TEXT: Dinner With Susan
  A modern-day Call of Cthulhu scenario
  by Kelvin Green, November 2008
  v1.4
  This short scenario is intended to be run for beginning investigators, and should take about three or four 
  hours to play through.
  It is based – very loosely – on Clive Barker's short story The Madonna from his Books of Blood; I say 
  “loosely”, because when I wrote the scenario, all I knew of the original story was a short synopsis 
  appearing in Barker's own A to Z of Horror. As such, the story plays out in a somewhat different manner.
  This work is ©  Kelvin Green and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
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  You have gathered at DiTillio's to meet your friend 
  Susan Ambridge, a professional photographer, and 
  to have a fancy dinner to celebrate the impending 
  publication of her new book. It's been a while since 
  you've seen her and each other, and you're all 
  looking forward to catching up. However, Susan is 
  late.
  One investigator will receive a phone call, 
  apparently from Susan's phone. An unfamiliar male 
  voice speaks: "I know this is hard to believe, but 
  it's Susan. I don't have much time. I need help. 
  Please." Attempts to call back ring through to the 
  answering service.
  Susan's House
  Locked up, but the spare key is where it always is, 
  hidden in a flower pot by the front door. Inside, the 
  house is untidy, but there is nothing untoward.
  Garage: The garage is open, but Susan's car is not 
  there. Otherwise, the garage is full of the usual 
  tools, boxes and so on.
  Living Room: There is an answering machine, 
  which has not been checked in about a week and a 
  half.
  Kitchen: Quite messy, with lots of washing up to 
  be done, and little left in the cupboards beyond 
  some dried pasta and some tins. In the fridge is a 
  jam jar half-filled with a greenish-white cream 
  (Mother's Milk).
  Bedroom: A pile of library books by the unmade 
  bed, and lots of dirty and half-drunk coffee cups on 
  the bedside table. Curtains are drawn and the table 
  lamp is on and hot to the touch, suggesting it's 
  been on a while. While there are various titles 
  about urban decay and constructed landscapes – 
  the subject of her book – there are also a number 
  on the Gaia Hypothesis, visions of the Earth Mother 
  and similar themes, but it's all light, airy, hippy 
  stuff. On one book – The Quest for Gaia – there is 
  a Post-It with "Allbooks" scrawled hastily upon it.
  Bathroom: On top of the toilet, and all around the 
  sink are lots of hormone drugs. A medical type will 
  recognise them as used in hormone therapy, 
  although none of the investigators know of Susan 
  undertaking such therapy.
  Office: Most of the material in here is more 
  relevant to Susan's project, but there are one or 
  two Gaia-type titles.
  Darkroom: Most of the recent photographs here 
  are of a derelict city building. A photograph of a 
  street sign identifies the area as Hobb's End. A 
  number of photographs have been developed, but 
  destroyed through scratching and burning, so it is 
  impossible to make out the subject. The negatives 
  are nowhere to be found.
  Susan's computer: An advanced Mac. Lots more 
  photographs, but no copies of the missing pictures. 
  The sequence of filenames is incomplete, 
  suggesting that some pictures have been deleted. 
  A computer expert may be able to retrieve them, 
  and they show something large and pale resting in 
  a wrecked indoor area. The pale object has an 
  organic shape, but is heavily blurred; no amount of 
  image processing can clarify it. The rest of the 
  picture, background and foreground, is quite clear, 
  and those who know about photography will realise 
  the impossibility of the image, causing a loss of 0/1 
  Sanity.
  Doctor Arthur Moul
  As per the Hippocratic Oath, Moul is barred from 
  discussing a patient. Should the investigators 
  manage to get him to talk, or read his files, they 
  will find notes on aggressive masculisation, 
  although Moul has yet to place the source. 
  Hormone therapy was prescribed to counter the 
  effects until more was known.
  Allbooks, 13 Little Bevan Street, Bloomsbury, 
  London WC1
  A tiny, cramped shop with no discernable shelving 
  system. Owned by Bernard, a dishevelled and 
  nihilistic Irishman, possibly drunk. "Yes, some 
  arsey City photographer came in looking for a copy 
  of Nameless Cults, of all things. As if we have 
  Nameless Cults! And if we did, we wouldn't sell it 
  for the prices she was offering, successful 
  photojournalist or not. Bah!"
