Commoriom Submission v3,17 (2)
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Transcript of Commoriom Submission v3,17 (2)
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A Submission for
Trail of Cthulhu
Commoriom
"I have yet to translate the terrible and
abominable legend telling how a certain doughty
citizen of Commoriom returned to the city after
its public evacuation, and found that it was
peopled most execrably and numerously by the
fissional spawn of Knygathin Zhaum, whichpossessed no vestige of anything human or
even earthly" ! Clar #shton $mith
The protagonists are members of an expedition to
excavate an ancient settlement buried beneath the
Greenland ice. Faced with conflict from within and
without, and the threat of approaching winter, the
expedition degenerates into a struggle to survive as
the team members realise that the true horror is
beneath the ice under their feet.
This scenario is inspired by the Hyperborean Cyclestories of Clark shton !mith, particularly The
Testament of Athammaus andUbbo-Sathla. "t is
recommended that the #eeper reads these short
stories before running this scenario. The story of
the $athieson %xpedition is told in the Call of
Cthulhuscenario Trail of Tsathogguaby the late
#eith Herber and published in the supplements
Trail of Tsathogghua, &'() and The Compact Trail
of Tsathoggua, &''*.
The Hook"n &'+, an archaeological team from $iskatonic
-niversity found evidence of an ancient settlement
beneath an ice cap in a remote valley in the
mountains of est Greenland. The protagonists are
members of a &'/& follow0up expedition to
excavate the site.
The Horrible TruthThe site is the ruin of Commoriom, the first capitalof the lost civilisation of Hyperborea, which thrived
before the last ice age. %ntombed in the city is a
dormant, monstrous race descended from
Tsathoggua and an alien device that inflicts visions
of life1s disturbing origins.
The SpineThe team members voyage to Godthb, where theycan confront a Rival Expeditionfrom Germany.
They then begin their arduous overland trek in
Evighedsfjorden. Tensions increase between
%thelrod, the team leader, and Granger, who is
struggling to conceal his alcoholism, leading to The
Death of Ethelrod. From %thelrod they can ac2uire
a dictionary of the lost Tsath-Yolanguage.
The team receives A Call for Helpfrom the crewof the German base ship, which has lost contact
with the overland team, giving the protagonists a
moral dilemma.
3uring their 4ourney, the characters find evidence
that strange %skimo are watching them and may
discover Gravesof members of the German
expedition, apparently attacked by an unknown
animal. text in their possession, when translated
with %thelrod1s book gives hints about the history
of the site.
Arriving at the Site, the protagonists find a Cube-
Shaped Struturewith walls inscribed with a
history of the pre0humans who first settled there.
5earby, the remains of the last members of the
German expedition can be found. 6n the valley
floor, a Shado! "nder the #eis visible.
They are harried by freak weather conditions and
attacks by a mysterious$east of the #e Sheet,
which continue until they link it with the clan of
strange %skimo that has been following them, andneutralise it.
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Exavating the Struture under the #e leads to
the discovery of an ancient tower entombed in ice.
3igging into The #e-Cho%ed stair!a&uncovers a
frie7e describing a history of Hyperborea and
eventually leads to a Cit& "nder the #e. "n a vault
under the ruins of a library is a crystal that can send
the mind back in time to the disturbing origins of
life on earth.
s the city1s inhabitants begin to awaken they try to
free their 8Father1, leading to the A!a%ening of
'n&gathin (hau). The protagonists1 only hope is
to flee.
However, even if they escape, the insight granted
by the crystal may still claim their minds.
Victory Conditions9ictory in this scenario means realising the horror
that lies in Commoriom, and surviving it,preferably with the site safely sealed.
Antagonist ReactionsThe rival Ger)an Expeditionis not a 85a7iexpedition1 in any official sense :there is no such
thing until the formation of the hnenerbe in &'/; especially the
esoterically inclined > believed in occult theories of
the uni2ue :or divine< origin of their ancestors on a
lost northern continent :referred to as 8Thule1 or
sometimes 8Hyperborea1 or 8tlantis1 a time
when the rmitage "n2uiry is in its formative
stages. "n &'+(, rmitage, Bice and $organ scored
a victory against the 3unwich Horror and soon 3r
lbert ilmarth 4oined them following hisencounter with the 86uter 6nes1 in the hills of
9ermont. Aust a few weeks ago, the =abodie
%xpedition returned from ntarctica with stories of
unknown prehistoric life forms and a vast range of
mountains dotted with strange structures.
6n his deathbed in &'+', =rofessor Curtis
$athieson revealed a number of unpublished
secrets about the &'+ expedition to his colleague
3r Francis $organ. $organ shared the story with
=rofessor rmitage and soon they were workingwith =rofessor %thelrod in %ngland to organise a
follow0up expedition for &'/+. However, in late
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and his friend and expedition member, ilfred
-pton0!mith. "t could be held in Iondon at the
Boyal Geographical !ociety or ?ritish $useum.
