Commoriom Submission v3,09

8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,09

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A Submission for

Trail of Cthulhu

Commoriom

"I have yet to translate the terrible and

abominable legend telling how a certain doughty

citizen of Commoriom returned to the city after

its public evacuation, and found that it was

peopled most execrably and numerously by the

fissional spawn of Knygathin Zhaum, whichpossessed no vestige of anything human or even

earthly" ! he #amily ree of the $ods, Clar%

&shton 'mith

The protagonists are members of an expedition to

excavate an ancient settlement buried beneath the

Greenland ice. Faced with conflict within and

without, the expedition degenerates into a struggle

to survive as the team members realise that some

archaeological sites should not be disturbed and

some truths should not be revealed.

This scenario is inspired by the Hyperborean Cycle

stories of Clark shton !mith, particularly The

Testament of Athammaus andUbbo-Sathla. "t is

recommended that the #eeper reads these short

stories before running this scenario. The story of

the $athieson %xpedition is told in the Call of

Cthulhuscenario Trail of Tsathogguaby the late

#eith Herber and published in the supplements

Trail of Tsathogghua, &'() and The Compact Trail

of Tsathoggua, &''*.

The Hook"n &'+, an archaeological team from $iskatonic

-niversity found evidence of an ancient settlement

beneath an ice cap in a remote valley in the

mountains of est Greenland. The protagonists are

members of a &'/+ follow0up expedition to

excavate the site.

The Horrible TruthThe archaeological site dates to the dawn of

humankind. "t is the ruin of Commoriom, the first

capital of the lost civilisation of Hyperborea, which

thrived before the last ice age. %ntombed in the cityis an ancient device that grants visions of the

disturbing origins of life on earth, along with a

dormant, monstrous race descended from

Tsathoggua.

The SpineThe protagonists attend a Briefing in which their

expedition leader, 1rofessor %thelrod, reveals

suppressed evidence of an unknown civilisation

from the $athieson %xpedition of &'+.

The team members voyage to Godth2b, Greenland

where they can confront a Rival Expeditionfrom

Germany. They land in Evighedsfjorden , and

make an arduous overland trek. Tensions increase

between %thelrod and Granger, another veteran,

who is struggling to conceal his alcoholism. fter a

strange footprint is found in the snow, an argument

between %thelrod and the drunken Granger ensues

leading to The Death of Ethelrod. From %thelrod

they can ac3uire a dictionary of the lost Tsath-Yolanguage.

The team receives A Call for Helpfrom the crew

of the German base ship, which has lost contact

with the overland team, giving the protagonists a

moral dilemma.

The team finds evidence that strange0looking

%s3uimaux are watching them. 4ear the site valley,

the protagonists can discover Human Remainsof

the German expedition after being attacked by an

unknown animal. mong their belongings are aninterpretation of glyphs that seem to refer to the

history of the site. The protagonists can use


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%thelrod5s dictionary to give a more accurate

understanding.

Arriving at the Site, the protagonists have several

areas they can investigate. There is a Cube-Shaped

Templewith walls inscribed with a history of the

pre0humans who first settled there. 4earby, the

remains of the last members of the German

expedition can be found in what appears to be a!re. 6n the valley floor, a "!sterious Stru#ture

is visible under the ice.

mysteriousBeast of the $#e Sheetattacks the

team. They may be able to link it with the clan of

Blond Es%uimauxthat has been following them,

and which they may choose to confront.

Ex#avating the Stru#ture will lead to the

discovery that it is the upper0part of an ancient

tower with a partially intact stairway. 7igging into

The $#e-Cho&ed stair'a!uncovers a frie8edescribing a history of Hyperborea and a strange

toad0shaped lump that appears to be a statue or idol.

This dormant, parasitic organism can awaken and

attempt to infect a team member.

Further digging reveals a fissure that expands into a

navigable ice0tunnel and eventually leads to a Cit!

(nder the $#e. $ore artifacts may be found

including The Elder )ens*which can send a

viewer5s mind into the past, eventually to the

disturbing origins of life on earth.The city5s inhabitants begin to awaken. They

attempt to trap the humans under the ice and free

their 9#ing5, potentially leading to the A'a&ening

of +n!gathin ,haum. The protagonists must

prevent this and escape.

Victory Conditions:ictory in this scenario means realising the horror

that lies in Commoriom, and surviving it,

preferably with the site safely sealed.

Antagonist ReactionsThe rival erman Expeditionis not a 94a8i

expedition5 in any official sense ;there is no such

thing until the formation of the hnenerbe in &'/ especially the

esoterically inclined > believed in occult theories ofthe uni3ue ;or divine= origin of their ancestors on a

lost northern continent ;referred to as 9Thule5 or

sometimes 9Hyperborea5 or 9tlantis5=. The purpose

of the expedition is to 9reclaim the ruins of Thule5

for Germany.

!eeing themselves as cultured and honourable men

of science, they are mostly non0aggressive towards

their rivals. However, political relations with

?ritain and the -! are tense and the Germans

subscribe to a supremacist ideology that seems to@ustify the most ruthless behaviour ;as history

testifies=. They could become openly hostile if

provoked or if their goals are obstructed. nd if an

opportunity presents itself to glorify the Fatherland

at the expense of other nations, they may take it.

6nce they have lost contact with their forward

expedition, the surviving members are more

pleasant and cooperative. They seek to persuade the

%thelrod %xpedition to delay the dig in order to find

the missing Germans.

The ?lond %s3uimaux ;see below= will hold a

special fascination for them. %ven more so, a device

that allows them to see the 9glory of their ancestors5

and access the 9truths of the ncients5 might be

enough to tempt them to betray or attack the

%thelrod %xpedition.

The strange, Blond Es%uimauxare among the last

direct descendants of the original Hyperboreans left

in Greenland. Their shamans have long warned of a

terrible cursed city that would one day overrun theworld with evil and the clan seeks to drive all

intruders away or destroy them. They are

vulnerable and few in number and must rely on

stealth, local knowledge, and their ancient songs for

calling the Gnoph-kehfrom the icy wastes.

The third group of antagonists are the Spa'n of

+n!gathin ,haum> descendants of Tsathoggua

with a kinship to the formless spawn ;and less

visibly to the pre0human :oormis=. The presence of

human beings will cause them to begin to awake

from their aeon0long hibernation. To them, humanbeings are both unwelcome invaders and a food

source. Their kinship to humans allows them to

parasiti8e them, and take control of their minds.

They will attempt to trap the humans under the ice

to present them as a gift for their #ing > #nygathin

Ahaum. They are stealthy, intelligent and mobile

and will attempt to lure humans into becoming

infected, until they have the numbers and access to

e3uipment needed to order to hasten the awakening

and liberation of their father.


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Running Commoriom withthe Armitage Inquiry

This scenario takes place in $ay &'/+ > a time

when the rmitage "n3uiry is in its formative

stages. "n &'+(, rmitage, Bice and $organ scored

a victory against the 7unwich Horror and soon 7r

lbert ilmarth @oined them following his

encounter with the 96uter 6nes5 in the hills of

:ermont. "n &'/&, the 1abodie %xpedition returned

from ntarctica with stories of unknown life forms

and a vast range of mountains dotted with strange

structures.

6n his deathbed in &'+', 1rofessor Curtis

$athieson revealed a number of unpublished

secrets about the &'+ expedition to his colleague

7r Francis $organ. $organ shared the story with

1rofessor rmitage and soon they were working

with 1rofessor %thelrod in %ngland to organise afollow0up expedition for &'//. However, in late

&'/&, word reached them of a rival German

expedition to the same region planned for &'/+ and

their pro@ect was hastened by a year. -nfortunately,

this meant 7r $organ was unable to take part, but

he persuaded Charles Granger, a veteran of the

$athieson %xpedition, to @oin.

.S!mbol/ Armitage $n%uir!0This symbol defines

sections that apply only to running the scenario as

part of the rmitage "n3uiry.

Running Commoriom as astandalone

This scenario can be run as a standalone adventure

or mark a dramatic beginning to an ongoing

campaign.

The difference is that %thelrod has organised the

expedition with the ?ritish $useum, independently

of rmitage and his colleagues, who may have little

insight into what really happened on the $athieson

%xpedition.

.S!mbol/ Standalone0 This symbol defines

sections that apply only to running the scenario as a

standalone.

Beginning the Expeditionppropriate roles for the expedition include

archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists,

biologists, explosives experts, drill engineers andradio engineers. ll team members should be

healthy and fit, and be capable cross0country skiers

> represented for game purposes as a minimum

6utdoorsman rating of & and thletics of /. The

expedition leader is highly xenophobic and French

applicants in particular are not considered.

Scenes

BriefingS#ene T!pe/Core ;"ntroduction=

)ead-1ut/1reparations, The tlantic :oyage

Core Clue/ Ethelrod and ranger &no' the

route to the ar#haeologi#al site2

.S!mbol/ Armitage $n%uir!0The briefing takes

place in a seminar room at the rchaeology

7epartment of $iskatonic -niversity. ssociate

1rofessor Francis $organ is a self0assured yet soft0

spoken field researcher in his early /s, whoexpresses regret at being unable to attend the

expedition due to it being brought forward by a

year. He introduces expedition leader 1rofessor

%thelrod, a renowned linguist from Cambridge and

veteran of the $athieson %xpedition

Ar#haeolog!/7r $organ has a good reputation as

a scientist, adventurer and a man of integrity. 3-

oint spend/ "t is also rumoured that he has

previously been involved in expeditions and

research of a rather unconventional and slightlycontroversial nature.

