Temple of the Toad

Details

The Mysteries of Mesoamerica Front Cover

Pages: 19

Author(s): Brian Appleton

Artist(s): Blair Reynolds

Setting: 1920s

Appears in: The Mysteries of Mesoamerica.

Campaign:

Summary

Investigators are invited by a University colleague to participate in an expedition to search for a lost temple in Honduras.

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

Professor Conrad Beck, the colleague who invited the investigators to the expedition, is the trustee of Stuart Tussmann's estate and personal affects. Tussmann was an explorer who accidentally found an ancient temple while adventuring in Honduras in 1924. He got back to the temple a few months later, finding that the temple was, in fact, the lair of the Great Old One Gol-Goroth. After Tussmann's death, Professor Beck delved in Tussmann's journal and research, becoming a worshipper of the old god. His plan is to take the group of investigators to the temple and offer them as a sacrifice to Gol-Goroth.

References

Player Handouts:

• Excerpts from Tussmann's journal;
• Map of Honduras;
• Detailed map of interior of Honduras with the approximate position of the Temple of the Toad;
• Newspaper clipping.

Locations: Somewhere southwest of Santa Bárbara, Honduras, in a region called Cerro del Fuego.

Creatures: Serpent Men.

Tomes and Artifacts:

• Unaussprechlichen Kulten;
• People of the Monolith;
• The Key to the Temple of the Toad, a transparent crimson-colored crystal carved into the shape of a toad.

Campaigns / Scenarios:

Comments / Trivia

The scenario is a fictional account of what might have happened after the events described in Robert E. Howard's "The Thing on the Roof". The part of Conrad Beck is that of the unnamed narrator from the original story.

The following data is included for use in this scenario but may also be useful somewhere else:

• Map of Honduras;
• Detailed map of West Honduras;
• Complete description with statistics for Gol-Goroth;
• Statistics for a Chief, a Shaman and members of the tribe of the Cayman;
• Statistics of several Serpent Men;
• Complete description and statistics for a new type of creature, the Degenerate Serpent Men, who are the result of inter-breeding between full serpent people, true serpents and humans.

The scenario contains three new spells:

• Appear Human, which allows anthropomorphic creatures of man-size or smaller to appear outwardly human;
• Call/Dismiss Gol-Goroth;
• Contact Degenerate Serpent Man Hybrid.

There's a link between this scenario and the classic scenario The Secret of Castronegro through the NPC Juan Vilheila-Pereira. The Vilheila-Pereiras are an evil clan that lived in Castronegro, New Mexico. This can be used by the keeper to built a mini-campaign.

Keeper Comments

Keepers intending to run this scenario should consider (re)reading Robert E. Howard's "The Thing on the Roof".