The Key and the Gate

The Key And The Gate A Call of Cthulhu Scenario for three to five investigators Adapted and Updated by Derek Mayne from an original idea by Chris Hind published in White Wolf Magazine Issue 22, October 1990.

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Table of Contents Overview ........................................................................................................................... 4 Player’s Introduction.......................................................................................................... 4 Keeper’s Introduction ........................................................................................................ 4 Miskatonic University......................................................................................................... 5 Grant Hall - Prescott’s Rooms ........................................................................................... 6 Search of the Campus ....................................................................................................... 7 Hoyt Administration Building .......................................................................................... 7 The Library..................................................................................................................... 8 General Information ....................................................................................................... 8 Keeper’s Note ................................................................................................................ 9 The Catacombs................................................................................................................. 9 Rutter’s House................................................................................................................. 10 The Great Pyramid .......................................................................................................... 11 The Climax ...................................................................................................................... 12 Character & Creature Statistics....................................................................................... 13 Paul Rutter................................................................................................................... 13 Ian Prescott.................................................................................................................. 14 Ghouls ......................................................................................................................... 14 Pharaoh Cheops.......................................................................................................... 15 Conclusion....................................................................................................................... 15 Sanity gains ................................................................................................................. 15 Loose Ends.................................................................................................................. 15 Handouts - The Key & The Gate Papers ......................................................................... 16

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Overview The scenario takes place on Saturday, March 13, 1928, but this date can be changed without difficulty if required. The scenario was written to take place in Arkham, Massachusetts, but could easily be relocated to any large town or city. If used in Arkham, the map on p.247 of the Call of Cthulhu Keeper’s Book will be useful, but not necessary, as would the information to be found in Arkham Unveiled , The Compact Arkham Unveiled and the Miskatonic University Guide Book . In this adventure, the characters must rescue their friend, Ian Prescott. It is therefore essential that Prescott have a strong link to at least one player investigator. He could be an old school chum, a close colleague or even a relative, the stronger the link, the better. After the Player’s Introduction, you should explain this link to the players and tell them something about Prescott (see Ian Prescott’s description near the end of this adventure).

Player’s Introduction Outside, the rain is a torrent of darkness among the gusty streets. Safe from the elements, you are sitting at a table in a dark and musty steak house on the corner of Garrison Street and College Street Your friend, Ian Prescott, has yet to arrive. As an Egyptologist at Miskatonic University, Ian has been busy on an excavation near Cairo for the past two years. However, last week you received a telegram, which you take out and read once more:

Ian is already an hour late. This is very unusual, as you have known him to be prompt to the point of arriving half an hour early. As the minutes tick by, you become increasingly worried.

Keeper’s Introduction Ian Prescott has had a change of plans. Last night, he was kidnapped by a group of ghouls at the direction of Paul Rutter, a Cthulhoid cultist and an all around sanity-blasted individual. The reason behind this kidnapping is somewhat complicated, so a brief summary is in order.

