Commoriom Submission v3,12 (1) (3)

8/13/2019 Commoriom Submission v3,12 (1) (3)

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A Submission for

Trail of Cthulhu

Commoriom

"I have yet to translate the terrible and

abominable legend telling how a certain doughty

citizen of Commoriom returned to the city after

its public evacuation, and found that it was

peopled most execrably and numerously by the

fissional spawn of Knygathin Zhaum, whichpossessed no vestige of anything human or even

earthly" ! he #amily ree of the $ods, Clar%

&shton 'mith

The protagonists are members of an expedition to

excavate an ancient settlement buried beneath the

Greenland ice. Faced with conflict from within and

without, and the threat of approaching winter, the

expedition degenerates into a struggle to survive as

the team members realise that the real horror is

beneath the ice under their feet. And the greatest

horror of all may be truth itself.

This scenario is inspired by the Hyperborean Cycle

stories of Clar Ashton !mith, particularly The

Testament of Athammaus andUbbo-Sathla. "t is

recommended that the #eeper reads these short

stories before running this scenario. The story of

the $athieson %xpedition is told in the Call of

Cthulhuscenario Trail of Tsathogguaby the late

#eith Herber and published in the supplements

Trail of Tsathogghua, &'() and The Compact Trail

of Tsathoggua, &''*.

The Hook"n &'+, an archaeological team from $isatonic

-niversity found evidence of an ancient settlement

beneath an ice cap in a remote valley in the

mountains of est Greenland. The protagonists are

members of a &'/& follow0up expedition to

excavate the site.

The Horrible TruthThe site is the ruin of Commoriom, the first capital

of the lost civilisation of Hyperborea, which thrived

before the last ice age. %ntombed in the city is a

dormant, monstrous race descended fromTsathoggua and an alien crystal that grants visions

of the disturbing origins of life on earth.

The SpineThe team members voyage to Godthb, where theycan confront a Rival Expeditionfrom Germany.

They then begin their arduous overland tre in

Evighedsfjorden. Tensions increase between%thelrod, the team leader, and Granger, who is

struggling to conceal his alcoholism, leading to The

Death of Ethelrod. From %thelrod they can ac1uire

a dictionary of the lost Tsath-Yolanguage.

The team receives A Call for Helpfrom the crew

of the German base ship, which has lost contact

with the overland team, giving the protagonists a

moral dilemma.

2uring their 3ourney, the characters find evidence

that strange %simo are watching them and may

discover Gravesof members of the Germanexpedition, apparently attaced by an unnownanimal. A text in their possession, when translated

with %thelrod4s boo gives hints about the history

of the site.

Arriving at the Site, the protagonists find a Cube-

Shaped Struturewith walls inscribed with a

history of the pre0humans who first settled there.

5earby, the remains of the last members of the

German expedition can be found. 6n the valley

floor, a Shado! "nder the #eis visible.

They are harried by frea weather conditions and

attacs by a mysterious$east of the #e Sheet,


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which continue until they lin it with the clan of

strange %simo that has been following them, and

neutralise it.

Exavating the Struture under the #e leads to

the discovery of an ancient tower entombed in ice.

2igging into The #e-Cho%ed stair!a&uncovers a

frie7e describing a history of Hyperborea and

eventually leads to a Cit& "nder the #e. "n a vaultunder the ruins of a library is a crystal that can send

the mind bac in time to the disturbing origins of

life on earth.

As the city4s inhabitants begin to awaen they try to

free their 8Father4, leading to the A!a%ening of'n&gathin (hau). The protagonists4 only hope isto flee.

However, even if they escape, the insight granted

by the crystal may still claim their minds.

Victory Conditions9ictory in this scenario means realising the horror

that lies in Commoriom, and surviving it,

preferably with the site safely sealed.

Antagonist ReactionsThe rival Ger)an Expeditionis not a 85a7i

expedition4 in any official sense :there is no such

thing until the formation of the Ahnenerbe in &'/; especially the

esoterically inclined > believed in occult theories of

the uni1ue :or divine< origin of their ancestors on a

lost northern continent :referred to as 8Thule4 or

sometimes 8Hyperborea4 or 8Atlantis4 a time when

the Armitage "n1uiry is in its formative stages. "n

&'+(, Armitage, Bice and $organ scored a victory

against the 2unwich Horror and soon 2r Albert

ilmarth 3oined them following his encounter with

the 86uter 6nes4 in the hills of 9ermont. ust a few

wees ago, the =abodie %xpedition returned from

Antarctica with stories of unnown prehistoric life

forms and a vast range of mountains dotted with

strange structures.