  Hobb's End
  A slightly run down area of the city, bustling in the 
  first half of the century, but slowly abandoned by 
  the 1950's. Now it is mainly lower-cost housing, 
  attracting a blend of immigrants, students and 
  squatters. There is plenty there to interest a 
  photographer looking for urban decay, including an 
  unfinished Tube station, a world-famous cinema 
  now in private ownership, and a public swimming 
  pool designed by a famous architect (Ivo Shandor), 
  but nonetheless abandoned with everything else.
  There are many missing person ads posted up on 
  poles and disused shopfronts, mostly for homeless 
  folk, as well as a number of posters alerting 
  passers-by to missing pets. There are very few 
  people out and about, and even fewer at night.
  Most people will complain about the state of the 
  area. Some will complain in particular about the 
  increase in dogs running wild in the streets at night 
  – these are Mother's Children – and some will have 
  noticed a female photographer hanging about the 
  area in the last six weeks or so. Almost everyone is 
  terse and uncommunicative. 1 in 10 locals will 
  show a random mutation as a result of exposure to 
  Mother's Milk.
  Susan's Car: A Luck roll leads to the discovery of 
  Susan's car. It has been robbed and vandalised, 
  but there is a ringbound London A-Z guide in the 
  glove compartment, and an empty jar in the boot. 
  The A-Z is opened to the Hobb's End area, and a 
  number of areas are marked – including the Baths 
  and the Tube station, but mainly just particularly 
  photogenic areas. The jar has a dry residue inside, 
  roughly the same colour and scent as the creamy 
  substance from the jar in Susan's fridge.
  
  Hobb's End Underground Station
  Due to an administrative error, the station was 
  built in the 1960's but the line was never extended 
  to it, having been diverted elsewhere as Hobb's 
  End became less of a desirable area. The 
  completed station stands as an embarrassing 
  reminder of governmental folly. Susan has been 
  seen here, but not of late, and there are no clues 
  as to her whereabouts.
  The Swimming Baths
  Still a very handsome design, despite its condition, 
  the building is stately and bombastic, invoking a 
  more proud and positive time. There is a chain 
  fence surrounding the plot, and the building itself is 
  heavily boarded. Towards the back, accessible 
  through a small locked gate in the fence, is a small 
  square building. Lights can be seen inside. Heavy 
  weed growth runs from the building right up to the 
  fence.
  Caretaker's Cottage: A bedsit-type layout with a 
  kitchen/living room and a separate 
  bathroom/bedroom. It is very clean and tidy, in 
  stark contrast to the surrounding area. In the 
  fridge are a number of jars of cream. Some of the 
  floorboards look to have been recently removed. 
  Underneath is a large bundle wrapped in a dirty 
  sheet; within is a slightly mummified body of a 
  young woman. She is dressed and is wearing a 
  wedding ring. An expert will be able to discern that 
  she died within the past year, and was recently 
  pregnant at the time of death. Discovering the 
  corpse costs 0/1d3 Sanity.
  In the bedroom/bathroom are a number of 
  containers for drugs. Medical types will recognise 
  these as a treatment for skin disorders. All of the 
  containers seem to be quite old, and have passed 
  their expiration dates.
  Steven Ham, the Caretaker: A tall, wiry man 
  with ginger hair and no sign of a skin condition 
  whatsoever. There is a 50% chance that he will be 
  either in his cottage or with Mother. He is fidgety, 
  as if he's bursting with energy and just wants to go 
  for a run. He will attempt to size up the players; if 
  he deems them a threat he will try to end them, 
  either here, or by leading them to Mother and the 
  Children. Alternatively, he will send them away, 
  claiming that the photographer did come here and 
  spent some time taking pictures, but that he hasn't 
  seen her for a good week or so.
  Inside the Baths
  Large growths of weeds and fungus can be found 
  everywhere inside the building. They are normal 
  varieties, but are prodigiously healthy.
  Basement: Pump and boiler room. Everything is in 
  poor repair. There is a 2 in 6 chance that a Child 
  will be found here, lurking about.
