Just The Caffeine Talking

Why The Initiate?

My upcoming novel The Initiate (now available for pre-order) marks a big change for me. My three previous books have all been science fiction, mostly on the "hard-SF" side of the spectrum. The Initiate is a modern-day noir fantasy, with magic and demons and a secret society of wizards in Manhattan.

Why the change?

A couple of reasons. First, blame my education. I got my degree from the University of Chicago in the History of Science, with a focus on the scientific revolution of the 17th century. For thousands of years, science and magic were close siblings — almost conjoined twins — so studying one naturally meant gaining a solid grounding in the other. I wanted the chance to use my knowledge of the occult.

My second reason is a bit more personal. Like pretty much every other literate person in the Anglosphere, I've read Rowling's Harry Potter series. And apparently unlike pretty much every other literate person in the Anglosphere, I found the Potterverse a little . . . problematic.

To me, Rowling's Potterverse shares the same problem as Stan Lee's X-Men: they are power fantasies of self-pity. If you get invited to Hogwarts or Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youth, it means two things. First, you're better than everybody else, because of your magical or mutant superpowers. And second, you're part of a secret hidden group and get to feel sorry for yourself because the Muggle majority are jealous of your specialness.

The concept of a secret self-pitying elite is kind of contemptible.

The X-Men, at least, do have a public service mission. When they're not pitying themselves for being oppressed, they do at least go out and fight other self-pitying super-powered mutants with more totalitarian tendencies.

Rowling's secret wizards are a lot less public-spirited. They fight practitioners of the "Dark Arts" — but mostly to protect themselves, rather than others. If the Dark Lord Voldemort hadn't kept up his Wile E. Coyote campaign against Harry Potter, it's not obvious that Harry would have done anything against Voldemort in return.

Now, one can write any number of 'blog posts about this, but I decided to take the next step. I wrote a novel about a secret society of wizards in the modern world — and how they're a bunch of selfish jerks and psychopaths. My "Apkallu" wizards conceal themselves from the ordinary folk they disdain as "Subur" simply for the sake of convenience, because it's easier to be parasites on normal human civilization if the normal humans don't know you exist.

If you want to find out what happens when one man turns against the Apkallu, you can read The Initiate when it comes out February 4.

A Lovecraftian Chronology

For no very good reason I found myself making up an internal chronology of H.P. Lovecraft's horror stories. My guiding principle was that if a story doesn't have any time clues — and it's interesting to note that most of Lovecraft's stories do include specific dates — it takes place in the year in which the story was written, not published. I have left out some stories, like "In the Vault," or "The Outsider" which appear to be "non-Mythos" tales and have no clear time setting. I've also left out his "Dunsanian" fantasies.

The chronology revealed some fascinating patterns. There are a few "big years" in the Lovecraft universe: 1913, 1920, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1928, and 1932. Gamemasters who want to run a "sandbox" style Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game campaign could do worse than simply pick one of those years and start tossing out clues to ongoing events.

It also reveals some potential hidden connections among the stories. In "The Shadow Out of Time," Professor Peaslee's alien possession ends in 1913 — the same year that Wilbur Whateley is born in "The Dunwich Horror." Did Peaslee's alien controller want to avoid potential contact with the Spawn of Yog-Sothoth?

In "Pickman's Model" it appears that Richard Upton Pickman vanishes some time in 1925 (and later turns up as a ghoul living in the Dreamlands). But of course 1925 is also rocked by the nearly apocalyptic events of "The Call of Cthulhu." Did Pickman get a warning in his dreams and decide to get out of Cthulhu's way? The events of "The Horror at Red Hook" that summer look like a power play by Robert Suydam to take over the scattered and demoralized remnants of the Cthulhu Cult after the sinking of R'lyeh.

The Federal response to the events of "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" in late 1927 and early 1928 explains their curiously lackadaisickal reaction to the theft of the remains of some revered early American (it's got to be Franklin) in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, which happens at the same time. All the government men with knowledge of the secret war against Elder Horrors are busy up in Innsmouth.

Later in 1928, "The Whisperer in Darkness" and the climax of "The Dunwich Horror" are happening almost simultaneously. Perhaps if Albert Wilmarth hadn't been off in Vermont getting chased by Mi-Go he could have gone with Dr. Armitage to deal with the invisible monster in Dunwich.

