Supernatural Adventures

7/28/2019 Supernatural Adventures

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http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 4/972 Table of Contents

RED GHOS T : P AGE 4 Adv ent ur e Sum m ar y ......................................................... 4 Ac t 1: On- s it e Inv es t i gat ion ..........................

....................6

Ac t II: C r as h C our s e.........................................................11

Ac t III: Di g gin g Deeper .....................................................1 4 Ac t I V : C los e Enc ount er s .................................................20

TR A N S MU T A TI O N S : P A G E 2 3

Ac t I: So l ve e t Coa gu la ................................................... 2 5

Ac t II: Re fnem en t ........................................................... 31

Ac t III: Ru bedo ................................................................. 3 5

HI S LE S SER H ALF: P AGE 5 8Ad vent ure Sum m ary.......................................................5 8Ac t I: A Man I Know . . .....................................................60Ac t II: Hom e of t he St ran ge ..........................................65 Ac t III: Sie ge , Anyone ? .....................................................72

S Y NC HR O NICI T Y: P A G E 7 7

Ad vent u re Sum m a ry.......................................................7 7

Act I: T he Hum an A bst ract ...........................................80

Act II: Au gu r ies o f Innocence.........................................86

Act III: T he D i v ine Im a ge................................................91

HELL HOUND ON MY TRAIL: PAGE 40

Adventure Summary .......................................................40Act I: Me and the Devil Blues .......................................41Act II: They’re Red Hot ..................................................46Act III: I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom ................................52New Assets.........................................................................56Ordinary People ................................................................57

T able of Cont ent s

Cha rac te r Index p9 5


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Introduction: Raisea Little Hell

Let’s get this straight up ront. The Supernatural RPG’s not a difcult game to run. Grab amonster, grab a location, throw in some weird,

and drop the hunters right in the middle o the mess.I you’ve got a little while beore you start the game,

and a avorite urban legend or ghost story in mind,have at it, buster. You don’t need much more thanthat.

But, things being what they are, you probably don’t always have the stu together to do that. It’sbeen a long week, your kids or your dog are keeping

you up at night, midterms are a bitch. It’s okay. We’vegot you covered.

Supernatural Adventures is a collection o fvescenarios to challenge any group o hunters. Any oneo these can keep your players busy or one or twonights o demon-killing, ghost-hunting, monster-slaying thrills and chills. All you have to do is readthem in advance and insert them into your ongoing Supernatural campaign. Heck, you might even usethese to kick a campaign o. Works or us.

A Few Words of AdviceBeore you dive in, here’s a ew helpul hints. It

would also pay to read over Chapters 6 and 7 o theSupernatural RPG, too.

• This isn’t a script and you shouldn’t slavishly ollow every word and detail written in thesescenarios. It’s your game. You can and shouldmix things up a little bit by adding your ownideas and improvising when inspiration strikes.I you’re having un, odds are the players willbe, too.

• The players should make the choices. Youset up the obstacles and problems and watchthem fgure out how to knock ‘em down. Wehave no doubt your group is gonna react in

unexpected ways, sometimes in ways that wehaven’t anticipated. Don’t panic. Just fgureout where the story’s going and, i you haveto, guide ‘em back without letting them know they surprised you. Or ‘ess up, let ‘em know they’re clever, and then soldier on.

• Keep the pace owing. You don’t have todescribe every riggin’ tree to let the playersknow it’s a orest. I you don’t know an exactrule, wing it using the basics and deal with it

later. I the players get distracted or bogged

down in conversation or obsessive planning,throw a surprise at them to keep them on theitoes, but don’t punish them or not acting on your timeline. Give ‘em a reason to moveorward that’s going to make things more unor them.

• Don’t be stingy with Plot Points! In additionto the suggestions provided in each scene’s

Rewards, keep an eye on the Complicationsor each hunter and be sure to throw one ormore their way when that Trait comes intothe story. Hand ‘em out or doing well onstory-important actions, creative solutions toproblems, or anything that causes everyone tosmile, laugh, or high-fve each other.

A Quick Guide to Format Each o the adventures in this book is structured

in more or less the same way. There are three orour Acts, divided up into individual Scenes. For themost part, you’re going to fnd that the Acts ollow alinear sequence, with one or two Scenes that can bedropped in anywhere or played in any order. We giv

you a heads up in each adventure’s introduction, so you can know what to expect.

Each Scene’s got sections in common, as ollowThe Setup This lays out the scene and where

the hunters are when it starts. There’s oten someexposition here.

The Problems This is where the action

happens. The Problems are opportunities or thehunters to make choices and act appropriately. Or, you know, to screw up. That leads to . . .

The Results This is where things stand at theend o the Scene, more than likely.

The Rewards This covers suggested Plot Pointrewards or the hunters. Don’t eel limited to these,though. Plot Points should be going back and orthbetween you and the players at a pretty good clip.

It’s also worth noting that throughout the text,Difculties are all provided in upper case: HARD,FORMIDABLE, and so on. Oten, we don’t speciy

the Attribute + Skill pairing, so that you or theplayer can suggest an appropriate combo. Keep theDifculty in mind and roll with it!

So crank up the classic rock soundtrack, grabthose dice, and call your buddies over. You’ve got

work to do!


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Red Ghost B y J ess H ar t le y

Something bad is going on out in the desert,and—o course—it’s up to the hunters todetermine what’s up and how to deal with it.

This is a predominantly investigative adventure,and as such can be used or any number o playersand or hunters o any experience. While thesimple draw o “bad stu needs dealt with” may beplenty o motivation or many hunters, the addedtemptation o a hety reward rom John Burlingtonis likely enough to tip the scales and attract thecharacters’ attention, even i the hunters arenowhere near the Southwest.

Adventure Summary

Groundbreaking on a new casino just

outside of Camp Verde, Arizona was halted

today, after two workers were killed in

a mysterious attack on the construction site.

Both victims were employees of Desert Oasis

Construction, although their identities are

being withheld pending notification of their

A H OR S E O F A N O T H ER

CO L OR Wh i le the Red Ghost is

a spec i ca l l y

Southweste rn Un ited States legend and

pla ys h isto r ica l l y into Southwest U S h isto r y,

w ith a l itt le twea k ing th is ad ventu re wo r ks

fo r an ywhe re in the wo r ld. Anothe r spec ies o f

pac k/ r id ing an im a l cou ld rep resent the Red

Ghost, rathe r than a cam e l. Ho rses, don ke ys

o r m u les a re app rop r iate a lm ost an ywhe re,

espec ia l l y fo r locat ions re lated to the Go ld

Rush o r m in ing exp lo rat ion. O r, i f you want to

b r ing in a less h isto r ic but

m o re exot ic opt ion,

m a ke it an e lephant. That w i l l rea l l y th row the p la ye rs o f f. App rop r iate

locat ion t ie- ins inc lude:

the s ite o f a t ra ve l l ing c i rcus’ d isaste r; a

ca rn i va l-t ra in w rec k locat ion; o r the hom e o f

a

now-de funct am usem ent pa r k/pett ing z oo. Th

e

p rem ise beh ind th is ad ventu re rem a ins the

sam e, e ven i f the t rapp ings change—An an im a

l

and its r ide r/ keepe r a re bound togethe r in

som e wa y, both ph ys ica l l y and sp i r itua l l y. The

an im a l sp i r it is d r i ven insane b y the ghost o f

the r ide r, and unt i l both a re set to rest, ha vo

c

w i l l ensue.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 7/97 5Red Ghost

next of kin. Police suspect that the vandals,

who apparently tipped over the portable

building the workers were using as an on-site

office space, may have been a part of a recent

influx of gang activity from the Los Angeles

area, but say they have no direct leads at this

time.

Extensive damage was done to the site’s

construction equipment, including brokenglass and hundreds of strange semi-circular

dents made with an unknown instrument. John

Burlington, owner of Desert Oasis has offered

a ten thousand dollar reward for information

leading to the arrest of the culprits.”

Like many hunting jobs, this one begins witha normal-sounding news report. The excerptabove was taken rom one o the many websites ornewspapers that the hunters are likely to monitor,or perhaps it’s ed to them by a contact somewherein the Southwest who has circled the phrases“mysterious attack,” “strange semi-circular dents,”and “unknown instrument” in red.

Either way, the hunters make their way tothe small town o Camp Verde, Arizona, whichis located on Highway 17 between Flagsta andPhoenix. It’s a small town, with just over tenthousand residents, the majority o which areinvolved in the service industry in some ashion.Many work at gas stations, restaurants, hotels, orthe local casino.

While the town’s in the Sonoran Desert,the Verde River makes a large curve nearby,surrounding the town itsel on two sides andadding diversity to the arid climate. Just on thenorth side o town, on the other side o the

Verde, construction has begun on a new casino.The town, which made a lot o money rom thetourism the original casino brought in, is anxiously awaiting groundbreaking on the second gambling establishment. However, construction has beenhalted due to the mysterious attack on the building site and the deaths o two workers.

Because this is an investigation-basedadventure, the hunters can explore the Scenes

within any given Act in any order, and they don’teven need to go through the Acts in the givenorder, either. For example, they could start witho-site research ( Act III) rather than physicalinvestigation ( Act I). Some o the conict scenesrom Act IV could work into the middle o ongoing scenes rom other acts. Because o this, it’simportant or you to read through the adventurein its entirety beore beginning play. You’ll learn

which Act to queue up based on the choices o

the players. They’re presented in what’s probably the most common investigation path or huntersbut—as all Game Masters know—players havea way o choosing the path that’s least expected.Some improv may be required i players leaporward on the investigation trail beore gathering the inormation or each Act, but don’t penalizethem i they have some brainstorm that takes them

orward aster than anticipated. The inormation’sstill there waiting or them i they have to comeback or a second look at earlier sites or arrange asecond meeting with various individuals. Noteshave been made where a second visit changes thesetting or reaction.

Breakdown of the ActsHere’s how the our Acts shake out. Act I: On-Site Investigation The hunters

poke around at the dig site in response to the newsreport.

Act II: Crash Course There’s a car crash, andan incident at a local store, either o which revealsmore.

Act III: Digging Deeper Hitting the booksand snooping about.

Act IV: Close Encounters Conict scenes todrop into the above Acts.

Here’s the StoryIn the mid-eigheen hundreds, three dozencamels were transported rom Northern Arica and

the Middle East to Camp Verde, Arizona as part o a US Army experiment. The animals were to beused instead o horses or mules or military eortsand were stationed at various military outpostsbetween Camp Verde and Los Angeles.

Initial results o the project were positive—the camels were strong, well-suited or theSouthwestern climate, and could eat much o thelocal scrub auna, which other pack animals turnedtheir noses up at. However, in time, the animals

proved difcult to train, surly by nature, anddisagreeable both to their military handlers and tothe ort’s other pack animals. Ater the advent o the Civil War, the project was ofcially abandoned,and the US Camel Corps disbanded over the nextew years. Some o the animals were sold to minerand armers who were unaware o the animal’spoor track record in service. Others were simply “lost”—turned out into the desert either by themilitary or their new owners when they becameaware o the difculty in dealing with them.


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During the fnal leg o this experiment, JacobTanner, a soldier at Fort Verde, deserted. He mighthave escaped, had he simply let the area, but he

was arrested by a local sheri in the nearby mining town, ater getting rough with one o the saloongirls. The woman cursed him beore dying o theinjuries he inicted.

Discipline at the Fort (which would be

abandoned entirely a ew years later) was wild.Tanner, who’d been a constant troublemaker sincearriving at the Fort, was whipped, and then tied

with rawhide laces to the back o one o the ew remaining camels (which itsel had a horriblereputation or mean-spiritedness). The pair wassent out into the desert to die, ridding the ort o both the criminal and the cantankerous camel.

Unable to ree himsel, Tanner died a ew days later, still astened to the camel’s back.His corpse, and the curse that had been orcedupon him, drove the camel mad. Reports o thebeast—matched in erocity only by its massivestature—began suracing throughout the area.It was accused o attacking and killing settlers,armers, miners and soldiers in the surrounding area or years. Eventually the tales dropped o,although occasionally stories o campers, travelersor homesteaders being killed by severe injuries as i they’d been trampled have arisen.

The recent excavation o the casinoconstruction site has disturbed the bones o thecamel, which had earned itsel the name o the

Red Ghost. Now the hunters have to lay this madanimal spirit—and the ghost that’s plaguing it—torest.

Act 1: On-siteInvestigations

Scene 1: Investigating

the Construction SiteThe Setup

The construction site is located just north o Camp Verde, o o a minor highway that runsbetween town and Highway 17. The Verde Riverlies between the site, which was ormerly armland,and the town itsel. No actual building has begunon location, but rough dirt roads ring the hundredplus acre site, and several excavations have begunin various locations. Large construction vehicles—

bulldozers, excavators and other earthmovers—are

scattered around the property, and a group o adozen or more are gathered around a temporary ofce trailer. The trailer’s severely damaged, itsthin metal siding showing dozens, i not hundredso circular indentations about the size o a largedinner plate. Each indentation has a wedge out o the top edge. Many o the nearby vehicles havesimilar damage.

The ProblemsThe hunters can choose to investigate the

site either during daylight hours or during the nighttime. Either option presents its ownchallenges.

DaylightDuring daylight hours, the site is being

occasionally watched via drive-by rom the YavapaiCounty Sheri ’s Ofce. The allegations that itmay be gang activity are enough to warrant a slow roll-through a couple o times a day, althoughhunters should fnd it pretty EASY to avoid them.

I they do have a run-in with the localauthorities at this point, the hunters may be ableto convince Deputy Frank Robbins (Use theSheri’s Deputy—Supernatural RPG, page 161)that they have some right to be there as employeeso Desert Oasis, or the like. This is only an

AVERAGE task, unless they’re doing something

blatantly suspicious, such as carrying obvious weapons or attempting to hotwire constructionequipment. I they ail, he just politely encouragesthem to move along the frst time he encountersthem near the site, unless they give him reasonto react more strongly. However, ater their frst

warning (or i they’re causing problems rather thanmoving along) he attempts to bring them in orquestioning on suspicion o being involved in the

vandalism—or even the murders.

NighttimeShould the hunters visit during the evening

hours, they are unlikely to encounter the Sheri ’sOfce. Instead, the construction site owner hashired an amateur security guard to patrol the site.Mike Lazlo is more accustomed to serving asa bouncer at one o Camp Verde’s bars or stripclubs than he is doing outdoor security, but it’sa FORMIDABLE task to avoid him unless thehunters somehow learn o his presence. Even then,staying out o his way is HARD to accomplish.



While Lazlo is pretty tough in a brawl, he’salso got a sot spot—cash. He’s not a long-termemployee o the construction company, just someschmuck that Burlington hired to watch the placeat night. And, technically, he was told to make surethat gangs didn’t cause any more trouble. So, aslong as the hunters don’t appear to be a gang, andthey can convince him that they just want to look

around (an AVERAGE task, made EASY i they oer him a bribe) he probably won’t give themany trouble. I, however, they play it tough or starta physical brawl, he does his best to put someserious hurt on them. The one thing he won’t do,however, is call the cops. He’s used to being theauthority fgure, and considers it “wimping out”to call in the Sheri. I he gets beat-up (that is, histotal damage is 8 or more points) he attempts tomake a strategic withdrawal: retreat to a local bar,tend his wounds, and have a drink.

