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Call of Cthulhu - Dreamlands - The Sense of The Sleight-Of-Hand Man
Call of Cthulhu - Dreamlands - The Sense of The Sleight-Of-Hand Man
of the
Sleight-of-Hand
Man
Publisher
Published in the United States by Arc Dream Publishing, 12215 Highway 11, Chelsea, Ala., 35043.
Published for the Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game under license from Chaosium Inc. Call of Cthulhu is a
registered trademark of Chaosium Inc. and is used by permission.
If you bought this book in print at an online or bricks-and-mortar retailer, you can get the PDF version
free through the Bits & Mortar program. Contact us for details.
For more information contact Arc Dream Publishing at www.arcdream.com.
Edition
First edition, first printing, July 2013
Arc Dream Publishing product number 8001
ISBN 978-1-940410-00-5
Printed in the United States of America
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the players in the author’s many playtests of this campaign over the years. Your dreams of ter-
ror, death and magic were never in vain.
Thanks to our amazingly diligent volunteer proofreaders: J. Michael Bestul, Robert Biddle, JF Boivin,
Anthony “Runeslinger” Boyd, Chris Butler, Ken Chang, Rodrigo Citon, Gregory Clark, Greg Cooksey,
Matt Cowger, Bill “The Keeper” Drover, Ben Ferguson, Jason Fritz, H. Alexander Velásquez García, Judy
Haber, Jonathan Hsu, David Lee Ingersoll, Brian Lavelle, Kris Leeke, Christian Lehmann, Robert Lint,
Jen McCleary, Robin McCollum, Calum McDonald, Joshua D. Meadows, Steve Mumford, Lisa (“Doctor
Cthulhupunk”) Padol, Kristian Bach Petersen, Shane Phillips, Jon Potter, KJ Potter, Michael Ross, Jakob
Schilling, Ralph Shelton, Jori Virtanen, and Sean Whittaker—benighted ghouls, all!
Thanks to our Kickstarter backers, listed in the foreword. This book would not exist without them.
3
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The City of Onyx........................................................ 115 The Magistrate and the Court................................. 203
The Sages of the Round Street................................. 118 Randolph Carter, The King of Dusk......................... 205
The Mission................................................................122 The Palace of Dusk................................................... 210
Avat of Hombur and Dem........................................124 The Tower of Nyarlathotep.....................................220
The Western Plateau................................................. 125 Confrontation........................................................... 222
The Path to the Gate of Crystal................................ 132 Escape to Ilek-Vad.................................................... 225
The Western Machine............................................... 135 . . . But If They Fail?................................................. 226
Return to Inquanok...................................................139 Chapter Eleven: Sarnath.................................... 228
Judgment................................................................... 140 The Nameless Lake................................................... 229
The Book of Keys and Gates..................................... 141 The Idol...................................................................... 230
Rewards and the Journey South...............................142 The Offering.............................................................. 230
Chapter Nine: Lhosk...............................................143 The Doom...................................................................233
Map of Lhosk............................................................. 144 The Green Priests’ Plan............................................. 234
The Docks...................................................................145 Dealing With Uvan Go..............................................237
The Bazaar and Council............................................ 146 Manifestations of the Doom................................... 242
The Lay of the Land...................................................147 The Consumption of Uvan Go.................................246
Arrival in a Black Galley........................................... 148 Chapter Twelve: Ulthar......................................248
Wealth in Lhosk......................................................... 152 The Burgomaster Kranon.......................................... 251
Shops of Interest........................................................ 153 The Keeper of Dreams.............................................. 254
Mortimer’s Sundry Potions and Chemicals.............. 153 The Enchanted Wood................................................257
Ballud’s Outfitters..................................................... 160 The Steps of Deeper Slumber................................... 271
Room and Board........................................................162 Chapter Thirteen: Return to Earth.............. 272
The Eye of the Needle...............................................162 Awakening................................................................. 272
The Men from Leng In Lhosk...................................165 By Foot and Rail.........................................................277
The Ebony Temple..................................................... 175 Finding Mr. Lao......................................................... 278
The Trade Family Tha............................................... 184 Closing the Circle...................................................... 279
Maras-Tha, the Heir of House Tha.......................... 190 Madaeker’s Promise.................................................. 279
The Trade Family Bahaot......................................... 194 Nyarlathotep’s Defeat and What Comes After.......281
Chapter Ten: Ilek-Vad............................................ 196 Appendix A: New Spells......................................... 282
Fellow Travelers........................................................ 198 Appendix B: Prisoners of
Arram, Cat Apostate................................................ 200 the Ebony Temple...................................................288
The House Dreary.....................................................202 Index............................................................................. 293
4
Foreword
There is nothing more satisfying, I think, than to write for a
pre-established cause—to create something that you know will find
its way to the hands (and eyes) of those who really, sincerely wish
to read it. Strike that. Perhaps there is something more satisfying:
knowing that the work will live on, on the gaming tables of those
readers—where the ideas will leap to life amidst dice, pencils, papers,
laughter and fun. The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man represents some-
thing special: a perfect confluence of want and willingness.
Roleplaying games and the books written for them are not private
things. They encourage people to pull them apart, to spread them
about, to share them, to fight over and through them. The words I
wrote here will gain a second life. Not only did fans of my work turn
out in record numbers to support the product, they will now take the
work and make it their own in a thousand gaming rooms around the
world.
I’d like to take a moment to thank those who contributed to the
Kickstarter project that funded this work and those who convinced
me to put The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man up on the service in the
first place.
I’d like to thank Adam Crossingham, who saved this project from
the doom of the ever-present and voracious WORK IN PROGRESS
folder. And I’d like to thank Greg Stolze for showing nearly every-
one the way in the fan-funding movement of the last decade. Don’t
believe anyone else who attempts to take credit for this. Greg—and
Greg alone—led the way.
I hope all who contributed find the work contained in this book as
satisfying as I found it to create and run it for my own group. If you
have stories to share, please email them on to me at dennis.detwiller@
me.com. I’d love to hear them. Finally, please follow me on Twitter
@drgonzo123 and check out my ever-expanding body of work (art,
roleplaying and writing) at www.detwillerdesign.com.
Dennis Detwiller
November 2012
5
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Special Thanks
This book exists thanks to the amazing support of these backers of its
Kickstarter campaign. Thank you all.
6
Special Thanks
7
Chapter One
Character Creation - Overview - Two Alike In the Make of the Mind
Character Creation
In this series of scenarios, the creativity of the players and the
Keeper is put to the test. Each player takes the role of two characters,
one on Earth and one in the Dreamlands—two characters that share
one mind.
The players create their 1925 Earthly characters normally, with
the exception that they all must be addicted to opium. See “Gifted
but Damaged,” page 10, for guidelines and suggestions to customize
Investigators for this campaign.
Keepers, be certain to make the players detail these characters
lavishly. Make it clear that every detail matters: the character’s back-
story, hopes, dreams, fears, loved ones, and especially what factors
keep them coming back helplessly to their drug. If they have no idea
what’s coming, it’s best to keep the nature of the adventure a secret.
After all, it will be far more startling and shocking if the players don’t
8
Chapter One: Character Creation
9
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
10
Chapter One: Character Creation
11
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
12
Chapter Two
The Tongs - Mr. Lao - Bywandine - Came The Attendant Byzantines
13
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The Tongs
No. Str Con Siz Int Pow Dex App Edu DB HP
#1 9 13 12 10 10 15 10 5 – 13
#2 11 11 9 12 9 14 11 7 – 10
#3* 18 10 12 9 10 12 10 7 1D4 11
#4* 10 12 11 12 11 12 10 5 – 12
#5 11 10 13 13 10 11 12 7 – 12
#6 13 15 10 11 13 11 16 8 – 13
#7 17 10 15 11 11 11 9 9 1D4 13
#8 10 9 9 9 11 11 11 5 – 9
#9* 11 12 13 10 11 10 8 7 – 13
#10* 9 15 11 17 12 9 10 5 – 13
14
Chapter Two: Mr. Lao
15
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Lao won the Peach Blossom Restaurant in a turf war with the
Cho Sai gang in 1920. Its original owner is now a permanent fixture
on the bottom of the Hudson River. His surviving men are now Mr.
Lao’s Tongs.
Since that time, the restaurant has been Mr. Lao’s place of busi-
ness. In a somewhat unusual arrangement, Lao himself oversees the
sale of drugs from the establishment. He usually only makes the first
sale to a new customer.
With his formidable library of spells, Lao can tell many things
about a person by magical observation. If a customer is of strong soul
(i.e., a high POW statistic), Lao continues to sell the drugs in person.
He maintains a list of these people, and extensive files on them, in
case he is called upon to send them to Sarkomand to serve his moon-
beast masters.
The Dreamers know the restaurant and neighborhood well. They
went there many times to buy opium from Lao before their money
dried up.
It is a dingy, poorly kept front. Inside is a classic Chinese restau-
rant, done up in old red velvet and gaudy gold paint, with tattered
paintings and rotting felt tabletops. Everything in it is covered in a
fine layer of dust.
Only the former kitchen and back rooms are kept in an orderly
state. The kitchen is used to process the raw poppy bulbs into opium
paste, and 24 hours a day several men and women grind up the seeds
with mortar and pestle. The new poppies lay in wet wood crates
covering a wall, three deep.
The office is Mr. Lao’s domain. It is incredibly lavish, with fine
rugs, large sitting pillows and silk hangings. A large silver and gold
water pipe with seven stems is mounted in a finely cut rosewood
table at the room’s center. A small alcove to the rear conceals a small,
plain wood desk, chair and file-cabinets. The windows have all been
bricked over except for narrow, shuttered slits.
The Dreamers are led together to the office to meet with Mr. Lao,
perhaps for the last time.
16
Chapter Two: Mr. Lao
“And yet within endless ecstasies I did begin to spy a pattern, a form of a
world more complex and colourful than any I had known before. I longed to
be there at any cost.”
17
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
18
Chapter Two: Mr. Lao
(In fact he may still be found there along with all 120 members of
the Order of the Traveller. They all disappeared from Earth in 1899
after imbibing the new form of the more potent bywandine.)
19
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
A Final Smoke
Mr. Lao, polite to a fault, asks the Dreamers to sit around the rose-
wood table. With a faint smile, he recommends that they get to know
each other well, as they will be spending a length of time together.
With this cryptic comment he excuses himself into the alcove.
Any Dreamer attempting to observe what Lao does in the alcove
behind the silks may make a Spot Hidden roll at half chance, or a
Sneak roll if the Dreamer wishes to inch toward the alcove despite
the guards. If either succeeds, Lao is seen to remove a key from the
base of a small doll. With it he opens a locked drawer on the desk.
From that he removes a small teak box.
If a Dreamer is caught in the act of spying, Lao smiles and says,
“Keeping eyes to oneself can become doubly difficult with such
behavior.” He goes on to say many Medici courtiers ended up having
their eyes put out due to their overly curious nature.
Lao carefully opens the teak box and removes a packet of dried
yellowish powder. Anyone making a Spot Hidden roll notices that the
powder is different than powdered opium: the coloring is slightly off.
If asked, Lao explains that it is a special opiate called bywandine,
and that it comes from his homeland of Leng in the Far East.
After igniting the burner, Lao invites the Dreamers to smoke. He
confesses that even in his restaurant they cannot allow screaming.
Dreamers that refuse find themselves at gunpoint. Lao produces a
silver automatic from the folds of his robe.
“Indulge yourselves. I insist.”
Anyone refusing further is hauled to the kitchen, tied down on a
butcher’s table and injected painfully in the thigh with a bywandine
solution. As the drug takes effect, the obstinate Dreamer is returned
to Lao’s office.
Chapter Three
Life In a Dream - Healing - Sanity - Like a New Knowledge of Reality
Life In a Dream
The world of dreams, known as the Dreamlands to those with
esoteric knowledge, is like a reflection of the minds of those who
occupy the waking world of Earth—and hundreds of other worlds.
As those in the waking world of Earth sleep, their alter egos populate
the Dreamlands, and vice versa. Most denizens of Earth have no
recollection of these nightly jaunts, but some Dreamers consciously
enter the realms of the Dreamlands by choice. Some creatures and
beings, however, exist solely in the Dreamlands or transition there
when their earthly forms perish.
21
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
22
Chapter Three: Life In a Dream
are subtle and seamless, and always seem to occur when a Dreamer
is not looking. The Keeper can do much to keep the players guessing Notches
The key to Directed
when such changes occur.
Dreaming is for Dreamers
Only when the players themselves bring these changes up to the to accumulate “Notches.”
The Dreamers get Notches
Keeper do things become interesting. Perception is the key—Dream-
only in moments when
ers that simply plod onward without paying attention (or who pay their players say that
they notice the unreal
attention but don’t question the Keeper about it) gain nothing from
dreaminess of the world
such shifts. Those who notice and comment, however, have taken a around them—the subtle
changes that occur when
step towards becoming a Directed Dreamer—one who can manipu-
their characters aren’t
late the world of dreams in subtle ways. looking. That cannot
happen unless you, the
Of course, this should never be told to the players.
Keeper, make it happen.
Keep a tally of remarks by each player that indicate the player is
First, you must remember
noticing the changes. (“Wait, I thought you said the door was on the
to frequently add those
left side of the cavern.”) Each of these “perceptions” grants the player subtle changes to your
descriptions. In every scene
a “Notch” which the Keeper holds in secret. The players should never
include details of shape,
know such a thing exists. color, smell, and feel to
evoke atmosphere. Then
These Notches represent each Dreamer’s growing ability to exist
mention a detail again—
and work his or her will within the odd reality of the Dreamlands. but inexplicably changed.
23
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Directed Dreaming
An Example Directed Dreaming is the act of willing something—usually a
Chet Ridgely hopes to
small, singular change—to occur in the Dreamlands. The Notches
bend the world of the
Dreamlands to his will gained by players recognizing changes in the Dreamlands fuel this
by finding a sword. He
ability. Since the player never learns that Notches exist, attempting
imagines a jewel-encrusted
scimitar. Unknown to him, to direct the reality of the Dreamlands is always an act of faith.
Chet has 3 Notches gained
The deeper the Dreamers travel into the Dreamlands, the more
from observant game play.
the possibility of exerting such a change should grow in their minds.
The scimitar is a Substantial
The Keeper should never confirm that such an outcome is possible.
outcome (+1 Notch) on
top of the base cost of 1 Instead, the player should arrive at this conclusion and experiment
Notch, for a total cost of
with it. With a limited number of Notches as fuel (remember, the
2 Notches. Chet’s POW is
12. The Keeper rolls against players should have no idea how many Notches exist—or even that
POW x 5 to see if Chet
they exist at all), such Directed Dreaming is likewise limited.
succeeds—a 60% chance.
When a player announces that a Dreamer hopes to change reality
The Keeper rolls 16,
in some way, it requires a POW roll. If it succeeds, it uses up Notch-
succeeding. But to
maintain mystery, he es. The minimum cost is always 1 Notch. The Keeper rolls against the
strings Chet along. After
POW of the Dreamer, keeping the results secret. A player with no
several fruitless minutes of
searching his surroundings, Notches can attempt a change but nothing happens.
Chet becomes frustrated
The cost and difficulty depend on the degree of change. Cosmetic
and sits down on a rotted
log. The log collapses, changes are easy but at very large scale might be costly. Here are
revealing the skeletal
guidelines. The final difficulty, and whether a roll is even required, is
remains of a long-dead
warrior inside, clutching always up to the Keeper.
the scimitar of Chet’s
dreams.
Type of Directed Dreaming Change Cost POW Roll
Base (and minimum) cost 1 Notch n/a
Is the outcome cosmetic? (Appearance, –1 Notch POW x 8
clothing, etc.)
Is the change personal? (Something –1 Notch POW x 7
which matters only to the Dreamer.)
Is the outcome substantial? (Some +1 Notch POW x 5
physical gain, money, property,
weapons, etc.)
Is the change something large? (Bigger +2 Notches POW x 3
than the character himself or herself.)
Is the change something vast? (Bigger +5 Notches POW x 2
than a mansion.)
Is the outcome of the change a matter All Notches POW x 4
of life or death?
24
Chapter Three: Life In a Dream
Injury, Sickness
and Death
Injury, sickness and death in the Dreamlands bear a fundamental
resemblance to their counterparts on Earth. But in the Dreamlands,
death and disfigurement are preventable, even permanently avoid-
able.
In addition to normal healing per the Call of Cthulhu rules, injured
Dreamers can “recover” hit points by spending Magic Points. Each
magic point spent heals one hit point of damage. This ability is
natural to all inhabitants of the Dreamlands, and all Dreamers have
an intrinsic sense that such healing is possible. Still, it is amazing to
see in action, particularly to those from Earth. Even disfiguring or
crippling injuries can be restored by faith that they are not real. Each
Dreamer suffers a SAN loss of 1/1D4 the first time he or she sees
more than 4 HP healed in this way.
Disease and poison are more difficult to change, but can still be
affected. Spending 1 magic point reduces the Potency (POT) of the
disease or poison by 1.
Death in the Dreamlands is unusual. Certain beings are effectively
immortal. Others live the equivalent of centuries of Earth time. For
many it is a place where time means nothing.
The player-character Dreamers are unusually vulnerable. Most
Dreamers of Earth come to the Dreamlands only in spirit, leaving
their bodies waiting for them safely on Earth. Not so for the player
characters. Their living bodies have been brought to the Dreamlands
and transformed. If they die here, they die altogether.
Chances are the player characters will search for a route back to
Earth, where their families and lives await—flawed lives, but their
own. Those who head upon the dangerous and mystery-laden path to
immortality in the Dreamlands must look elsewhere than this cam-
paign to find their direction.
25
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Sanity
In the world of Dreams, Sanity is more resilient and change-
able than in the real world. At the beginning of each new day in the
Dreamlands—or each equivalent transition, in times when the pas-
sage of days is impossible to track—each Dreamer may make a San-
ity roll. If it succeeds, the Dreamer regains 1D4–1 SAN. If the roll
fails, the score does not change. Dreamers can go up to their starting
Sanity (POW x 5) in this manner.
Dreamers may also gain SAN for defeating monsters, as described
in the Call of Cthulhu rules.
Luck
In the Dreamlands, the tide can turn in an instant for the worse or
for the better. When a group of Dreamers faces some peril or change
of fortunes we may call for a group Luck roll. This determines the
outcome of some binary element: whether or not a cave-in lands on
the characters, or a book of ancient spells crumbles to dust.
Find the character with the lowest Luck score and roll against that
score in secret. If it succeeds the outcome is positive; if it fails the
group suffers the consequences.
Addiction
In the Dreamlands, the Dreamers do not suffer from physical
addiction to opiates but the psychological addiction remains. This can
come up whenever you want to use it as a motivator. If they settle
in and refuse to seek a way home, the need begins to set in. The one
thing they can never find in the Dreamlands, even if someone tells
them it exists, is a drug that will satisfy that need. Once the need sets
in, a Dreamer suffers penalties of 10% to 30% to all rolls every day
until he or she sets out in search of a way home.
26
Chapter Three: Life In a Dream
27
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Better Forms
Some Dreamers can
New World, New Bodies
When the Dreamers wake in the Dreamlands, their minds have
unconsciously shape their
new forms. Each player been transplanted into the soulless living cadavers of human slaves in
has a budget of bonus
the ruins of Sarkomand. Needless to say, the shock of such transfer-
points that can be added
to physical attributes: STR, ence will most likely be severe, especially if the new form is extreme-
CON, SIZ, DEX, and/or APP.
ly different from their native body.
These are dream bodies, so
the bonus points can raise Upon discovery of their predicament, each dreamer must make a
physical attributes higher
Sanity roll or lose 0/1 SAN. In the waking world the toll would be
than 18.
higher, but this is the land of dreams.
Powerful, simple minds
However, until the Dreamer becomes comfortable with his or her
have the most influence
over their dream-selves. new form, the roll must be made each time this new fact of life is
The bonus points equal
confronted (i.e., noticing increased or decreased physical strength,
POW x 2 minus the sum of
INT and EDU. For example, height or weight, or viewing a reflection of oneself in a mirror or pool
a Dreamer with POW 15,
of water.) Until this roll is made 3 times in a row successfully, the
INT 12 and EDU 13 would
have 30 (POW x 2) minus SAN loss continues.
25 (INT + EDU) or 5 bonus
Here are sample alternate bodies for the Dreamers. The players
points to add to the new
dream body’s STR, CON, may also roll up new stats from scratch.
SIZ, DEX, and/or APP.
Description Str Con Siz Dex App DB HP
Male, African, covered 11 4 12 11 7 – 8
in complex rectilinear
tattoos
Female, northern 8 15 11 6 16 – 13
caucasian, with crimson
eyes
Male, Asian, with 18 17 18 13 9 1D6 18
ritualistic piercings on
face and arms
Male, Polynesian, with 15 17 17 7 5 1D4 17
ritualistic scarring on
back and face
Female, Indian, with an 6 15 9 14 17 – 12
ornate and beautiful
butterfly tattoo across
her face
Male, Mediterranean 13 14 14 11 12 1D4 14
caucasian, with very
long hair
Male, caucasian, with 18 11 16 7 10 1D6 14
long-healed scars from
combat
28
Chapter Three: Life In a Dream
The Transition
Now, back to the matter at hand. When the euphoria of the
bywandine begins, the Dreamers notice a strange distortion in their
sense of sight. Their peripheral vision is slowly disappearing, making
anywhere a Dreamer looks seem like a dim tunnel opening into the
world, which itself keeps getting smaller and smaller. The effect is
much like slowly, slowly falling down a well.
The door on Earth closes suddenly, shutting out all sight, leav-
ing the Dreamers in the void, each utterly alone, their bodies lost in
empty space. With the euphoria of the drug at work, the fall feels
delightful, leaving the Dreamers giddy.
As suddenly as everything disappeared, they find themselves
awake. Through closed eyelids they perceive bright light and the
pains of their new bodies.
They awaken in the ruins of Sarkomand.
29
Chapter Four
Sarkomand - The Collector - The Black Galleys -
A Postcard From The Volcano
Sarkomand
A truly ancient city, Sarkomand is older than humanity itself in
both realms. It fell to ruin long before man’s ancestors even began to
subsist in caves. It was constructed eons ago by the Men from Leng
and was a point of trade with many exotic races from beyond the
west.
It was once a beautiful port, with six sphinx-crowned gates that
have now mostly fallen to ruin. Still standing, however, in the center
of the ruined city are two huge lions sculpted of dark grey stone—
diorite, notoriously hard—that guard the entrance to the Under-
world, flanking the basalt steps that descend into absolute darkness.
Dozens of large buildings still stand, and hundreds of smaller ones,
although no one lives in them. The moon-beasts and the Men from
Leng make their home in the tunnels beneath Sarkomand.
Sarkomand fell to the moon-beasts and their magics in pre-history.
It is now used as a camp for their folly, and for their servants’ trade
with the outside societies of humans and the strange societies of the
Underworld.
The ruins are populated with a few moon-beasts and overrun with
Men from Leng. Human and alien slaves, although rare, are found
performing repetitive and disgusting tasks in service of their masters,
such as sorting and disposing of bodies, cleaning up moon-beast
defecate, or performing in battle to entertain the Men from Leng.
30
Humans with strong souls are taken in black ships to the cities of
the moon-beasts on the dark side of the moon, where their souls are
ripped from them in torment to create the blood gems. Those still
alive who suit the tastes of the moon-beasts are consumed; soul-
less bodies which disagree with the moon-beasts are brought back
to Sarkomand to be traded to the creatures of the Underworld for
exotic fungi and animals. This, notably, is the origin of the bodies the
Dreamers occupy.
31
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Subtle Changes
Here are a few elements
Awakening
The Dreamers awaken to the smells of urine and feces, in bright
to describe and then subtly
change to allow players a sunlight. They are lying amidst a litter of human bodies. All are alive
chance to collect Notches
and breathing but still somehow wrong. The bodies’ eyes are blank
for Directed Dreaming.
and no expressions save stupefaction are to be seen. Most sit in
• The stark hue of bright
puddles of their own excrement.
sunlight.
Heaps of these still-breathing forms lie inert atop each other. Most
• Tattoos or jewelry on a
are naked; some are clad in ripped cloths or skins. Some show signs
particularly distinctive
body. of once possessing wealth: clean fingernails or an occasional ring
or necklace. Others are covered in scars and welts, some of them
• The phosphorescent
clouds of a northern quite recent. All show a peculiar mark on their backs (including the
night shining sickly.
Dreamers if they check). This odd wound is two small burns on the
• A crumbling satyr base of the back, each about an inch across.
statue.
It becomes immediately apparent that someone is moving among
the living cadavers, singing in a cracked and off-key voice in a wholly
foreign language. The voice occasionally breaks off its singing, only
to begin again after a small shuffling or fleshy noise.
The Collector, as he is known, is a hunched human slave who sorts
through the living cadavers before they are sent into the Under-
world. He collects jewelry or valuables from them, shaves the hair
from some for use in trade or the making of ropes, and occasionally
removes certain organs for spells, such as eyes, fingers or testicles
(0/1 SAN cost to witness). He is the servant of the Men from Leng,
who prefer the darkness of the tunnels beneath and dislike dealing
with the empty human vessels, which they cannot cajole or threaten.
On certain nights the Black Galleys come from the moon and
deliver living but comatose bodies to Sarkomand. The next day the
Collector sorts and sifts through the bodies in the hope of finding
something of value to turn over to his masters. That night they take
the bodies to the great plaza for delivery to the Underworld.
An absolute coward, the Collector is liable to run off at the first
sign of a disturbance. If captured by someone larger than him, he is
completely and pitifully subservient. He remains so until he spies a
chance for trickery or escape.
32
Chapter Four: Sarkomand
2. Wamp Lair
4. The Plaza
Sarkomand
Looking Around
Dreamers who wish to get a better view may climb on top of
rubble heaps or up the remnants of buildings. A Luck or Climb roll
(whichever is higher) must be made; if it fails, bad footing, structural
failure or clumsiness costs the character a spill for 1D4 HP damage.
At a sufficient height, the Dreamer can observe a large plaza to
the north, nestled among many ruined buildings. A Spot Hidden roll
spies occasional movement by shadowy, human-sized creatures in the
plaza. In the distance, huge mountains stretch off to the horizon.
To the south, ruined docks can be seen with many submerged
and half-submerged ancient ships, and past that the gray green of
the ocean. A Spot Hidden roll notices that several docks have been
restored. At those, several large black ships float.
It is obvious to anyone who takes sufficient time to examine their
surroundings that this is not Earth (SAN loss 0/1).
33
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The Collector
The Collector is a short, fat, disfigured man with Asian features,
yellowed rotting teeth and a slight hump. Although his speed is unaf-
fected by his disfigurements, he walks and runs with a pronounced
limp on his right side. He is covered in rolls of fat. His forehead is
marked with the symbol of the Men from Leng.
He always wears rotting leather leggings, a cotton shirt and a large
furred cloak made from the skin of a Buopoth. He carries no weap-
ons, relying instead on his knowledge of Sarkomand to keep him
from danger. He speaks many languages including English, Talunen,
Oeuth, and Skand.
Chapter Four: Sarkomand
History: The Collector remembers little of his life before the age
of 16, when he was sold into slavery to the Men from Leng. He was Playing the
cast out of a family of some prominence in Lhosk and soon found Collector
The Collector is a
his way to the slave markets. The mysterious merchants from Lelag-
tremendous coward, but
Leng seized him and sent him across the seas in the fabled Black don’t have him flee too
quickly. He’s crucial to
Galleys. There, for the first time in his life, his deformities were an
conveying things that the
advantage. The moon-beasts found him too repugnant for food, and Dreamers need to know. If
he flees or dies too soon,
the Men from Leng treated him far more kindly than other slaves
watch for other ways to
due to their physical similarities—to them he was not as disgusting as convey the basics:
other humans. Instead of becoming a meal or a slave, he became an
• They are in Sarkomand,
interpreter. an ancient city of long-
forgotten glories.
The Collector learned many languages, and as a sign of favor has
recently been put to the task of sorting bodies unattended. • He serves the Men from
Leng, and they serve the
Goals: To escape any danger, and, if possible, to exact some sort of
moon-beasts. He holds
revenge on those he pitifully serves. them in terror deep enough
to guarantee his loyalty.
He will not depart unless
The Collector forced.
Sen Saot of the Family Bahaot, of Lhosk, Servant of the Men from Leng, age 41
• He is terrified of what his
STR 8 CON 10 SIZ 15 INT 14 POW 12 masters might do to him
if they think he awoke the
DEX 13 APP 5 EDU 10 SAN 35 HP 13
Dreamers. His masters will
Skills: Bargain 37%, Climb 49%, Conceal 62%, Fast Talk 51%, Hide stir at nightfall.
65%, Navigation 36%, Persuade 43%, Spot Hidden 52%, Track 38%.
• At the Plaza is a portal
Languages: Talunen (Own) 40%, English 39%, Oeuth 35%, Skand to the Underworld. The
Men from Leng and the
13%.
moon-beasts do not
Attacks: None of any consequence. venture there, but they
send comatose bodies to its
denizens in trade for exotic
Has to Say
but this realm is connected
to Earth at many points.
He has heard there is
The Collector is the key to exposition at the start of this campaign. one somewhere in the
Underworld. He does not
If at all possible he should be encountered for some length of time, in
know where others might
the hopes of giving the Dreamers a better idea of where they are and be—only that they are out
there, somewhere.
how they got there. This section is divided into general questions that
might be asked of the Collector, but the sum of his knowledge and
what he reveals is of course left up to the Keeper.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
36
Chapter Four: Sarkomand
37
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
38
Chapter Four: Sarkomand
39
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The Wamp
Treasures in Inhuman, Diseased Horror With an Appetite
the Wamp Lair STR 15 CON 29 SIZ 17 INT 10 POW 10
These objects stand out
DEX 12 Move 9 HP 23
from the refuse and gore.
Damage Bonus: +1D4
The Sword of Weapon: Bite 41%, 1D6+db+infection.
Kamas-Tha Armor: 2 points of flabby hide.
