Long way from Château-Thierry

[Old Dwarf]

Long way from Château-Thierry


This Game was "Tomes of Madness" Season 1-Epsiode 2 using the Wilmarth Background
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/2320...ackground.

To promote the story line the following modifications were used:

The Policeman Discovery card is Lestange
The Grave Robber Discovery Cards are Cult prisoners
The Large Tile above the Entry tile is The Chapel

The Forbidden Knowledge Tokens are Book Cabinet Keys
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Wilmarth Foundation-Restricted
Senior Fellows only

File #03-Clark's Harbor,Nova Scotia, 15/3/1920

I.Incident-

Correspondence from Ian Wells concerning possible Hastur Cult activity. Wells
was visiting a war buddy, Pierre Lestange a former officer of the French 10th
Colonial Division who had emigrated to Nova Scotia. The two had become acquainted
when Wells 3rd US Division had supported the French in stopping the German advance
on Château-Thierry.Lestange was manager of a seafood processing factory at Clark's
Harbor a small town of less than a thousand people.

Upon arrival Wells found Lestange extremely nervous & confided to him that his
employer Rory Wallace was pressuring him to join a social club "The seekers of "Carcosa"
which met monthly at his mansion. He had attended several meetings to please his boss
which consisted mainly of the members chanting about a coming king.The last meeting
however, the members presented a play called "The King in Yellow" in which the mask scene
disturbed Lestange so much he had sent for Wells as it reminded him of the incident in the
old barn outside Château-Thierry where Wells had lost his hand.

Lestange & his Sergeant from the 369th US Inf. Regiment* was meeting with Wells from
the US 3rd Division to set up a joint observation post in an old barn but when they
entered the loft a man in a dog mask surprised them. Wells pulled out a grenade but
before he could use it the man bit his hand off & Lestange emptied his pistol into
the man. When they went to pull the mask off they realized it wasn't a mask but the
creatures actual face. The Sergeant from the 369th cauterized Wells wound with a torch
& they buried the creature & decided to cover up the incident.

Lestange had fled the Wallace's Mansion that night & since then noticed the town's
people had frozen him out, stopping conversations if he entered a building & he
sensed he was being spied upon. Wells tried to calm him down & suggest it was just
a coincidence but Lestange showed him copies of the chants he had been given to learn
along with a list of the Tomes he had copied down surreptitiously, which he was keeping
hidden under his kitchen floorboards. Wells convinced his friend to leave with him
for his own safety as it was apparent a dangerous Cult had turned against him.Leaving
Lestange to pack up he left to gas up his model T. Upon returning he found Lestange's
door ajar & the house ransacked & the living room wall & floor covered with blood spatter
& Lestang missing.

Realizing no help was available locally he checked under the kitchen floorboards & found
the papers which the cultist had missed & fled back to his home in Maine. His correspondence
to the foundation states a Hastur Cult is amassing a Library of forbidden Tomes with the
intention to use their knowledge to summon "Him Who Is Not to be Named". In addition
he requests Field Agent John Morgan be assigned to assist him cleanse the Wallace Mansion
of its forbidden tomes & cultists.

(* Note the 369th Regiment was the only U.S.black unit that saw front line combat in the Great War.
The US Army was segregated & General Pershing was unsure about assigning the 369 Regiment
with the US Army so he loaned it out to the French Army Colonial Corps. It became one of
the most highly decorated regiment in the War.)



II.Foundartions Action-

It is obvious from the documents Mr. Wells has supplied that a serious Hastur Cult is at
work in Clark's Harbor & the list of forbidden Tomes is especially frightening as their
contents will allow the Cultist to summon Hastur. We must presume that the Cultist are
already well along with the rituals to bring their god into our world. We must therefore
act with all haste to approve Mr. Wells request.

Although it is highly unusual for an Investigator to request a Field Agent who are reserved
for the most critical missions as determined by the Foundation especially requesting a
specific Field Agent. Upon inquiry to Agent Morgan, we have learned that he was the Sergeant
of the 369th Regiment & thus the 3rd man in the barn with Lestange & Wells. We have therefore
dispatched him as Wells requested with the understanding that Agent Morgan is to be in charge
of this mission.




III.Psychological Evaluation-

John Morgan:Short-Term Memory loss

Ian Wells:Recurring Trauma

IV. Conclusions: Partial Success although Morgan & Ian failed to stop the Cultist from Summoning
Hastur they were able to disrupt the Ritual and corrupted it to the point that when Hastur appeared
he was unable to sustain itself in reality. From the condition of the Cultist bodies, it appears
they were forced to take the Unspeakable Oath as revenge for their blundering before Hastur returned
to Carcosa.

