The Forbidden Isle
Details
Pages: 17
Author(s): Stuart Boon
Artist(s):
Setting: 1920s
Appears in: Shadows Over Scotland published by Cubicle 7
Campaign:
Summary
With plans of turning the island into a luxurious playground for Britain’s rich and famous, Sir George Bullough invites the investigators to the Western Isle of Rum to discover why neighbouring islanders refuse to set foot on the ‘Forbidden Isle’, and what nameless horror has claimed the island for its home.
Links
Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only
Players should not read any further.
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
Sir George Bullough's father, John Bullough, summoned an Outer God, the Blackness from the Stars. People started disappearing from the island. Eventually, it was abandoned.
John Bullough is not dead but is controlled by the Blackness. Now that his son is bringing people back to the island, the Blackness will feed again.
References
Player Handouts:
- Letter from Sir George Bullough
- John Bullough’s Scribbled Note
- Picture of Etched Table Top
- Bullough Mausoleum Plaque
Locations: Isle of Rum, Mallaig (tangentially)
Creatures: The Blackness From The Stars
Tomes and Artifacts: True Magick, Revelations of Glaaki, The Secret Watcher, Magic and the Black Arts
Campaigns / Scenarios:
Comments
Keeper Comments
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
The Keeper's Information section is incomplete. It does not contain the "big reveal" i.e. John Bullough is not dead but is instead a mindless killer stalking the island and controlled by the Blackness. Confusingly, this information is left out of the preamble and put at the end of the scenario.
Some Keepers may find the plot unsatisfactory. It seems unbelievable that an unarmed old man has been running around a small island for years breaking into houses, killing people (including a policeman) and dragging them away with no witnesses apart from a small child. Would a coroner accept that Bullough was dead and interred without seeing the body? Who put the brass nameplate on the mausoleum? Wouldn't a crypt full of rotting bodies attract attention?
A suggested improvement would be to drop the sections on the sitting room, attic, basement and mausoleum i.e. John Bullough is dead possibly killed by the Blackness or suicide. Make the Blackness the sole killer using some supernatural power e.g. it sends nightmares that eventually consume the soul (POW) of the victim. Choose an Investigator with the lowest POW as its next victim and make the adventure a race against time.
