conversations.from: system
conversations.value: The early years of the 20th century were a time of great change as the science of humanity finally began to peirce the veil that had kept so much from us for so long. The third Antarctic Expedition returned from the ancient cities of the Elder Things with proof of the ancient race that once dwelt there; and with grave warnings of their Shoggoth servants who still roamed the ancient streets. Archaeologists discovered ancient cities of prehistory, the lost civilizations of mankind that forged vast empires millennia before Greek civilization even existed. They also discovered their downfall, in blood and war and dark sorcery. Ghouls living beneath our cities were captured and studied, to the anger of their families below. Innsmouth was raided, the Order of Dagon largely destroyed, and war was made against their ancient cities beneath the waves.
  
  The marvels of one age, so shocking at the time, become the facts of a second age, accepted as simply the order of things. Today in elementary school children memorize the names of the first team to make contact with the Mi-go and begin open trading with them for the rare minerals they require. Specialized universities teach Sorcery, a combination of math, occult knowledge, and mind bending physics. Book reports are done on Obed Marsh, and ghouls and Deep One hybrids today have their full rights as citizens. 
  
  But where there are people there is crime. In New York CIty crimes of an occult nature are handled by the Department of Occult Control (DOC). you are one of these detectives, assigned to a precinct in Brooklyn. A member of a small team that handles crimes committed through sorcerous means, reports of unnatural phenomenon and beasts, and the activities of cults and worshippers of forbidden gods. 
  
  Notes to players!
  
  -This is a modern day setting in H.P Lovecraft’s Cthulhu universe. The events of Lovecraft’s stories are considered to be canon and largely known by the public, though not everything is. As such basic familiarity with the works of Lovecraft is required. You don’t have to have read everything he’s written, but you should know a Mi-go from a Deep One. Familiary with Lovecraftian inspired roleplaying such as Call of Cthulhu rpg and Trail of Cthulhu rpg are a plus.
  -I’m looking for four players, my apologies in advance if I get more applicants than that and don’t pick you.
  -Character portraits are required.
  -A note on magic and sanity. Magic is dangerous and time consuming. Rituals take time and require bizarre and esoteric components, casting a spell will be a challenge in and of itself. For sanity, if your character witnesses mindrending things or casts certain spells you might have to pick up some madness cards to reflect the trauma to your mind.
  -Characters are police officers and as such everyone has some combat training.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Antiquarian: You’re an expert on antiquities and artifacts, known world-wide for your skills.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Appraisal
  
  Suggested Weakness: Delicate
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Archaeology Professor: You teach archaeology at a prestigious New England college and are widely published.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Lore
  
  Suggested Weakness: Slow
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Physics Professor: You stand at the forefront of “alternative physics”—where science meets mysticism.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Sciences
  
  Suggested Weakness: Limited
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Medical Doctor: Your knowledge of the human body and its care is much celebrated.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Medicine
  
  Suggested Weakness: Oath
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Psychologist: The human mind is your purview—you understand how it works and when it doesn’t.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: The Mind
  
  Suggested Weakness: Judgmental
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Field Archaeologist: You blend archaeological knowledge with wilderness survival and digging techniques.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Survival
  
  Suggested Weakness: Reckless
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Dilettante: You ache to make a mark on the world, to amount to something special.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Resources
  
  Suggested Weakness: Naive
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Graduate Student: You’re at the beginning of an exciting career... you hope.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Vital Youth
  
  Suggested Weakness: Impatient
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Soldier of Fortune: Your military training makes you valuable the world over. It’s a dangerous place, this planet.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Hardy
  
  Suggested Weakness: Heartless
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Occult Author: You’ve studied and written widely on matters of mysticism and folklore. Your fans are many.
  
  ...
  
