Commoriom Submission v3,17 (2)

8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,17 (2)

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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" ! 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 true horror is

beneath the ice under their feet.

This scenario is inspired by the Hyperborean Cyclestories 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 site is the ruin of Commoriom, the first capitalof the lost civilisation of Hyperborea, which thrived

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

dormant, monstrous race descended from

Tsathoggua and an alien device that inflicts visions

of life1s disturbing origins.

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

They then begin their arduous overland trek 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 ac2uire

a dictionary of the lost Tsath-Yolanguage.

The team receives A Call for Helpfrom the crewof the German base ship, which has lost contact

with the overland team, giving the protagonists a

moral dilemma.

3uring their 4ourney, the characters find evidence

that strange %skimo are watching them and may

discover Gravesof members of the German

expedition, apparently attacked by an unknown

animal. text in their possession, when translated

with %thelrod1s book 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 freak weather conditions and

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

which continue until they link it with the clan of

strange %skimo that has been following them, andneutralise it.


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Exavating the Struture under the #e leads to

the discovery of an ancient tower entombed in ice.

3igging 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 vault

under the ruins of a library is a crystal that can send

the mind back in time to the disturbing origins of

life on earth.

s the city1s inhabitants begin to awaken they try to

free their 8Father1, leading to the A!a%ening of

'n&gathin (hau). The protagonists1 only hope is

to 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 85a7iexpedition1 in any official sense :there is no such

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

esoterically inclined > believed in occult theories of

the uni2ue :or divine< origin of their ancestors on a

lost northern continent :referred to as 8Thule1 or

sometimes 8Hyperborea1 or 8tlantis1 a time

when the rmitage "n2uiry is in its formative

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

a victory against the 3unwich Horror and soon 3r

lbert ilmarth 4oined them following hisencounter with the 86uter 6nes1 in the hills of

9ermont. Aust a few weeks ago, the =abodie

%xpedition returned from ntarctica with stories of

unknown 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 colleague

3r Francis $organ. $organ shared the story with

=rofessor rmitage and soon they were workingwith =rofessor %thelrod in %ngland to organise a

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


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and his friend and expedition member, ilfred

-pton0!mith. "t could be held in Iondon at the

Boyal Geographical !ociety or ?ritish $useum.

Drives

%specially dramatic and relevant 3rives for this

scenario, which should be encouraged by the

#eeper are

dventure

nti2uarianism

rrogance

Curiosity

"n the ?lood

!cholarship

Thirst For #nowledge"n the ?lood might be interesting if the character is

related to the Hyperborean ?lond %skimo.

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. character with

this =illar will have a firm conviction in the dignity

of their origins. "f Caucasian, they may believe inthe theory of the origins of their ancestors on the

lost continent of Thule. They may have heard tales

of 8blond %skimo1 in north0western Canada. They

may even subscribe to racist theories like the

5ational !ocialists of Germany.

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

is impossible to provide an exhaustive list, but

several others from the Trail of Cthulhu rulebook

that may be particularly interesting are

Beligious Faith

Human 3ignity and 9alue

The #eeper should try to encourage some players to

pick from the pillars above.

3rives potentially undermined by %ye

nti2uarianism

Thirst For #nowledge

dventure

!cholarship

Curiosity

rrogance

/illars of Sanit&

Beligious FaithJ

FamilyJ

Human 3ignity and 9alueJ

!cientific =rogress K "ntellectGoodness of $ankind

$oral principles

esthetics

%picureanism

=atriotism

Iove of Home City

Senes

BriefingSene T&pe+Core :"ntroduction the

8granddaughter1 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 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 citi7ens, 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 #nygathin

@haum.

Translating it or reading an accurate translation will

grant & point of Cthulhu $ythos.The #eeper might consider using or adapting Clark

shton !mith1s story The Testament of Athammaus

for the content of the main body of the story.

The "nd of the Bauer"#pedition

$aybe they are all burned together outside :with

the statue< and a trailW

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

6nce uncovered, the spawn will begin to thaw and

awaken. !ee The #dol Tha!s.

Arhiteture or Arhaeolog& 6Core lue7+Thereis a stairway descending deeper into the ice.

Tunnelling the &tairwaySene T&pe+ Core

0ead-#n+ccessing the !tairway

0ead-1ut+3escent into the 3epths

"t takes ' days to reach the ice0free section of the

stairwell.

5ethods "sable+$anual %xcavation, "ce $elter,

%xplosives

stairwell runs around the inner perimeter of the

tower. !olidly constructed from granite, most of it

is still intact. There are places where steps have

eroded or broken and places where there are gaps.

Arhiteture+The stairway is constructed in apossibly uni2ue way, with the spiral of the stairway

growing narrow as one descends and the base of

one level seemingly supported by the level beneath

it.

6n the wall, there is a series of long panels,

seemingly of ancient ivory, with images and Tsath0

o hieroglyphs. These tell a history of Hyperborea,

beginning with the time of construction and going

deep into the past.

$iolog&+Confirms the material is ivory. How it gothere from frica or sia is a mystery. 3-/oint

spendnotes that the ivory must have come from

unusually large elephants.

Anthropolog&4 Arhaeolog&4 Cr&ptograph&4

0anguages4 or Cthulhu 5&thos+ith the help of

the Tsath0o dictionary, each panel is about a yard

wide and can be translated in about an hour. Three

panels are probably excavated in a day. For every

five panels translated, a 3-/oint spendis needed.

