The Fire of St. Anthony

Alsace, 1515. You arrive at the Antonite monastery of Isenheim, where the sick are tended and a vast new altarpiece nears completion. The painter raves of angels, the wards are filled with the cries of the diseased, and the monks whisper of blasphemy. Soon, the work will be completed to bring salvation to the suffering.

Note: This scenario was previously run at Bircon 2025 using the Call of Cthulhu: Dark Ages rules. This new version has been adapted to the rules-light Cthulhu Dark system.

Characters will be created together at the table at the beginning of the session. You don't need to prepare a character sheet beforehand, but it would be great if you could come with a character concept in mind:

• Who are you?
• Why are you travelling to the monastery of Isenheim?
• What do you hope to find, achieve, or escape from there?

You could be a pilgrim, physician, scholar, soldier, merchant, monk/nun, or something entirely different. Cthulhu systems characters are not heroes, just ordinary people.

Since this is a cosmic-horror version of our world, please feel free to ignore historical restrictions concerning gender, ethnicity, social roles, or who could pursue a particular profession. Your character can come from wherever you like and be whoever you want them to be. Historical accuracy is not a requirement. If you have a cool character idea, go with it!