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In 1913, the then-Egyptologist at Miskatonic University, Martin Rutter, returned to Arkham from Egypt after excavating near the Great Pyramid for thirteen years. He had been searching for relics from the Egyptian Fourth Dynasty, but found only a 1,000-year-old scroll in Arabic script. Disappointed, he nevertheless began to translate the scroll, which turned out to contain a spell: Contact Ghoul. Having the annoying habit of reading aloud as he translated, Martin Rutter accidentally cast the spell. An ancient tunnel passed near his house and from here the ghouls contacted him by burrowing through the cellar wall. A strange relationship between the ghouls and Martin Rutter began and lasted for almost a year. During this time, Martin slowly began to acquire the mannerisms and appearance of his ghoulish acquaintances. In the end, the cumulative stress proved to be too much for his already upset mind. Unable to cope with society, he was fired from his job within the year and soon after was arrested for murdering his wife. Three days after being sentenced to Arkham Asylum, Martin Rutter threw himself from the window of his room. The Rutter legacy lives on in the form of Martin’s son, Paul. When Paul Rutter read in the Arkham Inquirer that excavations were being carried out near Cairo, he created a Gate to the Great Pyramid so he could snoop around. There he learned that Ian Prescott had achieved what Paul’s father had failed to do insomuch as Ian Prescott might have found the mummy of the Pharaoh Cheops, builder of the Great Pyramid. When Professor Prescott returned home with the mummy, Rutter and his ghoul allies abducted him and stole the mummy. Rutter believes that the Great Pyramid holds the knowledge of time and space. He believes there were two methods of unraveling the pyramid’s puzzle. The least dangerous is to resurrect the mummy and learn the secret directly for Cheops. What Paul didn’t account for was that mummies were embalmed without their internal organs. As a result, when Rutter resurrected Cheops, it became a mindless death machine and he was forced to lock it in the cellar of his bungalow. Rutter must now travel to the Great Pyramid himself, through a Gate in his attic. On top of the pyramid, Rutter will begin the spell to Summon Yog-Sothoth, his second (and more dangerous) method of learning the secret of the Pyramid. He will drag Prescott with him for use as a sacrifice, and so the scenario begins. As Keeper, you will have to keep a reasonable track of time. It is now 1 pm. The investigators have until 8 pm. the following evening to find their friend. After eight, Ian Prescott will be dead. If they are doing too well, you should slow them down a bit, so they finish after 5 pm. The reason for this is that the climax of this adventure takes place in Egypt at night (between 12pm. and 3 am.). That part of the world is seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, so they must finish up in Arkham between five and eight that evening. Travel between locations should be handled somewhat abstractly, with an average of 5d6 minutes between locations. For time taken during character interaction (conversations, interrogations, etc.), you can use the real time taken. Time taken during searches will vary, but 10 minutes each room is a good guide. At some points you will be told how long an action takes. When in doubt, just estimate.

Miskatonic University Ian Prescott is not about to show up for the meeting and the police do not consider someone missing until after 24 hours, so the characters should search for him. They know that he works at Miskatonic University, and that he lives in a residence on campus. Therefore, that is where they should start. Elder Science Press


Miskatonic University Campus

Grant Hall - Prescott’s Rooms The university grounds are all but deserted, the terrible weather and Spring Break have seen to that. Prescott lives in the faculty residence at Grant Hall (Arkham Unveiled 621) in the northeast corner of the campus, the windows of his rooms facing Garrison Street. Grant Hall is a residence for bachelor faculty, graduate students and visitors. A porter controls access 24 hours a day. Although the Porter will insist that he hasn’t left the building, and that “No ones ‘bin by all day”, at the time of Ian’s abduction the Porter was enjoying a slap up meal in Paul’s Steak House (unmodified idea roll to recognize the Porter from the Steak House earlier). Paul Rutter paid for the meal, the Porter remembers Martin Rutter as a generous man and when Paul visited earlier that day they had talked fondly about the late Archaeologist, “to refuse the offer of a meal would’ve ‘bin rude, b’sides theres noone here they’s all away fer Spring Break”.

Once the Porters guilty conscience has been awoken he gladly grants the Investigators access, directing them to Ian’s first floor rooms. The door to Ian’s rooms is slightly open and shows obvious signs of being forced. The interior is even more discouraging. A smashed lamp and overturned chairs attest to a struggle. Not so obvious are the following clues, which will be found after a thorough search of the entire apartment (30 minutes) and a Spot Hidden. (These clues are crucial so feel free to give a bonus of up to +20% for each). 1. A .22 containing only three bullets lies on the floor. 2. The cuckoo clock on the wall has been shot and smashed. It reads 11:47. 3. There is a bullet hole in the wall surrounded by a spray of dried blood. A character that uses a microscope to analyze the blood for one hour is allowed a Chemistry roll. Success shows that the blood cells are almost, but not quite, human. There seems to be some kind of cellular mutation. Elder Science Press


