Call of Cthulhu: Project Deep Core

It's been a long time since I posted pure gaming content. For fun, and without any real effort to edit this, I am posting an outline of a short sub-campaign I ran amidst a larger Call of Cthulhu Campaign back in 2018. Although I used it with the 7th Edition rules it will work fine with most any edition in a modern setting, or even other games with a Mythos intent if you so desire.

Project Deep Core 

Location: U.S. Research Station Code Name “Dawn”

Project Head: Athony Holloway, of Dawson Industries Research Branch (maker of the Dawn Mark I Research station, part of the Dawson Extreme Environment Fabrication Project)

Project Deep Core Lead Researcher: Dr. Carol Hitchens (geologist and meteorologist). She is a known skeptic and is deeply shaken by the discoveries found below the ice.

Other Scientists on Base:

David Krause, geologist – specializing in Antarctic research, third “tour” in the ice

Andre Kushner, virologist – former CDC operative, may be on the hook with an unknown espionage group

Devon Calumiere, meteorologist – Canadian American

Monika Ekholm, Glacial Studies Specialist (geologist) – Swedish, came on board this season, first time in Antarctica

Other Staff:

Dacio Ferriera – maintenance lead and chief technician of facility; former Brazillian operative and now private operator for Dawson

Jason McAllister – dig team explosives expert

The Situation:

Dawn Station, located on the western tip of the Gamburtsez Subglacial Mountains (also known as the Ghost Mountains), has been drilling core samples and cataloging data on the glacial activity in the region, directly in connection with research regarding the unique geology which may have formed the mostly ice-submerged mountains.

The expedition’s goals required a full year of catalog activity as well as monitoring glacial transitioning periods over the 2016-2017 year. As such, the expedition has been dependent on the state of the art Dawn Mark I facility which was designed to sustain against such extreme year-round conditions.

During the initial June core sampling, Dr. Hitchens’ team broke through unexpectedly into a previously unidentified large hollow, but that wasn’t the surprising part: the core samples came back with a mix of what appeared to be artifactual remains trapped in the ice as well as active, live, extremely unusual extremophiles thriving in the ice. The cores were isolated for study, and the perceived artifacts were extracted.

After the initial discoveries were made, revealing clear artifacts of manufactured but inexplicable origin, as well as fossil remains that appeared to be close to 450 million years old, including horseshoe crabs and brittle stars. Director Holloway managed to secure a line out on the 1,300 KM cable line to the nearest communications relay and spoke privately with his superiors, including Richard Dawson himself. They indicated that he should direct the team to further investigate these specific finds.

In late June the group, with authorization to do so, pulled back the remote automated drilling system after widening a hole large enough to drop a remote drone camera down. Ice flow activity suggested conditions were optimal. The camera revealed a large, impressively accessible subterranean complex that appeared to be a large natural ice cavern abutting against the Ghost Mountain Range. It immediately became evident they were on the precipice of a larger and more monumental discovery as there was clear evidence of ruins, as well as many more artifacts, and the camera even caught sight of macro-organisms, including what appeared to be subterranean creatures that looked similar to brittle stars, as well as moss and other vegetative life where there should be none. Most curiously, the temperature along the mountain slope was nearing 33 degree F, just above freezing!

Photos of the ruins, as well as a sample of a larger artifact that looked closely similar to artifacts from other, impossibly distant sites have left the researchers at a loss. Dawson Industries ordered two actions: for Hallowoay to secure a boring machine to make a tunnel to the region, and seven additional staff to manage the dig project. For Dr. Hitchens she is to find a team of trustworthy researchers specializing in archaeology and paleontology to assess the site’s value and merit.

Events: NOTE – Events can also involve active team present at all events, rather than showing up after the fact. So….first psychic event could happen after PCs arrive.

1.       Teams arrive, boring team first, but research team is late, after a several week delay due to weather (stationed over in McMurdo); arrival is on or about August 18^th

2.       During wait period cable line contact with satellite relay is lost, but believed to be due to severe weather.

3.       Team finally arrives by plane after break in weather conditions on state-of-the-art “X-Plane.” On arrival, the plane notifies everyone it has to turn around on refuel and next visit will be in early November. They’re here for three months.

4.       A handful of researchers and Director Halloway are present on base. Halloway greets the crew warmly, explains that they are welcome to stay but it will be another day before they can head to the dig site due to the weather. He briefs them on their current issues: specifically, the problem with the generator (keeps stalling and forcing them to use the backup), the problem of handling the storage shed where the “macro-specimen” is located, and so forth.

