QUILL: 

SHADOW AND INK

 
QUILL: SHADOW AND INK
 
 
By Scott Malthouse 
 
Cover art: The Unholy Worship by Gwabryel 
 
 
 
Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

QUILL: SHADOW AND INK
 
INTRODUCTION 
Quill: Shadow and Ink is a campaign book for Quill: A
Letter-Writing Roleplaying Game for a Single Player. You
will require the main Quill rules to use this book.

A campaign book is a string of interlinked scenarios that tell

a complete story. In this case, the story is heavily inspired
by the works of H.P Lovecraft, the author that popularised
the cosmic horror genre. The game takes you from Paris
1887, to the early 1900s in New England, on a disturbing
journey of terror, magic and death. Be aware that this
campaign does deal with mature themes.

Lovecraft’s work is a perfect fit for the Quill game. Many of

his stories are told through the use of letters, with
protagonists recording their investigations into horror and
insanity by sending close companions missives. The idea
behind Quill: Shadow and Ink is to emulate this spiral into
dread by having you, the player, write letters from a number
of different perspectives. You are never the same person
twice - instead selecting a new character for each letter.

One of the best things about running this campaign is the physical artefacts you are left with at
the end. Once you have completed all the scenarios you will have a stack of missives that
emulates what a protagonist in a Lovecraftian story would also have at their end of one of their
tales.

It’s recommended that if you’re not familiar with Lovecraft’s works, you check out some of the
most popular stories. All are in the public domain so can be found on the internet for free. The
Whisperer in Darkness is one of the best tales told through letters, but it’s worth reading The
Call of Cthulhu, Dagon, The Shadow Over Innsmouth and At the Mountains of Madness too as a
starter. These will give you a good idea how these stories are paced and the language used,
which is quite archaic for the time they were published.
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

RULES
 
CHARACTERS

The Journalist 
A muckracker from the local gazette who yearns to get to the bottom of a story. The journalist is
a tenacious soul whose mastery of language is second-to-none. With only her words she can
topple the most powerful members of society.

Armed with a trusty notepad and pen, the journalist is able to get notes down fast to relay the
facts as expediently as possible.

Penmanship: Poor
Language: Good
Heart: Average

The Historian 
The historian is an expert in antiquity - a collector of lost tomes, of sacred ancient objects and,
just sometimes, curiosities of an occult nature.

Penmanship: Good
Language: Average
Heart: Poor

The Scientist 

 
The scientist works in a field of study such as physics, biology, geology or chemistry. Scientists
are rational and reasoned, while being methodical in their mannerisms and analysis.

Penmanship: Poor
Language: Average
Heart: Good
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

The Student 
Students are eager to learn and wear their heart on their sleeve. The best students will waste no
time trying to gain experience and best their peers, although they have much to learn about the
world.

Penmanship: Average
Language: Poor
Heart: Good

The Linguist 
The linguist is a master of languages, likely knowing more than three. They often work as
translators for large companies, having to travel often for their job.

Penmanship: Average
Language: Good
Heart: Poor

The Artist 
Artists are aesthetes above all else. They can paint and draw beautifully, although few are lucky
enough to make money from their passion.

Penmanship: Good
Language: Poor
Heart: Average

CHOOSE YOUR SKILL

Now you have chosen your character, you need to select a skill. Skills can be used once per
scenario, potentially giving you an advantage when writing your letter. There are three skills
in the game:

Inspiration: Gain +1 dice to a Language Test

Steady hand: Gain +1 dice to a Penmanship Test
Detailed: Gain +1 dice to a Heart Test
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

CHOOSING CHARACTERS
In each scenario you will be taking on the role of a different character, so you are encouraged to
select a new character at the beginning of each letter.

SPECIAL RULE: REPLYING

In Quill: Shadow and Ink there may be times that you end with ‘Your story has come to an end’.
The first time this happens in a scenario you have you opportunity to reply to the outcome and
try the letter again. If you get the same outcome again, you are unable to try another time.

SPECIAL RULE: STORY POINTS

In Quill: Shadow and Ink each scenario is linked into a larger story. If you manage to score a
certain number of points at the end of a letter, you will be awarded either 1 or 2 Story Points. If
you manage to complete the campaign you will be given the option of reading one of two
conclusions, depending on how many Story Points you acquired from scenarios.

