User:SavageBob/Sandbox

Details

Front cover

Translated Title: The opium dream

Pages:

• (6th ed.) 54 (30 for part 1, 24 for part 2)
• (7th ed.) 49

Author: Samuel Tarapacki

Artist:

• (6th ed.) Vintage photographs and paintings
• (7th ed.) Vintage photographs and paintings, Loïc Muzy

Editor(s):

• (6th ed.) Samuel Tarapacki
• (7th ed.) Nicolas Impérial, Olivier Trocklé

Setting: Syria, 1930s

Appears in:

• (6th ed.) Raiders of Adventure 2 and 3
• (7th ed.) Les 5 supplices, Aventures dans l'Empire des Ombres

Campaign: Les 5 supplices

Summary

Leroy Turner is a jazz-man; he has a drinking problem, a broken heart, and an astonishing ability granted to him through a trumpet he believes to have belonged the great jazz musician Louis Armstrong. When Archie "The Boss" Bonato and his gang gets wind of this ability, it sets Leroy, the gangsters, and the investigators on a path of tragedy and destruction culminating in a horrific confrontation at the Blue Heaven Ballroom.

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

Describe the adventure in detail; no bias allowed.

 Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)

Takes place in 1930s. Syrian wizard Tarlik Kemral uses ancient knowledge to summon an ancient Babylonian war demon to make him marry a virgin. The creature will then help him repel the Western imperialists. But a mysterious group is opposing his plans. The PCs stumble into this conflict, recruited by "the Foundation," and oppose the Syrian to stop his power source, the opium dream. (69)

Two parts. Part one is about foiling Tarlik Kemral's plans. But they fall into a trap and encounter an ancient creature born of an ancient relic and imprisoned by the wizard. The Foundation wants them to free some prisoners, and they find the dark ramifications of his plans. (69)

One of the PCs falls ill to "the Crusaders' plague" and begins turning into a nightmare creature. The wizard, meanwhile, crushes the Foundation. The PCs are taken into the opium dream and only survive after some of their friends are sacrificed. They learn that the Syrian wants more than to activate ancient relics. They get the chance to work for the Foundation to stop the evil. (69)

Part 2 sends the PCs to Syria after the wizard. They befriend some Bedouins, who tell them of a future that must be recreated. But in their investigations, they are taken prisoner, allowing Kemral to find the tomb of the war demon in the heart of the desert. (69)

Left for dead, they're saved by the desert tribes, and thousands of camel riders escort them to face down the wizard and his demon in the opium dream. But the PC with the plague sees an alternate way in a dream. This PC finds themselves in the heart of the demon's palace and discovers that the Syrian is about to launch at his enemies dozens of creatures created from the opium scrolls. The PC then meets a young woman, the fiancée promised to the demon. (69)

The PC must warn the others and the camel drivers before it's too late. (69)

References

Player Handouts:

Locations:

• Blue Heaven Ballroom
• Morgan and Dupuy Funeral Home
• The Bonato Gang's garage hangout
• a cemetery

Creatures:

• Risen Dead
• Nyarlathotep (in background information)
• Gangsters, Federal Agents

Tomes and Artifacts:

• Unholy Trumpet ("Gabriel's Trumpet", actually belongs to Nyarlathotep)

Campaigns / Scenarios:

• (none, though Masks of Nyarlathotep is a popular if unofficial connection)

Organizations

• Bonato Gang

Comments

List dedication, trivia, images, anything else of note.

• Louis Armstrong, a famous ("real life") jazz musician of the 1920s, appears as a character in the scenario that investigators might come in contact with, at least by long-distance phone calls.

Keeper Comments

Comments to Keepers about this scenario; Possibly how to run it successfully. Keep general DISCUSSION on the talk page.

• For: 2 to 5 players, plus Keeper; Approximate playtime: one to two sessions.

Setting: Heavily tied to the 1920s in "any large American city", with the city vague enough to be moved around; could perhaps be moved to another country and era with local racial/ethnic tensions after some minor rewriting (Gaslight India might be a possibility, for example; modern underground rap, punk, or metal subcultures have been suggested by some keepers as well as loose modern equivalents to the scenario's jazz culture.)

Special Notes: Note that race is important in the scenario as-written: much of the scenario's original flavor comes from the racial segregation and tensions of the 1920s United States, which some players may find too much of a "trigger" to enjoy as a game setting. This is described as either a starter scenario, or a casual scenario for more experienced investigators who "just want to relax", and is estimated to be able to be completed in a long afternoon. Based on the simplicity and brevity, some reviewers expect the scenario to be a little too straightforward, in danger of relying too much on "railroading" with little to ensure that investigators "stay on the tracks", and no obvious potential for expansion and elaboration beyond the simple concept and short series of scenes, though these same qualities have made the scenario a popular suggestion for new keepers to run as their first scenario.

Sequel Plot Hooks: none by default, though Masks of Nyarlathotep is a popular suggestion for a follow-up campaign for this starter scenario. Though intended as a beginner/early/introductory scenario, it lends itself well to being inserted anywhere in a larger campaign as something that happens incidentally while investigators are looking for other clues.