Sandy petersens cthulhu mythos (1) 14

I Getting Started
and certainly their understanding of what is going on
will change.
You can also use this to up the ante. Let’s use

Turning an Encounter
Into an Adventure

another example. The town suffers from an outbreak

It is perfectly plausible to plop down a gug guarding

of ghouls. Of course, the players are worried because

a treasure chest. The gug in this case would just be

ghouls are a potent, intelligent foe. There are scary

another monster—a bag of hit points hindering the

moments, desperate ambushes in dark alleyways, and

players from gaining loot. A gug has some unique

so forth.

powers that you can use to your advantage in planning

Then, during the course of this conflict, the players

your encounter. For example, gugs are completely

uncover the second part of the storyline and learn

silent, so players are likely unaware of the creature’s

that the ghouls are up to something–some grandiose

presence until it chooses to show itself. Since gugs have

plot. So now the player’s focus changes from physical

religious tendencies, perhaps it has an altar to its foul

danger to worrying about a larger threat–what are the

deity in its chamber. Perhaps killing the gug triggers a

ghouls up to? Instead of just defending the township,

curse which follows the party around.

they now have to descend into the ghoul tunnels to

With a little effort, the gug can be used for more.

find out the secret. Now the ghouls lay traps and call

For example, gugs are an intelligent species known for

unholy allies to their aid. The ante has been raised for

crafting organized plans. Perhaps the gug was in that

the players, not just in terms of danger, but in terms of

room for a reason? It’s not hard to extrapolate that after

what happens if they fail?

the party murders the gug for his loot, his fellow gugs

When the players finally discover what the ghouls

might find the corpse, and—thirsting for vengeance—

are plotting, you the game master have the opportunity

track down the party. All of a sudden, perhaps when

to transform the adventure once again, in a third

hotly engaged in another fight, a group of gugs emerges

storyline, and confront them with an existential threat!

silently from the darkness and joins in the fight against

Perhaps the ghouls are replacing all the important

the players. You’ve kept the adventure element of your

humans in town with their evil changelings. Maybe the

game strong, but the gugs have taken on personality

ghouls have accumulated enough sacrifices to summon

and perhaps even become a permanent part of your

and (they think) control a monstrous dhole to destroy

game. After all, even if the players manage to drive

the entire town. It’s even possible they plot to magically

away or kill the pursuing party of gugs, this doesn’t

teleport the entire township to the Vale of Pnath, where

mean they’re done with them: they might have to deal

they can feast at their leisure.

with gug hunting bands for the foreseeable future.

In this way, you have three simple, separate plotlines,

In the end, you have turned an almost random

each with a different type of frightening threat, and

encounter with a lone gug guarding some treasure into

you can keep up the horror element far longer and

a recurring enemy that may plague the heroes’ future

more effectively than in a one-shot adventure!

endeavors, potentially for an entire campaign.

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