Mike Lazlo - Construction SecurityDescription Hired to keep gangs out o the

construction site, he’s muscle-bound but notoverly loyal.

Agi d6 Str d10 Vit d10 Ale d6 Int d6 Wil d6Init d6 + d6; LP 16

Traits Brawler d2, Greedy d4, Tough d4Skills Athletics d4, Perception d4, Unarmed

Combat d6/Brawling d8Gear Flashlight, Baseball Bat (d6 B)

The ResultsI the hunters get enough time at the

construction site to poke around, move on toScene 2: Digging Around. I not, they may decide to come back later (and risk encountering the Deputy or Mike Lazlo) or to investigate intown by speaking with John Burlington, the ownero Desert Oasis Construction, which will takethem to Scene 3: John Burlington.

The Rewards Award one Plot Point or successully avoiding

the Deputy or Mike Lazlo (who ever is on duty at the time.) Award one Plot Point to the huntersi they encounter the Deputy and manage toconvince him they should be allowed to searchthe construction site. Award one Plot Point orbeating Mike Lazlo in combat, or bribing him intoallowing them to search the site.

Scene 2: DiggingAround

Run this scene when the hunters have scoredan opportunity to search the construction site.

The Setup

With over a hundred acres o land involved,the hunters need to pick a place to start poking around. There’s a handul o good choices on-site. Near the road is the central operations center

where the ormerly overturned ofce trailer and acollection o construction equipment can be oundSeveral hundred yards away, a group o portableshipping containers acts as a storage acility orsmaller equipment and tools. And fnally, anexcavation site as large as a city block lies justbeyond the storage sheds, intended to serve as thecasino’s underground levels. The big excavation issurrounded by a number o smaller ones, all meantto hold the oundations or executive buildings.

The ProblemsThe action in this scene pretty much revolves

around what happens when the hunters go tospecifc parts o the site. Don’t orget that theSheri ’s Department (during the day) and MikeLazlo (at night) act as security, so unless they’vetaken care o this element then some o their

actions onsite will be discovered.

Central Operations CenterThe primary point o interest in this area is

the ravaged temporary ofce trailer. It’s clear tosee where the trailer was overturned—the sideopposite o the main entrance has been crumpled,and holds bits o scrub and stone rom where it

was pushed over onto that side. It’s been righted,though it still lists a bit o o level. Disturbingly,it’s pitted all over the ront side with dinner-

plate sized dents. It’s EASY to notice that thesemarkings are circular, except or a strange wedgeshape in each—It’s a bit HARDER to come tothe conclusion that they’re huge round two-toedootprints.

Yellow plastic police warning tape crisscrossesthe ront door, which lolls partway o o its hingesThe ront door no longer closes all the way onaccount o the big dents matching the ones along the side. Some boards have been placed across thedoor, on the inside o the trailer, to keep it shut, bu

it only requires AVERAGE eort to push them out



o the way and enter. Alternately, there’s a side dooron the let end o the trailer that’s locked with an

AVERAGE complexity key-knob. Just outside theside door, there’s a spill o sand and extinguishedcigarettes, most marked with lipstick stains. An

AVERAGE search uncovers not only dust-coveredbloodstains on the ground in this area, but also agallon-sized coee can with numerous burn marks

(as i it had been used to snub cigarettes). Thecan’s been trampled nearly at, but contains a bito the same sand and butts that are spilled outsidethe door. As well, there’s a smear o blood on theside door and handle. Even an AVERAGE intellectmight put together that someone was outsidesmoking when they were attacked and rushed back into the trailer.

Inside the trailer, things are a mess. It appearsthat the space was ormerly used as two cubicles

worth o ofce space, with a small lobby just insidethe ront door. Papers and ofce supplies are piledon every surace, as i picked up in a hurry ater thetrailer was righted. It’s airly EASY to discover abit about the desks’ ormer owners. One containsbusiness cards and a brass nameplate that reads“Lee Martinez” and the other “Charlie Monroe.”

A bit more EASY digging reveals that LeeMartinez was a monster truck an (an envelope

with two tickets or a show in Phoenix the next weekend), dabbled in fshing (a photo o him infshing gear with a large salmon), and had digestionproblems (over-the-counter antacids and heartburn

medication). Another EASY round o searching reveals some basic inormation about Charlie. She was married (ramed wedding photo), smoked(opened cigarette package) and collected rogs (aplethora o rog-related nick-knacks).

An AVERAGE search o the rest o the trailerturns up a lot o complicated blueprints andconstruction paperwork, along with the ollowing:

• sets o keys or all the constructionequipment (including the truck in thestorage acility) labeled with a shorthand

code that requires a HARD eort to decipher

• a ring o keys to the padlocks on the storageacilities’ shipping containers

• a nice set o walkie-talkies

• a digital camera in a padded case

• a well-equipped frst aid kit

• a broken laptop computer

Repairing the laptop is a HEROIC task, buti the hunters manage this it allows them to readthrough Charlie’s email—which includes a letterto John Burlington detailing a “horse skeleton”uncovered during the excavation. The date onthe email is the same as the date the constructioncompany employees were killed. There’s been no

reply.

The Storage FacilitiesTwo large metal shipping containers, each

approximately 8 eet tall, 10 eet wide and 20 eetlong, stand several hundred yards rom the CentralOperations Center. The ar end o one is aboutfty eet rom the lip o the largest pit. Made o heavy corrugated metal, it would be IMPOSSIBLEto break through the walls or door without theuse o some sort o heavy equipment. However,each is locked with a sturdy padlock, and picking or breaking the lock, while still HARD is certainly a more easible option. I the ofce trailer wassearched frst (and the keys discovered), it’s EASY to open the locks.

Inside the shipping containers, the huntersdiscover a plethora o useul equipment. Whilethe actual contents are let up to the yourdiscretion, potential contents might include a wide

BIG B ANG T HEORIE SShould it suit t he indi v idual st oryline , it ’s possi ble t hat t he shippin g c ont ainers also inc lude a sm all dem olit ion kit ( suc h as would be used for rem o v in g st um ps or breakin g up boulders ). W hile it ’s not unreasona ble t hat suc h an it em would be found ( under INCREDIBLE le v els of sec urit y ) you’re c aut ioned t o t hink c arefully before inc ludin g suc h o b jec t s in t he gam e. Onc e explosi v es ha v e been gi v en t o t he c harac t ers , t here’s no c ont rollin g how or when t hey are used , so be

prepared for t he c onsequenc es. Also , rem em ber t hat law enforc em ent aut horit ies are unlikely t o look t he ot her way if t hey st op a v ehic le c art in g around a c ase of dynam it e or blast in g c aps. T he ram ic at ions m ay well m ake for anot her plot line , but you should be prepared t o deal wit h t hem , should t hey c om e up.



variety o hand tools (shovels, pick axes, pry-bars),rope, ares, small generators, a well-stocked toolcabinet, (with a wide variety o small power tools,hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches and the like)extension cords, and portable light stands.

A pickup truck with the Desert OasisConstruction logo on each side is parked betweenthe two shipping containers. The doors are locked,

but an AVERAGE eort remedies that, should thehunters decide to open them up. Hotwiring themmight be HARD, but they can be opened or startedautomatically with the keys rom the ofce trailer.

The PitsThere are our small pits, each about the size

o a one-room home, scattered around the majorpit at the center o the excavation site. There’snothing o real interest in them. However, there’s a

very real chance that, i they enter the smaller pits,the steep walls may give explorers a HARD timegetting back out.

I the hunters choose to search the big pitduring the daytime, it’s only an AVERAGEcomplex task to fnd the Red Ghost’s skeleton atthe bottom o one o the recently dug excavations.It resembles a very large horse skeleton. Theback hal has been uncovered, but the rest canbe unearthed with a HARD complex action(AVERAGE i they have suitable digging equipment with them, or think to raid the nearby

storage acilities or the same). Each roll representsa minute o digging, so i they spend more than tenminutes doing this they’re going to get noticed by the Deputy.

I, however, they search the site in the dark,the task becomes much more HEROIC in nature(only FORMIDABLE i they’ve got lights withthem.) Unearthing the beast’s ront hal is likewisea FORMIDABLE complex action, made only HARD with the addition o lights and equipment.I they can’t get the action done in fteen minutes(15 rolls), Lazlo shows up and asks them what the

hell they’re doing. See Scene 1: Investigating theConstruction Site i they haven’t already dealt

with this guy.Once unearthed, it’s a FORMIDABLE task

to determine that the skeleton is that o a camel,not a horse. (For those who do detect it, thedierences are predominantly in the larger rib cageand the two prominent toes in the oot.) It’s EASY,however, to notice that something’s amiss with it—strapped to the creature’s back with surprisingly un-rotted rawhide ties is most o a human

skeleton. The human bones are still encased in an

antique US Army uniorm, down to the pointy toed, raised-heel boots. It’s HARD to determinethe era, but historically minded individuals mightdate it at right around the beginning o the Civil

War. The animal and human skeletons are closely entangled, and the rawhide straps make it aFORMIDABLE task to separate the two. Howeverit’s EASY to note that something is missing with

the human skeleton—there’s no skull attached tothe body.

Because o the size, it will take a lot o material(salt and ammable material) and time to burn theanimal skeleton (with or without the human one).Doing so will also raise the attention o either theDeputy (during the daytime) or Mike Lazlo (atnight). It’s going to take INCREDIBLE eort toconvince either party that the hunters should beallowed to stick around ater that, even i they’vebeen paid o earlier.

There’s a ramp-road to get equipment into andout o the big pit, so there’s no action required toget out o it.

The hunters may have a run-in with the RedGhost while investigating the large pit. A detailed

write up o this encounter can be ound in Act IV,Scene 1.

The ResultsInormation is the main reward the hunters

are likely to have uncovered in searching this site.

They are likely to have uncovered the identity o the victims, and have an avenue to ollow up witheither John Burlington or Peter Monroe (Charlie’shusband) i they so choose. They may have beenable to put together an idea about what happenedin the attack, and—i they encountered and bribedMike Lazlo—may have made a contact to provideinormation about the local area in the uture. Onthe other hand, depending on how their encounter

went with the Deputy, they may be on the localauthority’s short list o people to watch, or actuallybrought in or questioning about the murders.

Depending on their scavenging ability, thehunters could have walked away with someuseul (or pawnable) equipment. They may alsohave “borrowed” the company truck, which is

very likely to gain them the police’s attention,considering it’s clearly marked with the company’slogo.

I the camel and human skeletons are separated(rather than being salted and burned together)the two spirits separate as well. At that point, thehunters can deal with each ghost separately. The



Red Ghost is destroyed when its skeleton is saltedand burned, but Tanner’s spirit remains ree andcan’t be laid to rest until his skull is ound.

I the two skeletons are not separated, however,both spirits will remain active until Jacob Tanner’sskull is recovered and destroyed, even i thecamel’s skeleton is salted and burned at the pit.The bond between the two spirits allows the camel

spirit to remain, so long as Tanner has not yet beendestroyed.

The hunters are likely to believe that they havealready dealt with “the attacker” and put “it” to rest,but unortunately, nothing could be urther romthe truth. “They” appear again, just a short distancerom the construction site. (See Act II, Scene 1:Crash Course.)

The Rewards Award one Plot Point or discovering the

victims’ identities. Award one point or uncovering the Red Ghost’s skeleton, and another i it’s saltedand burned.

Scene 3: JohnBurlington

The hunters may decide to approach JohnBurlington, owner o Desert Oasis Construction,either beore or ater investigating the construction

site. Here’s how that plays out.

The SetupIt’s EASY to locate Burlington’s phone number

or ofce address, as both are not only in the localphone book, but also printed on signage andupon the sides o the temporary ofce trailer andconstruction equipment at the ofce site.

The ProblemsBurlington’s a savvy proessional, and a natural

leader. He’s HARD to bully or lie to. He’s also very concerned that the deaths o his employees willstop the multi-billion dollar construction contracthe’s negotiated or the casino, or that he may beheld responsible because there was no security onduty at the construction site. He’s anxious to makea statement to the press about “the tragedy” andhas oered a reward or any inormation leading tothe arrest o those individuals responsible or his

worker’s deaths. Considering how penny-pinching Burlington is, this is a strong statement o his earo legal retribution or the deaths.

I the hunters pose as the media, or anyone who Burlington thinks will help deend hisinterests in the situation, he’s EASY to getinormation out o. I, on the other hand, they give him any indication that they believe he

may be ultimately responsible, they’ll fnd hima FORMIDABLE opponent—close lipped anddifcult to get inormation out o.

John Burlington - Construction OwnerDescription He didn’t get to be the head o a

construction company by being a pushover. Agi d6 Str d10 Vit d10 Ale d6 Int d8 Wil d8

Init d6 + d6; LP 18Traits Natural Leader d2, Stingy d4Skills Crats d6/Construction d10, Inuence d6/

Haggling d8, Knowledge d4, Perception d6/ Intuition d8

Gear Cell phone

The ResultsI the hunters convince Burlington to talk, he

oers some background on his late employees.Both were with the company or years, neither hadany enemies that he knew o. When the Sheri’sDepartment called him to identiy the bodies(Monroe’s husband was out o town on business),

it was “the most horrible thing” he’d ever seen. Lee was apparently killed when the trailer overturned;his desk ell on him and he suocated. It lookedlike someone had beaten Charlie to death witha baseball bat. She died o her injuries, probably delivered beore the trailer was tipped. Burlingtonbelieves that a gang rom Caliornia came in andbeat up Charlie, and then when she escaped intothe trailer, tipped it over out o spite beore eeing the scene. I asked about the dents, he hypothesizesthat the same blunt object that Charlie was beaten

with made them.

Ultimately, Burlington knows nothing about what truly happened, and is only interested inshiting the blame and limelight away romhimsel, so that he can get back to work on thecasino.

The Rewards Award one Plot Point or successully getting

background inormation out o Burlington.



Act II: CrashCourse

This Act covers a number o scenes that may ormay not happen, depending on what the huntersdid in the frst Act. I you haven’t already thrownsome Plot Points their way rom their investigative

success in the past Act, consider tossing a handulat them now beore the action ramps up.

Scene 1: Crash SceneThis scene can be inserted into the game at any

point beore the destruction o the Red Ghost. I the skeletons in the pit were ound but not separated,or i the skeletons were not dealt with at all beorethis scene occurs, then both the Red Ghost andTanner are still present, although Tanner doesn’tmaniest. I, however, the skeletons were separated and the camel skeleton was salted and burned, thenthis scene can’t take place, and Act II, Scene 3 should be used in its place to let the hunters know that their task is not yet completed.

The SetupThis Scene takes place along the minor

highway outside o Camp Verde, between thetown and the casino construction site. The huntersencounter what is obviously a severe auto accident.

