From 1878 to 1926
Games set in this era were run by Neil Fraser (NF), Jenny Hein (JH), Zoran Bekric (ZB), and myself, and consisted of a wide range of adventures in many exotic locations. My individual PCs didn’t come across each other very often, but each belonged to a party that undertook various tasks to defeat Cthulhu and its minions.
Neil’s preference was for classic Call of Cthulhu set in the 1920s. He’d even take PCs created specifically for the modern era and strand them in the 1920s, because that’s the era he liked best. A little frustrating as we had no shortage of PCs in the 1920s already.
Zoran ran “To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before”, an absolutely bonkers game with time travel, interstellar space travel and aliens. The PCs started off in 1926 and finished up in 1984, including my modern PC Angela Taylor who was stranded previously in the 1920s by Neil. Bless you, Zoran!
Jenny ran “African Cat People”, “Thai Dreaming”, “Beast in the Abbey”, “To Aid a Friend”, “The Heart”, “The Mummy’s Curse” and “Sihon’s Night”. Jenny was fearless when it came to gates and Dreaming and other methods of herding PCs into alternate planes of existence. Just as well, otherwise my PCs Anjuli and Dresdina would never be together with their soulmates.
I ran the second half of “Home Sweet Home” and all of “Orient Express”, “Cornwall”, “Whispers from the Abyss”, “Regiment of the Dead” and “Bermuda Triangle”. I took a page out of Zoran’s book for “Bermuda Triangle” and transferred the Silk Scorpion and all on board from 1926 to the mid 1990s.
Early Call of Cthulhu Episodes (Commencement Dates)
| 1878 December – “The Wild West” – NF | 1899 July – “The Game’s Afoot, Watson” – NF |
| 1921 late November – “Sirens” – NF | 1922 May 22nd – “Boker Hall” – NF |
| 1922 September 26th – “African Cat People” – JH | 1922 December – “Snake Temple” – NF |
| 1923 August – “Horse of the Invisible” – NF | 1923 August 11th – “The Gorgon Adventure” – NF |
| 1923 end August – “Red Witch” – NF | 1923 September 12th – “Alternate America” – NF |
| 1923 early November – “Sirens II” – NF | 1923 December 11th – “Moon Dream” – NF |
| 1924 late January – “The Scottish Adventure” – NF | 1924 end January – “Fear of Flying” – NF |
| 1924 February 25th – “Middle East” – NF | 1924 May – “Occult and Cult” – NF |
| 1924 June 16th – “Zeppelin” – NF | 1924 September – “Home Sweet Home” – NF and me |
| 1924 November 21st – “Orient Express” – me | 1924 December 1st – “Cornwall” – me |
| 1925 February – “The Silk Scorpion” – NF | 1925 February 13th – “Thai Dreaming” – JH |
| 1925 May – “The Game’s Afoot, Watson” – NF | 1925 May – “Whispers from the Abyss” – me |
| 1925 May – “Savage Island” – NF | 1925 June – “Regiment of the Dead” – me |
| 1925 June – “Greece” – NF | 1925 July 11th – “School’s Out” – NF |
| 1925 July 20th – “Beast in the Abbey” – JH | 1925 August 8th – “To Aid a Friend” – JH |
| 1925 August – “The Heart” – JH | 1925 September 23rd – “Temple of the Moon” – NF |
| 1925 November – “Diamonds are Forever” – NF | 1925 November – “The Wild West” – NF |
| 1926 January – “Mormon Dreams” – NF | 1926 February – “The Mummy’s Curse” – JH |
| 1926 May 3rd – “To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before” – ZB |
1926 May – “Spears of Light” – NF |
| 1926 June – “Monastery of Madness” – NF | 1926 August – “The Casablanca Affair” – NF |
| 1926 early September – “Sihon’s Night” – JH | 1926 September 26th – “The Bermuda Triangle” – me |
If we pick Call of Cthulhu up again, I’d like to run a few short games in:
- Los Angeles (USA) – Alexandria and Josh vs Hollywood’s betrayal of “Bettys” (see “Mulholland Drive”), February 1926
- Boston (USA) – Diana and David vs the East Coast anarchist movement, April 1926
- Casablanca (Morocco) – Aletta and Victor choose a side in the Rif War, August 1926
- Melbourne (Australia) – Lisa and Gavin vs the Elite’s eugenics mantra, October 1926.
I’ve also been developing a longer campaign set in India in 1926 with Rajkumari Anjuli of Shahpura as the focus around whom events unfold. This offers the opportunity for a mix of Indian and Cthulhu Mythos stories, set in the twilight years of the British Raj.
Anjuli’s companions will include Baron Tyson Trevelyan, an ex-British Army Major stationed in India who left the Army in bad circumstances. Tyson has a passion for climbing mountains and looking after his friends, particularly Sher Singh Ardra. Tyson also wants to tie up the loose ends caused by his break with his immediate family.
From 1983 to 1992
“Shoggoths at Sea” was, at least while I was playing, the only contemporary Call of Cthulhu game Neil ran without time travel back to the 1920s, or even further in the past. He started “The Game’s Afoot, Watson” off in 1984, but quickly regressed the game to 1899 before bouncing it back, but only as far as 1925.
Zoran’s helming of “To Go Were No Man Has Gone Before” started in May 1926 and was the horse my PC Angela Taylor rode to return to 1984.
Jenny’s “Beast in the Abbey” reunited two couples separated by the walls of alternate realities – my PC Anjuli and her love Sam, and Jenny’s PC/NPC Monica and her twin brother, Munroe. Anjuli and Sam traveled from their original two separate 1920’s realities to Anjuli’s 1992, the wrong time but at least they were together.
