.
  • Brittany is a legend-haunted place, 
  and many events from Arthurian 
  tales are supposed to have taken place 
  here. In particular, the legendary 
  forest of Brocéliande, thought to 
  be the actual forest of Paimpont, is 
  awash with mysterious happenings, 
  spirits, goblins, and ghosts. The forest 
  some legwork in; possible avenues 
  of investigation are indicated later 
  in the scenario (there is physical 
  and oral evidence available that 
  contradicts the state’s case against 
  Daniel, so it’s not impossible).
  • Occult: As part of the resistance to 
  French dominance, several nationalist 
  groups have sprung up. Among them, 
  one of the more notorious is the Seiz 
  Breur, an artistic movement dedicated 
  to preserving Breton traditions, 
  language and culture. After they meet 
  Foucalt, the Investigator who gets 
  this clue will realize that Foucalt is a 
  member of Seiz Breur. Many of these 
  nationalist groups, or their members, 
  he will get a jury trial. Lesser crimes 
  are usually dealt with by a panel of 
  judges, but on a murder charge, 
  Daniel will face six jurors and three 
  judges. Defendants and witnesses 
  will give their testimony before 
  the court. After this testimony, 
  the question of guilt or innocence 
  is decided by secret ballot, and if 
  convicted, Daniel faces the death 
  penalty. Appeals can be made to 
  the Court of Cassation, but given 
  the significance of the case, and the 
  apparent strength of the evidence 
  against him, an appeal is unlikely to 
  succeed without more evidence. If 
  the characters want to prove Daniel 
  innocent, they will need to put 
  Creatures of Breton Folklore
  This 
  information 
  should 
  be 
  considered a 0-point clue for Occult 
  or Anthropology. For Library 
  Use, History or similar it counts as 
  a 1-point clue. It’s up to the Keeper 
  whether or not these have any 
  basis in Mythos-tainted reality. The 
  information quoted in italic is taken 
  from Legends and Romances of Brittany, 
  by Lewis Spence.
  Among the many faeries, ghosts and 
  goblins that infest Breton mythology, 
  the following are the best known:
  • Nain 
  are 
  wicked, 
  hideous 
  creatures, which can be found in 
  forests and deserted places. ‘Black 
  and menacing of countenance, these 
  demon-folk are armed with feline claws, 
  and their feet end in hoofs like those 
  of a satyr. Their dark elf-locks, small, 
  gleaming eyes, red as carbuncles, and 
  harsh, cracked voices are all dilated upon 
  with fear by those who have met them 
  upon lonely heaths or unfrequented 
  roads. They haunt the ancient dolmens 
  …’ The Nain are known to be 
  magical, sorcerous beings, capable 
  of imparting great wisdom, if only 
  they can be persuaded to do so.
  • The Ankou is a death spirit, feared 
  by all, ‘Who travels the duchy in a cart, 
  picking up souls. In the dead of night a 
  creaking axle-tree can be heard passing 
  down the silent lanes. It halts at a door; 
  the summons has been given, a soul quits 
  the doomed house, and the wagon of the 
  Ankou passes on. The Ankou herself—
  for the dread death-spirit of Brittany is 
  probably female—is usually represented 
  as a skeleton.’ 
  • Gorics are a species of dwarf, or 
  goblin. ‘Like the nains, these smaller 
  beings inhabit abandoned Druidical 
  monuments or dwell beneath the 
  foundations of ancient castles … Like 
  the Nains, the Gorics are the guardians 
  of hidden treasure, for the tale goes that 
  beneath one of the menhirs of Carnac 
  lies a golden hoard, and that all the 
  other stones have been set up the better 
  to conceal it, and so mystify those who 
  would discover its resting-place.’ 
  • Night-Washers are a sub-species 
  of Gorics. These are ‘Evil spirits 
  who appear at night on the banks of 
  streams and call on the passers-by to 
  assist them to wash the linen of the 
  dead. If they are refused, they seize 
  upon the person who denies them, drag 
  him into the water, and break his arms. 
  These beings are obviously the same as 
  the Bean Nighe, ‘the Washing Woman’ 
  of the Scottish Highlands, who is seen 
  in lonely places beside a pool or stream, 
  washing the linen of those who will 
  shortly die.’
  • The Mourioche ‘Is a malicious 
  demon of bestial nature, able, it would 
  seem, to transform himself into any 
  animal shape he chooses. In general 
  appearance he is like a year-old foal. 
  He is especially dangerous to children, 
  and Breton babies are often chided 
  when noisy or mischievous with the 
  words: “Be good, now, the Mourioche is 
  coming!” Of one who appears to have 
  received a shock, also, it is said: “He has 
  seen the Mourioche.”’
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  54
  support the Investigators can give, and 
  says he will put them up at his house. 
  He has no new information, but at the 
  Keeper’s discretion can provide any 
  0-point clue that has been missed from 
  the scene Diligent Studies (p. 52).
  Contacting Tristan 
  by 
  letter 
  is 
  ineffective. By the time it gets to 
  Plouescat, he is already dead.
  The Breton countryside is gorgeous, 
  and tranquil. Even in the 1930s, 
  Brittany is still very old-fashioned and 
  rural; it almost seems timeless. Yet 
  there are signs of modern times, most 
  notably the war memorials in many of 
  the villages, and the lack of young men, 
  many of whom died in the trenches.
  This 
  scene 
  takes 
  place 
  as 
  the 
  Investigators’ car, or train, passes by 
  Paimpont forest. Its vast expanse seems 
  to stretch almost as far as the eye can 
  see, and its oaks are ancient and wise-
  seeming, the perfect home for druids, 
  or Arthurian romance. Every so often, 
  the protagonists get a glimpse of life 
  in the forest; perhaps they see a forest 
  guard, or catch a glimpse of what 
  might be a wood fire, burning off in the 
  distance. Yet for the most part it seems 
  uninhabited, almost impenetrable; a 
  true relic of prehistoric times, ageless 
  and forbidding.
  As they pass by, they spot what might 
  be a dolmen up on a hill, just visible 
  above the treeline, and surrounded by 
  beeches. This is the first sign they’ve 
  had of the prehistoric standing stones 
  and tombs left all over Brittany. 
  There seem to be people up there, 
  perhaps half a dozen, standing around  
  the stone. 
  • Anthropology: You remember that 
  many Bretons consider themselves 
  heir to the lore of the Druids; perhaps 
  this is some kind of neo-pagan ritual. 
  A stream flows out from the forest; 
  it must run past, or very near, 
  that dolmen.
  spectacular murders in the 19th and 
  late 18th century, all committed by 
  citizens of Plouescat, were deemed 
  to be werewolf attacks.
  – The woman who was sent to a 
  mental institution is supposed to 
  have claimed, before she killed 
  herself, that her condition was a 
  curse put on her by an evil sorcerer, 
  who imposed the condition on her 
  because she would not submit to 
  his advances. ‘The Devil Marquis 
  keeps his temple in Brocéliande, where 
  no mortal may go. The Lake is there, but 
  not the Lady, and those who bathe in its 
  waters must ever after fear the light, lest 
  the Green take them. Blessed be the sun, 
  for it reveals all evil!’
  Breathtaking Views
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Diligent Studies, White and 
  Black, Assistance from the Authorities
  Lead-Outs: 
  Where 
  Things 
  Get 
  More Complicated
  This scene takes place on the way to 
  Plouescat, and assumes that the PCs are 
  in Brittany, travelling from Rennes to 
  Plouescat either by train or car.
  The journey has been pleasant but 
  uneventful so far. If the Investigators 
  have been paying attention to the local 
  newspapers, then they know that the 
  “werewolf trial”, as it has become 
  known, is not going well for Daniel. The 
  papers have already assumed his guilt, 
  and it seems likely that the trial will be 
  a rush to judgment. The most recent 
  articles focused on the guillotine being 
  built specially for Daniel’s execution by 
  Plouescat artisans.
  If they have tried to contact Tristan, 
  either by telephone or telegram, 
  it proved difficult, but in the end 
  successful. He doesn’t have a phone 
  in his house, so if it was a call then he 
  had to go to a friend’s home to make 
  it. Tristan is effusively grateful for any 
  itself is privately owned, for the most 
  part, and visitors are not encouraged.
  • In addition to the Arthurian tales, 
  Brittany has its Templar myths. The 
  castle at Plouescat, for example, is 
  thought to have been one of the places 
  where the Templars hid its legendary 
  head of Baphomet, the supposed 
  demonic totem that those devilish 
  knights worshipped. 
  • In Breton folklore, werewolves are 
  thought to be either involuntary, or 
  voluntary. The volunteers deliberately 
  turn their back on Christianity and 
  all that is good, taking on wolfish 
  form so that they can eat human 
  flesh. Involuntary werewolves are 
  created by magic, and the curse is 
  often imposed as a penance for sin. 
  Involuntary werewolves are usually 
  under a form of geas, and one of the 
  terms of this magical compulsion 
  is that they cannot speak about 
  their condition.
  • In Plouescat, at least half-a-dozen 
  murders have been blamed on 
  werewolf attacks. In most of the 
  cases the accused werewolves were 
  either executed or put to death by 
  the mob. In 1897, the most recent 
  attack before the current murder, the 
  accused was arrested and sent to a 
  mental institution instead, where she 
  later committed suicide.
  – Occult 
  (1-point 
  spend): 
  Throughout its history, Plouescat 
  has been known as the commune 
  of the loup-garou. It’s said that, 
  many years ago, the villagers 
  turned their back on Christianity, 
  and when St Malo visited them 
  on a pilgrimage, they treated him 
  with cold hostility. St Malo said of 
  them that they were beasts, and 
  deserved to be treated as beasts. 
  Ever since that time, the people 
  of Plouescat are supposed to be 
  particularly subject to involuntary 
  werewolfism. Whether or not this 
  is so, it is certainly true that five 
  
  55
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  If the Investigators choose not to stay at 
  Tristan’s house, there is a traveler’s inn, 
  The Golden Lion. It is well appointed, 
  and has many modern touches, including 
  a telephone, but no indoor plumbing. 
  This is where visiting commercial 
  travelers, farmers and merchants stay, 
  and when the market’s open, it gets very 
  busy. Otherwise, it is peaceful, just the 
  way its owner, Yann Pol, likes it. He’s 
  particularly proud of his home-made 
  cider, or chistr; a traditional Breton 
  drink, cider is extremely potent.
  The people of Plouescat are clannish, 
  and distrust strangers. The Investigators 
  will find it very difficult to break through 
  their natural reserve. The locals usually 
  pretend not to understand anything an 
  outsider says to them, particularly if 
  they say it in Gallic French.
  A war memorial statue, erected within 
  the last ten years, not far from the 
  covered market, seems to be universally 
  disrespected and despised, judging by its 
  scratched and graffiti-stained condition. 
  It is partially damaged, as if a bomb 
  went off, and the great Gallic cockerel 
  that stands guard at its top was knocked 
  out of position in the blast. It looks as if 
  the bird’s staring manically to the east, 
  rather than standing proud. No amount 
  of Reassurance, Intimidation or 
  Oral History will get a local to tell an 
  outsider how it happened.
  The Investigators will probably want 
  to explore Plouescat. There are several 
  possible lines of inquiry; they can talk 
  to the local authorities, which means 
  the mayor, doctor and police (below); 
  they can go to the church (p. 56); they 
  can talk to the locals (p. 58); or they can 
  search the ruined castle (p. 58).
  The Local Authorities
  • Mayor Victor Jarry, a distinguished 
  septuagenarian 
  whose 
  strongest 
  memory is of the day Napoleon 
  III shamefully capitulated to the 
  Prussians, when Jarry was only a child. 
  out to the road again, it is as if a great 
  weight is lifted from their shoulders. 
  This incurs a 3-point Stability test, and 
  they emerge convinced that something 
  terrible and ageless lives in Paimpont. 
  No matter what strategy they adopt, 
  they cannot find the dolmen that they 
  saw from the road. 
  Where Things Get More 
  Complicated 
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Breathtaking Views
  Lead-Outs: Sitting Up with the Dead, 
  Diligent Studies, Petit Albert, Visiting 
  the Werewolf, Ill Met by Moonlight, 
  Innocent Until Proven Guilty, The Time 
  of Trial
  The protagonists arrive at Plouescat.
  The village is small, perhaps a few 
  thousand souls, and ancient. Very few 
  of the houses and buildings are newer 
  than the 18th century; the oldest 
  structure still standing, the covered 
  market, is supposed to have been built 
  during the reign of Peter I, also called 
  Peter Mauclerc, Duke of Brittany – 
  sometime around 1200 to 1250 AD. 
  The church, St Salomon, was built 
  during the Hundred Years’ War, and is 
  a heavy, gothic edifice, encrusted with 
  hideous gargoyles. It boasts a holy well, 
  as do many churches in Brittany, and 
  the tombstones in its churchyard have 
  hollows at their top, so that on holy 
  days the devout can give libation – milk, 
  or holy water – to their dead. On the 
  outskirts of the village are the remains 
  of an ancient fortress, probably a 12th 
  century keep, now in ruins.
  Plouescat is an agricultural center. 
  Every second Saturday, the farmers 
  from villages roundabout bring their 
  crops, animals and cheeses to the 
  market. It’s one of the busiest days, 
  when Plouescat seems teeming with 
  life; the rest of the time, it is the 
  sleepiest village imaginable.
  Though the Investigators have no way 
  of knowing it, this spot is where they 
  shall return, in their dreams (Ill Met 
  By Moonlight), and it is also where the 
  Nain gather (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 
  Thursday, Friday). 
  • Cthulhu Mythos: You can barely 
  repress a shudder at the sudden 
  memory of awful rituals practiced 
  by pagans, and cultists, at standing 
  stones such as these. It’s the sort of 
  haunted place that humans should 
  avoid, not seek out, still less conduct 
  rituals at. Who knows what might 
  answer a prayer made at these 
  forbidden places?
  If they are in a train, they won’t have the 
  chance to stop and stare, but if travelling 
  by car they may be tempted to see what’s 
  going on. However, no sooner have they 
  stopped and tried to go further in, than 
  they are stopped by four forest guards. 
  These men were out hunting, and are 
  armed with shotguns. If none of the 
  protagonists speak French, preferably in 
  Breton dialect, then one of the guards 
  speaks the Investigators’ language, albeit 
  haltingly. “Go back,” he says. “You cannot 
  enter the forest. It is not your right. The land 
  is not yours.” They explain that the land 
  belongs to the marquis, Jean Foucalt. 
  Nobody is allowed into this part of the 
  forest, except with his permission.
  Forest Guards
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Firearms 7, 
  First Aid 3, Health 6, Outdoorsman 1, 
  Riding 6, Scuffling 6
  Weapon: +1 (shotgun), -2 (fist, kick)
  Should the Investigators somehow 
  evade this group, and then try to 
  explore the forest, they soon discover 
  that even Outdoorsman can’t help 
  them make head nor tail of Paimpont. 
  There are no trails to speak of, and 
  the surrounding forest is dark, and 
  inimical. They imagine enemies behind 
  every tree, watching them, planning 
  their demise. When they finally struggle 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  56
  • Doctor Anatole Helias, another septuagenarian who 
  credits his long life and good health to a daily glass of cider.
  • Xavier Dupuis, the rural policeman or gardes champêtres, 
  employed directly by the Mayor, not the municipality or 
  government. Xavier is tall, handsome and tough, but he 
  lacks intelligence.
  All of these people know Tristan, Daniel, and the marquis, 
  Jean Foucalt. They admire and respect Tristan and Jean; 
  they respect, but do not like, the marquis. All of them are 
  convinced that Daniel murdered his sweetheart, Anne Le 
  Goff, and all of them believe that Daniel is a werewolf. 
  • Reassurance, Oral History, or a similar Interpersonal 
  Ability: Any one of these people can provide any 0-point 
  clue from the scene Diligent Studies that the Investigators 
  may have missed, and at the Keeper’s discretion, an 
  appropriate Interpersonal spend may get them to reveal 
  any 1-point clue from Diligent Studies concerning Breton 
  folklore, or werewolves.
  •  “It is very sad,” says Mayor Jarry. “The boy is not to be blamed, but 
  we cannot allow him to live. Imagine if he were to return here, to live 
  among us! A catastrophe; one does not pen the wolf in with the sheep.”
  – 1-point spend (or the 0-point Intimidation pool, in 
  the case of Dupuis): Any of these can reveal the publicly 
  known facts in the case (p. 57) of the murder of Anne 
  Le Goff.
  All three know that Tristan Broudig died the day before 
  the Investigators arrived in Plouescat. Officially the cause 
  of death is heart failure. “He saw the Mourioche,” each will 
  privately affirm.
  All three know about Jean Foucalt’s Seiz Breur connections. 
  They admire his convictions – share them, even – but do not 
  like his methods.
  The Church of St Salomon 
  The church of St Salomon and its holy well is similar to 
  dozens others all over Brittany. The priest, Father Jerome, is 
  young, eager to please, and very proud of his church. 
  • Reassurance, Oral History or similar: Father Jerome 
  will happily spend hours talking about its history; this may 
  be entertaining, but none of the details are relevant to the 
  scenario. Father Jerome can supply any 0-point clue found 
  in Diligent Research. On a 
  – (1 point spend): (asking about the marquis) “I have 
  never trusted that man. You will see that, in our ossuary, none 
  of his family are here. Accursed, sorcerers and witches, every 
  
  57
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  lurks something large, malformed, 
  and horribly suggestive of great 
  menace. The central panel shows 
  three figures, possibly women, in 
  a castle on an island in the middle 
  of a lake, and in the lake that same 
  large, malformed thing dwells. In 
  the right panel, the knight has been 
  bested, and what might be a lance 
  juts from his abdomen. Perhaps this 
  is the Spear of Longinus, but the 
  knight’s face is twisted in horror, 
  and more than mortal fear. 
  – Similar imagery is used in one of 
  the stained glass windows, in which 
  Saint Salomon is seen turning 
  away a demonic figure. The figure 
  has what might be a spear wound 
  in its chest, red and inflamed, 
  but otherwise its flesh is green. 
  It’s a 2-point Stability test for 
  seeing this. 
  house. Here, row upon row of beehive-
  like structures sit, each with the name 
  of its occupant, and their bones within. 
  The skull usually faces out the opening 
  of the hive, so it is the first thing people 
  see when they look in. 
  – (1-point spend): You notice some 
  odd things about the church’s 
  décor. An ivory altar triptych 
  depicts scenes from Arthurian 
  legend. In one, on the left panel 
  of the triptych, a knight with two 
  swords – presumably Sir Balin, 
  who makes the dolorous stroke, 
  or wound, which kicks off the grail 
  quest – lashing out at a damsel. In 
  Arthurian legend, Balin is supposed 
  to have killed one of the Ladies 
  of the Lake, in vengeance for 
  the murder of his mother. In the 
  triptych, the damsel is standing on 
  the edge of a lake, and in that lake 
  single one. I have it on good authority 
  that he can be seen at night, out in the 
  forest, leading the Devil’s sabbat! Rich, 
  of course; all his people are. But wealth 
  cannot buy a man’s way to paradise, and 
  that Devil’s mark on his chest should be 
  all the proof any man needs that Foucalt 
  shall never see the gates of Heaven!”
  – (1 point spend): (asking about 
  the Broudigs) “I do not believe for a 
  moment that poor Daniel did as they 
  say. Or, if he did, it was under magical 
  compulsion. Look for the black mark 
  on his wrist; that is where the sorcerer 
  left his mark, I wager. My predecessor 
  claimed he saw the same mark on the 
  poor woman, many years ago now, who 
  last was called a werewolf.”
  • Evidence Collection, Architecture 
  or similar: Like many another Breton 
  church, it too has its ossuary, or bone-
  The Public Facts of the Case
   Anne Le Goff and Daniel Broudig 
  were sweethearts, and everyone 
  in Plouescat believed they would 
  marry soon. Then Daniel went 
  missing in Paimpont forest for 
  several days. He had no business 
  being there, but the marquis knew 
  and liked the boy, and had often let 
  him wander in the forest. Though 
  Foucalt’s guards searched night and 
  day for him, Daniel was nowhere to  
  be found.
  Then, on the evening of the fourth 
  day, Daniel emerged from the 
  forest. He was wild, and savage; 
  he attacked a local farmer, injuring 
  him. Anne went out to where Daniel 
  was last seen, hoping to find him and 
  bring him back to Doctor Helias. 
  Unfortunately she did find him, and 
  the next day Xavier Dupuis, with 
  Foucalt, found her remains.
  Anne Le Goff has no close family. Her 
  father died in the war, her mother 
  died in the Spanish flu epidemic, and 
  she was raised by distant relatives, 
  only returning to Plouescat in the 
  last three years to deal with her 
  parents’ remaining property. She fell 
  in love with Daniel and decided to 
  stay, working in The Golden Lion. 
  She was well liked by all who knew 
  her, but Father Jerome remembers 
  her as a troubled soul, because 
  the 1897 werewolf was her great-
  grandmother. The Le Goffs always 
  believed Marquis Foucalt’s family 
  was behind that event, but could 
  never prove it. Anne despised Foucalt 
  and made no secret of it, confronting 
  him several times in public, accusing 
  him of witchcraft, terrorism and 
  worse. The last time they quarreled, 
  she slapped him hard in the face, 
  right out in the market square. This 
  happened two days before her death. 
  Xavier Dupuis examined the body. 
  “It was the most hideous thing I have ever 
  seen one person do to another. He used 
  fists, feet, and teeth on her, tearing her 
  open from throat to stomach. I cannot 
  understand how he had the strength 
  to do the damage he did. Only her face 
  remained unmarked. He was found not far 
  from the body, asleep, covered from head 
  to foot in her blood.”
  Daniel is currently in custody at 
  Rennes. He hasn’t spoken more 
  than two or three words since his 
  arrest, and spends much of his time 
  staring at the walls of his cell. It is 
  likely that the trial will be brief, and 
  end in a conviction. The marquis has 
  already donated wood and artisans to 
  construct the guillotine that will be 
  used to execute him. According to 
  Foucalt, it is the least he can do.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  58
  and when the order was brutally 
  dissolved by the French King in the 
  1300s, six Templar knights were 
  burnt at the stake outside its walls. 
  “It is said that their wicked spirits cannot 
  rest,” says Brotrel, “and each year, on the 
  day that they died, black smoke is seen, and 
  the stench of burning flesh is heavy in the 
  air. But only those foolish enough to spend 
  the night here experience such things!” 
  Brotrel also knows that this castle 
  once housed the head of Baphomet, 
  in the last days of the Order, when 
  the Knights were trying to hide their 
  precious things. “The knight is supposed 
  to have taken it out to the forest, where it 
  would be kept safe in the Devil’s chapel, 
  but no man knows where that is, nor has 
  anyone been so foolish as to try to find it.”
  – Occult or History: In Templar 
  lore, the knights are supposed to 
  have venerated a severed head, 
  described variously as the relic 
  of a former leader of the Order, 
  a horned devil’s skull, a skull 
  encrusted with jewels, or a wood-
  carved idol. It’s unclear now 
  whether this actually took place, 
  or whether it’s the basis for a 
  trumped-up charge of apostasy, the 
  better to convince the world that 
  the Templars had thrown their lot 
  in with the Devil.
  • 1-point Architecture spend: You 
  notice that the Keep would have 
  had an excellent view of Paimpont 
  forest, and probably overlooks many 
  local landmarks.
  Climbing to the top is difficult – a Difficulty 
  5 Athletics test, with a potential +0 
  damage on a failure – but from there, 
  a person can see for miles around. The 
  castle has a clear view of the dolmen in the 
  forest, though only those with keen eyes, 
  or binoculars, can appreciate it. Those 
  doing so gain a dedicated 1-point pool 
  in Outdoorsman (Paimpont), which 
  will help them make their way through 
  the trackless forest. Those doing so also 
  catch a glimpse of what appears to be a 
  • (1-point 
  Reassurance, 
  Oral 
  History or similar spend): (asking 
  about the marquis) “The marquis? 
  Foucalt’s family is old and respected, but 
  not liked. Why, in my grandfather’s day, 
  his grandfather was accused of having 
  the Devil’s mark on his chest, where – or 
  so it’s said – the familiar is supposed to 
  suckle, and take nourishment. No, there’s 
  no love here for the marquis, but he knows 
  a great deal; probably he has a Petit Albert 
  hanging by a chain in his house, hey?” 
  (Keeper’s note: the Petit, and for that 
  matter also the Grand, Alberts are 
  magical grimoires, said to be signed 
  by Satan himself. In Breton folklore, 
  they are as big as a man, and can only 
  be kept quiet by hanging them from a 
  great iron chain, in an empty room.)
  • (1-point 
  Reassurance, 
  Oral 
  History or similar spend): (asking 
  about the Daniel) “Daniel Broudig? A 
  terrible thing. I can hardly believe he did 
  it. But then, he did wander in the forest, 
  and no good can come of going to close to 
  those old stones. It’s said the Devil keeps a 
  chapel out there, under a dolmen, and if 
  you’re truly unlucky, you’ll find Merlin’s 
  Oak. Merlin’s head is said to speak truths, 
  but those truths will drive a man mad …”
  The Castle
  Visiting the castle is easy to do. There 
  is no caretaker as such, but one of the 
  oldest inhabitants of Paimpont, Guy 
  Brotrel, is willing to guide visitors 
  around the ruins, and tell them about 
  the castle’s history. 
  • Architecture or History: You 
  identify the keep as 12th century, and 
  Brotrel says it was built by one of the 
  Montfort family, allies of the English 
  during the Hundred Years’ War. It was 
  the scene of many daring skirmishes 
  during that period, including one 
  locally famous battle in which 
  the then owner bested six enemy 
  knights in single combat before being 
  captured, later dying of his wounds. 
  Before that famous siege, the castle 
  was owned by one of the Templars, 
  – (1-point 
  Cthulhu 
  Mythos 
  spend): This could lead to insight, 
  as the Investigator realizes that half-
  remembered legends of Glaaki are 
  the foundation on which the Lady 
  of the Lake legend is built. That will 
  result in a 4-point Stability loss, 
  and a 1-point Sanity loss. 
  If they end this scene on favorable 
  terms with him, and the Keeper needs 
  it, Father Jerome could lead a group 
  of frightened locals into the forest to 
  rescue stranded Investigators later 
  in the adventure. Assume there are 
  six locals, with Outdoorsman 1, 
  Health 5, Scuffling 5 (-1 damage, 
  improvised weapon), and one of 
  them has Firearms 5 (+1 damage, 
  shotgun). It is unlikely that a group this 
  size could triumph over Foucalt and 
  his people, but they might be able to 
  drag one or two luckless protagonists 
  away from certain doom. In the event 
  that the group lacks Cthulhu Mythos, 
  and the Keeper believes that they 
  could use some support, assume that 
  Father Jerome has the following pools: 
  Cthulhu Mythos 1, Health 4, Scuffling 4 
  (-2 damage, fists). 
  The Locals
  Talking to the locals means breaking 
  through their natural reserve. This 
  will be especially difficult if the 
  Investigators are Gallic French. It may 
  be best to wait until market day, when 
  cider flows freely, and everyone is in a  
  good mood. 
  • Anthropology: You notice that, 
  like all Bretons, the people of 
  Plouescat have a streak of superstition 
  a mile wide. When they want to call 
  something bad, they say it’s “worse 
  than a night in Paimpont”; the forest, to 
  them, is an evil place, and they cross 
  themselves fearfully every time it is 
  mentioned in conversation. Anyone 
  who repeatedly asks about the forest, 
  or says they want to go there, is 
  treated as if they have gone mad, or 
  have been touched by evil.
  
  59
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  Searching the house for clues reveals 
  the following:
  • Evidence Collection, Forensics 
  or similar: Someone may have broken 
  into the house, recently. There are 
  signs that the window in Tristan’s 
  bedroom has been forced, quite 
  skillfully. There are also some small 
  spots of blood on the bed linen, as if 
  Tristan was jabbed with a needle.
  • Evidence Collection, Forensics, 
  or Medicine: Tristan’s face is still 
  twisted in an expression of utter horror 
  (a 3-point Stability test). There’s a 
  small mark on his right wrist, possibly 
  a needle mark, and there’s bruising on 
  his arms that suggest he was surprised 
  in his sleep and held tightly, to prevent 
  him struggling. 
  • Evidence Collection, Forensics 
  or Notice: Several of Tristan’s 
  important papers are missing, and 
  there’s fresh ashes in the fireplace. 
  Whatever evidence he might have 
  gathered about Daniel, or anything 
  else, doubtless was burnt. There’s no 
  getting it back.
  • 1-point Forensics spend: Analysis 
  of his blood indicates that Tristan 
  was injected with digioxin, derived 
  from the plant digitalis, or foxglove. 
  This would have caused irregular, 
  rapid heartbeat, and could easily have 
  resulted in a heart attack. 
  – Occult: Foxglove has been used 
  by herbalists and occultists for time 
  out of mind. Digitalis also causes 
  delirium, and the affected might 
  see things that aren’t there; useful, 
  if you wanted to frighten someone 
  to death.
  • 1-point 
  Evidence 
  Collection, 
  Forensics or Notice spend: Daniel 
  kept a diary, hidden in his room under 
  a loose floorboard. In it, he describes 
  his visits to Foucalt’s dolmen chapel, 
  out in the forest. “I can barely credit that 
  ran outside. Before anyone could help 
  him, he dropped dead in the street. 
  The terrified expression on his face 
  frightened everyone who saw it. His 
  neighbors helped carry the body back 
  inside the house, and laid it out on the 
  dining room table.
  Broudig has been treated in the 
  traditional Breton fashion. His corpse 
  is covered in a white sheet, and candles 
  have been placed at his head and his feet. 
  On the day the Investigators arrive, 
  the gravedigger is going all around the 
  village and nearby farmsteads, carrying 
  news of his death. By nightfall, the dead 
  man’s friends and family are meant 
  to gather at his house, for prayer and 
  remembrance; given the circumstances 
  of his death, nobody will go near the 
  house, or the body. It will rest alone, 
  until collected and put in the coffin next 
  morning in the morning, to be taken to 
  his place of burial.
  Foucalt intends to steal the body before 
  then, and has sent Ankou henchmen 
  in to recover it. If successful, they 
  will carry the corpse deep into the 
  forest, where Foucalt will turn it into 
  an undead guardian, the red dwarf, 
  so called because it is covered head to 
  foot in blood, and its legs are shattered, 
  unable to support its weight. If others 
  die – the Investigators, say – Foucalt 
  will try to do the same to their corpses. 
  See Under the Dolmen, p. 70.
  Assuming this happens, the funeral 
  will not be held, and knowing that the 
  corpse was stolen will prompt a 2-point 
  Stability test for the Investigator who 
  knew Arthur.
  Should the Investigators wish to stay at 
  Tristan’s overnight, nobody will stop 
  them. However they will be shunned 
  by all; perhaps these newcomers are 
  witches, or worse, that they want to 
  sleep in a death house. This will make 
  Interpersonal Abilities more difficult to 
  use. This negative effect only applies in 
  Plouescat, not in Rennes.
  lake, out in the middle of the forest not far 
  from the dolmen; but it is only a glimpse, 
  and despite best efforts, they cannot see 
  it again. It is as if it somehow vanished 
  from sight. Perhaps it was an illusion. It’s a 
  2-point Stability test for this experience.
  Sitting Up with the Dead
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: Where Things Get More 
  Complicated, Innocent Until Proven 
  Guilty, Visiting the Werewolf, Petit 
  Albert, Ill Met By Moonlight
  Lead-Outs: Petit Albert, Diligent 
  Studies, Visiting the Werewolf, Ill Met 
  By Moonlight, Innocent Until Proven 
  Guilty, The Time of Trial
  Tristan Broudig died the day before the 
  Investigators arrived. He was murdered 
  by Foucalt, who realized, thanks to his 
  oracle, that the PCs were on their way, 
  and didn’t want Broudig interfering in 
  his plans.
  Officially Broudig died of a heart attack. 
  What happened was this: in the dead of 
  night, Broudig woke up, screaming, and 
  Baphomet
  The scenario assumes that the 
  tales are true, that a knight did 
  bring the head of Baphomet to 
  Paimpont, and hid it in Merlin’s 
  Oak. That knight was one of 
  Foucalt’s forebears, drawn to 
  this place by the call of Glaaki. 
  The head, and its replacements 
  – for the oracles eventually 
  wear out – are one of the main 
  magical implements used by 
  the servants of Glaaki; they 
  worship at it, as a Catholic 
  would at an altar. It tells them 
  strange truths, which they treat 
  as sacrosanct.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  60
  There is one Nain, and four thugs. 
  Each thug wears a skull mask and is 
  dressed in black, shapeless robes; the 
  superstitious might mistake them for 
  the Ankou of folklore, rather than 
  men in costumes. These attackers have 
  not been told to kill anyone, and will 
  retreat if it looks as if they face armed  
  resistance.
  Petit Albert
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: Where Things Get More 
  Complicated, Sitting Up with the Dead, 
  Innocent Until Proven Guilty, Visiting 
  the Werewolf, Ill Met By Moonlight
  Lead-Outs: Sitting Up With the 
  Dead, Diligent Studies, Visiting the 
  Werewolf, Ill Met By Moonlight, 
  Innocent 
  Until 
  Proven 
  Guilty,  
  The Time of Trial
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Alertness Modifier: +3 (Paimpont 
  forest only)
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: +0 (claws)
  Armor: -2 vs any (thick hair and skin), 
  cannot be impaled
  Stability loss: +1
  Vulnerability: sunlight, takes +1 
  damage immediately if ever exposed to 
  the sun’s rays, and will suffer a further 
  +1 damage every hour thereafter until 
  killed. 
  Ankou thugs
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Disguise 4, 
  Fleeing 8, Health 5, Scuffling 6, 
  Weapons 6
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Alertness Modifier: +0
  Stealth Modifier: +0
  Weapon: −1 (knives), -2 (fist, kick)
  a man of such intelligence is also a believer 
  in charms, and sorcery, but Foucalt is a 
  believer in every sense of the word. He told 
  me not to try to find the place at night, lest 
  the Nain take umbrage and do me harm. 
  The Nain! He’ll warn me against boggarts 
  and pixies next. Yet there is something very 
  odd about that pool he showed me. I cannot 
  believe that such a shallow water is the 
  fabled lake where the Ladies gave Arthur 
  his sword Excalibur, yet there is something 
  out there, something mesmerizing. I hear it 
  calling to me still …”
  Staying the night means that the 
  protagonists will be there when the 
  Ankou, as well as one of the Nain, 
  arrive to steal the corpse.
  Nain
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Health 9, 
  Scuffling 11
  The Nain
  These creatures are Servants of 
  Glaaki. Each bears the mark of its 
  impalement, right in the center of 
  its chest; the wound never closes, 
  and reddish weals snake out from the 
  entry point. Physically, they resemble 
  human corpses, thin and desiccated, 
  with reddened eyes and matted hair. 
  During the day they have to hide, as 
  the Green Decay will take them if 
  ever the sun’s light hits them. Some 
  of them live under dolmens, others at 
  the bottom of the lake. Though they 
  share Glaaki’s memories, they also 
  remember what it was to be human, 
  and can recognize friends and former 
  loved ones. A Servant might live 
  many years, if not forever, and some 
  of those that hide in Paimpont still 
  remember the Hundred Years’ War, 
  and the persecution of the Templars, 
  as if it were yesterday. These are few 
  in number. The Green Decay usually 
  takes a Nain long before. 
  Some Nain can pass as human, 
  as long as they take good care of 
  themselves and do not go out in 
  sunlight. This condition is very rare, 
  and requires constant maintenance, 
  but it does mean that, from a 
  biological standpoint, these servants 
  can do things others cannot. Most 
  importantly, the males are fertile, 
  which is how Foucalt’s family has 
  survived all these years. Father 
  would take son out to the Lake, to 
  take communion with the Lady. Most 
  of the sons died outright, but enough 
  of them survived the experience that 
  the line was able to continue. From 
  a character creation point of view, 
  should any player want to create a 
  character whose parent was a Nain, 
  In the Blood is the best Drive 
  by far.
  Nain are magical creatures, and 
  knowledgeable, which is why would-
  be wizards seek them out. A Nain 
  often has a Magic pool from 6 
  to 8 points, and may know spells. 
  Nain can be persuaded to teach up 
  to 1 point in Cthulhu Mythos, 
  History, Occult, or Magic; the 
  learning process, since it requires 
  participation in their rituals and 
  long contact with the undead, costs 
  the student 4 points of Stability, 
  and 1 point of Sanity. At the end of 
  this period, the Nain usually try to 
  make the student a Servant, so the 
  would-be wizard has to be careful to 
  avoid being caught by them when the 
  learning is done.
  
  61
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  his way to, or from, Paimpont forest. 
  This means he is rarely home at night.
  His house is a very old, and large, 
  building on the edge of Plouescat; from 
  his window he can see open fields, and 
  beyond them, the looming forest. 
  • Architecture: You guess that the 
  house dates to the 1700s, and this 
  means there might be a private 
  entrance to the walled garden at the 
  rear, to prevent prying eyes seeing the 
  owner come and go. 
  The walled garden is where Foucalt 
  grows the herbs he needs to carry out 
  some of his rituals. Going this route 
  avoids Stealth tests; otherwise, anyone 
  wishing to break in needs to make a 
  Difficulty 4 Stealth test to avoid being 
  seen when they make the attempt. 
  • 1-point Biology spend: In the 
  walled garden, you identify all of the 
  plants needed to create his effects, 
  like dosing Daniel, or poisoning 
  Tristan with dioxin.
  The house is elegantly furnished, in 
  the style of a bygone age, and despite 
  its size it seems almost too small for its 
  contents. Every room is stuffed almost 
  to bursting with furniture, knick-
  knacks, statuary, paintings, displays; the 
  collected history of many generations of 
  owners, none of whom, it seems, could 
  bear to throw anything away. 
  Foucalt regularly bathes in a liquid of his 
  own concoction, the better to preserve 
  his flesh. It is an herbal compound, 
  and the stuff’s so ghastly that the house 
  stinks of it, like a corpse slowly decaying 
  in the hot sun. Foucalt, being vain, uses 
  large quantities of cologne to cover the 
  smell, but that doesn’t really improve 
  matters at all.
  Only one room is completely empty, 
  and that room is at the very top of 
  the house, where the servants would 
  normally be expected to live. From the 
  – (1-point 
  spend): The 
  Rennes 
  records also show there is a portion 
  of his holding which has never been 
  touched, and it is a substantial 
  portion; certainly worth a great 
  deal, if ever he were to sell the 
  lumber. He has refused several 
  approaches from entrepreneurs. 
  Paimpont, he says in a letter to one 
  of them, is his birthright. He would 
  never sell it for coin.
  Foucalt is never seen during the day. He 
  says he suffers from terrible allergies, 
  and sunlight is poison to him. At night 
  he is often seen either in Plouescat, or 
  strolling through the fields and lanes on 
  The Investigators may try to find out 
  more about the marquis, Jean Foucalt. 
  They may also try to search his house. 
  Marquis is a hereditary title, but there 
  are many in Brittany with the right to 
  call themselves marquis, and few of 
  them actually have a manor house, or 
  significant sums of money. Foucalt is, 
  by that standard, a remarkably wealthy 
  man. He owns a portion of Paimpont 
  forest, much of which
  • Bureaucracy: If you check the 
  records held in Rennes, you can tell he 
  rents most of his Paimpont property 
  to woodcutters and carpenters. 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  62
  Nain will remain hidden during the 
  day, fearful of accidentally coming into 
  contact with sunlight. At night, it roams 
  freely. This Nain is actually Foucalt’s 
  grandfather, and he’ll take bloody 
  vengeance on anyone who injures it.
  Foucalt’s Grandfather (Nain)
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Health 9, Magic 
  8, Scuffling 11
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Alertness Modifier: +3 (Paimpont 
  forest only)
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: +0 (claws)
  Armor: -2 vs any (thick hair and skin), 
  cannot be impaled
  Stability loss: +1
  Vulnerability: sunlight, takes +1 
  damage immediately if ever exposed to 
  the sun’s rays, and will suffer a further 
  +1 damage every hour thereafter 
  until killed.
  Spell: Howl of Pan. 
  Jean Foucalt
  Jean Foucalt, if the Investigators try to 
  meet with him in person, is a charming, 
  urbane man, probably in his middle 
  forties. He’s well-travelled, and has 
  structure, where they will be less 
  easily seen by curious onlookers. 
  These are intended to keep the spirit 
  in the head for as long as possible, 
  perhaps several hours or even a day 
  after the execution. 
  – 1-point Cthulhu Mythos spend: 
  You gain insight, as you realize that 
  Daniel is to be sacrificed to preserve, 
  or power up, some kind of Mythos 
  entity. The loss is 2 points of Stability, 
  and 0 points of Sanity, if Daniel is 
  not related to any of the protagonists; 
  it’s 3 points of Stability, and 1 point 
  of Sanity if he is.
  In the event that Daniel is not convicted, 
  Foucalt will assemble the guillotine in 
  the old stables, rather than transport it 
  to Rennes for the execution. This is also 
  where he’ll behead any other potential 
  candidates, but whether he takes Daniel 
  or an Investigator, he’ll leave the blood-
  spattered corpse behind, as he flees to 
  Paimpont with the head. There’s a 5-point 
  Stability test for seeing this gory murder 
  scene; this increases to a 6-point test if the 
  Investigators know what’s going to happen 
  to the head now that Foucalt has it.
  One of the Nain hides in the house, 
  guarding it against intruders. This 
  roof beam hangs a chain, and wrapped 
  in that chain is a massive book, easily 
  the size of a man, sealed by a great iron 
  padlock. Foucalt keeps the key on him 
  at all times; if the Investigators have 
  already met Foucalt, the Keeper may 
  allow a Difficulty 4 Filch test to have 
  stolen the key unnoticed.
  • Locksmith: You are able to break that 
  lock and release the book. These are the 
  Revelations of Glaaki, and the reader 
  must take care lest it corrupt the soul.
  In the old stables of the house, Foucalt 
  is working on the wood structure for 
  the guillotine, which will be used at 
  Daniel’s execution. This guillotine is 
  made of sacred wood from the forest, 
  and is being specially enchanted to 
  make the Baphomet ritual easier to cast. 
  From Foucalt’s perspective, the intent is 
  to keep the head viable for long enough 
  that he can transfer it to Merlin’s Tree. 
  Theoretically he could still do that even 
  if the head wasn’t as viable, but that’s 
  what he did with Seeger (see p. 69), and 
  that turned out poorly.
  • 1-point Occult spend: You realize 
  the significance of certain small 
  symbols carved at the base of the 
  Revelations of Glaaki
  By tradition, the Petit Albert is 
  signed by the Devil, and in this case 
  it might well be true, since each copy 
  is signed by the damned Servant that  
  penned Glaaki’s teachings, from 
  memory. In this instance, several 
  generations of Foucalt’s family 
  created this massive document, 
  each of them signing their name 
  on the frontispiece. Unlike the 
  English edition, this version of the 
  Revelations is more concerned with 
  Breton folklore than whatever might 
  be happening in the Severn Valley, 
  but as fellow Celts, the two groups 
  have much in common.
  Those who pore over its contents 
  risk having their minds twisted, and 
  must make a Difficulty 4 Stability 
  test or go out and commit an act of 
  terrible and bloody-handed violence. 
  Those who fail, and commit murder, 
  may believe themselves werewolves. 
  Dedicated study confers 1 point 
  of Cthulhu Mythos. The book 
  contains the spells Contact Glaaki 
  (p. 63), and Contact Nain (p. 63). 
  Whether or not the reader fails the 
  Stability test, they can then go on 
  to use Interpersonal Abilities to 
  convince other cult members, or 
  creatures like the Nain, that they 
  are a cult member, and not to be 
  harmed. This applies to sorcerers 
  and wizards all over Brittany, not 
  just in Plouescat. In the case of the 
  Nain, this may merely mean that the 
  Nain will drag them off to Glaaki’s 
  lake, rather than tear them to pieces 
  on the spot, but at least it’s not 
  instant death.
  
