There are two modes of Call of Cthulhu: Classic and Pulp. In Classic, you play everyday people, called Investigators, who get swept up in mysteries that involve the plotting of vile creatures beyond time and space. The best you can hope for is to not go mad. You are not expected to make a stand against such overwhelming odds. You don’t stand a chance once the tentacles start flying.
Then there’s Pulp Cthulhu, where you aren’t an Investigator. You’re a Hero. You have way more hit points and special abilities that are out of Weird Science magazine. You’re several steps beyond the abilities of Investigators. You can stand up to many more of the monsters of the Cthulhu Mythos. You can even go toe to toe with some of the aspects of the gods.
What I’m giving you guys today is a sampling of Pulp Cthulhu. It’s an adventure called The Magnificent Box. Set in central Indiana in the 1930s, it tells the story of a magical box gifted to humans by Nyarlathotep. What’s actually inside the box is left to the imagination, however when someone looks inside it, they become inspired. They are able to be the best in their vocation and produce beyond anyone’s imagination.
However, Nyarlathotep is a fickle god. When someone becomes too reliant on the power of the magnificent box, he magically whisks it away and gifts it to someone else.
In this story, the previous owners of the box, the farmers of the Indiana Agricultural Association, track it down to the new owner, Gavin Penfield, a slaughterhouse magnate. Penfield is carjacked and kidnapped. The box is seized. Penfield’s daughter sets the Heroes on a quest to find her father.
The previous owners, award-winning farmers, have the magnate bound in their barn. Meanwhile, they try to gain the benefits of the box once again. However, things aren’t so simple. A group of Azathoth-worshipping Native Americans know about the box’s power and where it is. They make a move to steal the box away, making them all-powerful. Nyarlathotep is far from pleased by the fight over the box and attacks everyone, taking the form of a fifty-foot rat.
Ideal for four to six players, The Magnificent Box is a wonderful introduction to the weird science/mutant abilities of Pulp Cthulhu. Download it here.
