Crude Oil: Appendix 2: Lights, Camera, Action!

Crude Oil:
Appendix 2:
Lights, Camera, Action!

Hidden Agenda

(note: this LCA could well stir up inter-party rivalry, and so won't be everyone's cup of tea.)

Lights: The characters begin their investigation of the four corpses. One of the PCs with some medical knowledge — or Dr. Miller — spots the CDC agent PC handling the allegedly anthrax-ridden corpses in an unsafe manner; perhaps he is seen working on a corpse without gloves or a mask.

Camera: If pressed on the matter, the CDC man will spin a quick tale about how the infectious power of the organism that causes anthrax declines dramatically after the victim's death. This cover story will be easy to see through for anyone with medical knowledge.

Action: The CDC's man is not from the CDC at all. He's on site because when Dr. Miller called the CDC about the bodies, the right people — the people who know what really happened in 1927 — found out.

Ain't Dead Yet?

Lights: Instead of being messily killed, Nightraven disappears in a flash of actinic light while performing the ritual. Let the investigators assume that he's dead, or at least summoned to Big T's side for an eternity of torment.

Camera: Nightraven was in fact summoned away, but not for torment. Tsathoggua saw in him some potential. To tap it, he guides a very special Formless Spawn into poor Nightraven's body. The Spawn, though alien and impossible to fathom, is at least as intelligent as a human. It's also adept at taking care of hosts, and Nightraven will be kept painfully alive as long as Tsathoggua's Spawn minion has need of a body.

Action: Nightraven will be only able Nightraven's abilities, and it has access to all of his knowledge of 20th century life. It can also use Nightraven's POW as needed. The Spawn's ultimate goals are up to the Keeper, but it's likely Tsathoggua will use it to revive his cult on Earth in some way. The PCs should be able to pick up the trail of the Nightraven-Spawn after they learn of a few Spawn-style killings in a nearby city...

"Pet-oh-tall rain!"

Lights: If one of the Investigators happens to be driven mad (or more conveniently, if any of the jocks lose their marbles), he babbles the same thing over and over again: "Pet-oh-tall rain!" The Investigators confiscate all the evidence and return to FBI headquarters for analysis.

Camera: One by one, the Investigators begin having unusual dreams about a red moon, howling dogs, and a dark silhouette standing on a lonely hill. They recognize the hill as one they saw in New Jerusalem. They approach the figure, and as they do, it seems as if the scene were running backward. The words "Pet-oh-tall rain" echo endlessly all around them. They reach the man with the eerie red glow (from the bloody moon high above) and when he turns about, the Investigator is shocked awake by the sight, losing 1/2 SAN from the sight.

Action: The high level of madness and chaos that happens in New Jerusalem has a cause. The dreams are being sent by Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos with 1,001 forms. One of his forms (part of his soul) has been trapped in a small box under one of the abandoned buildings. A witch inherited the box about three hundred years ago, and Nyarlathotept has finally located it. He's sending the dreams to the Investigators to retrieve the box, thus releasing his 563rd form. If the Investigators refuse to return to New Jerusalem perhaps the Crawling Chaos will send less subtle hints to get them there.

Deep Troubles

Lights: As the Investigators wander about the small town, they notice that the inhabitants have a rather sinister appearance, and keep odious personal habits; (they all smell like fish). When the adventure wraps up, the Investigators notice that many of the townsfolk are watching them very closely.

Camera: A couple weeks after everything has settled down, the Investigatirs are surprised at an attempt on their lives. The assassin is unsuccessful, however, his eyes are a strange shade of yellow and he seems to be growing gills.

Action: The town of New Jerusalem has been infested with Deep Ones. They were the ones who were watching to make certain the subterranean tomb of Tsathoggua's minions was undisturbed, and now that mortals have discovered it, they also must be silenced...forever.

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