This is a light, narrow
blade of a thin greenish Sanity Loss: 0/1D8
metal. Once cleaned Notes: The Wamp is pale, bloated, with nine long legs, knife-like ears
it is of obviously high
craftsmanship and value. and a thin, wrinkled snout and flabby lips in an eyeless face. The bite
Damage 1D6+1 (can of the Wamp is contaminated. Anyone bitten who fails a CON x 5%
impale), HP 15, +10% to hit
and parry. roll will be infected with a random disfiguring illness such as bubonic
plague, leprosy or elephantitis (POT 15).
Talunen writing on the hilt
explains it belongs to the
head of the family Tha of
the city of Lhosk. If asked,
the Collector can read it.
He adds that returning it
to the family will mean a
large reward. This sword
has been passed down
from father to son for over
twenty generations. It was
last in the possession of
Kamas-Tha, who perished
when moon-beasts raided
his ship on the high seas
due to political treachery.
(If the characters pursue
this, see “The Trade Family
Tha” on page 184.)
40
Chapter Four: Sarkomand
Most of the docks have fallen into ruin, some centuries ago. Once
An Enchanted Saber
beautiful, they are now little more than rotted wood planks suspend- If placed upon a flat
surface, this slightly curved
ed between shifting basalt stands, covered in a light mauve moss.
sword spins and points
Anyone foolish enough to climb out on the docks must make towards the closest safe
port. The character who
a DEX x 3 or Climb roll every minute or fall into the water. If a
placed it there knows the
Dreamer falls, an additional Luck roll must be made; if failed, the name of the city and its
distance. (In Sarkomand
Dreamer suffers 1D10 damage striking underwater debris. Two
it points towards Lhosk.)
Swim rolls are needed to get to shore. The saber was a gift to a
Baharnian sailor from a
Two docks stand out from the rest. It is hard to tell whether they
wizard to whom he gave
are recent additions or resilient artifacts. They look nothing like the safe passage.
rest of the city’s architecture. The entrance is an arched peak, and
like the strange docks themselves it seems to be made out of a single The Astrolabe
This is a rusty but workable
chunk of cold black stone. There are no seams or rivets. It is as if ship’s astrolabe: a hand-
sized brass wheel with a
some huge giant dropped the docks, whole, into the water in one go.
rotating cross-staff, used
Tethered at each of these black docks is a huge galley, 150 feet for navigation by marking
the movement of stars. It
long, seamless and black like the docks. It has no windows, sails or
is haunted by the soul of
apparent steering mechanism. the captain to whom it last
belonged, Talmes Reesh of
Rinar. Every week, on the
41
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
(Continued.)
42
Chapter Four: Sarkomand
43
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Entrances to the
Underworld
There are two entrances to the Underworld in the tent: the greased
chute which the Men from Leng use to send the mindless bodies
below, and the trap door, which allows access to the Ten Thousand
Steps, a huge and terrifying staircase which winds ever downward
into the dark, guarded by pockets of the Men from Leng.
44
Chapter Four: Sarkomand
Sarkomand at Night
At night the city crawls with monsters. Dreamers foolish enough
to venture out as a group most likely encounter a Wamp or a party of
Men from Leng, or at worst a moon-beast.
A Dreamer venturing out alone is never seen again.
45
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Moon-Beast
Evil from the Dark Side of the Moon
STR 18 CON 10 SIZ 24 INT 13 POW 16
DEX 7 Move 7 HP 17
Damage Bonus: +2D6
Attacks: Spear 41%, damage 1D8+1+db.
Armor: None, although it always takes the minumum possible dam-
age from impaling weapons.
SAN Loss: 0/1D8
Spells: This moon-beast casts Emerald Darts of Ptath on the first
attack, spending 12 magic points and doing 3D4 points damage
which ignores all armor.
46
Chapter Five
Escape By Ship - Shipboard Life - Finding Port -
Winding Across Wide Water, Without Sound
47
Chapter Five: Escape By Ship
Campaign Paths
This campaign is meant to be explored. It’s not a fixed story in
which one element must build on another. The Dreamers awaken
in Sarkomand—that’s the beginning, and it’s fixed. They return
to Earth (if they ever do!) through the Enchanted Wood near
Ulthar. But the whole campaign waits in between.
By Land to Inquanok
If the Dreamers go first to Inquanok, they might fulfill the quest
for the sages only to be forced into the Underworld after all on
the way back, perhaps pursued by slavers or the Spiders of Leng.
Or perhaps they’ll take a ship and see what adventures await
them by sea.
In a Black Galley
If they take a stolen ship from Sarkomand (or Inquanok), they
might land in Lhosk, Ilarnek, or Ilek-Vad. In their explorations
you can waylay or divert them however you like. Perhaps the
Men from Leng drag them back to Sarkomand to sacrifice them
in the infamous monastery, and like Randolph Carter in his
dream-quest, the Dreamers must flee into the Underworld to
escape. From the Underworld, Sarnath awaits.
49
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Subtle Changes
Here are a few elements
Travel Time
Time in the Dreamlands is an odd thing. Especially during long
to describe and then subtly
change to allow players a journeys, large sections of time can flash past, broken only by unorth-
chance to collect Notches
odox encounters or other singularly strange events. The Dreamers
for Directed Dreaming.
do not lose their ability to motivate themselves, but unimportant
• Seabirds of bizarre color
stretches of routine seem to rush by, leaving the characters suddenly
and sound.
at their destination.
• The shape of an ominous
The Keeper may use this strange effect to his or her advantage by
cloud ahead.
summing up what would have been weeks at sea in a single sentence,
• The color of a vast
speeding game play and reinforcing the feeling of the dream.
waterfall leaping to the
ocean from a verdant
cliff.
• Phosphorescence in the
waves, unseemly in its
Finding Port
Sailing south or following the coast west from Sarkomand are
rhythmic writhing.
both valid methods for finding port. Utilizing the constantly updated
moon-beast charts on the Black Galley will allow any Dreamer to
reach any of the ports listed on the charts.
Blind sailing south will also work, but will take far more time, as
the ship may find the coast at almost any point. The Keeper may elect
to have the Collector know the sea lanes so as to speed time to port.
Taking more time doesn’t really matter to the Dreamers, but it ought
to mean more encounters at sea.
50
Chapter Five: Escape By Ship
The Cloudbeast
These huge beasts composed of a cloud-like substance often attack
small ships, either picking them up and devouring sailors on deck or
consuming the boat whole. Sometimes, when especially hungry or
enraged, one attacks even a large vessel.
One day, this creature decides the characters’ ship looks like a
promising meal. The Cloudbeast slowly descends above the ship and
attempts to snatch any targets it deems tasty off the deck.
If characters have not expressly set watch, each character is
allowed a Spot Hidden roll. If any succeeds, the characters are
alerted to the silent presence of the creature as it slowly approaches.
If not, the creature is allowed a free attack on a Dreamer (or if the
Keeper is kind, on an NPC). This will most likely give time for the
crew to climb to relative safety below deck.
When no targets are left on deck, the Cloudbeast rocks the gal-
ley several times with its powerful tentacles and finally flies off, its
hunger or territorial instinct satisfied.
Cloudbeast
Vaporous hungerer
STR n/a CON 32 SIZ 63 INT 4 POW 9
DEX 10 Move 8 HP 48
Damage Bonus: n/a
Attacks: Bite 40%, damage 1D3+6
1D4 Tentacle-Paws 25%; each hit increases bite damage by +1D6
Armor: None, although takes no impaling damage. Regenerates 43
HPs per round until dead.
SAN Loss: 0/1D6
51
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Pirate Attack!
The pirates attack the galley at night. Their captain, Seraj, uses
his spell Jaunt to move fourteen of his men to the fast-moving galley.
They silently arrive on deck, weapons drawn, ready to do battle. If
they can, they stalk across the ship and attempt to overwhelm the
Dreamers one by one.
The pirates hope to capture the Dreamers alive so they can offer
them to the Lurker in the Pit, a larval Great Old One.
Dreamers who struggle too much or who kill more than two
pirates find the attack becoming bloodier. The pirates keep up their
attack until half of them fall in battle. At that point they flee with
Seraj if he still lives, or they surrender or leap overboard if he has
been slain.
52
Chapter Five: Escape By Ship
Seraj
Leader of the Merhadeen Pirates, Servant of the Crawling Chaos, age 50
STR 15 CON 13 SIZ 16 INT 14 POW 16
DEX 16 APP 14 EDU 10 SAN 0 HP 15
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Climb 55%, Conceal 71%, Degenerate Prayer 35%, Dodge
35%, Hide 40%, Navigation 40%, Threaten 60%. Languages: Skand
(Own) 70%, English 29%, Oeuth 12%.
Spells: Commune with Nyarlathotep, Drain Soul, Jaunt, Summon
Lurker in the Pit.
Attacks: Longsword 55%, damage 1D8+1+db
Long knife 75%, damage 1D6+db
Punch 55%, damage 1D3+db
Bite 25%, damage 1D4
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Skills: Sail 35%, Sneak 40%, Swim 60%. Languages: English 12%,
Skand 30%, Talunen 25%.
Attacks: Punch 50%, damage 1D3+db
Fighting knife 60%, damage 1D4+2+db
Cutlass 55%, damage 1D6+2+db
54
Chapter Five: Escape By Ship
heart of the mountain, visible and traversable only at low tide. This
huge cavern grants access to the Pit: a vast interior lake which makes
it plain that the Nameless Rock is not a mountain but was, instead, at
some time a volcano.
It is here the pirates have made their home. Rickety pilings and
wooden shanties overhang the vast interior and wind their way up to
the lip of the cone, nearly 1,000 feet above. When the pirates put into
“port” they enter through the cave, row their way into the interior,
and wait for the tide to rise, securing their ship in the center with
ropes hurled down from above. (If the players’ galley was captured,
the pirates bring it back to the Nameless Rock as well.)
All told, forty-six pirates make their home here, celebrating in
horrific worship of Nyarlathotep. Nearly a decade ago their worship
paid off, and in a terrible ceremony during an eclipse the dark water
of the ancient volcano became home to the Dark One’s nightmarish
offspring, the Lurker in the Pit.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
In his last throes of death, this priest has called upon his god—
The Eye of Nodens, the lord of the Abyss—for favor. Nodens heard his call and
Nodens sent him a vision: Strangers would come from Earth, and one of them
The Eye of Nodens is a sigil
would be the vessel to destroy the offspring of the Crawling Chaos.
that grants supernatural
power against the servants The Dreamer is now that vessel, imbued with the power of the Eye
of Nyarlathotep. It never
of Nodens.
leaves the target. It is
even visible in the waking
world, and its powers
function there fully, should
The Ceremony
the wearer ever return When the moon rises, heavily-armed pirates chain the Dreamers
there. When servants of
and drag them up an endless series of shabby catwalks to the top of
Nyarlathotep are near,
the eye fills the target the volcano. There, surrounded by pirates, Seraj enacts ancient rites
with certainty and peace,
to Nyarlathotep.
granting the following
abilities: The chant continues for an hour as the moon fills the sky. Finally,
the moon-beast priest emerges from his cave and takes the dais. This
1) SMITE: Simply touching
a servant of Nyarlathotep terrifying creature begins a chant in its own alien tongue, a mewling,
with the intent to cause
deep howl.
harm inflicts 3D20 HP
damage. This permanently Soon a rumbling begins from below, ending with the horrific arriv-
drains 1 POW point from
al of the Lurker in the Pit: a terrifying spray of blood-red tentacles,
the sigil’s wearer.
eyes and maws erupting from the holes in the corona of the volcano.
2) CLARITY: Every roll
to attack, injure or
outperform a Servant Moon-Beast Priest
of Nyarlathotep may be
Servant of the Crawling Chaos
rerolled once if it fails. Each
reroll costs 1 SAN point as STR 19 CON 12 SIZ 22 INT 13 POW 18
time seems to slow around
DEX 7 Move 7 HP 17
the character.
Damage Bonus: +1D6
3) PURPOSE: No matter
Attacks: Ceremonial Spike 51%, damage 1D6+1+db
what disguises they may
employ, every servant of Armor: None, although it always takes the minimum damage from
Nyarlathotep is clear to
impaling weapons.
the Dreamer. In addition,
the moment the servant is Spells: If attacked, the moon-beast will cast Living X on two Dream-
seen, the Dreamer becomes
ers (see page 269), hoping to immobilize them so they may be fed to
aware of the first two
abilities of the eye, Smite the Lurker.
and Clarity.
SAN Loss: 0/1D8
Notes: This moon-beast lives in a cave on top of the Nameless Rock,
emerging only to lead the ancient rights to Nyarlathotep and its
offspring, the Lurker in the Pit. If touched with the Eye of Nodens’
Smite power, the moon-beast immediately suffers 3D20 damage.
56
Chapter Five: Escape By Ship
57
Chapter Six
WANDERING - WALKING THE DREAM - TRAVEL -
THE RIVER THAT FLOWS NOWHERE, LIKE THE SEA
58
Chapter Six: Wandering
59
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The Bandits of
the Red Earth
The Dreamers find themselves camped near a huge, blood-red
dirt barrow, punctuated with rough-cut stones and overgrown with
a complex web of green ivy with huge purple leaves. It is obviously
some sort of burial mound from ancient times, though for whom, no
one can tell. No writing is visible on the structure. The hill is the only
significant location in the area. It overlooks the worn goat track of
a road that winds off over hills which are covered in deep grass and
clover.
There is evidence that people and hoofed animals passed this way
recently. With a Track roll Dreamers can discern that the animals
were sheep or goats led by men armed with spears. (The spears have
left circular holes in the earth where the men stood guard.) Areas of
the grass have been eaten away by these animals.
By searching the area the Dreamers find a cache of bones on the
far side of the barrow. The bones are human, and have been picked
clean by scavengers and plants. Some of the skulls have had teeth
pulled from them. Others have been smashed by blunt force.
These are the victims of the Bandits of the Red Earth, an inbred
family of killers that have found their way into the barrow and that
attack those foolish enough to camp nearby. They have cleverly
preyed upon the superstitions of the local goat herders and pretend to
be the ghosts of the people buried in the mound. They emerge only at
night, covered from head to toe in the red mud of the barrow, armed
with ancient weapons they found in the burial chamber.
Their methods are most blunt. They attempt to surprise small
groups of travelers, avoiding, if they can, attacking the local goat
herders. They skulk up in the dead of night, armed with spears and
covered in red mud, wild-eyed and silent, and attempt to run their
victims through before they are even detected. Past that, they have
never had to consider their actions; so far this method has proven
most effective. It is likely that if the Dreamers counter-attack, the
Red Earth family will prove more cowardly than they appear at first
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Chapter Six: Wandering
61
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
62
Chapter Six: Wandering
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
with a mechanical hinged mouth which clicks open and shut and
emits a whooping cry like a bellows. (Cost: 0/1 SAN.) This is a gob-
lin changeling, used to fool parents whose child has been snatched by
the goblins.
If the group is split in this perception, fights may arise over that
fate of the “baby.” Those who fall under the changeling’s spell will
not be swayed by arguments that it is not a real baby, albeit one that
never stops crying and struggling. Abandoning it or killing it costs
those Dreamers 1/1D10 SAN. Arguments should be roleplayed
out. The only way to break the changeling’s spell is to destroy the
thing, by smashing it on a rock or burning it with fire (of course,
those under the sway of the spell and with any sense of decency will
attempt to protect it). A clever Keeper will use this argument as an
opportunity to set up the goblin attack.
The goblins have gathered all the warriors they could, using the
changeling as a distraction, and will attempt to ambush the Dreamers
that have pierced their woods. The Dreamers’ high POW scores have
allowed them to bypass the magics that conceal the goblin lair. The
goblins are frightened and attempt to kill them before they can lead
others here.
If the Dreamers defeat the goblins they find their camp easily as
the goblin magic collapses. In the camp are various bits of offal and
garbage, a small, uneven wooden hut laden with dozens of poorly
built bunks, and three human children—real ones, five years old,
three years old, and one year old—chained to a poorly built stove,
weeping. These children were kidnapped from a nearby village and
replaced by mechanical, magical changeling devices.
The five-year-old, Sohn, can describe life in the goblin camp. The
children were stolen over a period of months from a nearby hamlet,
one by one, and replaced with changelings. The goblins bound the
children during the day and plied them at night with various rituals
which Sohn did not understand. (In fact the goblins were casting
progressive spells to transform the children into goblins.)
Sohn can direct the characters back to their village. Those who
manage to return the children to their families receive 1D4 SAN
points in reward and any gifts the villagers can spare.
64
Chapter Six: Wandering
65
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
comes to the conclusion that no harm is meant and that they are not
dealing with cut throats or thieves.
The circus has a near perfect memory of towns, villages, roads,
lodgings and directions, and they are a valuable resource for those
lost on the road.
Ohmon
Leader of the Bronze Wheel Circus, age 33
STR 18 CON 17 SIZ 16 INT 14 POW 13
DEX 14 APP 10 EDU 10 SAN 65 HP 17
Damage Bonus: +1D6
Skills: Accounting 14%, Art (Performance) 44%, Bargain 51%,
Conceal 20%, Dodge 57%, Fast Talk 65%, Listen 70%, Mechanical
Repair 23%, Navigate 40%, Persuade 48%, Ride 33%. Languages:
Talunen (Own) 55%, English 35%.
Attacks: Punch 67%, 1D3+db
66
Chapter Six: Wandering
Par of Sonya-Nil
Par appears as a lone figure on the road and is perhaps the most
beautiful creature any of the characters has ever seen. She appears
as a perfectly formed (however each Dreamer conceives perfection),
petite woman with deep golden skin and white hair, garbed in a
unblemished white robe inlaid with a blue-white filagree. She smiles
easily and is eager to speak to those she comes across.
She appears unarmed, and indeed unsupplied—without kit or
food—in the middle of the wilderness. If threatened, she attempts to
calmly talk the source of the threat out of any action which might get
them injured. If assaulted, she easily steps aside from any attack and
the assailant ends up on the ground, either flipped, tripped or fallen.
This is always followed by a disarming laugh on the part of the tiny
scribe.
She is eager to converse with the Dreamers. With an apology, she
attempts to write down their life stories with a book and pen that
appear from nowhere. If she discovers the truth of the characters’ his-
tory—of their magical banishment from Earth—she becomes doubly
eager, probing them for details.
If asked about her own origins, she explains she is from Sonya-
Nil, the Land of Fancy, a place beyond the edge of the Dreamlands
where time and space do not operate under the rules found here or on
Earth. It is a land of constant, perfect dream. She left this perfection
to document the trials of those who live and exist in the lands where
time and circumstance conspire against them. She finds imperfection,
in all of its glory, to be fascinating. She quite literally surrendered
perfection for chaos.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
68
Chapter Six: Wandering
The Mercenaries
No. Str Con Siz Pow Dex DB HP
1 15 15 9 4 18 — 12
2 13 18 14 5 15 +1D4 16
3 12 5 17 15 13 +1D4 11
4 14 12 8 12 11 — 10
5 14 4 16 18 11 +1D4 10
Lord Ivar
Ivar, Son of Iva, Regent of Imel, age 9
STR 4 CON 6 SIZ 7 INT 9 POW 9
DEX 18 APP 15 EDU 8 SAN 45 HP 7
Damage Bonus: –1D6
Skills: Accounting 12%, Art 9%, Astronomy 11%, Climb 45%, Credit
Rating 75%, Dodge 40%, Hide 51%, History 25%, Law 19%, Listen
62%, Occult 9%, Persuade 13%, Ride 22%, Sneak 60%, Spot Hidden
30%, Swim 42%. Languages: Talunen (Own) 40%, English 25%.
Attacks: None to speak of.
Ivar is a small, thin child with light brown hair, blue eyes and a
thick chin. He is eager, easily excited, and has a hard time suppress-
ing his emotions.
69
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Lord Ivar has little history to speak of, being only nine years old.
Still, he eagerly looks forward to someday interacting with a wider
world. He is a kind, forward-thinking noble, eager to secure and
expand his family’s good name.
Locating Civilization
Huge expanses of the Dreamlands remain uninhabited, but marks
of the passage of man, as well as the remnants of ancient civiliza-
tions which predate his reign, are everywhere. Finding the direction
towards civilized spaces is usually as easy as walking a few miles in
any direction, following a river towards the sea, or looking for smoke
on the horizon.
Characters who do any of these things discover that even the most
removed areas of the Dream are not too far from shelter and civiliza-
tion.
Smaller Towns
Small towns of less than fifty souls are common in the Dreamlands.
These villages are almost always agrarian, raising crops and livestock
for sale in larger towns or cities, or simply for subsistence. Such a
hamlet is usually ruled by a powerful family or a single individual of
exceptional intelligence, strength or skill.
Characters entering these towns will find most doors closed to
them, at least initially. First, however, they will be bluntly met by
whatever passes for a militia in the town; usually a half dozen men
armed with farm equipment. As a rule the inhabitants are distrust-
ful of outsiders, but many will be friendly and forthcoming if they
discover the characters come from Earth. Once this boundary is
breached, and the characters are deemed inoffensive by the leaders,
all barriers drop.
Money is of little use in these towns, which rely instead on the
barter of skills or goods as an economy. Still, things with utility hold
value, and often the leaders will trade food, clean water and shelter
for useful tools.
70
Chapter Six: Wandering
Hitching a Ride
Anyone coming upon a road heading towards the sea meets many
travelers. Some are on foot, but many have horses or carts. Hitching
a ride on a cart is not difficult (the world of Dreams is more trusting
than 1920s Earth), especially if the characters identify themselves as
dreamers from Earth.
Dreamers who attempt to waylay, rob, or ambush travelers along a
road will soon find themselves the subject of a hunt by local authori-
ties (use guards’ stats from page 147).
71
Other Ways
Into the Dark
Chapter Seven
The Underworld - Ghouls - The Vaults of Zin -
If you wish to send
The Gug City - To Inhuman Depths
the Dreamers into the
Underworld but they
fled Sarkomand without
“This bitter meat sustains us...
venturing into the Plaza,
don’t despair. In the Who then are they, seated here?
Dreamlands, any cave
Is the table a mirror in which they sit and look?
or gap could lead to a
new version of the Ten Are they men eating reflections of themselves?”
Thousand Steps, without
—Wallace Stevens, Cuisine Bourgeoisie
the Men from Leng
guarding them.
72
Chapter Seven: The Underworld
Into Darkness
fight their way back up the
stairs. Getting back out of
the Underworld up the Ten
Wise characters retreat into the vast darkness surrounding the Thousand Steps must be
clearly portrayed as suicide.
Ten Thousand Steps before the Men from Leng arrive. Those that
wait too long can even see the creatures descending the stairs by the This is easily achieved
by illustrating the point;
dozens, prepared for battle.
make it painfully obvious
From the safety of the darkness, the stairs can be perceived, as can a vast number of Men
from Leng are descending
the bestial Men from Leng. The creatures circle the landing of the
the staircase – describe
steps, but never venture far from them; it’s obvious to all that they the growing cacophony of
terrifying sounds spilling
will not enter the darkness willingly. Even so, a detachment of 100
down from above, growing
creatures fan out in a rough circle around the steps. It is clear they closer and closer. If that
fails, have the Collector
are not leaving and that there is no way to defeat them or sneak by
insist that (though he’s
them. still horrified of the
Underworld) waiting
There is nowhere to go now but further out into the darkness.
around means certain
death.
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About Madaeker
At 5’9” tall but monstrously strong, Madaeker looks like a cross
between an ape, a man and a dog, with legs ending in scabrous
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hooves. Despite this, his glowing eyes are human and retain some
semblance of sanity.
Madaeker was born on Earth in New Amsterdam in the early
1600s. At some point in the distant past, he descended through the
ghoul warrens which connect the waking world with the world of
dreams, and since then has never left.
Madaeker is honest. Disinterested in communing with others of
his kind, he scours the Underworld for news of the waking world,
which to him has become the equivalent of the world of dreams.
Questions About
the Underworld
Madaeker readily answers all questions put to him except one—he
will not state the nature of the bargain struck by the characters for
his assistance in the Underworld.
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the Gug City. In actuality, these shapes are the tombstones of the gug
forebears who perished long before the Great Ones cursed the gugs
to remain forever in the Underworld. Here sickly ghasts are hunted
by juvenile gugs throughout the tombstones. When these smaller
gugs come of age or size, they battle for entrance to the Gug City, or
are forever banished to the Vaults of Zin.
Finally there is the Gug City itself, a series of smooth, conical
structures carved from stone, winding upwards to a vast tower that
spirals up to the surface—the Tower of Koth—and finally a huge,
stone gate that opens to the Enchanted Wood.
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Questioning Graal
Graal speaks plainly to any topic brought up, answering truthfully
and without any attempt to shade his statements in duplicity.
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Payment
Those agreeing to the terms find themselves face to face (or face to
abdomen) with Graal. The strange being gently places a huge, warm
hand on the Dreamer’s chest and drains 1 point of POW painlessly.
This point will regenerate over a period of time, returning to the
Dreamer in ten days—but don’t tell the players this.
Those refusing the payment will be left behind on the rocky shore
when the group boards Graal’s ship. Affecting Graal is completely
beyond the abilities of the characters (and even Madaeker). He is
immortal and, more to the point, immutable if a change is against his
will. He does not hesitate to use force to protect his ship from unlaw-
ful entry, but does his best not to kill. It is not his way.
Pale Beasts
After what seems like hours of movement over the Underground
Sea, the Dreamers are startled from the silence by the sound of
splashing water. Those carefully peering ahead towards the sound see
brief flashes of movement. Graal seems unpeturbed, and continues
forward unmindful of the disturbance.
As the boat approaches the noise, the Dreamers can spy huge, pale
beasts writhing and intertwined like the limbs of some giant squid on
the surface of the Underground Sea. They shake, twist and pull at
one another. It’s nearly impossible to tell if it is one creature or many
smaller creatures; in either case, such beasts could easily tip the ves-
sel. (Cost: 0/1D4 SAN.)
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Illusions on the
Underground Sea
Cruel Keepers may complicate the lives of the Dreamers by
populating the Underground Sea with creatures, illusions or distrac-
tions still more severe. Madaeker and Graal warn of the dangers of
the Underground Sea. They say the sea itself is haunted and can lure
unwary adventurers into its black depths.
Some options are outlined below.
1) Singing
One or two Dreamers hear a dim, melodic singing coming from
the dark, a woman’s voice in an unknown tongue. If asked, Graal and
Madaeker confess they hear no such noise. As the ship moves across
the Underground Sea, the singing grows in volume until the listeners
are certain that they must be right on top of the source. But just as it
builds to a crescendo, it subsides and vanishes. (Cost: 0/1 SAN.)
2) The Palace
A Dreamer peering into the black water notices tiny, yellow pin-
points of light beneath the surface. At first it’s impossible to deter-
mine what they are, but as the boat drifts towards them, it becomes
clear they appear to be fires. Anyone directed to look can see them.
Despite this obvious impossibility, as the flickering lights grow
closer two things become clear: first, they appear to be far underwa-
ter, 200 yards or more; and second, they appear to be torches.
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Chapter Seven: The Underworld
As the ship slides over the point where these lights are closest,
an incredible event occurs. What appears to be a moon suddenly
materializes in an infinite sky beneath the waves, as if some under-
water clouds parted. The moon lights the spires of an ancient palace
of cupolas and spires for a few seconds, and then vanishes. Anyone
foolish enough to enter the water to try to reach the palace is pulled
under and never seen again. (Cost: 1/1D4 SAN.)
3) Hands
A Dreamer who places anything in the water finds it suddenly
grasped by pale, water-logged hands of enormous strength. If it’s an
item placed in the water, it is simply yanked out of the Dreamer’s
hands. If it is an arm or a leg, the Dreamer must beat a contest vs.
STR 21 or be pulled in. (Cost: 1/1D4 SAN.)
Those who fall into the waters are rapidly yanked under by hun-
dreds of such hands, never to be seen again. (Cost: 2/1D6 SAN.)
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Have the Dreamers come Entering the Vaults of Zin is a point of no return for the Dream-
upon such a lost dreamer
ers. There is effectively no way back to the Ten Thousand Steps once
from Earth—perhaps one
that cannot wake up to they enter the Vaults.
his or her normal life and
This also marks a sinister shift in the lethality of gameplay. The
does not know why—as
a replacement character Dreamers have enjoyed good luck in meeting a somewhat odd ghoul
in the pitch black of the
(Madaeker) and a harmless entity from beyond space and time
Underworld. From there an
alliance should not be hard (Graal). In the Vaults, things become deadly serious. There are two
to forge.
ways to communicate this:
1) A Change in Madaeker
Madaeker can become more gruff. He emphasizes with gruesome-
ly evocative descriptions that failure to follow his instructions to the
letter will result in death or much worse. If the Dreamers seem too
light-hearted, have Madaeker set them straight.
2) An Offering
More cruel Keepers might decide one or more characters will die
along the way as an object lesson. Having the corpulent, back-stab-
bing Collector eaten by ghasts or gugs in front of them is a nice way
to make the Dreamers reconsider their cavalier ways.
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The Tunnels
Once in the crags of the Vault, the characters’ eyes require more
than a minute to adjust. It is darker in the Vault than on the Under-
ground Sea, although a strange, irregular luminescence seems to float
in the air, creating areas of nearly normal vision.
These tunnels wind for hundreds of miles, crossing back on one
another, going further underground in places, intertwined in a single,
huge maze of darkness. Dreamers separated from the group down
here are likely to get lost permanently. If they are separated, only
those wise enough to remain still and wait silently for help have any
hope of rescue by Madaeker; those foolish enough to plow ahead are
likely to run into a ghast or something worse.
The Ghasts
The ghasts are inhuman creatures that writhe, feed and mate in
absolute darkness. They are the primary prey of the monstrous gugs,
terrifying giants who haunt the edges of the Vaults of Zin, emanating
from the Tower of Koth like a disease.
Despite a vaguely human-like silhouette, ghasts are wild beasts. As
large as a small horse, they move upright on a pair of kangaroo-like
legs that end in scabrous hooves. They are animalistic, carnivorous
and fearless. They often work together in packs, like wolves, hunting
prey in the winding dark of the Vaults of Zin. When no prey is to be
found, they feed on one another.
Ghasts despise all light except the odd glow of the Underworld,
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Hunted
Madaeker is a clever leader, and in the Vaults of Zin he does his
best to hurry the characters along. He rapidly circles the group three
to four times every five minutes to remain certain he has not lost any-
one. Madaeker is quite familiar with the ghasts and their methods,
and has contingencies to deal with the threat.
