56 — The Great Old Ones Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? Wherein our heroes visit New Orleans, and retrace the heroic past , only to be confronted by the horrific present. The time had come, the people should know the son of Hastur, and the whole world bow to the Black Stars which hang in the sky over Carcasa.”” — Robert W. Chambers, “The Repairer of Reputation.” ‘Scenario Considerations ‘This adventure presumes any number of investigators. of any ‘capacity and experience. Though playing times vary. expect 10 spend two and possibly three sessions unraveling the plot of the Yellow Sign If presenting this adventure as pan of the Great Old Ones ‘campaign, the investigators’ contact in New Orleans is Etienne-Laurent de Marigny. a young occultist of great intelli gence and power, mentioned in several Mythos tales. He in turn recommends them to Charley Sunstram, who opens ‘enough lines of investigation to insure a face-to-face encounter with an avatar of Hastur ‘Asettimetable of sorts exists for this adventure. The inves: tigators are assumed to begin inquiries a day or wo after the “Mardi Gras season begins. This leaves about ten days before the section “The Coronation of the King in Yellow” takes place. This cull gathering occurs before the actual day of Mardi Gras, On the night before Mardi Gras, a masquerade ball is held at Randall Fowler's home, the subject ofthe section “The Masyue of the Yellow Sign.” Do not worry if the schedule doesn’t quite come off: no one will object the addition of an extra day oF two, ‘The time of year is fixed, between March 6 and April 6. for Easter determines when Mardi Gras occurs. After the physical and mental horrors encountered so far, the investigators may be glad for some time to recover. Examine the spells and skills of the cultists to suggest likely approaches and attacks when it is time to improvise. ‘They have two members who can wield effective magicks. as well as the avatar I the investigators have recovered the Vishukhaparnam Fragment from the Davies ca, they are to take a steamer from [New Orleans to Boston almost immediately. plans which must be canceled in order to look into the death of Peter Gavin, the investigators cnter this as an unconnected adventure it takes them about two days to reach New Orleans from Bos- ton of San Francisco by rail, or a little over a day and a half from New York Cty. The cows. including meals, are about $20, 827, and $17 respectively. Keeper's Information Reponer Peter Gavvin stumbled onto something big. n ding a series bout this year's Mardi Gras Krewe (a Krewe fs & Charity group which puts on parades, masked balls. parties. ard tthe events during the season) he stumbled across a tebe conspiracy. and waskiled because of what heknew. A byakhee Scooped him from the rooftop on which he crouched, ew high and then dropped the unfortunate report ois death Mardi Gras decorations from a particular Krewe contain the dread Yellow Sign of Hastr the Krewe duped by cultists to help bring Hastur permancnly to Eat, Randall Fowler member of ha Krew hasbeen single ‘out by Papa Seresch a powerful New Orleans ca oF wm ‘doo priest. Screech a his fowers olang to the ancient cul fof Haxurand once worshiped Hasturand ters nthe swamps South of New Orleans. In 17. Inspector Hoh Rayinond Legrasse broke up that organization x dtd below and in HP. Lovecras ~The Call of Cthulhu” Some cults ex caped, among them Papa Screech The cult had learned of «process which could create & haven for Hasur on Eat na human bay The fis step wa {o find and prepare the haan, As jos vengeance forth en slavememt of his forebears. Pupa Screech chowe Randall Fouleraich man whos family ony cane diel from the slave rade. Screech’ magic gave Fowler vision oN ately departed wife and daughter. and herby gained Fowler's Given ty Screech te fabulously rare nightmare-play Te Kine InYellow, Fowler readte play and sid into madness. airing that it was his destiny to come the incamation othe play's title character. Fowier’s vision is cheat, however wen Hastur enters his boy, Power diy and so wil = steed “To creat the hase of worshipers movessary othe Fil of transfer: the cists need! hit many people view again ardTell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? — 57 About The Yellow Sign "tis a subliminaltocus for madness and fev, specialy regarded by the cut ot astur and tobe used by ther created ‘avatar to warp the dreams of those lwo see the sign thereby etving sane folk to madness and destucton. Con- vers to Hastur wil be many. and the ‘ongoing cyce of exposure and conver ‘sion has logical end, “The day afer de Mangny shows the sketch ofthe