by Philip Anastasiadis, Austin Chamberlain and Jessica Tiffin.
Dragonfire 1996, Call of Cthulhu module, 3 hours, 4 players.
This was Philip's concept, and I hope he's forgiven me for what we did to it to fit it into the tournament space. As in all his modules, the characters are the backbone of the module and integral to its success. One of those scenarios which does nothing whatsover that you expect it to.
The year is 1904. It is October. The luxury liner SS Schmidt-Baxut is on her maiden voyage from New York to England, via Morocco. She left New York on 19th October, and was due to arrive in London on 29th after a trip of some ten days, stopping only briefly at Tangiers on the Moroccan coast. All was going well until a huge storm blew up out of nowhere, driving the ship off course to the South. The last anyone heard, you were about 70 nautical miles north of the Sargasso Sea, with Bermuda the closest land, about 750 nm west. Africa and Europe were still over 1000 nm away. The ship was weathering the storm, and the passengers had resumed their leisurely activities, when suddenly the ship was jarred, and a huge wrenching sound was emitted from the hull. Wide-eyed stewards urged passengers to be calm. The shouts of frantic sailors on deck revealed the shocking truth - something had torn a large hole in the hull.
Despite your alarm, you retained your presence of mind. In the general panic, with people rushing frantically about, you found yourself in a lifeboat with three other people. You cast off, and all rowed frantically - out into the dead of night, in churning, violent seas.
That was two nights ago. Since then you have been drifting in the Atlantic, despondent and tired. There has been no sign of any other people or lifeboats, although the first day bore witness to some pathetic pieces of floating debris. All there is to do is wait.
Characters
James Streatletter - a journalist, and the younger son of an English noble family
Anthony Vitallier - an Italian-American gem-cutter of some repute
Viola Carte - an Australian, author of several popular cookbooks
Incredible Johnny Jones - an escape-artist, on board as entertainment for the passengers
by Jessica Tiffin
ICON 1997, Cthulu by Gaslight module set in Victorian Africa, 3 hours, 6 characters, RPGA scoring system.
The year is 1892, the area those territories which will later become Southern Rhodesia. Lobengula, last of the great Matabele chiefs, holds sway over Matabeleland from his kraal at Bulawayo, and his impis, raiding systematically into the lands of the Mashona tribe, effectively control those areas as well.
British presence is centred around the settlement at Fort Salisbury. Following the Rudd Concession of 1888, in which Lobengula signed over mining rights to the British, the region also contains numerous representatives of the Chartered Company, who prospect for the gold which has always been associated with the region in the legends of King Solomon's mines.
In the years after the concession, however, Lobengula has become increasingly unhappy. The white men have invaded the country in greater and greater numbers, laying claim to the land which both Matabele and Mashona have always seen as a trust from the ancestors, belonging to no-one but administered by the chiefs. By 1892, Matabele and Mashona are in a state of unrest, although no actual rebellion has occurred.
The ruined complex known as Zimbabwe was discovered in 1867 by a gold prospector, but Mzilikazi, the great warrior chief who ruled before Lobengula, was wary of allowing the white men to explore the ruins. Lobengula, however, has proved to be more reasonable. In 1892, after much persuasion, he has approved a small expedition into Zimbabwe, led by Professor Frederick Henderson, an eminent English archaelogist. Professor Henderson is accompanied by his daughter, Dorothy, and by Sir Sebastian Baines, a well-known big game hunter with considerable knowledge of the veld. At the last minute, they have been joined by Nigel Baxter, a representative of the Chartered Company who thinks he may well find gold in the ruins.
Lobengula has not agreed to their exploration without warning, however. The ruins are currently deserted; the Mashona tribes who usually live in the area have fled. There are rumours of evil spirits in the ruins. Professor Henderson, a pragmatic Englishman, of course takes no notice of such superstitions... He looks forward to several months of study, unravelling the fascinating mysteries of the place, and adding to his reputation with new revelations.
The characters:
Professor Henderson: well-known archaologist and historian, specialising in primitive cultures. A highly intelligent and rather arrogant man.
Dorothy Henderson: unconventional by Victorian standards, she is used to travelling to strange places with her father. She's an enthusiastic photographer and often assists her father in his work. An independent, active and rather argumentative girl.
