19th Level

Though based in Boston, the investigators do make occasional forays. When an opportunity to acquire a forbidden tome in Biloxi, Mississippi arises, the Watch and Ward Society sends one of their agents and her allies. Professor Victor Davies was willing to donate the Vishakhapatnam Fragment to Harvard University in return for access to some of Harvard's restricted texts. Not a perfect deal, but the chance to take the Fragment out of circulation could not be ignored. Based on the adventure "Still Waters" by L.N. Isynwill and Doug Lyons from Chaosium's The   Great Old Ones book. Setting: Boston. Tuesday, October 13 - Wednesday, October 14, 1914, Davies Landing, Mississippi. Cast of Characters: Investigators: Colin O'Connor: Civil engineer from Dunmore, Ireland. Employed as a civil engineer by the city of Boston. Lola Diaz Azar: Archaeologist hailing from Puerto Rico, born of a Puerto Rican mother and Middle Eastern father. Agent of the New Englan...

Not all tales of the Mythos involve a world-shattering threat. Some are mysteries as to why people become someone they weren't previously. Sometimes this answer is more than the questioner can handle. Inspired by the adventure capsule "People Change" from Chaosium's Escape from Innsmouth  adventure. Setting: Boston. Friday, August 14, 1914. A drizzly cool day. Cast of Characters: Investigators: Colin O'Connor: Civil engineer from Dunmore, Ireland. Employed as a civil engineer by the city of Boston. Lola Diaz Azar: Archaeologist hailing from Puerto Rico, born of a Puerto Rican mother and Middle Eastern father. Agent of the New England Watch and Ward Society, specializing in occult tomes. Nathaniel Quincy, MD, Captain, US Army (Ret.) Former army doctor, served in Nicaragua and the Philippines. Now working as a medical examiner for Essex County. NPCs: Jonathan Longstreet: Civil engineer. Widower. Working on building the Dorchester Subway. About...

Going over my notes I'm a little surprised to discover I've had a Call of Cthulhu  campaign that's reached a decent length. It seemed reasonable for my own purposes to summarize and it might be of interest to others... The more recent adventures have writeups at this site, the older ones have rougher writeups I might post at some point. No Man's Land Parts 1-2 Setting:  October 2-4, 1918; Argonne Forest Investigators :  Radford Brown, Jonathan Clark, Eli Cornish, Antonio Manzi, Fredrick Tardiff  American soldiers vs. Illoigor Under the Black Setting: January 19-20, 1919; Boston and Arkham Investigators:  Radford Brown, Jonathan Clark, Eli Cornish, Pietro Gorgonza, Antonio Manzi, Kirk Schroeder (RIP), Fredrick Tardiff The Great Molasses Flood provides slays a cultist and unleashes out of control Dark Spawn. The House on the Edge Setting: March 21-24, 1919; Kingsport Investigators:  Radford Brown (RIP), Eli Cornish, Pietr...

With my degree pursuit entering the home stretch, posting has been pretty anemic. But I wanted to give a very brief write-up of our first adventure playing with DCC Lankhmar. This is our playing of The Madhouse Meet  from the 2016 Free RPG Day book from Goodman Games.  Cast of Characters: الموت (Almawt) - Daughter of Lankhmarts who settled in the Eastern Lands. Abandoned her designated role as a squire to study magic under Sheelba of the Eyeless Face.  Ганзориг (Ganzorig) - Unlucky and dim-witted Mingol warrior, deadly with his battle axe. Challenge to speak with given his lack of speaking the common Low Lankhmarese.  Phlegm - Lankhmar-native. Smuggler, independent thief who has reached an accommodation with the Thieves' Guild of Lankhmar. Summary:  The trio did not meet in a tavern. They were however all captured from the same tavern, the Heavy Lion, in the slums near the Marsh Gate of the Temple Quarter. The wizard Tulmakiz had been e...

