Solo Tabletop RPG Actual Play – Heinrich’s Call of Cthulhu Guide to Carcosa Part Five

Heinrich’s Call of Cthulhu Guide to Character Creation
Written & Designed by Heinrich D. Moore
You can purchase it here

Heinrich’s Call of Cthulhu Guide to Carcosa
Written & Designed by Heinrich D. Moore
You can purchase it here

Read the first part of Vivian’s journey through Carcosa here

[Explore – The Hospital]

Like an answer to a prayer, Vivian saw the glowing green cross and the words “Hospital” in the distance. She kept to the shadows on the street, though she never saw anyone. Once inside, everything appeared normal initially, but Vivian began having flashing images of barbed wire and stainless steel metal cells rush through her mind. This resembled the real hospitals she had been in, but another reality emerged from the dream world, overtaking this one.

[Pharmacy]

Vivian reasoned that she could grab what she needed with no one around. The numbing effects of the opium pipe were wearing off, and the throbbing pain of her cuts and bruises was bubbling to the surface again. As expected, no one is here. Behind the counter were rows of cases with windowed doors that revealed the bottles within. Some were locked. Others had been left partially open. A look at a few bottles made Vivian realize this was written in an alien script, nothing like any language she had encountered in her seminary studies.

[Medicine roll – Failure]

Vivian grabbed a random bottle from an open shelf and popped a pill, hoping for the best. If it killed her, she’d at least be free from here. When she returned to the Lobby, the woman felt her brain spark with activity. It must have been some type of stimulant. Her stomach churned from the anxious feeling, and the wounds burned a little hotter, but Vivian was sure nothing could sneak up on her in this state. She headed out the Exit.

[Explore – Palace Gate]

Vivan stood in the shadow of a monolith, a dark chapel hewn from black bone that towered into the sky. A thick wooden gate blocked her entry into the palace. For a moment, Vivian assumed she would need to turn around and see if she could find her way back. Then, a slot in the gate slid open, and a trio of eyes, each a different shade of yellow, peered out at her. “Have you the Key or the Word?” it asked in a raspy voice.

[Talk]

Vivian attempted to pull knowledge from the dream space. These things were in the zeitgeist, so she could, by going into a lucid state, allow them to come to her. At least she reasoned she could. Through a stream of consciousness, she began to speak to the gatekeeper, waiting for the words to come that opened the gate. Her words whisper secrets to the gatekeeper, a currency valued by those who sought power over the material and the waking.

[Social roll – ?]

(Annoying thing about the complexity of Call of Cthulhu and some of these instructions. There is no skill labeled Social listed on the character sheet that came with this adventure. There are blank lines where you can put in skills. The way this is phrased in the text is that Social is a skill that everyone would have. Those things interrupt the flow of play and the flow of the story. I decided to just allow myself two Fast Talk Hard rolls)

[Fast Talk – Failure]

[Fast Talk – Failure]

The three eyes do not seem impressed with Vivian’s words and close the slat in the gate. 

[Sanity roll – Success]

Her mind stayed focused. “The Word” or “The Key”. Vivian looked out across the city she had just made her way through. These things must be out there somewhere. She had to find them.

[The Observatory]

Vivian retraced her steps to the Hospital and noticed a winding road up to the top of a hill. From here, she could see the half-globe of the observatory standing on top. Like all the buildings in Carcosa, the door was unlocked, and there didn’t seem to be anyone else there. That could change, as she had learned already. A pair of double doors had been held open, and Vivian stepped through to see a sizeable bronze-plated telescope pointing out into the starless night.

However, as Vivian walked closer, she found the telescope far smaller than she initially imagined. It was almost small enough to pick up and carry away. She leaned down, bringing her eye to the eyepiece, and wondered how she must look, looming so large over this device.

[Like a Giant]

Despite the night sky being starless this whole time, Vivian could see constellations emerging from the inky dark. Her knowledge of the stars only went as far as 5th grade, but Vivian was sure she could make out Orion’s belt and then the larger Hunter constellation. Her feet couldn’t stand still as the stimulants still pumped through her veins. Suddenly, the sense that she was being watched in return overcame Vivian. She could have sworn an eye was peering from the sky, barely visible against the darkness.

[Stealth roll – Failure]

[New phobia: Astrophobia, New Ideology: You are insignificant]

Vivian pulled herself away from the telescope, overcome by a terror she hadn’t felt since childhood. It was a helpless, weak sort of fear. Her mind reeled with the scale of everything beyond her in the universe, how invisible she was. Not even a god would see her and have mercy on what a wretch she had become. The phantom of her mother stood there watching. Vivian couldn’t look at her, feeling overwhelming shame at how she had refused to see the now-dead woman. But she had to keep going. There was a solution somewhere.