  Upstairs: A balcony runs around the main room, 
  with three rows of benched seating. There is a 3 in 
  6 chance of at least two Children frolicking about 
  up here. The main office is up here at the back of 
  the building, with a broken window overlooking the 
  pool area.
  Downstairs: The main doors lead past a front 
  desk area towards segregated changing rooms, and 
  then on to the main pool room. Susan can be found 
  in the female changing rooms, while a Child lurks in 
  the other.
  Susan is haphazardly clad in dirty clothing, and is 
  lying in one corner of the room, oblivious to the 
  players, clutching a small backpack and slurping 
  messily from a jar of cream. It is recognisably her, 
  but she looks more male than female, with a 
  stockier build and the beginnings of a beard. 
  Worse, a lump on her back underneath her shirt is 
  revealed to be a small child-like hand and the first 
  few inches of a forearm. This sight costs 1/1d6 
  Sanity.
  Susan has gone quite mad. She will not recognise 
  the players unless they succeed with some kind of 
  persuasion , and even then she barely 
  communicates with them, mumbling "Send it 
  back!" over and over again. She will fight back if 
  the players attempt to move her or take the jar 
  from her hands.
  Inside the backpack is Susan's prized camera and a 
  notebook in which there are some scribbled notes 
  beginning with "Send it back!". Susan did end up 
  finding a copy of Nameless Cults, and discovered a 
  spell which may expel Mother from the world.
  "Send it Back!" The spell has been written in 
  good detail, imparting a x2 spell modifier. It takes 
  the form of a chant, as follows:
  Ang cinicrote doprothisis tothisam anis pofis 
  dongicis frole.
  Angic thel pranil moil thering illel thilero mote.
  Ang anthag te ifris acrispro winthel te whe to.
  Chanerofis sama acrilack.
  Chathat hicinis promangin thantris agiack.
  Te te amo anthe pewhick.
  Mo bamag omo theric hintofic iamoc.
  The chanter(s) must bend their will to expelling the 
  entity, and any interruptions ruin the spell. The 
  notes suggest that a group has a better chance of 
  success than a lone caster. The spell has a 
  minimum cost of 4 magic points and a minimum 
  chance of success of 5%. For a 100% chance of 
  success, 23 magic points must be spent.
  Pool Room: The main room is a wreck. Fallen 
  masonry makes footing precarious, the walls are 
  filthy and cracked, and broken skylights let the 
  elements in. The whole place reeks of faeces and 
  the hot coppery scent of blood. The main pool is a 
  filthy brownish green, with a thick oily sheen upon 
  the surface, and in one corner of the pool sits a 
  bloated, humanoid figure about the size of a car. 
  Atop a pale flabby body is a flat round face, 
  vaguely resembling that of the caretaker, with tiny 
  black pinprick eyes and a wide mouth full of 
  
  needle-like teeth. A brown tentacle-like tongue 
  occasionally flicks from between the teeth, leaving 
  a glistening trail. If the creature has lower limbs, 
  they cannot be seen past its vast, distended belly. 
  This horror inflicts a 1/1d10 Sanity loss.
  This is Mother. Once the human child of the 
  caretaker and his wife, it has been corrupted and 
  inhabited by some unearthly force – possibly an 
  avatar of Shub Niggurath – into its present state. 
  The caretaker has since been mating with it, as 
  well as forcing kidnapped innocents to do the 
  same.
  Any characters who go insane at this point try to 
  clamber into the pool and embrace Mother, 
  requiring Swim rolls. Mother cannot move fast 
  enough to be a threat to wary players, but will 
  swipe at or bite anyone coming close enough, and 
  will call for its Children, which will arrive in the 
  second round. There is a 50% chance that Susan 
  will also come to Mother's defence in the second 
  round. If the caretaker is still alive, he will arrive in 
  the third round.
  The banishment spell forces the entity out of the 
  physical body. Without the animating supernatural 
  force, the body cannot sustain its unnatural size, 
  and it suffocates under its own weight. When 
  Mother is killed or banished, any living Children 
  flee.
