List of Compiled Horror/Cthulhu Miniature Scenario Ideas

[gauntman]

Call of Cthulhu  Cultists are conducting a ritual deep the woods/swamp and have kidnapped a number of victims.  Locals have informed the police who intend on raiding the ceremony and freeing the victims.  A horrible creature may be summoned as part of the ritual.

Devil’s Reef Sailors have set down on an uncharted shore off Kingsport called Devil’s Reef.  While exploring the area, they have encountered Deep Ones who intend on keeping their location secret.  The sailors must return to their boat to escape.  

The Awakening:  A foolish cult sect has recently obtained the Book of Dyzan and has just finished an arcane ritual dubbed “the Awakening“.  The cult leader believes that the graveyard ceremony was unsuccessful and is about to tell his followers to pack up and go when a strange fog rolls in and zombies emerge from their graves.  Benevolent Occultists aware of the ceremony arrive too late to stop it and must also fight to survive the zombie onslaught.

Razorblade Hollow The land around Razorblade Hollow has been owned by a single family for generations.  A nearby landbaron knows a rich oil reserve exists in one of the mashes on the land. The landowner of Razorblade Hollow will not sell or negotiate and has threatened and intimidated by the landbaron’s thugs. A horrible creature resides on the lands and has been awakened by the thugs. The owner and is son is one group fighting to defend their property and drive the thugs off their land.  The thugs and landbaron having failed all other options have decided to kill the family and bury them in a shallow grave.  The creature will try to kill anyone who comes in contact with it if contacted.

The Crate  Robed Cultists or Gangsters wish to steal a shipment believed to have valuable antiquities inside.  The protagonists must keep the relics from falling into evil hands.  The shipment is the mummy of Nephren-Ka and may be awakened.

The Tomb Valuable relic was secretly buried years ago in a grave.  This information has been discovered by all parties.  One group (evil gangsters, cultists) is already at the tombs digging when the other fractions arrive to stop them.  Ghouls invest the area and will attack any living creature who invades the area.

The Terror A terrible creature has been terrorizing the remote hills of Arkham.  Bootleggers have a shack in the remote hills used to stash alcohol. Bootleggers have been violently killed in the area along with some of the locals. The Police think the Bootleggers are responsible for the deaths while the Bootleggers suspect rival still operators. In fact a creature living in the region is terrorizing and murdering those it feels are trespassing in it’s territory. Bootleggers and Police are fighting over the still but may chance upon the creature.

Revalations of Glakki Investigators are searching a small ruined lakeside farmhouse to find a rare occult artifact left there by the homeowner an occultist who lived here and strangely disappeared many years ago.  A few turns after arrival, Servants of Glakki zombies rise from the lake to attack the investigators.  So many turns after the zombies have arrived, Glakki leaves the lake to attack too.  Glakki cannot be stopped by conventional weapons.  The artifact if found by investigators must be used by a figure for X turns undisturbed.  If successfully used, the artifact will drive Glakki back to the lake.  Zombies are randomly generated from the lake up to maximum capacity.

Shrooms Fungus has infected the minds of locals. The characters have stumbled into the area and seek to escape before the mad locals butcher them.

AHEAD An immortal 300-year old Warlock was decapitated and buried apart from his body during the witch trials.  The living head has been discovered by some hapless folks and taken control of their minds.  The head is searching for it’s body buried somewhere in the area.  If the body is located and recovered the warlock returns to his greater power.  The characters goal is to stop the head and kill it’s hapless followers to prevent his return to power.

From Beyond… Professor Tillinghast has created the resonator and activated it. The professor has made some arrangement with a powerful entity from beyond to lure people to the area where it is set up so the entity can feed on them. The characters realize the danger of the device and must destroy it.

The Reanimator Dr. Herbert West has created an army of undead zombies while trying to perfect his formula. The characters and police are trapped in a warehouse area trying to defeat  Dr. West and his zombies.
Kactoo Verata Necktie!  An inept group of cultists has obtained a blasphemous evil tome and has just finished a ceremony to open the gates of hell. The incantation appears not to have worked and the cultists have started to wander off home but all of a sudden a creepy mist begins to descend on the area.  The monster will kill the cultists and or players until defeated.

