“Transferring in haste, I felt a curious breathlessness as the cars rumbled on through the early afternoon sunlight into territories I had always read of but had never before visited. I knew I was entering an altogether older-fashioned and more primitive New England than the mechanised, urbanised coastal and southern areas where all my life had been spent; an unspoiled, ancestral New England without the foreigners and factory-smoke, billboards and concrete roads, of the sections which modernity has touched. There would be odd survivals of that continuous native life whose deep roots make it the one authentic outgrowth of the landscape—-the continuous native life which keeps alive strange ancient memories, and fertilises the soil for shadowy, marvellous, and seldom-mentioned beliefs.”
A Time to Harvest is a Call of Cthulhu campaign set in 1930 and intended for a group of four to six students investigators who attend Miskatonic University in Arkham. What starts as a university field trip to Vermont leads the intrepid investigators into a dark web of terror and intrigue. Otherwordly plans have been set in motion, which if brought to fruition, spell doom for humanity.
Use the Quick Start rules Character Creation information, using as Occupation:
Student - Credit Rating, Library Use, Listen, 5 skills of player's choice for their areas of study.
And don't forget:
H. P. Lovecraft wrote:
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear.”
NPCs
Professor Roger Harrold, age 44, anthropologist
Information:
Harrold is a friendly man with wavy blond hair, bluish-green eyes, and a pale complexion. He is fond of brown suits, gold-rimmed glasses, and smoking cherry flavored tobacco in his ever-present pipe.
Anyone even remotely connected to Miskatonic University knows of Professor Harrold. He is an anthropologist of great renown, who has spoken at several major universities, but has always called Miskatonic home. He first gained international fame after writing a book entitled Ghosts Of The Ice (concerning an elusive Inuit tribe found in the most northern reaches of Canada).
If you rolled under 20
The one time the professor’s remarkable academic career has ever been sullied was when he allowed three students to go to Cobb’s Corners, Vermont, to follow up on some personal research. A student was later found dead and the other two, including his star student, Daphne Devine, were never found at all. The Professor has been unable to shake the subsequent sense of guilt for the tragedy.
Robert Blaine, age 24, expedition leader
Information:
Good-looking, with a lean, muscular physique. Wears understated clothes of brown and gray. Rarely
smiles, except to deliver sardonic comments. At times of stress he unconsciously grinds his teeth.
Blaine is intelligent, with a biting sense of humor and a strong sense of purpose In recent months he has become withdrawn and more acidic in his dealings with people He no longer represents the university debating team or wrestling team, and is rarely seen at any of his old haunts It is widely known around campus that Blaine once had a somewhat serious drinking problem He seems to have few friends now.
If you rolled under 20
Blaine has switched courses away from science to focus on anthropology, history, and folklore He has been driven into a black despair over the loss of his only love, Daphne Devine.
Other students.
Clarissa Thurber:
Information:
Secret love of Hank. Very attractive, with long, light brown hair and hazel eyes, with athletic physique. Has a very faint lisp that she works hard to conceal. She enjoys wearing pretty dresses of a conservative length. The only piece of jewelry she wears is a silver locket.
The most lovely chemistry student Thurber is not well known in other social circles because of her strict study habits. It is known Thurber is not currently seeing anybody. Has a locket that belonged to her mother.
Jason Trent:
Information:
A small and shy history major.
Roderick "Little Rod" Block:
Information:
Friend of Howard. He has dark, wispy hair and light brown eyes. A broad and pleasant-looking face, marred by a small “U” shaped scar on his chin (from a long-forgotten incident as a child). Proudly wears his football jersey and jacket.
Block is one of the best players on the varsity football team. Originally from Georgia, he speaks with a slight southern accent. In addition to his formidable size and athletic prowess, Block is quite bright and is getting high grades.
He has been a good friend to Howard, even with their physical and race differences.
Louis Gibbons:
Information:
Friends with Deanndra. Average height and build, with blue eyes and blond hair. Perfect teeth and dimples that most girls think are the cutest things. He dresses sharply (although a little threadbare). Speaks with a very broad Boston accent.
You have had a chance to know Gibbons. Hailing from a wealthy Boston family, his father has a lucrative medical practice, Gibbons began college enrolled in the premed courses, but after one year at Miskatonic’s St. Mary’s Teaching Hospital, he abruptly changed his major to botany. Louis is also known to play piano at the Regatta restaurant in Arkham from time to time.
