Running a Conspiracy Horror Campaign in Trail of Cthulhu These guidelines will help you to incorporate a truly conspiratorial feel into your Trail of Cthulhu campaign. They make use of conspiracy mechanics found in Night's Black Agents. You will need a copy of the Night's Black Agents (NBA) core rulebook as well as your Trail of Cthulhu (ToC) rulebook. If your intention is to run a true thriller – especially – especially a modern thriller – thriller – using using the Cthulhu Mythos, it is recommended that you instead start with The Dunwich Sanction alternate build for Night’s Black Agents (NBA, p195).
In fiction of all sorts, the existence of a persistent and organised group of antagonists working against the interests of civilised humanity is a classic device to form the basis of the story arc ar c and to maintain a sense of menace. True conspiracy fiction however, brings distrust and paranoia to the forefront – forefront – the the conspiracy has infiltrated society and the protagonists don't know who they can trust. In horror, conspiracy can help to suggest a menacing reality that lies beneath the veneer of mundanity. Lovecraft used this device in many stories, notably The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Innsmouth , The Whisperer in Darkness, Darkness, The Call of Cthulhu and Cthulhu and The Haunter of the Dark . Examples or conspiracy horror movies include Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Snatchers, Rosemary's Baby , The Wicker Man and Man and Jacob's Ladder . Conspiracy thrillers such as Eyes Wide Shut and and The X-Files TV X-Files TV series are also good reference points. Almost every Trail of Cthulhu and Call of of Cthulhu campaign involves involves at least one conspiracy by cultists or mythos entities. However, these don't generally constitute conspiracy horror in the truest sense. True conspiracy horror brings the specific, features of conspiracy to the foreground - secretiveness, distrust, betrayal, disguised menace and active opposition. In a true conspiracy horror campaign for Trail of Cthulhu, there must not only be a group of antagonists working to bring about the return of the Great Old Ones (or whatever), they need to have infiltrated the powers that be, the population at large, or the Investigators own organisation, and they need to have the power to act against the Investigators. If the characteristic mood of a Lovecraftian horror campaign is cosmic horror, the mood of Lovecraftian conspiracy horror should be cosmic horror plus horror plus paranoia. paranoia.
Planning your conspiracy campaign The Campaign Story Use the guidelines for campaign structure found in Trail of Cthulhu, The Continuing Conspiracy: Campaign design (ToC, p199). The equivalent advice in Night's Black Agents - The Campaign Story (NBA, (NBA, p193) and the Thriller Skeleton (NBA, p184) p184) – – is also well worth referring to, particularly with regard to antagonist reactions. Note however that this advice is tailored for the thriller genre, and is high on action and early shocks. This needs to be toned down (unless you are running a very Pulpy game perhaps) – perhaps) – the the horror should build more slowly, action should be more lowkey, and particularly if your campaign has a strong Purist feel to it, the endgame
should confront the Investigators with cosmic horror, with undermined Drives, Pillars of Sanity or complete Anagnorisis for one or more of them. Choosing a Campaign Frame Armitage Inquiry In Pulp mode, this could be a globetrotting battle against agents of the mythos. In Purist mode, the focus might be on intrigue within the corridors of the Miskatonic University itself (how high does it go?). Agents of the Mi-Go are almost certainly stalking Albert Wilmarth at the University; Asenath Waite, sorceress and leading member of the Cult of the Skull, studied there; Dr Wingate Peaslee was possessed by the Great Race of Yith; the Witch Cult is active in Ar kham and who knows what forces may be trying to seize the dark knowledge kept in the Miskatonic Library? Bookhounds of London Think of exclusive and secretive societies and hermetic lodges in London high society and dingy, claustrophobic, cult-dominated communities in the Severn Valley. One challenge might be motivating typically selfish and cowardly Bookhounds to tackle a larger conspiracy. Inmates This is campaign frame by Robin Laws is available free here. The powerlessness, alienation and paranoia of institutionalisation combined with t he conspiring of the authorities and potential uncertainty about whether the Investigators are just crazy, give this great potential as the basis of a conspiracy campaign. Mythos Detectives (Arkham Detective Tales, p6) Having the resources and the politics of law enforcement on their side - and the possibility of its corruption - makes this an excellent choice for a conspiracy campaign. The influence of hidden hands within society's institutions of governance, including the Investigator's own department, would be a powerful way to create a sense of intimidation and paranoia. Project Covenant (TOC, p207; see the Michael Dauman expansion of this campaign frame here) This is a perfect campaign frame for a conspiracy game, with the Investigators part of a secret plot within government agencies. This necessitates secrecy and gives them access to classified information and exposes them to potential corruption within their own agencies. Emphasis could be on investigations within US territory, conspiracies within US institutions or far ranging secret missions. Moon Dust Men (Sixth installment of Ken Writes About Stuff ) With black helicopters, men in black, and other shadowy government forces, this is another ideal set-up for a conspiracy campaign this time with a strong X-Files feel.