Every hundred feet or so, Madaeker pauses and pulls something
from the rags he wears. He hurls it into the dark down a passage the
group is not taking. Just seconds after the first piece is thrown, the
Dreamers hear terrifying sounds of creatures fighting in the dark-
ness. (Cost: 0/1 SAN.)
Those who make an Idea roll come to the conclusion that Madae-
ker is throwing food into the dark. Those who peer closer (requiring
a Spot Hidden roll at half chance) see Madaeker removing bits of
rotting flesh from a small pouch and throwing it into the dark (0/1
SAN). The ghoul is quite forthcoming (but impatient) with those
who ask—yes, it is human flesh, he confirms, and then shoves the
Dreamer deeper into the darkness.
Those foolish enough to refuse to follow, or who purposely leave
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The Ghasts
No. Str Con Siz Pow Dex DB HP
#1 24 21 23 9 16 +2D6 22
#2 22 20 20 12 15 +2D6 20
#3 23 19 20 10 12 +2D6 20
#4 22 16 19 7 12 +2D6 18
Skills: Sneak 70%
Attacks: Bite 40%, damage 1D10+db
Kick 25%, damage 1D6+DB
A ghast is able to kick once and bite once in each round.
Armor: 3 points of skin.
Sanity Loss: 0/1D8.
1) Falling Behind
With Madaeker’s brisk pace, it is easy for a distracted Dreamer
to fall behind. Anyone attempting to do anything besides move or
communicate with Madaeker must make a Luck roll. Those failing
lose their footing and fall, suffering 1D4–1 HP damage, and are left
momentarily behind by the group. If the character holds still and
waits for help, Madaeker arrives moments later, just as the awful
noises following them seem to settle in around the fallen Dreamer.
A Dreamer foolish enough to shout for help while being pursued
immediately hears the shuffling sounds of something large moving
towards him or her in the dark. Seconds before the creature comes
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into sight, the character is grabbed by strong arms from behind (cost:
0/1 SAN). Madaeker chides the Dreamer to keep up.
2) Clutching
Have the character with the lowest Luck score roll. If it fails, the
Dreamer falls slightly behind the group. Suddenly, the Dreamer is
clutched in a violent, iron grip (cost: 1/1D4 SAN). Claws dig into the
Dreamer’s flesh (1D6 HP damage). The Dreamer must resist STR 22
on the resistance table or be yanked into the dark and immediately
set upon by a dozen ghasts. There is little hope of survival.
If the Dreamer successfully resists, he or she pulls free and moves
closer to the group.
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into the periphery. About twenty minutes into the journey, the
characters come upon the first monolith. These vast, conical, stone
towers stretch up into the black, nearly 30 feet tall. Each is roughly
carved with hideous symbols and faces (those looking too closely find
enough horror in the primitive craftsmanship to cost 0/1 SAN). As
the group continues onwards, they soon find themselves in a forest of
monoliths.
For an entire hour, the group travels silently through a winding
maze of monoliths, all similar in size and appearance. They are, in
fact, the graves of the forebears of the gugs. Those were clever, dan-
gerous creatures long ago banished to the Underworld by the Great
Ones.
As the hour comes to an end, the Dreamers begin to notice a
scattering of bones among the monoliths, and then fewer and fewer
monoliths. Some of the bones seem human, but most do not. Some
are enormous and bear little resemblance to anything the Dreamers
have seen before. The bones become more and more numerous as the
Dreamers move forward. Soon the Dreamers find themselves travers-
ing entire dunes of bones without a monolith in sight.
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Speaking In the
Realm of the Gugs
Foolish Dreamers who disobey Madaeker’s orders find themselves
rapidly out of luck. Juvenile gugs 25 feet tall hunt for scavengers in
the Sea of Bones and the periphery of the Forest of Monoliths.
Any speech draws immediate attention from juvenile gugs. The
offending player must make a Luck roll at half chance. If it succeeds,
the Dreamer spies a pair of distant, red eyes blinking in the darkness.
If the Dreamers all remain silent, the eyes soon vanish. But if the
Dreamer fails the halved Luck roll, the group is suddenly set upon by
a single juvenile gug (cost: 0/1D8 SAN).
The monster is more than a match for all of the Dreamers put
together. However, the creature focuses only on the offending
Dreamer, not the group. It leaps at him or her with a monstrous
shriek of hunger. The victim is on his or her own—Madaeker leaves
him or her for dead, rushing the group away before they can react
with more disastrous speech.
To survive the pursuit, a hunted Dreamer must make two Dodge
rolls, two Sneak rolls and one Hide roll. Each time a roll is failed, the
Dreamer suffers 3D6 HP damage and must continue forward in the
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sequence of rolls until all rolls are successful or the Dreamer is dead.
If the Dreamer does make it free, he or she is left wandering the
Sea of Bones, lost and alone in the Underworld. It remains up to the
Keeper whether escape is possible for such an unfortunate.
Juvenile Gug
Hunger Given Huge and Terrifying Form
STR 42 CON 26 SIZ 51 INT 9 POW 8
DEX 8 Move 10 HP 39
Damage Bonus: +5D6
Attacks: Bite 39%, damage 1D10 (no db)
Claw(s) 29%, damage 4D6 each (no db)
Stomp 25%, damage 1D6+db
In combat, the gug may either bite, stomp, or attack with two claws. Both
claws must strike the same opponent. This creature is mad with hunger, and
will focus only on the character who made the noise to draw it to the party.
Armor: 6 points of tough hair, skin and cartilage.
Sanity Loss: 0/1D8
A Grotesque Escape
Just when the Sea of Bones seems to be diminishing, Madaeker
stops, sniffs the air twice and hunkers down with the group. He then
does something that should terrify anyone with half a brain—he
speaks: “We are being hunted and they are on all sides. There is but
one way out.”
Madaeker explains his plan. He will distract the gugs. While they
pursue him, the Dreamers must find the gugs’ collection of dead prey,
usually carried in a huge sack which the gugs drop while they hunt.
When the Dreamers find this sack, they must get inside it.
The ghoul insists this is the only way into the Gug City. The gugs
will hear or smell them if they do anything else.
In a moment, he is up and over the dune of bones, gibbering and
meeping, drawing a hunting party of gugs away from the group.
The Dreamers must now take the initiative. Any who hold still,
speak or make too much noise ruin Madaeker’s plan.
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If the Dreamers move away from the terrifying sound of the gugs
hunting the ghoul, they soon spy a huge object dropped on the Sea
of Bones. It’s a stench-laden hide of some foul animal (actually gug),
dripping wet with black-red blood. It is roughly fashioned into a
huge, primitive backpack. Inside are the corpses of mutilated ghasts.
Up to five Dreamers can fit inside in addition to the ghast-corpses.
Crawling inside costs 1/1D6 SAN.
After an immeasurable period of time, the Dreamers hear move-
ment on the Sea of Bones as the gugs return for the sack. Suddenly,
the sack is lifted easily and seems to float nearly forty feet off the
ground (0/1 SAN). From that point little is heard except the pace of
the creatures moving on the bones, and a huge, terrible breathing.
By this time, the Dreamers are covered in feces, urine, blood and
worse in the sack. Some may be crushed by the weight (suffering 1
HP damage). Others may have to make another SAN roll to resist
the urge to cry out or attempt escape.
Each who makes a Luck roll is situated in a place in the sack
where he or she can peer outwards. Those making Spot Hidden rolls
are lucky enough to see a full-sized gug, one of the hunting party sent
from the Gug City to the Vaults of Zin to hunt ghasts. Congratula-
tions! This costs 0/1D8 SAN.
There are four gugs in this hunting party, enough to take on a
small army of mere humans.
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Reunited
Fortunately, Madaeker—eager to keep his deal—is not far behind.
When he arrives, he renews his demand for silence with a thin,
clawed finger to his lips. He then leads the Dreamers deeper into the
city, carefully skirting the deep shadows at the base of the enormous
conical towers.
At last, arriving at the edge of some ancient plaza, Madaeker stabs
a finger up into the dark, indicating the giant Tower of Koth.
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Chapter Seven: The Underworld
must have been built for beings not unlike men, long ago.
The Tower itself is featureless, nothing more than a seemingly
ordinary piece of rock surrounded by the spiraling stair.
Madaeker rushes the characters up the stairs, keeping the pace by
staying behind them and goading the slowest characters along. “To
the top! To the top!” he shouts as the terrifying gug alarms begin to
sound.
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The Nightgaunts
The Dreamers are violently swept away from certain death by a
vast horde of Nightgaunts. These beasts inflict 1D4 HP damage on
each “passenger” with their talons, and the bumpy, terrifying trans-
port costs 1/1D6 SAN. No speech is possible during the flight. The
only noise is the screaming of the Dreamers and the relentless flap-
ping of leathery black wings.
A Dreamer who struggles to gain a look at his or her “rescuer”
is met with the seamless, black face of the Nightgaunt (cost: 1/1D6
SAN). One foolish enough to attack a Nightgaunt is dropped, falling
to a screaming death in the rocky Underworld below.
This flight lasts mere minutes but feels much, much longer. Finally,
dimly in the distance, enormous snow-covered peaks can be seen
coming nearer.
The Exit
Madaeker’s attitude seems to soften, indicating that this territory is
far safer than those they traversed before. The ghoul leads the group
slowly upwards on a winding path through the highest passes of the
mountains.
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Chapter Seven: The Underworld
After several hours, with the path growing more and more nar-
row and treacherous, Madaeker rolls back a small boulder to reveal
a smooth tunnel, four feet wide. It slopes upwards. He says, “The
daylight awaits, my friends.”
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The Surface
The exit from the Peaks of Thok opens on to the ruined city of
Sarnath (see Chapter Eleven: Sarnath on page 228), but Keepers
can have the Dreamers emerge nearly anywhere in the Dreamlands.
The tunnel could just as easily open to Inquanok (see Chapter Eight:
Inquanok on page 105), Ilek-Vad (see Chapter Ten: Ilek-Vad on page
196) or Lhosk (see Chapter Nine: Lhosk on page 143).
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Chapter Eight
Inquanok - THE COUNCIL - THE GATE ON THE PLATEAU -
Subtle Changes
Here are a few elements
to describe and then subtly
DANGERS - IN RED WEATHER change to allow players a
chance to collect Notches
for Directed Dreaming.
“Only, here and there, an old sailor,
• The quality of light
Drunk and asleep in his boots,
reflected from
Catches tigers Inquanok’s gleaming
gate.
In red weather.”
—Wallace Stevens, “Disillusionment of 10 O’Clock” • The particular fold of
robes in fashion in the
Onyx City.
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
the men of Inquanok are known for their closed mouths. They tell no
secrets. Inquanok is the only human city the Collector knows of that
is nearby.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
stone. The rises upward have inhospitable winding paths that cut
into the faces of the mountains, but these paths don’t go very far. The
cliffs below drop straight into a rough surf that smashes the rocks
with the force of a rockslide. Heading downwards is certain, watery
death.
At a brisk pace, traveling to Inquanok on foot takes at least a day.
If they set out from Sarkomand any time after first light, they are still
on the road when the kindness of daylight fades. They find the road a
very different place at night. If they fail a group CON x 5% roll (roll
once against the lowest CON) they face a second night on the road
before reaching Inquanok.
Night on the
Western Road
As dusk begins to fall, the Collector becomes very nervous. He
repeatedly urges the Dreamers to find a cave in the difficult rises
above the road, becoming more frantic with every minute. Dreamers
who follow his lead can locate a small cave before too long and hun-
ker down in it before complete darkness falls. The Collector pours a
foul-smelling black liquid in front of the cave entrance and instructs
the Dreamers to be silent. During the night, in absolute darkness, the
group hears the sounds of various horrific creatures outside the cave,
snuffling, grunting, and even speaking in unknown languages. (Cost:
0/1 SAN.) Those foolish enough to leave the cave before daybreak
are never seen again, alive or otherwise. The Collector tries (though
not too hard) to keep the characters in the cave.
Those who insist on making noise, shouting or drawing attention
to the cave hear something large shuffle towards the entrance, snuffle
at its threshold and then yelp in inhuman pain. In the dark it is diffi-
cult to see anything but a dim, tall shadow blotting out the blue-black
sky. Those foolish enough to light a torch find themselves face-to-face
with a monstrosity. It appears to be a deformed human head twisted
onto the body of a lion, with a giant barbed scorpion-like tail: a
manticore. (Cost: 0/1D6 SAN.) This is not some clean hybrid, but
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
instead looks as if a man’s face was melted like wax across the head
of a lion, who in turn was seared and burned by chemicals. It is large
enough to kill and devour a Dreamer in one go, but cannot pass the
threshold due to the Collector’s trick.
The liquid the Collector spilled at the cave entrance is manticore
blood, the one thing which repulses the hideous beast. It cannot enter
the cave. After its horrific revelation, it retreats back into the moun-
tains and vanishes before the dawn to a cave of its own.
Those who refuse the Collector’s advice (or who are not accompa-
nied by the Collector) must fend off the manticore themselves. If they
hide in a cave it simply waits; but if they stab it from hiding for five
or more points of damage past armor in a blow, it retreats howling.
The Manticore
Magical hybrid gone wrong
STR 25 CON 13 SIZ 26 INT 7 POW 10
DEX 10 Move 10 HP 20
Damage Bonus: +2D6
Attacks: Bite 41%, damage 1D6
Claw 50%, damage 1D6+db
Sting 40%, 3D3+Poison (POT 13)
Notes: If stung, a Dreamer must resist the manticore’s poison (POT
13) or take the POT rating directly as HP damage. A Dreamer who
resists takes half damage.
Armor: 4 points of tough hide.
Sanity Loss: 0/1D6
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The Men from Leng are persistent but not foolish. They will not
travel into the mountains. Instead they remain on the road near
where the characters left, sniffing the air and conversing in their
strange, barking language. Eventually, if the characters remain silent,
the Men from Leng retreat back the way they came. Due to the many
threats in the area at night, they dislike remaining in one place for too
long.
Dreamers who flee into the mountains can hunker down, but
finding a cave in the dark without a light source is nearly impossible
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
(on a group Luck roll at 1/4 chance, the group finds a small cave in
the blackness by touch and providence alone). Without a cave they
wander the crags and crannies of the mountain until they come upon
the manticore (see page 109) or the giant spiders that haunt the area.
The Spiders
Dreamers who remain on the road for a second night face one of
the terrors of the Plateau of Leng—Leng Spiders. The first indication
that something is amiss is a skittering sound. Dreamers must make
Listen rolls or mistake it for natural sounds such as the trickling of
water or the spill of pebbles. Actually it is the skittering of thousands
of chitinous feet. In either case, it is difficult to ignore and grows in
volume over time.
Suddenly, small translucent shapes are seen on the grey cobble-
stones, rushing towards the Dreamers. Each is a spider the size of
a cat, purple and bloated and glistening. These things have no fear
and relentlessly rush towards characters despite screams, protests or
attacks.
The Dreamers are swarmed. Each must first make a Sanity roll
(cost: 1/1D4 SAN), and then a Dodge or Luck roll, whichever is
better. Each who fails, or who chooses to attack and fails, is attacked
by 1D3 spiders. More are coming. This happens once per round until
there are three spiders on each Dreamer.
Dreamers who do not have spiders climbing on them can flee
instead of attacking. They can easily outrun the spiders.
Dreamers can swat and swing their fists in an attempt to smash the
spiders climbing on them, but attack rolls are halved and no weapons
may be used—otherwise, the Dreamers risk injuring themselves.
Or better, they can drop to the ground and roll about. A Dreamer
smart enough to drop and roll subjects one spider per round to a 75%
attack that inflicts 1D8+db damage. If it hits, it completely disrupts
the spiders’ attempt at entrapment for that round. But more arrive.
If three spiders climb onto a Dreamer, they begin to spin a web
while circling the body. This takes 1D6 rounds of uninterrupted
movement. If this dance is completed, the character is bound and falls
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
The Babies
Tiny Spiders from Leng
STR 6 CON 5 SIZ 3 INT 8 POW 11
DEX 16 Move 4 HP 4
Damage Bonus: –1D6
Attacks: Bite 30%, damage 1D6+db+poison (POT 2)
Web 35%, damage special (entangle with STR 2)
Armor: 1 point of chitin
SAN Loss: 1/1D4
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a giant crown which bows outward from its base was sunk into the
mountains and road, blocking forward progress.
Dreamers who approach within 50 feet of the gate hear a clarion—
a deep, resonating horn that shakes them to their bones. Suddenly
ten soldiers carrying pikes are on all sides, surrounding them, having
emerged from hiding places on the rises above the road and near
the edge of the cliffs. These are the Golden Sun, the gate guards of
Inquanok. They are human men who appear to be of Nordic extrac-
tion, almost all with blond hair and blue eyes. They seem fearful and
ready for violence. They speak in Skand, a tongue that is vaguely
Germanic. They shout demands in this language while menacing the
Dreamers with pikes.
Anyone foolish enough to incite violence will find themselves first
jabbed with a pike (1D4 damage) and then, if they still resist, all-out
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attacked from multiple sides. The threats from the road are a very
real thing and these guards do not fool around. They do not hesitate
to kill a resisting Dreamer if that’s what it takes to subdue the rest of
the group.
Skills: Dodge (DEX x 2) + 10%, Law 21%, Spot Hidden 50%. Lan-
guages: Skand (Own) 80%, English 20%.
Attacks: Pike 56%, damage 1D10+2+db
Dagger 55%, damage 1D4+2+db
Armor: Breastplate and helmet (4 in 6 chance of 9 armor points)
The encounter with the guards of Inquanok can play out in several
ways. Dreamers speaking English find themselves met with confused
smiles and broken English responses. Pikes are lowered (but not
withdrawn), tension fades, and questions will be asked instead of
demands shouted.
If the Collector is present, he will be subject to shouting, shov-
ing, and kicking. If the characters do not attempt to defend him,
the guards lead him away after slapping him in shackles; he is held
in one of the gate towers as a prisoner of the Sages of Inquanok. If
the Dreamers defend him, a clear wave of distrust from the guards
becomes evident. Why would they defend such a creature? He serves
the satyrs! If Dreamers persist in his defense, they too are shackled
and they are brought to the tower of the Elder Ones in chains.
If the Dreamers distance themselves from the Collector and
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
Machinations
Yveddes and Drax have been crossing political swords for years.
They vie for complete control of the Council of Sages in a singular
contest. The point of contention: whether to expand the quarries out-
side the Valley of Onyx. For centuries the stone-smiths of Inquanok
have dug and cut stone only within their valley, secured on all sides
by impassable mountains and cliffs and by the city on the southern
point. But the stones have been worked almost to exhaustion. Some
quarries remain but the quality of the cuts is becoming poorer and
poorer as the years pass.
Drax first broached the idea of establishing a new series of citadels
to the east, leading to a well-known quarry rich with stone and metal
outside the usual haunts of Inquanok. There new stone could be cut
and moved safely back to the city, and the influence of the city would
spread.
Yveddes has vowed complete resistance to such a plan, playing
upon superstition and fear of weakening Inquanok to keep it from
moving forward. In truth Yveddes’ family owns many of the quarries
in the Valley of Onyx, and their business would suffer greatly if such
an expansion took place.
With the arrival of the Dreamers, Drax sees an opportunity. If
the Dreamers voice their wish to return to Earth, the leaders say
they have a book which might help: the Book of Keys and Gates, which
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
details every exit to the waking world. To earn it, Drax says, the
Dreamers must serve the city Council of Sages in a task. They must
venture inland to the Gate of Crystal in the heights of the Leng Pla-
teau, and there question the Oracle.
Only travelers from Earth may put questions to the Oracle—hence
the need for the Dreamers. One question must be put to the Oracle:
Should Inquanok extend its influence east? An agent of Yveddes and
of Drax will travel with the group to hear the Oracle’s reply.
Yveddes, seeing no choice, agrees to Drax’s plan, as long as his
agent is included. It is decided that quickly. If the Dreamers agree,
they will be granted passage to the south, a generous stipend, and
access to the Book of Keys and Gates. If not, they may leave on foot and
return to the terrors of the wilderness of the Leng Plateau. No ship
will take them until they agree; all are terrified of losing favor with
the stone-smiths of Inquanok.
Yveddes
Elder Sage of the Round Street, age 66
STR 7 CON 9 SIZ 14 INT 17 POW 14
DEX 15 APP 13 EDU 17 SAN 70 HP 12
Damage Bonus: None.
Skills: Accounting 44%, Art 30%, Astronomy 15%, Bargain 64%,
Conceal 45%, Fast Talk 71%, History (Inquanok) 84%, Law 60%,
Library Use 44%, Persuade 85%. Languages: Skand (Own) 85%,
English 22%.
Atacks: None.
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ters of stone, and they own many lots and quarries in the Valley of
Onyx. Yveddes has the reputation of an even-keeled, thinking man’s
sage. One not prone to rash or angry action.
But Yveddes’ serene demeanor is a clever façade developed over
the decades to cover his true intentions. He is consumed by greed.
Greed for money, and above all for power. He will do anything to
maintain the iron grip on mining that his family’s ownership of so
much of the Valley of Onyx currently guarantees, and he has dozens
of thugs, servants and cutthroats in his pay to carry out his plans.
Drax of Hombur
Up and Coming Sage of the Round Street, age 39
STR 11 CON 14 SIZ 13 INT 18 POW 10
DEX 17 APP 15 EDU 13 SAN 50 HP 14
Damage Bonus: None.
Skills: Accounting 30%, Bargain 22%, Chemistry 21%, Climb 50%,
Craft (Stone) 44%, Dodge 64%, Law 15%, Listen 40%, Navigate
(The Plateau of Leng) 35%, Persuade 75%, Ride 25%, Track 25%.
Languages: Skand (Own) 65%, English 30%.
Attacks: Dagger 55%, damage 1D4+2+db.
Drax is young and vibrant, brilliant and full of energy. His ques-
tions are quick and clever and his patience is, at best, limited. He
comes from the common Nordic stock of Inquanok but his hair is
dark, and his face is covered with a spade beard that makes him a
dead ringer for the popular version of the Christian Devil as seen in
American advertising.
Drax is from the street of Hombur, which controls the main gate
from the Valley of Onyx, and thus the stones that come from the
quarries there. This alone has vaulted him to power, and he has
fought hard to advance his district. That has made him very popular
among the townsfolk.
Drax is seen as a progressive in the council and is positioned as the
voice of the future. Drax pushes to expand the influence of Inquanok
beyond the valley and the stone walls of the city, in the hopes of find-
ing new stone quarries, metal veins and other valuables for the people
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The Mission
themselves with making
exact counts. There always
seems to be enough rations
and water. Weapons are The Dreamers are to accompany two servants of the council to the
treated as in the Call of
west, inland on the Plateau of Leng, to the Gate of Crystal. There
Cthulhu rulebook, but gain
an automatic +1 damage. they are to put to the Oracle the question of the city’s expansion.
Armor is detailed below.
Only Dreamers can approach the Oracle. Once this question is
answered, one way or another, the Oracle will grant the Dreamers a
Light Armor
Light armor is toughened token. The characters must return with the token to the city.
leather with light metal
If they succeed, the Dreamers will be granted a generous reward,
inserts, banded and
reinforced joints made with as well as passage to the south, and access to the most holy of books
furred hide, and a small
in the city of Inquanok: the Book of Keys and Gates, a manual which
metal cap. Light armor
offers 3 Points defense marks every known exit to the waking world of Earth.
against any physical attack
and penalizes Sneak and
The Oracle
Climb rolls by -5%. Wearers
are still somewhat nimble
and may run, duck, hide
and climb much as they It should be slightly disturbing to any Dreamer who attempts to
could without the armor.
learn more of the Oracle to find that the people of Inquanok know
(Continued.) little or nothing. The Oracle is simply a force of nature, like the wind
or sun or moon, yet one which has never been seen by any living
resident of the city. This ephemerality of the Oracle does nothing to
sway the locals’ belief in it, though what “it” is they could not say.
They know it exists inland on the Western Plateau through a
beautiful Gate of Crystal. Here, occasionally, Dreamers from Earth
appear. These people—the last was seen nearly one hundred years
before—are often holy men. They all appear the same way, outfitted
in warm clothing, with pack and gear, and speaking of the Oracle of
the Pass. When pressed, they have nothing further to add, except the
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Avat of Hombur
Mercenary for Drax, age 29
STR 14 CON 15 SIZ 15 INT 10 POW 9
DEX 13 APP 12 EDU 9 SAN 35 HP 15
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Astronomy 31%, Bargain 53%, Climb 82%, Dodge 33%,
Hide 30%, Jump 35%, Listen 30%, Navigate 50%, Natural History
50%, Sneak 30%, Spot Hidden 45%, Swim 35%, Track 30%. Lan-
guages: Skand (Own) 45%, English 16%.
Attacks: Heavy sword 51%, 1D10+1+db
Fighting knife 65%, 1D4+2+db
Avat is a big, tall man with a broad chest, thick arms and short-
cropped blond hair. He is perpetually scowling, and his presence
is intimidating to most. He suffers no SAN loss from cold-blooded
murder nor from most encounters on the plateau.
Avat has been in the pocket of Drax of Hombur since his bank-
rolled expedition discovered rich metal and stone quarries to the
east. Avat is not overly clever and has no mind for politics, but he is
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
certain which side he is on, and where the money he hopes to make
will be found. Avat will push the Dreamers to favor the expansion
of the quarries to the east, and try to keep Dem’s arguments from
poisoning their ears.
Dem
Lieutenant of Yveddes, age 39
STR 8 CON 12 SIZ 9 INT 14 POW 16
DEX 13 APP 9 EDU 13 SAN 70 HP 11
Damage Bonus: none
Skills: Bargain 60%, Climb 70%, Dodge 50%, Hide 50%, Listen
70%, Natural History 60%, Navigate 70%, Sneak 55%, Spot Hidden
80%, Track 50%. Languages: Skand (Own) 80%, English 40%.
Attacks: Sword 40%, 1D8+1+db
Dem is a small, thin, quiet individual with large eyes and a wary,
clever demeanor. Nothing seems to escape his attention. He takes no
SAN loss from cold-blooded murder nor from most encounters on
the plateau.
Dem is a trusted lieutenant of Yveddes and has served him for
nearly a decade. He understands the subtleties of this situation and
will do his best to slowly, with careful words, turn the Dreamers
against Avat and the plans of Drax of Hombur. He will never directly
confront Avat unless accused of wrongdoing, and then he will have
several clear arguments to imply Avat’s guilt in whatever has gone
wrong.
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The Titan
One day, as the Dreamers cross the endless plain, the ground
begins to shift beneath their feet as if a giant earthquake is rumbling
to life. Cracks appear, opening gaps in the Earth. Each Dreamer that
fails a DEX x 2% roll falls to the ground and suffers 1 HP damage.
The rumbling increases and the entire world seems to pitch and yaw
around them. Each who makes a Luck roll realizes something is
much more wrong than a simple earthquake.
The Dreamers suddenly find themselves plunged into darkness
as the sun is extinguished. The rumbling grows until characters are
being slammed to the earth and flung from point to point as if they
were chess pieces on a board being shaken. There is nothing really to
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The Undead
One night while resting, even if the group has posted a guard, all
the characters in the party—even the guard—suddenly find them-
selves awakened by distant, drunken singing. It sounds like a rowdy
group just far enough away that the words of their music cannot
be discerned. After the inevitable reproaches to the guards who
fell asleep, a cursory glance about sees a light about a quarter-mile
away—another camp site. A Spot Hidden roll determines that the
“fire” looks strange: It’s blue-white, more like moonlight or starlight,
although it is on the ground and flickering like a campfire.
The newcomers appear, at a glance in the dark, to be weary
mercenaries. But in fact they are not men but undead specters who
haunt the Western Plain and eat all unfortunate enough to cross their
path. They are immaterial wisps composed of hatred and hunger
and death. Despite their lust for human flesh, their curse is peculiar;
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they believe they are living, and so their individual motivations and
personalities remain for the most part intact.
Leaving the area immediately is possible. If the Dreamers quietly
break camp and move off, have them make a group Luck roll. Suc-
cess indicates they escape the area without detection. If it fails, the
night is broken by one of the men at the fire standing and saying very
loudly, “Did you hear that?” The “men” then spread out in the direc-
tion of the characters and begin to search in the night. At this point if
the Dreamers move off quickly, have them make another group Luck
roll. If it succeeds they escape the area without encountering the
“men.” If it fails, one of the Dreamers turns back to find himself or
herself face to face with one of the specters and the battle is on.
If the Dreamers are overcome by curiosity and decide to spy on
the new camp, those moving towards the light must make Sneak
rolls. Those that fail find themselves set upon by the ravenous
specters, who hope to slay and bathe in dying blood for a moment’s
warmth in their endless night.
Those who succeed at the Sneak roll find a strange-looking blue-
white campfire surrounded by half a dozen shadowy men wearing
arms and armor, drinking and shouting at one another and occasion-
ally singing a dirge-like song. The light offers no heat. The song is
hollow and empty of emotion, but haunting. It seems to be in every
listener’s native language.
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
retreat again safely. Learning the details, the agents of the council,
Avat and Dem, hurriedly pack their gear and attempt to get at least
one Dreamer to follow them away, refusing to say just what about the
situation has upset them. They will not speak about it. In fact they
go out of their way to ignore the strange camp, as if it were not there.
They refuse to even acknowledge its existence.
Fighting the Specters is extremely dangerous. The creatures
are terrifying. Once engaged they become entirely inhuman. Their
features warp to become monstrous and their forms drift in and out
of solidity. They fight in a manner that is completely unnatural, tele-
porting from place to place in a blink, covering distances that would
take a man seconds at a run, turning up behind targets, and running
people through with ghostly blades. Worse yet, they are immune to
all conventional weapons. They fear only fire and magic.
Six Specters
Spirits of Hate, Hunger and Cold
STR n/a CON n/a SIZ n/a INT 12 POW 14
DEX n/a Move special HP n/a
Attacks: Drain, POW vs. CON, damage 1D6 STR loss
Notes: The Specters appear to be ghostly human mercenaries
until they attack or are attacked, whereupon they become terrifying,
warped apparitions of horror and death. They can teleport anywhere
they can see, cannot be outrun through normal means, and retreat
only if injured by magic or fire.