A small our-door vehicle has let the road andcrashed, nose down, into a culvert along the sideo the road. A Sheri ’s vehicle (the one belonging to Deputy Robbins rom Act I) is parked acrossthe road with its lights and emergency ashersactivated. Its angle orces trafc to move aroundit one lane at a time, and the Deputy is pulling trafc direction duty. An ambulance, lights blazing,is parked alongside the crashed car. A woman,

wrapped in a blanket, is being helped into theback o the ambulance by an EMT, while theother (Kenny Cole) stands near the ront o the

ambulance, making notes on a clipboard.

The ProblemsMost o the “action” here is dealing with the

Deputy and/or the ambulance driver.

Talking with the DeputyDepending on their previous interaction with

the Deputy, the hunters may be able to stop into

the scene and do a bit o poking around without

attracting undue attention. I, however, he’s peggedthem earlier as troublemakers, he stops his trafcdirection eorts and orces them to leave (orattempts to arrest them i they don’t). On the o chance that they’ve made a good impression uponhim, he probably stops to chat with them once theambulance has let, and they may be able to gainadditional inormation rom him, or even do a very

light-level search o the wrecked vehicle (see ActII, Scene 2).

Assuming the hunters’ last contact with theDeputy was positive and he talks with them aterthe ambulance leaves, they might get some useulino out o him now. With a little prodding (an

EASY task) he explains that he was driving past when he saw the victim’s car in the ditch. Hesounds doubtul when he explains that the womanclaimed to have struck a large animal, possibly acow, and then to have been attacked by the same.

“She was probably just trying to up the pay-ouon her insurance policy,” he explains. “Happensall the time. Cruddy car, minor accident, they ramp up the damages to cover things that werealready wrong with the vehicle and get a biggerreimbursement check.” It’s pretty EASY at thispoint to convince him to allow the hunters to takea look at the vehicle, as he explains there’s no criminvolved in the situation. The woman didn’t appeato be under the inuence o anything, and no oneother than she was involved.

I the hunters had a negative run-in with the

Deputy earlier, he pauses in his trafc directionand warns them o. It would be a RIDICULOUStask to convince him to allow them to stick aroundI they don’t succeed in convincing him, and they persist on staying at the accident site, he attemptsto arrest them, calling or back-up i necessary.Use up to our additional examples o the Sheri’sDeputy NPC on page 161 o the SupernaturalRPG to represent the back-up ofcers, who arrive

within 5 minutes o Deputy Robbins’ initial call oaid.) I they’ve had previous negative interactions

with the Deputy, and they do manage to convince

him o their good intentions or right to be there,they may use the opportunity to speak to theambulance driver or examine the wrecked vehicle.

Talking with the Ambulance Driver While the accident victim and one EMT are

already sequestered in the back o the ambulance,the hunters have a brie window o opportunity to engage the driver, Kenny Cole, and ask him aew questions about the accident. Cole takes his

job seriously, and doesn’t give out identiying



inormation about the victim in the crash (suchas her name or personal inormation) but it’s only

AVERAGE difculty to get non patient-specifcinormation rom him. The hunters have, at most,a minute or two while Cole fnishes flling outhis paperwork, beore he insists on getting intothe ambulance and taking the patient to the localhospital.

Kenny Cole - Ambulance DriverDescription Calm and analytical, this ambulance

driver has seen it all—or so he thinks. Agi d6 Str d6 Vit d6 Ale d6 Int d6 Wil d6

Init d6 + d6; LP 12Traits Cool Under Fire d2, Sensitive d4Skills Discipline d4, Drive d4, Medicine d6/Triage

d8, Science d4, Unarmed Combat d2Gear Cell phone

I the hunters are successul in gaining Cole’s confdence, they can learn the ollowing inormation rom him. The accident victim claimsto have struck an animal. “She said she didn’t seeanything, she just elt it.” She claims that the airbag inated, blocking her view, and she slammed onthe brakes, but that the animal (likely a cow) thenbegan to attack the car, ramming it over and over

with its hooves. She never caught sight o it, butit made a horrible braying noise and smelled oul.The animal struck her car repeatedly, breaking the

windshield and she ran o the road, landing in the

ditch. The animal continued to strike her car untilthe Deputy, who was patrolling nearby, drove up.Cole mentions that Deputy Robbins said he hadn’tseen any animals in the area when he drove up.

The ResultsI the hunters get the opportunity to examine

the vehicle, proceed to Act II, Scene 2 or moreinormation. I not, it’s research time, so move onto Act III.

The Rewards Award one Plot Point i the hunters learn

about the reported animal attack rom Cole. Awardone Plot Point i they had a previous negativeinteraction with the Deputy and were able to turnit into a more positive connection with him. Awardone Plot Point i the hunters realize that all o theseverely injured victims have been women.

Scene 2: A Closer LookI the hunters decide to return to the scene

ater the Deputy and ambulance have let, they will have a ew hours beore the tow truck makesits way out to clear the wrecked vehicle. Thissame inormation can be discovered during ActII, Scene 1, i the hunters have made a goodimpression on the Deputy earlier so as to garner his

trust. Otherwise they will have to come back aterhe leaves to search the vehicle.

The SetupThe area around the wrecked vehicle is

dusty rock and sand. The vegetation is harsh andscrubby, and much o it contains thorns or prickles.This makes searching the surrounding area aFORMIDABLE task—ootprints don’t show up

well on the stony surace, and in-depth explorationis likely to result in an encounter with sharp auna.

The Problems A basic search o the vehicle is pretty EASY. It’s

not going anywhere, nose-down in the ditch as itis. The airbag has been triggered, and the ront seatis now flled with a hal-inated white pillow o air.

The frst thing any successul search o the vehicle will turn up is very EASY to notice—there’sno blood o any sort on the outside o the car.There is, however, an extremely large indentation

in the grill area, as i the vehicle struck something massive which caved the bumper and hood intowards the center o the car. An AVERAGEexamination o the grill uncovers clumps o long red woolly ur stuck to the metal. The camel ur iscoated with ectoplasm, which is EASY to discernonce the ur is ound—it’s a disgusting, black, and

viscous slime. Another EASY thing to notice is thelarge circular dents that pepper the ront o the car.For hunters who have examined the ofce trailer atthe construction site, it’s EASY to tell that these areidentical in size and shape.

Successul attempts at tracking the Red Ghostshow its trail leading away rom the constructionsite. Within ten yards or so, however, the trail adesout completely. It’s EASY or the investigators toassume that the spirit simply dematerialized at thatpoint.

The Rewards Award one Plot Point i a hunter makes the

connection between the attack at the construction

site and the car wreck. Award one Plot Point i they



successully locate physical evidence (ur and/orectoplasm) and another i they are able to track thebeast until its trail disappears.

Scene 3: Alone At LastThis scene is or use only i the hunters have

successfully separated the skeletons o the Red Ghost

and Jacob Tanner and destroyed the Red Ghost’sspectral orm (by burning and salting the separatedcamel bones.) In other circumstances, use Act II,Scene 1.

The SetupFor over a century, Jacob Tanner’s ghost has

been bound to that o the camel he died upon.Released rom his bond to the Red Ghost, JacobTanner’s spirit has gone on a rampage. His always-present abusiveness to women has raged orth, anda local woman has paid the price or his ury.

A Sheri’s vehicle with its lights ashing isparked outside o a local convenience store, whichhappens to be very near to the county archivebuilding. A small crowd has gathered, as two EMTshurry to wheel a woman on a gurney into the back o the ambulance. It would be IMPOSSIBLE orhunters to persuade them to stop and chat—it’sobvious that they are extremely concerned or the

woman’s health. Her ace is a mess o bruises andblood, and she appears to be unconscious. One

EMT climbs into the back and the other (Kenny Cole rom Act II, Scene 1) hurries to the rontand climbs into the cab, activating the lights andsiren. Within a moment, they’re rushing the victimto the hospital.

Deputy Robbins is inside the store, talking with the manager, a stocky man in his mid-50s.The counter’s a mess; it’s littered with overturneddisplays, broken glass, spilled merchandise, anda large quantity o blood, presumably that o the

woman on the gurney. Ater a ew moments o conversation, the Deputy turns and begins to walk

back to his vehicle and the store manager startstrying to set the store back to rights.

The ProblemsHere, the hunters can prod the crowd or

inormation or they can go inside and get it romthe store manager.

The Crowd As long as the Deputy is inside, the hunters

have no problem asking questions o thosegathered in the parking lot. It’s EASY to get themto give up what little inormation they know, whicis . . . very little.

No one present claims to have been in thestore during the assault. A young man with a

macho swagger and a skateboard (B.K.) claimsthat he not only saw the fght through the ront

windows, he got a picture o the assailant on hiscell phone. It’s EASY to convince him to show thiso, and i asked, he sends the hunters a copy o itto their cell numbers (although this then meansthat B.K. has their number, which you can makelots o use o in the uture . . .)

The picture is blurry, so it’s HARD to tell thatthe assailant is wearing clothing that would bemore appropriate during the Civil War than today,and matches the clothes worn by the skeletonattached to the camel bones, in the large pit at theconstruction site. I the hunters have seen a pictureo Jacob Tanner, or i they see a photo o him aterseeing B.K.’s camera picture, it’s airly EASY to tellthat it’s the same man. The camera picture also hasa strange glow which B.K. attributes to reectionrom the store window, but the hunters fnd it

EASY to recognize it as the kind o aura that otensurrounds a ghost or spirit caught on flm.

B.K. claims that he lost sight o the assailant, who ducked behind a display when Mr. Preske, the

store manager came rushing out o the back room.He called 911, and watched rom outside until theDeputy arrived, but didn’t see the assailant again.He guesses that the attacker slipped out the back past Mr. Preske, who B.K. reers to as “the oldart.”

B.K. - First On The SceneDescription A typical teen stuck in a one-horse

town. Agi d6 Str d4 Vit d4 Ale d4 Int d4 Wil d4

Init d6 + d4; LP 8Traits Cool Under Fire d4, Rebellious d4,

Signature Possession (Skateboard) d2Skills Athletics d6/d8 Skateboarding, Covert d4,

Perception d4, Survival d4, Tech d6Gear Skateboard, Cell phone with Camera

The DeputyDepending on their previous interaction with

the Deputy, the hunters may be able to stop him

and ask or some inormation. I, on the other



hand, the hunters have had a negative interaction with the Deputy in the past, he gives them agru brush o and reuses to answer any o theirquestions on his way to his vehicle.

Deputy Robbins is in a hurry to get back to the station and fle his report. Assuming thehunters aren’t on the outs with him, he lets themknow that he doesn’t have a suspect yet, but that

he’s hoping that the victim will be able to givemore inormation, since the manager claims notto have seen anyone. I things aren’t all that hotbetween Deputy Robbins and the hunters, it’sRIDICULOUSLY difcult to convince him totalk with them urther. I they connect the Deputy

with B.K. so that he can get the assailant’s photorom the boy, the task o beriending the Deputy becomes less FORMIDABLE, although what theSheri’s Ofce is going to do with an APB on a150 year old Army deserter is anyone’s guess. I they succeed, he gives them what little inormationhe has, and he’s easier to deal with in any utureencounters.

The Store ManagerI (either instead o or ater they encounter

the Deputy) the hunters attempt to engage thestore manager, they fnd him to be in a very shakencondition. He tries to tell them that the store isclosed, and it’s HARD to convince him to speak with them. This is reduced to an AVERAGE task

i they begin cleaning up or oer him aid in doing so. Grateul or their help (as well as their company,despite his gru exterior), they fnd him easier tospeak to once the cleanup has begun.

Once they’re on good terms with Preske, they discover that he was in the back room working on some paperwork when he heard a loud crash. Assuming that the cashier had knocked something over, he didn’t investigate until a ew moments later when several more loud noises were punctuated with a scream. He ran out into the ront o the storeto fnd his cashier beat to a bloody pulp, but no

assailant present. He didn’t see or hear the assailantleave through the ront door, and the back door’sstill bolted shut rom the inside, so the attackercould not have escaped through that exit andbolted it behind him. Preske assumes the assailantmanaged to slip out the ront door without being noticed while he was checking on his employee.Unortunately, the store can’t aord real videoequipment—the camera mounted in the ront is aake.

I they spend time searching or cleaning in thestore, the hunters may make an EASY fnd. Undera toppled pile o snack ood, a broken jar o grape jelly’s let a sticky puddle on the oor. In the centero the puddle is a boot print, with a pointed toe andraised heel. While it technically could match any sort o cowboy boot, extremely observant charactersmight make a FORMIDABLE connection—some

markings in the ootprint that correspond exactly to the boot ound with the camel skeleton in thebig pit at the construction site. The print is pointedtowards the wall away rom the cashier’s counter,and i the hunters search HARD they can fnd aaint residue that indicates the boot’s wearer walkednot only towards but through that wall (the fnalootprint being hal in and hal out o the wallitsel.) I they move their search outside, the County Archive building is just a short distance across aconcrete parking lot in the same direction as theboot prints.

Mr. Preske - Store ManagerDescription Long-time storeowner, he is very

rooted in the real. Agi d4 Str d6 Vit d6 Ale d6 Int d6 Wil d6

Init d4 + d6; LP 12Traits Lazy d4, Unbreakable Will d2Skills Discipline d4, Inuence d6, Knowledge d4,

Perception d6/ Intuition d8Gear Broom, Cash Register

The Rewards Award one Plot Point i the hunters realize

that this encounter is tied to the construction sitekillings, either through the picture or the ootprint. Award one Plot Point i they had a previous negativeinteraction with the Deputy and were able to turnit into a more positive connection with him. Awardone Plot Point i the hunters realize that all o theseverely injured victims have been women.

Act III: DiggingDeeper

At this stage in the game, the investigationshould have turned up whatever it can on frstblush, and now it’s time to either hit the books orollow up. Don’t orget that you can use the Act IV encounters at any point i you want to make lie realinteresting or the hunters. Once the hunters get to



the County Archives, things come rushing to a head(so to speak) so plan on pulling out the stops at thatstage. The credits are going to roll soon ater.

Scene 1: Research At some point the hunters are likely to do some

research on this phenomenon. Bring this scene up

when that happens.

The SetupOne potential avenue might be the local library

(which keeps archives o the local paper back through the 1950s, and local history books thatcover the area through its earliest history as Fort Verde). The county ofces also have an ofcial Archive that are open to the public, which containphotographs and news articles dating back to thetown’s inception, as well as a local expert, in theorm o Carlos Estrada (see Act III, Scene 2). And,o course, there’s always the Internet.

The ProblemsThe inormation the hunters have already helps

to determine the difculty o the task beore them.I they’re starting cold, with nothing more thanthe newspaper article or tip that led them to Camp Verde, this task is HARD. I they’ve successully discovered the camel skeleton, and realize they are

dealing with a malevolent animal spirit, it becomesa more AVERAGE endeavor. I (through examining the skeleton or oot-prints, or recovering the ur)they have come to the conclusion that what they are dealing with is a camel spirit specifcally, thetask becomes EASY, as it’s a local legend in the areastretching back or more than 150 years.

You can handle research challenges in a variety o ways. I time is an issue (or i you preer a moreexpedient research process) you can have thehunters perorm a single research roll and givethem inormation (or not) based on the results. A

higher success results in more inormation, or morein-depth inormation. The hazard o this, however,is that i the hunter ails, they run into the brick wall that keeps them rom moving orward. Let thehunters make another research attempt (at a latertime, or using a dierent avenue o approach) i thisbecomes a problem.