LOVECRAFTIAN CHRONOLOGY

1771: April 12 — Raid on Curwen farm and (first) death of Joseph Curwen (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward)

1838: Obed Marsh establishes cult of Dagon in Innsmouth ("The Shadow Over Innsmouth")

1843: Enoch Bowen discovers the tomb of Nephren-Ka ("The Haunter of the Dark")

1844: Bowen establishes the Church of Starry Wisdom in Providence ("The Haunter of the Dark")

1846: "Plague" in Innsmouth ("The Shadow Over Innsmouth")

1877: Church of Starry Wisdom disbands ("The Haunter of the Dark")

1878: Capt. Charles Weatherbee discovers unknown island and recovers strange mummy ("Out of the Aeons")

1882: June — Meteorite lands on Gardner farm ("The Colour Out of Space")

1884: Gardner family die ("The Colour Out of Space")

1889: Walker and Audrey Davis settle in Oklahoma, incur the wrath of Yig ("The Curse of Yig")

1890: Three monstrous snake-children born to Audrey Davis ("The Curse of Yig")

1891: Young man named Heaton explores Binger Mound, goes mad from what he saw ("The Mound")

1894: "The Transition of Juan Romero"

1901: "Beyond the Wall of Sleep"

1904: Herbert West's first experiments ("Herbert West — Reanimator")

1907: November 1 — Inspector John LeGrasse leads police raid of swamp cult south of New Orleans ("The Call of Cthulhu")

1908: May 14 — Nathaniel W. Peaslee possessed by Yithian ("The Shadow Out of Time")

1909: "Peaslee" spends a month in the Himalayas ("The Shadow Out of Time")

1910: Harry Houdini escapes captivity under the Pyramids ("Imprisoned With the Pharaohs")

1911: "Peaslee" spends time in the Empty Quarter of Arabia ("The Shadow Out of Time")

1912: "Peaslee" charters a ship to explore the Arctic north of Spitzbergen ("The Shadow Out of Time")

1912: "Peaslee" explores a cave in West Virginia for several weeks ("The Shadow Out of Time")

1913: February 2 — Wilbur Whateley born ("The Dunwich Horror")

1913: August — Death of Arthur Jermyn ("Arthur Jermyn")

1913: August — meteorite lands off Maine coast containing Greek manuscript ("The Green Meadow")

1913: September 27 — Peaslee's possession ends ("The Shadow Out of Time")

1915: Two "eastern visitors" from a small college vanish at the Binger Mound

1915: Herbert West continues experiments in field hospital in Belgium

1916: "Dagon"

1917: "The Temple"

1919: "The Statement of Randolph Carter"

1919: "The Terrible Old Man"

1919: "The Shunned House"

1920: Herbert West carried off by his experimental subjects

1920: "The Music of Erich Zann"

1920: "The Nameless City"

1920: "The Picture in the House"

1920: "From Beyond"

1921: August — destruction of a hamlet in the Catskills near Tempest Mountain ("The Lurking Fear")

1921: November — destruction of the Martense house ("The Lurking Fear")

1921: "The Hound"

1922: "The Festival"

1923: Charles Dexter Ward travels in Europe

1923: "Cool Air"

1923: July-August — "The Rats in the Walls"

1925: Ethnographer visits Guthrie, Oklahoma and hears the Yig legend ("The Curse of Yig")

1925: "Pickman's Model"

1925: March — unrest among cults worldwide, artists have strange dreams ("The Call of Cthulhu")

1925: March 22 — Island of R'lyeh rises ("The Call of Cthulhu")

1925: March 23 —Johansen encounters Cthulhu and disrupts it; R'lyeh sinks again

1925: "The Horror at Red Hook"

1926: May — Charles Dexter Ward returns to Providence

1926-27: Winter — Death of Prof. Angell ("The Call of Cthulhu")

1927: April 15 — Ward reanimates Curwen (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward)

1927: June — Outbreak of vampiric attacks in Rhode Island (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward)

1927: July — Robert Olmstead escapes Innsmouth ("The Shadow Over Innsmouth")

1927: November — Vermont floods, reports of strange creatures ("The Whisperer in Darkness")

1928: January — attempted theft of Franklin's remains (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward)