Conspiracies
Making your conspiracy unique and well thought out will help you to keep things fresh, interesting and credible. There are a number of considerations you should bear in mind when designing your conspiracy. Choose your conspirators Some organisations and mythos races lend themselves better to effective conspiracy horror than others. Whether those who dominate the conspiracy are cult members or are a group of mythos entities, they will need to be capable of organisation. They will probably have some sort of hierarchy. They will need rationality of some kind (no matter how alien), a degree of understanding of human beings, lines of communication, access to money and other resources and they will need something from humanity or from planet earth that motivates them to conspire in the first place. For more detail on many of these organisations see ToC P160. Examples include: Black Dragon Society A pulp version of this group could certainly extend covert tentacles through East Asia and further afield. Their secrecy and infiltration of commerce and politics would make them a good candidate for a pulp conspiracy campaign. Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign 'The Repairer of Reputations' by Robert Chambers involves a national conspiracy (or at least a belief in one) bearing the Yellow Sign and preparing to seize power on behalf of the King in Yellow. In 'The Whisperer in Darkness', the mi -go-possessed Akeley describes a secret organisation devoted to Hastur and the Yellow Sign responsible for hunting down the mi-go (and tampering with Wilmarth's mail). Cult of Cthulhu This is a collection of essentially unrelated groups with a shared, ancient heritage rather than a unified organisation. Probably the most powerful of these groups is the sea-farer's cult found in ports across the world, which, in The Call of Cthulhu, was responsible for the murder of Professor Angell in Providence. Esoteric Order of Dagon The EOD controlled the town of Innsmouth for 80 years, with the raid by government agents in early 1928 being the formative event of Project Covenant (see above). A pre-raid campaign could focus on initial investigation of the town's unnatural corruption, while after the raid, the focus could be on investigation of surviving outposts, or other communities around the world t hat might be independently contaminated by the deep ones. Mi-Go Agents The Whisperer in Darkness describes a secret network of human agents in the area of Townshend, Vermont, capable of spying and routinely intercepting mail, and sometimes resorting to violence. Mi-Go themselves can mimic human speech and may be able to transplant brains from one person into another body or take a semblance of human form. In terms of a mythos conspiracy game, this is gold dust. Serpent Folk
Humanoid reptiles that can take human form and the overlap with the modern 'reptoid' meme makes these entities ideal antagonists in a conspiracy game. What if David Icke was right and the world really was secretly led by a race of intelligent shapeshifting reptiles? Starry Wisdom Sect A secretive urban cult that can attract and corrupt the rich and powerful is ideal for a conspiracy campaign. What sort of political corruption allowed this murderous cult to flee from Rhode Island when faced by an angry mob in 1877? Strange Eons by Robert Bloch refers to a branch of this sect in LA in the 1920's and 30's with likely influential members in Hollywood. Yithian Agents The knowledge and technology of the Yithians is beyond human understanding. They are highly intelligent, secretive and essentially indifferent to human concerns. They are served by human agents that may be embedded in society at any level and any location. They may at times seek to influence events in ways that are antithetical to the interests of humanity. They would make good antagonists in a conspiracy game, but their motivations should be marked by indifference to human suffering rather than a desire to destroy it. Conspiratorial Considerations Most of the advice in 'Conspiratorial Considerations' in NBA, p156 applies equally to a mythos conspiracy. Mythos Requirement Mythos conspiracies don’t generally seek power over humanity for its own sake – they seek to bring the return of their favourite Great Old One, to rid mankind of the scourge of reason and sanity, mineral resources found only on this planet, information about human life in the 20th century, or to alter the course of evolution or history for some alien purpose. This need lies behind all other details of their conspiracy – it defines why they are interacting with humanity at all. Intentions As in Night’s Black Agents, this describes your conspiracy’s intentions at a political level. Parallel State: Mythos conspiracies are likely to be less dependent on humanity than vampire conspiracies, but mi-go for example might need to parasitise human states in order to harvest brains, Yithians might need to do so in order to gather research data, the Starry Wisdom sect may do so in order to sacrifice children and be rewarded with transcendent knowledge from Nyarlathotep accordingly. Replacement State: Does the conspiracy seek to overthrow the current regime and replace it? This idea doesn’t come up often in Lovecraftian literature – but Hildred Castaigne seeks to do exactly that, establishing himself as regent and representative of the King in Yellow in Chambers’ Repairer of Reputations.
