THE
CITY THAT
DREAMS BELOW
Los Angeles, 1926.
A city of sunshine, secrets, and something older
moving beneath the streets.
LOS ANGELES
AWAITS
Another City.
THE GAME
INVESTIGATION. HORROR. A CITY THAT LIES.
A mystery-first Call of Cthulhu campaign in 1926 Los Angeles. Uncover crimes, follow crooked money, and decide how far you are willing to go when the impossible starts leaving evidence.
LEARN MORE →YOUR INVESTIGATOR
ORDINARY PEOPLE. EXTRAORDINARY TRUTHS.
Build someone rooted in Los Angeles, with useful talents, complicated loyalties, and a reason to keep looking when sensible people would walk away.
CREATE YOUR INVESTIGATOR →THE WORLD
REAL PLACES. STRANGE CONNECTIONS.
Explore a Los Angeles of streetcars, studio lots, speakeasies, new subdivisions, harbor warehouses, civic ambition, and neighborhoods where the city sometimes remembers a different version of itself.
DISCOVER LOS ANGELES →TONE & THEMES
NOIR ON THE SURFACE. COSMIC BELOW.
Murder and corruption. Memory and identity. Beauty, loss, loyalty, and the danger of a better world. Horror lives beside humor, friendship, courage, and the stubborn choice to care.
WHAT TO EXPECT →“LOS ANGELES IS NOT A PLACE. IT IS A CORRESPONDENCE.”
— attribution unknown
THE GAME
A DETECTIVE STORY WITH A CRACK IN REALITY
This campaign uses Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. Most investigations begin with something painfully human: a murder, disappearance, blackmail scheme, smuggling job, labor dispute, corrupt deal, or frightened person asking for help.
The first answers will usually make sense. Greed. Revenge. Fear. Money. Power. Then one fact refuses to fit.
You are not expected to be occult experts or action heroes. The game rewards asking good questions, following evidence, making allies, taking risks, and deciding what your investigator is willing to sacrifice for the truth.
YOUR ROLE
YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO KEEPS LOOKING
Investigators can come from almost anywhere in Los Angeles life: private detectives, reporters, photographers, attorneys, physicians, police officers, federal agents, studio employees, performers, academics, mechanics, chauffeurs, rail workers, socialites, clergy, criminals, or nightclub staff.
Your occupation matters, but your connections matter just as much. Before play, each investigator will establish another investigator they already know, one useful Los Angeles contact, something that anchors them to ordinary life, and a debt, secret, or failure that can complicate matters.
Most importantly, your character needs a reason to continue after the first undeniable encounter with something impossible.
LOS ANGELES
THE CITY IS INVENTING ITSELF
It is 1926. Los Angeles is exploding outward. Orchards become subdivisions. New roads and rails decide which neighborhoods thrive. Hollywood manufactures dreams. Prohibition makes criminals rich. Politicians, developers, police, unions, bootleggers, newspapers, and old money all compete to decide what the city will become.
The campaign may take you through Downtown offices and hotels, Westlake streets, Hollywood studios, Central Avenue clubs, San Pedro warehouses, Venice piers, the Los Angeles River, and the open edges of the San Fernando Valley.
And sometimes the city will disagree with itself. A building may have always had another floor. A photograph may contain someone who was never there. A stranger may remember you fondly from years before you arrived.
CREATE AN INVESTIGATOR
BUILD A PERSON, NOT A HERO
Your investigator does not need to be extraordinary. A reporter who asks one question too many, a doctor who cannot forget a patient, a detective with the wrong friends, or a streetcar employee who knows the city better than anyone can be far more valuable than a professional monster hunter.
Start with a character concept, then choose an occupation and skills that make sense for that person. The group will be stronger if investigators come from different professions, social circles, and parts of the city. Spot Hidden, Library Use, and interpersonal skills are useful, but there is no single “correct” build.
THE CHARACTER CREATION COMPANION
Keep this case file beside your character sheet.
Open the creator in a new tab, then place the two windows side by side. Follow the eight steps below while entering your investigator. On a phone, switch between tabs as you go.
