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Curse of Jonah
And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
—Jonah 1:7, 1:15
Keeper Note: This mechanic was developed for White Leviathan, an epic campaign set onboard the whaleship Quiddity in 1844. However, these rules can be used for any Call of Cthulhu scenario involving sailors!
The Curse of Jonah
Every long voyage has its spells of good luck and bad luck, and sailors are quick to blame the vagaries of fate on the careless actions of individuals. Over time, a person may develop a reputation as being lucky or unlucky, an important quality when selecting one’s shipmates—everyone wants to sail with a lucky captain! However, nothing is loathed more than a “Jonah,” a shipboard personality seen as prodigious bad luck. No whales have been sighted for weeks? Too many shipboard accidents? Bad weather? Perhaps there’s a Jonah onboard!
Of course, a cold-blooded rationalist might observe that the sea is a dangerous place, subject to all manner of unpredictable variables. Furthermore, said non-believer might remark that a sailor’s superstitions are just feeble efforts to project the illusion of control over indifferent natural forces such as waves and weather. Such lubberly nonsense! If there’s anyone more superstitious than sailors, it’s dice-rolling gamers, and in Call of Cthulhu luck is every bit as real as faith, magic, and science. It’s even a player characteristic! The following system helps a Keeper manage the ebb and flow of fickle fortune onboard the Quiddity, and describes four levels of “unluckiness.”
Level 1: Unlucky
Certain people are unwelcome onboard a ship: priests, lawyers, tailors, red-heads, and women. Other things invite immediate misfortune, such as failing to right something that toppled over, a ringing glass left unsilenced, whistling too loudly during good weather, casually tossing rocks into the sea, or losing a piece of equipment overboard. Bringing onboard anything reminiscent of funerals is unlucky, including flowers, wreaths, and coffins. Black valises are shunned, as are rabbits, pigs, and bananas. Some words are inherently unlucky, and sailors avoid saying “good bye” and “good luck” when departing. Kingsport sailors no longer say “Innsmouth” out loud, referring to the town euphemistically as “up the coast.” (For a general overview of nautical superstitions, see “Life On a Whaling Ship.” )
Gaming System
A player character who falls into one of these unfortunate personal categories or triggers one of these superstitions is quickly informed they are inviting bad luck. If the character herself is the problem, she receives a temporary –5% reduction to her Luck score, and is likely to get blamed for any general misfortune that befalls the ship. If any character invites bad luck through an action or inaction—for instance, whistling loudly while tossing rocks at imaginary sea-rabbits—his next three involuntary rolls suffer a –1D10 penalty die.
Redemption
Most unlucky actions have a counter-action that cancels the bad luck—quickly righting the fallen object, touching wood, spilling wine on deck, etc. For instance, if someone wishes you “good luck” prior to sailing, blood must be drawn. If a redhead boards the ship, he must be spoken to first. If the correct counter-action is performed quickly, sailors are satisfied and the penalty dice may be averted. However, it’s more difficult to escape censure when one’s very existence is the contentious factor! Souls considered inherently “unlucky” may redeem themselves in three ways: (1) They may be seen to frequently encourage good luck through an obedience to all nautical traditions, no matter how illogical. You want wind? Scratch a stay! (2) They may attempt to win favor among the crew: offering up their share of rum, performing unique services, giving presents, and so forth. (3) They may publicly perform some heroic or fortunate act: saving the ship in a storm, first spotting the white whale, etc. These events should emerge naturally from roleplaying, and must be mediated by the Keeper. Once “unlucky” characters are accepted by the crew, their Luck returns to normal.
Level 2: Bad Luck
Sometimes a person can’t catch a break. Woe betide any crewman, officer, or passenger who is eventually declared “bad luck,” pure and simple. (And there’s a difference between “unlucky” and “bad luck.” Ask any gambler or gamer!) Although nobody is ready to say the word “Jonah”—not yet—all eyes are on this person, and they are expected to do something to reverse their fortune. Also, certain ill-advised actions may be immediately declared bad luck, such killing an albatross or saying the word “drowned.”
Gaming System
Being declared “bad luck” brings a –10% reduction to a character’s Luck score. The Keeper provides the unhappy player with a special D12 Jonah die, preferably a different color or pattern than the player’s regular dice. Once per game session, this dice must be used as a –1D12 penalty die for some important roll. (Being a D12, failures and critical failures are significantly more likely.) Only the Keeper may decide which roll is penalized, but the roll should affect other characters as well as the unfortunate player: reefing the sails during a storm, throwing a harpoon, making a Luck roll for an entire whaleboat, etc. A roll failed using a Jonah die cannot be pushed.
Redemption
Someone considered bad luck may redeem themselves as described in Level 1. Once the character “breaks the streak,” his Luck score is restored and the Jonah die removed.
Level 3: The Jonah
If someone declared bad luck continues their downward spiral, or causes some general misfortune—perhaps by failing a critical roll using a Jonah die!—the whispers begin among the crew—“Oh, aye, he’s a Jonah, all right.”
Gaming System
Only the Keeper may declare a character a Jonah. The first time this poisonous word is spoken out loud by an NPC, the hapless character is reduced another –10% Luck, and must use the Jonah die three times per gaming session. The Keeper is encouraged to instruct other players to point out incidents where the Jonah die might be applied during gameplay. After all, turning against a Jonah is only natural, and having one’s companions continually suggesting when the Keeper should penalize one’s roll is wonderfully dispiriting!
Redemption
Only God Almighty—or the Keeper—can redeem a Jonah. Nobody wants gifts from a Jonah, and a Jonah seen trying to deliberately summon good luck is paradoxically scorned as even more of a Jonah—“Oh, just look at the bastard, trying to escape ‘is fate, ‘e is. Oh, ‘e knows all right!” Only some unforeseen act of heroism or self-sacrifice can redeem a Jonah. Such a circumstance should emerge naturally through roleplaying.