  Suggested Strength: Mysticism
  
  Suggested Weakness: Bookish
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Appraisal: You’re sharp, perceptive, and quick—capable of appraising situations as well as objects.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Lore: Your intellect is formidable and your knowledge spans many cultures and histories.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Sciences: You have a calculating mind that prizes reason and calm precision above all.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Medicine: You’re adept at medicine, from saving lives to identifying the telling marks of death.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Mind: The human mind is a remarkable device and you understand how it works.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Survival: You’ve survived the wilderness, bandits, and wolves in your search for ancient treasures.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Resources: You’re well equipped with quality tools, society contacts, and funds.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Vital Youth: You’re energetic, athletic, and hale—ready for adventure!
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Hardy: You’re a rugged, leathery sort. You’re hard to kill and ready to work through pain.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Mysticism: You know the ways of folklore and magic, some of it so much hogwash... some of it not.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Delicate: You’re delicate of touch, of demeanor, and of constitution.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Slow: Your mind may be sharp but your body is slow to keep up.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Limited: Outside your areas of expertise, you’re easily lost.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Oath: You’ve sworn an oath to save lives, avoid violence, and heal the sick.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Judgmental: Your judgmental attitude causes you troubles. If only others would try harder to measure up.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Reckless: You sometimes take chances that put you or others at risk.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Naive: A bit gullible and trusting of the wrong sorts, perhaps, but you mean well.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Impatient: You don’t wait around well. You want to act first and think about it later maybe.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Heartless: The years have left you wary and callous, unwilling to risk your heart again.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Bookish: You’re no athlete. Maybe you’re doughy or awkward or frail but you’re sure no athlete.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Learn an Eldritch Secret: Learning is power, whether you share it or not.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Hunt Something New: You’ve stalked or been stalked by the most dangerous game. Time for a new challenge.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Find Worthy Material for a Dissertation: Stop waffling and wondering and find out what you believe to be true about the world.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Show Your Father You’re Worthy: It’s not about inheritance, it’s about respect.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Push A Mind Beyond Its Limits: Push someone—perhaps yourself!—beyond the limits of reason and then study what happens.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Show Them Your Work is Sound: It’s not enough anymore to believe you’re right. Show them you’re right.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Bring Back A Groundbreaking Artifact: If you can retrieve a never-before-seen treasure, your career will be revitalized.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Get Home Alive: Maybe this work isn’t worth your life? Just get home alive.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Nothing Is Forbidden: Human morals are a human construction. Knowledge of the infinite is more valuable.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Matters of Love: Love may be an earthly concern, but it’s real and it matters.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Deciphering: Read words that have gone unread for generations.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Survive the Wild: Endure and survive the threats of the wild.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Protect Someone: Prevent harm from coming to a colleague you admire or cherish.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Save A Life in Danger: Rescue someone in peril, perhaps bringing them back from the brink of death.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Be The First: Set foot in a new or ancient place before someone else can despoil it.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Protect the Dig Site: Protect the dig site from harm.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Warn the World: Get word out about what’s happening at the dig site.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Make A Friend: The best protections against the harsh realities of the world are friendship and allies.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Photographic Evidence: Get a photo that no one would believe if it weren’t true.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Right Might: Show someone that you’re not to be trifled with.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A Matchbook From The Blue Star: A simple matchbook adorned with a blue star and no words.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Jameson’s Portfolio on the Peru Dig: A collection of newspaper clippings, sketches, and geographical survey maps.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: A Stack of Cold, Hard Cash: At least $1,000 dollars American in bright green bills.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Heavens Below: by Brother Francisco Castillo. Contains occult secrets about pre-Columbian South America.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Revolver: A six-shot snub-nosed pistol.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Shotgun: A long, double-barreled shotgun with a wood stock.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Ammunition: Ammo for a gun.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Dynamite: One stick of dynamite with a long fuse.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Digging Equipment: Shovels, brushes, and picks suitable for quick or fine-detail work.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A Fine Camera: A high-quality camera with tripod.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Dr. Jameson’s Office: All dark hardwoods and plush chairs with a penthouse view.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Aveline Estate: The sort of place with marble pillars and a hedge maze.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Aboard Butcher’s Plane: The plane rattles and dips in tough turbulence. It’s more for cargo than passengers.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Blue Star Nightclub: The city’s best-hidden jazz secret is this hole-in-the-wall club, open just twice a week.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Suburban Dining Room: The table is buried under layers of maps and sketches and newspaper clippings.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: A Remote Peruvian Village: A quaint, humid little village on the road leading to the dig site.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Swaying Rope Bridge: No way a truck could make it across that. Only foot traffic could cross this rickety thing.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Abandoned Dig Site: The dig site resembles, at first, just an assortment of low, stone walls and carved pits.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Deep Jungle: This sort of jungle can swallow up a traveler with ease and never release its secrets.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Far Beneath the Dig: A circle of sunlight through the well shaft above reveals a vast, finely carved chamber...
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Turbulence: Avoid embarrassing yourself in flight.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: First Impressions: Make a first impression on the locals that won’t get you in trouble later.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Cross the Rope Bridge: Get across the rope bridge with all your equipment intact.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Rains From A Clear Night Sky: The dig site fills with water and mud. Protect the artifacts!
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Find Your Way: The track through the jungle is perilous and difficult to follow. Don’t lose your way.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Lost Beneath: These strange passages beneath the earth make little sense. Will you ever see the sky again?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Ancient Writings: Who can decipher these ancient markings?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Gunfire!: Someone from afar is taking shots at you!
