DARKLAW

A Call of Cthulhu Mini-scenario

by Simon Redgrave
This mini-scenario is suitable fo r a party of 3-5
Invest igators with a ny leve ls o f skills, and can be
incorpo rated into an existing campa ign with minimum
effort on the pan of the Keeper (Games Master).
I(you intend screaming in this scenario please stop reading
here. The rest of the information is for the Keeper alone.

Til k" P.... IfC- C:

K "v~er' s Background
Ame lia and A lfre(! 8esam were 11 happilv married, ou twardly conven
tion, l, co uple. Ame lia was nOI i'ln outgOIng person, but was tl lw evs
coun eous 10 her neig hbours, Alfred was the opposite. 11 churCh-goi ng
Rep ubliCan aCl ivis\. deeply involved in Ihe aHa irs of Ihe community

Thlln. wilM otH w<trnmg. Allred 's behaVIO\,H ch&nged com plete IV. He
b t!~a m r. dil\tant lind begen to spend m uch of h is t ime watching his wife
er)d he, doin\js, Lille on e Autumn evening in 1898 Alfred arrived at the
local uulice precinct in a very dis tres sed st",,! He wllS covered in blood. II
bUTch er's kn ife was clutched in his hand. end he was babbling
incoherently. When the volice visited the house they could find no sign
of Ame lia. but plenty of eVidence that some kind of struggle had at:Ofhel-()( $"llh loe a tions....-=..U1emp..~R9ebourA:ltred-Benn~
occurred. There was little choice but 10 try Alfred Besimt for the murder ..uiLJl,-a-nole-mabook-mergltt-ebovl... meh8"81"1d-h-er tult con nect 1000lbttt
01 hiS wire. Daspit", ti le lack of II body Alf red was conVIcted and confined oo.t.bel Imponence~ mapolanaua,ol-a.New-Engl!!ttd'lowr1'WTtl"tthe
in Ihe local asylu m. He never spoke again. AoI.I6~rly-marked -=-orbe-senrlby-""' 1 ,alevel pal! 011 tlleymi~
<tnvefltgal e-tne-m'r'SteHOus-!l'IalHl\!Agft"'"- -_
On August 3r d. 1907. Alfred Bes~nt was found dead In his cell. having
Iliken his own lifr. , It ~p.p.mcd that no-one would ever know what he had
seen or done Th e house had been shul upwhen he wa s jai led, and upon Sources of Background Information
his death the femily lawyers geve orders tha t il was t o be locked and
boa rded up It has remllined that way unlil the present day (sometime Once the InveS'l~ators havf real ised ,hat Ihe Besant t'louse is to be th e
duro'nu 1922), but now IIppears to be haunted - stra nge lighls heve ares of Iheir adventure th ey may well ..... ish t o resei.lrch into any
bI: 1(111'1 , 'lnd children and animals will not go nelr !he place . ba ckgr ound m& te rial tha ! may be ava ilable TheSE are
~

The !ru!h of the Besanl alfa i. is bizIIH!!. Amel ia was a p"eSless of a
m inor Y'golon ac CUlt, a splln te. gr oup of un!! in Bosl on Alfre d dId nOt
know th is w hen he m arried her, and w as horrified when he discovered
(he truth. He Sludied his w ife's books of arClln e and forbidden
know ledgp., and th is Alo ne partially unhinged hi S mmd. He scratched the
Elder Sign on Ihe ~ l lchen door and on I lJu tC; h6r'S kn ife . th en anacked
hIS wife wh ile Y'go lonac was tak ing posse ssi on of her body, Th e sighl of
,he partial trllnsforma lion to Y'golonac's form completed hi~ descen t
into insanity
Due to a fluke of th e occult and the effect s of the Elder Sign , Y'golonac
wu unllble to lea ve Ame lia's bod y, so she ent,ered a su ,e 0 1 undl!!at h.
