Call of Cthulhu

This is a temporary page used to log the events of the Call of Cthulhu campaign of Summer 2017.

Background
The campaign takes place in a slightly alternate reality of 1890s London, England. The party members are being hunted by an otherworldly Jack the Ripper, and they must find information and cooperate with a mysterious organization in order to survive.

Characters

 * Ryan: Sir Samuel Cain.
 * Joe: Herr Fügelbach.
 * Connor: Mikael Mcslavins.
 * Eric: Frederick von Mannstein.
 * Tyler: Thomas Hawkins.
 * Miguel: Dr. Wolfhausen / ???.
 * Noah: Wolfgang Gutenbooten.

Story
The story begins in the year 1890. The party members convene at the World Faire of 1890 in London, sent invitations by an unknown source, but specifically instructed to attend the panel of a man by the name of Dordo. As they waded through the unknown crowds of attendees, unbeknownst of the identities of their soon to be allies, they witnessed the presentation of a short man with a bizarre moustache. An erratic display of flailing limbs, Dordo was shouting the wonders of his "magic stones" [an innuendo check by Dr. Wolfhausen revealed Dordo was in fact referring to his testicles]. He proclaimed the wonders of the multicolored, crystallized stones contained in a glass covered pedestal upon his stage. He boasted their abilities to "allow men to transcend their status," and he carried on about their value and mysterious origin.

Upon the conclusion of the fair, each member of the party made their way to the local pub for a drink, and they all happened upon each other at a table. A collection of intellectuals, spies, and businessmen, they discussed their own backgrounds and lives at length. The group bonded, and after a long night, they staggered their way towards Cain's home by his invitation.

As the gentleman made their way home, they heard a blood-curdling scream. Those of the gentleman who were armed drew their weapons, and proceeded towards the source of the sound. They happened upon a horrifying creature, covered with multiple appendages, tentacles, and a collection of soulless eyes, preying upon the mangled corpse of a prostitute. Those who were not struck with horror fired upon the beast, but not a single shot struck. The monstrosity fled into the cover of night without a single apparent scratch.

The group dashed their way to the local police station, met with an imposing officer with bloodshot eyes and furious grimace. In a thick cockney accent, the man skeptically took in the group's report, noting that the culprit sounds quite like Jack the Ripper, though the monstrous appearance is unbelievable. Nevertheless, the officer takes their report. The group presses for information regarding the Ripper, but the officer requests they return the next day.

The group returns to the home of Samuel Cain, greeted by his Spanish maid, Consuela. As the group discusses their current situation and the horrors they witnessed, Consuela casts her eye upon Gutenbooten, giving a wink. A knock at the door pulls the group's attention, and they are greeting by a medium sized man in a long trenchcoat. Donning a pair of thick glasses and a top hat, the man introduces himself as merely "Gregory." Gregory informs the group that he has knowledge of their witnessing of the Ripper, and he warns the party that the Ripper has previously killed witnesses a week after the original murder. He offers the party a hefty cash reward if they happen to unveil the identity, or perhaps kill, the Ripper, and he promises a possible job for them. When the party inquires, Gregory only divulges that his organization is global and quite powerful, and if the party manages to deal with the Ripper, he can offer a job that far succeeds anything their current lives can offer. He offers no greater details, and bids the party good night, giving them an address.

Come morning, Gutenbooten awakes naked next to Consuela. Gutenbooten, clearly raped, immediately contracts PTSD. He is given psychiatric care by Dr. Wolfhasen, and though his immediate nerves are calmed, he develops both a hatred and fear of Consuela. The party splits up, with Cain, Mcslavins, and Hawkins headings towards the police station, and von Mannstein, Mcslavins, Gutenbooten, and Fügelbach heading to the address Gregory provided.

At the police station, the party finds the same officer as the previous night. They inquire about the Ripper, and the officer provides some additional clarification for the party. They learn that the police has information on the previous witness, but they cannot divulge case information. As the party prepares to leave, Deputy Intern Jimmy wanders into the room. The officer complains that Jimmy needs to get coffee, and after Jimmy dashes out of the room, the officer complains about the Deputy Intern, saying that the boy always fails to lock up at night correctly.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party arrives at the address Gregory provided: a mundane tailor shop. Though suspicious, the group enters, meeting a Frenchman at the front desk. The Frenchman identifies himself as an acquaintance of Greg's, but refuses to say any more information. While the party speaks with him, Mannstein investigates the shop. He finds a false panel behind one of the racks, but resolves to leave it for later.