“Dreamer’s Delight” and “Looking for Algren’s Home” were run by Jenny as two linked back-to-back games. My PC Dresdina found the man of her dreams in “Dreamer’s Delight”. “Looking for Algren’s Home” saw Anjuli, Sam, Monica and Munro return to Shahpura, India in September 1925. Sam remained the only PC out of his home reality, but he was finally when, where and with whom he wanted to be.
Recent Call of Cthulhu Episodes (Commencement Dates)
| 1983 October 12th – “Shoggoths at Sea” – NF | 1984 May – “The Game’s Afoot,Watson” – NF |
| 1984 May – “To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before” – ZB | 1991 December – “Beast in The Abbey” – JH |
| 1992 February – “Dreamer’s Delight” – JH | 1992 March – “Looking for Algren’s Home” – JH |
USMC vs “What the … ?”
‘The Marines have landed, and the situation is well in hand.’
American journalist Richard Harding Davis
Cablegram announcing the Marines’ 1935 landing in Panama
My USMC campaign was set originally in Brazil, specifically the capital city of Brasilia. The PCs were members of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Security Forces tasked with protecting the Embassy of the United States of America, Brasilia, Brazil. The Embassy had 150 personnel, 30 USMC guards and a metal detector at the front door.
The PCs have since become operatives in a secretive organisation responsible for neutralizing global paranormal threats. This organisation is run by Jefferson Dean, the man from whom the PCs now take their orders. The PCs have expanded their area of responsibility recently by joining the Star Gate program as SG-21.
Meet USMC Fireteam SG-21.
USMC Episodes
| 1996 September 7th – “Independence Day” | 1996 October 15th – “Love’s Lonely Children” |
| 1996 October 20th – “Crystal Eyes” | 1996 November – “Illegal Aliens” |
| 1996 December – “Sins of the Father “ | 1997 January – “Reunion” |
| 1997 late January – “Setting the Trap” | 1997 early February – “Fire and Air” |
| 1997 late February – “… or the Box …” | 1997 early March – “Marines on Ice” |
| 1997 late March – “Marines in the Jungle” | 1997 April – “The Dark Circle” |
| 1997 June – “One of Our Planes is Missing” | 1997 September – “The Killer Out of Space” |
| 1998 March 6th – “Airport” | 1999 May – “The Dark Side of the Moon” |
| 1999 June – “Team Bravo: First Assignment” with Capt. Dashiel Walker – Group Chaplain, U. S. Army |
1999 July – “Trouble at Black Rock” |
| 1999 August – “Team Bravo: Flames of Wrath” |
1999 September – “A Funny Thing Happened a Carousel #5” with Prof. Henry Bogdanovich, Larabee Hosquith (FBI) and Simon the Limo Driver. |
| 1999 October – “SG 21: Search and Rescue” with Major Terry Sheridan | 1999 November – “SG 21:The Garden” with Mercy the Walkir |
| 1999 December – “SG 21: Snowflake Valley – Nocturnum” | 2000 January – “SG 21: The Madness of the Twilight Queen” with Dresdina Belle Coooper and Larabee Hosquith, Capt. Dashiel Walker, Dr. Birgit Ernestus MD, Dr. Stephanie Parker EPA, Kimberly Ketcham DEA. |
‘Semper Fidelis’ (‘Always Faithful’)
Official motto of the US Marine Corps
Adopted in 1883. (Often shortened to ‘Semper fi!’)
Nephilim, or Angels in America
Nephilim are “ordinary” people with the potential to become pure earth, air, fire, water or moon spirits that can directly manipulate the corresponding magical fields. They show physical and or behavioral signs of metamorphosis from human to non-human beings.
Nephilim quest for Agartha, spiritual and physical fulfillment, through a series of initiations. Those who have achieved Agartha are referred to as “Masters” or “Enlightened Ones”.
Nephilim characters can “awaken” to their true nature via:
- past life regression (hypnosis)
- meditation, visions and dreams (inner life)
- near death experiences or visitations from higher beings (outer life)
- abduction by extra terrestrials.
The tribes of the Nephilim consist of the 22 Major Arcanum (Tarot). Magic used by Nephilim includes the natural world (Alchemy), the celestial world (Sorcery) and the Spiritual World (Summoning). Nephilim are spiritually connected to their stasis objects.
Meet our reincarnated spirits learning the ropes as “ordinary” people, and their mentors.
Nephilim Episodes
| “Serpent Moon” | 1997 January 1st – “The Apocalypse” |
Nephilim is a fairly esoteric gaming system. If we ever pick this up again, I’ll convert it over to the more player-friendly d20 system first.
The White Magicians
London and New York – Angela Taylor (MI6), Dresdina (FBI) and Sarah (Silk Scorpion II).
In this contemporary Call of Cthulhu campaign the PCs are trained “Dreamers”, White Magicians who draw power from the Dreamlands.
The PCs influence the real world through dreams, Jungian psychological explorations of the collective unconscious, astral projection, astrology, low end “mind tricks” and New Age occultism. They are non-military with only their wits, their skills, their white magic and prayer to protect them.
Meet our White Magicians.
On the PCs’ side are even more powerful White Magicians, on the opposite side is real evil – the human kind.
Web of Spies
London, January 2000 – a very cold Tuesday at 2:00 am.
Identifying UK-based Cthulhu cultists is just one of the agenda items on MI5’s plate. There are plenty of other clandestine threats on home soil to go around.
Angela Taylor’s hand crafted team of spies go on their first mission.