TEXT: 1
  Tickets-of-Leave are small 
  self-contai ned addi ti ons 
  to the Convicts & Cthulhu 
  setti ng for Lovecraftian 
  roleplaying in the early 
  penal colonies of Australia. 
  Each includes a selection 
  of game elements which 
  c a n  e i t h e r  b e  u s e d 
  collecti vely as a thumbnail 
  sketch of a mini-scenario, 
  or can be used in isolation 
  to p rov i de p i e c es t ha t 
  enhance a scenario of your 
  own invention.
  CREDITS
  Ticket-of-Leave #2 is written by 
  Geoff Gillan & Dean Engelhardt and 
  is copyright © 2016. It is published by 
  Cthulhu Reborn Publishing .
  (w w w. c t h u l h u r e b o r n. c o m)
  The Convicts & Cthulhu setting 
  is published by Cthulhu Reborn 
  Publishing and is available via 
  RPGNow and DrivethruRPG as a 
  “Pay-What-You-Want” title.
  Call of Cthulhu is a registered 
  trademark of Chaosium Inc., and is 
  used here with permission.
  ( w w w . c h a o s i u m . c o m )
  Tricolour Terror
  2
  Introduction
  As described in  Convicts & Cthulhu, the early days 
  of colonial Australia coincide with momentous 
  events occurring half a world away in Europe. 
  During these years, France’s population first 
  rises up to overthrow the monarchy in the French 
  Revolution and then just a few years later England 
  finds itself at war against the newly-formed French 
  Republic. It would be easy to think that these 
  events, taking place far away from the remoteness 
  of the new colonies in Australia would have had 
  little direct impact on the daily lives of people in 
  New South Wales. Such was not the case. 
  Even despite the lack of any rapid means of 
  communication (news of great events took many 
  months to arrive), the fledgling colonies were amply 
  aware of the hostilities between France and the 
  great British Empire. And to the colonials, France 
  was not just an abstract threat but – thanks to its 
  great seafaring voyages and active naval presence 
  in the region – also something of a direct potential 
  source of conflict. These worries, and the sometimes 
  irrational terrors they inspired, weighed heavily on 
  the minds of early settlers and government officials 
  alike. This dark and looming fear offers interesting 
  story potential for Call of Cthulhu scenarios set in 
  early Australia. Some of these influences have been 
  sketched out already in Convicts & Cthulhu but the 
  notes which follow provide Keepers with some 
  additional resources for injecting Gallic-inspired 
  elements into their tales of Antipodean terror.
  French and 
  English 
  Encounters
  The map nearby summarises 
  some of the locations where 
  French and English interests 
  in early Australian exploration 
  intersected, leading to some 
  interesting encounters. Keepers 
  are welcome to use these 
  historical 
  incidents 
  as 
  the 
  seed for a scenario event, or as 
  inspiration for other – historically 
  undocumented – encounters of 
  a similar nature.
  
  2
  Fear of French incursion in the Pacific actually pre-
  dated the French Revolution (and even the settling 
  of Australia itself). Indeed it was such concerns 
  that contributed significantly to the British decision 
  to found colonies in Australia, first in New South 
  Wales and later Van Diemen’s Land. 
  French visitors to the colony of NSW during times of 
  peace also provided some key historical resources 
  via their thoughtful and observant accounts. French 
  maps and illustrations from their explorers are not 
  well-known to English-speaking audiences but are 
  both beautiful and instructive. 
  The notes which follow offer a timeline of French 
  activity where it impacts on the colonies during 
  the Convicts & Cthulhu period of 1788—1809, a 
  new character template, and a short adventure 
  concerning French naturalists. 
  Timeline
  1778 Beginning of the Anglo-French war following France 
  signing a treaty with the United States. War is fought 
  in the Indian Ocean and the West Indies as well as 
  Europe. Much of the war in the Indian Ocean is seen 
  as fighting over South Asian territories.  
  1783 End of the Anglo-French War with peace treaties 
  between the combatants. 
  1787—1788: French Explorer Comte de Laperouse 
  embarks on a voyage of exploration to Australia. 
  He arrives in Botany Bay a week after the First 
  Fleet in 1788. He stays in Sydney for six weeks 
  where he gets on well with the English. He departs 
  on March 10 and is never heard from again. His 
  disappearance prompts the later exploration of 
  Joseph-Antoine Raymond Bruny d'Entrecasteaux 
  to find him (see below). 
  1788–1792: Governorship of Arthur Phillip.  