Drives
%specially dramatic and relevant 3rives for this
scenario, which should be encouraged by the
#eeper are
dventure
nti2uarianism
rrogance
Curiosity
"n the ?lood
!cholarship
Thirst For #nowledge"n the ?lood might be interesting if the character is
related to the Hyperborean ?lond %skimo.
Pillars of Sanity
The dominant theme of this scenario is the dignity
or otherwise of human origins.
6ne =illar of !anity that might be particularly
interesting dramatically is Family. character with
this =illar will have a firm conviction in the dignity
of their origins. "f Caucasian, they may believe inthe theory of the origins of their ancestors on the
lost continent of Thule. They may have heard tales
of 8blond %skimo1 in north0western Canada. They
may even subscribe to racist theories like the
5ational !ocialists of Germany.
s players can create their own =illars of !anity it
is impossible to provide an exhaustive list, but
several others from the Trail of Cthulhu rulebook
that may be particularly interesting are
Beligious Faith
Human 3ignity and 9alue
The #eeper should try to encourage some players to
pick from the pillars above.
3rives potentially undermined by %ye
nti2uarianism
Thirst For #nowledge
dventure
!cholarship
Curiosity
rrogance
/illars of Sanit&
Beligious FaithJ
FamilyJ
Human 3ignity and 9alueJ
!cientific =rogress K "ntellectGoodness of $ankind
$oral principles
esthetics
%picureanism
=atriotism
Iove of Home City
Senes
BriefingSene T&pe+Core :"ntroduction the
8granddaughter1 of the god)hotha**uahand a
sub0human 9oormis.
The city executioner beheaded him three times
and each time, witnesses later saw him alive,
more monstrous than before. 6n the first and
second occasion, #nygathin @haum killed and
ate one of the inhabitants of the city.
?y the third reappearance, he had
metamorphosed into a fully alien entity, and had
devoured many of the citi7ens, forcing the final
abandonment of the city.
former inhabitant of Commoriom returned to
the city one day and discovered it repopulated
with the monstrous offspring of #nygathin
@haum.
Translating it or reading an accurate translation will
grant & point of Cthulhu $ythos.The #eeper might consider using or adapting Clark
shton !mith1s story The Testament of Athammaus
for the content of the main body of the story.
The "nd of the Bauer"#pedition
$aybe they are all burned together outside :with
the statue< and a trailW
Sene T&pe+ 6ptional,Clue :?onus one of the !pawn of #nygathin @haum.
6nce uncovered, the spawn will begin to thaw and
awaken. !ee The #dol Tha!s.
Arhiteture or Arhaeolog& 6Core lue7+Thereis a stairway descending deeper into the ice.
Tunnelling the &tairwaySene T&pe+ Core
0ead-#n+ccessing the !tairway
0ead-1ut+3escent into the 3epths
"t takes ' days to reach the ice0free section of the
stairwell.
5ethods "sable+$anual %xcavation, "ce $elter,
%xplosives
stairwell runs around the inner perimeter of the
tower. !olidly constructed from granite, most of it
is still intact. There are places where steps have
eroded or broken and places where there are gaps.
Arhiteture+The stairway is constructed in apossibly uni2ue way, with the spiral of the stairway
growing narrow as one descends and the base of
one level seemingly supported by the level beneath
it.
6n the wall, there is a series of long panels,
seemingly of ancient ivory, with images and Tsath0
o hieroglyphs. These tell a history of Hyperborea,
beginning with the time of construction and going
deep into the past.
$iolog&+Confirms the material is ivory. How it gothere from frica or sia is a mystery. 3-/oint
spendnotes that the ivory must have come from
unusually large elephants.
Anthropolog&4 Arhaeolog&4 Cr&ptograph&4
0anguages4 or Cthulhu 5&thos+ith the help of
the Tsath0o dictionary, each panel is about a yard
wide and can be translated in about an hour. Three
panels are probably excavated in a day. For every
five panels translated, a 3-/oint spendis needed.
The content of the panels is as follows&. There are several yards where the panelling
is blank
+. The cult of houndeh, the %lk Goddess,
forbids the worship of the old god
@hotha22uah. 5ot daring to destroy them,
the @hotha22uah1s cube0shaped temples are
barred and locked.
/. #ing Io2uamethros is on the throne of
Commoriom, a high city of many spires and
gardens. @ylac the rchimage, apprentice ofHormagor, is granted 8The !eer1s Tower1 in
Commoriom
). @ylac, uses sorcery to create a tower of
black gneiss in $hu Thulan
;. The cult of houndeh becomes the royally
appointed religion. great temple is built in
Commoriom.
