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Welcome to Trail of Cthulhu: Bad Blood

09:47, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Trail of Cthulhu: Bad Blood

An adventure using the Trail of Cthulhu system set in London, 1930.

This introduction is written from the perspective of Jonathan Cavendish, the principal character.

Your father, Joseph Deville, was a scion of one of the oldest aristocratic lines in England. Your mother, Mary Deville, was the youngest daughter of George Cavendish, the richest landowner in Boston. They met in London and married a few months later, spending their time between their Mayfair residence and Blenheim Place, the estate of Joseph's father Lord Deville.

For most of your life you believed that you father died when you were a few months old, and that your mother came back to Boston to raise you as part of the Cavendish family. However, on your 18th birthday your mother summoned you to her room. She had recently suffered a stroke and was still very weak. In a voice thick with emotion she called you to her side.

"I may not have much time left now Jonathan, and I want you to know the truth from my own lips", she began, and went on to tell you the real reasons behind your return to America. Shortly after your birth, your grandfather, Lord William Deville, passed away. As the sole heir, your father Joseph inherited the title and the estate. Although your grandfather died peacefully in a Surrey nursing home, his death seemed to cause your father no little disquiet. A few days after the funeral Joseph went missing, leaving no word with your mother as to his whereabouts. He was found two days later in London, covered in earth, sleeping rough outside the house in Mayfair. He seemed unable to speak, and showed no recognition of his friends and family - or his wife. Your father was diagnosed as catatonic, and confined to an asylum in Kent. "He has been there ever since, with no change in his condition" your mother finished, with tears in her eyes. "I hope you can forgive me for keeping this secret for so long".

A few months after her confession, your mother suffered another stroke, lapsed into a coma and died. Although you forgave her for her actions, you sensed that she could never really forgive herself for abandoning your father.

Your life carried on much as before. You began training in law, as George Cavendish was grooming you for an important position in his extensive business empire. However a few months after your 21st birthday you received a brief communication from the London law firm Everett, Everett and Hobbes informing you of your father's death. After talking the matter over with your grandfather, you decided to travel to England to attend the reading of your father's will. Julius Everett, the senior partner, kindly offered to postpone the reading until you arrival.