The Darkened Hermitage

Author: Brendan Lahey

Playhouse Thoughts: A slow burning, atmospheric mystery in the Canadian hinterlands. Can you unravel the mystery before the mystery unravels you?

Blurb: October, 1933. As the Royal Canadian Mail steamship pulls onto the quiet lake, the seemingly interminable forest gives way, revealing the tiny hamlet pressed up against the shore, framed on all sides by the rugged mountains of backwoods Quebec. You wonder what could make someone want to live in such a dismal little town, seemingly built in defiance of God and Nature. A bitter autumn wind blows through you as you wrap your jacket tight and turn the Professor's cryptic letter over, looking at the hurried handwriting once more. What could it mean?

The Darkened Hermitage is a horror mystery scenario for 7th Edition Call of Cthulhu, set in the forested hinterlands of Quebec, Canada. The investigators have come to speak to Dr. Ezekiel Freeman, an eccentric historian and folklorist as well as a true believer in a wide range of esoteric theories. The investigators arrive to the small hamlet of Le Fidèle to find out that something has gone horribly wrong - and the next boat to Montréal doesn't come for another two weeks. The forested mountains press in like the walls of a prison cell, and the investigators are trapped in this valley with whoever - or whatever - is responsible. To survive, the investigators must work to uncover this valley's dark secrets - and soon. Who can they trust?

This scenario is designed for 3-5 players and it should take around six hours to complete. The scenario works well as a standalone investigation or as part of a campaign. The scenario is highly flexible, and the setting and investigator hooks can be modified to fit many different play groups.