4. A great deal of clay has been ground into the carpet near the door. The pouring rain has obliterated any tracks that might have been left outside. The clay is unlike anything found on the campus grounds, but a Geology roll (or an idea roll for those who grew up in Arkham) reveals it as a type of clay found in the banks of the Miskatonic River. 5. On the desk in the bedroom is a thick notebook with the title “Excavations on the Giza Plateau.” Upon examination it would appear that a large number of pages have been torn out, one such page has slipped beneath the desk. Anyone actively searching the desk will find this page. It contains some interesting information. A copy of the lost page can be found in the handouts section at the rear of this scenario. This is an important clue as It provides a firm link to Paul Ritter for the investigators to follow up. NOON: I saw that strange-looking man snooping around the tents again. When I asked him what he wanted, he ran away toward the Pyramid. I chased him inside, planning on trapping him in the King’s Chamber. Somehow he must have snuck by, for when I reached the chamber, I could not find him anywhere. My fellah assistant says he fears the man. He says the man is evil and has been touched by Allah. I do not know about that (these Egyptian country folk have strange beliefs), but he does worry me. I said he looked strange, but I could not place that strangeness until just now. In the last year of this life, Professor Martin Rutter had that same appearance. Strange, since I have not thought of the Professor since I replaced him. EVENING: I am so excited that I have hardly the patience to sit down to write. Today in grid G-12, at precisely 1:16pm we uncovered a perfectly preserved mummy. I have barely begun to examine it, but I feel certain that it is that of, should I say it, Cheops himself. I will telegram the States in the morning.

Search of the Campus A search of the campus grounds may yield a clue, a character that Spots Hidden at -20% will see that a grill over a storm drain in the ground near Locksley Hall is not quite in place. If the investigators are actively searching the grounds reduce the –20% by 5% for each fifteen minutes spent searching. This storm drain is where Rutter and the ghouls dragged Prescott. A vertical shaft drops 10 feet to area 2 of The Catacombs.

Hoyt Administration Building The investigators may also wish to question campus residents, however most students and faculty staff are away for the Spring Break, those that remain know nothing and in all cases will direct investigators to the Hoyt Admin Building and the office of Miskatonic President, Seymour Leighton and his formidable secretary Ms. Amelia Haberfield. Amelia Haberfield is in her mid thirties, she is efficient, precise and extremely proud of her position at the University. Ms. Haberfield sees it as her duty to look after Seymor Leighton and this includes ensuring that no one sees Mr Leighton without an appointment, particularly today when Seymor is so obviously upset about something. Seymour Leighton is an obese man in his late 50’s. He sits behind a large desk most of the day. When the investigators meet him, he seems very upset. This has nothing to do with Prescott’s disappearance. In fact, at the mention of this, he will be genuinely surprised. Leighton is upset because the mummy has been stolen. He will relate this only if the invesElder Science Press


tigators manage to gain his confidence using Oratory or Debate. He doesn’t want to get the police involved, be-cause he and Prescott were smuggling liquor in the mummy crate. On no account will he relate this. Leighton will show them the room where the mummy was being stored (in the cellar of the Science Hall) if they request it, but there are no clues there. If asked about Martin Rutter, Leighton tells them that he was the Professor of Egyptology from 1895 to 1913. In 1914 he went violently insane and killed himself. If the investigators confide in him (or if they Fast Talk) he will suggest they talk to Martin’s son, Paul. Although he hasn’t seen Paul since Martin died, Leighton thinks he still lives at the same place and gives them Rutter’s home address.

