Commoriom Submission v3,12

8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,12

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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 from within and

without, and the threat of approaching winter, the

expedition degenerates into a struggle to survive as

the team members realise that the real horror is

beneath the ice under their feet. And the greatest

horror of all may be truth itself.

This scenario is inspired by the Hyperborean Cycle

stories of Clar Ashton !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 $isatonic

-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 site is the ruin of Commoriom, the first capital

of the lost civilisation of Hyperborea, which thrived

before the last ice age. %ntombed in the city is a

dormant, monstrous race descended fromTsathoggua and an alien crystal that grants visions

of the disturbing origins of life on earth.

The SpineThe team members voyage to Godthb, where theycan confront a Rival Expeditionfrom Germany.

They then begin their arduous overland tre in

Evighedsfjorden. Tensions increase between%thelrod, the team leader, and Granger, who is

struggling to conceal his alcoholism, leading to The

Death of Ethelrod. From %thelrod they can ac1uire

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.

2uring their 3ourney, the characters find evidence

that strange %simo are watching them and may

discover Gravesof members of the Germanexpedition, apparently attaced by an unnownanimal. A text in their possession, when translated

with %thelrod4s boo gives hints about the history

of the site.

Arriving at the Site, the protagonists find a Cube-

Shaped Struturewith walls inscribed with a

history of the pre0humans who first settled there.

5earby, the remains of the last members of the

German expedition can be found. 6n the valley

floor, a Shado! "nder the #eis visible.

They are harried by frea weather conditions and

attacs by a mysterious$east of the #e Sheet,


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which continue until they lin it with the clan of

strange %simo that has been following them, and

neutralise it.

Exavating the Struture under the #e leads to

the discovery of an ancient tower entombed in ice.

2igging into The #e-Cho%ed stair!a&uncovers a

frie7e describing a history of Hyperborea and

eventually leads to a Cit& "nder the #e. "n a vaultunder the ruins of a library is a crystal that can send

the mind bac in time to the disturbing origins of

life on earth.

As the city4s inhabitants begin to awaen they try to

free their 8Father4, leading to the A!a%ening of'n&gathin (hau). The protagonists4 only hope isto flee.

However, even if they escape, the insight granted

by the crystal may still claim their minds.

Victory Conditions9ictory in this scenario means realising the horror

that lies in Commoriom, and surviving it,

preferably with the site safely sealed.

Antagonist ReactionsThe rival Ger)an Expeditionis not a 85a7i

expedition4 in any official sense :there is no such

thing until the formation of the Ahnenerbe in &'/; especially the

esoterically inclined > believed in occult theories of

the uni1ue :or divine< origin of their ancestors on a

lost northern continent :referred to as 8Thule4 or

sometimes 8Hyperborea4 or 8Atlantis4 a time when

the Armitage "n1uiry is in its formative stages. "n

&'+(, Armitage, Bice and $organ scored a victory

against the 2unwich Horror and soon 2r Albert

ilmarth 3oined them following his encounter with

the 86uter 6nes4 in the hills of 9ermont. ust a few

wees ago, the =abodie %xpedition returned from

Antarctica with stories of unnown prehistoric life

forms and a vast range of mountains dotted with

strange structures.

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

$athieson revealed a number of unpublished

secrets about the &'+ expedition to his colleague2r Francis $organ. $organ shared the story with

=rofessor Armitage and soon they were woring


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with =rofessor %thelrod in %ngland to organise a

follow0up expedition for &'/+. However, in late

&'/, word reached them of a rival German

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

their pro3ect was hastened by a year. -nfortunately,

this meant 2r $organ was unable to tae part, but

he persuaded Charles Granger, a veteran of the

$athieson %xpedition, to 3oin.

*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir&This symbol defines

sections that apply only to running the scenario as

part of the Armitage "n1uiry.

Running Commoriom as astandalone

This scenario can be run as a standalone adventure

or mar a dramatic beginning to an ongoing

campaign.

The difference is that %thelrod has organised the

expedition with the ?ritish $useum, independently

of Armitage and his colleagues, who may have little

insight into what really happened on the $athieson

%xpedition.

*S&)bol+ Standalone This symbol defines

sections that apply only to running the scenario as a

standalone.

Creating the ProtagonistsAppropriate roles for the expedition include

archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists,

biologists, explosives experts, drill engineers and

radio engineers. All team members should be

healthy and fit, and be capable cross0country siers

> represented for game purposes as a minimum

6utdoorsman rating of & and Athletics of /. The

expedition will also need someone with $edicine

rating of &D and First Aid of +D to fill the role of

medic.

The expedition leader is highly xenophobic and

French applicants in particular are not considered.

*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir& "f the expedition is

organised by $isatonic -niversity, team members

are liely to be American, perhaps students or

professors at the $isatonic. ?ritish team members

may have accompanied %thelrod.