Sir Sebastian Baines: an accomplished big-game hunter with a small armoury of weapons; skilled in hunting and tracking and very knowledgeable about the African bushveld. A strong, active man who speaks several local languages. He accompanies the party as guide and advisor.
Nigel Baxter: once an unsuccessful prospector and miner on the Rand, now a representative of the Chartered Company; a plump, balding man with a red face, he's a fast talker.
by Jessica Tiffin
Dragonfire 1997, Call of Cthulu 1990s module, 3 hours, 4 players
This is a spoof module; the characters wantonly rip off various contemporary South African and university stereotypes, and the plot revolves around my low opinion of Cecil John Rhodes, more rip-offs of South African stereotypes, and an awful lot of locations which should be awfully familar to anyone who's spent time in Cape Town. I'm not sure how far the in-jokes would work with other players; the Jo'burg crowd seemed to enjoy it. The fact that this module has silly aspects in no way prevents it from unleashing some heavy horror, though.
In between business lunches, James Merrit is worried. His trendy part-time model girlfriend Petra has been getting into a funny crowd lately, and now she’s vanished. It’s not a good time to vanish in Cape Town. Apart from the PAGAD marches, strange things are afoot - lights on the Mountain, rumours of Satanic rites, a new sense of weirdness creeping into the Goth night-clubs. And the Occult-Related Crimes division is out in force. But a rising young accountant is unfazed by such bullshit. With the help of his friends, he’ll track down his wayward girlfriend and put an end to this nonsense, once and for all.
Characters.
James Merritt. A rising young junior accountant with Deloitte and Touche, never without his laptop, cellphone, and model girlfriend.
Adrian Merritt. James’s younger brother, a UCT comsci student, Goth and computer nerd with a passion for UNIX and the Sisters of Mercy.
Schalk de Villiers. An old school friend of James’s, ex rugby prop for Western Province, and a career pizza delivery man.
Fenella Braithwaite. A friend of Petra’s. A blonde-deadlocked ethno-trendy, aromatherapist, feminist and New Ager
by Jessica Tiffin
ICON 1998, A Call of Cthulhu Gaslight module; 3 hours, 4 players, RPGA scoring system.
This module was a bit touch-and-go; the party start out loathing each other and competing for their grandfather's favour, which can be a problem in a tournament. However, the events of the module bring the characters into a reluctant co-operation quite effectively. Although this is set in a Yorkshire manor, it also has a strong African flavour. Bits of it get pretty disturbing.
Autumn, 1885.
My dear young relative.
Finding myself ailing, elderly and alone, I write to you in your capacity as a representative of the youngest Generation of my House. It is my hope that you will find yourself able to Acquiesce in the last Request of a dying man...
I have long decided that my property must descend to one of my Blood. Having the poorest opinion of my Daughters, their Husbands and their entire Generation, it is to the Family’s youngest Members that my thoughts turn as I draft my Will. As well as the Yorkshire estates, my heir will inherit considerable material Investments based in the gold and diamond Assets my father acquired in Africa... My chosen heir will receive, absolutely and solely, everything of which I die possessed.
I write to request your attendance, together with your Cousins, at my home in Yorkshire for some few Days, that we may become better acquainted. I await your arrival with some Eagerness...
Your affectionate Relative,
Ezekiel Pennyfather
Characters:
Dr Edward Travers, medical doctor at St Bartholomew’s in London. A dedicated man of science.
Miss Dorothy Campion, earnest follower of the teachings of Spiritualism.
George Henley, hearty young country squire.
Arthur Kilpatrick, adventurer, cardsharp and man-about-town.
by Austin Chamberlain and Jessica Tiffin
Dragonfire 1998, Call of Cthulhu 1990s module, 3 hours, 4 players
This module plays a lot with the X-files feel, not always in predictable ways. We had an awful lot of fun writing and play-testing it.
Hotay Canyon, Arizona, 1500 hrs.
Robert Fox, tribal policeman, drives out to Hotay canyon, where a New Age cult have hired a cave-temple and surrounding buildings from the Navajo Nation. From the top of the canyon, he sees the 80-odd members of the cult, all in white robes, moving around on the canyon floor. When he arrives down the bottom, half an hour later, they’re gone. A few spots of blood, a few scuffled footprints, but not a person to be seen. They couldn’t have gone past him, down the canyon, without him seeing them from the cliff path; the canyon ends in a rock face a few hundred yards in the other direction. They have vanished into thin air.