  1789 French Revolution.
  1792 Beginning of the French Revolutionary Wars. This 
  encompasses a vast range of battles against various 
  belligerents including Great Britain. 
  1791-1793: Bruny d'Entrecasteaux explores the Australian 
  coast searching for the Laperouse expedition in the 
  ships La Recherche and L’Esperance. He lands on 
  the far southern tip of the island of Van Diemen’s 
  Land and names the harbour Recherche Bay. He 
  continues to explore the Tasmanian coast until 1793. 
  1792—95: NSW administered by Grose and Paterson.
  1794 The Tricolour (the famous red, white and blue 
  standard) is first adopted as France’s national flag. 
  1795—1800: Governorship of John Hunter.
  1798 The French and British fight the Battle of the Nile. 
  1799 Napoleon installed as Consul of France. 
  1800—1806: Governorship of Philip Gidley King.
  1800 Baudin expedition surveys Australian coast with his 
  artists and mapmakers providing invaluable records 
  of the landscape and the Aboriginal society. His 
  expedition includes noted French naturalist and 
  historian Francois Peron. 
  1802  (March): Treaty of Amiens is signed signalling 
  peace between France and Britain’s conflict in the 
  French Revolutionary Wars. 
  1802 French explorer Nicolas Baudin surveys south-east 
  Tasmania making many valuable notes. In April, 
  Baudin meets British explorer Matthew Flinders – 
  the foremost surveyor of the Australian coastline – 
  and sails to Sydney arriving in June. Baudin is 
  entertained hospitably in Sydney but relations are 
  not always easy. He buys an additional ship in Sydney 
  and departs again in November. A day or so after he 
  leaves, Governor King receives word that the French 
  are considering settlement in Van Diemen’s land; he 
  sends a boat (and a strongly-worded) letter after 
  Baudin reasserting Britain’s claim over the island. 
  See nearby replica.
  1803 Commencement of the Napoleonic Wars and the 
  return of war between Britain and France. This is 
  to continue until 1814. 
  1803 Not long after he completes the first circumnavi-
  gation of the Australian continent, Australia’s 
  foremost explorer of the era, Matthew Flinders, 
  makes a sea journey back to England which is 
  rudely interrupted.  During a stop-over at the 
  French-owned island of Mauritius (in the Indian 
  Ocean near Africa) the explorer is arrested by 
  French forces as a prisoner of war. His detention 
  lasts until 1810.
  1804 After hearing rumours of French interest in the 
  area, Governor King sends Lt-Governor David 
  Collins to establish a settlement in Van Diemen’s 
  Land an attempt having failed the previous year. 
  This is intended to firmly establish the island as 
  a British claim despite previous French interest.
  1804 Baudin expedition concludes.
  1804 Napoleon crowns himself Emperor. 
  1805 Battle of Trafalgar. British victory cripples the 
  French fleet but Admiral Nelson is killed by a 
  French sharpshooter. 
  1806—1808: Governorship of William Bligh.
  1808-1810: Military interregnum governing NSW.
  
  3
  Les Nouveaux Mystères: 
  French Occult Exploration 
  in the South Pacific
  The Kingdom and Republic of France, together 
  with the French people, have long and significant 
  associations with many of the esoteric  traditions 
  that form the basis for European occultism. It 
  should thus come as no surprise that – even dur-
  ing the Convicts & Cthulhu era – numerous French 
  societies and associations exist which possess 
  significant knowledge of hidden aspects of the 
  Cthulhu Mythos. Most of these groups operate in 
  the shadows, but their influence stretches far – 
  some believe even to the highest levels. With this 
  in mind, it is interesting to speculate upon the sin-
  gular focus with which France pursued the explora-
  tion and colonisation of the South Pacific, a part of 
  the world known to house several sites of major 
  Mythos significance. Could it have been the case 
  that many of the incredible sea-faring “scientific” 
  expeditions to the Pacific undertaken during the 
  18th and early 19th Centuries were more than mere 
  voyages of exploration but also Mythos searches?
  Investigators who study the vexing question of the 
  level of influence exerted by Mythos cults or societies 
  upon the great French naval explorations of the 
  South Pacific, might run into mention of a (fictional) 
  group known only as Les Nouveaux Mystères (“The 
  New Mysteries”). Several key officers – usually only 
  of middling rank – who participated in significant 
  French expeditions held some form of nebulous 
  affiliation to this group. Though disputed by some, 
  many scholars believe this organisation to be a kind 
  of society of Mythos discovery which sponsored or 
  influenced expeditions, guiding captains to explore 
  certain island groupings and ignore others. Their 
  ultimate purpose or goal remains unknown.
