A World Dark and Dreary A World Dark and Dreary - Forum

Call of Cthulhu



Some fitting music



A World Dark and Dreary



Song of my soul, my voice is dead



Die thou, unsung, as tears unshed



Shall dry and die in



Flander's Fields



- John McCrae, What Words Have I?, 1923



- John McCrae,, 1923

The times, they are certainly changing.



In the beginning of 1914, if you had told someone the world would look the way it did now, even lunatics would call you a madman. Who could have predicted that the assassination of the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would lead to the bloodiest and most horrific war the world has ever seen. The Weltkrieg, as it was eventually known, lasted for 5 bloody years which devastated Europe. It only ended with the flag of the German Kaiserriech flying on the Eiffel tower and the signing of the Peace with Honor.





The United States reluctantly listened to the advice of our first President, and choose to not meddle ourselves with foreign affairs, and survived that hellish war unscathed. It was this involvement that let the 1920's roar for us. We emerged from the Weltkireg as the worlds second largest economy, and the premiere liberal republic of the globe. All this happened as what survived of the Entente fell to Syndicalist rebellions. The original leadership of France and Britain have gone into exile, the former to Northern Africa and the latter to Canada













But surely, this is nothing more than talk from people who take those newfangled novels written by Lovecraft that are so popular these days far too seriously. Things are getting better, the Great Depression that destroyed our economy is on its way out the door. The worst will soon be behind us. The world may be dark and dreary, but we'll get through it. We always have before.



Right?



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Act 1: The Man Out of Time



It's the end of the year, and things could certainly be worse. Sure, money's tight, but that's been the norm for years now. And things are getting better, after all. You know some folks who haven't had a job in years who got hired again.



Whatever your situation is, you're working an odd job right now. There is a lot of gambling that goes on at the horse racing tracks in Saratoga up north, has been for a while. Apparently, someone's convinced that some good for nothing has rigged things in his favor. He doesn't know how, he doesn't have any proof, just the fact that some lucky man walked away with far more cash than anyone ought to have the right to own.



Maybe you're the guy he hired to find out. Maybe you're his friend. Maybe you know a guy who knew a guy, and you're

doing this one the side. It's hard to complain when he's paying this much money in advance. Whats the worst that could happen?



Actually, it's probably bad luck to say that, what with the shocking amount of murders going on around here lately. But you shouldn't trouble yourself with that. The cops will get the scoundrel behind them eventually, you're sure of it! The times, they are certainly changing.In the beginning of 1914, if you had told someone the world would look the way it did now, even lunatics would call you a madman. Who could have predicted that the assassination of the heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire would lead to the bloodiest and most horrific war the world has ever seen. The Weltkrieg, as it was eventually known, lasted for 5 bloody years which devastated Europe. It only ended with the flag of the German Kaiserriech flying on the Eiffel tower and the signing of the Peace with Honor.The United States reluctantly listened to the advice of our first President, and choose to not meddle ourselves with foreign affairs, and survived that hellish war unscathed. It was this involvement that let the 1920's roar for us. We emerged from the Weltkireg as the worlds second largest economy, and the premiere liberal republic of the globe. All this happened as what survived of the Entente fell to Syndicalist rebellions. The original leadership of France and Britain have gone into exile, the former to Northern Africa and the latter to CanadaThe Internationale was rising in Europe, and Syndicalism presented itself as a viable alternative to the current status quo. All the while, America was content to enjoy it's blissful isolation. All until 1929, when the stock market came crashing down upon us. The good times were over, and it became an open question whether the American Experiment would end in success. Opposition parties from the left and right threaten to destabilize the status quo of governance. But more than that, there are.... whispers.... of other forces at work. That there unnatural causes to many of the woes we now face.But surely, this is nothing more than talk from people who take those newfangled novels written by Lovecraft that are so popular these days far too seriously. Things are getting better, the Great Depression that destroyed our economy is on its way out the door. The worst will soon be behind us. The world may be dark and dreary, but we'll get through it. We always have before.Right?The Man Out of Time Game Description: This is going to be a game using call of Cthulhu set in the alternate history universe of Kaiserreich. This will be a subtle horror game: by this, I mean that I'm not going to be metaphorically be bludgeoning you with themes of cosmic insignificance, lots of blood and gore, frequent jump scares (as if those could work in PBP...) or things like this. Nor will there be a shoggoth lurking around every corner. Many of the scenarios you will face won't have to deal with pure lovecraftian cosmic horror. Some aspects of gothic horror will be present, as will the more ordinary horrors of trying to get by the next week without starving to death, the horrors of war, and witnessing the many forms of perfectly mundane injustice men inflict upon other men. Cosmic horror will be a part of the grand tapestry I plan on weaving (see what I did there?) with you all, but only a part. You may even find that other human beings are truly worse foes than anything supernatural you come across.



The game will start in December of the year 1935, set in upstate New York. As this is a call of Cthulhu game (how ever much creative licence I take with it), it is only natural for it to be set near New England.



Here you can read about what to expect from the campaign and what to keep in mind when building your character, then look at the character creation requirements before making a character. That thread also has the house rules the game will be using, so be sure to read it carefully. __________________

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference Last edited by Michael7123; May 11 '18 at 6:45pm ..