The Heretics

Details

The Mysteries of Mesoamerica Front Cover

Pages: 48

Author(s): John H. Crowe, III

Artist(s): Blair Reynolds

Setting: 1920s

Appears in: The Mysteries of Mesoamerica.

Campaign:

Summary

Investigators from the Miskatonic University Archaeology Department obtain permission from the government of Mexico to explore, survey, and excavate the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Mayapán.

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

In Mayapán, the group is caught in the middle of a battle for the control of the city by two cults with different interpretations of the god Kukulcán. The group controlling the city is devoted to Ithaqua, while the other group, devoted to Yig, wants to take the control of the city. Investigators' contact in Mexico, Dr. Carlos Calderón, is secretly a priest of the cult of Yig, and he plans on using investigators for the cult's own purposes.

References

Player Handouts:

• Passage from Ramirez's Journal.

Locations: Mérida, Mayapán, and the lost city of Xiuhepetl, all in Mexico.

Creatures: Minion of Ithaqua.

Tomes and Artifacts:

• The Crystal Skull of Mayapán;
• The Mayapán Codex;
• Mask of Kukulcán;
• The Great Tonalamatl;

Campaigns / Scenarios: The archaeologist and cultist of Yig Dr. Carlos Calderón, also appears in Menhirs in the Grotto, another scenario from The Mysteries of Mesoamerica. This link can be used to build a mini-campaign.

Comments / Trivia

The following data is included for use in this scenario but may also be useful somewhere else:

• Statistics for ten Mayan laborers;
• Statistics for ten Mayan cult warriors;
• Complete description for The Great Tonalamatl, the most important codex for the Mayan Cult of Ithaqua and a great source of arcane lore;
• Complete description of the Mayan Cults of Kukulcán in its two different interpretations of the deity, Ithaqua and Yig;
• Comments on four Mayan and Aztec deities related to the scenario and their connections and relations with the Mythos;
• Description of the rituals of human sacrifice performed by Mayans and other peoples of Mesoamerica.

The scenario contains a new Call of Cthulhu creature, Minion of Ithaqua.

There are three new spells:

• Contact Minion of Ithaqua, used to summon one or more Minions of Ithaqua;
• Chill of the Wendigo, which causes hypothermia to the victim (also appears in Walker in the Wastes);
• Worms, which grows roundworms in the victim's digestive system (also appears in The Condemned).

Also, the scenario contains a few new skills: Botany and Zoology, Cartography, Forensics, Land Navigation and Air/Sea Navigation.