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: The Impossible Creature: It is both there and not there, part tentacle and part grasping mouth. Understand it? Or flee?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Vision: Are you dreaming or is this real?
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Dr. Jeremiah Jameson: Dr. Jameson isn’t brave enough to lead expeditions so he funds others’ trips into the unknown.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Diane Aveline: The widow of Michael Aveline, who was killed on an expedition of Jameson’s. She wants revenge.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Caroline Butcher: One of the world’s great pilots and photographers.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Walter Corrigan: A soldier of fortune hired to protect Dr. Jameson’s investments.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Leonard Crenshaw: A locally renowned jazz musician and expert on folklore of the Americas.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Jorge Quispe: A young driver, fixer, and guide in Peru. He’s been to the dig site Jameson’s curious about.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Mysterious Interloper: Tall and shadowy in a fedora and trench coat. Who is this gravel-voiced stranger?
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Mad Cultist: This drug-addled cultist is ready to give his life—or yours—to please his monstrous god.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Tentacular Beast: Tentacles and feathery antennae probe out from a shadowy mass at the heart of this beast!
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Hellish Flying Monstrosity: Wider-winged than a condor, with a bone-chilling cry and gleaming teeth.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Investigate the Scene: There is some broken glass on the floor, and a safe in the back that has been cracked. It looks like the work of professionals. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Your Badge: Your badge, showing that you are a member of the DOC. It should get any law abiding citizens to assist you, that is, if you can find any law abiding citizens around here. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Service Pistol: Your service pistol, the only gun you are allowed to own and shoot. Well made, accurate, and with stopping power. Each bullet fired from it has a unique mark from the gun. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Detective Greenwood: Det. Greenwood has been around and seen almost everything. She doesn't like having to help rookies out, but she will. Sometimes.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Review the Tapes: There are hours and hours of tapes here, you'll need snacks, coffee, and lots of patience.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Examine the Circle: Inside the shop, drawn on the floor in chalk is a magic circle. It either was part of the security system, or part of the break in. Either way it should tell you something.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Sorcery: You can calculate the position of the moon and stars and know what effect it will have on a binding circle. You've studied the advanced math and secret history and know your way around rituals.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Forensic Investigation: You’re adept at forensic investigation, you can dust for prints, identify a cause of death, and perform basic first aid.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Show Them You’re Worthy: Someone doesn't think you belong here, prove them wrong. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Old Hand: You've been on the force for decades now, working your way up from a beat cop to serving as a detective in the DOC. You've seen things that could drive a normal man insane and know things your aren't strictly supposed to based on your clearance.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Straight from the academy : You're a wunderkid. You just graduated from the police academy with top marks and due to your high level of potential have been sent to the DOC right away, a prestigious posting for a rookie.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Veteran : After you finished school you went into the army, did a tour in the old bases in Germany, fought in the Third Deep One Uprising, and saw the world. You've seen the world and you've come back to NYC to serve in the DOC.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Sorcerers Academy Grad: You've graduated with a PhD in Sorcery from one of the various programs in the country. A combination of mathematics, anthropology, history, philosophy, and very peculiar physics you've joined the DOC to serve as an expert in rituals, translocations, and esoterica.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Crime Scene Investigator : You've gone to to the police academy and then additional training in CSI techniques, both mundande and magical. You can recognize blunt force trauma, strangulation, curses, and poisoning and tell a deep one mauling from a dog attack.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Criminal Profiler: You've studied psychology, especially the abnormal kind. Exposure to the Mythos tends to cause paranoia, narcissism, and depression so you also serve as team therapist.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Good Old Boy (or girl): It's not that you're not smart, you just never really applied yourself. Why would you need to though, when your uncle is a deputy commissioner and your mother is a city councilwoman. You have the connections and the money, and even if you haven't earned your way onto the DOC you will prove your worth. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Right a Wrong: Sometime in the past you were hurt, or maybe a friend or family member was. You are going to put it right though.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Protect the Innocent: Big Damn Hero. That is what you are going to be. Serving in the DOC is your way of giving back to your community, of protecting the world.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Precinct House: Where your desk, lockers, humorous comics attached to the office refrigerator, and office refrigerator are. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Can't Talk!: The security guard has been struck mute and refuses to write or sign. The doctors at the hospital will be able to cure him sooner or later, but finding out what he knows now would be better.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Stepping Stone: This position here, while prestigious, is only temporary. You are on your way to bigger and better things. Your sights are on a higher office, either on the force or in political office you need to make big arrests and get your name out there. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Catherine: The bookstore manager. She closed shop the night before the robbery. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Security Guard: The Security Guard from across the bank across the street. He might have seen something last night.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Zed's Tomes: A local book store licensed to sell occult tomes and other registered items. Also the location of a recent break in that you have been called to investigate.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Investigate the Scene: There is some broken glass on the floor, and a safe in the back that has been cracked. It looks like the work of professionals.    
  
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Cindy's Apartment: The registered address of Cindy. Also one giant mess.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Cindy's Apartment Building: The building that Cindy, your possible sorceress, lives in. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Cindy's Landlady: Mrs. Sabrowski is Cindy's's landlady. She lived directly beneath him and seems a bit of a snoop. With a little coaxing she'll look at your pictures. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Cindy's Notebook: A notebook, presumably Cindy's, written in a cipher of some sort.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Pile of Reciepts: A pile of recipes, from various places around town. It looks like she rarely went to the same place once but maybe you can find a connection.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Chase: Whoever he is he is making a run for it now.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: The Street Outside: The Brooklyn streets, where you live and patrol. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Jim the Ghoul: The ghoul who ran away from you. His wallet has his ID identifying him as Jim.
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Observant: Not a whole lot passes by your trained eye without you noticing.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Charm: You can turn on the charm when the need arises. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Diligent: Even when the Eldritch is involved, police work involves a lot of paperwork and drudgery. 
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Overanalytical: Prone to overthinking a problem, you often miss the more obvious solution. 
conversations.from: gpt
conversations.value: Impatient: You find that you don't have a tolerance for slow and steady work.
conversations.from: human
conversations.value: Anthropocentrism: Jim does not think much of anyone or anything not human. 