The Clocktower Club 2

[Seraphim]

Okay you ppl out there.

I'm running the second lot of my cases for a victorian era game.
my group consists of

Dr John Doolittle m.d.
Lord John Graystoke (Tarzan)
Peter Pan
Professor Abraham van Helsing (not the crappy jackman version either)
Professor Alexander Hartdegan (The Time Traveller)
Mr. Phileas Fogg
Aouda Fogg
Passerpatout

Past members include:-

Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge
Baron Eric von Munchausen
Aleister Crowley


In the last set of cases they solved the case of Aleister Crowley who was trying to summon lucifer from hell. also they defeated The phantom, the new jack the ripper (copycat killer who ended up being an ancient vampire and werewolf team of carmilla and white fell), and spring heeled jack.


It has been 4 months since then and i need help with some things. there will be three major cases:-

The case of the nautilus (which has sunk and Black michael is after)
the case of the bride (bride of frankenstein)
the case of the prisoner (prisoner of zenda)

could do with some input on ideas if poss

please help

[Seraphim]

I need some ideas for the kraken adventure which is near the nautils

[OddHat]

I need some ideas for the kraken adventure which is near the nautils

Why not through in an encounter with Lovecraft style fishmen? It's about the right time period.

Atlantis is always a possibility, especially if you go for a more interesting version than the Greeks Under the Sea.

Having another victorian genius come up with an amazing device to get them to the sub could give you an interesting plot to work with, especially if he wanted to steal it.

On the other hand, one of the Doctor Doolittle stories featured (iirc) a giant snail that could take people under the sea in its shell. Devending a tasty ship like that from the Kraken could be weird and frightening for the players, as damage to their "ship" would be almost impossible to repair.

[Publius]

Actually the Lovecraftian Fishermen is a good suggestion.

For a similar game set during this era I used the classic arch villain Dr. Nikola, some say he was the basis for Fu Manchu. Ultraconvoluted plots really seem to match the character, and are neat for gaming prospects.

from the Vicotriana Website listed below:
The plot...well, for some reason Dr. Nikola wants revenge over a certain lord, and so develops a double for the lord's son. And then he wants a certain walking stick, and so finally gets that--it's going to lead to him getting ultimate power, or something. (A Bid for Fortune's plotting is...well, "confused" is a kind way to put it) (It's fun for all of that, however)

I actually found the first Nikola book online (it is out of copyright) and glanced through. Nikola cannot do anything simple, he has these horribly complex plans to accomplish his goals. Plot holes abound, but he made a very good bad guy.

You are doubtless already familiar with the Victoriana website (Nikola can be found under "D" for "D"octor Nikola) but other folks here can peruse and maybe help mine the site for some good ideas.

[Seraphim]

Finally the plot thickens......

Nemo and the Nautilus were destroyed in 1895 by a mysterious accident. When it was destroyed it took with it the secret to its experimental "Nuclear" power plant.

Duke Michael of Strelsau who is planning an invasion of Britain requires this power plant to harness its energies to power his own submarines. He has located the Nautilus' remains (somehow) and is going to send a strike team to acquire the power plant.

Five years ago a young Kraken destroyed and sunk the Nautilus, now heavily pregnant it returns to this site (which is also a Kraken spawning ground).

It arrives back shortly after the group arrive.

Then the main fight occurs between group and The Kraken.

During this fight a third party will arrive to take the power plant.

There will be two main outcomes.

The group kill the Kraken, or don't.

If they kill the Kraken they have killed the last Krakens and thats why there are no more Kraken's If they don't kill it, it will give birth and Duke Michael will use it to assault London in the last case.

Either way the group will not get the power plant. and clues will lead them to the next case of the bride.

i have two major problems though???

1. I dont know how to get my group to investigate the submarine disappearance 5 years later?

2. I don't know who or how the bad guys are, or how they are going to get the power plant off the sub without the group and the kraken seeing??

please help

[OddHat]

i have two major problems though???

1. I dont know how to get my group to investigate the submarine disappearance 5 years later?

2. I don't know who or how the bad guys are, or how they are going to get the power plant off the sub without the group and the kraken seeing??

please help

1) One of the bad guys has an underling who panics, perhaps a scientist or scholar who is being forced to help agains his will. He manages to get a letter to whatever agency employs the good guys, containing just enough information to convince them to try to investigate the sub. He is then caught and killed before he is himself able to reache safety, thus preventing any more info from being pased on.

2) You don't need an explanation. It's just not there. Maybe the bad guys already took it before the battle. If you have to explain, they are underwater, it's dark, and they are fighting for their lives. Easy enough to miss a couple of divers and a bathysphere in that situation. Or maybe the bad guys are in league with the Lovecraftian Fish Men; no problem for them to be fast and stealthy in the water.

[Captain Obvious]

1. I dont know how to get my group to investigate the submarine disappearance 5 years later?

Nemo had some pretty sweet devices on board the Nautilus. It wouldn't be beyond reason that some survivors would get away from the kraken. And once they made landfall, they wouldn't advertise too widely about their connection with the Nautilus, as Nemo was a notorious pirate.

Now, for some reason, a survivor has come to the players looking for protection. In exchange, he can help them get some of Nemo's wondrous technology. For starters, there are the undersea lifeboats and other devices which allowed survivors in the first place. Refitting the lifeboats might allow salvage operations to commence at the wreck of the Nautilus.

When the characters are firmly hooked, this survivor is murdered. Finding him floating face down in the Thames would be highly appropriate, in my opinion.

Sounds like a cool campaign, by the way.

[Seraphim]

what are lovecraftian fish men. Obviously lovecraft is of cthulu fame. but what are the fish men.

[OddHat]

what are lovecraftian fish men. Obviously lovecraft is of cthulu fame. but what are the fish men.

Here is one of the actual original stories. The short version: The old races needed underwater labor. They created amphibious humans to provide it. Think Creature from the Black Lagoon, but often fully intelligent. From tme to time sports carrying the genes can still revert, or someone with knowledge of That which Man Was Not Meant To Know will re-create them, or a small colony wil move onto the land and mass rape the women of a small town, and a few years later a new generation will head into the ocean.

This is Kanae, a modern Fish-Woman (well, Marine Mamal) that has retained her sense of her human identity through the change. Just drop the OIHID and change the psych limits for a very powerful Fish-Man, and give her the ability to actually breathe water instead of just diving for an hour at a time. You can swap powers around as well, or drop them. Maybe the Fish Men are serving the Bad Guys in exchange for some healthy human breeding stock, or because someone learned the ancient Speech of the Masters...