Alfr ed realised th is w ilh what remeined of his intel lect li nd hid the body,
Rec ently. the house has been ent ered by Howard Martin. a dislllni
rell ' ive of Am elia and a fellow c ull member. wllh hIS dIsciples. A fter
locating the body uSing occult meth ods. M llrtm has been an emptlr)g ' o
eXlrect In formation from Amel ia's stiU-a ctrve br ain. using e machine
Ihat he has developed.
IneorpOldlioii iilto an BXfslIng campalgii
- 9AR'I<:t:A'n Ilillt be se t i I af II' New !llgla.ld tOw" III 1922 ~eler e. lees I;
19 II$LiLoLio IS e e illtel tic 10'111" .ague. i n!! Kesper m.ey add as illucll
~II' '9 gF 8~l e liKes. Tire I(ceper cail it iCO, po, ate tllis d 0'1 Ire Into
~peigll ii, a I IOhlbEI O! Ways, bO! tilE h,oestig8\O, 5 51 eulo b e gi,,'n
~ IH"'~ I l1e, e e abOUI to e'iCOOlliel
Police The police have all I he superfIcial details ollhe Besant ca5e.
They do nOI know of Ihe occult connecllons of M rs Beunt. or 01 the
'havn ungs. InveShgat ofs should have 10 use rflSI Talk skIll 10 ga in
eccess and Law skill to enracl l he information
A.ylum Reco rda The asVlu m racords gIve dei ails of Alf red 8eS/lnt's
;n~ a r ~ e ration and medical ~ond itio n - shO WI ng that he was suffering
fr om stupefaction (see CAll OF CTHUlHU r ule bouk.. p24, Table 481.
S l.J c~ ess l l.J1 Wie o f Fasr Talk s~ i ll WIll gaIn a~eess 10 tMe records and use
01 PsychotJJnlf lys is skill w ill gain understend ing of the informalion
New,paper Arcnivu . These con ta in mUCh Ihe same inform ati on a5 Ihe
polIce rec or ds, th ough In I senSltl on ahsed account spreed ove r several
issues. Use of Fast Talk. or a Ch araCtlH background as a Journalist w ill be
l eqUlred to look 0'11 Ihe record s, Informat ion may be extracled
automallcally. but the Keeper should decIde how long Inis w ill tl ke.
County Recorda Office - The CRO has detaIls of the Irial of All red
Beunl Other records WI ll show tha t the Beu nt nouse is curremlv
unOCCUp ied end owned by IMe M artin l amilv from C~lifornia , Anvol'18
may inspect the reco rds. but su~~essf u l use of La w ski ll is req uired to
gain the informa ti on
loe.! MU'lIum , The town museum hu the butcher's knife 'that Alfred
was carrying S~ratched on Ihe blede, but hidde n by the dr ied blood that
still covers il, is Ine Elder $lgn. lnY1lluglll0rs mak ing a Spot Hidden roll
w ill notice that something is engraved upon the blaOe

_The ",d' VI 1"1'''9 I ; the BenD! hO Il " $" ~e as ' rlfres' S& the Nei9l'1bouu The people who live nea r the Besa nt house Will know litl le.
Ite~s l (es Tl 'e hl\1BSligatol$ 1,Iet dlsco.el efe en~% ' 0 'he hOI 'ie. o!her than (he flClth al 'somebody ' - never the speaker - hIS leen
,.
 ,~RKUW
ghls in the old house The Besin! place is shunned by everybody, and
1e locclls use the memory of Alfred as a bogeyman to scare disobedient
hildren, A number of people will also mention (along w ith mUCh other
,ossip) that a "few cals have dillppeared recently ,
r he House
-he Besant house is sel in overgrown gardens, It is twenty yards back
rom the main road, protected from prying eyes by tha trees wh ich hllve
~een untended since Alfred dapaned. Th!! house is stili In a reasonable
condition, despite heving had little attention for the past twenty years. It
IS furn ished throughout in conventional 1890s style . AU the downstai rs
w indows are barred w ith wooden shutter . 8$ are the front and back
doors. The upstairs windows appear to be locked. and very fitthy.
