Northanger Abbey and the Necronomicon

Details

Pages: 16

Author(s): John A. Almack

Artist(s): (none)

Setting: Early 19th Century (Regency Era), Northanger Abbey in the resort city of Bath, England

Appears in: Horror Stories From The Red Room

Campaign: (none)

Summary

What if Jane Austen had been born more than a century later and, instead of writing romance novels, she chose to write weird horror fiction? Or, Lovecraft himself could have been amused by her literary style, which at times resembles his own archaic prose, and might have extensively revised her stories for publication. If he had, then one of Austen’s earliest works, Northanger Abbey, would have likely been very different… This scenario is intended as a darkly humorous pastiche in the spirit of mashups like "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", in honor of two great writers who never met.

Links

• Alexander Lucard's review on RPGNow.com
• Alexander Lucard's review on dihardgamefan.com

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

A parody or pastiche of "Northanger Abbey" with Lovecraftian elements, in which our Gothic heroines and heroes find themselves uncovering dark secrets in a haunted abbey populated by a collection of vengeful ghosts, witches, gargoyles, secret passages, hidden rooms behind bookcases, and other trappings of Jane Austen's brand of Gothic literature, as well as avatars and cultsists of the Old Ones, mouldering copies of the Necronomicon, and other Lovecraftian tropes.

References

Player Handouts:

• Four pre-generated Player-Characters
• Northanger Papers 1: Excerpt from Mrs. Tilney's Diary
• Northanger Papers 2: Passage from the Necronomicon, written in Latin

Locations: Regency Era (early 19th Century) England

• Northanger Abbey and its grounds

Creatures:

• Witch cultist of Nyarlathotep in Black Man aspect
• Cultist of Hastur
• Ghostly Apparition
• Gargoyle
• Unspeakable Possessor
• assorted human NPCs

Tomes and Artifacts:

• Necronomicon, Latin translation by Olaus Wormius
• Book of Dzyan, leather-bound manuscript translated to English by Dr. Dee
• Monstres and Their Kynde, clandestinely-printed banned edition in English
• Other magical texts:
  • Emerald Tablet, Latin
  • Key of Solomon, Latin
  • Malleus Maleficarum, Latin
• Embroidered alchemical dark robe
• generic ritual accouterments (candles, skulls, incense)
• Hideous octopoid stone Hastur idol (0/1 San)
• Curved Sacrificial knife
• NPCs know these spells:
  • Mind Transfer
  • Cast Out Devil (can be used to reverse Mind Transfer)
  • Unspeakable Promise (in exchange for wealth and power, character becomes a vessel for a Great Old One)
  • Song of Hastur (control Byakhee)
  • Voice of Ra (increase APP and social skills)
  • Evil Eye (hinder opponent)
  • Spectral Razor (attack opponent)

Campaigns / Scenarios: (none)

Comments

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

• This scenario is a parody/pastiche of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, in the spirit of mashups like "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters" or "Wuthering Heights and a Werewolf".
• "No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be a heroine." —Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
• "From even the greatest of horrors irony is seldom absent." —H. P. Lovecraft, The Shunned House

Keeper Comments

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

Setting: As a parody/pastiche of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey, this scenario is definitely a creature of its own setting, and would probably lose much of its point if moved to another location or era.

Special Notes:

• As a parody/pastiche of Jane Austen's lesser-known Northanger Abbey in the spirit of mashups like "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies", the audience for a scenario like this is likely to be limited. Some familiarity with the original work could probably help, but probably isn't necessary to run or enjoy the scenario.
• Pre-generated characters are provided for the scenario, and the scenario is probably best treated as a one-shot prank in the Halloween monograph spirit.

Dependence on Halloween: The monograph this scenario is included in is related to Chaosium's "Halloween Horror" contests, but there are are no references to Halloween in this scenario (though it might make a nice Halloween prank for the right group of players).

Sequel Plot Hooks: (none)