The Library At this point, the investigators may wish to learn something about the Great Pyramid or Cheops. A character that succeeds in a History roll already knows something about the subject. Give him the General Information presented below. Otherwise, the characters must resort to the Miskatonic University library. Four hours of searching is usually required for a Library Use roll but, since time is precious in this adventure, one hour of Library Use will turn up the following General Information. If the players want more information than is given here, you might like to let them research it themselves between play sessions. General Information Cheops, or Khufu in Egyptian, was the second pharaoh who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty (c.2613-2494 BC). He was born circa 2545 BC and died about 25 years later. During his lifetime, the great he was known as a tyrant and a flouter of the gods. Other details of Cheops’ life remain obscure. Although very little is known about Cheops, his Great Pyramid was the first (and only surviving) of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It covers over 13 acres and was originally 481 feet tall (the capstone is now missing). The most surprising facts are that its sides are almost exactly aligned north to south and east to west and the outer blocks are so precisely fitted that a sheet of paper could not be slipped between them. Strange characteristics like these have incited people since ancient Greece to ponder over the pyramid. What is it? The popular belief is that the pyramid is a tomb, but Cheops’ mummy has never been found. The Arab thinkers claimed that the pyramid was a physical vault for all of the ancient Egyptians’ knowledge. Later scholars believed that the pyramid did not contain the knowledge but was the knowledge. The founders of “pyramidology,” a Scottish astronomer Charles Piazzi Smythe and a London editor John Taylor, believe this. In 1859, John Taylor published The Great Pyramid Why Was It Built? And Who Built It? In which he proposed that the Great Pyramid had been built under divine guidance and that its dimensions incorporated the true value of pi, the mass and circumference of the Earth, and the distance between the earth and the sun. The American churchman Joseph Seiss went even further. He wrote in 1877 “the stones harbored one great system of interrelated numbers, measures, weights, angles, temperatures, degrees, geometric problems and cosmic references.” The 1920s saw the start of “pyramid power.” This belief maintained that it was the pyramid shape that was somehow a potent mystic force. A pyramid could sharpen razor blades; preserve organic matter and funnel energy.

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Keeper’s Note The truth (in Cthulhoid history) is that the Great Pyramid is a tomb in the sense that it was built to assist the pharaoh on his trip to the afterlife. All pyramids except that of Cheops failed in this regard because their dimensions were not correct. Cheops denounced the traditional gods and secretly worshipped an evil version of Thoth (the ibus-headed god of knowledge), later known as Yog-Sothoth. Yog-Sothoth gave Cheops the knowledge of all time and space, and Cheops incorporated this information into his pyramid. When he died, the pyramid was to transport Cheops to another world/time/dimension. Cheops’ plans were disrupted a few days after his mummy was entombed. A group of greedy priests entered the Great Pyramid and stole the treasure. They dumped Cheops’ mummy and his golden sarcophagus in the sands, burying it upside down as a mark of disrespect. The following day, the remaining loyal priests found the tomb breached but superstitiously attributed this to Cheops ascension to the afterlife rather than to grave robbers, simply resealed the pyramid and the secrets of the pyramid were lost forever.

The Catacombs The catacombs are a series of tunnels burrowed by ghouls under Arkham. There are many entrances to the tunnels, but only two have any relevance to this adventure. The first is under Garrison Street Bridge (area 1) while the second is through a grill on the Miskatonic campus (area 2). 1. Under Garrison Street Bridge: Investigators who search the south bank of the Miskatonic River will find (with a Spot Hidden) a small tunnel under the bridge. The walls are made of the same clay discovered earlier. The tunnel’s diameter varies from two to three feet, so the investigators will have to crawl. Hopeful investigators may surmise that a large animal, ‘like a badger’, has dug the tunnel’s walls. A light source will be necessary. 2. Under Miskatonic University: Originally a part of Arkham’s early sewer system, the vertical shaft has not been used since 1893. The rusty iron ladder is still safe. There are a series of tracks in the soft clay at the base of the ladder, which lead to area 3. A Track roll is not necessary to follow them (they are that obvious) but investigators must make two such rolls to determine how many individuals made the tracks (4 sets of pawprints and one human set) and how long ago the tracks were made (within a day). Investigators who examine the dog-like prints and make a Cthulhu Mythos roll realize that they are stalking a Minor Monster. 3. Cave: The tracks are lost in the hard earth here, as the tunnel widens into a sort of cave. The room is filled with split bones and cracked skulls, most of them human. There is a hole in the floor and a disgusting smell wafts up from the void. This tunnel leads deeper into the catacombs. Those bold or foolish enough to dive into the hole will encounter a large number of ghouls. You may like to develop this area further for future adventures (it’s a veritable labyrinth) but for now it plays no part. A successful Spot Hidden will find a watch with “I.P.” engraved on the back. Players should realize this is evidence of Ian Prescott’s presence here. Elder Science Press


