Horror Roleplaying Part 6: Cthulhu Mythos 2

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Having taken a look at the underlying philosophy and the basic theme of the Cthulhu Mythos in my last offering, I thought we might have a look at some of the other aspects of Lovecraftian Mythos stories and how you might implement them in your own game. Although much of Cthulhu gaming so far has followed a Derlethian style – the characters are faced with a mystery which they are destined to overcome, the forces of “good” triumphing over the forces of “evil” – I do not subscribe to this form of story. I am more of a purist when it comes to Mythos gaming, following the Lovecraftian tradition. With that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the elements of Lovecraft’s fiction which are usable in your game, or which have frequently made it into the more popular campaigns and scenarios.

Please understand that I am in no way a psychologist or psychiatrist; I, in no way, wish to investigate or explore real psychology – I’m merely taking a look at it from a game perspective.

Lovecraft had a thing about insanity. To be honest, that’s not really surprising, considering his father was institutionalised from when Lovecraft was age 3, and his mother was confined in the same institution in 1919 after continuous bouts of depression and hysteria. Lovecraft himself suffered a mental breakdown early in life, which prevented him from completing his high school diploma. Lovecraft’s frequent allusions to mental breakdowns or encroaching insanity therefore stem from a personal experience with emotional fragility. His depictions of insanity, however, might be better understood after an appreciation of his personal experience. It is curious that the protagonist of the tale usually suffers this realignment of mental structures upon encountering elements of the Mythos and becoming aware of the underlying horror of existence, the veneer of normal human society stripped away and the mental frameworks underpinning our understanding of the universe shattered. Insanity, after such a revelation, is the only logical result.

Orienting this to your game, you should understand the character’s sanity score as a mark of how well adjusted a character is to their social environment, along with their mental fortitude. As a character becomes aware of the falsehoods on which this society is built, they slowly become less able to successfully interact with the ordinary social systems. This manifests in various odd behaviours. Although the rules advise of several different real-life mental conditions, I would advise against using these prescriptively. An individual’s psychosis – especially if a result of Mythos revelations – should not be constrained by real-world psychoses, but rather informed by them. In other words, your players should be encouraged to increasingly play their characters strange behaviours and quirks as their sanity scores edge towards zero. Be creative.

Lovecraft was fond of these guys. It seems every second story had a cult or two, and they feature prominently in some of the more notable tales (that is, as seen from a roleplaying perspective). These groups can provide an excellent first line of adversaries for your players to encounter. The good thing about them is that you can have horrific events occurring with sinister overtones and not have to pull out a random monster. They allow the keeper to slowly build a sense of growing discomfort and paranoia without pulling out the big guns.

Now, there’s a few different ways to look at cults. Initially, you might imagine the average cultist as somewhat primitive, had their minds warped somehow, or are otherwise “just not thinking right.” But I’d like to suggest that this is not the best way of looking at it. If you are beginning with the major philosophy of the Cthulhu Mythos and working out from there, you are met with an entirely different model. Cultists are those individuals who have made peace with reality. They have come to terms with the horror. Their actions, horrific and strange by “normal” standards of human behaviour, are, in reality, totally logical. Of course, there is the option of the cultist who misunderstands the revelation, and is therefore working under a misconception. But functionally, to your characters, this should not make much difference.

This has implications for how you view your player characters. In this understanding, they are fighting to maintain ignorance in the face of the awful truth. The longer the inevitable revelation can be forestalled, the safer humanity will be. But at some time you or your players might reflect on this safe, secure ignorance – It’s a lie! Why defend it? Eventually, the perspective of the cultist seems increasingly valid.

So, how do you, as a Keeper, write and play your cults and cultists? There are many valid methods, from degenerate, barely human groups practicing wild orgiastic rites in the dark woods, through to sophisticated suburbanites, secretly plumbing the mysteries and secrets of the universe. The character of the cult you create really depends on the narrative necessities you’re faced with. If you’re stumped for ideas I would suggest trying to come up with a suitably apocalyptic Mythos doom for the world, and then work backwards. Considering the nature of the threat, what is the likely human handmaiden of such a future? Provide them with the appropriate resources and influence to pose a significant threat, and they’ll become a major part of the campaign. Alternatively, if your story arc merely requires an allusion to an ages-old cult for the purposes of creating a sense of growing horror (such as in the story “The Call of Cthulhu”), then a less advanced or well positioned cult might be a more appropriate choice.