.S!mbol/ Standalone0The briefing takes place in a

basement seminar room of the ?ritish $useum. 7r

Granger has crossed to tlantic to @oin the team.

Ethelrods Presentation

tall, distinguished0looking man in his


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"n $ay &'+, the $athieson %xpedition of

$iskatonic -niversity investigated a stone wall of

impressive dimensions found in the Helheim

Glacier on the east coast of Greenland.

He passes around a photograph of the stone block

with the expedition ship alongside. "t appears to be

about / wide and approaching + feet high. "t is

dominated by a carving of a human figure with acurved blade, bending over some kind of slain

animal. Cthulhu "!thoswill allow the viewer to

recognise the figure as consistent with inhabitants

of legendary Hyperborea as described in theLiber

Ivonis,for example.

1ictographs found on the wall seemed to describe a

large and ancient settlement in the estern

mountains. %thelrod led a trip overland in search of

the site of the settlement. The team found itself

attacked by a large polar bear that stalked them into

the mountains, leaving several members of the team

dead or in@ured. However, they found a site with

evidence of former habitation, including remains of

a religious site and tantalising evidence of a ma@or

structure underneath the thick ice cap.

He produces a photograph of a vaguely circular

shadow beneath a thick ice sheet.

The expedition ended rather abruptly after several

team members were killed or in@ured by a

combination of climbing accidents and attacks fromthe bear.

The site was of such significance that the team

agreed not to release full information until a second

expedition could investigate it fully. The ill health

and death of 1rofessor Curtis $athieson in &'+'

delayed a second trip under consideration.

However, $iskatonic -niversity has been working

closely with 1rofessor %thelrod to organise a

second expedition, which was originally planned

for the spring of &'//, but plans were rushedforward, when it was learned that a team from

Germany planned to investigate the same area in

the prior year. Begrettably, this meant that 7r

$organ could not take part as planned due to his

commitment to the upcoming 4ew $exico dig.

1rofessor %thelrod stresses his 3ualifications as a

hard0nosed scholar not prone to flights of fancy or

bi8arre speculations. However, there were many

things he experienced that shocked him and caused

him to reconsider ideas about the world. He

believes that what they found in the Greenland ice

were remains of a lost prehistoric civilisation,

perhaps hinted at in Greek myths. He suggests that

while he cannot reveal everything @ust yet, team

members will similarly be shocked by what they

see. $oreover, there may have to face physical

dangers too.

He introduces Charles Granger, a red0haired, red0

faced man of around /, a second veteran of the

$athieson %xpedition who will be @oining them on

this trip..S!mbol/ Armitage $n%uir!01ral Histor! 3-

oint spend/ There are rumours that 7r Granger

has a drink problem.

%thelrod asks each team member to introduce

themselves and assigns roles.

The team will depart in three weeks on a research

vessel. The voyage to Godth2b will take days.

.S!mbol/ Armitage $n%uir!0The expedition ship

is thearlena, the same $iskatonic0ownedgeological research vessel used in the &'+

expedition. "t will depart from ?oston.

.S!mbol/ Standalone0The expedition ship is the

!eatrice, an rctic research vessel leased by the

Boyal Geographical !ociety. "t will depart from

!outhampton. The two vessels are otherwise treated

the same.

6nce resupplied, the ship will sail north to

%vighedsf@orden, where it will disembark and use

dog sleds and a snow tractor to the site, via alonger, but more accessible route than the first

expedition.

6nce at their destination the team will expose the

site using a drilling rig, blasting e3uipment, an

electric ice melting machine, and other e3uipment.

Team members will be armed with rifles to protect

themselves from dangerous animals.

%thelrod asks each team member to introduce

themselves and assigns roles.

Assess Honest!/Henry %thelrod is reserved,

somewhat aloof and doesn5t give much away.

Ar#haeolog! or Anthropolog!/ ccording to the

expedition report, the team made transcriptions of a

number of carvings on a large stone slab found at

the face of Helheim Glacier on the east coast.

rchaeologists have subse3uently associated these

carvings with a Greenlandic colony of the extinct

7orset Culture. 3-point spend/!ome odd artifacts

featuring strange figures wearing hoodless parkas

with tall collars and women with large hairstyleswere found on Cape 7orset on ?affin "sland in

&'+. "t is generally thought that the Greenlandic


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7orset culture is limited to the north0west coast of

the island.

Biolog! or 1utdoorsman 3-oint spend/1olar

bears are mostly found in coastal regions in the

north and east of Greenland > they are largely

unknown in the mountains although females with

cubs are sometimes found in coastal mountainous

areas in the north.

Questions and Answers

%thelrod will ask if there are any 3uestions. He may

provide the following additional details and any

others the #eeper deems appropriate.

D $athieson remained onboard ship, due to health

problems. He died of a heart condition in &'+'.

D The top of the structure was estimated to be under

at least &


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six days sail north of ?ritain, and near the fro8en

sea. He claimed that people keep bees in this place

and in summer, nights are only two or three hours

long. "t5s not clear whether he is referring to

"celand, Greenland, 4orway or somewhere else

altogether.

The ncient Greeks also tell of the Hyperboreans

who live beyond the north wind ;the literal meaningof 9Hyperborea5=. Their land was perfect, with the

sun shining +) hours a day, and the people free

from war, disease and old age and always happy.

The people were blond and very tall. Hyperborea

has variously been located in north0east sia,

estern %urope or ?ritain. "n the &*th Century,

some !candinavians identified their own land as

Hyperborea.

?y the late &'th and early +th Century, the idea of

ThuleIHyperborea as a lost continent ;possibly the

same place as tlantis= had become popular in

certain %uropean occult circles, including

Theosophists, and German vJlkisch ;nationalist=

groups.

ccording to the!ook of "ibon> a book of

allegedly Hyperborean origin > the original capital

was Commoriom and known for its marble and

granite buildings and lofty spires.

The &athieson E'pedition of ()*+

)ibrar! (se/ The information on the $athieson%xpedition report, the 7orset Culture and the

distribution of polar bears described in theBriefing

can be uncovered in a good0si8ed academic library

by substituting point spends in Kibrary -se.

The #erman E'pedition

Finding out more about this expedition is very

difficult as there is nothing published about it

publically. Reassuran#e or 6latter! will get 7r

$organ or 1rofessor %thelrod to reveal that an

associate of %thelrod5s, 7r !ummers of %dinburgh

-niversity, heard a reference to this at an

international archaeology conference in 1aris last

year. $oreL

,utdoor Trainin$

:arious independently sourced courses in outdoor

skills may grant a protagonist up to + dedicated

pool points in thletics or 6utdoorsman, to be used

in rctic and !ubarctic environments.

The Atlantic VoyageS#ene T!pe/6ptional, Transition

)ead-$n/?riefing, 1reparations

)ead-1ut/Godth2b

This is an opportunity to roleplay various

interactions between player characters as they get to

know one another and their leader.

The voyage for Godth2b takes six days, giving the

1rotagonists plenty of time to get to know the other

members of the team or to read in their cabins ifthey prefer.

n thletics test against 7ifficulty / is re3uired

avoid seasickness. The effect is the same as being

Hurt and lasts for +) hours.

M?egin sidebarN

The CrewThe ship5s crew consists of the Captain, First $ate,

Chief 1etty 6fficer and a crew of ( sailors.

Captain -ames &acAllen

tall, lean, dour man who looks older than his ) without a map, a compass or in

poor visibility will re3uire 6utdoorsman spends in

order to progress in the correct direction.

Ar#ti# travel on foot

Cross0country skiing costs ) thletics, Fleeing or

Health per day in these conditions. ithout skis the

speed is halved.

Travel b! dog-sled

This re3uires 7riving ;7og !led= in addition to the

costs above. 7og teams will use thletics pool

points ;or Health once these are depleted= each day,

/ points are replenished at the end of the day if thedogs are rested and well0fed.

Effe#ts of Climate

s long as they are wearing rctic clothing, the

characters will suffer no ill effects from the

temperature here at this time of year ;averaging

around +RF in the day and &RF at night=. ithout

protective clothing, 1rotagonists should be treated

as Hurt. 4ote that rctic clothing also provides &

point of rmor.

Communi#ations

%thelrod and the crew of the ship agree to

communicate by radio twice a dayO once at *$

and once at (1$.

Sleddin$ Teams

There are three sleds with ten dogs per sled and

three mushers ;or fewer if any 1rotagonists are able

drive a dog0sled=.

(&ale%

stocky "nuit with bad teeth who seems to show

them off with his smile almost all the time.

pproaching middle age, he is an expert hunter and

outdoorsman. He speaks "nuit and 7anish.

Abilities/thletics , 7riving ), Firearms (, Health

, 6utdoorsman


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Hit ThresholdO )

Alertness "odifier/E&

4eapon/0+ ;fists=, 0& ;knife=, E& ;rifle=,

Armour/0& vs any ;rctic clothing=

Sled Dogs

Abilities/thletics &+, Health


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Hit Threshold/)

Alertness "odifier/E+

4eapon/E& ;claw=, E ;bite=

Armour/0)

The Clim" to the Ice &heetS#ene T!pe/Core, Challenge

)ead-$n/%vighedsf@orden Glacier)ead-1ut/cross the "ce, Graves

This day begins with an even more difficult climb

up a broken, icy slope onto the ice sheet above.