Yelow Sign to the inves- ‘gators. hey begin 10 see it every where. Citywide. signs and banners Contain the sinister yellow design. Dec: ofations wave fom buildings and ‘teetights along Canal Street and the ‘est of the business district, in the French Quarter, aozoss Uptown Now ‘Odeans, even in the city parks. Atright these dosigns are eevly luminescent yellow—cultist Krewe-workers have ‘energized each Yellow Sign with a mage point. ‘New Signs appear constant: tar {ng them down would take many help- ‘es and be irelevant. A successful ‘Cthulhu Mythos roll suggests dealing ‘cane Bookshop. agin the dreaded Yellow Sign and thus fall under its sway. Here Fowler proved an excellent choice. for with his power and wealth he had no trouble joining a Mardi Gras Krewe. This Krewe, whose other members know nothing of its actual pur- pose. was influenced to hire Papa Sereech’s cultists 10 do the physical work for them — constructing floats, providing ser- vant-help at parties. and making decorations incorporating the Yellow Sign. ‘Tomorrow. the first Yellow Sign posters appear on the streets, and the plot untods, Investigator Information The investigators are brought into this scenario inthe late winter of 192-- when Etienne-Laurent de Marigny shows them 4m orgent lee fom one Charles G. Sunsium, city editor of the New Orleans Dui Gurerte. Marigny served with Ran- doiph Caner inthe French Foreign Legion, and is an unm peachable authority onthe occult Unfortunately, he 1s oter- thse cxcupied and must travel tothe Yucatan almost immed aly Sunstram’s eter sats that one of his eporers was mur- dered alter stumbling into an occult conspiracy. Sunstam ine tlie a copy ofthe peculiar drawing found clutched i the dead man’ hand, Sunsirar asks for information about the pp and promises to soppy further details faced ‘De Marigny ayrees thatthe sign, reproduced nearby. ems to be occult in nature. but can lear nothing definite about He is consulting the invenigators. Succesful Occult and hatha Mythos roll tur up noting. 1s time to tar invest- sting Attor the Yollow Sign is seen in ‘color, investigator Cthulhu Mythos Siig reveal information about iCall {or a total of three rols rom the inves tigator pary as a whole. For the frst ‘ccesstul toll, they learned that the ‘Sign symbolizes madness, evi, and death. For the second successtul rl with the major horor at hand — let the post-carival clean-up crews dispose ‘of the decorations. ‘The power of this version of the Yellow Sign fades in a month or less shoul the King in Yelow not be sum ‘moned. Once the King is hore, the ‘Signs retain their potency uni the King is banished from te Earth ‘Viewers are unattected by the Sign sentby Chare Sunsvam and by news paper photos of Mars Gras decora tone; thee versione are not yellow nor energized wih a mage pont ‘Amore powerul version ofthe Ye tow Sign is embossed in yelow on the dark kont binding of The King In Yelow, copies of which are found inthe home fof Randall Fowior and in Del Rio's Ar CO The Yellow Sign the investigators learn thatthe Sign is ccommoniy” associated with an entity Called The King In Youow. ithe tied fall succeeds, the investigator remem- ‘ers that The King n Yellow is thought ‘an avalarof Hast. Access to Mythos tomes dovs not affect these rol, he ‘eoper finds it useful, de Marigny can ‘convey tis information, as well Investigations The New Orleans Gazette City Editor Charlie Sunsiram is eager to speak t0 the invest ators about Gavvin's death Sunstram is tall thickset. grim- faced man in late middle age. He constantly brushes buck his thinning hair while chain-smoking Lucky Strikes. The inter- View with him is interrupted several times by questions from reporters which Sunstram answers quickly. decisively. and rather ruthlessly. Still, a successful Psychotogy roll evaluates his concer about the death of Peter Gavvin as genuine. During the discussion, Sunstram pull large manila folder from a drawer, Gavvin’s notes for the series he was research- ing. A summary of the notes appears nearby. The police read them, searched his desk and home. and apparently found nothing to change theit judgment of suicide in the case. The men mentioned in Gavvin's notes ar respected ‘businessmen and pillars of s0- ciety. not the kind to kill news paper reporters. The cops ap- parenly attach no significance to the drawing found in Gavvin’s hand, though Sun- sora thinks that “the guy who stuffed it into Pete's hand knows plenty Charles Sunstram58 — The Great Old Ones LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN LWWESHORE DRIVE. MISSISSIPPI RIVER TULANE UNIVERSITY —_LovoLa UNIVERSITY Peter Gavvin was writing a series of