Treat Drain as a POW vs. CON attack on the Dreamer. If the
victim loses, he or she loses 1D6 STR. Each successful attack in this
manner appears as if the specter is slashing at the target and draw-
ing blood, but no wounds appear on the body. If the victim reaches 0
STR, all the specters descend on him or her, feeding on the still-warm
corpse. Other quick-thinking Dreamers might make their escape
during this frenzy.
Armor: Invulnerable to all attacks except fire and magic, which
reduce a specter’s POW rather than its HP. (When one reaches 0
POW, it evaporates forever.)
Sanity Loss: 0/1D8
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The Slavers
One morning a distant horn sounds at dawn, followed by the deep
sound of drums. Avat and Dem immediately leap to alert, drawing
their weapons. They encourage the characters to break camp as
quickly as possible. If pressed, they warn they are being pursued by
slavers.
Persistent Dreamers can drag some details from the guides. The
slavers are degenerate humans from the Plain of Leng. They capture
and drag off humans for sale to the creatures at Sarkomand, or in
distant, unknown lands to the north. They hunt on horseback, using
dogs and poisoned bows.
Avat and Dem move off from the camp at a fast pace to the west,
occasionally calling for all in the party to lower themselves to the
ground. Throughout this ordeal, which lasts more than five hours,
horns are heard from all sides, and drums, and later, towards mid-
day, the sound of a big, wild dog baying.
To escape safely, each Dreamer must make two CONx2 rolls, or
become so exhausted they cannot carry on without 1D20 minutes
rest. A Dreamer who pushes on despite this exhaustion must make a
CONx1 roll after ten minutes or collapse, suffering 1D4 HP damage
and falling unconscious for 1D4 hours.
If a Dreamer is abandoned or if the group stops to rest, the slavers
come upon them and attack. Dreamers carried off by the slavers are
likely to become fodder for the Men from Leng or the horrific moon-
beasts, or worse things beyond the edge of the world.
There are ten slavers, five on horseback and five on foot, along
with three hunting dogs used for tracking. They are small, shriveled
men with yellow skin, black eyes and curly black beards. They wear
light armor, carry small bows and curved swords, and scream intimi-
dating commands in a language not known to anyone in the party.
The slavers on horseback circle their quarry, shooting small, poi-
soned arrows at them with little bows. Three of those on foot hold the
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
Ten Slavers
No. Str Con Siz Pow Dex DB HP
#1 10 6 8 16 16 — 7
#2 9 10 12 15 15 — 11
#3 11 7 15 3 14 +1D4 11
#4 11 3 14 9 12 +1D4 9
#5 13 10 12 11 12 +1D4 11
#6 10 10 10 13 12 — 10
#7 15 11 13 3 9 +1D4 12
#8 10 12 12 13 7 — 12
#9 9 10 10 5 5 — 10
#10 5 7 8 10 5 –1D4 8
Skills: Bargain 55%, English 8%, Sneak 41%, Listen 50%, Spot Hid-
den 51%, Ride 65%, Track 68%. Languages: Unknown Alien Tongue
(Own) 80%.
Attacks: Scimitar 56%, damage 1D6+2+db
Bow 44%, damage 1D4+poison* (only those on horseback)
* A victim must resist POT 10 or collapse unconscious for 1D4
hours.
Armor: Leather breastplate, 50% chance of AP 3.
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
away from the opening to either side, so they would not be visible to
those coming away from the Gate; and third, all the bodies are identi-
cally dressed in linens, with empty wineskins and leather packs that
have been thrown open and emptied.
These unfortunate pilgrims are the victims of Ivu, an ancient man
of the hills who discovered long ago that people occasionally come
to the Oracle outfitted with fine food and gear. He has been casually
murdering the pilgrims as they issue from the Oracle, stripping them
of gear, and making his home in a cubby hole in the vertical face of
rock for nearly two decades. By day he picks through the corpses,
makes new arrows, and grows fat on the food and wine he loots from
the bodies, all the while chattering away to himself.
His scheme is hideous in its simplicity. The old man stashes a
ruined handbell, tied to a silver goblet, inside the path through the
gap, some distance back. At the first clank of the bell as a pilgrim
picks it up, Ivu rushes to his perch, loads his weapon and waits.
When the pilgrims come out of the gap, they pause as they see the
bodies sprawled on the ground. Then Ivu shoots them. Some even
turn in time to see the arrow coming. Ivu then loots the bodies, drags
them to the side, and returns his bell to its place in the gap. (The
dead pilgrims came from afar and awakened inside the Oracle, rather
than venturing into it on foot; they never saw the bodies on the south
face until it is too late.)
Ivu’s cave is accessible from a small, winding lip of rock that
moves up to the right of the gap in the mountain. Anyone climbing
to it must make a single Luck or Climb roll or fall, suffering 1D8
damage for tumbling down the rocks. Approximately 30 feet up is a
small ovoid cave that stretches into the rock face about 25 feet. At the
lip of the cave, Ivu has constructed a clever joist of cowgut, rope and
stones that holds a huge longbow tilted towards the ground, allowing
the old man to get maximum pull and maintain aim. From this crow’s
nest, Ivu can easily kill a victim who exits the mountain gap.
The cave is stacked full of wineskins, clothing, food and gear—a
grotesque amount of them. Those who count estimate that Ivu has
killed nearly 50 pilgrims. There are enough supplies in the cave to
last months.
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
across the plain. The ground shakes lightly with each click.
The cog recedes into the mountain, beneath the ground. Visible
beneath in the opening are dozens of similar works, connected and
spinning at varying rates. Hand-carved and well-worn steps lead
down into the rock. There are no gates or guards. Anyone may enter
freely. Avat and Dem, however, will not continue onward. It is, they
say, forbidden, though they will not say why. Nothing will persuade
them to enter the caves.
Descent
The depths of the mountain are lit well by endless reflections from
crystal. They are warm and hospitable, except for the noise. The tick-
ing of the machine is so loud in some areas that the Dreamers must
clutch their ears against the sound and conventional conversation is
impossible. Other areas are quieter, but the clank and click of parts is
always present.
There is but a single path with no deviations. Sometimes this nar-
row stair or hallway opens on a vista revealing the complexity and
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
scale of the machine. Ten minutes beneath the mountain, the char-
acters pass a chamber the size of a vast stadium, filled with work-
ing, glittering crystal parts ticking away at some unknown rhythm.
Certainly the machine was built with purpose and meaning, thought
what it might be is impossible to guess.
The path leads to a small, wooden door, marked with a symbol. It
looks like a five-limbed tree branch tipped to the right. A Dreamer
who makes a Cthulhu Mythos roll recognizes the Elder Sign. The
door is unlocked.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Interacting with
the Oracle
The Oracle remains inert until engaged, though those stand-
ing near it can hear various flywheels and mechanics spinning and
moving in it. Attacking the Oracle is foolish, but those who persist
may easily smash and destroy it. Moments later, a “new” Oracle is
dropped into the slot in the wall from above, and the sequence of
events repeats as if nothing untoward happened.
The moment someone speaks to the Oracle in the form of a ques-
tion, it responds. Its voice is stilted and organ-like, emerging out
of sequence with its mechanical mouth clacking open and shut. It
responds only to questions. No other attempt at engagement works.
Once the characters have finished their inquiries, they may simply
leave. Nothing keeps them in the Oracle’s chamber.
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
Return to Inquanok
When the Dreamers emerge to the surface, those that show the
token to Avat or Dem are met with their stunned silence. It is clear
that the object means something to the men in a way it cannot to
the Dreamers. When they look at it their eyes are filled with a quiet
wonder, as if they are seeing something far more interesting than a
gemstone.
The two men pester the Dreamers for the answer to the question
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Judgment
The sages require a council meeting to hear the answer of the
Oracle. The token is presented as evidence of the judgment, and none
seem to question it. Drax’s dream is defeated as the sages unani-
mously vote to remain in the city walls—Drax himself votes to follow
the Oracle. The Dreamers are thanked, named heroes of the city, and
laden with jewels, treasures and trinkets. Even Drax seems not to
hold a grudge, despite his defeat.
The characters are allowed unfettered access to the Temple of the
Elder Ones, and in it, the Book of Keys and Gates.
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Chapter Eight: Inquanok
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
142
Chapter Nine
LHOSK - THE BAZAAR - COMPLICATIONS - YOUR BOND TO ALL THAT DUST
Subtle Changes
Here are a few elements
to describe and then subtly
change to allow players a
chance to collect Notches
“In the high west there burns a furious star.
for Directed Dreaming.
It is for fiery boys that star was set.”
• The most popular fish
—Wallace Stevens, “Le Monocle de Mon Oncle”
on the supper tables of
Lhosk.
Lhosk
figurehead seen on
the prows of Lhoskian
ships and boats.
A well-traveled human city on the coast of the Cerenarian Sea,
• The symbol used to
Lhosk has prospered as a trade center for many surrounding lands
designate a house as a
due to its low levy and easygoing economic policies. temporary residence
for travelers.
The city and its surrounding estates and farms wind along a thirty-
five-mile stretch of tropical coastline, and the natural bay is protected • The peculiar mix of
spices used by Lhoskian
by a series of small reefs and sandbars. Two large lighthouses called
cooks.
“the twins” mark the mouth of the port. At high tide the lighthouses
seem to float on the water; at low tide the small islands on which they
are built can be spied.
Lhosk’s beautiful teak docks are famous as far south as Baharna.
The intricate patterns and winding spires of their etchings, carved in
the classic Lhoskian style, make them a prized cultural treasure.
All Lhosk’s buildings except for port towers and lighthouses are
gambrel-roofed, making them easy to maintain in the frequent rain-
fall. No private house is over three stories, and none has a basement.
Hurricanes are frequent and the water table is quite high.
Most of the city proper stands within a mile or so of the sea, and
all Lhoskian children are equally comfortable on land and water from
a very early age. As one would expect, the major industry of the city
is fishing, and the native barks are known up and down the Cerenar-
ian coast as the prime traders of sea goods. In their own bazaars the
Lhoskians hold a near monopoly on fish, fishing goods, shipboard
goods and other maritime sundries. Other goods are left to foreign
traders, as this promotes a healthy relationship with other lands and a
strong economic base.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The city itself is quite old, although no records reveal its true age.
Key to the Map The people of Lhosk have been sailing and fishing on the Cerenarian
1. Lighthouses (“The
coast as far back as any human books remember. The native language
Twins”)
of the area is Talunen, although English and Skand are nearly as
2. Ballud’s Outfitters
common.
3. Grand (“Red”) Bazaar A small council of sailors and traders rules Lhosk. The Tha fam-
ily has held most of the council seats for many generations, although
4. Council Spire
some seats are purposely vacated for set periods and presided over
5. The Eye of the Needle
by foreign traders. The interplay and intrigues of great families has
6. Mortimer’s Potions become more and more complex and incestuous with each passing
generation.
7. Ebony Temple
Today, Lhosk is the predominant trade city in the northern reaches
8. Trade Family Tha
of the Dreamlands and is the gateway of trade to the exotic and
dangerous north.
Lhosk
1
8
1
2
5
3
4
6
7
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
The Docks
The ancient teak docks are the pride and joy of Lhosk. Intricate
and fascinating carvings cover every square inch. Artists and sages
travel from all over the Dreamlands to see them. They are a mecca to
the creative spirit.
Hundreds of ships of every description dock in Lhosk every day,
coming from ports as far west as Sarrub and as far east as Mhor.
Sails and flags of countless descriptions can be found, often including
some never seen before.
New traders must register with the Trade Council and offer a
tribute to trade in the Grand Bazaar. Those who do not wish to pay
the tithe and register may trade on the docks with no penalty (save
that most customers stay in the bazaar), but most choose to find favor
with the council. Those that do seldom go bankrupt.
Private owners rent dock slips to foreign ships. This lucrative
business has become extremely cutthroat, with each slip-owner
attempting to undercut his competitors with cheaper prices. Some
accept only currency as payment for slip time; others accept goods
or specialty services in exchange. The city manifest of ships in dock
is updated every day by the slip-holding individuals and conglomer-
ates. Any who fail to report a ship in a dock to the harbormaster are
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Arrival in a
Black Galley
The Bazaar and Council
The Grand Bazaar runs in a two-mile strip just off the docks near
If the characters arrive
in a Black Galley, this the center of Lhosk. It is called the Red Bazaar by locals due to the
will cause a stir in the red tarpaulins that cover much of the bazaar from the frequent rains.
locals. The Black Galleys
are a well-known sight in This name often confuses newcomers. Sometimes a traveler can be
town and are the object found in the Grand Bazaar asking for directions to the Red Bazaar
of lust by every trader in
the northern oceans. See when they are one and the same place!
“Arrival in a Black Galley” Over two hundred permanent shops and boutiques make their
on page 148.
homes in the Red Bazaar, selling all varieties of goods and services.
Arrival with the Thousands of other small shops come and go, erecting simple facades
Sword of Kamas-Tha and tents daily in any available open spaces.
This sword, last held by the
now deceased Kamas-Tha, Almost any object imaginable can be found here for the right price,
is the key to a mystery in including live exotic animals, slaves, magical elixirs, enchanted rings
town and might gain the
Dreamers the assistance of and weapons, ancient books, tapestries, and totally alien goods from
Maras-Tha (his son) or the the lands of dreams to the West. In the Red Bazaar, money talks.
enmity of Emen-Tha (his
brother), who architected There is a small amount of regulated crime. Pickpockets are the
Kamas-Tha’s death. See most prevalent problem but they avoid well-known foreign traders
“The Trade Family Tha” on
page 184. and important buyers. The criminals want to be sure the Red Bazaar
prospers, and with it their income off unwary travelers. They have
struck bargains with certain unions of traders, monitoring crime and
often preventing theft by independent thieves.
The Council Spire stands in the center of the Red Bazaar, in the
remnants of the first lighthouse erected in the city. Inside, over thirty
tired and crowded bureaucrats muddle through endless reams of
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
paperwork. Once a year, for two weeks, the Council meets in the
(Continued.)
assembly hall in the base of the lighthouse. This event is the talk of
the town and draws huge crowds of merchants hoping to have their Arrival with the
problems addressed. Often only those with the largest purses are Collector
The Collector once lived
heard. in Lhosk but was sold into
Fifty men guard the Council Spire day and night. If this seems a slavery by his family due to
his horrific appearance. His
bit overzealous, one must think of the sensitive nature of much of the family will not stand for his
paperwork contained therein. Also, the commander of the city guards reappearance and will go
out of their way to remove
maintains his office in a small shack at the base of the Spire, so any him, no matter the cost. See
thought of thievery or assault near or in the spire is ill-advised. “The Trade Family Bahaot”
on page 194.
#6 6 12 12 15 12 — 12
Arrival from Inquanok
#7 15 15 16 15 10 +1D4 16
Characters arriving on a
#8 9 11 14 7 7 — 13 ship from Inquanok find
#9 9 12 8 6 7 — 10 the Men from Leng waiting
for them just as if they had
#10 13 10 12 17 6 +1D4 11
arrived in a Black Galley.
The Men from Leng’s blood
Skills In Common: Dodge (DEX x 2) + 10%, Law 25%, Spot Hid- gems make tongues waggle,
and merchants on Lhoskian
den 61%. Languages: Talunen (Own) 80%, English 50%. ships have let slip that
Attacks: Pole arm 56%, damage 1D10+db “heroes” from Earth arrived
in Inquanok. The Men
Short sword 35%, damage 1D6+1+db from Leng wait on all ships
Dagger 50%, damage 1D4+2+db coming into port from the
north, hoping to locate the
Dreamers and enslave or kill
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
In addition, nearly any local who has had a few free drinks will
direct the characters to nearly any location or any service in the city.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
sum.” He offers the coffer that his attendants brought forth, filled
Wealth in Lhosk with gold, gems and copper. This is a vast amount of wealth for most
Lhosk, the center of
Lhoskians, but is not a fair trade for the Black Galley.
commerce for the
Dreamlands, dreams deeply If the characters act offended or displeased in any way, Agat
of capital, economy, and
immediately opens the table to anything within his power. Clever
trade. One might wander
penniless elsewhere in the characters can parlay this into homes, estates, ships, slaves and more,
Dreamlands and never
particularly with good Bargain rolls. The exact disposition remains
worry for food and shelter.
In Lhosk their lack is felt up to the Keeper. If they simply take the coffer, they will have more
keenly.
immediate wealth than they need, but in fact they will have been
The Dreamers might live in hornswoggled.
Lhosk for a long while and
they are likely to trade for
many things. Thus it might The Fate of Agat
be amusing to gauge how
The purchaser of the Black Galley—whether Agat or another
richly or poorly they live.
merchant—soon meets a singular fate. The new owner discovers the
This system is optional.
horrors below deck on the Black Galley, but word of these monstros-
ities does not spread. Instead the merchant attempts to protect the
new purchase from prying eyes. While struggling to formulate a plan
to either offload the new purchase or get it out of town, he or she is
set upon by the Men from Leng.
Using magic and subterfuge, the Men from Leng infiltrate the
merchant’s house and kill all within. They strangle the merchant in
his sleep, cutting out his tongue and eyes and severing his genitals.
(Cost to see the results: 1/1D4 SAN.)
The Black Galley vanishes in the night, along with the dockmas-
ter, who is later found floating drowned in the ocean. No one knows
where it went. It has, in fact, been sailed out of port back to Sarkom-
and by the Men from Leng.
This shake-up will be spoken of in hushed tones around Lhosk. A
Dreamer who makes a Persuade roll trying to learn more can catch
the undercurrent: This was done by the ill-formed priests of the
Ebony Temple.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Mortimer’s Sundry
rest in the open elements
or in borrowed hovels.
They never have quite
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
except from the wrists down and neck up. Mortimer is very protec-
Initial Wealth tive of this concealment and reacts violently to anyone attempting
How wealthy are the
to remove it. Very occasionally (noticed with a Spot Hidden roll)
Dreamers? It depends on
what they brought when the robes seem to move around the midsection in an unnatural way.
they arrived at Lhosk and
(Cost: 0/1 SAN.)
what they did with it. They
can trade treasures to live Mortimer was born in Vienna but spent much of his life on Earth
well.
in Florence, studying mysticism, magic and the occult and hiding
Arrive with nothing but from agents of the Catholic church. Since his escape to the land of
their clothes, weapons,
dreams his life has become a frenzy of search, discovery and experi-
armor, and perhaps a camel
or two—POOR mentation. He has only recently settled down, nearly 300 years later.
For the last hundred or so years, Mortimer has made his home
Arrive with a caravan
of trade goods and gifts in Lhosk due to its convenient location and access to various trade
from Inquanok and begin
routes. In that time he has cemented a relationship with the town,
trading it for profit—
COMFORTABLE becoming known as one of the foremost authorities in magic. Every-
one knows him, and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of people,
Arrive in a Black Galley
and refuse to part with it— places and relationships in Lhosk.
POOR
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Unique
Treasures
The Dreamers may have
gathered a number of
unique treasures in their
journeys. Each is rated in
value—Modest, Impressive,
or Astonishing.
An Astonishing treasure
generally trades for five or
six Impressive treasures;
an Impressive treasure
generally trades for five or
six Modest treasures.
Standards
Mortimer’s Darling of Living
Selling a treasure allows
Mortimer is connected permanently to an other-worldly entity he
the Dreamers to live at a
calls “Darling,” concealed beneath his robes. This creature looks like certain level of wealth and
comfort for a while. If they
a horrific hybrid between octopus, lamprey and bird. It is wrapped
are already at that level or
around his midsection and connected to his intestinal tract, a hitch- greater, selling the treasure
does not improve it further.
hiker that attached itself during one of Mortimer’s extra-dimensional
travels. Mortimer found that it granted him immortality and preter- MODEST TREASURE:
Comfortable for a month
natural strength. Soon he ceased attempting to disconnect it.
With “Darling” attached, Mortimer does not eat or excrete. He IMPRESSIVE TREASURE:
Wealthy for a month or
does not age and he heals 1D6 HP per round until dead. Darling also
Comfortable for six months
makes Mortimer much, much stronger than he appears. If Mortimer
ASTONISHING TREASURE:
dies, so does Darling, and vice versa. For this reason only one set of
Rich for a month, Wealthy
stats is given for the hybrid creature Mortimer has become. for six months, or
Comfortable for three years
But there is a price. Every month, Mortimer must inject a human
host with Darling’s offspring, “his babies.” Failing to do so wears his If the Dreamers pay for
damage to the docks, it
body down as the stress of supporting multiple creatures eats away
requires the equivalent of
at it. He has always succeeded in spreading his seed when the time one Astonishing treasure
with a Bargain roll, two if
came, usually drugging a sailor in an ale house, performing the ritual
the Bargain roll fails, three
and then releasing him in a stupor on the docks the next day. if the Bargain roll is a 96-00,
or one Impressive treasure if
Mortimer is clever, long-lived and eager to maintain his status in
the Bargain roll is a special
Lhosk. He will do nothing to expose his secret to the Dreamers. If his success.
secret is exposed, he will kill to protect it.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
157
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
press mirth. Yes, he says, he can take the Dreamer back to Earth, but
the journey is far. He holds out his hand. Those taking it are most The Final Peril
“There were, in such
likely doomed. (See “The Journey” for details.) Those who refuse
voyages, incalculable local
notice a ripple of distaste move across the ebony features. “It is no dangers; as well as that
shocking final peril which
matter of mine,” he says with a shrug.
gibbers unmentionably
outside the ordered
The Journey universe, where no dreams
reach; that last amorphous
If the Dreamer is foolish enough to accept the Black Pharaoh’s blight of nethermost
confusion which
offer of travel back to Earth, he or she is escorted to a nearby bal-
blasphemes and bubbles at
ustrade and suddenly thrust upon the back of a Shantak by a huge the centre of all infinity—
the boundless daemon
ebony hand. (Cost: 1/1D8 SAN.) The Shantak wheels away up into
sultan Azathoth, whose
the night sky at incredible speed. The world vanishes below, leav- name no lips dare speak
aloud, and who gnaws
ing only the inky blackness of space; and yet the Dreamer can still
hungrily in inconceivable,
breathe. A second huge Shantak flies alongside, and on its back is the unlighted chambers beyond
time amidst the muffled,
Black Pharaoh, whose face is full of reverent joy.
maddening beating of
“The price of such a journey is steep, my friend, and you are most brave. We vile drums and the thin,
monotonous whine of
shall find Earth, but not before we circle the court and drop a curtsy to my lord,
accursed flutes; to which
the Demon Sultan, and his court. Then to Earth! If you can still recognize it detestable pounding
and piping dance slowly,
as your home.”
awkwardly, and absurdly
The Shantak birds seem to accelerate through nebulae and galax- the gigantic Ultimate
gods, the blind, voiceless,
ies, further and further into space until the character’s entire line of
tenebrous, mindless Other
sight is a band of white cutting the expanse of the universe in two. In gods whose soul and
messenger is the crawling
the center of this band is a boiling red and white flame which seems
chaos Nyarlathotep.”
to dance and shake, something the size of a sun or a million suns.
H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream-
The only method of escape at this point, if you think of it as
Quest of Unknown Kadath
escape, is to leap hopelessly into the void off the back of the Shantak.
A Dreamer attempting this must make a Luck roll. With a roll of
01-10 the Dreamer wakes suddenly in the Dreamlands where he or
she took the bywandine, panting but otherwise unharmed. The Dream-
er’s last coherent sight was the face of the Black Pharaoh grinning
from the back of the Shantak. Then, nothing.
A Dreamer who fails the Luck roll after leaping from the Shantak
plummets into the void, lost forever.
A Dreamer who remains on the back of the Shantak soon comes
to the court of Azathoth, the Demon Sultan, a vast bubbling mass of
energy at the center of the universe, about which everything spins.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
She plies her trade to unlock secrets or trade items from those who
come from the Black Ships. The cost of a Black Galley itself, she
confesses, is far beyond her means; instead she focuses on items such
as blood gems, weaponry, Keim or anything else “alien.”
If the Dreamers make the mistake of wronging her, they will find
her a bitter, clever and resourceful enemy who will do her best to
make sure they consistently land flat-footed in the port of Lhosk.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
a shipboard fire.
It is a well-known story how Bestul landed in port with his injury,
but with the help of an odd associate bought the building that would
become The Eye of the Needle. He bought it with a single, huge,
blood-red gem.
Bestul has been an old man for as long as any in the area have
known him. His cousins, aunts, uncles and their children live in the
basement of the Eye of the Needle and run the building for Bestul,
their patriarch.
Bestul is encyclopedic in his knowledge of voices. And once a per-
son defaults on a bill, equally encyclopedic in marking him or her for
a thief. He is gruff and unforgiving, but he holds a soft spot for those
down on their luck in port. He is known to give soup and a kind ear
to those that turn up in port without a copper to their name.
The Trade Family Tha is well known to Bestul, and their word is
more than enough to secure permanent, unquestioned residency at
the Eye of the Needle.
Bestul is a frail old man with short, white hair. A cloth wrapping
conceals an obvious deformity covering the top half of his face.
Beneath the cloth are a series of long-healed third-degree burns. His
ruined eyes are completely blind.
Bestul was a native of Celephais and a sailor for many years before
his luck took a turn for the worse and he was confronted by the evil
of the Men from Leng. What happened to him is a secret that he
holds dear.
“Blind” Bestul
Survivor of Many Horrors, age 66
STR 4 CON 7 SIZ 12 INT 17 POW 5
DEX 15 APP 4 EDU 21 SAN 25 HP 10
Damage Bonus: –1D4
Skills: Bargain 95%, Cthulhu Mythos 4%, Fast Talk 95%, Persuade
30%. Languages: Talunen (Own) 95%, English 34%, Oeuth 3%,
Skand 55%.
Attacks: None.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Bestul’s Secret
Bestul is an escapee from the Men from Leng like the player char-
acters. Sailing from Celephais many years ago, his ship the Wild Rose
was set upon by a Black Galley, attacked and boarded in the dead of
night. As the Men from Leng boiled over the decks with their magi-
cal weaponry, Bestul’s crew faltered. Clever and desperate, Bestul
smashed casks of potent spirits and sent them rolling across the deck
of the Wild Rose and onto the deck of the Black Galley. By smashing a
lantern on deck he set both ships ablaze.
Bestul charged onto the Black Galley with sword in hand, but
was struck by falling, burning timbers from his own ship. He spilled
down the staircase of the Black Galley into the darkness below,
unconscious, burned and blinded. When he woke, he was alone
except for the rowing horrors below on the otherwise untouched
Black Galley. The Men from Leng and his crew alike had died in
the skirmish, and the Wild Rose had sunk. Blind and terrified, Bestul
spent two weeks exploring his new ship and attempting to find port.
Sheer luck brought Bestul to the southern shore of the Cerenarian
Sea, not far from Ilek-Vad. The Black Galley struck and beached,
and by some miracle was not overturned and sunk. Instead Bestul
found himself wandering an empty tract of land, surrounded by
wilderness.
By then, the resourceful captain had recovered some of his senses,
and in his weeks of exploration on the ship had discovered some of
the weaponry, charts and magic of the moon-beasts. He had also
found two gems of inordinate size, some horrible substance the beast
men called food, and some fresh water.
Once again, luck shined on him. Bestul came upon a stranger on
the beach, a traveler from the far west, a white-eyed and golden-
skinned creature, tall and thin, named Tal. Tal sought only to help
other beings. The two struck up a wary friendship, and with Tal’s
assistance Bestul dodged attempts by the Men from Leng to recap-
ture or kill him. Tal encouraged Bestul to divest himself of the
treasures found on the ship, before they corrupted him. But Bestul,
feeling this was his only prize recovered from the ruins of his life,
resisted. Tal, very wise, refused to force the issue. For a long time,
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Tal and Bestul travelled the Dreamlands, with Tal teaching Bestul
some of the secrets of peace and happiness from his own realm. The Mark
In time, Bestul’s treasures from the Black Galley led the Men from of Ados
This small necklace is made
Leng to him, and in Celephais Tal perished defending him from them.
of a perfectly flowing
Bestul divested himself of all the items he found on the ship. Remov- copper metal. The chain
has no links, yet moves as
ing them from his life brought happiness and peace just as Tal had
if it does. A single small
said. In Lhosk, Bestul purchased the Eye of the Needle (and much object hangs from it,
difficult to see. Anyone
more) with his last possession from the raid, a single, flawed but
focusing on it find himself
giant ruby. or herself drifting in
fascination, losing minutes
Dreamers sharing their true story of escape from Sarkomand and
in an attempt to puzzle
the Men from Leng find an ally in Bestul. He has many contacts in out the intricacies of the
emblem; this costs 0/1 SAN.
Lhosk and occasionally sits on the council. He knows and despises
Emen-Tha and fears for the life of Maras-Tha. He is well aware If used for meditation, the
Mark allows the wearer to
that the Men from Leng are the residents of the Ebony Temple, and
enter a trance state easily.
knows that Emen-Tha is their agent. If the Dreamers make a group It also aids in spell casting,
granting an additional
Luck roll, Bestul shares his own story with them in turn and imparts
1D20 Magic Points, once
a token given to him by Tal—the Mark of Ados. per week, with a successful
POW x 1% roll.
Leng In Lhosk
what counts as “evil”), the
Mark vibrates on the neck
of the wearer, shaking
Since their secret deal was struck with Emen-Tha and their temple more and more as the evil
approaches. Likewise, the
was completed, the strange men who pilot the Black Galleys have
Mark seems to physically
been a far more common sight in Lhosk. On any large street there is grow as evil approaches,
but never seems to weigh
a chance of spying at least one of them hurrying about. Locals seem
more. Evil creatures
uneasy with their presence but attempt to ignore them. confronted with the Mark
must roll POW x 2% roll
Once, the black sailors (as the locals call them) were a rarity and
or cover their eyes, losing
were hesitant to be seen in public during the day, but now they wan- a round of action. Beyond
that it does not affect such
der with impunity, and even seem to have claimed a neighborhood in
beings.
the religious district around their Ebony Temple.
Their coin is good and their dealings seem to be limited to money
changing hands, but locals have little good to say about them.
The moment the characters land in Lhosk in a Black Galley, or
become known to Emen-Tha, they become the target of the Men
from Leng.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The Dreamers would be best served to avoid the Men from Leng,
but players often attempt crazy things. This section is a contingency
to deal with oddities. For example, Dreamers might approach the
Men from Leng to speak with them in the streets, or even worse,
walk straight up to the Ebony Temple and knock on the door.