Dunwich Horror Stop the Whatleys from releasing terror. The Whatleys have kidnapped a lady and intend of sacrificing her. They will summon the monster in X turns if not stopped to consume the victim. Rescue the victim.

Rawhead Rex farmer unearths large stone from his field that has been there for generations. This stone is the seal for holding a monster. Parties are competing to catch and kill the monster.
It’s a Mad Mad World  Inmates escape from the asylum and must be stopped.

Escape From Kingsport Remnants of an ancient witch-cult that once infested the town of Kingsport still remain.  Characters who travel to the outlying area of town are attacked and must attempt to escape before they become victims to the cults unholy ceremonies.

At the Mountains of Madness mother of all Arctic pulp adventures

Cannibal Holocaust:  The parties are two competing groups who were intent on finding a rare statue spotted in the jungles of South America.  The  statue represents the local cannibal tribes god.  The local cannibal headhunters do not appreciate the foreigners intent and wish to kill them in honor of their God.  The God might represent be a horrible mindless horror (such as a Dark Young) who lives in the jungle who will kill anyone who crosses it’s path, even the cannibals.

Trouble in Northside:  The Northside slums of Boston have always had a dark history and remain largely ignored.  Tales persist since the area was originally settled of a maze tunnels underground inhabited by ghouls.  Some say, after numerous issues a concerted effort was made by the city officials a hundred years ago to seal these tunnels ending the issues.  Now Northside is again troubled by disappearances and wild unexplained murder.  Homeless, beggars and prostitutes have turned up missing.  A local liquor truck belonging to a mob boss has been found abandoned in the area too with the driver killed.  The mob boss suspects competition and has sent his enforcers into the area.  A group of police and or characters who understand the issue are in the area to end the ghoul menace as well.  Each must try to find the ghoul tunnel entrance and defeat the ghouls.  The other groups may oppose them.

The Great Raid of Innmouth:  Police Detectives and Federal Agents have decended on Innmouth around the Marsh mining facility.  A large group of Deep ones and degenerates is defending the area.  The Police and Agents must kill all the opposing Deep Ones.

They/It Comes Tonight:  A group of characters have arrived to help a friend who preads for help.  He has discovered a family curse in which a demon or monsters will arrive tonight to claim him.  He wants the players to defend him in this area until the monsters are slain or dawn comes.  The characters are armed.

Church of Starry Wisdom:  Enoch Bowen, a renowned archeologist and occultist has started his own church in rural Arkham.  The church is a reclusive and secular lot who focus on evening ceromonies.  The Church has attracted quite a unusual following and has more than one wealthy benifactor.  A number of whispering persist that the Church’s practises are very unchristian and cultish.  A few locals including children have been kidnapped only to have their bodies discovered days later dumped with ritualistic wounds.  Now another child is missing.  You have banded together to raid the church site and stop whatever blashemous cermony is occurring before another live is lost.  The cultists and Enoch Bowen await.  If the ceromony is stopped a horror might arrive to slay all who witness it.

Return of the Mummy:  Omar Ashan an Egyptian Occultist has returned has arrived in rural Arkham intent on exacting revenge against all those involved in desecrating the  tomb of Nephrim-Ka (the black Pharoe).  To this end, he has bought a mansion under the guise of a reknowned Egyptologist,  acquired the book of the dead, and a mummy which he intends on animating to perform his killings.  The characters have discovered his plans and have arrived to stop him before he can animate the mummy.  Omar has guards who will attempt to stall the character long enough to animate the mummy.  Thespell to animate the mummy may cause the mummy to attack anyone or follow Omars’s direction.  The mummy is a powerful foe.

