The Sassoon Files

“The desiccated body is covered in tattoos that at one time must have been impressive, but now look like a pack of deflated monkeys eating shriveled bananas. The eyes of the corpse have filled with muddled clouds, and the taunt tissue in the face has frozen into a permanent grimace.”

Intrigue and Horror in the Pearl of the Orient! The Sassoon Files is a set of scenarios and campaign resources for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition and GUMSHOE role-playing games (RPGs) set in historical 1920s Shanghai; an international city of intrigue, espionage, style and violence. This is the first of our “Asian Horror” series.

Reviews

Andrew Logan Mongomery

andrewloganmontgomery.blogspot.com

I say “fortunately” because The Sassoon Files is a gritty, evocative take on a setting we have seen before in Cthulhu gaming, but never in such detail or with such awareness. What is immediately clear here is that the writing team knows their subject matter intimately; in fact the project began as campaigns played by gamers living in the People’s Republic of China. This insider’s take on the setting is one of the book’s strongest features. Instead of overwhelming you with facts and figures, the writers have cherry picked the juiciest bits. They know what makes this a unique setting, and concentrate on bringing you those elements. The result is a campaign book that is primarily ethos, with just enough support to evoke that ethos at your gaming table. (full review link)

"Jester" David Gibson

5 Minute Workday

If you want to run a one-shot Cthulhu game in a setting as far away from Massachusetts as possible, this will be a good choice of product. Similarly, if you want to try out a game of Trail of Cthulhu to see how that system handles while also supporting a fledgling RPG publisher, this is also a good product. (full review link)

Paul StJohn Mackintosh

on RPG.net

In case you're worried that play-ability and fun get swamped by this weight of historical detail, don't be. The four scenarios are very well written, well geared to the Chinese context, and suitably nasty in parts. Much space is given to adapting period institutions, clubs and societies, and historical figures to roleplaying, and the use of Victor Sassoon himself, one of the richest and most influential leaders of inter-war Shanghai, as the linchpin for the campaign is a masterstroke. (full review link)

Stuart Watkinson

The Campaigner

Two more little aspects make this product stick out from the crowd; Lore Sheets and Campaign Drivers. The Lore Sheets are handouts that can be given to the players for background information and details on the setting. But they also come with mechanical advantages that can be used during play. A fun little addition. While the game revolves around Sassoon and his connection to the investigators, the campaign drivers give some alternative options in that respect. They give goals and a point of view from some of the other factions in the city. So, players may choose to be a part of the Communist movement, or perhaps a part of the underworld looking for a tighter hold on the streets. (full review link)

About the Sassoon Files

This campaign book is modular in design; each of the 4 scenarios included can stand on its own, but each scenario is connected by the thread of common location, time, characters, threats and themes. Play the scenarios contained in this book as you see fit, but they can stand together as the basis of an entire campaign set in the Shanghai of the 20’s.

Included in this book is a brief description of the publicly known history of Shanghai and some of the primary factions that competed for influence control: the Communists and Nationalists who played a game of deadly cat and mouse; the Jewish tycoon who provided succor to refugees; the Triad societies (and other gangsters) who competed to provide vice for the cities wealthy residents; the Japanese who were moving closer invasion.

And then there is the not-publicly known history… the untold Mythos story of forces from beyond our three mundane dimensions, and the local factions which conspire to exploit that which could not be fully comprehended.

The Sassoon Files uses elements of the GUMSHOE SRD, a product of Pelgrane Press, developed, written, and edited by Robin D. Laws with additional material by Kenneth Hite, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. GUMSHOE is a trademark of Pelgrane Press.

Call of Cthulhu is the Registered Trademark of Chaosium Inc., and is used with their permission. Certain names, descriptions, and depictions that will be contained in this supplement will be derived from works copyrighted by and include trademarks owned by Chaosium Inc., and may not be used or reused without permission. www.chaosium.com.

Sun Yat-sen passed in March of 1925. China’s merchant-class fled the death of another dynasty for an uncertain future. America’s thrill-seekers fled Prohibition for better times. Shanghai offered an illusory refuge and the promise of big business. The Huang Pu River was dredged to accommodate steam powered luxury liners and military vessels, alike. The ports of Shanghai were arteries clogged with commerce. Transport ships carried raw materials and opium into the city, and finished goods and wealth out of the city.

At Shanghai’s Great World Amusement Park, across from the horse tracks, prostitutes sought out high-rollers, and politicians made deals with gangsters. One-armed bandits cranked and whirled, occasionally vomiting just enough coin to keep players hooked. Ghosts, Spiders and Phantoms lined up outside the casino in a makeshift parking lot.

This is Shanghai; Victor Sassoon’s Shanghai. Victor Sassoon, a preeminent bon vivant, has found himself trading correspondence with Doctor Henry Armitage. They share a common goal and common modus operandi. Victor fights to keep his empire safe, but he also fights for a Shanghai free from Mythos influence. Victor has gathered around him professors, detectives, debunkers, muscles, guns, criminals and other problem solvers to mount a defense against a rising tide. Victor is your hook.

Scenarios

Strange Gates, Hidden Demons

Shanghai, December 1925. An unwitting Jesuit priest has used an ancient Daoist text to open and call forth an alien spirit from the Polaris solar system. The authorities are covering up the carnage as a particularly virulent Cholera outbreak. Victor Sassoon gathers together his trusted troubleshooters and sets them down a path that leads them to the site of a Mythos ritual, an open gate and an alien intelligence. How will the investigators face this Mythos threat? Can they send the demon back to depths of space from whence it came, and can they close the doors before something else crawls through?

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

June 12th, 1928, General Sun Dianying pillages the tomb of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Months later, Sassoon calls upon his intrepid investigators to look into the theft of a relic once belonging to the Empress Dowager. The trail will lead them to a Shanghai triad being operated by someone claiming to be the deceased Empress Dowager Cixi. Is it a hoax or was Cixi resurrected? If it really is Cixi, who brought her back?

There is this One Girl

Shanghai, Spring of 1929. It seems that someone is cheating at the casino and the dog tracks. Victor Sassoon asks the investigators to uncover the mechanics of the assumed scam. It soon becomes apparent that a Shanghai triad is benefiting from the gift of foresight. The trail leads investigators from a very depressed triad boss to the Clan of the Pestilent Matriarch. What will the investigators do when they meet the triad boss? What will the investigators do when they are confronted by the Pestilent Matriarch?

Curse of the Peacock's Eye

Shanghai, Summer of 1929. Investigators are on the trail of Lao Che, a Mythos mastermind. The trail is fresh…too fresh. In search of the Peacock’s Eye and the Lost City of Golden Sands, the investigators discover a field of black lotus in the mountains of Sichuan. The trap is set. Will the investigators chase Lao Che back in time? Will they find themselves caught in the curse of the Peacock’s Eye?