Cthulhoid Choices: The Rats in the Walls

H.P. Lovecraft’s 1923 short story, ‘The Rats in the Walls’, tells of an American, Delapore, the last descendant of the De la Poer family, inherits the family estate of Exham Priory in England following the Great War and much to the dismay of local residents, decides to restore the estate. Once they have moved in, both Delapore and his cat are plagued by the sounds of the eponymous ‘rats in the walls’. Together with several friends, including the comrade of his son who died in the war, Delapore investigates the source of the sounds and following a series of dreams discovers the terrible history of his family. That they were cannibals, feeding on a herd of ‘human cattle’ raised and maintained in an underground below the house for centuries. Enraged by the loss of his son and maddened by the revelations about his family, Delapore snaps and gives into his filial urges, attacking and feeding upon his companions, before being captured and condemned to an insane asylum.

This story has now been adapted to Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Published by Dungeon Matters , the ‘R’lyeh Rising Adventure Series’ adapts classic cosmic horror and pulp fiction into adventures for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition. Of course, links between cosmic horror and the Cthulhu Mythos and Dungeons & Dragons are not new. They go all the way back to the original version of the Deities & Demigods, the pantheon guide for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, First Edition. The connection would come to the fore at the end of the millennium with Death in Freeport from Green Ronin Publishing. It moved back and forth with Realms of Crawling Chaos for Labyrinth Lord and other retroclones and with adventures like Carrion Hill for Pathfinder, before coming up to date with a supplement and set of campaigns for Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition with Ghoul Island Act 1: Voyage to Farzeen and its sequels, written and published by Sandy Petersen, the designer of Call of Cthulhu no less!

The ‘R’lyeh Rising Adventure Series’ does not consist of classic fantasy adventures, but instead of Lovecraftian investigative horror set in the early twentieth century. The series does provide a guide to ‘Running Lovecraftian Horror in 5e’ which gives an overview of the line and the setting—primarily Arkham and Innsmouth; the themes and elements including the Great Old Ones and Elder Gods, mad cultists and forbidden knowledge, insanity and madness, and so on; and of course, new rules. It suggests the Cleric, Fighter, Monk, and Warlock as possible Classes, and suggests Naval Veteran, Occult Investigator, Prohibition Agent, and Spiritualist as possible Backgrounds. There are rules too for firearms, vehicles and vehicle chases. The setting overview is broad, whilst the rules are serviceable, tending towards Pulp horror feel rather than a Purist tone.

Given that the line is an adaptation of Lovecraftian investigative horror, it should be no surprise that there are rules for madness and the effects of being exposed to the cosmic horror of the Mythos. Saving throws against Madness are a Wisdom check and the type of Madness can either be short-term, suffered after a minor shock, long-term, gained after accumulated horror exposure, or indefinite, due to reading forbidden tomes or seeing cosmic entities, or suffering long-term madness three or more times. The actual effects for each type are determined randomly. It is possible to cure madness through the Lesser Restoration, Remove Curse, Dispel Evil, and Greater Restoration spells. Overall, there is a brusqueness to both overview of the setting and the rules, but they are workable.

R’lyeh Rising #1: The Rats in the Walls is the first in the series. It is designed for four First Level Player Characters who are engaged to investigate the activities of Lord Arthur de la Poer at Exham Priory. This might be because a friend or colleague is concerned about him, because a local mother is worried about the disappearance of her son, or simply because the Player Characters met the mad Lord Arthur de la Poer in the street. The Player Characters can conduct some investigation and ask a few questions in and around the village of Anchester, near Exham Priory. They will definitely be able to confirm that something odd is going on at the house and may be able to discern some hints as to what it is. Then they can make their way to Exham Priory, perhaps with an ally or not, discovering further signs of Lord Arthur de la Poer’s madness, before descending into the caves below the house. This is linear in nature rather than the expansive city which the original story suggested, but along the way, the Player Characters can find the means that will help them defeat the evil thing below the priory and so end the curse that has beset the de la Poer family.

One nice touch is that the thing, the ‘Feaster’, “A hulking mass of mouths and flesh, embodying hunger and madness itself.” will offer the Player Characters a bargain. It is a very nasty bargain, but its bonuses are decent if a player decides that his character will give in! Instead of magical items, there are ‘Special Items’, including a helpful tome bound in human flesh and the vile, Ceremonial Knife of the Feast. Whether through combat or dismissal, the Player Characters should be able to defeat the ‘Feaster’. This will gain them a new Level.

The scenario includes advice on adjusting to lower or higher player counts, a suggested timeline, and the NPC and monster stats. There are no pre-generated Player Characters, which would have been useful given the change in genre.

Physically, R’lyeh Rising #1: The Rats in the Walls is a plain affair. It is lightly illustrated and some of the illustrations are good. The cartography is decent, if a little dark.

R’lyeh Rising #1: The Rats in the Walls is not a sophisticated affair. There is some scope for roleplaying early on, but once the Player Characters enter Exham Priory, the scenario is more dungeon-like, and the scenario is very much going to end in a fight. Veteran players of roleplaying games of Lovecraftian investigative horror will not find much here to engage them and will very likely have read the story that it is based on anyway. For players of Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition who want to try some Lovecraftian investigative horror, R’lyeh Rising #1: The Rats in the Walls offers a straightforward opportunity with a short taster than can be played in a single session.