The Tale of the Crimson Letters
Professor Charles Leiter lies dead--murdered? If not, why all the secrecy around his remains? And what was he studying that has everyone so worked up?
$25.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Friday - 2:00 AM UTC
Session Duration / 3–3.5 hours
Campaign Length / 3–6 Sessions
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Professor Charles Leiter, esteemed academic at Miskatonic University, lies dead. Murdered, it is whispered, though the authorities have yet to release the result of the autopsy or even allow anyone to view the body. You, dear investigator, have been engaged to look into the circumstances of Professor Leiter's death, and in particular, into the whereabouts of certain papers that were in his possession at the time of his death--papers of great historical significance that are utterly irreplaceable. But the deeper you dig, the more tangled the web becomes. As you get to know his sultry mistress, his obsessive student, and his academic rival, you will find complications multiplying, from the secret history of the missing papers to shadowy figures that dog your footsteps with an agenda of their own. Will you be able to keep your wits--and your head? Or will you fall victim to the same horrors that claimed the Professor? --- This will be a short-term campaign in Call of Cthulhu 7th edition, loosely based upon the "Crimson Letters" scenario presented in the core rulebook. I like to heavily rework modules that I run, so if you've played Crimson Letters before, don't expect that you will know what to expect! I love a good horror game, and I'm looking forward to digging into this one with you.
Game style
Combat Lite
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Theater of the Mind
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(6)
5 years on StartPlaying
20 games hosted
Highly rated for: Creativity, Storytelling, World Builder
About me
"So you want a game, do you?" The witch's voice seems to crack in the brittle air, and her one good eye rolls until it finds your face. "Then you must pay the price..." She cackles as she extends her bony fingers. "But coin is just the beginning. What do you want? Tell me what is inside your soul... Who are you?" Hello and welcome! Gaming is more than a hobby for me, it’s a lifestyle. I first started playing as I was learning to walk and talk as a little tyke, and I’ve been playing, running, and designing rpgs since then. I’ve been running games professionally for about 10 years now, although not on SPG until 2026. I like to run a character-driven, roleplay-heavy story, but at the end of the day what’s most important is the players. If you want a hex crawl, if you want high political intrigue, if you want mystery and murder and danger… let me know! I can probably design content tailored to what you’re looking for. For myself, I love stories and I love gaming! I’m looking forward to getting to run some different systems and explore new worlds through this medium.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will have a session 0 where we can talk about the setting, the rules, and make characters together. If you have a character you already want to play, that's fine, but be prepared to make some tweaks to fit in with this scenario and the rest of the group.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Join me on my Discord server! That's where we'll play the game.
What Ashton brings to the table
This will be run as theater of the mind via voice chat on discord. Call of Cthulhu has no need of battlemaps, and I personally have auditory processing issues and don't enjoy ambient music. I prefer to rely on the power of imagination--along with vivid descriptive language.
Homebrew rules
I like to use a homebrew difficulty modifier system borrowed from Mythras; instead of modifying the difficulty by making you roll under half your skill for Hard, or under 1/5th your skill for Extreme, I will apply a bonus or penalty (usually in increments of 10%) to your skill value based on how difficult or easy the challenge is. For example, when making an extremely easy test, you might get as much as +50% to your skill value before rolling. A difficult test, harder than usual but not backbreaking, might apply a -20% modifier to your skill before you roll.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Ashton creates a safe table
I try to always stay attentive to my players' experience and make sure that everyone is continuing to have a good time. We will be having a session 0 to align on intent and gameplay styles, as well as to make characters and train on the rules. During the game, I honor the X-card, which you can do by typing X in the chat or by verbally calling for a pause. We can pause at any time for any reason to align on the content and resolve conflict as needed. And afterward, I like to do Stars and Wishes to get feedback. This is a horror game; I've done my best with labeling content warnings, but it would be reasonable to expect I may have missed some. Come prepared to face disturbing and unsettling content.
Content warnings
Safety tools used