Cthulhu Dark - Adv - As Good as a Feast.pdf

(2591 KB) Pobierz
A Cthulhu DArk mystery in the 1930s Dust BOWl
By mO hOlkAr
Escaping the Dust Bowl, a group of hungry
Okie travellers have made their way westwards,
heading for California and the hope of work.
When they stop at a relative’s farmstead in the
Arizona hills, they find abundant crops. Yet, while
the crops are delicious, they never satisfy the
travellers’ hunger.
As the travellers explore, they discover a
corrupting spirit under the land, which turns
human needs to dark ends.
As Good as a Feast
is a mystery about hunger,
failure of faith, corruption of the spirit and the
lengths to which desperation drives people.
Its backdrop is the turmoil of America’s Great
Depression, in which hopes and dreams are broken
like straws by forces that people have no way of
understanding. This is a mystery about the dark
underbelly of the capitalist dream.
As GOOD
As A FeAst
2
The Investigators are offered food, housing, land
and work, with no strings attached.
They had expected to go as far as Orange County
to find a place to settle, but up here in the hills the
air is clear, and hard-working people can make the
life they deserve.
the hOOk
The investigators are farmers and small-towners
whose livelihoods were destroyed by the Great
Depression and the Dust Bowl. They are heading
West towards California, looking for work and
food.
While on the road, they receive a letter from a
trusted relative who headed West earlier, Uncle
Jack Bradley. Jack invites the Investigators to join
him on promising farmland in the hills of northern
Arizona, near the mining town of Plenty.
A r r iv ing at the fa r m a round sunset, the
investigators find it deserted. There are crops
in the fields and vegetables in the garden, which
look delicious but do not satisfy the Investigators’
hunger. There are signs that Jack went into Plenty.
On the road to Plenty, the Investigators pass
abandoned and overgrown houses. By exploring
the town buildings, they discover that, when the
gold seam started to run thin, Plenty’s inhabitants
abandoned the ways of God and began to worship
a thing called Edom. Edom fed their desire for
gold, in return for sacrifices, first of coins, then
plants and animals, and finally of humans. The
Investigators also understand that, in the gold
mine itself, they will find everything they need to
satisfy their wildest cravings.
Near the mine shaft, the Investigators find the
Spool House, where they meet Jennifer Mary
Kane, a survivor from Plenty’s gold-rush days.
She explains that the other townsfolk descended
into the mine back in 1852 and never returned. She
also mentions that, a few days ago, Jack entered
the mine.
Deep in the mine, the Investigators find Uncle
Jack, in a vast storeroom of sickly and corrupted
food. They also encounter Edom itself. They must
decide whether they can resist Edom’s temptations
and bring themselves to leave.
the stOry
The land is corrupted by the presence of Edom,
an entity that brings suffering to those who come
into contact with it.
As long as Edom can find victims to tempt, its
influence will spread and grow, sucking true
satisfaction from life and replacing it with glossy,
false attraction.
the FinAl hOrrOr
3
The investigators are a group of “Okies”: travellers
fleeing the drought and famine of the Great Plains.
Most should be family members, with perhaps one
or two friends and neighbours sharing the journey.
Most should be of working age.
All come from the same farm or at least the same
small town. Ask the players to think about this
place. Where was it? What did they grow? How
long did they try to wrench a living from the soil,
before accepting that there was no more life in it?
Choose occupations to suit this small town
background. The Investigators might, for example,
be farm hands, small traders, craftspeople,
teachers and horse-doctors. Ensure that none of
them had an alternative plan other than travelling
to California: no rich relatives back East, no
professional skills that could be taken elsewhere,
no business that could survive the disappearance
of their clientele.
Ensure, too, that everyone has a connection
to Uncle Jack Bradley. He may be a member of
the family, a former business partner or a dear
drinking buddy. The relationship should be strong
enough for the Investigators to heed his call to join
him at his farm in Arizona, rather than continuing
to Orange County.
Ask what vehicle the Investigators are travelling
in. Who’s sitting next to whom? How old is it
and how often does it break down? What valued
possessions did they have to leave behind, because
there wasn’t room to take them?
Finally, ask what’s driving each Investigator
onwards. What are they seeking, apart from food
and survival? What is the positive aspect of their
dream? What might California hold for them?
Here are some example Investigators. The
Hubbard family are from the small town of Kenton,
in the Oklahoma panhandle. During the course of
1933–35, the topsoil of their wheat farm blew away.