The Ruins  Amazon explorers discover a long lost temple.  Surrounded an beset by a large host of savages the explorers must escape before a horror awakens inside the temple and feeds on the explorers.  The horror will not be satisfied until it has eaten X figures either explorers or savages x combined.  This forces the savages to try to keep the explorers trapped to the temple entrance or share the explorers fate.  This is a common practice of the tribe to serve up victims to the horror at the temple to spare their own village from their God.Lurking Fear: Hearing tales of a "lurking fear" upon Tempest Mountain, characters investigate. They camp inside the deserted Martense Mansion as a lightning storm approaches, and feeling strangely drowsy, they all fall alseep. They awaken up to find countless creatures (ghouls) attacking them.  They must kill the ghouls and escape to their vehicle.

The Damned Thing:  Workers in the Arkham mines have set something free from the earth that has laid hidden for countless years.  The creature has a maddening effect on the locals causing them to act homicidal.  The characters have arrived to seal the mine.  They have so many turns before the creature (a shoggoth horror) emerges from the entrance.  The characters are also beset by a group of madmen under an opposing players control who wish to see the creature freed.  These madmen oppose the blowing up of the mine entrance.  If the creature leaves the mines he will attack any figure madman or not.

Escape from the Mushroom People:  Untold eons ago, a mutant fungus appeared on this small coastal island. This fungus infected higher life forms, such as mammals and birds, and could literally take control over a living thing’s nervous system. An infected organism would gradually be consumed and the fungus would wait for another host to contact the body of fungus. This terrible fungus might have become a serious threat to living things around the world, but fortunately the fungus spores died quickly when exposed to sea water.  Thus, the fungus remained on the island plaguing only the unfortunate native animals and the occasional visitor.  The characters shipwrecked on this shunned island.  Half the crew has succumbed to the maddening effects of the mushroom infection.  The opposing parties of characters are being forced to locate a hidden lifeboat on the opposite side of the map.  There is only enough food and provisions for one group to escape.  The Mushroom people are trying to stop both groups from escaping.

The Ruins of Clayborn House:  Scholars from MSU, a Minor Cult Fraction and a few Unethical Antiquities Dealers, have learned that somewhere on the grounds of the ruined Clayborn Estate which burned a couple months ago is an occult tome of immense value and occult knowledge.  The book was saved by a servant during the fire who died of his wounds recently in the hospital and mentioned the book in his mad ravings before his death.  All the opposing characters arrive the night after hearing the information to begin their treasure hunt.  The first to find the item and escape the 1 entrance from the map win.  Of course gunplay and fighting is expected.

The Exibit:  A priceless occult artifact the Shining Trapezohedron has been recovered by some lobstermen off the coast of Maine.  Thinking to make a quick buck the object was sold to MSU University for study and display in the Antiquities museum section.  Many good and bad forces recognize the significance of this object seek to protect, steal or destroy this object.  A party of benevolent characters seek to protect it along with a couple of campus security officers, The Brotherhood of the Black Pharoah (a cult) wish to steal it, as well as Omar Ashan and his men. This object which can summon the Haunter of the Dark has a dark history dating back to ancient Egypt and is completely alien in origion.  If either the leader of the cult or Omar gains possession of the device they may attempt to summon the haunter.  The haunter will either serve or devour the summoner.

Kill Joseph Curwin:  Joseph Curwin an alchemist, megalomanical necromancer and mass-murderer is killed in Providence in 1771 after fleeing Europe from the Salem Witch trials in 1692.  Recently Curwin’s only living heir, Charles Dexter Ward has unwittingly brought Joseph Curwin back to life.  The Characters have discovered that Curwin has killed Charles Ward (his heir) and assummed his identity to continue his vile necromanic practices.  The characters aided by the police are attempting to raid his lair.  Curwin has hired vile inbreed foreigners to protect and serve him and may have unnatural servants as well.

Heart of the Deep  A diver of the coast recovers a chest from an old underwater wreck off the coast.  The chest contains a powerful occult idol.  After returning to shore the chest is stolen.  The power of the idol had reanimated dozens of drowned bodies over the centuries from the ocean dead and drowned. Now these reanimated zombies are drawn to the town like moths to the idol and will continue until the idol is found and returned to the waters edge.  The theif who had stolen the chest has died a gruesome fate.  Players must find the hidden chest in town while fighting back the zombies and return the idol to the water to win.  Zombies respawn on an unlimited basis but have a maximum capasity for the number in play at one time.