  63
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  Glaaki, so the would-be sorcerer must 
  have some means of dealing with these 
  creatures before attempting the ritual.
  Stability Test Difficulty: 5, or 4 if 
  being assisted by Servants of Glaaki. 
  Cost: 4 Stability and 1 Sanity
  Time: 4 to 6 hours 
  Contact Nain 
  This spell can only be cast in Brittany. It 
  allows the caster to contact the Servants 
  of Glaaki, and must be carried out near 
  a dolmen or similar pagan ritual site. 
  Mere contact does not guarantee their 
  good will, but the Servants are usually 
  curious enough about the summons to 
  not attack straight away. 
  Stability Test Difficulty: 4, or 3 
  if the caster has read the Revelations 
  of Glaaki and can use the information 
  contained in it to improve his chances of 
  good relations with the Servants.
  Cost: 3 Stability
  Time: Half an hour 
  Visiting the Werewolf
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: Where Things Get More 
  Complicated, Sitting Up with the Dead, 
  Petit Albert, Innocent Until Proven 
  Guilty, Ill Met by Moonlight, 
  Lead-Outs: Sitting Up With the Dead, 
  Diligent Studies, Petit Albert, Ill Met 
  by Moonlight, Innocent Until Proven 
  Guilty, The Time of Trial
  However, the actual head decays after 
  a time, and needs to be replaced. Over 
  the centuries there have been many 
  Baphomets, the most recent of whom 
  is the American poet Alan Seeger, who 
  Foucalt met during the war, and admired 
  for his talent and vision of Brocéliande. 
  When Seeger was killed, Foucalt used 
  his head as a replacement Baphomet, 
  hoping to preserve his poetic ability for 
  a time. Unfortunately, since Foucalt had 
  no chance to properly treat the head, the 
  result was not long lasting, which is why 
  Foucalt now needs another Baphomet. 
  Abilities: Athletics 8, Credit Rating 4, 
  Cthulhu Mythos 3, Disguise 3, Driving 
  5, Filch 6, Firearms 6, Fleeing 10, 
  Health 8, Magic 10, Occult 2, Scuffling 
  6, Weapons 10
  Weapon: +0 (MAB semi-auto pistol), 
  -1 (sword cane)
  Armor: None
  Spell: Contact Glaaki, Contact Nain, 
  Curse of the Stone, Dominate, Oil of 
  Alhazred, Howl of Pan.
  Special: When not in Plouescat, 
  Foucalt usually has one Nain (p. 60) 
  with him at all times, as a bodyguard. 
  New Spells
  Contact Glaaki 
  This spell must be cast at a fane dedicated 
  to the Old One, and its fanes are usually 
  found in, or on the edge of, fresh water 
  lakes. These places are usually guarded 
  by other creatures, such as Servants of 
  visited the PCs’ home country, as well 
  as most of the capitals of Europe. He 
  says he is very sorry about Daniel, 
  but claims that the poison was in him 
  from an early age. “I always felt there was 
  something wild about him. Dangerous, even. 
  Possibly his blood was tainted in some way, 
  but I hoped that, if I acted as a kindly uncle, 
  even a father, to him, that I could turn him 
  from the path he seemed determined to head 
  down. Alas, I was wrong.” 
  • 1-point Assess Honesty spend: 
  Not only is Foucalt insincere, he’s a 
  practiced liar, and possibly a sociopath.
  Foucalt has been planning this all along. 
  He had hoped to keep the Investigators 
  from getting to Plouescat, but now 
  that they are here, he hopes at first 
  to avoid conflict. If that is clearly not 
  possible, he acts swiftly, trying to wipe 
  them out before they can become a 
  significant threat.
  Foucalt is the inheritor of his family’s 
  curse. The Templar who brought 
  Baphomet (p. 59) to Plouescat hoped 
  to hide it in the forest, thinking that, 
  in better days, he could return and 
  recover it. He was born and bred in 
  Brittany, and thought he knew all the 
  dangers. He fell foul of the Nain when 
  he entered Paimpont, and soon after 
  became a Servant of Glaaki. 
  It was that Templar who first established 
  the oracle in the Tree of Merlin, thinking 
  it the best way to preserve Baphomet. 
  Alan Seeger (1888-1916)
  Seeger, a talented poet and author of I 
  Have a Rendezvous With Death, was living 
  in Paris when World War 1 broke out. 
  He volunteered for the French Foreign 
  Legion, since at that time America 
  was not involved with the war, and he 
  was determined to fight. He died at 
  the Battle of the Somme, cheering on 
  his mates even after he had been hit 
  multiple times by machine gun fire. 
  In 1923, the monument to American 
  Volunteers was erected in Paris at the 
  Place-des-États-Unis; the plinth bears 
  extracts from his poem Ode in Memory 
  of the American Volunteers Fallen for France, 
  and the statue is based on Seeger’s 
  likeness. It is reasonable to assume that 
  any protagonist who has been to Paris 
  has seen this statue, and can therefore 
  recognize Seeger when he appears 
  later, in the scene Seeger’s Final Poem.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  64
  • “Bless me, Father. Take my confession. 
  I’m a poor sinner, but if ever a man 
  needs Christ’s mercy, it’s me …”
  Daniel’s case is due to be heard by the 
  Assize Court (cour d’assises) very soon; 
  his trial date has been pushed forward, 
  in hope that a speedy trial will lessen 
  the scandal and public comment. He 
  does have a defense attorney, Paul Cavan 
  (middle aged, prematurely grey hack, 
  effective Law pool of 1), who was hired 
  by Tristan Broudig before he died. Now 
  Cavan isn’t sure where his paycheck’s 
  coming from, and he has little faith in 
  his client’s case. After all, the boy was 
  found covered in blood, not far from the 
  body, and there’s evidence he partially 
  devoured her remains. Witnesses – all of 
  them in the employ of Foucalt, though 
  Cavan doesn’t know that – will testify 
  that Daniel was angry with Le Goff, 
  because he believed she was trying to 
  entrap him into marriage by claiming she 
  was pregnant, and that he was drinking 
  heavily shortly before he went missing 
  in the forest. There’s not much that can 
  be said in mitigation, and it’s a sign of 
  the confidence of the prosecution that a 
  guillotine is already being prepared. 
  As it stands at the moment, Daniel will 
  be convicted and sentenced to death 
  very soon. 
  •	 1-point Law spend: You are able 
  to lodge technical objections and 
  prepare paperwork for an appeal, 
  delaying the trial. 
  The delay will frighten Foucalt, who 
  is on a tight deadline. See further 
  Innocent Until Proven Guilty and Ill Met 
  By Moonlight.
  Ill Met By Moonlight
  Scene Type: Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: Sitting Up with the Dead, 
  Petit Albert, Visiting the Werewolf, 
  Where Things Get More Complicated, 
  Innocent Until Proven Guilty
  If asked, his warders can tell the 
  Investigators any details about the 
  crime he’s accused of, that they did 
  not already get during Where Things 
  Get More Complicated. Daniel is in no fit 
  state to answer questions; he repeats, 
  time and again, a part of Alan Seeger’s 
  poem ‘Brocéliande’.
  Sometimes an echo most mournful  
  and faint like the horn of a huntsman 
  strayed, Faint and forlorn, half drowned 
  in the murmur of foliage fitfully  
  fanned, Breathes in a burden of  
  nameless regret till I startle, disturbed 
  and affrayed: 
  Brocéliande
  Brocéliande
  Brocéliande …
  Any 
  protagonist 
  who 
  attempts 
  Psychoanalysis (or, in a Pulp game, 
  Hypnosis), can get the following on a 
  successful Difficulty 5 test:
  • “Merlin’s Tree! A thing most wondrous and 
  strange, where Baphomet dwells forever, 
  just as the Templar decreed. Or at least, as 
  he decreed before he went into the Lake, and 
  met with the Ladies … Seeger is there, not 
  far from the Lake, and within sight of the 
  Ladies’ fortress.” Keeper’s note: with this 
  information, the protagonists will be 
  able to find Merlin’s Tree. See further 
  Seeger’s Final Poem, p. 69.
  • “The Dolorous Stroke! A deep wound 
  indeed, that steals a man’s soul, 
  his mind, his identity and replaces 
  it with the mind of something 
  … other, something not human, 
  older than us all. God keep us from  
  the Nain!”
  • “Go nowhere near dolmens at night, 
  for that is where they dwell, and in 
  the chapel under the dolmen they 
  carry out their rituals. The marquis 
  and his friends go there each moonlit 
  night, and soon I shall go there too, 
  one last time, before I become  
  Baphomet.”
  Daniel Broudig is imprisoned at Rennes, 
  awaiting trial. The protagonists may 
  get access to him on a 1-point spend of 
  Bureaucracy, Credit Rating, Law or 
  similar; this cost drops to 0 if the request is 
  being made by someone related to Daniel.
  Daniel is a young, athletic man, and 
  would be handsome were it not for his 
  current condition. He is wandering in 
  his mind, and spends most of his day 
  looking out the window of his cell, 
  muttering to himself. He believes 
  he is still in the forest, and does not 
  recognize anyone, or anything. If anyone 
  checks, as Father Jerome suggested 
  (Where Things Get More Complicated, 
  p. 55), there is a black mark on Daniel’s 
  wrist, where Foucalt injected him with 
  hallucinogens. Foucalt has bribed one 
  of Daniel’s attendants to keep the boy 
  topped up with fresh doses every day, 
  which is why the bruise remains fresh, 
  and Daniel’s mental state never changes. 
  If caught, this attendant, Marc Hamon, 
  will tell everything he knows, but he 
  doesn’t know much. 
  • 1-point 
  Interrogation 
  or 
  Intimidation spend: He knows that 
  Foucalt insisted on Daniel receiving 
  the same dose each day, at the same 
  time. He’s given fresh supplies by an 
  Ankou courier, who he’s willing to 
  identify. He doesn’t know what’s in 
  the syringes.
  – 1-point Forensics, Biology or 
  Pharmacy: It’s a potent mix of 
  herbal hallucinogens – alkaloids 
  and scopolamine, mostly – that, 
  taken in doses this large, could 
  convince the victim of pretty much 
  anything, whether it be werewolf 
  delusions, or flying to the moon. 
  
   Occult: You recognize these 
  herbs as being part of witchcraft 
  lore. (If the Investigators have 
  searched Foucalt’s garden – 
  see Petit Albert, p. 60 – they’ll 
  have 
  seen 
  several 
  of 
  the 
  ingredients in this witches’ brew 
  growing there).
  
  65
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  The dream sequence will end either 
  when the Investigators’ dream selves 
  have all been murdered, or they 
  triumph. If they have been murdered, 
  then in addition to any other tests, there 
  is a further 5-point Stability test.
  Innocent Until Proven 
  Guilty 
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: Sitting Up with the Dead, 
  Petit Albert, Visiting the Werewolf, Ill 
  Met By Moonlight, Where Things Get 
  More Complicated
  Lead-Outs: Sitting Up With the Dead, 
  Diligent Studies, Petit Albert, Visiting 
  the Werewolf, Ill Met By Moonlight, 
  The Time of Trial
  The protagonists may try to prove 
  Daniel’s innocence. 
  This will be an uphill battle. However, 
  as mentioned in Visiting the Werewolf, it is 
  possible to delay the trial through Law 
  spends, which could be useful; it will 
  upset Foucalt’s time-table. In addition, 
  the PCs may find out important 
  facts which indicate all is not as  
  it seems.
  As it stands, Daniel was found, asleep, 
  covered in Anne Le Goff’s blood, 
  lying only a few feet from her corpse. 
  Xavier Dupuis, with Foucalt, was 
  first on the scene and found the body. 
  Foucalt will testify that Daniel is a  
  violent young man. Two of his people, 
  Serge Aubert and Emil Dupont, 
  will testify that they saw Daniel 
  drinking heavily and swearing to do  
  Anne harm, because she was trying to 
  entrap him into marriage by claiming 
  she was pregnant. The inference is 
  plain enough: in a state of advanced 
  intoxication, and filled with rage, 
  Daniel killed Anne. The court will 
  lap this story up like cream; it’s 
  much less scandal-worthy than tales  
  of werewolves.
  their hair hangs over their faces, so 
  the PCs will not, at first, see anything 
  peculiar about them. The clothing is 
  Daniel and Tristan Broudig’s, as anyone 
  can see once they get close enough, and 
  there is blood on them. This prompts a 
  2-point Stability test.
  “Help us,” the women ask, “Help us wash 
  these clothes.”
  The women answer no questions, and 
  do not take no for an answer. If the 
  Investigators refuse, the night-washers 
  – eur tunnerez noz – attack, trying to 
  break the protagonists’ bones before 
  drowning them in the river. The women 
  have no eyes, and not much of a face; 
  ravens and maggots have picked at their 
  flesh. Not that this seems to weaken 
  them in any way, for each is as strong 
  as a giant.
  Night Washers
  Abilities: Athletics 12, Health 10, 
  Scuffling 12
  Hit Threshold: 4
  Weapon: +0 (fists)
  Stability loss: +1
  Special: 
  Prodigious Strength – can spend 2 
  Athletics points per increment to 
  increase damage by +1, up to a 
  maximum of +4 damage in the round. 
  Drowning – On a successful Scuffling 
  attack, can thrust victim into the river 
  to drown, with a spend of 2 Athletics 
  points. Drowning test starts at Difficulty 
  4 rather than 3, and failure means that 
  the victim takes +1 damage per round 
  until dead. In order to break free, the 
  victim needs to make an Athletics 
  Difficulty 5 check.
  If defeated, the night washers are forced 
  to answer one question truthfully, on 
  any topic. As dream creatures, they 
  cannot die; if reduced to 0 Health, 
  they can still speak, but cannot take any 
  other action.
  Lead-Outs: Sitting Up With the Dead, 
  Diligent Studies, Petit Albert, Visiting 
  the Werewolf, Innocent Until Proven 
  Guilty, The Time of Trial
  This scene assumes that the Investigators 
  have done something to worry, or 
  anger, Foucalt. Successfully interfering 
  in Daniel’s trial will do that.
  Foucalt turns to his oracle for 
  assistance. 
  Using 
  Baphomet, 
  he 
  plunges the Investigators into a 
  nightmare dreamscape, infested with 
  supernatural enemies.
  The protagonists find themselves on 
  horseback, riding past the same stretch 
  of forest that they saw in the scene 
  Breathtaking Views. They are dressed as 
  medieval characters, mostly as peasants 
  and other non-combatants, though if 
  the Keeper wishes, one of them can 
  be a knight. In that event, assume the 
  knight has Armor: -2 vs piercing and 
  slashing, and carries a sword that does 
  +1 damage. Otherwise, the group is 
  armed with knives, staves and similar 
  small weapons, which do -1 damage, 
  and have no armor. 
  Note that the dream does not confer 
  ability pools. If the protagonists do not 
  have Weapons or Riding pools, they 
  may find tests in this scene difficult. 
  Any Riding test during combat, 
  or when dealing with horses that 
  have been spooked by a supernatural 
  event, is at Difficulty 5. Horses can 
  be assumed to have Athletics 10, 
  Health 9, Scuffling 8 (+0 damage, kick  
  or bite).
  All traces of modernity – the road, 
  railway tracks – have completely 
  vanished. The forest seems even more 
  primitive, and larger, than it did in 
  the previous scene. The stream the 
  Investigators noticed on the way in to 
  town seems somehow clearer, cleaner, 
  than it did before, and there are three 
  women here, washing clothing. Their 
  heads are down, facing the river, and 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  66
  Before long – very quickly in fact, 
  unless the protagonists have been able 
  to delay the proceedings with Law 
  spends – Daniel’s trial date comes up. 
  He’s to be tried in Rennes, the regional 
  capital. In the present day, Rennes is a 
  bustling, modern, high-tech town, but 
  this is the 1930s, long before Rennes’ 
  1950s economic revolution. Rennes 
  is an important Breton town, but it’s 
  still a sleepy regional city, with a much 
  slower pace of life than, say, Paris, New 
  York, or London. That said, it has all the 
  conveniences of modern life, and the 
  Investigators will be able to do, or find, 
  anything here that they could expect to 
  find in a large metropolis. 
  If they have been unable to delay the 
  trial, or to find compelling evidence 
  of Daniel’s innocence, then the 
  proceedings are very brief. Of the three 
  judges hearing the case, it’s clear that the 
  presiding justice – président – has taken 
  an immediate dislike to Daniel, and is 
  minded to convict. Président Hercule 
  Le Braz (elderly, fiery, a martyr to 
  gout, Health 2, effective Law 3, Assess 
  Honesty 1) is immune to Intimidate, 
  but will listen to reason (Law, 
  Reassurance) or Flattery. Assuming 
  there is no effective intervention from 
  the protagonists, conviction will be a 
  foregone conclusion, and the execution 
  date will be set very soon after the trial. 
  At this point only an appeal (a 2-point 
  Bureaucracy spend) will prevent 
  Daniel’s immediate execution. 
  If the protagonists attend the trial, they 
  see that few others from Plouescat do. 
  Mayor Jarry attends, as a matter of 
  principle, but he can only bring himself 
  to go on the final day. Doctor Helias and 
  Xavier Dupuis are called as witnesses, 
  as are Foucalt’s people. The rest stay 
  away, perhaps ashamed, or frightened. 
  Most of the people in attendance are 
  reporters, eager to wring the last drop 
  of drama out of the werewolf trial. 
  These reporters will go into a frenzy if 
  they find out that a relative of Daniel’s 
  is attending the proceedings; a typical 
  he took Daniel’s confession, and was 
  disturbed by Daniel’s hallucinogen-
  caused, Cthulhu-tainted Arthurian 
  revelations. He can testify that Daniel 
  wasn’t drunk when he saw him, only 
  a half hour before Anne is supposed 
  to have died. Father Jerome hasn’t 
  realized it’s at least two hours from 
  the church to the place where she was 
  killed, and Daniel couldn’t possibly 
  have got there in time. However, 
  because Father Jerome is convinced 
  Daniel is a werewolf, he believes 
  Daniel killed Anne, and only when 
  confronted with the time evidence 
  will he realize that this couldn’t 
  have happened.
  • 1-point Cop Talk, Interrogation, 
  or Reassurance spend: Something 
  has been bothering Xavier Dupuis. 
  On the day he found the body, it 
  seemed almost as if Foucalt knew 
  precisely where it was, even before 
  they had seen it. It was Foucalt that 
  led Xavier to the scene; if Foucalt had 
  not guided him, Xavier would have 
  missed it. At the time, it meant little 
  to him, but now he wonders how it 
  was that Foucalt knew where to look.
  Keeper’s Note: Foucalt intended that 
  Daniel kill someone, and Anne Le 
  Goff was as good a candidate as any. 
  However, although Daniel was violent, 
  he couldn’t bring himself to hurt Anne, 
  and ran away to the church instead, 
  to confess. The Nain killed Anne, 
  and Foucalt’s people ensured that an 
  insensible Daniel would be found near 
  the body.
  The Time of Trial
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Innocent Until Proven 
  Guilty, Ill Met by Moonlight, Petit 
  Albert, Visiting the Werewolf, Sitting 
  Up with the Dead, Diligent Studies, 
  Where Things Get More Complicated
  Lead-Outs: 
  Monday, 
  Tuesday, 
  Wednesday, Thursday
  However there are some flaws in 
  this plan, which the Investigators 
  can uncover:
  • 1-point Forensics spend: If the 
  protagonists get access to Le Goff’s 
  body, or the autopsy report, they note 
  that post-mortem bruising indicates 
  more than one attacker. Moreover 
  one of the bite marks on the body 
  is very clearly not Daniel’s, since he 
  has all his teeth, and this attacker is 
  missing two. Daniel’s blood work 
  indicates that he received a massive 
  dose of hallucinogenic substances, 
  more than enough to render him 
  insensible. Marc Harmon (Visiting the 
  Werewolf) is keeping Daniel dosed.
  • 1-point 
  Cop Talk, 
  Law, 
  or 
  Interrogation spend: Not only are 
  the two witnesses, Serge and Emil, 
  lying about Daniel’s drinking, they are 
  Ankou terrorists, and were part of the 
  group that attacked the mail carrier 
  in the opening scene, White and Black. 
  If the Investigators got a good look at 
  these thugs, they may recognize them; 
  but even if they didn’t, so long as they 
  spoke to Inspector Cook (Assistance from 
  the Authorities) they can get plenty of 
  physical evidence from Cook, placing 
  the two at the scene of the assault (they 
  left fingerprints behind on the vehicle 
  they used). Cook will ask for them 
  to be arrested and sent back for trial. 
  Naturally, their testimony is tarnished, 
  if it can be shown that they are violent 
  men of bad character themselves. Even 
  without this evidence, it is impossible 
  that they saw Daniel, for they were 
  in Plouescat at the time they say they 
  saw him drinking; it was market day, 
  and plenty of people saw them in the 
  Golden Lion. Daniel wasn’t with them. 
  • 1-point 
  Reassurance, 
  Oral 
  History, or Evidence Collection 
  spend: The priest, Father Jerome, saw 
  Daniel on the day he’s supposed to 
  have murdered Le Goff. Father Jerome 
  will be reluctant to disclose this, as he 
  is convinced that Daniel is a werewolf; 
  
  67
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  Scuffling Difficulty 5 means he has 
  successfully attacked with it. The 
  target takes no damage, but must 
  make an Athletics difficulty 6 test or 
  fall unconscious for the remainder of  
  the scene. 
  Notes: Each wears a skull mask and is 
  dressed in black, shapeless robes; the 
  superstitious might mistake them for 
  the Ankou of folklore, rather than men 
  in costumes.
  Nain
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Health 9, Magic 
  8, 10, Scuffling 11
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Alertness Modifier: +3 (Paimpont 
  forest only)
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: +0 (claws)
  Armor: -2 vs any (thick hair and skin), 
  cannot be impaled
  Stability loss: +1
  Vulnerability: sunlight, takes +1 
  damage immediately if ever exposed to 
  the sun’s rays, and will suffer a further 
  +1 damage every hour thereafter 
  until killed.
  Spell: One uses Shrivelling, the other 
  Dominate. 
  Vehicle
  Their vehicle is a Delage D6, a souped-
  up sports car. Assume a top speed of 
  100 mph, and no armor. This vehicle 
  belongs to one of the Ankou, and can 
  If Daniel is not convicted, then Foucalt 
  becomes very angry. All his preparations, 
  wasted! However, all is not lost. If Daniel 
  will not go to the Silence Mill, then Foucalt 
  will bring him to the guillotine. Foucalt 
  sets up the guillotine at his home, in the 
  stable, and sends off a team of six Ankou, 
  with two Nain as backup, to kidnap 
  the boy. If, for whatever reason, this is 
  impossible, the kidnap team will be just 
  as happy to take one of the Investigators 
  instead. Those pesky meddlers deserve to 
  pay for what they’ve done, after all. 
  The group attacks, grabs the target, and 
  flees. The target and two thugs get away 
  in a car; the remainder, including the 
  Nain, run off into the night and find a 
  place to hide. If captured, Nain will not 
  talk, but Intimidate or Interrogate 
  will cause the Ankou to reveal the 
  location of Foucalt’s dolmen chapel. See 
  further in Under the Dolmen (p. 70).
  Ankou Kidnappers
  Abilities: Athletics 8, Disguise 4, 
  Driving 10 (only the getaway driver has 
  this pool), Firearms 6, Fleeing 8, Health 
  5, Scuffling 8, Weapons 8
  Hit Threshold: 4
  Alertness Modifier: +0
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: +0 (automatic pistol, only 
  two of the attackers have this pool) -1 
  (knives), -2 (fists, kick)
  Special: One of them carries a 
  chloroform-soaked 
  rag; 
  successful 
  reporter has Conceal 2, Filch 4, Fleeing 
  6, Health 2. Président Le Braz hates 
  reporters with a passion, and wishes 
  he could have them all imprisoned, 
  or, better yet, shot. It’s one more 
  reason why he’s eager to get this trial  
  over with.
  Foucalt, of course, cannot attend. He 
  can’t risk sunlight. However, he sends 
  one or two of his Ankou henchmen 
  every day to keep an eye on proceedings; 
  protagonists who sought Assistance 
  from the Authorities might recognize 
  them as terrorists on Inspector Cook’s 
  watch list.
  Assuming that Daniel is convicted, the 
  sentence is carried out, Foucalt’s Ankou 
  make sure that the head is delivered 
  to Paimpont, and the ritual begins. 
  Theoretically, the protagonists could 
  interrupt this by preventing them from 
  taking away the head. 
  Ankou Thugs
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Disguise 4, 
  Fleeing 8, Health 5, Scuffling 6, 
  Weapons 6
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Alertness Modifier: +0
  Stealth Modifier: +0
  Weapon: -1 (knives), -2 (fists, kick)
  This four-man team includes the two 
  who have been keeping watch on the 
  trial, and the two who were called as 
  witnesses. They don’t use disguises. 
  Playing Daniel as an Investigator
  If this goes really well for the 
  kidnappers, the group may be one 
  character short. Consider using Daniel 
  as a replacement character. Assume in 
  that case that Daniel recovers from 
  his 
  hallucinogen-induced 
  mental 
  distress, and can be worked up as a 
  viable protagonist. If the player has 
  no preferred choice, Sudden Shock 
  is Daniel’s Drive, and the Keeper 
  should assume that, no matter what 
  Daniel’s starting pools, his Stability 
  is temporarily down 4 and his Sanity 
  permanently down 1. Otherwise, 
  let the player spend on Abilities as 
  the player sees fit. To compensate 
  for the Stability and Sanity losses, let 
  the player buy up to a 1 point pool in 
  Cthulhu Mythos, or invest General 
  Ability build points in a Magic pool, 
  whichever the player prefers.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  68
  or dolmens, left here ages past 
  by a people now forgotten. These 
  prehistoric megaliths, carved with 
  strange symbols, brood eternally in the 
  darkest parts of the forest, and there 
  are signs – usually very bloody ones – 
  that someone, or thing, still worships at 
  these pagan places.
  • Outdoorsman: If you have already 
  encountered the Nain (e.g. in the 
  scenes Petit Albert (p. 60), Time of 
  Trial (p. 66) or Sitting Up with the 
  Dead (p. 59)), you can identify the 
  strange footprints around these 
  sites as being from one of those evil  
  creatures. 
  If this scene takes place towards the end 
  of the adventure, and Daniel’s trial has 
  been resolved, the Investigators will 
  encounter Nain at one of these sacred 
  sites – by tradition, the Nain dance 
  around there, chanting Monday, Tuesday, 
  Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but 
  never Saturday or Sunday, as those days 
  are sacred. The Nain will attempt to 
  capture anyone they find in the forest, 
  to drag off to the lake. The number of 
  Nain present can vary, according to 
  the Keeper’s wishes, but can be up to a 
  group of six.
  Nain
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Health 9, Magic 
  8 to 10, Scuffling 11
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Alertness Modifier: +3 (Paimpont 
  forest only)
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: +0 (claws)
  Armor: -2 vs any (thick hair and skin), 
  cannot be impaled
  Stability loss: +1
  Vulnerability: sunlight, takes +1 
  damage immediately if ever exposed to 
  the sun’s rays, and will suffer a further 
  +1 damage every hour thereafter 
  until killed.
  Spell: Varies, but many of them 
  know Howl of Pan, Shrivelling and  
  Dominate. 
  of year, it might be freezing mist, which 
  will be difficult to endure without 
  good, warm clothing; PCs must make 
  a Difficulty 5 Athletics test, or lose 2 
  points of Health. The forest dips and 
  rises with the hills, allowing the mist to 
  pool in places. Visibility is poor, and it’s 
  easy to imagine all sorts of things out 
  there, perhaps stalking the protagonists. 
  In a chase or Fleeing scene, it will be 
  all too easy for the group to separate 
  and get lost. Assume, in such a case, that 
  the Difficulty for these tests is 4, but 
  rolling 4 or under separates the group, 
  while rolling 5 or more keeps the group 
  together. 
  • Outdoorsman: If the Investigators 
  search Paimpont after Daniel’s trial 
  has been resolved, Foucalt’s dolmen 
  chapel (Under the Dolmen, p. 70) can 
  eventually be found.
  – 1-point spend: You can find both 
  Seeger’s tree (Seeger’s Final Poem, 
  p. 69) and Foucalt’s dolmen chapel.
  Though 
  the 
  forest 
  is 
  owned, 
  and patrolled, by several private 
  landowners, it soon becomes clear that 
  the other owners deliberately avoid the 
  section of the forest owned by Foucalt. 
  Their guards go nowhere near his 
  territory, and Foucalt’s guards are all 
  Ankou, so they don’t talk to strangers. 
  However, the Investigators can seek out 
  the other owners, or their guards, and 
  ask about Foucalt.
  • 1-point 
  Oral 
  History, 
  Reassurance or similar spend: The 
  owners or guards say that Foucalt is 
  someone best left well alone, and his 
  part of the forest is not to be touched. 
  “The man is … eccentric, and his people 
  are dangerous. Why invite trouble?” 
  • Assess Honesty: You can tell the 
  speaker is secretly afraid – terrified, 
  even – both of Foucalt, and of his 
  portion of the forest. 
  Every so often, the protagonists 
  may come across standing stones, 
  be traced (Bureaucracy, Cop Talk). 
  The owner is the getaway driver; 
  Intimidate will make him reveal 
  Foucalt’s location, as well as what 
  happened to the kidnap victim.
  Monday, Tuesday, 
  Wednesday, Thursday, 
  Friday 
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: The Time of Trial
  Lead-Outs: Seeger’s Final Poem, 
  Under the Dolmen
  The protagonists enter Paimpont forest.
  The forest is vast, and brooding, a 
  relic of an age long dead. There are 
  few trails, and those mostly made by 
  forest creatures, not meant for human 
  ramblers. 
  • Outdoorsman: You easily identify 
  signs of many common species of 
  wildlife; shrews, squirrels, foxes, 
  even boars, wolves, wildcats and 
  bears. However there are also signs 
  of other, less common creatures; at 
  one point, pawprints and spoor of a 
  massive ursidae, possibly big enough 
  to be Agriotherium, is seen. The 
  Agriotherium was one of the largest 
  carnivores, possibly 9 feet long, 
  and weighing 1400 pounds, with 
  crushing jaws. It could easily devour 
  a horse, so a human would be a snack 
  to it. Thought to have been extinct 
  for many centuries, it’s a 2-point 
  Stability test to realize one could 
  be out here in the forest. Or perhaps 
  the forest, as a magical place, exists 
  in several different time periods  
  at once?
  While in the forest, unusual weather 
  patterns bedevil the protagonists. It 
  can switch from bright and sunny one 
  minute, to pitching down with rain the 
  next. The default is dark, damp, and 
  cloaked in mist. Depending on the time 
  
  69
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  At the Keeper’s discretion, visiting 
  this spot and seeing the lake attracts 
  Glaaki’s attention, at which point it uses 
  its Dream-Pull (sidebar, below) to draw 
  one or more of the Investigators to their 
  doom. Each person present must make 
  a Difficulty 5 Stability test; anyone 
  who fails has become a target of the 
  Dream-Pull, and will later return to the 
  fane in secret, never to be seen again.
  Seeger’s Final Poem
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: 
  Monday, 
  Tuesday, 
  Wednesday, Thursday
  Lead-Outs: Under the Dolmen
  altar piece (p. 70), this could, with a 
  1-point spend of Cthulhu Mythos, 
  result in an insight, triggering a 
  4-point Stability loss, and a 1-point 
  Sanity loss. 
  As a fane, it provides a 1-point Magic 
  pool per year, to a sorcerer willing to 
  sacrifice a creature, or creatures, of 
  Health 6 or greater. This sacrifice 
  must be carried out at the fortress in 
  the presence of the Nain, who assist in 
  the ritual.
  A Contact Glaaki spell cast at this spot 
  will bring forth the Old One, resulting 
  in the almost certain doom of all 
  present. 
  The Lake
  The lake is a fane devoted to Glaaki. 
  Because it is a fane, the true extent of 
  the lake is masked; it might seem at one 
  moment to be a shallow pond, or perhaps 
  not even exist at all, while at another it 
  is a vast, mist-shrouded expanse, with 
  a series of standing stones at its edge. 
  Each of these stones is soaked with old 
  blood, and there are signs that people 
  were tied to them, perhaps repeatedly. 
  Far out in the center of the lake is what 
  appears to be an island, with an ancient 
  stone fortification. 
  • History: You realize that fortification 
  could be the source of the old legend 
  of the Lady of the Lake. (As with the 
  Glaaki
  This Old One came to this planet 
  long ago, in a comet, and dwells in 
  watery darkness. It is weak, and only 
  a shadow of its former malignance; 
  yet even weakened, it is a terrible 
  thing to face. Its massive body 
  bears long spines, which it uses to 
  impale targets. The impalement (+4 
  damage) may be enough to kill the 
  victim; anyone impaled who does 
  not die must make a Difficulty 8 
  Athletics test. Success indicates that 
  the victim managed to break off the 
  spine before the venom was injected. 
  Failure means death, and the venom 
  transforms the victim into an undead 
  Servant of Glaaki.
  Glaaki’s Servants share its mind, its 
  will, and its thoughts. They are never 
  truly free of it, though when it sleeps 
  they do have independence of action. 
  They do its bidding without question 
  or hesitation, and will sacrifice 
  their lives, if Glaaki wills it. Some 
  Servants, like Foucalt, can maintain 
  their human form for a time, and pass 
  as normal; most become skeletal, 
  unnatural things, and must shun the 
  places where men dwell. Each of 
  them, whether skeletal or seeming 
  human, bears a wound in its chest 
  that will never heal, where the spine 
  impaled them. This red-scarred weal 
  is a source of constant pain to them.
  Occasionally, a victim gets too close 
  to one of the Old One’s fanes, and 
  attracts its attention. When that 
  happens, Glaaki sends out dreams 
  and nightmares, trying to compel 
  the victim to return to the fane and 
  sacrifice itself willingly. Each night, 
  the victim must make a 5-point 
  Stability test, and when the victim 
  finally reaches -12 Stability, they 
  must return to the fane. This continues 
  as long as the victim lives, though 
  so long as the victim’s Stability is 
  0 or greater, they can move further 
  away (more than 100 miles) from 
  the fane, thus lessening the strength 
  of the pull. In that event, it becomes 
  a 3-point Stability test, but never 
  goes away entirely. Theoretically, 
  massive doses of narcotics might 
  drown out the Dream-Pull, but the 
  narcotics would have to be taken 
  each and every night, and that has its 
  own side effects.
  Glaaki has few fanes now, but some 
  exist in areas where Celtic peoples 
  predominate. It may also have a 
  foothold in the Dreamlands. It’s not 
  known whether all fanes lead to the 
  same, extra-dimensional space, or 
  whether they are anchors by which 
  Glaaki can establish itself in this 
  reality. Each may even be a small 
  part of the greater whole, like a giant 
  whose limbs have been severed and 
  buried in different places. Other 
  entities may have fanes created for 
  them by worshippers, but Glaaki 
  can create no more of these cursed 
  places; it lacks the power, or possibly 
  the will.
  As a Mythos entity, there is an 
  additional 4-point Stability loss, and 
  2-point Sanity loss, for witnessing it 
  in all its terrible majesty.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  70
  the protagonists try to harm, or kill, 
  Seeger – perhaps in an attempt at mercy 
  – that’s a further 3-point potential 
  Stability loss.
  Under the Dolmen
  Scene Type: Conclusion
  Lead-Ins: 
  Monday, 
  Tuesday, 
  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Seeger’s 
  Final Poem
  In this scene, the Investigators track 
  Foucalt to his chapel under a dolmen, 
  deep in the forest. It takes place after 
  Daniel’s trial has resolved, one way or 
  the other. 
  The dolmen, in this instance, is 
  apparently set into the ground, but 
  diligent searching (Outdoorsman 
  1-point spend, or 0 points if this is the 
  scenario climax) will find the concealed 
  entrance. The dolmen is actually the 
  roof of an underground chapel, in which 
  Foucalt keeps his magical equipment, 
  and his shrine to his blasphemous gods. 
  It smells of sweat, candle smoke, and 
  old, caked blood. The wall paintings 
  and altar stone leave nothing to the 
  imagination; torture, murder and death 
  are Foucalt’s obsessions. Among the 
  relics kept here are the Templar’s armor, 
  long gone to ruin, and his sword, which 
  is old but still dangerous (+1 damage). 
  Some trophies from old kills are also 
  kept in the chapel, and the coins, bits 
  of clothing and other artefacts clearly 
  indicate that this has been going on for a 
  very long time; centuries, probably.
  In times of great trouble Foucalt hides 
  here, hoping to wait until his difficulties 
  resolve themselves. The only thing that 
  will draw him out is a threat to his 
  Baphomet, which he may come out 
  to defend even in the daytime, risking 
  death by sunlight. 
  If Foucalt got Daniel’s head, he plans to 
  lie low and let things cool down before 
  he returns to his home in Plouescat. 
  Note: this is how Foucalt tracked the 
  letter that started this scenario in 
  the first place. Seeger was able to 
  confuse the situation sufficiently that 
  Foucalt couldn’t just grab it straight 
  away, but Seeger couldn’t do much to 
  prevent Foucalt working out where it 
  was going and when it was likely to 
  get there. 
  • The oracle can, if the caster has 
  something belonging to the victim 
  – hair, blood, fingernails – cause the 
  victim to have terrible nightmares. 
  These nightmares are usually related 
  in some way to Paimpont forest, or 
  the Templars, and the victim must 
  make a 5-point Stability test as a 
  consequence. This costs the caster 1 
  Magic pool point per victim, and can 
  be cast on multiple targets at once.
  • The oracle can teach Magic, and 
  Cthulhu Mythos, to a maximum 
  of 1 pool point each. Learning from 
  this source costs the user 4 points of 
  Stability, and 1 point of Sanity per 
  pool point.
  Seeger, like all Baphomet, retains his 
  personality and intelligence, but not free 
  will. He has effective Health 10, and 
  can be killed with ordinary weapons.
  “I thought I might see you here,” he says. 
  “You have been persistent. Will you survive? 
  I cannot say, but you are already in great 
  danger …”
  He can, if asked, tell the protagonists a 
  great deal, including the secret of the 
  Lake, the true identity of the Nain, 
  Foucalt’s weakness to sunlight, and 
  more besides. It costs no Magic for 
  him to tell them this. He asks only 
  that he be allowed to die, and not be 
  replaced by another victim.
  “All things must end. And I to my pledged 
  word am true; I shall not fail that rendezvous.”
  Seeing, and interacting with, Seeger is 
  worth a 6-point Stability test. Should 
  In which the protagonists discover 
  Merlin’s Tree, and its current Baphomet, 
  Alan Seeger.
  The legend of Merlin’s Tree has it that 
  the wizard was imprisoned here; in 
  some versions of the myth, his soul is 
  trapped in the tree, awaiting rebirth. In 
  this Mythos-tainted history, a Templar 
  knight bearing the oracular Baphomet 
  came to this spot, knowing its mystic 
  significance, and attempted to secure 
  the continued existence of Baphomet 
  by entwining it with the living tree. He 
  was successful, but shortly afterward 
  fell victim to Glaaki, and became an 
  undead Servant.
  The oracle decays after a time, even 
  with the proper preparations, but so 
  long as it is replaced no more than a 
  day after the final decay of the former 
  Baphomet, the oracle remains viable. 
  If the head is allowed to decay and not 
  replaced within a day, the magic is lost, 
  and the oracle with it.
  So long as the oracle remains, a 1-point 
  Magic spend at this place can make the 
  oracle do the following:
  • The oracle can see whatever is 
  happening, in whatever location, all 
  over the globe. The oracle cannot see 
  into the past, or the future, and can 
  only see through the eyes of a person 
  present at that location. If the oracle 
  is told to see through the eyes of King 
  George VI during his coronation, then 
  it can see anything the King could 
  see on his coronation day, and can 
  describe it minutely. What it cannot 
  do is see anything that the King 
  could not reasonably see, nor can it 
  see anything if there are no humans 
  available for it to use. Trackless 
  deserts and wind-swept arctic wastes 
  are equally invisible to it, if there are 
  no intrepid explorers available whose 
  eyes it might borrow. This power 
  confers no control over the target, or 
  access to its memories or thoughts, 
  and its vision is real-time; it cannot 
  rewind, or store images. Keeper’s 
  
  71
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Silence Mill
  Appearance: A twisted thing, made 
  of bone and ragged, bloody flesh, whose 
  shattered legs no longer easily bear 
  its weight.
  If Foucalt is here, it’s either because he’s 
  being pursued by someone, presumably 
  the Investigators, or he has the head he 
  needs, in which case he’s making the final 
  preparations before transferring Baphomet 
  to the tree. Either way, this is his final stand, 
  and he knows it. If someone’s tracked him 
  here, he’s run out of places to hide, which 
  is why he made sure he had some Nain and 
  undead guards here to help protect him.
  If he’s in great danger, and has no other 
  viable options, he may try to bluff.
  “If you let me live, I can give you something 
  more glorious than cloth of gold,” he says. 
  “I can bring you to the Lady of the Lake. 
  I can give you Excalibur, the sword used by 
  Arthur himself, for the Lady has it, and will 
  give it to whoever I ask. Would you let me go, 
  in exchange for this?”
  Naturally he has no intention of fulfilling 
  his promise. Instead he’ll take them to 
  the lake, tell them he’s going to call 
  for the Lady, and then Contact Glaaki. 
  Cthulhu Mythos (1-point spend) 
  might realize what’s going on before 
  it’s too late, otherwise Glaaki will come 
  when Foucalt calls, and then things 
  become very bleak for the Investigators.
  This concludes the scenario.
  Spell: Contact Glaaki, Contact Nain, 
  Curse of the Stone, Dominate, Oil of 
  Alhazred, Howl of Pan.
  Special: When not in Plouescat, 
  Foucalt 
  usually 
  has 
  one 
  Nain 
  (p. 60) with him at all times, as a  
  bodyguard. 
  Nain
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Health 9, Magic 
  7, 10, Scuffling 11
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Alertness Modifier: +3 (Paimpont 
  forest only)
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: +0 (claws)
  Armor: -2 vs any (thick hair and skin), 
  cannot be impaled
  Stability loss: +1
  Vulnerability: sunlight, takes +1 
  damage immediately if ever exposed to 
  the sun’s rays, and will suffer a further 
  +1 damage every hour thereafter 
  until killed.
  Spell: Shrivelling
  Tristan Broudig, as Nain Rouge 
  (Red Dwarf)
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Health 7, 
  Scuffling 7, Weapons 2
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Weapon: -1 (improvised weapon), 
  -2 (fists)
  Armor: None, but all weapons do 
  half damage
  Stability loss: +1, or +2 if the victim 
  was well known to the onlooker
  He’s willing to hide here as long as it 
  takes, relying on his Ankou to keep him 
  informed as to what’s going on. These 
  thugs will bring him food every other 
  day, and Outdoorsman (a 0-point 
  spend) can track them to this spot. As 
  far as Foucalt’s concerned, if he got 
  what he wanted then the Investigators 
  are not his problem, and he’s happy to 
  let them leave. If he didn’t get what he 
  wanted, then he will have his revenge, 
  but he’s happier striking with surprise, 
  and from ambush, than risking death in 
  some misguided assault. Dying nobly 
  for the cause is what his Ankou are for. 
  If Foucalt was unable to obtain 
  Daniel’s head, and captured one of the 
  Investigators instead, that PC will be 
  taken first to the guillotine at Foucalt’s 
  house, and later the head will be 
  brought here. If Foucalt was able to steal 
  Tristan’s corpse, then that too is here, 
  transformed into an undead guardian. 
  If Foucalt killed an Investigator and 
  also stole that corpse, it also might 
  end up here, as a red dwarf. Foucalt is 
  accompanied by two Nain.
  Jean Foucalt
  Abilities: Athletics 8, Credit Rating 4, 
  Cthulhu Mythos 3, Disguise 3, Driving 
  5, Filch 6, Firearms 6, Fleeing 10, 
  Health 8, Magic 10, Occult 2, Scuffling 
  6, Weapons 10
  Weapon: +0 (MAB semi-auto pistol), 
  -1 (sword cane)
  Armor: None
  
  Player Name: 
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  72
  First things first: I am not dead, though for a long time it suited me to pretend to 
  be so. You know what it was like, during the War. If I had taken my chances and 
  stayed with my unit, I probably would be dead now, or worse. I ran, and by the 
  grace of God made it away from that dreadful place. 
  For the last few years I have been living in Brittany, under the assumed name 
  Tristan Broudig. I married; I wish you could have met her, but the Flu epidemic 
  carried Marie off many years ago. I have a son, Daniel, who does not know my 
  past, and if things had turned out the way I hoped, he would never have known.
  Daniel is under arrest. They are going to send my son to the guillotine, 
  unless I do something.
  I am at my wit’s end. The crime he’s accused of is murder, but it’s far worse 
  than that. They’re calling him a were-wolf, can you believe it? In what kind 
  of a world – 
  I don’t know what to do. I need help. I need to save my son, but I can’t do it 
  on my own. Come to Plouescat, if not for my sake, then for the sake of old 
  friendship and memory. Come soon. The trial will start before long, and I 
  think the marquis will ensure that the verdict is a foregone conclusion. There’s 
  something he’s hiding out in those woods of his, and it has to do with what 
  Daniel’s accused of being, but I don’t understand it and I don’t know why this 
  is happening.
  Please come. If something isn’t done soon, Daniel will die.
  Yours, Arthur
  Handout 1: Tristan Broudig’s Letter
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Investigator Name: Madeline ‘Mads’ Grainger
  Drive: Adventure
  Occupation:2 Artist
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  8
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  10
  Architecture
  2
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  8
  Art History
  2
  Credit Rating
  1
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  4
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  8
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  0
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  0
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  8
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  6
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  2
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  4
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  4
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  2
  Stability9
  6
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  10
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  7
  Photography
  2
  You come from money but have none of your own. Your father blew the lot on the horses, and then blew 
  his brains out when you were sixteen. Since then you’ve lived on your wits, and managed to make a 
  fairly good life of it, on the whole. When you were younger you used to race cars, but after a smash-up 
  in France – why can’t the blighters drive on the right side of the road, and speak English? – you turned 
  to your other talent, painting. You often sign your work ‘M.G.’, since that’s reassuringly nondescript, and 
  the action scenes you paint sell well to people who don’t know a woman painted them. You carry around 
  a nightstick you pinched from a constable, for protection. You remember Arthur vaguely, as a chap who’d 
  seen too much. Lettie is your best friend in the world. You’d do anything for her.
  4
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Investigator Name: Michael ‘Sticky’ Pellham
  Drive: Arrogance
  Occupation:2 Military Officer
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  8
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  2
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  5
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  1
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  2
  Firearms5
  15
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  2
  History
  1
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  0
  Languages6
  1
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  8
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  1
  Preparedness
  5
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  8
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  4
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  6
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  12
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  1
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  4
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  8
  Photography
  0
  The war ruined you for civilian life. You’re bored as hell, cooped up in a law office all day, waiting for 
  something to happen. After all, when you’ve seen what life’s like, what do you have in common with some 
  spotty Herbert who goes back and forth to the office every day, like some blasted drone? But pater left the 
  family bullion to your brother George, blast the luck. You wish something exciting would happen. Anything.
  Arthur is your cousin. You remember him as being much like you; active, a sportsman, someone who 
  took life as it came. Arthur’s sister Lettie is an obnoxious pill. You prefer girls with a bit of flash, like her 
  friend Mads. Bingo’s a good chap, if a little lazy. You, he and Arthur were boys together.
  4
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Investigator Name: George Pellham
  Drive: Curiosity
  Occupation:2 Lawyer
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  2
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  6
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  2
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  8
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  4
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  4
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  4
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  0
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  8
  Languages6
  1
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  6
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  4
  Preparedness
  4
  Library Use
  2
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  6
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  6
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  9
  Theology
  1
  Evidence Collection
  2
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  8
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  8
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  2
  When your brother Michael defied your father and went off to war, you inherited the family business 
  and money, despite being the younger son. You were too young for the trenches, a fact you’re secretly 
  glad about, though you envy Michael his heroic reputation. As a skilled barrister you’re in great demand, 
  and you’ve given Michael a job for old time’s sake, though he continues to make a hash of it. For all your 
  success, you’re still young, and not immune to the lure of fast cars or a pretty face. Arthur is your cousin. 
  You remember him as being too clever by half, always up to something. Though he frequently got into 
  trouble, you remember Arthur as being basically honest and full of good intentions, even if they never 
  came to anything. You’re secretly fond of Arthur’s sister Lettie, but haven’t built up the courage to say 
  anything yet. Lettie’s friend Mads is the biggest pain in the neck you’ve ever encountered.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Investigator Name: Letitia ‘Lettie’ Norrys
  Drive: Follower
  Occupation:2 Nurse
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  4
  Flattery
  4
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  5
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  8
  History
  1
  Reassurance
  1
  Fleeing7
  8
  Languages6
  1
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  7
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  8
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  1
  Psychoanalysis
  6
  Medicine
  2
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  1
  Chemistry
  1
  Sanity9
  5
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  8
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  7
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  6
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  8
  Pharmacy
  2
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  You secretly wish your life was more bohemian. You read the pulps, and wonder what it would be like to 
  be a gunman’s moll, or one of those daring artists. But you never quite had the courage to give it your all, 
  meekly accepting the life that your mother picked out for you. When you were younger, the whole family 
  would holiday in Brittany, so you know the area well. Arthur is your older brother, and you remember 
  him very fondly. He can do no wrong in your eyes. Men like ‘Sticky’ Pellham are so wonderful; they’ve 
  really done things. You wish Sticky would notice you. Mads is your best friend. You wish you were more 
  like her. You were at school with Deborah, but the two of you were never close chums. She always had 
  her head in a book.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Investigator Name: Frederick ‘Bingo’ Dunleavy
  Drive: Ennui
  Occupation:2 Dilettante
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  8
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  4
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  1
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  4
  Credit Rating
  5
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  4
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  2
  Filch
  7
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  1
  First Aid
  0
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  8
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  7
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  6
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  8
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  6
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  0
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  2
  Scuffling
  5
  Forensics
  2
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  6
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  Your father and the Pellhams’ father were business partners and best friends. You were in the Services 
  during the war, but your father managed to wangle a cushy job on the home front, so you never saw 
  action. That’s probably just as well, since you abhor violence in all its forms. However you’ve got a lot of 
  money and free time, which allows you to indulge your secret passion: amateur detection. You’ve read 
  pretty much everything there is to know on the subject, but so far there’s never been a case worthy 
  of your special genius. You long for a chance to prove yourself. You greatly admired Arthur when you 
  were boys together, and you can’t wait to see him again. You grew up with Sticky Pellham and admire 
  him greatly. George Pellham is a dull dog, but clever when he wants to be. Cousin Deborah is a useful 
  dogsbody, but quite unintelligent. Rather like Doctor Watson, really.
  4
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Investigator Name: Deborah Dunleavy
  Drive: Duty
  Occupation:2 Author
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: 
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  5
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  3
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  1
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  2
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  0
  History
  4
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  8
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  8
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  3
  Library Use
  2
  Art
  2
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  1
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  1
  Sanity9
  5
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  10
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  2
  Scuffling
  4
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  2
  Shadowing
  6
  Outdoorsman
  1
  Stealth
  6
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  5
  Photography
  0
  Your rich cousin Frederick sees you as some kind of lackey, and has done all of his life. Yes, it’s true you 
  depend on him for money, but not the way he thinks. You hang on tight because he’s your Muse. You’ve 
  developed a series of novels, all published in France, about a stupid English private detective named Freddy 
  Dunning, who’s constantly shown up by the antihero and expert burglar, Georges Durand. You couldn’t get 
  published in England to save your life, but the French eat up the antics of Freddy ‘Penguin’ Dunning and ask 
  for more. You’re published under your own name, so confident you are that cousin Frederick, the bone-idle 
  louse, will never catch on. You remember Arthur as the love of your youth, though you never told him how 
  you felt. Your antihero Durand is based on him. You don’t mind the Pellhams, though George can be a bit dull. 
  You were at school with Lettie, but the two of you were never chums. She was always a bit of a teacher’s pet.
  
