The Crack'd and Crook'd Manse

Details

1st Edition

2nd Edition

Pages: 18

Author(s): Mark Morrison

Artist(s): Janet Aulisio, Sam Inabinet

Setting: 1920s

Appears in: Mansions of Madness (Supplement)

Summary

The investigators explore the usual sinister house, only to find a distinctly unusual resident.

Links

• Wordpress CoC Scenario Review
• Demian Katz's review at OgreCave

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

The investigators are hired to determine the whereabouts of a famous and wealthy archaeologist, Arthur Cornthwaite. No one has heard from him in two weeks and his lawyers have sent the investigators to the Fitzgerald Manse in rural Massachusetts to discover where Cornthwaite has been (and if he's still among the living). The Fitzgerald Manse has had a long and troubled history including murder and suicide, and many nearby residents consider it to be ominous or even haunted. Cornthwaite has owned the property for the past several years, is very generous toward the nearby town of Gamwell, and is generally well-regarded although a bit reclusive.

Two years earlier, Cornthwaite led an expedition into the jungles of South America searching for evidence of a lost civilization. He found what he was seeking in an ancient temple...he also found a spawn of Shub-Niggurath. The only survivor of the expedition, Cornthwaite returned home to the Fitzgerald Manse, destroyed his research, and locked his archaeological tools in the attic.

Unfortunately, a spoor of the creature has been growing in the attic, feeding on local animals, servants, and most recently Cornthwaite himself. The Creature is now a gigantic amorphous mass that can ooze into and through any room, wall, or fissure of the Fitzgerald Manse as well as roam the local countryside looking for food.

The investigators will need to discover just what is happening to the rapidly deteriorating mansion, locate the creature, and find a way to destroy it.

References

Player Handouts: The Manse Papers #1-5

1. Letter from attorneys asking for help locating Mr. Cornthwaite.
2. Newspaper article discussing the missing millionaire.
3. Newspaper article about a family murder at the house.
4. The Missing People book summary.
5. Note from Cornthwaite, hinting about the monster.

1. Keepers' and Players' maps of the house

Locations: Gamwell, Massachusetts (fictional town); The Fitzgerald Manse

Creatures: Alien Slime Being (Formless Spawn of Shub-Niggurath)

Tomes and Artifacts: none

Comments

The scenario includes floor plans for the Fitzgerald Manse.

The scenario was originally used as a tournament module at Phantastacon ‘84 in Melbourne, Australia, and was then published in Multiverse issue 3 (1984). It was substantially revised for its appearance in the Mansions of Madness supplement.

There is a typo in the section describing Gamwell's graveyard: Henry Franklin's gravestone should carry the date 1918 (not 1911).

Keeper Comments

The scenario nominally takes place in February 1925, but can be changed to another year.

The scenario states that the solution to the adventure does not rely on special skills or magical knowledge, so it would be well suited for beginning players. Ideally, one of the investigators is a private detective in the New England area.

The scenario officially takes place in and near the fictional town of Gamwell, Massachusetts, but it could easily be re-located elsewhere.

The scenario hook letter refers to investigators as "one skilled in locating missing people, particularly those of Mr. Cornthwaite’s persuasion", considers them professionals, and gives them a fairly formal assignment. As such some appropriate backstory or previous gameplay may be called for, to give some more concrete basis than simply being an acquaintance of the missing man.

There are two tragic backstories to the house, but neither has any relevance to the main plot. They can be played up for creepiness or as specific red herrings, or sidelined.

The monster is an offshoot of Shub-Niggurath, though in the scenario as written the only clue is a slight resemblance detectable with a lucky Mythos roll. Moreover, there's little in-game information on the creature's origin, or how it ended up in Massachusetts. A Keeper interested in playing up either angle would need to create further references or clues. The missing man's books might contain further information on his travels, and clues to Shub-Niggurath worship in the area. Players might want to follow up with an expedition to the lost temple, perhaps to destroy the original beast.

The scenario notes suggest that the threat is basically unstoppable, as the creature's spores will spread far and wide. This provides for follow-on scenarios, though making these distinct and interesting could be a challenge. In addition, if this plot point is introduced, the investigators could well spend the next few decades hunting down tiny slime creatures across Connecticut, so perhaps not one to introduce lightly.

The scenario as written makes it more-or-less impossible for investigators to succeed at their mission; they can't produce Mr. Cornthwaite's remains (as he's been eaten), nor truthfully explain his disappearance (nobody will believe them), and the scenario has the monster destroying the house and possibly taking some investigators with it, in which case the investigators both lose their fees and are liable to prosecution. PCs or NPCs eaten along the way may also take some explaining. Since they're likely to have spent a long time poking around and ordered a truckload of salt to dump in the basement, pleading innocence may not be convincing.

If investigators are cunning, it's entirely possible for them to bring witnesses to see the monster, or even take some photographs.

Actually defeating the monster in combat is possible, but very difficult: it can attack simultaneously throughout the house, flood the entire ground floor to prevent escape, retreat into the walls to avoid serious threats, and takes minimal damage from everything but fire and salt. A drive-by salting, as pushed by the scenario, is a much better bet. No other combat is likely unless investigators provoke the local sheriff. As such, while unwary lone investigators may be picked off by the creature, not much actual fighting is likely to occur.