commoriom submission v3,12
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A Submission for
Trail of Cthulhu
Commoriom
"I have yet to translate the terrible and
abominable legend telling how a certain doughty
citizen of Commoriom returned to the city after
its public evacuation, and found that it was
peopled most execrably and numerously by the
fissional spawn of Knygathin Zhaum, whichpossessed no vestige of anything human or even
earthly" ! he #amily ree of the $ods, Clar%
&shton 'mith
The protagonists are members of an expedition to
excavate an ancient settlement buried beneath the
Greenland ice. Faced with conflict from within and
without, and the threat of approaching winter, the
expedition degenerates into a struggle to survive as
the team members realise that the real horror is
beneath the ice under their feet. And the greatest
horror of all may be truth itself.
This scenario is inspired by the Hyperborean Cycle
stories of Clar Ashton !mith, particularly The
Testament of Athammaus andUbbo-Sathla. "t is
recommended that the #eeper reads these short
stories before running this scenario. The story of
the $athieson %xpedition is told in the Call of
Cthulhuscenario Trail of Tsathogguaby the late
#eith Herber and published in the supplements
Trail of Tsathogghua, &'() and The Compact Trail
of Tsathoggua, &''*.
The Hook"n &'+, an archaeological team from $isatonic
-niversity found evidence of an ancient settlement
beneath an ice cap in a remote valley in the
mountains of est Greenland. The protagonists are
members of a &'/& follow0up expedition to
excavate the site.
The Horrible TruthThe site is the ruin of Commoriom, the first capital
of the lost civilisation of Hyperborea, which thrived
before the last ice age. %ntombed in the city is a
dormant, monstrous race descended fromTsathoggua and an alien crystal that grants visions
of the disturbing origins of life on earth.
The SpineThe team members voyage to Godthb, where theycan confront a Rival Expeditionfrom Germany.
They then begin their arduous overland tre in
Evighedsfjorden. Tensions increase between%thelrod, the team leader, and Granger, who is
struggling to conceal his alcoholism, leading to The
Death of Ethelrod. From %thelrod they can ac1uire
a dictionary of the lost Tsath-Yolanguage.
The team receives A Call for Helpfrom the crew
of the German base ship, which has lost contact
with the overland team, giving the protagonists a
moral dilemma.
2uring their 3ourney, the characters find evidence
that strange %simo are watching them and may
discover Gravesof members of the Germanexpedition, apparently attaced by an unnownanimal. A text in their possession, when translated
with %thelrod4s boo gives hints about the history
of the site.
Arriving at the Site, the protagonists find a Cube-
Shaped Struturewith walls inscribed with a
history of the pre0humans who first settled there.
5earby, the remains of the last members of the
German expedition can be found. 6n the valley
floor, a Shado! "nder the #eis visible.
They are harried by frea weather conditions and
attacs by a mysterious$east of the #e Sheet,
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which continue until they lin it with the clan of
strange %simo that has been following them, and
neutralise it.
Exavating the Struture under the #e leads to
the discovery of an ancient tower entombed in ice.
2igging into The #e-Cho%ed stair!a&uncovers a
frie7e describing a history of Hyperborea and
eventually leads to a Cit& "nder the #e. "n a vaultunder the ruins of a library is a crystal that can send
the mind bac in time to the disturbing origins of
life on earth.
As the city4s inhabitants begin to awaen they try to
free their 8Father4, leading to the A!a%ening of'n&gathin (hau). The protagonists4 only hope isto flee.
However, even if they escape, the insight granted
by the crystal may still claim their minds.
Victory Conditions9ictory in this scenario means realising the horror
that lies in Commoriom, and surviving it,
preferably with the site safely sealed.
Antagonist ReactionsThe rival Ger)an Expeditionis not a 85a7i
expedition4 in any official sense :there is no such
thing until the formation of the Ahnenerbe in &'/; especially the
esoterically inclined > believed in occult theories of
the uni1ue :or divine< origin of their ancestors on a
lost northern continent :referred to as 8Thule4 or
sometimes 8Hyperborea4 or 8Atlantis4 a time when
the Armitage "n1uiry is in its formative stages. "n
&'+(, Armitage, Bice and $organ scored a victory
against the 2unwich Horror and soon 2r Albert
ilmarth 3oined them following his encounter with
the 86uter 6nes4 in the hills of 9ermont. ust a few
wees ago, the =abodie %xpedition returned from
Antarctica with stories of unnown prehistoric life
forms and a vast range of mountains dotted with
strange structures.
