The Yellow Book

A Spectral Mystery in Two Acts

or Le Roi en Jaune, The King in Yellow, His Tattered Mantle, Decadence, The Pallid Mask... 1893 A young English heir goes missing in Paris, leading the protagonists through a decadent art scene gripped by the publication of a forbidden play that provo es madness and despair! 189@/ Ao( bac in the B-, ;obert 1 )hambers publishes his translation The King in Yellow! 01 imprisoned! 11 2ebruary 189</ !alo"e premieres in Paris KiY Story Timeline %he #as 1893, Paris, Cac -cott dating -ylvia ;epairer 189@, A' %he 'ello( -ign 189<, A' %he )ourt of the 6ragon D 18935, Paris

The Hook
"enry #arlborough, a young artist, and son of $ord #arlborough, has disappeared in the decadent art scene of Paris!

The Spine
Act One

The Horrible Truth

"enry #arlborough became involved in a Parisian artistic circle, influenced by a decadent play, %he &ing in 'ello(, (hich the government and the )hurch are desperately trying to suppress! "is*"er fate (as +! E,posure to the mysterious 'ello( -ign and to the play itself calls into .uestion the nature of truth itself!

(Timeline)
1883/ 0scar 1ilde in 2rance! 34s there an early draft of the &i' in circulation at this time or %he 'ello( -ign5 6oes the 7rotherhood form at this time or is it ancient5 8 1889/ "uysmans publishes : ;ebours 188</ )hambers arrives in Paris 1891/ -ch(ob prepares first drafts of Le Roi en Jaune 3&i' in 2rench8, (hich he shares (ith his friend 0scar 1ilde! 4nspired by Le Roi en Jaune and its effects on people 3including himself8 01 publishes The Picture of Dorian Gra and (rites !alo"e. 189=/ Le Roi en Jaune published by #arcel -ch(ob follo(ed by >Le Roi au "as#ue d$or>! 1893 3Year of scenario8/ !alo"e published by 0scar 1ilde! )hambers leaves Paris! 6eath of -ch(ob?s $ouise 3#onelle8, mourning! 1899/ -ch(ob becomes ill!

7riefing in $ondon 4ntervie(s in England 4ntervie(s (ith police in Paris %hey find E%he Portrait of ;ue 7aree? 3featuring him8 4ntervie(s (ith members of artistic circle in Paris, some people have found strange and troubling fates 3use Aoir leveraging of (ea nesses8 "ear of E%he &ing in yello(? "ear of E;ue 7aree? 5 %hose (ho have read the play are follo(ed*investigated a pallid stranger 0ther supernatural events and gro(ing evidence that apparent reality is a ind of theatrical illusion )ontacted by 2rench government agent/ (ill they help find*suppress publication5 6oes he (ant them to pose as potential customers or similar5 )lima, at the publication house F"o( are they or some of them e,posed to the play5G )lues there to secretive annual meeting*performance in ;ome
Act Two

Agent puts them in touch (ith Hatican agent 7riefing by Hatican agent about secret society that holds a mas ed ball 3%he 1hite #as.uerade8 once a year! As s their help by infiltrating it! %he agent cannot do this himself due to his monastic vo(s! Perhaps they must read the play in order to infiltrate! Perhaps there are police coming in from the outside! Perhaps they are impersonating a specific English nobleman 3arrested*delayed at the border8

4nvestigation of secret society members 4nfiltration of #as.ue Harious 4ntrigues Performance of Play is 6ar Epiphany/ )urtain opens, 3to those (ho have read the play8 revealing an audience behind it! 2igures in the mas ed cro(d start acting out events from the play, announcing the coming of the ing in 'ello( etc! %he IaudienceJ members gasp and some leave the ItheatreJ! %he investigators must choose to remain on this side of the curtain or flee! 0ne choice may represent permanent insanity, (hile the other represents hope! 0n the other hand, "enry #arlborough 3or ;ue 7aree8 is glimpsed in the cro(d! Perhaps "enry #arlborough is also glimpsed in the IaudienceJ, depending on (ho is loo ing
Act 3?

%o further this end, investigator -tability and -anity scores should be ept hidden! 1hen a -tability test is called for, don?t tell the players ho( many points are at sta eK as the players if they?d li e to spend points on the test as usual, but roll secretly on their behalf and eep trac of their remaining points! -anity and -tability scores (ill have an important effect on their e,perience of events in the second half of the scenario, after e,posure to the 'ello( -ign!