  Aftermath
  Once the spirit has left the body, Mother is quite 
  human, although the circumstances surrounding 
  her life and death are anything but ordinary. The 
  Children are another matter, but once Mother is 
  banished or killed, the creatures flee if alive, and 
  merely dissolve away to a substance very much 
  like the ever-present cream if dead. It is fairly 
  likely that there will be a criminal investigation, 
  putting the investigators in a difficult position.
  Defeating Mother and her brood nets each of the 
  investigators 2d6 Sanity points as a reward. 
  Although nothing can be done for Susan's physical 
  condition, players receive 1d6 Sanity points for 
  ensuring she receives proper care. Susan never 
  recovers, and one day, the investigators receive 
  word that she is dead, having bashed in her own 
  head against the wall of her room.
  Statistics!
  Steven Ham, insane caretaker and incestuous 
  cultist.
  STR 20 CON 18 SIZ 11 INT 10 POW 10
  DEX 20 APP 13 EDU 12 SAN 0 Move 8 HP 15
  Damage Bonus 1d4
  Attacks: Axe 40% 1d8+2+db Head Butt 30% 
  1d4+db
  Skills: Dodge 40% Hide 30% Sneak 30%
  Regenerates 1 hit point every two rounds.
  Children, corrupted monstrosities.
  The size of a large dog, this thing has a round 
  hairless head, devoid of features aside from a short 
  black beak through which it occasionally croaks. 
  The body is unnaturally round, with an 
  asymmetrical bone structure evident beneath the 
  bluish-white skin and patchy grey fur. It has four 
  limbs, irregularly spaced along the torso; two are 
  sheep-like legs with lumpy hooves, while one 
  seems to be some kind of scaly tentacle, and the 
  final, most horrifying of all, seems to be an 
  emaciated human arm.
  STR 8 CON 12 SIZ 8 INT 10 POW 10
  DEX 12 Move 10 HP 10
  Damage Bonus -1d4
  Attacks: Bite 40% 1d6+db
  Skills: Dodge 24% Hide 20% Sneak 20%
  Sanity Loss: 1/1d6+1.
  Mother, abominable avatar of vitality.
  STR 20 CON 60 SIZ 20 INT 25 POW 20
  DEX 8 Move 4 HP 40
  Damage Bonus 1d6
  Attacks: Claw 40% 1d6+db Grapple 40% Special
  Armour: 1 point of fat and blubber.
  Sanity Loss: 1/1d10
  
  Mother's Milk
  Those who consume the cream are taking part of 
  Mother into themselves, spreading its unnatural 
  vitality thoughout their body. The same fate befalls 
  those who mate with Mother. Roll 1d6 and add or 
  subtract from the total based on the character's 
  CON score:
  CON Modifier
  3
  -3
  4-5
  -2
  6-8
  -1
  9-12
  +0
  13-15 +1
  16-17 +2
  18+
  +3
  Drinkers lose 0/1d4 Sanity if aware of the origin of 
  the Milk. Sanity loss for experiencing a mutation is 
  at the Keeper's discretion, but should be no less 
  than 1/1d6.
  Compare the result to the table below:
  1 Devolve into one of the Children over 1d6 
  months.
  2 Minor mutation, see below.
  3 Switch gender over 1d6 months
  4 Heal a major physical condition; returns after 1d6 
  months unless more Milk is drunk to maintain 
  (same effect; do not roll again)
  5 Heal a minor condition; returns after 1d6 months 
  unless more Milk is drunk to maintain (same effect; 
  do not roll again)
  6+ No effect
  Mutation Table (1d6)
  1 Drinker's height increases; +1 SIZ
  2-3 A painful lump develops somewhere on the 
  drinker's body – see below – eventually opening 
  into an extra eye.
  4-5 A painful swelling develops somewhere on the 
  drinker's body – see below – eventually forming 
  into a 1-3 extra hand, 4-6 extra foot.
  6 Drinker's muscle density increases; 1-3 +1 STR, 
  4-6 +1 DEX
  To determine the location of a mutation, roll 2d6 on 
  the following table.
  2-3 Head
  4-5 Arm(50% left or right)
  6-8 Torso
  9 Abdomen
  10-12 Leg (50% left or right)
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Call of Cthulhu/Cthulhu Now/Modern Day Adventures/CoC - Now Adv - Dinner with Susan.pdf