The content of the panels is as follows&. There are several yards where the panelling

is blank

+. The cult of houndeh, the %lk Goddess,

forbids the worship of the old god

@hotha22uah. 5ot daring to destroy them,

the @hotha22uah1s cube0shaped temples are

barred and locked.

/. #ing Io2uamethros is on the throne of

Commoriom, a high city of many spires and

gardens. @ylac the rchimage, apprentice ofHormagor, is granted 8The !eer1s Tower1 in

Commoriom

). @ylac, uses sorcery to create a tower of

black gneiss in $hu Thulan

;. The cult of houndeh becomes the royally

appointed religion. great temple is built in

Commoriom.

. The wi7ard Hormagor of bormis dies at

the hands of the !phinx of bormis. The

town is abandoned.

*. The great wi7ard @on $e77amalech

disappears mysteriously in $hu Thulan.

(. #ing $ennamethros of Commoriom gives

@on $e77amalech a tower in Commoriom,

now called 8The !eer1s Tower1

'. @on $e77amalechparts the northern seaand leads the army of #ing =harogill of

$hu Thulan there to plunder the treasures

of athousand sunken galleys&. @on $e77amalech has a tower of copper

built in $hu Thulan

&&. The hite !ybil of =olarion, a strange

woman from the realms of ice, foretells an

undescribed and abominable doom for all

mortal beings who dare to remain in

Commoriom

&+. Zueen Iuthomne takes the throne of

Commoriom. !he hold ecclesiastical courts.

!he builds a high tower in Commoriom,

which takes thirty years.

&/. !econd city is built called -7uldaroum

&). The Beign of #ing Hom2uat begins in

Commoriom

&;. Founding of Commoriom

&. City called 8Iomar1 settled by people from

@obna in the north

&*. %arly humans build temples to @hotha22uahthe old god of Hyperborea, in imitation of

the sub0human 9oormis


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&(. The 9oormis are driven away. They

congregate around $t. 9oormithadreth

&'. 3escendents of tall, thin antehumans leave

homelands in -ltima Thule in the north and

arrive in Hyperborea.

+. Cold causes the gradual decline of the

9oormis civilisation

+&. 9oormis build a settlement at Commoriom

including a cube0shaped temple to

@hotha22uah

++. The gods "tha2ua and phoom @hah cause

the continent to get steadily colder. realm

of glaciers gradually grows in the north.

+/. @hotha22uah destroys the colony of serpent0

men. Their former slaves, the 9oormis, are

free and begin to establish their own

civilisation on Hyperborea with@hotha22uah as their primary deity.

+). !erpent0men survivors from sinking of the

continent of 9alusia, found a colony in

Hyperborea, bringing 9oormis as slaves and

food source

t the end of this phase :where does this occur in

terms of the panelsX


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about normal behaviour and culture. Assess

Honest&will notice something is amiss if the hostis observed closely or interacted with.

Suffoate+The creature can use a limb to sei7e a

victim around the neck or simply smother with its

viscous body. pply the 3rowning and !uffocation

rules :Trail of Cthulhu rulebook =(


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stone door scattered around it. The doorway leads

to The 0ibrar&. The passage continues for asimilar length before reaching a second doorway.

This door is intact and open. =assing through the

doorway leads to The High Streetwhere one can

turn left or right.

Closing the door for the first time is an thletics

test against 3ifficulty &; and re2uiring tools to usefor leverage. For subse2uent attempts, it is

3ifficulty &+.

Exavation

allsX CobblesX ncient 3oorsX

High Street

From the "ce Corridor this can be followed left and

slightly uphill or right and slightly downhill. The

left branch terminates in a wall of ice and rock after

some + yards. The right branch leads to TheS,uare.

The street is wide and the forms of ancient homes,

towers, sidestreets and so on can be glimpsed along

it1s length offering a haunting vista of a primordial

city imprisoned in ice.

The walls are wet and pitted with narrow fissures.

There are also walls of huge stone blocks, with

what appear to be doorways and window spaces.

=rehistoric plantsX

Exavation+ 39 hours

%xcavation of the fissures reveals they are channels

leading into the ice.There are also fissures behindthe walls, doorways and windows. ?uried deep in

the ice, eventually another hibernating spawn will

be found. $ore of these can be found with a few

more hours of excavation.

The S


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ithian script and the dot0based cipher of the %lder

Things.

The entire collection here behaves like any

collection of =nakotic $anuscripts as described in

Trail of Cthulhu =age SS. Becovering each point

of Cthulhu $ythos worth of fragments to the

surface takes at least a day.

Translating, collating and interpreting this materialis a pro4ect that would takes years. However, with

the aid of the Tsath0o dictionary and a +0=oint

spend in Iibrary -se, it1s possible to collate and

translate enough of the material for an overview.

0anguage+Tsath0o :with passages in %lder !criptand ithian a bloated trunk, with a

one0eyed 8face1 emerging from its midsection, and

a second eye beneath that. Two long tentacles with

8fingers1 like knots of writhing snakes emerge from

its 8shoulders1 and a cup0like mouth protrudes at the

top. The lower limbs are a mass of slender

proboscides covered in suckers.

#nygathin @haum can attack with each of its two

tentacles in a single round. Iike his spawn, he canassume the form of a viscous, black li2uid. nd

most forms of physical in4ury will simply flow

closed.

thletics &+, Health ++, !cuffling +(

Hit Threshold+/

8eapon+ D; :trample

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Commoriom Submission v3,17 (2)

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