6n his deathbed in &'+', =rofessor Curtis

$athieson revealed a number of unpublished

secrets about the &'+ expedition to his colleague2r Francis $organ. $organ shared the story with

=rofessor Armitage and soon they were woring


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with =rofessor %thelrod in %ngland to organise a

follow0up expedition for &'/+. However, in late

&'/, word reached them of a rival German

expedition to the same region planned for &'/& and

their pro3ect was hastened by a year. -nfortunately,

this meant 2r $organ was unable to tae part, but

he persuaded Charles Granger, a veteran of the

$athieson %xpedition, to 3oin.

*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir&This symbol defines

sections that apply only to running the scenario as

part of the Armitage "n1uiry.

Running Commoriom as astandalone

This scenario can be run as a standalone adventure

or mar a dramatic beginning to an ongoing

campaign.

The difference is that %thelrod has organised the

expedition with the ?ritish $useum, independently

of Armitage and his colleagues, who may have little

insight into what really happened on the $athieson

%xpedition.

*S&)bol+ Standalone This symbol defines

sections that apply only to running the scenario as a

standalone.

Creating the ProtagonistsAppropriate roles for the expedition include

archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists,

biologists, explosives experts, drill engineers and

radio engineers. All team members should be

healthy and fit, and be capable cross0country siers

> represented for game purposes as a minimum

6utdoorsman rating of & and Athletics of /. The

expedition will also need someone with $edicine

rating of &D and First Aid of +D to fill the role of

medic.

The expedition leader is highly xenophobic and

French applicants in particular are not considered.

*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir& "f the expedition is

organised by $isatonic -niversity, team members

are liely to be American, perhaps students or

professors at the $isatonic. ?ritish team members

may have accompanied %thelrod.

*S&)bol+ Standalone "f the expedition begins inGreat ?ritain it is liely that most of the team

members would be ?ritish. American membersmay travelled with Granger.

Prologue"n order to introduce their characters, it is

recommended that the #eeper run a short scene

from his or her expedition interview as a 2irected

!cene for each one :see The Dying of St Margarets

page (


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"n the ?lood might be interesting if the character is

related to the Hyperborean ?lond %simo.

Pillars of Sanity

The dominant theme of this scenario is the dignity

or otherwise of human origins.

6ne =illar of !anity that might be particularly

interesting dramatically is Family. A character withthis =illar will have a firm conviction in the dignity

of their origins. "f Caucasian, they may believe in

the theory of the origins of their ancestors on the

lost continent of Thule. They may have heard tales

of 8blond %simo4 in north0western Canada. They

may even subscribe to racist theories lie the

5ational !ocialists of Germany.

As players can create their own =illars of !anity it

is impossible to provide an exhaustive list, but

several others from the Trail of Cthulhu ruleboo

that may be particularly interesting areE

Beligious Faith

Human 2ignity and 9alue

The #eeper should try to encourage some players to

pic from the pillars above.

2rives potentially undermined by %yeE

Anti1uarianism

Thirst For #nowledgeAdventure

!cholarship

Curiosity

Arrogance

.illars of Sanit&

Beligious Faith

Family

Human 2ignity and 9alue

!cientific =rogress "ntellect

Goodness of $anind

$oral principles

Aesthetics

%picureanism

=atriotism

ove of Home City

Scenes

BriefingSene T&pe+Core :"ntroduction a

large cabin and outhouses for supplies and dogs.

They will use the drilling rig, blasting e1uipment,

the ice melting machine, and hand excavation to

access and excavate the site.

From 5ovember it will become difficult toapproach by sea. "f necessary, the team will remain

on the ice sheet over winter until $arch when the

f3ord becomes accessible again. "n case of

emergency, a team should be able to reach them

from GodthIb overland in about five days.

=rofessor %thelrod stresses his 1ualifications as a

hard0nosed scholar not prone to flights of fancy or

bi7arre speculations. However, as the claims of the

recently returned =abodie %xpedition to Antarctica

suggest, the poles may conceal secrets that wouldoverturn our entire understanding of the past. 6n

the $athieson %xpedition there were many things

he experienced that shoced him and caused him to

reconsider ideas about the world. He believes that

what they found in the Greenland ice were remains

of a lost prehistoric civilisation, perhaps hinted at in

Gree myths.