!omehow, the sleds, the tractor and their loads need

to be raised onto the ice sheet. 6ne method ;both

%thelrod and 1utdoorsmanwill suggest this= is

that most members of the team climb the slope on

foot, carrying ropes, ;a 7ifficulty / thletics test,

with failure resulting in a damage roll at 0+=. 4ext,

the team pulls various loads up using the ropes.%ach of these steps re3uirepigg'backe$thletics

tests against various difficulties, with failure

resulting in a retry and a loss of & Health > at the

#eeper5s option, a result of & might result in a

tumble and damage for whatever load is being

pulled up the slope. The dog teams are led up

;7ifficulty /=, then the humans and dogs together

pull the tractor up ;7ifficulty if a 1rotagonist

can drive it, they will also need to make a 7riving

test against 7ifficulty < to avoid problems as above.

Then tractor, humans and dogs bring up fourregular loads ;7ifficulty /= and the drill ;7ifficulty

)= on sleds.

The entire process will take at least / or ) hours and

by the end of it, the players themselves should be

feeling tired.

Following %thelrod5s directions, the team can spend

the last hours of the day sledding in a south0easterly

direction across the ice0sheet, before camping for

the night.

1utdoorsman or Eviden#e Colle#tion 3-oint

spendO Karge, strange footprints can be seen in the

snow, perhaps distorted by melting. ;"f none of the

protagonists finds it then one of the mushers does.=

1utdoorsman or Biolog!/ The prints appear to be

those of a large carnivoreQ however, an extended

claw in the middle of the foot shows that this

wasn5t a bear. "n fact, they don5t belong to any

identifiable creature. 3-oint spend/There is

something very strange about the gait. 5-oint

spend/The bi8arre pattern of prints would almostseem to imply that it was moving on six legs some

of the time.

Cthulhu "!thos or 1ral Histor!/This may be

the legendary six0legged beast of the rctic, called

Gnoph-keh. The mushers know these stories.

They become 3uite excited and Tiria3 refuses to

continue. %thelrod struggles to convince him. 3-oint Reassuran#e spendwill suffice. "ncontrast -kale3 and to a lesser extent !Srensen

want to hunt and kill it. %thelrod is notconvinced. 3-oint Reassuran#eor6latter! spendwill change his mind.

s soon as 7r Granger sees the print, he becomesextremely agitated and begins muttering to

himself about the unspeakable beast of the icesheet.

Assess Honest! or s!#hoanal!sis/He doesn5t

seem to be calming down. 3 oint spend in

s!#hoanal!sis/ He may have a phobia or have had

a traumatic experience in the past that has triggeredextreme anxiety. Assess Honest! 3-oint spend/

%thelrod also seems somewhat alarmed although he

is far more in control of himself.

Eviden#e Colle#tion 3-oint spend/The character

notices that Granger is secretly drinking from a hip0

flask.

Huntin$ the /east

"f the team attempts to hunt the beast, a 3-oint

1utdoorsman spendis re3uired per day to track it

on a wandering route roughly east southeast. fter

about three days, they will arrive at the sceneO

9raves5. 7uring this trip the hunters may

experience being spied on by a strange %skimo ;see

cross the "ce, The atcher=.

The 'eath of EthelrodS#ene T!pe/Core

)ead-$n/The Climb to the "ce !heet

)ead-1ut/ Call for Help

Core Clue/ The route to Commoriom


12/30

hen the team sets up camp for the night, %thelrod

discusses techni3ues for avoiding crevasses and the

route ahead. Granger meanwhile has retired to the

tent.

t the end of the evening, %thelrod retires. gain,

3uarrelling can be heard from the tent he shares

with Granger. "t escalates, there is shouting, sounds

of a struggle, then suddenly, a gunshot.nyone entering the tent will find Granger sitting

bolt upright on his camp bed, deliriously talking to

himself and obviously intoxicated. %thelrod5s still

smoking pistol lies on the floor and %thelrod lies

near it, mortally wounded.

"f anyone enters the tent suddenly, Granger will

grab for the gun and attempt to hold them at bay.

He will shoot anyone who gets too close.

Reassuran#e/Granger calms down and lowers the

gun. 3-oint spendor successful 1sychological

Triage ;Trail of Cthulhu rulebook p*'= convinces

him to relin3uish it.

successful First id test against 7ifficulty ) will

revive %thelrod and make him comfortable enough

that he can talk. He will tell the protagonist to

follow the route marked on the map in his personal

pack ;#ore* floating #lue=. He will also warn them

not to enter the temple in the valley without first

reciting the rite of placation found within the pages

of his notes on theLiber Ivonis.

nother Reassuran#e 3-oint Spendor

1sychological Triage will get Granger talking. He

raves and mutters incoherently about blond

%s3uimaux, the man0eating beast of the ice, the

city of evil, the formless guardian of the temple

and %thelrod stealing his whisky. He soon lapses

into a state of muttering, incoherent catatonia, from

which, as s!#hoanal!sisindicates, he is unlikely

to recover without lengthy therapy.

Ethelrods Personal Effects

%thelrod left most of his personal possessions on

one of the sleds. Beliant as they were on %thelrod,

the rest of the team do not know with certainty the

route to their goal. They may find this material

while looking for his maps.

%thelrod5s possessions includeO

Core Clue/ detailed map of est Greenland

with handwritten markings showing both the

route taken by the $athieson %xpedition andthe route planned for the current expedition

"thelro$(s )otes on the Liber Ivonis;see

9%thelrod5s !ecrets5 sidebar=

Clue 7ipe8/A &reliminar' Interpretation of

the Tsath-Yo Language ;see 9%thelrod5s

!ecrets5 sidebar=

&ictographs in the Temple of the *oth-A++ua

;see 9%thelrod5s !ecrets5 sidebar=

M?egin !idebarN

Ethelrods Secrets

Ethelrod=s 9otes on the )iber $vonis

)anguage/%nglish

S&im/+ hours

ore/+ hours

These handwritten notes were written in the late

&'+s, based on the Katin version of the!ook of

"ibon. %thelrod5s notes focus on language, the

geography, history and culture of Hyperborea, the

pre0human oormisand the worship of their god

*hotha++uah.

S&immingthis provides & dedicated pool point to

be used for 6ccult, nthropology or Cthulhu

$ythos spends relating to Hyperborea and

Tsathoggua. oringover it provides another +

dedicated pool points.

A reliminar! $nterpretation of the Tsath->o

)anguage* b! Henr! Ethelrod and Curtis"athieson

)anguage/Tsath0o to %nglish

S&im// hours

ore// hours

%thelrod and $athieson compiled this provisional

dictionary and grammar of the Tsath-Yo

heiroglyphic language based on their work prior to

the &'+ expedition and the glyphs they found in

Greenland. 6nce S&immed, this book can be used

as a reference, with sufficient time and pointspends, texts written in Tsath0o can be translated

with a reasonable level of accuracy. oringover it

grants + dedicated pool points in Kanguages ;Tsath0

o=.

i#tographs in the Temple of ,oth-A%%ua

)anguage/%nglish

S&im/+ hours

This contains %thelrod5s translations of a set of

Tsath0o hieroglyphs found on the walls of a

temple in the valley of Commoriom. He describes

the pictographs as being of a more primitive type

than previously seen and postulates that it was


13/30

created by a people he calls 9oormis(and that the

Hyperboreans adopted this language and refined it.

Anthropolog! or Ar#haeolog!reminds the reader

that such notions don5t correspond with accepted

human prehistory.

people called oormiscame to this fertile

valley from far to the south and built a city

dedicated to their god*oth-A++ua. Cthulhu"!thosidentifies this as Tsathoggua.

The temple was consecrated by summoning one

of Aoth033ua5s children to guard it. The high

priest was then ceremonially sealed alive in the

burial chamber behind the altar. Cthulhu

"!thosidentifies the reference to a spawn of

Tsathoggua.

The temperature grew colder and people

stopped following Aoth033ua and began to

worship other gods, especiallyA$ukuthat

came from the north and was associated with

the dropping temperatures. Cthulhu "!thos

suggests that this might be "tha3ua.

civil war broke out between the followers of

Aoth033ua and dukwu and the heretics were

forced out of the city, and hunted down. few

survived in the mountains.

!trange people with no hair on their bodies,

only on their heads, came from the north in

boats made of skin ;the ancestors of the

Hyperboreans, %thelrod suggests=. They beganto trade, the builders of the city taught them

writing, and the newcomers 3uickly learned the

ways of economics and government.

The land continued to get colder, and trade

dwindled. The coming of the cold was a curse

from dukwu or his long0dead followers.

There is a prophecy that the bare0skinned

people would take the city. %ventually it would

lie abandoned and ravaged by the cold.

M%nd !idebarN

A Call for %elpS#ene T!pe/Core, Boleplaying

)ead-$n/The 7eath of %thelrod

)ead-1ut/aiting on the "ce, cross the "ce

"f the team maintains the agreed schedule of twice0

daily radio communications, the following morning

they receive some news. The team will probably be

breaking the news of %thelrod5s death in the same

broadcast.

The base ship has been approached by

crewmembers of the German base ship re3uesting

assistance. The German expedition has been out of

radio contact for three days. hile this may simply

be a technical problem, the Germans are concerned

and would like help in looking for their teammates.