*S&)bol+ Standalone "f the expedition begins inGreat ?ritain it is liely that most of the team

members would be ?ritish. American membersmay travelled with Granger.

Prologue"n order to introduce their characters, it is

recommended that the #eeper run a short scene

from his or her expedition interview as a 2irected

!cene for each one :see The Dying of St Margarets

page (


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"n the ?lood might be interesting if the character is

related to the Hyperborean ?lond %simo.

Pillars of Sanity

The dominant theme of this scenario is the dignity

or otherwise of human origins.

6ne =illar of !anity that might be particularly

interesting dramatically is Family. A character withthis =illar will have a firm conviction in the dignity

of their origins. "f Caucasian, they may believe in

the theory of the origins of their ancestors on the

lost continent of Thule. They may have heard tales

of 8blond %simo4 in north0western Canada. They

may even subscribe to racist theories lie the

5ational !ocialists of Germany.

As players can create their own =illars of !anity it

is impossible to provide an exhaustive list, but

several others from the Trail of Cthulhu ruleboo

that may be particularly interesting areE

Beligious Faith

Human 2ignity and 9alue

The #eeper should try to encourage some players to

pic from the pillars above.

2rives potentially undermined by %yeE

Anti1uarianism

Thirst For #nowledgeAdventure

!cholarship

Curiosity

Arrogance

.illars of Sanit&

Beligious Faith

Family

Human 2ignity and 9alue

!cientific =rogress "ntellect

Goodness of $anind

$oral principles

Aesthetics

%picureanism

=atriotism

ove of Home City

Scenes

BriefingSene T&pe+Core :"ntroduction a

large cabin and outhouses for supplies and dogs.

They will use the drilling rig, blasting e1uipment,

the ice melting machine, and hand excavation to

access and excavate the site.

From 5ovember it will become difficult toapproach by sea. "f necessary, the team will remain

on the ice sheet over winter until $arch when the

f3ord becomes accessible again. "n case of

emergency, a team should be able to reach them

from GodthIb overland in about five days.

=rofessor %thelrod stresses his 1ualifications as a

hard0nosed scholar not prone to flights of fancy or

bi7arre speculations. However, there were many

things he experienced that shoced him and caused

him to reconsider ideas about the world. Hebelieves that what they found in the Greenland ice

were remains of a lost prehistoric civilisation,

perhaps hinted at in Gree myths.

He introduces ilfred -pton0!mith, a round0faced

7oologist and friend of the %thelrod family, and

Charles Granger, a red0haired, red0faced man of

around /, a second veteran of the $athieson

%xpedition who will be 3oining them on this trip.

*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir&0ral Histor& 2-

.oint spend+ There are rumours that 2r Grangerhas a drin problem.


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%thelrod ass each team member to introduce

themselves and assigns roles.

Assess Honest&+Henry %thelrod is reserved,somewhat aloof and doesn4t give much away.

Arhaeolog& or Anthropolog&+ According 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.Archaeologists have subse1uently associated these

carvings with a Greenlandic colony of the extinct

2orset Culture. 2-point spend+!ome odd artifacts

featuring strange figures wearing hoodless paras

with tall collars and women with large hairstyles

were found on Cape 2orset on ?affin "sland in

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

2orset culture is limited to the north0west coast of

the island.

$iolog& or 0utdoors)an 2-.oint spend+=olarbears are mostly found in coastal regions in the

north and east of Greenland > they are largely

unnown in the mountains although females with

cubs are sometimes found in coastal mountainous

areas in the north.

uestions and !Ans"ers

%thelrod will as if there are any 1uestions. He may

provide the following additional details and any

others the #eeper deems appropriate.

J $athieson remained onboard ship, due to health

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

J The top of the structure was estimated to be under

at least &;0+ feet of ice and to extend to unnown

depths. He declines to speculate on the age of the

structure.

J At an international archaeology conference in

=aris last year, 2r !ummers of %dinburgh

-niversity, heard reference to a forthcoming

expedition to explore what was 8nonsensically4described as 8ruins of Thule found in est

Greenland4. "t isn4t nown what si7e the rival team

is or when they will arrive.

He will wrap up the briefing after three or four

1uestions, or if he doesn4t lie the direction the

1uestions are going.

Assess Honest&+hen ased about the specifics ofthe first expedition, why the details were not

released or why the second expedition was delayed

for so long, %thelrod seems somewhat evasive. 2.oint Spend+ He is deliberately hiding something.

%thelrod will wrap up the briefing after three or

four 1uestions, or if he doesn4t lie the direction the

1uestions are going.

Henry Ethelrod

To interact with %thelrod significantly, ?ritish

characters need a Credit Bating of ;D, Americans

and other %uropeans need D. Anyone else will

need to mae a &0=oint spend in Credit Bating on

each significant occasion.

