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Play@YSDC
Play by Post game boards for Call of Cthulhu and Horror RPGs
“Come back!” Hanif stood at the top of the stairs in his new white linen suit. If he had his way, the stone that covered these steps would be restored to where it had rested for over 3000 years. “This place is not meant for the living! Jack?”
Inside the winding catacombs, Monterey Jack held his torch up to the walls as he walked. How many mummied remains had been entombed here? Each wore the inverted ankh and each was armed with a khopesh. “Hanif!” Jack called excitedly. “This is the army of Nephren-Ka. We have found the Labyrinth of Kish! Come down here!”
Jack’s torch illuminated a mural on the wall. It depicted Akenaten’s prayer to the sun and the arrival of the priest, Nephren-Ka. Look again, Jack. How many times had Jack stared blankly at a shard of pottery or weatherworn stone only to have his father’s voice gently urge him to see more? Jack looked again. That was not the sun. It was a swirling mass of chaos, and it was not sending a priest. It was resurrecting a king. Nephren-Ka was not just named after the legendary Dark Pharaoh; he was that same ancient horror. “Hanif! Get in here! is is an amazing—”
Jack turned and abruptly came face to face with Hanif, now clad in a black robe and wearing an inverted ankh around his neck. “You were a brave man, Jack.” Hanif raised his khopesh to Jack’s throat. “Your father died bravely as well.”
Prelude
Mandy Thompson regretted being late. Just before the early morning start on her first day at the bibliographic conference in Philly, she was “caught short,”—the trolley into town was not on time, something to do with power outages, and the heel had snapped on her shoe—and had to visit the public lavatories.
So that particular morning she was in an infuriated rush. Normally, well of course normally, she would not dream of using a public john, and if she must she’d have positioned a circle of paper upon the wooden ring. Only this time…well, needs must, and all that.
She put aside the tome and swept the scrolls off Mr. Shan’s lacquered table, with its exquisite jade inkwell, and stared out through the wood and paper window at downtown Shanghai. Unconsciously she ran her hand along the back of one thigh, which, ever since that john in Philly, had been blistered and its skin peeling.
Turn 1 Action Phase, Shanghai
Mandy opened a tome with odd Egyptian-like hieroglyphs scraped between the Chinese characters—”If only I could decipher these bizarre inscriptions?” She sighed and her brow wrinkled. She concluded that even more research was needed.
Action 1: Investigator ability: Draw 2 Clues, place 1. Cairo and space 21, Cairo chosen.
Action 2: Travel to Tokyo.
by Quatermass » Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:56 pm
Turn 1 Action Phase, Rex Murphy, space 1, Juno, Alaska
A racking cough came from the tall thin man. He stood, waiting for the clerk to return at the local hardware store in downtown Juno. His white handkerchief came back speckled with drops of blood as he wiped his mouth. “Damn!” he thought, it was getting worse. He would have to go see a doctor soon but he didn’t trust the ones in town—“Maybe Doc Samuels in San Francisco could help?”
The clerk returned with a small wooden box and handed it to Rex. “Here you go. No charge. I appreciated that story you wrote about the sheriff and his corrupt group of cops,” the man smiled.
Rex returned the smile and opened the lid to see it full of dynamite. “Thanks!” he said. “You never know when you may need this stuff!”
Action 1: Acquire Dynamite using Special Ability.
Action 2: Move to San Francisco.
by Mr. Handy » Fri Jan 08, 2016 4:54 am
Prelude
Professor Harvey Walters walked through the campus of Miskatonic University in Arkham. As he strolled through the quad, he passed Amanda Sharpe, one of the brighter students. When he was a young student here himself, there weren’t female students, which was more the pity. He was always glad to see them around. “I’m too old for her, of course,” he thought, “but I can still look.”
“Good morning, Professor!” Amanda said with a cheerful smile. “Have you heard the news?”
“No, I haven’t, Miss Sharpe,” said Harvey. “Please, enlighten me.”
“There’s an expedition being formed, heading to Argentina to search for ancient pre-Columbian artifacts. Leo Anderson is organizing it.”
“That does sound right up my alley! I am about due for a sabbatical. I may just sign on. Thank you for letting me know about it.” He felt a sneeze coming on, and he quickly took out his handkerchief and covered his mouth and nose before it erupted.
“God bless you, Professor! Are you okay?”
“I seem to be coming down with something. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Turn 1 Action Phase
.Harvey packed for his trip, bringing along the ancient, puzzling tome he had been studying. In addition to being sick, he was plagued by nightmares of a monstrous, bat-winged creature with a single red three-lobed eye lurking in the dark and is just as glad to be leaving Arkham. He went to the docks and boarded the expedition’s ship. The journey to Buenos Aires was long and miserable, and he spent most of it violently ill.
