Sir Aubrey Penhew, appears 55, peer of the realm and callous sorcerer

Tall and distinguished, with a long face, prominent chin and nose, and thick, bushy eyebrows. His thick, brown hair is peppered with gray.

Traits: implacable and insane.

Death (session 46): Killed in the explosion of Grey Dragon Island.

Ho Fang, 57, high priest and wealthy merchant

Under his camouflage of a successful businessman, Ho Fang’s tentacles of terror reach around the globe, as the investigators are no doubt aware. Ho’s public reputation, though, is spotless and ultra-respectable. He deliberately accepts gratitude money and cheats a bit on his taxes, subscriptions, and contributions so that his peers do not think him a fool.

Description: short, fat, and apparently amiable. He wears a baggy white linen suit and smokes aromatic, dark-wrapped cigarettes.

Traits: devious and dangerous.

Death (session 46): Killed in the explosion of Grey Dragon Island.

Carl Stanford, appears 47, immortal sorcerer and fanatic

Mighty Cthulhu sent Stanford as an intermediary to acquire the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan from their owner, Lin Yenyu; however, before Stanford even arrived in Shanghai, Jack Brady stole the tome for himself. Now Stanford pursues both the scroll and Jack Brady. He intends to extract the missing thief ’s whereabouts from Brady’s girlfriend, Choi Mei-ling.

Description: apparently middle-aged, bespectacled, and clean-shaven with receding hair.

Traits: ruthless, sadistic, and arrogant.

Death (Session 45): Li Wen-Chang detonated a dynamite stick in Stanford's bedroom, killing himself, two of his companions, and the sorcerer.

Chu Min, 31, leader of New China

A member of the violent revolutionary organization New China, and leader of its paramilitary Firm Action wing, Chu maintains a cover identity as a warehouseman but, in reality, is solely on the Firm Action payroll.

Description: stocky and powerfully built, with a thick shock of jet-black hair (usually hidden under a worker’s cap).

Traits: fierce, argumentative, brave, and loyal to any cause he believes in.

Death (session 46): Killed in the explosion of Grey Dragon Island.

Jack Brady, 41, last sane member of the Carlyle Expedition

Having hoped that his involvement with the Carlyle Expedition was at an end after the reported deaths of all concerned, Jack Brady received a nasty surprise when he spotted Sir Aubrey Penhew alive and well aboard the Dark Mistress in Shanghai.

The sighting reinvigorated Brady’s plan to secure the sites Roger Carlyle told him were essential for the Great Gate’s opening during his last days of lucidity

Description: tall, tanned, and muscled, with a high forehead and short brown hair, graying at the temples. There is a hunted look in his eyes.

Traits: violent, instinctual, and more than a little bit paranoid (not without reason).

Death (session 46): Killed in the explosion of Grey Dragon Island.

Li Wen-Cheng, 24, comprador

Li comes from the Kiangsu countryside, the fourth son of a moderately wealthy farmer. In Li Wen-Cheng’s year of birth, the great imperial examination system of China was abolished; to obtain a Western technical education, Li converted to Christianity and attended a Methodist boarding school. When he announced his conversion, his Confucian father tore Christ from a place of respect among the household gods and disowned his unfilial fourth son.

Death (Session 45): Li Wen-Chang detonated a dynamite stick in Stanford's bedroom, killing himself, two of his companions, and the sorcerer.

Dr. Robert Ellington Huston, 56, sorcerer and high priest

Huston is a good “Freudian” psychologist, yet has little sympathy for individuals, and inwardly he has always loathed humanity’s petty problems. He flatters himself that his scientific mind and his Jungian background meld together symbolic and physical relationships in a way which he alone is qualified to understand. To Huston, the gods of madness are both the ultimate metaphor and the final reality. To protect his self-image and his genuinely powerful relationship with Nyarlathotep, Huston kills without compunction.

Description: a moderate-sized, graying man, neat in his khaki bush gear, and pale from living underground.

Traits: thinks of himself as a realist, but Huston is a megalomaniac who cannot resist trumpeting how he intends to conquer the world. He can appear suave, handsome, sensitive, and perceptive.

Death: Samuel shot him with a lightning gun.

Prof. David Dodge, 46, assoc. professor of archaeology

Prof. Dodge is a bachelor, just finishing his current term, and looking forward to some vacation time. An impetuous ,and ambitious fellow, Dodge is keen to discover what the investigators know and what has brought them to Australia. Once he hears about the possibility of an unknown city in the desert, he’ll jump at the chance to accompany the investigators there, if they’ll have him. He grew up in Western Australia, and knows the land and the people.

Description: average build and height, with dark hair. His forearms are quite freckled.

Traits: outgoing and optimistic.

Death (Session 45): Li Wen-Chang detonated a dynamite stick in Stanford's bedroom, killing himself, two of his companions, and the sorcerer.

Hypatia Celestine Masters, 32, sadly mutated mother to be

Her beautiful face is still recognizable but, instead of her lithe body, her face now sits atop an amorphous, pulsating mass of sallow flesh, little more than a swollen container encasing the Spawn of Nyarlathotep. Two baleful eyes can be seen glaring through the translucent yellow membrane of her belly.

Traits: babbles constantly in sing-song schoolgirl English about college friends and photography, and her metamorphosis as the bride of a god.