Or, more clever players might attempt to hit the Men from Leng
where it hurts, revealing to the city what they truly are.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Capturing a Satyr
Capturing a lone Man from Leng is a difficult prospect, as they
almost always travel in packs of at least three. The Dreamers must
shadow the Men from Leng for 1D8 hours and make TWO group
Luck rolls before one of the Men breaks off from the others. Every
hour allows the Men from Leng a single Spot Hidden roll of 35% to
spot them, unless EVERY Dreamer in pursuit succeeds at a Hide
roll. If the spies are noticed the Men from Leng retreat again.
Attacking a lone Man from Leng must be handled delicately. With
any sign of conflict a still-conscious Man from Leng will shriek an
inhuman warning, bringing 1D3+1 other Men from Leng running
to his aid. If the characters continue to fight and not flee, the satyrs
engage in open combat in the streets.
Any strike that reduces the Man from Leng to 2 Hit Points or
fewer renders him unconscious. In addition, any Grapple attack that
is aimed specifically at silencing the target (at half chance) manages
to cover the creature’s mouth before it can shout for help.
A captured Man from Leng will of course burden the player
characters. Unless they have a cart, carrying him requires a Strength
roll against the captive’s Size on the Resistance Table. For every five
minutes that they are in the open with the unconscious or restrained
Man from Leng, the Dreamers must make a group Luck roll. Failure
indicates the group is approached by 1D6+1 city guards who want
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
to know what is going on. They insist on setting the abductee free
unless a Dreamer succeeds at both a Fast Talk roll to get them to lis-
ten and a Persuade roll to convince them of the need for the capture.
If the Dreamers reveal the truth of the satyr, see “Revealing the Men
from Leng to the City Guard,” page 169.
Burning a Satyr
This is one of the simplest methods to reveal the horrors beneath
the robes of the Men from Leng. Throwing a lantern, lamp or torch
at one of the satyrs with a successful Throw roll is all that is needed.
When struck, the creature ignites, going into a frenzy of pain and
fear, suffering 1D8 Hit Points damage per turn until dead or extin-
guished. If the creature is allowed to burn until dead, the group must
make a Luck roll. If this fails, the corpse is burned to a crisp—so
much that its “deformities” are not recognizable. Otherwise the hor-
rific proportions of its body are clearly visible. The Men from Leng
will not attempt to recover a corpse.
Satyrs merely injured and extinguished in this manner will be
completely exhausted, unable to act or resist, and can be paraded
nearly anywhere while they hiss and spit in their odd language. If the
characters remain on the street, every ten minutes they must make
a group Luck roll must be made. If the characters succeed, they
encounter 1D6+1 city guards who want to question them. If they fail,
they encounter 1D8+1 Men from Leng ready to do battle to free their
compatriot or else follow the Dreamers while one of their number
fetches 1D8+1 more.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Tulare-Mas
Honorable and Intelligent City Guard of the Red Council, age 34
STR 15 CON 15 SIZ 17 INT 18 POW 10
DEX 12 APP 12 EDU 9 SAN 50 HP 16
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Bargain 81%, Cthulhu Mythos 6%, Fast Talk 62%, Law 55%,
Persuade 71%, Ride 44%, Sailing 30%, Spot Hidden 40%, Swim
50%. Languages: Talunen (Own) 90%, Cum’teha 20% English 75%,
Skand 40%, Pross 33%.
Attacks: Saber 41%, damage 1D8+1+db
Fighting knife 55%, damage 1D4+2+db
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
then fights. First the crowd turns on the city guards that show up
to suppress the mob, and then they turn on one another. If the Man
from Leng was alive during the revelation it will soon be killed as
the crowd violently pushes past the player characters and seizes the
beast, who is then beaten, burned, doused in hot pitch and assaulted
from all sides. Within minutes the creature is dead, and then the
body becomes a trophy, carried on a gaff by three men and paraded
through the streets with shouts of “Those of the Black Galleys are
monsters!” If the revelation is of a corpse, the crowd sweeps it up in a
similar manner and marches it about as their banner. “Emen-Tha serves
the monsters!” they cry.
Dreamers foolish enough to interject themselves between the
crowd and the beast find themselves the targets of the crowd’s ire.
Each turn of confused confrontation causes 1D4-1 HP damage on a
successful Luck roll, or 1D8+1 on a failed Luck roll. Returning such
an attack is useless as there are dozens of targets. There is no way to
protect oneself without disengaging from the crowd entirely. Those
that flee do so easily. They are not the focus of the hatred.
This violence spreads and soon escalates to fires, looting and
anarchy. Player characters wandering the streets see the beaten and
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
burned corpses of Men from Leng caught in the open and killed by
mobs. People run about armed with blunt weapons carrying looted
items. Cadres of city guards attack any they find wandering the
streets. Buildings are reduced to ashes. An hour after the inciting
event, Lhosk is lost in complete madness.
A large group of the city guards loyal to Emen-Tha protect the
Tha estate, leaving the city to burn, while other powerful interests in
the city such as Bestul and Ballud gather mobs of their own to resist
the crowd’s assault. These areas are impenetrable, with well-armed
groups of guards using bows and spears to kill anyone who comes
within forty feet. (Those who dare to approach suffer 1D10+2 HP
damage.)
The worst conflict occurs at the Ebony Temple. Surrounded on all
sides by hundreds of enraged natives of Lhosk, the Men from Leng
struggle to hold them off and protect the holy site. A few cowardly
satyrs attempt to use the tunnels to escape but find the city impass-
able for those of their kind. They are killed one-by-one by the mobs
as they try to make it to the Black Galleys.
By the morning of the second day of conflict, the Ebony Temple
has been coated in pitch and set aflame. As the smoke pours through
the temple, down it, through the tunnels beneath it, and up again
from a hundred hidden entrances throughout the neighborhood, the
hidden tunnels are revealed. Individual satyrs, overcome with smoke
and flame, stumble from the doors only to be cut down by spears,
stones and arrows. Soon, a pile of alien bodies are stacked in the
center of the square out front.
By the evening of the second day, the Ebony Temple is a gutted
husk with nothing living left in it. All the Men from Leng have been
expunged and killed, the statue to Nyarlathotep has been overturned
and defiled, and the holy items scattered and destroyed.
Though the locals will not board the Black Galleys (superstition
prevents them from doing so), they shoot with longbows anyone who
pokes a head up from below deck, and then set about bombarding the
ship with buckets of flaming pitch. These uneven, burning ships are
cut free of their moorings and set to drift with dead crew dotting their
deck.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Ambush, Three
Different Kinds
Dreamers foolish enough to venture out after dark after any
encounter with the Men from Leng find themselves shadowed by the
inhuman beasts at all hours. The Men from Leng are skilled stalkers
and work best at night. They are difficult to spot (the Sneak roll of
the Man from Leng must fail and then a Spot Hidden roll must be
made) and are capable of using magic to make great leaps, crossing
the thin, winding streets via rooftops and leaping human-impassable
walls.
The Lengians are incredibly evil and will do their best to lure the
Dreamers into a dark alley where they can be ambushed, knocked
unconscious, and dragged off to the Ebony Temple for sacrifice to
their dark god. (See “The Ebony Temple” for the fate of such unfor-
tunates.) They are not above taking hostages, using innocents, or
luring victims through greed, lust or worse.
The Monkey
A monkey rushes out of an alleyway, snatches a small possession
from a Dreamer, and flees back into the alley. Those making a Spot
Hidden roll notice a thin, silver chain around the neck of the monkey
that snakes back into the darkness.
Dreamers rushing into the alley after the monkey find themselves
surrounded by eight Men from Leng who rapidly close in. Using
bludgeons, the beasts attempt to beat all characters present into
submission. They kill if necessary, but do their best to bring as many
characters as possible back alive to the Ebony Temple.
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The Whorehouse
The Dreamers are accosted by a group of whores from the Brazen
Fantail, a small whorehouse on the waterfront. Whores of both sexes
engulf them in charm, compliments and advances. The whores insist
that since the Dreamers appear to be such powerful traders, any ser-
vices this one time are free of charge. They insist that they are eager
to make a good “first impression.”
Dreamers foolish enough to enter the Brazen Fantail find it a
deathtrap filled with a dozen Men from Leng all eager to subdue the
characters. Escaping the house requires surviving two combat rounds
of attacks without being killed or restrained.
Those captured will be hogtied and gagged and rushed off to the
Ebony Temple.
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temple are filled with seedy criminals, darkened drug dens and the
glutted shops of slavers. Fights are common, as is the sight of uncon-
scious or dead bodies in the street. Even the city watch seems to
avoid it. (In fact, they have been bribed to do so by Emen-Tha, so the
Men from Leng can operate with impunity).
Locals are wary and dislike talking of the Men from Leng and
their machinations. In fact a group Luck roll must be made, or the
questioners are reported to the Men from Leng by human agents.
Those managing to pry information out of locals learn (or confirm)
only that it is simply called The Ebony Temple and is known to be
frequented by the strange, slant-eyed, turbaned traders who ride in
the Black Galleys. The Men from Leng stay in the temple when in
town, never venturing out except to do business, tend to their ships,
or execute their evil plans. Only thanks to the power of Emen-Tha
did they obtain the permit to build the temple in the first place. That
same power maintains the temple’s security by glossing over incidents
and complaints from the public before they reach the council. Now
that the money has secured the isolation of the district from the city
watch, fewer complaints than ever reach the council.
It is widely believed that no one from town worships there, only
foreigners. But with a special success at Persuade or a Luck roll, the
witness says Emen-Tha visits the temple; with an ordinary success it’s
clear the witness is hiding something important. Emen-Tha has been
seen coming and going from the temple at odd hours, always with a
bevy of guards. Thanks to rumors like this, he is held suspect in the
disappearance of his brother.
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the Men from Leng can be seen entering the doors carrying bur-
lap sacks filled with goods, but few seem to leave. If the Dreamers
observe for more than a day and make an Idea roll, they determine
that no one seems to leave.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Pace
First, ask the Dreamers whether they are being slow and stealthy
or are hurrying despite the noise. Either way they run across some-
thing new about every 50 yards in the tunnels, though measuring
distance and time in this loathsome catacomb is a fool’s errand.
If they are being stealthy, roll for a location and an encounter
once every 2D6 minutes. If they encounter Men from Leng, they can
attempt a group Sneak roll to conceal their light source and them-
selves and avoid the encounter.
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1) Prison pits (but only after the Dreamers have found at least
five other locations; otherwise treat this as a roll of 2)
2) Chamber littered with refuse and debris
3) Chamber slick with waste
4) Chamber still under construction
5) Ladder up to an exit hidden in an alley or empty building
6) Steps up into the temple
Searching
The Dreamers can attempt to find a particular location in the
warrens—a specific exit into the city, the path to the prison pits, or
perhaps the steps up into the temple—but it won’t be easy. From
wherever they happen to be, it will take 1D6 Navigation rolls to
find their goal. Only one Dreamer can roll Navigation. The Keeper
should keep the total number needed a secret, and the Keeper ought
to make the Navigation rolls in secret, too. (If the Dreamers think
to mark the tunnels from time to time with chalk or paint, they get
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a +10% bonus to the Navigation rolls; but the Men from Leng may
notice, so there’s also a –10% penalty to group Luck rolls to avoid
encounters.) If a Navigation roll succeeds, they follow the correct
course. A special success counts as two successes. If it fails, they fol-
low the wrong tunnels for a while and risk getting lost; add one to the
number of successes needed. If it fumbles, add two. They must roll
for locations and encounters with each Navigation attempt.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
speak in their own guttural, barking tongue and are as cruel and
violent to one another as they are to their prisoners, of which there is
always an ample supply.
Four of the satyrs are permanent residents of the temple, chosen
due to their occult knowledge or high POW. These priests lead
the rituals, tend to the prisoners, and organize the activities of the
temple. Each priest is marked by a purple turban and a ceremonial
dagger in the shape of the bloody tongue of Nyarlathotep.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
sprawling place with over four dozen rooms and five small guest
cottages. Over fifty people live there, including the immediate family,
distant relations, the cleaning staff, and guards.
Since Emen-Tha took the Council seat things have changed
drastically. The family is now talked of in hushed tones. It is thought
by the general public that Kamas-Tha’s disappearance was a bit too
convenient for his rival Emen-Tha, and Emen’s odd association with
the Ebony Temple in town has not gone unnoticed.
Allegiances
Nearly three years ago, two Black Galleys boarded Kamas-Tha’s
ship shortly after its departure from Lhosk. His brother, Emen-Tha,
had made a deal with Sa’n Seith. In exchange for the removal of his
brother, and gaining his seat on the Council, Emen-Tha would ensure
permission to build a temple to Nyarlathotep in the religious quarter
of Lhosk.
Kamas-Tha’s sword was the key. It had to vanish along with
Kamas-Tha. Without the sword and ceremonies that surrounded it,
passage of the council title from father to son would be risky. Instead
the title would revert to the next oldest brother, Emen-Tha. Kamas-
Tha and his men were tortured and murdered for their souls by the
moon-beasts. Seith destroyed some of their personal effects and scat-
tered others in the rubble of Sarkomand.
Although his machinations worked perfectly, Emen-Tha is terrified
that Maras-Tha will find out about the plot, and Seith often uses this
fact as a lever for bargaining. To gain his father’s council seat, Maras-
Tha needs only the sword. Emen-Tha will do anything he can to stop
this.
Intrigues
The trade family Tha comes to prominence in this campaign only
if the Dreamers found and kept the sword of Kamas-Tha, or if they
arrived in Lhosk in a Black Galley.
In the first case, it quickly becomes evident that the uncle did
away with his brother in a bid for power. The entire city suspects
it. Emen-Tha’s dealing with the satyrs and their Black Galleys, as
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Emen-Tha
Leader of the Red Council of Lhosk, the Smiling Villain, age 41
STR 13 CON 15 SIZ 13 INT 14 POW 14
DEX 17 APP 16 EDU 11 SAN 51 HP 14
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Accounting 54%, Art 31%, Astronomy 12%, Bargain 70%,
Cthulhu Mythos 6%, Fast Talk 62%, Law 60%, Persuade 71%, Ride
44%, Sailing 30%, Sea Navigation 15%, Spot Hidden 40%, Swim
50%. Languages: Talunen (Own) 90%, Cum’teha 20%, English 75%,
Pross 33%, Skand 40%.
Attacks: Saber 41%, 1D8+1+db
Fighting Knife 55%, 1D4+2+db
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Emen-Tha’s Guards
No. Str Con Siz Pow Dex DB HP
#1 17 12 16 8 17 +1D6 14
#2 9 8 15 10 15 — 12
#3 9 14 13 14 15 — 14
#4 17 8 10 4 14 +1D4 9
#5 18 3 11 15 14 +1D4 7
#6 6 12 8 15 14 — 10
#7 15 15 17 15 12 +1D4 16
#8 9 11 14 7 10 — 13
#9 9 12 8 6 6 — 10
#10 13 10 12 17 6 +1D4 11
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Interviewing Emen-Tha
The fate of Dreamers foolish enough to seek or accept an audience
with Emen-Tha depends on what the treacherous uncle knows about
them. He is constantly surrounded by four of his guards.
1) Emen-Tha Knows Nothing of Them: If the characters man-
age, somehow, to ply their way into an audience with the head of the
Lhoskian council under some pretense, he is civil but hurried, eager
to end the interview. The moment he discovers they know something
more of the incident with his brother, the Black Galleys, or the true
nature of the satyrs, however, he grows incredibly friendly and
invites them to a great banquet as his guests.
2) Emen-Tha Knows They Have the Sword of Kamas-Tha:
Emen-Tha will be an incredibly courteous host, inviting the characters
to stay and dine with him.
3) If They Arrived in a Black Galley: Emen-Tha will feign eager-
ness to bid on the Black Galley himself, if it has not yet been sold.
Either way he invites them to stay and dine with him.
The Banquet
Under one of many pretenses, the Dreamers might find themselves
at a banquet arranged by Emen-Tha. It is a sumptuous feast, intri-
cately presented, and above all private. It is held in a remote out-
building on the Tha estate, in an open-air portico covered by dark
red curtains.
As guests, the Dreamers sit on soft pillows around a low table. At
every door a guard stands with a halberd. Emen-Tha is charming and
talkative as course after course is served. In truth, if the characters
have made it this far, they are in great danger. Emen-Tha has set a
plan in motion.
The food and wine are drugged. Within the first hour of the feast,
each Dreamer must make a CON x 2% roll. Those failing fall asleep
at the table, which draws seemingly good-natured jokes from Emen-
Tha. Worse, drugged Dreamers who stay awake must roll INTx1 or
fail to care. They are overwhelmed by a feeling of floating enjoyment.
Once the Dreamers are asleep or are too full of bliss to resist,
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
they are bundled into sacks and dragged across town to the Ebony
Temple. They wake in the darkness and filth of the prison pits. (See
“The Prison Pits” on page 181.)
Characters who fake eating and drinking must roll Sneak, Per-
suade, Fast Talk, or DEX x 2% to do so convincingly. If they fail,
or if any refuse, Emen-Tha threatens the lives of their unconscious
companions unless the rest down their wine. While they drink,
Emen-Tha in his arrogance speaks truthfully to these clever Dream-
ers about his plot and the need to silence them.
Those who attempt to escape must fight Emen-Tha’s guards. Any
who abandon their unconscious friends to what is surely a hideous
fate lose 1/1D4 SAN. If they escape—especially if they kill Emen-
Tha—they are marked as murderers in the city and are hunted
tirelessly unless they publicly prove the true nature of the Men from
Leng and Emen-Tha’s partnership with them.
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Chapter Nine: Lhosk
Maras-Tha
Son of Kamas-Tha and Heir to the Council, age 17
STR 16 CON 15 SIZ 15 INT 12 POW 11
DEX 12 APP 17 EDU 12 SAN 55 HP 15
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Astronomy 38%, Bargain 51%, Climb 63%, Hide 26%,
Law 47%, Land Navigation 59%, Persuade 58%, Sailing 61%, Sea
Navigation 81%, Spot Hidden 59%, Swim 68%. Languages: Talunen
(Own) 60%, Cum’teha 12%, English 44%, Pross 18%, Skand 21%.
Attacks: Saber 41%, 1D8+1+db
Fighting Knife 55%, 1D4+2+db
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Interviewing Maras-Tha
The guards rebuff anyone seeking an interview by directly
approaching the front gate of the Tha house, unless money or Kamas’
sword is offered as persuasion.
If enough money is offered (equivalent to an Impressive treasure
with a Bargain roll or an Astonishing one otherwise; see page 155),
a direct interview with Maras-Tha may be possible. If his father’s
weapon is presented, an interview is certain.
But first the Dreamers must make a group Luck roll. If it fails, the
Dreamers are intercepted first by Emen-Tha’s personal guards, one
per Dreamer, pretending to help. After being led through a com-
plex maze of back streets to an apparent meeting with Maras-Tha,
the Dreamers find themselves at the Ebony Temple (see page 175),
where a band of 2D4+2 Men from Leng attempt to take them captive
and put them in the prison pits. If this ambush succeeds, the guards
take the sword of Kamas-Tha to Emen-Tha, who breaks it and drops
it into the depths of the sea.
If the Dreamers present his father’s sword to Maras-Tha, they
are officially recognized as members of house Tha. Maras swears to
help the characters whenever called upon with anything in his power,
until death.
Sneaking Inside
Every lavish estate in Lhosk is well guarded, and the house of Tha
is no exception. Each Dreamer hoping to gain entry to the estate
must make a Climb roll and two rolls of Sneak or DEX x 2%, which-
ever is better. Success at all three indicates the Dreamer climbs the
gate and finds egress into the main house.
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194
Chapter Nine: Lhosk
195
Arrival in
Ilek-Vad
Chapter Ten
ILEK-VAD - GLASS TURRETS AND DUSK -
Dreamers can arrive at Ilek-
THE WORLD IS DARK AND THE PEOPLE ARE SAD
Vad in three ways:
1) In a Black Galley “Until the steeples of his city clanked and sprang
Dreamers arriving in a
In an unburgherly apocalypse.
Black Galley will be an
odd sight, as those ships The doctor used his handkerchief and sighed.”
and the satyrs who pilot
—Wallace Stevens, “The Doctor of Geneva”
them never set foot in the
realm of the King of Dusk.
Such strangers will be met
on the docks by an armed
Ilek-Vad
contingent of the king’s
men. (See “A Black Galley
in Ilek-Vad” on page 197.)
Ilek-Vad on the Cerenarian Sea is a vast, beautiful city of minarets
2) From the and turrets, built upon and around the glassy labyrinths of the non-
Underworld human Gnorri—an underwater, tentacled race similar to mermen of
The Dreamers might crawl
from the earth, escorted by Earthly tales. The city has an odd local “reality.” As one approaches
Madaeker to the surface. it, the sun seems to settle into a position of eternal, red sunset which
They arrive on the outskirts
of the city without highlights the water and glass buildings of the city in the most
incident. Their comings and magnificent light. Full night falls only very rarely and very briefly.
goings remain their own
and they may enter the city Stranger still, those who call the city home fail to notice this oddities.
as unknown visitors. (See Only foreigners seem to sleep at all. The locals remain awake with
“Fellow Travelers” on page
198.) the sun in an ever-present now.
The city is ruled by the human dreamer Randolph Carter, who
3) In a Stolen comes from his citadel at the top of the city only once a year to sit
Pirate Ship
The Merhadeen pirates within the beautiful temple at Kiran at the edge of the city. The locals
are known and hated in say it is he who wills the city to be so, and who shapes and drives
the sunset city. Dreamers
arriving in a stolen the world in the surrounding area through his mind alone. All revere
pirate ship will be taken him, although none have clearly seen his face. They call him “King of
prisoner by the king’s
men and taken before the Sunset” or “King of Dusk” and always touch their hands to their
the Magistrate. (See “The lips when talking of him.
Magistrate and the Court”
on page 203.) Ilek-Vad is a city of perpetual sunset. Like a living painting the
streets are filled with rich shadows and beautiful red and yellow
highlights, and the sort of folk you might find in such a painting—
sad, withdrawn, furtive. The bearded and finny Gnorri ply their
strange trades in the sea-filled glass tunnels which intersect the city.
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Chapter Ten: Ilek-Vad
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
• The percussive or
The Twilight Guards
Dreamers arriving in Ilek-Vad in a method other than the sea find
melodious sound of a
song echoing from a the entrances to the city pass through thick, green-black walls. Upon
nearby glassy steeple.
closer examination the walls reveal themselves to be composed of a
• The shape of a crown on resilient crystal much like amber. The blocks are cut magnificently to
the head of a Gnorri
form patterns and pentacles across vast spaces. When seen by some-
staring for a moment
from the water inside a one making an Idea roll the patterns appear to show the visage of a
glass tunnel.
rather plain-looking man (cost: 0/1 SAN). This illusion is persistent;
• The texture of the scroll once seen it cannot be unseen. The eyes of the man seem to follow the
from the King of Dusk.
Dreamers as they move.
• The direction in which The gates and portcullis, which are crystalline like the walls that
the red sun hangs in
surround them, are open, though the way is blocked by city guards.
the sky.
As the Dreamers approach, they find the guards gathered around a
dice game beneath the portcullis, all clad in elaborate, colorful garb
and armed with ceremonial-looking halberds. A cat sleeps nearby
atop a barrel of salted fish, sated. The twilight falls in through the
opening, casting rainbows of reflections through the air. The entire
scene feels so completely like a dream—even for the Dreamlands!—
that the Dreamers have a hard time focusing unless they make Sanity
rolls. Those who fail stand and goggle until someone rouses them.
The guards themselves are ridiculously over-dressed in garb of
ceremony, but this does not seem to bother their game, which goes on
and on. This game is so involving that the guards don’t seem to notice
the Dreamers approaching. Instead they exchange a witty, repetitive
banter punctuated by occasional shouts over who has won and who
has lost. Dreamers observing the game for any length of time realize
it is an endless loop, with money being won and lost in a seamless
roundabout. The guards won’t notice this even if it is brought to their
attention.
Dreamers who wish to do so may simply pass by the men, walk-
ing carefully around them, and enter the city unmolested. But those
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Chapter Ten: Ilek-Vad
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
den rolls observe that the cat’s ears perk up at this statement. Lhosk,
Using Arram In Macero confides, understands much more of the machinations of
the Campaign Earth than do the people of Ilek-Vad.
Arram can be a great
resource. The cat has
seen much and knows 4) Do the Men from Leng Trade Here?
many secret places and
Macero’s face darkens. No, those in communion with the Nyar-
ways. Whether and how
he decides to assist the lathotep are not permitted to pass within the city walls. The Black
Dreamers remains up to
Galleys are not welcomed. Nyarlathotep is a god in direct opposition
the Keeper. Here are some
suggestions. to the King of Dusk. If the Dreamers have fled from the Men from
Leng, they will find no place safer than Ilek-Vad.
1) Randolph Carter
Orders Him to Assist
the Dreamers
Dreamers that win the
favor of the King of Dusk
Arram, Cat Apostate
may have Arram assigned This fat Maine Coon cat sleeps and watches on top of a barrel
to their service by the of salted fish, from which it occasionally retrieves a fresh morsel
kind king. Arram will serve
without any consideration through a gap in the top. The guards do not seem to mind. All cats
for himself, and will even are welcome in Ilek-Vad and they appear always fat, sated and happy
give his life to help the
characters in their quest. when seen in the streets.
(See “Randolph Carter, Any Dreamer approaching Arram is met by the creature’s inquisi-
the King of Dusk” on page
205.) tive gaze. One who attempts true communication with the creature
must make a POW x 3% roll. If it succeeds, the Dreamer “hears” the
2) Arram Breaks cat speak very clearly in his or her head. One who fails the roll but
His Oath to Help comes close (within 5 points) can catch snippets of thought from the
the Dreamers
This requires some cat. Those who fail completely see only a cat, though one that seems
roleplaying to work out, far smarter than any cat seen in the waking world. All cats “speak” in
but a storyline might be
spun where the cat hopes such a manner, it turns out, but only those Earthlings in communion
to escape the twilight city with the world of Dreams can understand their speech clearly.
and see the rest of the
world. The cat’s curiosity Dreamers who achieve communion with the cat learn his name is
and the magical pull of Arram. He is an outcast from his people and sleeps at the gate as a
the city might be set at
odds, and the Dreamers guard of sorts for his master, the King of Dusk. He sleeps here, he
might be the inciting event claims, because the minions of Nyarlathotep can hold no form or
necessary to move him
forward. illusion that cats cannot see through. He will not speak of the crimes
which brought him into the service of the King of Dusk, but will,
if treated with respect, assist the characters. Despite his status as a
criminal among cats, he is a loyal sort.
If the characters bypass the guard gate, Arram, full of curiosity,
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Chapter Ten: Ilek-Vad
follows them in the manner of cats. To detect this ‘tail’ the Dreamers
(Continued.)
must make a Spot Hidden roll and Arram must fail his Hide or Sneak
roll. 3) Arram Knows the
Dreamers are Marked
by Nyarlathotep
Arram and Hopes to
Cat Apostate, age 8 Redeem Himself
STR 2 CON 6 SIZ 1 INT 13 POW 14 The cat recognizes those
cursed, like himself, by
DEX 30 Move 10 SAN 70 HP 4 Nyarlathotep. Hoping
Damage Bonus: –1D6 to insult the dark lord,
he seeks to assist the
Skills: Climb 71%, Dodge 89%, Fast Talk 41%, Hide 81%, Naviga- characters in their escape.
tion 36%, Persuade 50%, Sneak 90%, Spot Hidden 90%, Track 40%. By foiling the machinations
of Nyarlathotep, Arram
Attacks: Bite 30%, 1D4+db seeks to redeem his status
Claw 40%, 1D3+db among his people.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Polis Dreary
Master of House Dreary, age 50
STR 16 CON 15 SIZ 16 INT 12 POW 12
DEX 11 APP 8 EDU 10 SAN 60 HP 16
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Accounting 12%, Bargain 22%, Fast Talk 52%, Oratory 35%,
Persuade 35%. Languages: Pross (Own) 60%, English 20%.
Attacks: Thrown Tankard, 25%, 1D3+db.
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Chapter Ten: Ilek-Vad
knows that such a time did exist. He is content to do his job. When-
ever he finds himself thinking about the past, and the time before, he
recalls the smiling face of a woman who is gone from his life now, and
thinks perhaps the coming of the king was a blessing.
Like all in Ilek-Vad, Polis wants for nothing, and therefore has no
goals—or at least no goals that can be understood by those not under
the power of the King of Dusk. He simply exists and will remain in
this state indefinitely.
The Magistrate
and the Court
Dreamers unfortunate enough to arrive in a stolen pirate vessel are
led to the docks in a similar manner to “A Black Galley In Ilek-Vad”
(page 197) but they are met at the docks by an overwhelming force
of city guards, armed to the teeth. The Merhadeen pirates are a com-
mon threat to those hoping to find port in Ilek-Vad, and their associa-
tion with Nyarlathotep is well known.
The guards order the Dreamers off the ship, calling them scoun-
drels and pirates. Protests are ignored. Foolish Dreamers hoping to
fight their way off should be discouraged with 1D6 HP damage from
prodding halberds. There really is no clear route of escape, and the
weapons of the city guards have a long reach. Captured Dreamers
are clamped in irons and moved through the winding streets of the
city toward a huge tower at its center. Locals emerge from the tiny
cramped buildings to line the street and spit at them.
They pass through a portcullised entrance to an inner keep and are
dragged down cobblestone streets to a white marble building which
looks like some sort of government house. They are dragged down
steps behind it and up a long hallway lit by oil lamps, and are thrown
into a small, low-ceilinged cell laid with damp straw. The characters
spend some time in a dank cell below the enormous tower. Those
making Listen rolls overhear the words “Magistrate Plumb” and
“King of Dusk” several times as the voices of the guards echo up the
corridor.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
After a long while their cell is opened and the Dreamers are
dragged upstairs by another route. The guards throw them into
a docket, a wooden box overseen by a parapet on which perches
the fattest man they have ever seen. This is Magistrate Plumb. He
spews at the characters a series of charges ranging from blasphemy
to piracy to kidnapping and murder. Any attempts by the Dreamers
to speak during the reading of the charges are shouted down by a
throng of locals that overlook the docket.