While all groups returned to Cain's home, Fügelbach, Hawkins, Dr. Wolfhausen and Mcslavins travel to the local printing press with the intention of printing bounty flyers. They requisition a multitude of flyers asking for information on any information leading to the capture of Jack the Ripper for a reward. They place the flyers around town, and return to Cain's home in the evening. As this happens, Cain visits the local docks, and finds a thieving boy. Cain makes an offer to the boy, enlisting him as one of his servants and naming him his "Soulja Boi." The group sits down and discusses their findings, with a new plan of action: Investigate the false panel of the tailor shop, and break into the police station for the Ripper case file.

While the others head out at night for their respective tasks, Fügelbach stays back in case anyone with information arrives. After a period of time passes, a man arrives at the door. Despite the man being an old, bloodshot-eyed, shaking man, Fügelbach allows him inside. Though the man sites a creature similar to the one the party witnessed, Fügelbach realized the man is merely an opium addict, and, after Fügelbach accuses him of such, the stranger draws a knife and begins swinging wildly. Consuela appears from the kitchen with two pistols, firing all shots into the man, dropping both empty weapons, and firing two more pistols into the man. Consuela stuffs the body in a closet with Fügelbach attempts to cover up the blood soaked living room and multitude of bullet holes around the room. Another knock at the door interrupts Fügelbach'a coverup, and he greets a "lady of the night" at the door. Fügelbach asks the woman questions, and she mentions that the Ripper has specifically been targeting prostitutes in the night hours. After Fügelbach thanks her for her information and provides a reward, she requests that she stay the night for her own safety, to which Fügelbach agrees.

Meanwhile, Hawkins, Mcslavins, and Soulja Boi make their way to the police station in the dead of night. The group finds the door unlocked as expected, and they scour the police station. They find the Ripper case file after a period of time, and, in order to deter suspicions, steal random other documents and items. They escape through a windows in the station, scattering all items but the case file around the city while returning to Cain's home.

As this happens, Dr. Wolfausen, Gutenbooten, Mannstein, and Cain arrive at the tailor shop at night. Mannstein picks the lock to the door, and they wander through the empty shop to the false panel. Removal of the false panel reveals a lever which opens a false doorway hidden behind a wardrobe. The party peers down a concrete, tight hallway, extending far beyond possible limits into darkness. The party creeps down the pathway and, after a lengthy amount of time, happen upon a solid steel door with merely a locked latch. Mannstein places dynamite on the doorway, hearing a multitude of voices as he lights the fuses. The spy flees, hearing guns cocking on the opposite end of the door. The deafening explosion opens the door, and the party, far down the hallway, is met with a barrage of gunfire. The men make their way towards the tunnel exit, and Mannstein turns to throw a final stick of lit dynamite down the hallway. In doing so, he is struck with a stray bullet on his arm, and the last stick of dynamite collapses the hall. The group hastily retreats to Cain's home with their injured man and even greater suspicion of Gregory.

The duty of medical aid was placed upon Fügelbach, who worked behind closed doors in Cain's home. After the sound of bone saws, the group checked in on the doctor, who decided that amputation of his right arm was the best action to save Mannstein. Though the group insisted that this was wildly unnecessary, the damage was done.

As the gentleman sit down to discuss their next plan of action, Cain notices the woman Fügelbach allowed into the home. Cain objects to her presence, though Fügelbach insists she stay the night for her own safety. As Cain debates the matter with Fügelbach, the woman notices blood pooling at the bottom of the closet door. She hesitantly unlocks the door, greeted by the horrifying sight of the dead crazed man that Consuela killed. As the woman let out a scream, Cain draws his pistol and fires a single shot into the woman's forehead. "No witnesses," Cain comments, as Fügelbach begins furiously reprimanding Cain for killing an innocent. Consuela opens the basement door and kicks both bodies down the stairs.