[Explore – The Ballroom]

Life. Sound. Music. Vivian was surprised that at the bottom, on the other side of the hill, there was a building where throngs of well-dressed people were entering. They looked dressed for a gala of some kind. Despite her rough appearance, no one batted an eye, and Vivian was allowed to enter. There was a grand ballroom. A string quartet played waltzes. People wore all types of clothing: silk dresses, kimonos, and saris. Vivian noticed odd accents: chains, collars with spikes, ornately knotted ropes. Some looked at her and smiled; others scowled. Vivian was unsure if she was welcomed here or not.

[Wallflower]

Vivian slunk over to a wall to quietly watch from the corner. “That won’t do,” a lilting voice speaks up. A person in a pallid mask and flowing yellow robes was staring at her. Something about the person is alluring but also terrifying. They extended a sleeve, the hand seemingly lost somewhere inside of it.

[Have This Dance]

Vivian was swept away. To her, it felt like floating above the ballroom floor. The figure spun her around and around. The music reached new crescendos. Vivian is dipped. Then, she fell slowly until she landed on the ground. The floor is dusty. The lights are gone. Everyone had vanished, and the dance hall was a cold, empty husk. The only evidence that Vivian had ever encountered the stranger was the golden key nestled in her hand. A note tied to the key read, “You are invited.”

[Gained item: The Key. Learned Dance as a skill.]

Vivian returned to the large gate of the palace. Knocking. The slat moved. The trio of eyes glared out. Vivian held up the golden key. The slat closed. A loud clanking sounded, and the gate began to open. In its tattered yellow robe, the three-eyed servant gives an awkward bow and shuffles to the side. Vivian took in the palace courtyard, spying numerous torchlit doors to choose from. 

[Listen roll – Failure]

She couldn’t distinguish any sounds to help her decide. Instead, Vivian went through the nearest door and found herself in The Kitchen.

[The Kitchen]

Pots, pans, and dishes were piled up on every counter, spilling out of the sink. All of them were speckled with bits of food, splattered and smeared. From somewhere on the other side of this pile, Vivian could hear the chopping, the pestle grinding, and the searing of dishes being prepared for a meal somewhere in this castle.

Vivian could spy the kitchen workers by peering over the edges of this mountain of metal and porcelain. All dressed in filthy aprons, they were also horribly disfigured. Facial appendages had been lopped off. Their skin was covered in bruises, grease burns, and scars from the knives. One chef walked over to another and casually lopped his ear off, letting it fall into a pan of risotto. 

[Sanity roll – Success]

Somehow, Vivian found a way to steal herself. This was all the dream world and nothing more. But wasn’t her goal to make dreams and material existence identical. She shook that off. Vivian decided to sneak through this kitchen and avoid the chop-happy staff.

[DEX roll – failure]

The slightest bump against a stack of pots and pans caused a toppling. The bits of food acted like glue, so they all came crashing down together.

[Stand Still]

A chef turned to face Vivian. She was missing an eye and a chunk of her cheek. They sat simmering in the cream sauce of the dish she stirred. The chef smiles and offers a spoonful of her creations to Vivian.

[Taste]

Vivian looked at the liquid floating in the spoon. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth. The broth was packed with flavor, enough that Vivian could ignore the fingernail in it. 

[Sanity roll – Success]

A sudden sinking in the pit of her stomach. Vivian realized this was wrong; she should not be here and stepped away, politely smiling at the disfigured chef. Glancing towards a door. The staff seemed to notice, drew their knives, and began climbing and running towards their uninvited guest.

[Leave Something of Yourself Behind]

There was a cost in this kitchen. Vivian grabbed a cleaver from a table and placed her hand against the wall. She took a deep breath and rared the blade back.

[Sanity roll – success]

The finger fell to the ground. Vivian grabbed a dirty dish towel and wrapped it tight around her bleeding hand. It was all a dream. When she woke up her hand would be intact. The kitchen staff rushed to where the bloody digit had fallen, hands greedily snatching for the fresh ingredient.

[The Place Halls]

Vivian was now deep inside the palace. Somewhere close, the fabled Yellow King resided. There were no indicators of which path was right – just a staircase ascending and lined with paintings and another torchlit that went down into the depths. 

[The Upper Gallery]

Vivian headed up. A closer examination of the paintings found they depicted members of Carcosa’s aristocracy. Lords. Ladies. Princes, Princess. Kings. Queens. The canvases were torn and weathered. The faces were stern & cruel. 

