ADVENTURE: "Dog Gone Time"

olonocomo I was giving some thought to Pokéthulhu today and I started writing a little Lovecraftian parody that I'd like to share with you all as an adventure idea. This'll be a one-shot deal, but should keep your players very entertained.

Backstory

In 1950, a young boy about 8 or 9 years old brings home a puppy. As thulhu information was kind of scarce in those days (thulhus tended to either drive scholars mad or just eat them), he had no idea that his faithful little friend was in fact a Tindaloo.

Unlike most wild thulhus, this one loved its master from the start. Kinda identified with his sad little demeanor. Unfortunately, since Tindaloos are rather dangerous animals untrained (or trained for that matter), it's been unconsciously broadcasting its Non-Euclidean powers over the town since it got there.

The town has been in a perpetual state of Time Loop for the last 53 years. The occasional person who came to investigate usually became sucked in and forced to live 1950 over and over again. If a kid should happen to come by, they were somehow incorporated into the logic of the town itself. And thus the young boy got more and more friends who were around his age, yet not quite as old as he was in the scheme of things.

Now the town itself is all but forgotten and people are encouraged to skip the roads around it, for people still disappear without a trace. Kinda like the Bermuda Triangle meets Pleasantville.

Action

Whether you're playing Pokethulhu in the context of the game's original setting or use the real world like I do, from time to time, this is going to be one wild ride. It helps if you start them out in the middle of the night. Helps make what's about to happen next more believable if they can't see anything.
As soon as the cultists get within a certain distance of the town (an area reported to be abandoned), roll the Sanity of the cultists against the Frighten of the Tindaloo. If they fail, the sound of biplane mayhem should drive them straight towards the town. If they don't fail, have them chase the ones that did. If they all passed, then you better think of something or this'll be a short game.
Once they pass through the perimeter of the town, have each cultist roll a Challenging Sanity Roll and a second one if they fail the first. If they succeed, they retain their wits and recognize the town and all within as being seriously out of place. If a cultist fails the roll, they'll totally buy into the "mythos" of the town. If they fail a second roll, they think they've known Chuck all their lives. If they fail the first, but pass the second, they don't think the town is out of place or strange, but will remember their friends and be easier to convince to leave.

Once within the town, they'll find it very hard to leave. In fact, every time they try to leave, they'll either find themselves totally turned around in a pumpkin patch or in the middle of a WWI french countryside...during hostilities!
You should have no trouble introducing the cultists to a group of young kids that seem very familiar to most comic readers. =) Play up the introductions as much as you can. That's what they're there for.

As far as the thulhu action goes, it'll be fun to toss a couple red herrings to the players to keep them on their toes.
There are at least two wild thulhus running around town, trapped along with everyone else. In fact, they could just as easily be fingered as the culprits and keep the cultists busy trying to duel/capture them.
The Cat Next Door is a savage creature that hates the Tindaloo puppy and could throw suspicion off if it attacks at the right moment.

Another wild and uncatalogued thulhu is a living cloud of dust particles that wanders the streets and seems to have been mistaken for a child!

And, naturally, should anyone consult the kid with the blanket, the Great Pumpkin is yet another wild and rare thulhu who would probably welcome a trainer if it meant getting away from the brat hounding it.
The source of the madness is, of course, the Tindaloo puppy that Charles owns. Anyone passing a Really Hard Pokéthulhu Lore test should identify this strange critter as a Tindaloo Puppy. It's very rare you see one this young OR cute.

Bringing the adventure to a close can be done by either convincing Charles to train his Tindaloo, finding a way to get the Tindaloo to turn off its Non-Euclidean power, beating it in a thulhu duel or managing to get through the pumpkin patch to freedom.
Should the cultists try to escape via the trenches, they'll find themselves trapped in WWI France...unless you're itching to send them on a campaign against the Kaiser. I got no objections and that should be pretty funny.

New Pokénomicon Entry

Here's the Tindaloo. All other thulhus are up to you.

Tindaloo Puppy

Aspects: Non-Euclidean, Sticky

Weakness: Icy

Power: 6
Speed: 8
Hit Points: 6

INJURE - 1
Sloppy Wet Kiss
Sticky

DODGE - 3
Traverse French Countryside
Non-Euclidean

TRAP - 3
Repeat Childhood
Non-Euclidean

FRIGHTEN - 2
WWI Airplane Battle Sounds
Non-Euclidean

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Okay, there's the adventure. Enjoy!
Sincerely,
-~ Michael Florian

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