While Consuela cleans the blood off the floor, the gentleman finally begin to plan their next move. Fügelbach recounts that the woman ("Before you killed her!") spoke of how the Ripper only targets prostitutes in the late hours of the night. Everyone agrees the next step is to use a prostitute as bait to lure the Ripper out in the open. The possible malice of the idea goes past Fügelbach, who would normally object to such a plan. All head to bed for the night, ready to act come morning.

Finding himself unable to sleep, Gutenbooten speaks with Wolfhausen in the living room. The gentleman agree that Consuela is definitely evil, and they want to kill or turn her into the police. When she cannot be found around the home, the two investigate the basement. Upon opening the door, they find a bloody chute in place of a staircase. Suspicious and worried, they follow the shoot to the basement under candlelight. At the bottom, they find a stack of corpses in various states of decay, topped with the recently murdered man and prostitute. Stepping around the corpses, they find an incredibly well stocked weapon rack along the wall, along with torture devices. A padlocked hatch rests in the corner with no way to break it. Fearing Consuela's return, the scared gentlemen return upstairs and vow to do something about her, but never divulge this information to the party.

Come morning, the gentlemen gather in Cain's bullet ridden, blood soaked living room for breakfast. Cain calls Consuela, met with no response. Panic sets in as Cain can no longer locate Consuela nor Soulja Boi. As Cain contemplates life without any servants, a plan to visit the local brothel to find a woman as bait is hatched. Noticing Gutenbooten has yet to join the group, they check on him in his bedroom, only to find he managed to fall out of his bed on his neck and instantly died. Confounded as to how this happened, but accepting, the men leave the home before Gutenbooten empties his bowels.

The group navigates to the local brothel, greeted by an obnoxious receptionist. Cain informs her that they need a woman for the night, and he is brought a girl by the name of Stacy. Cain questions the lack of British in her name, but ignores the odd occurrence. Cain insists on leaving, but the rest decide another girl would be beneficial. The receptionist leads the boys to the selection of girls, with Fügelbach upset by the sounds of gratuitous sex around him. As Mikael begins chugging a bottle of vodka, the group interviews a woman who identifies herself as Eileen. Mannstein asks a few questions to determine her candidacy as bait without her knowledge. The group deems her fitting, and they purchase her services for the night. Shortly after, Mikael drunkenly stumbles into an active room and furiously tries to place a shotgun shell inside the vagina of one of the girls. Though successful, he is quickly kicked out. They collect an impatient Cain from the lobby and make their way home while Fügelbach shows a great deal of kindness and generosity towards Eileen, earning her affection.

Upon returning to Cain's home, the group decides to wait idly until night falls to execute their plan. In the meantime, Fügelbach takes Eileen out to buy her new clothes and anything else she might need. Mannstein and Cain question why he would do such a thing for prostitute to be used as bait, but they let it slide. Shortly after Fügelbach's departure, police officers come knocking at the door. Cain cracks open the door for the man, who identifies himself as Officer Friendly. Officer Friendly informs Cain that there have been plenty of reports of screaming and gunshots from Cain's residence and asks if a woman resides in his home. Cain flatly denies all of the claims, and Mannstein steps in to help defuse the situation. Officer Friendly assumes the two to be gay lovers, and when he is denied entry to Cain's home, he promises to return the next day to search.

Meanwhile, Fügelbach makes his way through the town with Eileen. While Eileen holds on to Fügelbach, he explains how to act like a proper lady. He explains phrases such as "give me a sweet pounding" are not lady like, though Eileen fails to see the reason in doing away with such things. Fügelbach guides her to the local tailor, where he purchases a high quality coat for her. Eileen is bewildered by such kindness, thanking Fügelbach for his generosity. The two make their way home, clinging closer to Fügelbach ever closer.

At the home, Cain screams "CONSUE-" but stops himself short, remembering the absence of his maid. The remaining men furiously attempt to clean up Cain's home, covering all bullet holes and scrubbing blood from the furniture before the arrival of the officers next morning. Hawkins proceeds to the basement to deal with the two dead bodies, finding the stack of corpses. Surprisingly unfazed, Hawkins finds the nearest meat grinder and begins turning the corpses to mush to be stuffed in sacks and dumped as "rotting meat." Upon completion of cleaning, the party notices the sudden absence of Cain's prostitute and the basement door cracked open.