CASE FILE / 01
Concept & campaign fit
Write one sentence: “I am a profession in a corner of Los Angeles, and I cannot walk away because someone or something matters to me.” Add a name, age, birthplace, present home, and a reason to join the others. Confirm the concept and creation method with your Keeper (the game moderator).
This is standard Call of Cthulhu 7e in 1926, not Pulp Cthulhu. The procedure below uses ordinary dice generation; use a different method only if your Keeper selects it. You need a character sheet or the creator, six-sided dice, percentile dice, and a ten-sided die.
| Work & setting | A useful connection | A reason to investigate |
|---|---|---|
| Reporter or photographer · Downtown | A records clerk or night editor | A source has stopped answering. |
| Mechanic or streetcar worker · city routes | A dispatcher or fellow worker | A colleague needs someone to believe them. |
| Performer or studio employee · Hollywood | A costumer, musician, or stagehand | A friend’s livelihood depends on finding the truth. |
| Doctor or attorney · neighborhood practice | A patient’s family or courthouse contact | Someone without influence needs an advocate. |
| Driver or warehouse worker · San Pedro | A dockworker or garage owner | An ordinary job has left an unanswered question. |
These are optional hooks to develop with the Keeper, not clues to the campaign. Choose a daily route, somewhere you eat, and a person who notices when you fail to come home. No knowledge of the Mythos is needed.
CASE FILE / 02
Roll the eight characteristics
| Score | What it describes | Roll |
|---|---|---|
| STR · Strength | Physical force | 3D6 × 5 |
| CON · Constitution | Health and endurance | 3D6 × 5 |
| SIZ · Size | Body mass and stature | (2D6 + 6) × 5 |
| DEX · Dexterity | Coordination and reflexes | 3D6 × 5 |
| APP · Appearance | Personal presence | 3D6 × 5 |
| INT · Intelligence | Reasoning and intuition | (2D6 + 6) × 5 |
| POW · Power | Will and mental resilience | 3D6 × 5 |
| EDU · Education | Accumulated learning | (2D6 + 6) × 5 |
3D6 means add three six-sided dice, then multiply the total by five. Roll each characteristic separately. Luck is a separate 3D6 × 5 roll; it is not based on POW. Apply age changes next, before calculating skills and derived values.
CASE FILE / 03
Apply age & calculate derived values
Apply only your age row. Physical deductions are a total to divide across the listed characteristics, not a deduction from each one. Resolve EDU checks in order: roll D100; if the result exceeds your current EDU, add 1D10 to EDU, up to 99.
| Age | Characteristic changes | EDU checks | MOV reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15–19 | −5 total across STR/SIZ; −5 EDU. Roll Luck twice; keep the higher. | 0 | 0 |
| 20–39 | None | 1 | 0 |
| 40–49 | −5 total across STR/CON/DEX; −5 APP | 2 | −1 |
| 50–59 | −10 total across STR/CON/DEX; −10 APP | 3 | −2 |
| 60–69 | −20 total across STR/CON/DEX; −15 APP | 4 | −3 |
| 70–79 | −40 total across STR/CON/DEX; −20 APP | 4 | −4 |
| 80–89 | −80 total across STR/CON/DEX; −25 APP | 4 | −5 |
For age 90 or beyond these rows, or a deduction that would make a characteristic unplayable, resolve the character with the Keeper.
| Sheet field | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Hit Points (HP) | (CON + SIZ) ÷ 10, rounded down |
| Starting Sanity (SAN) | POW; maximum Sanity is 99 − Cthulhu Mythos |
| Magic Points (MP) | POW ÷ 5, rounded down |
| Movement (MOV) | Both STR and DEX below SIZ: 7. Both above SIZ: 9. Otherwise: 8. Then subtract the age reduction. |
| Dodge base | DEX ÷ 2, rounded down; skill points can increase it |
| Own Language base | EDU |
| Total | Damage bonus | Build |
|---|---|---|
| 2–64 | −2 | −2 |
| 65–84 | −1 | −1 |
| 85–124 | 0 | 0 |
| 125–164 | +1D4 | 1 |
| 165–204 | +1D6 | 2 |
Damage bonus normally modifies melee damage, not firearm damage. Build is used for physical maneuvers. For a total beyond this table, use the extended rulebook table with your Keeper.