 
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

 
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

SCENARIO ONE
 

VIR STELLAS
The year is 1887 and the location is London, England. You have travelled here from Paris on the
hunt for antiquity, a hobby of yours. You are particularly interested in old esoteric texts, so
when you discovered a 16th century book being auctioned off at Sotheby’s that you had never
heard of - Vir Stellas. You purchased the book for a princely sum, feeling somewhat guilty about
spending so much on one tome, but it was one of the fiercest bidding wars you had ever been a
part of.

You are staying in London for the next few weeks and have spent much of the time locked in
your dingy rooms pouring through the strange text. Odd symbols and disturbing illustrations fill
the book and the more you read, the more unsettled you become. You decide to write to a friend,
Pierre Durand, back in Paris who you know to be an expert on the occult, as this is what you
believe the book to be written about.

Profile 
● The letter is written to give details about the Vir Stellas and hopefully encourage Pierre
to write back with answers to what the provenance of the text could be. You will be
recounting your disturbances at the book, explaining what you found in there. While you
don’t know details and cannot read the language - you will be noting some of the strange
symbology and weird illustrations you have found.

Rules of Correspondence 

You may choose from one of the following:

● You will try to put forward your disgust and disturbance at the text - gain +1 to Heart
rolls.
● You will try to impress your friend with knowledge of texts - gain +1 to Language rolls

Ink Pot
Hello/ Good day
Sold/ Auctioned
Book / Tome
Pictures/ Illustrations
Scared/ Disturbed
Piece/ Fragment
Image / Emblem
Quickly/Hastily
Stars/ Heavenly bodies
Unbearable/ Oppressive
 
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

 
 
Consequences

Fewer than 5 points

You receive a response after a longer period than you expected. In the letter, Pierre’s is almost
mocking in his language. He has never heard of the Vir Stellas and dismisses it as a fake -
possibly written centuries later. Pierre believes that you have been hoodwinked, but wishes you
well and will speak with you when you are back in Paris. ​Your investigation has come to an
end.

6-8 points
After several days you receive a letter from Pierre, who admits while he has never heard of the
Vir Stellas, he is intrigued by its provenance. He believes that, while it may be a fake, if it is real
the text could be of great importance in the study of the history of the occult. ​Gain 1 story
point.

9+ points
It doesn’t take long to receive a response from Pierre, who is clearly excited in the way he
writes. He has read of Vir Stellas many years ago. The tome was said to have been a myth, but he
always believed there was evidence to suggest that it was real. While he is unsure of exactly
what the contents are about, he does believe it could be a magical text. He says that he is visiting
you immediately to see the book for himself. ​Gain 2 story points.
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

SCENARIO TWO
 

INHERITING DARKNESS 
 
 
The year is 1903 and the location is Paris, France. You have recently inherited a collection of
antique books after your grandparents passed quite suddenly, and have been told that you can
do what you will with the books, but not to sell the tome locked away in the library’s safe. Your
curiosity piqued, you unlocked the safe with a brass key left in a brown envelope and pulled out
the book - Vir Stellas.

Like the one you inherited the book from, you quickly became enthralled and, at the same time,
disturbed by the text. Along with the tome you found stacks of notes written by one Pierre
Durand - a family friend who also passed recently.

You took the book on a trip to Arkham, Massachusetts, where you were visiting a hospitalised
friend. Holing yourself away for days on end, you poured through Durand’s notes and attempted
to decipher the text. After several weeks you determine that the text is indeed magical, and
appears to contain information about a world beyond our own. It appears that you require a
second person in order to carry out some of the simpler rites in the book - and as you become
more obsessed with the book, you also become more obsessed with the idea of carrying out one
of the rites. You decide to write to a friend in New Orleans, Jemima Carter, who you know has
always dabbled in the wicked arts.

Profile 
● You need to persuade Jemima to travel to New England and enact some of the strange
rites that have been de-encoded in the book. Use your most persuasive language and
paint a picture of what you might be able to achieve - namely, a potential window into
another world.