  When constructing a Mythos mystery set in the penal 
  colonies of Australia, the peripheral involvement 
  of French occultist groups such as Les Nouveaux 
  Mystères (whether Mythos-aware or not) provides a 
  great opportunity to introduce some of the traditional 
  elements of Call of Cthulhu scenarios. While most 
  convicts and English soldiers serving in New South 
  Wales would have little reason to possess musty old 
  tomes of arcane lore, the same might not be true 
  for exiled French noblemen fleeing the Revolution, 
  or secretive members of French naval explorations 
  sniffing around the shores of Australia. Conceivably 
  such individuals might have brought any kind of 
  occult or Mythos forces or influences with them, 
  even as they journeyed half-way around the world.
  New Occupations
  To explore the conflict between Colonial Australians 
  and the French from a different perspective, the Keeper 
  might be interested in running a scenario where some 
  or all of the investigators are French mariners. For the 
  most part such characters can be created using the 
  profession templates provided in Convicts & Cthulhu; 
  a pair of French-specific additions are provided below.
  French Naturalist
  The French naturalists, like many of the English natu-
  ralists were a combination explorer, sailor, navigator, 
  scientist and artist. Many of them came from a mili-
  tary background and may have some martial skills. 
  Occupational Skills: Appraise, Art (Cartography 
  or Painting), Natural World, Persuade, Pilot Ship, 
  Navigation, Science (Meteorology or Zoology), any 
  one other skill.
  Credit Rating: 0—99 (within the French community, 
  halve when dealing with the English. Credit Rating 
  becomes a Hard Test in times of war)
  Occupation Skill Points: EDU × 2 + DEX × 2
  Letter from Gov. King to Nicholas Baudin
  
  4
  French Occult Explorer
  This template is intended to cover members of 
  secretive French occult orders who have been 
  given missions to accompany naval voyages of 
  exploration to the South Pacific.
  Occupational Skills: Craft (any maritime-related), 
  History, Navigate or Religion, Occult, Other 
  Language, Science (Astronomy), one interpersonal 
  skill (Charm/Bootlick, Fast Talk, Intimidate, or 
  Persuade), any one other skill.
  Credit 
  Rating: 
  20—50 
  (within 
  the 
  French 
  community, halve when dealing with the English. 
  Credit Rating becomes a Hard Test in times of war)
  Occupation Skills Points: EDU × 4
  French Explorers of 
  Australia
  The sketches below provide capsule summaries of 
  some of the key French explorers who were present in 
  Australia during the Convicts & Cthulhu era. Keepers 
  may wish to use these historical figures as NPCs in 
  scenarios of their own devising, or merely authorities 
  who direct the course of events from “off-camera”.
  Jean-Francois de Galaup 
  La Perouse (1741-1788)
  A navigator and oceanographer La Perouse had been 
  in the navy since age 15. He fought in the American 
  war against the British; even in war he noted as a 
  very humane man. In 1783 he was commissioned by 
  King Louis XVI to conduct an ambitious expedition 
  to the Pacific. This included his visit to Botany Bay 
  in 1788. He disappeared mysteriously one month 
  later. In 1828 it was discovered he had been wrecked 
  north of the New Hebrides. 
  For more info, see: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biogra-
  phy/la-perouse-jean-francois-de-galaup-2329
  Joseph-Antoine Raymond Bruny 
  d'Entrecasteaux (1739-1793)
  Bruny d'Entrecasteaux was an Admiral and 
  navigator. He also had an interest in hydrography. 
  In 1786 he was made commander of the Indian 
  station for the French navy. While there he sailed to 
  China and explored Southeast Asia. In 1791 he was 
  appointed to lead an expedition to trace the missing 
  La Perouse. He sailed the Pacific and explored the 
  coasts of Australia and Van Diemen’s Land. He died 
  off the coast of New Guinea in 1793. His successor 
  d’Aribeau, a royalist, handed the expedition over 
  to the Dutch when he learned a republic had been 
  proclaimed in France. It was some time before the 
  records of the expedition made it back to France. 
