Worst Poetry In Great Britain/Drives
From Game Logs
Addiction Something about exploration and danger satisfies a deeply felt physical need. You become restless without the prickling of goosebumps and a pumping heart. Especially appropriate for: Hobo. Military, Pilot, Private Investigator.
Aesthete You maintain an interest in the decadent works of the new generation. You revel in poetry that plumbs the depths of the human soul, paintings depicting the weird as well as the beautiful. One day you will show the world your own verse, and crack open your own doors of perception. But first you must write some verse, yes? And to do that, you must look into shadowed corners, where others dare not glimpse. Especially appropriate for: Alienist, Artist, Author, Dilettante.
Ambition Dyer better kick himself for having tried to stop my westward trip. First the world’s greatest mountains, and then this. If this last isn’t the high spot of the expedition, I don’t know what is. We’re made scientifically. - At the Mountains of Madness Your job is a low rung on the ladder of success, and you’re ready to start climbing. You strive not out of a sense of Duty, for a Mentor, or in contrast to a Rival, but for more personal reasons. A comfortable salary, a better social circle, public recognition: any of these rewards could be worth outlasting the drudgery of your current position. Or you may want to prove your worth — many would be happy just to be employed, but you know you could do more with more. Especially appropriate for: Doctor, Journalist, Nurse, Scientist. Examples: Percy Lake in At the Mountains of Madness, Herbert West, Sir Arthur Jermyn.
Challenge Don’t dare try really tall peaks in present weather, but shall later. Frightful work climbing, and hard going at this altitude, but worth it. - At the Mountains of Madness Why are there soaring mountains, trackless deserts, and sweltering jungles? For intrepid men to best them! Every year, the world gets smaller, and there are fewer expeditions to carve up what’s left. This is more than the lure of Adventure; a chance to prove your worth, and be remembered on a map or with others who dared great things. Especially appropriate for: Archaeologist, Dilettante, Military, Pilot.
Champion of Order History comprises an eternal struggle between chaos and order. As anarchy embroils Europe, you remain vigilant to its symptoms here, in the United States. The blood you and others shed in the Great War must not have been shed in vain. Wherever disorder looms, you will be there to tamp it down. Especially appropriate for: Clergy, Military, Police Detective.
Destiny Was, indeed, Fate preserving my reason only to draw me irresistibly to an end more horrible and unthinkable than any man has dreamed of? - The Temple You have been put on this earth for a definite reason. What little you do know may have been uttered by a fortune-teller or revealed at a relative’s deathbed. Though the details are sketchy, there are momentous times ahead during which you will play a decisive role. Everything you endure turns up unavoidable clues that the conclusion may be just around the corner. Especially appropriate for: any occupation. Examples: The narrator of The Fungi from Yuggoth; in Lovecraft’s horror, fate is more often grimly ironic, like the dead scientists in At the Mountains of Madness, or George Birch in In the Vault.
Fellowship As you learned while fighting in the Great War, there is no greater virtue than comradeship. If your friends are in danger, you must follow them, boldly and heartily. Especially appropriate for: Doctor, Hobo, Military, Pilot.
Fraternity Man is born to serve his fellow man, an effort best carried out through collective action. This service sometimes draws one into danger, which is the price one pays for the advancement of universal freedom. This truth remains constant no matter whether the threat comes from the thuggish forces of fascism or capitalism, or malign entities beyond the standard dialectic. For what are such entities as Cthulhu or Yog-Sothoth, if not antihuman forces determined to keep our minds ignorant and shackled? They will remain eternally in power, unless comrades from around the world join together in global solidarity to put them down. Starting with you. Especially appropriate for: Clergy, Hobo, Journalist, Nurse.
Friendship When, on a memorable joint furlough, the learned young Creole had taken the wistful Boston dreamer to Bayonne, in the south of France, and had shewn him certain terrible secrets in the nighted and immemorial crypts that burrow beneath that brooding, aeon-weighted city, the friendship was forever sealed. - Through the Gates of the Silver Key You were blessed with someone whom you hold as dear as family, and if he thinks a job is worth doing, you will help. This person may be a member of your organisation, but loyalty and shared sacrifice make you more than a mere Follower: he has your back as well. If he is not present, perhaps you’ve promised to fulfill his dying wish, or taken up his mantle after his disappearance. It is certainly appropriate for two members of a group to share this drive; if something happens to one of them, however, his fate should weigh heavily on the survivor. Especially appropriate for: any occupation. Examples: Daniel Upton and Edward Pickman Derby in The Thing on the Doorstep, the narrator and St. John in The Hound.
Greed But business is business, and to a robber whose soul is in his profession, there is a lure and a challenge about a very old and very feeble man who has no account at the bank, and who pays for his few necessities at the village store with spanish gold and silver minted two centuries ago. – The Terrible Old Man You know what’s wrong with poverty? Everything. You will do anything to stay out of the gutter, especially including shoving someone else into it. It’s hard times, my friend, and they’re only getting harder for the soft. If you can see a chance at the ready, you’d best grab it before some other gutter rat snatches it away and leaves you on the pavement. Especially appropriate for: Antiquarian, Archaeologist, Criminal, Dilettante, Hobo. Examples: Ricci, Czanek, and Silva in The Terrible Old Man, and Obed Marsh in The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Guilt In writing of these things in his diary, Blake expresses a curious kind of remorse, and talks of the duty of burying the Shining Trapezohedron and of banishing what he had evoked by letting daylight into the hideous jutting spire. - The Haunter of the Dark Because of you, mistakes were made, and people suffered. Is it common knowledge? Then your enemies, or the public at large, may mock you openly, and even some comrades still worry that history will repeat itself. Or perhaps your failure is a secret buried deep in your memory, waiting for the right place to recur — or be exposed. Either way, you have to master your incompetence, or seek the opportunity to right the wrong you caused. Especially appropriate for: Doctor, Journalist, Military, Nurse, Police Detective. Examples: Randolph Carter in his eponymous statement, George Birch in In the Vault. The narrators of The Lurking Fear and At the Mountains of Madness both exhibit signs of survivor’s guilt — which is likely a common malady among investigators.