This is honourable behaviour between international

expeditions. "n particular, they would like to send

two representatives to @oin forces with them.

Captain 7reher, captain of the German base0ship, isavailable to speak directly to the characters ifthey wish.

Helping the Germans would mean a wait of two

days on the ice. 6n the other hand, by bringing a

further two men with them and a sledge, the

Germans could take %thelrod5s body and an

incapacitated Granger back to Godth2b. They could

also bring supplies and could simply take the places

of %thelrod and Granger.

This is an ethical and practical dilemma for the

protagonists. "t is recommended that that the

#eeper bring character 7rives into play here by

using !oft ;or even Hard= 7rivers, ideally

encouraging conflict between characters. For

example, the rrogance or Thirst for #nowledge

7rives might favour pressing on without the

Germans, while 7uty may encourage a character to

do 9the right thing5.

"f they decline to accept, the Germans send a two0

man team to make its way independently. The

investigators may encounter them later and the

Germans will be less than positively disposed

towards them.

n obvious third option is that the protagonists

agree to look for the missing team, which the

Germans will gratefully accept.

(aiting on the IceS#ene T!pe/6ptional, Transition

)ead-$n/ Call for Help

)ead-1ut/ cross the "ce

"f the protagonists decide to wait for the Germans

to reach them, they face a wait of two days on the

ice.

An 6nearthly Howl

fter sunset on the first day there is a distant, but

terrible and strange howl, which will be noticedwith a successful !ense Trouble test against

7ifficulty


14/30

Biolog! or 1utdoorsman 3-oint spendO This

sound is not recognisable as a known inhabitant of

Greenland.

The Two #ermans

The Germans will be very grateful to the team for

delaying their expedition in order to help and they

will make it clear that their interest is in the search

and rescue of their compatriots and are happy to

follow the %thelrod %xpedition5s lead on other

matters.

They will, however try to persuade the %nglish0

speakers to help them actively search for the

Germans, perhaps by giving them some men to take

on a more southerly course towards where radio

contact was lost ;i.e. in the direction of the scene,

raves=. Be@oining the main group from this point

would re3uire a steep climb ;see 1n the Edge=.

Captain 7reher decides to lead the rescue operation

personally, leaving his first mate in charge of a ship

manned by a radio engineer and a skeleton crew.

He brings Gerald Huber with him on a dog sled

with eight dogs. !ee 1age UU for details of these

two.

!ections of the scenario that apply if the Germans

have @oined the team are marked with the following

symbolO .S!mbol/ erman Expedition "embers0

5n7esti$ationReassuran#eor 6latter!/The German expedition

was following the same route as the $athieson

%xpedition. %ach of the following additional pieces

of information re3uires a 3-oint spendO

The site is thought to be a city called

9-ltima Thule5, the capital of the lost

continent of Thule, ancient homeland of the

ryan race

"nformation about the site came from Pean

Baymond Gobineau, a veteran of the$athieson %xpedition who moved to ?erlin

in the late &'+s

ccording to Gobineau, the creature that

attacked the $athieson %xpedition was not

a bear, but something far worse

There is a temple in the valley that one must

utter a special invocation to enter. Gobineau

claimed to know this, but protected it

fiercely.

The linguist and anthropologist Hermanirth translated glyphs found on a monolith

in Finland describing the history or

mythology of this city

Across the IceS#ene T!pe/Core, Clue ;?onus=

)ead-$n/ Call for Help

)ead-1ut/

The expedition is now heading southeast over the

fractured surface of the Greenland ice sheet. Twice

a day, each member of the team must make a !ense

Trouble test against 7ifficulty ) ;7ifficulty / for

vehicle drivers= to safely avoid crevasses. "f this

fails, a 7riving test ;7ifficulty /= is re3uired to

avoid falling in for E& damage and possible loss or

damage to vehicles, loads or dogs.

This stage will take two days. However, if the team

passes a piggybacked 7riving ;Tractor or 7og !led

as applicable= test against 7ifficulty


15/30

from the east ;the direction the expedition is

headed= and return the same way. nother 5-oint

spendis re3uired to follow the tracks a significant

distance. skier will be able to travel faster than

the man on level ground, however he deliberately

heads over rough terrain, re3uiring a Chase using

thletics versus thletics, with the %skimo

receiving a free success at the start of the chase

representing the head start he has and a 7ifficulty

reduced to / representing his experience of the

terrain. nyone winning this Chase will have an

opportunity to take a single shot at the strange0

looking %skimo if they have a rifle ready. fter

that, he disappears from view and a !ense Trouble

test against 7ifficulty is re3uired to avoid being

ambushed by a ferocious attack with a hand0axe.

He will fight to the death rather than be captured.

!een close0up, it is clear that the man is no ordinary

%skimo. He is lean, with fair hair, and a long facewith elongated nose and ears. He appears to be in

his mid to late twenties. He will refuse to talk and

will try to escape at the first opportunity.

$nterrogation/ "n broken Greenlandic "nuit, he will

warn that the outsiders have strayed onto forbidden

land, protected by the ancestors.They must leave at

once or they will die a horrible death. 5-oint

spendpersuades him to give his name and that he is

a member of a small family that lives in a house

several days to the west of here. Assess Honest!reveals no hint of deception.

.S!mbol/ erman Expedition "embers0 The

Germans, are extremely excited by the discovery of

9blond %skimo5 announcing that it is proof of a

former ryanI4ordic civilisation in Greenland.

Anthropolog! 3-oint spend/:ilh@almur

!tefansson reported blond %skimo in the :ictoria

"sland area of Canada in &'& and there have been

several such reports, including in Greenland, since

the &*th

Century.

&aakuk8 the /lond Eskimo8 A$e *9

Abilities/ thletics &, !cuffling (, eapons &&,

Health '

Hit Threshold/ )

ArmorO 0& vs all ;hide=

Stealth "odifier/E+


4eaponO E ;stone axe=

The team won5t be able to travel much furthertoday.

)n the EdgeS#ene T!pe/ Clue ;?onus=

)ead-$n/cross the "ce

)ead-1ut/The German Camp, rriving at the !ite

bout a day from their destination, the expedition

is moving along the top of a steep ridge.

1utdoorsman or Eviden#e Colle#tion/There is adark red spot on a slope, about a mile or so from the

bottom of the ridge. ?inoculars suggest that it is a

patch of blood with debris of some kind nearby.

The face of the ridge, which would need to be

descended to reach the camp, is a near0vertical wall

of icy rock over & feet high. Climbing down is an

thletics test ;7ifficulty =. Climbing back up the

wall is 7ifficulty (. "n either case, damage is & die

E/, however, if a safety rope is used, unless the roll

is a natural & ;in which case the rope doesn5t hold=,the damage is reduced to 0&, with a second thletics

test re3uired to complete the climb. pproaching

the red spot brings the protagonists to Human

Remains.

1utdoorsman/nother route is possible that

avoids the steep climb. "t would mean going back

along the ridge then heading south. 6n foot, this

would take about a day each way, on unloaded dog

sleds about half that, and on loaded sleds or a snow

tractor, about hours.

1utdoorsman or Eviden#e Colle#tion/?olts have

been left where someone climbed up the face of this

ridge. 3-point 1utdoorsman spendconfirms

that this was within the last week or so. nother 3-

oint spendindicates that there were three in the

climbing party.

nyone remaining behind and passing a !ense

Trouble test against 7ifficulty will spot a figure,

similar to the previous one, watching them from a

mountainside to the north. Beaching the spot will

take about half an hour and a climb re3uiring an

thletics test against 7ifficulty ). 1utdoorsman 3-

oint spendwill successfully locate his tracks,

while another 3-oint spendwill allow them to be

followed westward and higher up the mountain

where they are lost on the rocky surface.

"f none of the protagonists remain here, the mushers

will report the figure when they return and can take

the characters close to the spot where the figure

stood.

The expedition will probably need to camp

somewhere on the ridge or tonight.


16/30

%uman RemainsS#ene T!pe/ 6ptional,Clue ;?onus=

)ead-$n/6n the %dge, Graves

)ead-1ut/Graves, 6n the %dge

"n addition to the large patch of blood are some

pieces of bone and clothing. itnessing this is a /0

point !tability test. Simple Sear#hlocates papersthat identify the victim as Pean Baymond Gobineau,

a French national, German resident and a member

of the 4!71 ;4a8i 1arty=.

6orensi#sO The remains have probably been here

for almost a week. 3-oint spend/The bones are

gnawed and crushed. The tooth0marks are possibly

from a bear or other large carnivore.

Eviden#e Colle#tion or 1utdoorsman/The man5s

prints can be seen coming from the south. Karge,

footprints can be seen in the snow, possiblydistorted by melting. ?oth sets of tracks have

followed the same route. 1utdoorsman or

Biolog!/ The prints appear to be those of a large

carnivoreQ however, the extended claw in the

middle of the foot shows that this wasn5t a bear. "n

fact, they don5t belong to any identifiable creature.

3-oint spend/There is something very strange

about the gait. further 3-oint spend/The

bi8arre pattern of prints would almost seem to

imply that it has six legs.

Cthulhu "!thos/This may be the Gnoph0keh, the

legendary six0legged beast of the rctic.

1utdoorsman 3-oint spend/Tracing the prints to

their origin will take characters to raves.