Morgan & Ian survived but both have had their Sanity shaken & will require several months to recover.

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Friday,2/4/1920-Cold Camp in woods outside Clark's Harbor

John, your back, I was getting worried find out anything in town?

Nothing good Ian, around noon I stopped in the local cafe to see If I could pick up any gossip
& found the place full but all conversation stopped when I entered. I said hello & asked for
directions to Yarmouth .That seemed to put them at ease so I bought a sandwich & coffee & made
my self-inconspicuous in a side table by seeming to read a newspaper. The conversations soon picked up
& the locals were obviously quite excited they were talking about going to a meeting the next night.
It seems they are looking forward to a final calling of the king & hoped he would like the trophies they
had for him. I take it they intend to summon Hastur & that one trophy may well be Lestange but I
didn't hear anything about where or when. Any ideas Ian?

Well John, The seekers of Carcosa hold their meetings on the 1st Friday of the month so where
would be the Wallace Mansion & tomorrow there's a full moon .The meetings start at 7PM so
between then & the rising of the moon would be the when. So we have another night of freezing our butts
in these woods so do you have a plan on how to stop this summoning & what about Lestange?

Ian as much as I want to rescue my old Captain, if he's still alive, our first priority must be so stop
the cultist from completing the summons ritual. I checked out the list of books Lestange scribbled down from
the Wallace mansion & 4 contain spells to summons Hastur, the King in Yellow, the Turner Codex, Legend of
the Olden Runes & the Sapient Maglorum. These Tomes would also include dismissal spells, so we'll need
to locate those Tomes, find & recite the dismissal spells to counter & disrupt the summons spell ritual
the cultist will be chanting.

John that's a tall order neither of us has been in the Wallace Mansion how do we find 4 books from what
Lestange told me the mansion is full of forbidden volumes that the Cult has amassed & there kept in double locked
cabinets? The keys are only entrusted to senior cultists & they will defend them with their lives.

Well Ian, that means we'll have to take out cultist & check their bodies for the keys. I don't think we'll need
to track down all 4 Tomes if we can just locate 2 the dismissal spells should be enough to disrupt the ritual.
The notes Lestange left indicated the cabinets with the Tomes were kept in the basement, so we have a place to start.

John besides the cultists Lestange did mention Rory had several thugs he hired as personal bodyguards he called
them his disciples which we'll need to watch out for & let's hope the cult hasn't used some of those forbidden tomes
to call up some other horrors.

Saturday 3/4/1920 -7:15PM behind the hedges outside the Wallace Mansion.

Ready Ian, it looks like all the cultists have arrived. Remember it's the Tomes we're after don't get bogged
down in fighting the cultist & if Lestange is a hostage we'll free him once the tomes are secured.

OK John lets go I'll cover you.

7:15-7:18 PM

Morgan & Ian rush the front door of the mansion & to their surprise find the door open. Entering they find themselves
in a grand foyer with stairs & doors going off in all directions. Momentarily confused as to where to go they hear
a faint sound of chanting coming from the direction from beyond 2 of the doors. Choosing the door where the
chanting sounds the loudest Morgan charges through into a large Chapel. Surprising 2 Cultist he quickly fires misses &
fires again taking out one of the Cultist the incident causes a slip in his sanity.

The shot echoes through the mansion's Cellers & the momentary pause in the chanting jolts the King in Yellow to advance
him through the ether & marking Morgan. The 2nd Cultist attacks Morgan who avoids getting hit but sends his Stress Level
up. A Cult Disciple is dispatched to check into the disturbance.

Ian following up Morgan guns down the 2nd Cultist & loots the body finding a Key labeled North Vault but realizing what he
just did causes his Sanity to slip.

7:18-7:21 PM

Meanwhile Morgan has looted the body of the other Cultist obtaining a Key to the West Vault.Moving on down the stairs he enters
the North Vault encountering another Cultist & taking him out but again at the cost of hie Stress & Sanity levels.

The Disciple hearing more gun shots moves into the Chapel & ignoring Ian moves to the North Vault & attacks Morgan
who manages to dodge the bullets but his Stress goes up.