Another method o handling research rolls isto treat them as a complex action. Each time theplayers make a roll and add successes to their eorts,they learn a bit o inormation, and when they’ve

reached the complex action threshold or their

research, they’ve learned everything. This allows you to eed bits and pieces o inormation to thehunters a little at a time, and prevents the “all ornothing” aspect o the previous method. Sure, itcould take a day, but that just gives you a nice stretcho time to interrupt with a rampaging camel ghostor Civil War specter.

The ollowing inormation can be discoveredduring the hunter’s research.

Camels

Camels average a 40-50 year lifespan,although some have been known to liveupwards of 70 years in captivity. Camels are

not hoofed, but instead have a large flat paddedfoot with two clearly visible toes. This pad isthick and heavy to protect them from the heatand rough terrain of the desert floor. Camelscan sprint up to 65 miles per hour, and canmaintain speeds in excess of 40 miles per hourover extended periods. Adult males normallystand between 6 and 7 feet tall at the shoulder,and can weigh in excess of 1500 pounds.

Camels in the Army

In 1836, a Quartermaster by the name of GeorgeH. Crosman wrote to the QuartermasterGeneral, on the topic of using camels as an

alternate means of transportation and cargo-movement for the military. As the native tribesthat the Army was engaging in conflict with wereuniformly using horses by th is point, Crosmanfelt that the camels, w ho were fierce of natureand strong of odor, would offer Army troopsan immediate advantage. In 1854, J efferson Davis(future President of the Confederate States)

reintroduced the idea, suggesting that camelsmight be an ideal choice for the US Army to useas both transportation and beasts of burden inthe harsh South western climate.

In 1856, three d ozen Dromedary (one-humped) camels and their handlers arrived inCamp Verde, Arizona, after a long sea and landjourney from the Middle East and northernAfrica. The animals were stationed at variousmilitary outposts between Camp Verde and LosAngeles.



Initially, the project was earmarked as asuccess, however in time, the camels provedproblematic. As Crosman had noted, they wereoffensive to horses—including the existingArmy animals. They were also surly beasts, andearned a great deal of h atred from those whowere used to working with milder-manneredmules, oxen and horses.

Camels in the Southwest

Acrew surveying the border between Arizonaand Mexico in 1901 reported having seena “wild” camel while on their travels. In

1913, near Wickenburg, Arizona, a railroad crewclaimed to have seen one as well. 16 years later,near Banning California, a camel w as reported tohave attacked and stampeded horses at a smallranch. Various sources claim that each of theseis the last “real” sighting of camels roaming

free in the US. To this day, however, occasionalcamel sightings take place in SoutheasternCalifornia, or remote areas of Arizona and NewMexico.

Tramplings

In 1883, a farmer’s wife near Fort Verde wentout to the well to get water one evening. Herhusband heard her scream a nd rushed out to

help her. By the time he reach ed the well, hiswife was dead. Her skull was crushed in, andher body trampled. Large cloven hoof printswere found in the area, and tufts of red furfound on nearby cactus, but the assailant(described as a horse-demon) escaped.

Also in 1883, two miners reported b eingattacked by a large an imal that raced throughtheir encampment and knocked over the tentthe men were both sleeping in. The beast wasdescribed as “twice as big as a horse, and witha bray like a jack-ass” but left beh ind strangehoof prints like a giant goat.

In 1967, a group of young girls werecamping with their scout leader in somecabins located between Camp Verde andCottonwood. Two girls, both nine years old,disappeared in the middle of the night. Theirbodies were found, several days later, in a

nearby creek. Although most papers referto the matter as an accidental drowning, onearticle mentions the girls having also sustained“severe injuries” to the point th at identificationwas difficult. The article claims the woundswere “most likely from the river th rowing themagainst the shore.”

Several other unexplained “beating” deathshave been scattered around the area in the past100 years. Most involved female victims who wereout in the desert area on their own for somereason: hiking, car break-downs, homesteaders

or the like.

The Red Ghost

In 1893, a farmer in the area reportedly shotand mortally wounded a camel that he foundgrazing from his vegetable garden. The beast

ran off, trailing copious amounts of blood, butthe farmer reported that there was something

F A L S E I N F OR M A TI O N

When hand l ing research and inform at ion

gather ing as a com p lex act ion, one sm art

opt ion is to m a ke the ro l ls c landest ine ly for

the p la yer. T h is a llows you to use an a lternate

fa ilure/ botch m echan ic that adds interest

and intr igue to the inform at ion gather ing

sess ion, pre vent ing it from be ing a cut-and-dr y

fact down load.If, at an y po int in the research ro l ls, the

ro l l fa ils to produce e ven a s ing le success,

the hunter has stum b led on an unc lear or

contrad ictor y b it of inform at ion that m udd les

som e pre v ious fact the y’ ve unco vered. If, on

the other hand, the ro l l resu lts in a botch,

an utter l y fa lse p iece of inform at ion is

unco vered, and is be l ie ved b y the hunters to

be factua l. Cons ider ing the second-hand and

trans itor y nature of m uch of the inform at ion

be ing researched b y the hunters, th is ru les-

var iat ion a l lows Gam e Masters to add a b it of uncerta int y and intr igue into the ir p la yer’s

research, and keeps the characters guess ing

a bout what is true and what is not.

B y the wa y, som e p la yers can hand le

know ing the truth, so you m ight not e ven need

to m a ke the ro l ls secret ly. Let them com e up

w ith the ir own w i ld research resu lts if the y

b low it! Em power ing p la yers w ith the ir own

screwups at least m a kes them fee l the y ha ve

som e input into the stor y.



tied on its back, like a saddle. A later searchof the area revealed a weathered human skullleft behind. The farmer donated the skull to thecounty historical archives.

At several points between 1893 and presentday, travelers have reported seeing a huge redcamel, horse or generic four-legged “demon.”Reports often include a human skeleton

attached to the beast’s back with rawhide straps.

Jacob Tanner

In the late 1880s, a soldier named JacobTanner was stationed at Fort Verde. Tanner’sname appears in numerous legal records

of that period, always on the delivering endof trouble. He was reprimanded and punishedfor thievery, drunken disruptiveness, a ssault(usually on women) and finally for deserting.When he wa s found, having beaten a localsaloon girl to death, his commander ordered anunusual punishment. He was given 30 lashes,then tied over the back of a camel and t he pairwere driven out into th e desert to die.

The ResultsThe real gem in all o this stu is recognizing

that there are two spirits involved, the camel and

Jacob Tanner, and that there’s a skull being kept inthe County Historical Archives. Even i the huntersblow all o their rolls, it’d be nice to give them that.Move on to Scene 2 in the event that they want topursue the skull lead.

The Rewards Award one Plot Point i the hunters recognize

the assailant as the Red Ghost or Jacob Tanner. Award another i they make the connection betweenthe two spirits. Award one point i they discover the

location o Jacob’s skull.

Scene 2: Getting A HeadThis scene revolves around the County

Archives, where a missing clue—Jacob Tanner’sskull—turns up. See the sidebar “A Gentle Nudge”or more inormation about getting the story here. You shouldn’t have to orce the events i the huntershave been sticking to their proper routine, but younever know.

A G E N T L E NU D G E

Se vera l c lues in t he ad vent ure are

des igned t o e vent ua l ly lead t he hunt ers t o

t he Count y Arch i ves where T anner’s s ku l l is

sequest ered. In Ac t III , Sce ne 1, t he “Red

Ghost ” fact o id m ent ions t he farm er who sho

t he Red Ghost donat ing t he s ku l l he found

h is veget a b le garden t o t he arch i ves. T h is

be enough t o send t he hunt ers see k ing in t hd irect ion. T h is is t he m ost ly l i ke ly p lot pat h t

hunt ers w i l l t a ke t o t he arch i ves if t he Red

Ghost ’s not yet been dest royed.As we l l, T anner’s foot pr int s aft er t he

con ven ience st ore assau lt lead t owards t he

arch i ve, wh ich is dire ctl y n ext door t o t he st or

T h is is t he m ost l i ke ly pat h t o lead t he hunt

t o t he arch i ves if t hey ha ve separat ed t he

t wo s ke let ons and T anner is runn ing free.

If ne it her of t hese m et hods br ings t he

hunt ers t o t he arch i ves in a t im e ly m anner,

add it iona l h int s m ay be im p lem ent ed t o he

gu ide t he ir pat h t o t h is “end gam e” scenar T hese m ight in vo l ve cont act s t hat ha ve

“unco vered” inform at ion t hat t he hunt ers

m issed, inc lud ing t he Red Ghost shoot ing

st ory t hat m ent ions t he s ku l l be ing t a ken t

t he arc hives. If one of t he hunt ers has t he Photographic Mem ory t rait, t hey m ight nd itEAS Y t o rec all an art ic le that m entioned somc ont ro versy bet ween the c ount y and loc alNat i ve Am eric an t ribes a bout t he a

rc hive c ontaining unidentied hum an rem ains, but t hat the lawsuit was dropped when DNA t estpro ved that t he bones (inc luding a hum an skdonat ed by a loc al farm er in t he lat e 1800s)were not relat ed t o t he t ri bes. T he sam e inform at ion m ight be HARD for ot her hunt ers rec all.

Supernatural T rait s m ay also be used t om o ve t he hunt ers in t he right direc t ion. If oneof t he hunt ers is a Medium , t hey m ay be a blet o sense t he m ale volent spirit( s) presenc e at the arc hi ves , if t hey get near enough ( suc h

as st anding outside t he c on venienc e store ). ASpirit Guide m ight be a ble t o sense t hat t he Red Ghost and T anner ha ve ret reat ed to the arc hi ves , and pass t he inform at ion along t o t he hunt ers. Or , if any of t he hunt ers are Clair voyant or has Prem onitions , it’s sim ple fora Gam e Master t o nudge t he group t owards t he arc hi ves by m eans of vague visions and “hunc hes.”



The SetupThe County Archives have been housed in this

building since the mid-1960s when a fre damagedthe ormer site. The building consists o two mainrooms, roughly equal in size. All o the walls areconcrete brick, covered with stucco to give it an“authentic” Southwestern eel. The doors are hollow metal, typical o ofce buildings during the era it

was built in, except or the loading bay door in theback that’s made o exible metal to allow it to rollup and out o the way. The ront hal o the building has a ew small windows (three eet tall by six oot

wide) but they’re located airly high on the wall (thebottom ledge is fve eet up) making them HARD toclimb through without something to stand on. The

warehouse area has no windows.The entire building is surrounded by a parking

lot. The ront hal is blacktop, but the back hal isonly gravel, and contains many deep potholes. I standing on the street out ront and looking towardsthe buildings, the archives are immediately to theright o the convenience store mentioned in Act II,Scene 3.

Front AreaThe ront room o the archives is a mini-

museum, containing artiacts in oor-to-ceiling lit glass-enclosed display cabinets, lie-sizedmannequins wearing historic clothing, antiquephotos blown up to poster-size wall displays

and several bookshelves lined with old, but notparticularly valuable, publications about the area.To the let o the ront door, there’s a small desk and chair, with an old microfche reader or use by the public. Most o the old documents have beenarchived on microfche, but not yet transerred into adigital medium.

Straight ahead, through the ront room, a long counter bisects the room. A swinging gate allowsemployees to pass through to the work area onthe other side o the counter. Two 1950s era metaldesks, both painted a nondescript gray-green, fll the

majority o the open area in the workspace. The restis taken up with row upon row o fling cabinets,most painted the same color as the desks.

The desks contain normal ofce materials,although one has a jumbled pile o keys on key rings in one o the drawers. The keys open not only the locks to the doors to the archives, but also thecabinets and bays in the warehouse area. One seteven fts the ignition and door locks to the fre truck (which is kept in good working condition or use

in the city’s parades and estivities.) Because o the jumbled nature o the keys, it’s HARD to tell whatkey goes to which cabinet.

WarehouseBeyond the work area is the warehouse area, a

concrete-block walled room about orty eet wide

and one hundred eet long. The ceiling is fteen eettall and there’s exposed ductwork, pipes and wiring running along it, all o which has been painted aprison-gray color. Other than the door to the ofcearea, there are two other exits—a side door locatedabout mid-way along the right hand wall (the sideaway rom the convenience store) and a loading bay door (about twelce eet square) at the back o thebuilding.

The warehouse is lined with industrial metalshelving, and several rows o similar shelving runthrough the building. Most o the material on theshelves is in a container o some sort, although they

vary rom modern plastic storage bins and cardboardboxes to antique steamer trunks and obviously hand-made rough wooden boxes. The contents are just as

varied. Explorers might fnd high school wrestling trophies rom the ‘50s, an antique scale set o thekind used by shop keepers to weigh gold dust in themid-1800s, a collection o more than one hundredpair o vintage ladies’ gloves, a box o old “snake-oilsalesman” medicine bottles, and some prehistoricossils including one that looks a great deal like

a camel skull. Open on the shelves, but not incontainers, are items including a turn-o-the century cash register, several antique saddles, a woodenbutter churn and an early Native American grinding stone or turning mesquite pods into our.

In the back, towards the loading bay door,there’s a large open area where an antique fre truck (ormerly in service to the Yavapai County FireDepartment) is stored under a large canvas tarp. A small buckboard wagon sits beside it. On the otherside o the open area is a collection o lie-sizedmannequins dressed in vintage clothing, which were

ormerly on display out in the ront room. Along the let wall (opposite the fre door) are a

series o three chain-link bays or containing bulky or awkwardly shaped items that don’t store well onthe shel units. These include some well-weatheredpieces o arm equipment, a wooden cattle yoke, anantique banjo, several stacks o paintings leaning against a wall, as well as some large antique signageor early Camp Verde businesses. There’s also arather mangy stued pronghorn antelope, with abattered elt hat hanging rom one o its horns. The

bays are astened with an AVERAGE pad lock.



A locked metal cabinet, which is HARD tobreak into, is mounted to the wall just to the leto the ofce door. This contains antique frearms,including several Civil War era ries. There is,however, no ammunition or them.

To the right o the ofce door is a small walk-in closet-type enclosure, a mini-room within theroom. It’s labeled as “Personal Artiacts” and its

lock is FORMIDABLE, as the room containsthe county’s small collection o archived humanremains. These are unidentifed bones that havebeen tested and proven not to belong to any o thenative tribes in the area. They are organized in cases

with pull-out drawers, each labeled with the dateand source o donation, the location the bones wereound in, and any identiying inormation (sex,approximate age, notable markings or eatures, etc.)This room remains locked and is rarely entered by county employees, sometimes going years withoutbeing disturbed. There are not a lot o bones here,because the county preers to hand them overto more appropriate agencies (museums, etc.) i possible. However, it’s here that Jacob Tanner’sskull is located, in one o the cases containing other“artiacts” rom the late 1800s.

The ProblemsSo what happens here? Once again, it depends

on whether the hunters are here in the daylighthours or at night.

