Read Any Good Books Lately?
Reply
Tag Archives: cthulhu
Whisperer in the Darkness
(courtesy of
Hey There Cthulhu
Curse of the Yellow Sign, Act 2 at IPR!
Act 2: Calling the King is live at Indie Press Revolution!
At the turn of the century
In an abandoned hotel
In the dead darkness of winter
Six actors sit to read a cursed play
Calling the King is the second in a series of Call of Cthulhu scenarios all linked by the Yellow Sign. The Curse of the Yellow Sign scenarios contain no blasphemous books, no monsters, no cultists and no Library Use rolls. Only ordinary humans confronted with the true nature of the universe. They are designed to be played in a single evening with limited preparation and maximum impact, filled with the kind of ruthless game master techniques you’d expect from John Wick.
In an abandoned hotel
In the dead darkness of winter
Six actors sit to read a cursed play
Calling the King is the second in a series of Call of Cthulhu scenarios all linked by the Yellow Sign. The Curse of the Yellow Sign scenarios contain no blasphemous books, no monsters, no cultists and no Library Use rolls. Only ordinary humans confronted with the true nature of the universe. They are designed to be played in a single evening with limited preparation and maximum impact, filled with the kind of ruthless game master techniques you’d expect from John Wick.
Calling the King contains:
Full map of the hotel
6 pre-generated and illustrated characters
Excerpts from Act 1 of The King in Yellow
Theories on the ever-mercurial, seemingly shapeshifting play
Tons of advice and playtest notes
Curse of the Yellow Sign, Act 2 Now Available at DriveThruRPG
At the turn of the century
In an abandoned hotel
In the dead darkness of winter
Six actors sit to read a cursed play
Calling the King is the second in a series of Call of Cthulhu scenarios all linked by the Yellow Sign.
The Curse of the Yellow Sign scenarios contain no blasphemous books, no monsters, no cultists and no Library Use rolls. Only ordinary humans confronted with the true nature of the universe. They are designed to be played in a single evening with limited preparation and maximum impact, filled with the kind of ruthless game master techniques you’d expect from John Wick.
Calling the King
contains:- Full map of the hotel
- 6 pre-generated and illustrated characters
- Excerpts from Act 1 of The King in Yellow
- Theories on the ever-mercurial, seemingly shapeshifting play
- Tons of advice and playtest notes
Curse of the Yellow Sign Actual Play
*MAJOR SPOILERS! MAJOR SPOILERS! MAJOR SPOILERS!*
Check out these actual play notes over at www.story-games.com! Scaaaaary!
Cthulhu Prints from CotYS Artist, Aaron Acevedo
Aaron’s been receiving requests for prints from Curse Of The Yellow Sign, so King In Tatters (12×18 inches) is now available. Signed and personalized with a Cthulhu doodle. Through the weekend, you can get ‘em for $10, free shipping anywhere. Same goes for any of his old Cthulhu prints. If you have any questions, ping him at aaronace[at]gmail[dot]com.
Note: Because I believe in artistic ownership, all the art Aaron did (and will do) for Curse of the Yellow Sign belongs to him and him alone. (I’m just renting it.) So, all of the cash goes to him. As it should be.
[CotYS] Act 2: Calling the King
Curse of the Yellow Sign: Act 2
Digging for a Dead God: 7,000+ words.
Calling the King: 17,000+ words.
I guess Act 3 is gonna be 27,000+ words or something. Sheesh.
This one is a toad strangler, folks. Last night, I woke up from a very intense dream and could not get back to sleep. I decided to get some writing done. I plopped down in front of the Mac and started typing… but after about thirty minutes, I started feeling… something. Just a sense of real dread. And for a moment, I knew that if I turned around, the Man in Black would be standing in the doorway. I knew it.
I turned slowly… and he wasn’t there.
At least, he wasn’t there when I looked.
I quickly retired back to the bed and put myself back to sleep as quickly as possible.
Now, writing in the afternoon, I still get that itch down my spine every once in a while. And the cat jolting around isn’t helping.
The writing is mostly done. I’m gonna run one more playtest on Friday then hand it off to Aaron for art and layout.
And hopefully–hopefully–I’ll have the PDF for sale at Gencon.
Don’t read this one alone, folks. Just don’t.
Act 1, Scene 3
(Uoht the Younger and Uoht the Elder approach the castle at the gate. The wind and snow blow around them.)
ELDER
Have you seen Mother? I have heard looks as close to death as a corpse.
YOUNGER
Closer to a corpse puts us closer to the Throne.
ELDER
Your ambition is tasteless, brother.
YOUNGER
It tastes sweet to Cassilda.
ELDER
Her tastes are just as bitter as yours.
YOUNGER
How would you know, brother? Tasted her often?
ELDER
You disgust me. Listening to your plots makes me wonder if I should be so concerned when I sit on the Throne.
YOUNGER
Be silent! Someone approaches!
(ENTER Cassilda)
CASSILDA
(CASSILDA hugs the ELDER and kisses the YOUNGER)
My brothers! And why home so soon? Is the war over?
ELDER
Alas, no. It seems it has only begun.
YOUNGER
Our armies did not fare well against the Enemy, sister.
CASSILDA
When news reaches the streets, the strees shall not be silent.
YOUNGER
They will want blood.
ELDER
They can find it in the veins of our Enemy.
CASSILDA
They will find it in the walking corpse that sits on our Throne.
YOUNGER
Aye, if that corpse has any blood left in her.
ELDER
That is our mother you speak of, brother. You will keep your tongue civil in your head or I will cut it out for you.
YOUNGER
(to CASSILDA)
Our brother has not taken well to the defeats our Enemy has given us.
ELDER
You speak as if they were gifts.
CASSILDA
They are gifts, brother. Do you not see? We can use the defeats and the risk of revolt to restore sanity to the Throne.
ELDER
Sister…
CASSILDA
She says she can see Carcosa on the lake.
ELDER
No…
CASSILDA
Every day, she stares out the window. Every night, she walks the halls. Sleepless. Afraid to sleep. The apothecary has given her a powder to keep her safe from dreams. She says she is eager to call the King.
ELDER
You will be silent, now!
YOUNGER
If it is true, brother…
ELDER
If it is true, I shall see it for myself!
CASSILDA
You shall, Uoht. You shall.
