Player Character Secrets: Tobias Beckett

Tobias Graham Beckett

The basis of all true cosmic horror is violation of the order of nature, and the profoundest violations are always the least concrete and describable.
―H.P. Lovecraft. “Selected Letters III: 1929-1931”

Character Profile: Tobias Graham Beckett

Born Tophet Gedney Blaine, the character of Beckett begins the game with an important, albeit mundane, secret: in modern parlance, he’s an undercover investigative journalist. However, Beckett’s had some experience with the Mythos. This may be exploited to give the character a hidden supernatural depth.

Hidden Correspondences with Other Characters
Tophet Blaine has developed a reputation as a righteous journalist fighting against injustice and corruption. He’s an outspoken abolitionist, and his pieces have been read and admired by Milton Redburn and Joseph Coffin. Neither has any clue that Tobias Beckett is actually Tophet Blaine, but if Beckett is exposed, both may become important allies.

Call of Dagon
Beckett’s lapses into delirium—which he calls his “neurasthenia”—have invited the Call of Dagon, and Beckett begins the campaign suffering from a Stage 1 affliction. The player should not know this. If Beckett loses too much Sanity during the first few chapters, the Keeper may advance him to Stage 2 by the time the Quiddity reaches Kith Kohr.

Beckett’s Investigation
Beckett is operating undercover, attempting to unravel the mysteries surrounding the Quiddity and Captain Joab. He must balance this private agenda with his public persona as a sailor, and be careful not to expose himself to the wrong parties. If apprehended by Joab, Pynchon, or Whipple, Beckett will certainly be punished. At best, he may be placed ashore at the nearest port. But if Beckett gets in too deep, he’s liable to be weighted with chains and tossed overboard! The Keeper should help Beckett’s player pace his investigation appropriately. If the player is accustomed to shorter Call of Cthulhu scenarios, he may behave more like a twentieth-century reporter than a nineteenth-century writer. Acting too hastily and with no backup can be fatal. The Keeper should remind the player of the length of the campaign, and suggest that Beckett’s expectation to jump ship in Hawaii is something only his character should anticipate. If Beckett becomes too careless, the Keeper may fire a warning shot across his bow—perhaps a close call with Whipple?

Beckett’s Religion
Beckett has seen his share of horror, and has absorbed a good amount of Miskatonic Valley folklore. But he steadfastly clings to the belief that God exists, and God is good, and God has the power to overcome Satan. If Beckett is exposed to blasphemies that threaten these Christian beliefs, it unbalances his entire psychological foundation. As Beckett’s Sanity dwindles, the Keeper may frame his “neurasthenia” as breakdowns in the established order. This should dovetail with the player’s personal take on Beckett’s religion, as the player is likely to have his own ideas. The Keeper should follow the player’s lead.

Beckett’s Nightmares
Beckett has been experiencing terrible nightmares ever since he witnessed the massacre in Arkham. These appalling dreams remind him of what he saw: children skinned alive and somehow threaded together, while dire names such as “Yog-Sothoth” were chanted in the background. During the worst of them, the children cry to God for help; but help never arrives. Over the course of the campaign, the Keeper should worry away at Beckett’s eroding faith by staging additional nightmares. Initially, such dreams may be subtle reminders or quick flashes, but as the voyage wears on, they increase in intensity. The Keeper should use this as a way of unearthing Beckett’s repressed memories about the Arkham Cult, and is free to invent various grotesque scenarios. (The player should be encouraged to improvise as well!) Particularly bad nightmares demand a Sanity roll. Consequences of failure include screaming aloud, dangerous bouts of sleepwalking, or even temporary derangement—Beckett may attempt to fling himself into the ocean! However, if the player succeeds making a few consecutive Sanity rolls the Keeper may ease off, allowing Beckett some hard-earned peace of mind.

Beckett’s Repressed Memories
White Leviathan does not provide the history of Beckett’s Arkham Cult or describe his precise experiences with their deranged rituals. The Keeper may retain this sense of vagueness as a way of representing Beckett’s psychological repression, or she may fill in the blanks with gruesome details. After all, Beckett blocked out his experiences—maybe he did things as well as saw things? Perhaps as Beckett loses Sanity points, he begins remembering the awful things he was forced to do? Or, one morning he wakes to find he’s “threaded together” the items in his sea-chest into the shape of a starry gate? Or a temporary Sanity loss compels him to pray to God, but what comes out is a chant to Yog-Sothoth? Or, in a moment of anger, Beckett finds himself spontaneously casting Flesh Harrow? There are many possibilities, and the Keeper is free to push Beckett to his limits; especially if the player is good at improvising in difficult situations. The Keeper may also remind Beckett that laudanum soothes such bouts of anxiety. (See “Drugs, Intoxicants, and Poisons” for details on opium addiction.)

Endgame: Beckett Faces the Apocalypse
It is highly unlikely that a sane Beckett would join the Kingsport Cult or participate in the resurrection of Dagon. He’s more likely to shift from uncovering a conspiracy to stopping one. However, an insane Beckett might convince himself that the best way to restore order is to become the Supplicant himself, sacrificing his body and soul to save the world.

White Leviathan > Keeper’s Information > PC Secrets
[Beckett | Coffin | Dixon | Lowell | Morgan | Quakaloo | Redburn | Ward]
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Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 21 October 2021
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]