Level 4: Cursed!
At some point, a Jonah’s bad luck becomes contagious, and every character working with the Jonah suffers. Soon word gets around—he’s not just a Jonah, he’s bloody cursed! At this point, dark mutterings begin, and there’s little the Jonah may do to prevent being shunned. The proverbial albatross has been hung around his neck. In fact, he should really start looking over his shoulder. Accidents do happen on ships, you know.
Gaming System
Only the Keeper may declare a Jonah truly cursed, usually after some grave misfortune has befallen the ship—a sudden storm, a rogue wave, a prolonged calm, etc. Every sailor working aside the cursed character is prone to bad luck. The Keeper may decide how this manifests: Regular successes now require Hard successes, automatic actions require skill rolls, and dicey situations are complicated by inopportune Luck rolls. Penalty dice fall like hailstones! The Keeper should inflict such consequences at least three times per gaming session, preferably at key dramatic moments. Additionally, at the beginning of every session, the cursed character must make a Luck roll using the Jonah die. If the roll is a failure, the Keeper should devise some Bad Thing that happens only to the Jonah during the session. Possibilities include falling from the rigging, receiving bad news in a letter, losing a valuable possession, etc.
Redemption
A cursed Jonah is still a Jonah, but now there’s a reason for his misfortune. Whether he crossed a witch, displeased Father Neptune, or offended God himself, the Jonah invited his fate by some act of blasphemy or wrong-doing. No spontaneous act of heroism or self-sacrifice may redeem a cursed character—they can only break the curse by undoing the wrong. This should be done through roleplaying, and may involve a tailored quest specially designed by the Keeper.
Good Luck
Sailors also believe in good luck, even if it’s not as enjoyable to gripe about as bad luck. Cats are considered good luck, especially those with extra toes. Having said that, losing a cat overboard invites catastrophe. Setting sail on a Sunday brings good luck, and dolphins are always a welcome sight. It’s possible that some sailors, officers, or passengers may be declared “good luck.” This is never casual, and only comes after months of steady good fortune or some terrifically lucky event. If this status is bestowed upon a crewman or passenger, he may expected to have his hair tousled, his back slapped, or his collar touched by other crew members, playful attempts to have his luck “rub off” on them. (Officers, of course, are above such indignities.) Being declared good luck is not a permanent status, but sailors are generous in forgiving lapses as temporary streaks of bad luck. A grave misfortune or sudden calamity is required to declare that someone’s “luck has run out.” After all, nobody wants to lose their “mascotte!”
Gaming System
Only the Keeper may declare a character “good luck.” This character receives a temporary +10% boost to his Luck score, and is awarded a +1D8 Mascotte die that may be used once per session as a bonus die; but only on a roll that involves his shipmates.
Revocation
Good luck status is lost if a character performs a deliberate act of ill-will, or suffers from a prolonged period of bad luck. A critical failure at an essential moment, or a failed push roll may start the trend; in which case the Mascotte die may be changed to a D10. Additional failures mean the character’s luck has finally run out. His Luck score is reset to normal and the Mascotte die revoked.
Managing the System
While any unfortunate player character may be considered bad luck for a spell, declaring a player character a Jonah is a decision not to be made lightly, and should only occur once in any playthrough of White Leviathan. Nevertheless, it’s jolly good fun for the Keeper, as long as she gives the Jonah the opportunity to shake loose the albatross. This shouldn’t be too easy, though. Once a player character becomes a Jonah, even the other player characters may start conspiring against him! One interesting possibility is to have a player’s secondary character declared a Jonah, possibly even becoming cursed, which could deliver the ill-starred wretch to potentially fatal circumstances.
Female Player Characters
Upon being found as a stowaway, Rachel Ward is automatically declared “unlucky.” If Lowell is being played as a female character, she shares this fate.
Nonplayer Characters
With the exception of William Pynchon, most nonplayer characters onboard the Quiddity believe in luck, especially Captain Joab, P.H. Whipple, Stanley Ruch, Peter Veidt, Suresh Joshi, Natty Weeks, and Henry Swain. Mr. Whipple in particular will treat a Jonah savagely. Strangely, while some consider the Quiddity a “cursed” ship, Captain Joab is considered good luck! Despite all the accidents that have occurred under his watch, Joab always finds whales, and his voyages are the most profitable in the Kingsport fishery.
Inspiration
Many famous nautical stories feature superstitious sailors, from Homer’s Odyssey to the Book of Jonah itself. Most tales of the Flying Dutchman include a cursed captain. Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick is filled with curses, from its opening quotations to Ahab thrice-damning his quadrant. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner famously depicts a cursed sailor, doomed to a supernatural “life-in-death” for wantonly killing an albatross. A more modern Jonah features in Peter Weir’s magnificent 2003 film Master and Commander. A Keeper may find inspiration in all these excellent sources, and is encouraged to obtain a copy of Rime of the Ancient Mariner with the magnificent Gustave Doré woodcuts!
Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 23 October 2021
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]
Level 2: Bad Luck
Sometimes a person can’t catch a break. Woe betide any crewman, officer, or passenger who is eventually declared “bad luck,” pure and simple. (And there’s a difference between “unlucky” and “bad luck.” Ask any gambler or gamer!) Although nobody is ready to say the word “Jonah”—not yet—all eyes are on this person, and they are expected to do something to reverse their fortune. Also, certain ill-advised actions may be immediately declared bad luck, such killing an albatross or saying the word “drowned.”
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