1928: February — Federal raids on Innsmouth, Curwen kills and replaces Ward

1928: March — Ward/Curwen in asylum

1928: April — Willett explores catacomb, destroys Curwen (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward)

1928: May — Akeley-Wilmarth correspondence begins ("The Whisperer in Darkness")

1928: August 3 — Wilbur Whateley killed ("The Dunwich Horror")

1928: September 9 — The Dunwich Horror strikes

1928: September 12 — Wilmarth visits Vermont and barely escapes ("The Whisperer in Darkness")

1928: September 15 — Dunwich Horror destroyed

1928: October 7 — Randolph Carter disappears ("The Silver Key")

1928: Autumn — Destruction of two wizards in Prague and Transylvania (The Case of Charles Dexter Ward)

1928: Ethnographer visits Binger, Oklahoma, explores the Mound and recovers the Zamacona scroll ("The Mound")

1929: Edward Derby marries Asenath Waite ("The Thing on the Doorstep")

1930: Randolph Carter in alien body returns to Earth, lives in disguise in Boston as "Swami Chandraputra" ("Through the Gates of the Silver Key")

1930: April 30 — Climax of "The Dreams in the Witch House"

1930: September — Miskatonic Antarctic Expedition departs Boston (At the Mountains of Madness)

1931: February 2 — Miskatonic Expedition departs Antarctica after disaster (At the Mountains of Madness)

1931: Robert Olmstead and his cousin head for Innsmouth ("The Shadow Over Innsmouth")

1932: "Swami Chandraputra" vanishes in New Orleans ("Through the Gates of the Silver Key")

1932: Asenath Derby disappears ("The Thing on the Doorstep")

1932: "Out of the Aeons"

1932: "The Horror in the Museum"

1933: Daniel Upton kills Edward Derby (maybe) ("The Thing on the Doorstep")

1935: March 28 — Team of Miskatonic scholars set out on expedition to Western Australia ("The Shadow out of Time")

1935: July 17-18 — Peaslee discovers lost city in western Australia ("The Shadow Out of Time")

1935: August 8 — "The Haunter of the Dark"

Today's Menu

This year's Thanksgiving feast was an epic one. Five adults, including one teenage boy, means we can paint on a large canvas. The menu:

Oyster Patties

Cremant d'Alsace

Shrimp and Oyster Gumbo with Rice

Turkey Breast Sous Vide with Herbs — Turkey Breast Sous Vide with Harissa

Cote de Roussillon 2014

Cornbread and Oyster Dressing — Gravy

Cranberry Relish — Jellied Cranberry Sauce en Boite

Stuffed Mirlitons — Green Beans Amandine — Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Shaved Carrot Salad

Pecan Pie — Apple Pie

Coffee

Assorted Cheeses

Port

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Ancient Recipes

Very interesting BBC Travel story about re-creating ancient Mesopotamian recipes. Read it here. They include a lamb stew which sounds worth trying. 

The only surprising thing, really, is that anyone should be surprised that people living nearly 4000 years ago ate much the same things their modern descendants do. Food is a bedrock of culture — it's transmitted by families, not governments or schools; it reflects not only the traditions of the people but the land and its products; and foods seldom become obsolete. (I say seldom because it does seem that a lot of people in the Old World cheerfully gave up on turnips once they got their hands on potatoes.) Few regimes in history have been so totalitarian as to attempt to control how their subjects cook (though sadly more than a few have managed to prevent their subjects from getting any food at all).

If I do get around to trying the recipe, I'll write up an after-action report. If anyone else cares to tackle it, please share your results!

Philcon 2019!

This weekend I'll be attending the venerable PhilCon convention, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. That's near enough to Philadelphia that you can still get scrapple for breakfast, so I guess it qualifies. Here's my schedule. Stop by and say hi!

Fri 6:00 PM in Executive Suite 623: READINGS — PAUL LEVINSON, APRIL GREY, JAMES CAMBIAS

    I'll be reading a chapter from my forthcoming novel The Initiate.

Fri 7:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Promenade: AUTOGRAPHS — PAUL LEVINSON, APRIL GREY, JAMES CAMBIAS

Fri 8:00 PM in Plaza II: CREATING IDIOMS FOR FANTASY WORLDS

    [Robert C. Roman (mod), Alex Shvartsman, D.L. Carter, James Cambias, Ann Zeddies]

    What do you have your characters call a French braid in a world where France doesn't exist? How do you fill the descriptive lacunae created when you want to avoid language that's anacosmistic?

