Some of you may know I’m a big fan of Dread, and last year I wrote a scenario inspired by my all-time favorite 90’s horror anthology children show: Are You Afraid of the Dark? It was a learning experience, and after a year of actively writing creatively, I had envisioned new ideas and more mechanics to incorporate into one my favorite horror tabletop roleplaying games. If you wish to read about my “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” scenario from last year, you can click the link here.

If you would like to learn more about Dread, it was featured on a two-part episode on Wil Wheaton’s Tabletop episode of Dread (part 1 & part 2).

A Night in the Museum meets Eldritch Horror 

So part of the inspiration for this year’s Dread scenario is primarily inspired by the Cthulhu mythos by H.P. Lovecraft. I have been infused with a lot of Cthulhu and Lovecraftian horror reading and gaming for nearly half of the year, so of course, it would spread into my work. I love the element of mystery element, and trying to incorporate a mystery element into Dread proved to a unique challenge. Also, I thought back to my various tabletop games such as Elder Sign, Eldritch Horror, and Arkham Horror that are based within the Cthulhu mythos setting, after some thoughts I decided to set the scenario in the town of Arkham within a museum. Strange things are happening there, and recently a guard was found dead on the grounds. There might be some influence from the Night at the Museum movie franchise, but only in context with no Robin Williams portrayals of Teddy Roosevelt.

As always, thanks to Epidah and Ian Fraizer for being my initial inspirations for writing and creating under this fantastic system.

The sailors of Arkham use to tell tales of mermaids and sirens, as time went on, those songs faded into legend and myth. While no one living fears the stories, they endured across the passage of time. Now, something stirs the seas near the township once again, and it all started when an odd obelisk arrived at the Arkham Museum.

You can download a copy of this scenario here.

Includes:

  • A Madness mechanic
  • Character questionnaires
  • Tips & Suggestions

I hope you enjoy bringing terror and madness to your next gameplay.

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