Janwillem Van Heuvelen, 39, hapless archaeologist and alcoholic

Description: average height, a little plump, and slightly bloated from his bouts of heavy drinking. He is perpetually unshaven and wears a tiny pair of spectacles perched on his nose. His clothes are rarely laundered; he and his room smell of alcohol, perspiration, and body odor. He has a slight Dutch accent but speaks fluent English and German, as well as a smattering of Arabic.

Traits: nervous, excitable, with a lot of ambition but lacking in common sense.

Death (session 33): Killed by Neris.

Puneet Chaudhary, 44, Limehouse warehouse owner

Puneet Chaudhary owns a goods warehouse on Queen Street near the Limehouse Docks. He imports and exports all manner of goods for Edward Gavigan and the Foundation.

Description: average height and weight, with a bushy mustache and a kind face (a mask he uses to lull others into underestimating him). Usually wears a suit.

Traits: greedy, cunning, and fearless (willing to take on superior odds in combat).

Death (session 27): Killed by Miles Shipley

Ssathasaa (a.k.a. Bertha Shipley or Arthur Cotting)

Ssathasaa’s great plan involves imbuing Shipley’s paintings with Gate magic. If enough magical paintings of the historic reign of the serpent people are created, Ssathasaa can open the Gates to enable his kin to journey from the past to the present.

Description: (as Bertha) a 70-year-old woman, stooped frame, kind eyes, and white hair; (as Arthur) a 50-year-old man, below average height, with a brush-like mustache and receding hairline; otherwise, his true form is all scales and claws, with a long crocodilian snout and a fat reptilian tail.

Traits: (as Bertha) somewhat scatty, doddery, and forgetful; otherwise, a cunning, devious, and dangerous opponent; (as Arthur) quiet and reserved but eager to help those in need.

Death (Session 23): Hans smashed his skull against a wall.

Miles Shipley (1888-1925) insane painter

Miles Shipley was a struggling artist with few prospects until he met Arthur Cotting (Ssathasaa in disguise) in the Rose & Crown public house. Tempted by Cotting’s promises, he soon fell under the sway of Ssathasaa and went insane after seeing sights no human was meant to see.

Description: thin frame, unkempt dark hair, and dark bags under his eyes.

Traits: nervous twitch, paranoid, and lives in fear of Ssathasaa.

Death (session 36): Impaled by the horns of a Child of the Sphinx.

Mickey Mahoney, 43, editor of The Scoop

Mickey Mahoney is a red-haired, cigar-smoking, and grubby journalist of Irish descent, who publishes The Scoop, a weekly tabloid specializing in printing stories about gory murders, sex scandals, and weird happenings. He is a cynical and tough customer, ever on the lookout for suitably scandalous stories to print. 

Description: overweight, with red hair and a wicked smile; normally surrounded by cigar smoke.

Traits: sharp and insightful, belligerent at times.

Death (session 28): Killed by the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh.

Edward Gavigan, 55, director of the Penhew Foundation

An intelligent and polished man of the English upper class, Gavigan is the director of the Penhew Foundation and a respected academic in matters of ancient Egyptian antiquities. 

Description: slim and superbly dressed, balding hair, manicured nails, and clean-shaven.

Traits: a mask of charm and grace, coupled with good manners

Death (session 30): Shot by Pranit.

Mukunga M’Dari, 38, high priest of the Bloody Tongue

Description: a tall, muscular African man with a shaved head. M’Dari wears a perpetual scowl, as if the world around him is a constant source of disappointment. He only smiles when inflicting pain or fear. His clothes are plain and inexpensive, although well maintained.

Traits: enjoys hurting people. He is happy to toy with investigators like a cat playing with a mouse, relishing their fear and suffering.

Death (session 21): Frank threw a hand grenade at him.

Jackie Wallace, 30, hospital orderly

Description: stronger than he looks. He prefers to wear a pullover and bow tie rather than a full three-piece suit, and keeps his hair quite short and well oiled. He has a reassuring smile.

Traits: calm, caring, and observant, Wallace has good instincts when it comes to judging people and knowing how to take care of them.

Death (session 20): Killed by a cultist of the Bloody Tongue.

Douglas Fells, age 31, sculptor

Description: a physically robust African-American man, with large, dextrous hands and an unwavering gaze. He shambles about in threadbare old suits, usually smeared with clay and slip, his hair unkempt and a day or so’s stubble darkening his face.

Traits: once the life and soul of the party, he is now quiet and introspective. Pvt. Fells also has a keen eye for detail, one of the things that made him an excellent marksman (something he has still to reconcile himself with). He is undoubtedly suffering from shell shock as a result of his wartime experiences.

Death (session 20): Killed in a car accident.

Needham Johnson, 30, reporter at the New York Age

Description: a handsome, clean-shaven African-American man of average height and build, Johnson keeps his thick hair slicked back in waves. He is rarely seen out of a wellcared-for pinstriped suit.

Traits: world-weary and cynical, Johnson feels frustrated that he cannot help his friend, which can manifest in outbursts of extreme anger, especially if he’s been drinking.

Death (session 20): Killed in a car accident.

Art Mills, age 29, jazz musician

Description: when not performing, he is usually without a jacket and dressed in a collar and tie, with his sleeves rolled up. He keeps his receding hair cropped very short and his moustache incredibly well trimmed.

Traits: a ball of frenetic energy, Mills rarely sits still. He speaks quickly, punctuating his words with expansive hand gestures. He gets really fidgety if he doesn’t have his trumpet to hand.

Death (session 20): Killed in a car accident.