Call of Cthulhu 1890s England IC, The Yorkshire Horrors

[littlebottom]

"erm, where did those candles come from?"

[Xsesiv]

"The room where you got hold of all that stuff you wanted to burn."

[littlebottom]

"Robert... put the candles back. and please for the love of god himself, do not light them."

[Xsesiv]

"All right...shall we make torches out of the pages of that book then, the one you wanted to burn?"

[littlebottom]

"i would rather not... how about we just take a bit of wood used to board the windows instead?"

[Xsesiv]

"That sounds good."

Down the trapdoor, it is cool and quiet and completely dark apart from the light that sputters from the torch and filters through the planks. In the northeast corner is a huge statue of a loathsome, bat-winged humanoid creature with an octopus for a head. It has a crude forcefulness about it, and everyone must make a Sanity roll against 0/1d4 Sanity loss. (d100)[32] against 57

Running along the west wall, about three feet out from the wall, are a series of pedestals upon which perch various monsters; a thing not quite ape and not quite insect, with loose brown skin that obscures any face it may have had, a barrel-shaped thing with five arms and four wings, a thing that is somewhere between a crow, a mole, a buzzard, an ant and a decaying human, three greyish-green, ridge-backed, lizard-skinned, humanoid but fish-headed things and a hideous, eyeless, snouted thing with tentacles. Sanity roll against 1/1d8 Sanity loss. (d100)[93]

Along the east wall are human bones from at least five skeletons. Spot Hidden roll.

And on the south wall is a set of shelves holding various objects;

• A bottle containing several handfuls of red powder
• A large glass jar containing a gallon of clear liquid, with a skull and crossbones etched into it
• Another copy of John Dee's translation of the Necronomicon
• 16 one-gallon cider jugs of liquid that resembles blood but is not clotted
• A cider jug of clear amber liquid
• A copy of a book called the Ponape Scripture, translated into English
• A jar containing half-a-dozen pickled snakes
• A wooden box
• An untitled diary
• A collection of Catholic prayerbooks and hymnals, mutilated and defaced
• "The Dynamics of an Asteroid", by a Professor Joseph Mathieson; a thick pamphlet
• A large opaque jar

[Xsesiv]

Robert loses (d8)[5] Sanity...

[Xsesiv]

And needs to fail an Idea roll or suffer temporary insanity...(d100)[9]

No, he succeeded.

Robert enters a killing mania, and screaming that he is going to die, charges the creatures and strikes at them with his bat. After a while, it becomes clear they are putting up no resistance, and are not getting up...and then that they are merely elaborate costumes. Robert flops onto his backside and laughs at the futility of perception.

[littlebottom]

(d100)[83]
(d100)[73]

SAN:75%

[littlebottom]

(d4)[1] insanity points ARRRRRGH

[Xsesiv]

The Reverend is shocked and appalled at the statue but feels no other ill effects. Now what does he do?

[littlebottom]

Reverand goes to check the loft area, while waiting for the return of william.

[Xsesiv]

The belfry trapdoor is nailed down with a STR of 20.

[littlebottom]

"Robert, im in need of your assistance again."

[Xsesiv]

Robert grasps the handle of the trapdoor and pulls himself off the ground, hoping to tear the nails free with his weight.

(d100)[51] 40% success chance

The nails stay firm in the wood and the trapdoor fails to open.

[littlebottom]

"its well made, try some brute force, im sure that would open it."

[Xsesiv]

Robert pulls a large crucifix from the main hall and asks James' permission to lift it together to use as a battering-ram to open the trapdoor.

[littlebottom]

"yes, im sure god will understand that the use of this inanimate object is sacrafice enough for the destruction of the work of the devil."

[Xsesiv]

Positioning the cross, they lift it hard upwards, bouncing it off the trapdoor.

Combined STR = 27

85% chance for success (d100)[79]

The trapdoor bursts open and the belfry may be entered. It is dark and dirty and empty apart from a large stone emblazoned with a stylised pentagram.

[littlebottom]

"bring that stone over here and drop it through the trap door, that should crack it."

[Xsesiv]

The rock bounces off the wooden floor, sustaining no damage at all.

[littlebottom]

"when will william get back?"

[Xsesiv]

"Soon, I hope. Now, should we check how ungodly the stuff in the cellar is?"

[littlebottom]

"i think, i already know. this place will burn as soon as we have a witness to the fact it was here and were not making it up."

[Xsesiv]

William walks in with Constable Culverton who looks thoroughly irritated. He dismisses all the the occult paraphernalia as belonging, possibly, to some strange teenage boys who sneak out here to play with Ouija boards and suchlike.

[littlebottom]

"really, is that so. Robert, fetch that second copy of the translation of the necronomicon for me... dont read it..."

[Xsesiv]

Robert fetches the Necronomicon and shows it to Culverton, who accepts it only as the deranged scrawlings of a madman.

[littlebottom]

"scrawlings of a mad-man they may be, but they are UNHOLY! YOU DENY THE WORD OF A PRIEST?!"

[Xsesiv]

"Oh, do shut up na, ye superstitious ol' windbag. Nobody believes this stuff any more. Now, if you excuse me, I've better things t' do than exchange pleasantries with a fairy-believin', violent clergyman. If I may." He turns and leaves.

[littlebottom]

"fine, but i will not be held responsible for my actions then!" Reverand shouts back at him as he leaves, then turns to setting the church on fire.