Now, they are travelling in their 1925 Ford farm
truck, with a canopy over the pickup bed. The
engine goes well enough, but the suspension needs
frequent attention, with this heavy load.
the investiGAtOrs
AlFreD huBBArD
A wiry middle-aged farmer, Alfred came to
Oklahoma from the East in his youth, to pick up
a land grant under the Homestead Act. He rarely
talks of his early days back in Pennsylvania. Some
believe that a scandal drove him away.
Alfred is a hard worker, but intolerant of the faults
of others, especially what he sees as ‘slacking’. He
felt bitterly cheated when the farm he’d shed blood
for disintegrated into dust. He feels that fate has
swindled him and that the rich men of Wall Street
are in some way to blame.
Uncle Jack Bradley originally mistrusted Alfred,
but, over time, they developed a mutual respect.
Still, it is unlikely that Alfred would seek Uncle
Jack out, were it not for Sarah.
sArAh huBBArD, née BrADley
An Oklahoma native, Sarah met Alfred when
he was serving as a hand on the Bradley farm,
while waiting for his own grant to come through.
She thought his Eastern manners courteous and
elegant.
Time and privation have hardened Sarah. As the
one responsible for the farm’s financial affairs, she
saw their comfortable life drifting away on the
prairie wind. Her daughters see her as tough and
strict, but she hopes that this terrible journey will
ensure they have a better life than she has had.
After her parents died of diphtheria, Sarah was
raised by Uncle Jack Bradley and his late wife
Hannah. She is quietly fond of him and could not
turn down the chance to join him.
Annie huBBArD
Annie, in her late teenage years, is Alfred and
Sarah’s elder daughter. She has a limp in her left
leg, after a horse kicked her when she was a child.
Annie feels as though everyone expects her and
Will to marry. Her parents are enthusiastic about
the idea and Will seems set on it.
For herself, though, Annie dreams of escape,
freedom and the power to do as she wishes.
Although the collapse of the farm has been
4
disastrous for the family, she hopes a new life in
California will give her new opportunities.
As a child, she adored the stories that Uncle Jack
Bradley told of his youth in the pioneer days. She
looks forward to seeing him again.
JAmes turnBull
James, the former minister of Kenton’s Baptist
church, lost his faith when he saw how the town
suffered.
Giving up the title of “Reverend”, he joined the
Hubbard family on their exodus. He hopes to
start a new life, where he can wrestle with his
conscience in anonymity.
Jack Bradley, when he still lived in Kenton, was one
of James’s dearest friends, a man of wisdom and
insight. James is looking forward to unburdening
to him.
Will JenkinsOn
Born in the wild streets of Boise City, Will’s
background is dirt-poor. When he found work as
a hand on the Hubbard farm, it probably saved him
from becoming a criminal. Later, when he received
Alfred’s permission to become engaged to Annie,
he felt as though his dream was coming true. He
would finally be a landowner and financially secure.
Now, with the loss of the farm, Will’s dream has
been snatched away. All that remains is Annie
herself. Will hopes they can build a new life
together in California.
When a player rolls a 5 when investigating, their
Investigator gets everything they wanted, plus
something extra.
Here are some things that might happen on a 5.
Use these or invent your own.
The Investigator remembers folktales of
mischievous creatures living in mineshafts —
kobolds, knockers, bwca — which steal items
and harm miners.
They remember how Uncle Jack often spoke of
his dream of resting, feasting, and enjoying the
good things in life.
When a player rolls a 6 when investigating,
their Investigator may glimpse beyond human
knowledge. Here are some things that might
happen on a 6.
They realise that the shafts of the mine
resemble the bones and sinews of a huge corpse.
They get a sense of a horribly alien and
incomprehensible presence.
They feel there is something unnatural, even
ungodly, about the food at the farm.
Alternatively, a 6 might make an Investigator
aware of one of the Creeping Horrors.
On A 5, On A 6
lAurA-JAne huBBArD
Laura, in her middle teens, is the family’s younger
daughter. Given to strong swings of temperament,
her cheeriness can lift the family mood as surely
as her darkness can depress it.
Her only possessions of value are her beloved
A-scale banjo and her scrap album. In this album,
there are photographs of Hollywood stars, lovingly
cut from magazines: Joan Crawford, Clark Gable,
and the dangerous Jean Harlow.
The thought of living in the golden wonderland of
California is unbearably exciting. One day, when
she has better dresses, maybe when she is working
in a diner, a studio talent-spotter will pass by.
Laura-Jane is eager to see great-uncle Jack again.
However, she hopes that it will be a brief detour,
not the end of their journey. After all, there won’t
be any Hollywood scouts in the hills of Arizona.
5

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin