Leagues of Cthulhu: Guide to Cumbria

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Leagues of Cthulhu Guide to Cumbria by

Mr. Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams

Line Editor: Anthony Boyd Graphic Design: Robin Elliott Typesetting: Paul Wade-Williams Cover: Michael Syrigos Ubiquity Rules System Design: Jeff Combos Dedication: To Andrew McGuigan and the Cumbrian Cthulhu team

www . t r i p l e ac e ga m es . c o m

First Published 2019 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Printed in the USA This game uses the Ubiquity Roleplaying System, developed by Exile Game Studio (www. exilegames.com). Ubiquity Roleplaying System, Exile Game Studio, and all associated logos and trademarks are copyright, Exile Game Studio, LLC. Used with permission. ©2019 Triple Ace Games. Leagues of Adventure, Leagues of Gothic Horror, and Leagues of Cthulhu and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Triple Ace Games. All Rights Reserved.

Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria

Table of Contents Chapter the First: Introduction................................................... 3

A Brief History........................................................................ 3 How to Get There................................................................... 6 Brief Overview.......................................................................... 6 Chapter the Second: Gazetteer.................................................. 11 Ancient Sites.......................................................................... 11 Natural Features..................................................................... 14 Roman Sites............................................................................ 16 Settlements ........................................................................... 17 Ashness Bridge ................................................................... 17 Aspatria ............................................................................... 17 Barrow-in-Furness ............................................................... 18 Carlisle .............................................................................. 18 Coglin Grange .................................................................... 20 Dacre Castle ...................................................................... 20 Eden Hall Mansion ............................................................. 21 Grange-over-Sands .............................................................. 21 Grimthwaite Abbey .............................................................. 22 Maryport ............................................................................ 23 Oddendale .......................................................................... 23 Renwick .............................................................................. 23 Seascale .............................................................................. 24 Sedbergh ............................................................................ 24 Tebay .................................................................................. 25 Ulverston ........................................................................... 25 Whitehaven ......................................................................... 25 Workington ........................................................................ 26 Chapter the Third: Denizens ..................................................... 27 Notable Dignitaries ................................................................ 27 Famous People ........................................................................ 28 Stock Characters ................................................................... 29 Cults: Brotherhood of the Maimed King ................................ 31

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Chapter the First: Introduction “The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest;” —Alfred Wainwright, The Western Fells We begin with a disclaimer—the author is not a native Cumbrian and has been there only a few times. Natives of the area will undoubtedly spot errors in what follows. Some of these are born of ignorance, others are intentional. Ultimately, this work is intended for use in the Leagues of Cthulhu game and is not a work of history. At best it paints a broad picture, leaving the individual Gamemaster to add in the details through their own research. Likewise, any use of real names, whether people or places, is intended in an entirely fictitious way. This supplement explores the English region of Cumbria, which occupies the upper northwest of the country. Historically, Cumbria as a county doesn’t exist in the time of the Leagues and won’t until 1974. Within the modern border are the old regions of Cumberland (west, north, and earth), Furness (southwest, and part of Lancashire), and Westmorland (southeast). Although an anachronism, when referring to the wider area we use Cumbria rather than listing the three regions.

A Brief History Cumbria has been a frontier since the Roman occupation of Britain, a land fought over

by numerous peoples until only recently. Its remoteness allowed cultures that had gone extinct elsewhere in Britain to survive centuries longer and leave a mark on later cultures. Here the ancient blood of the Brythonic Celts and Vikings mixes with the blood of more recent English and Scots settlers. Its long story of human occupation begins in an age before writing or true civilization, when the dreams of the Great Old Ones were first planted in the minds of humanity’s primitive ancestors.

Before Humanity The Earth was a barely cooled cinder when the Elder Things arrived. For millions of years, the land that would one day become Cumbria sat beneath shallow seas on the coast of supercontinents, rising beneath the surface only around 400 million years ago. Originally located near the South Pole, Cumbria was the site of a minor Elder Thing colony, a research station where genetic experiments were performed on the single-celled organisms floating in the oceans. While their comrades elsewhere struggled to hold back the Flying Polyps, the Cumbrian colony was largely destroyed by the violent uprising of the Earth that forced the seabed into the sunlight for the first time. Much was lost, but the Elder Things tenaciously refused to abandon their colony. As the war against Cthulhu and his ilk raged, the land was once again submerged, inflicting further damage on the colony.

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria With their numbers diminished, the Cumbrian Elder Things lacked the strength to combat the rebellious Shoggoths, and the colony was finally abandoned to the Elder Things’ hideous creations. The last remnants of their city would be ground to dust by the later encroaching glaciers. The next invaders were the alien Fungi from Yuggoth. Although they favored the higher mountains, the weathered peaks of the Cumbrian hills were rich in certain rare minerals forged in the volcanic eruptions of earlier ages. Again, their presence was small, a single mine burrowed deep into the rock. With the Great Race having abandoned Earth and the Elder Things becoming decadent, the time was ripe for the Deep Ones to expand their reach. Migrating from their strongholds in the Pacific, a small number of Deep Ones settled in the waters off Cumbria.

One might think of the Stone Age as a time of insular, barbaric tribes, but this was far from the truth. The people of Cumbria became masters of flintknapping, and there is ample evidence of early traders carrying Cumbrian stone axes across much of Britain.

The Bronze Age Bronze slowly replaced flint, although goods were imported rather than produced locally. Armed with new tools, the people began a new phase of land clearance and monument building. Millennia of living away from the coasts had not diluted the Deep One blood of the people, for they still traveled to the shores when the stars were right, nor had it weakened their faith—the monuments of the Bronze Age were grander than those erected by their ancestors.

The Stone Age

The Iron Age

Evidence of human occupation dates back as far as the Late Upper Paleolithic (c. 11,000 BC), a time when the glaciers of the last Ice Age were still in retreat. Undoubtedly these early people were intrepid hunter-gatherers, for the climate was still severe and little vegetation covered the recently uncovered land. Bar a few flints and bones unearthed in caves, they left little evidence of their existence. The warming of the climate in the Mesolithic altered the land. Dense forest dominated the uplands, forcing the inhabitants to settle along the coast. Here there was ample food, fresh water from the many streams and rivers that tumbled from the forbidding mountains, and adequate wood to create shelters. It was at this time the first Cumbrians made contact with the Deep Ones, a relationship that would continue to the present day. The coastal dwellers eventually began to migrate inland, following the deep, forested valleys. Land was cleared for the construction of henges and stone circles, new settlements were erected, and flint was mined. Although the tribes had left the coastal plains, they retained their worship of Dagon, favoring areas of wetlands, bog, and the open waters of the many lakes.

The first true invaders of Cumbria were the Celts, an iron-wielding people. The tribe that would settle here, the Carvetii, had no love for the strange appearance of the native inhabitants, nor did they accept their gods. The Carvetii brought with them new gods, including Shub-Niggurath and Nyarlathotep’s Black Man avatar. With the bulk of the Deep One bloodlines violently pushed back to the coastal regions or isolated around the lakes, the Carvetii repurposed the ancient monuments scattered across the countryside to suit their needs. Where once the people offered the blood of their kin to the sea, blood was now spilled to fertilize the soil.

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Roman Cumbria Cumbria’s remoteness did not spare it from Rome’s attentions, although the land remained free for the initial three decades of the invasion of Britain as the legionaries slowly ground their way northward, pacifying the disparate tribes as they did. Here the legions temporarily stopped and began a period of consolidation. Although the local natives had been brought to heel,

Introduction the northern barbarians remained a constant threat, forcing the Romans to first build forts and later the northern boundary known as Hadrian’s Wall. Cumbria had become the northern border of the Roman empire. Hadrian’s defensive line and the forts behind it were abandoned by 138, the Romans advancing further into Caledonia in a bid to extend the emperor’s reach even further. Within 30 years they were back in Cumbria, the shaken and white-faced veterans hastily repairing the Wall and refusing to speak of what forced their ignominious retreat. Here they would stay until 410 AD, when the legions withdrew from Britain. While the Romans brought civilization and new religions, they failed to stamp out belief in the old ways, even after the destruction of the Druids. While the majority of people venerated the Roman cults, those on the coasts and in the highlands continued to worship deities whose origins lay in the stars.

Turbulent Times The withdrawal of the legions in 410 ushered in a period of warfare. With plentiful military sites now vacant, rival warlords began to stake claims. One by one they either fell in battle or allied themselves with a more powerful warlord. Ultimately, the last warlord became a king, and the Brittonic kingdom of Rheged was born. Nominally a Christian people, the removal of the legions and the constant warring led to a resurgence in acceptance of the old ways. It was perhaps at this point in history that the followers of the Great Old Ones were at their strongest, for there is little evidence of Christianity in 6th-century Cumbria.

King Arthur in Cumbria Wherever there were Celtic peoples, there are legends concerning King Arthur. Local folklore says that Uther, Arthur’s father, constructed Pendragon Castle, despite the archaeological evidence pointing to a 12th century origin. Although known as King Arthur’s Round Table, the henge south of Penrith has no legends

involving Arthur in person. Folklore records that Lancelot practiced his swordplay there. Camboglanna, a Roman fort (identified with Birdoswald in the Victorian period but accepted as being the fort at Castlestead in the modern era), has been tentatively linked with Arthur as being the site of the Battle of Camlann, where the king defeated the marauding Saxons.

No Peace Seeking to expand their territory, the Northumberland Angles conquered the kingdom in the early years of the 7th century. A weakening of royal influence and the strengthening of Christianity against pagan beliefs left the Angles unable to resist the next invaders to land on British shores—the Vikings. As the Angles withdrew from Cumbria to defend their heartland, the vacuum was filled by the Norse Vikings in the west, south, and center, the Danes in the east, and the Strathclyde Britons in the north. Later came the Scots (in the north) and English (in the south). Like a sponge, Cumbria absorbed ideas and influences from the new settlers, forever giving it a unique identity. Cumbria was divided during the early stages of the Norman Conquest, with the extreme south consolidated under their authority in 1066 and the remainder holding out until 1092. Cumbria had once again become a frontier, and a troubled one at that. The remains of fortified manors, priories, and abbeys litter the landscape, evidence of the violent struggles against the Scots and later the Border reivers. Indeed, the region would swap hands between English and Scots monarchs for centuries to come. Lasting peace came to the region only in the mid-18th century, following the end of the Jacobite risings.

Modern Era Until the late 18th and early 19th century, Cumbria was seen as little more than a barren wasteland, a rural backwater with nothing to offer. With the upper-class unable to take the Grand Tour due to Napoleon’s wars in Europe, those bitten by the bug to travel were forced to

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria seek Britain for new sights. The rugged mountains and deep forests of Cumbria proved alluring and slowly but surely it became known for its natural beauty. The earliest tourists came not for the fells and forests, but to study the ancient sites and geography. In their wake came poets, painters, and writers, who encapsulated Cumbria in their work and allowed the masses to see it for themselves in both art and imagination. Those pioneering sightseers would walk the fells, giving rise to ambling across the mountains as a pastime, as well as mountaineering. By 1857, the Alpine Club had taken to using the Cumbrian mountains when bad weather hampered their expeditions to the Alps. Tourists struggled to reach Cumbria until the arrival of the railways. The trains came not to accommodate those wanting to explore, but to exploit Cumbria’s natural resources—coal, graphite, gypsum, iron ore, lead, and slate. Cumbria has become a battleground once more, but this time the belligerents are the businessmen who seek to exploit the land and those, like the Lake District Defense Society (est. 1883) and National Trust (est. 1895) who wish the protect the natural beauty.

How to Get There The closest a globetrotter can get to Cumbria via air travel without being able to charter a private airship is London, over 300 miles from Carlisle.