6n his deathbed in &'+', =rofessor Curtis
$athieson revealed a number of unpublished
secrets about the &'+ expedition to his colleague2r Francis $organ. $organ shared the story with
=rofessor Armitage and soon they were woring
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with =rofessor %thelrod in %ngland to organise a
follow0up expedition for &'/+. However, in late
&'/, word reached them of a rival German
expedition to the same region planned for &'/& and
their pro3ect was hastened by a year. -nfortunately,
this meant 2r $organ was unable to tae part, but
he persuaded Charles Granger, a veteran of the
$athieson %xpedition, to 3oin.
*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir&This symbol defines
sections that apply only to running the scenario as
part of the Armitage "n1uiry.
Running Commoriom as astandalone
This scenario can be run as a standalone adventure
or mar a dramatic beginning to an ongoing
campaign.
The difference is that %thelrod has organised the
expedition with the ?ritish $useum, independently
of Armitage and his colleagues, who may have little
insight into what really happened on the $athieson
%xpedition.
*S&)bol+ Standalone This symbol defines
sections that apply only to running the scenario as a
standalone.
Creating the ProtagonistsAppropriate roles for the expedition include
archaeologists, geologists, anthropologists,
biologists, explosives experts, drill engineers and
radio engineers. All team members should be
healthy and fit, and be capable cross0country siers
> represented for game purposes as a minimum
6utdoorsman rating of & and Athletics of /. The
expedition will also need someone with $edicine
rating of &D and First Aid of +D to fill the role of
medic.
The expedition leader is highly xenophobic and
French applicants in particular are not considered.
*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir& "f the expedition is
organised by $isatonic -niversity, team members
are liely to be American, perhaps students or
professors at the $isatonic. ?ritish team members
may have accompanied %thelrod.
*S&)bol+ Standalone "f the expedition begins inGreat ?ritain it is liely that most of the team
members would be ?ritish. American membersmay travelled with Granger.
Prologue"n order to introduce their characters, it is
recommended that the #eeper run a short scene
from his or her expedition interview as a 2irected
!cene for each one :see The Dying of St Margarets
page (
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"n the ?lood might be interesting if the character is
related to the Hyperborean ?lond %simo.
Pillars of Sanity
The dominant theme of this scenario is the dignity
or otherwise of human origins.
6ne =illar of !anity that might be particularly
interesting dramatically is Family. A character withthis =illar will have a firm conviction in the dignity
of their origins. "f Caucasian, they may believe in
the theory of the origins of their ancestors on the
lost continent of Thule. They may have heard tales
of 8blond %simo4 in north0western Canada. They
may even subscribe to racist theories lie the
5ational !ocialists of Germany.
As players can create their own =illars of !anity it
is impossible to provide an exhaustive list, but
several others from the Trail of Cthulhu ruleboo
that may be particularly interesting areE
Beligious Faith
Human 2ignity and 9alue
The #eeper should try to encourage some players to
pic from the pillars above.
2rives potentially undermined by %yeE
Anti1uarianism
Thirst For #nowledgeAdventure
!cholarship
Curiosity
Arrogance
.illars of Sanit&
Beligious Faith
Family
Human 2ignity and 9alue
!cientific =rogress "ntellect
Goodness of $anind
$oral principles
Aesthetics
%picureanism
=atriotism
ove of Home City
Scenes
BriefingSene T&pe+Core :"ntroduction a
large cabin and outhouses for supplies and dogs.
They will use the drilling rig, blasting e1uipment,
the ice melting machine, and hand excavation to
access and excavate the site.
From 5ovember it will become difficult toapproach by sea. "f necessary, the team will remain
on the ice sheet over winter until $arch when the
f3ord becomes accessible again. "n case of
emergency, a team should be able to reach them
from GodthIb overland in about five days.
=rofessor %thelrod stresses his 1ualifications as a
hard0nosed scholar not prone to flights of fancy or
bi7arre speculations. However, there were many
things he experienced that shoced him and caused
him to reconsider ideas about the world. Hebelieves that what they found in the Greenland ice
were remains of a lost prehistoric civilisation,
perhaps hinted at in Gree myths.