  DREAMING OF A BETTER TOMORROW 
  FOR 30 DOLLARS A MONTH
  By Chris Spivey
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  80
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow 
  for 30 Dollars a Month
  O’Connell, and confronted him while 
  Zxaft was opening his portal to the 
  Dreamlands, through a perpetually 
  cool, and incredibly clear, pond in the 
  forest. Zxaft quickly dispatched York, 
  but could not dispose of his body before 
  the Safety Division (SD) patrolman 
  heard the commotion. He fled through 
  the portal with O’Connell, leaving 
  York’s corpse, which was found by 
  the SD. Zxaft came back through the 
  portal later that night, and returned to 
  Larkin’s bunk.
  At the beginning of the adventure, 
  Zxaft has six of the eight people he 
  needs. If Zxaft can acquire all eight 
  victims, and perform the ritual, he can 
  create a gallon of transmuting elixir, 
  and distribute it into the camp’s water 
  supply, converting a large portion 
  of Camp Smith into serpent folk. 
  Then they can strike and bring forth a 
  new kingdom.
  The Spine
  The Investigators are recruited by the 
  Chief of Safety Division, which falls 
  under the Department of Labor, to 
  investigate the missing workers and the 
  murder. Chief Liam McShane knows 
  that his current all-white force is too 
  busy to get answers before the trail goes 
  cold. He can’t deputize the Investigators 
  without filing paperwork, so instead 
  creates a new project detail for them to 
  work – “Project 54”. The Chief briefs the 
  Investigators on what is known about the 
  six missing people, and James York, the 
  man whose body was found. 
  The Investigators have a couple of 
  likely avenues to explore at this point, 
  including visiting the infirmary where 
  the body is being kept, searching 
  sorcerer trapped within. Before Randy 
  fully understood the horror he released 
  onto the world, Zxaft was upon him.
  The sorcerer consumed the man, and 
  assumed his identity. Weakened after 
  having been trapped for so long, Zxaft 
  was forced to use a corrupt form of ritual 
  magic, which drained some of the nearby 
  trees of their life-force, generating a pool 
  of power he then used to create a moon-
  bridge to his fortress near the Enchanted 
  Wood in the Dreamlands.
  Now free, he began to plot his revenge 
  on mankind for destroying Yanyoga. 
  What better revenge than to turn your 
  enemy into your brother? He knew the 
  old magic that would alter humans back 
  to their proper form, and bring forth a 
  new pure race of serpent folk for him to 
  rule as king. 
  The ritual to create the transmuting 
  elixir must be cast within the 
  Dreamlands, and requires two sacrifices 
  of each of the four blood types – which 
  the sorcerer’s heightened serpent-folk 
  senses can sense – as well as the infusion 
  of his own blood. 
  The first five missing people were easily 
  kidnapped, one per night, and taken 
  to Zxaft’s fortress. Each trip into the 
  Dreamlands sparks lights in the sky as 
  an effect of the weakened veil between 
  the worlds. Zxaft can’t prevent this 
  from happening, so he has limited his 
  travel to avoid detection. He is also 
  keenly aware of the rigid CCC schedule 
  he must follow as Randy, which gives 
  him a small window of time to carry 
  out his plan without arousing suspicion. 
  James York followed Zxaft on the sixth 
  night, watched him kidnap Danny 
  The Hook
  In 1935, during the Great Depression, 
  the African American Investigators are 
  in one of the last integrated Civilian 
  Conservation Corps (CCC) teams in 
  Camp Smith, Vermont, in the north-
  eastern United States. The work is 
  hard—grueling at times—and living a 
  paramilitary life can break a person. Over 
  the last two weeks a number of people 
  have vanished from the camp, possibly 
  gone AWOL, but no one knows for sure. 
  There is also the mystery of those strange 
  lights in the sky every couple of days.
  Tensions have been steadily rising with 
  each disappearance, and are at an all-
  time high when a body is found. The 
  camp is close to imploding, and time is 
  running out. 
  The Horrible Truth
  Zxaft, 
  a 
  venerable 
  serpent-folk 
  sorcerer, hatched a plan to flee Yanyoga 
  before its fall to humanity ten thousand 
  years ago. He retreated to his lair and 
  began casting a teleportation spell to 
  escape, but was interrupted by a human 
  raider, who stabbed him. The near-
  fatal blow was disastrous for both. The 
  human warrior died from the backlash 
  of magical energy, while the sorcerer’s 
  miscast spell weakened the veil between 
  the Dreamlands and Earth, and trapped 
  him in a tree between the two worlds.
  Earth, 1935: Randy Larkin, a weary CCC 
  worker at the end of his shift, was the 
  last man onsite when he made the final 
  decision of his life: to cut down one more 
  tree before going to the transport. As the 
  sun set, the first chop of the axe freed 
  Zxaft from his ten-thousand-year-old 
  prison, which had been sustained by the 
  
  81
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  Investigators with this information 
  when he faces them in the final battle. 
  The Investigators need to stop Zxaft, 
  and then decide what to do with the 
  “tainted” rescued victims.
  Victory Condition
  The only true victory condition is to kill 
  Zxaft and stop him from completing the 
  transmutation elixir ritual. 
  However, there remains the problematic 
  issue of the kidnap victims. The 
  Investigators could bring the victims back 
  victims are in Zxaft’s fortress in the 
  Dreamlands, and that they need to 
  rescue them before it is too late. Zxaft’s 
  journal has a spell that the Investigators 
  can cast, which changes the pond 
  near the murder site into a temporary 
  doorway to the Dreamlands. Once in 
  the Dreamlands, they can track down 
  Zxaft’s fortress, possibly with the 
  assistance of a pack of ghouls they meet 
  on the way.
  Zxaft infected each victim with a 
  virus when he brought them into 
  the Dreamlands. He will taunt the 
  the murder site, and questioning 
  the workers around camp about the 
  missing people.
  These clues lead them to the conclusion 
  that James York was murdered by a 
  clawed creature with human-sized 
  hands. They then go to a church, where 
  a witness has seen Zxaft in his serpent 
  form, and eventually to the radio 
  station, where Zxaft stores his journal, 
  protected by a trap. 
  Once all of this information is in hand, 
  the Investigators figure out that the 
  Scene Flow Diagram
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  82
  classified under 10 general categories to 
  including erosion control, flood control 
  and forestry. Each member was assigned 
  to one area, and would work that area 
  for the length of their contract. 
  The CCC was jointly supervised by 
  four government departments. The 
  Department of Labor recruited and 
  supervised all personnel. The War 
  Department operated the camps in 
  terms of physical training, feeding, 
  housing, outfitting and transportation. 
  The 
  Agriculture 
  and 
  Interior 
  Departments created, organized and 
  supervised conservation work projects. 
  A CCC Advisory Council was composed 
  of a representative from each of the 
  supervising departments. The use of 
  these four branches enabled Roosevelt to 
  develop the program without the stigma 
  of it being seen as a forced labor camp, or 
  as competition for employed Americans. 
  To bolster morale, and as an attempt to 
  make each man employable afterward, 
  the Office of Education and Veterans 
  Administration offered a number of 
  educational and training programs. 
  More than three million young men 
  worked for the CCC during its near 
  decade-long run, of which more than 
  250,000 were African Americans. 
  African American CCCs carried out 
  their duties in a society divided by race, 
  and under the presence of officially-
  sanctioned racism. The number of 
  black men that could join the CCC 
  was limited to 10%, even though 
  the economic conditions of blacks 
  were disproportionately worse than 
  their white counterparts. Most states 
  actively passed over qualified black 
  applicants to enroll whites. Black CCC 
  enrollees routinely faced subtle to 
  lethal hostility from local communities, 
  endured 
  the 
  racist 
  attitudes 
  of 
  individual CCC members, Army, and 
  Forest Service supervisors, and found 
  limited opportunities for assuming 
  leadership 
  positions 
  within 
  the 
  CCC’s administrative structure. This 
  inhospitable environment festered in the 
  He can also attempt to poison the 
  Investigators, or plant false evidence to 
  incriminate them. Zxaft tries to avoid 
  directly attacking the Investigators 
  himself unless he has no other recourse.
  If questioned as Larkin, he states he 
  doesn’t know anything, and will try to 
  leave as soon as possible. If pressured, 
  he shouts for help from any of the 
  nearby people and disappears in the 
  commotion. As a last resort, Zxaft/
  Larkin will say he saw something at the 
  lake. He won’t say what it was, he’ll 
  only agree to go with them to the lake. 
  Once at the lake, he will attack the 
  Investigators. 
  The Civilian 
  Conservation Corps
  The United States spiraled into the Great 
  Depression in late 1929 after the stock 
  market crash. The Great Depression saw 
  unemployment skyrocket, and shanty 
  towns, called Hoovervilles, appeared 
  across the land. Soup lines became 
  the new normal, as Americans starved 
  across the country. Soon after being 
  elected president in 1932, Franklin D. 
  Roosevelt created a program for the 
  United States’ economic relief and 
  recovery, called the New Deal.
  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 
  was a public work relief program set up 
  as part of the New Deal, to create jobs 
  for unemployed males between the ages 
  of 18 and 25, who were unmarried, out 
  of school, in good health (every member 
  was given a thorough health exam), 
  and of good character. $25 of the $30 
  salary per month was sent home to help 
  their families. Once accepted, the men 
  were given a six-month contract, which 
  could be renewed up to a maximum of 
  three times. The camps aided the local 
  community by purchasing as many of 
  their supplies as possible from them.
  The CCC performed more than 300 
  types of work projects, which were 
  to Earth, and hope they could be saved 
  before the virus took root – otherwise, 
  the victims may change into serpent folk, 
  or have serpent-folk children. 
  Alternatively, the Investigators could 
  leave them, dooming the victims to 
  the Dreamlands. This would likely 
  lead to the victims’ deaths, or – if you 
  are running this adventure as part of 
  an ongoing campaign – they might 
  return later as an enemy. Lastly, the 
  Investigators might assume the victims 
  could not be saved, and kill them.
  If the missing people are not returned 
  to Earth, the Investigators will need 
  to explain to Chief McShane what has 
  happened – ideally, in a manner that 
  the Chief can report to his superiors 
  as evidence for a promotion, or he may 
  turn on the Investigators and serve 
  them up as scapegoats.
  Antagonist 
  Reactions
  On the first night of the investigation, 
  Zxaft will sneak into Negro town after 
  0100 and take his seventh victim, Marcus 
  Wright. He is gone for the next four 
  hours, returning a little before 0500 and 
  sneaking back into his barracks, number 
  12. Zxaft’s eighth and last victim is Peggy 
  White, one of Secretary Perkins’ staff, 
  on the second night of the investigation. 
  Once again, he kidnaps the victim a little 
  after 0100, but unlike before, he does 
  not return to Camp Smith – at this point, 
  he will take White through the portal 
  to the Dreamlands, and begin work on 
  the ritual.
  Zxaft acts once he discovers that the 
  Investigators are investigating the 
  murder and disappearances. His first 
  move is to have a burly logger challenge 
  one of the Investigators to a fist fight in 
  the grudge arena. If the Investigators 
  continue their inquiry, Zxaft can easily 
  stoke racial tensions to incite a number 
  of loggers to attack the Investigators. 
  
  83
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  likely expose Chief McShane and the 
  Investigators, sending them all to prison 
  for a very long time. 
  Camp Smith
  Camp Smith, in Vermont, is larger than 
  most of the other camps by tenfold, 
  allowing it to serve 2,000 enrollees 
  and 200 support staff. The camp is 
  over a quarter of a mile southwest of 
  the Waterbury Dam, which they’re 
  working on building, and is located on 
  both sides of the Little River Road.
  The camp requires a good deal of time 
  to traverse. Traveling on foot from 
  different points could take anywhere 
  between 20 minutes and six hours. 
  To help the Keeper administer the 
  Investigators’ 
  time, 
  and 
  manage 
  the differing hours of operation for 
  buildings around the camp, each scene 
  will end with the average amount of 
  time it takes to accomplish the task.
  intelligence, wit, and a no-nonsense 
  attitude, with a talent for getting the 
  job done. She wants the CCC camps 
  to function well, to encourage the 
  government to allow her to continue 
  her work with the She-She-She Camps, 
  providing equal opportunities to women. 
  She has assigned two of her lower-level 
  staff – Amanda Scott (p. 103) and 
  Nora Reese (p. 107) to assist the Chief 
  in the investigation, granting them a 
  permanent presence at Camp Smith 
  while she travels on to the next camp. 
  She has also assigned an NPC, Betty 
  White, to help the Chief compile some 
  reports she’s interested in.
  These female Investigators have more 
  authority than any member of the 
  CCC, or the Investigators brought in 
  under that guise. Their status affords 
  them a number of advantages, but if 
  abused, will draw the attention of the 
  other departments at Camp Smith, and 
  absence of a sustained commitment on 
  the part of the Roosevelt Administration 
  to end racist practices within the CCC. 
  Despite numerous complaints about the 
  CCC’s Jim Crow policy from black and 
  white civil rights activists, segregation 
  remained the rule of the land.
  Although the CCC was the most popular 
  of the New Deal programs, it never 
  became a permanent agency. World 
  War II changed the world in countless 
  ways and ushered in the end of the 
  CCC; by 1942, the CCC workers had 
  become a pool of resources for the War 
  Department, and a large percentage of 
  them were recruited directly into the 
  military for the war effort. 
  Secretary of Labour, Frances Perkins, and 
  her entourage are currently inspecting 
  some of the CCC camps, researching 
  methods for improving Camp Tera. She 
  has been in Camp Smith for a week, 
  and has noticed the strife. Perkins has 
  Frances Perkins and She-She-She Camps
  Frances Perkins was an American 
  sociologist 
  and 
  workers-rights 
  advocate, who had an intense interest 
  in economics and its implications 
  and introduced a number of key 
  labor reforms in the United States. 
  Her significant accomplishments in 
  progressive reform in the New York 
  State government inspired Franklin 
  D. Roosevelt to appoint her to the 
  role of Secretary of Labor once 
  he was elected President in 1932. 
  That action drew close scrutiny and 
  criticism, as she was the first woman 
  to be appointed to the presidential 
  cabinet, thereby placing her in the 
  line for presidential succession. 
  U.S. Secretary of Labor Perkins 
  served from 1933 to 1945, the longest 
  serving person in that position. Her 
  impact in the cabinet during that 
  time was extensive. She established 
  the Civilian Conservation Corps, 
  the Public Works Administration, 
  the Federal Works Agency (which 
  succeeded 
  the 
  Public 
  Works 
  Administration), the labor portion 
  of the National Industrial Recovery 
  Act, the Social Security Act, which 
  established unemployment benefits, 
  pensions and welfare for the poorest 
  Americans, and the first minimum 
  wage and overtime laws through the 
  Fair Labor Standards Act.
  First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wanted 
  to create an organization, equivalent 
  to the CCC, for young women 
  from families without unemployed 
  men, who were willing to work 
  in conservation and forestry for a 
  six-month duration. On April 30, 
  1934 Roosevelt held a White House 
  Conference for Unemployed Women 
  to address the topic. Frances Perkins 
  championed the first such women’s 
  camp, Camp Tera. 
  Despite facing a nightmare of red 
  tape and institutional prejudice 
  against women working outside 
  the home, Camp Tera lead to the 
  creation of over 90 similar camps, 
  known as She-She-She camps, across 
  the U.S. More than 8,500 women 
  cycled through the camps, before 
  they closed in 1937 due to high 
  costs, although the cost-per-man at 
  the CCC was twenty-five times as 
  much as each woman.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  84
  Racism and Jim Crow Laws
  Racism was the norm in the 1930s. 
  Whites and blacks were considered 
  by whites to be two separate 
  species of people, with blacks being 
  second class citizens at best. Black 
  people were paid less than their 
  white counterparts, worked more 
  unsociable and longer hours, and 
  were often given the more ‘dirty 
  work’. Lynchings of black people 
  were commonplace, and often 
  cheerily publicized in newspapers. 
  Politicians 
  ran 
  campaigns 
  on 
  the platform of keeping African 
  Americans in their place, meaning 
  subservient. Even childrens’ games 
  portrayed blacks as inferior. The 
  racism was institutionalized through 
  redlining (denying services based on 
  the racial makeup of the residents of 
  certain areas), and Jim Crow laws 
  were used to provide a legal basis 
  for segregating and discriminating 
  against African Americans. 
  Jim Crow Laws 
  These were a series of rigid anti-
  black laws that created a racial caste 
  system focused heavily, but not 
  exclusively, in the Southern states 
  from 1877 to the mid-1960s. These 
  laws enforced the second-class 
  citizen status of African Americans, 
  and were portrayed as a way of life, 
  becoming second nature to many in 
  the majority.
  The Near Standardized Jim Crow 
  etiquette norms: 
  • Black men were forbidden from 
  extending their hands to white 
  men (to shake hands), because 
  it would imply a level of social 
  equality. Black men risked being 
  accused of rape if they were to 
  extend a hand, or even offer 
  to light a cigarette, for a white 
  woman. Even the accusation of a 
  white child toward a black man 
  for such small crimes as petty theft 
  or using a whites-only bathroom, 
  could have a black man lynched, 
  likely in front of crowd, to “send 
  a message.”
  • The two races were not supposed 
  to eat together. If they did eat 
  together, whites were served first, 
  and a partition would be placed 
  between them.
  • Whites were not to introduce 
  blacks, as that implied a level of 
  equality. Blacks were supposed to 
  introduce whites, proving their 
  lesser social status.
  • Whites 
  never 
  used 
  courtesy 
  titles of respect when referring 
  to blacks, and always used their 
  first names or a nickname. The 
  opposite was true for blacks who 
  had to use courtesy titles when 
  referring to whites, and were 
  not allowed to call them by their 
  first names. If blacks addressed 
  whites by their first names, that 
  could lead to imprisonment.  
  Even if the two were friends, 
  blacks could not just use first 
  names. For instance, in the 1942 
  movie Casablanca, the characters 
  of 
  Rick 
  (Humphrey 
  Bogart) 
  and Sam (Dooley Wilson) were 
  close friends, but Sam always 
  had to refer to his friend as Mr. 
  Rick, while Rick would just call  
  him Sam.
  • If a black person rode in a car 
  driven by a white person, they 
  sat in the back. White motorists 
  always had the right-of-way.
  • Displays of affection between black 
  people were not allowed in public, 
  as they were considered offensive 
  to white people.
  These core rules of etiquette affect 
  every action that Investigators take. 
  If they do not follow them, they 
  will quickly be called out, and more 
  than likely, experience violence 
  against them. These codes apply to 
  all Americans. The military even 
  distributed a pamphlet to their Allies 
  in World War II about the inferiority 
  and rapist tendencies of blacks. 
  Here are some additional in-game 
  mechanical and play effects to help 
  demonstrate the gravity of racism 
  during the time.:
  • Any Interpersonal spend by a black 
  character to elicit information 
  from a white character should 
  cost at least 1 additional point 
  unless noted in the character’s 
  description. 
  • Use language that conveys the 
  attitudes and perspectives of the 
  time. People around camp may 
  refer to their characters as “boy”, 
  or “colored.” 
  • It will be very difficult for the 
  Investigators to get the attention 
  of the white NPCs. Once they do, 
  the white NPCs will be curt and 
  rude. 
  • If a fight starts, the white NPCs 
  will focus their attacks on the 
  black characters. 
  Please keep in mind, the N-word 
  should never be used to address 
  your PCs; as it creates unnecessary 
  tension at the table.
  
  85
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  largest building at each site, and is 20 by 
  140 feet. The largest building includes 
  writing and reading rooms, a library, 
  and a lecture hall.
  The two closest camps, Camp Wilson 
  and Camp Marshfield, are over four 
  hours away, and are not as well stocked 
  as Camp Smith.
  Scenes
  A Woodcutter’s Life Is 
  Not For Me
  Scene Type: Introduction 
  Lead-Outs: Shady Dealings 
  The sun is slowly setting in the 
  August sky around Camp Smith. The 
  Investigators and the rest of the Civilian 
  Conservation Corps (CCC) crew of 
  Project 54 are one of the few integrated 
  teams in Vermont.
  It has been a long, hard day with an hour 
  left, and the team only needs to fell one 
  more tree – a massive cedar, which 
  towers over the crew of loggers, almost 
  taunting them to cut it down. 
  • Outdoorsman: 
  The 
  tree 
  is 
  incredibly difficult and dangerous 
  to bring down, due to its size. You 
  wouldn’t expect a tree of that size 
  and weight to sway slightly, the way 
  it currently is.
  A 1-point spend of Outdoorsman 
  reduces the Difficulty of bringing 
  the tree down from 7 to 4. A 2-point 
  spend brings the tree down safely. 
  Otherwise, the Investigators can make 
  a cooperative Difficulty 7 Athletics 
  roll to bring down the tree safely. If 
  they fail, the massive tree snaps the 
  ropes, and it plummets groundward. 
  The Investigators must make a Difficulty 
  4 Athletics or Fleeing test, or take 
  1d6-2 damage from tree limbs or  
  falling debris.
  • Shaving kit
  • Army overcoat
  • Camp Smith map (See Handout 1, 
  p. 100)
  • Week Day Schedule:
  – 0600 – Reveille
  – 0630 – 0715 – Physical training
  – 0715 – 0730 – Clean up
  – 0730 – Breakfast
  – 0800 – 1630 – Work day (lunch 
  eaten on site)
  – 1700 – 1800– Dinner
  – 1700 – 2200 – Free time
  – 2200 – Lights out
  While the Investigators have been granted 
  a certain level of freedom, and do not 
  need to comply with the standard work 
  schedule, everyone else does. This limits 
  the Investigators’ ability to question 
  witnesses and follow up on leads. The 
  work schedule also limits Zxaft, who 
  doesn’t want to draw attention to himself 
  by being derelict in his duties. 
  From the time the men are dropped 
  back at camp by the trucks at 1630, until 
  lights out, their time is mostly their own 
  with only a few rules to govern them: do 
  not go into town without permission, be sure 
  to maintain camp property, and observe all 
  orders. A number of diversions provided 
  by the camp fill the downtime, ranging 
  from athletics activities, enrollee bands’ 
  performances, radio programs, plays 
  at the theater, or occasional dance hall 
  parties with the nearby community. 
  One activity to allow the men to blow 
  off steam is a large boxing ring near the 
  officer quarters, to deal with grudge 
  matches and race issues.
  Other Camps
  The nearby camps are smaller than 
  Camp Smith, housing roughly 220 
  enrollees 
  and 
  staff. 
  Each 
  camp 
  follows the same basic blueprint with 
  11 wooden buildings, including 4 
  barracks, a mess hall, a recreation 
  hall, an infirmary, officers’ quarters, 
  truck garages, latrine, and shower 
  buildings. The recreation hall is the 
  Camp Smith is a self-sufficient village, 
  with its own waste and sewage system. 
  The sprawling camp houses well over 
  100 buildings, including a police and 
  fire department, medical dispensary, 
  three stores, a library with in excess of 
  6,000 books, a radio station, a theater 
  that sits 462 people, eight T-shaped mess 
  halls, skating rink, a chapel, school, 
  camp garden, and officers’ quarters. 
  The “township” has approximately 
  100 buildings, including sixteen U- or 
  L-shaped barracks.
  Hours of Operation
  • Stores: Monday – Friday 0700 to 
  1800 and Saturday 1000- 1700.
  • School: Monday – Friday 1800 to 
  2100 and Saturday 0600 – 2000.
  • Camp Garden: 24/7 but only 
  staffed during daylight hours.
  • Library: Monday – Friday 1000 to 
  2000 and Saturday 0900 – 1500.
  • Theater: Based on shows in the area 
  or musical acts put on by the workers. 
  Currently closed. 
  • Radio 
  Station: 
  Morning 
  and 
  evening broadcast. The building is 
  usually locked and only four people 
  have keys. 
  • Police Department: 24/7 and 
  always manned. The police force do 
  not live on site. 
  • Fire Department: 24/7 and the 
  staff live onsite. They routinely provide 
  additional man power for the police. 
  • Skating Rink: Open 24/7. 
  • Chapel: Open 24/7 and the clergy 
  live on site. Services daily morning 
  and evening. Sunday 0900 and 1300.
  • Mess Hall: Staffed from 0500- 
  2100. 
  Operates 
  daily 
  from 
  0630-0830/ 1100-1300/1730-1930.
  Life in the Camp
  Each man, once accepted into the CCC, 
  is issued the following surplus World 
  War I equipment:
  • 3 forest green uniforms
  • 1 military dress uniform with tie (for 
  special occasions)
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  86
  The massive cedar crashes onto three of 
  the non-player characters of the CCC 
  team. The Investigators can combine 
  their efforts to move the tree off of their 
  fellow lumber workers; a Difficulty 7 
  Athletics test removes the tree from the 
  trapped men. A 1-point Outdoorsman 
  spend reduces the Difficulty by 3. 
  For each round they are trapped, they 
  take 1d6+2 damage; an Investigator 
  with Reassurance is able to stop the 
  trapped loggers’ struggling, and lower 
  the damage to 1d6-1 per round.
  Once they have freed the other workers, 
  the Investigators are able to get a closer 
  look at the fallen tree.
  • Biology: The tree was already dead 
  on the inside when cut.
  – 1-point spend: You can’t tell the 
  cause of death – it’s not a fungus, 
  age, disease or pest activity.
  • Geology: The earth around the tree 
  is very dry and brittle, and this is 
  more than just dehydration.
  • Chemistry: The chemical balance of 
  the tree has been altered somehow, 
  discoloring the tree, and killing it. 
  You’d need to get samples and look 
  at it in a proper lab, like the one at 
  the dispensary in the camp, to find 
  out more.
  Playing with Existing Investigators
  The scenario assumes that you are 
  playing with the pre-generated 
  characters (p. 103), and so the 
  Investigators are either members 
  of the CCC, pulled into the case 
  as possible scapegoats if needed, 
  or they’re members of Secretary 
  Perkins’ entourage, there to help out. 
  Some of the pre-generated characters 
  begin the adventure in A Woodcutter’s 
  Life is Not For Me (p. 85); some of 
  them will begin either waiting in, or 
  on the way to, Chief McShane’s office 
  in Shady Dealings (p. 87).
  To 
  alter 
  it 
  for 
  established 
  Investigators, assume that Chief 
  McShane 
  has 
  requested 
  their 
  assistance either through friends, 
  or has hired them to investigate off 
  the books by pretending to be CCC 
  members. You can allow established 
  Investigators to specify a prior 
  acquaintance with anyone in the 
  Labor Department.
  If you are not using the pre-generated 
  characters, the Keeper should start 
  the adventure with the Investigators 
  making their way to Chief McShane’s 
  office, in the scene Shady Dealings 
  (p. 87).
  
  87
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  Camp Smith. Secretary Perkins has 
  encouraged all three to be completely 
  onboard with whatever the Chief has 
  planned, as their efforts aid her. Chief 
  McShane will ask the women to keep 
  this matter private, and will introduce 
  them to the other Investigators when 
  they arrive, and brief them together. 
  Chief Liam McShane
  The Chief is a good Irish-American 
  Catholic boy, and can be found at the 
  church when not in his office. His head 
  is like a battlefield, where white hair is 
  conquering his once-flush auburn hair, 
  the color of his handlebar mustache. 
  McShane is from a long line of policemen 
  dating back over a century, and he is 
  proud of each one of his predecessors. He 
  served on the NYC police department 
  until the start of the Depression, when 
  he lost his job. He lived a year hand-to-
  mouth trying to make money to feed his 
  family, during which he lost his home, 
  and worked as a private investigator.
  He got lucky and was hired into a 
  low-level Labor Department job by 
  his previous captain, who sits on the 
  advisory committee for the camp. 
  When they needed a police chief for 
  the camp, he was promoted into it; he 
  knows that he needs to keep the peace, 
  or it will cost him his job. The War 
  Department has assigned an officer, Lt. 
  Jack Willis, to the police department, 
  and they have been sniffing around the 
  disappearances; the murder has turned 
  up the heat. McShane wants to find the 
  killer to protect the camp’s workers – 
  but he wants to keep his job more. 
  Abilities: Assess Honesty 5, Athletics 
  5, Driving 2, Firearms 10, Fleeing 5, 
  Health 8, Sanity 6, Scuffling 6, Sense 
  Trouble 5, Stability 8
  Alertness: +1
  Weapon: +2 (sawn-off shotgun under 
  desk), +0 (Colt Police Pistol .32- 
  light pistol)
  McShane lays his cards out on the 
  table for the Investigators. He and his 
  of the Safety Division. He takes his 
  job very seriously; Chief McShane 
  handpicked him, and there is no way 
  he is going to let him down. While not 
  as smart as some of the other officers, 
  his presence demands respect. He has 
  found himself as McShane’s go-to for 
  any grudge matches at the camp.
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Firearms 2, 
  Health 10, Scuffling 10, Weapons 6
  Alertness: +1
  Weapon: +0 (Colt police pistol .32- 
  light pistol), -1 (nightstick), -1 (fist)
  If questioned on the hour-long drive 
  back to camp, Randall says he doesn’t 
  know why the Chief has summoned 
  the 
  Investigators. 
  However, 
  an 
  Interpersonal spend such as Flattery 
  or Reassurance encourages him to 
  open up, and he shares that the Chief 
  has a special assignment for them, 
  which has something to do with all the 
  strange things happening at the camp. 
  Shady Dealings
  Scene Type: Core/Briefing 
  Lead-Ins: A Woodcutter’s Life Is Not 
  For Me
  Lead-Outs: 
  Blood 
  For 
  Blood, 
  Questioning the Masses, Murder Site
  As the jeeps dart through the forested 
  area, they take back paths and the 
  long way around to the police station, 
  avoiding 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  returning 
  transports and facilities. The police 
  station is a large two-story building, 
  with a hardwood double door and black 
  pitch roof. Once inside, they’re brought 
  to see Chief Liam McShane.
  If you are using the pre-generated 
  characters, Amanda Scott (p. 103) 
  and Nora Reese (p. 107) start the 
  adventure here, waiting in the Chief’s 
  office with Peggy White, a naïve and 
  enthusiastic NPC research assistant for 
  Frances Perkins, who will be helping 
  the Chief produce reports about 
  – Outdoorsman 
  spend: 
  You 
  remember seeing multiple spots 
  around camp with similarly brown 
  colored grass – these were also 
  beside large trees.
  A simple 
  search shows 
  peculiar 
  markings in a circle around the tree, 
  which seem to spark a distant memory.
  • Occult: 
  These 
  markings 
  are 
  associated with a ritual.
  – 1-point spend: The ritual is 
  associated with the removal or 
  transfer of life, as if something 
  was pulling the power from the 
  tree’s life.
  Multiple jeeps racing towards the 
  Investigators can be heard, and then 
  seen cresting the hill. The jeeps stop a 
  few feet from them. The Safety Division 
  logo painted in bright white on the side 
  of the green jeeps catches a few rays of 
  the dying sunlight. One of the all-white 
  Safety Division officers steps out of 
  the jeep to survey the scene. If anyone 
  died, he orders his men into action, and 
  shouts at the Investigators to lie on the 
  ground and explain what happened. 
  • Cop Talk: The best answer is to say 
  the equipment was faulty, and you 
  were trying to save the guys trapped 
  under the tree. 
  Ignoring any answers the Investigators 
  volunteer, George Randall, Deputy of 
  Safety Division for Camp Smith calls 
  out their names one by one in order of 
  highest Credit Rating to lowest, and 
  orders them into the jeeps, telling them 
  the Chief wants to see them. 
  Deputy George Randall 
  George Randall is a lumbering, 
  intimidating and burly man who enjoys 
  the sound of his own voice and any 
  praise given to him. He will always use 
  three words – and likely, the wrong 
  ones – when one will do. George is a 
  horrible shot, a little slow, and wonders 
  why the Chief made him the Deputy 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  88
  – 1-point 
  spend: The 
  greenish 
  substance should have dried at least 
  a day ago, and it has a faint odor. 
  The meeting with Chief McShane takes 
  two hours (minimum), or up to four 
  hours with intense questioning. The 
  earliest the Investigators would be free 
  that evening is at 2030, giving them an 
  hour and a half before lights out. Most 
  of the men will be in their quarters by 
  now, and it is too dark to investigate the 
  crime scene. 
  On their way out of the office, the 
  Investigators encounter Lt. Jack Willis, 
  who will introduce himself, explain 
  that he works for Lt. Col. James, and 
  attempt to get on their good side. 
  • Cop Talk: Policing at Camp Smith is 
  complicated, and is a nearly constant 
  power struggle between the Labor 
  and War Departments. The Labor 
  Department runs the Safety Division 
  as a police force for the town, but 
  the War Department under Lt. Col. 
  James has been taking over some 
  of those duties for some unknown 
  reason. 
  – 1-point 
  spend: 
  The 
  War 
  Department should be running 
  the camp, but due to concerns 
  about its militaristic nature, the 
  Labor Department is tentatively in 
  charge. 
  His ultimate goal is to try to get them 
  to reveal what Chief McShane really 
  has them doing. The lie requires effort, 
  to suppress his hatred of blacks and 
  women being granted such freedom. 
  If they believe him, he even offers them a 
  gun (Colt M1911 .45ACP- heavy pistol) 
  from the armory, in case they encounter 
  any wildlife in the woods – after all, 
  bears and snakes are a common issue. 
  He reports all of his findings directly 
  to Lt. Col. James. His commanding 
  officer will let the investigation play 
  out, and swoop in for all the credit if 
  successful, showing up Chief McShane 
  • Officer Daniel Trouse (see p. 92) 
  discovered a body two days ago about 
  200 yards off of Little River Road. 
  He claimed to hear a scream, and the 
  sound of a fight. He went to investigate, 
  and found the victim, who has been 
  identified as James York, one of the 
  loggers. His axe was nearby, but no one 
  else was in the area. Trouse seemed a 
  little shaken when he was questioned. 
  McShane can give them directions to 
  where the body was found.
  • (core) The body is in the morgue, 
  located at the back of the medical 
  dispensary. The Investigators will 
  need Doctor Harrison to access it. 
  McShane notes that Doctor Harrison 
  traveled to town an hour ago, and will 
  not return until well after midnight, 
  likely drunk.
  – Bureaucracy: Doctor Harrison 
  works for the Department of Interior, 
  and so is outside of McShane’s 
  jurisdiction. Without probable cause, 
  and without convening the Board of 
  Directors for the camp, he can’t push 
  it any further.
  – Assess Honesty: McShane is sure 
  the doctor is hiding something, but 
  can’t say what.
  • James York stayed in Barrack Number 
  12, which houses about twenty 
  people. 
  • York also had been spotted taking a 
  number of trips into Negro town 
  (p. 92) over the last week. 
  An axe was assigned to James York 
  that day, but was never signed back in. 
  This should have been reported when 
  inventory was completed at 1800. This 
  axe is currently in the evidence locker, 
  which McShane can take them to if they 
  ask. Once unlocked, he hands the axe 
  directly to them. 
  • Evidence Collection: The handle 
  is nearly broken in half, and there is 
  a damp, greenish substance on the 
  blade of the weapon.
  department are at a loss when it comes 
  to dealing with whatever is going on in 
  camp, and no one is talking to them, 
  especially the coloreds. They could go 
  around and crack skulls until something 
  gives, but that rarely catches the true 
  culprit. So, he decided to take a different 
  approach, and recruit the Investigators 
  to look into the matter quietly. They 
  are one of the few integrated teams 
  working at the camp, and should be able 
  to blend.
  He can’t deputize them, or give them 
  any kind of official legal power, but he 
  has created a special project, under 
  which they are now employed. The 
  project allows them the freedom to 
  move about camp and off of the normal 
  work schedule for one week. That is all 
  the time he can give them. If anyone 
  asks what they’re doing, they are to tell 
  them they are on Watch detail. To help 
  sweeten the deal, McShane offers each 
  Investigator a two-dollar bonus once 
  this matter is resolved. 
  • Bargain: McShane is a little 
  desperate and can be pressured for 
  more money or equipment.
  – 1-point spend: He is willing to pay 
  up to five dollars per Investigator.
  – 2-point spend: McShane will loan 
  the Investigators the one of the 
  SD jeeps, which will cut all travel 
  around camp in half. 
  • Law: McShane is breaking the law by 
  bringing the Investigators into this 
  and turning them into a private task 
  force and accomplices.
  If Secretary Perkins’ staff wish to report 
  it to her, they’ll discover she is at one of 
  the other camps, with her other staff. 
  An official letter will take longer to 
  reach her than waiting for her return in 
  four days’ time.
  Once the details are sorted out, 
  McShane hands them a list of missing 
  people (Handout 2, p. 101), and tells 
  them the following:
  
  89
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  Doctor Robert Harrison
  Doctor Robert Harrison grew up the 
  son of wealthy mother and diplomatic 
  attaché father. He went to the best 
  schools and, with the aid of his father’s 
  influence, and his mother’s money, he 
  became accustomed to avoiding the 
  harder parts of life. Through a mix of 
  called-in favors and natural charm, he 
  joined the army as a Medical Officer 
  in 1914, with his first tour of duty in 
  Sweden before coming back to the 
  United States before World War I.
  When the U.S. joined the war, he 
  showed his true colors and used all of 
  his parents’ resources to avoid being 
  sent overseas. He stayed stateside, and 
  after the war, he was “asked” to retire 
  from the army. For a number of years, 
  he practiced medicine where he could, 
  but he mostly lived off his family. When 
  his parents died, they left everything 
  to his younger brother, Darrell, who 
  quickly cut him off.
  Harrison is now a heavy drinker, and it 
  has affected his work. His hands shake in 
  surgery, and his words slur together for 
  the first few hours of each day, but that 
  gets better as the hangover fades. 
  If the Investigators meet Harrison in 
  the morning, he is fighting a hangover, 
  and will be belligerent and curt, but 
  will answer any questions. He does not 
  care about race or gender and addresses 
  the character with the highest Credit 
  Rating. If interviewed after 1100, he is 
  smiling, with glazed eyes, still smelling 
  of gin. 
  • First Aid: Harrison is hungover, and 
  is likely in the early stages of liver 
  poisoning. 
  Harrison walks the Investigators to the 
  back of the medical dispensary and pulls 
  out a ring of keys, one of which unlocks 
  the door to the morgue. The room is 10 
  feet x 10 feet, and cool; a number of large 
  slabs of ice line the walls and keep the 
  temperature at roughly 50 degrees. The 
  1730. Nurse Carl Lasher is in charge 
  between 0800 and 2000. Doctor 
  Eugene Brooks is on duty from 2000 
  until Doctor Harrison comes back on 
  duty. Doctor Brooks is in his late 70s, 
  He’s very friendly to the Investigators, 
  but scatterbrained, and unable to answer 
  any questions, instead suggesting they 
  speak to Doctor Harrison.
  Lasher, the nurse and receptionist, is a 
  young man transferred from Alabama, 
  and not happy to see any blacks or 
  women coming into the infirmary. If 
  the players are using the pre-generated 
  characters (p. 103), the young man 
  sneers at them, and tells them that 
  Doctor Harrison is currently indisposed 
  and can’t see any surprise guests. He 
  will deny them access, and demand that 
  their supervisor comes to justify them 
  not working. 
  • Assess Honesty: Carl is lying, but 
  he won’t change his story. He claims 
  that only seeing their supervisor can 
  verify their need to see the doctor. 
  – Credit Rating (1-point spend, or 
  2-point spend for black or female 
  Investigators): The Investigators 
  can handle the situation by flashing 
  their special assignment paperwork 
  and having Carl double check it, 
  but this costs them an hour of time.
  If the Investigators call the Chief, it 
  takes McShane close to three hours to 
  arrive, and they are granted access after 
  his arrival. 
  If pushed, the young nurse will yell for 
  the orderlies, to “throw these lazy so-
  and-sos out”. 
  Orderlies
  Abilities Athletics 4, Health 6, 
  Scuffling 3
  Weapon: -2 (fist)
  Once past Carl, they hear him cursing 
  the minorities and women in their 
  party, shouting that the camp needs a 
  good lynching. 
  and ensuring his demotion, giving the 
  War Department free reign over the 
  SD. If the investigation fails, he will 
  accuse McShane of breaking the law, 
  and attempt to have both him and the 
  Investigators jailed.
  If the Investigators see through his 
  subterfuge (with a 1-point spend of an 
  appropriate Interpersonal ability), he 
  curses them in a rant, and storms off. 
  He will trail them around camp when 
  not on other duties, and become a 
  constant pain to the Investigators, but he 
  is unable to act unless he catches them 
  committing a crime, as any accusation 
  via Jim Crow will take too long.
  Lt. Jack Willis
  He’s a weasel, and a racist. He’s on the 
  older side for an officer of his rank, and 
  needs a break to get a promotion. Willis 
  pretends to be the Investigators’ friend; 
  he is always smiling, and willing to chip 
  in to help.
  Abilities: Assess Honesty 3, Athletics 
  4, Firearms 5, Flattery 8, Fleeing 5, 
  Health 5, Sanity 5, Shadowing 3,
  Stability 5 
  Weapon: +1 (Colt M1911 .45ACP- 
  heavy pistol), – 2 (fists) 
  Blood for Blood
  Scene Type: Core 
  Lead-Ins: Shady Dealings, Murder Site
  Lead-Outs: Seen Too Much, Grudge 
  Match, Questioning the Masses 
  James York’s body is in the morgue, in 
  the back of the large medical dispensary. 
  As the Investigators enter the building, 
  they are greeted by the scent of the 
  wood-burning furnace. Inside, the 
  building is incredibly warm; winter or 
  summer, it’s a constant 90 degrees. 
  The time of day the Investigators visit 
  the infirmary determines who they 
  will encounter there. Doctor Harrison 
  works there every day from 0930 to 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  90
  Murder Site 
  Scene Type: Core 
  Lead-Ins: Shady Dealings, Blood 
  for Blood
  Lead-Outs: 
  Grudge 
  Match, 
  Questioning 
  the 
  Masses, 
  Blood 
  for Blood
  The 
  Investigators 
  easily 
  follow 
  McShane’s directions to the murder 
  site. The trip there is bumpy, under-
  developed and not ready for vehicles, 
  taking an hour by jeep, or two hours 
  by foot. The journey (Difficulty 4 
  Drive test) is a rough one, and the 
  jeep may stall. If stalled, a Difficulty 
  3 Mechanical Repair test and two 
  hours of work gets the jeep moving 
  again. The terrain is scheduled to 
  be forested in three weeks, but has 
  been postponed due to the recent 
  disappearances and the murder. 
  The Investigators quickly find the 
  location once they arrive at the site. 
  Yellow Safety Division tape cordons off 
  a two-hundred-foot area, and a number 
  of wooden signs read “Safety Division 
  Officers Only.” On the ground near 
  the lake, bloodstained leaves provide an 
  outline of where York’s body was found. 
  A detailed search of the area reveals a 
  number of clues:
  • (core) 
  Evidence 
  Collection: 
  A cracked green scale with dried 
  brownish blood in buried among the 
  leaves. This is the same type as the 
  scale in York’s CCC uniform (Blood 
  for Blood, p. 89).
  – 1-point spend: The scale was 
  hit with an axe, from a vertical 
  position. The blood on it is York’s.
  • Medicine: The blood smearing on 
  the leaves suggest that York suffered 
  convulsions on the ground, likely due 
  to incredible pain.
  – 1-point spend: The amount of 
  blood found on the scene does not 
  correspond with the loss in York.
  • Chemistry: The greenish substance 
  has the consistency of blood.
  – 1-point spend: Two hours of 
  researching with the lab shows that 
  the greenish substance has all the 
  markers of human blood, with a 
  few unknown strains of something 
  inhuman. 
  An examination of York’s possessions 
  reveals the following:
  • Evidence 
  Collection: 
  York’s 
  CCC uniform was shredded by a 
  five-fingered claw.
  A simple search reveals that a single, 
  large, green scale is embedded in 
  the uniform.
  • Biology: The large scale is reptilian 
  in nature.
  – 1-point spend: Based on the 
  size and shape of the scale, the 
  creature is easily bigger than any 
  native reptiles
  If asked, Doctor Harrison grants the 
  Investigators access to the medical files. 
  • Library Use: A three-hour search 
  turns up all of the medical records for 
  the victims. (See Handout 3, p. 101).
  A 1-point spend of either Flattery 
  or 
  Medicine 
  garners 
  Doctor 
  Harrison’s favor, and grants the 
  Investigators full access to the camp’s 
  only laboratory, located in the medical 
  dispensary. While the small lab is not 
  state of the art, it has everything the 
  Investigators would need to run any 
  sort of chemical or other scientific 
  analysis. Due to space restrictions, 
  only one Investigator can properly run  
  any test. 
  Time: Each use of the lab costs the 
  Investigators two hours. The trip 
  to the medical sispensary can take 
  anywhere from two to six hours of the 
  Investigators’ day, depending on their 
  actions. 
  smell of death hangs in the room. The 
  naked, twisted remains of James York, 
  slowly decaying, lie on a morgue table 
  covered by a single, thin white sheet. On 
  a table nearby are all of his possessions, 
  neatly folded and catalogued. The 
  medical report shows that Harrison 
  was attacked by a wild animal, and has 
  unidentified poisons in his system. 
  Doctor Harrison leans against the 
  now-closed door to the room, lights 
  a cigarette and waits to answer any 
  questions the Investigators may have. A 
  Filch test (Difficulty 2 in the morning, 
  Difficulty 4 in the afternoon) easily 
  removes the morgue key without 
  Harrison noticing. 
  An examination of the body reveals 
  the following:
  • Forensics: There are two enormous 
  fang marks on the left side of York’s 
  neck. His eyes are open, and staring 
  in abject terror. Each of his shoulders 
  has deep lacerations, as if ripped by 
  claws. 
  – 1-point spend: The tongue is missing 
  – it appears to have fallen back into 
  York’s throat prior to death.
  • Medicine: Time of death was three 
  days ago.
  – 1-point spend: York died from a 
  fast-acting venom that killed him 
  nearly instantly.
  – 2-point spend: York has lost a lot of 
  blood – considerably more than he 
  would have lost through the fang 
  marks on his neck.
  • Evidence Collection: A dried 
  greenish fluid that resembles the 
  substance on the axe (Shady Dealings, 
  p. 88) is present in the bite marks. 
  • (core) Outdoorsman: The depth 
  of the shoulder lacerations match the 
  claws of a small brown bear, but the 
  fang marks do not. There are no local 
  animals with claws like that, which 
  also have a poisonous bite.
  