Robert Fox scurries back up the cliff path to his car, and gets on the radio. Only then does he realise that he is unaccountably bleeding from the ears.
His worried superiors call in the FBI...
Characters
Special Agent in charge Clive Blackett, 42. An experienced and rather world-weary senior agent.
Special Agent Pat Norton, 32. Tough, feminist, assertive.
Special Agent Luther Nielsen, 27. A young hotshot, someone to watch.
Special Agent Will Abeysena, 27. The rookie, and his colleagues think he’s weird.
by Austin Chamberlain and Jessica Tiffin
Dragonfire 2000, Call of Cthulhu module set in the Renaissance, 3 hours, 4 players
Too much SCA seems to have prompted this one... but the Renaissance setting is wonderful for horror, all that ignorance and medievalism... Quite an icky module in some ways, although I tried to restrain Austin from the worst excesses.
It is the year of Our Lord 1595. In London, Elizabeth I is on the throne, God save her Majesty, and Shakespeare’s plays entertain the crowds - when the playhouses are not shut down by the plague. In the heat of summer, outbreaks occur in city and country alike, and the wise go out of their way to avoid the plague areas.
It is now autumn, however, and the treacherous weather has diverted travellers from their road into the village of Withycombe, not far from the main road between Derby and Chester. Withycombe’s inn, the Gryphon, takes its name from the arms of the local squire, whose manor stands on the edge of the village. In truth, there is not much else to the village - the tiny monastery on the hill and the huddle of houses around the well on the village green.
At present the village is swelled by the presence of a small band of gypsies encamped by the river, as well as the company at the inn. Such travellers as Doctor Bardolph, itinerant scholar and alchemist, and Brother Oliver Urswick, the Puritan preacher, will find little of interest in so small a place, as will the guards who escort the young criminal Martin Ford to trial at the Assizes in Chester. But they will find fair entertainment at the Gryphon, under the capable hands of the serving girl Audrey. And, if there are rumours of plague in the countryside, surely they do not touch a place as small and isolated as Withycombe, tucked as it is between the hills and the marsh…?
by Austin Chamberlain and Jessica Tiffin
Dragonfire 2003, Call of Cthulhu/Delta Green module set in contemporary Zimbabwe; 3 hours, 4 players.
Okay, I'm not madly political for an exiled Zimbo, but this is me letting off ideological steam. Robert Mugabe, Cthulhoid horror, it's like ham and eggs. The Zim secret police haven't kicked the door down yet, surprisingly. Perhaps the module needs more locusts.
Zimbabwe, November 2003. Robert Mugabe does his best imitation of an evil dictator, sucking the land dry to benefit his growing wealth. In the wake of the land grabs and the destruction of the farming industry, the increasingly desperate Zimbabweans face poverty, drought, widespread corruption, spiralling inflation and complete economic collapse. As criticism of the ruling party becomes more outspoken, ZANU PF tightens its paranoid grip on the country. Police intimidation is supported by Mugabe’s militia of “war veterans”, the Green Bombers, and supporters of the opposition MDC are routinely tortured and killed. While these are still isolated incidents, in the background loom the terrifying memories of the Matabele killings, when in the 1980s thousands of Ndebele were slaughtered by Mugabe’s North Korean-trained troops.
Mugabe has spent most of the year hinting at his imminent departure from the presidency, but no-one believes he will willingly relinquish his power. As the disastrous year draws to a close, the MDC plans for one last, desperate push to oust the dictator, with massive strikes and protest action across the country. They hope to highlight human rights abuses and spark intervention from South Africa, Britain or America. However, foreign journalists have been denied access to the country for months. The embassies are increasingly jumpy. All in all, the omens are not good…
Characters:
Olly Templeton, South African photo-journalist working for the British Guardian, in Zimbabwe under cover as a tourist.
Josh Dent, British journalist working for the Guardian, but posing as a tourist.
Michael Witherspoon, British diplomat assigned to look after the undercover journalists.
Victoria Mukaura, agriculture graduate acting as driver and guide.
