A Modern-Day One-On-One Scenario for Call of Cthulhu - The Disgusting Man in the Attic - One Keeper & One Player

Oct 6, 2026

A Modern-Day One-On-One Scenario for Call of Cthulhu titled The Disgusting Man in the Attic is a horror RPG scenario designed for private play with one Keeper and one Player. Set in the modern day, it uses contemporary tools like cell phones and the Internet while keeping most of the action in an attic. The story follows a university researcher whose fever dreams escalate into encounters with a bell-ringing monster-fighter, culminating in the Player taking over the bell’s duty.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time9 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Place and Time

Story Outline

About the author

Safety

Props

Dramatis Personae

Player Handouts

Notes on Astronomy

Notes in Latin

A Modern-Day One-On-One Scenario for Call of Cthulhu THE Disgusting Man in the attic One Keeper & One Player Anders Fager | –Table of Contents– | | | --- | --- | | INTRODUCTION 4
Place and Time 4
Story Outline 4
Props 4
About the author 4
Safety 4
THE PLAYER CHARACTER
6
Connections 6
GETTING STARTED
6
Horror on the Express 6
Meeting Rita Zynch 7
Meeting the Disgusting Man 7
Drink with the Disgusting 8
Dreams in the Boarding House 8
The Next Morning 8
More Dreams in the Boarding House 10
A New Bed in a New Town 10
Dreaming Again 11
Downstairs and Normal 13
A New Attack 13 | DRAMATIS PERSONAE
The Player Character 15
Rita Zynch 15
The Disgusting Man 15
The Monster 15
PLAYER HANDOUTS
Notes on Astronomy 16
Notes in Latin 16 | | CREDITS
Author: Anders Fager.
Cover illustration and additional artwork: Malin Fredrika Kjernsby, at Studio Malin Fredrika.
Layout: Jay Sojdelius, at The Yellow Hand.
Editing: Jonas Morian.
Page texture: SJ Objio/Unsplash.
Call of Cthulhu is a Trademark of Chaosium Inc. and is used with their permission via the OBS Community Content program. For more information, please visit Chaosium’[s website: www.chaosium.com](s website: www.chaosium.com)
© 2025 Anders Fager
–3– | | | –The Disgusting Man in the Attic–
INTRODUCTION
This scenario was originally written to be played on stage as an RPG live performance, but has been modified to be able tobe played out in private one-on-one.
This authorfirmly believes that one of the scariest things in all kinds of horror is to be alone and left to one’s own devices. But since nearly all role-playing games deal with player “parties”, the games in a sense work against this fundamental principle. So, if there are parties in your horror, you are probably watching/playing Scooby Doo. | | | --- | --- | | PLACE AND TIME
The scenario can be set in any city with a university and a part of town that is over a hundred years old. The specifics are not that important since most of the story takes place in an attic.
This scenario should take around one hour to play, the length is very much depending on how much the Keeper indulges in some of the scenes. It does not require expertise in the Call of Cthulhu rules, but rather good skills at acting and improvisation.
The scenario takes place in the modern day and hence there will be cell phonesand the Internet. This is because the author believes that we cannot limit roleplaying scenarios to taking place before 1995. Life must go on and so must horror and role-playing.
STORY OUTLINE
The player takes the role of a university researcher heading for a good new town fora tenure as a lecturer. But suddenly the plans are changed and they are sent to that other town instead. The researcher is sick from the journey and has a fever. They are given accommodation and the landlord is a quite disgusting man who lives in the attic above the rented room. During the first night in the room, the player character has a fever dream about climbing a long spiral staircase. And the sound of bells.
The character wakes up very ill and must accept help from the Disgusting Man. They have new strange dreams about climbing staircases and looking at the stars through a telescope. And in the dream, something among the stars looks back. The character wakes up and finds that they have somehow been moved to the Disgusting Man’s attic. Being weak, there is not much the character can do about it.
In a new dream, the character walks up the stairs and meets the Disgusting Man who points at the stars and the horrors there. The horror comes near, a swirling tentacled monstrosity. The man rings a small bell that drives the thing away. “This is what Ido”, the Disgusting Man says. “I am the one ringing the bell.”
The Disgusting Man helps the character downstairs. Is probably not a dream after all. The character feels better b

FAQs

What kind of play format is this scenario built for?

It is designed for a one-on-one RPG experience with one Keeper and one Player, adapted from a stage performance concept.

Where and when does the scenario take place?

It can be set in any city with a university and an older part of town, but most of the story happens in an attic. It is set in the modern day.

What is the bell used for in the scenario?

The Disgusting Man rings a small bell to drive away a tentacled monstrosity. Later, the Player character picks up the bell and rings it to repel the monster.

Oct 6, 2026

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