[Castagaine: The Guilty Emperor of America]

There was an open door along the hall. Vivian entered. The room was mostly empty except for a wooden chair on a pile of wooden pallets. A man sat on the chair in a dented tin crown, wearing a tattered yellow, moth-eaten robe. He spoke to no one, lamenting on a damnable writer responsible for all the world’s ills. A sudden pause signaled the man had become aware of Vivian’s presence. “Who is this? Someone who requires my services? The services of Hildred Castaigne, Repairer of Reputations, Emperor of America?” he announced.

[“Are you the Yellow King?”]

He cocks his head, and Castagaine proceeds to proclaim that he is of the Imperial American dynasty, a son of Hastur but not the godhead itself. He began to drone on about falling from his horse, having a pain in his head that he could not escape. He went from being a lazy young man to one with energy to spare. He has ambition now, dammit. “Art thou ambitious?”

[Yes]

He grins and nods. Yes, Castagaine says, a truthful answer. Vivian is here, so she must have ambition to weather this city’s horrors. We are the same, he tells her, kindred spirits. He rose. The pallets beneath him provided a shaky stand, and he collapsed back into his chair, a look of fear overtaking him at the prospect of the fall.

There are two paths ahead of you, good woman. You can keep trying to escape the fate laid out for you, or you can fall into your madness like a comforting blanket. You must choose, though.

[I choose to run.]

Castagaine grinned. Yes, you will keep running, won’t you? But you cannot escape it, dear. If you will not listen to me, then…He gestured toward a door on the other side of the room. Vivian couldn’t recall there being a second door until just now. You may leave, but do not aim your ire in my direction should your journey lead you back to me. 

[I choose to stay.]

Vivian felt compelled to listen to this strange man. She was not ready to leave…yet. Castagaine attempted a dance, but the shakiness of the pallets frightened him, and he sat down again. I knew you felt the same gravitational pull as I did. The darkness is a great mass that pulls us all within its orbit. I wish to bless you before the next step. He extended his hand.

[I accept the Blessing]

Vivian recalled being a child and hearing a classmate describe the circumstances of their first communion. Something at that moment felt like how she had imagined that to be. Castagaine leaned down, opened his mouth, extended his tongue, and drug it across Vivian’s forehead. You have been blessed. What comes next is yours, my child.

[Increase Luck and POW by 10 each]

[The Court of the Yellow King]

Through the door, Vivian found a long hallway. The only way out was through the large wooden double doors that stretched from floor to ceiling. They were painted gold with the Yellow sign embellishing them both. Vivian stood inches from the door, fingers tracing the sigils engraved in the wood. 

[REST]

[First Aid roll – success. 1 HP regained]

[The Memory]

Vivian had trouble remembering what happened when she opened the doors and stepped beyond. There was something terrible. Horrific on the other side. She thought she ran, or maybe she was still running. A slithering thing was pursuing her, something that had been resting in the throne room. It seems always there; if she turned, she might see it. But when she attempted a glance, there was nothing.

The halls were a maze. Twisting in on itself in impossible ways. Vivian began to feel that she had been running in this place her entire life, an eternity. She had to stop. She had to face it.

[Stop and Fight]

[POW roll – success]

Death was not quick for Vivian. The yellow robe and the yellow flesh of the many-limbed thing blended until there was no difference. The edges of the robe were like blades; they sliced Vivian’s flesh. Her muscle mass proved no challenge. The tentacles kept her from squirming as her body tensed. Eventually, it pulled her apart, vivisected and on display. She caught a loose thought from the entity as it slavered over her that she was wanting.

[Epilogue 9]

“You need to calm down, Ms. Endicott,” the man’s voice was firm but caring. “You have experienced a psychotic break.”

Vivian struggled against the restraints of her bed. A nurse stood over the man’s shoulder. “You need to calm down, sweetie,” she added. But Vivian couldn’t stop. She frothed at the mouth; her substantial muscle mass tested the strength of these padded wrist and leg bindings. 

A third voice was murky and distant, like a gurgling from underwater. “Can you just give her a sedative? Calm her down? So we can ask questions?” Another woman. A police officer. The three begin to argue. 

The fourth voice seems to rise above them all. Vivian turns her head to look across her room in the ward. A man lies in his bed, shackled just like her. He stares at her, grinning. He clenches his jaw so hard his teeth have begun to crack, and rivulets of blood drip from the corners of his mouth. 

“A new friend! A new friend,” he cackles with joy. 

She glimpses a name on the paperwork hanging from a hook on the wall by his bed. Charlie. Vivian sinks her teeth into her own tongue. The taste of copper fills her mouth. Then darkness. Relief.

The End

Start from the beginning here