[PeteMurray]

Some great ideas here! Now, the trick is to weave them together into a campaign...

-   Attempted theft of the Manuscript of Gung from Museum of Dangerous Books and Paper.

I really liked this one. I want to work at the Museum of Dangerous Books and Paper.

[gauntman]

Ah...now that's an idea.

[twrchtrwyth]

Like the way you think.

[gauntman]

If anyone has any other or more specific scenario ideas... please submit them.  I'd like to add them to my own list.



I recently obtained a rare copy of the movies "The Thing that Couldn't Die" and
"Horror Rises from the Tomb".

These are 2 great little flicks in a B-movie sort of way.   Both contain an evil immortal warlock who is decapitated and whose ever living head is severed from it's body and buried in a chest.  In both flicks the head is recovered and enslaves it's victims in hopes of recovering it's body.

I'd like to run a scenario like this but I can't figure out how I want to represent and base just an evil warlock head.  How do you make just a head menacing? How could you base it to give it the proper look? Maybe putting it on a tree stump or somehow make it appear to be suspended or fly?  Any ideas

[Rhoderic]

If anyone has any other or more specific scenario ideas... please submit them.  I'd like to add them to my own list.



I recently obtained a rare copy of the movies "The Thing that Couldn't Die" and
"Horror Rises from the Tomb".

These are 2 great little flicks in a B-movie sort of way.   Both contain an evil immortal warlock who is decapitated and whose ever living head is severed from it's body and buried in a chest.  In both flicks the head is recovered and enslaves it's victims in hopes of recovering it's body.

I'd like to run a scenario like this but I can't figure out how I want to represent and base just an evil warlock head.  How do you make just a head menacing? How could you base it to give it the proper look? Maybe putting it on a tree stump or somehow make it appear to be suspended or fly?  Any ideas.

Hmm... I can speak only for myself, but if I was doing this (and by golly, I might just do that, only for my swords-and-sorcery project) I'd put it on a flying base, and make sure to use a head with a good "screaming" facial expression and long hair billowing all over the place. To find a fitting head, I'd start checking various miniatures of banshees, medusa-like characters and such. But I wouldn't be above sculpting the hair myself, if no good candidate turns up.

[gauntman]

That's a good idea for heads (definately screaming or howling with it's mouth open) but how would you base it?  All the flying bases might look hookie.  Maybe basing it on a scenic tombstone or treestump?

[gauntman]

There's another movie "Entrails of a Virgin" with an eastern vampire.  This is a vampire who is nothing more than a flying head with entrails streaming behind it.  It feeds and then returns to it's body.  

I would really like to craft a model like this but then the issue of suspending it or making it appear to fly comes up again.

I love using obscure horror movies for model and scenario ideas..

[Rhoderic]

The way I see it, there's no getting around the problem with flying bases. I'd just use a thin, inconspicuous piece of rod, preferably of transparent plastic if I could find one. I don't like putting items like treestumps or tombstones on bases, it just bothers me to have a miniature "dragging along" scenic bits during a game, but that's just my disposition and I know there are others who don't mind it at all.

EDIT: Ooh hey! I made "mad scientist"!

[Heldrak]

There's another movie "Entrails of a Virgin" with an eastern vampire.  This is a vampire who is nothing more than a flying head with entrails streaming behind it.  It feeds and then returns to it's body.  

I would really like to craft a model like this but then the issue of suspending it or making it appear to fly comes up again.

This one is a little easier as you can build the trailing entrails out of wire and use them to support the flying head.

I think that you're right to be concerned about the relative lack of "frighteningness" inherent in a severed head just sitting there by itself-

You might be better off mounting the head in a box (ala Jambi from Pee-Wee's Playhouse) and then having the box carried around either by a hulking zombified servant or by the headless body itself. Alternatively, you could have the head in a box and then mount the box on a taller scenic base to give it more menace (set the box on top of a pagan altar, for instance).