Fri 11:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Three: EYE OF ARGON INTERACTIVE

    [Mark Singer (mod), Keith DeCandido, B. Lana Guggenheim, Michael Ventrella, James L. Cambias]

    Yes, I'm going back for another struggle to keep from cracking up as I read from the charmingly inept Conan knockoff The Eye of Argon. Pray for me.

Sat 11:00 AM in Plaza II: WRITING FOR ALIENS — FAMILY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURES

    [Sally Wiener Grotta (mod), Tom Purdom, Ann Zeddies, Chris Kreuter, James Cambias]

    What if a species had no concept of marriage, or placed no value on raising one's own offspring? How would you write a culture that valued other relationships over ones that are viewed as the most important to humans without them coming across as cold and uncaring?

Sat 2:00 PM in Plaza II: OBSOLETE SCIENCE

    [Earl Bennett (mod), Michael Swanwick, James L. Cambias, James Beall, B. Lana Guggenheim, Russell J. Handelman]

    Remember when spaceships went whizzing through the ether? Remember the hollow earth? What obsolete scientific ideas shaped SF, and which ones still persist in it?

Sat 5:00 PM in Plaza III: HOW TO SERVE OUR NEW ROBOT OVERLORDS

    [Simone Zelitch (mod), David Walton, Dr. Valerie Mikles, Bruce Dykes, James L. Cambias]

    What it says on the tin.

Sat 7:00 PM in Plaza II: THE EVOLUTION OF MARS

    [Darrell Schweitzer (mod), John Ashmead, Tom Purdom, James Cambias, Earl Bennett]

    How have depictions of Mars changed in SF from the imaginings of Burroughs and Bradbury to the Mars we know now from studying its surface?

Sat 8:00 PM in Plaza III: GREAT SCIENCE FICTION MCGUFFINS

    [Mary Spila (mod), Joe Siclari, Richard Stout, Christopher Hinz, James L. Cambias]

    Alfred Hitchcock defined the McGuffin as the 'object' everyone in the story is looking for. This can be anything from a secret formula to a magic amulet to a living being. Which have been the genre's most interesting ones?

Random Encounters: Beneath Naples

Naples is an ancient city built atop layers of volcanic tufa. The stone is easy to dig through and carve, and over the past four thousand years people have dug a lot of tunnels under Naples. There are natural caves, Roman cisterns and sewers, the early Christian catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso, a system of World War II bomb shelters, wine cellars, the modern water and subway systems — and countless vaults and tunnels kept secret or long forgotten. And beneath it all, a vast pool of magma churns.

RANDOM ENCOUNTERS BENEATH NAPLES

(Roll 1d10 if you're in an underground space; 1d20 if you're exploring the vast network of passages.)