  91
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  The sun is setting, and is barely visible 
  behind the white cross atop the chapel 
  which overlooks the ring. Standing in 
  front of the chapel is Pastor Trey Echo. 
  A former Medium Heavy Weight 
  Champion in 1918, Echo’s final loss was 
  devastating and he retired. Having little 
  else, he followed in his father’s footsteps 
  and became a minister. To his surprise, 
  he enjoyed it and had a talent for it. His 
  stature drew people’s attention, and his 
  swagger kept it. The Great Depression 
  hurt his congregants and he lost his church. 
  Eventually he landed a role with the CCC.
  Echo is a calm man, with a kind spirit 
  and reassuring presence, who cares 
  about his congregation deeply. He asked 
  to have the Grudge Match ring outside 
  of the chapel, so he could keep an eye on 
  it, and make sure no one was seriously 
  wounded. He watches each fight from 
  the chapel, and is ready to break up any 
  fight if it gets too serious. 
  The crowd boos the Investigator 
  that enters the circle with Elephant. 
  Elephant rushes the Investigator and 
  fights until he is knocked out, as he 
  doesn’t feel pain or suffer any negative 
  modifiers until the K.O. If it looks at 
  any point like either Elephant or the 
  Investigator is in danger, Pastor Echo 
  will step in and break it up. Otherwise, 
  the fight continues until either Elephant 
  or the Investigator is knocked out.
  • Medicine: Roger likely has suffered 
  nerve damage, and doesn’t register 
  the pain he takes, making him a 
  nearly perfect boxer, and one that 
  won’t submit.
  If the Investigator wins, once Elephant is 
  up and moving the next day, he searches 
  them out and offers to help any way he 
  can. It is rare to find someone that can 
  beat him. If the Investigator loses, the 
  crowd cheers, and leaves happy. 
  Time: If the Investigator battles it out 
  with “Elephant” it takes an hour, not 
  get people to talk to them around camp. 
  Win or lose, they need to resolve this.
  • 1-point Streetwise 
  spend: 
  “Elephant” has a baby out-of-wedlock 
  and does not want it to get out.
  – Intimidate (1-point spend): On 
  a whispered mention of the baby, 
  Roger backs down, and takes the 
  shame of losing the grudge match.
  – Bargain: Roger could easily 
  be blackmailed to help the 
  Investigators, as long as this 
  information is held over him.
  Brad “Elephant” Roger
  Roger is a wall of man, one of the better 
  fighters at the camp, known for his 
  ability to take a beating. 
  Roger does not really like that blacks 
  and women are running around the 
  camp, and making as much money as he 
  does, but he doesn’t care enough to do 
  anything about it – unless Nurse Lasher 
  (if the Investigators have angered him) 
  offered him a few doses of a high grade 
  narcotic, or Randy Larkin offered him 
  50 cents, to put the Investigators in 
  their place. 
  Brad “Elephant” Roger
  Abilities: Athletics 5, Health 11, 
  Intimidation 5, Sanity 4, Scuffling 7, 
  Stability 5.
  Weapon: – 2 (fist)
  The Match
  If the Investigator agrees to the match, 
  the gathering crowd escorts them 
  to the grudge match dirt ring. As 
  the Investigators approach, over two 
  hundred people have gathered, and 
  are cheering on the oncoming battle. 
  Nurse Lasher waits to one side, ready 
  to give medical assistance to anyone 
  who needs it. A small black hat makes 
  its way around the crowd, with more 
  and more money being dumped  
  into it. 
  • Streetwise: This is illegal gambling, 
  which goes against military orders. 
  • Geology: The earth is very dry and 
  brittle, and this is more than just 
  dehydration. It resembles the soil 
  around the tree that fell on to the 
  other loggers the previous day (A 
  Woodcutter’s Life Is Not For Me, p. 85).
  • Occult: There are peculiar markings 
  in a circle around one tree.
  – 1-point spend: 
  The 
  ritual 
  is 
  associated with the removal or 
  transfer of life, as if something 
  drained the life essence from 
  the tree.
  • (core) Outdoorsman: Multiple 
  sets of footprints are visible in the 
  cordoned-off area. One set matches 
  York’s boot size. A second set leads 
  directly to where the body lay. The 
  second set’s footprints appear to be 
  all over, as if they frequent this area. 
  – 1-point spend: There are no animal 
  sounds, or recent animal tracks 
  in the area around the body. The 
  crime scene itself was undisturbed 
  by animals, which is unusual.
  Grudge Match
  Scene Type: Antagonist Reaction 
  Lead-Ins: Blood for Blood, Murder Site
  Lead-Outs: Questioning the Masses, 
  Seen Too Much
  The evening after the Investigators have 
  met Doctor Harrison, shortly after the 
  logging crews return to camp, a group 
  of three men, one a good head taller than 
  the others, approaches the Investigators. 
  A crowd of onlookers follow the trio 
  as the tallest, Brad “Elephant” Roger, 
  issues a challenge to the toughest-
  looking of the Investigators of color; if 
  no Investigator of color exists, he issues 
  the challenge to whichever Investigator 
  has the highest Health. “It’s grudge match 
  time! Right now. Or everyone at the camp 
  will know you’re not black, just yellow!”
  The Investigators know that refusing the 
  challenge will make it much harder to 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  92
  • Interrogation: After shift, a few 
  other people have heard that Marcus 
  Wright, from Barracks 25 in Negro 
  town, skipped duty today.
  Negro Town
  Negro town is composed of the last two 
  barracks, 25 and 26, consisting of multiple 
  bunks for squads of workers. The CCC 
  squad system is a variant of the military 
  unit structure and used for deployment of 
  workers. Each squad is composed of 8 to 
  12 workers, based on the assigned duties. 
  Logger squads are larger than kitchen 
  support squads. The African American 
  squad numbers are 107-115, and make up 
  roughly 10% of Camp Smith’s workforce. 
  The area is heavily monitored by SD 
  and military police. Both CCC divisions 
  frequently stop workers of color and 
  question them, while their white 
  counterparts can come and go with 
  little harassment. Most of the African 
  American workers are not keen to 
  discuss anything with whites, as it draws 
  too much attention. 
  A little Flattery or Oral History goes 
  a lot further than Interrogation or 
  Intimidation attempts, which require 
  a 1-point spend to get information).
  On the first day, they can find out 
  the following:
  • (core) (Barracks 25) York was following 
  someone around the other night.
  On the second day, this additional 
  information is revealed:
  • Flattery/Oral History: Everyone 
  is talking about how Joe Lane ran out 
  of the chapel ranting about alligators.
  • Oral History: (Barracks 25-26) 
  Marcus Wright was not in his bed this 
  morning, and no one has seen him 
  all day.
  – 1-point spend: Marcus claims to 
  have seen someone looking in the 
  barrack window last night.
  • Reassurance: Officer Trouse admits 
  he heard a scream at 0207. The 
  Investigator notes that the call over 
  the radio did not come in until after 
  0300, and he admits to passing out.
  • (core) Cop Talk: Some of the blacks, 
  from Barracks 25, reported seeing 
  some people sneaking out of camp at 
  night and reported it a few days ago.
  General Knowledge
  This information can be found by speaking 
  to James York’s roommates in barracks 
  12, or any of the other men. On the first 
  day, they can find out the following:
  • Flattery: People are concerned about 
  the disappearances, and are linking 
  them to the strange lights in the sky – 
  every time they lights appear, there’s 
  a disappearance. (Barracks 21 thinks 
  it is secret government testing).
  • Assess Honesty: (Barracks 12) York 
  had a girlfriend.
  –  1-point spend: This is an assumption 
  based on his activity – he had been 
  sneaking out late at night.
  • Oral History: (Barracks 17) York 
  was begging for money.
  Resuming 
  their 
  interrogations, 
  or speaking to different barracks, 
  on the second day reveals this 
  additional information:
  • Oral 
  History: 
  (Barracks 
  12) 
  Someone wonders aloud how Joe 
  Lane is doing. He was found the other 
  night wandering in the woods.
  • Flattery or Bargain: A tree 
  collapsed on a couple of loggers 
  without them even touching it.
  • Medicine: One of the trees near the 
  lake had a strange greenish sap that 
  was tingly to the touch, which one of 
  the men touched. A look at the man’s 
  fingers shows redness akin to dipping 
  in weak acid.
  counting acquiring medical assistance. 
  This could easily last another two hours 
  as Lasher treats the fighters.
  Questioning the Masses
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Shady Dealings, Blood for 
  Blood, Murder Site, Grudge Match
  Lead-Outs: Seen Too Much, Tomes 
  and Radio Waves, No Meal Today
  The information available to the 
  Investigators depends on when they 
  speak to the camp’s other residents. 
  Zxaft/Larkin will likely have already 
  taken his seventh victim, Marcus Wright, 
  by the time they start their interviews 
  (see Antagonist Reactions, p. 82).
  Officer Daniel Trouse
  The man who found the body, Officer 
  Daniel Trouse, is a tall, proud and quiet 
  man. He likes to do his patrols alone, 
  and turns in reports on time so no one 
  bothers him. He called in a few favors 
  to get his younger brother Sam Trouse 
  stationed in the kitchens here, because 
  their mother begged, and insisted Sammy 
  was too young to go it alone. While not 
  jealous of his younger brother’s love of 
  life, he just doesn’t get it. 
  Trouse was too stunned at the sight of 
  York’s body to properly do his job; he 
  had never seen a dead body before, 
  and fainted. At least that is what he 
  remembers. What actually happened 
  was Trouse stumbled upon Zxaft in his 
  serpent-folk form biting York. His mind 
  snapped to protect itself, wiped away 
  any memory of the monster, and he 
  passed out. He awoke some time later, 
  and attempted to do his job, but the 
  sight of the body caused him to throw 
  up. He answers all questions directed at 
  him and tries to make it sound like he 
  did everything by the book. However, 
  he’s clearly afraid of losing his job; 
  the embarrassment of being rattled 
  by a body will not fly with a hardened 
  former cop like Chief McShane.
  
  93
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  the man to be properly understood. 
  Any attempt at Interrogation or 
  Intimidation 
  before 
  successfully 
  anchoring Joe results in the man 
  screaming in panic, and bringing Pastor 
  Echo running. The clergyman calmly 
  asks the Investigators to leave and not 
  return – however, discussion with 
  Theology about the value of life, 
  or a 2-point spend of Reassurance 
  or 
  Credit 
  Rating, 
  results 
  in 
  the Investigators being granted a 
  small window of additional time  
  with Joe. 
  If called a second time, Pastor Echo 
  takes a more physical route to remove 
  the troublemakers from the chapel, and 
  may call on the grudge circle, if needed. 
  Difficulty 3 Sense Trouble notes Father 
  Echo won’t tolerate another disturbance, 
  or upsetting the young man. 
  Once calmed, Joe opens up and reveals 
  the following:
  • Interrogation or Oral History: 
  Joe lives in Barracks 12. He frequently 
  snuck out at night and went for hikes, 
  all alone. No-one else ever used to 
  go…but since those lights in the 
  sky…one of his bunkmates has been 
  going out, too.
  • (core) The lake was so clear, it 
  shimmered like nothing he had ever 
  seen. It never used to be so bright, 
  even in the moonlight.
  – Cthulhu Mythos: Joe is talking 
  about a portal that only works 
  at night.
  • (core) So many green scales. The 
  alligator…no, the snake…was so big. 
  It was singing…no, chanting...it was 
  chanting some kind of poem.
  • It had O’Connell…James fought 
  it and hit it with his axe, but it bit 
  him. He fell down, rolled around, 
  screamed a lot. Joe ran when he saw 
  the patrolman…he thought he’d get 
  into trouble.
  (p. 91), who has tried to make Joe as 
  comfortable as possible, and is reading 
  the bible to him (or sci-fi books when 
  no one is around). Joe was brought 
  there the day after James York’s murder, 
  although the Pastor won’t reference it in 
  those terms, after he had a breakdown 
  and started raving about alligators and 
  snakes in the chapel.
  Pastor Echo knows the poor man is 
  beyond his help, but also that if he goes 
  home, his family will not be able to help, 
  and won’t receive any more money.
  Echo’s plan is to try to keep him 
  calm for the last two months of Joe’s 
  contract. Then, he will see if the Army 
  will provide medical assistance. To that 
  end, he doesn’t let anyone upset Joe, 
  and keeps visitors to a minimum. 
  Whatever time of day the Investigators 
  visit Joe, Pastor Echo is reading to him. 
  If Echo does not notice their approach, 
  he is reading A Fighting Man of Mars, by 
  Edgar Rice Burroughs. He smiles and 
  shrugs if discovered, saying it helps 
  broaden the mind. 
  • Reassurance (1-point spend): The 
  Investigator convinces the pastor 
  that they are not going to upset the 
  patient, and may do some good to 
  talk to him. Echo goes about his 
  chapel duties unless Joe cries out.
  Joe is in a catatonic state, staring out of 
  the window. His breathing is shallow, 
  and his eyes rarely blink. 
  • Medicine: 
  There 
  is 
  nothing 
  physically wrong with the young 
  man. He is being properly taken care 
  of, and looks well fed. 
  • (core) 
  Reassurance: 
  Speaking 
  kindly and gently to Joe gets him to 
  mumble a few words: “crystal clear 
  water” and “so many scales”. 
  A Difficulty 4 Psychoanalysis test with 
  a reasonable anchor to reality enables 
  • Outdoorsman: 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  set of footprints in front of the 
  barrack window.
  On the third day, they can access 
  more clues:
  • Assess Honesty: They’re saying 
  Marcus Wright jumped a train back 
  to Alabama. But the men just want to 
  believe it’s true; they’re scared by all 
  the disappearances.
  • Oral History: (Late in the day) 
  Randy Larkin from Barracks 12 has 
  not reported to work all day. And 
  Peggy White, the cutie from Chief 
  McShane’s office, is gone, too. Word 
  is they’ve run off together, although 
  she didn’t seem the type.
  • Sense Trouble: There’s a faint odor 
  reminiscent of a zoo reptile house in 
  Barrack 12.
  – 1-point Evidence Collection or 
  Outdoorsman spend: The faint 
  odour in Barrack 12 is originating 
  from Larkin’s bunk.
  • Mechanical 
  Repair: 
  Randy 
  Larkin’s military bed’s metal springs 
  are warped, as if something weighing 
  about three times as much as Larkin 
  had been using the bed.
  • Flattery, 
  Oral 
  History 
  or 
  Interrogation: 
  Randy 
  Larkin, 
  James York and Joe Lane were 
  bunkmates, 
  although 
  not 
  close 
  buddies. Randy used to spend a bit of 
  time in the radio station.
  Seen Too Much
  Scene Type: Core/ Interview 
  Lead-Ins: Questioning the Masses, 
  Blood for Blood, Grudge Match
  Lead-Outs: Fight for Your Right, Tomes 
  and Radio Waves, Crystal Clear Lake
  Joe Lane is in the rectory of the chapel 
  under the watchful eye of Pastor Echo 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  94
  to be new, and takes serious skill to 
  Locksmith (Difficulty 5). If a couple 
  of Investigators put their backs into it, 
  the door crumples under the assault, 
  but places them immediately into 
  Zxaft’s trap. They can be saved by a 
  Sense Trouble Difficulty 6. 
  The room has a layer of water on the 
  floor, and a power cable has been 
  placed so that when the door is opened, 
  it falls into the water, turning the 
  floor into a death trap. A Difficulty 
  5 Health test reduces the damage 
  to 1d6-1 as the the Investigator leaps 
  back into the safety of the hallway. 
  A failed roll locks the Investigators in 
  place as volts of currents race through 
  them for 1d6 damage. A Difficulty 5 
  Athletics test lands the Investigators 
  on an insulated piece of machinery 
  that can pull open the drain, allowing 
  the water to flow out of the room in  
  four rounds.
  An Electrical Repair test (Difficulty 
  3) notes the panel beside the door, and 
  turns off the power into the room in 
  two rounds.
  The basement is a catacomb of wires, 
  glass bulbs and machinery. The floor is 
  slippery from the thin layer of water. 
  The room is hot, and reeks of reptiles 
  and sulfur. At the back of one of the 
  generators is a satchel, attached with 
  Brad is truly helpful but doesn’t know 
  anything, as Zxaft/Larkin has been 
  wiping his memory every time he comes 
  to the radio station. Anyone interested 
  in radio, or with a Flattery spend, is 
  offered a tour of the two story station. 
  Brad tells them about the origins of 
  radio, the current technology, how the 
  president uses the radio as a means to 
  communicate with the public. Camp 
  Smith doesn’t have enough live acts 
  to provide all the coverage they need, 
  so he relays from a couple of different 
  radio stations and lets some of the camp 
  bands play music at night. Occasionally, 
  the theater troupe does a play. 
  Once at the basement, where most of 
  the electronics for the station are, the 
  tour ends, as Brad looks for his key, 
  which appears to be missing. He leaves 
  the Investigators there while he goes 
  upstairs to look for it. A Difficulty 3 
  Sense Trouble notices the basement 
  smells akin to a snake house at the zoo.
  The Investigators have a little time to 
  decide what to do, if anything. Brad 
  returns fifteen minutes later without 
  the key. He asks if anyone can open the 
  door, even if they have to break it down. 
  The other two keyholders are visiting 
  the other camps with Secretary Perkins 
  for the week, and it is important he 
  can access the room. The lock appears 
  After the information is shared, he 
  turns back toward the window, his face 
  calm and expressionless. 
  Tomes and Radio Waves
  Scene Type: Core/Hazard 
  Lead-Ins: Seen Too Much, Questioning 
  the Masses
  Lead-Outs: Crystal Clear Lake, Fight 
  for Your Right, No Meal Today
  Brad Waverly runs the radio station for 
  Camp Smith. He is a graduate in Electrical 
  Engineering and keeps the station 
  running, mostly through force of will. He 
  is one of the three people in the camp that 
  has a key to the station, and the only one 
  that is not on the board of directors. 
  Brad is friendly and ready to educate 
  anyone who seems interested about 
  radio. One of his tactics is to start 
  answering questions, and then link his 
  answers to how radio works or with 
  the future of what radio can become. 
  He addresses the Investigators in the 
  following order: white males, women, 
  and then blacks. If anyone is brave 
  enough to call him on it, he doesn’t 
  even realize that he does it. 
  • Assess Honesty: He is telling the 
  truth. He just mumbles “Society, 
  right?” and shrugs. 
  The Golden Age of Radio
  The 30s were the golden age of 
  radio, with over 12 million found in 
  U.S. homes at the start of the decade, 
  doubling in numbers by the end of 
  it. Radio station programming in the 
  30s and 40s was mostly live, because 
  the means to record commercials or 
  programs had not been developed. A 
  scant few stations had very delicate, 
  but mostly untested, acetate records. 
  Even 
  during 
  the 
  Depression, 
  Americans valued their radios above 
  all, as it provided an easy escape 
  for the entire family from the harsh 
  reality. Homes often had radios that 
  were large, serving as centerpieces, 
  around which they gathered at night 
  to listen to their favorite radio shows 
  such as The Shadow, Green Hornet and 
  The Lone Ranger. 
  Camp Smith’s radio station primarily 
  loops broadcasts from the local 
  stations, 
  the 
  occasional 
  Camp 
  Smith band, and for any official 
  announcements. Each barracks has 
  one battered and refurnished radio 
  at the end, closest to the door.
  
  95
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  Over dinner on the second night, Randy 
  Larkin lets it slip that a black Investigator 
  has been seen chatting up white ladies, 
  and the white Investigators, if there are 
  any, are sympathetic. He knows it is 
  nearly impossible to be traced back to 
  him, as hate quickly fills the table and 
  everyone repeats it. 
  At the start of the third day, or at an 
  appropriate time when the Investigators 
  are outside of camp or driving between 
  locations, they encounter two loggers 
  at a van with the hood open. The two 
  men glance toward the oncoming 
  Investigators, and try to wave them 
  down for assistance.
  If the Investigators stop, the men 
  will attack the Investigators with the 
  intention of killing them, or disabling 
  them, so they can lynch the black ones. 
  A Difficulty 5 Sense Trouble notices 
  two other men with axes racing out 
  the woods towards them. On a failure, 
  the men are able to capture any black 
  Investigators unawares, tie them up and 
  force the black ones into the back of 
  the van. 
  Either way, the Investigators must make 
  a 2-point Stability test to deal with the 
  shock of seeing these men they work 
  with trying to kill them; on a failure, 
  they realize that more people at the 
  camp could be coming for them. 
  once more their black basalt cities 
  will be built upon the broken backs of 
  humanity. It also contains the following 
  spells: Create Moonbridge, Oil of 
  Alhazred, Resurrection and Summon/
  Bind Nature’s Guardian.
  Time: The tour of the radio station 
  takes two to three hours, as Brad 
  enthusiastically uses the chance to teach 
  the Investigators about the history of 
  radio, how radio waves travel and the 
  electrical infrastructure of the radio 
  station. (Listening to Brad’s entire tale 
  reduces the Electrical Repair test 
  Difficulty to turn off the power by one.) 
  Questioning Brad takes less than half 
  an hour, as he doesn’t know anything 
  of interest. Entering the basement, 
  deactivating the trap, searching it and 
  discovering the journal takes around 
  an hour. Time can be cut down by 
  half if the Investigators rudely push 
  Brady forward, but a 1-point spend of 
  Flattery, while expressing interest in 
  learning about radio, is needed for him 
  to finish the tour.
  Fight for Your Right
  Scene type: Antagonist Reaction 
  Lead-Ins: Seen Too Much, Tomes and 
  Radio Waves
  Lead-Outs: Crystal Clear Lake, No 
  Meal Today 
  a pale greenish substance. An oiled 
  leather journal (Handout 4, p. 102) 
  written in a strange language is the only 
  thing inside. 
  • Languages (Aklo) or Cthulhu 
  Mythos: You recognize the language 
  as royal serpent-folk. You can read the 
  book with no translation needed.
  • History: The leather of the cover is 
  very, very old, even though it feels 
  new to the touch.
  – 1-point spend: Based on its design, 
  you would say the journal is more 
  than three thousand years old.
  • Cryptography or Occult: The 
  symbols in the book are for rituals 
  of some kind. You could probably 
  translate the book in six hours’ time 
  (three hours, if the Investigator 
  also has access to the library, and 
  Library Use). 
  Once 
  translated, 
  Zxaft’s 
  journal 
  (Handout 4, p. 102) takes about two hours 
  to read. It mentions with disgust the 
  course rituals he had to cast to restore his 
  power, draining the life from inanimate, 
  base trees. It rambles on and on about 
  the rebirth of his people, how once again 
  they shall flourish, akin to how they did 
  on the continent of Valusia (the current 
  day Mediterranean Basin). It notes how 
  they predated the dinosaurs, and how 
  Create Moonbridge 
  This spell creates a bridge between 
  the waking world and Dreamlands 
  for one minute. The spell must be 
  cast at night onto a body of clear 
  water at least ten feet wide. The spell 
  must be continually chanted for the 
  duration and remains open for 30 
  seconds on both sides. The caster and 
  allies begin walking on one end, and 
  walk to the other side. 
  No matter where the spell is cast 
  on Earth, the destination is always 
  the same in the Dreamlands: the 
  Enchanted Woods. 
  Stability Test Difficulty: 4 (3 with 
  Cryptography or Physics)
  Cost: 3 Stability or 6 Health. The 
  cost can be divided between multiple 
  casters; if it is, all casters must chant 
  for the full six rounds, or the spell 
  will fail and must be started over 
  from the beginning
  Time: Six rounds to cast (three 
  rounds with a Physics, Occult or 
  Cryptography spend)
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  96
  scales glinting, but can’t remember 
  anything else.
  If the Investigators examine the venom, 
  they discover it has the same inhuman 
  elements as the substance on the blade 
  of York’s axe (see p. 88).
  Crystal Clear Lake
  Scene Type: Antagonist Reaction 
  Lead-Ins: Tomes and Radio Waves, No 
  Meal Today, Fight For Your Right, Seen 
  Too Much
  Lead-Outs: Dreaming of a Better  
  Tomorrow
  The ride out to the lake is as rough as 
  the day before. A full moon hangs low 
  in the sky, illuminating every inch of 
  open forest. The crystal clear water 
  sparkles in the moonlight, unmoving, 
  unnaturally still, and cold to the touch. 
  The casting of the ritual to open the 
  moon bridge (see p. 95) takes 3 rounds. 
  However, Zxaft has placed a dominated 
  deputy, Andy Ink, to protect the portal. 
  The young deputy is hiding in a tree 
  30 yards away with a perfect vantage 
  point of the pond. He starts to snipe 
  the Investigators the moment they start 
  casting the spell. 
  Deputy Andy Ink
  Abilities: Athletics 5, Firearms 6, 
  Health 6, Sanity 5, Shadowing 8, 
  Stability 4.
  Weapon: + 1 (M1891 6.5 mm bolt-
  action carbine – Light Rifle)
  If the Investigators have teamed up with 
  Lt. Jack Willis (p. 89), he will show up 
  at this point. He has been shadowing 
  them, and will step in to save them, and 
  his promotion. Alas, a valiant effort for 
  the wrong reason is Willis’ last action. 
  The officer is able to shoot down Ink, 
  but he is also hit. If the Investigators 
  stay to witness the sight, a Stability 
  test steels them against it, or they lose 
  2 Stability.
  The massive dining hall can hold 
  over five hundred whites and up 
  to fifty blacks, who have a smaller, 
  dirtier section in the very back of the 
  building. The building falls under the 
  Department of War, and always has 
  two armed MPs at the front door. 
  After the Investigators have questioned 
  Barracks 25 or acquired his journal, 
  Zxaft dominates Sammy Trouse, Officer 
  Trouse’s younger brother and one of the 
  kitchen staff, to poison the Investigators 
  during their next meal. Zxaft creates a 
  poison from his own blood and venom. 
  Sammy is eighteen years old, and usually 
  chatty. The other staff have noticed that 
  he is very quiet today. He serves as 
  many of the Investigators as possible. 
  A Difficulty 6 Sense Trouble test 
  (Difficulty 4 if the Investigators tested 
  the venom in the lab) detects a strange 
  odor to the food. The Investigators 
  notice that no one else’s food has that 
  odor, if checked. If tested in the lab with 
  Chemistry, the origins of the poison 
  are easily linked to the venom that killed 
  York. Once consumed, a Difficulty 
  5 Health test reduces the damage to 
  1d6-2, otherwise the Investigator takes 
  1d6 each round until the save is made, 
  or an anti-venom is administered to 
  the victim. 
  If Sammy is uncovered, he doesn’t 
  remember waking up and coming in 
  this morning, as he had a pass to town. 
  • Assess Honesty: The young man is 
  telling the truth. He seems dazed and 
  confused. 
  • Occult or Hypnosis: Sammy’s 
  distant stare and dilated pupils are 
  similar to those of someone recently 
  hypnotized, or under a controlling 
  spell. The victim will not remember 
  anything, unless they can trigger 
  a memory.
  – 1-point spend: Mentioning scales, 
  alligators, or snakes triggers a 
  strong reaction in Sammy; he 
  remembers a flash of green, and 
  Loggers
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Fleeing 5, Health 
  6, Outdoorsman 4, Sanity 6, Scuffling 
  3, Stability 5, Weapons 3.
  Weapon: +1 (axe), – 2 (fist)
  If captured, the loggers will begin to 
  drive them to a lynching site a few 
  hundred yards behind the chapel, just 
  inside the wood line. None of the men 
  are Ku Klux Klan members; they just 
  believe that white makes right, and that 
  their women need protecting.
  During the trip, the voices of the loggers 
  can be heard laughing and talking about 
  watching their bodies swinging. The 
  Investigators must make a Stability 
  test to stifle their revulsion, or they lose 
  3 points of Stability as they understand 
  the cruelty of humanity. A Difficulty 4 
  Filch test frees the Investigators from 
  their bonds, and allows them to escape 
  out the back of the van.
  If the loggers are unsuccessful, the 
  news spreads like wildfire throughout 
  the camp, and a number of riots break 
  out. The Safety Division is focused on 
  dealing with the issue; all of the military 
  police are deployed to handle incidents 
  around camp, and Chief McShane puts 
  pressure on the Investigators that this 
  needs to end. Zxaft now has free reign 
  to carry out the rest of his plans, as it 
  takes three days for the camp to return 
  to normal.
  All cross-race social skills require 
  a 
  1-point 
  spend, 
  and 
  uses 
  of 
  Intimidation results in brawls. The 
  more racist members of the camp 
  outright refuse to engage with people 
  of color. 
  No Meal Today
  Scene Type: Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: Questioning the Masses, 
  Tomes and Radio Waves, Fight for 
  Your Right
  Lead-Outs: Crystal Clear Lake
  
  97
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  Ghouls
  Abilities: Athletics 9, Health 7 (4), 
  Scuffling 9
  Hit Threshold: 4 (5 underground)
  Alertness 
  Modifier: 
  +2 
  (+0 
  in daylight)
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: +1 (claw), +0 (bite); if two 
  bite attacks in a row succeed against 
  the same target, the ghoul is worrying 
  the poor devil with his mighty canine 
  jaws, and the second attack thus does 
  double damage. The ghoul need not 
  roll to hit that target thereafter, but 
  will continue to do normal damage 
  to it each round until killed or  
  driven off.
  Armor: firearms and projectiles do 
  only half damage (round up) 
  Stability Loss: +0; +1 if the ghoul 
  was known to the witness when alive
  If the Investigators inquire about 
  weapons, the ghouls lead them to one 
  of their feeding grounds, where dozens 
  of mostly consumed, and now rotting, 
  corpses await them. A successful 
  Stability test prevents them from 
  losing 2 Stability. Investigators find a 
  pile of weapons ranging from daggers 
  to broadswords, all of them crusted 
  with blood and rust. 
  Really... A Castle 
  Scene Type: Conclusion
  Lead-Ins: Dreaming Of a Better 
  Tomorrow, Ghouls’ Tea Party 
  Lead-Outs: 
  Rescuers, 
  Murderers 
  or Cohorts
  The Investigators (and possibly their 
  ghoul allies) walk towards the castle 
  looming in the distance. The building 
  is behind a massive, partially destroyed 
  wall. As they approach the stone 
  structure, Sense Trouble first notices 
  the gigantic paw prints left in the dirt 
  and steel-like four-foot black hairs of 
  fur. Their ghoul allies warn them of 
  the unnatural beast guarding the castle, 
  which is heavily armored.
  • (core) Evidence Collection: Larkin’s 
  destroyed boots have been tossed into 
  the woods 20 feet southward.
  – 1-point spend: Another large green 
  scale lies on the ground. This scale 
  appears more lush than the previous 
  ones collected.
  • Outdoorsman: The wood is well-
  traveled by various creatures of 
  all sizes, ranging from cat-size to 
  something gigantic, and a number of 
  tracks point south.
  – 1-point spend: Larkin’s footprints, 
  also running southwards, are deep, 
  implying he was carrying something 
  heavy – at least 100 lbs. 
  Ghouls’ Tea Party 
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: Dreaming Of a Better  
  Tomorrow
  Lead-Outs: Really... A Castle
  A pack of ghouls attempts to sneak up 
  on the Investigators if they follow the 
  alternate set of tracks. Sense Trouble 
  hears the sounds of barking echoing 
  through the woods; it doesn’t sound 
  like dogs, and is getting closer. 
  Four 
  rubbery-skinned, 
  hooved 
  humanoids with canine features loom 
  out of the shadowed woods. One of 
  their number comes forward and speaks 
  in gruff, nearly dog-like barks, causing a 
  4-point Stability test.
  If the Investigators do not attack them, 
  one of the ghouls comes forward and, 
  through a maw of sharpened teeth, says, 
  “You seek the beast? We wish to kill the beast 
  that hunts us. Together we work?” 
  • History: The language is old English, 
  and about 500 years old. The dialect 
  depicts a lower class, likely a former serf. 
  • Assess Honesty: The creature is 
  hard to read, but believes they are 
  speaking the truth. 
  If the Investigators have not teamed up 
  with Willis, they will need to find a way 
  to render Deputy Ink unconscious, or 
  persuade him to stop shooting with a 
  successful Interpersonal spend.
  Once Ink has been stopped and the 
  ritual has been cast, the pond starts to 
  shimmer a pale red, and the Investigators 
  can enter it.
  Dreaming of a Better 
  Tomorrow
  Scene Type: Core 
  Lead-Ins: Crystal Clear Lake
  Lead-Outs: 
  Ghouls’ 
  Tea 
  Party, 
  Really... A Castle
  The pastel reddish sky greets the 
  Investigators as they pass through the 
  crystal clear pond, into a blind white 
  light, and out the other side. Their 
  clothes are dry, and have transformed 
  into a medieval counterpart. Each 
  finds themselves wearing brightly 
  colored long coats, over shirts with 
  pants, and soft leather boots. The same 
  has happened to any possessions the 
  Investigators were carrying.
  Each Investigator must make a Stability 
  test, or lose 3 Stability for entering a 
  new world. 
  Massive 
  tangled 
  trees 
  reaching 
  toward the twin suns loom over the 
  Investigators. Strange multi-colored 
  fruits fallen from the trees litter the 
  ground. The sweet-smelling air is 
  warm, and no breeze is present. Dozens 
  of paths branch off from their current 
  location into the twisting woods of the 
  Dreamlands. 
  • Occult: The blue-hued skies and 
  warmed forest suggests that you have 
  entered the Dreamlands.
  – 1-point spend: Dreamers have some 
  influence over the Dreamlands, 
  but this comes at a cost of the 
  person’s sanity.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  98
  and building techniques match those 
  of ancient Egypt. The building dates 
  back to 900 BC.
  • Sense Trouble: There is the same 
  snake house smell as from the radio 
  station basement and Barracks 12. 
  With a 1-point spend of Archaeology, 
  Occult or Outdoorsman, the maze 
  of passages and tunnels are quickly 
  navigable. The trail of clues leads 
  downward into the dungeon, past now-
  empty cells, each showing signs of recent 
  occupancy. Before the Investigators 
  is a large wooden double door. The 
  sounds of chanting can be heard  
  from within. 
  • Languages (Aklo) or Occult: The 
  symbols on the door identify this as 
  the royal sorcerer’s chamber. It is used 
  Gug 
  Abilities: Athletics 12, Health 24, 
  Scuffling 18
  Hit Threshold: 3 (large)
  Alertness Modifier: +2 
  Strength Modifier: +1 (in forest) 
  and +2 (Underworld)
  Weapon: +3 (claw), +2 (bite). Each arm 
  has two claw attacks, allowing two strikes 
  against the same creature. If both hit, the 
  creature can be picked up and thrown. 
  Armor: 8
  Stability Loss: +2
  Inside the Castle
  The wooden floors are exquisitely 
  carved and the walls are gold-plated. The 
  fortress is stifling as the Investigators 
  move through the catacomb of hallways.
  • Architecture: The stone of the 
  walls, the shape of the construction, 
  A Difficulty 6 Stealth test allows the 
  Investigators to pass unnoticed, and 
  enter the fortress through one of the 
  many doors. If failed, a gug leaps upon 
  them instantly, killing one of the ghouls. 
  The monster is a wall of muscly sinew 
  thirty feet high, covered with steel-
  like black fur and protruding cartilage, 
  with two forearms on each of its two 
  arms. The sight of the creature is 
  maddening, and a Stability test saves 
  the Investigators 4 Stability points. 
  Only two options are left to the 
  Investigators: either battle the creature, 
  or flee. It takes four rounds for them 
  to reach the safety of the castle, which 
  the gug is too large to enter. Fleeing 
  (Difficulty 7) keeps them ahead of 
  the creature’s maw; each round an 
  Investigator fails, one of the ghouls is 
  killed in their stead. 
  
  99
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  folk’s Athletics rating, and suffer the 
  equivalent of hurt status (unless the 
  loss puts them below -5) until they  
  are treated.
  If the Investigators have inoculated 
  themselves in advance by preparing an 
  anti-venom in the lab, the venomous 
  bite takes effect the following round; 
  the victim must make a Difficulty 2 
  Health test. If the Investigator fails, 
  they immediately lose a number of 
  Health points equal to Zxaft’s Athletics 
  rating as they go into convulsions and 
  begin to suffer respiratory failure, 
  losing 1 Health per 30 minutes until 
  treated. If the Investigator succeeds, 
  they lose one Health point and suffer 
  the equivalent of hurt status (unless 
  the loss puts them below -5) until they  
  are treated. 
  Rescuers, Murderers or 
  Cohorts 
  Scene Type: Epilogue 
  Lead-Ins: Really... A Castle
  Once Zxaft lies dead at their feet, the 
  Investigators have great problems on 
  their hands. 
  • How do they leave the Dreamlands? 
  • What do they do about the victims? 
  • What did he mean humanity was 
  “crafted” for a purpose? 
  • What about the beast outside the 
  temple, waiting for their return? 
  • Are the victims still human?
  • What do they tell Chief McShane?
  The questions swirl around the 
  Investigators as the eight victims look up 
  at them. They shiver in their nakedness, 
  possibly with serpent blood coursing 
  through their veins…
  radius. A target must spend one round 
  to put themselves out. Zxaft fights to 
  the death, as this is his last stand.
  He shouts. “Fools! You are our puppets. We 
  crafted you to serve, how dare you. You, like 
  these others, will assist me in bringing forth 
  a new pure race of serpent folk, which I shall 
  rule as king!”
  Zxaft, Sorcerer and Lord of 
  the Castle
  Zxaft is a pure blood serpent-folk 
  sorcerer. In his true form, he stands 
  over seven feet with an ophidian head, 
  emerald green bright scales covering his 
  entire body. A thick arm-like tail sways 
  from side to side, powerful enough to 
  knock a crush a human’s skull, and his 
  fingers have razor-sharp talons.
  Abilities: Athletics 9, Health 12, 
  Scuffling 11, Weapon 9
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Alertness Modifier: + 1
  Stealth Modifier: + 2
  Weapon: +1 (scimitar), +0 (bite), 
  venom (see below)
  Armor: – 3 vs. any (scales and 
  regenerate 1 Health per hour)
  Stability Loss: +1
  Spells: 
  Brew 
  Space-Mead, 
  Compound 
  Liao, 
  Call/Dismiss: 
  Yog-Sothoth, Contact Deep One, 
  Contact 
  Nyarlathotep, 
  Contact 
  Tsathoggua, 
  Create 
  Moonbridge, 
  Hoy-Dhin Chant, Dominate, Mind 
  Exchange, Send Dreams, Shrivelling, 
  Summon/Bind Nightgaunt
  Special: Venom. Zxaft’s bite is potent 
  and deadly. It takes effect the following 
  round; the victim must make a Difficulty 
  5 Health test. If the Investigator fails, 
  they immediately lose a number of 
  Health points equal to Zxaft’s Athletics 
  rating, as they go into convulsions and 
  begin to suffer respiratory failure, 
  losing 1 Health per 5 minutes until 
  treated. If the Investigator succeeds, 
  they lose a number of Health 
  points equal to half of the serpent-
  for the most powerful of castings, as 
  the room acts as a leyline. 
  The door opens into a shrine, where 
  Zxaft stands in the center of a pulsating 
  eight-pointed star, with one of his 
  eight victims chained at each point. 
  The victims are naked, each painted 
  with dozens of symbols, and they have 
  numerous minor cuts on them, all 
  identical. Zxaft himself has self-inflicted 
  cuts on his legs, and his greenish blood 
  snakes out into each victim. The star 
  pulses, almost as if alive. 
  Having shed the disguise of the man that 
  was once Randy Larkin, Zxaft towers 
  over every human in the room. His lush 
  purple and gold robes dangle from him, 
  and a scimitar hangs on his left. 
  The Investigators have a round to act 
  before Zxaft notices them. 
  • Occult: The ritual is linked to some 
  life force transference effect. 
  • Chemistry (2-point spend): You 
  recognize the smell of sulfur and 
  other chemicals that could create an 
  explosion. 
  A Preparedness roll (Difficulty 5) 
  gives the Investigators flint and steel. 
  The explosion is a 1d6+3 in a 10 foot 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  100
  Handout 1: Camp Smith Map
  
  101
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Dreaming of a Better Tomorrow for 30 Dollars a Month
  BLAKE, ROBERT
  Health Status: Good  Shots: All Group: O  DOB: 1915/12/25
  GOLDMAN, STEVEN
  Health Status: Excellent  Shots: All Group: AB  DOB: 1917/10/05
  LEVIN, ADAM
  Health Status: Good  Shots: All Group: A  DOB: 1913/11/11
  O’CONNELL, DANIEL
  Health Status: Excellent  Shots: All Group: A  DOB: 1915/09/15
  PERTUSI, VINCENT
  Health Status: Peak  Shots: All Group: AB  DOB: 1914/07/09
  BRIEF MEDICAL RECORDS
  1) Adam Levin – Logger – Barracks 17 
  2) Rob Blake – Logger – Barracks 12
  3) Sara Lance – Visitor – Barracks 11
  4) Steven Goldman – Kitchen – Barracks 17
  5) Vinny Pertusi – Supply – Barracks 21
  6) Danny O’Connell – Maintenance – Barracks 23
  7) James York – Logger – Barracks 12 (FOUND, DECEASED)
  Handout 2: List of Missing People
  Handout 3: Medical Records
  
  Player Name: 
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  102
  It all comes down to the blood.  
   
  I have nearly enough of this miserable 
  human blood to rebirth my glorious race, 
  and we shall be restored to the great 
  glory of Valusia, centuries before what 
  these degenerated experiments refer  
  to as the dinosaurs.
  Then this masquerade can end, and 
  once more, our black basalt cities 
  will rise, built on the broken backs of 
  humanity! My preparations 
  are nearly completed. 
   
  Soon, I will have the last blessed 
  blood, and then a final trip through 
  the Moonbridge at the lake will take 
  me to my impenetrable fortress, where 
  the other blood sacrifices await my 
  final triumph.
  A Spell to Create A Moonbridge
  This spell creates a bridge between the waking world and the 
  Dreamlands, but the bridge is unstable, and lasts scarcely one 
  minute. The spell must be cast at night onto a body of clear 
  water at least ten feet wide. The spell must be continually 
  chanted for the duration and remains open for the shortest 
  time on both sides. The caster begins walking at one end, and 
  walks to the other side. Allies will strengthen the spell; the 
  allies must join the caster in the walk.
  No matter where the spell is cast on Earth, the destination is 
  always the same: deep in the Enchanted Woods, in the lands 
  of the Dreaming.
  The spell does greatly drain the caster, and allies can assist 
  with the empowering of it, but beware; all casters must take 
  an equal portion for the duration of the casting, or the spell will 
  fail, and need to be recast.
  Handout 4: Zxaft’s 
  Journal Entries
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Investigator Name: Amanda Scott
  Drive: Scholarship
  Occupation:2 Scientist
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Scientific Progress, The Reality of 
  Scientific Knowledge, Patriotism
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  3
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  2
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  6
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  3
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  4
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  3
  Geology
  2
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  5
  History
  2
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  6
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  7
  Hypnosis8
  6
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  4
  Library Use
  1
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  3
  Sanity9
  9
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  7
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  3
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  3
  Sense Trouble
  5
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  3
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  2
  Weapons
  2
  Photography
  0
  Frances Perkins (Mentor)
  Aiden Scott (Mother)
  Born to a famous chemist father and librarian 
  mother, Amanda has always had her head in a 
  book. Aided by her photographic memory, she 
  can solve anything given enough time. DOI Staff 
  Officer (Caucasian)
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: Fingers
  Drive: Bad Luck
  Occupation:2 Criminal
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Family, Epicureanism
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  3
  Conceal
  5
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  4
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  1
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  4
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  2
  Filch
  9
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  4
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  1
  Fleeing7
  8
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  4
  Health9
  8
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  3
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  8
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  8
  Theology
  2
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  2
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  5
  Locksmith
  4
  Shadowing
  3
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  8
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  2
  Photography
  0
  Janice Perry (Paralyzed Mother)
  Judge Wilson (Took a chance on you.)
  Fingers was born on the wrong side of the 
  tracks and never left: caught for pickpocketing 
  but spared by a judge. Fingers needs to serve in 
  the CCC and knows if the information gets out., 
  it’s nothing but jail, and his paralyzed mother 
  will starve. Ex-Criminal (Caucasian)
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Investigator Name: Jacob Wright
  Drive: Curiosity
  Occupation:2 Private Investigator
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Moral Principles, Family
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  3
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  3
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  4
  Driving
  4
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  3
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  2
  Firearms5
  7
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  3
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  6
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  10
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  5
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  2
  Preparedness
  5
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  7
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  9
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  3
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  2
  Sense Trouble
  3
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  5
  Outdoorsman
  3
  Stealth
  3
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  Tegan Davidson (Girlfriend)
  Drake Wright (11 yr old nephew)
  Mary Wright (Mother)
  Jacob is an inquisitive sort and got a job for a 
  few years as a spotter for the Pinkertons. He 
  was fired a few months ago and joined the CCC 
  until he can figure out what to do next. Maybe 
  open his own P.I. business in Harlem? Claims 
  Investigator (African American)
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: Marcus Womack
  Drive: Thirst for Knowledge
  Occupation:2 Clergy
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Religious Father, Human Dignity, Family, 
  The Beauty of Nature
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  3
  Athletics
  7
  Anthropology
  2
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  2
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  1
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  5
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  5
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  3
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  8
  History
  2
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  0
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  7
  Hypnosis8
  6
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  6
  Medicine
  1
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  1
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  12
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  12
  Theology
  2
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  3
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  Barry Womack (Father)
  Wendy Womack (Mother)
  Zora Womack (Sister)
  Clarence Womack (Brother)
  Marcus is the son of a preacher man and 
  tries to follow in his father’s footsteps. But 
  with the depression in full swing, the family 
  needs money. He volunteered six times and 
  was finally accepted in the CCC.Baptist Minster 
  (African American)
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Investigator Name: Nora Reese
  Drive: Thirst for Knowledge
  Occupation:2 Professor
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Family, Value of Intellect, Love 
  Bethesda, MD
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  3
  Athletics
  3
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  2
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  1
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  4
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  4
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  2
  History
  2
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  6
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  10
  Hypnosis8
  3
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  5
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  5
  Medicine
  2
  Astronomy
  1
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  2
  Chemistry
  1
  Sanity9
  10
  Physics
  2
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  10
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  2
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  5
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  3
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  Shane Reese (Father)
  Jill Reese (Father)
  Langston Reese (Brother)
  Born to a black father and white mother. Myrna 
  has had to live parts of her life in secret. Her 
  fair skin allows her to live mostly unaccosted. 
  The constant threat of discovery only fuels her 
  thirst for knowledge, the best defense against 
  the idiocy of the times. Scholar (Multiracial)
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: Walter Jackson
  Drive: Adventure
  Occupation:2 Military (Navy)
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: The world is just a place, Any problem 
  can be solved with fists
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  2
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  6
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  8
  Biology
  2
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  3
  Filch
  4
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  3
  Firearms5
  8
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  4
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  0
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  10
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  8
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  3
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  2
  Astronomy
  2
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  8
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  8
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  2
  Scuffling
  7
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  4
  Stealth
  5
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  4
  Photography
  0
  He served for three years in the Navy but 
  found the rigid nature too much for him. His 
  commander had him transferred into the CCC 
  for his last six months of service and made him 
  a civilian. He is known for always being a good 
  guy. Ex-Soldier (Caucasian)
  Captain Morris (Former Commander)
  Cindy Jackson (Ex-wife)
  
  THE COLDEST WALK
  By Lauren Roy
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  110
  The Coldest Walk
  Lastly, Ithaqua himself is unwilling to 
  cede his territory, and uses his servitors 
  – in the form of cult members, the 
  shantak, and bitter, bitter cold – to 
  drive the Investigators away.
  Scenes
  Frozen Victims
  Scene Type: Introduction
  Lead-Outs: Welcome to Four Pines
  The Investigators learn of bodies 
  discovered near Four Pines, WI, where 
  hikers have found corpses frozen solid 
  despite the balmy spring weather. 
  Superstition and speculation tie the 
  deaths to the local monster of legend, 
  the wendigo. 
  The Investigators may be pulled into the 
  adventure in any of these ways:
  • Occupation: Journalists and Authors 
  in search of a story; Alienists and 
  Doctors who have heard curious tales 
  of the mental and physical conditions 
  of the Coldest Walk’s survivors; Police 
  Detectives or Private Investigators 
  hired to search for a missing family 
  member by an out-of-state relative all 
  have a reason to travel to Four Pines.
  • Background: 
  Characters 
  who 
  are residents of, or have family in, 
  Four Pines or the nearby Ojibwe 
  settlement have a personal stake 
  in the situation. Investigators with 
  an interest in legendary monsters, 
  and characters who have witnessed 
  supernatural 
  encounters in the 
  wilderness, could come to Four Pines 
  seeking explanations, or the thrill of 
  another encounter.
  and misshapen. The victims are found 
  frozen, even in the middle of summer. 
  Once in Four Pines, the Investigators 
  gain access to records going back to 
  the town’s founding, including a long 
  list of people who have gone for what 
  the locals call the “Coldest Walk.” 
  Though the residents are reluctant 
  to share too much information with 
  the Investigators, they learn that 
  the wendigo’s appearances coincide 
  with aurora sightings. Hints about 
  an earlier settlement lead them to a 
  once-abandoned town that is now the 
  bastion of a cannibal cult dedicated to 
  Ithaqua. This cult intends to co-opt the 
  appeasement ritual (and its victims) for 
  their own aims.
  The Victory Condition
  The Investigators have a few options 
  for victory; turning Ithaqua’s attentions 
  on the cult rather than Four Pines 
  staves off his hunger for a while, but 
  still entails a sacrifice of human lives. 
  Though it might be possible to convince 
  the townspeople to stop the sacrifices, 
  Ithaqua will go in search of other prey 
  – or might set his sights on Four Pines 
  in its entirety. 
  Ithaqua may also be banished back to 
  Borea, but the ritual to do so requires 
  that part of the population of Four Pines 
  go with it, never to return.
  Antagonist Reactions
  The Investigators face opposition on 
  several fronts: the residents of Four 
  Pines are not easily convinced to put 
  an end to their sacrifices, and actively 
  thwart the Investigators’ attempts 
  to do so. The Ithaqua cult sees the 
  Investigators as both enemies and prey. 
  The Hook
  Deep in Wisconsin’s northern woods 
  lies the town of Four Pines. From the 
  outside, it’s a quiet, almost forgettable 
  community. However, whenever the 
  aurora flashes in the sky, its citizens 
  elect one of their own to venture into 
  the wilds and appease the wendigo. 
  The Investigators discover a pattern of 
  these disappearances stretching back 
  generations, and learn that what lurks 
  in the woods is far more terrible than 
  the townspeople imagined.
  The Horrible Truth
  The wendigo is in truth the Great Old 
  One Ithaqua, whose never-ending 
  hunger has sent him hunting farther and 
  farther south. Without the sacrifices, 
  nothing prevents him from expanding 
  its territory – something the settlers of 
  Four Pines learned over a century ago, 
  when they prevented the local Ojibwe 
  from completing their own ritual.
  The residents know that the bright flashes 
  of the Northern Lights herald Ithaqua’s 
  approach, and dutifully choose a citizen 
  to go into the forest and offer themselves 
  up to the wendigo. Only a few have ever 
  returned, none of them unscathed. 
  Complicating matters for the Four 
  Pines’ inhabitants and the Investigators, 
  a cult dedicated to Ithaqua has 
  established a foothold only a few miles 
  away. They have their own ideas on how 
  to please the Wind-Walker.
  The Spine
  Newspaper 
  clippings 
  and 
  police 
  reports detail bodies found in the 
  northern Wisconsin woods, mutilated 
  