Railway The easiest means of reaching Cumbria, especially if one seeks first class travel, is via the railway. The main west line runs from Plymouth through Carlisle to Scotland, although branch lines make Cumbria accessible from anywhere in Britain. Carlisle station is used by the London and North Western, London North Eastern, Midland, Caledonian, North British, Glasgow & South Western, and Maryport & Carlisle rail companies. A circular route runs from Carlisle west and then south along the coast through the

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port towns of Maryport, Workington, Whitehaven, and Barrow before rejoining the main line. Short branches extend into the interior, although there are only four lines into the fells.

Road Road travel is rarely viable or desired during the Victorian age, especially with many places being connected to the railway. That said, the rails do not pass by every village and this is especially true in Cumbria. Having left the station, globetrotters must hire a cab (only an option in cities and major towns), flag down a helpful local with a cart, or begin walking. Outside of the major settlements and tourist sites, most of Cumbria’s roads are little more than rutted tracks, often thick with mud after the frequent rains and impassable once winter snow falls.

Ship Globetrotters planning to visit Cumbria via ocean liner should endeavor to dock at Liverpool. From there, they may catch a train northward, secure passage on one of the steamers heading north, or even hire a small ship.

Brief Overview This section provides a brief overview of various topics useful for the Gamemaster when creating a scenario set in Cumbria. Again, these topics are an overview rather than a detailed study.

Accommodation Globetrotters intending to stay in Cumbria for any period of time require lodgings. Those seeking greater comfort will find the Duke of Edinburgh and Imperial Hotels (both in Barrow-in-Furness) to their tastes, while the Riggs Windermere (in the town of Windermere) caters for tourists looking to enjoy Lakeland. The growth of tourism has brought with it a glut on guest houses. These range from single

Introduction rooms in family homes to private villas. Many villages have inns, a leftover from the days of mail coaches, at reasonable rates. Rather than have the characters count every coin, the following table provides a guide to the sort of accommodation a globetrotter can afford. Information in parentheses refers to the quality of the establishment. Week or month refers to the maximum duration of the globetrotters’ stay. The numerical rating is the minimum Wealth rating requirement. Locale

Week

Month

Inn/guesthouse (poor)

0

1

Inn/guesthouse (good) or hotel (poor)

1

2

Hotel (good)

2

3

Climate Cumbria’s diverse geography plays a major factor in its climate. Outside of Lakeland, annual rainfall averages 34”. In the mountains, the average is 80”, but varying from around 60” to as much as 200” per annum. Snow fall varies from 60 days on the fells to 20 in the valleys and plains. While the sheltered valleys and coastal plains are rarely bothered by gales (winds in the range of 39-54 mph), the upper fells are swept by strong winds for 100 days each year. Those wishing to explore the mountains are cautioned that hill fog is not only common all year round, but can form extremely quickly. Average temperatures in Carlisle are 55.2 °F (12.9 °C) and slightly cooler on the coasts 50.7 °F (10.4 °C). Temperatures in the Lakelands varies depending on height, but the valleys are similar to Carlisle.

Cuisine Many rural households are, by necessity, self-sufficient in food. One animal found in most is the Cumberland pig. A large beast with an upturned snout and forward-flopping ears, it is a hardy animal, used to surviving on tough grass, that matures slowly. More importantly

for gastronomes, its flesh has a unique taste, especially when turned into sausages flavored with heavy seasoning. The resultant Cumberland sausage is shaped into a long coil rather than a string. Another local specialty is Cumberland sauce. Made famous by Mrs. Beeton in her popular Book of Household Management, it is a fruit sauce intended to be used with ham, lamb, venison, and other non-white meats. Other popular foods are beef and lamb, seafood, Cumberland ham (a dry-cured meat), and Cumberland tattie pot (a stew). Kendal mint cake will become world renowned in the 20th century as a handy source of energy for explorers. In the Leagues era, though, it is very much a local product. It is essentially melted sugar flavored with peppermint oil. The largest producer is Quiggin’s Mint Cake, established in 1880 by the son of a family of notable confectioners. For those who find mint cake a little too sweet for their tastes, a trip to the Grasmere Gingerbread shop may satisfy their cravings. Somewhere between a cake and a biscuit, the spicy-sweet confectionery has proven popular with Victorian tourists. Nancy Nelson (18151904), the creator of the recipe, sells her baking from her cottage. Whether factory worker or farmer, the everyman’s drink of choice is beer. Many villages boast their own brewery, allowing globetrotters traveling the area to sample many dozens of different brews.

Entertainment Globetrotters seeking entertainment can find it in almost any public house, for music and singing of the folk variety are commonly heard. Likewise, visitors seeking to hear local folklore need only supply beer to any elderly person, assuming that veteran wishes to converse with “foreigners,” of course. Any information gleaned this way should be taken with a pinch of salt, or at least verified by other sources, for there are as many tall tales as there are true ones. Visitors to the major towns will find mul-

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria tiple venues. Examples include the Royalty Theater (the Royalty Theater and Opera House after 1894), Empire Theater (which shows animated pictures in 1896), and Theater Royal (a variety theater) in Barrow-in-Furness, the Workington Opera House (which will be rebuilt after a mysterious explosion in 1897), and Tullie House (est. 1893; has a museum, library, art school, and technical school). Outside of the lakes and fells, other sites of interest include the castle and cathedral at Carlisle, stretches of Hadrian’s Wall, and various ancient monuments. There are numerous grand houses and halls in Cumbria, though only globetrotters with the right breeding or contacts would be invited to a social function at such places. During the summer months, one might witness traditional Cumberland Wrestling, a sport said to have been brought over by the Vikings. Two gentlemen clad in white long johns, embroidered velvet trunks, and a white vest attempt to make their opponent touch the ground with any body part other than the soles of their feet. Globetrotters with an interest in horses and livestock should arrange to visit the Appleby New Fair, which takes place in early June on common ground close to the site of the old gallows. It is primarily a place for cow and sheep farmers and horse dealers to meet and trade. The fair attracts a growing number of Gypsies.

Newspapers Globetrotters who care to read local newspapers for interesting stories, or who visit Cumbria and wish to search newspaper archives, will find many to choose from. Newspapers: Barrow Herald, Barrow News, Carlisle Express and Examiner, Carlisle Journal, Carlisle Patriot, Cumberland and Westmorland Herald, Cumberland News, Cumberland Pacquet, East Cumberland News, English Lakes Visitor, Grange Visitor, Kendal and Kendal News, Kendal Herald, Kendal Mercury, Lakes Herald, The Maryport Advertiser and Weekly News. [(until 1890), West Cumberland Mail and Maryport Advertiser (1891-1892), The Maryport Advertiser, West Cumberland

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Mail (after 1892)], Millom Gazette (est. 1892), North Western Daily Mail (est. 1898), Penrith Observer, Soulby’s Ulverston Advertiser, West Cumberland Times, and Wigton Advertiser.

Geography Cumbria boasts widely contrasting geography. Dominating the centre is a mountainous massif scoured into steep mountains and deep radial valleys by glaciation. Here, amid the ancient forests, are dotted numerous lakes of varying size and which give it its alternative names—the Lake District or Lakeland. In this mountainous region one finds both the highest point—Scafell Pike (3,209 feet)—and largest and deepest lakes—Windermere and Wastwater respectively—in England. The coastal belt and northern third of the county are largely rolling plains, while the foothills of the Pennines—the backbone of England—rise in the east. Cumbria is a land of raw, wild beauty interspersed with the bleak scars of mining and heavy industry. While the interior remains mostly pastoral, parts are marred by gypsum, lead, iron, and slate mines, not to mention several coalfields. The latter provides fuel for the factories that belch out choking smoke as an army of workers toil to produce steel, ships, and armaments to satisfy the endless appetite of the British Empire.

Toponyms Gamemasters who wish to create their own Cumbrian settlements or geographical features, or who are interested in the origin of place names, will find the following sections useful. They are listed by linguistic influence. Anglo-Norman & Middle English: grange (farm), great (larger of two places), little (smaller of two places), monk (land belonging to an abbey), mont (hill); Brythonic: blen- (summit), cair (fort), crag (rock), din (fort), penn (hill or head) Danish: by (home), thorpe (secondary settlement) Old English: ham (village or manor), inga

Introduction (belonging to the people of), mere (lake or pond), tun (enclosure), wick or wich (settlement or farm) Old Norse: beck (stream), dale (valley), foss (waterfall), fell (mountain), gill (ravine), howe (hill), holme (island), pike (peak), tarn (small lake), thwaite (clearing)

Local Dialect English may be the lingua franca of England, but the local dialect can perplex native foreigners (those from a different region of Britain) as much as true foreigners (those hailing from a different country). The Cumbrian dialect, despite being a Northern English one, takes influences from Brythonic and Cumbrian Celtic, Norse, and Scots. Globetrotters will no doubt look bewildered when the farmer they ask directions from asks Owz’t ga’an? (How are you?) and Werst thew of te? (Where are you going?). Pleasantries over, he may respond to their request for directions by telling them to “go down yon clarty lonnin (that muddy country lane) to the yat (gate) and ye’ll (you’ll) be jousey (lucky) if ye divn’t (you don’t) step in the ky kack (cow excrement).” Likewise, globetrotters retiring to a comfortable public house and who order anything out of the ordinary for a rural country pub might be told Tha wants f ’ot git thasel ‘a pint a skemmy, laddo (You really ought to be drinking beer, lad).

Other Words Other local words that may confuse visiting globetrotters are Adjectives: Kaylied (intoxicated), kystie (squeamish), ladgeful (embarrassing); Adverbs: Vanna (almost, nearly); Nouns: Bar (pound, money), biddies (fleas, head lice, or old people), ginnel (a narrow passage), cheble (table), den (toilet), fratch (argument), skemmy (beer); People: Gammerstang (awkward person), offcomer (non-native of Cumberland), potter (Gypsy); Verbs: Liggin (lying down), nash (run away), ratch (to search for something), twat (to hit someone)

People Antiquarians Globetrotters with an interest in antiquarianism may wish to consult with the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society. Founded in 1866, the society is based in the town of Penrith. Membership is around 130, with around a third being clergymen and six women. Starting Skill List: Globetrotters who begin play as members of the Society must pick two Skills from the following: Academics: History, Anthropology, Expeditions, Linguistics* * At Level 0, the character gains knowledge of Latin, but no other tongue from the Romance language group.

Leagues of Adventure Facilities Several Leagues have clubhouses with related facilities in Cumbria. These facilities are rudimentary, often nothing more than small but comfortable cottages which members can use with permission of the League president. In game terms, they count as a Refuge: Size 0 and have Refuge: Equipment 0 facilities, where applicable. Aside from cleaners, who come from the nearest settlements, they have no permanent staff. The Anglers’ Club, Bath Club, Mariners’ Club, and Society of Aquanauts share a small clubhouse in the village of Bowness-on-Windermere. Several members maintain steam or sail yachts here and are amenable to loaning these vessels to members of any League in good standing (Gamemaster’s call). The Aquanauts have a long-standing agreement with The Shipbuilders’ Arms, an inn in Barrow-in-Furness. Members can stay here at the League’s expense, so long as their business relates to the League. Members who abuse this find their next visit requires them to pay for hospitality from their own pockets. The Caledonian Club maintains a clubhouse in Barrow-on-Furness, which has a sizable Scottish population. There are several bedrooms available for visiting members, but it

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria is more a social club, where members can enjoy a decent haggis or dram of whiskey south of the border. The Expedition Artists’ Club has a cottage on the outskirts of the town of Ambleside, located on the northern tip of Windermere. The Alpine Club has a more impressive house in the same town. Members of the Speleological Society are accepted as guests—Cumbria has several cave systems worth exploring. Located on the high fells is a renovated shepherd’s hut where members of the Meteorological Society may stay when studying the Lakelands’ weather. Finally, the Railway Club has a modest townhouse within walking distance of the train station in Carlisle.

Policing The Cumbrian region has four separate police forces. As of 1885, the Cumberland Constabulary had 90 officers and six river police (also charged with apprehending poachers). Westmorland had 37 officers and one river policeman. The area had two other police forces—Carlisle City Police numbered 38, while the Kendal Borough Police had a mere 14 officers at their disposal.