Rules of Correspondence 

You may choose from one of the following:

● You are setting out to use your most persuasive language. Your first Language roll
automatically succeeds.
● You know that Jemima loves symbology and hieroglyphs. You painstakingly spend time
filling margins with these. Your first Penmanship roll automatically succeeds.

Ink Pot
Spells/ Invocations
Witch/ Magic-user
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

Shapes / Hieroglyphs
Persuade/ Inveigle
Ritual/ Ceremony
Piece/ Fragment
Nice / Beautiful
Shot/Opportunity
Call/ Summon
Immortality/ Deathlessness

Consequences

Fewer than 5 points

Jemima writes back after a month of waiting. Her response disappoints you greatly and you fall
into a great depression after reading her words. She says she no longer works with the dark arts
and warns you about doing the same. She tells you not to write again unless it’s to warm her
soul with good news. ​Your investigation has come to an end.

6-8 points
Jemima is intrigued by your proposal, although is concerned about invoking a power that she
knows nothing about. She says that she will visit, but must be convinced further by reading the
book herself. ​Gain 1 story point.

9+ points
Jemima writes back with enthusiasm and excitement about the endeavour. She believes that the
ritual could call a being into the world who could offer to take them to this other place. Her life
on Earth has been disappointing, so is eager to see if she can travel to a new, better place. She
will be packing for New England tomorrow. ​Gain 2 story points.
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

SCENARIO THREE
 
CEREMONY OF SCARS 
The year is 1904 and the location is Arkham, Massachusetts. You have traveled from New
Orleans after receiving a letter from your close friend Jemima Carter, who had travelled to New
England some months ago for what she said was to be an experience to open 'all the eyes of the
mind’. However, she was apparently growing concerned about her companion, who had become
so obsessed with an occult text that they had begun doing terrible things to their own body. You
decide to visit to help your friend.

When you arrive, you are unprepared for what you find. The house she has been staying in is
silent but the door ajar. You ascend the stairs and enter a room, only to find a scene that chilled
your blood and sent you into shock. Two bodies covered in scars shaped like hieroglyphs lay on
the floor, face down in a pool of dried blood. One was Jemima. All over the room are documents
and on the walls are symbols, and mad writings that portray these poor souls’ descent into
madness.

One phrase from the room stuck in your mind since you discovered the wretches scene - The
Man from the Stars. The police took most of the material away as evidence but you can't shake
the feeling that this was more than a potential suicide. You take it upon yourself to delve further
into this. After speaking with neighbors and townsfolk in the area, you find that there have been
reports of awful chants and screams coming from the sycamore wood in the middle of the night.
Some say they saw strange lights coming from within that unsettled them. You decide you need
a companion to help you in your investigation, so write to Paul Washington, an old university
friend and journalist in Boston.

Profile 
● You must encourage Paul to join you in your investigation, as you mean to set out into
the woods to discover any clues about the cause of Jemima's death.

Rules of Correspondence 
You may choose from one of the following: 
● Paul is fact-oriented and does not enjoy exaggeration. You have a -1 to Heart rolls.
● You are writing in haste on poor quality paper. You have a -1 to Penmanship rolls.

Ink Pot
Horrid/ Grisly
Break/ Rend
Star Man / Man from the Stars
Loud/ Cacophonous
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

I'm sorry/ Forgive me

Lights/ Incandescence
Bad/ Sinister
Bodies/ Corpses
Spell/ Incantation
Speed/ Haste

Consequences

Fewer than 5 points

Paul is glib in his response to you. He tells you that you should seek help as you are clearly not in
the right frame of mind. He asks you whether you have been hitting the bottle too many times.
Your investigation has come to an end.

6-8 points
Paul is concerned for your well-being and his tone has an air of disbelief about your story.
However, he tells you to expect him tomorrow and he looks forward to seeing you. ​Gain 1 story
point.