  111
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Coldest Walk
  call from a relative and ask their friends 
  to accompany them. Someone who 
  has read about the occurrences in 
  the newspaper might volunteer their 
  expertise based upon their Occupation 
  or their academic pursuits. Once 
  the players have decided, the person 
  who has called them together shares 
  the information they have about the 
  mystery. If other characters have 
  personal connections, they should also 
  share their stories. 
  • Pillars of Sanity: Investigators who 
  believe in the goodness of mankind, 
  who have strong moral principles, 
  or who have a strong love for family 
  or their hometowns might find those 
  principles threatened by the troubles 
  in the Wisconsin woods.
  The Keeper should discuss with the 
  players how the group comes together, 
  and how the Investigators connect to 
  one another. A person with family in 
  the area may describe a strange phone 
  • Drives: Investigators driven by 
  Adventure, Curiosity, and Thirst for 
  Knowledge may be drawn in by rumors 
  of the wendigo. Perhaps an Investigator 
  is related to someone who went on the 
  Walk and a return to Four Pines is In the 
  Blood (or an opportunity for Revenge.) 
  • Sources 
  of 
  Stability: 
  An 
  Investigator’s Source of Stability goes 
  missing from Four Pines, or sends a 
  cryptic letter suggesting they’ll be 
  going on the Walk themselves.
  Scene Flow Diagram
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  112
  enforcement officials, they are still able 
  to examine the body. With Bargain or 
  Bureaucracy, an Investigator with ties 
  to Four Pines can have a relative call in a 
  favor, or a journalist in the group might 
  have had their editor call ahead to the 
  Pines Ledger and arrange an interview. 
  Whitaker is susceptible to Cop Talk 
  and Flattery, and he’s curious to see 
  what people who mention expertise in 
  Biology, Medicine, or Forensics 
  make of the body.
  Sherriff 
  Whitaker 
  warns 
  the 
  Investigators that what they’re about 
  to see is “about the worst thing I’ve seen 
  in nearly forty years on the job” before he 
  leads them into the basement. 
  It takes a moment to register the jumbled 
  pile of parts that Whitaker slides out on 
  the mortuary table as a human body. Its 
  limbs are broken at impossible angles, 
  the skin blue with cold. Large chunks 
  of flesh have been torn away. Worse, 
  there’s another corpse just like it in the 
  morgue’s other drawer.
  Seeing the bodies in this condition, the 
  Investigators should make a Stability 
  test. Those who fail suffer a 3-point loss 
  – Whitaker understands if they need 
  to go upstairs for a moment to collect 
  themselves. 
  Examining 
  the 
  body 
  yields 
  the 
  following clues:
  • (core) The bodies are not encased in 
  ice, they are frozen solid. Skin, hair, 
  blood, organs, everything has been 
  affected by extreme cold. 
  – 1-point Forensics spend: The 
  freezing was (unfortunately for the 
  victims) pre-mortem.
  • (core) Dirt is ground into the skin 
  and flesh, deeper than it would be 
  if the corpses had been simply left 
  exposed to the elements. 
  – 1-point Cop Talk spend: Whitaker 
  tells the team that the hikers who 
  found the bodies discovered them 
  some of the “newer” constructions 
  have a German influence, due to an 
  increase in immigration in the 1850s.
  • Cop Talk: The town’s police force 
  consists of three full-time officers. 
  The coroner/medical examiner is 
  a part-time position whose duties 
  are performed by a local doctor 
  as needed.
  • Geology: The area was rich in lead 
  until the mid-19th century. By that 
  time miners had largely exhausted 
  the ore supply. Mines still exist in the 
  area, but are long-abandoned.
  • History: Fur traders founded the 
  town in the late 1700s, and it was 
  a stopping point for merchants 
  travelling between the United States 
  and Canada during the fur trading, 
  logging, and mining booms. 
  • Oral 
  History: 
  During 
  the 
  Winnebago and Black Hawk Wars 
  in the late 1820s and early 1830s, 
  the residents of Four Pines and the 
  nearby Ojibwe community worked 
  to keep a steady, albeit uneasy, peace 
  between their people.
  The police station is a one-story 
  building about halfway down Main 
  Street. Two desks sit in the front room, 
  one of which has been commandeered 
  to house a coffee maker and mugs. The 
  pair of jail cells in the back are empty. 
  The morgue, such as it is, is located in 
  the basement – it’s mainly used as a 
  place to keep a body stored until the 
  county can come pick it up.
  Sherriff Peter Whitaker is waiting for 
  the Investigators when they arrive. He 
  is a genial, often gregarious man who 
  appears younger than his actual age 
  (late fifties) thanks to, as he says, “Fresh 
  air and home cooking.” Whitaker is a good 
  cop, but he’s not terribly concerned 
  about protocol, and is willing to 
  bend the rules for a good excuse. 
  Even if none of the characters are law 
  Welcome to Four Pines
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Frozen Victims
  Lead-Outs: Ghost Stories, Wagging 
  Tongues, Family Trees, Into the Woods
  Investigators who aren’t from the area 
  may fly into Milwaukee or Madison, 
  WI, take the train, or simply drive. 
  The ride from any major city is a trek 
  of several hours through narrow roads 
  and dense forests. As the journey heads 
  northwards, the roads are frequently 
  unpaved and unlit. Four Pines itself 
  is a small town nestled deep in the 
  northwestern part of the state. Most 
  of its local businesses and municipal 
  buildings sit on its main street, and 
  other points of interest aren’t far from 
  it. Only about 1,500 residents call Four 
  Pines their home, but enough tourists 
  pass through on the way to go hiking, 
  camping, or fishing to keep its inn and 
  one-screen movie theater in business. 
  The Investigators arrive in early-to-
  mid April, just as spring is beginning 
  to take hold. The trees are budding, the 
  first flowers are pushing up through the 
  ground, and birds are returning from 
  their southerly vacations. During the 
  day, temperatures tend to be in the 50s 
  and even low 60s Fahrenheit. Nights 
  can still see the mercury drop down 
  to freezing. 
  Unless one of the Investigators has 
  family offering up a place to stay, the 
  Four Pines Inn has plenty of vacancies 
  for the team. The inn is owned and run 
  by Jarrett Stirling and his family, who 
  are pleasant and professional upon their 
  arrival, making sure everyone has what 
  they need, and offering directions as 
  requested (Ghost Stories, p. 113).
  Investigators’ Abilities tell them the 
  following about Four Pines and the 
  surrounding area:
  • Architecture: The buildings are 
  mainly French and British styles, but 
  
  113
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Coldest Walk
  something he doesn’t want to say. 
  He responds best to Reassurance 
  (a 1-point spend) that the group isn’t 
  planning to bring additional outside 
  scrutiny on the town, in the form of 
  authorities or media. It was the hikers 
  who took their story to the papers, 
  but he says, “They have no idea what truly 
  goes on out here.” If an Investigator has 
  local ties, they may use Oral History 
  instead, convincing him that Four Pines 
  is important to themselves and their 
  family. Intimidation also works, 
  though it slightly sours any rapport the 
  team has built up with Whitaker. When 
  pressed, he reveals the floating core 
  clue that the bodies have already been 
  identified, and were Four Pines residents 
  who had been missing for nearly two 
  years. “One of them is Alyssa Stirling,” he 
  says. “Poor Jarrett, finding out his elder 
  sister’s dead not six months after his younger 
  one went walking.” (Ghost Stories, below) 
  If the Investigators don’t coax this 
  information out of Sherriff Whitaker, 
  other residents may provide it.
  Ghost Stories
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Welcome to Four Pines, 
  Wagging Tongues, Family Trees
  Lead-Outs: Wagging Tongues, Family 
  Trees, The Town Before, The Ojibwe, 
  Into the Woods, The Returned
  A hundred years ago, Jarrett Stirling’s 
  forefathers built the Four Pines Inn to 
  accommodate traders and travelers. 
  While the town isn’t the hub it once 
  was, the inn has remained in the Stirling 
  family, and kept its welcome mat out all 
  these years. Its three floors and fifteen 
  rooms are empty at this time, aside 
  from the Investigators (if they’re staying 
  there) and Jarrett’s wife, Frances, and 
  his daughters, Evelyn and Rose, but it’s 
  kept clean and ready should a horde of 
  guests descend. 
  Frances Stirling is constantly in motion, 
  tidying up, making sure everyone is 
  were in the area on vacation and live 
  elsewhere, but their statements are 
  available for the Investigators to look 
  at. The information they provided 
  is limited to where the bodies 
  were found, and the condition they 
  discovered them in. 
  • Assess 
  Honesty: 
  Whitaker’s 
  recounting is true, but you know he’s 
  holding back other information on 
  the case. 
  Whitaker has thus far been forthcoming 
  with basic information, but there’s 
  wedged into a hole, like they had 
  fallen from a great height and 
  been plunged into the ground. He 
  suspects that’s how the legs broke.
  • (core) The flesh missing from the 
  bodies was torn away, as though by a 
  wild animal. 
  – 1-point Biology or Forensics 
  spend: The creature’s jaws and claws 
  were massive, and the wounds were 
  inflicted before death.
  • The hikers who found the corpses 
  are no longer in Four Pines – they 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  114
  He doesn’t mention either of his 
  sisters unless asked directly. At first, 
  he attempts to deflect, declaring that 
  a private matter, but Reassurance 
  combined with the above eventually 
  gets him talking. His elder sister 
  Alyssa left Four Pines two years ago,  
  seeking the wendigo in a trip the 
  townspeople call “The Coldest Walk”. 
  Only six months ago, his younger 
  sister Callie did the same. The fact 
  that he’s lost a family member to the 
  Coldest Walk in the recent past is a 
  floating core clue. If the Investigators 
  don’t learn it from him, one of the 
  other townspeople mentions it, or 
  they uncover it in the town’s records. 
  The Investigators can always come 
  back and ask him for more details if  
  they wish.
  With an extra 1-point Interpersonal 
  spend or as a reward for good roleplay, 
  Stirling reveals that he keeps hoping 
  either or both of his sisters will 
  return one of these days (this doubles 
  as a floating core clue, tipping the 
  Investigators off to the existence of 
  survivors of the Coldest Walk). 
  Emotion overcomes the innkeeper, 
  and he excuses himself, retiring for the 
  evening. “They knew what they were doing,” 
  he says, “but it doesn’t make it any easier 
  to bear.”
  it’s only the Stirling ladies moving  
  about, right?
  Jarrett’s grandmother was Ojibwe, 
  and she passed down stories about the 
  wendigo to him when he was a boy. He 
  tells the Investigators the following:
  • The wendigo is tall as the trees, 
  with glowing red eyes and grey skin 
  stretched tight over its skeletal frame. 
  It smells of blood and decay.
  • Gluttony and greed drive its insatiable 
  hungers – when the wendigo eats, it 
  grows larger, keeping it from ever 
  being sated.
  • (core) The freezing north winds herald 
  its return, and on nights when the skies 
  flash, you know the wendigo is near. 
  – A 1-point Astronomy spend 
  reminds the Investigator that the 
  aurora borealis can be seen this far 
  south, and fits the description above.
  • (core) Consuming the flesh of 
  another person can turn a human 
  being into a wendigo. Cannibalism 
  is never allowed, not even in the face 
  of starvation. Better to die than risk 
  becoming a monster. 
  Investigators with History, Occult, 
  Oral History, and Theology, or those 
  with ties to Four Pines or the Ojibwe, 
  may also contribute some of these 
  facts, joining Stirling in his regaling and 
  earning his trust. 
  comfortable, warm, and that their 
  coffee is topped off. She’s in her late 
  thirties, with dark hair she keeps 
  pulled back in a bun. Evelyn and Rose 
  (seventeen and fifteen, respectively), are 
  spitting images of their mother. Evelyn 
  is a bit more glamorous, imitating her 
  favorite actress, Carole Lombard, with 
  her style. All three of them are polite 
  and pleasant in their interactions with 
  the Investigators, but they deflect 
  questions about Alyssa. Frances simply 
  encourages them to wait until her 
  husband is available. Evelyn and Rose 
  are still grieving for their aunts, and 
  find reasons to make themselves scarce 
  if the Investigators attempt to dig.
  The innkeeper is busy during the day, 
  but if the Investigators go looking 
  for him in the evening, he has time to 
  talk. Sitting by the fire with a glass of 
  whiskey, Jarrett Stirling cuts a somber 
  figure. The Investigators are welcome 
  to settle in the cozy chairs and share 
  a dram. Stirling is well-versed in local 
  lore and is an excellent storyteller; 
  the Investigators get the sense he 
  enjoys having an audience. To add a bit 
  of atmosphere to his tales, describe 
  the way the firelight pushes back the 
  gathering gloom and the way sudden 
  gusts of wind shake the house. From 
  upstairs come the sound of footsteps 
  and the creak of floorboards; surely 
  Missing Persons
  If any Investigators came to Four 
  Pines in search of a loved one, friend, 
  or Source of Stability who’s gone 
  on The Coldest Walk, or on behalf 
  of someone looking for a missing 
  person, they can inquire after them 
  during most of the scenes below. 
  Ghost Stories (p. 113), Wagging Tongues 
  (p. 115), Family Trees (p. 115), and 
  The Ojibwe (p. 116) are especially 
  fitting opportunities. 
  Some potential questions the Keeper 
  might want to consider when 
  preparing for the adventure: Is the 
  missing person from Four Pines, or 
  did they follow their own trail of clues 
  and supernatural goings-on here? 
  If they were from Four Pines, were 
  they friendly with any of the NPCs in 
  the adventure? How long has it been 
  since they disappeared, and did they 
  leave anything behind that could be 
  of use to the Investigators – journals, 
  maps, perhaps a spell book?
  Players can help supply information 
  as well. If there are people or places 
  in Four Pines in their backstory, the 
  adventure can easily stretch a couple 
  of days longer to incorporate visits to 
  old haunts and fondly-remembered 
  relatives. Ithaqua will still be hungry 
  when they’re done.
  
  115
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Coldest Walk
  that terrible things happen if someone 
  doesn’t. There was a town before Four 
  Pines. “If you want to know about it, 
  Johanna Bowman’s the one to ask.” (The 
  Town Before, p. 116)
  • (core) Briggs or one of the other 
  patrons mentions that, for a time, 
  Four Pines’ founders kept records of 
  who went on the Walks and the time 
  between auroras, hoping there’d be 
  some connection between people 
  who seemed to satisfy the wendigo for 
  longer periods (Family Trees, below).
  • (floating core) A handful of people 
  have returned from the Coldest Walk 
  over the last hundred and fifty years. 
  They never come back the same as 
  when they left. Two such people 
  are living in Four Pines today (The 
  Returned, p. 118).
  If the Investigators stir the pot with 
  Intimidation or Interrogation, 
  the Walk may be used against them as a 
  threat – perhaps the newcomers ought 
  to be sent out next time the skies get 
  to flashing.
  Using Cthulhu Mythos, Investigators 
  feel certain the mutilated bodies and 
  the Walk coinciding with the aurora 
  signifies Ithaqua. (The Keeper may wish 
  to inform them of relevant details from 
  Trail of Cthulhu, p. 94.) This revelation 
  causes a 3-point Stability loss, and a 
  loss of 1 point of Sanity.
  Family Trees
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Welcome to Four Pines, 
  Ghost Stories, Wagging Tongues
  Lead-Outs: Ghost Stories, Wagging 
  Tongues, The Town Before, The Ojibwe, 
  Into the Woods, The Returned
  Four Pines keeps impeccable records, 
  dating back to when the town was 
  first settled. Investigators can gain 
  access to the archives in the town 
  hall with Bureaucracy, or by using 
  Flattery on the clerk (April Lombard, 
  a joke and appears to be on friendly 
  terms with everyone in the bar.
  • Lee Delacourte, a hunter who can’t 
  quite seem to get warm. While he 
  hasn’t been on the Coldest Walk 
  himself, he’s seen some disturbing 
  things in the woods.
  • William Meredith, a teetotaler 
  schoolteacher who’s in the tavern for 
  the company rather than the drinks. 
  • Sheila Kelley, a dour fur trader prone 
  to muttering commentary.
  Over the course of the evening, the 
  patrons talk about the following in 
  hushed tones:
  • The bodies the hikers found (Frozen 
  Victims, p. 110) were Alyssa Stirling 
  and Russell Hoffman. Alyssa took her 
  Walk two years ago, Russell, three. 
  Patrons aren’t surprised that they’re 
  dead; they’re surprised there was 
  anything left to discover.
  • It’s a fairly unanimous belief that the 
  wendigo is what killed the Walkers. 
  “Always been something hungry in 
  the woods,” says one of the patrons, 
  “Wendigo’s what the Ojibwe call it, and 
  that’s as good a name as any.”
  • (core) The Coldest Walk occurs two 
  or three times a year, within a few 
  days of the aurora borealis appearing 
  in the sky.
  • (core) When the auroras are spotted, 
  residents gather in the town hall 
  to choose who will go walking to 
  meet the wendigo. Often, several 
  people volunteer, and it’s a matter 
  of choosing who goes. Four Pines’ 
  founding families have lost many 
  members to the ritual.
  • Residents of all ages are allowed to 
  volunteer. Sheila Kelley mentions 
  with disgust that some townspeople 
  believe the elderly are best suited 
  to the Walk, “as they’ve lived long 
  enough.” Others feel that younger 
  Walkers have a better chance of 
  returning home. Who goes on a Walk 
  is a deeply personal decision, one 
  that’s never made lightly.
  • (core) It’s not that anyone grows up 
  wanting to go on the Coldest Walk. It’s 
  Wagging Tongues
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Welcome to Four Pines, 
  Ghost Stories, Family Trees
  Lead-Outs: Ghost Stories, Family 
  Trees, The Town Before, The Ojibwe, 
  Into the Woods, The Returned
  The trappers, traders, loggers, and 
  miners who used to fill the streets of 
  Four Pines liked to end their long days 
  with good company and a stiff drink. 
  Though that particular clientele is 
  gone, the small distillery in the back of 
  Briggs’ Tavern is still up and running, 
  and proprietor Gloria Briggs makes a 
  damn fine whiskey. 
  If the Investigators have shared a drink 
  with Jarrett Stirling (Ghost Stories, 
  p. 113), they recognize either the flavor 
  or the bottle’s shape. Streetwise tells 
  the Investigators that Prohibition didn’t 
  stop Ms. Briggs’ production, and she 
  doesn’t seem the least bit sorry. (If your 
  game is set before December 1933, a 
  1-point Streetwise spend allows the 
  group access to the tavern.)
  Upon entering the tavern, the locals 
  eye the Investigators warily. Word has 
  gotten out about their visit to the police 
  station, and people are distrustful, but 
  not hostile. The easiest way to set them 
  at ease is a 1-point Credit Rating 
  spend to buy everyone a round of drinks. 
  Flattery and Oral History work as 
  well, and Investigators who have ties 
  to the area can drop family members’ 
  names to find someone willing to talk. 
  If anyone has family in town, they can 
  be present, and provide the group with 
  information or warnings.
  In addition to Gloria Briggs, here are 
  some of the other regulars in the bar:
  • Ezekiel Byrd, an elderly gentleman 
  hunched over his whiskey who 
  is clearly keeping an ear on the 
  Investigator’s conversations.
  • Kirsten McShane, proprietor of the 
  Four Pines Cinema. She’s quick with 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  116
  (and receiving) shelter. They were 
  the Stirlings, the Whitakers, and the 
  Verneaus, who would go on to found 
  Four Pines that spring. (Keepers 
  should feel free to replace the 
  Verneaus with the family name of an 
  Investigator with family in Four Pines, 
  or add their name to the list. Likewise, 
  Investigators with Ojibwe ancestors 
  may be descended from those who 
  took in the Whitten refugees.)
  • 1-point 
  Flattery, 
  History, 
  Anthropology or Archaeology 
  spend: Johanna presents her pet 
  theory: the Coldest Walk began 
  shortly 
  after 
  Four 
  Pines 
  was 
  established, because the wendigo’s 
  hunting 
  grounds 
  had 
  moved 
  farther south after the blizzard 
  destroyed Whitten.
  – 2-point spend: She believes the 
  residents of Whitten stopped the 
  Ojibwe from completing their 
  rituals to appease the wendigo 
  in the fall of 1783, and the town 
  suffered for their folly.
  If the Investigators haven’t yet found 
  the names of people who survived 
  and returned from the Coldest Walk, 
  Johanna provides them when the 
  discussion reaches more recent times. 
  If they didn’t discover the survivor’s 
  diary in Family Trees (p. 115), a 1-point 
  Library Use spend reveals one among 
  Johanna’s collection.
  The Ojibwe
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Ghost Stories, Wagging 
  Tongues, Family Trees, The Town Before
  Lead-Outs: Into the Woods, The 
  Returned, A Taste for Flesh
  Two miles west of Four Pines, the same 
  Ojibwe community that sheltered the 
  Whitten refugees a century and a half 
  ago still exists. The population is about 
  half that of Four Pines, and the land is 
  now designated as a reservation. The 
  homes here are spread out, and most 
  The Town Before 
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Ghost Stories, Wagging 
  Tongues, Family Trees
  Lead-Outs: The 
  Returned, The 
  Ojibwe, A Taste for Flesh, Into 
  the Woods
  Four Pines historian Johanna Bowman 
  lives about a five-minute walk off of 
  Main Street, in a neatly-kept little 
  bungalow. Books line the walls – history, 
  mythology, and an entire bookshelf full 
  of diaries and ledgers from the traders 
  who used to pass through. 
  Though she’s reluctant to let any of them 
  leave her house, if the Investigators feel 
  like they’re missing any information 
  before beginning The Coldest Walk 
  (p. 121) or The Wind-Walker (p. 122), she 
  can be persuaded to help at that point.
  Johanna offers her visitors tea and 
  finger sandwiches before getting down 
  to business. 
  • (core) Five miles to the north lie the 
  ruins of Whitten, a town that was 
  built ten years before Four Pines was 
  founded. The residents there traded 
  peacefully with the Ojibwe in the 
  area for a time, but the Ojibwe cut 
  ties with the town in its ninth year (A 
  Taste for Flesh, p. 119).
  • (core) In December, 1783, a fierce 
  blizzard made local roads impassable. 
  When a thaw came in January, the first 
  riders into town found the remains 
  of Whitten’s population: mutilated 
  corpses in nearly every house, the 
  bodies frozen solid, and expressions 
  of terror on their faces. 
  • (core) Legend has it that some of 
  the corpses were covered in human 
  teeth marks, or had pieces cut away 
  with a butcher’s precision, though 
  no survivors were found among 
  the ruins.
  • (core) Just before the blizzard 
  started, three families wandered 
  into the Ojibwe community, seeking 
  a soft-spoken woman in her mid-
  twenties) to persuade her to let them 
  browse, or with an introduction from 
  a family member or other newly-made 
  ally. If the characters have ruffled some 
  feathers in town and would rather 
  wait until after hours to go searching 
  for information, they can get in with  
  Locksmith.
  Investigators who go searching through 
  the record books find:
  • In the first few years after Four Pines’ 
  founding, a disproportionate number 
  of residents’ records simply end – 
  no death date, no mention of them 
  moving out of town, nothing. 
  • Within the last hundred years, 
  records are marked for those who 
  have gone on the Coldest Walk. 
  • While some families (the Stirlings, 
  the Whitakers) seem to contribute 
  a higher proportion of Walkers, the 
  individuals themselves were all very 
  different. 
  • If any Investigators are from Four 
  Pines, or are searching for someone 
  who’s gone missing, their records 
  show up here as those who have gone 
  on the Coldest Walk.
  • (core) Library Use: Some people 
  have returned from the Coldest Walk.
  – 1-point spend: You find the 
  addresses of some of those still 
  living (The Returned, p. 118). 
  – 2-point spend: You find a survivor’s 
  disturbing diary, testing your 
  Stability. Failing the test incurs 
  a 2-point loss, and leaves you with 
  a chill that lasts until the next 
  morning. The diary describes an 
  arctic settlement whose inhabitants 
  regularly 
  practiced 
  gruesome 
  and depraved rituals. Depictions 
  of sacrifices to the wendigo, 
  cannibalistic feasts, and crude huts 
  made from human bones, clustered 
  together on a snow-bound plane, are 
  all found between the diary’s covers 
  (see also The Cultists’ Base, p. 121). 
  It is clear from the description 
  that 
  this 
  settlement 
  is 
  not  
  on Earth.
  
  117
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Coldest Walk
  residents had learned of Ojibwe 
  people going out into the cold to 
  meet the wendigo and appease it, 
  and attempted to stop them from 
  doing so “for their own good.” During 
  the latter half of 1783, men from 
  Whitten intercepted those Ojibwe 
  who ventured into the woods and 
  prevented them from sacrificing 
  themselves, making the wendigo 
  angrier and hungrier. When it grew 
  furious enough, it gorged itself on the 
  people of Whitten. Those few who fled 
  asked the Ojibwe to teach them the 
  ritual, and assumed the responsibility 
  from then on, as atonement.
  • Walkers from Four Pines have been 
  known to come by the Ojibwe 
  reservation at the start of their walks, 
  sometimes asking for a blessing, other 
  times asking for wisdom. Ayasha (or 
  whomever they encounter) does her 
  best to bolster the Walkers’ courage. If 
  any of the Investigators is on the trail of 
  a Walker, it’s up to the Keeper whether 
  they passed through, and what kind of 
  reassurance or closure Ayasha offers.
  Into the Woods
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: The Town Before, Welcome 
  to Four Pines, Ghost Stories, Wagging 
  Tongues, Family Trees, The Ojibe
  Lead-Outs: Something Massive in the 
  Trees 
  At some point after their arrival in Four 
  Pines, the Investigators might wish to 
  visit the place the bodies were found 
  (Frozen Victims, p. 110). Getting to the 
  site is about an hours’ hike, but it’s an 
  easy enough walk on a nice spring day. 
  Any supplies the Investigators might 
  need for the trip can be picked up in 
  town, but they should be able to venture 
  out and back by nightfall with no issues.
  The holes the bodies were dug out of 
  still exist. As the police reports said, it’s 
  as if the bodies were dropped from a 
  great height. 
  them and pass the time. The floorboards 
  creak and thump beneath patrons’ 
  footsteps, and now and then customers 
  settle down on the floor or perch on the 
  edge of the hearth for a time.
  Depending on their questions, Ayasha 
  tells the Investigators some or all of 
  the following:
  • Ojibwe legend acknowledges the 
  wendigo both as a monster in its own 
  right and as a former human turned 
  into a monster because of greed, 
  selfishness, or the sin of cannibalism. 
  • (core) In order to kill a wendigo, you 
  must kill the person frozen inside, 
  where its heart should be. Some 
  stories tell of people who have been 
  saved, but most people taken by a 
  wendigo die. Stories tell of a little girl 
  defeating one with sumac branches, 
  or a sky spirit bringing one down 
  with lightning, or a dog attacking the 
  monster and killing it.
  • (core) Nearly 1,500 years ago, before 
  the Ojibwe people had migrated to 
  the area, the people who farmed the 
  land suffered from a year with no 
  harvest. Bitter winds blew and clouds 
  covered the sun. The wendigo ruled, 
  feeding on the people, and stories 
  speak of the people calling on the sun 
  to push him back to the far north.
  – 1-point History, Anthropology, 
  or Astronomy spend: You recall 
  the Extreme Weather Events of 
  535-536, where cultures all over 
  the world experienced colder-than-
  average weather, crop failures, and 
  weakened sunlight believed to be 
  due to a massive volcanic eruption, 
  or an impact event.
  – Cthulhu Mythos: You recall 
  that Ithaqua was said to have been 
  banished to the Arctic Circle long 
  ago, but some scholars believe the 
  auroras allow him to escape his 
  prison for a while and hunt farther 
  and farther south. This revelation 
  causes a 2-point Stability loss.
  • If asked about the destruction of 
  Whitten, Ayasha confirms Bowman’s 
  theory (The Town Before p. 116): 
  are one story. The town’s general store 
  has two stories, and a spacious porch 
  where the Investigators are met by a 
  woman named Ayasha Banks. 
  • History: Many of the tribe’s younger 
  members have left home in search 
  of work and other opportunities, 
  the population dwindling lower and 
  lower these last few years. 
  The community is welcoming, but 
  curious 
  about 
  the 
  Investigators’ 
  purposes in coming to call (less so if one 
  or more of the Investigators is Ojibwe 
  themselves.) If they feel they need for 
  an introduction from someone in Four 
  Pines, Jarrett Stirling (Ghost Stories, 
  p. 113) or Johanna Bowman (The Town 
  Before, p. 116) are good candidates. 
  If an Investigator has relatives in the 
  community, they can be substituted 
  for Ayasha in this scene, or she can 
  become part of the Investigator’s 
  extended family.
  The Investigators and Ayasha sit outside 
  on the porch while they talk. The day 
  is mild, with a gentle breeze soughing 
  through the trees. People come and go 
  at the store, some of them stopping on 
  their way out to sit and listen to the 
  conversation taking place. In colder 
  weather, Ayasha commandeers a place 
  by the fire inside, where a half-circle 
  of chairs seem to wait for people to fill 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  118
  Cthulhu, p. 149) – large as an elephant, 
  with a horse’s head and scaly wings – 
  comes charging out of the darkness, 
  trampling the fire. It’s up to the 
  Investigators whether they fight or flee.
  Shantak 
  Abilities: Athletics 30, Health 17, 
  Scuffling 18
  Hit Threshold: 3 (elephantine)
  Stealth Modifier: -1 (stench)
  Weapon: +2 (bite), +4 (smash); 
  shantaks can only make smash attacks 
  every other round and cannot make 
  them against a target on their back.
  Armor: -5 vs any (hide)
  Stability Loss: +0
  The Returned
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Ghost Stories, Wagging 
  Tongues, Family Trees, The Town 
  Before, The Ojibwe, Something Massive 
  in the Trees
  Lead-Outs: A Taste 
  for 
  Flesh, 
  Everything’s on the Fritz
  The Investigators meet with the two 
  Four Pines residents who have gone on 
  the Coldest Walk and lived to tell the 
  tale. While they’ll both receive visitors, 
  neither likes leaving their house very 
  much. Compared to the hospitality the 
  people of Four Pines have shown to the 
  group so far, the Walk’s survivors are 
  poor hosts. 
  Bennet Dunlap
  Bennet Dunlap, the elder of the two 
  living survivors, went on his Walk 
  nearly forty years ago. He lives alone, in 
  a house whose shades are always drawn. 
  Inside, it smells a dry kind of musty, like 
  old books or a well-sealed tomb. Many 
  of the shelves in the house hold small 
  wooden carvings, small enough to fit in 
  a pocket or the palm of one’s hand. If 
  the Investigators have already found the 
  talisman in the woods (Into the Woods, 
  p. 117), they are strongly reminded of it 
  here. If they haven’t found it yet and ask 
  surrounding the campsite. Their long, 
  low growls reverberate deep within 
  your chests. When they come into the 
  light, it is clear the wolves are not right. 
  They are – or were – timber wolves, 
  but frost rimes their fur, and when they 
  bare their teeth, their mouths are filled 
  with icicles. When the pack begins to 
  howl, the sound doesn’t only send chills 
  down your backs – the cold goes to 
  the bone.
  Cold-possessed Timber Wolves
  Abilities: Athletics 12, Health 6, 
  Scuffling 10
  Hit Threshold: 4
  Alertness Modifier: +3
  Weapon: +0 (bite)
  Armor: -1 vs any (fur)
  Stability Loss: +0
  How many wolves appear is up to the 
  Keeper – one or two if their purpose 
  is to unsettle the Investigators and add 
  to their list of strange happenings in the 
  woods, more if a middle-of-the-night 
  scuffle in the woods is warranted. 
  The Keeper might also wish to up 
  the stakes even further, and make 
  the wolves a precursor to something 
  nastier. A frigid wind carries a rotten 
  stench through the trees, a gorge-rising 
  precursor to the creature it clings to. 
  The ground shakes as a shantak (Trail of 
  • Evidence Collection, Forensics, 
  or Outdoorsman: No branches 
  were broken in the canopy above. 
  Something plummeting from that 
  high would have done some damage. 
  The Investigators also see evidence of 
  some massive beast’s passage through 
  the area, though characters with 
  Biology know that no animals known 
  to live in the area could have made those 
  tracks. 
  • Archaeology 
  or 
  Evidence 
  Collection: You find a previously-
  overlooked talisman under the leaves, 
  a wooden statuette small enough to 
  fit in a closed fist.
  – 1-point 
  Archaeology 
  or 
  Anthropology 
  spend: 
  It’s 
  Ojibwe-inspired. 
  A character examining the scene and 
  the talisman is filled with an impression 
  of freezing winds sweeping through 
  the forest, red eyes glowing in the dark 
  through the branches, and a gnawing, 
  all-consuming hunger. The Investigator 
  should make a 4-point Stability 
  test, knowing with certainty that the 
  talisman they hold is meant to appease 
  the Great Old One known as Ithaqua. 
  Something Massive in 
  the Trees
  Scene Type: Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: Into the Woods
  Lead-Outs: The Returned, A Taste for 
  Flesh, Everything’s on the Fritz
  If the Investigators decide to camp out 
  for the night, and the Keeper feels like 
  the pacing warrants it, sometime after 
  they bed down, the sound of something 
  heavy crashing about in the forest comes 
  from well outside the campfire’s light. 
  What skies they can see through the 
  canopy are clear, no sign of any aurora.
  From close by comes the sound of 
  wolves moving through the trees and 
  
  119
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Coldest Walk
  –  1-point spend: A crude (non-
  Mythos) banishing spell has been 
  carved into it. 
  • (core) Lea reveals one more thing, as 
  the Investigators leave. “I wasn’t alone 
  out there,” she says. “Someone else was in 
  the woods with me.” 
  A Taste for Flesh
  Scene Type: Core, Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: The Town Before, The 
  Ojibwe, Something Massive in the 
  Trees, The Returned, The Coldest Walk
  Lead-Outs: Everything’s on the Fritz, 
  The Coldest Walk
  If the Investigators venture up to 
  abandoned, ruined Whitten, they find 
  it’s not so empty after all.
  Living among the dilapidated, half-
  rotten buildings, is a cult dedicated to 
  Ithaqua. They haven’t rebuilt or repaired 
  any of the houses; roofs remain caved 
  in, leaving the rooms open to the sky. 
  Stones from crumbled fireplaces litter 
  the uneven streets, discarded bones 
  mixed among them. 
  • Biology: Only some of them are 
  animal bones; human remains are 
  present in the heaps as well. 
  Paeans to the wendigo and Ithaqua 
  have been painted on the few intact 
  walls, begging his blessing. The people 
  milling about are mainly human, but a 
  few have been imbued with a portion 
  of Ithaqua’s strength and resistance to  
  the cold. 
  • Anthropology: Something about 
  those people reminds you of the 
  survivors of the Coldest Walk: too-
  pale skin, a rime of frost left on 
  anything they touch, and their breath 
  visible in the warm spring air.
  If the Investigators are spotted, the cult 
  is not pleased with the intrusion, and 
  one cultist per Investigator attacks. 
  who volunteered to take the Walk last 
  year. He stops shy of calling himself 
  her mentor, but states they spoke a few 
  times before she went out into the cold. 
  Lea Fischer
  Lea Fischer went on her Walk just 
  last year, and though she’s about to 
  celebrate her twenty-first birthday, her 
  demeanor is ancient. She lives with her 
  parents, who keep a bright sunny house 
  on the outskirts of town. Like Dunlap, 
  Lea can’t seem to get warm. She cradles 
  a mug of tea in her hands. Her teeth 
  chatter behind blue-tinged lips. The 
  cold, she says, makes her bones ache.
  Lea tells a similar story to Dunlap’s, 
  though there were three volunteers for 
  her Walk. When she was chosen, she 
  felt a glimmer of hope – this is the only 
  time she seems animated during the 
  interview. 
  • (core) “I thought I could end it. That it’d 
  be me. But it didn’t work.”
  – 1-point Reassurance or Assess 
  Honesty spend: You persuade 
  her to tell you more. She carried a 
  talisman with her that was designed 
  to fend off the wendigo, while most 
  people who go on the Walk carry 
  ones made to satisfy his hunger. She 
  got the idea from Bennett Dunlap, 
  and thought she could succeed 
  where he failed. 
  A second spend or use of Intimidation 
  eventually convinces the former Walker 
  to hand over the talisman she’s been 
  saving all this time. Alternatively, if the 
  Investigators elect to come back later 
  and search Dunlap and Fischer’s houses 
  (or do so while the Walker is still there), 
  they find it with a simple search.
  The talisman looks like the one they 
  found at the site where the bodies were 
  discovered (Into the Woods, p. 117), but 
  the markings are different. 
  • Occult, Anthropology, or Art 
  History: It’s of Ojibwe origin.
  Dunlap about the carvings, he mentions 
  they’re part hobby and part livelihood – 
  good luck charms he sells to people all 
  over the country by mail order. 
  No matter what time of year it is, 
  Dunlap wears wool pants, a heavy 
  sweater, a scarf, and fingerless gloves. 
  • Medicine: You notice chilblains 
  on his exposed fingers, and signs of 
  frostbite on the tips of his ears. 
  As soon as everyone is settled, he wraps 
  a blanket around himself. His breath is 
  visible on the air, though no one else’s 
  is. Anyone who sits too close to him 
  feels the chill.
  Dunlap imparts his tale in a dispassionate  
  voice:
  “We saw the flashes in the sky, the night 
  lit up all green and purple, and knew 
  someone would have to walk. No one 
  wanted to go that time. We all stood 
  staring at each other, hoping someone 
  else 
  would 
  volunteer. 
  Somebody 
  suggested maybe it was time we 
  stopped feeding the damned thing, 
  but Lisbet Stirling – Jarrett’s mother 
  – asked if we needed a reminder about 
  what happened to the folks in Whitten. 
  That shut up those suggestions, but still 
  no volunteers. So I raised my hand.
  I walked for a day, following those flashes 
  at night when I could. I could hear it in 
  the trees, stalking me, snuffling. Felt its 
  breath on my neck more than once, but 
  it was never there when I turned to look. 
  Then suddenly it was right beside me. 
  I see those red eyes in my sleep to this 
  day. It picked me up, and up, and up. The 
  cold spread all through me, all at once. 
  You’d’ve thought at least its breath would 
  be hot when it opened up to swallow 
  me, but even that was cold. And then it 
  put me down and left me there, ankle 
  deep in snow and shivering.”
  If asked about other Walkers, Dunlap 
  mentions Lea Fischer, the young woman 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  120
  Astronomy suggests this is the result 
  of solar flare activity, the kind that 
  precedes an aurora. 
  The townspeople are aware of this as well, 
  and know it’s time to select someone 
  to go on the Coldest Walk. Someone 
  the Investigators have established a 
  good rapport with (Whitaker, Stirling, 
  Bowman, or Briggs, or a member of an 
  Investigator’s family) comes to find them, 
  and tells them people are gathering in the 
  town hall. Depending on their interactions 
  so far, the Investigators may be able to 
  participate, and given an opportunity to 
  speak. If they’ve made more enemies than 
  friends, they are barred from the selection 
  ceremony, and may find themselves in 
  a fight if they try to force their way in 
  – though if they’ve earned the trust of 
  anyone in previous scenes, that person 
  can vouch for them instead.
  A little over a hundred people crowd 
  into the large meeting room in the rear 
  of the building. The mood is somber 
  and resigned.
  • Assess Honesty or Streetwise: As 
  you read the crowd, you can tell no 
  one is taking any joy from having to 
  choose one of their own to go and die. 
  People who know the Investigators have 
  been delving into the Walkers look at 
  them, with both hope and the kind of 
  fatigue that comes with those hopes 
  being dashed time and again. There’s not 
  much in the way of speeches; Sherriff 
  Whitaker calls for silence and says, “You 
  all know what we have to do, and I’m sorry 
  for it. Are there any volunteers?”
  A few hands go up. If there’s someone 
  the Investigators have interacted with 
  who the Keeper feels would pack a good 
  dramatic or emotional punch if picked 
  for the sacrifice, they volunteer. Nothing 
  prevents an Investigator from being 
  among the candidates if they wish, and 
  this is the chance for anyone in the group 
  who wants to make an impassioned plea 
  or a rousing speech to do so. 
  Everything’s on the Fritz
  Scene Type: Core, Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: Something Massive in the 
  Trees, The Returned, A Taste for Flesh
  Lead-Outs: The Coldest Walk
  This scene should take place once the 
  Investigators have finished talking to the 
  townspeople and exploring the area to 
  their satisfaction. 
  Late in the afternoon, electronic 
  communication and any equipment 
  the Investigators are using begin to act 
  unreliably. Telephone connections cut 
  out, radio broadcasts fade in and out, 
  and compass needles waver. Physics or 
  If they don’t travel to the town, the 
  Investigators may also run into cultists 
  while they’re exploring the woods, or 
  if they follow the next townsperson 
  sacrificing themselves to Ithaqua. If 
  this occurs while they’re following 
  someone, the cultists attempt to kidnap 
  that person. (This scene may take place 
  after The Coldest Walk on p. 121 if that’s 
  the case.)
  Cultists
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Firearms 4, 
  Health 8, Scuffling 6, Weapons 4
  Hit Threshold: 3 
  Stealth Modifier: 0
  Weapon: – 2 (fist)
  Armor: +0
  Stability Loss: +0
  
  121
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Coldest Walk
  the center of town. It’s an ugly thing, 
  made from roughly hewn stone and 
  rotting wood, decorated with finger 
  bones and painted with blood. Cultists 
  stand guard around it, and around the 
  pit where they’re storing the Walker and 
  any other captives. An assortment of 
  blades have been laid out along the altar, 
  and many of the cultists have sharpened 
  their teeth and fingernails to claw-like 
  points. Handguns are prevalent among 
  the cultists as well – their rituals may 
  be ancient, but they are prepared for a 
  modern-day fight.
  The pit where captives are kept is seven 
  feet deep and narrow, reminding the 
  Investigators uncomfortably of the 
  place where the bodies were found in 
  the woods (see Frozen Victims, p. 110). 
  While climbing out is mainly a matter 
  of giving someone a boost, it’s doing so 
  without attracting the guards’ attention 
  that proves a challenge. 
  If they’re among the captured, the 
  Investigators can plan a breakout. If 
  they’ve followed the captured victim, 
  they might plan a rescue. If they’ve 
  thwarted the attack in the woods 
  altogether and chose to follow the 
  cultists, they can plan an attack or 
  attempt to scout around undetected as 
  they see fit.
  In the immediate area, there are as 
  many cultists as there are Investigators, 
  plus another five. Keepers should adjust 
  the number of cultists in order to suit 
  the pacing. If the Investigators are up 
  for some extra fisticuffs or a firefight, 
  reinforcements can come pouring out 
  of the forest or up from root cellars 
  where they’ve been preparing for the 
  festivities. If time is short, reduce the 
  number of cultists or have the leader 
  signal a retreat when half of them have 
  fallen – perhaps Ithaqua is gathering his 
  devotees to him deep in the woods.
  During their trip through the town, the 
  Investigators may use any combination 
  of Disguise, Filch, Shadowing, 
  the Investigators and gets hold of the 
  Walker. 
  If the Investigators manage to protect 
  the current Walker, the Keeper may 
  reveal that the cultists already have 
  a captive: either Bennet or Lea (The 
  Returned, p. 118), or Jarrett’s missing 
  sister (Ghost Stories, p. 113), or – if the 
  Investigators came to town in search of 
  a relative/Source of Stability/client’s 
  family member – any other dramatically 
  appropriate victim. 
  During 
  the 
  commotion, 
  the 
  Investigators get a sense of a towering 
  presence crashing through the trees. 
  Though they get a glimpse of Ithaqua 
  – a longer, clearer glimpse if they’re 
  willing to make a 1-point Cthulhu 
  Mythos spend and suffer the ensuing 
  4-point Stability and 1-point Sanity 
  loss – the god doesn’t take his intended 
  victim. (Rather than a spend, if they’re 
  Fleeing, the Investigators may simply 
  run smack into him.) 
  • Occult or Sense Trouble: You 
  notice a smaller group of cultists a 
  distance away, performing some kind 
  of ritual that seems to keep Ithaqua 
  from his prey (either the current 
  Walker, or another victim), whom 
  they’ve just snatched.
  The Cultists’ Base
  Scene Type: Core, Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: The Coldest Walk
  Lead-Outs: A Warm Fire, The  
  Wind-Walker
  If the Investigators are taken by the 
  cultists, or evade them and follow them 
  back to their base, they discover the 
  cult is attempting to gain Ithaqua’s favor 
  by devouring the victim themselves, 
  emulating their god. 
  Whitten is mostly unchanged from the 
  Investigators’ last visit, except for the 
  altar to Ithaqua that’s been erected in 
  • 1-point Bureaucracy, Bargain, 
  Intimidation, or Reassurance 
  spend: You can sway the citizens’ 
  choice of Walker, though attempts 
  to get the residents of Four Pines to 
  cancel the Walk altogether fail. 
  The Coldest Walk
  Scene Type: Core, Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: Everything’s on the Fritz, A 
  Taste for Flesh
  Lead-Outs: A Taste 
  for 
  Flesh, 
  The Cultist’s Base, A Warm Fire, 
  The Wind-Walker
  As the selected townsperson heads 
  out into the forest, the Investigators 
  are permitted to follow – nothing says 
  there can be only one Walker at a time. 
  It’s simply always felt like too much of 
  a waste of lives to send a group to their 
  certain deaths.
  The deeper into the woods they 
  venture, the colder it gets. Despite the 
  signs of spring all around, snow begins 
  to fall, and the day grows dark by early 
  afternoon – much earlier than sunset 
  ought to be at this time of year. The 
  wind slices through even the thickest 
  coats. Investigators who didn’t dress 
  for wintry conditions should make 
  a 5-point Health test. Those with 
  Outdoorsman can make a 1-point 
  spend to come up with some plausible 
  ways to mitigate the ill-effects of the 
  cold, and reduce the potential loss 
  by 3. For Investigators without the 
  Outdoorsman ability, a Preparedness 
  test might yield them a pair of gloves, a 
  scarf, or other useful items the Keeper 
  deems likely.
  As the temperature continues to 
  plummet, Investigators who pass a 
  Sense Trouble test become aware 
  of other figures moving through the 
  woods. The cult attacks, and attempts 
  to capture the Walker and anyone else 
  with them. If no one passed the Sense 
  Trouble test, the cult has the drop on 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  122
  before facing Ithaqua. If they need time 
  to prepare a banishing ritual or gather 
  supplies, support, refresh any eligible 
  Abilities, or make other plans, this is 
  their chance to do so. Investigators who 
  want to get in touch with out-of-town 
  Sources of Stability can do so – the 
  phones are back in working order.
  If the Investigators didn’t snatch The 
  Borean Codices or the ritual to call or 
  dismiss Ithaqua from Whitten (The 
  Cultists’ Base, p. 121), a townsperson 
  looking to help can provide them. 
  Perhaps one of the surviving Walkers 
  had the tome hidden in their homes, or 
  Johanna Bowman discovered it among 
  her stacks, or an Investigator’s relative 
  has been holding onto the ritual. 
  Whitaker or Bowman estimates the 
  Investigators have a day or two at most 
  to prepare. After that, they shudder to 
  think what the wendigo will do without 
  its sacrifice.
  The Wind-Walker
  Scene Type: Core, Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: The Coldest Walk, The 
  Cultists’ Base, A Warm Fire
  Lead-Outs: The Woods Are Lovely, 
  Dark, and Deep
  Ithaqua walks the woods, in search of 
  its sacrifice. The Investigators can lay 
  their traps – whether that’s pointing it 
  towards the cultists, making their own 
  offerings, or attempting a banishing. 
  • A leather-bound tome, The Borean 
  Codices, attributed to one Aaron 
  Charles Shadley in 1832.
  – The book is just shy of 200 pages, 
  and is of a proper size for slipping 
  into a pocket. Shadley was an 
  explorer and a scholar, whose 
  travels brought him to the northern 
  reaches of the world. The codices 
  record and translate stories from 
  arctic cultures, and catalog his own 
  experiences with the being known 
  as Ithaqua.
  – A section of the book has been 
  earmarked by the cultists; it 
  describes a ritual that allows the 
  performer to siphon and channel 
  Ithaqua’s 
  power 
  into 
  oneself 
  (p. 124). A human life must be 
  sacrificed to complete the ritual, 
  which explains the cultists’ attempt 
  to snatch a Walker from Four Pines. 
  Skimming this book provides 1 
  dedicated pool point in Occult or 
  Oral History relating to wendigo 
  legends. Poring over it adds +1 
  to an Investigator’s Cthulhu 
  Mythos ability.
  A Warm Fire
  Scene Type: Alternate, Refresh
  Lead-Ins: The Coldest Walk, The 
  Cultists’ Base
  Lead-Outs: The Wind-Walker
  The Investigators have a chance to 
  return to Four Pines (with or perhaps 
  without the Walker), and regroup 
  Stealth, or other appropriate Abilities 
  to steal the cultists’ ritual instruments. 
  Among the possible spoils are:
  • Talismans similar to those the 
  residents of Four Pines use to appease 
  Ithaqua (Into the Woods, p. 117 or The 
  Returned, p. 118)
  • A scroll outlining the ritual to Call or 
  Dismiss Ithaqua (see The Wind-Walker, 
  p. 122).
  • Enchanted daggers:
  – A person holding one of these 
  daggers is able to ignore some 
  ill effects of the cold: shivers, 
  chattering teeth, numbness or pins 
  and needles in the extremities. The 
  individual is not protected from 
  frostbite, but simply doesn’t feel 
  the effects of it settling into the skin 
  in the moment.
  – If a living being is cut or stabbed 
  with one of these daggers, the 
  skin and tissue surrounding the 
  blade freeze.
  • Sketches of huts clustered together on 
  a snow-bound plane. At first glance, 
  the walls appear to be woven together 
  from sticks, but a closer glance, 
  especially by a Doctor or Nurse, or an 
  Investigator using Anthropology, 
  Biology, Forensics, or Medicine, 
  reveals the rounded epiphysis found 
  at the ends of long bones.
  – If the Investigators discovered the 
  diary of one of the Coldest Walk’s 
  survivors from either Family Trees 
  (p. 115) or The Town Before (p. 116), 
  this sketch strongly echoes the 
  settlement on the Planes of Borea 
  described within.
  One Last Look Around
  If the Investigators are looking for 
  alternatives to either allowing the 
  sacrifice or attempting to Dismiss 
  Ithaqua, this is an opportune time 
  for them to take another look at the 
  town’s records, spend some time 
  in Johanna Bowman’s library, or 
  return to the tavern or the Ojibwe 
  settlement and seek the advice of the 
  locals. At the Keeper’s discretion, the 
  Investigators might learn about some 
  of the other options detailed in The 
  Wind-Walker (above). This might take 
  the form of notes scribbled in the 
  margins of Walkers’ diaries, or old 
  Ezekiel Byrd recalling a solution his 
  grandmother thought might work, 
  but never got to try.
  
