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A Submission for

Trail of Cthulhu

Commoriom

General/structural comments:

It would be good if, by the end, the protagonists

have an idea of what KZ and his spawn might be,

maybe where they came from. Do they also need a

copy of the Book of Eibon

Include !hule "ociety esoteric conspiracy # vril

stuff $ne of the %ril "ociety ladies is with

&obineau's team.

(ave Ethelrod's manner of death depend on player

actions) If they spot the &erman camp, perhaps he

asks one of them what they think it is, and#or

should we go there. If *E" then &obineau kills him

there. If +$ then the &ermans follow them and

&obineau shoots Ethelrod as they approach#enter

the valley. If both these events are prevented then

&ranger gets drunk and kills Ethelrod ust after theyarrive in the valley -or the &nophKeh kills him/.

!he offspring of KZ have two forms) adult and

uvenile. !he uvenile is simply a fissile offshoot

of an adult. It's about the si0e and appearance of a

leech. $nly the uvenile can parasitise a human.

!hey take about 12 weeks inside a human to reach

adulthood.

!here is a fro0en mastodon carcass in the upper

chamber of the tower.

3hange both clues and instructions to the Keeper

into second person.

3an e4uipment be defined in terms of opportunities

for the use of 5reparedness Eg. 6inches, ropes

etc. 7eview travel, supply levels and some physical

challenges to make them properly playerfacing and

simple to use. But wait to see what 8aws comes up

with in 9ythos E:peditions.

9ake format of clues consistent -bulleted/ as per

above

(ans 7einerth) real archaeologist who did a lot of

work for ;lfred 7osenberg and oined the +"D;5

in

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The Horrible Truth!he archaeological site is the ruin of the lost

(yperborean city of 3ommoriom. Entombed within

it are a descendent of !sathoggua and his

amorphous, parasitic offspring.

The Spine!he team members voyage to Godthb, where they

can confront a Rival Expeditionfrom &ermany.!hey then begin their arduous overland trek in

Evighedsfjorden.

!he protagonists see strange Eskimo watching them

from afar. In addition, a confrontation with the rival

team may have deadly conse4uences.

In The Valley of ommoriom! the protagonists

can find the bodies of the last survivors of the&erman team, mysteriously burned to death.

+earby, there is a strange temple inscribed with a

history of the early prehuman settlers. $n the

valley floor, a shadow under the ice indicates the

location of the archaeological site.

!here is strange singing in the valley and the

protagonists see the elusive figures of blond

Eskimo.

Excavation leads to the discovery of an ancient

tower entombed in ice, containing the remains ofancient astronomical e4uipment.

nseasonal bli00ards harry the team as they work

and they may glimpse a strange creature in the

storm. !he problems escalate with damage to the

camp and people attacked, until the 5rotagonists

neutralise the Eskimo clan that is causing these

problems.

urther digging uncovers a stairway with a frie0e

describing a history of (yperborea and eventually

leads to a ity "nder the #cewhere the teamuncovers a device that sends their minds back in

time to the disturbing origins of life on earth and

merges them with the primordial mind of bbo

"athla.

;s they e:plore and e:cavate, the city's dormant,

parasitic inhabitants begin to awaken and infest the

intruders, leading to the $%a&ening of 'nygathin(haum.

Victory Conditions%ictory in this scenario means discovering the

nature of the site and the horror within it and

escaping alive, preferably with the site safely

sealed.

Antagonist Reactions!here are four factions of potential antagonists in

this scenario.

; private &erman e:pedition of +a0iallied

archaeologists and occultists is investigating the site

as the possible ruin of Fltima !huleG. !hey see

themselves as civilised men, and -with the

e:ception of &obineau/ will initially be inclined to

be cordial. (owever, they see the site as property of

their ancestors and themselves as it's custodians.

!hey will ruthlessly take control of the site or its

artifacts if it seems necessary. 8ikewise, they may

use violence if threatened or obstructed.

; tiny clan of latterday (yperboreans -or HBlond

Eskimo'/ lives near the coast to the west of thevalley of 3ommoriom. !he Inuit of the region shun

them for their foul religious practices. !heir

ancestral myths warn that people disturbing the

valley will awaken a giant fro0en in a city under the

ice. !hey will do their utmost to protect the valley.

