Cairo 1920s/1930s Adventures Wanted

[joshualevy]

The quick question first, and the long background later:

Does anyone know of adventures to run in Cairo of the 1920s or 1930s? I'm happy with almost any theme, but especially Horror, Mysteries, or Secret Agent/Mission adventures. Call of Cthulhu, Indian Jones, Mamur Zapt, anything like that. I'm happy to pay money, download for free, buy magazines that contain them, buy a book for one adventure, use kickstarter, any source is OK.

The long background:
I would like to start a new campaign, and I've decided the key to my GMing happiness is to get pre-made scenarios. I'm just not good at creating scenarios, and I don't enjoy it. I have the following campaign concept, but need adventures to run in it:

The characters will be members of the Cairo police "Special Branch". This unit handles crimes that the British want handled "carefully". There might be supernatural issues, classic detective stuff (especially if the victim or criminal is British), any sort of problem with archaeology, etc. The Special Branch is mostly British, but some Egyptians. Egypt is controlled by the United Kingdom at this time, but there is a figurehead Egyptian king, and things are pretty tense.

When I get tired of that setting, I'll have all the players convert their characters to Roman era characters. Scientists and Engineers will become Priests and Magicians. The British will become Roman; the Egyptians will stay Egyptians. When I get bored of that, we can do Bronze age Egypt, and Egypt of the Middle Ages. Same characters, same place, but different times. I might try linking the stories, too, but that might be a bit much.

So, any thoughts on GURPS Adventures in Cairo or Egypt?

Joshua

[jason taylor]

Great Game kind of things. The Italians are just over the border and looking ambitious. Possibly you might go up into Ethiopia and see some horrific atrocities. Or meet a rather disillusioned bartender along the way.

The Zionists and the Arabs are always fighting for turf.

Rebel conspiracies.

Ordinary banditry and tribal warfare. In places there is still slavery (Orde Wingate, who was a fascinating if rather odd fellow, won his spurs chasing slavers).

Desert survey by truck and airplane. New air pioneers going on flamboyant trips around the world.

A bit of a cliche but Nazis seeking supernatural help in the up-and-coming war.

Discovery of Tomes of Eldritch Lore.

Not all of these are something for a Special Branch, but there is plenty to go around.

One option is to have at least some of the characters be something that allows for variety. British aristocrats sometimes were rather eclectic in their interests and the Royal Geographical Society often farmed out it's people for intelligence work. Indeed it was common for Old Whatever-the-heck-this-country-is Hands to do intelligence among their various things.

Were there White Russians in Alexandria? There were almost everywhere and they were a fascinating part of that era.

That is just some thoughts.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

I was about to recommend the Cairo Guidebook for Call of Cthulhu, which deals with horror adventures (obviously) in 1920s Cairo. Unfortunately, it's long out of print and it doesn't appear to be available in a digital form, so physical copies are unreasonably expensive. Still, if you've got a nearby used book store with a section for RPGs, it might be worth keeping an eye out for.

[Celjabba]

The Masks of Nyarlathotep call of Cthulhu campaign have a chapter in Egypt, and the Masks of Nyarlathotep Companion have a few usefull pages on Cairo.
But neither are worth buying just for the Cairo information. (Both are excellent on their own, however !)

The companion advise getting the 1904 Baedeker’s Guide to Cairo. I think they are on archive.org ?

You may also want to check Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody stories. Quite a few would make good scenarios, and they are full of information and well detailed NPC.

[Culture20]

You could have a race against Nazis to raid the last (lost) resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Culture20

You could have a race against Nazis to raid the last (lost) resting place of the Ark of the Covenant.

And then laugh when they melt again? Everyone who has been to Sunday School knows what happens when hubristic people get hold of it and the ending was pretty much what might be expected. Except it should have been returned to some hidden Coptic shrine associated with the Queen of Sheeba and not a shabby warehouse.

[smcc360]

Brother, what you want is right here, practically made to order. I've used it for pulp Savage Worlds campaigns, and it works great!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/89643/Pulp-Egypt

[Astromancer]

Do remember how near the Suez cannal is. Any plot to damage the cannal or to sink an important ship in transit works. The cannal mainly goes through the Nile delta, the most archeologically rich area of Egypt. Lost cities have been found with a few minutes drive of the cannal in the last twenty years!

[YankeeGamer]

For a rather fantastic adventure there is the Qattara Depression Project. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qattar...ession_Project
That has massive potential in the eyes of the 1920's, a time when people thought we could do anything. Blend as needed with Berber nomads, per L'Invasion de la Mer, ancient mummies that don't want the project to proceed, Deep Ones that DO, so they can access things in the soon to be flooded area...
Sorry that I don't have any references to premade scenarios, but that one looks unique.

[johndallman]

If you want a background villain, whose machinations tie disparate adventures together, The Secret Pharaoh in Thaumatology: Age of Gold might do rather well.