Ian moves in behind the Disciple & takes him down & then loots the body of the Cultist Morgan took out finding a Key to
the South Vault again these actions cause his Sanity to slip triggering his Short Memory loss which relives all his Stress.
He then checks out the corridor & finds The Mask of the Dammed which increases his Sanity loss.

7:21-7:24 PM

Morgan decides they need to find more Cultist as they have 3 nonmatching Vault keys.He returns to the Chapel & heads down
the East Corridor where he can hear chanting. Finding another Cultist, he quickly dispatches him but the strain of the
constant combat pushes his Sanity levels.

The continued Chanting & the atmosphere of the Mansion's Cellers is causing Reality to Frey & both Morgan & Ian have
reached the limits of their Stress levels.

Ian moves behind Morgan & loots the downed Cultist recovering a Key to the West Corridor but his Sanity slips again. He
Ian then takes the other West Corridor Key from Morgan.

The violation of the Cultist's body is however noticed & Ian is marked with the Yellow Sign.

Ian then searches the corridor finding a Locket containing a picture of a couple which he feels is somehow "wrong"
& his Sanity slips again.

Hastur following the Chanting advances through the ether & another Disciple is sent to quell the disturbances.

7:24-7:27 PM

Morgan heads toward the West Vault to run interference for Ian who has both Keys to unlock that, Vault.Moving back
through the chapel & down the west corridor surprising a Ghoul which he runs by reaching the stairs & runs into
the Disciple & a Cultist as the Ghoul follows him. Morgan shoots at the Disciple wounding him.

Suddenly the stairs are engulfed with a foul odor from Sewer Gases & a wall torch falls sparking a fire in the
rubbish. Morgan manages to avoid the flames but loses Sanity.

The Disciple leads the Ghoul & Cultist in attacking Morgan dodges around but still takes 3 wounds

Ian runs swiftly behind Morgan who yells for him to go ahead into the Vault.Ian does but the Cultist, Disciple &
Ghoul follow abandoning Morgan to defend the Vault.Ian quickly pulls out the 2 Keys & slams them into the lock
pulls out "The Turner Codex".He then shoots & takes out the Disciple.

The Dead seem to Walk as a figure shambles toward Morgan, but he sees it just another Ghoul.

7:27-7:30 PM

Morgan shoots the Ghoul wounding the creature & fires again taking it out. He then notices a corpse
in the corner it's wearing a strange Ring which he takes but upon slipping it onto his finger he
feels his Stress level rise.He takes time to catches his breath to relieve the Stress.

Suddenly the corpse seems to rise but it's not the Dead Walking but another Ghoul.

The Ghoul attacks it misses Morgan but the sudden lunge causes Morgan's Sanity to slip

Ian opens up on the Cultist putting him down & looting the body finding a Key to the
North Vault. Then turning his attention to the threatening Ghoul he takes it out.

The feeling of Terror permeates the Vault but the battle-hardened veteran is immune
after his experiences in the Great War.

Ian decides to check out the Vault before he leaves & finds the body of Lestange shot
& mutilated he fondles the old Locket to relive his Stress but the sight of his old
friend still causes Stress. Ian then discovers a loaded shot gun.

(Mission Check: as of 7:30PM

Morgan-8 Level Sanity/4 Wounds/2 Stress
Ian-8 Level Sanity/0 Wounds/3 Stress-1Tome & 2 matching keys
Hastur has advanced twice)

7:30-7:33 PM

Morgan strikes back against Hastur's Minions taking out the Ghoul & Disciple then
having cleared the North Corridor, he tends to his wounds.

The barriers between the outside & reality continue to weaken & Morgan is imprinted
with the Yellow Sign.

Checking around the North Corridor he finds a woman tied up & frees her.Her name is Julia
a former maid in the Wallace Mansion.

Ian moves to North Corridor waiving the Keys at Morgan as he continues into the North Vault
however, a Ghoul is in hot pursuit. He unlocks the Tome Cabinet & takes out a copy of the King
in Yellow ,finds the disruption Spell & pulls out the Turner Codex & repeats the combine Spells.
Then seeing the Ghoul enter the Vault his Sanity slips but manages to shoot taking the creature down.

The Vault suddenly fills with a dreadful stench a Gasses escape from the Mansion's Sewers causes
Ian a Sanity slip.

The Vault trembles as the Spells Ian cast from the forbidden Tomes Disrupt the Cultist Ritual & Hastur
breaks through the barrier. The Cultist are momentarily confused but a Disciple heads into the East Corridor.