DaytimeI the hunters come to the archives during

normal business hours, they’re greeted by CarlosEstrada, who seems genuinely pleased to have

visitors to the normally ignored archives. He lovestalking about local history, and it requires no eort todirect him towards any conversation that deals withCamp Verde, local legends or the like, or to teachthem how to use the county’s microfche documentarchives.

I the hunters show any interest in what he’ssaying, it’s EASY to convince him to allow themaccess to the documentation archives behind thecounter, or to oer to give them a tour o the back area. On the other hand, it’s HARD to verbally convince him to unlock or allow them access to thePersonal Artiacts room where Tanner’s skull is kept.He is, however, a coward, and i the hunters attemptto use intimidation or other strong-arm tactics, it’s

EASY or them to bully the archivist into handing over the keys. He will, at that point, attempt to make

a strategic withdrawal rom the situation, and call

the local Sheri’s Deputy (the same one the huntersmay have interacted with throughout this adventureto deal with the trespassers. It’s EASY to bully himinto sitting down and shutting up, however, as long as the hunters are paying attention to his actions. I convinced or coerced, he will continue to protestagainst their intrusion into the Personal Artiactsroom, the cabinets and the like.

As soon as the hunters breach the locks onthe Personal Artiacts room, Tanner will maniest(see Act IV, Scene 2 or Tanner’s statistics andstrategies). I the Red Ghost is still out there(because the hunters didn’t yet discover the camel/ human skeletons, or didn’t separate the two beoreburning and salting them), it maniests as well (See

Act IV and use the inormation rom both the RedGhost and Tanner). Having both spirits active andcoming at the hunters should be some clue to themthat they need to get the hell out o there.

At the frst signs o undeniable supernaturalactivity, Estrada screams, runs, and knocks himsel unconscious on one o the shelving units, eectivelytaking him out o the scenario until the situation hasresolved itsel.

After HoursGetting into the archives ater hours is an

AVERAGE task. There’s no electronic security system, just the locked doors and windows betweenthe hunters and the inside. It would be EASY or

passersby to spot the break-in i the hunters try to use the ront door, but either the side door orloading bay entrance are likely to be unobserved.

I the hunters attempt to use the county’santiquated microfche reader without assistance, they

will fnd it an AVERAGE complex action to locatepertinent inormation (i successul, however, they may fnd any o the inormation oered in Act III,Scene 1). It’s HARD or them to dig up the sameinormation by attempting to navigate the county’sdocument archives in the multitudinous fling cabinets behind the counter without Estrada’s aid.

The door between the ront ofce and the warehouse is normally let unlocked ater hours(it has a lock, but Estrada rarely bothers). Becausethe warehouse has no windows, it’s dark inside,regardless o whether it’s daylight outside or not.

As noted above, as soon as the hunters unlock or break into the Personal Artiacts room, Tanner(and possibly the Red Ghost) will maniest andattempt to stop (destroy) the hunters. Use the aboverecommendations to proceed to Act IV or theconrontational scenes.



Carlos Estrada - County ArchivistDescription He’s a bookworm, but a very talented

and perceptive bookworm. Agi d4 Str d4 Vit d6 Ale d8 Int d12 Wil d4

Init d4 + d8; LP 10Traits Coward d4, Photographic Memory d4Skills Inuence d4, Knowledge d6/Local History

d12, Lore d6/Local Legends d8, Perception d6/

Deduction d8, Science d6, Tech d6/ElectronicResearch d10

Gear Key ring to all archive locks

The ResultsPositive interaction with Estrada can be one

means or them to access any o the inormationoered in Act II, Scene 1. In an ongoing storyline,

Estrada may well be turned into a long-term ally or the hunters, as he’s an expert researcher, andhas a sot spot or olklore and legend. It may wellbe an IMPOSSIBLE task, however, to convincehim to speak with them again i they use bullying techniques or physical violence against him. I heis exposed to any undeniable proo o supernaturalphenomenon, he will be intrigued, but i thatmaniestation appeared violent or dangerous inany way (such as seeing Tanner’s ghost attack thehunters) it will be almost IMPOSSIBLE to convincehim to have anything to do with anything spooky thereater. Harmless legends and lore are onething—violent ghosts are quite another.

I Estrada is given the opportunity to reach aphone ater the situation goes badly, he contacts theSheri, which could bring Deputy Robbins intothe situation—even in the middle o the ghostly conrontation scene. The Deputy is a stridentdisbeliever in anything paranormal, however,and will fnd a way to blame the hunters orany wrongdoing, regardless o any inexplicableoccurrences he may witness.

I the hunters have the time and opportunity todo so, many o the artiacts in the archives may beo use to them, or o value i they have contacts that

can ence such materials. A plethora o items arelisted in The Setup above, but you should eel ree toadd in any other items you eel suit the setting. Thismay well be an opportunity to include an item thatleads the hunters into their next adventure, i that’sappropriate to the Game Master’s plans.

The Rewards Award one Plot Point or gaining the confdence

o Carlos Estrada. Award one Plot Point or using thearchives (microfche or fling cabinets) to researchinormation on the situation, either with Estrada’said or illicitly.

Act IV: CloseEncountersBecause o the investigatory nature o this

adventure, there’s no single path through itsresearch, which makes it impossible to insert aconrontational situation with the ghost(s) in achronological manner. Instead, both the Red Ghostand Tanner are oered in their own scene below.

While certain situations (noted in the Scene write-ups) are guaranteed to bring about a conrontation,

you can throw in a scue with either o these ghostsat any point in the story that it seems thematically appropriate.

Scene 1: Unholy DuoUntil such a time as the camel and human

skeletons ound in the big pit at the construction siteare separated, any ghostly maniestations o the RedGhost will include Tanner as well, and vice versa.The two have been psychically linked in such a way that they can’t leave one another’s presence, and

their attitudes bleed over each other.

The SetupDuring any joint appearance, Tanner won’t

actually physically maniest, at least until the endscene at the archives. Mediums and other hunters

with the ability to sense ghosts and spirits may beable to sense that there are two in the area; it’s only

AVERAGE difculty to do so. As a duo, some choice locations or them to

interact with the hunters include the construction

site ( Act I, Scene 2) or at the crash site in Act II, where you could drop in a conrontational sceneat the end o the trail, rather than having the RedGhost disappear. As well, i the skeletons were notseparated beore being destroyed, both the RedGhost and Tanner maniest in the warehouse o thearchives (see Act III, Scene 2) when the Personal

Artiacts room is opened, although Tanner physically maniest then. Use the Scene 2 version o him orthat encounter.



The ProblemsThe Red Ghost and Tanner are a dysunctional

pair o tormented spirits, bound together and serving to goad each other or all eternity. The camel spirit’slittle more than a tortured animal in a supernaturalorm, striking out at those targets which it can’tavoid. Tanner, on the other hand, is more cognizant,and uses his superior sel-awareness to direct the

Red Ghost through their mutual bond.The Red Ghost’s normal MO is to trample its

targets, striking out with its huge cloven eet to strikeits oe. This method works equally as well on humantargets and non-living ones, as witnessed by thedamage done to the construction site ofce trailerand construction equipment. Because o its bond

with Tanner, the Red Ghost has come to see womenas a primary target, and (unless separated rom him)

will always attack emales frst, beore going on tomale targets.

The Red Ghost - Camel SpiritManifestation The Red Ghost appears as a huge

red-pelted camel, standing easily 8+ eet (2.5meters) at the shoulder and weighing over a ton

when maniested. Its massive cloven ootprintsare easily 12 inches (.3 meters) across.

Motivation The Red Ghost is tormented by thepresence o Jacob Tanner’s ghost. Tanner spursthe beast to attack, especially emale targets, andthe camel-ghost strikes out with deadly ury. It

wants nothing more than to be let alone, but the

recent construction work has disturbed its resting place.Limitations The Red Ghost can’t be laid to rest

until Tanner’s skeleton has been removed romits body, or Tanner’s skeleton (including themissing skull) has been dealt with and his ghostlaid to rest.

Agi — Str — Vit — Ale d6 Int d2 Wil d8Init d6 + d8, LP —

Traits Spirit d8, Sure Footed d6Skills Unarmed Combat d6/Trample d10Gear Rawhide straps which bind Tanner’s skeleton

to its back

Jacob Tanner - UnmanifestedManifestation Jacob Tanner remains unmaniested

until separated rom The Red Ghost. Theexception to this, however, is i his skull isdirectly threatened. See Act IV, Scene 2 orthis variation on Tanner, and use it, rather thanthis one, in the end scene. While intangible heuses his telekinesis to throw heavy objects at his

victims or even shove his targets directly.

Motivation Ater more than one hundred years o suering rom his last victim’s curse, Tanner’sinnate abusiveness towards women has grownexponentially stronger. He is, in general, a hateuand destructive spirit, but this malevolence isespecially heightened when the target is emale.

Limitations Tanner’s spirit is bound to the RedGhost so long as his skeleton remains attached

to it. His ghost can’t be laid to rest until both hisskeleton and his missing skull are recovered anddestroyed, either with or separate rom that o theRed Ghost. Because o his Cowardly nature, he

won’t maniest, save to protect his own existence(ie: the skull). He also preers to pick on the

weakest target in any group, which his prejudicesidentiy as frst emales, then children or theelderly, then weak looking males.

Agi — Str — Vit — Ale d8 Int d6 Wil d10Init d8 + d10, LP—

Traits Coward d4, Spirit d10Skills Guns d6/Ries d8, Melee Weapons d6/Knie

d8, Ranged Weapons d6/Improvised ThrownObject d8, Unarmed Combat d6

Attacks While Tanner’s not maniested, he only uses a brutal telekinetic attack to launch items athis opponents (Willpower + Improvised ThrownObject + Spirit Trait). He can aect two objectsat a time in this manner.

Results

I the hunters are conronting the duo in the pitthe pair dematerializes (and ees) i and when theirskeletons are caught on fre. This is an instinctiveear/deense reaction, which the hunters are likely to take as proo that they’ve destroyed the ghost(s).Mediums, or others with the ability to sense spiritsmay be able to determine that there was more thanone ghost present and/or that the ghosts ed ratherthan being destroyed but either task would be aFORMIDABLE challenge.

In other situations, the ghosts ee i shot withrock salt or targeted with other spirit-specifc

tactics. The exception to this is the end-scene atthe Personal Artiacts room in the county archivesbuilding, in which the ghosts (orced by Tanner) wilgo all out to attempt to protect the skull and destroy the hunters.



The Rewards Award one Plot Point or driving o the ghosts

in anything but the end-scene. Award one point ortaking possession o Tanner’s skull in the end-scene.

Award two points or actually destroying both theRed Ghost and Tanner.

Scene 2: Dead ManWalking

The SetupUnless the hunters have successully separated

the camel’s bones rom Tanner’s skeleton, it’sunlikely that he maniests in a physical orm untilthe hunters actually open the Personal Artiactsroom containing his skull. At that point, however,all bets are o, and Tanner physically appears anddoes everything in his power to prevent the huntersrom destroying the skull that allows him to remainin the physical realm. This is an instinctive “all-out”response, and Tanner will not hesitate to kill those

who he senses are a threat to his continued existence.I, however, the hunters do separate the two

skeletons, Tanner is more likely to take physicalorm. The absence o his spirit-partner both reesand unsettles him, encouraging him to take riskshe previously avoided. An example o one possiblescenario or this is oered in Act II, Scene 3.

Jacob Tanner - ManifestManifestation While maniested, Tanner takes aorm similar to that which he wore beore hisdeath—a dusky skinned, unkempt man wearing an antique military uniorm and pointy toedboots.

Motivation Ater more than one hundred years o suering rom his last victim’s curse, Tanner’sinnate abusiveness towards women has grownexponentially stronger. He is, in general, a hateuland destructive spirit, but this malevolence isespecially heightened when the target is emale.

Limitations Tanner’s ghost can’t be laid to restuntil both his skeleton and his missing skull arerecovered and destroyed, either with or separaterom that o the Red Ghost. I either the skeletonor the skull are not salted and burned, Tanner willremain.

Agi — Str — Vit — Ale d8 Int d6 Wil d10Init d8 + d10, LP—

Traits Coward d4, Spirit d10Skills Guns d6/Ries d8, Melee Weapons d6/Knie

d8, Ranged Weapons d6/Improvised Thrown

Object d8, Unarmed Combat d6

Attacks While intangible, he will use a brutaltelepathic attack to launch items at his opponents(Willpower + Improvised Thrown Object +Spirit Trait). He can aect two objects at a timein this manner. Once maniested, however, he

will use his hand-to-hand combat skills againsthis oes, or attempt to disarm opponents and usetheir own weapons (knives, guns, etc) against

them.

The ProblemsTanner is a complete bastard, especially to

women. He always chooses a woman as his target,i one’s available, and attempts to make disfguring or painul attacks, such as blunt attacks to the ace,hands or abdomen. As a strong spirit, not only canTanner use telekinesis on two items at a time, he alsocan teleport or “blink” to another location withintwenty eet o himsel as a Deensive action (see page139, Supernatural RPG or details). He will not givequarter or mercy, and (especially when deending hisskull) will use any means at his avail to attempt tostop the hunters.

I the hunters are able to get their handson Tanner’s skull, it’s EASY to salt and burn it.However, i they are under attack at the time, theGame Master should eel ree to increase thisdifculty to AVERAGE or even higher. As well, thehunter who is specifcally attempting to salt and burnit is even more vulnerable to Tanner’s attacks, as he

can’t deend against them at that time.

The ResultsShould the skull be salted and burned, Tanner’s

spirit is taken to Hell. An ephemeral fery pit seemsto open under the spirit’s eet, and a multitude o emale orms, most suering rom hideous woundsand injuries, hungrily grasp at the soldier-ghost’slegs and drag him downward. Tanner screams andclutches at the edges o the pit, but is dragged downand the pit closes up ater him. This is not literally

a pit to Hell, but a visual maniestation o his ownevil claiming him. Hunters can’t use this hellishmaniestation as a means to enter Hell itsel—unless,o course, you want them to. But we’re not going togo into that in this adventure.

The Rewards Award one Plot Point or driving Tanner o in

any scene beore the end-scene. Award one Point ortaking possession o Tanner’s skull during the end-

scene, and another or actually destroying it.



T r a n s mu t a t i o n s

B y Geo rge Ho loc h wos t

Whether it’s as a system o belie ora substitute or what we now callmodern science, alchemy’s been

a part o nearly all o the world’s moreesoteric traditions. During the Middle Ages and on into the Early Modern era,the transmutation o lead into gold was asmuch about refning the spirit as it was aboutgetting rich. It’s anybody’s guess whetherthis produced enlightened saints, sages, ormen who dey death and aging. In the worldo Supernatural, alchemy certainly isn’t limitedto such high-minded purpose.

See, alchemy has a much darker side. Although it makes good on promises o

immortality, an alchemist motivated by a earo death or a desire or power opens himsel up to terrible transormative orces the likeso which ew survive and none endure. Like witches who make pacts with demons orpower, alchemists walk a path that leads straightto Hell. While one alchemist’s ritual is going tobe dierent rom another’s, all o them are basedaround the idea that the human soul (and thelie-orce binding it to the human body) servesas uel or the ame that refnes—strike that, corrupts—the alchemist’s humanity into demonic

essence. Fortunately, these rituals are fnicky.They require extremely specifc circumstancesthat have to take place at precise times over severalcenturies. Screwing up any part o the ritual orleaving something out almost always ends up withthe alchemist dead or worse. Unortunately, every once in a while a really clued-in alchemist will pokehis head out o the crowd o amateurs, leaving a trailo careully disposed corpses and angling or a placein Hell’s line-up.

