Random Events – England

The main campaign should be a sandbox for your Investigators to explore, choosing what leads to pursue, cultists to investigate, and NPCs to interview. The England chapter provides a wide variety of locations with plenty of colorful encounters to spice up their pursuit of the London Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh and interrupt their investigation of the cultists’ global plot. Random events can promote improvisation on all sides of the table while dramatically disrupting or redirecting the investigative trail. You may choose to roll or select an event from the table before the session and then challenge yourself to find a suitable moment to incorporate it. We will start with events for the central location in England, “The City” – London.

 

1. 1. Cultist Ambush or Fog Spawn – The foggy streets of London present many opportunities for attacks and harrowing encounters. 
   2. Thick Fog – Multi-function weather events may be used to delay or slow transit between locations, potentially during chases. Can serve as fortuitous cover during a break-in or obscure enemies lurking in the shadows. 
   3. Poisoned Drink/Food – If London marks the second chapter of the main campaign, you can begin to ramp up your players’ paranoia, by introducing danger at every turn. The Brotherhood hides in plain sight, and they may slip something harmful, intoxicating, or hallucinogenic into an Investigator’s drink at any location, especially the Blue Pyramid Club or their hotel restaurant.
   4. Police/Customs Encounter – Any number of activities could draw the attention of the authorities. An eye-witness may have spotted them at the site of a crime (burglary, assault, theft), or a customs may be performing a routine check after suspicious events while debarking their cruise liner. Alternatively, one of Barrington’s lads may have useful information or a new lead to share. 
   5. Hotel Break-In – After events in previous chapters, players may select a luxury establishment to maximize security; however, the pervasive nature of the Brotherhood should undermine these efforts, which might include demands to place their most treasured tomes and artifacts in the hotel vault. The manager with the key could be a cultist. 
   6. Package from Other Location – This could be an item recovered by a collaborator, such as an artifact taken from the remains of the Ju-Ju house by Polle, or a disturbing package from an escaped enemy, like M’Dari, or communication and clues from an ally like Carlton Ramsey, Jack Brady or Erica Carlyle. 
   7. Lascars – If the Limehouse Warehouse hasn’t already been discovered, Gavigan may have recruited Chaudhary’s toughs to handle the increasingly meddling Investigators. This could potentially lead to a clue leading back to the warehouse. If they have discovered the warehouse, the Lascars may be trying to recover items or settle a score. 
   8.  Shafik Cultists – You can use this encounter to continue to play up the London Brotherhood’s internecine conflict with offers of aid, clues leading to Misr house, or another violent threat. A defecting or collaborating cultist could be Shafik in disguise. 

1. 1. Shipping Truck –  Spotted heading toward or away from Henson Manufacturing. Can be followed, hijacked, or used as cover to sneak onto the site depending on the stage of Investigation and the group’s criminal inclinations.  
   2. Gavigan Spotting – Even if they don’t intend to follow Gavigan, they may have luckily boarded the same train as him en route to Derby while investigating the Scoop story. Or it may simply permit an opportunity to try and eliminate an enemy.
   3. Friendly Locals – May provide useful information and clues regarding Henson Manufacturing or the goings-on in Lesser Edale. Could provide warnings or specious recommendations. 
   4. Suspicious Tail – May find themselves followed by someone (or something), which could be cultists, or depending on their legal and prior encounters, police, customs, or Chaudhary’s men. 
   5. Henson Worker(s) – Can encounter Henson employees (p. 267) on their way home from work or down at the pub. A successful Listen may reveal some useful information.
   6. Henson Cultist – One or more of the six cultists working as guards and night watchmen may be found on the streets of Derby. They may be retrieving supplies or communications from the London Brotherhood or searching for the Investigators if they have been incautious. 
   7. Henson Job Posting –  An ad for a menial or temporary position may be spotted in the local paper (Derbyshire Advertiser or Derby Daily Telegraph) or posted in a public location, which could provide an excuse to enter the compound or interact with head cultist Frank Marshall. 
   8. Haunting or Ghoul Rumor – If not staying at the Old Bell Hotel, Mabel (p.264 – About Derby) or one of her ilk may have wandered from the home at night seeking new haunts. Alternatively, Investigators may come across news articles or rumors enticing them to Lesser Edale.

1. 1. Gavigan – Could be a near-miss encounter in one of the halls or stairways. May overhear Gavigan dressing down a member of Zahra’s faction, or track him to his secret lair. Bold Investigators could seize this opportunity for attack. 
   2. Zahra Shafik – May encounter Shafik in disguise attempting to disrupt Investigator plans or report them into her own. Alternatively, they may spot or hear her before the Rites. 
   3. Cultist (1d4) – Should prompt creative efforts to hide, but could also result in a violent encounter. If lucky, the Investigators may learn of a secret passage or witness preparations at the ritual site. 
   4. Secret Passage – May fortuitously stumble upon one of Misr House’s secret passages. Consider including additional secret tunnels through and around the house, including an escape route from Gavigan’s bedroom or a hidden chamber beneath the ritual site. 
   5. Shadowy Creature – These may be used to foreshadow the appearance of the herald or it might simply be a vulture or large dog deployed to ratchet up the tension. 
   6. Human Remains – Can be used to provide evidence to police. May find the remains in the boggy marshland or near the ritual site when exploring the grounds.
   7. Lost in the Naze/House – Investigators may get turned around in the thick fog, dense trees, and featureless sodden ground, or disoriented in the dimly lit, sinister Misr House. 
   8. Thick Fog – May result in the above effect (#7) or provide cover and bonus die for Stealth rolls. 

1. 1. Train or Car Trouble – A delay can result in layover en route to Lesser Edale. May need to seek the assistance of a mechanic leading to a chance encounter with a Henson worker or a Brotherhood cultist
   2. Interesting News Item – Stumble across an interesting clue or further enticement to revisit a location. Possibilities include another Soho Egyptian murder, an article about Miles Shipley or a missing Chelsea woman, or a recent violent attack in Lesser Edale. 
   3. Suspicious Tail – A cultist, London police, or one of Mahoney’s reporters looking for some action. Alternatively, it can be an innocent traveler drawing the attention of paranoid Investigators. 
   4. Fortuitous Speed – Unexpected rapid travel allowing the Investigators to arrive early. May allow them to escape pursuit or easily set up surveillance.
   5. Cargo from Australia – Chance to spot a truck from the Penhew Foundation (potentially recognizing a Foundation employee or truck that transported crates to Limehouse Warehouse), which continues a new shipment of parts. May follow to Henson or attempt to intercept. Alternatively, the cargo may be additional parts leaving Henson for Shanghai.
   6. Chance Gavigan Spotting – May see Gavigan on the train or riding in his car en route to Henson Manufacturing for his regular inspection or Misr House for a rite or meeting. Can make for fun hide-and-seek on a train.