Action 1: Prepare for Travel: Ship Ticket Acquired.
.Action 2: Travel: Arkham->8->Buenos Aires[Ship Ticket]
by DSIGFUSS » Fri Jan 08, 2016 7:56 pm
Jacqueline woke up from a restless sleep and jumped out of bed, running to the privy with all the fear and excitement of a school girl on the first day of a new year. Barely brushing her teeth and hair, she slapped on a woolly toque she had knitted herself when life wasn’t nearly this interesting. Hopping around like a mad court jester, Jacqueline struggled with her leggings and barely fastened her long, white conservative dress into place before stopping to catch her breath.
Jacqueline now had purpose in her life. These strange visions of death and decay she’d been having of late had finally turned up something of value to the world. A vision of evil men doing terrible things—things that might do harm to a lot of innocent lives if left unchecked, things that might be stopped if swift action were taken…
Taking off from her wardrobe at a slow sprint, Jacqueline raced into the kitchen, opened her refrigerator and retrieved an orange for breakfast. She began to peel it and then put it down on the counter, panic rising quickly in her mind’s eye—“There’s no time!”
She grabbed her notebook and lucky black ebony pen. She once had a matching ivory for the set but the ivory trade was far too despicable to hold onto that thing—disgusting relic. Cramming her notebook into a large frilled and flowery purse, Jacqueline raced out the front door, barely slowing down to put on her jacket.
She raised a hand to the street to hail a cab when the back of her head suddenly exploded into a chaotic display of marble, bone and brain. A large marble statue of a man contemplating something very important had fallen from its place on the rooftop above her apartment door. Jacqueline had always feared the look on the statue’s face, assuming he was contemplating something both selfish and cruel.
The statue had hit Jacqueline squarely on the head and was so heavy that as it fell, it proceeded to force its way down the poor woman’s body in as violent a manner as possible. After pulverizing Jacqueline’s head to a unrecognizable pulp, the statue continued downwards, shattering her spine and crumpling the poor woman into a pile of bloody meat on her own front step. The impact killed her immediately.
Jacqueline woke up from a restless sleep and jumped out of bed, running to the privy with all the fear and excitement of a school girl on the first day of a new year. Barely brushing her teeth and hair, she slapped on a woolly toque she had knitted herself when life wasn’t nearly this interesting. Hopping around like a mad court jester, Jacqueline struggled with her leggings and barely fastened her long, white conservative dress into place before stopping to catch her breath.
“Slow down!”
She squinted and looked around her apartment, a strong sense of déjà vu creeping up her spine. She walked slowly to the kitchen and opened up her refrigerator. She grabbed two eggs which she cracked slowly into a pan. She stirred them with a dab of milk watching with a strange fascination as the proteins in the egg coagulated together. She had just seasoned and plated her scrambled eggs when a terrible crash from outside shook her whole apartment.
She got up and ran to her front door. A marble statue had fallen from her roof and shattered into a thousand pieces on her front stoop. Jacqueline smiled. She had always hated that statue.
Humming softly to herself. Jacqueline calmly packed for her trip to San Francisco. “I think we’ll leave tomorrow,” she thought.
Turn 1 Action Phase
Action 1: Rest and flip Poisoned condition card.
Action 2: Travel to San Francisco
by Quatermass » Sat Jan 09, 2016 7:01 pm
Turn 1 Encounter Phase, San Francisco
Rex wondered the streets of Chinatown looking for the offices of a Doctor Lang-Fu. He had been given his address and told that he could help Rex with his cough. The blood was getting worse, and the other doctors that he had seen hadn’t helped at all. Strangely his office was tucked in the back of a restaurant. The Chinese staff stared at Rex as he walked though the place—“Haven’t they seen a white man before?” he thought. A pretty waitress asked him in broken English what he wanted, and he replied that he was looking for Dr. Lang-Fu, the whole restaurant when quiet. One or two people got up and left in a hurry. The waitress looked at him for a minute and then led him to the back.