After this, the Dreamers are given opportunity to speak. Those
who stand up and speak must roll Oratory or INT x 2%. A character
who exhibits any falsehood during this speech is again shouted down.
Telling the truth and making the roll causes the crowd to pause and
murmur thoughtfully.
Plumb is a humorless tyrant. No matter how the Dreamers por-
tray themselves, Plumb finally launches into a tirade about their
crimes and the punishment in Ilek-Vad for those crimes: death by
gibbet. Shouts of glee follow this, and rotten fruit and vegetables are
launched at the characters. The Dreamers are dragged to their feet,
and just as the scene begins to descend into absolute chaos, silence
suddenly fills the air.
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Chapter Ten: Ilek-Vad
moving slowly, is rushing away at high speed. The figure says noth-
ing and responds to no actions. Attacks fail to hit or even be noticed.
The door shuts, leaving the room in stunned silence. It is long min-
utes before anyone reacts. Finally Magistrate Plumb leaps to his feet,
puts on an uncomfortable smile, steps forward and cordially invites
the characters to stay at his home. He is so completely and perfectly
self-abasing that it is difficult not to pity him (though some Dreamers
may take this moment to exact some petty revenge).
Randolph Carter,
The King of Dusk
The dreamer known as the King of Dusk, who rules Ilek-Vad, is
what remains of the human once called Randolph Carter. Born in
1873 in Boston, Carter was an antiquarian and student of Miska-
tonic University. For the past decade he has persisted wholly in the
Dreamlands, where his thoughts, wishes and dreams shape the world
in and around the secretive port of Ilek-Vad. Using magic unknown
to most dreamers, Carter’s mind controls local space and time in the
manner of a god.
To say Carter has had an eventful life is to understate his accom-
plishments and adventures. He encountered ghouls and their ilk
(in Lovecraft’s “The Statement of Randolph Carter”); then he met
an unknown beast haunting a 17th-century cemetery (in “The
Unnameable”). He plied the Dreamlands in search of the lost city
of his dreams (The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath), only to be told
by Nyarlathotep that it was merely a figment of boyhood memory.
Finally, after locating a mystical key to unlock the Dreamlands and
undertaking innumerable other adventures (“The Silver Key” and
“Through the Gates of the Silver Key”), Carter found his way to the
lost city at last—Ilek Vad.
Time is strange in the Dreamlands. In the waking world, Carter’s
adventures carry him through the year 1932. Yet here he is; nearly
100 years of dreamtime have passed since he took the throne. To the
people of Ilek-Vad it feels as if he has always ruled as the King of
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for nothing. Food, water, clothing and his every desire is perfect
and readily at hand, as if it simply materialized from his mind. Any
request of the Dreamers, from the simplest to the most outrageous,
is met in seconds. Though Carter avoids creating something out of
nothing in direct observation of the characters, he will if they ask it:
He provides a short demonstration where the room shifts in colors,
styles and location. The window to the twilight city is replaced by
a Tuscany sun, a bristling pine-filled wilderness, or the drying red
canals of some dead planet. His power is breathtaking.
Carter is friendly eager to speak with those who have news of
Earth. He probes the political conditions of the world, and news of
the Middle East in particular. How fare Egypt and Arabia? Are there
new leaders to speak of, any revolutions? He seems confused if the
Dreamers offer no news of such upheavals. He expected Nyarla-
thotep to emerge there as a leader under his own name by now.
Carter serves drinks and food of Earth, and listens intently to the
Dreamers’ story if they wish to share it with him. He is, he assures
them, the only one of this world who truly will understand them.
During the long conversation to come, Carter himself drinks a
golden drink from an emerald decanter. He does not offer it to the
Dreamers. If pressed, he refuses and laughs, saying, “This drink is far
too potent for uninitiated guests.”
If they threaten him, his countenance is not one of anger but
confusion. Within seconds the offending party learns that Randolph
Carter, the King of Dusk, is beyond such matters. Swords pass
harmlessly through him, blows fail to land, and magic dwindles and
collapses in on itself, leaving Carter perfect and unruffled. “My dear,
dear friends,” he says, “where has this conversation found itself?” He
forgives such “slights” with the wave of a hand. “I am your ally here,
and you might trust me as you trust yourself.”
Carter’s power is greater than one that affects only the world;
he can paralyze, manipulate and even seize control of the Dream-
ers themselves, operating them like puppets. But he resists doing so
unless the fight turns back upon the group. If Dreamers attack one
another, Carter seizes them all, and once their attention is secured he
lectures them on how to behave in front of a king.
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the heart of all realities. And they learn of the aid Carter received
The Flight from mysterious Nodens, who shouted in triumph at the frustration
of Randolph of the Crawling Chaos. The listeners gain +3% Cthulhu Mythos and
Carter lose 1/1D3 SAN, and must choose again: try to turn away, beg him to
“Off that vast hippocephalic
stop, or keep on.
abomination leaped the
doomed and desperate The Silver Key: Next Carter describes the Silver Key, the artifact
dreamer, and down
that he learned could open the way to the land of Dreams after he
through endless voids of
sentient blackness he fell. thought he had lost access to it forever. He describes Dream as the
Aeons reeled, universes
one way that a human being can forge for himself true meaning in
died and were born again,
stars became nebulae and life, the sort of meaning that is ultimately absent from the sterile
nebulae became stars,
faiths and sciences of the waking world. Of course, he observes, the
and still Randolph Carter
fell through those endless player characters have no doubt felt this for themselves. Perhaps,
voids of sentient blackness.
he speculates, that is why Nyarlathotep attempts to thwart them
“Then in the slow creeping and attempted to thwart Carter himself. The power of human dream
course of eternity the
seems to baffle, balk and enrage the Crawling Chaos. The listeners
utmost cycle of the cosmos
churned itself into another gain +5% Cthulhu Mythos, lose 1/1D6 SAN, and must choose again:
futile completion, and all
try to turn away, beg him to stop, or keep listening.
things became again as
they were unreckoned The Prolonged of Life: Then Carter describes some of what
kalpas before. Matter and
happened when he used the Silver Key. His encounter with ’Umr
light were born anew as
space once had known at-Tawil and the slumbering Ancient Ones that guard the boundaries
them; and comets, suns
between worlds. His realization that he—and each of the Dreamers,
and worlds sprang flaming
into life, though nothing too!—has countless other selves scattered throughout time and space
survived to tell that they
that reincarnate in strange ways again and again. How he mistakenly
had been and gone, been
and gone, always and came to share the body of one of his past selves, a hideous alien from
always, back to no first
bhole-eaten Yaddith. And the aeons he spent in that alien body jour-
beginning.
neying back to Earth, where he at last found the scroll that would
“And there was a
allow him to master the Silver Key and return to the Dreamlands.
firmament again, and a
wind, and a glare of purple The listeners gain +8% Cthulhu Mythos and lost 2/1D8+1 SAN.
light in the eyes of the
Once more they must choose to either attempt to turn away, or to beg
falling dreamer. There were
gods and presences and him to stop, or to hear yet more wisdom.
wills; beauty and evil, and
The Key and the Gate: If they still heed him, Carter shares the
the shrieking of noxious
night robbed of its prey. revelation that ’Umr at-Tawil is in fact a facet of Yog-Sothoth—the
For through the unknown
cosmic being that is somehow linked to all of time and space and yet
ultimate cycle had lived a
thought and a vision of a barred from taking shape in some times and spaces—and yet is also
dreamer’s boyhood, and
somehow the ultimate progenitor or source of Randolph Carter’s
own infinity of selves! Why, think of it! That may link Carter at
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some essential level to the Elder Things which bred shoggoths and
now there were remade a
mankind alike, and which some witch-cults sought—perhaps to the waking world and an old
cherished city to body and
Serpent Men of Valusia who crafted such mighty spells—to Great
to justify these things.
Cthulhu sleeping fitfully in his crypt under the waves, whose stirrings Out of the void S’ngac the
violet gas had pointed the
drive artists and psychics mad—even to hideous, hateful Tsathoggua
way, and archaic Nodens
of black N’kai—and it may link all of those to each of the Dreamers, was bellowing his guidance
from unhinted deeps.
too! His listeners gain +13% Cthulhu Mythos and lose 2D6 SAN as
their spinning minds correlate all these cosmic truths. “Stars swelled to dawns,
and dawns burst into
At that point, or at any point when a Dreamer begs him to stop,
fountains of gold, carmine,
or when any Dreamer goes temporarily or indefinitely insane, Carter and purple, and still the
dreamer fell. Cries rent the
stops his hypnotic tale.
aether as ribbons of light
“Too much knowledge gained too quickly,” he says, “can harm beat back the fiends from
outside. And hoary Nodens
even the stoutest mind.”
raised a howl of triumph
when Nyarlathotep, close
on his quarry, stopped
baffled by a glare that
seared his formless
hunting-horrors to grey
dust. Randolph Carter had
indeed descended at last
the wide marmoreal flights
to his marvellous city, for
he was come again to the
fair New England world
that had wrought him.”
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Asleep In the
Palace of Dusk
One of the few places characters might recall sleeping in Ilek-Vad
is the Palace of Dusk. Here, guests can manipulate the world in
limited ways, altering the change that Randolph Carter has worked
upon the town at large, allowing themselves to feel hunger, thirst, and
the need for sleep.
The Dreamers find themselves each in a huge, ornate room of per-
fect appearance, with an endless supply of all needed things. Bureaus
open on perfect sets of armor, boots and gear, each sized exactly for
the character. Wardrobes are filled with perfect analogues of Earthly
suits. Food and drink are laid at the door with a slight knock. Those
opening the door find their food upon a gold tray, though the party
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The Couriers
The beasts first appear as small dots descending from the moon.
Even at vast distances their shrieks and the beat of their wings can be
heard. They have been dispatched by Nyarlathotep to collect anyone
in the Palace of Dusk, as they do whenever the pazu overcomes the
king. Usually the king is alone. Tonight their task means collecting
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The Shantaks
Steeds of Nyarlathotep
STR 34 CON 13 SIZ 50 INT 4 POW 11
DEX 10 Move 6/30 flying HP 32
Damage Bonus: +4D6.
Attacks: Bite 55%, 2D6+2.
Armor: 9 points of tough hide.
Sanity Loss: 0/1D6
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The Tower of
Nyarlathotep
After a timeless flight through black space the Shantaks swoop
low over the glowing surface of the moon, clutching the Dreamers
in their talons. The gong continues to ring out. The pocked lunar
surface sweeps by at incredible speed as the Shantaks accelerate
towards the dark side. Dreamers who succeed at Spot Hidden spy
swarms of creatures moving on the surface below. What these beasts
are cannot be discerned.
When the Shantaks cross to the dark side of the moon, the Dream-
ers spy vast fires lit in mystical patterns below. Soon they see a mile-
high crystal tower lit by starlight. There the Shantaks drop them and
Randolph Carter roughly on a vast parapet the size of a city block.
The tower is simple in shape but filagreed and carved to insane
precision with millions of rectilinear patters. Letters and symbols
draw the eye. The crystal surface seems to collect and redirect light,
providing a ghostly and perfect illumination. But if the Dreamers
gaze through the surface, this clarity is replaced by a milky pearles-
cence so the interior cannot be spied. Four huge doorways open to
the inside of the tower, which must be the size of an Earthly arena.
The gong continues to ring out.
As the giant birds fly off, Randolph Carter stumbles to his feet and
begins to walk into the tower. His face is that of a man in a happy
reverie, his eyes heavy-lidded and lost, a dim smile on his face. His
sleeping mind is under the control of Nyarlathotep. When he is on
the moon, his will is not his own.
The Dreamers, opium addicts on the waking world, may find
Carter’s happy, useless delirium unpleasantly familiar.
Inside the tower they find a giant throne room. The pale crystal
darkens like a blood clot, resolving itself in a deep red throne of
crystal upon a dais. On the dais, next to the throne, a huge, muscular,
dark-skinned man smashes a crystal gong at intervals with a hammer.
It is Nyarlathotep himself. Dreamers may recognize him from an
earlier encounter.
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Chapter Ten: Ilek-Vad
Each time the hammer falls on the gong, the gong turns blood-red
and shatters, scattering pieces into the night air where they float and
vanish. The gong reforms before each new stroke.
If the Dreamers thought to enter stealthily, they are lucky—they
don’t even need to succeed at Hide or Sneak rolls. Nyarlathotep is
supremely confident in his position here and fears nothing. He is not
looking for intruders. Those clever enough to stay out of sight, or
to circle around behind the throne, go undiscovered while the Dark
Man gloats over the King of Dusk.
Each beat of the gong brings the King of Dusk closer. When he
stands at the dais, he stops, and Nyarlathotep places the hammer on
a metal tray next to the throne. He picks up a small emerald decanter
filled with golden liquid and moves back to the king.
“My dear friend Mr. Carter,” the Dark Man intones in a rich voice,
“welcome once again to my dream—and your nightmare.”
The Pazu
If the Dreamers wait and watch, they see Nyarlathotep feed
Randolph Carter the golden liquid, the pazu. They will recall seeing a
similar liquid in the Palace of Dusk earlier. Carter drinks greedily as
Nyarlathotep, towering more than two feet taller, coos and comforts
him, smiling the whole time. After Carter takes several drinks, Nyar-
lathotep places the decanter down next to the hammer, reclines in his
throne, and questions Carter in an alien language.
Isolated Earthly words can be heard from time to time: New York,
London, Cairo, Nairobi, Shanghai.
More clearly, the Dreamers hear the pharaoh ask whether Carter
has mastered “the play.” Only when Carter says he has does the Dark
One give him another thirsty sip of pazu. Nyarlathotep tells Carter
that the time is upon them and he must perform his part perfectly.
A Dreamer foolish enough to imbibe the pazu may do so without
discovery. Others observing someone who drinks the liquid simply
see the Dreamer smile and then fade, finally disappearing in a burst
of light. (Cost to witness: 0/1 SAN.) The drinker is effectively dead.
It is clear to all who observe this that the drug is not an escape but a
death, either slow or very fast.
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Confrontation
Dreamers who confront Nyarlathotep had better have a good
idea what they are doing. They are facing the Crawling Chaos in his
palace, on his throne, at the height of his power, and he is not to be
trifled with. Until Carter is somehow woken, the Dreamers remain
unable to speak.
Once he sees them, Nyarlathotep welcomes the Dreamers and
speaks much like he did in “The Dream Within a Dream” on page
157. A Dreamer who makes a a Psychology roll (or an Idea roll at 1/5
chance) detects that Nyarlathotep is in fact fearful of their presence,
both surprised and disturbed, though hiding it well. He takes the
characters on twisting paths of logic, neither confirming or denying
that they are part of his plans, all the while puffing up his chest in an
effort to appear omniscient.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
(Continued.)
Nodens Appears
If the Dreamers call on Nodens while at Nyarlathotep’s throne—it
takes a shout, not a thought or a whisper—they are swept back by an
explosion of light and sound. A giant form, in the shape of a hulking
man but nothing more than a shadow, stands between Carter, the
Dreamers and Nyarlathotep. Carter throws himself to the ground in
abasement.
The great shadowy being booms at Nyarlathotep: “What interloper
stands before the watcher who oversaw the creation of all things?”
Each syllable shakes the tower. (Cost: 0/1D10 SAN.)
A look of abject misery and defeat crosses the features of the
Crawling Chaos. Then he locks eyes with the Dreamers in a look
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Escape to Ilek-Vad
1/1D6 SAN. Nyarlathotep
gives a failed attack no
more than a hateful sneer.
Dreamers who wake again in Ilek-Vad find Carter awake and of
A Dreamer who successfully
a different countenance than when they first met. Ilek-Vad itself,
attacks Nyarlathotep and
though still sedate with contentment, is of a lighter mood. The survives the reprisal gains
1D10 SAN upon returning
Dreamers, Carter claims, have saved him from the poison of the pazu
safe to Ilek-Vad.
and the secret plans of Nyarlathotep, which would have eventually
twisted his mind and brought ruin down upon the twilight town.
They are heroes of the first order and his saviors.
He holds in even more reverence and awe those that effected a
direct appearance of Nodens. Long has Carter tried to stir the Cre-
ator from his throne outside of all.
Without the pollution of the pazu, Carter is certain he will be able
to achieve communion with that being soon.
The heroes of Ilek-Vad are sent on their way to where they must
go, the Enchanted Wood. The King of Dusk gives them anything
they desire that he can make reality, along with his best and fondest
wishes.
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Chapter Eleven
SARNATH - EMPTY STREETS - THE DOOM -
A TURQUOISE MONSTER MOVING ROUND
Departing the
Underworld
As the Dreamers prepare to leave the Underworld (see page 104),
those clever enough to ask the ghoul Madaeker about their surround-
ings discover he knows a bit of the surface in this area. His knowl-
edge is limited (and somewhat wrong) and mostly learned through
his brief contact with other ghouls. Still, it is better than nothing.
Madaeker says he cannot leave the Underworld, but that he has
heard that above the Peaks of Thok are the ruins of a great human
city called Sarnath, and that it has been abandoned for thousands
of years. The ghouls speak of Sarnath in hushed tones and refuse to
elaborate what caused its destruction, whether an invading army,
plague or something more sinister.
After this Madaeker says no more, except to bid the characters
depart as quickly as possible; every moment beneath the earth is
another chance for them to fall under the curse of the Underworld.
The ghoul himself cannot leave. He suffers the horrific curse of the
Underworld already and would perish in the light.
Wise Dreamers will find leaving Madaeker behind bittersweet.
The ghoul has indeed kept his word and more, struggling and per-
haps almost dying to bring the characters through to daylight on the
other side.
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The Idol
In the midst of the ruins near the lake stands a huge, roughly-hewn
idol of soapy green stone: a giant water-lizard with ingots of gold for
eyes and a fan of giant blue-green gems along its neck. It stands on
four legs, raising its head as if it has heard something, looking to the
lake. Inhuman, unrecognizable writing is etched on its base. (If the
Collector is present, he cannot read it.)
The idol has been festooned with fresh lilies, still-smoldering
incense, the gutted remains of dogs and recent sprays of blood.
It seems completely out of place, sitting as it does amidst grey
grass and a cracked landscape. It is untouched by the elements or
time, immaculate save for the blood of offerings.
A Dreamer touching the statue receives a disturbing sensation like
a deep and subtle shaking of the body by some unseen force, as if the
statue were a tuning fork imparting its vibration by touch. (Cost: 0/1
SAN.)
The Offering
The Dreamers hear distant weeping cries from the lake. Nearly
fifty feet out in the water the head and arms of a man can be spied,
just barely. The man is lashed to a crude cross, which apparently is
sunk into the marshy land and has been overrun by the tide. It is
unclear if the lake connects to a larger body of water, but in a few
more minutes, if the tide continues, the man will drown.
The man’s face is turned to face the statue but he is far enough
out that he spies the Dreamers even if they don’t approach the statue
proper. He shouts in Talunen but switches to English if he hears
them speak that tongue. Whether they understand him or not, he is
clearly pleading for rescue. If they wait and let him drown it will cost
each Dreamer 0/1D4 SAN.
Rescuing him requires a Swim roll. If it succeeds the Dreamers
bring him to shore safely. Each Dreamer who fails the Swim roll
must make a CON x 5 roll or suffer 1D3 damage from inhaling a
mouthful of green water before they get back to shore.
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Uvan Go
Thief and Unlucky Descendent of Sarnath, age 50
STR 10 CON 14 SIZ 9 INT 12 POW 12
DEX 15 APP 7 EDU 9 SAN 60 HP 12
Damage Bonus: None.
Skills: Bargain 43%, Climb 55%, Conceal 71%, Fast Talk 44%, Hide
70%, Sneak 54%, Spot Hidden 60%. Languages: Ulet (Own) 60%,
English 35%, Talunen 33%.
Attacks: Dagger 55%
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Chapter Eleven: Sarnath
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the ruins of Sarnath until the coming of the Doom. Their magic
The Green points are enhanced by recent sacrifices and rituals.
Priests’ Spells If the Green Priests feel Uvan Go is under physical threat of harm
Black Box: Costs 24 magic
or death—that is, it seems the Dreamers or some threat not related
points and 1D8 SAN, and
takes three rounds. Two to the Doom might injure or kill the thief—they descend from their
or more magicians may
mountain overlook and attack.
combine MP to cast it, but
each must know the spell The first round of the encounter, at a distance of 30 feet, two of the
and each suffers the SAN
priests begin to cast the spell Stupefying Blast on the two Dream-
loss. This horrific magical
effect manifests as a ers with the greatest SIZ. This takes two rounds. In the first of the
floating cloud of monstrous
two rounds of that incantation, two other priests cast White Webs of
faces, brimstone and blue-
white magical power. It Soren to immobilize Uvan Go and anyone threatening them. The last
engulfs a single target and
priest defends his compatriots with his staff. If more than one priest
completely obscures the
victim from sight. It melts is killed, all remaining priests retreat and cast Black Box, targeting
and mutates the victim
the most dangerous Dreamers with the horrific effects of the spell.
to terrifying effect. The
victim’s INT and POW If the priests manage to immobilize the whole group, they bind
remain unchanged, but all
them all to leave them for the Doom. If the characters manage to
other stats are affected.
Roll 2D6 for STR, CON, SIZ, overcome the priests without killing them all, they can easily learn
DEX and APP. On each, if
from them the whole story of the Doom and Uvan Go. The priests
the result is even this 2D6
is added to the stat; if it fight to the death to keep Uvan Go alive, bound and in Sarnath for
is odd, it is subtracted. If
the Doom at nightfall.
any stat except APP goes
below 1, the target dies.
If the target survives, his
or her body is horrifically
The Green Priests
changed, with blights,
No. Str Con Siz Pow Dex DB MP HP
malformations and buboes
covering every available #1 16 6 11 13 17 +1D4 15 9
area of flesh. The victim #2 18 14 12 9 14 +1D4 21 13
becomes an unrecognizable
#3 8 6 12 9 14 — 12 9
monster. This effect is
permanent. #4 15 6 8 10 4 — 12 7
#5 10 9 13 12 3 — 32 11
(Continued.)
Skills in Common: Dodge (DEX x 2) + 10%, Hide 35%. Languages:
Ulet (Own) 55%, English 30%.
Attacks: Staff 41%, 1D8+db
Spells: Black Box, Stupefying Blast, White Web of Soren
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Chapter Eleven: Sarnath
Attempting to Leave
Simply leaving Sarnath proves much harder than can be imagined,
especially with Uvan Go in tow. In fact, as long as the thief and
descendant of the priest of Sarnath is with the group or shadowing
the group, the Dreamers cannot leave. On a road that appears to lead
straight out of the ruins a greenish fog falls. After a while it becomes
clear the Dreamers and Uvan Go are walking deeper into the ruins
and toward the statue of Bokrug, not away. While crossing the lake
they swim or paddle through the fog only to land on the very shore
they tried to leave behind.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Worse yet, if they free Uvan Go—even if they refuse to let him
join them—he follows and must be physically restrained, knocked
unconscious or killed to keep him from tagging along.
Killing Uvan Go
Uvan Go is pathetic and difficult but is not a direct threat except
under the most isolated circumstances. Murdering him in cold blood
is possible only if a Dreamer fails a Sanity roll. Dreamers who suc-
ceed at the Sanity roll cannot bring themselves to attack him or allow
him to be killed. If they attack him despite succeeding at the Sanity
roll they lose 1/1D10 SAN for killing him or 1/1D4 if he runs away.
If Go is attacked while mobile, allow the thief a Dodge roll to
avoid the attack. If the thief survives, from that point on he will keep
his distance, and if pursued he falls back and shadows the Dreamers,
staying out of sight. They locate him only if they make a Spot Hidden
roll and Uvan Go fails a Sneak roll.
If the characters bind Go, it is likely that the Green Priests—fear-
ful of their offering being slain before the appointed time—will
attempt to save him by attacking the characters. The priests attack in
force armed with staves and magic. (See “The Green Priests Attack”
on page 235.)
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Chapter Eleven: Sarnath
Eluding Uvan Go
Eluding Uvan Go is unlikely. The thief is extremely clever and
watchful—he did not survive the Plaza of Snakes by being unob-
servant—and as desperate as he is, will easily outpace a group on
foot. Even if the Dreamers attempt to flee at high speed, Uvan Go
shadows the group, hoping to sneak in and rob them when they make
camp.
The Dreamers must roll Spot Hidden and Uvan Go must fail a
Sneak roll for them to locate him. Even then, the thief runs for cover
to start the whole shadowing attempt over again. Dreamers hoping to
run the thief down must beat his CON with theirs on the Resistance
Table. If Go wins, he outruns the pursuers and begins to shadow the
group again. If the Dreamers win, Go collapses, exhausted from the
pursuit.
Binding Uvan Go
Once Uvan Go is freed from his crucifix, he is extremely difficult
to truss up again. The Dreamers would need to either overpower him
or knock him unconscious to tie him up once more. If they attempt it,
they must make a group Luck roll. If this fails, Go can make a Dodge
roll against the attack.
If the thief’s Dodge roll succeeds, he flees the area and shadows
the group. (See “Eluding Uvan Go” for more details.) If he fails, the
attacks land normally. Once he is knocked unconscious, of course, it
is easy to bind Go up once more.
To grapple Uvan Go and bind him while he’s awake, the Dreamers
must make three Grapple rolls in a row. If they do, Go is held down
and may be bound. If the Dreamers fail at two Grapple attacks in a
row, Uvan Go struggles free and runs off.
Once tied up, if not silenced, Go swears and shouts at the Dream-
ers. If they ever intimate that they may kill him, Go begins to shriek,
repeating their threats. This draws the Green Priests down from their
mountain overlook to “save” their offering. (See “The Green Priests
Attack,” page 235.)
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Chapter Eleven: Sarnath
cessfully crossing the water brings the Dreamers, cold and wet, to a
series of low hills to the south. From this vantage point, the spires of
Akurion near the ruins of Sarnath are the only signs of habitation.
The only way out of the valley is further up into the hills. Away
from Sarnath the land becomes more verdant and treacherous. The
Dreamers must travel great distances back and forth to avoid dead-
falls and huge clumps of stinging nettles.
Soon, the Dreamers come to the place where the hills drop off
to the south and fall into a great, open plain of nothing. The view is
disconcerting. The trees and grasses fade below them as the hills
descend and lead out into a vast, open plain broken only by the
distant grey horizon. It is a formless plain of dust, not quite a desert,
with no trees, structures or visible landmarks.
Wise Dreamers should be filled with dread. Any NPCs urge the
party to turn back.
Dreamers foolish enough to continue south find days and days of
emptiness—they spy not a single living thing. As they move further
south, the sun becomes an odd, wan, indistinct shape in the sky, and
the moon at night seems to loom larger and larger.
Finally, the Dreamers come upon a crack in the ground, the first
natural landmark spied since the hills. The further south they go, the
more cracks they spy, and these cracks seem to intertwine to form
larger, cube-shaped sections of land the size of towns. Each tilts
slightly, as if they were slammed together by some huge force, like
children’s blocks hastily shoved together. At last, at the most terrible
distance from civilized lands, when the Dreamers have been tread-
ing on the cobblestones of the world, they come to the edge of the
Dreamlands themselves.
There, they can goggle over the edge of the world. At the south-
ernmost extent the building-blocks of the world have dropped away
in an uneven zig-zag of cubes, which simply end at the blankness of
the void. (Cost: 1/1D10 SAN.) Here, at night the moon seems to fill
the sky, while by day the sun is nothing but an oblong blue-white
speck. Dreamers who turn back north find themselves at Sarnath in
no time. Those who explore over the edge of the world plummet into
the abyss and are lost forever.
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Doom
“Then, close to the hour of
Manifestations
midnight, all the bronze
gates of Sarnath burst
open and emptied forth
of the Doom
Those trapped in the loop of “leaving” are subject to any manner of
a frenzied throng that
blackened the plain, so mystical manifestations. As darkness falls a green miasma of fog rises
that all the visiting princes
and these manifestations grow in power and appearance until they
and travelers fled away
in fright. For on the faces rise up and begin to consume the party one by one. It is important for
of this throng was writ a
the Keeper to construct a clear narrative here of the group wandering
madness born of horror
unendurable, and on their through the fog and occasionally being separated and frightened by
tongues were words so
visions.
terrible that no hearer
paused for proof. Men
whose eyes were wild
with fear shrieked aloud
Becoming Separated
of the sight within the Dreamers not remaining with their group are likely to become lost.
king’s banquet-hall, where
Every time a character sets off to complete some task alone in the
through the windows
were seen no longer the mist, he or she must make a Luck roll. Failure indicates the character
forms of Nargis-Hei and
is lost in the smoke, unable to locate the other Dreamers. If it suc-
his nobles and slaves, but
a horde of indescribable ceeds, the lone character finds the group again after a few minutes of
green voiceless things with
frantic searching and shouting.
bulging eyes, pouting,
flabby lips, and curious Uvan Go, for his part, clutches at the strongest Dreamer and
ears; things which danced
refuses to let go. He constantly urges the group forward, and to
horribly, bearing in their
paws golden platters set remain together, and openly states his fear of things in the mist.
with rubies and diamonds
and containing uncouth
flames. And the princes and The Ghostly Procession
travelers, as they fled from
The Dreamers are overtaken by a seeping green-gray mist which
the doomed city of Sarnath
on horses and camels and seems to subsume them and obscure sight. All Spot Hidden rolls are
elephants, looked again
halved. Soon, they begin to hear distant sounds. Those making Listen
upon the mist-begetting
lake and saw the gray rolls recognize the beat of a drum and the clatter of tambourines.
rock Akurion was quite
Soon shadows appear in the fog, dancing and moving in line, but
submerged.”
never clearly seen, marching off into the smoke. No matter how the
H.P. Lovecraft, “The Doom
characters pursue, they cannot overtake this procession, though it
that Came to Sarnath”
can be clearly heard. (Cost: 0/1 SAN.)
The shadows cavort and shout in an alien language, but as the
procession winds along they begin to shout in unison a word that
Uvan Go at least understands: “BOKRUG! BOKRUG!” This chant
rises in madness until it reaches a deafening crescendo, and then sud-
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Chapter Eleven: Sarnath
denly stops mid-word. The shadows, too, instantly vanish. (Cost: 0/1
SAN.)
Those searching the mist who make (halved) Spot Hidden rolls
come upon the remnants of the procession: discarded masks, sticks
of incense (still warm), confetti and a black liquid which seems to be
blood. No people can be seen.