This story concerns one o those guys.

This adventure needs a patient sort o hunter. Acting rashly and coming to conclusions tooquickly’s just going to dump the hunters in ahellstorm o bad news that could tangle them up

or months i not years. On the other hand, i they look under the surace and do their research, they can keep the ritual rom coming to ruition andkeep things rom going south. A little brute orceand muscle will help at points, sure, but going inguns blazing won’t y. As only one o the fghtscenes can’t be avoided with some smart planning,it should work or Rookies as well as Veterans andSeasoned hunters. It’d be a good idea or at leastone o the hunters to know a little about cults orhistory. Being good at sneaking about (Covert) or


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 26/9724 Transmutations

browbeating (Discipline or Inuence) would alsobe extremely useul at points, just as a way o getting around some violence.

It goes without saying that the presentationo alchemy in this adventure’s purely or dramaticeect. We’re shooting or the cinematic approachrather than anything resembling an academic paper. With that in mind, i you’re a practitioner o analchemic tradition yoursel or you study it in reallie, our apologies in advance or amping up thecreepy. Please don’t sic a golem on us.

Here’s the StoryDuring the late eighteenth century, a Swissaristocrat named Hans-Ruedi Von Steffan (writing under the occult alias o Adolphus Sestus)attracted his air share o ame and notoriety by making claims o Lucierean enlightenment andpower over lie and death. Ater making somepowerul enemies throughout several salons anduniversities in Europe, Hans-Ruedi soon oundhimsel alienated by his peers, students, and ew riends. Paranoid and megalomaniacal, Hans-Ruedi began to write strange treatises, printing

and distributing them with what was let o hisamily’s wealth. His fnal paper, titled “The Key o Aeons”, drew the attention o the local church withits proclamations o “transcendence o mortality through the spiritual ingestion o lie itsel”—astaught to him by the demons o Hell. Obviously,the Bishop o Lauren had to condemn the man onthe grounds o high heresy and the unholy practiceo witchcrat. When the bishop’s men broke downthe door o Sestos’s mansion, the alchemist wasnowhere to be ound. He’d ed to the New World

in order to escape his critics, persecutors, and past.

Upon arriving in America, Von Stean spent theremainder o his money on an old armhouse, where it’s believed he died in the midst o an English translation o “The Key o Aeons”. There’sno record o his death.

Flash orward to the present. In the middleo the epidemic crime and bustle o modern day Baltimore, Maryland, a darkness lurks unnoticed,and a supernatural threat that dates back to the late1700s lays its net or its fnal victims. Although thealchemist’s taken lives to sustain him over time,none o them have created the kind o patternthat law enorcement would notice. And, rankly,

trying to sell a theory that connects any o thesekidnappings to one another would be grounds orinstitutionalization.

Adventure SummaryThis story hooks the hunters with their desire to

be with a dead riend’s daughter on her birthday, butit’s ultimately driven by Cassandra Price’s desire tofnd the cause o her riend Frank’s reakish death. As they’re present or the discovery o Frank’sunnaturally aged corpse, convincing the hunters

to get to work fnding the cause o the bizarredeath isn’t going to be hard. Although they’reminor, Cassie’s riends—especially the hyper-socialand sel-destructive Becky—may provide someentertaining distractions. It’s possible, thoughunlikely, that the hunters are just going to turntheir noses up at this job. However, once they makecontact with the Pigtown Kings, Von Stean noticesthem and they’ll have made a new enemy. Either way, i the alchemist’s plans go orward withouthunters messing it up, he emerges a powerul

demonic being. O course, even i the hunters do

T he Ke y o f Aeo ns

T he Record o ADO L P H US S ES T US; or t he a i t h u l re ve la t io

n o ye

grea t desce n t a nd t he tra ns u bs ta n t ia t io n o t he fes h v u l

ga r.

I. PA R T T H E F I RS T - P R E L IM INA R Y IN VOCA T ION

As m y o w n w i t ness dec la red a t t he oo t o t he lo wer t hro n

e, w i l l u l l y

de n y c la i m t ha t “ T hose o t he wor t h y gra de o Per ec t Ade p

t w i l l k no w

t ha t no tra ns m u ta t io n ca n be e ec ted i n t h

e d i ere n t s pec ies o

s u bs ta nces, t ho ug h t he y ca n prod uce t he a p pea ra nce o s uc h c ha nge ”

a s i t is b y t he pa c ts I ha ve b looded a nd t he cere mo n ies a n

d dog ma s, i n

w h ic h I a b ide, w i t h a i t h u l a nd u ns wer v i ng perse vera nce

, t ha t I l ig h t

t he la m p a nd ca s t i ts l u m i nos i t y u po n t ha t s k i l l u l pa t h t h

e W h i te Lodge

ea rs to wa l k. I t is u po n t ha t B la c k S to ne t ha t I ha ve wor k

ed m y cra t

a nd co me to k no w t ha t t he c ha i ns o t h is or m a nd s p ir i t a

re no t a xed

to t hose o a deq ua te co n v ic t io ns a nd m ie n e nd ur i ng.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 27/97 2 Transmutations

their best to stop his ritual, they may still ail. I thathappens, you’ve got a major new bad guy or yourongoing campaign.

You’re welcome.

Breakdown of the ActsHere’s the skinny on the three Acts in this

adventure. Act I: Solve et Coagula The hunters show up

in town to check on a dead riend’s daughter andstumble upon a new threat.

Act II: Renement The hunters investigatethe local gang, the weirdness o a nightclub, and thesimmering plot is revealed.

Act III: Rubedo The action heats up to a boiland a conrontation with the alchemist is inevitable.

Act I: Solve etCoagula

Here the hunters arrive in Baltimore and spendsome time catching up with the daughter o a riend,Martin Price, who was killed on the job whenthey were frst starting out. The girl, a sad teenagernamed Cassie Price, lives in South Baltimore, inSection 8 low income subsidized housing—herrundown rowhome serves as housing or Cassie andthree o her riends. Ater spending some time withCassie, catching up, and being introduced to her

annoying roommates, they’re invited to join themor Cassie’s birthday celebration at a new local nightspot. Ater bumming around the nightspot or a bit,the body o another o Cassie’s riends is ound,aged beyond his years by an unknown evil.

Scene 1: Old FriendsDuring this scene the hunters arrive in South

Baltimore, catch up with Cassie, and fnd outabout the nightclub. They become acquainted withCassie’s riends who’ve gathered or pre-clubbing

beers and cake in celebration o Cassie’s birthday. Younger hunters might relate to Cassie and herriends directly, while older hunters may decide thatit’s a good plan to get into the spirit o the occasionto give their old riend’s daughter some much-needed distraction.

The SetupIt’s a really hot day and the hunters enter the

city on I–95, raming a perect skyline view o

Charm City. As they pull o the highway, they

immediately enter a airly dilapidated working class neighborhood; consisting o nothing butormed-stone row homes and shady looking cornerliquor stores. The street they end up on looks likeall the others, with people lazing on their stoopsbeing generally neighborly to each other, casually walking rom stoop to stoop, and sampling bits o each other’s conversations. Ater confrming the

address, the hunters get out o their vehicle and ringthe doorbell. Ater a minute or so o listening tothe mued conversations o excited teenage girlsthrough the door, the door swings open and Cassieappears with hal o her hair up in clips and pins andthe other side matted with magenta hair dye. Whenshe recognizes the hunters, she looks genuinely happy but with a touch o thoughtul sadness. Whenher riend Becky Wells comes running up behindher with rubber gloves waving a tube o hair dyeasking who’s at the door, Cassie snaps out o hersentimental stare and invites the hunters in withmore enthusiasm.

The house is a three-story row home inrelatively good repair. It’s got three exits and a sorto makeshit fre escape-ish contraption attachedto the upstairs back window—probably almost asdangerous as a house fre—that hangs over a lotcovered in untamed weeds and uncut brown grass.There’s a total o three bedrooms upstairs as wellas a bathroom, with the roommate Becky Wellsmaking her room in the basement. The frst oor’sgot a kitchen, an oddly shaped living room that

looks like its undergone several ailed renovationeorts, and a large bathroom with a claw-ootbathtub.

All o the roommates are bustling about in various stages o hair and make-up. When thehunters inquire as to why everyone is so jazzed,Becky pulls a brightly colored yer o the ridgeand holds it up as i the hunters should know whatit is. Annoyed, Cassie pulls the yer rom Becky’shands, hands it to one o the hunters, and thenexplains that once everyone is done with hair, makeup, and getting dressed, they (hunters apparently

included) are going to have some beers and abirthday cake and then party the rest o the nightaway at one o Baltimore’s newest dance clubs,

Ascend.

Cassie and Her FriendsThe primary purpose o this scene is or the

characters to become acquainted with Cassie’sriends but also to take Cassie aside and have an



honest discussion about the last time they saw eachother at Cassie’s ather’s uneral. Here are their vital statistics and a little about their backgrounds.

Cassie PriceDescription Cassie is eighteen as o today. She’s a

healthy teenage girl with a small, athletic buildbut wears the deep cut wrinkles and dark circles

o little rest and personal trauma around her eyes. Although she is a young, attractive girl, her brow is generally knit with concern and her generalbearing is ar too heavy or a girl her age.

Despite her desire to have a tighter hold on her lie,Cassie spends most o her time opping on thecouch in her overalls when she’s not working her stockroom job at the Bullseye™ superstore. Among her riends, Cassie tends to laugh and joke but usually has a slightly distant reaction—as i she was somewhere else entirely when thepunchline dropped. When alone, Cassie tendsto sit in ront o the television chain-smoking cigarettes that have stained her fngers and keepher sanity rom ying apart. It’s during thisalone time that Cassie reects on the terriying,ragmented, fnal moments she had with hermuch missed dad.

The problem is that nothing is really helping.Having had the wool ripped o her eyes atthe age o thirteen, Cassie has a perspectiveon lie that only a hunter should have to bear.Conused and paralyzed by hopelessness, Cassie

Price spends her days living without purpose,constantly aware o the world underneath thatcould rip away anything and everything thatshe has come to love and take security in. As aresult, she’s become susceptible to the inuenceo Becky Wells, a proud representative o the“wrong crowd”.

The only thing that seems to cheer Cassie up (atleast superfcially) is her budding love interestFrankie Burns, a good-looking, unny, butdelinquent ex-boyriend o Becky’s. Althoughnot as much o a wild child as Becky, Frankie

has some seriously uncool riends and is slightly entangled with some neighborhood gang politicsthat could spell trouble or him and anyone closeto him. Having seen what she’s seen, Cassiebasically dismisses Frankie’s gang ties, assuming they’re much less dangerous than they actually are.

Although she’s taken no pains to improve on thelittle bit o sel-deense stu her dad taught herin the eeting last days o his lie, Cassie doesown a pistol and is competent insoar as its useand will make use o it in the case o a seriousthreat to hersel or her riend regardless o whether the danger is supernatural or mundane.Under less intense circumstances, Cassie will use

the techniques she learned taking Aikido at thenearby women’s crisis center shortly ater herdad passed.


Traits Good-Natured d4, Lazy d4, Sensitive d4Skills Alertness d4, Athletics d4, Covert d2, Guns

d2, Knowledge d2, Lore d4, Unarmed Combatd4

Gear Cigarettes, cigarette lighter, dad’s old pistol(d4 W)

Becky WellsDescription Almost immediately upon meeting

her, the hunters sense that Becky Wells has aboutas many serious personal issues as one couldpossibly ft into the lie o a nineteen year oldgirl. At least a little intoxicated or hung-over at alltimes, Becky does not think about what comesout o her mouth beore she speaks nor does sheconsider the repercussions o her actions beoreshe commits to them.

Agi d4 Str d4 Vit d6 Ale d4 Int d4 Wil d4

Init d6 + d4; LP 10Traits Addicted (cross-addicted) d4, Allure d2, Amorous d4, Anger Issues d2, Contacts (PigtownKings) d2, Hooked (partying) d4, Rebellious d4,Smartass d4, Unstable (severe, untreated manicdepressive disorder) d4

Skills Covert d6, Inuence d2, Perormance d4,Unarmed Combat d2

Gear Trashy wardrobe, gum, someone else’s 40 oz.,someone else’s cigarette

Ater an intensely abusive childhood—neglected

and hated by Mom or being too pretty and quitethe opposite rom Dad— Becky eels she’s entitledto pretty much whatever her whims point her at.This sel-destructive behavior urther eeds herinsecurities and generally angry eelings toward the world, creating a perect storm that’s amped up by her need to be trashed during most o her waking lie.

But Becky gets by. Despite the crap hand thatlie’s dealt her she manages to be pretty loyal andhonest about most things. She can’t keep a secret

or her wiseass remarks to hersel, but she knows



what pain eels like and is always there or a riendin need. Unortunately, due to gross emotionalimmaturity, she’s generally there with a pill orbooze, but that’s just because that’s what Becky wants when she’s got the blues. With her job as anexotic dancer at Chez Mike’s Gentlemen’s Roomand no uture prospects, Becky gets the blues a lot.

With her reputation as a party girl, Becky’s

become mixed up with the Pigtown Kings; she’sdated several o them and introduced a ew o themto her riends. Although she’s certainly not a gang member by any stretch o the imagination, she’sconsidered a riend and can call on them i she hasneed.

Tiffany Patrick & Dawn FrazierDescription Tiany Patrick and Dawn Frazier have

been best riends or so long the two seventeen year olds even look alike. High school riendso Becky, Tiany and Dawn are a giggly pair o teenage girls who just want to have un and enjoy their independence rom their parents. About a year younger than Cassie and two years youngerthan Becky, Tiany and Dawn are comortableollowing the lead o the older girls most o thetime.


Traits Shy d4Skills Drive d2, Inuence d2, Knowledge d2,

Unarmed Combat d2

Gear Trendy wardrobe, cell phone

Not much on talking seriously to anyone otherthan each other, these riends are pleasant i rather vapid. Unlike Becky, however, Tiffany and Dawn don’t do emotional support except or one another,generally departing the scene as soon as things gettoo serious. When Becky has one o her heatedscreaming fghts with one o her soon-to-be ex-boyriends or Cassie doesn’t get enough sleep andbreaks out sobbing over her deceased ather, Tiany and Dawn become a pair o deer in headlights and

will break just as ast or their rooms the momentthey have any kind o opening.

The ProblemsThe action at this early point in the adventure is

more social than anything else. Ater all, there isn’treally a “job” as such, so let the hunters do whatthey eel is helpul to their riend’s daughter. Here’ssome complications to work into the scene.