9+ points
Paul writes back, telling you he will be over at once. He says this could be the story of the decade
and wouldn't miss an opportunity to find out what happened to the bodies and to investigate
the strange sounds and lights. ​Gain 2 story points.
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

SCENARIO FOUR
 

NYARLATHOTEP
The year is 1904 and the location is Arkham, Massachusetts. You have lived on the outskirts of
the Sycamore Woods for a decade but you are ready to pack up and move to Nebraska to live
with your mother. The chantings and lights began a month ago and have only grown more
intense since then. You heard that an out-of-town journalist and his companion were last seen
heading into the damned place before vanishing. Now Charlie is dead - a detective and your
closest friend in the world. You had grown worried about his health recently. Ever since he
discovered two mutilated bodies in an old house, their bodies covered in scars as if they were
enacting some sort of occult ceremony, he hadn’t been the same. He would jabber incessantly
about a book he found in the house - the Vir Stellas - and how the Man from the Stars would
come to bring him peace. You put it down to his suffering after his son passed a year ago - it
must be hard on the guy.

You were the one who found his body. There is a field to the north of the wood where people
walk their dogs. You were walking Betsy, your spaniel, when you found Charlie’s body, naked
and covered in horrific cuts resembling hieroglyphics. That night the chantings were louder
than ever, so you decided to investigate, mustering up all the courage you could find. You crept
into a clearing where ten people danced and contorted naked - each covered in scar symbols. In
the centre stood a man dressed in gentleman’s attire with a cane. You remember him being tall -
about 8ft tall. He was monstrous and as the scarred people danced he laughed a disgusting
cackle. You could hear clearly what they were chanting: Ie, ie Nyarlathotep, thusai cul nubula
Nyarlathotep. You were shaken and immediately fled. Now you are writing to the New England
Journal with an account of what you saw - people must know what dark devilry is happening in
those woods and who this strange man is.

Profile 
● You must relay the events to the editor at the New England Journal - telling them what
you saw and that people have the right to know about it. Convince them to report on it at
once.

Rules of Correspondence 
You may choose from one of the following: 
● Your descriptions of the horrors you saw are vivid. Reroll your first Heart test and take
the highest number.
● You write on high quality vellum paper with professional stationery. Reroll your first
Penmanship test and take the highest number.

Ink Pot
Danced/ Writhed
Dog/ Spaniel
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

Snoop / Investigate
Tall man/ Lanky giant
Cop/ Detective
Cuts/ Flesh carvings
Dusk/ Gloam
Doom/ Quietus
Ran/ Fled
Peepers/ Eyes

Consequences

Fewer than 5 points

You receive no response from the Journal. You clearly didn’t do enough to convince them of the
story’s importance, or perhaps they do not believe you. ​Your investigation has come to an
end.

6-8 points
You receive a letter from the editor saying that the story interest them, but they can’t put their
full resource in to cover it, so they will be sending a junior reporter in the next couple of days to
investigate.. ​Gain 1 story point.

9+ points
The letter from the editor is everything you hoped for. He is extremely interested in following
this story and is immediately dispatching the Journal’s most seasoned reporter. Before long
you’re getting paid a visit by journalist Jacob Hughes who interviews you about what you saw
and decides to set out into the woods at night.. ​Gain 2 story points.
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

SCENARIO FIVE
 

PARADISE FOUND 
 
The year is 1904 and the location is Arkham, Massachusetts. Upon visiting your friend, who
owns a modest home on the border of the Sycamore Wood, you found the door off its hinges,
lying in the centre of the kitchen. You reasoned there must have been a break in, but you soon
realised that a smear of blood coated the ground, leading out of the back door - as if some poor
soul was wounded and dragged outside. You followed the trail of gore through the woods, your
heartbeat quickening - what had become of your friend? You came across the body of a small
dog, recognising it as Betsy. There were marks on its body as if it had been bitten or clawed by
something - perhaps a cougar, you thought.

The trail brought you to a clearing where you stopped dead at the sight. Twenty or thirty men
and women were writhing on the ground, heavily wounded. Feeding on their flesh were
grotesque beings the likes of which you have never seen and whose bulbous, gnashing forms
will never leave your mind. They were a grey colour, with awful membranous wings and several
jaws. But the most horrifying aspect of the grisly scene wasn’t the chewing of flesh and sinew,
nor was it the tall man looming over them, face fixed with a grin. No, it was the laughing. The
naked people who were being feasted upon were cackling madly, as if they were enjoying every
moment - as if it were an ecstasy. A man, looked up at you giggling and snorting, his legs were all
but gone now. He shrieked out words that rang in your soul: “Nyarlathotep has brought
paradise to us, praise be to him.” The man expired before you and you cried out in horror.