Following the creature5s subse3uent route will take

them northeast, deeper onto the ice sheet. fter two

hours, snowfall obliterates the trail.

:hat Happened Here;

hen surprised by the Gnoph0keh at the site of the

scene 9raves5, Gobineau ;like many others= fled.The creature hunted him down, killed him and

consumed his body at leisure.

ra#esS#ene T!pe/ 6ptional,Clue ;?onus=

)ead-$n/Human Bemains, The Climb to the "ce

!heet

)ead-1ut/Human Bemains, The Climb to the "ce

!heet

Three mounds rise in the snow here marked with

simple wooden crosses. crushed man0drawn sled

has also been abandoned here, its load partially still

loaded and partially arranged on the snow nearby.

Mwould they have left a letter for their missing

team0matesLN

Simple Sear#h/ The mounds are of course graves.

"dentity papers on the bodies will identify them as

German nationals.

Simple Sear#h/ The sled holds camp gear,

provisions and a broken radio.

Eviden#e Colle#tion 3-oint spend/ -nder a layer

of snow there are numerousempty rifle cartridges

as if there had been a substantial fire fight.

1utdoorsman or Eviden#e Colle#tion/There are

several sets of footprints around the graves and

signs snow that has been dug up to pile on the

graves. 3-oint spendreveals a snow0covered

trail hinting that something large trampled throughthis part of the valley several times, before the

tracks were mostly covered in snow. ith another

3-oint spend, its route can be followed either to

Human Remains or to The Climb to the $#e

Sheet. "n either case, 1utdoorsmanwill indicate

that after a couple of hundred yards the tracks have

little or no snowfall on them.

6orensi#s/"f disinterred and examined, one of the

bodies appears to have been crushed, one appears to

have deep lacerations to the upper body and the

third has a deep, impaling wound in the abdomen.

3-point spend/The first also had symptoms of

frostbite. 3-point spend/The wounds on the second

man are consistent with being mauled by a large

carnivore, but a bear5s claws are not sharp enough

to have inflicted those in@uries.

Eviden#e Colle#tion/There are tracks on the

mountainside further up the valley. These have far

less snow on them. 3-oint spend/Close by is a

figurine made out of ice, a strange six legged

animal with a horn. Cthulhu "!thos/This is arepresentation of a Gnoph0keh. 3-oint spend/

!uch sculptures are used in rituals for calling the

Gnoph0keh.

:hat Happened Here;

The German expedition having ignored their

warning, one of the Komaruit ;?lond %s3uimaux=

sang the old song to call the Gnoph0keh. The beast

stalked the expedition, called up a bli88ard and

attacked them. M7id it kill the summoner firstLN

!ome of them tried shooting at it without much

success. Three mere were killed and the rest fled.

Gobineau was followed and killed by the creature.


17/30


18/30

6n invitation, Gobineau @oined the expedition.

"t arrived in Godth2b in late pril and,

following Gobineau5s directions, landed in

Godth2bsf@orden where the ship anchored in

order to maximise radio reception.

?auer describes Gobineau as obnoxious and

mentally unstable. ?auer feels he is more of a

hindrance to the mission than a help. ?auer andGobineau fight sporadically.

!trange0looking %s3uimaux were spotted

watching from a distance. Kater one of them

approached. He was a bearded old man with fair

complexion and elongated facial features. He

resembled a !candinavian. ?auer felt certain

that this was proof of the origin of the ryans

on ThuleIGreenland. The man was not friendly.

!peaking in a strange dialect, he appeared to

threaten or warn them and left.

The following day, while caught in a suddenbli88ard, they were attacked by a huge, bear0

like thing that was nevertheless definitely not a

bear. They tried to shoot it without success.

6nce they regrouped, they found that three of

them were dead and two missing. They decided

to press on with only three men left in the

expedition.

The Akrafe7era$ed clue?

)anguage/Tsath0o and German

S&imming Time/The German translationO + hoursQtranslating from Tsath0o takes longer ;see below=

This book is a speculative translation by Herman

irth of certain pictographs found etched onto a

monolith in Finland. irth interprets the symbols

according to his own linguistic theories and wishful

thinking. nyone familiar with Tsath0o will

recognise the glyphs.

)anguages 7erman8will reveal irth5s

interpretationO

A go$$ess arose out of the earth an$ se$uce$ a

human/ She gave birth to the Go$-%an/ The Go$-

%an became a brave arrior an$ a lea$er/

irth associates this with the0arelian stor' of

"lmatar, the spirit of the air who gives birth to

:VinVmJinen, the first man.

There as a cit' in a high, fertile valle' in Thule,

ith mountains to the est an$ forests to the south/

The people of the cit' ere envious of the Go$-%an

an$ took him prisoner/ The' cut off his hea$ an$burie$ the bo$', but he arose, an$ kille$ one of the

people/ The' e1ecute$ him again an$ the same

happene$/ %ost of the people fle$ the cit'/ .n the

thir$ occasion, he reveale$ his $ivine form an$

$evoure$ man' of the people until the last of them

fle$/ Years later, one of the inhabitants of the cit'

returne$ an$ foun$ the cit' populate$ ith a race

$escen$e$ from the go$s/ Thus began the

civilisation of Thule an$ the Ar'an race/

This myth, argues irth, is an account of the divineseed from which the supreme 4ordic0ryan race

appeared on Thule before they went on to rule the

ancient orl$/ 2e also speculates e1tensivel' on

the relationships beteen the pictographs an$

)or$ic runes/

Clue 7)everaged8/ "f using %thelrod5s Tsath0o

dictionary, every six hours work and 5 point

spendsin Ar#haeolog!, )anguages,

Cr!ptograph!, Anthropolog!or Cthulhu

"!thos, one of the following points is translatedO

!oldiers from Commoriom captured the outlaw

#nygathin Ahaum and brought him back to the

city.

ccording to rumour, #nygathin Ahaum was

the product of the union of the Shaklip> the

9granddaughter5 of the god*hotha++uahand a

sub0human :oormis.

The city executioner beheaded him three times

and each time, witnesses later saw him alive,

more monstrous than before. 6n the first and

second occasion, #nygathin Ahaum killed and

ate one of the inhabitants of the city.

?y the third reappearance, he had

metamorphosed into a fully alien entity, and had

devoured many of the citi8ens, forcing the final

abandonment of the city.

former inhabitant of Commoriom returned to

the city one day and discovered it repopulated

with the monstrous offspring of #nygathinAhaum.

Translating it or reading an accurate translation will

grant & point of Cthulhu $ythos.

The #eeper might consider using or adapting Clark

shton !mith5s story The Testament of Athammaus

for the content of the main body of the story.

The Pyre

S#ene T!pe/ 6ptional,Clue ;?onus=)ead-$n/The Temple of Ahotha33uah, The

$ysterious !tructure, The German Camp


19/30

)ead-1ut/The Temple of Ahotha33uah, The

$ysterious !tructure, The German Camp

Eviden#e Colle#tion or 1utdoorsman/s one

approaches the cube0shaped structure, a blackened,

scattered pile of debris can be seen on the ice.

"n fact, this is the remains of the German

expedition. There are two bodies here and a

blackened mass of some sort. 6ne man is lyingabout + yards away from the others. The following

items are obviousO

/ $auser rifles

/ pairs of skis

echselapparat 9ex5 Flamethrower ;with

five ignition cartridges remaining=

Eviden#e Colle#tion/There are rifle cartridges

scattered around. t least shots were fired.

There is a large, dark mark on the ice around two ofthe men and covering one of them completely > an

oily or tarry residue with a strange smell.

Chemistr!/The smell includes burned petrol or

dieselQ however, there is another strange and

unfamiliar odour there too.

6orensi#s or "edi#ine/ 3 oint spendin either

of these is needed to establish each of the following

factsO

6ne man seems to have died of a skullfracture

The second ;covered in the dark residue=

appears to have been crushed to death and

smothered by the dark substance. He also

has burns across his body.

third ;about + yards from the others= has

two broken legs, burns and scorch marks to

his body and died of hypothermia

Eviden#e Colle#tion/4ext to the first man is a

dark stone statuette. "t is a s3uat, grotes3ue, vaguelytoad0like form with a fat body, half0closed eyes,

large ears and a lolling tongue. !eeing this is a &0

point !tability test, $ythos related. nyone failing

this test is disturbed by a haunting sense of

recognition, as if of a childhood memory or a

dream. That night, they are visited by an unpleasant

dream of this corpulent entity leering at them in

some dark, subterranean place. They will lose a

second point of !tability. Cthulhu "!thos/ 3-

point spendreveals that similar toad0like statues

were used by extinct merican "ndian tribes inCanada and 4ew %ngland. They supposedly

represent a being called Tsathoggua. There are

interesting parallels with an entity called Sa$ogah

associated with witchcraft in the uvergne region

of France. The worship of this god supposedly

began on the mythical lost continent of Hyperborea,

where he was known as*hotha++uah.

1utdoorsman or Eviden#e Colle#tion/ 3-oint

spendin either of these is needed to reveal each of

the followingO

Three sets of footprints coming from the

direction of the cube0shaped structure. They

were running.

faint trail of fro8en moisture, mucus or

slime, also coming from the cube0shaped

structure

:hat Happened Here;

The three surviving members of the expedition

entered the temple and ;as instructed by Gobineau=recited the spell he brought with him ;Contact

!pawn of Tsathoggua=. They entered and began to

explore. 6ne of the men could not resist taking the

idol of Tsathoggua from the altar when they left.