If These Walls Had Ears Well, they do, kind o. As soon as the hunters

have a bit to settle down amidst the chaos o theroommates, they notice the wind has let Cassie’ssails. The hunter’s arrival reminds Cassie that she

hasn’t really had anyone with whom she coulddiscuss the truth o her dad’s demise since the tragicevent occurred. With her roommates around, thehunters really need to be discreet without ignoring Cassie’s emotional needs. This needs to be dealt with beore the club i there’s any hope o thebirthday girl having a sufciently great time at herparty. I they ail to do so, Cassie has a lousy time,completely deeating the purpose o the hunters’ visit.

It Takes One Bad AppleBecky Wells is a hot mess. A consummate party

girl, Becky’s been the single worst inuence onCassie since her dad’s passing. Despite her attemptsto be “just like a sister” to Cassie, she’s attractedmany negative elements to hersel, and as herroommate, to Cassie as well. Becky enjoys her drugand her bad boys and reuses to listen to any advicethat would suggest getting her crap together. Any hunter with a concern or Cassie’s well being (orBecky’s, or that matter) should consider addressing

this with her at some point. Unortunately, talking

C A S SIE’ S LO S S T his is where t he im port anc e of bein g t iet o Cassie’s st ory is em phasiz ed. It ’s im port antt hat at least one hunt er was present , or e v edirec t ly in v ol v ed in t he e v ent s t hat lead t oMart in Pric e’s deat h. Alt hou gh t he spec ic s t he t ra gedy c an be t ailored t o t what e v ec

am pai gn in whic h T r a n s m u t a t i o n s is insert edMart in’s deat h needs t o ha v e happened: in an o b v iously supernat ural way.in front of Cassie and at least one of t hehunt ers.in a way t hat feels like som eone c ould ha v e st opped it despit e t hat not really bein gt he c ase.

W hat e v er is dec ided , t he st ory of her dad’s deat h should be worked out ahead oft im e in your not es so t hat it c an be present edin a c onsist ent way durin g play as well as allowin g t he hunt ers who were in v ol v ed t he opport unit y t o in v est som e em ot ional wei ght int o playin g out t heir c onnec t ion t o Cassie Pric e.



directly to Becky right beore a big party—or letting her overhear such a conversation—is a terribleidea. Prone to hyper-melodramatic reak-outs andamboyant displays o negative-narcissism, Becky ruins the evening or everyone i they make her eelcondescended to or judged.

Cassie isn’t the easiest person to get alone today,so it’s going to take some HARD maneuvering

to separate her rom Becky. I the hunters aresomehow able to get Becky to leave, getting away rom Tiany and Dawn is extremely EASY. Oncealone, the hunter (or hunters) who had a connectionto Cassie at the time o her dad’s death will be ableto take her aside and speak rankly about all o theactual events surrounding the supernatural tragedy.

The ResultsOnce Cassie has a nice, deep moment o

comort and the eeling o being totally understood,she’ll have a big, brie sob and then hug and thank the hunters who took the time to sort things out with her. I the hunters also take this time todiscuss Becky with Cassie, they’ll fnd out thatCassie is well aware o how Becky lives her lie and will assure the hunters that she’s beyond her bestriend’s childish manipulations and social pressuring and that things are just particularly bad or Becky right now. She’ll then explain that Becky is caughtup with the local neighborhood gang and alsodiscuss Becky’s substance abuse. I the hunters oer

to help her talk to her riend, she’ll dismiss suchoers with “I’ll take care o Becky. Let’s just haveun tonight.”

The RewardsGive the players one Plot Point each or getting

some time alone with Cassie to talk to her about herDad. There could be more Plot Points involved, too,depending on what the hunters’ Complications areand how well they pull o the issue o Becky being glued to Cassie’s side.

Scene 2: AscendThis scene begins once the whole crew is

dressed, made-up, and ready to go to the nightclubor the evening. Cassie, Becky, Tiany, and Dawnare all in tow and they meet several members o thePigtown Kings. They inorm Cassie that Frankiecame to the club earlier and said he would meetthem inside. This scene’s designed to give thehunters a sense o the club’s layout, and possibly

even notice all the occult markings hidden in theclub’s décor, both o which play a vital role in thefnal conrontation with Von Stean.

The Setup Ater fnishing up the last o Cassie’s birthday

cake and a ew beers, the girls decide it’s time to

get dressed and head to Ascend. Becky acts likeits urgent that she get there on time as she’s toldriends to meet her outside the club (because shethinks they can get her in or ree and is araid she’llmiss them i they’re too late). When they fnally doarrive, they park on the street a block or two romthe club. As they approach, they realize that Ascendseems a bit more dubious than it was originally described to them.

Ascend is set up inside o a large warehouse inan industrial park in South Baltimore, surroundedby dormant actories, smaller warehouses, and acreso concrete. From the outside, the long rowdy lineo brightly dressed patrons extending two blocks isthe only clue to it being a club. With the exceptiono the ront door, the entire building has a chain link barbwire ence surrounding it. The only other exitis an emergency exit around back—the kind witha really loud alarm. There’s also a FORMIDABLY well-hidden trap door behind the DJ booth that’sroped o rom use and guarded by a huge bouncer(who is really just guarding the DJ booth).

The ProblemsThe hunters get wind o strange stu going

on inside the club, most o which centers on threethings. They might not make much o them all atthis stage in the adventure, but it’s early.

Meeting the Pigtown KingsOutside o the club, the hunters get to meet

Becky’s lovely riends—the Pigtown Kings. Among them are Ty-Ty Cross, Kenny Smalls,

and Joey Wilks. They’re all dressed in long whitet-shirts, black Pittsburgh Pirates baseball hats, andhuge jeans worn around the hips with oversized,pristine white sneakers and posture like they’redoing a comedy skit about hip hop. They all talk inexaggerated street slang stretched over extremely thick Baltimore accents, a combination that makesthem almost indecipherable. They might look ridiculous but they’re deadly serious about whatand who they are: a gang that deals drugs and stealscars in and around this part o town. Becky tries to

get the boys to get her through the door without



charge. Preoccupied with something, the PigtownKings won’t even give Becky a place in line. Becky’surious but surprisingly does not make a scene.

These kids are bad news. Once inside, it’sblatantly obvious that the Pigtown Kings are directly involved in Ascend’s drug dealing. Cassie’s gotnothing to gain rom having anything to do withthese guys, and things could get even worse or

Becky. I the hunters approach Cassie and Becky about the Pigtown Kings, doing it in line’s thebest time to do it. Considering Becky’s eelings o rejection, it’s EASY to give her the advice she needsto hear. Cassie takes little convincing but insists thatFrankie Burns is very dierent rom the others. Shehas no idea how true this is at that very moment…

Ty-Ty (Timothy) CrossDescription Ty-Ty is an overweight bully with a

shaved head and a pinched, pig-like ace that wasa lot scarier in high school than he is now.

Almost twenty-one years old, Ty-Ty is a patheticunderachiever and small time pusher whomaintains control over the Pigtown Kings by eeding them lies and promises o being “realplayers” one day. As a result o his wide-eyedambition and delusional sense o his owncapabilities, Ty-Ty’s landed his whole crew in a crap-ton o trouble that he can barely comprehend. Ty-Ty’s old best riend, FrankieBurns, knew that something was rotten about thesudden increase in cash and status, even going so

ar as to threaten reporting the whole situationto the police. In response, Ty-Ty reaked out andcontacted his new supplier with the concerns.It was or this reason that Frankie was asked toshop up early that evening…

Ty-Ty lives in his mother’s basement and keepshis operations rom her entirely. He keeps hisgun and stash in a sentry lock sae that he keepsbehind a piece o loose paneling behind his bed.

Agi d6 Str d6 Vit d4 Ale d4 Int d4 Wil d4Init d6 + d4; LP 8Traits Alchemic Link d8, In Plain Sight d4, Wrong

Side o the Law d4Skills Covert d4, Discipline d4, Drive d2, Guns d2,

Inuence d2, Tech d4Gear Oversized clothes, pristine white sneakers,

cell phone, pistol (d4 W)

Kenny Smalls & Joey WilksDescription Kenny and Joey are kids rom around

the neighborhood who just have nothing betterto do. They look like skinnier clones o Ty-Ty, at

least dresswise.

Agi d6 Str d6 Vit d6 Ale d6 Int d4 Wil d6Init d6 + d6; LP 12Traits In Plain Sight d4, Alchemic Link d4, Wrong

Side o the Law d4Skills Athletics d6, Covert d4, Inuence d4Gear Oversized clothes, pristine white sneakers,

cell phone, drug paraphernalia

Kenny and Joey hate the idea o employment,and fgure they can aord new console games andbags o weed just fne without one. Despite theact that they don’t really believe any o Ty-Ty’spromises, they fgure it’s better than a real job andthat it’d be pretty cool i any o what Cross saysactually does come true. Pretty excited about theirnew prosperity, the two boys have absolutely no ideahow badly Ty-Ty’s horrible, unrealistic judgmenthas actually screwed them.

Ascend InteriorOnce inside the club, things begin to get

strange. Cassie goes in search o Frankie Burns—“I’ll be right back!”—and Becky beelines or thedance oor. The club doesn’t have the atmosphereone would expect o a popular nightspot. Ascend iscertainly packed to capacity, but the energy o theplace is entirely wrong. Instead o the normal upbea jump o a club flled with tons o dancing kids, it’sas i the entire place is on tranquilizers and oating in syrup.

NE W T R AI T : ALCHEMIC LINK ( D 4 / D8 )

Y ou’ v e eaten or other w ise ing ested Pr ima, thealchemical substance pr epar ed b y an alchemist w ith V on Stef f an’s Black Stone. This cr eates a m y stic link bet w een y ou and the alchemist, g i v ing him unnatur al inuence o v er y ou and the abilit y to siphon lif ef r om a distance. W hen the alchemist acts ag ainst y ou, he g ains the Complication’s die r ating as a bonus to his actions. It doesn’t appl y to his def ense ag ainst y our actions, ho w e v er .

d4: A t this le v el, the alchemist is capable of using his lif e-dr aining po w er s at a distance of up to 50 miles, albeit w ith a – 2 Sk ill step. Somebod y w ith this le v el of the Complication’s tak en Pr ima onl y once or t w ice.d8: If the link is this str ong , the alchemist’s lif e-dr aining po w er s ar e unaf f ected b y distance. This r epr esents somebod y w ho’s tak en Pr ima

multiple times.



It’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE to tell that there’sa supernatural disturbance. Nonetheless, uponclose inspection, a hunter with adequate Lore(such as a Specialty in Symbols) and a little HARD work discerns variations o traditional alchemicalsymbols or salt, sulur, and mercury blended intothe patterns o psychedelic art covering the walls.Seeing the massive etching o the ocusing tablet

on the dance oor requires a HEROIC eort whileeverybody’s dancing on it. Even taking the strangeatmosphere into account, there’s something up with those alchemical symbols. Although there doesseem to be a sort o transcendence theme to the whole club, the symbols are drawn with ar morecare and too much attention to detail than anyonebut a practicing occultist or hunter would care toinvest. They’re the work o either a detail-obsessedartist or a genuine practitioner o the black arts.Unortunately, the distinction is IMPOSSIBLE tomake at this point, but reinorces the right theoriesonce the hunters have more inormation and areurther along on the hunt. Right now, the symbolsare just very out o place.

Substance AbuseDespite the act that this is a rave club in the

midst o a airly bad neighborhood in Baltimore, theuniormity o intoxication’s still strange. Althoughit’s EASY to tell people at the club are indulging themselves, it’s HARD to notice the pattern o

intoxication in the place. Alert hunters notice peoplebumping into things, ailing to pick up on passing comments, or paying no attention to change inmusic or lights. They just sort o stare o into spaceand bob their heads to a beat that’s not audible. Although not supernatural per se, the uniormity o everyone’s state is pretty reaky.

The Pigtown Kings spread out to the cornerso the club to hold court or their bleary eyedcustomers. The hunters may well wonder whateverybody’s on, and it’s probably in the best interesto everyone’s saety i the hunters ound out. I

the hunters ask around, they’ll have to put orthan AVERAGE eort to get answers. Althoughthe Pigtown Kings only call it “good stu” orsomething equally dismissive when the hunters ask,the kids who are actually on it tell the hunters it’s anew, amazing drug called Prima. I pressed or moreinormation, they just continue on with vague butdripping praise o the drug’s eect.

The ResultsOnce the hunters have had a little time to

interact with or worry about the Pigtown Kings,notice weird symbols, or get a sense that there’smore than just a little drug use going around, they can head to the chill-out room. Actually, the nextscene can take place at any point in between, but thereveal in Scene 3 might end up being the ocus o

their attention.

The RewardsThe players each get one Plot Point or fguring

out there’s something weird going on here with thesymbols, and another or pegging it as alchemy oroccult-related.

Scene 3: WitheredThis scene kicks o the hunt and begins when

the characters decide to relax in the “chill-out”room o Ascend. It’s here that the body o FrankieBurns is ound dead, reduced to a desiccated husk by the alchemist’s lie-draining rituals. This sceneought to eel time sensitive; the hunters need toreact to the situation beore the normal olks get a working grasp o how truly unnatural the cause o death must’ve been.

The Setup

So the hunters are worn out rom dancing orsick o the booming electronic beats. Right aboutthis point, they notice the chill-out room. It’s theonly place to actually sit in the entire club. Theroom’s ull o kids well on the way toward stone-cold drunk, propping up the walls and lounging on the overstued urniture with expressions o oblivious bliss. Some are completely passed out.Could be a good place to retire to.

It really can’t be that simple, o course.

The ProblemsThis stu happens more or less in order. The

frst bit leads to the others, and happens shortly aterthe hunters pull away rom the main room and getsome quiet space.

Where’s Frankie?Cassie comes bouncing into the room with a

big smile on her ace. She tells the hunters that she’shaving a good time but can’t fnd Frankie Burns

who, according to all sources, arrived at Ascend



early tonight. Once she’s had a chance to look around, she sees a amiliar hooded sweatshirt andPigtown Kings ensemble passed out in the corner,head down with his ace obscured by the hoodie. Excited, Cassie runs over and jumps onto Frankie’slap, saying, “Wish me a happy birthday!” As soonas the words escape her mouth, Frankie’s headlolls back and Cassie lets out a piercing, sustained

scream. When the hunters get a good look, they realize that i this is indeed Frankie, he’s somehow aged about fty years and given up the ghost.

Damage ControlThe moment Cassie screams, the hunters need

an excuse to stay near the body. Cassie’s screaming attracts a lot o attention, with bouncers responding quickly and a circle o club-goers surrounding thescene. The hunters should probably consider anappropriate lie in order to conceal the unnaturalacts o Frankie’s demise. Claiming relation toFrankie or impersonating o-duty emergency workers or doctors should do well enough toappease the bouncers, but will be a HARD trick topull o on the actual police.

When the police arrive, the players will needto either get out o the way and leave the grounds,or be prepared to give a statement to the police. It’sprobably best i the hunters counsel Cassie a bitbeore she gives hers, making sure that she doesn’tblurt out anything without thinking. This will be a

HARD task considering how hectic and panickedthe room has become. I the hunters removed theidentifers rom Frankie’s body, the police will goabout the incident as i Frankie were simply a sadold man that decided to give it one last hoorahbeore dropping dead rom heart ailure in the back room. I the players ailed to recover Frankie’s IDcard beore his body is handled by the police, thecops will be utterly conused, quickly taping o the scene as to preserve the evidence until a morequalifed investigator arrives. The only passing beneft o sticking around is to constructively make

contact with the police. I any o the hunters areon the Wrong Side o the Law, they can’t ask thepolice and paramedics any questions they think might help. Needless to say, the police have no way whatsoever to know anything about the true causeo death.