One person mey attempt to forCI! one of the downstairs w indows
(success reQui res a STFt of 20 or more) and the doors may be forcad by
IWO people (reQ uiring a STFt of 35 or more) A 5-mlnute search will
reveal a stepladder hidden behind some overgr own shrubs. Despite its
m ildewed condiTion it is still sound and cen be used 10 re acl1lhe Upstairs
windows Itl1ese can be tor ced open by any person witl1 a STFt of 4 or
greater). A Spor Hidden roll must be made to see through any of the
windows, and Ihen no real deta il can be m.de oul .
Breaking through one of the doc.s or ground floor WIndows will " Iert the
curr",nt occupents of the house (Bruno, Duval, Darby. Martin lind
Dl:I l t he raven - sal: Ihe Chlracte r Rolter 11 th e end of Ihis
&Cer~' ''' I. Duval lind Dartly will be sent to investi gate the noise, w hile
the other men attempl to h ide the ev.dence of the ir occult activitIes.
They will not bft outwardly hostilt! to Ihe Invest.gators unless they are
met w ith 10rce: they will merelv demand tnat I he Investigators leave the
premises immediately. If This reQuest is not complied with they wil l
tnreate n to call the police -en empty threat Since they do nOt Wish to
have Ihe police Involved. II the ir bluH is called. Duvl l and Darby will use
torce .nd calt lor help. Darklaw Ihe reven w ill arflve ld4 ,ounds later
and im mediately attack Bru no wi ll arrive ldJ rounc:ts after Darklaw
Martin WIl l nOt become involved in combat unless he has no choice
Entry through one of the upstairs w indows w ill nOl Immediately alen
Manln and hts disciples Pr()\tlded th8t I he Investigators keep noise to a
minimum they will be able to move abou t w ithout attlacllng IIl1ention
EngagIng in CunverSlltion With any 01 th e occupants will n ot neces sarily
illert the olhers - unless thst particular disciflle is allowed 10 warn his
fellows Fighting will always elerllhe occull ists and draw them to I he
scene of a fight in a Similar manner 10 that described above.
1 Thll Foyer
This room is littered With rubbish and old newspapers In the middle 01
the floor stand s an old bicy cl e w ith its saddle and fronl w l1eel missing .
Th!! rubbis h blocks the fr ont doorway. but n can be cleared away in two
melee ro unds. A successful Spot Hidden roU w ill reveal a key ring
han rom a hook by The fron t door, now covered by cobwebs. There
3rA \,,_ .evson nle ring ~ one each for the front door, th e back door. the
ground floor windows and Ihe first floor w indows .
2 . The Dining / Sitting Room
This large room Is very delapidated. Thera ii nothing of relevance TO the
Investlgalors ' mil l ion
3 . The Kitchen
The nonh door is ajar, and inspeclion w ill show that it cannOl be closed
propttrl~ . Scretched on Ihe kilChen side of illS the Elder 8i gn. now faded
almOST beyond recognition - a successful Spot Hidden roll must be
made to notice It.
Many of the room's contents - ma inly lables, chairs and cupbo8rds -
have been overturned or smuhed. Still in one piece are the wood
burning rang e wh ich served es a cooker, and an empty chesl 01 drawers
The oven is the home of Duvll t"s pet raven . Darklaw. As the door is shut,
Darklaw gels in .nd oul ViR the flue. w hich runs up through Ihe ceilmg.
evenlUally leadino into Ihe chlmnev syStem of the house. lJnleu he has
been previously encoun ter ed D8rklaw w ill be in 1'115 oven / nest 50% of
the time. The rest of the time he will be walch ing Mani" 's doings wil h
Ihe machine in room 9 w ith enormous inlereSt.
Assum ing the Invesligatorsare able to oefea! Darklaw{he w ill flee when
he has t.ke n 5 or more poinll of damage). or he is absent whe n the oven
door is opened, the Investigator5 w ill find I curious joinl of melft. A
successful Zoology skill roll willellow this to be recogn i sed as a cat's
torso. It is Darkl,w wh o is the cause of tl1e v.n lshing c,ts - he is ealing
them.