. The wi7ard Hormagor of bormis dies at
the hands of the !phinx of bormis. The
town is abandoned.
*. The great wi7ard @on $e77amalech
disappears mysteriously in $hu Thulan.
(. #ing $ennamethros of Commoriom gives
@on $e77amalech a tower in Commoriom,
now called 8The !eer1s Tower1
'. @on $e77amalechparts the northern seaand leads the army of #ing =harogill of
$hu Thulan there to plunder the treasures
of athousand sunken galleys&. @on $e77amalech has a tower of copper
built in $hu Thulan
&&. The hite !ybil of =olarion, a strange
woman from the realms of ice, foretells an
undescribed and abominable doom for all
mortal beings who dare to remain in
Commoriom
&+. Zueen Iuthomne takes the throne of
Commoriom. !he hold ecclesiastical courts.
!he builds a high tower in Commoriom,
which takes thirty years.
&/. !econd city is built called -7uldaroum
&). The Beign of #ing Hom2uat begins in
Commoriom
&;. Founding of Commoriom
&. City called 8Iomar1 settled by people from
@obna in the north
&*. %arly humans build temples to @hotha22uahthe old god of Hyperborea, in imitation of
the sub0human 9oormis
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&(. The 9oormis are driven away. They
congregate around $t. 9oormithadreth
&'. 3escendents of tall, thin antehumans leave
homelands in -ltima Thule in the north and
arrive in Hyperborea.
+. Cold causes the gradual decline of the
9oormis civilisation
+&. 9oormis build a settlement at Commoriom
including a cube0shaped temple to
@hotha22uah
++. The gods "tha2ua and phoom @hah cause
the continent to get steadily colder. realm
of glaciers gradually grows in the north.
+/. @hotha22uah destroys the colony of serpent0
men. Their former slaves, the 9oormis, are
free and begin to establish their own
civilisation on Hyperborea with@hotha22uah as their primary deity.
+). !erpent0men survivors from sinking of the
continent of 9alusia, found a colony in
Hyperborea, bringing 9oormis as slaves and
food source
t the end of this phase :where does this occur in
terms of the panelsX
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about normal behaviour and culture. Assess
Honest&will notice something is amiss if the hostis observed closely or interacted with.
Suffoate+The creature can use a limb to sei7e a
victim around the neck or simply smother with its
viscous body. pply the 3rowning and !uffocation
rules :Trail of Cthulhu rulebook =(
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stone door scattered around it. The doorway leads
to The 0ibrar&. The passage continues for asimilar length before reaching a second doorway.
This door is intact and open. =assing through the
doorway leads to The High Streetwhere one can
turn left or right.
Closing the door for the first time is an thletics
test against 3ifficulty &; and re2uiring tools to usefor leverage. For subse2uent attempts, it is
3ifficulty &+.
Exavation
allsX CobblesX ncient 3oorsX
High Street
From the "ce Corridor this can be followed left and
slightly uphill or right and slightly downhill. The
left branch terminates in a wall of ice and rock after
some + yards. The right branch leads to TheS,uare.
The street is wide and the forms of ancient homes,
towers, sidestreets and so on can be glimpsed along
it1s length offering a haunting vista of a primordial
city imprisoned in ice.
The walls are wet and pitted with narrow fissures.
There are also walls of huge stone blocks, with
what appear to be doorways and window spaces.
=rehistoric plantsX
Exavation+ 39 hours
%xcavation of the fissures reveals they are channels
leading into the ice.There are also fissures behindthe walls, doorways and windows. ?uried deep in
the ice, eventually another hibernating spawn will
be found. $ore of these can be found with a few
more hours of excavation.
The S
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ithian script and the dot0based cipher of the %lder
Things.
The entire collection here behaves like any
collection of =nakotic $anuscripts as described in
Trail of Cthulhu =age SS. Becovering each point
of Cthulhu $ythos worth of fragments to the
surface takes at least a day.
Translating, collating and interpreting this materialis a pro4ect that would takes years. However, with
the aid of the Tsath0o dictionary and a +0=oint
spend in Iibrary -se, it1s possible to collate and
translate enough of the material for an overview.
0anguage+Tsath0o :with passages in %lder !criptand ithian a bloated trunk, with a
one0eyed 8face1 emerging from its midsection, and
a second eye beneath that. Two long tentacles with
8fingers1 like knots of writhing snakes emerge from
its 8shoulders1 and a cup0like mouth protrudes at the
top. The lower limbs are a mass of slender
proboscides covered in suckers.
#nygathin @haum can attack with each of its two
tentacles in a single round. Iike his spawn, he canassume the form of a viscous, black li2uid. nd
most forms of physical in4ury will simply flow
closed.
thletics &+, Health ++, !cuffling +(
Hit Threshold+/
8eapon+ D; :trample