Abilities+Athletics ;, Credit Bating *, Firearms *,Health *, !cuffling *, eapons

Hit Threshold+/

Ar)or+ 0& vs all :if wearing Arctic gear the

8granddaughter4 of the god)hotha**uahand a

sub0human 9oormis.

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 @haum illed andate 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 citi7ens, forcing the final

abandonment of the city.

A former inhabitant of Commoriom returned to

the city one day and discovered it repopulated

with the monstrous offspring of #nygathin

@haum.

Translating it or reading an accurate translation will

grant & point of Cthulhu $ythos.


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The #eeper might consider using or adapting Clar

Ashton !mith4s story The Testament of Athammaus

for the content of the main body of the story.

The "nd of the Bauer"#pedition

Sene T&pe+ 6ptional,Clue :?onus one of the !pawn of #nygathin @haum.

6nce uncovered, the spawn will begin to thaw and

awaen. !ee The #dol Tha!s. This nominally taes+) hours or ( hours if left in a warm place, lie an

inhabited tent, however it should tae as long as is

dramatically interesting.

Tunnelling the &tairway

Sene T&pe+ Core/ead-#n+Accessing the !tairway

/ead-0ut+2escent into the 2epths


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This phase taes ' days until breaing through to

the ice0free section of the stairwell.

!tairwell runs around perimeter of tower. !olidly

constructed from basalt, most of it is still intact.

There are places where steps have eroded or broen

and places where there are gaps.

=ictographs in stairwell tell history of

Hyperboreans in reverse going bac to their arrivalon Hyperborea.

Heyday of Commoriom showing current

ings

9arious older dynasties

%ncroaching cold

=rophesy of !ybil of =olarion

Bise of Ohoundeh cult

omar and @obna

6ther settlements

%arly Tsathoggua cult

9oormis driven to $t. 9oormithadreth

@on $e77amalechX

Founding of Commoriom

Hyperboreans leaving homelands :omarX


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protagonists may be able to devise a faster or safer

method using dog sleds, drilling e1uipment or the

snow tractor.

QsidebarR

The Idol ThawsSene T&pe+ 6ptional, Antagonist Beaction

Trigger+Clearing the Chamber

As it thaws, especially if it has been brought bac

to the camp, the dogs begin to act in a disturbed

way, baring all day and night.

6nce it has awaened, 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 itselfdown their throat and taes up residence in their

body.

-nless one of the protagonists unwittingly sets

himself up as an obvious target, the spawn should

attac a 5=CE one of the mushers or Germans. His

tent mate waes up to see it and screams out for

help before being attaced and infected himself.

A successful !ense Trouble test against 2ifficulty

:' if the attac is at night< will allow protagonists to

hear a strange sound in the camp. "f they rush outimmediately they will catch sight of a bi7arre blac

thing lie a huge spider attempting to crawl into

one of the tents. Attacing it will cause it to attac

the protagonist. Following it, he will witness it

attacing the mushers.

"n any case, the =rotagonists will automatically be

woen by a blood0curdling scream that is suddenly

cut short.

Evidene Colletion+There are traces of a dar

greyish slime on both bodies and at the edge of thetent where the canvas seems loose.

6utcome for the victimX

A !ense Trouble test against 2ifficulty ; :( at

night< will alert a character to an imminent attac.

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

same 2ifficulty. 5oticing the thing attac a

companion sleeping in the same tent is a 2ifficulty

test.

Q?egin sidebarR

Spa"n of 7nygathin haum

Also nown as 8=arasitic !pawn of Tsathoggua4,

these entities bear some similarity to their cousins,

except that they are smaller :about the si7e of a

?order Collie by flowing,

rolling into balls, s1uee7ing through cracs or even

breaing out of containers :controlled by a unifying

intelligence, Athletics can still be used in this state the amount of damage they tae only affects the

amount of time it taes 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

attacs.

2ue 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 li1uid form, typically

force itself down his throat. The victim may be

incapacitated or even illed during the attempt. The

spawn will need to remove most of the victim4s

internal organs in order to mae space for it4s own

body. This will tae about ; minutes. The rest of

the body, including the brain will remain alive,

provided for by the spawn. The spawn will then

tae control of the brain, raiding his memories and

taing control of his actions. -ntil it fully settles in,for the first )( hours, a !tability test against

2ifficulty will allow the host to have full control

for a few minutes or allow some recollection of the

attac event. Q!tability test to resist it when it

asserts controlXR

The host4s previous 2rive disappears and instead is

subconsciously substituted with the spawn4s goals.

To an observer, the host4s personality and mind

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

listless or 8off4 1uality that may be mistaen for

shoc or other mental health issue. A 2-.ointspendsuggests that the host seems to lac sincereemotions.


