The Night of the Jackals

Details

Cthulhu by Gaslight (3rd Edition)

Pages: 26

Author(s): Kevin Ross

Artist(s): Adam Denton, David Grilla, John T. Snyder, Steff Worthington (maps), Dean Engelhardt (handouts)

Setting: 1890s

Appears in: Cthulhu by Gaslight, Third Edition

Summary

What begins as a murder turns into an exposure of a wartime secret and then a deadly foray into the Egyptian occult.

Links

• Neil Lennon's Cthulhu by Gaslight 3rd Edition review on RPG.net
• High-quality handouts from Cthulhu Reborn

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

 Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
In 1884 a company of the British Army raided the small village of Abadan, Egypt, and dismantled a cult that worshipped dark forces in the Nile region for thousands of years. After the attack, while the company men shared the riches, Colonel Nicholas Hollingsworth brought with him a collection of scrolls and a mummy case containing the preserved body of Sekh-T'aut, the Abadan Cult first priest.

In 1890, investigators get involved in the matter after Alan Paice, related to one of the investigators and former soldier in the company that raid Abadan, have to attend two funerals on the same week, both from men who served with him in that company. As the investigation continues, death follows the PCs and, one by one, the company men keep dying in violent fashion and a mysterious figure seems to be implicated. The enormous figure is the Child of the Sphinx, a muscular, solid-looking creature with a canine head, controlled by a group of cultists who intend to resurrect Sekh-T'aut and fullfil an ancient prophecy . Investigators must reach an uncooperative Nicholas Hollingsworth before the cultists, and thwart their evil plan.

References

Player Handouts:

• Newspaper clippings;
• Passages from The Scrolls of the Abadan Cult.

Locations: London, England.

Creatures: Zombie, The Jackal-headed One.

Tomes and Artifacts: (none)

Comments

The following data is included for use in this scenario but may also be useful somewhere else:

• Statistics for three zombies;
• Statistics for five hardy constables;
• Description of Social Clubs during the Victorian Era, with rules, fees, etc..

The scenario contains two new spells:

• The Ward of Anubis, used to ward a room and inform the caster of intrusions into it;
• Spectral Dagger, which creates the effects of an invisible blade that can be used as an offensive weapon.

Keeper Comments

According to the author, the scenario is intended as an introduction to the Victorian era role-playing, it offers a mystery that can be tantalizing enough to confound even veteran players. Still, the scenario does not present anything particularly Victorian, and could be easily transplanted to the 1920s.