As night falls, Fügelbach returns to Cain's home with Eileen. As they discuss their plan with Eileen out of earshot, Wolfhausen goes silent. Upon further examination by Fügelbach, it is concluded that he is in a catatonic state. Without any immediate solution, the gentleman leave Hawkins and Wolfhausen alone as they depart on their mission.

The party arrives in Whitechapel, in all its feces-ridden, homicidal glory. Without a single human in sight, Mannstein urges Eileen forward. Cain asks her to "simply stand on the corner over there," much to Eileen's confusion. Fügelbach objects at first, confused as to the plan. Mannstein pulls him aside, explaining that they need to use Eileen as bait with their backup prostitute currently missing. Fügelbach failed to realize the dangerous implications of such a plan until now, and he immediately refuses to allow such things to happen.

Fügelbach begins to drag a confused and worried Eileen away, stating that they need to leave. Mannsteins threatens Fügelbach, stating that this is their only chance. When Fugelbach refuses still, Mannstein raises his weapon in an attempt to knock out Eileen. Fugelbach pulls her away and takes the blow instead, receiving a severe head bruise but maintaining consciousness. Cain attempts to reason with Fügelbach, who adamantly protects Eileen. Seeing no other option, Mannstein raises his pistol and shoots Fügelbach in his good leg. The intense pain causes Fügelbach to go unconscious, and Eileen begins screaming in horror. A quick strike to the head by Mannstein silences her, with Mikael, Cain, and Mannstein silently standing over the two unconscious people.

Cain is at first annoyed with Mannstein's rash actions, but he realizes time is of the essence. Cain looks upon the open wound in Fügelbach'a leg. He performs a makeshift cauterization of Fügelbach's wound that works miraculously, though seals the lead bullet under Fügelbach'a skin. Mannstein applauds the success of such work, shoving off the eventual consequence of lead poisoning. Mikael is then made to strip and don the clothes of Eileen. While Mikael begins to pose as bait, the sounds of footsteps and conversation approach from the distance. The group decides to bail home, with Cain carrying both Fügelbach and Eileen.

The group returns home to find that Wolfhausen is still trapped in a catatonic state. He is left alone, and Cain decides to take Fügelbach and Eileen to the guest room. He ties their unconscious bodies to the bed, splattering wine on their bodies to make it appear like a "wild night." The remaining gentleman head to bed for the night while Hawkins wraps up the body grinding in the basement.

The sun rises on London, and the remaining conscious members rise with it. McSlavins, Hawkins, Mannstein, and Cain gather in the living room, waiting for the arrival of the police. The group idly chats when suddenly, Wolfhausen falls over and miraculously manages to break his neck on the coffee table, dying instantly. Cain is sent out to retrieve a doctor while Fügelbach awakens. Mannstein attempts to convince Fügelbach that his injuries were due to a run in with some delinquents, but Fügelbach does not believe him. As the two men argue, McSlavins enters the room and pees on Fügelbach's face. As Mannstein shoos him out, McSlavins continues peeing around various locations in the house. Fügelbach unties himself and sits against the wall, contemplating his life.

A sudden knock at the door sends Mannstein into a panic. He cracks open the door, finding himself facing Officer Friendly and three other police officers. Mannstein tries to stall them outside the home as long as possible, and Cain returns with Dr. Lon Dong. Cain explains to the officers that one of their residents suddenly died, so they aren't alarmed by the dead body. All of the men enter the building and find McSlavins and Hawkins quietly sitting in the common room next to Wolfhausen's body. While Dr. Dong looks over Wolfhausen's body, the officers begin to search all of Cain's house for any incriminating evidence. Dr. Dong confirms Wolfhausen's passing, and he leaves the home. Fugelbach is helped into the common room, and all men sit in silence in anticipation.

Just as the search is about to complete, one officer notices something suspicious on the wall. McSlavins suddenly runs out of the room, shortly afterwards returning in a different outfit and combed hair. Speaking in a totally different voice, he attempts to convince the officers the man who identified himself as McSlavins fled the building. The officers are bewildered at the performance, clearly knowing McSlavins is poorly disguised, but he insists that he is a completely different person.

Wolfhausen dies. Fügelbach wakes up. Connor pees on his face. Eric tries to bluff. Ryan gets a Doctor. Cops arrive. Investigation. Connor assumes alternate personality. Pew pew pew. Everyone evacuates, Ryan blows the house. Naked.