Noisy investigators have a 70% chance of attracting 1d4 ghouls, which will climb out of the hole to investigate. 4. Dead End: The tunnel here leads past a brick wall. A ragged breach in the brick has been covered on the inside by a piece of plywood. See room 8 of Rutter’s House.

Rutter’s House Rutter lives in an ugly square building of gray brick on the corner of Brown and Derby Street. The roof sags like the back of a run-down mare. All the windows are curtained. The front lawn is overgrown and two thick maples largely hide the house from the street. 1. Living Room: The living room is carpeted with a green rug and furnished with three soft chairs and a sofa, all stained. The walls are covered with photographs of family members and cheap landscape paintings. One photograph, of a man in his early 50’s, is somewhat disturbing, although it is hard to tell why; characters that successfully roll against both Anthropology and Cthulhu Mythos realize the man’s jaw juts out slightly and his forehead slopes back. “Martin Rutter, 1913,” is scribbled on the back. A large artificial fireplace has been built into the south wall. A Spot Hidden while searching the fireplace reveals a loose stone in the mantel behind is a cavity in which a piece of yellowed parchment has been stashed. Written in Arabic are the directions for the spell Contact Ghoul. 2. Kitchen: a small oak table surrounded by three rickety chairs, an icebox, and a stove cramp this small room. The cupboards contain cheap dinnerware and canned goods. The floor is yellowed and worn. There are obvious signs that mice live behind the walls. 3. Closet: Inside is a ladder leading up to the attic. 4. Unused Room: This room is filled with odd pieces of furniture, boxes of old clothes, and other junk. Judging from the layer of dust on everything, this room hasn’t been used in some time. 5. Shrine: The door to this room is locked and requires an INTx2 roll to pick the lock, a roll on the resistance table to break it down (using the character’s strength vs. the door’s strength of 10), or the key (found in room 7). The room inside is a shrine dedicated to Yog-Sothoth, with an altar made of bone (both human and animal, successful idea roll) covered with half-melted, colored candies. Other bones hang like wind chimes from the ceiling. Inscriptions have been carved into the floor and wall, darkened with blood. Characters who fail a SAN roll lose 1d3 points. The window has a heavy blanket nailed over it. 6. Bathroom: A standard facility containing a bathtub, sink and toilet, all dirty and ill

kept. 7. Bedroom: To imagine someone sleeping in this room is nauseating. To remain within the realm of good taste, it will suffice to say that the furnishings are covered in filth and the floor hidden by garbage. Under the bed are five books. Four deal with the supposed secret powers of pyramids, while the last is a leather-bound book of great age, with the title, The Book Of Solomon (+6% knowledge, x3 spell, -1d10 SAN). It contains the following spells: Create Gate, Resurrection and Call YogSothoth. Inside the back cover is the key to room 5. 8. Cellar: There are two parts to the cellar, divided by a thick wooden wall. The southern half is almost completely taken up by a huge black furnace and a coal bin. Elder Science Press