  STR 55 
   CON 55 
  SIZ 60 DEX 70  INT 75 
  APP 70  POW 65  EDU 70 SAN 60 
  Hit Points: 11
  Damage Bonus:  none Build: 0 Move: 6 Magic Points: 13
  Skills: Accounting 45%, Charm 50%, Credit Rating 60%, 
  Lore (Aboriginal) 30%, Natural World 25%, Navigate 
  85%, Science (Botany) 50%, Science (Meteorology) 
  75%, Survival 40%.
  For more info, see: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/
  bruny-dentrecasteaux-joseph-antoine-raymond-1841
  Nicolas Thomas Baudin 
  (1754-1803)
  Baudin was a cartographer and naturalist. He had 
  served in the merchant marine and the navy. He had 
  made many voyages of exploration in the 1790s and 
  in 1800 was selected to make a French cartographic 
  survey of the coast of Australia in two ships Le 
  Geographe and Le Naturaliste. Baudin was known 
  as a hasty if affable man struggled as a leader. By the 
  time the expedition reached Mauritius 46 seamen 
  and 10 experts had left owing to shipboard fights and 
  illness. Baudin surveyed Van Diemen’s Land and met 
  with British explorer Matthew Flinders and later in 
  Sydney Governor King. King was suspicious of the 
  Frenchman’s motives. Baudin died of tuberculosis on 
  Mauritius in 1803. In 1804 his voyage was concluded 
  by his team under Louis-Claude Desaulses de 
  Freycinet. One of Baudin achievements was to dispel 
  the myth started by early explorer William Dampier 
  that the west coast of Australia was barren.  De 
  Freycinet published an atlas in 1807 which had the 
  most complete map of Australia up to that time. 
  STR 60 
  CON 35 
  SIZ 40 DEX 55  
  INT 70 
  APP 65 POW 40  EDU 60 SAN 65  
  Hit Points: 7
  Damage Bonus:  none Build: 0 Move: 7 
  Magic Points: 8
  Skills: Accounting 70%, Firearms (Flintlock) 40%, Natural 
  World 40%, Navigate 65%, Pilot Ship 80%.
  For more info, see: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/
  baudin-nicolas-thomas-1753 
  
  5
  Francois Péron (1754-1803)
  Péron lost an eye in the army and was captured and 
  imprisoned. There he read books on explorers and 
  after being repatriated out of the army because of his 
  lost eye studied natural history. He joined Baudin’s 
  expedition as natural historian and anthropologist. 
  By the time the expedition reached Australia’s west 
  coast death and desertion had left Péron the only 
  zoologist. He classified 2,500 species and collected 
  100,000 specimens of animal life. He also made many 
  observations of the Aboriginal people the expedition 
  encountered. His work was the foundation of the 
  later work of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, one of the 
  early proponents of evolution. He wrote the official 
  account of Baudin’s voyage on his return to France. 
  Péron was a great patriot and upset some of the 
  English he encountered, including Governor King.
  STR 45 
   CON 30 SIZ 60  DEX 70  INT 85 
  APP 55 
   POW 35  EDU 75 SAN 45  
  Hit Points: 9
  Damage Bonus:  none Build: 0 Move: 7 
  Magic Points: 7
  Skills: Accounting 55%, First Aid 25%, Lore (Aboriginal) 25%, 
  Medicine 40%, Natural World 75%, Navigation 35%, Sci-
  ence (Meteorology) 45%, Science (Zoology) 65%.
  For more info, see: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/
  peron-francois-2545  
  Adventure Seed:  
  Tricolour Terror
  The adventure seed concerns a lost party of French 
  explorers off the coast of New South Wales. The 
  adventure can take place any time in the Convicts 
  & Cthulhu setting and may take place during 
  peace or war. See notes for difference depending 
  on hostilities. Players may take the role of French 
  sailors or naturalists or British officials or their 
  convict servants investigating the claims of the 
  French. Keepers may elect to allow a merchant 
  vessel to sail after the French expedition, in which 
  case merchant characters may also be allowed.
  Beginning the Adventure
  A ship’s boat from the French ship Remarquable 
  fetches up in the Hawkesbury region and is brought 
  south to Sydney. It contains six men, all suffering 
  from exhaustion. If the French are hostile the crew 
  will be arrested and marched to the Governor; if 
  France is not presently warring with Britain they 
  will be treated civilly but eventually still brought 
  to the Governor’s attention as visiting foreigners. 
  The crew claims they were part of a French voyage 
  of exploration and science in the Pacific and were 
  separated from their ship which has now vanished 
  mysteriously. They claim they were south of Coal 
  River and had ventured ashore for water in the ship’s 
  boat. When they returned the ship was gone and a 
  sea of mysterious bell-shaped things was floating in 
  its place. They look like coral but have the sliminess 
  and smell of seaweed. The French tried to get one 
  into the boat but it vibrated strangely and they tossed 
  it back overboard for fear it would destroy their boat. 
