Eldritch Horror One-Shot

[Nagog]

Hello everybody!

I'm planning a one-shot to run pretty soon over the length of one month of 4 sessions, and the group I'm running it with has agreed on a Victorian Era campaign with a focus on Role-Play and Intrigue over Combat (though there will be plenty of both). I've decided I want to put a bit of Eldritch Horror twist on it, and possibly some sort of Cult. I'm thinking the Eldritch Horror themselves to be something akin to (or just using) Hastur, to set it up as more of information gathering and infiltration style thing than a Cthulu cult would be. However, being a rather layabout fan of Eldritch Horror, what could be some good elements to include in such an adventure?

[FoxWolFrostFire]

TENTACLES! SO MANY TENTACLES! ALSO EYE BALLS! GOOGLY EYE BALLS!

But in all honesty. Red herrings. Really set it up that ANY one can be a bad guy. But also set it up so that any one CAN be the bad guy. I did this with my death cult for my party. I had this guy. A bad leg, Limps, and is unreasonably rich for a guy who was a orphan and a sweet red head girl who helps take care of the orphans. TL:DR I made the guy REALLY likely to be the bad guy, but also gave some very VERY minor hints that the girl could be the bad guy, and when it came time for the relieve I did the one the party didn't think was the bad guy.

[Particle_Man]

I think Slaadi are pretty good for this. Either the cultists are “pregnant” with Slaadpoles or they are going to transform into minions of chaos, losing all trace of their humanity behind. Fun times if the cultists do this voluntarily. More fun if they trick others into doing it.

[opaopajr]

Night Gaunts. Absolute Victorian nightmare fuel. :smallcool: Faceless demon-gargoyle (often dreamland) things that capture you, fly high up, then tickle you with their prehensile barbed tail in your no-no areas. :smallamused: No, I am not joking... much. :smallbiggrin:

They are otherwise harmless, as long as you don't get away from their ticklish grip while aloft. :smalltongue:

That said, it does not begin and end with Lovecraftian Mythos. Read some Sheridan Le Fanu, M. R. James, Oliver Onions, Arthur Machen for some atmospheric yet non-combat ideas! :smallsmile: And then there is the grandaddy of Hastur tales, Robert W. Chambers' "The King in Yellow" -- filled with different vignettes of the weird and outré. :smallcool:

That would help you brainstorm ideas on how to emphasize the Explore and Social pillars instead of Combat! Encourage splitting up with more clues and secrets as rewards. The smaller groups aid in atmosphere and really take combat away as a default option.