Old One Rising
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"The process of delving into the black abyss is to me the keenest form of fascination." - Howard Phillips Lovecraft
Of things irrefutably true, that there exists a mysticism to the world is one; that which alludes simultaneously to the grandeur of life and also all the macabre happenings and sights we are privy to. After the closing of the Great War, the United States is experiencing a widespread shifting of identity. Some say it was the American progressive movement at its finest, while others say that the war snuffed out its already dying light. The Prohibition is in full swing, intolerance and prejudice towards immigrants and foreigners is rife, youth is disenfranchised with the prominent individuals of government and science has found itself called upon to answer the social questions of the time.
Arkham, Massachusets, 1925. The sea-softened town of Arkham, at once both large and small, home to schools of thought both conservative and youthful, sees most of this social struggle through word-of-mouth and printed news. Once a humble fishing village, and lies some significant distance north of Boston. It is home to the Miskatonic University, an institution known for its quality of education in the sciences of both the world and mind. Arkham is historical in that it is host to dark legends, rumors and dreadful wive's tales that have lurked about its wooded hills and rock-laden, driftwood shores for centuries. Bizarre happenings in the sea, disappearances, plagues, a furtively operated sanitarium and a number of resident cults are among this plethora of grim stories.
It would seem, however, that this morbid air that hangs over the town of Arkham is to be requited; an ancient horror, something beyond the comprehension of mere mortals and dwelling within a loathful otherworldly realm, has chosen Arkham as its bastion by which to awaken, and enslave the world of man. Once again, as happened so many decades ago, the tides of the ocean have begun to swell and recede and strange happenings are abound. An impenetrable fog broods in the hills, slowly seeping forward, and inmates of the Arkham Asylum howl madly at the waning moon.
The signs are there, patterns hinting at an imminent evil churning in the ether. For those few in Arkham who question the freakish occurrences, those who are possessed of a curiousity, courage or dark fascination to peer into the eyes impending doom - they shall face the Old One rising.
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The tentative goal of the characters, or investigators as they may be referred to, will be to work together to discover the nature of the bizarre things happening in Arkham, unveil their source, battle the forces of evil and ultimately attempt to stop the coming of the Great Old One. However, each character may have their own ambitions or personal goals that could further or hinder this task. Any number of things from a sudden banishment of monsters to a character death could mean Arkham is closer to either being saved, or consumed.