'8
Should Darklaw be forced to flee, he w ill f ly th rough the panial ly open
northern door to the Lower Land ing, up the stair well and Ihen outside
throu gh one of the upstairs w indows. Darklaw can break any of the
ups"irs Windows He will then attempt 10 find Duval or M enln.
4 . Th, Lower L..nding
From here a staircase leads up to the firSI floor .
S . The library
Unlns previOUSly encoun tered. Duval and Darbr w ill be in here. Their
rea clions to peop le that they regard as intruders wil l be as previously
described Any noise of combat in here w ill attract the attention of the
olher cult members
The furrllshlng 01 the library includes Ihree large lealher -backed chai r s.
Ihe covers now cr acked with age. A spiral staircase in one corner leads
up 10 Ihe first floor . A sea rch of Iha room wil l reveal. large, (br a nd new),
bird perCh. overturned and covered in beak scratches. An y Investigator
mak'i ng a successful Spar Hidden roll w ill not ice : hal there is an
unopened tin of b irdseed in a wastepaper basket (Bruno boughllhis for
Darklaw. to tne ,musement of his comrades).
The bookcil ses on the nonh, south and east walls are full of books. now
largely mildewed. The or iginal owners (Amel ia and Alfred) had ca thol ic
tastes aM the Keeper should fee l free to make up titles for Ine books.
There are two signillca", items In the bookcases
The fir st is a coPy of Witch-Cvlts in Wesl em Evrope 1588 CAll OF
CTHULHU rules , p60, Table 6A), wh ich conta ins the spe ll Elder Sign
The second is I fragment of a page, Iring on its own. It IS f rom a copy of
the Reve/lllrons of G/llltki(ibid). It requires a success ful Read EngliSh roll
to be u nderstood, bUI il can be read on the spot in secon ds. II reads lhus
" ,lIlity. seilled forever. His manifold priBslS hll~e the IIbility to
IIssvme his form. which un bll fiAened to thlll of a headless IIpe.
Slavering, movrh Itke sfits gllPIl fromhispillms, lind with these he
eats souls ...
I
The te~l is otherw ise unreadable. but in spidery hand writ ing 8t the
bonom of Ihe page are the word s:
'However, he mlly only prey upon those who hllve lead rhe
RBvallltions o( G/IlII/f.i. II pagll of wh ich yov now hold in your
!
h,nd'.
The pege is a Irick.. lattlhere by Amelia Basantto trap the unwary and
make Ihem vu lnera bl e to Ygolonac . A roll on dloo less than the
Invest igators INTx3 w ill add one 10 the reader 'S Crhvlhu Myrhos skill.
6 . The Siairwell
Thi $ connects room 5 Ithe Libre!)') with the ettie. and opens ou t onto the
master bedroom on the first floor. The stairs up to the anic ara wooden
and unsafe, and w ill colla pse if cha racters of Iota! SIZ 30 or gre ater step
onto them. This w ill attract the allention of Man in and his disciples.
7. Bedroom .
Un l i ~ e the rooms on the lower floor, this is str ang ely clean - no Spot
Hidden roll is needed to not ice Ihis - for a house tnal has been
abandoned for more than twenly years Duval lind Darby use il as a
bedroom, but although it is fully provided w ith beds, tables . closets, etc.
there are no personal items.
8. Bedroom
This IS Manln's bedroom, and is as cl eanas room 7 above . Aga in, there
are no personaluems.
The connecting doorway 10 room 9 (the Marter Bedroom) is wedged
shul from the other si de. An anempt to force It open je STR of 11 or
more for luccess) w ill alert Mart in, w ho w ill be w orking on hera un lass
he has been preVIously encountered. If he is ale ned I'll' w ill call for help.
Anyone listening al the w edged door w ill hear e curious machanical
bUll. mede by Marti n's electrical apparatu s.
9 . Th' Mli lit Bedroom
The old meSlel bedroom is now empty 01all furnoture end t he carpet is
rolled back agamst one wa ll. In Ihe cen tre of Ihe room is a Cilbinet.
r oullhly three feel in each dimension - I rough cu be made of steel
mounTed upon I trolley.