Traditions The British are renowned for their eccentricity. As in the rest of the country, Cumbria has a number of traditions.

Folk Remedies Modern medicine is no stranger in Cumbria, but many elderly people still prefer to take folk remedies than trust a physician. Carrying a living toad in a box wards off rheumatism. Placing moldy cheese or apple on a boil will cure it. Toothache can be cured by rubbing the back of one’s neck with a sliver of wood cut from a gibbet. The remedy for a cough is to wear a dead mouse around one’s neck.

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Rushbearing Ceremony Until recently, almost every church in Cumbria has a Rushbearing Ceremony. Clad in their finery, the people would bring fresh reeds to their local church and scatter them on the floor. Likely this grew out of the necessity to cover the mud or wooden floors of early churches, although some historians claim the ritual may be a remnant of pagan celebrations. With most Cumbrian churches now installed with stone floors, the ceremony is now all-but extinct, with just five churches maintaining it—St. Columbas in Warcop, St. Mary & St. Michaels in Urswick, St. Marys in Ambleside, St. Oswolds in Grasmere, and St. Theobolds in Great Musgrave.

Superstitions The good folk of Cumbria have a wealth of superstitions—far more than can be covered in this section. Many of these superstitions, or at least variations on the theme, can be found across the country. Seeing the new moon for the first time except through glass is an omen of coming misfortune. On the eve of St. Agnes’ day (20th January), unmarried women fast before going to bed backward in the hope of dreaming of their future husband. Finding a piece of iron on the ground imparts bad luck, but misfortune follows if it is given away. Having a hare cross one’s paths is a dire omen, far worse than seeing a black cat. Such is the fear it instills that people often refrain from completing errands for several days. If a household with an apiary suffers a death, then the bees must be informed lest they too perish or vacate their hives. Likewise, all the mirrors in a house should be draped following a death. Having a baby cry in church was a clear sign that Satan was present and that the Devil’s door (a door at the north end of the church) should be opened to allow him to leave. Belief in faeries, while waning in the industrial towns and reduced to fairy tales to amuse or scare children, remains strong in the hearts and minds of rural folk.

Chapter the Second: Gazetteer “No familiar shapes remained, no pleasant images of trees, Of sea or sky, no colours of green fields; But huge and mighty forms, that do not live like living men, moved slowly through the mind by day, and were a trouble to my dreams.” —William Wordsworth, The Prelude

Ancient Sites Eerie Atmosphere: Varies Like much of Britain, Cumbria has a wealth of ancient monuments. Many of these are known, having been explored and mapped by early antiquarians. Others are lost to the plow or been demolished for their stone, or concealed beneath vegetation that has not been disturbed by human hands for many centuries. In the east is a large complex of monuments. Antiquarians still debate the monuments’ purpose and correlation with each other. Here one finds Long Meg and Her Daughters (a stone circle and outer marker stone), Little Meg stone circle, Mayburgh Henge with its solitary menhir in the center, King Arthur’s Round Table (a henge), and Shap Stone Avenue and its associated barrows and stone circle. That the latter had stood for millennia did not spare it from civilization’s progress—the circle is cut in twain by a railway track. Castlerigg stone circle, which has inspired painters, poets, writers, and madmen in its time, stands in central Cumbria. To the south-

west lie the circles of Greycroft (just a lone stone remains), Swinside (supposedly built by the Devil), and Birkrigg (a double circle), which stand at 12-mile intervals along a southeast line. Spread across a square mile of moorland in the west of the county are the five stone circles that form the Burnmoor monument complex. It would be a gross error of judgment to think that Cumbria was overrun with cultists— they were, and still are, a minority—and that every prehistoric monument was somehow linked to worship of the Great Old Ones. This is not to say their activities went unnoticed by others. Whether eye-witnesses to some profane monstrosity or merely reacting to oral legends or race memory, some of Cumbria’s early inhabitants built stone observatories in order to calculate when the stars would once again be right and the horrors unleashed. Adventure Seed: Locals never thought well of Gatsby Circle, an ancient stone circle. Legends tell that witches once danced amid the oddly shaped stones, which leaned at strange angles that caused viewers headaches. Other stories claimed the Devil would appear in the circle in the form of a repulsive hound. The locals breathed a sigh of relief when the circle was blown up to make way for a new rail track. Relief has now been replaced with fear. Since the circle’s destruction there have been several sightings of a monstrous dog and several disappearances. The circle was constructed to bind a Hound

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria Uncountable Stones Great Britain boasts many hundreds of solitary menhirs and stone circles. Throughout the millennia, they have become the subject of folklore, with tales that speak of the stones being witches petrified by some saint or wizard, revelers who danced on the Sabbath and who were cursed by God, boulders thrown at nearby churches by the Devil or a giant, and such like being commonplace. Many of the largest circles are, so folklore says, said to either contain an uncountable number of stones or confer misfortune on those who manage to count them correctly. Many people have correctly counted such stones with suffering mishap, of course, but that does not mean the stories are fables. Such sites were often centers of worship dedicated to the Great Old Ones in the distant past. When the stars are right, the weird geometrical laws that govern sites associated with the elder beings are overlaid upon those of our world. At such times, the distortion makes it seem that there are fewer or more stones than at other times.

of Tindalos. Its ability to travel in time, but not space, resulted in sporadic sightings that birthed the legends. Now able to roam free, it returns to the area regularly to kill the descendants of its long-dead captors.

Castlerigg Stone Circle Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Located less than a mile east of Keswik, the stones at Castlerigg are said to be uncountable. Castlerigg is unusual in that there is a rectangular enclosure inside the eastern quadrant of the circle. The site was first brought to public attention by the antiquarian William Stukeley (1687-1765), who actually speaks of two stone circles. No second circle has never been seen since, leaving modern scholars to whether the antiquarian had mistaken a natural feature now

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covered by grass. Stukeley attributed the stone circle to the Druids, a belief still prevalent in the Victorian Era. Plans of the stones were drawn up in 1881, and followed quickly by an archaeological excavation a year later headed by Mr. W. K. Dover. In 1883, members of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society visited the site, During their visit, the Society unearthed the remains of a fire pit in the center of which was a blob of “some dark unctuous sort of earth.” Adventure Seed: The blob is actually all that remains of a Black Spawn of Tsathoggua. Cast into fire thousand of year ago, the fragment survived the conflagration. Dormant rather than dead, the fiendish entity reanimates when the stars are right and rapidly grows into a full Spawn.

Dunmail Raise Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Dunmail Raise is the name of a mountain pass and a large stone cairn. The last king of Cumberland, so folklore tells us, Dunmail refused to bow to either Malcolm I of Scotland or the English monarch Edmund I, claiming that he bowed before no one save his god. Setting aside their differences, the two mighty lords amassed their armies and attacked Cumberland. Dunmail met his end in battle, slain by the English king. His surviving warriors were ordered to construct a cairn atop his body, a landmark that would remind others of the fate awaiting those who would refuse to accept higher authority. Not all of Dunmail’s soldiers were slain or captured, though. Taking their king’s crown, they fled into the fells, eventually throwing it into Grisedale Tarn (tarn being the local name for a mountain lake) in the shadow of the peak of Helvellyn, from where legend says the line of kings first received the symbol of their authority. Every year, the spirits of the warriors carry the crown from the tarn to their king’s grave in the hope Dunmail will rise again. Although considered legendary by historians, Dunmail was a real person. A lesser

Gazetteer king, he was one of the last lords with Deep One blood in his veins. It was the taint of his line, and those of his kinsmen, that led the English and Scots to briefly unite against the Cumbrian. Game Mechanics: Despite many attempts to locate Dunmail’s fabled crown, it still lies on the bottom of Grisedale Tarn. Treat it as a Deep One Tiara (see Leagues of Cthulhu Codicil). Adventure Seed: Henry Cleaver, an amateur historian and wealthy businessman, has long been fascinated by the story of King Dunmail. Considered an eccentric locally for his devout belief that Dunmail was an historical figure, he invites the globetrotters to help excavate the king’s cairn and the tarn.

The Loki Stone Eerie Atmosphere: 0 While dating only from the Viking period and thus not a true ancient object, the Loki Stone is a reminder of Cumbria’s pagan past. Standing outside the church of St. Stephen in Kirkby Stephen, a market town in Westmorland, the one yard-high stone depicts the Norse god Loki, bound and chained, as told in Norse mythology. Students of elder lore may find differing meanings in the carving. They may see Nyarlathotep’s Black Man avatar, a figure long associated with witchcraft and linked with the Devil by those ignorant of the horrifying truth. As mentioned in the Leagues of Cthulhu Codicil (under Scandinavian Cults), the Black Man may also be the Black Goat so often mentioned at the same time as Shub-Niggurath. The figure, which has ram’s horns and a pointed beard, may depict the satyr-like Spawn of Shub-Niggurath, with whom pagan cultists still frolic. Adventure Seed: After seeing a photograph of the Loki Stone, a globetrotter begins to suffer from strange dreams. The nature of the dreams depends on how the individual Gamemaster relates the imagery to the Mythos. As time passes, the globetrotter becomes fixated on seeing the stone with their own eyes. What is the nature of the psychic summons and why has this particular being been chosen to receive it?

The Mythos in Cumbria The remote settlements in the shelter of brooding forests, shadowed valleys, and windswept fells have long harbored worshipers whose rites and rituals have been passed down by word and dream since the dawn of time.

Historical Long before the Romans set foot on the fells, the Stone Age natives honored Father Dagon (and thus Cthulhu) and interbred with the Deep Ones, while dark magicians called upon Yog-Sothoth within the boundaries of stone circles and signed their name in the Book of Azathoth in the presence of Nyarlathotep’s Black Man avatar. The Celts gave praise to Shub-Niggurath and shed human blood to ensure rich harvests. The Romans were no strangers to the Great Old Ones, for the reach of the Emperors was long and encompassed many lands. It was Roman soldiers who had fought in Dacia (modern Romania) who brought knowledge of the subterranean monstrosity Tsathoggua to Britain. Little has changed in Cumbria over the millennia. Certainly there are people who still venerate the old Celtic gods in secret, but equally there are those whose offerings are made to darker, more alien deities.

Modern As the druidic faith diminished, so the cults of Shub-Niggurath lost their way. Some were crushed by the Romans, others became extinct as the number of cultists fell. Where other counties suffered during the witch trials, the craze of hanging women barely touched Cumbria. Today, the number of cults honoring pagan deities greatly outnumber those of the mother of the Thousand Young. Cthulhu’s worshipers are more numerous in Cumbria, but are restricted to certain bloodlines. Lone students of elder lore still call upon Shub-Niggurath, but their practices rarely attract much attention.

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria A Fought-Over Land From prehistoric hillforts to stone castles, Cumbria is a land that has been repeatedly fortified and fought over. Arguably, the Romans’ decision to mark the northern end of their empire in part led to the later conflicts between the English and Scots, but the blood shed on this wild and remote corner of England has a more ancient and unearthly history. The untold thousands whose blood and bones nurtured the soil also fed a profane entity that arrived on Earth when it was still a molten ball. Even in his nightmares, Abdul Alhazred spoke of the entity only as “the shapeless thing that slumbers beneath the northern mountains, where even the Romans cowed in their forts less it arise from slumber.” The nameless creature dreams every few centuries as its hunger grows to coincide with certain celestial alignments. Chieftains and warlords, kings and usurpers have heard its psychic desire to be fed and have unwittingly obeyed. The last battle on Cumbrian soil was in 1745 (the Siege of Carlisle), though little blood was spilled. A century and a half has passed since, and the entity hungers once more.

Long Meg Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Meg, it is said, was a witch. The head of a large coven of black magicians (her daughters in name, but not by blood), Meg and her fellow witches were much feared for the horrendous things they summoned and curses they uttered against all who spoke out against them. When the fear grew too much, the people sought a hero to strike back at the coven. The call was answered by Michael Scot (1175-1232), a Scottish mathematician, scholar, and wizard. Throughout the night of Halloween Scot battled against the witches, each casting potent spells against their rivals’ wards. Come the dawn, Scot alone walked down from the blasted moor, leaving behind the petrified form of Meg and her daughters. A related legend, one without the

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impressive displays of sorcery, says the witches were petrified after dancing on the Sabbath. Another legend states that if one walks anti-clockwise around the circle and accurately counts the stones, and then places one’s ear against Long Meg, one will hear the witch’s voice. Game Mechanics: Magicians who invoke any Commune (Deity) ritual within the circle gain a +2 bonus to casting rolls. Adventure Seed: Strange lights have been seen over the area on certain nights of the year. A cult is trying to summon Yog-Sothoth, but for what nefarious purpose?

Natural Features Man may have tamed the land, at least in part, but it was nature that sculpted it. The oases of modernity dotted around Cumbria exist in a landscape little changed since the earliest humans. One is rarely far from a settlement as the crow flies and yet one might as well be in the middle of Sahara once one enters the forests and fells.

Caves Eerie Atmosphere: 0 The geology of central Cumbria is not conducive to the formation of caves. The limestone of the eastern hills, however, has spawned several notable cave systems.

- Devil’s Grinding Mill Other Names: The Devil’s Hole Humans have not yet explored the Grinding Mill. Little more than a narrow cleft etched into which tumble the cold waters of a small stream. No one knows for sure how deep the cave might go, but the constant roar of water emanating from it suggests a deep descent.

- Dog Hole Cavern Other Names: The Dog Hole, Doghole Cave, Fairy Cave, Haverbrack Bank Pot, Haverbrack Dog Hole Historically not explored until 1912, the

Gazetteer cave is just a shaft (39 feet) leading to a short sloping chamber. The first globetrotters to descend into the darkness will find piles of bones. Some of these are from domestic animals, such as dogs and pigs that likely fell into the shaft by accident. There are also human bones dating from the Romano-British to the Norman Conquest.

- Three Counties System Not content with having England’s highest mountain, deepest lake, and longest lake, Cumbria boasts part of the country’s longest and most complex cave system. There are around 54 entrances to the labyrinthine network and around 53 miles of tunnels and caves running beneath Cumbria, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. Some connections between the disparate systems are flooded or extremely narrow, requiring lengthy crawls and a certain amount of contortion. Historically, the Death’s Head Hole and Short Drop Caves were explored in 1898, while the Bull Pot of the Witches was explored in 1899. Such is the extent and complexity of the network that explorations revealed new sections as late as 2011.

Elva Hill Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Elva Hill was named by the Vikings, who believed it was a place where the elves gathered to celebrate. Even today, folklore tells that it is the site of a faerie castle and that, on certain times of the year, the faeries still gather. Any one foolish enough to see the castle and pass through its gates is never seen again. The remnants of a stone circle stand on the southern slope of the hill. Stories of faeries are actually folk memories of more ancient times, when Fungi from Yuggoth excavated beneath the hill and occasionally strode or flew over the region. Until recently, the Fungi colony was in a state of hibernation, having retreated into the depths of the hill when their mines were played out, unable to leave Earth due to having forgotten the means of interstellar flight.

Adventure Seed: The Fungi have awoken. Curious to learn of the state of the world, they have taken to kidnapping tourists wandering across the hill when the mists rise.

Lakes Etched into the deep valleys are the lakes that so enchant tourists. There are 16 major lakes, though all but one are actually meres (broad but shallow), and dozens of small bodies of water that sit in bowl-like depressions, known locally as tarns. Bodies of water have long fascinated humanity. The Celts, for instance, saw them as gateways to the underworld and would place votive offerings to the gods in the shallows. In Cumbria, both Bassenthwaite and Ullswater are tied to Arthurian myth, with legends claiming each was the place where Excalibur was deposited after Arthur’s death. Adventure Seed: Although they do not believe in King Arthur, a member of the Society of Antiquarians suspects the Celts placed swords in the lakes as offerings. They are arranging an expedition to Bassenthwaite and Ullswater.

- Lake Windermere Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Snaking for 11 miles in length but barely a mile across at its widest point, Windermere is a ribbon lake, its shallow basin gouged by advancing glaciers. The lake is supposedly home to a monster. Descriptions vary, with the beast either conforming to a stereotypical sea serpent to a gruesome, slimy humanoid creature. The last sighting was in 1873. The Ministry of Unusual Affairs’ Sub-Department K investigated but found no evidence. Since the arrival of the railway in 1847, Windermere has become a popular destination for tourists. Steam ferries run the length of the lake, and numerous boating clubs are dotted around the shore. Adventure Seed: The Windermere Monster has been sighted again. Whether it is the monster or not, this sighting was of Father Dagon, who has been summoned by a cult of Cthulhu worshipers.

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria Slate (and Mines) Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Cumbria has sizable slate deposits and these have been exploited for centuries. Initially small scale endeavors, the mines have been enlarged in response to growing demand and more industrialized extraction methods. Three main types are extracted from the earth—the blue-gray stone of Burlington, Westmoreland green slate, and the gray slate of Skiddaw. The slates were laid down some 400-500 million years ago, during the Cambrian-Silurian Period. Most of the stone is extracted from open mines using explosives and then cut as required. The mine at Honister burrows deep into the mountain before the workings cut horizontally. Adventure Seed: While cutting blocks of slate, miners at Honister have discovered strange triangular striations in the rock. Local geologists are baffled and have called upon the Leagues to provide answers. By the time the globetrotters arrive, the miners have made a second discovery after a wall collapsed—a seemingly artificial tunnel descending steeply into the bowels of the earth. The miners have downed tools, fearful of the eerie piping emanating from the dark passage.

Roman Sites Roman influence in Cumbria was largely military and concentrated mainly in the north, which marked the boundary between Roman Britain and the northern barbarians, and along the northwest coast. When one thinks of the Roman legions, one imagines the legionary, clad in lorica segmenta armor and carrying a short sword and curved rectangular shield. The troops garrisoning Cumbria were auxiliaries, foreign troops drawn from across the Empire rather than Roman citizens. For reference, five legions were based in Britain—Legio II Augusta (43-269), VI Victrix (119-?), IX Hispania (43-c.108), XIV Gemina (43-67), and XX Valeria Victrix (43-407). Given the military bent of the occupying

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Romans, they constructed numerous forts, mile camps, turrets, and larger camps rather than villas and amphitheaters. Robbed for their stone, tilled under the plow, and covered in natural deposits of soil, all that can be seen at most sites are grass-covered hummocks and the lowest layers of walls. Antiquarians have maps of some sites, but few have been excavated. Some sites remain to be rediscovered, allowing the globetrotters a chance to stumble across them in their investigations. The Celts worshiped numerous gods. Many of them were regional deities, honored nowhere else in the British Isles. As was their way, the Romans adopted these into their pantheon. Among those found in northern Britain was Cocidius, a horned deity associated with forests, groves, and wild fields. While his statues were painted red with blood, he is better known as the Black Goat of the Woods. Belatucadros, another Romano-British deity, was adopted by low-ranking legionaries. His name translates as “fair shining one” or “fair slayer.” A lesser known avatar of Nyarlathotep, like Lucifer, Belatucadros was a creature of radiant appearance but wicked heart. Veteris is not the name of a god, though scholars have failed to understand this. Scholars believe the name comes from the Proto-Celtic weto (“air”) or wi-ti (“food”). A more accurate translation is “space hunger,” another name for a Feaster from the Stars.

Ambleside Fort Eerie Atmosphere: 0 The remains of the Roman fort of Galava stand at the northern end of Windermere, half a mile from the modern town of Ambleside. Situated on a rocky spur, the fort was surrounded by marsh to the west and south. The few excavations carried out by antiquarians found evidence the fort was constructed around 80 AD and remained in use for three centuries. What puzzles them is the apparent break in occupation from around 85 AD, shortly after its erection, until several decades later. Evidence suggests parts of the fort were destroyed in the early part of the 4th century.

Gazetteer The fort was built in order to watch over the local people, degenerate folk who worshiped a water deity they believed inhabited the nearby lake (see p. 15). In the autumn of 85 AD, shortly after a series of brutal raids against the locals, a mist rose from Windermere and flowed over the Roman fort. It lingered for three days before retreating. Of the men stationed in the garrison, there was no sign. The Romans could not end the local religion. During the reign of “Emperor” Carausius (see p. 19), the cult grew in prominence. Following the death of Carausius, the garrison was attacked by soldiers loyal to the true emperor in Rome. Adventure Seed: A local antiquarian digging on the site has found pottery shards bearing an octopus design, unusual in Roman Britain and currently unheard of in Cumbria.

Hardknott Fort Eerie Atmosphere: 0 (–1 at night) Sited on a spur 800 feet above sea level, the Roman fort of Mediobogdum provided the garrison excellent views over the River Usk, as well as protecting the military road that wound through the mountains and linked the auxiliary forts at Galava to the east and the port of Glannoventa (modern Ravenglass) on the west coast. The modern name of Hardknott, which is applied to the hill on which the fort stands and the pass that runs below it, comes from the Old Norse harthr knutr, or “hard craggy hill.” Historians believe the fort was constructed during the reign of Hadrian (r. 117-138) but abandoned a few decades later when the Romans briefly extended their empire further north. When the Antonine Wall was abandoned in 162, the legions retreated to their previous fortifications behind Hadrian’s Wall. What history does not record is that the soldiers garrisoned at the fort—a force of cavalrymen from the Dalmatian 4th Cohort— were also charged with harassing degenerate Carvetii hill tribesmen whose profane religious practices were proscribed under Roman law. Adventure Seed: A small group from the League of Caesars, historians and re-enactors

fascinated by ancient Rome, recently spent a week living up in Hardknott Fort in order to try and understand the mind-set of the troops stationed there nearly two millennia ago. When the group failed to return, a search party was arranged. Four members of the group were found dead (apparently of heart failure), one was declared insane, and three were missing. The League of Caesars has requested assistance from the other Leagues.

Settlements Ashness Bridge Eerie Atmosphere: 0 (–1 at night) A humped stone bridge, Ashness Bridge is one of a number found in the Lake District. Given its short span and low arch, the structure hardly seems a suitable home for a troll, but it has long been associated with the creatures. Various folktales speak of travelers who vanished in the vicinity of the bridge, but none in living memory. Adventure Seed: There is a creature lurking near the bridge, but it is not a troll—it is a Dimensional Shambler. The surrounding area is a fracture point between dimensions. When a certain comet crosses the sky every 97 years, the veil between dimensions breaks and the resultant energy inadvertently pulls a Dimensional Shambler through. Bound in our dimension for several days until naturally expelled when the barrier restrengthens, the Shambler spends it time doing what comes naturally—killing. The comet is due to return in the next few months.

Aspatria Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Founded by Vikings exiled from Ireland for their religious perversions, the mining village is named for St. Patrick. Folklore says that he planted his staff on the ground when he arrived here, but that he took so long to convert the heathen natives to Christianity the staff had grown into a mature ash tree.

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria St. Patrick may well have walked the ground here, but the ash tree in question was a site of later Viking human sacrifices. In 1789, the top of Beacon Hill was artificially flattened. Workmen discovered a walled cavity containing the skeleton of a Viking who, in life, would have stood close to seven feet tall. Clutched in his bony hands was a broad-bladed sword of similar length. The remains are displayed in the British Museum, London. Adventure Seed: A recently discovered 10th century monastic manuscript not only refers to a “giant” who worshiped “dark gods” entombed on Beacon Hill, but makes reference to a second chamber inside the mound.

Barrow-in-Furness Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Situated at the southern tip of the Furness Peninsula, Barrow owes its origins to the Vikings, the Romans seemingly never occupying the area. From its construction in 1123 until its destruction in 1537 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the nearby Cistercian monastery of St. Mary of Furness owned the region. The abbey itself lies in the Vale of Nightshade. It was the monks who first discovered iron ore on the peninsula and who thus inadvertently paved the way for Barrow’s industrialization in the 19th century. Until 1832, Barrow was a backwater village. Had Henry Schneider (1817-87), a speculator and trader in iron, not discovered sizeable hematite deposits in 1850, Barrow may have remained that way. Barrow’s transformation into a major industrial town began with the arrival of the railway in 1857. It didn’t take businessmen long to see that with iron ore and coal on their doorstep, and easy transport links via rail and sea, it was more profitable to smelt the ore and produce steel locally. Where the people of Barrow once left offerings to Dagon they began polluting the sea with poisons from the foundries and factories. The availability of steel led to a second major industry—shipbuilding. Although the yards construct civilian vessels, they have major contracts to supply the Royal Navy with warships,

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including submarines. The Barrow Shipbuilding Company also owns the Maxim Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company (producers of machines guns and light artillery) until 1897, when the companies are bought by Vickers, Sons & Company. Vickers then changes its name to Vickers, Sons & Maxim. The city also boasts a textile mill (the Barrow Jute Works, est. 1870). The mill is the largest employer of female labor in the area. The boom saw the town’s population rise from a mere 1,900 in 1801 to over 47,000 by 1881. Irish and Scottish immigrants, drawn here by the job opportunities, make up 11% and 7% of population respectively. Although not considered a passenger port, Barrow is ideally located for visitors seeking the beauty of the lakes. Globetrotters with access to a ship will be able to make port here. Adventure Seed: The Society of Aquanauts recently undertook testing of a new submarine constructed at the Barrow shipyards. The vessel failed to return from its dive into the sea southwest of Barrow and was declared lost with all hands. The Aquanauts quickly put a salvage operation in place and found the stricken vessel, but have not yet revealed the outcome to the public. In great secrecy, they are seeking aid from other Leagues to help explain the disappearance of the crew and the nature of the scratches on the vessel’s hull. Alternatively, the submarine could have been built for the British Navy with the missing crew all naval personnel. The investigation is handed over to the Ministry of Unusual Affairs. Through this, the agents may gain experience with the Mythos and thus request, or be forced to accept, a transfer to Department M.

Carlisle Eerie Atmosphere: 0 The Iron Age settlement of Carlisle was renamed Luguvalium (“City of the strength of Lugus”) after the Roman conquest of Britain. Lugus was a Celtic deity whose name meant “black.” Although the Romans were unaware of it, they had inadvertently built on a religious site honoring Nyarlathotep’s Black Man avatar.

Gazetteer A major cavalry fort (Petriana) was constructed just outside the town, its soldiers providing support for the legionaries stationed on Hadrian’s Wall a stone’s throw to the north. A later milestone indicates that the rebel commander, Carausius (see sidebar) held power even in the furthest reaches of Roman Britain. The Normans began building Carlisle Castle in 1093. Work started on a cathedral in 1133. On its completion, the town was upgraded to a city. Until the late 18th century, Carlisle was a military town, the soldiers garrisoned in what was still very much a frontier settlement as a deterrent to attacks by the Scots and later raids of the Border Reivers. Modern Carlisle is a victim of its own success. The construction of food manufacturers, engineering works, and mills drew in large numbers of migrants causing massive overcrowded, with families force to sleep in animal pens, slaughter houses, and even communal toilets. Only now, at the end of the 19th century, are new homes being constructed to house the masses. Carlisle is a major railway hub, with no fewer than seven companies operating from the Citadel, as the station is known. The city’s railway marshaling yard is the largest in Europe. Adventure Seed: Digging foundations for new houses has unearthed two lead tablets. One was inscribed luge dessummiíis, which a local antiquarian translated as “I prepare them for Lugus.” The second is still sitting on the antiquarian’s desk, left there after he was found clawing at his eyes by his housekeeper a week ago. He has been incarcerated in the Cumberland and Westmorland Joint Lunatic Asylum). The tablets can be dated to the late 3rd century, which places it in or near to the reign of Carausius.

- Carlisle Castle From its humble beginnings as a Norman motte-and-bailey built over the remains of a Roman fort, Carlisle Castle was strengthened with a stone keep and the city enclosed by walls within a century. The next major upgrade came in the time of Henry VIII, when the castle

Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius A 3rd century Roman naval commander, Carausius led the fleet charged with keeping the English Channel free of pirates. Accused of keeping spoils due to Rome, Emperor Maximian (c. 250-310 AD), ordered the admiral’s execution. In retaliation on hearing of his pending execution, Carausius broke away from Rome, took command of four legions, and declared himself Emperor in Britain and Northern Gaul. Carausius’ reign lasted seven years. Assassinated in 293 by his treasurer, Allectus (d. 296), he was declared damnatio memoriae, his name stricken from all records for his crimes. Carausius did profit from his military position, but it was not greed that signed his death warrant. How the admiral learned of Cthulhu is unknown, but it was the rites he oversaw and the rapid corruption of the northern legions that saw the powers in Rome seek his death.

was modified to accommodate artillery. With the end of the wars between England and Scotland, there was little need for a castle, and large sections were demolished for building stone. The British Army returned to the castle in 1873, though not as invaders—the fortification became the regimental headquarters for the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. In 1881, the regiments were merged to form the line infantry Border Regiment. There are four reserve battalions, as well— the Royal Cumberland Regiment of Militia (3rd Battalion), the Royal Westmorland Regiment of Militia (4th Battalion), the 1st (Cumberland) Volunteer Battalion, and the 2nd (Westmorland) Volunteer Battalion. During the 1890s, the 1st Battalion is stationed in England (1890-1897), Malta (1897-

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria Dacre Family A prominent Cumbrian family since the 12th century, the Dacres gave their name to a small village and fortified tower house. The castle has since left the family’s hands. The family name, which is also found in Norfolk and Yorkshire, is Old Welsh for “teardrop,” a poetic name for a trickling stream. Some scholars suggest the family name began as D’Acre, alluding to the Crusades. Ralph Dacre of the Cumbrian branch was invested Baron Dacre in 1321. While the baronial title is extant, the Dacre surname ended in relation to the title in 1458, when Joan Dacre (1433-86) married Richard Fiennes (1415-83), who became the 7th Baron. History has not recorded that the family managed to overcome centuries of differences between the followers of Cthulhu and Shub-Niggurath in Cumbria at some juncture. This forgotten piece of history is not known to most family members, and those aware of it are unsavory sorts, prone to insular behavior and strange habits. Evidence of this bond can be found in the Dacre Knot, a heraldic emblem that shows a scallop shell and log entwined with rope. Other evidence in the form of stone badge portrays a stag’s head with unnaturally sharp teeth, strongly suggesting the family followed Shub-Niggurath. The nature of the union remains a mystery, but it may be one of marriage— Elizabeth de Greystoke, 6th Baroness Greystoke, one of whose heraldic emblems was a dolphin, married into the Dacre family in the 16th century, ending the Greystoke title.

doesn’t have much to make it noteworthy to globetrotters, save for two modest mansions and an old church. Coglin Grange, one of the two houses of note, stands beside the ancient churchyard. Folklore recalls a supposedly supernatural event that occurred in 1875, when the house was being rented by two brothers, Edward and Michael Cranswell and their sister, Amelia. On hearing a noise by her ground floor bedroom window, so the story goes, Amelia awoke to see a creature with a brown face and long nails scratching at the window. Paralyzed by fear, she watched in horror as the fiend began to tear away the lead flashing around the window. Dislodging a pane of glass, the creature soon opened the window and entered. Having heard the screams, her brothers rushed into the room to find the window open and their sister clutching multiple bleeding bite injuries on her neck. The creature returned a year later. This time, it was shot in the leg, leaving a trail the brothers could follow. Supposedly they trailed it to a local cemetery, where the body inside one of the coffins showed a fresh leg wound. The “vampire,” as the creature has since been referred to, was then burned. Adventure Seed: The “Croglin Vampire” was actually an unfortunate farmer. While plowing, he unearthed a green glass amulet of strange design but obvious antiquity. Placing it around his neck for safety, the unfortunate farmer became possessed with the bloodthirsty spirit of Ghatanothoa, whose ancient cult worshiped here during Roman times. The amulet has since been found again. Soon the killings will begin again.

Dacre Castle 1899), and South Africa (1899-1902; Second Boer War). The 2nd Battalion in stationed in India from 1890-1905.

Coglin Grange Eerie Atmosphere: 0 The sleepy Cumbrian village of Coglin

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Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Like many Cumbrian fortifications, Dacre Castle is a fortified house rather than a true castle boasting a keep and curtain walls, although it does have a moat around three sides. Constructed in the 14th century as a deterrent against Scottish raids, the castle was held by the Dacre family until the 17th century. For all its history, the castle is currently a farmhouse.

Gazetteer Adventure Seed: While replacing one of the flagstones in the cellar, the current owner discovered decorated Medieval floor tiles. Stripping the remaining flagstones, the tiles formed a pattern—the knotted scallop and log design often used by the barons of Dacre. Removing the tiles in the hope of discovering buried treasure, the owner instead unearthed a deep shaft, at the bottom of which was a manuscript wrapped in oiled leather. Local antiquarians have failed to decipher the text and are calling on the Leagues for advice.

Musgrave Family The Musgrave name is still alive and descendants of this ancient Cumbrian line can be found in America and Australia, as well as Great Britain. In Leagues of Cthulhu, a character wanting to be a scion of this corrupted family may take the Bloodline: Marsh Talent and associated skeleton in the cupboard. Persons with the Musgrave bloodline automatically gain one point of Corruption each time they drink from the Luck.

Eden Hall Mansion Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Seat of the Musgrave family, Eden Hall lies near to the village of Edenhall (note the different spelling). A stately home, the modern building was constructed using stone robbed from Hartley Castle, the family’s old center of power, in the middle part of the 18th century.

- Luck of Edenhall Owned by the Musgrave family of Eden Hall, the Luck is an exquisite Middle Eastern drinking vessel decorated with arabesques. According to legend, it was brought to Britain by a Crusader, perhaps a scion of the Musgraves. The Reverend William Mounsey writes of a different legend in 1791, stating “Tradition our only guide here, says, that a party of Fairies were drinking and making merry round a well near the Hall, called St. Cuthbert’s Well; but being interrupted by the intrusion of some curious people, they were frightened, and made a hasty retreat, and left the cup in question: one of the last screaming out; ‘If this cup should break or fall Farewell the Luck of Edenhall!’” Landowners since before the Norman Conquest, the Musgrave bloodline became polluted with Deep One blood during the Crusades, the taint brought back to England along with the Luck. Throughout the centuries the family met frequently with the Cumbrian Deep Ones to reaffirm their union with marriages and interbreeding. The later legend spoken of by Rev. Mounsey undoubtedly relates to an

outsider seeing the Deep Ones during one of these gatherings. The novelist Anthony Trollope (1815-82) wrote that visitors to the Musgrave’s ancestral home at Eden Hall were required to drink from the vessel, though he does not relate whether this applied to all guests or those with Deep One blood coursing through their veins. Adventure Seed: Gamemasters may wish to read the Sherlock Holmes’ story The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual, a tale that can be easily reworked to include Deep Ones.

Grange-over-Sands Eerie Atmosphere: 0 The arrival of the trains in 1857 transformed the sleepy fishing village of Grange into a popular seaside resort. In 1891, one of the first sanatoriums in Great Britain is opened here. Although most patients are suffering from tuberculosis, others may be sent here on medical advice to take the bracing sea air and sample the spring water for physical or mental ailments. Adventure Seed: A globetrotter suffering from insanity is sent to Grange-over-Sands to recover from their mental impairment. While there, they see what appears to be a Deep One emerging from the sea. Is their troubled mind playing tricks on them? Will the patient’s friends believe their claim? Are the Deep Ones searching for anyone in particular, perhaps someone who has had a brush with them before?

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria New Talent Bloodline: Dacre Unique; Only available at character creation Prerequisites: None Lesser sons and daughters rarely retain noble titles as the centuries tick by. As with other families, there are far more commoners than aristocrats wielding the Dacre name. Although no longer entitled to the baronial title, the globetrotter’s branch of the family has done well for itself in Cumbrian’s industrialization and owns a profitable business. Benefit: The globetrotter begins play with Bureaucracy 0 and Diplomacy 0. In addition, the character begins with Refuge: Size 1 or Wealth 1. The latter relates to the hero’s monthly stipend or wage. These are in addition to the regular four 0-level Skills and two 0-level Resources all characters receive. Normal: Your character receives no additional free Skills or Talents.

Skeleton in the Closet Dacre Members of the Dacre family have long dabbled in elder lore. Their tainted blood attracts the attentions of the Great Old Ones’ minions. Corruption: The globetrotter gains the Weirdness Magnet Flaw. In the event the character has this Flaw already, they gain the Fainthearted Flaw, instead. This is permanent, even if the globetrotter removes all their Corruption points.

Grimthwaite Abbey Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Founded in 1219, the remote Grimthwaite Abbey was populated by an order of nuns. Still

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occupied by a handful of reclusive nuns to this day, the abbey is best known for the strange occurrences said to have taken place there in the Middle Ages. So the story goes, John de Halton, Bishop of Carlisle (1292-1324), arrived to discuss fortifying the buildings against Scottish raiders. To his disgust, he found upon the altar an oddlyshaped human skull. The nuns told him the skull was unearthed during the digging of a new well and was believed to be that of St. Daegos, who in local folklore came from the sea to enlighten the natives and who brought a message of eternal salvation. According to local folklore, those who followed St. Daegos were rewarded with rich fishing hauls, as well as gold. Finding both the tale and object blasphemous, de Halton had it thrown into the well and the nuns flogged as penance. Within a day, the well water became too salty to drink, forcing the nuns to dig a second one. Sometime later, the nuns were accused of witchcraft, having been discovered nursing babies with unsightly pallid skin and bulging eyes. Under torture, the nuns said they had been visited by St. Daegos, who fathered the children with them and who bade them to take care of his progeny until the time was right for them to “join their father in the sea.” The abbess was burned at the stake and her fellow anchorites taken away in chains. What became of the children is not recorded. Despite rumors the nuns had a mysterious source of wealth—folklore claimed they bought goods with gold—the abbey was spared the wrath of Henry VIII. One story has it that troops sent to remove the nuns and tear down the walls returned white-faced and shaken. Adventure Seed: The location of the original well had long been forgotten, that part of the grounds becoming overgrown with brambles. While clearing the undergrowth as part of a plan to plant a herb garden, the nuns unearthed the capped well. In the accumulated muck they unearthed the skull of St. Daegos. Lacking the necessary scientific experience, the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society contacts the Leagues of Adventure.

Gazetteer Maryport Eerie Atmosphere: 0 A coastal town, Maryport (then Alauna) was a major supply depot for the Roman soldiers stationed on the western end of Hadrian’s Wall. It remained a port after the legions left, though its importance was greatly diminished. The modern town, which held the name Ellenport for centuries, began in the 18th century, when Parliament allowed Humphrey Senhouse (1705–1770; not to be confused with his politician son of the same name) to create a new town, which he named after his wife. The family had ties to sugar plantations in the West Indies and owned a number of slaves. Rumors abound that several slaves of “ugliness that gave them the general appearance of toads” were shipped to Maryport in the 1770s. Folklore says that rather than being as employed as servants, the slaves were given “a great many riches.” Like others ports in Victorian Cumbria, Maryport has been industrialized. As the number of ships calling at the harbor grew, a lighthouse was constructed in 1796. The original structure was replaced in 1856. Local coal fuels an iron foundry and shipyard, as well as being exported via the growing rail network. In 1894, two collieries went bankrupt, allowing a co-operative of local miners to lease them from the bank. They soon discover the lower galleries have flooded and that drainage is a major issue in the rest of the mines. Unusually, the Roman history of Maryport has been partially explored, the Senhouse family carrying out several excavations since they became the landowners. In 1870, a number of pits were uncovered, each containing an altar. Nearby digs found Roman graves containing white pebbles. Adventure Seed: Local antiquarians hold the opinion that the white stones are a sign of early Christianity, using Revelation 2:17 as evidence—“To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” But do the stones and Bible quote relate

to something more sinister? Might the “hidden manna” refer to a more profane food, and what is the nature of the name written on the stones? And why have the Senhouse family refused to grant antiquarians permission to one altar, which is sequestered in their mansion?

Oddendale Eerie Atmosphere: 0 There is nothing to attract tourists to the hamlet of Oddendale, located near the village of Shap, though antiquarians may be interested in the nearby stone circle, which forms part of the larger Shap Stone Avenue complex. Given its position and continuing isolation, it is likely Oddendale began as a Northumbrian Angle farmstead. Its name is certainly Old English and is usually translated as “the beginning of the valley.” Several scholars have argued the name should be read as “Woden’s valley,” after the chief deity of the pagan Angles. Adventure Seed: Few extant records exist concerning the Angles in Cumbria and only one makes mention of anything unusual. During renovation work on a Cumbrian church, workmen discover scraps of parchment stuffed inside a cavity in a Medieval stone wall. One, seemingly torn from a larger book and badly stained by damp, tells of “a graven wooden idol carved in the grotesque form of a horse with eight legs” and “when thunder shook the earth it was said the Beast did come into the valley to graze on profane offerings.”

Renwick Eerie Atmosphere: 0 There isn’t much in modern Renwick, a small village lacking the most basic amenities. According to legend, a church was built here in the 7th century. Abandoned in the 16th century, the building gradually fell to ruin. At some point in history, the ruins became home to an elderly hermit. Strange noises and chants were heard emanating from the old church, causing much fear among the locals. In 1610 (others claim 1733), the locals drove out the hermit—who was said to have lived beyond his natural years—and

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria Kendal Black Drop A narcotic from the 19th century, Kendal Black Drop is a mixture of opium, spices, sugar, and vinegar. Lord Byron mentions it in Don Juan, while Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a regular user. In Leagues of Cthulhu, the drug has one of two effects.

Dreamlands In campaigns involving the Dreamlands, it functions as a more potent form of opium. Using it grants a +4 bonus to enter the Dreamlands (see Leagues of Cthulhu Codicil: The Dreamlands). The drug is more addictive than common opium, however.

No Dreamlands In campaign in which the Dreamlands play no part, the potent narcotic leaves one open to the psychic thoughts of the Great Old Ones. After taking a dose, the user must make a Willpower x 2 roll (Difficulty 3). Failure means they inadvertently tap into the thoughts of a Great Old One chosen by the Gamemaster, as if they had cast a Commune ritual. The nature of the dream/vision is left to the Gamemaster. Regardless, the user must make a Horror check at Difficulty 5.

began demolishing the church. As the stones tumbled, a “monstrous bat” flew out of the ruins and set upon the terrified villagers. One story says the creature was a cockatrice, another that it was a dragon. The story ends with the creature’s slaying by John Tallentire, a common farmer. There is no evidence of an early church in Renwick. One mile from the village, in the hamlet of Haresceugh, are the remains of a former castle. It is possible the castle was the focus of the original story, with time transferring it to a fictitious church. Adventure Seed: Believing the Renwick cockatrice tale might be a folk memory of King

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Arthur’s exploits, a folklorist began digging in the ruins of Haresceugh Castle. He has since disappeared. Gamemasters who wish to use the “monstrous bat” legend should consider it as a Black Winged One.

Seascale Eerie Atmosphere: 0 The small seaside village of Seascale is neither one thing nor another. On the one hand, it remains sparsely settled with many outlying farms. On the other, grand designs were drawn up to turn it into a tourist resort, though they failed to fully materialize. Globetrotters with a scientific bent may know of it as the home of Doctor Lucinda Straw, a gifted scientist and a member of many notable Leagues. Weird scientists are of a mind that the atom is not the smallest particle (although that will not be proven until 1897 by J. J. Thompson). Straw, working in a converted barn on a remote beach side field owned by the neighboring Sellar family, has created a Particular Cannon, a complex device that fires atoms at each other at extremely high speeds. Globetrotters may be invited to witness one of her experiments to verify her results. Adventure Seed: Straw is unaware that her experiments are producing immense amounts of cosmic rays that are weakening the barrier between dimensions. The only visible signs of this are the mysterious lights that dance over the area at night (the so-called Seascale Lights). The radiation has also drawn a Mythos entity (a Dimensional Shambler, Feaster from the Stars, or Star Spark) to the village. Worse, continuing the experiments will eventually draw the attention of Yog-Sothoth.

Sedbergh Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Once a remote town reached only by a strenuous walk, Sedbergh has been an important center of wool production for the last 30 years. Unbeknownst to antiquarians and inhabitants alike, the village takes its name from the Old Norse words seiðr (“sorcery”) and berg

Gazetteer (“hill”), not set berg (“flat-topped hill”) as is commonly accepted. Here the pagan Vikings worshipped Shub-Niggurath in her guise of Freyr. That the town is involved in the wool industry is no surprise to those versed in arcane lore, for practitioners of seiðr would “spin charms” (an archaic term for invoking rituals) using a distaff, a tool used for spinning wool. Sedbergh still has a working coven, though the participants use druidic rituals (actually invented during the 18th century) and no longer understand to whom they make offerings and prayers. Although the group take their ritual seriously, they are currently merely playing at being magicians. That may be about to change. Adventure Seed: Having discovered a stone marked with Norse runes, Agatha Moondrake (real surname Curwen) set about translating the writing. To her amazement it was a genuine Norse magical ritual. Moondrake has no idea what it does, but since studying the incantation she has been suffering from strange dreams, in which a great goddess calls to her to speak the words of power. Agatha is slowly teaching her fellow neo-druids the words. Unfortunately for them, the ritual is Call Shub-Niggurath. If the pagans manage to succeed, the profane entity will gain a new cult of devoted, if insane, worshippers. No outsiders are aware of the coven’s plans, but they are troubled by the increase in missing sheep (sacrifices) and the strange lights flickering at night in the nearby stone circle.

Tebay Eerie Atmosphere: 0 The village of Tebay is known for two things—the earthworks of a motte-and-bailey castle known as Castle Howe and the Witch of Tebay. Born in 1721, Mary Baines (also Baynes and Byrnes) appears to be a stereotypical witch—ugly, spiteful, able to invoke magic, and feared by locals. She was also a prophetess and supposedly foretold the coming of the railways. Mary is said to have died in 1811. Adventure Seed: Mary was indeed a witch, having signed the Book of Azathoth. Knowledgeable in the angles of time and how to manipulate them, a feat she learned from Yog-Sothoth, her

prophecies were the result of arcane time travel. Due to the vagaries of time travel, globetrotters might encounter Mary in 1890’s Cumbria, despite her being dead for 80 years.

Ulverston Eerie Atmosphere: 0 First documented in the Domesday Book (1086), Ulverston’s name is Old Norse and translates as “The village of the wolf army.” The Vikings who founded the settlement were violent berserkers who venerated Fenrir, the monstrous wolf of their mythology. Later Christian records paint the Vikings in a very bad light, accusing them of human sacrifice and becoming werewolves. No mainstream academic believes the stories, of course, instead accepting them as Christian propaganda. The cult, which was very real, began in the Roman period, when auxiliaries native to Dacia brought it to Cumbria. The true deity behind the cult is an avatar of Nyarlathotep known simply as the Great Wolf. It manifests as a huge wolf with black fur and glowing green eyes. In place of a tongue, it has a long, sickly tentacle which lashes around in search of prey to draw into its fanged maw. It has Horror rating 6. The drill hall on Victoria Road is headquarters to the 37th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers. Adventure Seed: A farmer’s plow has uncovered the skull of a prehistoric dire wolf—a creature that only roamed North American grasslands and plains, and that died out around 9,000 BC. How could such a creature have found its way to Cumbria? Are the recent attacks on sheep somehow connected?

Whitehaven Eerie Atmosphere: 0 A tiny fishing village in the 12th century, Whitehaven grew to become an important port town in the 17th century. Initially exporting coal from the nearby mines, the town grew prosperous over the next two centuries thanks to the importing of tobacco and increased exports of coal, but its fortunes steadily declined with the growth of the ports at Bristol, Glasgow, and Liverpool.

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria American globetrotters may be interested to learn that Whitehaven was involved in the War of Independence, despite being over 3,000 miles from the major battlefields. In 1778, the famous naval commander John Paul Jones, captain of the Ranger, persuaded his crew to sail across the Atlantic and attack Whitehaven, a port he knew from his earlier days. A small raiding party spiked the town’s cannons to prevent any counter-attack but were unable to cause much damage to the ships in the harbor. Instead, they set fire to a dockside inn, but not before stopping for a drink. As the coal ship Thompson eventually succumbed to flame, the Americans withdrew. Whitehaven has two train stations. The first is operated by the Whitehaven Junction Railway, which ultimately links the town to Carlisle. The second, Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway, lies in the south of the town and provides access to Barrow-in-Furness. In 1852, a tunnel was burrowed beneath the town to link the two separate rail lines. Several large bones were unearthed during the cutting of the tunnel. Identified as belonging to an unknown species of aquatic dinosaur, they are housed in a small cabinet in the local museum. The nearby village of Lowca is the site of the Fletcher, Jennings & Co., which build industrial tank locomotives, bridge girders, and blast-furnace shells.

- St. Bees Priory Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Founded in 1130, the Benedictine Priory supposedly takes its name from Saint Bega, a 9th century Irish princess and saint of dubious historical veracity. It actually comes from the Saxon beo, or bee, and is found in the name Beowulf. Bega did come to Whitehaven as legend tells, but she was no saint. Rather, she was a priestess of an elder cult whose symbol was the bee (perhaps the forerunner of the Universal Hive; see Leagues of Cthulhu Codicil). Where history records her fleeing to Northumberland to avoid Viking raids, the truth is that the cult center was destroyed by fearful

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Norsemen and Bega fled to save her own life. Later, the Christian monks misunderstood the legends surrounding her powers and took Bega to be a saint. Adventure Seed: [This seed is loosely taken from a discovery made in 1981.] Work in the long-abandoned ruins of St. Bees Priory in 1881 unearthed a corpse—hardly a surprise. Despite being many centuries old, the body was remarkably preserved, with even its skin intact. The corpse has recently disappeared from the nearby museum. The only witness, a notorious drunk, swears blind he saw the corpse walk out of the museum late on the night of the suspected theft.

Workington Eerie Atmosphere: 0 Established as a Roman coastal fort, part of the network of fortifications hugging the west coast, Workington was originally called Gabrosentum. Its current name originates with the Anglo-Saxons. For many centuries, the lords of the manor have been the Curwen family. Staunch loyalists, members of the family fought alongside several English kings, earning their spurs in the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Hundred Years War, and the Wars of the Roses. Like its sister ports, Workington had benefited from the extraction of coal and iron ore, with factories working to produce steel. Adventure Seed: Gamemasters who have read Lovecraft’s stories will undoubtedly recognize the Curwen name. Some globetrotters may even carry Curwen blood in their veins. Such characters may, in the course of genealogical studies, discover their ancestor originated in the Cumbrian branch of the family, his parents migrating to Salem sometime in the early 17th century. Not that the Curwen taint began with that reviled man—the family corruption flows back to the Celts who occupied the region where Workington now stands and who worshiped Shub-Niggurath. Globetrotters who dig into the fort’s origins may learn its name comes from the Celtic Garfhynt, or “Path of the he goat.”

Chapter the Third: Denizens “Bunch together a group of people deliberately chosen for strong religious feelings, and you have a practical guarantee of dark morbidities expressed in crime, perversion, and insanity.” —H. P. Lovecraft

Notable Dignitaries These individuals have Rank or Status of 2+ by dint of their profession or position, good bureaucratic and social Skills (ratings of 6+), and good mental Attributes (3+).

Aristocrats Baronets of Brayton: Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet (1867-1906) Baronets Fletcher-Vane: Sir Henry Ralph Fletcher-Vane, 4th Baronet (1842-1908) Baronets le Fleming: Sir Andrew Fleming Hudleston le Fleming, 8th Baronet (18831925) Barons Brougham and Vaux: Henry Charles Brougham, 3rd Baron (1886-1927) Barons Dacre: Henry Bouverie William Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden and 23rd Baron (1890-92), Henry Robert Brand, 2nd Viscount Hampden and 24th Baron (1892-1906; Governor of New South Wales from 1895-99) Barons Muncaster: Josslyn Francis Pennington, 5th Baron (1862-1917) Dukes of Cumberland: Prince Ernest Augustus of the House of Hanover (1878-1919)

Earls of Lonsdale: Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl (1882-1944) Earls of Westmorland: Colonel Francis William Henry Fane, 12th Earl of Westmorland (1859-1891), Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland (1891-1922)

Bureaucrats Chief Constable of the Cumberland and Westmorland Constabularies: John Dunne (1857-1902; Sir John after 1897)* High Sheriffs of Cumberland: Henry Jefferson (1890), John Stirling Ainsworth (1891), Humphrey Pocklington Senhouse (1892), George William Mounsey-Heysham (1893), Sir Richard James Graham, 4th Baronet (1894), Joseph Harris (1895), Louis Carruthers Salked (1896), Col. Thomas Angelo Irwin (1897), George Graham Kirklinton (1898), Wiliam Parkin-Moore (1899) High Sheriffs of Westmorland: Walter James Marshall (1890), Thomas Atkinson Argles (1891), James Gandy Gandy (1892), Jacob Wakefield (1893), Colonel Joseph Withers (1894), Charles Walker (1895), Henry Miles Radcliffe (1896), William Smith Paget-Tomlinson (1897), William Stavert (1898), Frank Maude Taylor Jones-Balme (1899) Lord Lieutenants of Cumberland: Josslyn Francis Pennington (1876–1917) Lord Lieutenants of Westmoorland: Henry Tufton, 1st Baron Hothfield (1881-1926) Mayors of Barrow-in-Furness: Augustus

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria Horace Strongitharm (1889-92), James William Little (1892-94), John Fisher (1894-97), Benjamin Fish (1897-98), Leonard Parker Chapman (1898-1900) Mayors of Carlisle: Francis Peter Dixon (1883-99), Christopher Ling (1899-1900) * Cumberland and Westmorland are separate constabularies but have the same chief constable.

Earl Lonsdale

Barrow and Furness: James Duncan (Liberal; 1890-92), Sir Charles Cayzer, Bt. (Conservative 1892-1906) Carlisle: William Gully (Gladstonian Liberal; 1886-1905; Speaker of the House of Commons from 1895-1905) Whitehaven: George Cavendish-Bentinck (Conservative;1865-1891), Sir James Bain (Conservative; 1891), Thomas Shepherd Little (Liberal; 1892-1895), Augustus Helder (Conservative; 1895-1906)

Born 1857; Died 1944 Hugh Cecil Lowther, who became the 5th Earl of Lonsdale on the death of his brother in 1882, is well known to the Leagues of Adventure. An amateur explorer, he ventured deep into Arctic Canada during 1888-89. His collection of Inuit artifacts, which include a statue of Cthulhu, is housed in his ancestral home, Lowther Castle. An early adopter of the automobile, Lowther was a co-founder of the Automobile Club and currently serves as its president. Considered by some to be England’s greatest sporting gentleman, he is also a senior member of the Sporting Gentlemen’s Association. During the late 1890s, Lowther is host to Kaiser Wilhelm II, King Umberto of Italy, and King Charles of Portugal, all of whom are invited to grouse shoots at Lowther Castle. Owner of several Cumberland mines and 75,000 acres of land, the earl is wealthy beyond measure. He is also a notorious bon vivant, spending money like it is going out of fashion. Such is his extravagance that his son and heir will be forced to sell most of the family possessions in 1947. Historically, Lowther was referred to as the Yellow Earl due to his favoring the color. In Leagues of Cthulhu, this penchant may be a red herring or mark the earl as a member of the Yellow Sign Society (see Leagues of Cthulhu Codicil).

Military

Earl Lonsdale

Regimental Colonels of the Border Regiment: 1st Bn: Gen. Sir Richard Denis Kelly (1889-1897); 2nd Bn: Gen. Sir Henry Charles Barnston Daubeney (1881-1903)

Patron 2 Archetype: Aristocrat; Motivation: Bon Vivant; Style: 2 Primary Attributes: Body 3, Dexterity 3, Strength 3, Charisma 3, Intelligence 3, Willpower 3 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 6, Perception 6, Initiative 6, Defense 6, Stun 3, Health 8, Sanity 6 Skills: Athletics 5, Brawl 4, Diplomacy 5, Expeditions 5, Firearms 5, Performance 4, Pilot: Automotive 5, Ride 5, Sports 8, Survival 4 Talents: Inspire (May grant a +2 Skill bonus to

Clergymen Bishops of Carlisle (Anglican): Harvey Goodwin (1869-91), John Bardsley (18911914) Bishops of Liverpool (Catholic): Bernard O’Reilly (1873-94), Thomas Whiteside (18941911)

Members of Parliament

Famous People Although the named persons are constructed as Patrons, where a Rank or Status Resource is listed it has been applied separately. Thus, the characters do not balance with the rules for creating Patrons.

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Denizens all allies within 10 feet), Natural Leader (May recruit a temporary Ally), Robust (+2 Health rating) Resources*: Artifact 2 (Augmented Automobile; see Weird Science Compendium)**, Contacts 1 (Aristocracy; +2 bonus)***, Fame 1 (Sportsman; +2 Social bonus), Rank 5 (Automobile Club; +8 Social bonus), Rank 1 (Epicurean Society; +2 Social bonus), Rank 3 (Sporting Gentlemen’s Association; +4 Social bonus), Rank 1 (Travelers’ Club; +2 Social bonus), Refuge: Size 3: Small Estate, Status 3 (Earl; +4 Social bonus) Flaws: Blasé (+1 Style point whenever his indifference causes harm) Weapons: Punch 4N, Heavy revolver 8L * Has a Bonus Resource from his Rank (Sporting Gentlemen’s Association) for the Gamemaster to assign. ** Bonus Resource from his Rank (Automobile Club). *** Bonus Resource from his Status.

Stock Characters Whether they are faceless extras or named individuals, stock characters are neither heroes nor major villains. These characters differ from henchmen of the same name in that they are better trained.