He introduces ilfred -pton0!mith, a round0faced
7oologist and friend of the %thelrod family, and
Charles Granger, a red0haired, red0faced man of
around /, a second veteran of the $athieson
%xpedition who will be 3oining them on this trip.
*S&)bol+ Ar)itage #n,uir&0ral Histor& 2-
.oint spend+ There are rumours that 2r Grangerhas a drin problem.
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%thelrod ass each team member to introduce
themselves and assigns roles.
Assess Honest&+Henry %thelrod is reserved,somewhat aloof and doesn4t give much away.
Arhaeolog& or Anthropolog&+ According to the
expedition report, the team made transcriptions of a
number of carvings on a large stone slab found at
the face of Helheim Glacier on the east coast.Archaeologists have subse1uently associated these
carvings with a Greenlandic colony of the extinct
2orset Culture. 2-point spend+!ome odd artifacts
featuring strange figures wearing hoodless paras
with tall collars and women with large hairstyles
were found on Cape 2orset on ?affin "sland in
&'+. "t is generally thought that the Greenlandic
2orset culture is limited to the north0west coast of
the island.
$iolog& or 0utdoors)an 2-.oint spend+=olarbears are mostly found in coastal regions in the
north and east of Greenland > they are largely
unnown in the mountains although females with
cubs are sometimes found in coastal mountainous
areas in the north.
uestions and !Ans"ers
%thelrod will as if there are any 1uestions. He may
provide the following additional details and any
others the #eeper deems appropriate.
J $athieson remained onboard ship, due to health
problems. He died of a heart condition in &'+'.
J The top of the structure was estimated to be under
at least &;0+ feet of ice and to extend to unnown
depths. He declines to speculate on the age of the
structure.
J At an international archaeology conference in
=aris last year, 2r !ummers of %dinburgh
-niversity, heard reference to a forthcoming
expedition to explore what was 8nonsensically4described as 8ruins of Thule found in est
Greenland4. "t isn4t nown what si7e the rival team
is or when they will arrive.
He will wrap up the briefing after three or four
1uestions, or if he doesn4t lie the direction the
1uestions are going.
Assess Honest&+hen ased about the specifics ofthe first expedition, why the details were not
released or why the second expedition was delayed
for so long, %thelrod seems somewhat evasive. 2.oint Spend+ He is deliberately hiding something.
%thelrod will wrap up the briefing after three or
four 1uestions, or if he doesn4t lie the direction the
1uestions are going.
Henry Ethelrod
To interact with %thelrod significantly, ?ritish
characters need a Credit Bating of ;D, Americans
and other %uropeans need D. Anyone else will
need to mae a &0=oint spend in Credit Bating on
each significant occasion.
Abilities+Athletics ;, Credit Bating *, Firearms *,Health *, !cuffling *, eapons
Hit Threshold+/
Ar)or+ 0& vs all :if wearing Arctic gear the
8granddaughter4 of the god)hotha**uahand a
sub0human 9oormis.
The city executioner beheaded him three times
and each time, witnesses later saw him alive,
more monstrous than before. 6n the first and
second occasion, #nygathin @haum illed andate one of the inhabitants of the city.
?y the third reappearance, he had
metamorphosed into a fully alien entity, and had
devoured many of the citi7ens, forcing the final
abandonment of the city.
A former inhabitant of Commoriom returned to
the city one day and discovered it repopulated
with the monstrous offspring of #nygathin
@haum.
Translating it or reading an accurate translation will
grant & point of Cthulhu $ythos.
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The #eeper might consider using or adapting Clar
Ashton !mith4s story The Testament of Athammaus
for the content of the main body of the story.
The "nd of the Bauer"#pedition
Sene T&pe+ 6ptional,Clue :?onus one of the !pawn of #nygathin @haum.
6nce uncovered, the spawn will begin to thaw and
awaen. !ee The #dol Tha!s. This nominally taes+) hours or ( hours if left in a warm place, lie an
inhabited tent, however it should tae as long as is
dramatically interesting.
Tunnelling the &tairway
Sene T&pe+ Core/ead-#n+Accessing the !tairway
/ead-0ut+2escent into the 2epths
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This phase taes ' days until breaing through to
the ice0free section of the stairwell.
!tairwell runs around perimeter of tower. !olidly
constructed from basalt, most of it is still intact.
There are places where steps have eroded or broen
and places where there are gaps.