Through some curtains was a richly decorated room with a Go board set up in the center. An elderly Chinese man, richly dressed in some oriental costume, was smoking a long pipe and looking at the board. He didn’t look up as Rex walked in but kept staring at the board. Rex said he was looking for Dr. Lang-Fu, still the man ignored Rex. Confused, Rex walked up and looked at the board himself. It was nearly full of black and white stones. Rex had learned to play Go in Shanghai and luckily he saw the correct move. Picking up a white stone he placed it on the board. The old man smiled and said: “Yes. Mr. Murphy, how may I help you.”
by Mr. Handy » Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:56 am
Turn 1 Encounter Phase
Harvey explored the archaelogical site in the city of Buenos Aires, which contained a collection of ancient Mapache statues. “The Mapache used to worship these idols and make offerings to them,” he thought. On a whim, he placed some fresh fruit before one of the statues in memory of these long-dead people. He was surprised to hear a gentle voice in his head. “Thank you, mortal,” it said—he couldn’t tell whether it is male or female. “It has been a long time since anyone has made an offering. As a reward, you shall have an artifact of great power. Use it wisely, for it has the power to banish the Haunter of the Dark and save the world from the vile influence of Nyarlathotep.” The voice guided him through the ruins, revealing a secret compartment containing a strangely glowing prism, which Harvey took. “What a find!” he exclaimed, “Thank you!” But the voice was gone.
Observation roll, 3d6, to hear the voice; success! Shining Trapezohedron gained! 
by Tabs » Sun Jan 10, 2016 10:16 am
Turn 1 Encounter Phase, Tokyo
Mandy Thompson gently turned the manuscript’s page. She had discovered it amongst scattered paraphernalia on a rug in one of Tokyo’s outdoor flea markets. She ran her finger under the characters.
“You read Chinese?” asked a dapper gentleman.
“Some,” replied Mandy, straightening up with a slight “ooh”; “Stiff joints,” she explained.
“Then I recommend a cup of ginseng tea!” He bowed, “Hantaro Nagaoka.”
~
Over a cup with the brilliant physicist Mandy learned about spatial disruptions, which she connected with tears in the space time continuum—gates to other worlds. Hantaro-san was so impressed by Mandy he offered her a contract to work at his laboratory, claiming, “I can use spatial disruptions as a weapon,” in order to tempt her. However she reluctantly declined—“I am only just starting my adventure and, sadly, your work would be of no use at the present time.”
by DSIGFUSS » Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:46 pm
After spending her first day in San Francisco defecating in the hospital’s waiting room toilets, Jacqueline was finally able to see a doctor. She had been poisoned for several days now and felt like a bag full of hammered kittens. The poison coincided with her visit to the old cult building, there she had received the vision that started her on this short but diarrheic journey.
The Doctor was a smug son of a bitch, who knew exactly what was wrong with Jacqueline and what to give her to counter the poison—for a fee, of course. Jacqueline couldn’t help but notice a small tattoo of a snake on the doctor’s left hand. Jacqueline closed her eyes and focused hard on the doctor and her current situation. She saw two possible futures, both morally and mentally degrading. All the visions in the nine hells were not going to get her out of this one so Jacqueline did what any self-loathing, supernatural modern day woman would do her in her predicament. She took out a small loan with a very poor interest rate.
As Jacqueline was leaving the hospital and wondering how she was going to get enough money for a half decent hotel in the cursed city she heard the sound of screaming. “Look out!” a beat cop screamed as he tried to steer a 6,000 pound elephant away from a crowd of ignorant onlookers. Two men with large mustaches were following after the beast with heavy hemp ropes. Both managed to lasso their ropes over the elephants head.
“What in bloody blue blazes?”
Jacqueline tried to sense the situation but there was no time. The rampaging elephant was headed right for her. She ducked behind a sturdy looking mailbox and watched in surprised bewilderment as the two mustached men were dragged behind the massive creature. Just as one managed to get his footing and pull on his end of the rope the other mustached man was flung up high into the air and landed hard down on a 1921 Blue Rolls-Royce. His arm bent at a disgustingly crooked angle; Jacqueline cringed. She hoped he didn’t have to see the same snake doctor that treated her poison.
Now the one mustached man was battling to subdue the elephant alone. Gathering her courage, Jacqueline ran out into the street and picked up one of the ropes tied to the elephant’s neck. Before it could fling her up into the air and onto another luxurious automobile, Jacqueline ran ahead of the beast until she had enough slack in the rope to wrap it around a good sized tree. The elephant came to a sudden halt as the rope tightened around the tree. The elephant pulled and tugged but soon calmed down once it realized it was tethered once more. The mustache man quickly pulled out a carrot and with a few soothing words had the beast eating right out of his hand.
Curling his mustache between his fingers, using a dab of wax from his ears, the mustache man approached Jacqueline and frowned at his brother groaning in agony a few parked cars back. “Zank You for ze azziztance! I vould be honored to ezcort you to supper, Mein Fraulien! I vould zeem zat mein Bruder vill not be able to make de rezervation I did for uz.”
