GM Tips: Living in the After of Azothog

I actually wrote this adventure some years ago as a part of a contest run by a German Cthulhu fan group. It was fun to write and I later GMed it as the finale to a long-running horror campaign. It's not every day, the players get to use characters in an end of the world setting. 

1. Give the characters a lot of leeway when creating a character. Dr. Sinhg chose them for a reason. If a player wants to create a character you'd expect to see in the next Expendables movie let them. Also encourage the non-action, Sherlock Holmes types. Be mindful of the adventure, however. If someone decides to create the world's best computer hacker, they are going to be sitting on the sidelines. By no means do they all need to be action stars but it's okay if that's what they want. Adjust the adventure to match the types of characters. . 

2. As I've mentioned in other posts, the biggest challenge with One-Shot adventures is getting the players immersed in their characters, NPCs, and the world. Really leverage the background hooks and NPCs. If one of your players is more reserved than the others, give them a background hook that will put them front and center or use an NPCs to draw them into the game.

3. This adventure is about the end of humanity. Do your best to make sure each NPC leaves an impression with the characters. They should want to save them! the best way to do that is to get into the role. I include NPC dialogue in all of my One-Shot adventures, but when I GM I use the dialogue to get the gist of an encounter, and then I make it my own as opposed to reading it. It will also be much more impactful if you can get one of the players invested in Caroline Daniels.

4. This one is I'm repeating for each each Mini-Quest. Don't limit yourself to just the dialogue included. I put written dialogue in my adventures to give you sense of how conversations should go, and to make sure NPCs are not forgotten. Try not read it verbatim off the page - make it your own. 

5. The battle in the Subway station should feel disorienting and chaotic. This is why every round the characters witness a new event/horror taking place around them. This encounter isn't about victory but to escape. If the players decide to stand their ground use the NPCs or pile on the villains to incent them to keep moving.  You can always come right out and say, "To your horror, you realize this is not a fight you can win. Survival is your only option." 

6. The final battle at the end should be fast-paced, exciting, and have a sense of loss or sacrifice as allies get picked off one-by-one. As the giant tentacle approaches it represents the doomsday clock counting down which should add to the tension. The addition of the helicopter was a last-minute addition to add variety to the battle. Whoever is in the helicopter, they should be very much aware that it's their job to hold Azothog at bay as long as they can - not dissimilar to the pilot played by Tom Hardy in Dunkirk. 

7. When Azothog attacks the market, don't use the map - in fact, take it off the table. This represents the disorientation of the attack and reenforces that the characters are just running in a direction, hoping to escape. Alternatively, let them use the map when running the recovery of the Book of the Secret Dark. 

8. Azothog has nearly unlimited health and nearly unlimited tentacles. If you want to load the characters up with weapons like rocket launchers, mini-guns, flamethrowers, do whatever you want. One of the NPCs could reveal a military stockpile. Just add more tentacles and villains to compensate. Again, even though this is a horror adventure, the characters are the last freedom fighters of humanity.

Feel free to leave a comment below or contact me with any questions?