You are in your hotel room, panting for breath in disbelief of what you just saw. You had run for
your life, not looking back at the evil unfolding behind you. You grasp a pen and paper and begin
to write. Not to anyone but yourself. You need to get everything down to prove your sanity.

Profile 
● You must convince yourself that you are sound of mind and that what you saw was a
figment - a chemical reaction in your brain. Reason as to what happened and try to
maintain your sanity.

Rules of Correspondence 
● There is only darkness. He is here by your door. Your final paragraph must be in capitals.
● Wake up, you are dreaming. You must be dreaming. Once you have finished, seal the
letter away forever.
● Don’t look. Head down. He can’t hurt you. You may only attempt this letter once.
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

Ink Pot
Dream/ Reverie
Burgled/ Ransacked
Fancy / Imagination
Monsters/ Otherworldly Beings
Music/ Symphony
Practical/ Pragmatic
Shadows/ Silhouettes
Mind/ Intellect
Cheer/ Rejoice
Vanish/ Dissipate

Consequences

0-7 points
You seal the envelope and slip it into a drawer, holding your head. Writing has made you feel
better, but you can’t shake the feeling that something is drawing in. You look outside and see the
shape of a tall man. ​Gain 1 story point.

8+ points
You seal away the letter and take a breath. You have convinced yourself that what you saw was
merely your imagination - a reaction in your brain that you must consult a doctor about. You
feel better and smile. There was nothing there. Your friend is still alive and the things you saw
were the conjurings of a tired mind. ​Gain 2 story points.
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

CONCLUSION
 
Count up each of your Story Points and consult the relevant conclusion below.

5-7 Story Points

You wake up to sunlight beaming through the window. You feel groggy and your limbs ache.
Was yesterday really just a dream? You pack your case and dress yourself, noticing yourself
quivering as you fasten your buttons. On your desk is a newspaper open at a story about strange
goings on in the Sycamore Woods. Looking a second time you realise there is no newspaper. You
shake your head violently and sit on the bed. Something isn’t right - you can feel it in your bones.

Heading downstairs you realise everything is silent. The owners of the establishment are
nowhere to be seen. You strike the bell on the counter to alert someone but after five minutes of
waiting you realise that nobody is coming.

You step out into the street. Like the hotel, there is not a soul around. You are beginning to panic
- where has everyone gone? You notice a grey swirling cloud overhead, a portent of rain.
However, looking closer, you realise that it is no cloud. Thousands of flapping wings descend
through the air, shrieking and gnashing. You fall to your knees before the cloud envelopes you.

8-10 Story Points

After waking up you are soon dressed and on your way. The events of yesterday seem like a bad
dream but you smile and shake your head - what a fool you have been. Saying goodbye to your
hosts you take the first train to Boston, thankful to be leaving that damned place.

Months go by and you decide to take a trip to Paris to see your relatives, many of whom you
have never met - besides, you have never been to the city and it’s always been a dream of yours
to go. When you arrive you’re greeted by smiling faces, hugs and kisses from your uncle and
aunt. They take you back to a beautiful chateau that has been in the family for generations. You
while the evening away telling stories and drinking fine red wine from the local vineyard, feeling
like you’re finally home.

The next day your uncle shows you around the chateau. You are drawn to the beautiful library,
filled with rows of antique books. Your uncle tells you that his brother Pierre was a great
collector of old tomes, particularly those that are esoteric in nature. He left his entire collection
to your uncle, who became somewhat of a collector himself. Your uncle has an excited look in his
eye as he giddily guides you over to an ornate mahogany desk. Sitting on the desk is an object
dressed in cloth. He tells you that his brother had written much about a certain book he had
studied years ago, but wished he could have in his collection. You uncle tells you that as luck
 QUILL: SHADOW AND INK

would have it, he met a well-kept gentleman from New England who had access to this book and
sold it to your uncle for a reasonable price. He unfurls the book from the cloth and you marvel at
the black leather binding and the archaic lettering on the spine. It read: Vir Stellas.