Jacqueline smiled, she didn’t sense any danger from the mustache man.
Could anyone say “Meal Ticket”?
by Tabs » Tue Jan 12, 2016 10:31 am
Turn 1 Mythos Phase
Clues appear at Tokyo and The Heart of Africa.
by Quatermass » Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:38 pm
Turn 2 Action Phase. San Francisco
Rex did some shopping in Chinatown and picked up a few items, amongst these he found a book on Russian Folklore, remembering that his friend, Mandy Thompson, was interested in that sort of thing too, he decided to mail it to her in Tokyo. He also found another book, a journal in German, that talked about sea cults in the Pacific, it had some rather nasty stuff in it… To round off the day of shopping, a small pistol and some fresh fruit were added to his bags. Quite a haul! His cough returned so he headed back to his hotel to get some rest.
Action 1: Acquire Assets using Special Ability.
Use Wireless Report to send one clue to Mandy.
Action 2: Rest.
by Tabs » Wed Jan 13, 2016 10:39 am
Turn 2 Action Phase in Tokyo.
Action 1: Rest. Mandy rolls 1d6; success!
Mandy asked physicist Hantaro Nagaoka if he knew a consultant radiotherapist. Nagaoka was too polite to delve into her problem, simply referring her to a colleague of his at Tokyo General.
Several hours later she stood before Toshiro-san trying, and failing, to explain her illness—his English was as dreadful as her Japanese. Exasperated, she hoiked up her skirt and then pulled down one stocking, revealing her infected and blistered thigh. After the application of a most foul smelling ointment the soreness and red colouring receded.
Action 2: Travel to space 19.
by Mr. Handy » Thu Jan 14, 2016 6:09 am
Turn 2 Action Phase
With a successful expedition behind him, Harvey sailed with the ship back north, docking in Panama City where he relaxed and celebrated his success, and also got some much needed medical attention.
Roll to see if Diseased gets discarded 1d6; FAIL.
by DSIGFUSS » Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:41 pm
Turn 2 Action Phase
Jacqueline dug into her purse. There was barely enough change for the martini she’d have to buy (in order to sit at the bar and talk with the filthy gangsters who had “staked” her medical bill). She sat down at the bar and rubbed her temples, what a headache the last few days in San Francisco had been. The bartender snapped her fingers in front of Jacqueline’s face.
“Hey, lady! Lady! What’ll it be?”
Startled, Jacqueline’s eyes popped open.
“You gonna get a drink, lady? Or maybe you wanna sit and stare at the booze all night?”
“One martini with four olives, please. And I’d like to speak to Mr. Muttz, thank you.”
“Your funeral, honey! He’s in a mood!” The bartender poured Jacqueline a drink and plopped one olive in the glass.
Jacqueline made to argue but quickly silenced herself, understanding the position she was in. A heavyset man soon came out and sat next to poor Jacqueline. She was terrified and could not stop herself from trembling.
“Mr. Muttz?”
“What of it?”
“I believe I owe you a debt, and—er—well, I was hoping to drop by—“
“You already dropped by, lady!! Uninvited I might add. The boss don’t like that.”
“Yes, well—er—I was hoping I might be able to—ah—convince you to release me from my debt.” Mr Muttz looked past Jacqueline and snapped his fingers, causing Jacqueline to wince and continue with her stammering. “Yes. You see I—I, well, I’m on a very important mission you see, and, well—I’m not exactly getting paid.” Jacqueline stopped and realized that she was alone in the bar with Mr. Muttz. Muttz was smiling and nodding along at Jacquelines terrible explanation of her plight. “Yes, well—“
“Let me stop you right there, lady. You’re the broad from the hospital right?
“Yes…”
“Well, Marvin Muttz always collects on his debt. One way—” an even larger ape of a man suddenly seized Jacqueline’s shoulders and pressed her face to the bar; Mr. Muttz gently caressed her chin—“or another.”
Jacqueline tried to scream but Muttz had a hand over her face.
“Lady, you got a pretty mouth!”
“Hey, lady! Lady! What’ll it be, lady?”
Startled, Jacqueline’s eyes popped open.
“You gonna get a drink, lady? Or maybe you wanna sit and stare at the booze all night?”
Jacqueline put her money back in her purse and shook her head, her face flushed with embarrassment. She turned and ran out of the bar. “I’m getting the hell out of this town!”
Action 2: Travel to Space 7.
by Quatermass » Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:35 pm
Turn 2 Encounter Phase – San Francisco
Rex drank his coffee at the street-side café, relaxing in the cool night air. His cough still bothered him, though, and his dreams had been troubled of late.