As for playing the cultist – you need to create a sense of the weird, of the strange about them. Their behaviours should be confronting, taboo. There’s a lot of Cthulhu Mythos fiction as well as campaigns that focus on cannibalism, or the mistreatment of innocents, or sexual depravity. My advice is to play it with a deft hand. Overdone, these items transform a Cthulhu story into a schlock-horror story and overshadow the more philosophical horror of the Mythos. Have the cultist act perfectly normal in public – perfectly nice, totally socially capable. He invites you home, where he’s having a little soiree with a few friends. The evening is very genteel – people standing around in dinner jackets and evening dresses, sipping on champagne. Eventually everyone is invited to sit down to dinner. The table is set impeccably with elegant china, silverware, candles. There is a friendly hum of conversation, the waiting staff quietly standing attentively by the walls. Then the main course is brought in – a large, covered silver tray being carried by 4 of the waiting staff. A lovely roasted pork smell fills the air. They place the tray delicately in the centre of the table and lift off the lid, revealing a person, (could it be your close friend, who had arranged, and failed to turn up to, an urgent meeting yesterday?) roasted to perfection, with an apple stuck in his mouth. There is an appreciative applause from the gathered party, and the host advances on the roast with carving knife in hand.

At this point the players should be aware that something is a amiss.

This, obviously, is an extreme example. But note the essential point: The cultist takes actions completely in contravention with normal human society and believes them to be perfectly natural. And, according to the revealed truth of the Mythos, they are.

Given Lovecraft’s unpleasant experiences with his parents, this is also perhaps a logical horror for Lovecraft to have included in his work. Several stories include the revelation of a horrific heredity for the “protagonist,” a background which implies an awful destiny. Consider some of his greatest works. (incidentally, this list will contain spoilers if you haven’t yet read Lovecraft’s work. Shame on you.) “The Rats in the Walls” has the protagonist realise that he descends from an ancient race of priests, worshipers of some awful horrors that live under the earth. “The Shadow over Innsmouth” ends with the revelation of the protagonists’ descent from the horrific “deep ones”. “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family” reveals that Arthur was descended from a white ape from central Africa. These are but a few of the many instances where “genealogical horror” is the central theme of Lovecraft’s work.

This kind of story can be a very interesting theme to add to your Cthulhu campaign. I would recommend approaching your players before planning this kind of trick, however. This is not the kind of story you want the player character in question to survive – be it a mental or physical expiration. “Oh, yeah – my Cthulhu character. Well, it turns out that his great-grandmother is a Deep One, and he’s just started to grow gills. Luckily I passed my Sanity roll, so I’m just rolling with it. He’s fine.” This is not a horrifying outcome, and will turn your campaign into a farce. So approach your players beforehand, and make sure that they are willing to have their characters sacrificed for the sake of a good story. Randomly select who is to play the part, and work a mysterious element into their backstory. Then you can slowly reveal the hideous truth of their ancestry, one slow piece at a time.

I would recommend keeping the connecting piece of information until the very last moment you can. This was a technique that Lovecraft frequently adopted in his tales: after all the mood-setting and descriptions of strangeness, the tale concludes with the essential piece of information that draws it all together and points out the essential horror of the situation. Applying this to your campaign, you might present a mystery to the players: have them investigate, and slowly uncover a secret and horrifying genealogy. This should be significant to the plot of the ongoing story. Then, nearing the conclusion, you might drop in a connecting piece of information. The player character is visiting their grandmother and just happens to see the old family bible, open to the frontispiece, in which the family tree is sketched. Wait – is that… Oh, God, No!

There are several alternatives for this connecting information: county records, old newspaper announcements, perhaps even word-of-mouth from an NPC. Perhaps that old ring your grandfather gave you, the one with the strange design. On reflection, that looks oddly like the wax seals on the letters from that old sorcerer. For inspiration, look to the source! Go read more Lovecraft.

Implementing some of these themes into your own Cthulhu game will give it an authentically Lovecraftian flavour. Just remember to play them with an intelligent and delicate touch. Take your time, slowly reveal the mystery, and save the crowning horror for the final session.

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• H.P. Lovecraft’s Commonplace Book
• Lovecraft’s Inspiration for At the Mountains of Madness: The Paintings of Nicholas Roerich
• Mixing up your Roleplaying Game: Cast of Characters Roleplaying
• “I, Cthulhu” by Neil Gaiman
• Call of Cthulhu 30th Anniversary Edition – time running out to order