1. Roll twice and combine
2. Plot advancing encounter: Someone or something related to why the heroes are crawling around under Naples in the first place.
3. Crooks: 1d8 Neapolitan gangsters who use the tunnels to stash loot and move around secretly. They're armed and don't want anybody snooping around, but they also don't want to attract attention if they can avoid it.
4. Eurynomos: Corpse-eating demon with purple-gray skin the color of rotted flesh. It is accompanied by 1d4 Ghouls (see below) and seeks dead humans. It's perfectly capable of making dead humans if it meets live ones.
5. Ghouls: Are they living dead or strange tunnel-dwelling humans? They eat carrion and know all the secrets of the underground. 1d6 Ghouls armed with their own teeth and claws.
6. Giant Snake: There aren't any snakes this big in Italy . . . but here it is, a python at least thirty feet long capable of crushing a full-grown steer in its coils.
7. Rats! A vast swarm of rats, driven up from deeper levels by something. They're maddened by fear and hunger and attack anything in their path.
8. Secret Passage: A hidden door leading into another part of the underground. Figuring out how to open it may take some doing.
9. Servizio Infrastrutture: 1d4 city workers who know this part of the underground pretty well. They know what to avoid, how to get out — and things it's best not to talk about.
10. Tremor: The ground shakes for 1d10 seconds. Use an "exploding die" — if the result is 10, roll again, and the additional seconds of shaking are stronger.
11. Collapsed Section: The tunnel has partly collapsed. You may be able to squeeze through the rubble, but there's a 1 in 4 chance that will cause more stones to fall.
12. Gas! This section is filled with poisonous hydrogen sulfide bubbling up from the volcanic areas below. Anyone who breathes here may pass out, which would be fatal.
13. Lair: A chamber used as a hideout. The occupants will not be happy to see you. Roll 1d6 to see whose lair it is and how many there are. 1: Crooks (1d4); 2: Ghouls (2d4); 3: Homeless Kids (1d4); 4: Lava-Men (1d4); 5: Living Skeletons (1d6); 6: Rats (1d4 swarms).
14. New Diggings: A recent tunnel, only a meter tall, looks like a shortcut to where you're going.
15. Octopus! It's been lurking down here for decades, hiding in a dark half-flooded chamber. On a diet of rats, cats, and unwary explorers it has grown to immense size, with arms three meters long and a beak like a vulture.
16. Pursuers: Someone's after you, either trying to drive you out or catch you for no good purpose. Roll 1d6 to see who's chasing you. 1-2: 1d4 Crooks armed with knives and pistols; 3-4: 2d4 Ghouls; 5-6: 1d4 Vampires.
17. Spatial Anomaly: The tunnel network is so complex that parts of it actually defy normal topology. This section connects to a place 1d10 times 100 meters away.
18. Trap: Someone wants to discourage visitors to this section. Roll 1d6 to see what kind of trap it is. 1-2: Concealed crossbows launch 1d4 bolts down the passage; 3-4: Hidden pit drops you into a flooded section below; 5-6: Spring-loaded scythe slashes across the passage
19. Underground Church: One of many dug by the early Christians to avoid persecution. It's dry, safe, and supernatural monsters avoid it. There is a 10 percent chance this church has been desecrated by infernal powers and actually attracts and strengthens unnatural horrors.
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what you find traces of.

SITUATIONS BENEATH NAPLES

(Roll 1d6, then consult the table above to determine who A and B are.)

1. A desires B
2. A wants to capture B
3. A wants B dead
4. A wants to go somewhere
5. A wants to solve a mystery
6. A wants X

REACTION TABLE

2-3: Immediate attack!

4-5: Unfriendly

6-8: Neutral

9-10: Friendly

11-12: Very Friendly

Important Notice

Today's Sylvia Plath Memorial Bake Sale has been postponed. 

Evidently we scheduled it too soon.

Random Encounters: Transylvania!

It's called "Transylvania" ("beyond the forest") because to get there from Hungary you pass through a hilly, forested area to reach the central Transylvanian plateau. On all other sides the region is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains, making it hard to get to even in the Edwardian era. During that time the area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, which meant it was run by foreigners who spent as little time there as they could manage. The result: a semi-medieval backwater well into the 20th Century. This table is for Transylvania any time from the 1840s to the 1930s.

RANDOM ENCOUNTERS IN TRANSYLVANIA

Roll 1d10 if you're staying in one location, 1d20 if you're moving about exploring or tracking something.

