Waiting for the Hurricane

Details

Pages: 18

Author(s): Matthew Sanderson

Artist(s): Stephanie McAlea, Victor Manuel Leza Moreno, Jonathan Wyke, Loïc Muzy

Setting: Pulp Cthulhu, 1930s, Florida

Appears in: Pulp Cthulhu: Two-Fisted Action and Adventure Against the Mythos

Campaign: (none)

Summary

An action-oriented scenario set in Key West, Florida during the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. With the roads cut off and a deadly storm looming over the town, the investigators face the violent menace of a desperate cult whose plans threaten the entire island.

Links

• Review/Keepers Discussion by Seth Skorkowsky on YouTube
• Fan-made handouts by MartyJopson: (YSDC Forums)

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

Describe the adventure in detail; no bias allowed.

 Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)

"Waiting For The Hurricane" takes place in Key West as the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 strikes the Florida Keys. This scenario is very action-oriented, with the heroes fighting a cult running amok through the city as the hurricane descends on the island. State Road 4A connecting Key West to other islands in the lower Keys has collapsed into the sea. Stranded on the island, the heroes prepare to ride out the storm in the Grand Hotel but soon find themselves exposed to a cult that wishes to use the storm to cover their sinister plans. The fate of the city rests in the hands of the heroes.

A refugee Deep One Hybrid who fled the destruction of Innsmouth years before the scenario began is attempting to win favor with a new group of Deep Ones by forming a cult among the local human population, sacrificing 12 human victims born under each of the usual signs of the Zodiac to complete a ritual that will destroy Key West in a hurricane. With the help of a defector from the cult, the heroes must stop the ritual; this won't be easy, as several aquatic horrors are working with the cultists to see the ritual completed.

References

Player Handouts:

• Map: Grand Hotel and Environs (exterior)
• Map: Grand Hotel (interior)
• Chart: Dates of the Zodiac (for Keeper use, but might be useful for Investigators if they think to ask about the zodiac in their investigation)
• Sidebar: Rules for "Travel in a Hurricane" (might be useful in other adventures)
• Sidebar: Rules for "Dynamite!" (might be useful in other adventures)
• Map: Wisteria Island (exterior)
• Map: The Temple on Wisteria Island (interior)
• Timeline: "The Ritual, Round by Round" (for Keeper use)
• Illustration: "Stopping the Ritual"
• Sidebar: Spells (for Keeper use, unless Investigators learn the spells somehow)
• Illustration: NPC Portraits

Locations:

• Key West Florida
  • The Grand Hotel
  • Police Station
  • Key West Cemetery
  • Mendez's House
• Wisteria Island
  • Temple to Cthulhu

Creatures:

• Cultists
• Deep One Hybrids
• Deep Ones
• Deep One Elder
• Star-Spawn of Cthulhu

Tomes and Artifacts:

• Tome: Whiting's Diary
• Spell: "Breath of the Deep"
• Ritual: "Wave of Oblivion"
• Temple to Cthulhu with altars, etc.
• Statue of Cthulhu
• Deep One city at Rha’thylla in the Puerto Rico Trench (not expected to appear in scenario)
• Artifact: Gold Tablet (Contact/Summon Deep One)

Campaigns / Scenarios:

• (none)

Organizations

• Esoteric Order of Dagon
• U.S. Military at Fort Zachary Taylor on Key West (mentioned but not expected to appear in scenario)

Comments

List dedication, trivia, images, anything else of note.

Keeper Comments

Comments to Keepers about this scenario; Possibly how to run it successfully. Keep general DISCUSSION on the talk page.

According to the Scenario's author: "While the events are described in a fairly linear fashion, encouraging the heroes to follow a predetermined path through the scenario, the Keeper should feel free to adjust the sequence of events and avenues through the plot in reaction to their players. In short, if the players don’t go looking for the action, let the action come to them.... This scenario is easily moved to another coast area if doing so would better fit with your ongoing campaign."

Setting: Key West, Florida; Monday, 2nd September 1935

Sequel Plot Hooks: No explicit plot hooks, though the nearby Deep One city and military base might suggest an adventure involving the destruction of the city.