The Animals of Nyarlathotep

Introduction

Ok, what follows is something that is just strange. I came up with this as a plot for my regular group, and it turned into one of the most remembered long range plot point I’ve done. Originally this started out as a joke, when one of the regular players told us, at one time she was a crazed collector of Beanie Babies when she was younger. I think she said she had about 100+ of them, and as a kid went crazy with the collecting.

So one day, out of the blue, I sprung this plot device. My players loved the idea, and loved it even more so, when one of the characters became hooked on getting all the Fluffy Babies. This led to many enjoyable roleplaying vignettes with the player’s character trying to track them down. I think what made it even better was that the character was a barbarian hailing from the far north.

Anyway, here is the small write up I did for the group.

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Background

In an attempt to subvert the minds and the wills of young and old alike, a small Nyarlathotep cult in Fox Point has moved into the toy business. What the cult leaders decided was to create something so addictive, that once a person got a taste of it, they would want another. This desire would become so consuming, that the victim would do anything to get it. Drugs were ruled out, because they would draw too much attention. What the cult needed was something so innocent in appearance that no one would suspect it.

What they created was a little stuffed animal!

The cult created small little plush animals that are very cute and soft to hold. These toys are called Fluffy Babies, and are a cursed creation of magic. Upon touching one, a victim is filled with the desire to possess another one, and the cult decided to create thirty-six Fluffy Babies, with the thirty-sixth being the most rare of all. This Baby would drive the collector to go to any means to obtain it. The desire for this toy would eventually lead the collector to a toy store found in Gravina. This store welcomes the collector with open arms into the cult of Nyarlathotep.

Rules

Fluffy Babies are cute little plush toys that resemble normal animals. Each toy has a name, a date of birth, and is very soft to hold. Upon touching the toy the victim must make a Will test, and if failed they have to buy it and become cursed with the desire to collect other Fluffy Babies. Whenever the victim sees a new Fluffy Babies the victim need to make another Will test but with a penalty equal to the number of Fluffy Babies owned, up to a maximum of -6.

In addition to acquiring the Fluffy Baby, the character loose 1 Sanity for each Fluffy Baby they own.

The victim notices subtle changes as they acquire more of the Fluffy Babies. They start to memorize all of their toy’s names, hold birthday parties for them, and become very possessive of them. They also start to crave more of these toys. Every day the victim searches for any new Babies. These toys are always available in Nyarlathotep run toy stores, and the shop only has 1d12/3 in stock. There is a 50% chance (roll a d12, if the result is even then success) that the store has ones that the victim already owns with no new styles available. This cycle continues either until the victim passes a Will test or they buy the thirty-fifth one.

Once all thirty-five Babies are bought the victim needs to make another Willpower test with a -6 penalty, and if failed the victim has to find the thirty-sixth baby. The need to get this baby is so great they do anything to get it. No act is too depraving, and they do not let anyone stand in their way. Their desire for the thirty-sixth Baby leads the victim to Gravina. There the victim is welcomed into the Fluffy Babies club, and into the cult of Nyarlathotep.