Haunted The ghost of Nezahualpilli told me that on the sacred mountain. - The Electric Executioner Though it’s your first time in these ruins, you swear you’ve seen them before. And a minute later, you awoke with their clammy aura still lingering in your mind. Or maybe a phantasm has beckoned you here in a fevered dream. How else can you explain why you know so much about this place? Especially appropriate for: Alienist, Antiquarian, Archaeologist, Parapsychologist. Examples: The citizens of Binger, Oklahoma in The Mound, Walter Gilman in The Dreams in the Witch-House.
Impeccable Breeding You are not one to seek out danger. However, as an able-bodied fellow of unimpeachable family connections, you understand that it is your duty to protect society, including your social inferiors, when it is threatened. To shirk this would cast a shadow on the family name. There is no worse failure than that. Especially appropriate for: Antiquarian, Archaeologist, Clergy, Dilettante, Professor.
Leveraged He began to mingle in the more ‘advanced’ college set despite his middle age, and was present at some extremely wild doings — on one occasion paying heavy blackmail (which he borrowed of me) to keep his presence at a certain affair from his father’s notice. - The Thing on the Doorstep Even something as mundane as the past can haunt a man. An unscrupulous witness saw you commit a crime, or discovered you in a compromising situation. And the price for silence may not be cheap or even payable in money at all. This is Guilt taken to one logical conclusion, and — depending on your temperament and the particulars — just as dangerous to the extorter as it is to the extorted. Especially appropriate for: any occupation.
Mentor So as I drove the crowd away I told him he must come home with me and be my teacher and leader in unfathomed mysteries, and he assented without speaking a word. - Hypnos You are the protégé of someone higher up in your organisation, and if he requires aid, you’re one of the first to volunteer. Unlike the Follower drive, such an arrangement tends to benefit both persons — the mentor imparts wisdom or furthers his legacy while you fill out your resumé or climb the agency ranks. Some mentors find you through family or social ties, while others act out of altruism or the desire to groom a successor. The mentor should be a prominently recurring NPC, but need not be the leader of every expedition (unless the Keeper thinks his death might be a significant campaign event). Of course, if his motivations are ever revealed to be at cross purposes to the group, you will have an interesting decision to make. Especially appropriate for: Artist, Criminal, Journalist, Military, Nurse, Scientist. Examples: Rice and Morgan in The Dunwich Horror, the associate students in At the Mountains of Madness.
Power The Mythos is the greatest source of power you know. Surely these rituals, these monsters, can be harnessed for your own ends? Where others have failed, you will succeed, and use this immense power to attain unimaginable authority. Especially appropriate for: Criminal, Military, Professor, Scientist.
Protection Your only interest in danger, of the occult or any other variety, is in keeping one or more loved ones out of it. A sensible person wouldn’t be drawn to trouble, but, sadly, you are driven by another overriding reason to keep a less-than-sensible person out of harm’s way. This person is either another player’s character, or an NPC you have to keep rescuing. Specify that reason, which might be as simple and pure as love, or as ambiguous as the avaricious desire to keep your meal ticket safe, sound, and productive. Note it in parentheses on your character sheet, after listing Protection as your drive. For example: Protection (Love) or Protection (Avarice). Especially appropriate for: any occupation.
Remorse You made a terrible mistake once — perhaps more than once — foolishly toying with forces too immense to comprehend. Only when it was too late did you realise the extent of the darkness you called into the world. As the one responsible for it, you must now fight that darkness, hoping against hope than you may one day reverse it. And to do that, you must understand it, and to understand it, you must continue to traffick in the nightmare world… Though aware of the paradox, you can only pray that what you do to earn your redemption does not instead destroy all hope of it. Especially appropriate for: Clergy, Parapsychologist, Professor, Scientist.
Rivalry West, young despite his marvellous scientific acquirements, had scant patience with good Dr. Halsey and his erudite colleagues; and nursed an increasing resentment, coupled with a desire to prove his theories to these obtuse worthies in some striking and dramatic fashion. - Herbert West — Reanimator You tend to define success in comparison with someone in a position similar to your own. This may be the result of common circumstances and shared experiences, a long history stretching back to the old neighbourhood, or a recent reward that could have been yours. Rivalry differs from Revenge in that your competitor hasn’t harmed you directly, unless you count receiving accolades for things you do regularly with humble stoicism. In fact, the other may be a trusted companion (though a poor Source of Stability) and frequent NPC. You keep an eye open for chances to shine when he can’t — and if he dies trying to keep up, you can always switch to Guilt. Especially appropriate for: Artist, Author, Journalist, Professor, Scientist. Examples: Herbert West in Herbert West — Reanimator.
Vow Ten minutes later our stunned group took an oath of secrecy which only such guarded documents as this manuscript will ever modify. - Out of the Aeons You have made a promise which you will do anything in your power to fulfill. A vow is more general than Revenge or other drives where the deed itself is important. This is about keeping one’s word — a question of honour more than Duty. It doesn’t matter whether you whispered it to a dying comrade or proclaimed it to the leaders of your community. Especially appropriate for: any occupation. Examples: The museum staff in Out of the Aeons, the raiders in The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