1. Roll twice and combine
2. Plot advancing encounter: Something or someone connected with your purpose in Transylvania.
3. Swarm of Bats: They don't behave like normal bats. They swarm about you, nipping and scratching, trying to drive you in a particular direction.
4. Foreign Visitor: Roll 1d6 to see who you encounter. 1: British lawyer here on business; 2: British lawyer fleeing a horrifying encounter; 3: British lawyer bent on destroying a monster; 4: Dutch occultist doing research; 5: Young American with unsavory connections; 6: Russian military man sightseeing.
5. Grave-Robbers: A trio of surly, suspicious fellows with shovels. Roll 1d6 to see what they're looking for. 1-2: Digging up bodies with jewelry to sell; 3-4: Looking for fresh material recently buried; 5-6: Seeking a particular old grave.
6. Monster: A lumbering, freakish, inarticulate brute, suspicious and probably hostile toward everyone. Roll 1d6 for specifics. 1: Alchemy-spawned being flawed in creation (naive and amoral); 2: Hybrid sired by inhuman being (cunning and vicious); 3: Meddler transformed by curse (reclusive and enraged); 4: Patchwork of reanimated dead flesh (confused and angry); 5: Soulless Machine (implacable); 6: Victim of insane experiment (maddened by pain).
7. Mysterious Warning: Either directed specifically at the heroes, or a general "to whom it may concern." Creepy phrasing and vague wording convey a sense of dread but no useful information.
8. Vampire: A walking corpse that feeds on the blood or life-force of the living. Roll 1d6 to see what kind. 1-2: Madman suffering delusions; 3-5: New-risen dead, mindless and thirsty; 6: Powerful ancient vampire.
9. Weather: A sudden and unseasonable storm, with high winds and lightning. You certainly can't travel, and must seek the nearest shelter at once.
10. Werewolf: A human who can take wolf form, or perhaps the other way around. Roll 1d6 for details. 1: Cursed wanderer seeking cure; 2: Gleeful predator; 3: Honor-bound shirtless hunk; 4: Vampire in wolf form; 5: Vengeful outcast; 6: Weird man-wolf hybrid.
11. Abandoned Waif: Frail, pale girl in white, unable to speak. As soon as you're alone the fangs come out.
12. Black Stone: An incomprehensibly ancient stone marked with runes in no known language. Sleeping nearby brings visions of prehistoric rituals — which may continue in secret to this very day.
13. Bridge Out! The road stops at a deep gorge with a rushing stream at the bottom. You'll have to go back, or risk climbing the steep walls. Hope you're not being chased by anything . . .
14. Ghost Lights: Blue lights, visible only at night, which hover over the burial sites of lost treasures and the graves of suicides. During they day they manifest as a chilly spot.
15. Half-Ruined Castle: It shouldn't be inhabited, but there's a light in one window. Roll 1d6 to see who's home. 1: Aged crone who may be a witch; 2: Gang of 1d10 bandits; 3: Ghost; 4: Mad scientist with a brutish assistant and a monster; 5: Monster living alone who tries to remain hidden; 6: Vampire with 1d6 underlings.
16. The Master of the Scholomance: An imposing bearded chap with piercing eyes, recruiting students for the famous occult school in the mountains above Sibiu. Each year ten aspiring wizards enter the underground complex, and a year later nine leave.
17. Pack of Wolves! 2d6 unusually large and aggressive wolves. If they catch you outside they try to chase you down; if you're indoors they're howling about the doors making escape impossible.
18. Remote Chapel: Abandoned and run-down, but still sacred ground. Evil things cannot enter (but their human and animal minions can).
19. Trap! Roll 1d6 to see what kind. 1: Ambush by 1d6 armed goons, 2: Bomb! 3: Concealed pit to catch the unwary; 4: Falling stones; 5: Sabotaged bridge; 6: Suspended wire to decapitate unwary riders.
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what just passed.

SITUATIONS IN TRANSYLVANIA

(Roll 1d6, then consult the table above to determine who A and B are.)

1. A desires B
2. A wants to capture B
3. A wants B dead
4. A wants to go somewhere
5. A wants to solve a mystery
6. A wants X

REACTION TABLE

2-3: Immediate attack!

4-5: Unfriendly

6-8: Neutral

9-10: Friendly

11-12: Very Friendly

Alexei Leonov, R.I.P.

The title says it all, really. Alexei Leonov, one of the three greatest Russian space explorers, died last week after a long and amazing career.

It's hard to avoid the feeling that we're living in a diminished age. We have great plans, great dreams . . . but too often they seem to stay that way. In an ideal world, Leonov could have at least visited the Moon in the 1990s as an honored guest (or even a founding partner of some business venture). But nobody's been back since 1972. There are people born after the last man left the moon who are grandparents today.

Farewell to another one of the greats.

Random Encounters: Miskatonic University

In the scenic New England town of Arkham, Miskatonic University sits on the bank of the river of the same name. The school's red-brick buildings and tree-shaded quads seem eternal, immune to time. Only the styles worn by the students ever seem to change.

Most people know of Miskatonic (if they know of it at all) as a good small university, not as famous as the Ivy League but certainly on a par with Amherst, Bowdoin, or Williams College.

But in certain rarefied circles which do not seek the public eye, Miskatonic is known as a center for the study of unusual things. The school's library holds a collection of occult works unrivaled anywhere. Its science departments poke into odd meteorites and impossible archaeological finds in Anarctica. Its math department investigates hyper-dimensional spaces. Its history and comparative religion departments have some of the world's experts on magic and forbidden lore.