Chambers ellow

The

King

in

4Lm unsatisfied (ith the (ay they have often been interpreted by postD$ovecraftian (riters and 4Lm trying to recover the feel of the original stories 3(ithout repeating them8 and 4 (as hoping to hear your impressions 2or me, the &ing in 'ello( him*itself is an archetype or personification of spiritual evil 3and death and madness8! 1hat 4 mean is that, it is primarily a private and intensely personal e,perience D either of being hunted as LpreyL or of entitlement! -ome 3those (ho surrender to him5 the insane58 e,perience him as great and maMestic! 0thers e,perience him as terrifying! "e e,ists LspirituallyL in the mind and through visions of )arcosa, the $a e of "ali etc! 1hether that means he e,ists psychologically or in some spectral dimension or is communicating telepathically from another gala,y not absolutely clear is ambiguous! As cosmic*spiritual predator 3(ith aspects of Mudge too8 he is some(hat li e 7ob from %(in Pea s, 2reddy &ruger, -atan or the more fearful aspects of 'ah(eh! Bnli e 2reddy &ruger ho(ever, even in (a efulness there is no escape from his labyrinthine but inevitable hunt! "e also seems to manifest on earth or at least act on earth through pale*deadDfaced strangers 3appearing in t(o stories and seemingly (ithin the play itself8! 4n at least one of these cases this manifestation seems to have been a possessed corpse! )ould this also be (hy )assilda thin s the -tranger is (earing a mas (hen she is actually loo ing at his face5 %he play itself is a device that allo(s people to see into the &ing in 'ello(Ls (orld but allo(s him to see into them too! %he 'ello( -ign seems may perform a similar function D granting the &i' and his servants control over people or dra(ing "im closer to his prey! At other times it seems to have

1ill they try to save him5 "o(5 %his implies that the party may split into t(o at this stage! 4nvestigators (ho are missing may be replaced by ne( characters!

Victory Conditions
2inding out (hat happened to "enry #arlborough! -hutting do(n the 2rench publishers of the play 4dentifying the 7rotherhood of the 'ello( -ign as the origin of the version translated from 4talian 3$atin58 into 2rench and English! 6isrupting the performance of the play by the 7rotherhood of the 'ello( -ign in ;ome ;emaining sane, or at least staying in contact (ith the consensual vie( of reality!

Antagonist Reactions
%he publication house in 2rance %he 7rotherhood of the 'ello( -ign

Running this Scenario

%his scenario is intended to cause the investigators to become increasingly disorientated about (hat is and is not real! Are they e,periencing something supernatural or are they going mad5 Are they delusional or are their companions delusional5

little or no effect! 4n the 'ello( -ign, the painter seems to attract the attention of the &i' (ithout 3yet8 having read the play or 3yet8 having found the 'ello( -ign 3but 4 need to chec this8! %here is something fateful, inevitable about the influence of the &ing! 4f the visions and beliefs of those affected by the &ing in 'ello( are literally correct then "e seems to emanate from )arcosa D a lost, dead city located near the "yades or Adebaran in the constellation of %aurus! An alien intelligence that reaches across the gulfs of space to haunt, hunt and control the souls of his victims! 4f the events hinted at in the play are literally true, itLs not clear (here they occur or (hen! 7ut he seems to ta e over a palace*city*nation*(orld in some dreadful and inevitable (ay! %he &ing seems to manifest in the play in a more literal (ay 3although 4 may be getting confused bet(een (hat the stories actually say and later elaborations about the play8!

$eads/ #arcel -ch(ob5 ;obert )hambers5 3if the English version8, the publisher The Sharer An influential figure (ho has been sharing*promoting the play in Paris, $eads/ copies of the play 32rench and English8, the boo Dstore, the distributor The A!thor " #arcel Schwo$ $eads/ ancient origins of the play, effects of play on health, Publisher, 6istributor, possessed by a (or the preDdated his adaptation Oscar Wilde %o$ert W &ham$ers 'aris Boo( Store 4n $atin Nuarter, sells all manner of decadent literature, pornography etc $eads/ copies of the play, Paris distributor 'aris Distri$!tor of the play the copies disappear before the raid, but maybe a clue is left 3the invitation58 A Brea()*n The Shadow $eads/ clasp (ith the 'ello( -ign The '!$lisher 3;ome or the border area (ith 2rance, the Alps or the %orino area8! 6o they also publish the English version5 %his is (here the Hatican may get involved! 4nvitation to the #as.ue The #as+!e

The Yellow Sign The Pallid Mask The King in Yellow (the Entity) The King in Yellow (the Play) ar!osa

Chambers !aris
7lending of history and fiction

Rule Changes
-anity 6riving )arcosa #ythos -eduction

S!enes
Briefing Witnesses of the Disappeared Heir $eads/ %he Play and its effects, the man in the painting, the -harer, a copy of the play A copy of the play