A warped piece of plywood leaning against the wall hides a three-foot diameter hole. A Spot Hidden will only discover this hole or if the plywood is moved. The hole leads to area 4 of the catacombs as mentioned earlier. The northern part of the cellar is cluttered with broken and unused items. In the northeast corner is a 7’x4’ wooden crate with packing manifest from Cairo and Montreal. The stolen mummy is hiding behind the crate and will attack as soon as it is approached. Investigators should be careful, as the mummy is a valuable archaeological artifact. In the crate, there are twelve bottles of whiskey stacked under the packing material, hidden here when the crate passed through Quebec. A box in the corner contains fireworks from some previous July 4th celebrations. If one is lit and fired as a weapon, it has a 10% chance of striking the intended target and does 1d3 damage. If lit as a group, the box explodes doing 1d10 damage to everyone within a one-yard radius. 9. Attic: The attic is bare. A door has been chalked on one wall and (seen with a successful Spot Hidden) there are grains of sand on the floor in front of it. The chalk door is a Gate, which leads to the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid. The Gate requires three MP and one point of SAN to pass through. There are hooks on either side of the door and a lantern hangs on one of them.

Paul Rutter's House

The Great Pyramid The Gate from Rutter’s house leads directly to the King’s chamber. Don’t tell the characters where they are; let them find out for themselves. All tunnels are 4’ high and in modern times have had handrails and electric lights installed. The lights will only be on from 8 a.m. to 4:30 pm. (remember, Egyptian time is seven hours ahead) and investigators without a light source have no chance of navigating the interior safely. 1. King’s Chamber: This black-walled room is 34’x17’ and 19’ high. The air is fresh (thanks to two tiny air holes leading to the top of the pyramid) but cool. The six-foot stone sarcophagus in the center of the room is lidless and empty, and this is where the characters find themselves after passing through the gate. Lightly scratched into one side of the sarcophagus is the return Gate. 2. Grand Gallery: This chamber is 28’ high and 153’ long, but only a few feet wide. The walls are of polished limestone blocks. Modem railings have been built-in to Elder Science Press


assist in climbing the steep slope. At the bottom of the Gallery there is a dark hole in the floor, covered with a locked grate. This “well,” as it is called, drops almost 200’ to the lower corridor and requires a Climb to descend safely. The well twists and turns in its decent, so a fall causes “only” 7d6 damage. 3. Queen’s Chamber: Incorrectly named, this 18’x18’x20’ high chamber was built as the resting place for Cheops’ mummy but later abandoned in favor of the King’s Chamber. 4. Plugs: At this point, three granite plugs have blocked the corridor. There is a roughhewn tunnel in the softer limestone on one side of these plugs, dug by the ninthcentury Arab caliph Abdullah Al Mamun’s crew during his own explorations. Just beyond the plugs is the corridor leading out. At night, looking towards the exit from this corridor can see the North Star. Progress to room 5 is blocked by a locked gate. 5. Early Tomb: In the unlikely event that the investigators reach this chamber, they will find it choked with rubble. The first burial chamber for Cheops, it was abandoned for the Queen’s Chamber. Bright light will stir up the bats, which live here. For each round until the bats settle down (in 1d6 rounds), investigators have a 5% chance of being bitten for 1D3 points of damage. 6. Exit: Self-explanatory.

The Great Pyramid Cross Section

The Climax The investigators exit the pyramid about 300 feet above the ground on the north face. A wind stirs on the plateau and faint flute music drifts through the clear night air. Looking back towards the pyramid’s top, the investigators can just make out the silhouettes of a group of men against the flickering light of a lantern. These “men” are Paul Rutter, two ghouls and Ian Prescott. The ghouls are keeping watch while Rutter summons Yog-Sothoth. Ian Prescott’s wrists are bound, but if there looks like there is hope, he will fight as best he can. The Great Pyramid gives a 100% bonus to the casting of the Call Yog-Sothoth spell because that is one of its original purposes. The magic points Rutter spends on the spell will only reduce its casting time. To make the ending more climatic, you should assume there is only 5 minutes left. If the investigators are spotted, the two ghouls will attempt to Elder Science Press


