Call of Cthulhu - The Serpents Crusade. Trouble in 1920's Persia
Persia, 1923. The ancient land of poets and empires finds itself in a precarious dance between tradition and an uncertain future.
About the adventure
Persia, 1923. The ancient land of poets and empires finds itself in a precarious dance between tradition and an uncertain future. The Qajar dynasty wanes, its authority crumbling amidst whispers of a new, powerful leader, Reza Khan, rising to consolidate power and quell the endemic tribal unrest. Foreign influences, British and Russian, cast long shadows, their interests often clashing in the Great Game for dominance. Yet, beneath the veneer of political maneuvering and the daily struggle for order, darker currents stir. From the bustling bazaars of Shiraz to the remote mountain passes, hushed rumors speak not merely of dissent or tribal skirmishes, but of a brewing counter-uprising. Some call it a movement to restore lost glory, hinting at loyalist factions rising against the encroaching central authority. But among the marketplace whispers and the hushed conversations in tea houses, a more unsettling phrase has begun to circulate: "The Serpent's Crusade". Is it merely a fanatical sect, or does it hint at something far more ancient and terrifying taking root in the heart of a troubled nation?
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Theater of the Mind
Game themes
$18.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Tuesday – 6:30 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
GAME MASTER
Elwood
he/him
5.0
(52)
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Report Adventure
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(52)
3 years on StartPlaying
1091 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, Teacher
Average response time: 5 hours
Response rate: 100%
About me
Hi, I’m Elwood, a veteran RPG player and GM. I have always seen my role as a GM is to keep all my players (entertained and engaged. I have plenty of experience dealing with players entirely new to the hobby, so, you will be in a safe pair of hands if you are just starting out with ttrpg’s or if you have just simply never played any of the games I offer before. [don’t worry, I’ll have you up and running in no time]. I like to add personality to all my characters, both as a player and a GM. I love storytelling. I am also trained in acting, so I like to think my delivery is pretty good. I’m a friendly, easy going GM, who will play fast and loose with rules if that’s what makes the game fun for my players [does not mean I’ll always go easy on you, play your character like a fool, and I will let them die]. Very comfortable running long term sprawling sand box campaigns. But I will happily run one-shots and mini campaigns as well. I offer: Runequest Roleplaying in Glorantha [RQG], Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play, Call of Cthulhu [7th ed] Pendragon 6th Edition Dragonbane DUNE : Adventures in the Imperium [Modiphius] Stormbringer [BRP] [AKA: Elric! , Magic World] Basic Roleplaying [BRP] Star Wars D6 [WEST END GAMES] The Troubleshooters Traveller Harn, Harnworld [though not actually using Harnmaster system] Symbaroum And more…. I am willing and able to custom-build a campaign of any genre, any multi-genre, or genre-bending concept you have in mind. Whether inspired by film, tv, literature or by some weird dream you had the other night. I would typically make this using either a stable ruleset-toolkit namely BRP [Basic Roleplaying, used for Call of Cthulhu amongst others] I look forward to meeting new players [old or young] and have some fun adventures together. “When it comes to tabletop role-playing games, If you are having fun, you are winning”
View Profile →Reviews (52)
Proficiencies
Players say this GM is great at:
Creativity
Storytelling
Teacher
Eddie
Played 283 sessions
Elwood is fantastic, he is an inventive GM who does really good voices. He runs excellent campaigns. I'm in three games per week with him. If I could I'd be in more! He tailors games to match the PCs, for example we've just played in the Harn World setting - a medieval fantasy setting. This had elements of Name of the Rose as well as a couple of on-the-edge-of-your-seats combats, this allowed all the players to shine and have their moment in the limelight.
Bill Williams
Played 258 sessions
Hits all the basic requirements for sure but that is just the starting point. The hardest skill to master is to keep everyone involved, engaged and having fun. When you join a game you often don't know the other players. Elwood keeps things balanced so everyone has fun and their turn in the spotlight. Other skills that he manages with grace and skill are a wonderfully trained voice, great story pacing and keeping track of the details. I am with him as long as he will run games.
Robert
Played 204 sessions
Elwood was great from the start. He quickly welcomed me into the game and helped me get started. His concern for what his players want from the game is admirable, and exactly what I am looking for in a GM; someone who wants to tell a story with the players, instead of telling a story to the players. Additional: This game has been going for over a year now, and it is still going strong. Elwood has been amazing. He is not telling a story at us, but helping us to build a truly collaborative story. I have more stories from this this game than others I have played in the past ten years. Thank you Elwood for giving us a great Gloranthan myth! Update: WOW! We spent a year and a half building an amazing story. We have semi-retired everything after an epic quest to cleanse a forest. One of our characters became the Thane over this new land, while the others have missions or goals to support our company of adventures, our Thane, and our King. Elwood's game is in my Top 5 campaigns I've experienced (I have been gaming since 1979). If you are wanting to try out Runequest and Glorantha, Elwood is a perfect GM to introduce you to the world!
Nathan
Played 157 sessions
New campaign with old GM, I don't know that you can ask for a better GM.
Josha
Played 136 sessions
Elwood is a consistently creative and entertaining GM. Highly recommended!
Jesse
Played 110 sessions
Very laid back. Call of Cthulhu is brutal. Even with relaxed enforcement of sanity loss, PCs still going to the sanitarium having below-40 sanity scores. Players are mostly older. GM is really big into Runequest and Dune in addition to Call of Cthulhu. I'm loving the character and the 'pulp without being pulp' flavor of the campaign.
Character creation
Creating your character
Character creation would most likely take place during session ZEro, unless all the players have characters ready to go. Typically I would expect us to start play before the end of Session 0.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will need:- A free Roll20 account A free Discord account
What Elwood brings to the table
I will provide relevant handouts and clues, and act out NPC characters using different voices. I do not expect payers to remain in character 100% of the time. Expect a fun, slighlty pulpy, yet still often scary, approach to CoC. I provide floorplans when appropriate, but i prefer to keep things fairly free so there should be plenty of player agency, and not just predetermined, set-pieces.
Homebrew rules
i run things pretty much as written, with some very minor home rules, appiled if the players want them.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Elwood creates a safe table
Session ZEro and breaks. Plus, feel free to bring any concenrs to me at any time.
Content warnings
Safety tools used
Additional tables
1 available
Weekly / Wednesday – 11:00 PM UTC
0 / 5 Seats Filled