CASE FILE / 04
Choose an occupation & spend its points
Select the occupation entry that best fits your work. Copy its skill list, point formula, and Credit Rating range from the handbook or the creator. A campaign job title can be more specific than the rules entry: a studio mechanic is still someone with a trade.
Use the formula attached to that occupation. Some use EDU × 4; others combine EDU with another characteristic. Do not assume every job uses the same formula. Use your final, age-adjusted scores.
- Calculate the occupational point pool.
- Reserve enough points for Credit Rating to fall within the occupation’s range.
- Spend the rest on the occupation’s listed skills and any choices it allows.
- Add purchased points to the sheet’s base values. Record what you spent separately from the final scores.
Example: EDU 70 gives 280 points for an EDU × 4 occupation. If its Credit Rating range allows 30, spending 30 there leaves 250. Raising Library Use from its base 20 to 60 costs 40 points, leaving 210.
Choose specializations explicitly, such as Art/Craft (Photography), Science (Chemistry), or Fighting (Brawl). Confirm starting skill limits and custom occupations with the Keeper. Credit Rating measures financial and social standing; it is not a dollar balance.
CASE FILE / 05
Add personal interests & balance the group
Your personal-interest pool is INT × 2. Spend it on skills that reflect hobbies, earlier work, upbringing, or experience; you can also improve occupation skills. Add these points to the base and any occupational allocation. Do not buy Cthulhu Mythos during ordinary creation. Leave it at 0 unless the Keeper explicitly provides another starting arrangement.
For INT 65 you have 130 interest points. Spending 20 on a skill already at 60 makes it 80, subject to the Keeper’s starting limit. Recalculate half and fifth values after all allocation is complete.
Follow evidence
Library Use, Spot Hidden, Listen, Accounting, and Photography can open different routes into a case.
Reach people
Choose a social approach: Charm, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or Persuade. Psychology can help interpret behavior.
Keep people moving
First Aid, Medicine, Drive Auto, Mechanical Repair, and languages give the group practical options.
Survive trouble
Stealth, Dodge, and appropriate physical skills may matter as much as a weapon. Combat remains dangerous.
These are useful options, not a compulsory shopping list. Compare strengths with the other players; leave room for each investigator to contribute. Keep both point pools accounted for and spend their full totals within the allowed choices.
CASE FILE / 06
Write a backstory & mark a key connection
A few specific entries are enough to begin. Develop three to six of these categories; a sentence for each is plenty.
| Category | A starting detail |
|---|---|
| Personal Description | Ink-stained cuffs and a carefully repaired coat. |
| Ideology / Beliefs | “Everyone deserves someone willing to hear their story.” |
| Significant People | A sister who still saves a place at Sunday dinner. |
| Meaningful Locations | The garage where you learned your trade. |
| Treasured Possessions | A photograph with a handwritten promise on its back. |
| Traits | You remember favors and have trouble asking for help. |
Star one entry as your key connection: the person, place, belief, or possession that gives your life meaning. It can matter when recovering Sanity. The Keeper must give you an opportunity to try to protect it before taking it away; it is not invulnerable.
Give the Keeper a regret, debt, or unresolved obligation to work with. Leave discoveries about supernatural forces for play. Agree on boundaries before using family, trauma, or identity as sources of horror.
CASE FILE / 07
Set finances & choose period equipment
| CR | Cash | Total assets | Spending level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $0.50 | None | $0.50 |
| 1–9 | CR × $1 | CR × $10 | $2 |
| 10–49 | CR × $2 | CR × $50 | $10 |
| 50–89 | CR × $5 | CR × $500 | $50 |
| 90–98 | CR × $20 | CR × $2,000 | $250 |
| 99 | $50,000 | $5 million+ | $5,000 |
Cash is accessible money, not necessarily everything in your pockets. Assets are property or investments, not another purse of ready cash. The spending level abstracts occasional routine purchases; it is not income or an unlimited shopping allowance. Agree on larger purchases with the Keeper.