!heir most effective tactic is calling a &nophKeh

to hamper the e:pedition.

6ithin the city itself, is a colony of amorphous and

parasitic entities descended from !sathoggua.

Initially dormant, they will gradually awaken, andattempt to subdue and infest human hosts, gradually

gaining control over their behaviour and using them

to attempt to awaken their leader Knygathin Zhaum

and the other spawn. 6hen sufficient numbers are

awake, they will launch a fullscale attack on the

intruders.

; fourth potential antagonist is the team member

Dr 3huck &ranger, whose alcoholism and mental

health issues may cause him to become violent

under the stresses of the e:pedition.

Running Commoriom withthe Armitage Inquiry

!his scenario begins in late >une of

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&reenland e:pedition to his colleague Dr rancis

9organ and 9organ shared the story with

5rofessor ;rmitage. "oon they were working with

5rofessor Ethelrod in England to organise a follow

up e:pedition.

)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,!his symbol defines

sections that apply only to running the scenario as

part of the ;rmitage In4uiry.

Running Commoriom as astandalone

*ou can also run this scenario as a standalone

adventure or mark a dramatic beginning to an

ongoing campaign.

Ethelrod has organised the e:pedition with the

British 9useum, independently of ;rmitage and his

colleagues.

)*ymbol: *tandalone, !his symbol defines

sections that apply only to running the scenario as a

standalone.

Creating the Protagonists;ppropriate roles for the e:pedition include

archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists,

biologists, e:plosives e:perts, drill engineers and

radio engineers. ;ll team members should be

healthy and fit, and be competent crosscountryskiers @ represented for game purposes as a

minimum $utdoorsman rating of < and ;thletics of

1. !he e:pedition will also need a medic with

9edicine and irst ;id ratings of at least .

!he e:pedition leader is very :enophobic and

rench applicants in particular need not apply.

)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry, !eam members arelikely to be ;merican, perhaps connected to the

niversity. (owever, Ethelrod may have brought

British team members with him.

)*ymbol: *tandalone, !he e:pedition is Britishand most of its members are too. (owever, Dr

&ranger may not be the only ;merican to oin the

e:pedition.

Prologue!he 5rotagonists have each applied for a position

on an e:citing e:pedition to &reenland.

!he following clues are availableabout recent polar

e:peditions)

$rchaeology/$nthropology:

In

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Insight into one or more of their 5illars of

"anity.

!hese things can be drawn out by the interviewer

asking about the applicant's 4ualifications, reasons

for wanting to oin the e:pedition, their beliefs,

what they would rely on to get through the ;rctic

winter and so on.

)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,If organised by9iskatonic niversity, 3hairman of the

;rchaeology Department, Doctor Ernest 9c!avish

conducts the interview along with ;ssociate

5rofessor rancis 9organ.

)*ymbol: *tandalone, If the e:pedition is

organised by Ethelrod in England, he conducts the

interview himself, accompanied by his friend

6ilfred 8ipton, at Ethelrod's office in the British

9useum.

Scenes

!riefing*cene Type:Introduction

.ead0ut:5reparations, !he ;tlantic %oyage

)*ymbol: $rmitage #n+uiry,!he briefing takes

place in a seminar room at the ;rchaeology

Department of 9iskatonic niversity. ;ssociate

5rofessor rancis 9organ is a selfassured yet soft

spoken field researcher in his early 1As, who

e:presses regret at being unable to attend the

e:pedition due to it being brought forward by a

year. (e introduces e:pedition leader 5rofessor

Ethelrod, a renowned linguist from 3ambridge and

veteran of the 9athieson E:pedition, who has

voyaged across the ;tlantic to oin them.

$rchaeology:Dr 9organ has a good reputation as

a scientist, adventurer and a man of integrity. -

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crash of

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M ;t an international archaeology conference in

5aris last year, Dr "ummers of Edinburgh

niversity, heard reference to a forthcoming

e:pedition to e:plore what was Hnonsensically'

described as Hruins of !hule found in 6est

&reenland'. It isn't known what si0e the rival team

is or when they will arrive.

(e will wrap up the briefing after three or four4uestions, or if he doesn't like the direction the

4uestions are going.

