The Circle of Seven: Introduction and Session 0

My players and I had a hankering to play Call of Cthulhu again, so I happily whipped up a new setting and so that we could have another go at some 1920s horror shenanigans.

The interesting thing about this campaign, at least to start with, is that it's not taking place in Lovecraft Country. Instead, we're going to be using a (slightly modified) version of the Call of Cthulhu rules to play in the setting I created for A Malignant Universe. For those that don't know--which I think is everyone--A Malignant Universe is my own 1920s horror shenanigans game, which is inspired by Call of Cthulhu, but which uses the Traits System for Boldly Go!

So, if you're following along and you're like, "where's Arkham?" or, "what the heck is this monster?!" or, "hang on, that's not Nyarlathotep!" There's a reason why.

As has become typical, we used Session 0 to talk about the characters and set the scene. A scene which goes a little something like this:

Mid-October, 1924

Across the United States, seven people with no apparent connection to one another receive seven copies of a letter. They have been invited to the town of Port Harbor, Connecticut, to attend the reading of the will of Nicholas L. Fresno, a person they do not know. 

An Invitation From Alexander Sebastian, Esq.

These seven people, for reasons of their own, make arrangements to travel to Port Harbor for the November 15th reading of the will. These individuals include:

Evelyn "Val" Blank

An androgynous scruffy-looking, young woman who dresses in the style of a newsie. She spends a good part of her travel allowance on new shoes, a new hat, and a car service to bring her to the reading of the will. Everyone else, who has taken the train to Port Harbor, is amused with her grand entrance. From somewhere in Connecticut.

 Martin Craven

Not Final Art

 A cowboy from North Dakota, who just wants to know what this is all about.

Saul Frankl

A fastidious and intelligent pharmacist who recently immigrated from Prussia.
Things are getting bad over there. He hopes that they don't get any worse.

 

Dale Logan

A steel worker from Detroit, who is unemployed and traumatized after an horrific accident caused his steel mill to abruptly close. Hoping for a little bit of inheritance money to make it through the next few months.

Dr. Frederick Miller

A well-respected psychiatrist at the Danvers State Insane Asylum. Delighted to have a distraction after a disturbing encounter with a patient. He is quite well off, mostly by virtue of marrying into a rich family.

Fr. Bogumil Wilk

 

Father Wilk is an immigrant from Poland. He is a Catholic priest of imposing height. He is not quite 10' tall, but that's no reason for him to have an adventure. From Salem, MA.

Ada York

 A somewhat aloof and reserved bookstore owner from Boston, MA.

November 15, 1924

Six out of seven of the invited guests (not including Val) arrive by train on the morning of the reading of the will. They disembark with their luggage and prepare to hire taxis to take them to the Fresno house. Before they get a chance to do this, however, they encounter Charlie Adams, a hot dog vendor who is drawing nervous and hostile looks from disembarking passengers and railway workers.

Hungry after their trip, several of the investigators get in line at Charlie's cart and purchase one of his famous Charlie Dogs (pat. pen.)They are 5 cents each, toppings included, 10 cents each with ketchup. Charlie mentions that he is a fixture on Port Harbor's boardwalk during the summer months, but retreats to the train station during the winter.

Charlie Adams, Inventor of the Charlie Dog (pat. pen.)

Charlie exchanges further pleasantries with the investigators, who all quickly realize they have all been invited to the reading of Nicholas Fresno's will. They make introductions to one another, thank Charlie for the hot dogs, and arrange to share cabs to the Fresno house.

The Fresno house is a two story Victorian. It has an overgrown lawn, but is otherwise in good repair and well-maintained. As the investigators disembark, a touring car pulls up to the Fresno house. The well-dressed driver lets out the last of the seven--Evelyn "Val" Blank, whose new hat and new shoes starkly contrast with her otherwise threadbare clothes. She generously pays the driver, who departs.

Saul knocks on the house's front door, but receives no reply. The others join him on the porch and get to know one another a little better. Everyone is curious as to why they've been invited to the reading of Mr. Fresno's will, since no one has any connection to him. Some of them are more obviously curious about the will's contents than others.

They do not have long to wait, however, before Mr. Alexander Sebastian and his assistant, Mabel, arrive at the Fresno house. Mr. Sebastian greets the investigators while Mabel struggles to carry several boxes of paperwork and tries not to look annoyed. Eventually, Mr. Sebastian invites the players into the house, only to discover after a protracted search that Mabel has the keys.

The investigators are let inside the house, which is somewhat stuffy and cluttered. Mr. Sebastian has Mabel clear the kitchen table and pour some coffee. Once that's done, he invites the investigators to sit and takes out Mr. Fresno's will.

Alexander Sebastian, Esq.