=ictographs in stairwell tell history of
Hyperboreans in reverse going bac to their arrivalon Hyperborea.
Heyday of Commoriom showing current
ings
9arious older dynasties
%ncroaching cold
=rophesy of !ybil of =olarion
Bise of Ohoundeh cult
omar and @obna
6ther settlements
%arly Tsathoggua cult
9oormis driven to $t. 9oormithadreth
@on $e77amalechX
Founding of Commoriom
Hyperboreans leaving homelands :omarX
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protagonists may be able to devise a faster or safer
method using dog sleds, drilling e1uipment or the
snow tractor.
QsidebarR
The Idol ThawsSene T&pe+ 6ptional, Antagonist Beaction
Trigger+Clearing the Chamber
As it thaws, especially if it has been brought bac
to the camp, the dogs begin to act in a disturbed
way, baring all day and night.
6nce it has awaened, this intelligent, sentient
organism will escape, and scuttle across the ground
at night, on many limbs or slide under the edges of
tents in order to find a sleeping host. The spawn
will attempt to enter a sleeping or subdued human
host, smothering their sounds as it forces itselfdown their throat and taes up residence in their
body.
-nless one of the protagonists unwittingly sets
himself up as an obvious target, the spawn should
attac a 5=CE one of the mushers or Germans. His
tent mate waes up to see it and screams out for
help before being attaced and infected himself.
A successful !ense Trouble test against 2ifficulty
:' if the attac is at night< will allow protagonists to
hear a strange sound in the camp. "f they rush outimmediately they will catch sight of a bi7arre blac
thing lie a huge spider attempting to crawl into
one of the tents. Attacing it will cause it to attac
the protagonist. Following it, he will witness it
attacing the mushers.
"n any case, the =rotagonists will automatically be
woen by a blood0curdling scream that is suddenly
cut short.
Evidene Colletion+There are traces of a dar
greyish slime on both bodies and at the edge of thetent where the canvas seems loose.
6utcome for the victimX
A !ense Trouble test against 2ifficulty ; :( at
night< will alert a character to an imminent attac.
Hunting it down, while it hides in the camp has the
same 2ifficulty. 5oticing the thing attac a
companion sleeping in the same tent is a 2ifficulty
test.
Q?egin sidebarR
Spa"n of 7nygathin haum
Also nown as 8=arasitic !pawn of Tsathoggua4,
these entities bear some similarity to their cousins,
except that they are smaller :about the si7e of a
?order Collie by flowing,
rolling into balls, s1uee7ing through cracs or even
breaing out of containers :controlled by a unifying
intelligence, Athletics can still be used in this state the amount of damage they tae only affects the
amount of time it taes for their Health to get above
and able to act once more. Fire damage does not
heal in this way, nor may some magical or chemical
attacs.
2ue to the hominid strain in its ancestry, the spawn
has an affinity for human biology and can live
inside a human being, substituting natural
biological functions with its own. They will attempt
to subdue a target and then, in li1uid form, typically
force itself down his throat. The victim may be
incapacitated or even illed during the attempt. The
spawn will need to remove most of the victim4s
internal organs in order to mae space for it4s own
body. This will tae about ; minutes. The rest of
the body, including the brain will remain alive,
provided for by the spawn. The spawn will then
tae control of the brain, raiding his memories and
taing control of his actions. -ntil it fully settles in,for the first )( hours, a !tability test against
2ifficulty will allow the host to have full control
for a few minutes or allow some recollection of the
attac event. Q!tability test to resist it when it
asserts controlXR
The host4s previous 2rive disappears and instead is
subconsciously substituted with the spawn4s goals.
To an observer, the host4s personality and mind
seem to be intact, but Assess Honest&will detect a
listless or 8off4 1uality that may be mistaen for
shoc or other mental health issue. A 2-.ointspendsuggests that the host seems to lac sincereemotions.
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Suffoate+The creature can use a limb to sei7e a
victim around the nec or simply smother with its
viscous body. Apply the 2rowning and !uffocation
rules :Trail of Cthulhu ruleboo =(
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=itted, dripping walls of ice with a narrow
crawlspace. The spawn are dormant in here.