The young waitress came up and handed him the bill. “skSCit Ultiwax giblet ta,” she said.
Rex gave a short laugh and looked at the girl. “What in the world, young lady?”
She had a shocked look on her face. She held her hand to her throat and croaked: “Flad dim wallze,” a great sob followed and she ran away crying.
Another waitress came to his table and apologized. The other waitress had been sick lately, she explained.
Rex paid his bill and walked down the fog filled streets back to his hotel. He passed a bum who sat with a mongrel dog at his feet. He held out a hand, “clan zee yelsichd zister.”
Rex stared and then put a finger in his ear to clear it out. “What…?” Rex started to walk away when an elderly lady carrying some withered flowers approached him.
She stared at him with a blank face, and said: “lex bin godlike bwsilss.”
“What the hell was going on?” he thought. He tried to run away but the lady and the bum followed him. Soon there was a group of people muttering gibberish following him. Every time he thought he had given them the slip they turned up in front of him. One man grabbed him and the mob surrounded him, pressing in. For some reason, Rex remembered a nursery rhyme, and he started to repeat it. The crowed stopped and soon they were repeating the rhyme.
“You owe me five farthings,” say the Bells of St. Martin’s
“When will you pay me?” say the Bells of Old Bailey
“When I grow rich,” say the Bells of Shoreditch
“When will that be?” say the Bells of Stepney
“I do not know,” say the Great Bells of Bow
“Here comes a Candle to light you to Bed
Here comes a Chopper to Chop off your Head
Chip chop chip chop – the Last Man’s Dead.”
Using that as a break, Rex ran off into the fog filled night.
Lore check, roll 1d6; FAIL, reroll [Lucky Talisman] success!
by Mr. Handy » Sat Jan 16, 2016 5:54 am
Turn 2 Encounter Phase.
Harvey visited a museum in Panama City with an interesting exhibit on ancient Egypt. On prominent display is an idol made of black stone depicting a Pharaoh in full regalia. “Obsidian, if I’m not mistaken,” he said, feeling the surface with his hand. “Yes, I was right.”
After Harvey returned to his hotel and was alone in his room, he heard voices whispering in a strange language. Recalling his experience in Buenos Aires, he knew that whatever it says must be very important. “That’s a form of Egyptian that hasn’t been spoken in thousands of years!” he exclaimed, and he soon had it translated. “‘The Black Pharaoh, the great Nephren-Ka, will soon return and usher in an age of darkness. Only the strong will survive the transition.’ Oh, dear! That can’t be good.”
Lore check to translate the whispers, 2d6; success! 1 clue gained but Strength improved instead.
by Tabs » Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:13 am
Turn 2 Encounter Phase, space 19
Mandy’s ship berthed in Vladivostok where she hired a guide named Sergei to lead her inland through Asia. She planned to dismiss a nasty rumour, “Faded From Society”—ostensibly it was about peasant folklore, but, if it came to fruition, would deny Mandy and her colleagues the chance to fight “Evil that stirs beneath the sands of Egypt.” They were out there, she knew, these fellow investigators, seeking to prevent the resurrection of the Dark Pharaoh: the unlucky reporter, the Arkham professor and the Minneapolis psychic.
Sergei and Mandy, who is kitted out in furs, detoured south to the Amur region—tiger country—to avoid unwanted Soviet questions. In one village, where they rested with a bowl of warm goat’s milk, Mandy was intrigued by a circle of stones.
Sergei noted her interest. “It is a calendar, gospozha, for predicting the solstices, so that the peasants know when it’s harvest time.”
“And that one,” said Mandy, pointing at a stone outside the circle.
“A directional marker, a pointer to a holy site.”
Mandy scented a mystery. She and Sergei soon found a cave in the woods which was filled by the village dead, half-frozen corpses, many sat cross legged and eerily preserved. Shooting up a prayer for trespassing, she ventured deeper inside…
“avoid falling down pits” Observation 4d6; FAIL.
Carefully she stepped round an infant… The cave floor collapsed; Mandy landed on her feet but as her knees bent struck her temple upon a jutting rock.
Jacqueline Fine’s ability 
and she gains 1 clue.
by Tabs » Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:09 pm
Turn 2 Mythos Phase
Omen advances: blue constellation [right-hand side].
Reckoning effects: Monsters on game board
Mandy gains 
Ancient One sheet: Each investigator may move 1 space toward The Bent Pyramid or lose 1 Sanity.
Ongoing Mythos cards: Faded From Society Rumor: All value 4 Assets discarded. Eldritch token discarded [4 down to 3].
Possessions and Conditions:
Mandy Thompson
makken123 