Unless encountered elsewhere. Mart in w ill be manipuilling the
conlrol' set inl o th.s cabinet. There is a 50% chance that D.rkll w will
also be here. wll ch ing Ihe operations curiously M anin wi ll only attack
if he believes that he cen w in eas ily If he does 50 he w illalso cal l for help
f rom his diSCiples - Bruno w illertlve ld4 melee rounds eher the call
and Duval and Darby I d3 melee rounds aher 111m.
1lo(AGJ}.""I; ...,..... AprIl "'*'

F1u~ Flut
10
2
....."" 8
-~
5 m
I ~ Spiral Stai rcase
Ground F loor F irst Floor
IT all 1001<5 hopeless, or if his machine is 1I1I1181I1n6d , Martin w ill
su rrender . When Questioned he will fir st cllim That he and his
"assistants' ere using the hou se as aillhoratMy. well away from prying
~'1~~ . '., will claim thllt the machine is II device for acce lerilled healing
at .", md tha t he has been lesting II on Oarby M a rl in w ,lItry to ma ke
the b~f 01 IhlS e.o::plenatlon - stating min the ceremonl sl robes he and
'1'5 diliClples are w earing 8re laboratorv coals etc. He Will discouf<tge all
IIUemplS 10 examme the machine.
It lh ls falls to conv ince IIH~ Investigalors he w ill clai m that he is II
bootlegger - li nd thai "things w ill be better for all co ncerned if they
leave him ilium;,' ,
The c abi net IS, in fa ct the m en\('ll pr obe IMBt MaMin has been usinll to
re ach tha Still ;!cl ivEi brilin r'J1 Amr. Ii,,~ corps!! . In the cen tre 01 one side is
a larlle dill I w ith flumtJt.r~ raflging I rom 1-10. Baneath thiS IS a Slldmg
rheoslllr The cabmet has various other dials. soc!o;ets and switches. but
these are un impomlnt, and ha ve no real eHect upon I" function in these
circum!:tllnces. The cllb illet hums With elec\ flClIy (allhough II has no
vi siblt:! power source ). and anyone tOUChing It Wi ll receive a m inor
electric shock. This shoCk w ill not tllU5e IIny dll mage.
Apart from the machine there is li ttl e of interest in the room It is entirely
WOod panelled. and illumin<ltion is provided by II !lillie candl e in e<lch
corner of the roo m. Th e w edge under the connec ting door to room 8 can
be rem oved in 1 IIltllee round
In one w all are two alcoves. both of wh ich origi na lly had shelves . Those
of th!" -i" hl hand sleove now fie in an untidy heap m front of the left hand
aler. " tin removed these after he had discovered the whereabouts
of A I"'...." a esan!'s bod), Her remainli are hidden behind Ihe wooden
panelling ilt Ihe h ilr.k of Ihr. alcove He has not uncovered the remains .
because I'ris mDchine has allowed A melie' s unstable brain to re '
establiSh lIS severed links w ith her body. He is efreid thetthe crea tu re
w ill go beserk and allack him (see below l or A melia's st atistics)
If the Inves t igators tamper w ith the mach ine they w ill see that as th e
rhcostat is moved the needle on thft dial mo ve s also. If t he needle
reeches '4 ' or higher the Investigators w ill hear 8 th umping no ise from
behind the right h and alcove . If the needlr appr oeches '8 ' th is no ise w ill
becomt! inCI ea~ i ngly vigorous. and if Ihe needle e~eee ds 'B' the cadave r
will burSl lorth end anaek liS to rm entors. Should th e Investigators break
into her fina l r estinll place before they tamper With the machine. they
w ill find A meHa's diSlasleful corpse in a marvellous state of
preservation, vinually mummified by the dry atmosphere behind the
alcove A succes 51uI Spot HIdden roll Will Ind lClllthal an Investigetor
has noticed the cor pse still wear s a wedding r rng However, II the
reild ing on Ihe diel hll$ previously ex ceeded '5', the cre,l I\ure w ill be alive
and hostile , 11 Will remll in in this stllte lor five houri, bel ore once aga in
falling beck Into undee l h
Amelia Be.. nt
STR 19 CON 20 SI2 13
INT 17 POW 01 DEX 02
CHA 00 EDU 13 SAN 00
MOVE 8
ARM OU R, 2 pOI n! sk in . and impaling wea pons do
m inimum damage.