[gauntman]

Oh, I really like two of those suggestions.  Building up the entrails with a wire base or having a headless corpse carry the head.

Great thinking...

[Rhoderic]

I think that you're right to be concerned about the relative lack of "frighteningness" inherent in a severed head just sitting there by itself

This was why I was thinking of long, billowing hair. It gives the figure more presence, sort of.

Another approach, the more "Rackham-y" way of doing things, would be to sculpt tornado-like "gusts" of air or magic coming up from the ground and carrying the head. It would make it look airborne without the need of a flight base, and adds a menacing look to it. But it's tricky to sculpt, of course.

[gauntman]

Any of you know any really suitable existing models or ones that might be readily modifed???

I have a few zombies I might be able to cannibalze by stripping the head but a good head might be hard to find.

[Heldrak]

Any of you know any really suitable existing models or ones that might be readily modifed???

I have a few zombies I might be able to cannibalze by stripping the head but a good head might be hard to find.

There are some good screaming Zombie heads on the GW plastic Zombie sprue, Use one of the open-mouthed Zombie heads, not the severed head that comes on the sprue as it has a rather serene expression... :|

If you use one of those heads, you will need to sculpt a neck as well, as they have a concave area at the base of the head to accept the neck of the Zombie torso.

You should be able to pick up a spare GW Zombie head cheap from one of the online "Bitz" suppliers, or if you post to the Bazaar of Obscurities trading forum, someone may have one they'll let you have gratis...

Edit:

Not to hijack this thread for mercenary purposes, but I'm actually selling a few GW plastic Zombies and a classic GW "Night Horrors" Headless Ghost (carrying his own head under his arm!) on eBay right this very moment:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190199744931&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=009

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190199743049&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=009

[gauntman]

This is a little off subject...since we started on Scenario Ideas and have move to evil sentient heads but...horror is like that..

Found this from Wikepedia...It all seemed so interesting I didn't want to cut any of it off.


The Penanggalan or `Hantu Penanggal` is a peculiar variation of the vampire myth that apparently began in the Malay Peninsula. See also the Manananggal, a similar creature of Filipino folklore. "Penanggal" or "Penanggalan"' literally means "detach", "to detach", "remove" or "to remove". Both terms - Manananggal and Penanggal - may carry the same meaning due to both languages being grouped or having a common root under the Austronesian language family, though the two creatures are culturally distinct in appearance and behavior.

According to the folklore of that region, the Penanggalan is a detached female head that is capable of flying about on its own. As it flies, the stomach and entrails dangle below it, and these organs twinkle like fireflies as the Penanggalan moves through the night. In Malaysian folklore, a Penanggal may either be a beautiful old or young woman who obtained her beauty through the active use of black magic, supernatural, mystical, or paranormal means which is most commonly described in local folklores to be dark or demonic in nature. Another cause where one becomes a Penanggal in Malaysian folklore is due the result of a powerful curse or the actions of a demonic force although this method is less common than the active use of black magic abovementioned. Unlike Manananggal, all Penanggal are females and there is no variation in Malaysian folklore to suggest a Penanggal to be male.

The Penanggalan's victims are traditionally pregnant women and young children. Pregnant women can protect themselves from the penanggalan by surrounding their houses with thorns. A Penanggalan who attacks the house will get her entrails caught in the thorny bushes and can then be killed with parangs or machetes. As an extra precaution the pregnant woman can keep scissors or betel nut cutters under her pillow as the Penanggalan is afraid of these items. Another way of killing the vampire is for some brave men to spy on the Penanggalan as it flies around in the night. The men should find out where the Penanggalan lives. When the Penanggalan leaves the house to feed, the men should enter the midwife's house and find the midwife's body that is now emptied of its entrails. They should insert broken glass and nails into the hollow body and leave the house. When the Penanggalan comes home to insert her entrails into the body she will die a painful death with her entrails cut to shreds.