He is good friends with Harold Higgins.
Harold Higgins:
Information:
Friends with Abigail. A thin, frail-looking young man, with reddish-brown hair and green eyes. Born with a large, (silver dollar-sized) birthmark on the right side of his face. Makes friends easily due to his wonderful sense of humor.
Everyone on campus knows Harold. He is the quintessential class clown. In any class he’s in, Higgins is well liked by all, including his professors. He does have a serious side, but usually only shows it when studying his chosen major, geology. In addition to his skill as a geologist and comedian, Higgins has a wonderful singing voice that is only strengthened by his broad Irish accent. Lewis Gibbons is a close friend, and the two often perform together (one singing and the other playing the piano) at campus gatherings.
You know he has a side of his extended family involved in criminal activities, but he makes his best to keep that a secret, coming from the law-abiding side of the family.
William Noakes:
Information:
Friend of Oliver. A big, strapping lad with curly auburn hair, blue eyes, and freckles. He dresses in inexpensive clothes and has a pleasant, unassuming manner. Carries an old pocket watch his father gave him right before he started college, which he checks at least a dozen times a day.
Noakes is outgoing and friendly, with a generous nature and a genuinely kind heart. These traits have made him very popular at the university, not to mention he’s an Arkhamite and knows all the fun places in town. Noakes is also a star on the university swim team.
Terrence Laslow:
Information:
A snobbish bore with double majors in history and psychology.
Cobb's Corner Locals
Joe Harlow:
Information:
Age 58. Your local guide/driver, , has very little hair left on his head and what he has is short, wispy, and as white as snow. Always dressed in a buttoned-up work shirt, faded bib overalls, and a ratty straw hat. It’s difficult to tell that Harlow’s eyes are blue because he’s constantly squinting.
Places
Cobb's Corner Map View of the town.
The town is blessed with a booming trade industry due to its location on the Deerfield River and the fecundity of its farms. Chartered in 1787 by a group of farmers out of New Hampshire, the town was named after Franklin Cobb; the leader of the settlers, and the surrounding land is often referred to as Cobb’s Corners as well. The farmland in the valley has garnered a growing reputation as the “Breadbasket of Vermont” due to the variety and abundant yield of its crops in a region usually known for its rocky, if not infertile, soil. A small tributary of the much larger Deerfield River bisects the valley.
Cobb’s Corners is a place of great scenic beauty, a Rockwell painting come to life. Small shops line the unpaved Main Street leading to the waterfront district consisting of a couple of warehouses and a few short piers. Spread out behind the stores are a collection of homes, a public library, the town hall, a local sheriff ’s office, the office of the Cobb’s Corners Gazette, a one room schoolhouse, and an assortment of other buildings. Access to the valley is by a two-lane road that meanders through the surrounding mountains.
Beyond the town proper lies the Gismend River Bridge (great for bass and trout fishing). Farming covers hundreds of acres of tilled soil bursting with a variety of crops, such as sweet corn. Any inch of land not used for farming boasts a cluster of trees, with thick forests of elms, oaks, and hickories in danger of taking over abandoned farms. Standing majestically in the background, the Green Mountains rear up like a bulwark against the rest of the country.
Maclearan Farmhouse Map
The Maclearan Farmhouse lies a short distance away from the town. The farmhouse is a two story unsightly eyesore surrounded by thigh-high grasses. Behind the farm, large Sugar Maples grow where once corn or wheat held sway. Within the house a few unbroken chairs sit facing one another before a brick fireplace in which cold black ashes lie. A large window looks out on what was a front yard.
Miskatonic University has been good enough to run a phone line to the house, but unfortunately, the dwelling has neither electricity nor gas. The layout consists of a front room, a large kitchen area, and what must have been a parlor downstairs, as well as two large bedrooms upstairs. The place is dusty and obviously could do with a clean. Oddly enough, the place doesn’t really feel abandoned, as if someone or some thing still visits here from time to time...waiting.
Hanging on the wall above the hand pump in the sink is a faded yellow and blue hand stitched plaque that reads “God bless our happy home.” Below the window looking out on the backyard stands a large insulated metal box into which ice can be poured and used to keep food cold. Through the rear window can be seen a decrepit outhouse that sits like an wooden island amongst a sea of grass—a collapsed barn, some fifty feet behind and surrounded by the Sugar Maple forest.
Handouts
Article about the dead students from the previous field trip: Page 1Page 2