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Suffoate+The creature can use a limb to sei7e a

victim around the nec or simply smother with its

viscous body. Apply the 2rowning and !uffocation

rules :Trail of Cthulhu ruleboo =(


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=itted, dripping walls of ice with a narrow

crawlspace. The spawn are dormant in here.

Exavation+reveals strange channels, possiblymore 8toad idols4 and explosives could result in

accelerated awaening of the spawn

The S;uare

Central space, crossroads with fossilised blocX :6ris this where #@ is still fro7enX< Human remainsX

Exavation+reveals strange channels, possiblymore 8toad idols4 and explosives could result in

accelerated awaening of #@ and the spawn

The +ibrary

$ore documentation of history, possibly more

artifacts. !omewhere there may be a spell for

L!peaing with @hotha11uah as his !tatueL. =ossibly

a spell to call Aduwa from the icy wastes.ault

This place must be accessible and obvious. here

is itX -nder the libraryX -nder a templeX -nder the

tower itselfX

The historical frie7e spirals at right angles towards

a plinth built into the middle of the room and spiral

around the plinth to its top. A pale stone about the

si7e of a small orange is mounted there.

"tLs entirely possible that the crystal is embedded ina wall, table, statue etc. The Commorians

Commorian sorcerer could have done so after

ac1uiring it from @$. This might mae it feel less

arbitrarily present.

The "ye of +o*&athlaA#A 8Crystal of @on $e77amalech4

9isions of the past, initially bac to sorceror, then

3umps to @$. Then barrier then 3umps into past all

the way bac to -! and tablets. Also addictive andleads to disillusionment with present0day reality

which appears to be unreal. "dentification with @$

then once past LbarrierL disidentification and loss of

selfhood. To onlooers, perhaps enters comatose

state, then a while later suddenly leaves and

disappears :if somehow followed, seems to have

illed self


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for #nowledge of the Tablets of the %lder Gods

QpermanentXR

#nitial union !ith the )ind of (4

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

those with =illar of !anityE Family :8Hyperborea

Hypothesis4 + Lhite apesL :actually relatives of9oormis< under hidden influence of Great

Bace, raise city in Congo, rapidly evolving

spread out across world as early humans.

6 point Stability test.

Drives lost+"n the ?lood

.illars of Sanit& s)ashed+Family :if it

involves beliefs about humanrace origins

in Hyperborea / 9oormis gain freedom from !erpent

=eople, found Hyperborean colony5 point Stability test

)& > ) !erpent people in Ooth genetically

engineer simians into land and a1uatic

hominids to serve as slaves

lose 3 Stability45 Sanity.

.illars of Sanit& s)ashed+Family,

Human 2ignity and 9alue, Beligion.

Drives lost+Anti1uarianism, Thirst for

#nowledge

;& > ;+ !erpent people civilisation wiped out byrise of dinosaurs

lose 7 Stability45 Sanity

;/ > ;) !hoggoth rebellion defeated


;; > ; !erpent people ingdom of 9alusia


& > + Cataclysm raises BLlyeh, arrival of

Cthulhu. ar of Cthulhu and %lder Things

lose 8 Stability46 Sanity0

Drives lost+Anti1uarianism, Thirst for#nowledge


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/ > ) %lder thing experiments create vertebrates

lose 3 Stability45 Sanity.

.illars of Sanit& s)ashed+Family,

Human 2ignity and 9alue, Beligion.

Drives lost+Anti1uarianism, Thirst for

#nowledge

; > Tablets of the %lder Gods

lose 3 Stability45 Sanity.Drives lost+Anti1uarianism, Thirst for

#nowledge

Awa,ening of .nygathin/haum

The spawn and #@ gradually begin to wae up,

which builds into an antagonist reaction climax.

6nce they begin to awaen en0masse, the spawn

will abandon the infection strategy, switching

instead to openly capturing the remaining humans.

Chase

Typically this will constitute a

Combat

9ictory

7nygathin haum

The entity that was nown an age ago, by the name

8#nygathin @haum4 is a dar, mottled and

mammoth0si7ed entity > a bloated trun, with a

one0eyed 8face4 emerging from its midsection, and

a second eye beneath that. Two long tentacles with

8fingers4 lie nots of writhing snaes emerge from

its 8shoulders4 and a cup0lie mouth protrudes at thetop. The lower limbs are a mass of slender

proboscides covered in sucers.

#nygathin @haum can attac with each of its two

tentacles in a single round. ie his spawn, he can

assume the form of a viscous, blac li1uid. And

most forms of physical in3ury will simply flow

closed.

Athletics &+, Health ++, !cuffling +(

Hit Threshold+/

5eapon+ D; :trample

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Commoriom Submission v3,12

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