He introduces ilfred -pton0!mith, a round0faced

7oologist and friend of the %thelrod family, and

Charles Granger, a red0haired, red0faced man of

around /, a second veteran of the $athieson

%xpedition who will be 3oining them on this trip.


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*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir&0ral Histor& 2-

.oint spend+ There are rumours that 2r Grangerhas a drin problem.

%thelrod ass each team member to introduce

themselves and assigns roles.

Assess Honest&+Henry %thelrod is reserved,

somewhat aloof and doesn4t give much away.

Arhaeolog& or Anthropolog&+ According to theexpedition report, the team made transcriptions of a

number of carvings on a large stone slab found at

the face of Helheim Glacier on the east coast.

Archaeologists have subse1uently associated these

carvings with a Greenlandic colony of the extinct

2orset Culture. 2-point spend+!ome odd artifacts

featuring strange figures wearing hoodless paras

with tall collars and women with large hairstyles

were found on Cape 2orset on ?affin "sland in

&'+. "t is generally thought that the Greenlandic2orset culture is limited to the north0west coast of

the island.

$iolog& or 0utdoors)an 2-.oint spend+=olarbears are mostly found in coastal regions in the

north and east of Greenland > they are largely

unnown in the mountains although females with

cubs are sometimes found in coastal mountainous

areas in the north.

Arhaeolog&3 $iolog& or Geolog& 5.ipe6+The

disastrous =abodie %xpedition to the !outhern =ole,from which there were only three survivors,

reported finding very well preserved specimens of

six0foot0long, barrel0shaped organisms with

starfish0shaped heads. .ipe+The full significance

of this clue will become clear to someone who

reads The ?oo of %ibon or explores the ruins of

Commoriom.

uestions and !Ans"ers

%thelrod will as if there are any 1uestions. He may

provide the following additional details and anyothers the #eeper deems appropriate.

J $athieson remained onboard ship, due to health

problems. He died of a heart condition in &'+'.

J The top of the structure was estimated to be under

at least &;0+ feet of ice and to extend to unnown

depths. He declines to speculate on the age of the

structure.

J At an international archaeology conference in

=aris last year, 2r !ummers of %dinburgh-niversity, heard reference to a forthcoming

expedition to explore what was 8nonsensically4

described as 8ruins of Thule found in est

Greenland4. "t isn4t nown what si7e the rival team

is or when they will arrive.

He will wrap up the briefing after three or four

1uestions, or if he doesn4t lie the direction the

1uestions are going.

Assess Honest&+hen ased about the specifics of

the first expedition, why the details were notreleased or why the second expedition was delayed

for so long, %thelrod seems somewhat evasive. 2.oint Spend+ He is deliberately hiding something.

%thelrod will wrap up the briefing after three or

four 1uestions, or if he doesn4t lie the direction the

1uestions are going.

Henry Ethelrod

To interact with %thelrod significantly, ?ritish

characters need a Credit Bating of ;D, Americansand other %uropeans need D. Anyone else will

need to mae a &0=oint spend in Credit Bating on

each significant occasion.

Abilities+Athletics ;, Credit Bating *, Firearms *,Health *, !cuffling *, eapons

Hit Threshold+/

Ar)or+ 0& vs all :if wearing Arctic gear

The three surviving members of the expedition

entered the temple and :as instructed by Gobineau in fact the upper chamber of a tower.

"t is assumed that the team will create a shaft of pit

to reach the tower then excavate the inside of it.

The #eeper may have to improvise somewhat if

they tae a very different approach. The characters

may decide to build a shaft next to the tower and

enter via one of the doors or windows on the

balcony, or they may simply bore a hole directlythrough the roof.

Arhaeolog& or Arhiteture+ The roof and floor

are already partially collapsed.

Geolog&E The tower is blac granite gneiss. A 2-

.oint spendestablishes that it appears to beextremely ancient, perhaps tens or even hundreds of

thousands of years old.

ArhitetureE The style doesn4t resemble that ofany nown architectural tradition.


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"#ca!ating the ChamerSene T&pe+ Core

/ead-#n+%xcavating the !tructure under the "ce

/ead-0ut+Clearing the Chamber

This phase taes +) days.

