Beginners Welcome ! Learn to play Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition !
Call of Cthulhu | Campaign
About the adventure
In June of 1927, a fifteen-man team of Artic researchers and explorers were hired by the University of Toronto for a two-year long expedition to the Far North. Despite being a Canadian lead initiative, the university employed professionals from both the United States and Europe, many of whom were veterans who served during the Great War. After sailing North and being dropped off on the Adelaide Peninsula near King William's Island, they made a permanent base camp. Once camp was established, the fifteen got to work, studying the surrounding Artic botany, biology, ecology, and geology. During this time, the team made sure to establish good relations with small tribes of Inuit Natives and, to a more limited capacity, traded with them tools and firearms for food. Although not initially discussed in the official meeting, the Expedition had two secondary goals. The first was an open-secret within the team's anthropologists and archeologists. These researchers were attempting to uncover the location or any information that would lead to the discovery of the remains of the lost Franklin Expedition. The second was more sinister. The camp doctor, Dr. Cornelius Brand, was paid to privately document the psychological effects of isolation on humans but, in particular, Great-War Veterans. This expedition would go without major complications until November of 1928. During a late afternoon hunting trip, the expedition's leader Dr. Jason Decker would note the sound of gun-fire and screaming off in the distance. But without enough time to investigate, he retuned to camp. The next day before a routine geological trek, Decker suggested that if time allowed they investigate the area of the noise but take caution. What they uncovered would change the course of the entire expedition's lives forever. A scene of carnage, two frozen Inuit men bearing markings of an unknown "Red Caribou Tribe" dead by strange means. A month long investigation leads the group toward the discovery that two previously secret tribes within the area, the Red Caribou and Blue Seals, have fought a brutal one sided-war. But more disturbingly, both engaged this conflict through bizarre shamanic rites in addition to gunpowder. Further revelation from the Red Caribou survivors reveals that the two men were killed by an ancient extra-planetary being known as a "Gnoph-Keh" that sustains itself by absorbing the body heat of its prey. Now free from the magical wards that entrapped it, the creature seeks to make the land ready for the return of it's primordial-master, The Walker in the Wastes. The investigators manage to defeat the Blue Seal Tribe in combat and re-imprison the evil Gnoph- Keh through a ritual after learning that this Walker in the Wastes is followed by groups all over the world who seek to construct a series of Air-Ships to free him from his icy-prison in the North Pole during the Winter Solstice of 1930. That is where you come in. All signs point toward Japan.
We will be starting this campaign up again when we obtain a total of five investigators. Here is the link to the discord server https://discord.gg/X6FaU58SS
5.0
(67)
3 years on StartPlaying
453 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Teacher
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
Additional details
How to prepare
Equipment-wise players are expected to bring a desktop computer or laptop with a stable internet connection and a working microphone. Voice chat and the majority of text messages will be done through a discord server. I will provide the invitation link to the server after players sign up for the game. It is preferred that players have a noise-free environment or set "push to talk" when there is much background noise. Players will need an account for The Forge VTT in addition to a personal computer that can meet the requirements to run the software. Because of the more investigative and dialogue-heavy nature of Call of Cthulhu, I recommend that players take notes. This, however, is by no means required. Players are not expected to bring rulebooks to sessions, but they can be useful for clarifying or looking up certain rules during a break. The edition we are using for this game is the most recent Call of Cthulhu 7th edition. For those interested in the specific rulebooks, all that an investigator requires is the Investigator's Handbook which can be purchased on your choice of Amazon, Drive Thru RPG or Chaoisum's website.
What I provide
Hello, my name is James. I have been game mastering role-playing games for almost five years now and Keepering Call of Cthulhu for the last three and a half. I am confident in the talents and knowledge that I have gained from my years of hands-on tabletop experience. I appreciate both the investigative and horror elements this Chaosium's Roleplay system provides. I am a fan of HP Lovecraft and many of the writers within his extended circle including Robert E. Howard and Ramsey Campbell. I recognize and appreciate these origins within pulp magazines and, where I can, try to synchronize the game to the literature. With all this being said, this game does require a lot of front-end preparation on the part of the Keeper in order to run smoothly. Higher quality presentation includes: VTT maps, handouts, journal entries, and other visual aids. I host this game with Foundry VTT and will have all rules prepared ahead of time for quick access. I will also create token images for all characters. I have a love for detailed living settings, character-focused roleplaying, and episodic-style storytelling. With that being said, above all else the three most important traits that I provide to any table are my honesty, integrity, and professionalism. Because you are hiring me to be your Keeper, I consider it my obligation to make sure that you are having a good time. This is a contract and you are my clients. For those players who are dissatisfied with my services for any reason, I offer a full refund. If you have any other questions about any aspect of this advertisement, feel free to send me a private message over Startplaying.com. I will reply as soon as I see the email notification.