They fled, pursued by the spawn. They fired on it to

no effect, but managed to set it on fire with their

flamethrower. ?efore dying and dissolving into the

ice, it killed two men, the third, his legs broken and

suffering from burns, died of hypothermia.

M?egin !idebarN

1ew :eapon

4e#hselapparat ?4ex= 6lamethro'er

This model is surplus from the Great ar and

consists of a backpack with fuel cylinders and a

no88le connected by a hose. $echanical Bepair

test against 7ifficulty ) is re3uired to understand

the firing mechanism, with failure resulting in a

wasted shot. Gasoline, kerosene or diesel can be

used as fuel. &0chambered cylinder in the no88le

contains the ignition cartridges. "ts heavy ;< lbs=

and cumbersome nature and high visibility make it

dangerous to wear, decreasing the wearer5s Hit

Threshold by & and increasing thletics and

Fleeing 7ifficulties by &. "t5s also 3uite fragileO

treat as having + rmour and / Health if damaged.

Damage/ E& ;and see below=

Shots/&

Range/4ear

9otes/6nce hit, a target will continue to burn,

inflicting E damage for &7 rounds ;thletics testagainst 7ifficulty to extinguish=. 0& to wearer5s

Hit Threshold. user can also douse an area before


20/30

ignition, creating a fireball that inflicts similar

damage to an exploding stick of dynamite ;see

Trail of Cthulhu rulebook p*=.

M%nd !idebarN

The Temple of*hothaqquah

S#ene T!pe/ 6ptional,Clue ;?onus=

)ead-$n/The 1yre, The $ysterious !tructure, The

German Camp

)ead-1ut/The 1yre, The $ysterious !tructure,

The German Camp

This mysterious, ancient, weathered cube s3uats on

the mountainside like a tomb or a memorial to

something incomprehensibly ancient. "t is built of

dark grey stone with sides fifty feet, narrow slits

high in the walls and an open, s3uare doorway

about nine feet wide.

Eviden#e Colle#tionor1utdoorsman/There is a

faint, short path leading from the ice plain to the

doorway.

eolog!/The building is constructed of basalt. 3

point spend/The profound erosion of this hard

stone appears to imply that it is tens or hundreds of

thousands of years old.

Ar#hite#ture/%ach wall appears to be formed of a

single natural block.3 point spend/The buildingbears no relationship to any known architectural

style.

The walls and floor are covered in thick frost. There

are footprints across the floor and in places the frost

has been scraped from the walls.

Eviden#e Colle#tion 3 oint spend/ "n other

places, the frost has been melted from the walls as

indicated by dark scorch marks.

Pust inside the door is a huge, three0legged basin ofa corroded greenish material that forms a pool of

green, several feet wide around it. Chemistr!or

Ar#haeolog! recognises it as extremely ancient

bron8e covered in thick verdigris. The bowl is six

feet across and three deep. "f examined, the inside

of the bowl is untarnished, in near0perfect

condition. Eviden#e Colle#tion/The feet are in the

shapes of feline0like claws.

The floor is seen to be tiled in a strange pattern of

large, irregular, five0sided flagstones. h!si#s or

Ar#hite#ture/This pattern of tessellated pentagonsis unfamiliar and implies a sophisticated

understanding of obscure geometry.

!trange hieroglyphs ;identifiable as a primitive

version of Tsath0o= can be seen covering the

walls, in some still covered in frost and some

already exposed. The glyphs relate a history of the

original builders of the city as translated in

%thelrod5s&ictographs in the Temple of *oth-

A++ua.

6n the back wall is an empty two0tiered altar.Eviden#e Colle#tion/ bare spot in the frost and

wear on the stone indicates that an ob@ect rested on

this altar for a long time time. 3-oint spend

recognises the outline of the statuette found at The

!re.

The /urial Chamber

?ehind the altar, what may once have been a hidden

doorway lies open with fragments of corroded

bron8e chain on the floor nearby.

Chemistr!indicates that the chain fragments have

been in this position for only a few years. Green

stains on the door itself imply that the door was

probably chained for millennia.

The windowless chamber beyond is almost fifty

feet wide and about ten feet deep. 6pposite the door

seated on a large, bron8e throne is the striking

figure of a mummified baboon0like ape dressed in

the remnants of a red and purple robe and a

feathered headdress. Tufts of orange hair poke

through holes in the robe. This is a /01oint !tabilitytest ;$ythos related=.

Biolog!/The creature is of no known species of

ape and possesses certain features, for example the

structure of the foot, which places it closer to

human beings.

The throne is again of heavily corroded bron8e, but

in better condition than the basin.

There is a long stone table at one end of the

chamber, which is empty apart from a fewfragments of ancient organic matter ;the remains of

flowers, fruit and other foods=.

The +ysterious &tructureS#ene T!pe/ Core

)ead-$n/The Temple of Ahotha33uah, The 1yre,

The $ysterious !tructure, The German Camp

)ead-1ut/The Temple of Ahotha33uah, The 1yre,

The $ysterious !tructure, The German Camp

4ear the centre of the ice cap, there is a dark spot ofroughly circular shape and about forty feet in

diameter. Eviden#e Colle#tion/ structure of


21/30

some kind, the top of which is around fifteen feet

beneath the surface, descends deep into the ice.

Eviden#e Colle#tion3 oint spendor

Ar#hite#ture/"t is difficult to see through the

distortion, but it has a resemblance to the top of a

tower complete with railed balcony.

M!idebarN

Antagonist Reactions ofthe Blond Esquimaux

The tiny clan of ?lond %s3uimaux has camped near

the valley in order to drive the outsiders away and

interfere with the dig. This takes the form of

sabotage and singing the ancestral song for

summoning the Gnoph0keh from the ice0plains to

wreak havoc in the valley.

ll of the following antagonist reaction scenes runconcurrently with exploration and excavation in the

valley until either the outsiders leave the area or the

%s3uimaux are defeated.

Trackin$ the Es4uimau' to theirCamp

1utdoorsman/ 3-oint spendwill allow tracks

to be followed southwest to the Es&imo Camp. "f

this is attempted at night, this is a 5-oint spend.

4ote that if the clan is not effectively defeated;killed, captured, scattered etc=, it will continue to

be a thorn in the expedition5s side by repeatedly

calling the Gnoph0keh andIor sabotaging the dig

while the team is exploring Commoriom.

MI!idebarN

&ingingS#ene T!pe/ ntagonist reaction

Trigger/First night after Arriving at the Site

!ense Trouble test against 7ifficulty ( allows a

character to hear a murmuring, chanting sound

carried on the wind.

The Beast of the Ice &heetS#ene T!pe/ ntagonist reaction

Trigger/!econd night after Arriving at the Site

This event will occur on the second night after the

protagonists arrive at the site.

"f an "nvestigator makes a !ense Trouble test

against 7ifficulty ) he will awake to hear a distant,

rhythmic singing on the wind. "f followed, the

sound seems to come from a low hillock at the foot

of one of the southern peaks. nother 7ifficulty )

!ense Trouble test is needed to locate the source of

the singingO a white haired and bearded old man in

an %skimo parks sitting, huddled against the cold.

7ifficulty ) !tealth test ;7ifficulty < during the

day= is necessary to creep up undetected.

6therwise, the man will attempt to escape up the

mountain.

"sma, the head of the clan calls the Gnoph0keh.

"f unable to escape, "sma will defend himself

ferociously with his spear.

"f allowed to complete the spell unmolested, "sma

attracts the attention of a Gnoph0keh, and it may

kill himbefore moving on to attack the camp.

!ense Trouble test against 7ifficulty ) alerts an

"nvestigator to a brief cry in the night, soonfollowed by the sound of the creature5s approach.

6nce close to the camp, the creature will summon

up a bli88ard, and attack. "f it loses over half of its

Health, the Gnoph0keh will retreat back to the ice0

plains.

noph-&eh

For full details of the Gnoph0keh see the Trail of

Cthulhurulebook p&/).

thletics ', Health &


22/30

spend/!uch sculptures are used in rituals for

calling the Gnoph0keh.

&a"otageTrigger/Third night after Arriving at the Site

The team awakes to discover that some of their

e3uipment is sabotaged > the drill in need of

$echanical Bepair, the "ce melter destroyed or

most dramatically, the diesel tanks set on fire.

!ense Trouble test against 7ifficulty ) will allow

the protagonists to hear the culprits > most likely

the two younger ?lond %s3uimaux > at work.

noph,-eh comes a &econdTime

Trigger/Fifth day after Arriving at the Site unless

theEs&imo Camphas been visited and the%s3uimaux there have been incapacitated

This event is the same as The Beast of the $#e

Sheet except thatO

"t occurs during the day ;decrease !ense Trouble

7ifficulty by & and increase !tealth 7ifficulty by &=

"t is the angekok, -lat who calls the Gnoph0keh this

time

"f -lat is pursued he will mutter incomprehensible

curses and wave his hands around in a bi8arre,intimidating fashion. s a last resort he will attempt

to defend himself with spells or a knife.

-lat5s long, colourful parka is decorated with

a3uatic designs. Cthulhu "!thos 3-oint spend/

The images of odd, octopoid beings dwelling in

undersea towers on the shaman5s long parka seem

to be a depiction of Cthulhu and his race.