Based on the adventure of the same name by Harry Cleaver, contained in the Chaosium anthology The Great Old Ones . Setting: Boston, Mass. to Coppertown, New Mexico. June 20 - June 26, 1921 Characters: Jordaine Furst - Strasbourg-born Great War spy for France Liam Maguire - Former Boston police officer turned private investigator after the 1919 strike Dora Martin - Journalist determined to understand the truth At Fredrick Tardiff's art studio in Boston some new investigators had gathered. Dora Martin had reported on the Crimson Gang and had determined there was more to it than the official story So had former police officer Liam Maguire. Dora had received a letter from a former colleague of hers, a labor organizer and general rabble rouser, José Green. Prior to leaving they did some research on the mines: The Beasley Mining Co. Offices: 28 Main Street, Coppertown, New Mexico. Officers: President William Beasley, V.P. Edward Beasley. Incorpora...

Based on the adventure of the same name by Doug Lyons with L. N. Isynwill, contained in the Chaosium anthology  The Great Old Ones. Part 1 [Note this writeup is a bit brief given the adventure was played several months ago.] Setting: Boston; Wednesday, April 20 - Thursday, April 21, 1921 Characters: Earl Crowley - Antiquarian settled in Arkham Jordaine Furst - Strasbourg-born Great War spy for France Fredrick Tardiff - Great War veteran, Kingsport artist Late in the night of the 20th, Crowley received the call that Eddie Clark had been spotted and rejoined his companions in apprehending him. After some severe questioning, they searched his flat and discovered it had records of a delivery to an abandoned brewery - perhaps where the Crimson Gang was hiding. They made their plans to go to the hideout - with the knowledge that the Black Demon was searching for Malone as his ultimate target, they planned on using the tablets to bring the demon there - and th...

The Dragons were a new crew in Duskvol. A city of near perpetual night, much like the rest of the world, with a pitiful dawn and dusk every day. Yet life went on. Unless you hired the Dragons to end someone. That was what they did. They endeavored to keep it as quiet as possible. Two of the small crew were on the job this night - David "Dirk" Burke and Tocker "Ogre" Helker. Ogre, unsurprisingly, was the muscle, whereas Dirk was the more subtle type of fellow. They'd been hired by an agent by the name of "Rufus", representing some undisclosed parties on the city council. The captain of the Leviathan Hunter Billy Budd , one Tyree, was to be terminated. Ideally the ship as well should be scuttled or destroyed. They got aboard ok - the Billy Budd was in harbor readying for a long trip and they acquired forged papers from a contact of Ogre's so they could pose as medical inspectors to do a final check of the crew's health before departure....

Do you think I care if there was just beer in that keg? I know what's in it. I know what you've been doing all this time, how you got those clothes and those new cars. You've been telling Ma that you've gone into politics, that you're on the city payroll. Pat Burke told me everything. You murderers! There's not only beer in that jug. There's beer and blood - blood of men!   - Mike Powers, The Public Enemy Based on the adventure of the same name by Doug Lyons with L. N. Isynwill, contained in the Chaosium anthology The Great Old Ones. Setting: Boston; Wednesday, April 20, 1921 Characters: Earl Crowley - Antiquarian settled in Arkham Jordaine Furst - Strasbourg-born Great War spy for France Fredrick Tardiff - Great War veteran, Kingsport artist Summary: After some unpleasant bouts with madness in New Orleans, Crowley and Tardiff had spent the previous two months undergoing psychiatric care. In the interim, the chaos of the early days o...

I cannot forget Carcosa where black stars hang in the heavens; where the shadows of men's thoughts lengthen in the afternoon, when the twin suns sink into the lake of Hali; and my mind will bear for ever the memory of the Pallid Mask.  ― Robert W. Chambers, The King in Yellow [ Part One ] [ Part Two ] Setting: New Orleans, LA; Tuesday, February 1 - Saturday, February 5, 1921 Characters: Earl Crowley - Antiquarian settled in Arkham Jordaine Furst - Strasbourg-born Great War spy for France Fredrick Tardiff - Great War veteran, Kingsport artist Summary: Hearing Fowler and Papa Screech back in the estate, the investigators exercised stealth. Crowley and Tardiff prepared to burn the side of the teleportation portal on the estate side of the gate while Furst snuck upstairs to see if there was anything worth seeing. Upstairs she did find something rather disturbing behind a locked door (which she easily picked) - a shrine to his dead wife and daughter, with a...