5.       The research module of the station contains specimens which have been brought back so far Kushner and Dacio are happy to show off what they have found:

a.       The Living Brittle Star which come back to life once unfrozen. There are several examples.

b.       The grow tanks appear to contain a mix of thick moss and long, stalky tubules that look more comfortable under the ocean than on land, but here they are. All of these are more closely related to 450 million year old life than current, according to Kushner.

c.       One frozen slab has an immense mummified carcass of what appears to be a deformed albino penguin that stood ten feet tall. Largest specimen of the extinct species yet found.

d.       The main slab in the cold storage area has a hideous and difficult to describe mass that appears neither mummified nor fossilized: “Six feet end to end, three and five-tenths feet central diameter, tapering to one foot at each end. Like a barrel with five bulging ridges in place of staves. Lateral breakages, as of thinnish stalks, are at equator in middle of these ridges. In furrows between ridges are curious growths – combs or wings that fold up and spread out like fans. . . which gives almost seven-foot wing spread.” This thing appears to have been found intact and possibly frozen in the ice, mummified, but it’s flesh does not appear to be desiccated, and with power restored it appears to be slowly defrosting, even in cold storage. Kushner admits this one is perplexing, almost disturbing….it is too “fresh.”

e.       On another cold slab is a partial remains of something which looks vaguely crustacean, but is immensely old and partially fossilized. It is unclear what it was unless one has personally met a mi-go.

f.        There’s an immense block of ice which appears to have contained something in the accompanying storage unit. Recorded video shows what appears to be a difficult to estimate mass in the ice, and suggests they found it while managing the dig, then cut the object out and hauled it to base. Kushner or anyone with the PCs will be shocked that the “object” which they estimated to be a large frozen mass of algae-like matter is missing.

6.       The first scary item: those who troop out to the generator shed to assist in the latest break-down will find along the way in the ice evidence of something strange having happened, a torn parka and cold weather gear, but ripped to shreds and covered in frozen blood. There is no body, just clothing. (This was an engineer named Harold Eidelsberg who was thought to be in his room sleeping).

7.       When power is restored, the radio comes to life with a call from Dr. Hitchens. She’s ecstatic for a response, explaining that she and her core team are in the hollow, but due to the weather have been unable to get a call through. She explains that something amazing has been found: she says its difficult to describe, but asks for an array of measuring equipment to be brought as soon as possible.  

8.       Hitchens invites the crew out, explaining that they need specific supplies and materials to repair the tractors, including spare sparkplugs, tubing, and fuel. A repair/mechanical check suggests that what she asks for would suggest someone had done specific damage to the engines of the tractors.

9.       Further investigation of Dawn Station will reveal some clues:

a.       Director Halloway’s office has an extensive file in paper (and encrypted) on the dig site, and a careful read-through suggests that Halloway had some anticipation of finding more than just ice cores, and he has apparently logged messages to an encrypted source about this. He also has a copy of the Dyer-Lake expedition report in his safe. If confronted he will admit that Dawson Industries felt that this location might yield interesting results based on satellite surveys which detected faint infrared anomalies in the region.

b.       Someone takes a tractor. A search on site reveals that only Jason McAllister is missing. He was the explosives expert that helped blast down in to the ice to help the heavy boring machine.

c.       In the bunk rooms, the one for Jason McAllister has a note: “To whoever finds this, I’m going to finish what everyone started. Don’t try to find me, don’t try to go to the dig site. It showed me the truth. This needs to end before it’s too late. Watch your back.”

d.       If the group spends more than twelve hours on base, then the first “psychic incident” will manifest as the elder thing begins to awaken. PCs will begin to experience discomfiting psychological distortions of vision and senses as the elder thing recovers itself.

The Secret Plot:

The expedition dug down and entered the cavern. In the initial foray they found the remarkable specimens which they dragged back to the base for study. After entering the cavern-temple complex they unwittingly tripped ancient defenses placed by the elder things to prevent enemies from accessing the portal to Ubbo-Sathla’s dominion. A rift to The White Space opened and disgorged an elder thing to evaluate the threat.

The initial attack comes in the form of psychic distortions, which will drive Adam Connover and Richard Dale crazy; they will try to shoot and kill the other dig members before the researchers are able to barricade the two from the temple entrance. The madmen will flee the site, returning to take two tractors back to Dawn Station and sabotaging the other two. When they return to Dawn Station, it was with the intent to toast the specimens and force Halloway to call in an evacuation, as well as to get explosives to detonate the hole. Unknown to them, Jason McAllister is already enroute with the dynamite and they somehow missed him!

The group faces a three-fold threat:

1.       They found the “temple” which holds the entry to the bizarre crevasse that descends to the ancient chamber of the lost star tablets of Ubbo-Sathla. But the spawn of the elder god will likely destroy them first as they descend down.

2.       Along the way, there is a great chamber of what appear to be ancient giants with three eyes that were slain in terrible manner, their ancient mummified bodies clearly burned and shredded. Most disturbing in this room is a lone body, of a missing explorer from a 1957 expedition…the Templeton Expedition, where Arthur Templeton sought to be the first man to reach Polar South. He never returned with his expedition, and has been lost for ages. Here he is, with Templeton’s Diary, in which he recounts the last days of his crew being hunted by both elder thing and shoggoth. Curiously, he describes the temple entrance as being above the ice!

3.       The upper temple contains a high point where the burning light of a portal to the White Space will open and an elder thing will appear, with the intent to destroy the interlopers. It begins to sign the song of destruction, which calls upon the ancient shoggoth that has freed itself from the ice!