Antiquarian Whether a keen amateur or a professional historian, the antiquarian looks to the understand the past. Educated men and women, they are usually possessed of a classical education. In an adventure, they typically serve as a source of local history. Most follow accepted history, having no belief in stories of old gods and supernatural occurrences. A small few, while they have no comprehension of the Great Old Ones, suspect there is more to history than is currently known. Others many have already witnessed the Great Old Ones in one form or another. Those who have read certain books or unearthed

strange writings or carvings may seek to learn more, unaware of the terror that awaits. Some may have been corrupted by the knowledge and have joined, or formed, a local cult. Ally 1 Archetype: Academic; Motivation: Truth; Style: 0 Primary Attributes: Body 2, Dexterity 2, Strength 2, Charisma 2, Intelligence 2, Willpower 2 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 4, Perception 4, Initiative 4, Defense 4, Stun 2, Health 6, Sanity 4 Skills: Academics: History 4, Anthropology 4, Athletics 4, Diplomacy 4, Linguistics 4 Talents: None Resources: Fame 1 (Antiquarian; +2 Social bonus) or Rank 1 (Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society; +2 Social bonus) Flaws: Curious (+1 Style point whenever their curiosity gets them or their companions into trouble) Weapons: Punch 0N

Farmer Whether growing crops in the valleys and plains or herding sheep on the fells, Cumbrian farmers are a hardy people, used to physical work and long walks. They are also superstitious, though they lack any academic interest in the nature of the tales passed on by their grandparents. Farmers can play many roles in a Leagues of Cthulhu adventure. They can serve as sources of local information, potential allies prepared to lend their shotguns against profane threats, fight the globetrotters as deranged cultists (Sanity 0), or be played as a source of amusement (the stereotypical country bumpkin). Ally 1 Archetype: Everyman; Motivation: Duty; Style: 0 Primary Attributes: Body 2, Dexterity 2, Strength 2, Charisma 2, Intelligence 2, Willpower 2 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 4, Perception 4, Initiative 4, Defense 4, Stun 2, Health 6, Sanity 4

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria Skills: Animal Handling 4, Athletics 4, Firearms 4, Stealth 4, Survival 4 Talents: Robust (+2 Health rating) Resources: None Flaws: Superstitious (+1 Style point whenever their eccentricities cause them trouble, or if one of their beliefs turns out to be true) Weapons: Punch 0N, 20-gauge shotgun 7L

Lakelands Tourist Tourists have flocked to the lakes and fells since the railways opened up Cumbria. Some come to admire and capture the views, while others seek to test themselves against the environment.

Adventuring Tourist For some, walking the fells is more than enough exercise. Others, though, demand more strenuous activity, such as mountaineering or caving. Ally 1 Archetype: Adventurer; Motivation: Survival; Style: 0 Primary Attributes: Body 2, Dexterity 2, Strength 2, Charisma 2, Intelligence 2, Willpower 2 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 4, Perception 4, Initiative 4, Defense 4, Stun 2, Health 4, Sanity 4 Skills: Athletics 6, Diplomacy 4, Expeditions 4, Survival 4 Talents: None Resources: Rank 1 (Alpine Club or Speleological Society; +2 Social bonus) Flaws: Cautious (+1 Style point whenever they suffer from their inability to make a quick decision) or Overconfident (+1 Style point whenever they are forced to ask for help) Weapons: Punch 0N

Artistic Tourist Artists, poets, and writers have been drawn to the fells and lakes since the birth of the Romantic movement. Here, they walk in the footsteps of poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelly,

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and Keats, and the artists Turner, Constable, and Gainsborough. Drawing inspiration from the natural beauty and ancient monuments of Cumbria, tourists may be found in the most remote locations and in almost all weathers. Ally 1 Archetype: Artist; Motivation: Preservation; Style: 0 Primary Attributes: Body 2, Dexterity 2, Strength 2, Charisma 2, Intelligence 2, Willpower 2 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 4, Perception 4, Initiative 4, Defense 4, Stun 2, Health 4, Sanity 4 Skills: Art: Pick one 6, Athletics 4, Diplomacy 4, Performance 4, Ride 4 Talents: Skill Aptitude (+2 Art bonus) Resources: None Flaws: Aloof (+1 Style point whenever their business-like attitude causes trouble) or Daydreamer (+1 Style point whenever they make a major mistake because they were daydreaming instead of concentrating on an activity) Weapons: Punch 0N

Automobilist Tourist Automobiles are the playthings of the rich, the eccentric, and weird scientists. The winding, steep roads of the Lake District are a test not only of a driver’s skill, but also the ruggedness of their automobile. Each year, the Automobile Club holds a race—the Keswick Run. Entrants begin outside the clubhouse in London and race each other to the town of Keswick, which is located almost centrally in the fell region. A second race then takes place, with drivers racing from Keswick to Penrith, then north of Carlisle around the coast to Grange-over-Sands, before heading back to Keswick. Ally 1 Archetype: Adventurer; Motivation: Fame; Style: 0 Primary Attributes: Body 2, Dexterity 2, Strength 2, Charisma 2, Intelligence 2, Willpower 2 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 4, Perception 4, Initiative 4, Defense 4, Stun 2, Health 4, Sanity 4

Denizens Skills: Craft: Mechanics 4, Diplomacy 4, Expeditions 4, Pilot: Automotive 4, Survival 4 Talents: None Resources: Rank 1 (Automobile Club; +2 Social bonus) Flaws: Thrill Seeker (+1 Style point whenever they put themselves or their companions in danger just for the fun of it) Weapons: Punch 0N

Miner Extracting minerals from the earth requires explosives and brute force. Working in the tough conditions of the mines breeds tough men (and occasionally women). A no-nonsense sort, miners work hard and play hard. Globetrotters who need strong backs to help may be able to hire miners. Ally 1 Archetype: Everyman; Motivation: Duty; Style: 0 Primary Attributes: Body 2, Dexterity 2, Strength 3, Charisma 2, Intelligence 2, Willpower 2 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 5, Perception 4, Initiative 4, Defense 4, Stun 2, Health 6, Sanity 4 Skills: Athletics 5, Brawl 5, Demolitions 4, Intimidation 4, Streetwise 4 Talents: Strong (+1 Strength rating) Resources: None Flaws: Loyal: Family and friends (+1 Style point whenever their unswerving loyalty causes trouble for themselves or their companions) Weapons: Punch 5N

Cults Brotherhood of the Maimed King The Maimed King figures in Arthurian myth. The last guardian of the Holy Grail, he remains seated due to a deep wound in his

thigh or groin. Only by being asked a specific question can his injury be healed. The story, many academics argue, originated among the Celts. The Maimed King replaces Bran the Blessed with the Grail as a Christianized version of his magical cauldron, which could raise the dead, albeit as mutes. The Maimed King is an avatar of Shub-Niggurath’s male persona, the Black Goat of the Woods. It appears as a naked man, physically perfect save its genital area, which is a ravaged wound that constantly seeps blood and is devoid of any symbol of masculinity. The Maimed King always appears cross-legged, his terrible wound laid bare for all to see. In his hand he carries a barbarous spear, its poisonous head, from which drips a stream of blood, capable of inflicting hideous wounds. The spear is symbolic of the Maimed King’s severed penis. During their initiation, members are ritually castrated (even the penis) before submerging in a cauldron of bubbling fluid—a ghastly mix of the Maimed King’s blood and semen. Stepping out from the substance, the initiates find their organ restored and their lust greatly enhanced. No longer are the cultists’ genitals normal—their seed is now the seed of the Maimed King, and many male children they spawn are born with some sort of physical deformity, such as nubs on the forehead or deformed feet that appear more like hooves. As they age, they may transform into satyr-like Spawn of Shub-Niggurath. Mixed with water, the seed is spread on fields and pastures to promote growth. While they retain their manhood, initiates do not survive the rite without some grievous injury. In game terms, all must have one of the following Flaws: Blind, Crippled, Lame, Mute, One Arm, or One Eye. Given the nature of the injury initiates must endure, the cult only accepts men.

Reverend Geoffrey Moorehead Not every man of the cloth retains a belief in God. Some have witnessed terrible things that has shaken their core and caused them to avow God. Some are just bad seeds whose vestments hide a multitude of sin. Reverend Moorehead is definitely of the latter sort.

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Leagues of Cthulhu: Cumbria The enjoyment of a good ale or tobacco, or the playing of bridge and whist, may cause elderly church-goers to tut, but they are hardly sins. When it comes to thoughts of sex, though, Moorehead has an insatiable drive and nothing as petty as laws (legal or moral) will get in his way. From farmers’ daughters to the squire’s wife, any woman who crossed his path was mentally undressed and ravaged by him. To fantasize was Moorehead’s option, for a wound to the groin during his days as a soldier left him unable to perform. It was while clearing the church archives that he stumbled across a Medieval manuscript that described the Maimed King. Through study, he pieced together the ritual to contact the entity and pleaded for his help. The following month, a black-skinned, bald man approached Moorehead and offered to perform the ritual. Common sense and faith should have warned the clergyman to take a step back, but instead he strode forward. Since his restoration, Moorehead has sated his lust at every opportunity. The small village over which he ministers has seen its population grow rapidly, though many of the children are deformed in some way. Utterly insane, Moorehead has come to see himself as a Messianic figure, the literal father of a new race of humanity. His sermons now make great reference to children (such as Genesis 3:16, Genesis 6:4, and Matthew 19:14). Patron 2 Archetype: Clergyman; Motivation: Faith; Style: 2 Primary Attributes: Body 4, Dexterity 2, Strength 3, Charisma 3, Intelligence 3, Willpower 3 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 5, Perception 6, Initiative 5, Defense 6, Stun 5, Health 9, Sanity 0 Skills: Academics: Religion 5, Brawl 5, Con 6 (Lies 7), Connoisseur 5, Diplomacy 5, Elder Lore: Great Old Ones 5, Empathy 5, Gambling 5 (Card Games 6), Linguistics 5 Talents: High Pain Tolerance (Remains conscious and ignores wound penalties until reaching –3 Health), Iron Jaw (+1 Stun rating), Robust (+2 Health rating) Resources: Rank 2 (Brotherhood of the

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Maimed King; +2 Social bonus), Status 1 (Clergyman; +2 Social bonus) Rituals: Commune Shub-Niggurath (Maimed King avatar only), Control Animal, Fear, Summon Animal, Summon Spawn of Shub-Niggurath (satyr form only) Flaws: Lame (+1 Style point whenever he is unable to outrun danger, or if his bad leg gets him into trouble), Lustful (+1 Style point whenever his overactive libido gets him into serious trouble), Megalomania (+2 Style points whenever he takes a major step toward realizing his destiny or has his plans foiled because he was gloating over his victims) Weapons: Punch 5N

Typical Member From the poor to the rich, the forgotten to the influential, any man is welcomed into the Brotherhood of the Maimed King. The insane cultists seek to sire as many children as possible, not for their own benefit, but to spread the seed of the Maimed King far and wide. Through their devotions, they believe there will come a time when his offspring will dominate the world and all shall be subjects of the Maimed King. The following example is a young gentleman, the playboy son of a rich businessman who quietly offers large sums of money to cover up his son’s “indiscretions.” Ally 1 Archetype: Everyman; Motivation: Power; Style: 0 Primary Attributes: Body 2, Dexterity 2, Strength 2, Charisma 2, Intelligence 2, Willpower 2 Secondary Attributes: Size 0, Move 4, Perception 4, Initiative 4, Defense 4, Stun 2, Health 6, Sanity 0 Skills: Con 4, Diplomacy 4, Gambling 4, Performance 4, Sports 4 Talents: None Resources: Rank 1 (Brotherhood of the Maimed King; +2 Social bonus) Flaws: Pick one Flaw from the list above and Lustful (+1 Style point whenever his overactive libido gets him into serious trouble) Weapons: Punch 0N

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I WANDERED LONELY AS DEAD CTHULHU, WHOSE DREAMS FLOAT ON HIGH O’ER VALES AND HILLS Cumbria, with its majestic fells and glittering lakes, has embraced industrialization and yet refuses to release its grip on the past. It is a land once wandered not only by the poet William Wordsworth, but also by the Elder Things and Fungi from Yuggoth.

This supplement for Leagues of Cthulhu explores the English county of Cumbria in the Late Victorian Era. Contents include: A history of the region stretching back to the dawn of time An overview of the local culture Over 30 locations, many with adventure seeds A new tainted Bloodline A list of notable dignitaries, statistics for stock characters, and a new cult – The Brotherhood of the Maimed King

Leagues of Cthulhu is powered by the Ubiquity game engine and requires both Leagues of Adventure and Leagues of Gothic Horror.

www.tripleacegames.com © 2019 Triple Ace Games Ltd. Leagues of Cthulhu and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Triple Ace Games Ltd. Ubiquity Roleplaying System, Exile Games Studio, and all associated logos and trademarks are copyright, Exile Games Studio, LLC. Used with permission