stories about the or- ‘ganizers of this year's Mardi Gras celebration, all from the upper echelons of New Orleans society. About a week ago Gavvin became excited, telling Sunstram he was onto some- thing strange. He gave no details, but did think one Krewe was involved with the occult. ‘Sunstram wams the investigators to be careful with the Krrewes mentioned in Gavvin's notes; most are rich and influ ceial. Sunstram takes down the name of the hotel at which they're staying. He offers the use of the newspaper's morgue (files of news clippings) if needed, and tells the investigators to use his name as a reference when talking to the police. Investigators who run afoul of the law, he wams, will get no help from him. Peter Gavvin’s Notes Gavvin habitually took notes in 5x8" spral-bound notebooks. ‘The three in the envelope sketch several Krewes, but informa: tion about one, “The Most Honorable Krewe of the Swords,’ fils most of two notebooks. ‘The notes list the names and home and office addresses of, several members ofthis Krewe: one of the later entries lists an address in the French Quarter and reads Swords Krewe HQ? Of the Krewe's members, Denis Bouchard and Randall Fowler get extensive coverage, including ages, home and office addresses, family members, business dealings and holdings on record in Louisiana, charitable contributions, criminal records (none for either man), reputation with the police (none for Fowler, sev- eral instances of reckless driving and public drunkenness (all quashed) for Bouchard, Bouchard holds ‘old money." all in sound investments, His family has been in New Orleans since the early 1700s. His home is in the fashionable Garden District. Among the more interesting attributed entries on Denis Bouchard are statements creating an image of playboy, compulsive gambler. and collec- tor of fine antiques. Bouchard isthe chairman of the Krewe. Denis Bouchard is described in greater detail in the Statistics section atthe end of tis adventure. ‘Randall Fowler's fortune resis on shipping companies and railroads. Fowler's family name used 10 be LeFleur: Gav\ ‘notes that it was changed because of ancestor Gaston LeFleur’s notorious slave-trading, possibly including white indenture. Obituary clippings record the unsolved hit-and-run deaths of Fowler's wife and child a year and a half ago. Afier that. Fowler became interested in the occult. taking up with a mys: {erious black man who supposedly kept him in communication ‘with his dead wife and child, Along this entry is written Pap Screeck! Gawin speculates that Screech and his pals have bilked thousands of dollars from Fowler. ‘A cryptic entry in Gavvin's notes indicates that one of his last intentions was to visit this warehouse. The New Orleans Police Members ofthe Uptown precinct investigated Gavvin’s death “That precinct house is near the campus of Tulane University Investigators who have good Fast Talks and any amount of Law skill can pick up information in Jery’s Diner, a policeTell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign? — 59 ‘About New Orleans ‘This busy city of 400,000 is an impor: tant por ane the largest cit in Lous: ‘ana It is on both sides of the Missi ‘ip! River and is also bordered by (Cake Ponteharvain on one side and vast swamps on the other. Beyond the bbayous rls the Gul of Mexico, CANAL STREET. the center ofthe city's business dst, including the offices ‘of Charlie Sunstram’s Gazette The business ofices of Rancal Fowler and any of his fellow Krewe-members ‘canbe found here as well Streets here fare often wide, sometimes divided by ttoe-ined parking or a steet-car ine. Many tine hotels are found along Canal Steet French Quarter FRENCH QUARTER: world famous. the oldest section of the city. Smaller ‘Shops n me French Quan. ncuging antique dealers along Royal Street ‘One quaint tie shop in this area is De! Flo's Arcane Bookshop. detaied inthis hangout not far away. Bona Fide policemen and joumaliss can {et information atthe procinet house, While treating Gavvin's death as a suicide, two plain- clothesmien are looking into The Most Honorable Krewe of words: it isa fishing expedition, though, and without new evidence will be terminated shortly. They are investigating because the coroner's report show's that Gavvin died from & ‘much higher Fall than possible at the university, but the onthe spot evidence shows he died where he was found, No one has any theory why the information conflicts, ‘The investigators do lear that a Dr. August ‘Tulane University, who was at Gavvin's death scene, testified that a fll trom a university building could not have mangled the viet so severely ‘Asked about strange