Anti-State: This describes the intentions of those entities and nihilistic cults that seek to wreak madness upon the earth or bring civilisation to an end with the return of Cthulhu. Indifferent to human states: Your organisation or mythos race may be indifferent to the human world, and seek to influence it only in so far as it is necessary to fulfil its Mythos Requirement (above) – it may be neither dependent on nor hostile to the state, as long as it doesn’t interfere with its earthly operations. Enemies Does the conspiracy (as the mi-go and Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign may) have another group or conspiracy that opposes it? Is there rivalry or open hostility between two branches of the conspiracy? Clever Investigators could exploit such a situation. Modus operandi In order to fulfil its secret agenda, a conspiracy will have had to spread its tentacles into the population. What methods does it use? Blackmail, bribery and threats? Mind control? Alien parasitic infection? Prosthetic human bodies? Demographics Does conspiracy operate primarily in the higher echelons of power or ordinary farming folk or academics at Miskatonic University? Where are its places of power? Lines of communication Communications technology in the 1930s was far slower than the modern era and a little less reliable. How do the various components of your conspiracy communicate with one another? By letter? Telegram? Pigeon post? Where do they access these services? A cannibal cult in the Himalayas might have difficulty accessing these methods. Do they use codes? Do they use magical means? – summoned servitor races, telepathy, hyperspace gates? Conspiracy Planning Tools Conspyramid The Conspyramid tool is an excellent tool, not only for defining the power structure of your conspiracy, but for defining the structure of the campaign itself – giving it a clear beginning, middle and end, and incorporating a series of choices for progress. Conspyramid rules are found in NBA p157. Adversary Map This is the players' map of the conspiracy structure. The rules for this can be lifted from NBA p113. Relevant spends for uncovering an adversary map in Trail of Cthulhu are Anthropology and Oral History in place of Human Terrain and Traffic Analysis. 'Vampyramid'
While it might be appropriate to use a different name in a mythos conspiracy game ('Reaction Pyramid' perhaps), this is another device from Night's Black Agents that can be readily adapted. The Vampyramid is another flexible tool for the Keeper that suggests a series of escalating antagonist reactions for the conspiracy in response to the players' investigations and assaults, the nature of these reactions depends on campaign tone and previous reactions. Mechanics for this are found on NBA, p189. Obviously you’ll need to substitute the suggested vampiric agents with appropriate human agents or alien entities from your own campaign. And some steps require a slightly different interpretation from Night’s Black Agents: Row One – Frame Agent: The targeted Investigator might be framed for a crime or tarnished with allegations of Bolshevism or something similar. Their Credit Rating ability is reduced by 2 indefinitely. 1 point can be recovered if they can clear their name. Row One – Shadow Investigator: This is a contest of Shadowing. Row One – Shadow Source: The effect may be to prevent the Source of Stability from refreshing Stability. Restoring them to a normal state is a difficulty 4 Psychoanalysis test (Psychological Triage). Row Two – Threaten safety: This is a threat to any location that the Investigator had considered they were secure, but in Trail of Cthulhu there is no direct mechanical effect. Row Four – Kill Solace: The conspiracy kills one (or more) of the Investigator’s Sources of Stability in front of them. Row Five – Lure Agent: Substitute ‘Reveal Awful Truth’ – the conspiracy captures or tricks the Investigators, exposing them to one or more Awful Truth, attacking their Drives and/or Pillars of Sanity. Row Six – Destruction: As above, this final assault may take the form of awful revelations that destroy Investigator sanity, especially Anagnorisis, or destroyed Drives or Pillars of Sanity for at least one I nvestigator. Conspiratorial Components (See NBA, p159)
There are certain components that most mythos Conspyramids will need: Funding Sources It may not have to control a bank or launder money for organised crime, but depending on the level of influence of your conspiracy, it will need some way of funding its activities. Drugs? Smuggling? Legitimate businesses? Donations from cult members? Many mythos conspiracies have outer orders circles or puppet
religious sects that function as shell organisations – providing a semi-legitimate face for funding and recruitment. Sources of the ‘Mythos Requirement’ If a cult needs a steady supply of living human brains or human sacrifices, where does it source them? Cultist volunteers? Abductions? Or does it need cattle for biological experimentation? Protection sources How does the conspiracy protect itself when threatened? If threats and violence are used, is this carried out by cult members, converted police officials, members of a controlling mythos race or summoned servitors? If they use blackmail, who does it and where do they get the compromising information?
Mechanics Poaching Thriller Mechanics from Night's Black Agents Keepers running games that centre around law enforcement, government agencies or military personnel may find it appropriate to incorporate mechanics from Night's Black Agents with an emphasis on action and gun-play. Note however, that introducing many of these options is likely to detract from the sense of Lovecraftian horror. If you choose to do this, unless you want a very pulpy, thriller feel it is recommended that you limit this to:
Thriller Chases (NBA, p53) Thriller Chase rules - DUST mode only (NBA, p56) Thriller Combat rules - DUST mode only (NBA, p70)