Exavation+reveals strange channels, possiblymore 8toad idols4 and explosives could result in
accelerated awaening of the spawn
The S;uare
Central space, crossroads with fossilised blocX :6ris this where #@ is still fro7enX< Human remainsX
Exavation+reveals strange channels, possiblymore 8toad idols4 and explosives could result in
accelerated awaening of #@ and the spawn
The +ibrary
$ore documentation of history, possibly more
artifacts. !omewhere there may be a spell for
L!peaing with @hotha11uah as his !tatueL. =ossibly
a spell to call Aduwa from the icy wastes.ault
This place must be accessible and obvious. here
is itX -nder the libraryX -nder a templeX -nder the
tower itselfX
The historical frie7e spirals at right angles towards
a plinth built into the middle of the room and spiral
around the plinth to its top. A pale stone about the
si7e of a small orange is mounted there.
"tLs entirely possible that the crystal is embedded ina wall, table, statue etc. The Commorians
Commorian sorcerer could have done so after
ac1uiring it from @$. This might mae it feel less
arbitrarily present.
The "ye of +o*&athlaA#A 8Crystal of @on $e77amalech4
9isions of the past, initially bac to sorceror, then
3umps to @$. Then barrier then 3umps into past all
the way bac to -! and tablets. Also addictive andleads to disillusionment with present0day reality
which appears to be unreal. "dentification with @$
then once past LbarrierL disidentification and loss of
selfhood. To onlooers, perhaps enters comatose
state, then a while later suddenly leaves and
disappears :if somehow followed, seems to have
illed self
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for #nowledge of the Tablets of the %lder Gods
QpermanentXR
#nitial union !ith the )ind of (4
Q/ point !tability test, + point !tability recovery for
those with =illar of !anityE Family :8Hyperborea
Hypothesis4 + Lhite apesL :actually relatives of9oormis< under hidden influence of Great
Bace, raise city in Congo, rapidly evolving
spread out across world as early humans.
6 point Stability test.
Drives lost+"n the ?lood
.illars of Sanit& s)ashed+Family :if it
involves beliefs about humanrace origins
in Hyperborea / 9oormis gain freedom from !erpent
=eople, found Hyperborean colony5 point Stability test
)& > ) !erpent people in Ooth genetically
engineer simians into land and a1uatic
hominids to serve as slaves
lose 3 Stability45 Sanity.
.illars of Sanit& s)ashed+Family,
Human 2ignity and 9alue, Beligion.
Drives lost+Anti1uarianism, Thirst for
#nowledge
;& > ;+ !erpent people civilisation wiped out byrise of dinosaurs
lose 7 Stability45 Sanity
;/ > ;) !hoggoth rebellion defeated
lose 7 Stability45 Sanity
;; > ; !erpent people ingdom of 9alusia
lose 7 Stability45 Sanity
& > + Cataclysm raises BLlyeh, arrival of
Cthulhu. ar of Cthulhu and %lder Things
lose 8 Stability46 Sanity0
Drives lost+Anti1uarianism, Thirst for#nowledge
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/ > ) %lder thing experiments create vertebrates
lose 3 Stability45 Sanity.
.illars of Sanit& s)ashed+Family,
Human 2ignity and 9alue, Beligion.
Drives lost+Anti1uarianism, Thirst for
#nowledge
; > Tablets of the %lder Gods
lose 3 Stability45 Sanity.Drives lost+Anti1uarianism, Thirst for
#nowledge
Awa,ening of .nygathin/haum
The spawn and #@ gradually begin to wae up,
which builds into an antagonist reaction climax.
6nce they begin to awaen en0masse, the spawn
will abandon the infection strategy, switching
instead to openly capturing the remaining humans.
Chase
Typically this will constitute a
Combat
9ictory
7nygathin haum
The entity that was nown an age ago, by the name
8#nygathin @haum4 is a dar, mottled and
mammoth0si7ed entity > a bloated trun, with a
one0eyed 8face4 emerging from its midsection, and
a second eye beneath that. Two long tentacles with
8fingers4 lie nots of writhing snaes emerge from
its 8shoulders4 and a cup0lie mouth protrudes at thetop. The lower limbs are a mass of slender
proboscides covered in sucers.
#nygathin @haum can attac with each of its two
tentacles in a single round. ie his spawn, he can
assume the form of a viscous, blac li1uid. And
most forms of physical in3ury will simply flow
closed.
Athletics &+, Health ++, !cuffling +(
Hit Threshold+/
5eapon+ D; :trample
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