events occurring in New Orleans re cently the policeman faughs and says This is Mardi Gras, pa Everything is strange right now.” Persistence at Jerry's brings {oath much ofthe information conceming the police, Inspector [LeGrisse, and the raid of 1907 found in the “Horrors of the Past” section, below, including the lead to Swanson. Tourer of Professor Tourneur “The good professor is in the Physics department of Tulane University. When the investigators arrive, he is correcting pa pers. He is happy to talk, He has some knowledge of the situ- ation because he spent nearly two years during the Great War designing and testing parachutes. Toureur leads them t0 a nearby garden, frexhly spaded and worked. “When the police were through, the groundskeepers dug Lup the site and ré-seeded it. However, I saw the body removed and [helped the eoroner make his measurements, Gentlemen, ‘adventure. In the French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carre or Old Square as the many French- and Spanish derved builinge attest, the ‘queer blencing of architectural styles is marked by narrow sidewalks called banguetes, ron-tre ‘0dd-shaped roots and chimneys. and narrow, winding streets. The ware- house workplace of Randall Fowier's Mardi Gras Krewe is located in the GARDEN DISTRICT: tr hhomes of American sets who came to Now Orleans after the Lousiana Purchaso of 1803. Many near palatial homes and gardens stand proudiy in this residential section, including that of Krawe-mombor Denis Bouehard UPTOWN NEW ORLEANS: another res- ‘ential secton, aso Nome to a lage city park and the campuses of Loyola and Tulane universes. Investigators ‘may be able to learn further details of Peter Gawin's death atthe local pre int house, LAKEFRONT: the area south of Lake: ‘ont Orveis another elegant residential district; among the homes there is ised balconies, Randall Fower's ‘Te PEOPLE: New Orieans is predom: inatoly a southern white ety. Relatvaly few Creoles the descendants of early French and Spanish setters, ive in Now Orleans, mough mer culture in fluences the éty everywhere, fom ar chiteture to cuisine. Thy percent of ‘the residons are back: thelr music and ‘other contributions are becoming roc- ‘ognized, Shrouded WearieR: this scenario necessarily takes place in February or March. Av erage high temperatures range in the high 60stolow 70s, andiows arein he low: to mid-50s, Rain fas one day three, averaging a hat inch or so. Hu smiity may be high the deepest impression in the sod was nearly six inches—an impact unlikely from fall of." nd he points to the neighbor. ing building, “four stories.” Additionally. Tourneur says, the actual trajectory was impossible: the body landed nearly thirty feet from the building. “If Me. Gavvin was nota broadjumper, gentlemen, hhe must have been a pilot, and fallen out of his airplane.” If they come to the death site without consulting Profes- sor Tourneur, anyone on cam- pus can direct them. The ‘ground is stll freshly spaded and leveled, and the fall point iv erased, but the building ix still four-stories high. Professor Towner Peter Gavvin's Room Gavvin’s rent is still paid, to the end of the month, and his relatives in Lake Charles have not arrived to claim his effect. (When they do, they know nothing.) Mrs, Shreeve. the landlady, lets the investigators into his room with a successful Credit Rating (she is suspicious of Fast, ‘Talkers) of with a mention of Charlie Sunstram, whom she ‘occasionally met. She accompanies the investigators while they search the room, to make sure that nothing is taken, and she tells hem what a nice boy Peter Gavvin was, even though60 — The Great Old Ones he was a reporter. She thinks he must have fallen by accident, Fore wasa steady young man, not the sort to take his own life ‘A thorough search of the room turns up nothing unusual Library Searches ‘The New Orleans public library hasa decent collection, though Tulane University’s is better. The new school, Loyola, has adequate references. They ater details of the break-up of the New Orleans cult by Inspector John Raymond Legrasse in 1907; these details are given inthe section entitled "Horrors of the Past." found neue the end of this adventure Investigators seeking the origin or purpose of the Yellow Sign (perhaps by visting language experts or ethnologist) dis- cover only that the symbol is of no known alphabet or meaning. No copies of the horrific play The King In Yellow exist at any fof these locations, due tothe play’s extreme rarity and morbid subject matter The Offices of The Krewe Gavin listed the businessmen participating in “The Most Honorable Krewe of the Swords" and their business ad-