  123
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Coldest Walk
  of Borea. The portion of Four Pines that 
  is consumed can include any homes 
  the Keeper thinks would have the 
  greatest emotional or dramatic impact; 
  for example, the homes of Bennet 
  Dunlap and Lea Fischer, or any family 
  members, or allies, the Investigators 
  have found within the town.
  • Following the cultists’ ritual in The 
  Borean Codices (The Cultists’ Base, p. 121), 
  the Investigators can make the terrible 
  choice to complete the Walker’s 
  sacrifice (with the Four Pines citizen, 
  or one of their own), temporarily 
  imbuing themselves with Ithaqua’s 
  power and weakening the god enough 
  for the remaining others to perform a 
  ritual to banish him to Borea. As with 
  the other spells involving Ithaqua, the 
  caster stands on a mound of snow on 
  a bitterly cold night. To complete this 
  ritual, the caster kills the sacrificial 
  Walker and consumes a piece of 
  their flesh, committing the act of 
  cannibalism that lore says turns the 
  eater into a wendigo.
  to feast upon the cultists in Whitten 
  for a while, instead of the residents 
  of Four Pines. Contacting Ithaqua 
  requires similar conditions to the 
  spell to dismiss him. Turning Ithaqua’s 
  attentions on the cultists solves two 
  problems at once: they’ll no longer 
  be threatening Four Pines, and it will 
  be a long while before the god comes 
  hunting again…but he will come 
  back, eventually.
  • Banishing Ithaqua back to Borea itself 
  by means of a Hyperspace Gate (Trail 
  of Cthulhu, p. 114) is possible if the 
  Investigators have read descriptions 
  about the plane, or found the cultists’ 
  sketches. However, a block-sized swath 
  of Four Pines will get pulled through 
  the gate with the Great Old One. This 
  will certainly condemn some residents 
  to life, however short, in the bitter cold 
  The following options allow the 
  Investigators to achieve their victory 
  conditions, at varying costs:
  • Allowing the citizens of Four Pines 
  to continue their own ritual cycle, 
  whether with the chosen Walker or 
  one of the Investigators as a volunteer, 
  sates Ithaqua, but only until the next 
  time the aurora comes. However, if the 
  Investigators don’t stop the cultists at 
  Whitten (The Cultists’ Base, p. 121), it’s 
  only a matter of time before they try 
  to co-opt the ritual again.
  • Performing the ritual to Dismiss 
  Ithaqua will send him back to his 
  prison in the Arctic Circle, but he 
  won’t leave easily. He’ll call not only 
  the cultists he’s converted to his aid, 
  but also the shantak, in an attempt to 
  disrupt the Investigators’ plans.
  • If the Investigators elect to Call 
  Ithaqua rather than Dismiss him, 
  they may be able to convince him 
  Dismiss Ithaqua
  (Trail of Cthulhu, p. 121)
  The caster must stand on an 
  enormous mound or plain of 
  snow, in night air at least 20° F 
  below freezing. 
  Stability Test Difficulty: 5 
  (4 with an Anthropology or 
  Outdoorsman spend)
  Opposition: 
  Rituals 
  to 
  dismiss Ithaqua face Ithaqua’s 
  Inertia pool of 35.
  Cost: Dismissing Ithaqua costs 
  7 Athletics or 14 Fleeing 
  resulting from cold and cramps 
  to the caster or casters as the 
  ritual involves standing directly 
  in the center of its icy aura.
  Time: 
  Dismissing 
  Ithaqua 
  takes at least five minutes, 
  during which he freezes solid 
  everything within 100 yards.
  Call Ithaqua
  (Trail of Cthulhu, p. 121)
  The caster must stand on an 
  enormous mound or plain of 
  snow, in night air at least 20° F 
  below freezing.
  Stability Test Difficulty: 5 
  (4 with an Anthropology or 
  Outdoorsman spend)
  Opposition: Rituals to Call 
  Ithaqua pit the caster’s Stability 
  against reality’s Inertia of 24.
  Cost: 5 Stability
  Time: One hour standing in 
  the cold. 
  Ithaqua will appear as an icy 
  whirlwind, prompting a one-
  third Stability and Sanity loss 
  (no minimum).
  Banish Ithaqua to 
  Borea
  The caster must stand on an 
  enormous mound or plain of 
  snow, in night air at least 20° F.
  Stability Test Difficulty: 
  5 (4 with Physics, 3 with a 
  1-point Physics spend)
  Cost: 4 Stability or 8 Health 
  (Borea’s is tangent to Earth in 
  this area). For each 4 points 
  spent from the caster’s pool, 
  lose 1 point from the caster’s 
  Health rating.
  Time: One hour (ten minutes 
  with Physics, one minute with 
  a 1-point Physics spend)
  
  Player Name: 
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  124
  The Woods Are Lovely, 
  Dark, and Deep
  Scene Type: Conclusion
  Lead-Ins: The Wind-Walker
  The Investigators deal with the aftermath 
  of their actions. Is Four Pines still whole? 
  How much time have they bought before 
  Ithaqua returns, and at what cost? Has this 
  chill settled into their bones for good, 
  or will they feel warm again someday? 
  As the surviving Investigators return 
  to town, Whitaker finds them to hear 
  their report. If any of the Investigators’ 
  solutions affected either Four Pines or 
  Whitten, he fills them in on the state of 
  the town. Stirling sets them up in front 
  of the fire at the Inn, and Briggs has sent 
  a bottle of her best batch of whiskey, but 
  none of it quite seems to warm up the 
  Investigators. At least not tonight.
  Become Wendigo
  The caster must stand on an enormous mound or plain of snow, in night air 
  at least 20° F.
  Stability Test Difficulty: 6
  Cost: 4 Stability
  Time: One hour.
   
  The caster is imbued with Ithaqua’s strength for twelve hours, doubling their 
  Athletics and Health pools during that time. Wind, ice, snow, and other wintry 
  weather are at the caster’s command within a 50-yard radius. With these 
  powers, too, comes a ravening hunger at the core of the caster’s being. The 
  hunger can be overcome by a Difficulty 4 Stability test every three hours. 
  Failing the test causes the caster to attack nearby living creatures – including 
  other Investigators – in an attempt to consume them.If the caster’s Stability 
  drops to 0 during the twelve-hour period, the effects of the ritual wear off 
  immediately. The caster is left feeling drained, hungry, weak, and freezing. 
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Investigator Name: Christopher Spencer
  Drive: Curiosity
  Occupation:2 Private Investigator
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Faith (Catholic), The value of human life, 
  Strong moral code
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  1
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  6
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  1
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  3
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  1
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  1
  Flattery
  1
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  3
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  1
  Firearms5
  7
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  0
  History
  1
  Reassurance
  3
  Fleeing7
  8
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  9
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  2
  Preparedness
  5
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  1
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  9
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  8
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  1
  Scuffling
  6
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  2
  Shadowing
  5
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  5
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  1
  Lydia Spencer, sister
  Daniel Leahy, ex-partner
  Christopher Spencer has been a private eye for 
  twenty years, and has closed every case but 
  one – a missing persons case he received eight 
  years ago. The trail had gone cold, but new 
  evidence points him to Four Pines.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: Cristina Vazquez
  Drive: Thirst for Knowledge
  Occupation:2 Scientist
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Science can explain the universe’s 
  mysteries. Epicureanism
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  7
  Anthropology
  1
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  5
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  8
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  4
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  1
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  1
  First Aid
  4
  History
  2
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  10
  Languages6
  1
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  9
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  5
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  6
  Library Use
  2
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  3
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  2
  Sanity9
  8
  Physics
  3
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  7
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  3
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  1
  Maria Hernandex, mentor
  Diana Vazquez, sister
  Cristina made a career out of her desire to 
  see the stars from every corner of the earth. 
  Now her travels have brought her to northern 
  Wisconsin, where she’s heard the cold air offers 
  crystal clear views of the cosmos.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Investigator Name: Ira Eastman
  Drive: Duty
  Occupation:2 Doctor
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Given the chance, people will choose 
  good. Love of his community
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  6
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  3
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  2
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  1
  Interrogation
  1
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  3
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  2
  First Aid
  10
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  3
  Fleeing7
  9
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  9
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  4
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  8
  Library Use
  1
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  2
  Astronomy
  1
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  7
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  8
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  5
  Forensics
  1
  Sense Trouble
  3
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  2
  Pharmacy
  2
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  Carrie Welch, a friend  
  in Four Pines
  Migizi, a cousin living in the 
  Ojibwe town nearby
  Ira Eastman was born and raised in the Ojibwe community 
  just outside of Four Pines. He enlisted in the army and 
  served as a field medic during WWI, then returned home 
  to provide medical services for his town. He’s tended more 
  frostbite cases than he can count and and has heard 
  stories of what lurks in the Wisconsin woods.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: Lucy Warren
  Drive: Bad Luck
  Occupation:2 Criminal
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: Art as proof of humanity’s greatness, 
  Nature’s beauty
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  3
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  3
  Conceal
  6
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  5
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  3
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  6
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  1
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  4
  History
  2
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  9
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  8
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  3
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  5
  Library Use
  1
  Art
  3
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  8
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  9
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  3
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  3
  Locksmith
  1
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  6
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  Gavin Franklin, gallery owner and fence
  Vivian Henry, closest friend
  Abby Warren, mother
  Lucy didn’t mean to be an art thief, but it 
  turned out she was good at it, especially 
  when it came to snatching smaller pieces. If 
  something can go wrong on a heist, it probably 
  will, but she’s learned to work around her 
  awful luck.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Investigator Name: Nat Gray
  Drive: Adventure
  Occupation:2 Journalist
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: The pursuit of truth, Human dignity, 
  Our stories will live on.
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  6
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  2
  Conceal
  4
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  1
  Disguise (I)
  8
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  3
  Driving
  4
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  8
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  1
  First Aid
  0
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  10
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  10
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  1
  Preparedness
  4
  Library Use
  2
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  0
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  9
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  7
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  2
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  10
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  2
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  1
  Jacob Brown, editor
  Alex Hill, ex-lover
  Nat’s favorite stories to report on tend toward 
  the weird and obscure. They follow leads other 
  journalists ignore, and that instinct has led 
  them to some spectacular scoops. The rumors 
  out of Four Pines were impossible to pass up.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  Anthropology
  Assess Honesty
  Athletics
  Archaeology
  Bargain
  Conceal
  Architecture
  Bureaucracy
  Disguise (I)
  Art History
  Cop Talk
  Driving
  Biology
  Credit Rating
  Electrical Repair(I)
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  Flattery
  Explosives(I)
  Cryptography
  Interrogation
  Filch
  Geology
  Intimidation
  Firearms5
  History
  Oral History
  First Aid
  Languages6
  Reassurance
  Fleeing7
  Streetwise
  Health9
  Hypnosis8
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  Law
  Preparedness
  Library Use
  Art
  Psychoanalysis
  Medicine
  Astronomy
  Riding
  Occult
  Chemistry
  Sanity9
  Physics
  Craft
  Stability9
  Theology
  Evidence Collection
  Scuffling
  Forensics
  Sense Trouble
  Locksmith
  Shadowing
  Outdoorsman
  Stealth
  Pharmacy
  Weapons
  Photography
  SOURCES OF STABILITY:
  CONTACTS AND NOTES
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 1 
  Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with Rough 
  Magicks – can only be acquired in 
  play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: Professor Liang
  Drive: Scholarship
  Occupation:2 Professor
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: The pursuit of knowledge, Moral code, 
  Hard work will get you through
  Build Points: 
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  1
  Athletics
  7
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  2
  Bureaucracy
  2
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  2
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  7
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  1
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  1
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  2
  First Aid
  0
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  10
  Languages6
  2
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  10
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  7
  Library Use
  2
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  5
  Occult
  3
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  9
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  8
  Theology
  3
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  5
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  0
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  4
  Photography
  0
  Lily Chen, protegee
  Evan Baldwin, colleague and friend
  Professor Liang teaches theology at a small 
  west coast college, and has taken a sabbatical to 
  research their next book, and delve deeper in 
  their second passion, occult history.
  
  THE 
  TREMBLING 
  GIANT
  By Aaron 
  Vanek
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  132
  The Trembling Giant
  Through the centuries, early Native 
  People enjoyed a fecund land as a 
  proximal benefit to life beside the 
  Black Goat With a Thousand Young. 
  One tribe learned to annually curb 
  the 
  Monster’s 
  growth 
  through 
  ritualistic burning, which kept it 
  mostly at bay and allowed the people 
  to build a semi-permanent village. The 
  Monster perceives time differently, 
  so it endured years of decimation 
  before unleashing a stampede of Dark 
  Young to destroy the humans. Only 
  a handful escaped, with their minds  
  broken. 
  Three hundred years later another tribe, 
  the Paiutes, wandered into the area. The 
  grove’s trees ruled the flat top, but as 
  before, the surrounding land featured a 
  bounty for hunting and farming. Hunters 
  took down an elk with eight legs in the 
  grove, and the following night, a tribal 
  healer dreamt of her Ancestors. They 
  warned her about the identical trees, 
  and taught her a burning spell. Yearly 
  pruning resumed. Although casualties 
  fell, the nomadic Paiutes avoided the 
  wrath of Shub-Niggurath by not settling 
  in one place, and occasionally leaving 
  someone sick or old behind to the 
  whispering trees.
  land’s history and the people, including 
  the mysterious disappearance of the 
  Fremont tribe hundreds of years before 
  Paiutes arrived. Talking with elders 
  of their own tribe leads to a haunting 
  creation myth about hungry giants, a 
  ban on consuming tree sap, and hints of 
  a ritual burning they used to practice. 
  Exploring the Brathwaite homestead 
  reveals a serial murderer, with deformed 
  farm animals, and a young child, who all 
  regularly feed upon cursed tree sap. A 
  sacred Native American ritual bridges 
  the living and the dead, affording the 
  Investigators the chance to learn the 
  fire ceremony, but also forcing them to 
  watch the Monster’s massacre centuries 
  ago. Armed with ancestral knowledge, 
  the Investigators must risk their sanity 
  and lives to curb our reality’s expression 
  of an Outer God. 
  The Horrible Truth
  During the Late Pleistocene era, part of 
  Shub-Niggurath (see Trail of Cthulhu, 
  p. 99) manifested as a forest colony in 
  North America. Each individual aspen 
  tree contains the same genetic code 
  and shares a massive underground root 
  network. This Monster lives only for 
  two things: to feed and propagate. 
  The Hook
  In 1937, the United States government 
  transferred land to the Koosharem 
  Band of Paiute (pronounced PY-
  yoot) Indians in the state of Utah as 
  part of the Wheeler-Howard Indian 
  Reorganization Act of 1934. Bordering 
  this returned territory lurks an ancient 
  evil—a grove of quaking aspen trees, 
  the sap of which leads to grotesque 
  mutations in anything or anyone who 
  consumes it. The Investigators must 
  rediscover the past, and rekindle the 
  fires of tradition to resist the alien god 
  that grows beside them. 
  Spine
  The Investigators, all members of the 
  Water Clover People (Koohsharem 
  Band) of the Paiute Indian Tribe, 
  witness the deed’s signing for their 
  land, but already prejudice and warning 
  signs appear. Exploring the new area 
  shows promise until their Medicine 
  Man approaches a grove of aspen 
  trees, and suffers a nightmarish vision. 
  Further searching reveals misshapen 
  animals and an eerie sameness of trees. 
  Digging through records at the Indian 
  Agency in Cedar City uncovers the 
  The Horrible Horrible Truth
  This particular quaking aspen grove, 
  called Pando, really exists in Utah. 
  If you run this scenario inside the 
  grove (1 mile southwest of Fish Lake 
  just off Utah’s Route 25), please 
  take pictures. Details regarding 
  the real-world Koosharem Band’s 
  formal recognition, land addition, 
  reservation and general history are 
  adapted from actual studies. Their 
  1937 plot expansion in actuality 
  lies about 12 miles away from 
  Pando. Furthermore, all characters 
  appearing in this work are fictitious. 
  Any resemblance to real persons, 
  living or dead, is purely coincidental.
  
  133
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  exists to completely rid Earth of the 
  Monster—it always grows back. Left 
  alone, it dominates the region, and 
  eventually the planet. 
  Antagonist 
  Reactions
  Boyd Brathwaite will do anything to 
  prevent harm to his goddess. The forest 
  defend will defend itself and ward off 
  intruders using mutated animals, and if 
  threatened by fire, Dark Young. Lastly, 
  the culture of bigotry against Indians 
  can hamper the Investigators, and even 
  lead to imprisonment. 
  devotee. He used the Church of Jesus 
  Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ practice 
  of plural marriage to obtain multiple 
  wives, who bore children that he 
  sacrificed to the goddess in exchange 
  for longevity and other powers. After 
  the Church forbade polygamy, he 
  resorted to kidnapping his oblations. 
  The Monster has grown unchecked for 
  decades, reaching a level of power and 
  size heretofore unmatched.
  The Victory Condition
  The tree grove needs to burn to cinders 
  if the Investigators want to keep peace 
  on their land. No permanent solution 
  When Mormons migrated into the 
  area, they faced little resistance from 
  the peaceful Paiutes, taking the Natives’ 
  land as their own. When tribes requested 
  compensation, church founder Brigham 
  Young’s first counselor, Heber C. 
  Kimball said the land belonged to “our 
  Father in Heaven and we expect to 
  plow and plant it.” Considering the land 
  public domain, the Mormons farmed 
  and fenced the soil, ignoring the First 
  Nation’s entreaties. 
  In 1855 an insincere Mormon named 
  Boyd Brathwaite established a farm 
  under the monstrous shadow. Shub-
  Niggurath’s influence turned him into a 
  Scene Flow Diagram
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  134
  Kimball said the land belonged to “our 
  Father in Heaven and we expect to plow 
  and plant it.” The young United States 
  of America claimed territorial control 
  after the Treaty of Hidalgo ended the 
  Mexican-American 
  War. 
  America 
  considered the land public domain, 
  ignoring the First Nation’s pleas. 
  In the 1860s Utah Superintendent of 
  Indian Affairs Oliver H. Irish convinced 
  some Southern tribes to renounce their 
  lands and relocate to a new home set 
  aside for them, the Uintah Valley Indian 
  Reservation in northeastern Utah. 
  Unfortunately, the Spanish Fork Treaty 
  of 1865, signed by many chiefs, was 
  never ratified by Congress. Yet the white 
  man began removing them anyway, 
  against some resistance. By century’s 
  end, most Native Americans left their 
  ancestral home, either voluntarily or by 
  force. 
  The largest conflict between Mormons 
  and Native Americans in Southern Utah 
  was Black Hawk’s War, a long series of 
  attacks, skirmishes, and military battles 
  theories for their absence are proffered: 
  they were forced to relocate due to 
  climate, famine, or disease; they were 
  wiped out by a plague; they scattered 
  and integrated into other local tribes 
  and adopted their customs. 
  Three hundred years later, in the mid-
  16th century, the Paiute tribe of hunter-
  gatherers roamed the land, which they 
  found fertile and full of game to hunt and 
  fish. They didn’t keep many permanent 
  settlements, and their nomadic bands 
  consisted of a few families, about 
  20-40 people. Despite occasional 
  battles with other tribes, which the 
  Paiutes usually lost or surrendered—
  they are a peaceful people—they 
  lived for centuries without incident, 
  until the arrival of Europeans in the  
  mid-1800’s. 
  Mormon and other white pioneers 
  faced little resistance from the tranquil 
  Paiutes, and took much of their land as 
  their own. When the Native Americans 
  asked for compensation, Brigham 
  Young’s first counselor, Heber C. 
  History of Native 
  Americans in the 
  Southern Utah 
  Area
  The newest academic texts claim that 
  the First Nations, called Paleo-Indians, 
  migrated across a land bridge from 
  Russia to North America about 14-
  20,000 years ago. Anthropologists are 
  very excited about discovering spear 
  points near Clovis, New Mexico, 
  similar to those found in Beringia, an 
  area around Alaska and Russia. Other 
  artifacts in the plains states indicate 
  people moving through but leaving 
  no permanent or semi-permanent 
  settlements until about 1000 CE, when 
  the Fremont People—named by the 
  white man after a nearby river—lived 
  in the region. 
  Multiple references say the Fremont 
  people disappeared around 1250 CE, 
  250 years after they arrived. Many 
  Keeper Information on Native American Player Characters
  Whether or not the pre-generated 
  characters are used for this scenario, 
  both players and the Keeper should 
  read the information sheet on 
  Native Americans (Handout 4, 
  p. 161) and the Koosharem Band 
  (Handout 1, p. 158) included with 
  the supplemental materials.
  Six characters are provided, but 
  the scenario works best with five. 
  Players should answer the character 
  question and add one more Source of 
  Stability and Pillar of Sanity.
  Active hostility between whites 
  and Native people ended only very 
  recently within the context of this 
  adventure. Some characters or NPCs 
  may have been involved in these 
  conflicts or incurred a personal loss 
  from them. 
    If you run a Pulp style game and 
  the characters achieve victory, 
  let ignorance maintain bliss. 
    In Purist mode, even if they 
  defeat the trees, reveal to 
  the players that the Monster 
  lives forever, and by 1954 the 
  tribe 
  is 
  terminated—they 
  lose their special status with 
  the 
  government 
  and 
  their 
  lands are—yet again—taken 
  from them.
  Keepers, check with your players (and 
  yourself) about everyone’s comfort 
  level regarding derogatory language 
  and possible racist abuse of their 
  characters in this scenario. If someone 
  may be triggered or uncomfortable 
  with the content, take out the scene 
  From the Mouths of Babes (p. 141), 
  remove the police and guards in the 
  scene The New Deal (p. 139), and 
  any curious white people in Fire for 
  the Ages (p. 155). Further alterations 
  are allowed and encouraged, at the 
  Keeper’s discretion.
  
  135
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  for food, Indians took cattle as rent 
  payment for passing or using their land. 
  In retaliation, whites murdered Black 
  Hawk’s family at Battle Creek in 1849 
  and beheaded his relatives at Fort Utah 
  entered the area in 1848 and demanded 
  more and more Native land for farming 
  and grazing, forcing them off their own 
  land and hunting grounds. This led to 
  starvation among the people. Desperate 
  that peaked between 1865 and 1872. 
  Members of Ute, Paiute, Apache and 
  Navajo tribes followed a Ute war chief, 
  Antonga Black Hawk. The war’s roots 
  sprouted soon after Mormon settlers 
  The Monster Pando
  The Trembling Giant concerns the 
  arguably largest and oldest organism 
  on Earth. Pando is a clonal colony, 
  or genet. This particular grove of 
  Populus tremuloides, or quaking aspen, 
  has been extant for 80,000 years 
  or more—some scientists say a 
  million—and is estimated to weigh 
  over six million kilograms. Located 
  in Utah in the United States, Pando 
  spans approximately 106 acres, with 
  over 47,000 tree trunks. But the 
  creature’s heart lies underground, 
  in an extensive root system. A 
  tree’s average age is a century, but 
  the roots are far older. The trees 
  represent the visible expression of 
  one buried thing: “...quaking aspen 
  regularly reproduces via a process 
  called suckering. An individual stem 
  can send out lateral roots that, under 
  the right conditions, send up other 
  erect stems; from all above-ground 
  appearances the new stems look just 
  like individual trees. The process is 
  repeated until a whole stand, of what 
  appear to be individual trees, forms. 
  This collection of multiple stems, 
  called ramets, all form one, single, 
  genetic individual, usually termed a 
  clone.” –Michael Grant, in Bioscience
  With a fat dollop of fictional liberty, 
  the real Pando becomes the Monster, 
  a manifestation of Shub-Niggurath. 
  In pre-historic times the Black Goat 
  of the Woods trod upon Earth. 
  You decide how or why. More 
  importantly, the seed never left. It 
  found agreeable climes and a paucity 
  of 
  predators. 
  Unmolested, 
  the 
  Monster gradually but consistently 
  expanded. Beasts that resided in it 
  occasionally made a Faustian bargain 
  by consuming the aspen’s milky sap, 
  which leads to a long, robust life but 
  also severe mutations and horrendous 
  deformities in the imbiber and 
  offspring. Any animal or insect 
  changed, passed on the aberration to 
  its children, and continued to live and 
  breed in the same grove, century after 
  century. Further from the Monster, 
  however, spreads an abundance of 
  un-mutated growth of both flora and 
  fauna. Living off the land proximate 
  to Shub-Niggurath can be highly 
  beneficial to humans as long as the 
  goddess permits it and you don’t 
  mind the occasional supernatural 
  death. No Native Americans in our 
  story worshipped Shub-Niggurath, 
  as they recognized the unnatural 
  blasphemy—though they sacrificed to 
  it in grudging respect. 
  The Monster devours any plant life 
  in its clutch. Swift-moving animals 
  become servants if they or their 
  parents feast on its discharge. The 
  normal requirements for trees—
  sunlight, water, carbon dioxide—
  are absent for the Monster. It grows 
  as long as any root part remains 
  underground, mystically attached to 
  the Outer Goddess. The larger it gets, 
  the stronger it gets, empowering it 
  to exert firmer mental control over 
  more animals and people, as well as 
  quickening its spread, and enabling 
  it to react faster to attacks. Left 
  unchecked, the Monster overtakes the 
  continent, the Western Hemisphere, 
  and the world. Fortunately, it moves 
  quite slowly (by human reckoning) 
  and we will all be long dead, perhaps 
  an extinct species, by the time that 
  happens. 
  To increase dread, each time the 
  Investigators return to the grove, 
  new tree stalks have popped out of 
  the ground next to a dead or dying 
  fir or pine. This growth cannot be 
  detected with the naked eye, but 
  persists continuously. 
  Infected animals usually remain in 
  the grove, or hidden among the other 
  trees on Big Flat, the new land locale. 
  Brathwaite tries to protect them 
  from wandering too far through 
  recurring mental commands. 
  The trees can be chopped down or 
  burned like any other lumber, though 
  the ritual method proves far more 
  effective. No one can completely 
  destroy the underground root structure 
  with 1930s technology or magic. 
  Aficionados of H.P. Lovecraft’s weird 
  tales might see similarities between 
  the Monster and the alien Colour 
  Out of Space. Devious Keepers 
  could encourage that mistaken 
  identity, suggesting a meteoric seed 
  in the grove. Truthfully, Pando has no 
  heart, no center.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  136
  thousands of acres were given back to 
  Indian tribes, hundreds of years after 
  walking the paths of their ancestors.
  We want freedom from the white man rather 
  than to be integrated. We don’t want any part 
  of the establishment, we want to be free to raise 
  our children in our religion, in our ways, to be 
  able to hunt and fish and live in peace. We don’t 
  want power, we don’t want to be congressmen, 
  or bankers....we want to be ourselves. We want 
  to have our heritage, because we are the owners 
  of this land and because we belong here. The 
  white man says there is freedom and justice for 
  all. We have had “freedom and justice,” and that 
  is why we have been almost exterminated. We 
  shall not forget this.
  -- From the 1927 Grand Council of 
  American Indians
  Conflicts mostly ended when U.S. 
  General Morrow, concerned about a 
  large Ghost Dance in 1870, called up 
  500 former militiamen to disperse the 
  Indians and force the Utes back onto 
  the Uintah Reservation. 
  Over the next half-century, all Indians 
  lived at the mercy of white altruism. 
  Ignored by both state and federal 
  government, they eked out a living 
  performing odd jobs and growing grain 
  and hay. In 1928, the small Koosharem 
  Reservation was established in Grass 
  Valley. As part of the New Deal and 
  as a reaction to the Meriam Report of 
  1928, which detailed the horrible living 
  conditions on 95 reservations across the 
  country, the Wheeler-Howard Indian 
  Reorganization Act passed in 1934, and 
  in 1850. At the Bear River Massacre 
  in 1863, U.S. soldiers killed the men 
  and children and raped the women. 
  According to the Bear River Shoshone 
  Chief Sagwitch, who later converted 
  to Mormonism, the soldiers grabbed 
  babies by the feet and “beat their brains 
  out on any hard substance they could 
  find.” By 1865 Mormons and Indians 
  were in a state of open warfare. 
  The Mormons received little assistance 
  from the federal government, as Utah 
  did not become a state until 1896. 
  Thus, gangs of militiamen would fight 
  and pursue Native Americans whenever 
  they felt threatened. There was conflict 
  between who ran the Utah Territory, 
  the United States or Brigham Young, 
  head of the Mormon Church. 
  
  137
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  Days ago Chief Walker told the tribe that 
  the United States government gave them 
  320 acres of land near this reservation. 
  He doesn’t know why, but it has 
  something to do with white man’s laws. 
  He asked several members of the tribe, 
  including the Investigators, to come with 
  him to the city of Richfield to sign papers 
  that give them ownership; as if land, air, 
  and water can be owned. They have to 
  travel on their old bus, and leave soon. 
  Climate
  This area of Utah, Sevier County, has 
  a high elevation, from 7,000 feet on 
  Koosharem Band of Paiute Indians, 
  gather in the center of their sparse 
  reservation. The sun brightens the 
  rusty roofs and ramshackle walls of 
  their homes. Chickens cluck insistently 
  and expectant horses gallop about the 
  paddock. Chief Walker, weather-worn 
  and feeble but still able to hold his 
  chin up, wheels into the yard in his 
  hand-carved chair. He welcomes the 
  momentous day with reserved dignity. 
  The Puakantï or medicine man, Ammon, 
  joins the group. He looks downcast and 
  troubled. 
  Scenes
  The Water Clover People
  Scene Type: Introduction
  Lead-Outs: The New Deal, Who is 
  Chief? 
  This scene introduces our dramatis personae 
  and the setting. 
  Setting
  On a chilly October dawn the Water 
  Clover People, also known as the 
  The Reservation
  This information repeats as Handout 
  1 (p. 158). 
  On the reservation and accessible to 
  the players are: 
  • Tin roof shacks (roughly four 
  people sleep in each room), a 
  barn, a few outhouses 
  • Horses (6), some chickens, goats, 
  and a few scrawny cows herded by 
  two hunting dogs
  • Not much hay and feed for 
  the animals
  • Crops of pine nuts and elderberries 
  plus various herbs and vegetables
  • Depleted stores of food for people 
  and animals in hand-woven baskets 
  and tins
  • 6x bows and arrows (using Weapons 
  skill they do light damage)
  • Jackrabbit trapping nets
  • Hunting knives (light damage)
  • Rabbit 
  sticks 
  (or 
  throwing 
  sticks, like boomerangs but they 
  don’t return) (light damage, use 
  Weapons skill)
  • Fishing poles & tackle
  • Firearms 
  – 2x Winchester Model 06 .22 
  rifle (light damage), carries 
  12 rounds
  – 2x Winchester Model 94 .30 
  rifle (heavy damage), carries 
  8 rounds
  
   100 bullets for each of these 
  four guns
  – 1x Remington M32 12-gauge 
  double-barrel 
  shotgun 
  (heavy damage)
  
   50 shells
  • $27.32 in United States currency 
  (for the entire tribe)
  • Sacred tribal paraphernalia (dress, 
  musical instruments, etc.)
  • One ramshackle but running 
  school bus from 1930
  • One Model T Ford (missing critical 
  engine pieces and gasoline)
  • Other logical gear: construction 
  and farming tools (no machines), 
  lanterns, tobacco and lighters, 
  firewood, Mason jars and bottles, a 
  few books including the Holy Bible 
  and the Book of Mormon, etc.
  The reservation does not have indoor 
  plumbing, a telephone, radio, or 
  electricity, but there is fresh water 
  from a well, plus Otter Creek also 
  runs along the western border. 
  Unfortunately, the Church of Jesus 
  Christ of Latter-Day Saints acts as 
  the trustee of all the Koosharem’s 
  water rights. The nearest neighbors 
  reside in Burrville, an unincorporated 
  community 
  three 
  miles 
  away, 
  population 59. The closest town with 
  services (and occasional agricultural 
  jobs) is Richfield, the Sevier County 
  seat. At 23 miles, it takes under two 
  hours travel by horse or 45 minutes 
  if they drive their own bus. State 
  Highway 24 runs just outside of 
  the reservation. More and more 
  automobiles whirr along the road 
  nowadays. White tourists occasionally 
  stop and take pictures before speeding 
  away in a cloud of exhaust fumes.
  Although not covered with arable soil 
  and only mildly defensible, these 953 
  acres are sovereign territory, and the 
  Investigators know the lay of their 
  land extremely well (see Handout 
  2, p. 159). A deep red clover, from 
  which the tribe takes their name, 
  grows abundantly.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  138
  Catherine Wood (elder artist, 
  weaver)
  Abilities: Athletics 2, First Aid 4, 
  Health 5, Stability 9, Sanity 8
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Stealth Modifier: +0
  Weapon: – 2 (fist)
  Armor: +0
  Catherine, the oldest woman on the 
  reservation (age 90), doesn’t move 
  much more than her gnarled hands 
  when weaving. She annoys easily, 
  except when talking about the past. 
  She knows a wealth of local history, but 
  only reveals it in her native language. To 
  fully grasp her tales, at least one listener 
  needs to spend 1 point in Languages 
  (Numic) to catch every nuance. 
  Failing this, a few details may be heard  
  incorrectly. 
  Young Koosharem Hunters
  Abilities: Athletics 8, Conceal 6, 
  Firearms 4, Fleeing 10, Health 6, Riding 
  4, Sanity 5, Scuffling 5, Shadowing 8, 
  Stability 4, Stealth 8, Weapons 4
  Hit Threshold: 4
  Stealth Modifier: +2
  Weapon: – 2 (fist)
  Armor: +0
  Anthony & Rachel Tompkins are 
  15-year-old twins, and the best, fastest 
  scouts in the tribe. If Investigators 
  need reconnaissance, either or both 
  kids overeagerly jump at the chance. 
  However, they scare easily. 
  Who is Chief?
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: The Water Clover People
  Lead-Outs: 
  The 
  New 
  Deal, 
  An Alliance?
  An optional scene to increase role-playing 
  between the characters. 
  While riding the bus to Richfield, Chief 
  Walker calls the Investigators around 
  For the heart of this adventure the 
  Investigators operate on their own. 
  Geography, physical distance and 
  prejudice keeps interlopers away.
  Important Koosharem 
  Band NPCs
  Chief Cody Walker
  Abilities: Athletics 2, Firearms 3, 
  Health 3, Psychoanalysis 6/Reassurance 
  2, Riding 4, Sanity 10, Stability 12
  Hit Threshold: 2 
  Stealth Modifier: -2
  Weapon: – 2 (fist)
  Armor: +0
    To help stricken Investigators in a 
  Pulp run, Walker has Psychoanalysis 
  6 (as Clergy, p. 79 of main rules) to 
  restore Stability points.
    If a Purist game, he only has 
  Reassurance 2 to calm them down, 
  but not restore Stability. 
  Walker can stand up for brief periods 
  if he has someone or something to hold 
  onto. He rests in a carved wheelchair 
  that he can maneuver on flat surfaces 
  like a floor, but requires assistance over 
  dirt. 
  Medicine Man Ammon Tillohash
  Abilities: Athletics 6, First Aid 8, 
  Health 7, Medicine 8, Riding 7, Sanity 
  8, Stability 10, Weapons 10
  Hit Threshold: 3
  Stealth Modifier: +1 (crafty)
  Armor: +0
  Weapon: – 2 (fist)
  Spells: Spirit Dance (detailed in the 
  scene “The Spirit Dance”) 
   If running a Pulp scenario, Ammon 
  also knows a Bear Dance song that, 
  while he sings it, engenders bravery and 
  strength in all who hear and understand 
  Numic, conferring +1 to all physical 
  ability and Stability rolls. 
  Ammon does not use a gun. 
  the reservation to over 11,000 feet on 
  Big Flat. All area residents normalize 
  to the altitude, but any characters not 
  acclimated to the thin air (not the pre-
  gens) must make an Outdoorsman or 
  Athletics test (Difficulty 3) once a day 
  or suffer a +1 penalty on any physical 
  exertion checks for that day. Three 
  successive successes and they no longer 
  need to roll.
  Throughout this scenario the cold, dry 
  weather should hover around the low 
  to mid 40s Fahrenheit in the day and 
  below freezing at night, with clear blue 
  skies. A harsh winter threatens. Only 
  weeks away from an expected snowfall, 
  the tribe may not have enough to feed 
  everyone with this harvest. 
  Character Introductions
  After presenting the setting, allow the 
  PCs to introduce themselves through 
  their actions—what do they do, or what 
  would they do, if not for the trip to 
  Richfield? For example, has a character 
  come back from hunting empty-
  handed, dejectedly loaning the rifle to 
  another? Have morning lessons started 
  for the children? Are any animals sick 
  or pregnant and need extra tending? 
  Who patches their one warm coat 
  before winter sets in? What language do 
  people speak? Help the players envision 
  their character’s hard scrapple lives, 
  and encourage them to describe their 
  morning’s routine before they set out 
  for Richfield. 
  Keeper’s Information about 
  the Koosharem Band
  The tribe, especially the Chief, know 
  area myths and legends, but they have 
  to be asked about them; see the scene 
  Tribal Knowledge, p. 145. Furthermore, 
  some pre-generated characters’ Sources 
  of Stability live on the reservation. 
  Investigators have access to any resources 
  owned by the tribe, including extra 
  hands to help with the investigation.
  
  139
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  and grandfather calling. “It is time for 
  another leader to rise. It could be any 
  of you, you all have qualities needed 
  now.” He closes his eyes and drifts off 
  to dream. Clearly, he hopes to anoint a 
  successor before dying, and the leading 
  candidates are the Investigators. 
  River Paiute tribes like the Koosharem 
  typically 
  featured 
  task-specific 
  leaders—the best hunter acted as 
  chief on the hunt, the best farmer 
  directed planting and harvest, etc. 
  However, one person could sway the 
  majority on larger issues through their 
  charismatic ability to obtain consensus. 
  This person wielded limited power as 
  tribal chieftain for long-term strategy, 
  but task leaders still commanded their 
  respective bailiwicks. 
  Chief Walker can die dramatically at 
  any point after The New Deal scene, or 
  become bedridden until the very end, 
  when he welcomes the next chief with 
  his dying breath. Ammon the Medicine 
  Man does not pick sides, nor act as 
  chief, unless the players or Keeper 
  ignore this plotline. 
  The New Deal
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: The Water Clover People, 
  Who is Chief?
  Lead-Outs: Welcome to Your New 
  Home, From the Mouths of Babes, 
  Office of Indian Affairs
  This scene brings the PCs and other members 
  of their tribe into white man’s bureaucratic 
  world. 
  After dropping off one of their fellow 
  tribal members at work and a half-dozen 
  more at various spots around town to 
  look for work, the dusty bus squeaks to 
  a stop before the austere brick Federal 
  Building and Post Office in Richfield. 
  Children on their way to the nearby 
  elementary school gawk briefly as the 
  Investigators file out to the sidewalk. 
  Allow Investigators to role-play their 
  reasons for or against accepting the 
  deal. What they say and what they 
  decide affects the Keeper’s portrayal of 
  Throckmorten in the next scene – see 
  p. 139 for more information.
  Chief Walker can fill in details about 
  the offer except for the exact location 
  (“nearby”). He seeks consensus with the 
  tribe. After a few minutes of debate, he 
  changes the subject and says he hears 
  his mother and father, grandmother 
  him. He reminds them of the day’s 
  importance, and thanks the Spirits 
  he still breathes. But doubt troubles 
  his brow.
  “Most of us voted years ago to govern 
  ourselves like the Constitution of 
  the United States, unlike the Navajo. 
  That brought us independence. Now 
  they give us land, as if it was theirs 
  to give. We need it, certainly. But, 
  can we trust them again? What do  
  you think?”
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  140
  as hard drivers, and remind them that 
  winter is coming and their supplies are 
  low. 
  When they have agreed, Throckmorten 
  firmly shakes Walker’s hand as well as 
  any other Investigator who aided the 
  process. He hands over a flyer from the 
  Office of Indian Affairs in Cedar City, 
  which the Investigators already know 
  about, and, ceremoniously, a map of 
  their land (Handout 3, p. 160). They can 
  move in at any time. 
  During the meeting and signing, 
  skilled Investigators can ascertain 
  the following:
  • (core) Law or Bureaucracy: The 
  Wheeler-Howard Act (a.k.a. the 
  Indian Reorganization Act) gives land 
  held in trust by the United States 
  to the Koosharem band, as opposed 
  to giving individual ownership to a 
  few tribal members, the previous 
  standard. The Investigator’s land rests 
  a few miles from the reservation; they 
  do not connect. Also, this is a federal 
  matter not a state one, an important 
  distinction. 
  – 1-point spend: The act does not 
  take back land already allotted 
  to individual tribal owners, e.g., 
  if a Native American tribesman 
  already privately owns land, they 
  wouldn’t lose it. This results in 
  a patchwork collection of land 
  owned either by an entire tribe, an 
  individual Native American, or the 
  U.S. Government.
  • Assess Honesty: Throckmorten 
  genuinely wants and expects the tribe 
  to accept the land; he’s baffled if they 
  don’t. 
  • Reassurance or Flattery: He 
  worries because some tribes did 
  not sign, and some whites will not 
  like the federal government handing 
  “public” land over to Indians. It’s 
  almost all federal or state land 
  between their reservation and the 
  A young, studious assistant (white, 
  Mormon) in a white shirt and black tie 
  nervously shifts his weight in the corner 
  and flinches at any signs of aggression 
  from anyone. 
  Throckmorten 
  formally 
  welcomes 
  the 
  Investigators, 
  starting 
  with 
  Chief Walker. He explains in a well-
  prepared fashion that with Congress 
  passing the Wheeler-Howard Indian 
  Reorganization Act of 1934, the United 
  States government formally recognizes 
  Koosharem Indian autonomy. They 
  may freely exercise their own system 
  of government and management of 
  their land. The act also allows for the 
  allocation of additional space to their 
  control; in this case, 320 acres are 
  assigned to the Koosharem Band by 
  Act of Congress on May 28, 1937. Yes, 
  it took three years for the land to be 
  transferred. 
  If the Investigators already decided 
  to sign, speed this scene along. If not, 
  allow for another debate between 
  the Koosharem in Numic—which 
  no one else in the room understands, 
  unnerving the whites. The Chief 
  abides by the decision of the majority 
  or anyone using Reassurance, or, if 
  there’s competition, the one who spent 
  the most points from that skill.
  If the Investigators refuse to sign before 
  seeing the land, an option only they can 
  introduce, Throckmorten states he can 
  only stay until 10am tomorrow, and he 
  would explicitly prefer to settle this 
  now, as it may take months or years 
  to set the table again. If they insist, 
  let them check out the land first, but 
  they need to return early the following 
  morning if they want to keep it. In that 
  case, a Keeper’s discretion determines 
  if a second scene needs to play out, or 
  is merely assumed to occur without 
  further incident. 
  If it looks like a complete refusal to take 
  the land is imminent, the Keeper should 
  use John’s Duty or Thomas’s Curiosity 
  A cordon featuring two Office of Indian 
  Affairs police agents (white) and more 
  than a dozen local law enforcement 
  and wanna-be law enforcement men 
  (white) form a gauntlet inside the 
  building. The locals want to make sure 
  there’s no trouble from the Indians, and 
  the outnumbered Feds want no trouble 
  at all. 
  They have some hassle navigating Chief 
  Walker’s chair (and no white person 
  offers to help, they simply stare with 
  neutral or pugnacious expressions), 
  but eventually assemble in a conference 
  room decorated with large oil portraits 
  of prominent officials from history. 
  The figures are all pale, and their dour 
  expressions loom over the proceedings. 
  Armed guards wait outside. 
  Behind a carved table sits Joseph 
  Throckmorten, a punctilious state 
  attorney (white, Protestant) in an 
  expensive suit. If the majority of 
  the Investigators acted apathetic or 
  indecisive in the previous scene, or 
  Keepers ignored the bus ride, portray 
  Throckmorten as stiff, formal, and 
  concise. Maintain a neutral, clinical 
  gaze. Pause a second before replying to 
  anything, and let the Investigators talk 
  as much as they like. 
  If most Investigators leaned favorably 
  towards signing, portray Throckmorten 
  as barely on the verge of panic, holding 
  it together with force of will. Sweat 
  beads his forehead the longer it takes to 
  sign the documents. He tries to finish 
  the player’s sentences or questions 
  before they do, talking in a rapid, 
  annoyed tone. 
  Tough words and bellicose demeanors 
  in the last scene meet a calm, generous, 
  and patient civil servant. He’ll listen 
  to all objections and present a simple 
  rationale for signing, backed by the 
  President of the United States, Franklin 
  Delano Roosevelt, who wants to make 
  amends to the Indians as much as 
  possible and as quickly as possible. 
  