The Es-imo Camp

S#ene T!pe/ Core)ead-$n/!inging, The ?east of the "ce !heet,

!abotage, Gnoph0keh comes a !econd Time

This small clan has built a temporary camp about

two hours from the edge of the valley. The shelter

is a whalebone and hide construct, covered in ice

and snow and out of sight of the valley. trickle of

hearth smoke often emerges from a hole in the roof.

4ear the fire is a makeshift altar and a grotes3ue

idol. The altar is a @agged, natural rock. "n front of

it, is a bowl of blood and the heart of a polar bear,sprinkled with tiny flowers. 1erched on the altar is a

small, crude whalebone statue of a s3uatting

creature with tentacles for a face. !eeing this

re3uires a &0point !tability test, $ythos related.

Cthulhu "!thos identifies it as a depiction of

Cthulhu.

ll of the surviving males of the clan will be here.

pproaching without alerting anyone is a !tealth

test against 7ifficulty *. "f alerted, they will flee a

strong group or attack a weak one. "f surprised, theywill be in or around the shelter. "f cornered, they

will fight fiercely to the death.

M?egin !idebarN

The Blond EsquimauxThese natives are, to the best of their knowledge,

the last of an ancient race that once had great cities

here. $ost of their civilised culture has been lost >

they are now simple hunter0gatherers, living harsh

lives in the more remote parts of Greenland. Theirancient religion has been lost and they make their

offerings and prayers to Cthulhu, who they call

90ulu(.

1hysically, they look very different from other

%skimo people, being blond, with long faces,

elongated ear0lobes and substantial facial hair. They

wear hoodless, wide0collared parkas with hats.

6lat8 Shaman8 Priest of 0ulu

This white0bearded man may be in his s. Hewears a long parka decorated with strange motifs

and symbols and an odd, pointed hat.

thletics , !cuffling


23/30

>aatuk and &aakuk

These two men are the sons of the patriarch, aged

+* and +(. They are fierce, agile and almost

fearless.

Abilities/ thletics &, !cuffling (, eapons &&,

Health '

Hit Threshold/ )

ArmorO 0& vs all ;hide=

Stealth "odifier/E+


4eaponO E ;stone axes, spears=

5n7esti$ation

Anthropolog!/These men do not appear to be a

members of any known %skimo tribe, either in

terms of their clothing or in terms of their fair hair,

slender build, long faces, large noses or long ear

lobes. 6ne man, who may be a shaman, has motifson his clothing and ornamentation in an unfamiliar

style and a3uatic theme. 3-oint spend/:ilh@almur

!tefansson reported blond %s3uimaux in northern

Canada in &'&, and there have been such reports

since the &*thCentury.

Cthulhu "!thos/The images of odd, octopoid

beings dwelling in undersea towers on the shaman5s

long parka seem to be a depiction of Cthulhu and

his race.

1ew Spell

Conta#t noph-&eh

This spell must be cast in the fro8en wastes of

Greenland or the 4orth 1ole. small effigy of the

beast must be made out of snow and ice.

Stabilit! Test Diffi#ult!/


24/30

Resour#es Consumed

.< barrels of diesel per day ;L=

E'plosi7es

%xplosive charges can be used to widen existing

boreholes 3uickly or, used with great care, to break

up ice inside the tower itself.

The character using explosives must have the%xplosives general ability.

oint Spend Benefits

"n any given phase, a character overseeing the use

of explosives can spend up to two pool points of

%xplosives and reduce the length of that phase by

one day per point spent.

Resour#es Consumed

+ detonators per day.

MI!idebarN

Accessing the &tructureS#ene T!pe/ Core

)ead-$n/The $ysterious !tructure

)ead-1ut/%xcavating the Chamber

?y default this phase takes ) days.

The top of the structure is about &*5 below the

surface. ?eneath that is the roof of the structure and

a chamber > in fact the upper chamber of a tower.

"t is assumed that the team will create a shaft of pit

to reach the tower then excavate the inside of it.

The #eeper may have to improvise somewhat if

they take a very different approach. The characters

may decide to build a shaft next to the tower and

enter via one of the doors or windows on the

balcony, or they may simply bore a hole directly

through the roof.

Ar#haeolog! or Ar#hite#ture/The roof and floor

are already partially collapsed.

eolog!O The tower is black gneiss basalt. 3-

oint spendestablishes that it is tens of thousands

of years old.

Ar#hite#tureO The style doesn5t resemble that of

any known architectural tradition.

Exca#ating the Cham"erS#ene T!pe/ Core

)ead-$n/ccessing the !tructure)ead-1ut/Clearing the Chamber

?y default this phase takes * days.

ith Ar#haeolog!orEviden#e Colle#tion the

remains of an unknown metallic device can be

found in the upper chamber of the tower.

eolog!* Craft or Ar#haeolog!/"t was decorated

with gold, emeralds and rubies.

Astronom! or 3-oint spend in Ar#haeolog!*h!si#s or "e#hani#al RepairO "t was an optical

device of some kind, possibly a telescope.

Clearing the Cham"erS#ene T!pe/ Core

)ead-$n/%xcavating the Chamber

)ead-1ut/The "dol Thaws, 7escent into the

7epths

Core Clue/ The stru#ture des#ends deep into the

i#e-sheet2 There is a semi-inta#t stair'a! leadingdo'n2

?y default, this phase takes * days.

Ar#hite#ture 7Core #lue8/There is a stairway

descending deeper into the ice.

pictographs, books L

ith Ar#haeolog! orEviden#e Colle#tiona

strange and grotes3ue ob@ect is uncovered in the ice

near the top of the stairwell. "t looks like a

grotes3ue idol fashioned of some dark, mottledmaterial, vaguely toad0like in shape, very dense and

about the si8e of a melon. !eeing this re3uires a /0

point !tability test, $ythos related.

Cthulhu "!thos/!tatues of grotes3ue, toad0like

forms are used in the worship of Tsathoggua.

eolog! or Chemistr!/The ob@ect is not made of

any known material.

"n fact, the ob@ect isn5t a statue at all. "t is a dormant

organism > one of the !pawn of #nygathin Ahaum.

6nce uncovered, the spawn will begin to thaw and

awaken. !ee The $dol Tha's. This nominally takes

+) hours or ( hours if left in a warm place, like an

inhabited tent, however it should take as long as is

dramatically interesting.

'escent into the 'epthsS#ene T!pe/ Core

)ead-$n/Clearing the Chamber

)ead-1ut/

?y default this phase takes < days until breaking

through to the ice0free section of the stairwell.


25/30

!tairwell runs around perimeter of tower. !olidly

constructed from basalt, most of it is still intact.

There are places where steps have eroded or broken

and places where there are gaps.

1ictographs in stairwell tell history of

Hyperboreans in reverse going back to their arrival

on Hyperborea.

Heyday of Commoriom showing current

kings

:arious older dynasties

%ncroaching cold

1rophesy of !ybil of 1olarion

Bise of houndeh cult

Komar and Aobna

6ther settlements

%arly Tsathoggua cult

:oormis driven to $t. :oormithadreth

Aon $e88amalechL

Founding of Commoriom

Hyperboreans leaving homelands ;KomarL=.

rrival of Hyperboreans

1eople of Komar arrive from Aobna, drivenby cold

The "ce ge is brought about by the

combined power of "tha3ua and phoom

Ahah. Gradual collapse of :oormis

civilisation

Gnophkeh and :oormis at war. Former

driven to Komar.

:oormis settlement and temple of

Ahotha33uah Humans appear on earth

:oormis liberation, worship of Tsathoggua

!erpent 1eople found civilisation in

Hyperborea ;with :oormis slaves=

they break through to an ice0free section of the

stairwell, stretching down into darkness. "t widens

allowing much faster progress.

The stairs descend over feet into the ice0sheet.

7ue to the tower walls it is very dark and artificial

light is essential. Getting to the bottom will take at

least around half an hour.

Three thletics tests are re3uiredO one at 7ifficulty

), one at 7ifficulty and one at 7ifficulty ). There

are also four places where the stairs have

completely collapsed creating gaps. These will need

to be bridged somehow or climbing gear will need

to be used.

Gap W&O feet, 7ifficulty /, 7amage & die

Gap W+O &+ feet, 7ifficulty


26/30

6nce it has awakened, this intelligent, sentient

organism will escape, and scuttle across the ground

at night, on many limbs or slide under the edges of

tents in order to find a sleeping host. The spawn

will attempt to enter a sleeping or subdued human

host, smothering their sounds as it forces itself

down their throat and takes up residence in their

body.

-nless one of the protagonists unwittingly sets

himself up as an obvious target, the spawn should

attack a 41CO one of the mushers or Germans. His

tent mate wakes up to see it and screams out for

help before being attacked and infected himself.

successful !ense Trouble test against 7ifficulty

;' if the attack is at night= will allow protagonists to

hear a strange sound in the camp. "f they rush out

immediately they will catch sight of a bi8arre black

thing like a huge spider attempting to crawl into

one of the tents. ttacking it will cause it to attack

the protagonist. Following it, he will witness it

attacking the mushers.

"n any case, the 1rotagonists will automatically be

woken by a blood0curdling scream that is suddenly

cut short.

Eviden#e Colle#tion/There are traces of a dark

greyish slime on both bodies and at the edge of the

tent where the canvas seems loose.