The Beings of Ib
This manifestation only occurs to a separated party member. As
the lone Dreamer wanders in the mist, seeking the group, he or she
hears the squelching footsteps of something large and wet. With a
Listen roll the Dreamer can tell this creature, whatever it is, walks on
two legs.
Soon, the smell arrives, the dank and rich odor of something rot-
ting in a lake. The footprints continue to shadow the dreamer’s own,
and if the character shouts (either to their group or as a warning) he
or she hears a low moaning croak in response.
This croaking voice begins to sound out more and more often,
building into a ululation that finally can be discerned as laughter.
(Cost: 0/1 SAN.) The wet sound of slapping feet rushes toward the
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
A Being from Ib
Flapping squelcher
STR 8 CON 9 SIZ 14 INT 13 POW 11
DEX 10 Move 7/8 swimming HP 12
Damage Bonus: none.
Attacks: Paws (two attacks) 40%, 1D4
Armor: None.
Sanity Loss: 0/1D6
Bokrug
This happens only to an isolated Dreamer. Something huge shifts
in the fog. With a Listen roll the Dreamer hears the crunch and clat-
ter of rocks and the sound of something like canvas pulled across a
stone floor. The ground shakes and the dreamer stumbles.
Something heavy and enormous moves towards the Dreamer. Fear
begins to build, leaving the Dreamer breathless and ready to run. A
smell gathers and becomes overwhelming, a musty stench of some-
thing long dead but still ripe. (Cost: 0/1 SAN.) The character must
make a Luck roll or be overcome by the need to flee, to be anywhere
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Chapter Eleven: Sarnath
but here. The sounds become more and more frequent, as does the
power of the earthquake.
The Dreamer is drawn to a globe of white glowing in the mist. As
the Dreamer approaches, it appears to be an opalescent stone the size
of a shield, embedded in rough rock. It glows with an unnatural blue-
white light. If the Dreamer touches it, a smaller, darker circle spins
into view on the stone and focuses on the Dreamer, and it takes only a
moment for the character to realize that it is an eye. (Cost: 1/1D6
SAN.)
By the time the character realizes the truth, that he or she is on
monstrous Bokrug, it is too late. The creature shifts, sending the
Dreamer flailing into the fog, falling down the beast and off to the
ground (1D4+1 HP damage). The white eyes rise up to an incredible
height, focused on the Dreamer, and then rushes down as if going in
for the kill (1/1D4 SAN).
The killing blow never comes. Bokrug is gone. The character is left
in the silent fog, looking for his or her compatriots.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The Consumption
of Uvan Go
A gathering terror engulfs the group if they are unfortunate
enough to still be in the company of Uvan Go when the last rays of
sunlight disappear from the valley of Sarnath. Sounds slowly fill the
air: chanting, a relentless drumbeat, exploding fireworks, and the
fevered shouts of worshippers in an odd language. Finally, horrifi-
cally, Uvan Go is struck and paralyzed by some force, and a ghost
world falls in around the characters. (Cost: 1/1D4 SAN.)
The Dreamers are surrounded by a magical shadow of Sarnath as
it once was, overlapping the ruins at their feet, restoring the city to its
former glory. Ghosts dance in the streets, cavorting outside the trans-
parent outlines of a vast and ornate temple to celebrate their long-ago
destruction of Ib and its beings. These ghost citizens smile and laugh
but do not react to the characters. Instead they walk straight through
them. (Cost: 0/1 SAN.)
Uvan Go, foaming at the mouth, begins to shake, and then begins
to change. He transforms into a ghost-like image of his lost ances-
tor Taran-Ish, the high priest of ancient Sarnath, and then seems
to fall in step with the other ghostly inhabitants of the city. (Cost:
1/1D4 SAN.) He wears the illusion of Taran-Ish’s form like a spectral
blanket, but those looking closely with a Spot Hidden roll can see
Uvan Go trapped in this illusion, his eyes wide, pleading and full of
consciousness. (Cost: 0/1 SAN.)
Pulling Uvan Go from this pre-described course is not possible.
Attempts to stop him or block his way cause the character interfer-
ing with his path to be flung backwards as if struck by a STR 60
hand, suffering 1D8+1D4 HP damage. The only thing which can
interrupt the chain of events moving forward past this point is killing
Uvan Go. Doing so dooms Ilarnek to the wrath of Bokrug. Realizing
afterward that by killing Uvan Go they have killed Ilarnek itself costs
1D6+1/1D20 SAN.
Playing out the illusion, Uvan Go/Taran-Ish enters the temple and
within it finds the actual statue of Bokrug, not a ghostly illusion. The
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Chapter Twelve
THE ENCHANTED WOOD - ULTHAR - THE ZOOGS -
OF THE TWO DREAMS, NIGHT AND DAY
Dreamers searching for a gate to the waking world will find many
who know of such a passage. But none exist in civilized realms
except the gate in the Enchanted Wood, located near the town of
Ulthar on the River Skai. Most who are asked know where this city
lies and will gladly direct travelers there.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
the quiet patter of cats’ paws. Dreamers often vanish the night after
Menes’ Prayer they arrive. Still others remain for days or weeks of local time, sleep-
“On the third morning
ing in the fields, in barns or in spare rooms, living off the good will of
of the wanderers’ stay
in Ulthar, Menes could the locals. The locals think nothing of this. It is the way of the city.
not find his kitten; and
Player characters hoping to settle into Ulthar find ready accom-
as he sobbed aloud in
the market-place certain modations simply by asking. There are no taverns or inns to speak of,
villagers told him of the
and money does not change hands for such things in Ulthar. With the
old man and his wife,
and of sounds heard in elasticity of the dream, there is always room and food enough for all.
the night. And when he
heard these things his
Fellow Dreamers
his arms toward the sun
and prayed in a tongue no
villager could understand;
though indeed the villagers Dreamers from Earth are a common sight in Ulthar. They are
did not try very hard to
completely recognizable, due mostly to the look of awestruck wonder
understand, since their
attention was mostly on their faces and their similar dress. Their smiles and laughter are
taken up by the sky and
without care, unlike the more work-a-day residents of the city, who
the odd shapes the clouds
were assuming. It was very glance at them with occasional bemusement as they pass.
peculiar, but as the little
Travelers from Earth are cared for by the good graces of the
boy uttered his petition
there seemed to form locals—such is one of the laws of Ulthar. Dreamers are fed, clothed
overhead the shadowy,
as needed, and even outfitted for adventure in the world beyond, if
nebulous figures of exotic
things; of hybrid creatures they wish. Ulthar has long been a trade capital due to the huge influx
crowned with horn-flanked
of people. The people of Earth draw many foreigners to trade and set
disks. Nature is full of such
illusions to impress the up shop in such a bustling city. The dreamers themselves are a tourist
imaginative.”
attraction.
H.P. Lovecraft, “The Cats of The player characters can easily find a pliable traveler from Earth
Ulthar”
on the winding streets of Ulthar and question him or her. However,
these people are difficult to manage, wistful and distracted by their
new surroundings. Getting one to sit still and answer questions
proves extremely hard.
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
report being drawn away from danger by a lone cat who called to
them. Others followed the light out of the Enchanted Wood. All
arrived in the daytime.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
It is his job, he says, to mediate disputes within the city and to see
to the needs of dreamers that exceed the provenance of the locals. He
is burgomaster for life, having been appointed nearly eighty years
before—though he looks no more than sixty himself—by the Keeper
of Dreams.
Kranon can explain the rules of the city, the source of the dream-
ers, the rules about killing cats, the ban on alcohol, the danger of the
Zoogs to those near the Enchanted Wood, and function of the Keeper
of Dreams. (See page 254.)
Kranon takes particular interest in the Dreamers and their story.
He seems to know immediately when a character is being truthful or
evasive, and those who tell the absolute truth find the Burgomaster
a valuable ally. He confirms the connection between the Men from
Leng and the dark lord Nyarlathotep; and that long before, such
creatures were banished from Ulthar and surrounding areas by a
powerful magical curse by an unknown god. (The same curse ban-
ished the creatures of the Underworld forever to the depths.) No
Men from Leng may cross the borders of the city proper.
Kranon advises the characters to outfit themselves and seek the
Keeper of Dreams—for if there is a story more deserving of his favor,
Kranon has not heard it. Once they find the Keeper of Dreams they
can continue on with whatever gift he might grant them.
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
Kranon is a huge man, built more sideways than vertically, and his
blue eyes glitter from beneath his bushy silver eyebrows. He wears a
spade beard of blond, though more and more the silver creeps in, and
has a solid set of yellow teeth like a picket.
He wears a red and white cassock along with a leather jerkin, and
an inordinate amount of bronze jewelry. (This is traditional, a gift
from city elders on a yearly basis, and indicates his great age). His
hat is shaped in a T and hangs on his head in a manner which sug-
gests it is always about to fall off.
Kranon was born in Ulthar 112 years ago to two farmers on the
edge of the Enchanted Wood. In childhood he had many dealings
with the tiny, terrifying creatures known as the Zoogs, who once
wandered far beyond the edge of the woods.
In his twenty-fifth year, Kranon took up residence in Ulthar,
becoming a clark at the temple. He served for many years and
became a just and well-liked politician. He met the Keeper of Dreams
in his 32nd year and was granted a key to the ramshackle cottage at
the base of the temple of the Old Ones. Inside he found the garments
of the burgomaster, and realized his greatest wish had been fulfilled.
Since then he has served the city, and the spirit which guards it, loy-
ally.
Kranon is concerned only with performing the functions of his job
and title. He will do anything, even give his life, to fulfill that goal.
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
Attacks against him are useless. They lead only to the attacker
looking foolish.
The Keeper of Dreams knows that the Dreamers seek a portal
back to Earth, and possibly a restoration of their Earthly forms, and
that they seek revenge there on Mr. Lao. He grants them a trinket:
a small diamond set in the ellipse of an eye, a blue-white stone that
twinkles even in absolute darkness.
This is the key to the Wood. With it, you can cross the threshold. It will not
protect you from what haunts that space, however, and it is only of use at night.
Fear the things that move in the dark. They have allies from beyond this world.
With that, the Keeper of Dreams tips his hat and walks away.
Watchful Dreamers see him transform into a small boy, pulling along
a wooden toy duck, before he turns a corner and is gone. (Cost: 0/1
SAN.)
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
trees of the Enchanted Wood are like a wall. There are no outliers,
simply a clear line of great trunks whose canopy completely envelops
in darkness what is underneath. It is beautiful and intimidating.
Dreamers attempting to enter the Enchanted Wood without the
trinket from the Keeper or Dreams or his map to the Stone Door
find themselves turned around by some subtle but inextricable force.
Within fifty feet of walking in they find themselves emerging from
the forest at the same point they entered. This power is impossible to
counteract with logic, markings, string, maps or any other method.
Even magical means such as teleportation and Directed Dreaming
seem unable to break the effect of the enchantment.
If they find and wait at the point just before they become turned
around they can stand there indefinitely. The trees are huge and
close together, broken up occasionally by paths and clearings lit by
glowing mushrooms. Dreamers making Listen or Spot Hidden rolls
can detect the Zoogs. These creatures hover at the periphery of the
light, watching the Dreamers with interest. They make no attempt to
interfere until the Dreamers enter deeper into the Enchanted Wood.
(See “The Haunt of the Zoogs” on page 261.)
Occasionally, and only during the day, a new dreamer from Earth
can be found wandering out from the perimeter of the forest. The
newcomer is inevitably alone, clothed in a basic linen garment, car-
rying a waterskin, a pack filled with leavened bread, and a walking
stick. He or she is friendly and talkative but remembers little of what
happened between slumbering on Earth and arriving in the woods.
If asked about the items, the newcomers tend to laugh and then
look confused, as if the answer was obvious but suddenly forgotten.
On a group Luck roll, the newcomer might utter, “The . . . man . . .
gave them to me.” If this line of questioning is pursued, the rest is a
complete blank. All dreamers questioned say they are to go to the city
of Ulthar, and seem to know where it is, though how and why they
know this they cannot say.
Player characters that enter the Enchanted Wood with the trinket
from the Keeper of Dreams are not hindered as they walk deeper
into the forest. But they may find exploring the Enchanted Wood a
dangerous proposition.
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
groups they are powerful, magical beings. They have a dark relation-
Zoog Spells ship with the moon and the creatures which inhabit it, such as the
Living X: Costs 8 Magic
moon-beasts, and through them, their dark lord Nyarlathotep. The
Points and 1D6 SAN and
takes 2 rounds to cast. Zoogs serve no entity in particular. They serve power.
This is a slight variation
Since the Dreamers’ escape from Sarkomand, the forces of Nyar-
on the usual version of
this spell powered by the lathotep have been searching the Dreamlands to capture or kill them.
Black Pharaoh himself;
The Zoogs have been contacted by the forces of the moon and have
any Dreamer who makes a
Listen roll distinctly hears agreed to search for the Dreamers. It’s been clear for some time the
the name “Nyarlathotep” as
Dreamers were attempting to find a portal back to Earth, such as the
part of the incantation. A
glistening pink, crystalline one that sits in the most Zoog-infested location in the Dreamlands,
shaft of energy shoots up
the Enchanted Wood.
to 30 yards at a target, who
must resist the caster’s Zoogs are cowardly and rely on their small size and stealth to steer
POW or be instantly
clear of direct confrontation with such enormous creatures as the
immobilized in an upright,
spread-eagled position. Dreamers. They do, however, reveal themselves if they believe the
The target can attempt to
Dreamers are disabled, unconscious, or otherwise secured. When
escape once per round by
rolling STR x 1%. Zoogs appear, they always arrive in groups of 2D6 or more, but
they immediately abandon any Zoog caught by a human. They are
Woeful Itch: Costs 4 Magic
Points and takes 1 round to untrustworthy creatures, each with its own individual agenda.
cast. A cloud of glittering
motes float to the target
who falls into a frenzy of An Average Zoog
scratching and tearing to
Tiny, Clever Mercenary for the Moon
halt the maddening itch.
The target is absolutely STR 3 CON 7 SIZ 2 INT 13 POW 11
incapacitated until he or
DEX 20 Move 8 HP 5
she rolls CON x 5%. The
target can try once per Damage Bonus: –1D6
round.
Skills: Climb 60%, Dodge 50%, Dream Lore 75%, Hide 70%, Sneak
70%, Track 50%. Languages: Zoog (Own) 65%, English 20%.
Attacks: Bite 30%, 1D4+db
Knife 25%, 1D6+db
Dart 20%, 1D6+half db
Spells: A leader of the Zoogs has POW 17 and knows the spells Liv-
ing X and Woeful Itch.
Armor: None.
Sanity Loss: 0/1D3
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
The Machinations
of the Zoogs
Those who enter the Enchanted Wood in search of an
exit to the waking world find their progress hampered by
the Zoogs. Direct confrontation is not their style. Instead
they use their magics to confuse and forestall the Dream-
ers and keep them from progressing deeper into the forest,
all the while summoning their allies, the moon-beasts.
One or all three of these “traps” can be flung at the
Dreamers, building in intensity towards nightfall. The
moon-beasts cannot appear during the day, but once night
falls the Dreamers find themselves confronted by a moon-
beast hunting party, in the Enchanted Woods, at night. A
terrifying proposition.
The Reflection
The Dreamers are drawn to a glowing pool of still water
by what sounds like distant city traffic. Each who looks in
the pool must roll POW x 2%. Those who succeed see a
black puddle with no reflection in it at all, glowing at its
edges, like a puddle of paint—dull and flat.
Those who fail the roll see the reflection of a New
York street, as if seen in a puddle on the street itself. In
the reflection, the Dreamer appears as his or her normal
Earthly self, but the Earthly body mimics all the move-
ments of its Dreamlands counterpart. Skyscrapers can
be seen in the background, as well as the tops of cars and
trolleys as they rush by. Other people pass, paying no
attention to the person staring into the puddle. Through
the reflection all the noises of a busy New York street can
be heard but they remain muffled and indistinct.
Dreamers that failed the roll are certain that they are
seeing the real New York in the reflection of the puddle,
and that entering the puddle will return them home. They
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
will do everything in their power to crawl into it. If the group is split
The Zoogs between seeing the illusion and those not seeing it, physical violence
“Out they swarmed,
or grappling will be necessary to prevent affected Dreamers from
from hidden burrow and
honeycombed tree, till the entering the puddle.
whole dim-litten region
Those not under the illusion see those affected by it crawl down
was alive with them. Some
of the wilder ones brushed into the black puddle, which comes to life and engulfs them. It covers
Carter unpleasantly,
every inch of skin, mouth and body, until they appear to be covered
and one even nipped
loathsomely at his ear; in a thin rubbery liquid. The puddle is big enough to engulf all the
but these lawless spirits
Dreamers. Witnessing someone being engulfed costs 1D4 SAN.
were soon restrained by
their elders. The Council Touching the liquid once you have resisted its magic poses no threat,
of Sages, recognizing the
but once engulfed the victim is beyond the help of companions.
visitor, offered a gourd
of fermented sap from a An engulfed Dreamer does not exactly struggle, but rolls lazily
haunted tree unlike the
on the ground, suffering one point of CON damage per minute. A
others, which had grown
from a seed dropt down Dreamer who reaches 1 CON collapses and the liquid peels away,
by someone on the moon;
leaving the victim unconscious and helpless on the forest floor. The
and as Carter drank it
ceremoniously a very victim cannot be roused. Dragging the character along is exhausting.
strange colloquy began.”
Only a Dreamer with STR in excess of the victim’s SIZ can do it.
H.P. Lovecraft, The Dream- Two characters may be required to carry a third.
Quest of Unknown Kadath
In the engulfed character’s mind, he or she is in New York city.
The illusion is complete and perfect. No other Dreamers are around,
no matter how many of them “entered” at the same time—each
illusionary New York is separate. Those in the illusion may explore
their surroundings normally, though people in “New York” do not
engage with them. Passersby wave them off, covering their eyes with
theirs hat and walking away or just running in the other direction.
A Dreamer who looks for his or her reflection in a window or mir-
ror sees only his or her own normal face and form, nothing unusual
about it.
Otherwise the illusion is absolute. The victim can travel anywhere
in this perfectly imagined “New York.” Those with enough prescience
can travel to Mr. Lao’s restaurant in 1D10+5 minutes. They may even
explore it. The Tongs ignore them, turn away, or pretend they are
not there. Attacking someone in this vision is pointless. The fist or
weapon simply bounces off and the target walks away, unharmed. No
damage can be done.
The magic in the “pool” is powerful, and the Peach Blossom is a
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
on the grass, unconscious for 2D20 hours. See “The Reflection” for
the difficulties of moving an unconscious Dreamer about.
Those attempting to lift one of the beautiful beings find, to their
horror, that they rip and tear and pull apart like overripe fruit. The
bodies are mushrooms, grown and shaped in perfect mimicry of
unconscious human beings. A set of bones, long eaten free of flesh, lie
beneath them. (Cost: 1/1D6 SAN.)
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
outside the prison. (Cost: 1/1D6 SAN.) This is a Zoog. With magic,
the Zoogs have shrunken and trapped the Dreamers in a silver crys-
tal prison, an object no bigger than a grape. They plan to hand them
off to the moon-beasts at nightfall.
Clever Dreamers will explore the limits of the prison as the light
outside drifts from sunlight towards dusk. They soon note the odd
acoustics of the room, and those thinking on their feet will realize
that metal reacts strangely with the crystal. Every strike on the walls
of the crystal with a metal object causes an intense ringing noise.
Strikes with nonmetal objects or fists cause a duller sound. Striking
the same place twice causes that noise to rise. They can roll for dam-
age, though there’s no apparent harm. However, the noise is dreadful.
With each blow, every Dreamer must make a Listen roll. If it suc-
ceeds, the Dreamer suffers 1 HP damage or loses 1 SAN, player’s
choice. If the Listen roll fails, there’s no penalty beyond teeth-gritting
annoyance.
If the Dreamers inflict 100 HP damage on the crystal (metal weap-
ons inflict full damage; a non-metal object does minimum possible
damage), the prison shatters, dropping the group to the forest floor in
the middle of a startled group of 2D6 tiny Zoogs.
Any Dreamer can seize a Zoog with any unarmed attack roll as
the others scatter into the dark. The Zoogs speak many tongues,
including those of humans, and attempt to reason with their erstwhile
prisoners. Zoogs taken as tiny hostages will do anything to keep
themselves alive, including betraying their compatriots and leading
the Dreamers straight to the gate to Earth. A Zoog hostage should be
seen as an opportunity for exposition—they can explain all the traps
and the calling of the moon-beasts, and they can help the Dreamers
avoid the moon-beasts; and they are so tiny that they can be dis-
patched with the squeeze of a hand.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
The Moon-Beast
Hunting Party
The moment night falls, a blue-white light arcs across the sky like
a shooting star. It drops into the Enchanted Wood with an explosion
that knocks the Dreamers from their feet. It is impossible to tell how
far away it fell, only that it was in the woods and was strong enough
to cause an earthquake.
The moon-beast hunting party has arrived. Silence fills the woods,
followed by an inhuman, glottal baying of some huge creature. This
is the Aok, the moon-beasts’ hunting animal. Two powerful moon-
beasts have brought it from the dark side of the moon to fulfill the
wishes of Nyarlathotep.
Dreamers holding a Zoog find it chattering to them in English. It
tells them that the moon-beasts have arrived and will find and drag
the characters back to the dark side of the moon. The Zoog points
with its tiny hand in the direction of the gate to Earth. It begs them
to run, for it knows the moon-beasts will show it no mercy.
Dreamers without the help of a captive Zoog can only flee the
sounds. Once the pursuit begins, it does not stop until the characters
are captured or they find the Steps of Deeper Slumber.
The Keeper should create a fun, terrifying pursuit. Consider how
much time the Dreamers lost to the traps of the Zoogs. If each trap
was effective, they lost hours, they are far from safety when the
moon-beasts arrive, and the pursuit is long, exhausting and risky.
If they overcame the traps quickly, they are nearer safety when the
moon-beasts arrive and their chances of escape are better.
Hunted!
Use this system if you prefer to give some dice-rolling suspense
to the chase. Play through the first stage of the pursuit with each
Dreamer making a DEX resistance roll against the Aok’s DEX as
they dodge past trees and vines. Each Dreamer who fails falls behind.
The Aok can make one limb attack against each Dreamer who fell
behind. If it hits, the Aok can attempt an engulf attack as well. At the
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Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
end of each round of combat with the Aok, there’s a 50% chance each
that the moon-beast hunter and priest catch up. Dreamers who aren’t Moon-Beast
engulfed or disabled can flee again. Spells
Living X: Costs 8 Magic
The Dreamers may be subject to further attacks. Think back on
Points and 1D6 SAN and
each of the three Zoog traps. Did the traps stymie the Dreamers or takes 2 rounds to cast.
This is a slight variation
did they get through them quickly? If one of the traps stymied them,
on the usual version of
each must make a STR x 5% roll to push past briars and brambles. If this spell powered by the
Black Pharaoh himself;
it fails the Dreamer either takes 1D6 damage from thorns and dead-
any Dreamer who makes a
falls or suffers another attack from the Aok. Listen roll distinctly hears
the name “Nyarlathotep” as
If two Zoog traps stymied the Dreamers, they must make CON x
part of the incantation. A
5% rolls to avoid exhaustion. If it fails, again they suffer attack by the glistening pink, crystalline
shaft of energy shoots up
Aok and the moon-beasts.
to 30 yards at a target, who
If all three Zoog traps stymied them, the Dreamers must find their must resist the caster’s
POW or be instantly
way swiftly through the darkness. Here’s how it works. At the outset
immobilized in an upright,
of the chase they can pick a leader to make one Navigation roll for spread-eagled position.
The target can attempt to
the group, or individual Dreamers can make their own Navigation
escape once per round by
rolls. Each Dreamer who fails the roll (or was following a leader who rolling STR x 1%.
failed) is overtaken by the Aok for a final time just before the end.
Moon-Beast Priest
Thing 1
STR 17 CON 12 SIZ 22 INT 15 POW 19
DEX 7 Move 7 HP 17
Damage Bonus: +1D6
Attacks: None (it uses spells instead)
Armor: None, although the moon-beast takes the minimum possible
damage from impaling weapons.
Spells: Living X.
Sanity Loss: 0/1D8
269
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Moon-Beast Hunter
Thing 2
STR 19 CON 14 SIZ 25 INT 12 POW 15
DEX 7 Move 7 HP 20
Damage Bonus: +2D6
Attacks: Spear 41%, damage 1D8+1+db.
Armor: None, although the moon-beast takes the minimum possible
damage from impaling weapons.
Sanity Loss: 0/1D8
The Aok
The Moon’s Predator
STR 28 CON 24 SIZ 29 INT 5 POW 10
DEX 10 Move 8 HP 27
Damage Bonus: +3D6
Attacks: Limb 30%, 1D6+1+db
Engulf 70%, 1D10
Once it strikes a victim with a limb, the Aok can make an engulf roll to con-
sume the target and then spit him or her out, covered in a disgusting sausage-
like skin that’s thin but seems impossible to break. The victim is trapped until
he or she rolls STR x 1% or has assistance from outside.
Armor: 4 points of bone, rotting flesh and goo; it takes minimum
damage from impaling weapons
Sanity Loss: 1D6/1D10
270
Chapter Twelve: Ulthar and the Enchanted Wood
The Steps of
Deeper Slumber
As the Dreamers stumble through the forest they find themselves
suddenly at the base of a giant tree. It is so large and overwhelming
that the characters find themselves frozen, even if they are pursued
by the creatures from the moon. A door opens from the recesses
of the tree, sliding on smooth, perfect hinges. A yellow-white light
glows from within.
Keepers who have built up a chase to this point should have it
build to crescendo now. Dreamers with any shred of self-preserva-
tion will stumble into the perfect, yellow-white doorway from the
nighttime wood.
Those that enter find themselves stumbling down an uneven spiral
staircase that crosses first through a tree and then into dirt and stone.
If the Dreamers stop, the stairs continue moving for them, twirling
and rocking, shifting beneath their feet. The staircase above them
bends and crumbles, collapsing, leaving no exit except to continue
down.
The Dreamers can barely keep up with the collapse. Finally, hor-
rifically, the first Dreamer finds himself or herself at the bottom of
the stairs, where the last step hangs out over a horribly vast, black,
empty space. A moment later the other Dreamers smash into the first
from behind and the whole structure collapses, flinging all of them
into the void.
271
Chapter Thirteen
Awakening - Closing the Circle - Rationalists,
wearing square hats, Think, in square rooms
Awakening
The fall goes on for a long time, until the Dreamers find them-
selves overcome by a terrible drowsiness which feels more like
drowning than falling asleep. Their minds are hurled through space
like a ball thrown into the absolute black. They can only recall a flash
of light not unlike a spray of stars against black velvet—when they
wake behind a new set of eyes, back on Earth.
The Catatonics
The bodies in which the characters wake are, once again, com-
pletely different. Their Dreamlands forms have been discarded and
they have woken in the bodies of the nearest “empty vessels” found
by the power that sent them here—a group of catatonic patients at
the Broadbent Asylum in Folk, New York. Just as with their trans-
formation when they entered the Dreamlands, their skills and mental
stats remain intact.
When the characters wake in these new bodies each must make a
Sanity roll or lose 1 SAN. Until the character becomes comfortable
with his or her new form, this roll must be made each time this new
fact of life is confronted—noticing increased or decreased physical
strength, noticing differences in height or weight, or viewing a reflec-
tion in a mirror or pool of water. This continues until the Sanity roll
succeeds three times in a row.
272
Chapter Thirteen: Awakening
Players can roll new attributes or the Keeper can assign their new
forms from the following table. Gender is the same as their original
Earthly bodies. Age is 15 + (3D6x1D3).
in the Asylum
Characters wake in a cavernous, tile-lined place lit by natural light
from high, small windows. It reeks of ammonia, urine and filth. The
quiet sounds of rats can be heard, somewhere beneath, on the floor.
Each character lies in a filthy bed, unrestrained, in a large room like a
school gym.
Each character has a rubber feeding tube running into his or her
nose down into the stomach, connected to a nearly empty bottle that
hangs from an IV pole next to the bed. Characters that failed the
Sanity rolls after waking in new bodies begin to gag and choke and
must make another Sanity roll, losing another 0/1, as they pull the
tubes out.
When they overcome their disorientation they can see more than
two dozen beds, each with a slowly breathing corpse-like form—and
the other characters in their new bodies, who have also woken in a
similar state of confusion. An Idea roll (or Medicine, Psychology or
Psychoanalysis) indicates the characters are in some sort of asylum.
Luckily, the catatonics are largely left alone. They don’t move or
273
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
speak, so they are fed and hydrated by tube and left in the big room
(the guards call it the “Vegetable Garden”), only to be moved about
once or twice a week by orderlies. They are considered a non-threat,
and it will come as a great shock to see a group of these patients up
and around. The door to the rest of the asylum is unlocked and unat-
tended.
Escape!
The doors open on a plain hallway covered in green tile. The hos-
pital is dirty but is superior in almost all ways to most 1920s asylums.
The Broadbent Asylum is progressive. At the end of the hallway
Brian Curly, the only orderly on duty in this wing, sits at a small desk
reading a newspaper. It’s the New York Eagle out of Manhattan.
274
Chapter Thirteen: Awakening
Brian Curly
Confused Orderly, age 25
STR 16 CON 16 SIZ 18 INT 8 POW 4
DEX 9 APP 8 EDU 7 SAN 20 HP 17
Damage Bonus: +1D6
Skills: Climb 45%, Drive Auto 35%, First Aid 40%, Hide 19%,
Listen 35%, Pharmacy 11%. Languages: English 35%.
Attacks: Baton 65%, damage 1D6+db
Grapple 50%, damage special
275
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Brian Curly is a big man with large hands, a pot belly, a small
head, and beady little green eyes that look perpetually confused. His
hair is shaved to a point in the center of his forehead and his pink
scalp is visible beneath. His teeth are an uneven grey due to his habit
of smoking whenever he gets the chance.
Curly landed employment at the Broadbent Asylum just six
months ago and is now certain he has found his ideal job. He is paid
a hefty (to him) sum to sit and watch the “vegetables,” who never do
anything except occasionally thrash in their beds and shit themselves.