sneak down the other side of the pyramid and then circle round to attack the investigators from behind. Another danger exists during the climb. People have been known to fall to their death from the crumbing stone blocks, so near the top of the pyramid, each player should make a Climb roll or fall for 1d6 damage. The all-time record for pyramid climbing was five minutes 30 seconds both ways, so a fast investigator could conceivably reach the top in, say, three minutes. This leaves two minutes. Assuming each combat round equals 10 seconds, the investigators have 12 rounds to stop Rutter from summoning Yog-Sothoth. Unless Paul Rutter is stopped, YogSothoth will appear in its Tawil at’Umr guise. Rutter will present Yog-Sothoth with Ian Prescott as a sacrifice and in return the Opener of the Way will invest Rutter with the secrets of time and space. This is kind of an abstract concept, but you should give Rutter a healthy increase in statistics (particularly POW) as well as an equally substantial loss of SAN, and allow him to learn the Time Gate (Cthulhu By Gaslight, p. 54), Summon/Bind Dimensional Shambler and any other spells you deem appropriate. With that, Yog-Sothoth will teleport Rutter to some other part of the galaxy. If the characters inadvertently gain YogSothoth’s attention (by shooting at it, for instance), Yog-Sothoth will shed its mystic veil and appear to them in a form that is more horrible and alien than can be described in words. Characters lose 1d100/1d1O if a SAN role is failed/passed. The investigators will have gotten off easily. If the investigators are super-super quiet, Yog-Sothoth may not notice them. In any case, a few minutes later, a super-sonic boom will shake the earth as YogSothoth speeds off across the desert at the speed of sound. In the next few days, reports of UFO’s and strange disappearances (e.g.: BRIGHT LIGHTS SEEN OVER TOKYO, BERMUDA TRIANGLE CLAIMS SHIP) will skyrocket and withered corpses will be found across the globe.

Character & Creature Statistics Paul Rutter STR 16

CON 15

SIZ 16

INT 13

POW 19

DEX 10

APP 8

EDU 12

SAN 24

Hit Points 15

Move 8

Skills: Bargain 15%, Debate 20%, Dodge 52%, Fast Talk 45%, Hide 50%, History

50%, Occult 65%, Sneak 50%, Cthulhu 36% Weapons: Fist 50%, damage 1d3+1d4, Knife 35%, damage 1d4+1d4, .22 Revolver

20%, damage 1d6, attacks 3 Spells: Call Yog-Sothoth, Create Gate, and Resurrection

Paul Rutter was emotionally abused as a child. His father was obsessed with his work at Miskatonic University and gave no time to his family. Paul’s mother was a hateful woman who spent most of her time interfering in her husband’s life. As a child, Paul vented his frustrations on small animals and later at-tempted to break free of his mother’s hold by rebelling. The occult seemed a perfect solution and reading occult lore became his obsession. Paul was still living at home when his father made contact with the ghouls. Due to the reading, Paul was more willing to accept the bizarre, and his sanity fared better than his father’s. After his parents’ deaths, Paul continued meeting with the ghouls and began to unravel the Cthulhoid Elder Science Press


mysteries. Paul Rutter calls himself a warlock. Although he has made contact with a number of cults, he has remained independent. He is physically imposing, standing a few inches over six feet with a thick chest and large hands. Contact with ghouls has altered his appearance subtly; his forehead slopes back and his jaw juts out. The things he has seen have caused his hair to turn white prematurely (he is in his early 30’s) and the maniacal gleam in his pale-blue eyes is unnerving to those he looks at. Paul is motivated by the quest for esoteric knowledge and the opportunity to cause pain in others.