  141
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  • If the PCs stoically ignore them, the 
  kids up the ante by pointing their 
  pudgy white hands in the shape of 
  pistols and yelling “Bang!” A school 
  bell or a mother’s call causes all of the 
  kids to giggle and run away.
  • Assess Honesty or Streetwise 
  reveals they want to prove themselves 
  tough to their friends. 
  • Intimidation or Interrogation 
  scatters the rascals without revealing 
  anything. If a PC reaches for a child, 
  they’ll bawl uncontrollably, causing 
  a local authority figure to demand 
  that the PCs leave. Furthermore, one 
  kid tells their parents, who holds a 
  grudge against the Investigators. This 
  comes up at the climax, as the same 
  parent reappears in the final scene. 
  – Spends should not be used with 
  these “negative” social skills. 
  • Reassurance or Flattery converts 
  their fear into curiosity. A boy 
  and a girl no older than seven asks 
  questions about their tribe, what they 
  are doing here, and other innocent 
  inquiries. A genuine answer or a 
  use of Oral History, History, or 
  Anthropology widens their eyes 
  and elicit exclamations of “Jeepers!” 
  and “Wow!” 
  – 1-point spend (or sincere role-
  playing): 
  The 
  children 
  are 
  placated. They’ll say they hope the 
  Investigators come back into town 
  again. They go home and tell their 
  area for fear of being “accidentally” 
  shot by a white hunter. The new land 
  waits for them a few hundred yards 
  up and west from the lake water.
  As they leave, the townies and local 
  lawmen grumble and hate stare at the 
  departing Indians. 
  From the Mouths of Babes
  Scene Type: Floating
  Lead-Ins: The New Deal, The Office 
  of Indian Affairs
  Lead-Outs: The Office of Indian 
  Affairs, Welcome to Your New Home
  This optional scene introduces prejudice 
  against the Investigators, but also gives a 
  chance for them to make an enemy or a friend 
  who has an effect at the scenario’s end. 
  Skip this scene if pressed for time or you 
  want to elide racism. This encounter can 
  occur at any point in the game where 
  Native American characters interact 
  with whites, likely in Richfield after they 
  meet with Throckmorten, or in Cedar 
  City, before or after their research in 
  the Office of Indian Affairs archive.
  A group of five white children taunts 
  the Investigators by finger-drawing 
  immature, silly, and derogatory graffiti 
  in the dust caked on the side of the bus 
  and/or imitating a circle dance. How 
  the brats react depends on what the 
  Investigators do. 
  new territory, and they have right of  
  pass-through. 
  – 1-point spend: A crease of worry 
  forms 
  across 
  Throckmorten’s 
  forehead. He warns that some 
  whites might be none too pleased 
  to discover they cannot fish in 
  their favorite holes or hunt from 
  their best blinds because a non-
  white owns the land, or worse, that 
  natives own any land at all.
  – 2-point 
  spend: 
  Throckmorten 
  befriends 
  the 
  Investigators, 
  potentially resulting either in a visit 
  to check on their progress or a good 
  word on their behalf if a bigoted 
  law enforcement office pitches a fit 
  about a ritual forest fire close to a 
  state highway. 
  • Bargain, Law, or Bureaucracy: 
  Other tribes (77 of 181) refused 
  because they did not choose the 
  land and their sacred sites were 
  not discussed.
  • (core) When the Investigators see the 
  map, they realize that their new land 
  lies atop a ridge above a lake, Fish 
  Lake they recall fishing as children, 
  before tribal recognition.
  • Oral 
  History, 
  History 
  or 
  Outdoorsman: In the last two to 
  three years, stories of a monster in 
  Fish Lake buzzed around like gossip. 
  Plus, whites have visited the area 
  more often in the last six or seven 
  years, so most tribesfolk avoid the 
  Research as a Native American
  The Investigators may seek to 
  perform 
  research 
  within 
  the 
  white world; e.g., a library or 
  newspaper office. If you are using 
  the pre-generated Native American 
  characters, this should be difficult, if 
  not outright impossible (depending 
  on Pulp or Purist mode). Clerks will 
  be hesitant to allow them access to 
  whatever it is they are looking for, 
  especially if they arrive as a group, 
  and they won’t have much time 
  before someone asks them to leave. 
  However, they can get any of the core 
  clues before being asked to leave. 
  Other clues will require spends.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  142
  to spot. It’s inhabited, but no one 
  has ever seen the owner. They don’t 
  infringe the new tribal land, but lurk 
  close to it. White men have camped 
  around Fish Lake for decades, but 
  this seems to be the only person 
  permanently living there.
  Their southern border meets the edge 
  of a yellow-leaved quaking aspen tree 
  grove that rests in a gentle depression 
  and extends over the ridge, down the 
  slope, and across the highway. It’s over 
  500 acres, with just the outer rim of it 
  in their territory.
  As the Investigators approach the grove 
  (or by himself if they don’t), Ammon 
  the medicine man undergoes a seizure, 
  contorting into horrible positions with 
  the sound of cracking joints. His eyes 
  roll back and blood spittle sprays from 
  his convulsing face. 
  He suddenly stops thrashing and goes 
  rigid, his eyes abnormally dilated, and 
  he speaks in a strange language. 
  • Oral History or Languages (any 
  Native American): He’s speaking 
  in an old Native American tongue.
  – 1-point spend: It’s the ancient 
  Fremont people’s dialect, different 
  than the Investigators’. 
  – 2-point spend: You can do a 
  partial translation of the Fremont: 
  “Hungry…children 
  of 
  the 
  goddess…furious giant awakens.”
  Investigators witnessing the episode 
  must make a 2-point Stability test, 
  losing 3 points if Ammon is a Source 
  of Stability.
  After a few minutes, he regains control 
  of his body, but shakes his head and 
  gently weeps. An hour of rest returns 
  his senses; Reassurance immediately 
  comforts him. Whenever he recovers, 
  he relates his vision, a core clue, to the 
  Investigators (see sidebar). After telling 
  them, he wishes to rest but can walk or 
  ride if required. 
  suffering a Stability loss, they must 
  make an Athletics check at Difficulty 
  4 under daylight conditions, Difficulty 
  5 at night. If on horseback the numbers 
  remain the same but use Riding 
  instead. Failure causes normal damage 
  (+0) from tripping and hitting rocks 
  and scrub brush. 
  Highway 24 demarcates the southern 
  border, and an overgrown fire road 
  cordons off the north side. 
  Points of Interest
  While Ammon blesses the land, the 
  Investigators can either assist him or 
  look around with the following skills:
  • Geology, 
  Outdoorsman, 
  Evidence 
  Collection: 
  Deer 
  Spring 
  – 
  fresh 
  water! 
  An 
  underground spring seeps up to 
  create a small pond near a circle of 
  Ponderosa pines. Each nigh,t a thin 
  layer of ice crusts the water, melting 
  off each day until the temperature 
  stays below freezing. This can help 
  farming immensely, especially if the 
  tribe can manage it outside the LDS 
  Church. 
  • (core) Outdoorsman: Your land 
  is close to Fish Lake, historically 
  a dependable source of sustenance. 
  Many tribes came to fish, as has 
  yours, for years. Although your land 
  doesn’t contain a shoreline, being 
  closer opens up many opportunities 
  to alleviate hunger. 
  – Investigators recall rumors of a lake 
  monster, like a giant fish, attacking 
  fishing boats or even men on the 
  shore. These tall tales started a few 
  years ago, and most people avoid 
  coming to the lake at night.
  – A 1-point spend in either 
  History, 
  Oral 
  History, 
  or 
  Outdoorsman yields the same 
  information in the Fish Lake sidebar. 
  • (core) At the bottom of Big Flat, on 
  the southern end of Fish Lake, squats 
  a small cabin and a farm, difficult 
  father about a positive experience, 
  which affects his demeanor if he 
  meets the Investigators at the 
  climax. 
  Welcome to Your  
  New Home
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: The New Deal, From the 
  Mouths of Babes, Office of Indian Affairs
  Lead-Outs: The Grove, Brathwaite 
  Homestead, Tribal Knowledge, The 
  Office of Indian Affairs
  The Investigators explore their new property 
  and find a few highlights, punctuated by 
  a terrifying premonition. Details of the 
  Monster itself follow this scene. 
  The tribe’s medicine man Ammon rides 
  with the characters to purify and bless 
  the land; horses being the only sure 
  method of travel. Allow Investigators 
  to equip themselves with anything they 
  feel they need—and can afford—from 
  Richfield or the reservation before 
  exploring the new holding.
  Their acreage lies near the southern 
  tip of Big Flat, a raised plain covered 
  by grass with a forest of evergreen 
  trees—spruces, firs, and pines—
  undulating along gently rolling hills. 
  Big Flat rises 1000 feet northward 
  towards Fish Lake Hightop, the highest 
  point in Sevier County at 11,600 
  feet; an altitude achieved by standing 
  on a boulder the size of a house (the 
  boulder is a few miles away). Down 
  the steep slope to the east lies Fish 
  Lake, the largest natural freshwater 
  mountain lake in Utah. Further east 
  loom the peaks of Zedds Mountain and  
  the Mytoges. See Handout 3, p. 160.
  The east and west boundaries for their 
  land are the ridgelines along the flat, 
  which can be traversed with minor 
  effort. However, if the Investigator 
  ascends or descends while under stress, 
  say, running from a Dark Young or after 
  
  143
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  by speckled trunks creates the sensation 
  of entering a giant’s diseased mouth full 
  of thousands of cavity-ridden teeth. 
  All the foliage is the same type; no 
  other plants or trees grow here. Big Flat 
  contains a thriving ecology, yet this spot 
  features only one type of tree. 
  When the Investigators enter the leaves 
  shudder, creating a susurration that 
  moves deeper into the grove, like a 
  tingle passing through the branches. 
  There’s no breeze felt. The sound of 
  quaking aspen leaves, like a swarm of 
  insects or rattling coins, moves back 
  and forth through the grove; the trees 
  talk to one another. Due to the root 
  system when the wind blows—and 
  sometimes even when it doesn’t—
  the ground seems to rise and fall, as if 
  rolls (Difficulty 6), or they can 
  wait outside.
  Dead fallen evergreens fringe the 
  aspen’s tree line, clearly demarcating 
  the boundary between the green trees 
  and the other ones. The air alters 
  unexpectedly upon descent into the 
  grove. Heat and humidity thickens, and a 
  strange scent, like animals decomposing 
  in freshly tilled loamy soil, pervades the 
  Investigator’s nostrils. Low mounds 
  and hillocks of yellow reedy grass a few 
  inches tall resemble ripples along the 
  ground. The closely-spaced tree trunks 
  are thin and white, with black splotches 
  and a few ebony-colored branches. 
  Their leaves shriek an autumnal yellow, 
  creating a canopy that almost smothers 
  the sky. The combination of mustard-
  colored leaves and matching grass joined 
  At this point, consider invoking a hard 
  driver for any character with Curiosity 
  or Duty to investigate the grove and 
  finish the blessing if they think of 
  departing now. 
  The Grove
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Welcome to Your New 
  Home, The Office of Indian Affairs
  Lead-Outs: The Office of Indian Affairs, 
  Tribal Knowledge, Brathwaite Homestead
  No need to travel through interstellar space 
  or dream realms to reach an Outer Goddess. 
  The Investigators meet the enemy here.
  If on horseback, the steeds resist 
  entering the area, requiring Riding 
  Fish Lake
  This information—not the parts 
  about the goddess, Brathwaite, or 
  the mutants—can be learned by 
  Investigators at the Indian Affairs 
  office, through the tribal elders, or 
  by spending a point (at any time) 
  of History, Oral History, or 
  Outdoorsman specifically about 
  Fish Lake. 
  Fish Lake rests within a geological 
  feature known as a graben valley 
  almost 9,000 feet above sea level. 
  The water is six miles long, a mile 
  wide, and 175 feet at the deepest 
  point. The lake has been extremely 
  bountiful for centuries, (due to its 
  proximity to Shub-Niggurath) and 
  thus fought over. A key battle in 
  Black Hawk’s War occurred here in 
  September 1864. General Snow and 
  over 100 Utah militiamen made a 
  stand on Big Flat’s ridge against Ute 
  warriors. The whites eventually 
  retreated, though it’s not clear if that 
  stemmed from the Ute’s prowess or 
  the things the men saw in the aspen 
  grove. 
  Water rights to Fish Lake were sold 
  on March 10, 1889 to the Fremont 
  Irrigation Company. The Native 
  Paiutes received nine horses, 500 
  pounds of flour, one steer and a suit 
  of clothes in the “deal.” A decade later 
  President McKinley created a forest 
  preserve around the area. Although 
  Natives still had the right to fish 
  there, overeager and racist whites 
  often harassed them. Brathwaite has 
  done as much as he can to prevent 
  development at the lake through land 
  purchase and Scooby-Doo worthy 
  lake monsters, but he’s failing. Soon 
  Fish Lake becomes a prime tourist 
  destination—Brathwaite 
  doesn’t 
  want that, maybe the Investigators 
  don’t either. Could they ally? In 
  reality, the Fish Lake Lodge (still 
  extant) was under construction from 
  1928 to 1933, but those historical 
  dates are fudged for this scenario.
  A few log cabins dot the lake’s north 
  side opposite Brathwaite’s home, and 
  random tent encampments appear in 
  other areas all year, even when the 
  lake freezes over in winter—ice 
  fishing remains popular. 
  Any requests for help from Native 
  Americans to these white campers 
  result in extreme suspicion and 
  possibly hostility unless they spend 
  Reassurance, or the Investigators 
  treated the children kindly in the 
  scene From the Mouths of Babes (p. 141). 
  Keepers can use the campers as an 
  additional threat and/or Dark Young 
  victims in the climax scene—more 
  information in that section.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  144
  knife, bullets, or any papers, like the 
  map—before scurrying away.
  Anyone looking at it notices milky white 
  eyes instead of black, and it has a second 
  pair of forearms and hands sprouting 
  from its elbows. If caught, it hisses with 
  abnormally sharp teeth and tries to bite. 
  It darts into a leaf-covered mound 
  entrance. Although difficult, it can be killed 
  inside its warren (Hit Threshold 5), or 
  lured out with a 1-point Outdoorsman 
  spend and fought normally. 
  As it dies, it cries like a human baby and 
  thrashes about, foaming at the mouth. 
  Witnessing this aberrant expiration 
  prompts a 1-point Stability test.
  The den only allows room to reach 
  a hand or a head inside. Looking 
  with any light source reveals the 
  trees above connected like feeder 
  pipes into a larger root that runs 
  laterally through the ground. This root 
  system swells and contracts in a slow 
  rhythm. Anyone seeing this singular, 
  breathing entity must make a 2-point  
  Stability test. 
  Mutant Raccoon
  Abilities: Athletics 10, Health 5, 
  Scuffling 6
  Hit Threshold: 3 (5 in den)
  – 1-point spend (or if Investigators 
  mention it): It is from the Fremont 
  people. 
  • History or Oral History: Native 
  Americans used quaking aspen bark 
  for quinine.
  While they search, call for a Sense 
  Trouble test.
  A raccoon (paddaki’e in Paiute) attempts 
  to grab something off an Investigator, 
  likely Tate, with his Bad Luck Drive. If 
  an Investigator’s Sense Trouble roll 
  succeeds, they notice before it filches. If 
  not, the raccoon snatched an object—a 
  breathing. All Investigators must make 
  a 1-point Stability test the first time 
  they experience this. 
  If examined closely, each tree’s black 
  spot glistens like oil, tacky to the touch. 
  The following skills yield information:
  • (core) Biology or Outdoorsman: 
  These aspen trees are clearly the 
  dominant species, which can happen 
  naturally. Yet this is an outlandishly 
  large area, coming from the mesa 
  but running down the slope and on 
  both sides of the state highway to the 
  south. Quaking aspens earned their 
  name because their leaves move with 
  minimal provocation. Their splotches 
  leak sap, which might indicate disease. 
  – 1-point spend: Quaking aspens 
  are all related, and share an 
  underground root structure.
  • (core) 
  Evidence 
  Collection: 
  Brushing aside any overgrowth 
  exposes petroglyphs on large rocks; 
  art from Native American ancestors. 
  • History, 
  Art 
  History, 
  or 
  Anthropology indicates warning 
  signs from a tribe before the Paiutes, 
  hundreds of years ago. Research at 
  the Office of Indian Affairs might 
  decipher them. 
  The Medicine Man’s Vision
  Ammon’s sight clouded and he 
  doesn’t remember what he did prior 
  to the vision or why. He describes 
  a waking nightmare, one that can’t 
  be ignored or ever forgotten. He 
  witnessed a tribe slaughtered by 
  giant tree-like monsters, with too 
  many mouths and eyes. These people 
  lived in huts long ago, before the 
  white man came. Tree-giants with 
  too many mouths, and walking on 
  thick stumps dripping with grease, 
  tore and trampled the people into 
  red ribbons, worse than any bison 
  stampede. The people who saw 
  the giants froze in fright, cried, or 
  laughed hysterically while gouging 
  their own eyes out. Women, children, 
  men, everyone died. Blood soaked 
  the grass and thunder pounded in his 
  ears from the stomping beasts. All 
  this happened in this area, long ago. 
  If any non-pregenerated characters 
  have Cthulhu Mythos, they 
  must make a 2-point Stability test 
  and lose 1 point of Sanity. They 
  recognize the hallmarks of Dark 
  Young of Shub-Niggurath destroying 
  all signs of life.
  
  145
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  down accounts for barely half the 
  Native American knowledge; many 
  elders remember much more, but their 
  stories haven’t been recorded. This 
  hints toward the Tribal Knowledge scene 
  (below). 
  • Art 
  History 
  or 
  Languages 
  (Numic) translates rubbings or 
  copies of the petroglyphs from 
  the grove: they feature a system 
  of marking time and space, like 
  observing something’s growth. They 
  also warn against the “Tree Beasts” 
  and the “Giant of the Forest That 
  Grows Too Big”.
  A 2-point spend on any research skill, 
  or if they search the records of people 
  living near the land, or the name 
  “Brathwaite”, the Investigators find 
  three marriages of Native American 
  women to Boyd Brathwaite, a Sevier 
  County resident at Fish Lake, are listed 
  in different record books. The bulk of 
  these come prior to 1904, when plural 
  marriages occurred in the Mormon 
  Church. 
  If 
  ingenious 
  or 
  cautious 
  Native 
  American Investigators think to contact 
  other bands in the area for support 
  with the burning ritual, they could 
  reach them through Camilla, who 
  happily helps, but can’t attend the 
  ritual due to her watery knees. See the 
  scene An Alliance? (p. 154) for more  
  information.
  Tribal Knowledge
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: The Office of Indian Affairs, 
  The Grove, Welcome to Your New 
  Home, Braithwaite Homestead
  Lead-Outs: Spirit Dance, The Office 
  of Indian Affairs, An Alliance?
  Much can be learned from one’s Elders.
  When the Investigators inquire about 
  old legends concerning their new 
  them, either by taking someone into 
  town to purchase the needed part, or the 
  stranger taking the Investigator’s money 
  (five dollars should do it) and buying 
  the part and bringing it back for them. 
  The better option requires a 1-point 
  spend from Flattery, Reassurance, 
  or Assess Honesty. 
  The bus ride takes three hours each 
  way. Add an hour with a breakdown, 
  and three hours if the repair roll fails. 
  The office opens at 9am and closes at 
  5pm. It’s a desultory single-story beige 
  office building with few windows. 
  Camilla, the overworked 50-something 
  Native American receptionist (Paiute 
  Shivwits band), suffers from gout, 
  but befriends and helps other Native 
  people. Role-play her as useful and kind, 
  but with a complaint about her health 
  attached to every utterance. She trusts 
  any Native American character and 
  does everything in her power to answer 
  their questions or help them. Assess 
  Honesty from cautious Investigators 
  indicates sincerity.
  Native Americans have unrestricted 
  access to all the files and only need 
  to spend a few hours digging through 
  the many cabinets and boxes that fill 
  the repository. They get all the clues 
  below in one visit, even if they arrive 
  just before closing—Camilla keeps 
  the lights on for them. Any white 
  Investigators are politely asked to leave 
  precisely at 5pm, and an additional 
  1-point spend of Reassurance grants 
  full access to the records, meaning they 
  only get the core clue, and cannot use 
  spends or gain leverage unless they 
  spend Reassurance first. 
  • (core) Library Use, Anthropology, 
  or History reveals the history of 
  First Nations in the area. Give the 
  Investigators Handout 4, p. 161.
  If they didn’t already figure it out or 
  talk to their tribal elders, Camilla 
  mentions that what they have written 
  Alertness Modifier: +1
  Weapon: -1 (bite)
  Armor: none
  Stability Loss: +1 when seeing and 
  hearing it die
  Investigators are allowed to explore 
  the grove further if they want. Feel 
  free to introduce another mutant 
  animal (see Fire for the Ages, p. 155, for a 
  menagerie) or bring on dark clouds and 
  an early dusk that makes the return ride 
  hazardous. Or simply have Ammon ask 
  that they return before dark. 
  The Office of Indian 
  Affairs
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: The New Deal, From the 
  Mouths of Babes, Welcome to Your New 
  Home, The Grove, Tribal Knowledge, 
  Braithwaite Homestead
  Lead-Outs: Welcome to Your New 
  Home, The Grove, Tribal Knowledge, 
  An Alliance?, From the Mouths  
  of Babes
  A few hours among written records provides a 
  wealth of information about their origin and 
  the land they just received. 
  Keepers who need to get their 
  Investigators here can use the soft 
  drivers of Artistic Sensitivity or 
  Curious on them. 
  The Office of Indian Affairs (a federal 
  agency, renamed the Bureau of Indian 
  Affairs in 1947) is 123 miles from the 
  reservation, reachable only with the 
  tribe’s bus. Roll Driving (Difficulty 
  4) each way to ensure a humdrum 
  trip. If Driving fails, the bus breaks 
  down, and a subsequent Mechanical 
  Repair (Difficulty 4) repairs it. A 
  Preparedness test (Difficulty 2) will 
  lower the Mechanical Repair difficulty 
  by 1. If the Mechanical Repair roll fails 
  or no one has the skill, they must wait 
  for a passing motorist (white) to assist 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  146
  rock and used her pole to leap to the 
  southeast. She came to a lake and, this 
  time burying the pole in the shallow 
  water, leapt to the other side and ran to 
  the home of her aunt. 
  When the giant awoke he tracked her to 
  the lake but couldn’t see any mark from 
  her stick. She was safe. The Paiute tribe 
  comes from this woman. 
  • (core) Oral History, or asking about 
  the tribe before the Paiutes, the elder 
  recalls that there was another people 
  who lived before them. They stayed in 
  houses and had farms like in the story. 
  They lived in a beautiful land, but they 
  had to keep it tame. They used a fire 
  ritual to keep an evil spirit in check. 
  One day, the spirit grew angry with 
  the People and their burning. It made 
  the trees walk, and giants crushed 
  everyone they could find. A few ran 
  away but were never the same, always 
  haunted by what they saw. These 
  tales so frightened other tribes who 
  thought giants were coming for them 
  as well, that they fled their homes in 
  the cliffs. If the PCs talk to Ammon, 
  he now makes the connection 
  between his vision and this legend 
  (or allows the Investigators to do  
  it for him.)
  • Oral History, and inquiring about 
  sap or the trees in the grove, the elder 
  states that it is forbidden to eat from 
  the trees near the lake or use them 
  for medicine.
  – 1-point 
  spend: 
  The 
  elder 
  remembers that some white men 
  ignored the warnings, and they 
  were changed in horrible ways. 
  Never trust the eaters of sap from 
  the grove where the earth spirits 
  talk and giants walk. 
  • (red herring): If asked about mutant 
  raccoons or small creatures with 
  hands, the elder mentions the 
  Nuwa’deca or Little People, never 
  more than three feet tall, who 
  shoot poisoned arrows and eat the 
  tried to warn her kinsmen, but they 
  didn’t hear her for their laughter. 
  Frightened, she hid inside a basket in  
  the field. 
  Tse’nahaha approached, stopped, and 
  listened. Hearing laughter he ducked 
  low into the house and looked around, 
  making a horrible sucking noise with 
  his mouth. Those he looked at died 
  instantly. The others in the back saw 
  their brothers and sisters staring and 
  said “What are you looking at?” They 
  walked around so when Tse’nahaha 
  saw them, they all died. Only a 
  sleeping baby remained. The giant left  
  the house. 
  The baby awoke near dawn and began to 
  cry. The woman left her hiding spot and, 
  without looking at the bodies, set fire to 
  the house and took the baby away. 
  A few days later another giant named 
  Pu’wihi came by. He grabbed the baby 
  from the woman and, holding its head 
  between its massive fingers, asked her 
  “Where are you from?” She said “I am 
  from that smoking house, over there, 
  with the men in it.” The giant walked 
  inside the house’s ashes. The woman 
  tried to hide again, but couldn’t find 
  another spot. Instead she pushed her 
  digging stick into a clump of wild oats 
  and vaulted away. 
  When the giant returned, he could not 
  find the woman. This infuriated him and 
  he bellowed to the setting sun. Then he 
  found the mark her pole left in the oats, 
  and he used this mark to track her to a 
  hiding place under a boulder the size of 
  a house. She was crying, but he couldn’t 
  reach his big hands underneath the 
  rock to grab her. It was getting dark so 
  Pu’wihi decided to wait until morning. 
  He built a fire and ground up the baby 
  on the top of the rock and ate him 
  while the woman cried underneath. 
  He laughed and taunted the woman but 
  soon fell asleep. 
  She crawled out from under the 
  domain, or wonder what to do after 
  Ammon’s vision and the horrors in 
  the grove, refer them to Chief Walker, 
  Medicine Man Ammon, or Catherine 
  Wood. Their stats feature in The 
  Water Clover People (p. 137). Any one 
  of them provides the clues below; 
  only Catherine requires a spend (of 
  Languages (Numic)) to get the full 
  details. If constrained by time, forget 
  the red herring. 
  • (core) Reassurance or just asking 
  easily starts the elder talking about 
  how the Paiutes came to this land 
  (A Paiute Creation Myth, below). 
  Investigators have heard this story 
  many times as a child, but new 
  insights emerge with a retelling—
  some elements reflect things in or 
  around their new region. 
  • Bringing any strange items from 
  the Grove, or Brathwaite’s home, 
  scares Ammon enough to burn it, 
  and conduct a purification ritual on 
  the Investigator who carried it. This 
  elicits the below clues, including 
  the Spirit Dance. The animal and his 
  vision remind him of the story. 
  A Paiute Creation Myth
  An actual Paiute creation story inspired 
  and informed this myth, edited for 
  the 
  scenario. 
  Savvy 
  Investigators 
  might notice similar details from 
  the legend in their new land, e.g., 
  the “rock as big as a house” and the  
  nearby lake. 
  Once upon a time a giant named 
  Tse’nahaha roamed the land. Tse’nahaha 
  could kill anyone by looking at them. 
  He would catch people and throw them 
  over his shoulder into a basket of thorns 
  he carried on his back. 
  One night, some tribesmen were 
  playing inside their home. They posted 
  a woman to stand watch in their field. 
  She heard Tse’nahaha walking towards 
  them and whispering to himself, 
  like thousands of leaves rustling. She 
  
  147
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  • The corralled mule has a third eye 
  with a nictitating membrane in its 
  forehead, salivates cream-colored 
  liquid, and brays like a perverse 
  human’s laugh. Seeing and hearing 
  it warrants a further 1-point 
  Stability 
  test. 
  Although 
  high 
  strung—who knows what that extra 
  optic organ sees—the Investigator’s 
  horses whinny and flinch if they sense 
  the creature, provoking a Difficulty 
  4 Riding test to prevent the mount 
  from bolting. 
  • The vegetables—squash, potatoes, 
  rutabagas—are doing well this season, 
  as they’re ungodly turgid in size. At 
  least they do not require a Stability 
  check. If eaten, they are tasty. 
  A simple search on the chicken coop, 
  corral, or fields, or using Evidence 
  Collection on the farm, exposes the 
  unusual animals and crops, followed 
  by the Stability checks. A 1-point 
  spend on Evidence Collection or 
  using Biology or Outdoorsman 
  suggests inbreeding, diet, or both, 
  caused the deformities. Someone 
  with this skill would also know that 
  administering growth hormones for 
  cattle began recently, so – although 
  highly unusual for a subsistence 
  farmer like Brathwaite – it’s not 
  impossible he found a secret sauce for  
  the livestock. 
  Boyd Brathwaite and his child, Jacob, 
  are present if Investigators visit in the 
  day, out fishing or hunting at night. 
  PCs can explore the cabin in peace 
  by breaking in, but the Brathwaites, 
  called 
  by 
  the 
  psychic 
  cockerel, 
  return to observe, politely interrupt, 
  or attack, depending on what the 
  Investigators do, and if they’ve met  
  or not. 
  The pre-generated character Hope 
  Larsen might have her Drive (In the 
  Blood) activated to explore everything 
  here, particularly the marital history of 
  Boyd Brathwaite. 
  • The livestock are fed milk of Shub-
  Niggurath, 
  harvested 
  through 
  the 
  aspens, 
  causing 
  nauseating 
  deformities in the chickens: one 
  sports conjoined heads that try 
  voraciously but vainly to peck each 
  other to death, another sprouted six 
  talons, one squats as big as an ostrich, 
  with greasy yellow plumage. Keepers 
  should expound on their worst 
  barnyard visions here. Seeing the hens 
  with different distortions prompts a 
  1-point Stability test. 
  • A bright red rooster with a wicked 
  gaze patrols the area. He exhibits 
  no malformations, but flits from 
  perch to perch, giving Investigators 
  a devilishly unnerving stink eye, 
  causing a 1-point Stability test. In 
  fact, the bird possesses sentience, 
  and worse, limited telepathy. It 
  functions as Brathwaite’s intruder 
  warning system. Unless commanded 
  otherwise by Brathwaite, it only 
  defends the coop, but does so with 
  frightening fanaticism. 
  Mutant Rooster
  Abilities: Athletics 10, Health 4, 
  Scuffling 6
  Hit Threshold: 4
  Alertness Modifier: +4
  Weapon: -1 (claws)
  Armor: none
  Stability Loss: +1
  flesh of other men and women. If a 
  Nuwa’deca did not recover from a 
  sickness, their own people beat them 
  on the head until death. Many tribes 
  have their own legends and names for 
  a dwarf cannibal people. 
  • (core): At the end of questions, the 
  elder, nodding off to nap, mumbles 
  something about holding a Spirit 
  Dance to reconnect and learn from 
  their ancestors and their guidance. 
  The Medicine Man (if not the elder 
  they talked to) hears this and agrees. 
  The Spirit Dance will begin when 
  dramatically 
  appropriate, 
  e.g., 
  after most or all other scenes have  
  played out. 
  If they have not yet visited the Indian 
  Agency in Cedar City (The Office of 
  Indian Affairs, p. 145), the elder also 
  recommends a visit.
  Brathwaite Homestead
  Scene Type: Core, Antagonist Reaction
  Lead-Ins: Welcome to Your New 
  Home, The Grove
  Lead-Outs: Tribal Knowledge, The 
  Office of Indian Affairs, Fire for the Ages
  The Investigators encounter the Monster’s 
  agent and his unusual son.
  In a secluded crevice at the southern end 
  of Fish Lake lurks a modest homestead 
  punctuated by a simple wooden pioneer 
  cabin. A few acres of farmland with 
  a rooster and hens, a mule, and a 
  robust vegetable garden, supports the 
  residents. 
  A few dozen yards away, a small wooden 
  pier extends into the lake, which 
  releases a tributary that winds down 
  a slope. Gentle waves slop against the 
  pilings, bumping an ugly yet functional 
  rowboat. 
  Like the Monster, this seemingly bucolic 
  tableau hides disturbing details.
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  148
  weak, sports preternatural toughness 
  reflected in his high Health. He utilizes 
  deception and patience, feeding off the 
  character’s actions. Although he wears 
  the mantle of villainous henchman, 
  play him sympathetically—a destitute 
  geezer trying to survive with his 
  physically challenged son and a few 
  weird animals. 
    Play up the fact that he, like the 
  Investigators, 
  is 
  an 
  outsider. 
  Brathwaite may be the only 
  empathetic white person the team 
  encounters. 
    He should be role-played as someone 
  far too nice to be trustworthy. 
  Boyd Brathwaite
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Firearms 10, 
  Fleeing 5, Health 15, Scuffling 4, 
  Weapons 7
  Alertness Modifier: +5 near rooster, 
  +3 elsewhere 
  Stealth Modifier: +1
  Weapon: Winchester (+1), carving 
  knife (+0)
  Stability Loss: +0 clothed, +1 naked
  To portray Boyd, stare intently at the 
  speaker, nod sagaciously, pause between 
  sentences and look upward as if getting 
  directions from the airwaves. 
  Jacob Brathwaite
  He is the five-year old child of Boyd 
  and May Waterson, a Dutch-descended 
  Dust Bowl daughter whose family sent 
  her away thinking she’d have a better 
  life. Six months after birthing Jacob 
  with severe disfigurements, Boyd 
  convinced May the baby’s condition was 
  her fault and gave her to the Black Goat. 
  He continued to raise the child, feeding 
  it more sap. 
  Jacobs’s body somewhat resembles 
  that of Prince Randian, a.k.a. “The 
  Human Torso” seen in Tod Browning’s 
  Freaks. Instead of arms and legs, Jacob 
  has four tentacles. His lower “legs” are 
  thick but stunted at mid-thigh. His 
  goddess, unless another opportunity 
  presents itself. 
  Physically, his feet have fused into 
  hooves, which he hides with boots. 
  Additional eyes and mouths of different 
  sizes have formed across his skin. 
  Sometimes they persist, sometimes they 
  vanish after a few weeks or months. 
  Over time, Boyd can control his 
  supernumerary parts, like the eye at the 
  base of his skull. Boyd keeps it hidden 
  by hair, but bows his head and brushes it 
  back if he needs to peek behind him. For 
  this reason, he is difficult to surprise. 
  Stubby black tentacles, no bigger than 
  a finger, flex and twine on his torso just 
  under his left armpit. Furthermore, a 
  greedy mouth has long lurked on his 
  right inner thigh. When emotionally 
  stressed or aroused the mouth may 
  drool, creating an unsightly wet spot. 
  If Investigators spend any points on 
  Intimidate or Interrogate with 
  Boyd, the mouth mewls and slobbers. 
  He carefully conceals his abnormalities, 
  so on a first impression he appears as 
  a weather-beaten old man with a funny 
  walk, which he ascribes to arthritis. 
  Scuffling with Boyd, observing his 
  hygiene from a distance, or otherwise 
  ripping the covers off his goddess’s 
  blessings prompts a 1-point Stability 
  test. 
  He has limited mental control over 
  creatures that consume the quaking 
  aspen sap, much like the Monster 
  exerts control over him. The Grove 
  rarely reacts rapidly, so it influences 
  Brathwaite’s long term goals and 
  tendencies. It recognizes the ritual 
  burning as an attack, causing Boyd 
  to spring into aggressive reaction. 
  It is entirely possible for intrepid 
  Investigators 
  to 
  recognize 
  the 
  Monster’s hazard, and try to destroy 
  it without meeting its priest until  
  the climax. 
  Boyd Brathwaite possesses intelligence 
  and cunning, and although physically 
  Boyd Brathwaite
  Boyd Brathwaite, a white man, migrated 
  to the Utah territory in 1850 with other 
  Mormons. Although raised in the LDS 
  Church, his sociopathic nature had 
  different ideas about cosmic reality and 
  divine power. Shub-Niggurath drew 
  him to her side, and in 1855 he claimed 
  his current home near Fish Lake to live 
  close to the Black Goat avatar. Over the 
  course of time, his mind and body were 
  corrupted by sap consumption, creating 
  a vicious serial killer. 
  He exploited Mormonism’s plural 
  marriage, taking young wives—mostly 
  white Mormons, but occasionally 
  Native Americans—and 
  sacrificing 
  them to the goddess. His children 
  suffered from sap-deranged genes, and 
  either assisted their father in worship, 
  including matricide, or they bled on 
  the altar. Furthermore, the Black Hawk 
  War skirmishes allowed him to kill any 
  Native Americans that drifted into his 
  domain. In exchange, Shub-Niggurath 
  granted Boyd with enhanced vitality, 
  virility, and the ability to control other 
  sap-infected animals. 
  The LDS Church’s Second Manifesto 
  of 1904 limited Boyd to one wife at a 
  time—until she died of unfortunate 
  circumstances—so 
  he 
  took 
  to 
  kidnapping victims, again preying on 
  the poor and forgotten, white or Native 
  American. He operated with impunity 
  until burgeoning state development 
  reduced his ability to victimize the weak. 
  The sacrifices dwindled. The Monster’s 
  hunger pushed Boyd to bizarre methods 
  of obtaining offerings: using his son as 
  a distraction, he costumes himself with 
  weeds and furs and attacks unsuspecting 
  fishers or swimmers, which started the 
  Legend of Fish Lake. 
  Although his diet of Shub-Niggurath 
  secretions has curtailed the effects of 
  aging, it does not confer immortality. 
  Boyd knows he will die soon unless 
  he can increase the blood offerings. 
  His son, aged five, will be given to the 
  
  149
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  To portray Jacob, giggle and coo and 
  reach out to touch people’s forearms 
  with a cold clammy palm. 
  Inside the Brathwaite Home
  Whenever Investigators explore the 
  Brathwaite home, let them do so 
  undisturbed… except for the creepy 
  rooster that watches their every move. 
  With caution, they’ll discover the clues 
  and get away just before the Brathwaites 
  return from fishing. If they destroy 
  anything, attempt to entrap father or 
  son, fail in a Filch test (Difficulty 4) 
  or try to take any animals, Boyd arrives 
  shortly thereafter, possibly attacking 
  and directing the rooster to fight  
  as well.
  Anthropology, 
  Biology 
  or 
  Evidence Collection when meeting 
  the Brathwaites indicate that Boyd 
  must be in his late 70’s (he’s really 
  over 100), and his son barely five. 
  A 1-point spend suggests Jacob 
  requires a high level of care for the rest 
  of his life—not predicted to be long—
  and Boyd may soon become infirm  
  himself.
  Jacob Brathwaite
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Fleeing 7, 
  Health 8, Scuffling 7
  Alertness Modifier: +2 
  Stealth Modifier: +2
  Weapon: – 2 (fist)
  Stability Loss: +1
  “arms” are a few feet long, and the right 
  one trifurcates into three ends that he 
  uses like a hand. Both tentacle arms 
  have strong suckers that allow him to 
  manipulate objects and move about. 
  Despite wheezing or hyperventilating 
  when excited due to malformed lungs, 
  his complexion and countenance appear 
  healthy. He has curious, bright brown 
  eyes set in a cherubic face and a cheerful 
  disposition. He cannot speak words, 
  but vocalizes emotions like a baby. He 
  also has a telepathic link with his father, 
  whom he trusts and depends on. More’s 
  the pity. 
  Meeting Jacob brings a 1-point 
  Stability test. 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  150
  appears, though he believes in a 
  Heavenly Mother (Shub-NIggurath, 
  though he won’t call her that). He 
  barely hides his anger at the Second 
  Manifesto banning multiple wives.
  • Born and raised here, Boyd says 
  his father built this cabin. Assess 
  Honesty determines that’s not true; 
  Boyd built the cabin, and he wasn’t 
  born here. 
  • If asked about his bizarre animals, 
  he says that they’ve inbred for years, 
  and despite appearances, they’re still 
  usable for work and food. Most of 
  his diet comes from the lake. Assess 
  Honesty verifies this as fact. 
  • He takes occasional walks on Big 
  Flat. He knows about the strange 
  tree grove, but attributes it to “God’s 
  mystery.” The area may seem strange 
  and frightening, but so, too, are 
  lightning storms. Once you get used 
  to the land and learn to love it, she 
  proves to be a great companion and 
  provider. Reassurance or Flattery 
  indicates he refers to the earth as 
  a person, and ascribes terms of 
  endearment to it. 
  • He says he lives alone, though even 
  without Assess Honesty it’s clear 
  that’s a lie. Reassurance gets him 
  to open up that he has a child; his 
  mom passed away after giving birth. 
  God blessed Jacob with a different 
  body, so keeps his privacy to protect 
  his son. A Reassurance or Flattery 
  spend mollifies Boyd enough to bring 
  Jacob out and have him meet the 
  guests; the boy has probably been 
  making noises. Jacob’s Stability 
  test ensues. If the Investigators react 
  poorly, possibly due to a Stability 
  loss, Boyd angers and demands 
  they leave, using the Winchester for  
  enforcement. 
  • Boyd knows Indians live nearby; he 
  leaves them be if they leave him be. 
  Fascinated by their culture, though, 
  • A photo album with over 40 
  daguerreotypes and photographs, 
  randomly 
  dated 
  between 
  1856 
  and 1933. Almost all depict young 
  (white) women.
  – Anthropology or Evidence 
  Collection: The women come 
  from different counties and states, 
  with few local ethnicities. In crude 
  terms, Brathwaite has repeatedly 
  used the mail-order bride catalog. 
  – Photography 
  or 
  Evidence 
  Collection: 
  Thephotos 
  were 
  taken in different places around the 
  globe. 
  • History or Art History: The 
  Indian items come from different 
  tribes across the four corners region, 
  with no one group predominant. No 
  item such as a rug, basket, or weapon 
  appears twice.
  If the Investigators are inside by 
  invitation, they have to be surreptitious 
  in 
  their 
  searching 
  (Filch 
  tests, 
  Difficulty 6). 
  Antagonist Reactions
  If paying a courtesy call to their new 
  neighbor, the rooster silently signals the 
  Investigator’s approach, so Boyd covers 
  up his unseemly bits before swaddling 
  Jacob in a blanket on a cradleboard and 
  leaving him on the chopping block. An 
  Investigator looking through the back 
  window while daddy deals with the 
  others can see Jacob. The child works a 
  tentacle out and waves, prompting the 
  Stability test. 
  Curious, polite, and inquisitive, Boyd 
  tries to ask more than answer. He 
  volunteers this information if asked or 
  someone uses Flattery:
  • He says he follows the Book of 
  Mormon. Interrogation regarding 
  his creed elicits the correct responses 
  for a LDS church follower, but 
  Theology, Assess Honesty or if 
  a Mormon (like Hope Larsen) asks 
  the questions, his lack of devotion 
  The house doors and windows require 
  a Locksmith test (Difficulty 4) for 
  access without leaving a trace; failure, 
  or lack of the skill, indicates Brathwaite 
  knows what happened and reacts 
  accordingly (see below).
  One interior wall divides the house into 
  a front and back area. The front zone 
  contains a bed for two, a handmade crib, 
  a simple carved table and two chairs. A 
  wood-burning stove warms the kitchen 
  area where pots, pans, and carving knives 
  hang from hooks. An open doorway 
  separates the rear section, where Boyd 
  prepares meals as well as cures, pickles, 
  cans and stores food. Many lovingly oiled 
  and honed cutting instruments gleam 
  above a butcher’s block. 
  Native American artifacts decorate the 
  home. A Winchester 1873 rifle (heavy 
  damage) hangs above the mantle, a box 
  of ammunition nearby. 
  Overall the domicile looks similar to 
  those on the reservation. A simple 
  search discovers:
  • A worn trunk containing a crude lake 
  monster costume 
  • A moonshiner’s jug half full of gooey 
  white sap, the treated version of 
  aspen ooze
  • A few books in an orange crate with 
  a faded label: 
  – Buckeye Cookery, published 1880
  – Sir John F.W. Herschel’s 1878 book 
  Outlines of Astronomy, with notes
  – Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1855 also with 
  notes about dates
  – A sheaf of cooking and baking 
  recipes, all written in the same 
  hand, nearly all mention “syrup.”
  • Evidence 
  Collection 
  on 
  the 
  book notes and recipes ascertain 
  the handwriting matches exactly, 74 
  years apart. 
  – 1-point spend: There are no 
  religious texts, either Mormon or 
  other Christian denomination, in 
  the house.
  
  151
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  introduced already, he says it’s 
  to keep gawkers away from his 
  son. If still unmet, and Boyd is 
  pressed, he introduces Jacob here 
  (Stability tests) and state that he 
  made up the monster to keep the 
  government from taking his son 
  away and putting him in an asylum 
  or circus. The Investigators should 
  • If asked about the Fish Lake Legend 
  or Monster, he states that he knows 
  about it and laughs. Assess Honesty 
  indicates he knows more. 
  – 1-point 
  spend 
  of 
  Flattery, 
  Reassurance, Interrogate or 
  Intimidate: He admits to scaring 
  people off to keep the best fishing 
  spots to himself. If Jacob has been 
  he asks questions about their families, 
  living conditions, if the PCs have 
  wives, children, etc. He inquires 
  about unmarried women, saying that 
  although the land cares for them like 
  a mother, Jacob could use someone to 
  hold him. A 1-point Assess Honesty 
  spend here suggests he fought Indians 
  in the past. 
  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and Native American Relations
  Keepers may decide to disseminate 
  this information to the players, 
  especially if the pre-generated 
  character Hope Larsen, a Mormon, 
  joins the team. 
  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
  Day Saints, or followers of the Book of 
  Mormon, are a Christian Protestant 
  sect that believes Christianity should 
  be restored to its original apostolic 
  beginnings, different from the 
  Roman Catholic Church. This idea 
  was first espoused by the prophet 
  Joseph Smith in the 1820s. An angel 
  directed Smith to buried golden 
  plates containing the words to the 
  Book of Mormon, a sacred text like 
  the Holy Bible. The Book of Mormon 
  chronicles early Native Americans as 
  members of four tribes that came 
  from Israel: the Nephites, Jaredites, 
  Mulekites, and Lamanites, the latter 
  being dark-skinned and wicked. 
  Smith also established 13 articles of 
  faith or beliefs, a few of which differ 
  from Catholicism as follows: 
  • There is no Original Sin 
  • Laying on of hands bestows the gift 
  of the Holy Ghost
  • Belief in the “Primitive Church, 
  namely, 
  apostles, 
  prophets, 
  pastors, teachers, evangelists.”
  • Belief in prophecy, revelation, visions, 
  healing, and speaking in tongues
  • The Book of Mormon is the word 
  of God (as is the Bible)
  • The Ten Tribes of Israel will be 
  restored, Zion (New Jerusalem) 
  will be in America, and Christ will 
  personally reign on earth, which 
  will be renewed back to Paradise
  Smith and his followers tried to 
  establish a permanent settlement 
  (much 
  like 
  many 
  religious 
  immigrants who settled America), 
  but were forcefully driven west from 
  New York, Ohio, Missouri, and finally 
  Illinois, where Smith was killed by 
  a mob. Brigham Young became the 
  successor to the Latter-Day Saints 
  (LDS), and led his followers to the 
  Utah Territory where they continued 
  the practice of plural marriage or 
  polygyny, where a man can have 
  multiple wives. 
  Because of plural marriage, the 
  United States threatened to rescind 
  the church’s status, so in 1890 the 
  church president Woodrow Woodruff 
  banned the practice, and emphasized 
  patriotism and missionary work. A 
  few Mormon groups splintered from 
  the main LDS church and formed 
  their own congregation to continue 
  polygyny. In 1896 Utah became the 
  45th state, but the Church still found it 
  necessary to create a Second Manifesto 
  in 1904, again banning plural marriage.
  When the Mormons arrived in the 
  Utah territory in 1847 and met the 
  people living there, they eagerly 
  farmed the land, built Zion, and 
  converted the Lamanites (Indians) to 
  their own beliefs. According to the 
  Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Brigham 
  Young wanted to assimilate Native 
  Americans through kindness, fairness, 
  sharing and coexistence. However, the 
  rapid influx and settlement of LDS 
  followers and the spread of European 
  diseases devastated the Natives. They 
  had few options: leave, assimilate (and 
  convert), beg, steal, or fight. Conflict 
  and misery between Mormons and 
  Natives lasted for at least 20 years, 
  when the United States government 
  finally intervened and forced the 
  Indians onto reservations. 
  In game terms, although armed 
  conflict between Mormons and Native 
  Americans has stopped for roughly 
  13 years, racism, prejudice, bigotry, 
  stereotyping and hatred smolder 
  in the hearts of many, and Native 
  Americans still experience oppression. 
  Remember, the federal government 
  gives the land to the Native 
  Americans, not the residents, not the 
  predominant church, nor Utah’s state 
  government. Thus, tensions between 
  the Investigators and white residents, 
  Mormons especially, affects every 
  interaction between them. 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  152
  without a roll, since he knows a safe 
  route. The trees gently quiver as he 
  arrives, and he’ll greet them in return. 
  He’ll mentally keep any animals away 
  from the players, but they sense being 
  watched, and need to make a 1-point 
  Stability test. Boyd and Jacob seem 
  right at home. 
  The more effort put into befriending 
  the Brathwaites, the more open Boyd 
  acts. He recommends the best fishing 
  holes, where the water springs are, the 
  best time to plant, etc. Jacob plays with 
  anyone who doesn’t freak out upon 
  seeing him. He likes to ride piggy-back, 
  hanging on to faces and necks with his 
  suckered limbs. 
  Eventually, Boyd reveals the secret of 
  the Spirit of the Trees, explaining that 
  it nurtures him and has lived here since 
  Creation. If they worship it, it provides 
  for them unto eternity. If he trusts the 
  bray, and Jacob fusses. They calm down 
  if dining resumes. 
  Swallowing this small amount of sap 
  won’t have any effect on the characters 
  during the scenario’s course, but let 
  them stew about it if they find out what 
  they ate. If offered a meal during The 
  Spirit Dance (p. 153), Investigators can 
  truthfully claim fasting as a defense. If 
  they mention the reason, though, Boyd 
  frowns but nods. Assess Honesty here 
  indicates his concern. The sidebar “The 
  Ghost Dance”, below, explains why.
  If they ask about his ingredients or the 
  sap, he’ll say it’s from tree bark, and is 
  medicinal. “Contains quinine,” he says. 
  “Learned it from the Paiutes, like you. 
  Helps Jacob.”
  If the players ask, Boyd happily gives 
  a guided tour, including the grove. He 
  can get up and down the slope easily, 
  empathize with children taken 
  away by authorities. 
  – 2-point spend: Boyd may be too 
  eager to play the role of lake monster, 
  and that he might do more than scare 
  people. Pushing this point causes 
  Boyd to break the conversation, 
  insisting on naptime for Jacob. 
  If 
  the 
  meeting 
  continues, 
  or 
  Investigators return later, he offers 
  them a common Northeastern Indian 
  dish: fried pemmican with onion and 
  squash (called “rechaud” or “rousseau” 
  or “rubaboo” or “richot”) and warm 
  cornbread. He pours milky syrup with 
  the pemmican and feeds Jacob the same 
  after serving the players. Anyone with 
  the Craft (Cooking) ability or using 
  Sense Trouble (Difficulty 5) detects 
  something amiss in the meal, but the 
  character who spotted it must decide 
  how to signal the others. If they miss 
  the roll, the animals suddenly cluck and 
  The Ghost Dance
  Players may want to know this 
  information before participating in 
  the scene, but it is not required to 
  tell them all, or even some, of it. 
  The Ghost Dance, or Nanissáanah, 
  is a spiritual movement that began 
  from a dream during a solar eclipse 
  by the Paiute prophet, Wovoka (birth 
  name Quoitze Ow, later renamed 
  Jack Wilson), who brought hope 
  to the oppressed with the idea of 
  performing this ritual to reunite the 
  living and the dead, drive out the 
  white man and return the Natives 
  to an era of peace and happiness. 
  Through fasting and a continuous 
  circular pattern of dancing, a 
  spiritual epiphany could open a 
  channel to one’s ancestors to seek 
  aid and guidance. The Dance started 
  in Nevada but quickly spread west. 
  Its multi-faceted origin also contains 
  similarities and inspirations from 
  Christianity and Mormonism. Some 
  brief dances occurred for purely 
  social reasons, while deeply spiritual 
  engagements lasted days. Not all 
  Natives believed it, even if they 
  participated. 
  The Black Hawk War of 1865-
  1872 took place in Northern Utah, 
  including parts of Sevier County. 
  Near the war’s end, desperate Utes 
  attempted to perform the Ghost 
  Dance. This large group of Indians 
  coming together to dance and sing, 
  sometimes to frenzy, made the white 
  man very, very nervous. Panicked 
  that full-scale war was about to occur 
  between white residents and starving 
  Indians, General Morrow called up 
  disbanded Utah militia members and 
  dispersed all those participating in 
  the Ghost Dance, forcing the Utes 
  back onto the Uintah Reservation. 
  The Ghost Dance movement went 
  underground, though not all tribes 
  adopted it. The Ghost Dance (as 
  whites call it) still occurs today with 
  some tribes. 
  Because of the Ghost Dance’s 
  solemnity and sacredness to real 
  Native Americans, the ritual the 
  characters undertake should not be 
  viewed as a literal interpretation, but 
  instead as a Lovecraft Mythos spell 
  inspired by the real world Ghost 
  Dance, much like the Mythos deity 
  Ithaqua derives from the Native 
  American Wendigo in northeast 
  America and Canada.
  