The paradox about Miskatonic is that it simultaneously serves those who want to understand and use forbidden knowledge, and those who want to protect humanity from it. It's kind of an intellectual neutral zone, where conflicts are suspended because neither side wants to risk damaging the library's priceless copy of the Necronomicon.

ENCOUNTERS AT MISKATONIC UNIVERSTIY

(Roll 1d20 when moving about the campus at night. During the day, replace any non-named individuals with random undergraduates.)

1. Roll Twice and Combine
2. Plot Advancing Encounter: Someone or something related to your current topic of inquiry at Miskatonic.
3. Campus Police: one Miskatonic University Police officer equipped with revolver and billy club. Unlike the town cops, the school police are rather protective of the students and ignore minor misdeeds as long as they don't involve harm to people or the campus.
4. Cultists: 2d6 furtive strangers unfamiliar with the campus, looking for a particular item or person. They're armed with knives and pistols.
5. Drunk Students: 2d6 intoxicated undergraduate men and 2d6-6 intoxicated undergraduate women. They're mostly interested in pranks and finding more beer, but there's a 10 percent chance they'll mistake your group for members of a rival fraternity or (worse yet) townies trying to crash a campus party. Then it's fistfight time.
6. Escaped Specimen: One of the Antarctic Old Ones, a specimen from the Dyer expedition which has thawed out and escaped from the Geology Department basement. It is incredibly tough, very smart, and has been asleep since the Cretaceous Era.
7. Ghouls: 1d6 skulking, hunched, carrion-eaters.
8. Walter Gilman: Mathematics prodigy pursuing an interdisciplinary study combining higher-dimensional topology and ancient witchcraft. Kind of a grind, really.
9. Man-Faced Rat: It's about the size of a gopher, has oddly human-like hands and a human face, and titters horribly.
10. Misky: The beloved campus watchdog, a powerful English Mastiff. Misky's normally very gentle and good-natured, a pet to all the students and especially the young children of the faculty. But when confronted with any unnatural beings Misky becomes an unstoppable 250-pound bundle of muscle, teeth, and righteous fury.
11. Dr. Francis Morgan: A young, athletic Archaeology professor whose ongoing rivalry with Dr. Jones of Marshal University is legendary. Fearless and a crack shot, Dr. Morgan has seen more than his share of strange things.
12. Prof. Nathaniel Wingate Peaslee: A Professor of Political Economy, whose mind is currently that of a superintelligent time-jumping alien being. Knows everything — including things that haven't happened yet — but is always preoccupied with his own mysterious projects.
13. Dr. Laban Shrewsbury: Philosophy professor who always wears dark glasses, even at night. Tends to draft people into helping fight world-threatening menaces, even if they've got homework.
14. Storm: An unseasonable thunderstorm passes across Arkham. For an hour the city is beset by high winds, lightning, and heavy rain. Streets by the river are partially flooded for the next 1d4 hours, and there's a 50 percent chance of a power failure lasting 2d6 hours.
15. Swarm of Rats! Something has driven all the rats on campus out of the storm drains and steam tunnels. Roll 1d6. 1-3: The rats are fleeing something, and head away from campus in all directions as fast as they can go; 4-6: The rats are drawn to one particular location and attack anyone there.
16. Asenath Waite: Incredibly smart undergraduate with a shocking degree of ancient occult knowledge. She has strange off-campus acquaintances.
17. Herbert West: A medical student who has discovered a preparation of tropical lizard tissue capable of reviving the dead. He'll happily join in any activity which promises to get him some really fresh specimens to experiment on.
18. Wilbur Whateley: A visiting self-taught scholar from Dunwich, he's nine feet tall, smells funny, and carries a pistol. Wilbur's determined to get the school's copy of the Necronomicon.
19. Dr. Albert N. Wilmarth: English professor and folklorist, expert on old New England legends.
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what left traces.

SITUATIONS

(Roll 1d6, then use the table above to fill in the elements.)

1. A desires B
2. A wants to capture B
3. A wants B dead
4. A wants to go somewhere
5. A wants to solve a mystery
6. A wants X

REACTION TABLE

(Roll 2d6.)

2-3: Immediate attack!

4-5: Unfriendly

6-8: Neutral

9-10: Friendly

11-12: Very Friendly