Convicts & Cthulhu: Ticket of Leave #14 Un-Statted

"A Whaleship from Kingsport finds Peril in the Antipodes"

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Whaling and sealing were both important industries in the Convicts & Cthulhu era; industries which took brave and doughty men out to the remotest stretches of lonely waters, far from home. Nowhere was this more true than in Australia where abundant waters attracted whaling crews from around the world. But, there are also unknown dangers lurking in those same waters .... as the crew of the Kingsport-based vessel Industry are about to find out.

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Ticket of Leave #14 is a fully-fledged scenario for Convicts & Cthulhu. It looks at the early Australian maritime industries of sealing and whaling, and weaves them into a detailed and thrilling scenario of perilous exploration. Set in the waters south of the Australian continent in 1812, the adventure calls upon a rag-tag assortment of convicts and military men for an important mission. A heavily-armed ship has been spotted floating adrift in Bass's Straits, apparently derelict. It flies an American flag -- somewhat conspicuous now that Britain and the United States are at war, half a world away.

What terrible fate befell the American crew of the Industry as it hunted for whales in the Pacific? Is the presence of the armed vessel in Australian waters part of some secretive plot? Or are the souls of Captain Marsh and his crew actually the victims of something more terrifying ... something that might threaten the safety of everyone in the colonial settlements at Van Diemen's Land?

A version of this scenario is the official Convicts & Cthulhu game at GenCon 2019.

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Tickets-of-Leave are self-contained additions to the Convicts & Cthulhu setting for Lovecraftian roleplaying in the early penal colonies of Australia. Each includes a selection of game elements which can either be used collectively as a thumbnail sketch of a scenario, or can be used in isolation to provide pieces that enhance a scenario of your own invention.

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This is not a standalone product, but relies upon the Convicts & Cthulhu setting also published by Cthulhu Reborn. The Convicts & Cthulhu core book is a lavishly illustrated 96-page sourcebook available in both PDF and print as a "Pay-What-You-Want" title.

Convicts & Cthulhu is designed to allow Call of Cthulhu Keepers and players to run scenarios and campaigns set in the penal colonies of early Australia. It particularly targets the historical period from 1795 to 1810.