Example: CR 30 gives $60 cash, $1,500 in assets, and a $10 spending level. Decide what those assets are and where the cash is kept.
Start with plausible work tools, clothes, identification, a notebook, and personal necessities. A photographer might carry a camera and supplies; a mechanic might own tools; a physician might carry a medical bag. Establish whether expensive equipment or a vehicle is owned, borrowed, or available through work. Record weapons and their statistics only after agreeing on appropriate equipment with the Keeper.
Think in terms of streetcars, paper records, telephone calls, and face-to-face visits. Give yourself a way to travel and leave messages. A contact at a garage, newspaper, studio, or neighborhood business is often more useful than another gun.
CASE FILE / 08
Connect the group & review the sheet
Before the first case, name another investigator you know, explain what brought you together, and agree why you would answer their call. Add one useful local contact and one obligation. Connections should give other players something to act on without dictating their characters.
Try: “You helped when my employer blamed me for a missing delivery. I trust your judgment, and I still owe you.” Decide together what happened; the Keeper can fit it into the campaign.
Choose a person with a place in the city and a reason to cooperate. Historical prejudice appears only to the extent the group agrees; it is not a requirement for a character’s story.
- Concept, age, occupation, residence, and reason to investigate recorded.
- Age adjustments and EDU checks resolved before derived values and point pools.
- HP, SAN, MP, Luck, MOV, damage bonus, and Build checked.
- Occupation points and INT × 2 interest points accounted for; Credit Rating in range.
- Skill bases included once; specializations, starting limits, half and fifth values checked.
- Backstory, starred key connection, group tie, local contact, and obligation ready.
- Cash, assets, equipment, and table boundaries discussed with the Keeper.
- Save your investigator in the creator and keep a copy of the completed sheet for play.
An unofficial, original summary of the creation procedures in Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu Investigator Handbook (7th edition), adapted from the supplied investigator material. Use the handbook for full occupation entries, skill descriptions, and exceptions. Los Angeles prompts are campaign suggestions; the Keeper resolves house rules and creator differences.
TONE & SAFETY
HARD-BOILED, HUMAN, AND COSMIC
The campaign blends noir crime drama with gradual cosmic horror. Violence is dangerous. Institutions protect themselves. Information has a price. People may ask you to work with someone unpleasant because the alternative is worse.
But this is not a campaign of nonstop misery. Loyalty, humor, friendship, courage, tenderness, and sacrifice matter. They matter more because the city makes them expensive.
Major themes include memory, identity, reinvention, corruption, civic power, belonging, and the unsettling possibility that a “better” version of a person or a city may be waiting to replace the imperfect one.
We will establish boundaries together before play. Anyone can pause, redirect, rewind, or fade a scene that becomes uncomfortable. The goal is frightening fiction, not an unpleasant table.
GETTING STARTED
WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING
Bring
- A concept for an investigator you want to inhabit for a long campaign.
- Curiosity. Following strange details is the engine of play.
- A willingness to collaborate and share spotlight.
- A few personal anchors your investigator genuinely cares about.
You do not need
- Expert knowledge of 1920s Los Angeles.
- Knowledge of the Cthulhu Mythos.
- A combat-focused character.
- To “solve” every mystery before acting.
FAQ
BEFORE YOU BOARD THE CAR
Is this Pulp Cthulhu?
No. The default is standard Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition. You are capable people, but danger remains dangerous and combat is not the assumed answer.
Do I have to make a detective?
No. The group benefits from different professions, social circles, skills, and ways of getting information.
Should our investigators already know each other?
Some should. During character creation, we will establish connections between investigators so the group begins with reasons to trust, tolerate, owe, or at least answer the telephone for one another.
Will the campaign be very dark?
It will contain murder, organized crime, corruption, psychological distress, body horror, and threats to people investigators care about. We will set boundaries before play, and the campaign deliberately leaves room for humor, warmth, and victories worth celebrating.
Can my choices change the larger story?
Yes. Cases are connected, but the campaign is designed so successes, failures, alliances, and clever plans change what happens next.
What should I know about the mystery?
Almost nothing. The most useful starting assumption is simply this: Los Angeles is changing, and sometimes the evidence suggests it has changed before.