The Orderlies
No. Str Con Siz Int Pow Dex DB HP
#1 17 9 17 11 18 17 +1D6 13
#2 13 13 15 13 5 8 +1D4 14
#3 9 10 14 12 11 7 — 12
#4 16 12 15 15 16 7 +1D4 14
Skills in Common: Dodge (DEX x 2) + 10%, Spot Hidden 60%.
Languages: English 40%.
Attacks: Axe handle or baseball bat 40%, damage 1D8+db
Punch 59%, damage 1D3+db
Grapple 50%, damage special
276
Chapter Thirteen: Awakening
Once the characters make it clear of the police (or fail to encounter
them) they must make it through Folk itself. Clever characters will
sneak to the train station, but they might try to steal a car instead.
277
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
278
Chapter Thirteen: Awakening
Madaeker’s Promise
Low influence and suffers
a new indefinite insanity:
The character learned that
If the curse of the Ghouls’ Bargain was placed on the group (see in dreams and waking life
alike there is no meaning
“The Ghoul Trader” on page 73), it strikes the moment the group sets
to be found. The character
foot in New York City proper. keeps opium addiction and
must replace one other
The obligation, it gradually turns out, is this: The characters will
indefinite insanity with
be mystically drawn to the near-mummified remains of Mina Daeker, depression.
dead for 300 years, which they must first exhume and then consume.
Mina was Madaeker’s cousin, his true love. She died of consump-
tion before the darker realities of the ghouls overtook Michael
Daeker and dragged him to the Dreamlands.
Mina’s grave is contained within the Gravesend Cemetery, in
Gravesend, Brooklyn. Every day the characters hear ghostly voices
urging them to find it (though the voices do not say anything about
what they must do after that). Every day they fail to obey they each
279
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
lose 0/1D4 SAN. Those that “give in” suffer no such loss as long as
they are actively attempting to locate the remains. Even those some-
how detained during this period do not suffer SAN loss from it as
long as they are trying to obey. Until the task is performed by at least
one character, the suffering continues for all.
Characters need no instruction on where to go or what to do. The
concepts appear whole in their mind. The characters know where
they are going, how to get there, and what name they are looking for
on the marker. The moment they find the marker, they know they
must dig up the coffin.
The Gravesend Cemetery is very old, one of the first built in New
Amsterdam by the Dutch settlers. It is split down the middle. One
side is filled with graves marked by Italian and Irish names, the other
with uneven aged stones marked almost exclusively by Dutch names.
Mina’s marker is on the Dutch side. Hours of frantic digging
brings up an ornate wooden box untouched by rot. No other souls
come near enough to disturb the characters at this work. Pulling the
lid, the characters are met by the waft of an aged and almost depleted
stench. To their horror, the characters find it enticing. (Cost: 0/1
SAN.)
The body within is wasted down to a jerky-like consistency, eyes
gone, teeth clenched, still dressed in the rotted linen of a white dress
somehow somewhat preserved across the centuries. Any character
who wishes to pull back now must make a Sanity roll. If it succeeds,
the character loses 1D3 SAN and pulls away. If it fails the character
immediately begins eating the remains, which breaks to bits under
their fingers and teeth with sickening rapidity.
Within the hour, the body is consumed and the madness leaves
the characters. All present, whether they partook or not, lose 1/1D6
SAN. The Ghoul’s Bargain is complete. Madaeker is satiated and the
hunger leaves them.
Some players may worry whether this meal is enough to turn them
into ghouls. Let them. We leave the answer up to the Keeper.
280
Chapter Thirteen: Awakening
Nyarlathotep’s Defeat
and What Comes After
Those who escape the Dreamlands and destroy Mr. Lao have
defied the Crawling Chaos himself, achieving the ultimate victory.
For some reason, Nyarlathotep’s dark and unimaginable plans
involved keeping the characters in the Dreamlands. Their escape is
an affront to the will of the Old Ones. The capricious god will not let
this audacity go unavenged.
What, exactly, will be the method of the Dark God’s revenge?
Well, the year is 1925, and Nyarlathotep’s agents on Earth have
begun to move, hoping to open a gate and release an especially dire
form of the Crawling Chaos onto an unsuspecting world. See Chao-
sium’s most excellent Masks of Nyarlathotep for details.
How easy would it be to involve the player characters in such
world-spanning adventures? Very, very easy, I should say.
281
Appendix A
New Spells
282
Appendix A: New Spells
horrific visions costing 1D4 SAN. If the Pharmacy roll is failed, the
batch is destroyed and is useless. The process takes 3D4 hours.
Imbibing properly-created lesser bywandine causes the character to
drift off into a sleep so deep he or she cannot be roused (in fact, the
physical body can be attacked and killed without it waking). During
this period of stupor, the character is transported to the Dreamlands,
where his or her dream form may act normally for 1D20x2 days of
“dream time”. This time differs on the other side of the veil of dreams,
with only 1D8 hours passing on Earth.
The second “recipe,” near the end of the manuscript, is an odd
deviation from the already bizarre mixture. This new recipe creates
what we shall call greater bywandine. The creation is identical, as
above, but once the mixture is complete a complex spell must be cast
upon each dose, costing 1D8 magic points and taking 1D4 hours per
dose.
Greater bywandine is irreversible. It transports a character’s mind
to the Dreamlands permanently, leaving the Earthly body behind.
In the Dreamlands, the mind enters the first “empty vessel” it can
find (this process is guided by the spellcaster during the creation of
the drug) and permanently occupies it. Death of this new body is
“permanent death,” while the character’s former Earthly form is left
behind as an empty vessel, incapable of independent action.
Only characters of significant POW can be transported in this
manner. A character with POW of 10 or less must roll POW x 2% or
be lost forever in the transfer, never arriving on the other side as his
or her spirit dissipates in the ether. This same fate awaits someone
who is transported to the Dreamlands without an appropriate “empty
vessel” to occupy.
If the Chemistry or Botany roll is failed while creating greater
bywandine, the batch is improperly mixed. It will still send the imbiber
to the Dreamlands, but the physical body left behind disintegrates
completely and is gone forever.
With either lesser bywandine or greater bywandine, the spellcaster
can discern whether it’s a true or faulty mix with a Pharmacy roll and
meditation, requiring one hour per dose.
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The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Endless Rhyme: This spell costs 24 magic points and 1D6 SAN,
and takes one round to cast. The caster whispers a secret phrase in
the ear of a single victim, who must make a POW x 1% roll. If that
fails, the victim loses 1D6 SAN and begins babbling an endless, sing-
song rhyme in a deep, disturbing voice.
Anyone except the caster who hears this first target must make a
POW x 2% roll. (Subjects who are not human, who are deaf, or who
have somehow closed off their ears are immune.) If it fails, they too
lose 1D6 SAN and begin chanting in the same manner, all in unison.
A look of terror and confusion is clear on all victims’ faces. (Cost: 0/1
SAN.) This spreads out like a disease, sometimes infecting hundreds
at once.
The victims can attempt to break this enchantment once per hour
with a successful Sanity roll. Each hour that this fails causes the
victim to continue the rhyme and costs another 1D6 SAN. Once the
effect breaks, the subject collapses, exhausted for 1D20 hours before
they can act normally again.
Eye of True Sight: This spell costs 4 magic points and 1 SAN, and
takes one round to cast. The caster must chant the four secret names
of Nodens, Lord of the Abyss. Upon the utterance of the last name,
the caster must clap his or her hands together as hard as possible, just
in front of his or her face. Reflex causes the eyes to close. When the
eyes open again, the caster can see through any magical illusion and
spot those with malicious intent towards the caster as if they were lit
from underneath by a huge spotlight. This effect lasts for 50 breaths,
or about 15 rounds. No one else can see this effect.
This detection of magical illusion also shows the subject in its true
form. The caster suffers normal SAN loss from seeing a formerly
camouflaged monster.
The detection of illicit intent is only a yes/no indicator of whether a
subject means to harm or steal from the caster.
284
Appendix A: New Spells
Once created, the flute can be used at the cost of 1D4 magic points
and 1 SAN. Any human hearing the flute must make a POW x 2%
roll or be immediately calmed for 1D20 minutes regardless of any
previous emotions. All conflict vanishes from the hearer’s mind.
For example, if a listener attempting to rob a party heard the flute
and failed the POW roll, he or she would immediately cease the
attack. The robber might still feel animosity towards the victim, but
would not attack again for 1D20 minutes.
The flute also works on beings related or equivalent to humans—
the Men from Leng, ghouls, Tcho-Tcho, and so on. It does not work
on truly alien monstrosities such as the moon-beasts or the Aok.
Whether a particular creature is susceptible is up to the Keeper.
The magic flute has an even greater effect on animals. An animal
must make a POWx1 roll or be strangely calmed for 1D4 days.
285
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
on a target, the caster must draw his or her own blood and cut the
symbol into the target’s skin with a nail or tooth. The blood is applied
in the wound over a period of three days, until the wound forms a
scar in the shape of an eye. The caster spends 6 magic points each
day. At the end, caster and target each must sacrifice 1 POW.
Once the Mark is in place, it grants several abilities:
• The ability to exist indefinitely in the Underworld without food
or water, without any negative physical or psychological effects.
• The ability to subsist on rotten flesh as if it were normal food.
• The ability to speak Morga and to understand it.
• Heightened senses (+20% to Spot Hidden and Listen) in dark-
ness only.
• The ability to interact with ghouls without fear of unwonted
attack. No ghoul will willingly violate the Mark except in self-
defense. All who have the Mark can automatically recognize another
with the Mark, even if it is not visible.
The Measure of the Soul: This spell costs 1D4 magic points, takes
two turns and costs 1 SAN. It requires a picture of the target if the
target is not present. A single gesture (looping the thumb and fore-
finger into a circle) is necessary. The target is looked at through this
loop, and during this glance the caster knows how “powerful” the tar-
get is; that is, how much POW the target possesses. Once the hand is
dropped, the effect ends. No one else can see the effect. A caster may
use this on himself or herself. Mr. Lao uses this spell to great effect in
gauging potential victims for transport to the Dreamlands.
286
Appendix A: New Spells
object at any location in the world and spend 1 POW point perma-
nently to open a gate back to the focus. The gate lasts 1D10 minutes.
It can transport anything that fits through the portal at no further
cost. If the focus object is destroyed, the gate shuts and cannot be
created again.
Transcendental Mind: This spell costs 1D8 magic points and 1D4
SAN, and only lasts as long as the character’s physical body is undis-
turbed. It takes two rounds to cast. It works in both the Dreamlands
and on Earth. Upon casting, the character’s mind leaves its body and
may move freely around the world at the pace of a slow walk. It may
enter and pass through an opening of any size (but not something
that is hermetically sealed).
This mind-form cannot hear, speak, touch or manipulate, only see.
The world is like a silent movie, and unless the character can read
lips the use of this spell for spying is limited. But it can be useful for
scouting.
If the caster’s physical form is disturbed in any way, the character
is returned to it, instantly, despite the distance. If the caster’s physical
form is killed in one blow (say, by a gunshot), the mind-form remains
trapped in this state forever, and suffers 1D100 SAN loss.
Word of Doubt: This spell costs 1D10+2 magic points, costs 1D4
SAN, and takes a round to cast. When successful, the caster can
point at a single target and make whatever that target says next
appear to all present to be an obvious falsehood. This only works for
one statement from a single subject per casting. No matter how obvi-
ously true the affected statement may be (“we are standing on the
Earth”), the disbelief will be instant, pervasive and permanent for as
long as the caster remains present. No counterargument can convince
those who heard the statement that it is true.
Once the caster leaves, the spell effect vanishes instantly, leaving
its victims confused and certain that some magical effect had been
cast upon them.
287
Appendix B
Prisoners in the Pits of the Ebony Temple
Jesper Anderson
Ready for Adventure, age 43
STR 13 CON 12 SIZ 15 INT 12 POW 17
DEX 11 APP 13 EDU 21 SAN 85 HP 14
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Anthropology 11%, Art (Singing) 25%, Chemistry 35%,
Climb 44%, Diving 61%, Drive Auto 65%, Electrical Repair 20%,
Listen 65%, Locksmith 51%, Mechanical Repair 50%, Operate
Heavy Machinery 32%, Spot Hidden 60%, Swim 75%. Languages:
Swedish (Own) 105%, English 56%, French 45%, Latin 35%, Span-
ish 21%.
Attacks: Punch 65%, damage 1D3+db
Knife 55%
Sword 22%
288
Appendix B: Prisoners of the Ebony Temple
Dr. Forsey is a tall, thin man with thinning grey hair, small round
glasses with bronze rims, and an easy smile. After a fortnight in the
prison pit he will seize any opportunity for escape.
Dr. Forsey, who lives on one of the islands off the coast of British
Columbia, found himself embroiled in a scheme of Nyarlathotep. In
the summer of 1922 he was working on a fuel compression device,
designed to spray high-pressure liquid into an ignition chamber. Dr.
Forsey’s experiments with the internal combustion engine were well
known, and when a mysterious benefactor from China offered Forsey
a huge sum to continue his research under very specific requirements
Forsey jumped at the chance. For several years the money flowed
and the research, which Forsey eventually realized had to do with
rocketry, continued apace.
Forsey completed his work only two weeks ago, and detected a
note of falsity in the transaction only when he was ambushed by
foreigners on a remote road near his house. He was forcibly injected
with some sort of narcotic. When he woke, he found himself in this
odd prison, interacting only with ferocious faces that occasionally
floated by the top of the hole he found himself in.
As far as Forsey knows, he is still on Earth; he suspects it’s China
although he doesn’t recognize his captors’ language. Once the truth
of the Dreamlands is revealed to him, he will enter full scientific
mode, eager to puzzle out the “realities” of his situation. Still, he will
be eager to get home to his family on Earth, and will readily join any
group whose stated goal is to escape the Dreamlands.
289
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Glen Ivey
Lost Gadgeteer, age 40
STR 7 CON 11 SIZ 14 INT 11 POW 16
DEX 13 APP 8 EDU 18 SAN 80 HP 13
Damage Bonus: none
Skills: Anthropology 16%, Art (Sculpture) 19%, Biology 20%,
Chemistry 25%, Conceal 31%, Craft (Machinery) 65%, Drive Auto
35%, Electrical Repair 40%, Listen 59%, Locksmith 81%, Mechani-
cal Repair 64%, Operate Heavy Machine 44%, Physics 22%, Spot
Hidden 40%. Languages: English (Own) 90%.
Attacks: Punch 59%, damage 1D3+db
Ivey is a stocky, studious man with short cropped brown hair and
a bald spot. He tends to dress in workshop clothes—dungarees, sus-
penders, button-down shirts—and his hands are often stained with
grease.
Ivey lived and worked in Emeryville, a sleepy, rural suburb of San
Francisco, as a mechanical jack-of-all-trades. He began by repair-
ing bicycles in his shed, then motor vehicles, and finally any man-
ner of mechanical device. He was well known in the area as a man
who could fix almost anything. This brought him to the attention of
servants of the Men from Leng.
A device in their employ, used to spy the soul-strength in a human,
had seized up due to exposure to sea air, and required mechanical
attention. The men, swarthy foreigners, brought the device to Ivey
in the hopes he could undo the rust that had set in the joints of the
oddly-shaped device. He did. With the device working again, the
men discerned the power of his spirit. They subdued him, injected
him with a powerful mix of bywandine, and transported him to the
Ebony Temple.
Ivey has no idea where he is, and will believe he is in California
until confronted by the undeniable fact that he is elsewhere. Even then,
he will remain baffled as to the new realities of the “world”.
290
Appendix B: Prisoners of the Ebony Temple
Ilias Mastrogiorgos
Terrified Journalist, age 35
STR 12 CON 18 SIZ 13 INT 12 POW 17
DEX 5 APP 12 EDU 12 SAN 85 HP 16
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Art (Writing) 52%, Drive Auto 45%, Fast Talk 40%, First Aid
35%, History 51%, Library Use 65%, Photography 60%. Languages:
Greek (Own) 60%, English 51%.
Attacks: All at base
291
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Adam Reeder
Open-Minded Publisher, age 45
STR 12 CON 13 SIZ 14 INT 11 POW 16
DEX 14 APP 10 EDU 17 SAN 80 HP 14
Damage Bonus: +1D4
Skills: Archaeology 16%, Handgun 35%, History 95%, Library Use
85%, Occult 65%, Persuade 90%, Psychology 35%. Languages: Eng-
lish (Own) 85%, French 56%.
Attacks: Punch 59%, damage 1D3+db
292
Index
Ados, Mark of, The 165 Darling 155 Graal the Old 80, 82-88
Agat the Corpulent 150-152 David Forsey, Ph.D. 289 Greased Chute 44, 47, 72
Anderson, Jesper 6, 288 Dead Pilgrims, The 132-134 Great Old Ones, The 12, 52, 281
Aok, The 268, 269, 270 Dem 124-125, 127, 130, 132, 139, 140 Great Ones, The See Elder Gods
Arram, Cat Apostate 200-201, 256 Directed Dreaming 23, 243, 32, 50, 59, 74, Green Priests of Ilarnek 229, 232, 234-
Astrolabe, The 41, 157 105, 143, 158, 198, 226, 229, 249, 258, 236, 238-239
Avat of Hombur 124, 125, 127, 130, 132, 278 Gug City, The 75, 77, 79, 80, 85, 97-101,
139 Docks of Ilek-Vad, The 196-197, 203 260
Azathoth 159, 160, 213, 223 Docks of Inquanok, The 117 Gug Fisherman 261
Babies, The 111-113 Docks of Lhosk, The 143, 145-146, 148- Gugs 75, 77, 79, 80, 85, 92, 96-101, 260-
Ballud of Trei 160-162, 172 149, 151-152, 154-155, 160-161, 169-170 261
Ballud’s Outfitters 160 Docks of Sarkomand, The 33, 37, 40-42, “H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands” 21
Bandits of the Red Earth, The 60, 61 47 Hazards of Sea Travel 50
Beings of Ib 232-235, 243, 246 Doom of Sarnath, The 231-238, 240, 242, Healing See Injury, Sickness and Death
Bestul 162-165, 172 244, 246 House Dreary, The 198, 202
Bestul’s Secret 164 Double-Pronged Spears, The 42, 157, 160 Hovel, Collector’s, The 38-39, 40
Bholes 83, 84, 214 Drax of Hombur 119-121, 123-125, 140 Ilarnek 48, 231, 232, 234, 235, 240, 246,
Black Box (spell) 236 “Dream Within a Dream” 157, 223 247
Black Galley 42, 47, 50, 146, 148-152, 154, “Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The” Ilek-Vad 27, 37, 41, 47, 48, 104, 164, 196-
160, 162, 164-165, 167, 183, 185, 189, 12, 117, 159, 205, 209, 210, 213, 215, 219, 210, 216, 225, 226-227, 240, 256
196, 288 223, 264 Illusions on the Underground Sea 86
Black Pharaoh See Nyarlathotep Eating and Drinking in the Underworld Inganok See Inquanok
“Blind” Bestul See Bestul 80, 104 Injury, Sickness and Death 25
Blood Gems 11, 31, 38, 39, 147, 156, 162, Ebony Temple, The 148, 152, 156, 165-177, Inquanok 27, 43, 47, 48, 53, 104, 105-107,
165, 186 172, 173-183, 185, 190, 192 113-125, 138, 139-142, 147, 151, 154, 240
Bokrug 232-235, 237, 240, 242, 244, 246 Elder Gods (or Great Ones), The 80, 95, “Instruction of Tlane, The” 17, 19
“Book of Keys and Gates, The” 119, 120, 99, 116, 118, 139, 140, 157, 158, 206, 210, Ivey, Glen 6, 290
122, 140, 141 211, 223, 248, 249, 251, 253 Ivu the Corrupt 132-135
Brian Curly 274-276 Elder Ones, The See Elder Gods Kadath 10, 211, 213
Broadbent Asylum 272-276 Elder Sign, The 157 Kamas-Tha 40, 146, 148, 157, 169, 170,
Bronze Wheel Circus 65-66 Elder Things 215 185, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192
Burgomaster Kranon 251-252, 256 Emen-Tha 146, 148, 156, 161, 165, 168, Keeper of Dreams 252, 254-256, 258, 260
Bywandine 10, 17, 18, 20, 156, 159, 160, 169, 170, 175, 176, 185, 186-190, 192, 193 Keim 36, 43, 157, 162
279, 282-283, 290, 292 Enchanted Saber 41, 157 Key to Ulthar, The 253
Bywandine’s Effects in the Dreamlands Enchanted Wood (or Forest), The 48, 81, Key and the Gate, The 214
156 99, 217, 225, 248-252, 254, 256-271 King in Yellow, The 227
Carter, Randolph 196, 197, 200, 201, 205, Encounters in the West 126-131 King of Dusk See Randolph Carter
207-217, 220-227 Endless Rhyme See Spells King of Sunset See Randolph Carter
Catatonics, The 272 Eye of Nodens, The 56, 57, 180, 223 Koth, Sign (or Symbol) of 99, 100
Celephais 10, 18, 163, 165 Eye of the Needle, The 144, 162, 163, 165 Koth, Tower of 75, 81, 89, 99, 100, 101,
Central Conflict, The 12 Eye of True Sight See Spells 260
Cerenarian Sea 37, 48, 54, 143, 161, 164, Finding Port 50 Languages 27
196 Flutes of Nar-Haal, The See Spells Lao, Mr. 10-17, 19, 20, 37, 139, 158, 255,
Cloudbeast 41, 51 Food and Shelter 59, 152 264-265, 278, 279, 285
Collector, The 32-39, 43, 44, 45, 47, 50, Forest of Monoliths, The 75, 80, 94, 95, Leng, Spiders of 47, 111-113, 116, 126, 138
73, 74, 80, 88, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 96 Lengian Hunt, The 109
118, 123, 139, 142, 147, 194, 195, 230 Gak 48 Lhosk 10, 27, 35, 37, 40, 41, 43, 47, 48, 68,
Council of Traders, The (Lhosk) 144, 145, Gate Dire, The 125, 140 104, 117, 142, 143-156, 161-177, 184-195,
146, 148, 165, 169, 176, 184, 185, 186, Gate of Crystal, The 120, 122-124, 132, 136 199, 240, 288
187, 189, 191 Ghasts 79, 89, 91, 93, 99 Lhosk Guards 147
Council Spire, The 147, 162 Ghostly Procession, The 242 Living X See Spells
Crawling Chaos See Nyarlathotep Ghoul Trader, The See Madaeker Locating Civilization 70
Create Bywandine (spell) See Spells Ghouls 73, 77, 84, 88, 228 Ivar, Lord of Imel 68-70
Cthulhu 215 Giant Stair, The 94, 100 Lord of the Abyss See Nodens
Cthulhu Mythos (skill) 11, 17, 19, 137, 163, Gifted But Damaged 10 Lurker in the Pit 52, 53, 55, 56, 57
169, 178, 187, 213, 214, 252 Gnorri 47, 196, 197, 198 Macero Dun 199-200
Daeker, Michael See Madaeker Goblins 63-65, 72 Madaeker 72, 73, 74, 77-84, 87-98, 100-
Dark Man See Nyarlathotep Golden Sun, The 105, 113-115, 117, 120 104, 140, 196, 228, 280
293
The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man
Madaeker’s Promise 74, 77, 78, 79, 103, Other Ways Into the Dark 72 Spiders See Leng, Spiders of
279 Palace of Dusk 198, 210, 217, 218, 221, 223, “Statement of Randolph Carter, The”
Magistrate Plumb 203-205 225, 226 205
Man of the West See Nyarlathotep Pale Beasts 85 Steps of Deeper Slumber, The 268, 271
Manticore, The 108-109, 111, 140 Par of Sonya-Nil 67 Stone Door to the Underworld, The 259-
Maps Pazu 207, 209, 210, 218, 221, 225 261
—The Dreamlands 48 Peach Blossom Restaurant, The 14-20, Stupefying Blast See Spells
—Lhosk 144 39, 264, 278 Sword of Kamas-Tha, The 40, 146, 157,
—Peach Blossom restaurant 15 Peaks of Thok, The 102, 104, 228 185, 189, 192
—Sarkomand 33 Pit and the Prisoner, The 55 Talunen 27, 34, 35, 40, 54, 61, 66, 69, 134,
—The Underworld 75 Plateau of Leng 37, 105-112, 116, 117, 120- 144, 151, 154, 161, 163, 169, 175, 187, 188,
Maras-Tha 146, 165, 185, 186, 187, 190-193 132, 135, 141 191, 230, 232, 252
Master Brugh 197 Plaza of the Lions, The 30, 43 Taran-Ish 232, 235, 246
Mastrogiorgos, Ilias 7, 291 Polis Dreary 202 Temple of Kiran, The 196, 199, 206, 207
Measure of the Soul, The See Spells Prison Pits, The 181 Ten Thousand Steps, The 44, 72, 73, 77,
Men from Leng 10, 12, 19, 20, 27, 30, 32, Prolonged of Life, The See ’Umr-at-Tawil 78, 79, 88
34-38, 41-45, 52, 72, 73, 78, 79, 106, Pross 21, 151, 154, 169, 187, 191, 202, 232 Threats and Travelers 59
109, 110, 117, 130, 138, 146-148, 152, 156, Red Bazaar, The See The Grand Bazaar “Through the Gates of the Silver Key” 12,
158, 160, 163, 164, 165-183, 186, 188, Red Council, The See Council of Traders 205, 211, 213
192, 200, 252, 285, 288, 290 Reeder, Adam 292 Titan, The 126
Serpent Men 215 Reflections Upon the Other World 17, Tongs, The 10, 13-16, 264, 278
Merhadeen Pirates, The 52-57, 196, 203 282 Tower of Nyarlathotep, The 220-225
Michael Daeker See Madaeker Replacements from Earth 88, 181, 288- Trade Council See Council of Traders
Mina 74, 279 292 Trade Family Bahaot, The 35, 147, 194-
Mnar 231, 233 Ritual to Nyarlathotep, The 183 195
Moon, The 11, 31, 32, 42, 48, 52, 56, 84, River Skai 197, 248, 257 Trade Family Tha, The 40, 144, 146, 148,
87, 117, 183, 201, 218-225, 233, 241, 262, Sa’n Seith 10, 12, 17, 19, 158, 185, 279 157, 163, 165, 169-170, 184-193
264, 268, 271, Sages of the Round Street, The 117, 118, Transcendental Mind See Spells
Moon-Beast Charts, The 42-43, 50, 160, 119, 123, 139, 140 Travel Time 50
164 Sarkomand 11-12, 16, 17, 19, 22, 28, 29, Tsing 13
Moon-Beast Hunting Party, The 268 30-46, 48, 50, 52, 72, 82, 83, 105, 106, Tulare-Mas 169-170
Moon-Beast Priest 56, 57, 269 107, 109, 123, 130, 139, 157, 165, 185, Ulet 27, 232, 236
Moon-beasts 30, 42, 43, 45, 46, 50, 56, 262, 288 Ulthar 48, 142, 197, 248-256
57, 265, 268-270 Sarnath 48, 104, 228-247 ’Umr at-Tawil 206, 211, 213, 214
Moon-beast spears See Double-Pronged Sea of Bones, The 95-98 Undead, The 127
Spears Sealed Gate, The 101 Underground Sea, The 75, 80, 81, 83-87
Morga 27, 77, 101, 154 Selling the Black Galley 149, 154 Underworld, The 27, 30, 32, 35, 36, 43-45,
Morhalas’ Gate See Spells Sen Saot See The Collector 47, 52, 72-104, 140, 147, 196, 228, 252,
Mortimer, Stephan 153-156 Seraj 52-56 259, 261
Mortimer’s Sundry Potions and Chemicals Servant of the Dark Man 62 Unique Treasures 155
144, 153-156 Shantaks 157, 159, 206, 210, 219, 224 Uvan Go 230-232, 235-240, 242, 244,
Mother of the Western Road, The 113 Shoggoths 157 246-247
Motivating the Players 73 Silver Chalice, The 41, 157 Valley of Onyx 48, 119, 120, 121
Movement in the Wild 58 Silver Key, The 205, 211, 214 Valusia 215
Nameless Lake, The 229, 235, 240 “Silver Key, The” 197, 205 Vaults of Zin, The 43, 75, 80, 88-94
Nameless Rock, The 48 Silver Keys, The 291 Vienna 154
“Necronomicon, The” 11 Silver Prison, The 266 Voonith 37
New Amsterdam 73, 74, 77, 103, 280 Slavers, The 72, 130, 140 Wamp Lair, The 33, 37, 39-41
New Bodies 9, 28, 29, 272, 273, 278 Speaking in the Realm of the Gugs 96 Wamp, The 40
New York 8, 14, 39, 74, 221, 263-264, 272, Specters 129 Wealth Levels 152-158
274, 275, 278, 279 Spells Western Machine, The 48, 135, 137-139
“New York Eagle, The” 274 —Create Bywandine 17, 282 Western Plateau, The 48, 117, 122, 125-132
Nightgaunts 77, 81, 102 —Endless Rhyme 19, 38, 157, 283 Western Road, The 48, 106-113
Nodens 56, 101, 102, 214, 216, 223, 224- —Eye of True Sight 19, 284 White Web of Soren See Spells
225, 284 —Flutes of Nar-Haal, The 19, 284 “Wild Rose, The” 164
Notches See Directed Dreaming —Ghoul’s Bargain 77, 279-280, 285 Woeful Itch See Spells
Nyarlathotep 12, 42, 52, 53, 55, 56, 62, 63, —Living X 56, 236, 262, 269 Word of Doubt See Spells
157-160, 167, 172, 175, 178, 181, 183, 185, —Mark of Mordiggian 77, 285 Yog-Sothoth 211, 214
186, 200, 201, 203, 205, 206, 209, 210, —Measure of the Soul, The 17, 286 Yveddes 119, 120, 123, 124, 125, 139, 140
213, 214, 216-226, 252, 262, 268, 269, —Morhalas’ Gate 19, 286 Zoogs 249, 252, 257, 259, 261-267, 268
281, 289 —Stupefying Blast 236, 237
Ohmon 65-67 —Transcendental Mind 17, 287
Old Ones See Elder Gods —White Web of Soren 236, 237
Onyx City, The See Inquanok —Woeful Itch 262
Oracle of the Western Machine, The 48 —Word of Doubt 19, 287
294