View source for The Mask Of Neil Marlow's Pet

==Details==

'''Pages:''' 10

'''Author(s):''' [[Simon Yee]]

'''Artist(s):''' [[Simon Yee]]

'''Setting:''' [[1920s]](?) [[Arkham]], [[The Mezzanine]] (an offshoot of the [[Dreamlands]])

'''Appears in:''' [[Halloween Horror Returns!]]

'''Campaign:''' [[Optionally List Campaign containing the Scenario]]

==Summary==
It is Halloween (October 31) and Neil Marlow, an elderly English professor at [[Miskatonic University]], has called you to help him find his missing pug dog named Moochie. His voice is shaken and desperate over the phone. You recall the dog was given to him by his late wife, Pat, and holds great sentimental/emotional value. Out of your good heart and sense of charity, you decide to take a small amount of time before [[Halloween|All Hallows Eve]] to help him out.


==Links== 
Link to outside reviews or helpful pages.
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==Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only==
'''Players should not read any further.'''
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===Synopsis===
[[Miskatonic University]] Professor Neil Marlow's dog, Moochie, disappeared shortly after Neil fits the pug dog with a peculiar mask for [[Halloween]].  Moochie is Neil’s major source of companionship since his wife Pat died from liver failure seven years ago, and the investigators are recruited to help poor Neil find the dog.  It seems the mask originally belonged to a Peruvian branch of the cult of [[Azathoth]] which somehow made its way to the [[Arkham]] [[Saint Michael's Catholic Church]], and is capable of transporting its wearers into a strange mirror world called [[The Mezzanine]], reflected as an isolated nightmare version of the neighborhood where every day is Halloween perched on the edge of the ultimate nuclear chaos at the center of the universe.  The little dog has been butchered and stuffed by a nightmare taxidermist, but can be reassembled in the nightmare world and rescued by the investigators.
  
===References===
'''Player Handouts:''' 
* Map of Neil Marlow's House
* Map of [[The Mezzanine]] Neighborhood
* Illustrations depicting the "Trick-or-Treat Kids"

'''Locations:''' 
* [[Arkham]] - Neil's House
* [[The Mezzanine]] (a nightmare land, somewhere on the borders between the [[Dreamlands]] and the Court of [[Azathoth]])

'''Creatures:''' 
* Various denizens of the nightmare world (generally will leave the investigators alone unless threatened or antagonized)
* [[Servitor of the Outer Gods]]

'''Tomes and Artifacts:''' 
* Strange Leather Mask from the Cult of [[Azathoth]] (allows investigators to enter [[The Mezzanine]])

'''Campaigns / Scenarios:''' (none)

===Comments===
Dedication:  "Special Thanks to my wife Danielle Stagg-Yee, the folks at [http://www.RPG-Sandiego.org RPG Sandiego] and [[Oscar Rios]] for the support."

Trivia:  The scenario references and includes lyrics to the vintage song "Japanese Sandman" (Words by Raymond B. Egan / Music by Richard A. Whitin, 1920), which can be heard here: ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pPvVVTC_5k link])

Trivia:  The Mad Cow's lines are distorted versions of these phrases:  "You are what you eat, is what I always say!" and "Hey, you!  Get out of here, you riff-raff!"  (The word "joos" used by The Mad Cow is a distorted version of the word "youse", a variation on the word "you" applied to multiple people in some dialects of American English with a Germanic influence, as German and some related languages make a distinction between the singular and plural forms of the German version of the word "you".)
 
===Keeper Comments===
Comments to Keepers about this scenario;
Possibly how to run it successfully.  
Keep general DISCUSSION on the talk page.

Setting:  Nominally starts on Halloween in [[1920s]] [[Arkham]], but there's really no reason it couldn't be set anywhere or anytime, though some character and scenery descriptions in [[The Mezzanine]] assume the date is on Halloween.  These descriptions can be altered with minimal work.

Special notes:  The word "joos" used by The Mad Cow is a distorted version of the word "youse", a variation on the word "you" applied to multiple people in some dialects.  As a scenario set partly in a surreal nightmare world, this is a somewhat eccentric and weird scenario, and may not appeal to players who prefer stories and plots grounded firmly in the logical and rational.  Since the cursed mask is put on the dog, a keeper might consider re-imagining the mask as something used by [[Ghoul]] cultists.  The scenario references a 1920s novelty song which actually exists; sadistic keepers in groups that use background music might consider downloading the song and mixing it into background ambient music, though your group's mileage may vary on how quickly the song wears out its welcome (if in doubt, I suggest erring on the side of "it will probably get old REALLY quickly!")

Dependence on Halloween:  Moderate. Some character and scenery descriptions in [[The Mezzanine]] assume the date is on Halloween, but these descriptions can be altered with minimal work (in that case, the creator would have to try to think of a reason the professor would put a mask on a dog on any other day; perhaps for a costume ball on any other day, though one ghastly alternative might be instead of a dog, a visiting child relative of the professor finds and tries the mask on). 

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[[Category:CoC:Scenarios]]
[[Category:CoC:Servitor_of_the_Outer_Gods_scenarios]]
[[Category:CoC:1920s_scenarios]]
[[Category:CoC:Scenarios_set_in_Arkham]]
[[Category:CoC:Scenarios_set_in_The_Mezzanine]]
[[Category:CoC:Scenarios_referencing_Azathoth]]
[[Category:CoC:Missing_person_scenarios]]
[[Category:CoC:Dream_scenarios]]
[[Category:CoC:Nightmare_scenarios]]
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