6utcome for the victimL

!ense Trouble test against 7ifficulty < ;( at

night= will alert a character to an imminent attack.

Hunting it down, while it hides in the camp has the

same 7ifficulty. 4oticing the thing attack a

companion sleeping in the same tent is a 7ifficulty

test.

M?egin sidebarN

Spawn of 0ny$athin @haum

lso known as 91arasitic !pawn of Tsathoggua5,these entities bear some similarity to their cousins,

except that they are smaller ;about the si8e of a

?order Collie=, and can invade and live inside

human hosts. Kike the formless spawn, they are

black, oo8ing, plastic entities capable of taking

almost any shape and of s3uee8ing themselves

under doors and through small holes.

7ue to their li3uid nature, normal physical wounds

will flow closed. However, this process is not

instantaneous. They may be temporarilyincapacitated by physical attacks, but even if

completely dismembered and the members

scattered, the parts will reassemble > by flowing,

rolling into balls, s3uee8ing through cracks or even

breaking out of containers ;controlled by a unifying

intelligence, thletics can still be used in this state=

until the parts gather together and the creature is

intact once more. They cannot be killed in this way

> the amount of damage they take only affects the

amount of time it takes for their Health to get above

and able to act once more. Fire damage does not

heal in this way, nor may some magical or chemical

attacks.

7ue to the hominid strain in its ancestry, the spawn

has an affinity for human biology and can live

inside a human being, substituting natural

biological functions with its own. They will attempt

to subdue a target and then, in li3uid form, typically

force itself down his throat. The victim may be

incapacitated or even killed during the attempt. The

spawn will need to remove most of the victim5sinternal organs in order to make space for it5s own

body. This will take about < minutes. The rest of

the body, including the brain will remain alive,

provided for by the spawn. The spawn will then

take control of the brain, raiding his memories and

taking control of his actions. -ntil it fully settles in,

for the first )( hours, a !tability test against

7ifficulty will allow the host to have full control

for a few minutes or allow some recollection of the

attack event. M!tability test to resist it when it

asserts controlLN

The host5s previous 7rive disappears and instead is

subconsciously substituted with the spawn5s goals.

To an observer, the host5s personality and mind

seem to be intact, but Assess Honest!will detect a

listless or 9off5 3uality that may be mistaken for

shock or other mental health issue. 3-oint

spendsuggests that the host seems to lack sincere

emotions.

Suffo#ate/The creature can use a limb to sei8e a

victim around the neck or simply smother with its

viscous body. pply the 7rowning and !uffocation

rules ;Trail of Cthulhu rulebook 1(=. hen being

strangled, successful thletics contest will allow a

victim to break free.

rab/Tendrils or limb attacks can be used to

immobilise a target or cling to the target. 6nce

grabbed, an thletics contest is re3uired to break

the grip.

$nvade Host/The creature can force itself into a

victim via a bodily orifice ;usually the mouth= if the

target has been successfully suffocated or grabbed

in the previous round or is unconscious. gainst a


27/30

conscious victim, this is an thletics contest with

the spawn rolling against a 7ifficulty 4umber of /.

"f the mouth is being used as an entrance, the victim

will suffer the effects of !uffocation ;as in

!trangling above=, until the contest is over and for

another / rounds.

Spa'n of +n!gathin ,haum

thletics &+, Health , !cuffling +

Hit Threshold/)

Stealth "odifier/ E& ;E in snow and ice, E/ in

shadows or darkness=

4eapon/ 0& ;tendril=, E ;limb=, E& ;pseudopod= Q

can extend tendril attack at near rangeQ can attack

one to three targets with a limb simultaneously,

adding one to the Hit Threshold for each additional

targetQ can attack other targets even when inside a

host

Armor/ 0) vs any, when within a host. Healsphysical damage ;except fire, chemicals,

explosives= at Health per round.

Stabilit! )oss/ E&

hile in a fro8en, dormant state, although very

hard, the spawn can be cut or physically damaged.

However, once it thaws, it will regain the ability to

physically reassemble itself. Treat it as having

Health and rmor of 0< ;vs all= in a dormant state.

M%nd sidebarN

M!idebarN

Anta$onist %eactions of the Spawn

s soon as the protagonists enter Commoriom, the

spawn will begin to gradually thaw and awaken.

Eviden#e Colle#tion/thawing of ice, water

collecting, dripping, rivulets, pitting of ice.

"nitially a single spawn on the loose.

!ense Trouble test against 7ifficulty to catch

glimpse of movement or sound ;could beanywhere=.

"t will attempt to ambush a lone individual,

probably surprising them with a suffocation attack .

nyone alone in Commoriom for a significant time

is a potential target. !ense Trouble against

7ifficulty < to detect its approach.

"f ambushed it is recommended the #eeper takes

that player aside to resolve outcome in secret. "f the

creature successfully invades or incapacitates its

host then that character infected and is likely tocome under the control of the spawn within hours.

Their first action on waking will be to hide any

blood and tissues expelled during the implantation

process. ;Can it assert control immediatelyL=

"f infected, the character will have no memory of

events. The #eeper should ask the 1layer to

roleplay their ignorance and > when prompted to do

so > the growing influence that the spawn has over

them. This can be handled in much the same way as

roleplaying insanity.6nce fully under the control of the parasitic spawn,

the infected character will secretly seek to awaken

#nygathin Ahaum at The PunctionIThe !3uare or

rouse more spawn using the ice melter, fire,

excavation tools or if, necessary, explosives. This

should not occur until the team has found The %lder

Kens. !ee A'a&ening of +n!gathin ,haum.

M%nd !idebarN

City /nder the IceThe /ase of the Tower

Bubble, ice and a few bones including human

The 5ce Corridor

"ce0walled tunnel follows ancient path over rock

and cobble surface of prehistoric pathway,

descending from base of tower in a series of

stairways for about / yards before reaching the

$ain !treet.

&ain Street

From the "ce Corridor this can be followed left and

slightly uphill or right and slightly downhill. Keft

leads to the ruins of an ancient library and the

:ault. Bight leads to The !3uare.

Haunting view of primordial city imprisoned in iceO

streets, buildings, homes, towers, palace etc

1itted, dripping walls of ice with a narrow

crawlspace. The spawn are dormant in here.Ex#avation/reveals strange channels, possibly

more 9toad idols5 and explosives could result in

accelerated awakening of the spawn

The S4uare

Central space, crossroads with fossilised blockL ;6r

is this where #A is still fro8enL= Human remainsL

Ex#avation/reveals strange channels, possibly

more 9toad idols5 and explosives could result in

accelerated awakening of #A and the spawn


28/30

The >ibrary

$ore documentation of history, possibly more

artifacts. !omewhere there may be a spell for

!peaking with Ahotha33uah as his !tatue. 1ossibly

a spell to call dukwa from the icy wastes.

ault

This place must be accessible and obvious. hereis itL -nder the libraryL -nder a templeL -nder the

tower itselfL

The historical frie8e spirals at right angles towards

a plinth built into the middle of the room and spiral

around the plinth to its top. pale stone about the

si8e of a small orange is mounted there.

"ts entirely possible that the crystal is embedded in

a wall, table, statue etc. The Commorians I

Commorian sorcerer could have done so after

ac3uiring it from A$. This might make it feel lessarbitrarily present.

The Elder 0ens# 9Crystal of Aon $e88amalech5, 9%ye of

-bbo0!athla5

:isions of the past, initially back to sorceror, then

@umps to A$. Then barrier then @umps into past all

the way back to -! and tablets. lso addictive and

leads to disillusionment with present0day reality

which appears to be unreal. "dentification with A$

then once past barrier disidentification and loss of

selfhood. To onlookers, perhaps enters comatose

state, then a while later suddenly leaves and

disappears ;if somehow followed, seems to have

killed self=.

iewin$ the Elder >ens

For characters with the following drivesO

nti3uarianism, dventure, Curiosity, Thirst for

#nowledge > the temptation to view the Kens is aHard Driver. For all other characters, this is a Soft

Driver.

:iewing the crystal sends the user5s mind into the

past and connects it with the mind of a long dead

Hyperborean sorcerer A$ and via A$5s use of the

crystal to the ancestral memory of the species. This

ancestral memory is in fact the mind ;or proto0

mind= of -bbo0!athla, the proto0shoggoth created

by the %lder Things to spawn the first shoggoths

and from which all earthly life spawned as a by0

product. These ancestral memories are

predominantly from direct ancestors, but they also

@ump from other, nearby branches. Communion

with the 1roto0$ind and its many branches through

time and space produces a cumulative loss of self0

identity and a dissociation with what humans call

reality. This is reflected as a loss of !anity, and

occurs irrespective of whether anything is recalled

or not. !anity reduced to 8ero in this manner causes

a total loss of selfhood. fflicted in this way, a

person may walk into moving traffic, sit and stare

into space or simply wander into oblivion and

disappear.

:iewing crystal regresses user to A$ ;loss of &

!anity ;discreet=

Compulsion/

!tability test against 7ifficulty ) is re3uired to

resist viewing the stone again.lsocurrent 7rive

becomes meaningless. Beplaced with 7riveO Thirst

for #nowledge of the Tablets of the %lder Gods

MpermanentLN

$nitial union 'ith the mind of ,"

M/ point !tability test, + point !tability recovery for

those with 1

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Commoriom Submission v3,09

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