$ssess 3onesty:6hen asked about the specifics of

the first e:pedition, why the details were not

released or why the second e:pedition was delayed

for so long, Ethelrod seems somewhat evasive. 4

5oint *pend: (e is deliberately hiding something.

Ethelrod will wrap up the briefing after three or

four 4uestions, or if he doesn't like the direction the

4uestions are going.

Henr Ethelrod

!o interact with Ethelrod significantly, British

characters need a 3redit 7ating of CN, ;mericans

and other Europeans need ON. ;nyone else will

need to make a

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'esearching &reenland

.ibrary "se:!ime spent in a maor library will

grant a dedicated pool point for investigative

spends in any field as it relates to &reenland, for

e:ample, ;nthropology, ;rchaeology, (istory,

&eology, $ccult or $utdoorsman. ; 4point spendwill grant dedicated pool points. ; 9point spend

will grant 1.

'esearching the (tholog of&reenland

.ibrary "se:;fter his travels between 11A B3 and

1A B3, the &reek e:plorer 5ytheas makes the first

known reference to the mysterious island of !hule

Fsi: daysR sail north of Britain, and near the fro0en

seaG. (e claimed that people keep bees in this place

and in summer, nights are only two or three hours

long. It's not clear whether he is referring to

Iceland, &reenland, +orway or somewhere else

altogether.

!he ;ncient &reeks also tell of the (yperboreans

who live beyond the north wind -the literal meaning

of H(yperborea'/. !heir land was perfect, with the

sun shining 2 hours a day, and the people free

from war, disease and old age and always happy.

!he people were blond and very tall. (yperborea

has variously been located in northeast ;sia,

6estern Europe or Britain. In the

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5oringover it -unlikely in time for the departure of

the e:pedition/ provides N< to 3thulhu 9ythos, N

for someone who has encountered !sathoggua or

his minions.

The (athieson E-pedition of ./01

.ibrary "se: !he information on the 9athiesonE:pedition report, the Dorset 3ulture and the

distribution of polar bears described in the-riefingcan be uncovered in a goodsi0ed academic library

by substituting point spends in 8ibrary se.

The &erman E-pedition

inding out more about this e:pedition is very

difficult as there is nothing published about it

publically. Reassurance or lattery will get Dr9organ or 5rofessor Ethelrod to reveal that an

associate of Ethelrod's, Dr "ummers of Edinburgh

niversity, heard a reference to a privately funded&erman e:pedition at an international archaeology

conference in 5aris last year.

2utdoor Training

%arious independently sourced courses in outdoor

skills may grant a protagonist up to dedicated

pool points in ;thletics or $utdoorsman, to be used

in ;rctic and "ubarctic environments.

The Atlantic Voyage*cene Type:$ptional, !ransition

.ead#n:Briefing, 5reparations

.ead0ut:&odthb

!his is an opportunity to roleplay various

interactions between player characters as they get to

know one another and their leader.

!he voyage for &odthb takes si: days, giving the

5rotagonists plenty of time to get to know the other

members of the team or to read in their cabins if

they prefer.;n ;thletics test against Difficulty 1 is re4uired

avoid seasickness. !he effect is the same as being

(urt and lasts for 2 hours.

TBegin sidebarU

The Crew!he ship's crew consists of the 3aptain, irst 9ate,

3hief 5etty $fficer and a crew of Q sailors.

Captain 3ames (acAllen

; tall, lean, dour man who looks older than his 2C

years. (e doesn't say much, but commands the

respect of his crew.

$bilities:;thletics 2, (ealth C, "cuffling O,

6eapons

3it Threshold:1

8eapon: -fists/, < -boat hook#improvised/

4irst (ate )ill Hewlett

;n e:perienced seaman who has worked closely

with 9ac;llen for years, (ewlett is a somewhat

portly man in his early 2As, with red hair.

$bilities: ;thletics 1, (ealth C, "cuffling 2,

6eapons

3it Threshold:1

8eapon: -fists/, < -boat hook#improvised/

Chief Pett 2fficer Anders Pihl

5ihl is a large, friendly man of Danish nationality.

(e is 1P, has a full beard and enoys a drink.

$bilities:;thletics O, irearms 2, (ealth P,

"cuffling Q, 6eapons 1

3it Threshold:1

8eapon: -fists/, < -boat hook#improvised/, N