  153
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  Anyone who spends at least 4 points of 
  Stability and/or Health receives a 
  vision. If Ammon acts as a character’s 
  Source of Stability, double their Stability 
  point expenditure, e.g., 2 points 
  become 4. Keepers should tell those 
  PCs that being close to Ammon helps 
  with the ritual without being specific 
  about the numbers. If no Investigator 
  spends at least that much, they have 
  to try again the next night. They can 
  recover 2 points total in Stability or 
  Health if they remain on the reservation 
  for a day and do nothing. 
  The chant and wild dance repeats over 
  and over, until the Investigator(s) who 
  put in the most points breaks out, 
  staggers from the circle and falls. Their 
  hair streams away from their face, 
  which is flushed enough to burst, their 
  every breath a groaning pant. They lay 
  motionless, apparently unconscious, 
  but every muscle trembling with 
  sweat. The Investigator with the second 
  highest contribution falls out next, and 
  so on. Other tribesmen and women 
  deftly avoid the fallen as the dance goes 
  on. While in this fugue they receive a 
  vision of their predecessors. 
  Whether the spell cost is reached 
  or not, the dance concludes when 
  everyone collapses from exhaustion. 
  A light meal and discussion of any 
  visions ends the ritual for the night. 
  Only one Investigator needs to get the 
  vision and the fire spell to explain it  
  to others. 
  The Ancestors Speak
  The following phantasmagoria does 
  not relate to genuine Native American 
  visions or any part of their cultural 
  tradition. 
  All Investigators share the same reverie, 
  which resembles the one suffered by 
  Ammon. The beating drums pulse 
  to their own heartbeat, and they can 
  feel the thrumming slide like a snake 
  throughout their body and encircle 
  their bones.
  reservation’s center becomes festooned 
  with strips of cloth, feathers, bird 
  claws, and other various offerings to 
  the Great Spirit. All participants wear 
  loose robes embroidered with sacred 
  animals, the sun, moon, and stars. They 
  don headdresses of feathers and paint 
  their faces with sacred symbols in red 
  and black. 
  Ammon relays the directions for the 
  dance. When he finishes, everyone rises 
  and forms a large circle around the pole, 
  facing inward. Musicians begin beating 
  drums. Everyone dances in a counter-
  clockwise circle, repeatedly chanting 
  (in Numic) “Father, I come.” On cue, 
  they stop and cry out the names of other 
  departed relatives, tossing handfuls of 
  dirt into the air. In unison they reverse 
  and dance in a clockwise rotation, 
  chanting “Mother, I come.” This 
  continues for approximately fifteen to 
  twenty minutes. Ammon, the Medicine 
  Man, conducts the next stage by raising 
  his hands into the sky and invoking the 
  Great Spirit to allow the people to talk 
  to the ones that have died. 
  In the second stage, everyone starts 
  facing outward, away from the pole. 
  They dance again but at a much faster 
  pace and rhythm, with bodies swaying 
  up and down and arms swinging wildly. 
  Sometimes everyone joins hands in 
  the dance, making the circle undulate 
  like a snake. Sometimes they change 
  direction and face inward. Subtle cues 
  choreograph the dance while they sing
  Father, I come to you
  Mother, I come to you
  Brother, I come to you
  Sister, I come to you
  Children, I come to you
  Family, give us back our arrows.
  The ground grinds into a fine, flour-
  like dust that rises with the stamping of 
  bare feet. The wind responds and takes 
  it up, swirling the dirt around and up 
  into a moonless night streaked with 
  shooting stars. 
  Investigators, he’ll state that it involves 
  a blood sacrifice once a year. 
  If the Investigators show belligerence, 
  he severs contact with them, calling 
  the animals to help drive them off. 
  If they outright attack, he grabs his 
  gun and attempts to flee to the grove, 
  telepathically summoning the forest 
  denizens to defend him. Their stats are 
  listed in the climax scene (p. 155). 
  Boyd fights to protect Jacob, but only 
  until he, Boyd, reaches -6 Health. If 
  Jacob gets seriously wounded, Boyd 
  attempts to finish him off as a sacrifice 
  in the grove rather than heal him.
  The Spirit Dance
  Scene Type: Core
  Lead-Ins: Tribal Knowledge
  Lead-Outs: Fire for the Ages
  The Investigators perform a sacred ritual 
  to communicate with their ancestors and 
  discover what really happened to the 
  slaughtered tribe and what to do about the 
  Monster. 
  To gain guidance and inspire the tribe, 
  Chief Walker and Ammon agree that the 
  Water Clover People should perform a 
  Spirit Dance, which could last for a few 
  nights; the ancestors might not come 
  when called the first time. However, 
  not all tribal members dance, as some 
  don’t believe in what they consider 
  “magic”. White Investigators cannot 
  join without a 2-point Reassurance 
  spend (per character).
  No one dares mention the Dance to 
  any (other) whites until after it has 
  concluded, due to the very real danger 
  of arrest or assault. Many still remember 
  the Posey War between Utes, Paiutes, 
  and Mormon occupiers that ended 14 
  years ago. 
  The Spirit Dance begins at dusk after 
  a day of fasting. A pole erected in the 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  154
  reservation in northeastern Utah. 
  These three do not speak the same 
  form of Numic as the Paiutes, and 
  cannot receive the Bear Dance 
  benefit from Medicine Man Ammon 
  (in Pulp mode). It takes them a day to 
  reach the Investigators in their pickup 
  truck, but they each have a knife (light 
  damage) and a Winchester Model 94 
  rifle (heavy damage), loaded with 
  eight shots. 
  These partners bring nothing more than 
  their weapons, water, and a little rabbit 
  or deer jerky. If Investigators do not 
  welcome them with offerings of praise, 
  food, and anything else they can think 
  of, or if they lie about what’s going 
  on, the ally will leave after a Stability 
  test—whether they make it or not—or 
  whenever they take any wound. Their 
  tribal companion(s) exit with them, 
  even if they weren’t injured. They won’t 
  die for rude Koosharem. 
  If Investigators greet them with warm 
  arms and meals, Keepers may allow 
  players to directly control these NPCs 
  in the big battle. They are not suicidal, 
  so they will retreat to a safe area the two 
  rounds after they reach -3 Health or a 
  failed Stability test (which the player 
  makes) unless a PC (not another NPC 
  like Ammon) spends on Reassurance 
  or First Aid. 
  Investigators cannot get help from any 
  white man or woman for the ritual 
  itself—no amount of spends could get a 
  white authority to trust Indians enough 
  to fight ancient alien demons. But any 
  friends made in the early scenes do 
  their best to protect the players from 
  accusations of arson.
  Allied Warrior
  Abilities: Athletics 8, Firearms 5, 
  Fleeing 8, Health 8, Riding 4, Scuffling 
  6, Stability 5, Weapons 5.
  Hit Threshold: 4 
  Stealth Modifier: 0
  Weapon: – 2 (fist)
  Armor: +0
  obvious, this is an expanded version of 
  Ammon’s vision.
  An Alliance?
  Scene Type: Alternate
  Lead-Ins: Who is Chief?, The Office of 
  Indian Affairs, Tribal Knowledge
  Lead-Outs: A Leader Rises
  Savvy Investigators can ally with other local 
  tribes against the Monster. 
  If any player thinks to ask, or if the 
  Keeper thinks her players need 
  assistance, they can contact other local 
  Paiute and Ute bands through Camilla 
  at the Indian Affairs Agency to request 
  their assistance in the ritual burning. 
  Asking will benefit the PCs, but works 
  better with Interpersonal spends. This 
  can happen once for one character, or 
  two characters can each spend 1, but 
  the most they can get is seven helpers. 
  • Bargain, 
  Credit 
  Rating, 
  Reassurance, 
  Flattery, 
  Streetwise, Oral History or 
  History brings two additional 
  people to aid in the ritual.
  – 1-point spend: Four allies come 
  to assist.
  – 2-point spend: You recruit seven 
  people to aid the ritual.
  Possible reinforcements, in order 
  of attendance:
  • Terence and Peter, two solemn 
  fighters from Camilla’s Shivwits 
  Band of Paiutes. They arrive in twelve 
  hours by motorcycle, armed with 
  hunting knives (light damage). 
  • Johnny and Miles, two strapping 
  warriors from the Cedar City Band of 
  Paiutes, a.k.a the Red-Stream People. 
  Miles carries a revolver with a dozen 
  bullets (light damage). They show up 
  six hours after the call in a squeaky 
  Ford Model A. 
  • Marcus, Alexander, and José, three 
  toughs from the Uintah and Ouray 
  The music becomes a form of energy 
  that they can move and shape through 
  the movement of their feet and hands. 
  Visually, colors shift hues, brightening 
  and darkening as they move around in 
  the circle in connection to the sounds. 
  This synesthetic experience persists for 
  a few moments, or a few eternities, 
  until the dancer’s mind and perceptions 
  lurch, like falling off a cliff, and they find 
  themselves immersed in an experience 
  of their ancestors from thousands of 
  years ago. 
  They dance again, but to a radically 
  different beat and chant. Someone waves 
  a torch near a familiar group of quaking 
  aspen trees, alighting assembled clumps 
  of herbs and grass in a pattern around 
  the grove. A great sense of fear washes 
  over the visionary. The trees grow, swell, 
  and rise with a deep ripping sound that 
  rumbles in the gut. Underneath the 
  trunks lies a vast network of roots and 
  shoots, connecting every tree in an 
  enormous lattice. The roots sway and 
  whip about like a boiling, festering mass 
  of misty black ropy appendages covered 
  in pustulent maws and inhuman eyes. 
  Large sections of root mass slough off. 
  The bottom sections form stumpy legs 
  calcifying into dark, cloven hooves. 
  Slobbering mouths open and close, 
  gulping like suffocating trout. The tree 
  trunks become waving arms, wildly 
  smashing everything into shards. One 
  giant towers above and brings its long 
  appendages crashing down. All goes 
  black and cold. 
  The Investigators regain awareness in 
  the dirt, caked in dust and sweat. The 
  Spirit Dance has stopped.
  All PCs who obtained the vision must 
  make a 3-point Stability test after 
  experiencing death by Dark Young. 
  Anyone who has any Cthulhu Mythos 
  also loses 2 Sanity if they miss their 
  Stability check. Regardless of their 
  composure, they will remember the 
  Ritual of Fire Cleansing, detailed 
  in the last scene (p. 155). If it’s not 
  
  155
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  toward the grove and set it ablaze. At 
  this point, at least one person in the 
  circle needs to continue singing until 
  the next Morning Star rises. Singing 
  keeps the fire burning. If no one sings, 
  the fire goes out. Investigators can hand 
  off the singing duty to others, like the 
  torch relay. The same person does not 
  have to chant the entire time, but at least 
  one voice must constantly intone the 
  sacred words, which can be learned by 
  anyone spending 1 point of Languages  
  (Numic). 
  When the third station alights, all the 
  trees shudder and shake, grunting 
  from underground. Boyd Brathwaite 
  arrives on his mule (don’t forget the  
  Stability test, see p. 147) with his 
  rifle by the time the fourth station 
  starts smoking. If the Investigators 
  have played nice with him, he’ll try 
  to convince them to stop. When that 
  fails, or if they never met Boyd, or had 
  a skirmish with him, he’ll fire when  
  in range. 
  Upon the fifth station igniting, the 
  Monster sends out mutant animals—
  all at once—to disrupt the ritual, and 
  they fight to the death. If Brathwaite 
  lives, he retreats slightly to coordinate 
  the mutant attacks, concentrating on 
  the weakest or most isolated link in the 
  ritual circle and cutting through the 
  grove as needed. He will die for the cause  
  as well. 
  Keepers never roll for NPC vs. NPC 
  unless an Investigator is with them. For 
  solitary NPCs, pick one side to win or 
  lose the contest. 
  Mutant Peregrine Hawk
  Has an extra set of claws and 
  milk-white eyes
  Abilities: Athletics 11, Health 5, 
  Scuffling 9
  Hit Threshold: 5 (flying) 
  Weapon: +2 (claws)
  Armor: none
  Stability Loss: +1
  state highway, where a few trees have 
  popped up. Bits of kindling need to 
  run from each bundle to the grove, like 
  dynamite wires. 
  It takes six stations (bundles) to 
  surround the Monster completely. One 
  person must remain at each station, 
  but any supporting members can move 
  to help others. Let the Investigators 
  decide where and how to assign  
  positions. 
  The Investigators need assistance from 
  at least one other person to complete 
  this ritual; there aren’t enough of 
  them. The Medicine Man wants to 
  attend, and if conscious, so does the 
  Chief, though he’s an unwise and 
  problematic inclusion. Keepers can 
  include the unused pre-generated 
  characters, the Koosharem NPCs listed  
  in the first scene, plus five other 
  members of their own tribe with 
  the same stats as the Allied Warrior, 
  above. Even with Ammon or Walker 
  present, let the Investigators decide 
  strategy. The ritual lasts roughly  
  10-12 hours. 
  The starter flame must come from 
  a fire that has persisted from the 
  morning star’s ascent to the rise of the  
  evening star (Venus). The ceremony 
  requires dancing and chanting from 
  each person stationed near a bundle. 
  The first, at the farthest eastern 
  point, starts the chant and lights the 
  bundle with the flame, then they or a 
  companion relays the original fire to 
  the next person, moving westward. 
  They ignite each bundle and move 
  the fire, like an Olympic torch, to 
  the next bundle by foot (not horses). 
  Any auxiliary forces not lighting a fire 
  can relocate to other places by riding 
  a horse; feel free to call for Riding 
  Difficulty 3, 4, or 5 depending on field  
  conditions.
  Once all bundles are lit, chanting and 
  dancing must build to a crescendo, 
  when flames from the bundle lines race 
  Fire for the Ages
  Scene Type: Climax, Antagonist  
  Reaction
  Lead-Ins: 
  The 
  Spirit 
  Dance, 
  Braithwaite Homestead
  Lead-Outs: A Leader Rises
  Armed with ancestral memories, Investigators 
  and their tribesmen attempt to rein in Shub-
  Niggurath’s power and influence. 
  The Investigators don’t have to perform 
  the burning ritual. The Monster 
  represents a gradual but deadly 
  threat, like global climate change. 
  Left unchecked, it spreads into the 
  new tribal land, across Big Flat, down 
  to Fish Lake and around it, past the 
  new state highways into Burrville, and 
  then the main reservation. Any crops 
  grown, or livestock raised, on the 
  new acres pervert like Brathwaite’s. 
  Eating the mutated food means eating 
  sap. Wild animals infected by the milk 
  flourish in number, and start leaving 
  the grove’s confines. Quaking aspens 
  sprout in people’s yards, and even 
  under their homes. Brathwaite resumes 
  the sacrifices, eventually plucking the 
  Water Clover people. 
  Ritual of Fire Cleansing
  This ritual is not part of actual Native 
  American beliefs. 
  Before 
  beginning 
  the 
  ceremony, 
  congregants must purify themselves 
  with water. Specific patterns of paint 
  must adorn their face, and their body 
  must be covered in sacred oil. Spirit 
  tokens, such as hair of Coyote, or 
  feather of Eagle, need to be secured 
  on their person. The Investigators 
  can obtain enough of this for  
  everyone. 
  Circle the entire grove with bundles 
  of dried grass and herbs. Due to the 
  grove’s size—almost a square mile—
  someone must wait on the western 
  slope of Big Flat as well as across the 
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  156
  Reassurance from the characters). If the 
  PCs scared a child, their vengeful parent, 
  encountering a forest fire with dead 
  bodies, mutant animals, and Dark Young 
  could lose too much Sanity and Stability 
  and attack the characters. 
  Keepers can torque this narrative 
  wrench as tight as they wish, or 
  leave it in the story toolbox. Possible 
  options include:
  • Innocent white families arrive at 
  dawn, nervous but curious.
  • Armed white men show up at the end 
  and demand that the Chief (whoever 
  that is) starts answering questions.
  • A posse ambushes the “savages” with 
  guns during the conflagration. 
  • A group wanders up the hill at the worst 
  possible moment, sees everything 
  and goes insane, subsequently either 
  joining Brathwaite, obeying the 
  direct commands of Shub-Niggurath, 
  or insanely endangering themselves 
  or others.
  • Do the Investigators try to placate, 
  save, or even use the interlopers as a 
  sacrifice to the goddess? 
  Random Onlooker
  Abilities: Athletics 6, Firearms 6, 
  Fleeing 6, Health 7, Riding 3, Scuffling 
  6, Stability 5, Weapons 4.
  Hit Threshold: 3 
  Stealth Modifier: 0
  Weapon: 
  +0 
  (light 
  rifle)/+1 
  (heavy shotgun)
  Armor: +0
   They are armed with light rifles
    They are armed with heavy  
  shotguns
  Ashes to Ashes
  It takes several hours to burn the 
  grove, assuming the ritual continues 
  after vanquishing foes. Keepers should 
  remove a few NPC allies from other 
  tribes before directly assaulting the 
  Investigators, but the NPCs aren’t 
  armor; Investigators get attacked 
  before all their allies do. Chief Walker, 
  third, Dark Young against them. 
  Brathwaite cannot control the Dark 
  Young; instead he assaults wounded 
  or insane characters. 
  Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath 
  See also p. 129 of the Trail of 
  Cthulhu rulebook
  Abilities: Athletics 8, Health 16, 
  Scuffling 26.
  Hit Threshold: 3 (large)
  Alertness modifier: +1
  Stealth modifier: +2 in tree grove 
  Stability loss: +2
  Weapon: +5 (trampling hooves), +2 
  (tentacle), and -2 (horrible sucking 
  mouth). After a successful tentacle 
  attack, in lieu of doing damage, the 
  creature may pull the victim to a mouth 
  for an automatic blood drain each 
  round thereafter. It can attack up to 
  three individuals separately. 
  Armor: Firearms only do 1 point 
  of damage (2 if they attacker rolls a 
  6), shotguns do 1/3 damage, and it is 
  immune to fire, electricity, acid, blasts 
  and poison. 
  Making Things Worse
  At any dramatic point during or after 
  the ceremony, the Keeper can elect to 
  drop one more wrench into the works: 
  the white man. 
  Hunters and fishers camping near Fish 
  Lake see the fire on the ridge, as does 
  anyone in nearby Burrville or lost 
  motorists. Although sparsely populated, 
  there are people scattered around the 
  area that can see a big fire on the highest 
  point in the county. These whites (they 
  are all white) investigate, taking their 
  hunting rifles with them to catch some 
  flame-flushed game. 
  If the Investigators engaged the children in 
  the first scene in a friendly manner, one of 
  the looky-loos is a parent who’s respectful 
  and merely interested in watching (and 
  can calm the other whites if he gets 
  Mutant Elk
  Has six legs and five-toed, clawed hooves
  Abilities: Athletics 9, Health 10, 
  Scuffling 10
  Hit Threshold: 3 
  Weapon: +3 (antlers), +4 (trample; 
  only one per attack round)
  Armor: 1-point hide
  Stability Loss: +1
  Mutant Jackrabbits (pack)
  Although easy to kill one by one, there 
  are a lot of them and they attack in 
  unison. Each has their own peculiar 
  and unique deformity, such as extra 
  mouths, eyes, legs, ears, tails, tentacles, 
  teeth, and come in a variety of sizes (no 
  bigger than a dog) and colors. 
  Abilities: Athletics 13, Health 12, 
  Scuffling 8 (due to numbers)
  Hit Threshold: 4 
  Weapon: +1 (bite)
  Armor: none
  Stability Loss: +1
  If alive, the raccoon (see The Grove, 
  p. 144) returns, this time to try and grab 
  the torch before it ignites all the bundles.
  Lastly, the Monster unleashes a Dark 
  Young of Shub-Niggurath. It tries 
  to stamp out the fire for one round, 
  allowing the Investigators a free 
  round of attacks (after the Sanity 
  and Stability tests) before attacking 
  the humans. Keepers must gauge the 
  Investigator’s effectiveness with this 
  entity and adjust according to the 
  game’s Pulp or Purist mode.
    If the PCs take heavy casualties, other 
  Paiute or Ute warriors could ride in 
  on horseback to help, whether they 
  made an alliance or not. They’ll buy 
  some time for the Investigators to 
  either continue chanting or they 
  can sing while the Koosharem blasts 
  away at the goat-hooved beast. 
    If the Investigators perform too 
  well, send a second, or even 
  
  157
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  and a light early snowfall calming 
  the region. The monstrous trees 
  go dormant for winter, and come 
  spring the new shoots are flimsy, 
  easily removed. Although undying, 
  the Monster never presents a serious 
  threat while these characters live. 
    The game ends with a vengeful 
  rain, followed by clear sunny skies. 
  New quaking aspen growth breaks 
  ground in less than a week, and 
  there’s a lot of it. Nightmares plague 
  the Koosharem, quickly withering 
  the soul of Ammon to a depressed 
  husk. The characters realize their 
  impotence against the Monster, 
  especially when shackled by white 
  man’s rules and regulations. They 
  ruin the rest of their years futilely 
  fighting an obscene Outer God that 
  Fate, or Coyote, pressed against 
  them while local whites ease through 
  a life of privileged ignorance. 
  If he has not passed on already, Chief 
  Walker dies the morning after the ritual. 
  Who will lead the Water Clover People 
  now? Is anyone arrested for arson, or 
  do they claim sovereign immunity and 
  protection to perform a sacred ritual? Do 
  they give the land back, sell it, or assume 
  responsibility as Monster watchers, 
  annually burning the grove until the tribe 
  is terminated in 1957? What happens to 
  Jacob Brathwaite, left alone in the house 
  while Boyd defends the goddess? Why did 
  the government give them this specific 
  land? Is there someone beholden to Shub-
  Niggurath in the Office of Indian Affairs?
  Ask the PCs what they intend to do 
  in the immediate future regarding the 
  above issues. If a new chief election is in 
  order, the candidates should make final 
  speeches and a vote called.
    Keepers should conclude with the 
  sun setting behind thick clouds 
  if present, is a likely candidate to perish 
  here, with resulting losses (6) where 
  he served as a Source of Stability. If 
  not him, Ammon falls instead, with a 
  similar 6-point Stability loss. 
  As dawn rises, only a blackened, 
  scorched stain remains. Strangely, the 
  fire did not spread beyond the quaking 
  aspens. If Investigators dig to look, the 
  root structure pulses undamaged—
  prompting a further 4-point Stability 
  test. Best not to check. 
  Any allies left alive depart. One says 
  “See you next time,” for the Investigators 
  have about a year before the Monster 
  becomes a threat again. 
  A Leader Rises
  Scene Type: Conclusion
  Lead-Ins: Fire for the Ages
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  158
  The Koosharem Band Reservation
  On the reservation and accessible to the Investigators are: 
  • Tin roof shacks (roughly four people sleep in each room), a barn, a few outhouses 
  • Horses (6), some chickens, goats, and a few scrawny cows herded by two hunting dogs
  • Not much hay and feed for the animals
  • Crops of pine nuts and elderberries plus various herbs and vegetables
  • Depleted stores of food for people and animals in hand-woven baskets and tins
  • 6x bows and arrows (using Weapons skill they do light damage)
  • Jackrabbit trapping nets
  • Hunting knives (light damage)
  • Rabbit sticks (or throwing sticks, like boomerangs but they don’t return) (light damage, use Weapons skill)
  • Fishing poles & tackle
  • Firearms 
  – 2x Winchester Model 06 .22 rifle (light damage), carries 12 rounds
  – 2x Winchester Model 94 .30 rifle (heavy damage), carries 8 rounds
  
   100 bullets for each of these four guns
  – 1x Remington M32 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun (heavy damage)
  
   50 shells
  • United States currency – $27.32 (for the entire tribe)
  • Sacred tribal paraphernalia (dress, musical instruments, etc.)
  • One ramshackle but running school bus from 1930
  • One Model T Ford (missing critical engine pieces and gasoline)
  • Other logical gear: construction and farming tools (no machines), lanterns, tobacco and lighters, firewood, Mason jars 
  and bottles, a few books including the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon, etc.
  The reservation does not have indoor plumbing, a telephone, radio, or electricity, but there is fresh water from a well, 
  plus Otter Creek also runs along the western border. Unfortunately, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 
  acts as the trustee of all the Koosharem’s water rights. The nearest neighbors reside in Burrville, an unincorporated 
  community three miles away, population 59. The closest town with services (and occasional agricultural jobs) is Richfield, 
  the Sevier County seat. At 23 miles, it takes under two hours travel by horse or 45 minutes if they drive their own bus. 
  State Highway 24 runs just outside of the reservation. More and more automobiles whirr along the road nowadays. White 
  tourists occasionally stop and take pictures before speeding away in a cloud of exhaust.
  Although not covered with arable soil and only mildly defensible, these 953 acres are sovereign territory, and the 
  Investigators know the lay of their land extremely well. A deep red clover, from which the tribe takes their name, grows 
  abundantly. 
  Handout 1: The Koosharem Band Reservation Details
  
  159
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  Handout 2: The Koosharem Band Reservation Map
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  160
  Handout 3: The Koosharem Band New Land Area Map
  
  161
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  The Trembling Giant
  Native American Information for Keepers and Players
  The 
  prevailing 
  scientific 
  theory, 
  popularized in the 1930’s with the 
  discovery of artifacts near Clovis, New 
  Mexico, was that Paleo-Indians crossed a 
  land bridge from Siberia through Alaska 
  and south across the Americas. Clovis 
  finds date this culture to 11,000 years ago, 
  but later archaeological sites and genetic 
  studies suggest American settlement could 
  have occurred anytime between 40,000 
  and 13,000 years ago. These First Nations 
  were as diverse as any two ethnic groups in 
  Europe and Asia with many differences in 
  life, attitudes, culture, food, religion, etc. 
  Paiutes, who probably arrived in the 
  Southern Utah area around 1100-1200 
  CE, were known to be peaceful hunters and 
  gatherers. Other tribes like the Utes, who 
  adopted to using horses quickly, sometimes 
  raided their nonviolent neighbors for 
  supplies and slaves to trade into the 
  1800’s. Missionaries who encountered 
  Southern Paiutes often characterized them 
  as “timid.” Ethnohistorian Ronald L. Holt 
  writes “Suffering has not been a stranger to 
  the Southern Paiutes of Utah.” 
  According to the 1928 Meriam Report, 
  a government survey of conditions 
  on Indian Reservations and Boarding 
  Schools across 23 states, “the health of 
  the Indians compared with that of the 
  general population is bad,” “the income 
  of the typical Indian family is low and 
  the earned income extremely low,” and 
  “the survey staff finds itself obligated 
  to say frankly and unequivocally that 
  the provisions for the care of the 
  Indian children in boarding schools 
  are grossly inadequate.” Arguably the 
  reasons for these deplorable conditions 
  were a) the loss of territory, because 
  Native Americans could no longer get 
  food from their traditional sources; 
  b) relocation and internment to new 
  territories where conditions were harsh 
  at best and unlivable at worst, and c) 
  lack of a quality education to help pull 
  the children out of poverty. The Great 
  Depression only added to their misery. 
  The Meriam Report spurred the U.S. 
  government to issue a new ordinance, 
  the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, 
  which changed the reservations to 
  federal municipalities—the Indians could 
  govern on their own with (controversial) 
  oversight by the Office of Indian Affairs. 
  The 20’s and 30’s brought slight 
  empowerment to the long-maligned 
  people, but violent conflicts between 
  oppressed 
  and 
  stubborn 
  Native 
  Americans and belligerent, bigoted 
  whites still occurred around the 
  country until the mid-1920’s, e.g., the 
  Posey War began and ended in March 
  1923 between Utes and Paiutes against 
  Mormon posses in southeastern Utah.
  Generally 
  speaking, 
  some 
  Native 
  Americans willingly conformed to the 
  white man’s culture, some converted 
  under duress, and others defiantly refused 
  to adopt the New American way of life. 
  Pressure to assimilate to white European 
  customs was tyrannically strong, but many 
  groups and individuals tried to preserve 
  and respect the language and culture of 
  their ancestors in the face of radical change. 
  These pre-generated characters are part 
  of the 35-member Koosharem Band of 
  Paiutes. They are also called the Water 
  Clover People, a subset to the larger Paiute 
  and Ute tribes, which numbered roughly 
  6,300 in 1990. The Koosharem Band was 
  formally recognized in March 1928 by the 
  U.S. government and given almost 1000 
  acres to live on (a reservation) in the high 
  terrain of Southern Utah, a small segment 
  of their traditional environment. Federal 
  oversight was minimal at best. Although 
  the tribe was left alone, they survived 
  without any support: no government 
  services, no public education, no welfare, 
  etc. The Mormon Church had more 
  influence and contact with them than 
  any other authority, usually over money 
  matters like bills, charity, or providing 
  a few day’s wages for a tribal member 
  to work someone else’s farm or clean a 
  white man’s home. Each year increased 
  the possibility that someone would leave 
  the reservation to reside with the whites.
  Not all tribal members agree with 
  each other, not all of them are fluent in 
  Numic (the Native tongue), and not all 
  of them believe the same things. Some 
  are Mormon while others follow Native 
  spiritual beliefs—note that Native 
  Americans never use the word shaman; in 
  the Paiute language the general spiritual 
  leader—for they have specialists—is 
  called puakantï or puaxantï, “one who 
  is characterized by spiritual power,” 
  although “medicine man” will suffice. 
  Your role-playing experience improves 
  if you are mindful to avoid stereotypes 
  and clichés. Native characters are likely 
  (but not required) to be friendly towards 
  other tribal members, friendly but 
  slightly more formal toward members 
  of other tribes and with white people 
  they know and trust, respectful of their 
  elders, cautious yet polite around white 
  people they do not know, and wary 
  around anyone who is white and in a 
  position of authority and/or armed.
  Be sure to tell your Keeper 
  about any discomfort regarding 
  role-playing these characters. 
  Handout 4: Native American Information for Keepers and Players
  
  TRAIL OF CTHULHU
  Out of the Woods
  162
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_
  Utah
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevier_
  County,_Utah
  • www.sevierutah.net
  • newdeal.feri.org/sevier/
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_
  culture
  • www.legendsofamerica.com/na-
  fremont.html
  United States Government and 
  Native Americans
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meriam_
  Report
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_
  Reorganization_Act
  • www.bia.gov/index.htm
  • nativeamericannetroots.net/
  diary/796
  • www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/jazz/
  jb_jazz_citizens_2.html
  The Church of Jesus Christ, of 
  Latter-Day Saints
  • www.lds.org
  • eom.byu.edu/index.php/Native_
  Americans
  Pando Info
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_
  (tree)
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonal_
  colony
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populus_
  tremuloides
  • www.atlasobscura.com/places/
  pando-the-trembling-giant
  • historytogo.utah.gov/utah_
  chapters/american_indians/
  paiuteindians.html
  • www.everyculture.com/North-
  America/Southern-Paiute-and-
  Chemehuevi-Religion-and-
  Expressive-Culture.html
  • www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-
  Pa/Paiutes.html
  • www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/
  indian-tribes/paiute-tribe.htm
  Paiute Myths and Monsters
  • www.native-languages.org/paiute-
  legends.htm
  • www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-
  Legends/TheWomanandtheGiants-
  Paiute.html
  • www.native-languages.org/
  nimerigar.htm
  General Native American 
  Customs and Culture
  • www.minotstateu.edu/schpsych/
  ndasp/Native.htm
  • nwindian.evergreen.edu/
  curriculum/ValuesBehaviors.pdf
  • www.powwows.com/2014/08/10/
  native-american-home-etiquette/
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_
  Indian_boarding_schools
  • www.wildlandfire.com/docs/
  biblio_indianfire.htm
  Ghost Dance
  • www.legendsofamerica.com/na-
  ghostdance.html
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_
  Dance
  Regional History
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_
  Meadows_massacre
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_
  Hawk_War_(1865–72)
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posey_War
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
  Koosharem,_Utah
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_Lake_
  (Utah)
  • www.fishlakeresorts.com/index.
  html
  Appendix
  Inspiration: 
  The 
  short 
  movie 
  Clok directed by Casey T. Malone  
  (www.imdb.com/title/tt4379996/)
  Special Thanks: Janelle Badali-
  Powell 
  (badalijewelry.com), 
  Mateo 
  Chamberlain, 
  Cat 
  Tobin, 
  Victor 
  Raymond, Simon Rogers 
  Playtesters: 
  Nicole 
  Ayn 
  Albie, 
  E.C. Bond, Erika Furuzono , Jim 
  Goldmacher, Kirsten Hageleit, Joshua 
  Hersko, Morgan Hua, Jason Ives, 
  Othello 
  Jimenez, Todd 
  Jimenez, 
  Morgan Joeck, David Jones, Tracey 
  Jones, Harry Morris, Zachary Peterson, 
  Shep, Steve Wallace, Julia Zamora
  Resource List
  Bibliography 
  Bishop, M. Guy, A History of Sevier 
  County; Utah Centennial County 
  History Series, chapter 2 “The Natives 
  of Sevier County,” pub. Sevier County 
  Commission, 1997
  Web Links
  Water Clover People;  
  Koosharem Band
  http://www.utahpaiutes.org/bands/
  koosharem/
  “Like” the Koosharem Band 
  Community Page on Facebook 
  Paiute Info
  • www.utahpaiutes.org
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paiute
  • native-american-indian-facts.com/
  Great-Basin-American-Indian-Facts/
  Paiute-Indian-Tribe-Facts.shtml
  • www.utahindians.org/archives/
  paiutes/history.html 
  • historytogo.utah.gov/utah_
  chapters/american_indians/
  utahsfirstpeople.html
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Background
  NOTES
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  2
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  2
  Art History
  2
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  4
  Filch
  4
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  0
  History
  4
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  10
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  12
  Numic 2
  Hypnosis8
  0
  English 4
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  2
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  4
  Art (writing)
  2
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  2
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  6
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  12
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  6
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  4
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Player Name: 
  Investigator Name: XXXX
  Drive: XXXX
  Occupation:2 XXXX
  Occupational benefits: 
  Pillars of Sanity: XXXXXX 
  XXXXXX
  Build Points: 
  Background
  Eager to leave poverty behind 
  and see the world, you lied 
  about your age and joined the 
  U.S. Army to fight in the Great 
  War. You participated in the 
  Hundred Days Offensive in 
  France, performing admirably 
  but not receiving any honors. 
  You returned home in early 
  1919, and much was the 
  same—but you had changed. 
  Mankind’s cruelty and desire for 
  destruction extends globally, to 
  all races and peoples. You are 
  adamant about protecting the 
  values and people of your tribe 
  but also are sworn to uphold the 
  Constitution and serve America. 
  You do not see a conflict 
  between these two things, but 
  you also don’t like to think about 
  it. You are not religious and 
  look on the spiritualism of your 
  people more as cultural heritage 
  than actual reality. You respect 
  and honor the authority of 
  Chief Walker.
  Question: How did John 
  overcome the racism he 
  experienced in the army?
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  0
  Athletics
  8
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  6
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  1
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  1
  Driving
  4
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  1
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  1
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  2
  Firearms5
  8
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  0
  First Aid
  0
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  4
  Languages6
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  11
  Numic
  1
  Hypnosis8
  0
  English
  1
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  5
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  7
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  10
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  1
  Scuffling
  8
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  4
  Stealth
  5
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  8
  Photography
  0
  Investigator Name: John Wanekia
  Drive: Duty
  Occupation:2 Military (army veteran)
  Pillars of Sanity: Freedoms should not be infringed  
  by any man
  Sources of Stability: Chief Walker, on reservation; Arthur Douglas, unit 
  sergeant (in Cleveland).
  4
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Background
  You thought things would be 
  better in the city so you hopped 
  on the first train coming 
  through your territory and 
  took it as far as you could. You 
  ended up on the east coast, and 
  found life worse. You spent the 
  next few years riding the rails, 
  eventually making your way 
  back to your home tribe a few 
  months ago. You are content 
  to stay put for now, at least. You 
  believe there are spirits that 
  can help or hinder people. Your 
  luck must be due to the whims 
  of Coyote and others. You are a 
  tribal isolationist, preferring not 
  to integrate with white society, 
  which is vile and corrupt.
   
   
  Question: How much longer 
  can Tate stand to stay on the 
  reservation before fleeing the 
  curse that seems to follow 
  him everywhere?
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  1
  Assess Honesty
  3
  Athletics
  10
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  2
  Conceal
  3
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  3
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  6
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  2
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  0
  History
  1
  Reassurance
  3
  Fleeing7
  5
  Languages6
  Streetwise
  4
  Health9
  0
  Numic
  1
  Hypnosis8
  0
  English
  1
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  6
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  1
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  3
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  0
  Physics
  0
  Craft (whittling)
  1
  Stability9
  0
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  8
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  3
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  4
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  2
  Photography
  0
  Investigator Name: Tate Walker
  Drive: Bad Luck
  Occupation:2 Hobo
  Pillars of Sanity: Freedom to move means freedom to live
  Sources of Stability: Puakantï (medicine man) Ammon; Constance Semple, 
  sister (lives in Santa Fe)
  4
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  2
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  2
  Art History
  2
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  4
  Filch
  4
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  0
  History
  4
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  10
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  12
  Numic 2
  Hypnosis8
  0
  English 4
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  2
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  4
  Art (writing)
  2
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  2
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  6
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  12
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  6
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  4
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Player Name: 
  Background
  You have always grown up in 
  the tribe and remember being 
  moved around, ignored, and 
  reviled by white Americans. The 
  white man caused all of your 
  problems, and one day there 
  will be payback. You have done 
  your best caring for the animals, 
  and have finally learned to 
  appreciate the stability—albeit 
  one of constant struggle—
  the last seven years on the 
  reservation have given you. 
  Despite the stereotypical 
  peaceful demeanor of Paiutes, 
  your anger is barely contained. 
  You are deeply religious and 
  spiritual and regard Ammon 
  as your guide. You think Chief 
  Walker is far too trusting, and 
  you are ready to fight against 
  the oppressors with any excuse 
  or weapon available. You can 
  generally understand spoken 
  English, but cannot read it, and 
  you often refuse to speak it. 
  Question: Would Paul betray 
  his people or endanger them 
  to bring overdue justice to the 
  white man?
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  10
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  2
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  0
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  4
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  2
  Firearms5
  6
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  3
  First Aid
  4
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  0
  Fleeing7
  0
  Languages6
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  0
  Numic
  3
  Hypnosis8
  0
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  3
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  4
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  2
  Riding
  10
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  0
  Physics
  0
  Craft (cooking)
  2
  Stability9
  0
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  2
  Scuffling
  6
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  2
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  4
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  2
  Photography
  0
  Investigator Name: Paul Ada
  Drive: Revenge
  Occupation:2 Rancher
  Pillars of Sanity: Animals are more reliable and predictable than most 
  white people
  Sources of Stability: Tribal Chief Walker; Puakantï (medicine man) Ammon.
  4
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Background
  For generations your family 
  has been Paiute, and you have 
  the knowledge of many of their 
  artists and crafters. Still, you 
  want to know more. So much 
  knowledge has been lost by 
  the hardships visited upon 
  Native Americans, you wish 
  to do as much as you can to 
  retain your ancestral culture 
  as possible, to celebrate and 
  revive it for all. You were sent 
  away to an Indian School to be 
  integrated into white civilization, 
  but you quickly rejected it and 
  successfully ran away, a rare 
  thing for any student, much less 
  a young girl. You have an open 
  and friendly disposition, but are 
  no pushover and can be quite 
  firm at times. You honor and 
  cherish all of Paiute culture, 
  including the spiritual beliefs, 
  which you hold true.
  Question: You can’t find it in 
  your heart to hate individual 
  white people, but they took you 
  away from your tribe. Can you 
  reconcile that, and if so, how?
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  6
  Anthropology
  2
  Bargain
  2
  Conceal
  2
  Archaeology
  1
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  2
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  4
  Credit Rating
  1
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  1
  Flattery
  4
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  0
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  4
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  0
  History
  1
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  5
  Languages6
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  0
  Numic
  2
  Hypnosis8
  0
  English
  1
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  0
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  7
  Library Use
  2
  Art
  4
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  5
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  0
  Physics
  0
  Craft (weaving)
  4
  Stability9
  0
  Theology
  2
  Evidence Collection
  1
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  5
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  2
  Photography
  2
  Investigator Name: Annie Telles
  Drive: Artistic Sensitivity
  Occupation:2 Artist
  Pillars of Sanity: Art is a living thing that must be nourished daily, and 
  some art, like people, die
  Sources of Stability: Puakantï (medicine man) Ammon.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  2
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  2
  Art History
  2
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  4
  Filch
  4
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  0
  History
  4
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  10
  Languages6
  0
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  12
  Numic 2
  Hypnosis8
  0
  English 4
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  2
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  4
  Art (writing)
  2
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  2
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  6
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  12
  Theology
  0
  Evidence Collection
  6
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  4
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Player Name: 
  Background
  Schooled by the white man in 
  white man’s ways, your innate 
  curiosity about your heritage 
  and culture has recently brought 
  you back to your people. You 
  walk in both worlds due to 
  mixed parentage and a white 
  man’s education. You write 
  about your mother’s Native 
  people and culture, calling 
  attention to injustices while 
  (mostly) avoiding frightening the 
  hegemony. You were baptized 
  a Christian, and believe Christ 
  is your savior, but have not 
  reconciled this with your own 
  heritage. You believe Native 
  Americans should adapt to some 
  of white America’s ways of life 
  in order to succeed and survive. 
  The poverty you see on the 
  reservation breaks your heart 
  because you feel it is self-imposed 
  through isolation. You have 
  achieved more success, financially 
  at least, than any of your 
  brethren through integration and 
  hard work. They could as well.
  Question: White teachers abused 
  their Native pupils; Thomas had 
  his share of lashes. How did this 
  affect him?
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  0
  Assess Honesty
  2
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  2
  Bargain
  0
  Conceal
  0
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  0
  Architecture
  0
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  2
  Art History
  2
  Credit Rating
  2
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  0
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  4
  Filch
  4
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  0
  History
  4
  Reassurance
  2
  Fleeing7
  10
  Languages6
  Streetwise
  2
  Health9
  0
  Numic
  2
  Hypnosis8
  0
  English
  4
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  2
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  0
  Library Use
  4
  Art (writing)
  4
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  2
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  0
  Physics
  0
  Craft
  0
  Stability9
  0
  Theology
  1
  Evidence Collection
  4
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  4
  Locksmith
  0
  Shadowing
  4
  Outdoorsman
  0
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  Investigator Name: Thomas Gunn
  Drive: Curiosity
  Occupation:2 Author
  Pillars of Sanity: Things are generally going to get better through 
  diligence and study
  Sources of Stability: Gerold Kincaid, publisher (New York); Chief Walker; 
  Puakantï (medicine man) Ammon.
  
  Sanity1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Hit Threshold3
  Stability
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Health
  -12
  -11
  -10
  -9
  -8
  -7
  -6
  -5
  -4
  -3
  -2
  -1
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  10
  11
  12
  13
  14
  15
  Player Name: 
  1 In a Pulp game where Sanity can be 
  recovered, mark Sanity pool loss with 
  a line, Sanity rating loss with a cross.
  2 Occupational abilities are half 
  price. Mark them with a * before 
  assigning points.
  3 Hit Threshold is 3, 4 if your Athletics 
  is 8 or higher
  (I) These General abiltities double up 
  as Investigative abilities
  4 Usually, you can’t start with 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Sanity is limited to 
  10-Cthulhu Mythos.
  5 In a Pulp game If your Firearms 
  rating is 5 you can fire two pistols at 
  once (see p. 42)
  6 Assign one language per point, 
  during play. Record them here.
  7 Any Fleeing rating above twice your 
  Athletics rating costs one point for 
  two. 
  8 Only Alienists and Parapsycholigists 
  can buy Hypnosis, and only in a Pulp 
  game
  9 You start with 4 free Sanity points, 
  1 Health and 1 Stability point.
  10 Optional ability for use with 
  Rough Magicks – can only be 
  acquired in play.
  Background
  You grew up with the Water 
  Clover people until you were 
  16, and hired as a nanny in a 
  Mormon household 40 miles 
  from the reservation. Last 
  year the Civilian Conservation 
  Corps set up work east of 
  town. Through the camp you 
  met an engineer, Blake Larsen. 
  He was smitten with you, and 
  after a fast courtship you 
  were married in the Latter-Day 
  Saints Church. You converted, 
  without protest, to his faith. 
  Your first pregnancy ended in a 
  miscarriage. Blake, a decent man 
  with a respectable job, is eager 
  to have children, but you don’t 
  know if you can. A month ago 
  you returned to the reservation 
  to take care of your ill mother. 
  You were always quiet, but have 
  recently found yourself voicing 
  your opinion, and being listened 
  to by the other tribal members.
  Question: When your mother 
  dies, are you going to return to 
  your husband...?
  Academic Abilities
  Interpersonal Abilities
  General Abilities
  Accounting
  1
  Assess Honesty
  4
  Athletics
  4
  Anthropology
  0
  Bargain
  2
  Conceal
  2
  Archaeology
  0
  Bureaucracy
  0
  Disguise (I)
  2
  Architecture
  1
  Cop Talk
  0
  Driving
  0
  Art History
  0
  Credit Rating
  4
  Electrical Repair(I)
  0
  Biology
  0
  Flattery
  4
  Explosives(I)
  0
  Cthulhu Mythos4
  0
  Interrogation
  0
  Filch
  2
  Cryptography
  0
  Intimidation
  0
  Firearms5
  0
  Geology
  0
  Oral History
  4
  First Aid
  4
  History
  0
  Reassurance
  4
  Fleeing7
  8
  Languages6
  Streetwise
  0
  Health9
  0
  Numic
  1
  Hypnosis8
  0
  English
  3
  Magic10
  0
  Mechanical Repair(I)
  2
  Technical Abilities
  Piloting
  0
  Law
  0
  Preparedness
  8
  Library Use
  0
  Art
  0
  Psychoanalysis
  0
  Medicine
  0
  Astronomy
  0
  Riding
  2
  Occult
  0
  Chemistry
  0
  Sanity9
  0
  Physics
  0
  Craft (cooking)
  4
  Stability9
  0
  Theology
  3
  Evidence Collection
  0
  Scuffling
  0
  Forensics
  0
  Sense Trouble
  10
  Locksmith
  1
  Shadowing
  0
  Outdoorsman
  2
  Stealth
  0
  Pharmacy
  0
  Weapons
  0
  Photography
  0
  Investigator Name: Hope Larsen
  Drive: In the Blood
  Occupation:2 Housewife
  Pillars of Sanity: The Heavenly Mother, companion to God, provides (this 
  is Mormon doctrine) 
  Sources of Stability: Meredith Turner, mother, on reservation
  
  US $24.95
  If you go down to the woods today…
  The shadowy depths of the primeval forest are the ancient source of our collective fears. But there’s worse things in the 
  woods than timber wolves and picnicking teddy bears: a traveller could lose, not just their way, but their mind as well.
  These five new scenarios for the Trail of Cthulhu RPG explore the hidden groves of unnatural trees, and the dark, 
  endless canopies, that comprise the hideous soul of Lovecraft’s forest.
  Out of the Woods features the following adventures:
  MIDNIGHT SUB ROSA: The diary of Ezekiel de la Poer, a colonial-era necromancer hanged for 
  child-murder in 1736, was stolen from the home of an emeritus professor in the eaves of a forest of 
  white ash. Can the Investigators find the book before its thief becomes something beyond human?
  THE SILENCE MILL: In a small village in Brittany, close to the Arthurian forest of Brocéliande, a friend of 
  the Investigators stands accused of serial murder, cannibalism—even lycanthropy. Can they find the 
  truth? Or will the truth find them?
  DREAMING OF A BETTER TOMORROW FOR 30 DOLLARS A MONTH: Amongst the crowded green precipices 
  and muttering forest streams of Vermont, laborers disappear from one of Roosevelt’s integrated 
  Civilian Conservation Corps camps. In an atmosphere fraught with political intrigue and the spectre 
  of Jim Crow, can a racially diverse band of Investigators find the primordial horror responsible?
  THE COLDEST WALK: Deep in Wisconsin’s northern woods lies the town of Four Pines – a quiet, almost 
  forgettable community. But whenever the aurora flashes in the sky, the inhabitants must make a 
  terrible choice. Can the Investigators stop the inevitable, or must they take the Walk for themselves?
  THE TREMBLING GIANT: In 1937, the United States government transferred 300 acres to the newly 
  recognized Koosharem Band of Paiute Indians. But this new land is throttled by distorted trees and 
  stalked by unnatural beasts. Nightmares grip the shaman, and warning totems shatter – what is the 
  legacy of this ancient land, and can the tribesfolk fight this ancient evil?
  Containing extensive handouts, maps and pre-generated characters for each adventure, Out of the Woods takes your 
  hand and leads you gently through the eaves—and into the darkness.
  …you’re in for a big surprise!
  Cover art by  
  Jérôme Huguenin
  pelgranepress.com
  PELGT43
  Out Of the WOOds
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Trail of Cthulhu/ToC - Out of the Woods.pdf