  They sailed south only to be attacked by natives 
  and then a week later drifted into the Hawkesbury 
  waterway, by then starving and desperate.
  The Mission 
  The Governor assembles a team, including the inves-
  tigators to find the French ship but also to determine 
  if the French have any hostile intent. (This would 
  also be the case of France and Britain are at peace, 
  since suspicious ran deep). He avails them of a navy 
  ship or pays for a merchant vessel, depending on the 
  Keeper’s and investigator party and preferences.
  The ship sails to the north and spends two weeks 
  at sea trying to find the location of the French ves-
  sel. This includes visiting the Hawkesbury water 
  ways, but no sign of the mysterious bell-shaped 
  things or the French are to be found. 
  Francois Péron
  
  6
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  Complications
  The following complications can be used to enliven 
  the voyage:
  • Language and politics. If the French are 
  currently a republic or under Napoleon this 
  could make for some interesting shipboard 
  conversations, and not a small chance for 
  arguments to erupt. Likewise language 
  barriers may be an issue, though at least one 
  of the French officers will speak English (it is 
  he who has made the reports thus far). 
  • One of the Englishmen on board has lost two 
  brothers who were fighting the French. He de-
  termines this is a chance to have his revenge.
  • Secret Charts and Documents: The French 
  explorers carry with them a battered notebook 
  from their recent voyage from Tasmania 
  northwards along the coast of mainland 
  Australia. It includes detailed accounts of all the 
  shipping as well as the shorelines of areas held 
  by the British (Sydney, St Georges River, even 
  Tasmania if it is after the settlement at Hobart 
  Town). This may lead English investigators 
  to wonder whether the French are spies or 
  merely completists. Keepers may also use this 
  notebook to provide clues regarding the French 
  voyage if solutions 2 or 3 below are used. 
  The Solution 
  Three possible solutions present themselves, de-
  pending which the Keeper prefers:
  • Option 1: Antipodean Shoggoths – The 
  bell-shaped things are actually weird young 
  of a local Australian variant species of 
  Shoggoths. They have attached themselves to 
  the French ship and have now carried it on 
  land, so as to consume the crew. Investigators 
  can hear stories from local Aboriginal people 
  or find the bay just north of where the French 
  ship’s boat went to find water, and follow the 
  bizarre tracks from there. 
  • Option 2: The Gulf between the Oceans – 
  The French naturalists inadvertently opened 
  a portal in the Pacific to a certain cyclopean 
  ruined city. A Star-Spawn of Cthulhu has come 
  through the portal to their currently location 
  and made off with the ship. Wreckage and 
  injured crew can be found floating between 
  where the ship went missing and east off the 
  coast. But the Star-Spawn will return if they 
  trespass on its newfound gate. 
  • Option 3: The Floating Fungi – The floating 
  bell-shaped things are actually a bizarre by-
  product of Mi-Go technology. The Fungi from 
  Yuggoth have used this isolated spot to study 
  the local conditions. Intrigued by human 
  scientists on an endeavour they believe is 
  like their own, the Mi-Go have suborned the 
  French crew (extracting the brains of some 
  into travel cases). The vessel now plies the 
  waves on some sinister business of the Mi-Go.
   Further Reading
  The NSW state library has an online collection 
  on The French in Australia, which includes in-
  formation and illustrations of many of the early 
  expeditions. 
  http://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/
  discover_collections/society_art/french/ 
  Sir Ernest Scott’s 1911 book Terre Napoleon: A 
  History of French Explorations and Projects in Aus-
  tralia is dated but rich in detail and available free 
  on Australian Gutenberg http://gutenberg.net.au/
  ebooks/e00067.html  (Scott also wrote a book on 
  Laperouse). 
  The Western Australian Museum has a Baudin 
  expedition page which looks at some of the expedi-
  tion’s work http://museum.wa.gov.au/exhibitions/
  voyages/about/baudin.html. 
  For readers of French, the original French account 
  of Baudin’s voyage is at archives.org https://archive.
  org/details/voyagededcouve02pr 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Call of Cthulhu (CoC) (BRP) [multi]/7th edition/Convicts & Cthulhu/CoC 7e - Convicts & Cthulhu - Ticket of Leave #02 - Tricolour Terror.pdf