4ethods "sable+$anual %xcavation, "ce $elter,

%xplosives

Arhaeolog&orEvidene Colletion+ The remains

of an unnown metallic device can be found in the

upper chamber of the tower.

Geolog&3 Craft or Arhaeolog&+"t was decoratedwith gold, emeralds and rubies.

Astrono)& or 2-.oint spend in Arhaeolog&3

.h&sis or 4ehanial RepairE "t was an optical

device of some ind, possibly a telescope.

Accessing the &tairwaySene T&pe+ Core

/ead-#n+%xcavating the Chamber

/ead-0ut+The "dol Thaws, Tunnelling the!tairway

Core Clue+ The struture desends deep into theie-sheet1 There is a se)i-intat stair!a& leading

do!n1

This phase taes &+ days.

4ethods "sable+$anual %xcavation, "ce $elter,%xplosives

Arhiteture or Arhaeolog& 5Core lue6+There

is a stairway descending deeper into the ice.

pictographs, LboosL X, map showing location of $t

9oormithadrethX

Arhaeolog& orEvidene Colletion+ A strangeand grotes1ue ob3ect is uncovered in the ice near

the top of the stairwell. "t loos lie a grotes1ue

idol fashioned of some dar, mottled material,vaguely toad0lie in shape, very dense and about

the si7e of a melon. !eeing this re1uires a /0point

!tability test, $ythos related.

Cthulhu 4&thos+!tatues of grotes1ue, toad0lie

forms are used in the worship of Tsathoggua.

Geolog& or Che)istr&+The ob3ect is not made of

any nown material.

"n fact, the ob3ect isn4t a statue at all. "t is a dormant

organism > one of the !pawn of #nygathin @haum.6nce uncovered, the spawn will begin to thaw and

awaen. !ee The #dol Tha!s. This nominally taes

+) hours or ( hours if left in a warm place, lie an

inhabited tent, however it should tae as long as is

dramatically interesting.

Tunnelling the &tairwaySene T&pe+ Core

/ead-#n+Accessing the !tairway

/ead-0ut+2escent into the 2epths

"t taes ' days to reach the ice0free section of the

stairwell.

4ethods "sable+$anual %xcavation, "ce $elter,

%xplosives

A stairwell runs around the inner perimeter of the

tower. !olidly constructed from granite, most of it

is still intact. There are places where steps have

eroded or broen and places where there are gaps.

Arhiteture+The stairway is constructed in apossibly uni1ue way, with the spiral of the stairway

growing narrow as one descends and the base of

one level seemingly supported by the level beneath

it.

6n the outside wall, there is a series of wide panels

with images and Tsath0Oo hieroglyphs. These tell a

history of Hyperborea, beginning with the time of

construction and going deep into the past.

Anthropolog&3 Arhaeolog&3 Cr&ptograph&3

/anguages3 or Cthulhu 4&thos+ith the help ofthe Tsath0Oo dictionary, each panel is about a yard

wide and can be translated in about an hour. Three

panels are probably excavated in a day. For every

five panels translated, a 2-.oint spendis needed.

The content of the panels is as followsE

&. There are five blan panels

+. #ing o1uamethros of Commoriom

honours the astrologer called %iphooras

2ex, of $hu Thulan by granting him a

ma3estic, high tower in the city.

/. A busy and wealthy city with many tall

towers. Construction of tower for some sort

of wise or holy man.

). 9arious older ings and previous dynasties

;. %ncroaching cold

. =rophesy of !ybil of =olarion

*. Bise of Ohoundeh cult

(. omar and @obna

'. 6ther settlements


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&. %arly Tsathoggua cult

&&. 9oormis driven to $t. 9oormithadreth

&+. @on $e77amalechX

&/. Founding of Commoriom

&). =eople of omar arrive from @obna, driven

by cold

&;. 2escendents of tall, thin antehumans leave

homelands in -ltima Thule in the north and

arrive in Hyperborea

&. The "ce Age is brought about by the

combined power of "tha1ua and Aphoom

@hah. Gradual collapse of 9oormis

civilisation

&*. Gnopheh and 9oormis at war. Former

driven to omar.

&(. 9oormis settlement and temple of@hotha11uah

&'. Humans appear on earth

+. 9oormis liberation, worship of Tsathoggua

+&. !erpent =eople found civilisation in

Hyperborea :with 9oormis slaves

Documents

Commoriom Submission v3,12 (1) (3)