Gameplay details
The setting for this game is the Late 1920s/Early 1930s. Players should expect at the very least one or two 5-10 minute bio-breaks during the session. Right before these breaks, I always ask if people are having fun with the session and for some aftercare/feedback to implement into the next half/third of that particular gaming session. Mental health is a sensitive subject and I intend to portray it with a level of respect and complexity while attempting to be faithful to game designer's and original weird fiction author's intention. It is for this reason I only require sanity rolls from investigators when the narrative involves them encountering the supernatural with their senses (witnessing a spell's effects, seeing/hearing a creature, or reading something so horrible it tests your grasp to reality). While character death is always a possibility given the how nihilistic the setting is and how gritty the rules are for Classic Call of Cthulhu 7th edition, I prefer that a player's death always be somewhat meaningful within the context of the story. This is not to say that you cannot die from falling from a very high place if the player fully understood that risk. I, however, always prefer a more cinematic character death i.e confronting the head cultist or being ripped to shreds by a shambling horror after providing cover for their friends to escape. Players interested in this game should expect heavy in-character dialogue, investigation, and on occasion fast and deadly combat. Full disclosure, this game has no Pulp mechanics and is a Classic game. I prefer to use stars and wishes to get feedback from players about what they liked about the session and an aspect that they want to see going into the next session. As for gameplay details, this is a classic globe-trotting campaign (ala Masks of Nyarlathotep) Japanese gangsters, Iraqi archaeological digs, secret airships, and a legend older than humanity! Expect the primary focus of many weekly sessions to talking to non-player characters, investigating scenes, interviewing witnesses, traveling the world, and scouring ancient tomes. With all that being said, "Walker in the Wastes" is probably closer to Brian Lumley, August Derleth, or Robert E Howard fiction in both theme and tone as opposed to Lovecraft. However, this can be said about the majority of Call of Cthulhu games; his fiction rarely translates well to a game. As a final note, this story-heavy/rules-lite approach translates to a game that is easier for new players to learn.
Content warnings
Safety tools used
• Breaks
• Debriefing
• Stars and Wishes
How will character creation work
Before anything can be done in this scenario, investigators must be created by the players. All characters will be created prior to the player's first session over Foundry VTT and Discord. Upon confirmation of a player joining the instant-invite for this Startplaying game, I will send you a link to my discord and then from there will schedule a free 1-2 hour meeting that conforms best to your allotted availability. There is a specific list of occupations/skills that are recommended for the team in chapter one including: Anthropologist, Archaeologist, Historian, Journalist, Photographer, Botanist, Doctor/Physician, Geologist , Guide, or Zoologist. However, you do not have to pick any of these if none of them interest you. During this one-on-one meeting, I will help you flesh out your initial investigator concept while also making sure to ground him or her within the setting and time period. I will also look for and provide each of the investigator's black and white portraits if they so choose me to find them one. I prefer to meet with players prior to their first session to discuss specifics one-on-one as opposed to as a group to reduce confusion and to allow for more attention to detail in answering your questions and getting a feel for each other's personalities/game-styles. Call of Cthulhu 7th edition does not require much time and so I find that having a meeting with the player before the game session allows for me to touch base with that player and make sure that they will be a good fit for this game. Your time, money, and enjoyment are all paramount to me and my continued employment as a professional game master on this site.
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
Medium
Roleplay
High
Puzzles
Low
Experience level
Beginner
Platforms used
• Foundry VTT
$20.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Weekly / Friday - 3:00 AM UTC
Jun 13 / Session 66
2-4 Hour Duration
4 / 4 Seats Filled
Schedule
Requirements
Experience required: Beginner
Age: 18+