Ian Prescott STR 10

CON 4

SIZ 9

INT 13

POW 14

DEX 10

APP 13

EDU 16

SAN 70

Hit Points 6

Move 7

Skills: Archaeology 60% (Egyptology 90%), History 50% (Egypt 70%), Library Use

50%, Read Write Arabic 30%, Read/Write English 80%, Read/Write Hieroglyphics 75%, Speak Arabic 30% Weapons: Fist 50%, damage 1d3 Kick 25%, and damage 1d6

Generous donations have allowed Miskatonic University to maintain a small staff of archaeologists whose exclusive job is to excavate sites all over the world. Ian Prescott is one of these archaeologists, the head of Egyptology since 1914. While far from the adventuring-archaeologist mould, Prescott still prefers the overseeing of excavations to the lecture circuit. He loves his job and is totally dedicated to it, although he is careful not to make it the only aspect of his life. Prescott is good looking but pale, always wiping his brow with a handkerchief. Weak and prone to sickness, he has a pronounced limp. His prime motivation is to uncover the “Big Find,” something that would turn the archaeological world on its ear. He doesn’t want fame or money (he likes his moderate lifestyle), but wants to simply do his part in uncovering history and have the knowledge that his life has had some worth. Prescott also enjoys his liquor and if it wasn’t for his job, he might have considered moving to Canada! If you had to describe Ian Prescott in two words, they would be neat and prompt. His life was in perfect order, until recently!

Ghouls STR 16

CON 13

SIZ 13

INT 13

POW 13

DEX 13

Hit Points 13

Move 9

Weapons: Claw 30%, Damage 1d6+1d4, Bite 30%, and damage 1d6+1d4+worry Skills: Climb 85%, Hide 60%, jump 75%, Listen 70%, Sneak 80%, Spot Hidden 50% Armor : none. Blunt weapons do half damage. SAN: Seeing a ghoul costs 0/1d6

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Pharaoh Cheops STR 22

CON 12

SIZ 9

INT 11

POW 15

DEX 9

Hit Points 11

Move 5

Weapons: Fist 45%, damage 1d3+1d4 (+5% chance of disease) Skills: Sneak 65%, Armour: 2 points. Immune to impaling weapons, all

others do half damage. SAN: Seeing this mummy cost 0/1d8 SAN.

Under the mummy’s wrapping is a small scarab medallion of dark green stone. The medallion is a repository of magical energy, and contains 10 magic points that may be used (and as such may be expended permanently) by the wearer at will. The medallion recharges itself by leaching one MP per day from its wearer. A successful Archaeology roll indicates that this medallion was made during the Egyptian Fourth Dynasty.

Conclusion Although this adventure is potentially very dangerous, the satisfaction of saving a close friend should be enough.

Sanity gains Defeating the mummy is worth 1d8, while each of the ghouls slain is worth an increase of 1d6 SAN. If Prescott survives the investigators should receive a further sanity bonus of 2d4 Loose Ends The mummy of Cheops is an important archaeological artifact. Miskatonic University will reward its return by paying each investigator $100 and in the future will allow them to use all campus facilities, including access to their copy of the Necronomicon. If Rutter succeeds, he could become a major opponent in your campaign.

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Handouts - The Key & The Gate Papers

Key & The Gate Papers #1 – Telegram from Prescott.

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Key & The Gate Papers #2 – Prescott’s Journal Page.

Noon: I saw that strange-looking man snooping around the tents again. When I asked him what he wanted, he ran away toward the Pyramid. I chased him inside, planning on trapping him in the King’s Chamber. Somehow he must have snuck by, for when I reached the chamber, I could not find him anywhere. My fellah assistant says he fears the man. He says the man is evil and has been touched by Allah. I do not know about that (these Egyptian country folk have strange beliefs), but he does worry me. I said he looked strange, but I could not place that strangeness until just now. In the last year of this life, Professor Martin Rutter had that same appearance. Strange, since I have not thought of the Professor since I replaced him. Evening: I am so excited that I have hardly the patience to sit down to write. Today in grid G-12, at precisely 1:16pm we uncovered a perfectly preserved mummy. I have barely begun to examine it, but I feel certain that it is that of, should I say it, Cheops himself. I will telegram the States in the morning.

Elder Science Press


The Key and the Gate

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