Campaign Introduction

               Welcome to the King in Yellow campaign.  This is based solely on Robert Chambers work and not the combination of Robert Chambers, H. P. Lovecraft, and others that most games are based on.  There will be expanded myths, mainly from folklore.  So for instance Hastur exists, but Cthulhu does not.  Folklore things like vampires, yetis, and werewolves may exist, but things like deep ones, the Insmouth, or Arkham do not.

                I plan on using the play, but it will not be the central part of the game.  Most games seem to revolve around the play itself and not the machinations of The King and Yellow and his two daughters.  I also do not plan on sticking strictly to Chambers work, mainly because most of it is terrible and I do not want to have you suffer through it.

                This is a horror-based game, there are going to be disturbing things in this game.  If something becomes too disturbing, please speak up.  Whatever is causing the issue will be stopped immediately.  I will have an offline discussion with you about what the problem is to ensure we do not repeat the situation.  Situations like death, mutilation, monsters, and insanity will be the main causes of disturbing events.

Locations:

Paris:

                Paris is 1890s Paris with one major exception.  Female characters will not be treated as they would be in the 1890s.  Things like needing an escort, general sexism, and second-class citizenship will not be present, unless you as the player want your character treated that way.

The Wars:

                This happens in the 1940s, but not the 1940s we know.  World War I did not happen.  In 1917 Germany invaded America, while America repelled Germany, America’s Democracy fell in the process and is now the American Empire.  Florida & California are no longer a part of the American Empire and countries of their own.  The Czars of Russia never fell and Fascism never rose in Germany, mainly because post World War I reparations never happened.  The sides: Germany, France (You), Iberia, & Italy vs. Russia, England, and Norseland.  Walkers (think War of the Worlds) are the main armored vehicles, flying vehicles are bug like devices. Navies are dominated by the submarine, the Nautilus exists, and others like her.  Carcosan creatures wander the sea and are easily as dangerous as the warring naval vessels.  Carcosan technology does exist on land and is in use by both sides.

The Aftermath:

                The year 2021, the alternate timeline that follows The Wars.  The American Empire and the Castaigne regime have just fallen, and you are an ex-partisan.  The technology is that of the late 70s.  The empire has caused a dark age of about 100 years in America.  There are many factions working on building a government for the new United States of America.  The Castaigne regime was supported by Carcosan technology and Carcosans themselves.  One of the last efforts of the rebellion was to blow up the gates to Carcosa.  With the gates gone, knowledge of Carcosa seems to be fading and quickly.  One of the central decisions the new government must deal with is what to do with the Government Lethal Chambers, basically automated assisted suicide booths, that have been around since the 1920s.

This is Normal Now:

                The year is 2021, on the historical timeline as we as players know it.  Nothing has changed. There is nothing to see here, move along.

Campaign Structure:

                I plan to run this campaign as 3 Acts with each of the different settings being featured for 3 – 4 adventures each.  Act I will include the setting intro scenario too (or the prologue for Paris).  I am pretty set on how Act I and Act III are going to work, I may move the scenes around in Act II.  I am not happy with the setup yet.  Your characters will be connected through the different settings, and as you see Act II and Act III do not go chronologically.  You will also see the main “villain” as the title of each act.  Cassilda & Camilla are the King in Yellow’s daughters if you are not familiar with them.

  • Act I (Cassilda)
    • Scene I: Paris
      • Section I: Ghost of the Garnier (pp. 168 – 187 Paris)
      • Section II: The Mysterious Model
    • Scene II: The Wars
    • Scene III: The Aftermath
    • Scene IV: This is Normal Now
  • Bridge: All Settings
  • Act II (Camilla)
    • Scene I: The Aftermath
    • Scene II: This is Normal Now
    • Scene III: Paris
    • Scene IV: The Wars
  • Bridge: This is Normal Now
  • Act III (The King in Yellow)
    • Scene I: This is Normal Now
    • Scene II: The Aftermath
    • Scene III: The Wars
    • Scene IV: Paris
  • Epilogue: Carcosa