The Temple of the Toad

a scenario for Call of Cthulhu by Christian Conkle
e-mail: conkle@mecha.com
http://www.mecha.com/~conkle
(Time: May, 1920. Place: Greenland)

scenario: A team of scholars and investigators are called in by the U.S. Army on maneuvers in Greenland to investigate strange ruins found buried beneath a glacier. The team must undergo a perilous sea voyage to Ontslow, Greenland, then transfer to a smaller boat for passage to Walrus Head, a small Inuit fishing village.

An Army officer will lead the team to the find. The Army will use dynamite to blast more of the ice away, allowing entrance. Once inside, the team will discover a Hyborean temple built to Tsathoqqua, part of the long buried city of Commorium. The temple's bowells house the remains of Hyperborean nobility, and their gaurdian, a formless horror that waits for eons to devour those who trespass!

Event 1: The Letter. The team must consist of at least one scholar who would be interested in such a find. Miskatonic University is sending a team of researchers and wishes that team member and their associates to accompany or lead the expedition. Passage has been booked on a steamer to Onstlow, Norway. From there, a berth has been arranged on a freighter which will make a stop at Walrus Head, the closest village to the find and basecamp for the U.S. Army training camp. There they will meet Sgt. Dale Caudle who will lead them to the site far inland.

Event 2: The Voyage. The voyage to Greenland may be the opprotunity to meet each other, or to introduce some side-plots. Or it can be ignored for the sake of brevity. The trip will take 3 days from New York.

Event 3: The Village. Walrus Head consists of a few Inuit (Eskimo) huts, a dock, a dock-house, and the U.S. Army barracks. They are met on the dock by Sgt. Caudle who informs them that the team leaves tomorrow. During the day, they are trained in the use of cold-weather survival gear and some basic survival techniques (skill checks for Navigate, First Aid, and Climb). This is also the chance for any interviews with the native Inuits, who may have strange beliefs regarding hideous aquatic gods or strange mythical men who live far inland (see Curse of Tsathoqqua). The Keeper might even allow the investigators to view a tablet of ancient Hyperborean origin in the village elders' possession that may fortell of events to come.

Event 4: The Trip. The next day, the army team, along with the scientific expedition, head inland. This is the chance to include any other side-events such as a polar bear attack, a mad private succumbing to a fever brought on by the cold or the temple, or even a visit from the surviving Hyperboreans (ala Curse of Tsathoqqua). The trip overland will take 5 days so the opprotunities are open.

Event 5: The Temple. The temple, itself, is covered by a huge glacier. There is a large area where the Army's explosives cleared away part of the glacier. Behind what appears to be a cliff-face of glassy ice is the crumbling ruins of a black stone wall and a small opening. Just beyond, in the darkness, is what looks like a giant black step pyramid whose surface is worn and broken apart by the eons-old movement of ice over and around it. One more blast from the army dynamite opens a a way to the base of the wall and the opening. From the opening in the wall, a team with pick-axes can dig a tunnel to the entrance at the base of the pyramid.

Event 6: The Interior. The interior of the pyramid has been untouched for tens of thousands of years. The main entrance contains rows of hexagonal basalt columns. At the center of the pyramid lies a shaft that with a spiral staircase along it's wall reaching up to the top of the pyramid and the dark ice capping it and down like a well into the frozen darkness. The team is allowed to search all through the upper stories of the pyramid, including the Statue Room which houses blasphemous icons of the toad-god Tsathoqqua, the Treasure Rooms and their glittering troves, the Prayer Rooms where a generous Keeper might allow the team to find some lost relic of Hyperborean sorcery or science, and the Altar at the apex of the pyramid with the remains of the sacrificed dead nailed or spiked to the walls, forever entombed by the millenia of ice.

Event 7: The Tombs. Below the temple, however, lie the tombs of Krastonkon-Kel and Jareffdod, two powerful Hyperborean kings who are each guarded by a Formless Spawn of Tsathoqqua who will rise from their challices should the entrance of the tomb be entered. The team's only hope then may be to reach the exit alive and have the army demolition the entrance for good in the hopes of it never being breached again.

Event 8: The Return. On the way home, there may be some dissention as to what to do next. Any controversy will be cut short, however, as the expedition is hit by a massive and unnaturally powerful blizzard. Members may be cut off from each other or even die. The Inuits have summoned Ithaqua the Wind Walker to doom the expedition. If any team members make it out alive, it should be with little or no memorabilia or perhaps even sanity.

Picture of the Temple

Map of the Temple

Walrus Head, Greenland

Tablet found in Inuit possession.

Nontichuk, Inuit villager

Str=15, Con=18, Siz=14, Int=10, Pow=9, Dex=12, App=14, Edu=4, San=45, HP=16
Skills: Track 30%, Spot Hidden 60%, Swim 90%, Jump 30%, Climb 60%, Natural History (Greenland) 70%, Listen 50%.
Nontichuk is a helpful Inuit who is the Army's liason to the village. He is the only one who speaks understandable English and will act as an interpreter for any interviews or other interactions with the Inuit. He will also reveal what he knows of his village's beliefs and superstitions.

Jim Rutherford, Archeaology Graduate Student

Str=12, Con=11, Siz=11, Int=16, Pow=7, Dex=14, App=16, Edu=16, San=35, HP=11
Skills: History 30%, Archaology 20%, Library Use 20%, Dodge 28%, Read/Write Latin 40%, Read/Write Hyperborean 10%.
Jim is an ambitious grad student from Oxford who came across some curious references to a pre-Sumerian civilization called Hyperborea and is researching his finds here. He hopes to be on the verge of a great discovery. He will want to take all of the credit himself and will reject any plans to demolition the site or leave any of it's booty behind. In the end, if left to his own devices, this attitude will get him killed.

Melissa Jones, Journalist

Str= 15, Con= 16, Siz= 10, Int= 17, Pow= 18, Dex= 17, App= 16, Edu=15, San=90, HP=15
Skills: Own Language 90%, German 60%, History 50%, Fast Talk 20%, Bargain 40%, Spot Hidden 60%.
Melissa Jones is grudgingly following Jim Rutherford in the promise of a big scoop. She is also interested in history so the significance of this find is not lost on her. She will also be snoopy and nosy and generally get in everyone's way when they don't want her to.

Sgt. Dale Caudle, Army Seargent

Str=15, Con=18, Siz=14, Int=15, Pow=14, Dex=11, App=13, Edu=11, San=70, HP=15
Skills: Dodge 40%, Climb 30%, Navigate 50%, Inuit 10%, First Aid 40%, Handgun 40%, Rifle 60%, Demolitions 70%.
Caudle is a competent and caring commanding officer of a bunch of raw recruits who are training in demolitions here in Greenland. He leads a company of about 30 men ranging in age between 16 and 25. He is respectful of the land and the environment but is a little perplexed at times by the native culture. He is genuinely friendly and helpful and often courteous, but his command kicks in when necessary and he can be curt if required.