7:33-7:44 PM

Morgan moves into the North Vault & fires on Hastur the attacks do 4 damage on the GOO & its presence
trigger Morgans Morgans Short Term Memory loss which eases his Stress.

The Disciples scramble to aid their God one enters the Chapel & another enters the South Corridor

Hastur lashes out but Morgan manages to avoid the attack. But the GOO is able to project itself into
further into reality.

Ian makes a series of attacks on Hastur inflicting 8 damage.

The 2 Disciples close in on Morgan & Ian others enter the Chapel & the West Corridor

A Disciples attacks Ian but misses & Hastur lashes out giving Ian 3 damage but Ian also
takes Vengence & manages to wound the GOO in return.

Hastur is stunned by his wounds & responds in Fury to restore itself (Stage II)

7:34-7:37

Morgan stands & blast Hastur doing 7 damage

Sewer Gases flood the North Vault & the fire spreads. Morgan Stress Level reaches a high
point but Short Memory loss returns his Stress Level to Normal.

The Disciple attacks Morgan doing 1 damage & giving him another Yellow Sign.
Hastur joins the attack but Morgan dodges his blows.


Ian continues the attack on Hastur giving the GOO a full shotgun blast causing
5 damage.Hastur shrieks as the wounds take effect & flees to the East Corridor giving
both Investigators a wound in passing.(Stage III)an turns on the Disciple & takes him out he
then Rests & recovers from his wounds.

He then takes on another Yellow Sign.

7:37-7:40

Morgan leaves the North Vault & encounters a Disciple in the North Corridor & takes him out.
The corridor is now clear & Morgan takes the opportunity to rest restoring 2 wounds & a Stress.

He then makes a mistake of Naming the Nameless which Triggers the 6 Yellow Signs he has received
resulting in 2 wounds & 2 Sanity slips.

Looking around the now empty corridor he finds a Shrine of Bones It's Stressful to look at but
luckily, his Short Memory Lost reduces his Stress Level. Checking out the Shrine he finds some sticks
of Incense.

Morgan realizes the fires raging in the North Vault he just left has burnt a hole in his pocket
& caused the Strange Ring to fall out & he loses a stress but avoids any additional damage.
He does however pick up another Yellow Sign.

Ian leaves the North Vault & heads to the Chapel where he runs into a Disciple & takes him down.He then
rests to recover Stress.

The putrid smell of Sewer Gasses have reached the Chapel causing Ian Stress & a slip in Sanity.

Ian then checks out the Chapel finding a moldering Tome of Otherworldy Knowledge something about the
book Terrifies him causing him to discard two of the unused cabinet keys he has collected.

Ian now alone in the Chapel & as his adrenalin rush settles down he feels the effect of the fire damage
he suffered in leaving the North Vault.

He also feels the oppressive closeness of Hastur & is burdened with another Yellow Sign.

7:40-7:43

Morgan moves through the Chapel to the East Corridor & fires on Hastur doing 7 damage

The Cultist finish the ritual Hastur but the Summons Ritual of his Cultist has been corrupted
by the Investigators & The King in Yellow is unable to complete the final progression to fully materialize
and the Old One takes his wrath out on his followers & minions before he must be sucked back into the outer void.

Morgan seeing Hastur loose flees back to the Chapel & warns Ian & together they both run out of
the Wallace Mansion.

Epilogue: Halifax Morning Herald Monday 5/4/1920-Headline Strange Plague decimates Wallace
Seafood Processing Plant workers.

"Rory Wallace & at least 2 dozen others were found dead in the Wallace Mansion late Sunday evening.
The Medical Examiner noted the cause of death is undetermined pending a full inquiry. Due to the bloated
condition of the bodies it's possible the deceased consumed some type of poison seafood. All victims
were attending a regular meeting of The Seekers of Carcosa a social club headed by Mr. Wallace......"

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I started this Game Aug 30th & just finished Oct.29th. After the first several turns I lost interest & the Game set on my table
for several weeks then COMON's KS Fear of the Unknown inspired me to finish.

This was my first experience losing by having the GOO finish the Progression Track which threw off my usual wrap up.
I home rules if the Inv.lost the GOO would do something destructive then return to the outer void (I have a d8 home
rule chart to determine what happens.

This time both Inv.were still alive & the GOO was not at it's final Stage, so I decided I'd consider this a partial success &
have the GOO turn on his Cultist as the Inv. were able to corrupt the Ritual.

Both Inv. were 1 Sanity loss away from elimination mainly due to checks for having multiple Yellow Signs.