SAN LOSS . If SAN rolila ils lose Ide SAN points. There is
no loss if the roll IS successful.
Flue
DAJUaAH'
KEY
-==W Window
. o . Door
EiiiiW Barred Wind ow
IJIfi5W Boa rded D oor
Staircase (Up)
L-:=:=,JI2 ~
Attic Feet 1- . ~
Her only weapons il re her fists (50% a1l8C~ skill, l d6+ Id6"'special
d llmil~el
Due 10 the peculiar circumstances of her death Amelia has unusual
powers and sppea renee . partl y due to the fragment of Y'golonac Irapped
w ithrn her - rmmortal senuence being not Ihe leas! of these!
She IS looks hideous. her head being a compr essed, ronen stump
mounted askew o n her shoulders. Two gaping holes are visible in Ihe
palms ot her ha nds. She anacks once per melee round w ith her fists and
should she hil II nyone wh o has read a pllg e from the RevelBtions 01
G/ailk; Isuch as th e one in Room 5, the Library) she will cau se speci al
demslle, This will !lIke the lorm 01a perm!nen) drain of 1 point of INT. as
w elles the normal da malle caused by II hi\. Someone who has had II
palle 01 mlllerial rea d to Ihem is nOl vulnerable to Ihis INT drain. lI a
character's INT snou!d reach O. the char acter is dead
Am elia's corpse w ill foll ow the Inve51rgetofS. even if theY 90 outside I he
house. However. if it is burnt or subjected 10 a strong lighl (such lIS
dayli ght), it w ill explode . This explOSion wi ll cause 1d4 points 01 damage
10 all those w ilhin 6 ya rds.
The candles ti cks i n t he room could be sold tor $ 75 each. The machi ne is
worth 5225 to a SCientist.
10 . Th e Upstairs Corridor
Th is is an alm ost emply corr idor. the on ly feature of intere st being I he
flu e from room 3. the Kitchliln , It Bruno Isee character destriplion and
fOOm lOa . bliliow) makes a successful Lislen roll w he n the InveSligliors
enter the upper floo r of the house he w ill be in nere. He wi ll attempt to
use hiS Hui e in Shadows skill to ambUSh the InveSligators if he can.
1 0 . Bruno' . ' Bedroom'
Th iS seet,on of cor r idor is used by Bruno as his bedr oom. If he has not
bee n encountered preVious ly he w ill be here
The corridor co nta ins a mattress. a work ing ma n's coat w ith 52.02 in the
pockets. a book of hl iry tale s. an incomp lete aeropl ane mode l buil t lrom
matches end a gold l oc~et with a pictur e of a middle- aged woma n in it.
The locket piclure is of Bruno's mother. and he is deeply atlll ched to it.
The Keeper should decide - dep ending upon the el!:act circums ta nces
- whether a thre allO th is locket wou ld pr ovoke 01 pacify Bru no.
11 . Balcony
ThiS Will probably prove to be the Investigators ' first means of ent ry into
the hou5fl A successful Spot HIdden roll w ill revea l chisel marks on the
WIndow fram e. made w hen MaMin and his disciples entered the house
12 . The Anic
Th is room is cramped. da rk and r Bl her musty. It is crammed wit h tea
ch esls. w hich con ta on an assoMmen) 01 Interesting . but irrelevant,
objects. Th e Keeper should feel fr ee to crU te any wOMh less items,
Poli ce Invo lvement:
tf a gunf,ghl develops between the Investlgllors an d the cullists I he
pollee w ill be called to investlgal e Ihe disturbance. Alt h.s Jloint the flow
of the adventure is largely in the hands of I he Keepe r. M aMon and his
disc iples have every (Ighl to be in the house - he IS a m ember 01 t he
ow ning fam lly - a nd mentlonong the occult w ill nOllmpress the peirce
17
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