The Sassoon Files
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Horror in the Pearl of the East! 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.
If you like The Sassoon Files¸ see the add-on scenario "The Brother of Jesus."
Victor Sassoon¸ a preeminent bon vivant¸ has found himself trading correspondence with Doctor Henry Armitage. They share a common goal and a 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¸ muscles¸ guns¸ criminals and other problem solvers to mount a defense against a rising tide. Victor is your hook.
The trail leads to...
- a strange gate opened by an ancient Daoist ritual¸ and an alien spirit called forth from the Polaris solar system.
- a Shanghai triad operated by someone claiming to be the deceased Empress Dowager Cixi.
- a scam at the horse track¸ a heartbroken triad gangster¸ and the Bloated Woman.
- a lost city of golden sands¸ a field of black lotus¸ and a place suspended in time and space.
The Sassoon Files is 208 file pages long. Modular in design¸ each of the 4 scenarios may be played as a "one-off" session or as part of a larger campaign set in 1920's Shanghai. The scenarios are tied together by common locations¸ characters¸ threats and themes. The history of the Paris of the East is rich; with the help of the Sassoon Files¸ you are able to dig deep into the vein of Old Shanghai.
The Sassoon Files includes the history of Shanghai and some of the primary factions that competed for influence and power: the Communists and Nationalists who played a game of deadly cat and mouse; the Jewish tycoon who provided succor to refugees; the Triad societies who competed to provide vice for the city's residents; the Japanese who were moving closer to invasion. The Sassoon Files also explores the secret history of the Mythos¸ and the local factions who sought to exploit that which could not be fully comprehended.