Cha'alt 1870's - Tegel Manor Session Zero Report Part I

So tonight I got out the twins & began to go back over Cha'alt. I've owned Venger Satanis's Cha'alt now for a few months as a physical book & its been one of the best OSR gonzo Science Fantasy books on today's market. The PC's have over the last year made some really nasty enemies within the walls of the black pyramid. Those Lovecraftian  enemies are well aware of the PC's movements & the appearance of the dimensional traveling Tegel Manor.

So the powers of the black pyramid are sending some bounty hunters after the PC's. And they've got it coming! The Cha'alt/Godbound game is still on going but different aspects of the black pyramid have multiple incarnations across the planes. So deep in the Mexican desert of 1870 the black pyramid has been influencing the local cults & some of the wasteland horrors from Cha'alt have been taking locals. Various artifacts, treasures, etc have been turning up in small shops, marketplaces, & other places as the black influence of Cha'alt is making itself known in 1870's Mexico. This is attracting expeditions of the Prussians during the Franco Prussian war.  Otto Von Bismark wants to get his hands on some of the advanced weaponry & other weirdness that's been reported by his agents in Mexico at the time.



 This sort of other worldly attention  is gonna attract adventurers, planar travelers, & others seeking supernatural delights & temptations  of the world of Cha'alt. There's already Cha'alt agents within Tegel Manor after several other bounty hunters tried to murder the PC's. Some of those earlier bounty hunters still survive. Otto Von Bismark has slipped some of his Spezialprojekte agents into Tegel manor. His steam powered & clock work mecha has been seen in the areas where the planar boundaries of Cha'alt has been strengthening. Von Bismarck is absolutely ruthless in his ambition for colonization. He is also looking for an advantage over The United States its  Board of Magnates for the coming war in Europe. 

Von Bismarck's forces have managed to capture & brainwash several Cha'alt mutates to his force's side. How many is not known but there are rumors that these Cha'alt mutates weren't captured at all! There was some sort of technological  exchange between Cha'alt forces & the Germans. Von Bismark's occultists & scientists have in their possession a crystal skull from Eugène Boban. What are the German's intentions with this powerful mystical artifact? It is unknown at this time. 


Could the Crystal skull at the Musée du quai Branly, Paris be the twin to the one that the Germans have?! What amazing powers & abilities does it possess?! Is it the key to the Germans controlling Tegel Manor?! 

The Rumps of course are double dealing with anyone & everyone they can trying to undue the curse of the haunted manor. The family has powerful connections to the underworld  & the afterlife even as they along with Tegel manor  get sucked across the planes again!


So to run this I'm using a combination of the Victorious rpg by Mike Stewart & Castles & Crusades. Venger Satanis isn't too keen on the Seige Engine but that's not really my issue at this point. This is a combination of the Vengerverse & lots of OSR experimentation. Fortunately I've got my players behind this! Note that I run Cha'alt as a sort of Lovecraftian Rifts cum post apocalyptic cryto fantasy game of epic proportions. But then again I also run my Castles & Crusades games like Rifts as well with out regrets!