[ Part One ] [ Part Three ] Strange is the night where black stars rise, And strange moons circle through the skies, But stranger still is Lost Carcosa. - "Cassilda's Song" in  The King in Yellow  Act 1, Scene 2 Based on the classic  Call of Cthulhu  adventure "Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign" by Kevin Ross. Originally published by Chaosium in  The Great Old Ones , revised version published by Golden Goblin Press in  Tales of the Crescent City. Setting: New Orleans, LA; Monday, January 31, 1921 - Tuesday, February 1, 1921 Characters: Earl Crowley - Antiquarian settled in Arkham Jordaine Furst - Strasbourg-born Great War spy for France Fredrick Tardiff - Great War veteran, Kingsport artist Summary: After dealing with a bout of paranoid madness, the investigators limped their way back to their hotel to recover from the shock. The next morning (rather late morning), going over Gavvin's notes, they decided to go to...

[ Part Two ] [ Part Three ] In early 1921, the investigators depart Massachusetts to investigate a mysterious death in New Orleans... Based on the classic Call of Cthulhu  adventure "Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign" by Kevin Ross. Originally published by Chaosium in The Great Old Ones , revised version published by Golden Goblin Press in Tales of the Crescent City. Setting: Boston, Mass. and New Orleans, LA; Friday, January 28 - Monday, January 31, 1921 Characters: Earl Crowley - Antiquarian settled in Arkham Jordaine Furst - Strasbourg-born Great War spy for France Fredrick Tardiff - Great War veteran, Kingsport artist Summary The investigators received a telegram from the great occultist, Étienne-Laurent de Marigny of New Orleans asking them to travel to New Orleans, indicating he required their services in an investigation. Leaving Boston on Friday the 28th, they arrived in New Orleans two days later after an uneventful rail journey. Much ...

The Art of Madness  is an adventure from the anthology  The House of R'lyeh , written by Brian Courtemanche. Setting:  Boston, Mass. Wednesday, December 1, 1920 Characters: Earl Crowley - Antiquarian settled in Arkham Jordaine Furst - Strasbourg-born Great War spy for France Fredrick Tardiff - Great War veteran, Kingsport artist Summary: In the basement they saw a closed shaft in the floor. Hiding for some time they saw the shaft open from below, a rubbery hand emerging and grabbing it. As they ran to the shaft to attempt tracking it, it heard them and leapt back up - a hideous ghoul, about to strike! A confused melee and firefight broke out. Furst and Crowley opened fire on it while Tardiff swung a makeshift club he'd found in the debris in the basement. It was a dangerous foe and none of them were warriors. Though bloodied, they wounded it enough to drive it into the tunnels. In the chaos Thurber had run off. Before venturing down there themselve...

The Art of Madness  is an adventure from the anthology The House of R'lyeh , written by Brian Courtemanche. Featured heavily in this adventure is the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Living fairly close to Boston, I've been to the Museum many times. It's been neat playing an adventure with a familiar place... Setting: Boston, Mass. Wednesday, December 1, 1920 Characters: Earl Crowley - Antiquarian settled in Arkham Jordaine Furst - Strasbourg-born Great War spy for France Fredrick Tardiff - Great War veteran, Kingsport artist Summary: Fredrick Tardiff had been constructing a new series of contacts to assist with investigations into the bizarre, with the last of his Great War compatriots moving back to Harlem. He had begun meeting with Earl Crowley, an antiquarian who had uncovered one too many things that couldn't be explained by science. Jewelry from Innsmouth of metals unknown to science. Reviews of a French play that had made its audience go mad. He...

Based on the adventure of the same name in the Age of Rebellion Beginner Game Cast of Characters: Athena Ellia, Twi'lek Scout and Force Sensitive Emergent Bobar Kane, Human Commando Rik Corruss, Human Saboteur Setting: The planet Onderon, shortly after the Battle of Yavin Objective: Rebel Intelligence has learned that Imperial Moff Dardano has built a secret listening post in the jungles of Onderon - Whisper Base. This base was not for use against the Rebellion but was rather intended for use against his rival, Admiral Corlen. Not even the Empire knew of it. The Rebel Alliance has sent a small commando team to secure the base as a forward Rebel base. They must cut off its link to a communications bunker and prevent any Imperials from escaping by shuttle. Capsule Summaey In the entry garage, the Rebels cut the communications link and dealt with a group of Imperial security personnel that responded to the cut cable. The Rebels deactivated an old Clone Wars er...

This writeup isn't designed to be a work of fiction, it's primarily an aid to my group to summarize what transpired in our adventure. Based on Jeffrey Talanian's adventure of the same name, which was in turn inspired by HP Lovecraft's short story "The Rats in the Walls". Year 576 (Tempest), Month II, Day 4 Cast of characters: Aaron Cèampach, Kelt Warlock Hoom Feethos, Hyberbrean Thief Morrow, Pict Druid Saratos Ochôziakos, Ixian Fighter Sarukê thugatêrOchôziakos, Ixian Witch William "Billy" Welsh - Common Human Pyromancer Henchmen hired by Saratos and Sarukê: Tai, Medium Infantryman Zell, Heavy Infantryman Our bold adventurers had paid a visit to the dockside tavern of the Silvery Eel in Hyperborea's greatest city, Khromarium. They'd heard it was a place to find adventure - even that the tavern keeper might have work he needed doing. They learned that Xill Vuntos, tavern keeper, was dealing with an unusual rat p...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.... Star Wars: Tales of Rebellion Episode II: Gallisport Recruitment Having captured the Clone Wars-era shipyard of Admiral Bayran, the Rebellion is searching for a worthy person to convert the Separatist yard to production of Rebel craft. Reviewing intelligence data with their sponsor Bail Organa on Alderaan, our freedom fighters discover that the woman they want may be in the system they just departed - in the city of Gallisport on Shesharile 5. There, Rayne Toruna, an aging Twi'lek engineer, leads a swoop gang known as the Mynocks. During the Clone Wars, Toruna was one of Kuat Drive Yards lead engineers, having created the Delta-7 and A-Wing fighters. She left KDY after seeing what the Empire was using her creations for. If Toruna could be persuaded to join the Rebellion, the Separatist Shipyard could soon be producing fighters for the Rebellion against the Evil Galactic Empire... Cast of Characters: R2-C4 - Rogue Imp...

[ Part 1 ] Cast of Characters: R2-C4 - Rogue Imperial assassin droid Gaven Stark - Idealistic former Imperial army officer Marcus Doha - Veteran Clone Trooper who has lived an active life since the Clone Wars Scene 3: The "Rescue" Admiral Bayran had a small treetop estate that was under assault from a small force from the Imperial Sentinel  landing craft - an AT-ST, a small squad of stormtroopers, ISB Agent Kerrin Malloch, and Malloch's prisoner, the Twi'lek criminal Tel Akuna. The three managed to distract the Imperials with a combination of explosions, fire, and blaster fire. R2-C4 used its rockets to fly up to the estate and "retrieve" Bayran - the aging Rodian was not enthusiastic to be rescued, but a blaster (set for stun) helped convinced him. There was a bit of chaos as Doha's granddaughter, bored with waiting in the ship, was checking out the battle and was nearly in the line of fire, but she was retrieved without injury. Most of ...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.... Star Wars: Tales of Rebellion Episode I:The Hunt for Admiral Bayran It is a dark time for the galaxy. The evil Emperor Palpatine has destroyed the OLD REPUBLIC  and the Jedi Knights, guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. In the Republic's place is the EVIL GALACTIC EMPIRE. In this darkness, Senator Bail Organa secretly works against the Emperor, supporting the REBEL ALLIANCE. He has dispatched a team of Rebel Agents to Shesharile 5 in the Minor Cluster to meet with a rebel spy to see what help the Rebellion can give to that impoverished world. Unknown to these agents, word has spread that the Admiral Bayran, a war criminal of the Clone Wars, has been hiding on the nearby forest world of Yelsain. The admiral's hidden shipyard was never found after the Clone Wars. If he could be persuaded to work with the Alliance, that shipyard could be used in the service of the Alliance.... Cast of Characters: R2-C4 - Rog...