On the o chance that the hunters takeinventory o reactions o the various supporting characters, it’s EASY to tell that Cassie is in a state o shock, Becky looks completely reaked out, Tiany and Dawn look disturbed and concerned, and the

Pigtown Kings are absolutely terrifed out o their

wits, consumed by the bleak realization that thiscould be any one o them i they should go againstthe will o their new master. Once the police arrive,the Pigtown Kings are nowhere to be ound.

Frankie, Is That You?It’s probably best i the hunters make sure that

this is actually Frankie, as Cassie could be jumping to conclusions. I the hunters search the body orindentiying marks, they’ll quickly fnd that thisdead, seventy-year old man is in act the remains o a twenty-year old drug dealer named Frankie BurnsFrankie has a wallet with a monthly bus pass and hisMVA issued identifcation card. He also has a goldnecklace with a cubic zirconia “F” hanging rom itthat’s EASY to notice.

I the hunters have the sense to remove theseitems rom the body, they make it IMPOSSIBLEor the police to fgure out the identity o the corpsein any sort o reasonable time. However, doing soin ront o a room ull o bouncers and transfxedonlookers requires a covert action o AVERAGEdifculty. I the hunters don’t think quickly, andthey don’t get what they need beore the policearrive, recovering the items becomes substantially HARDER.

The ResultsI the hunters come out o this scene with

only one thing, it should be that they have caughtthe trail o a supernatural threat o an unusual andobviously powerul sort. Despite the rushed natureo their initial encounter, they’ve been given a airamount o ino to go on. However, frst things frstand that means getting everyone’s emotions undercontrol and on the same page. Once that’s taken caro, tactics and research are the next major concern.

The Rewards Each hunter gets a Plot Point or “handling”

the situation, two i there were police involved. You might add more to the total i things go o therails but the hunters steer it back with some cleverdouble-talk, outright lies, or other classic huntermoves.

Act II: Refinement

It’s during this Act that the characters willperorm the bulk o their investigation. Events will

determine the nature o their dialogue with the



Pigtown Kings, uncover the truth o Ascend, andreveal a vague outline o the alchemist’s plot as wellas the nature o Hans-Ruedi Von Stean himsel.Hunters with strong Lore and Knowledge skills willbe o particular importance during Scene 3.

Scene 1: RevelationThe hunters return to Cassie’s house, where

the girls emotionally decompress with a vengeance.Cassie puts the hunters on the spot and Becky comes clean. Ater discussing the details, thehunters have some good leads and opportunities toshed light on Frankie’s death. Becky also reveals anew problem that could have dire results or nearly everyone i doesn’t get resolved. You should know that this is a scene about getting the hunters to ask the right questions, not about giving them fnalanswers.

The Setup Ater leaving the club, the hunters and the girls

return home and the dam breaks. Cassie, in herhysteria, cuts loose with shouts o “What did that toFrankie?” and “You’ve got to fnd whatever did thatand stop it!” which puts the hunters on the spot in abig way in ront o the other girls. Luckily, Tiany and Dawn don’t want to deal and immediately beeline up the stairs to hide in their bedrooms assoon as the waterworks start back up and don’t

really catch what Cassie means by “it”. Becky, wholooks thoughtul or once, sinks into the soa andtakes on a distant, vacant expression, not taking notice o anything the hunters or Cassie are saying or the frst several minutes.

The ProblemsOnce again, there’s nothing here that can

immediately be solved with a shotgun o rock saltor the Roman Rite, so it’s up to the hunters to getsocial. Keep in mind that the girls have knocked

back a ew at the club, coloring their perceptions.

Making things right with CassieCassie is inconsolable, thinking, “frst Dad gets

taken rom me and now this?” I the hunters try tocalm her down with quiet voices, hugs, or any otherorm o sot sympathy, she shakes them o and thenreally cuts loose. Although she eventually comesaround ater venting o most o her rage, it’s better

to get her on board as quickly as possible, or bothher sake and or the beneft o saving as much timeas possible.

Any attempt to control Cassie or what Cassiesays rom here until the end o the scene creates anIMPOSSIBLE situation and results in her telling theoending hunter to get the hell out o her house.She’ll rescind and apologize once she calms down,

but not a minute sooner. However, i the hunterssympathize with Cassie, and take a good look ather situation, they realize that the only thing that’sgoing to make this better is doing something about whatever killed Frankie Burns. I the hunters go theroute o aggression and payback, Cassie straightensup and makes her dad proud, taking resolve andocus in her desire or revenge. Mind you, taking this crusader mentality makes it pretty clear toBecky that there’s something going on that hasn’tbeen shared with her. Despite her intoxication, sheinsists that she be included.

What was everyone on at Ascend?Once Cassie and the hunters are on the same

page, the hunters might ask questions about whateveryone’s on (assuming they didn’t ask while atthe club). Even i they did ask, Becky gives thehunters more inormation than anyone at the club would have. Although Becky doesn’t know exactly what Prima is, she knows some o the actorssurrounding its distribution and history. I nobody

asks Becky about Prima, she still suggests that Ty-Ty and his boys had to have had something to do withFrankie’s death.

I the Prima conversation goes down withBecky, she spills all the beans she has. She makesit clear that Ty-Ty and his boys are the only peopleshe knows who sell Prima and that they never sellit outside o Ascend. She mentions that once, in thepast, when she inquired about their supplier, they totally overreacted like they were very scared o something, and then became threatening, warning her to “never ask that question again.” Becky also

adds that the Pigtown Kings pretty much soldpot and whatever they stole out o Ty-Ty’s mom’smedicine cabinet until Ascend’s grand opening two weeks ago. Now, in just the stretch o two weeks, with only our nights o sales, the Prima pill is theonly drug anyone is interested in these days.

The ResultsDepending on how the discussion with the girls

progresses, the characters have a ew good leads on

how to begin the hunt or Von Stean. First and



oremost is the option o talking to the PigtownKings, which takes some sorting out on Becky’s partbut happens i the hunters want it to. Other optionsinclude getting a Prima sample or testing, ando course, digging up some Lore on lie-draining supernatural threats.

The RewardsGive the hunters a Plot Point or staying cool with Cassie and not trying to coddle her. I Becky spills the beans and the hunters learn about Primaas a result o their actions, give them another PlotPoint.

Scene 2: Agents of theBlack Stone

Whether it’s fnding out more about Ty-Ty’soperation, getting a sample o Prima or testing purposes, or fnding out what Frankie was doing beore he ended up dead, the hunters’ next stepis talking to the Pigtown Kings. The outcome o this scene—based on how Ty-Ty and his boys aretreated—has a direct eect on the gang’s actions in

Act III.

The SetupBecky can’t get hold o Ty-Ty until the next day

as he and the other Kings tend to sleep until late inthe aternoon. When he’s eventually reached on thephone, he’s really shaken up and extremely reluctantto make any plans to speak to anyone. Nonetheless,he’s currently terrifed o Frankie’s ate becoming his own and is trying to pass his anxiety o as“having business on his mind.”

When a meeting is fnally arranged, one way or another, it will take place at Ty-Ty’s house in hisbasement; the only place that young Timothy Crosseels truly sae. As mentioned previously, Ty-Ty liveshere alone with his mom, since his dad’s currently

in prison or repeated possession o narcotics. Thetwo-story row home is neat but flthy, the housegoing mostly unused as Ty-Ty’s mother rarely gets out o bed, locked in her room out o ear o her son’s riends. Ty-Ty holes up in the basementsanctuary, a clothing strewn pigsty where hecrouches pig-like in ront o an extremely expensiveplasma widescreen to which is attached his prizedGameStation 4 with all the newest games, some noteven out o their shrink-wrap.

The ProblemsThe way this goes depends on the hunters’

approach. The ollowing sections cover most o it,but eel ree to mix and match.

Meeting With the BossThere are several ways o going about setting

up a talk with Ty-Ty and his boys. However,considering his ear, bad judgment, and ragile ego,getting him to cooperate will require rather awlessdiplomacy.

I the hunters go the threatening route, they’llreceive a +2 Skill step bonus to all intimidationattempts against the gang leader due to Ty-Ty’sprecarious and panicked mental state. This is thequickest path to getting ino, but it makes Ty-Ty andhis gang view the hunters as enemies and threatsunless the hunters take HEROIC pains to restoretrust. Obviously, going about the meeting in a lessaggressive ashion might be better.

Giving Up the GoodsTy-Ty is ultimately a coward and he’s very,

very scared. I he had his (ew) wits about him,he’d never consider passing a Prima sample toanyone outside o Ascend (as those were VonStean’s precise orders, back when he made thedeal), but in his current messed up state, he could very well panic and give up a sample or, i pressed,

the stu he’s been told to cut it with. All it wouldtake is intimidation (opposed by his Willpower+ Discipline) or a promise to get him out o hisrapidly deteriorating predicament (opposed by his Alertness + Discipline).

I Ty-Ty is sufciently scared o the hunters (orconvinced that they can keep him sae) he explains what he knows about Prima and shows them hisstash, as well as a jar that used to be flled with thepowder that Von Stean provided them. He tellsthe hunters that Prima is a combination o mundanMDMA powder and a special cut that’s given to

them along with the drug. They’ve been orderedto sell the two substances mixed fty-fty (whatTy-Ty reers to as “ace-to-ace”). Ty-Ty believesthat the cutting compound is low-grade heroin “orsomething”. Any hunter with an understanding o medicine has an EASY time determining thatthis isn’t true and that the nature o the substancerequires more research.



The Trouble With FrankieTy-Ty doesn’t respond well to questions about

his dead riend, and composes himsel a bit morestoically i pressed or details about his death. Thatsaid, the pudgy Ty-Ty oers no signifcant resistanceto the persuasions o intimidating adults, andsqueals i the right words and actions are chosen . . .at least until he erupts into a ft o paranoid hysteria.

Discussing Frankie’s death is much moredifcult than getting inormation about Prima. As soon as the image o his old riend’s shriveledcorpse comes into his mind’s eye, the hunters seeTy-Ty relive it, his eyes angled down and away as i Frankie’s body was still at his eet. I pressed hard,he exclaims that i he tells the hunters any moreinormation about the “old German cat” that he works or, the same thing will happen to him andthere’s nothing they’ll be able to do about it. I askedto urther describe Von Stean, the description is nomore articulate than “old, white, and German,” or“rich-looking, serious, and real smart.”

The Results When this scene comes to a close, the

relationship between the hunters and the PigtownKings is clearly defned. They’ve either scared thehell out o Ty-Ty, made Ty-Ty despise them, orconvinced Ty-Ty that they’re jealous and trying tosteal his thunder like all adults have been doing his whole lie. Either way, Hans-Reudi knows what’s

up and makes Ty-Ty repent or his inevitable lack o discretion.

The RewardsThe hunters get a Plot Point or getting

inormation out o Ty-Ty, and another i they role play their own Complications and/or Skillsappropriately to do it. In other words, i the group’sbruiser exes some muscle, he’s at least playing totype.

Scene 3: IlluminationThe culmination o the all their hard work

during the frst two scenes in Act II, this scene isnot so much based in a specifc location as it is areeorm investigation period. The hunters can usetheir own resources to narrow down, and ultimately determine, the nature o their adversary. You shouldbe prepared or the hunters to try a wide variety o solutions or confrming their clues, including going online, searching public records, historical

society records, and seeking out acilities or services

to test the make-up o the mysterious drug-cutting substance. This scene obviously makes use o Knowledge and Lore skills but may also requiresome quickly abricated alse identities in order togain or speed up access to important inormation. You should make sure that you don’t stymie yourplayers with clue-based bottlenecks as well asminding the pacing o this scene; letting it drag

could diminish the story’s momentum.

The SetupThe set up or this scene is simple and quick.

Ask the hunters which avenues they’re preparedto pursue, and then run a series o brie vignettesor each course o action. A quick descriptiono slipping past security at the Hall o Records,ast-talking a difcult receptionist at the GreaterBaltimore Historical Society, or convincing alab tech at Johns Hopkins University to test thecomposition o the elusive Prima powder. It’simportant not to restrict the players too much, butbe careul not to let them stray too ar rom theplot or create red herrings or themselves out o misapprehended conclusions.

The Problems With the vignettes out o the way, it’s time

to shit the ocus onto the major action in theinvestigation, as ollows.

Prima UnveiledDetermining the actual ingredients o Ty-Ty’s

powder is going to require some resources that aregenerally not within the average hunter’s arsenal. Arrangements have to be made. Testing the powderreveals that it is, in act, human hair, blood, andfngernail clippings. I the hunters aren’t doing the research themselves, it’s likely they’re going toend up with a very disturbed lab technician unlessthey’re quick with an AVERAGE cover story. I the

hunters decided to test the powder themselves using someone else’s acilities (which likely requires acover story or an incident o breaking and entering)the research is quite HARD but ultimately producesthe same fndings.

Once the powder’s ingredients are revealed,the uses or such a grotesque concoction remainunknown. Although the mundane materials areunusual, their mystical unction is all the moreterriying. I the hunters search their tomes and journals or this kind o powder’s uses, they

stumble upon the occult concept o sympathetic and



material links, as well as the terrible power o such aconnection to one’s victims. Once this inormation’sound, you should mention that examples o thissort o sympathetic linking to create magical resultsoccurs in both the earliest methods o pre-shamanicmagical belie as well as the most advanced andesoteric grimoires o the medieval alchemists. Thissecond association should immediately remind

the hunters o the symbols they saw at Ascend,assuming they paid attention.

Paper Trail From the PastInvestigating the Ascend warehouse uncovers

a chain o clues that eventually leads to thealchemist’s past and to the location o a preciousand unlikely clue. An EASY investigation into theownership o the Ascend warehouse reveals thata small, private investment frm allegedly basedin Switzerland owns it. Digging deeper, the frmapparently doesn’t actually have any assets otherthan the Ascend warehouse, and otherwise doesn’texist. The company’s on record as being owned by an “H. Von Stean”. Searches on Von Stean in theGreater Baltimore area turn up a land conveyancerecord rom the turn o the eighteenth century thatconnects a historic site in nearby Ellicott City to VonStean.

The Results

The hunters now have some o the hardestclues they are going to get during their investigation. With incontrovertible evidence that black magicis involved, they should now be ready fnd a way to end Von Stean’s reign o occult terror. Having discovered the paper trail, their next stop shouldbe the historic site in Ellicott City as rushing o tofght the alchemist at this point in their knowledgecould be disastrous or all humans involved.

The RewardsOne Plot Point goes to the hunters i they

get somebody to analyze Prima, two i they do itthemselves. They also get a Plot Point or looking into the warehouse’s ownership. And i the huntersuncover the link to Ellicott City, that’s another PlotPoint, especially i you didn’t have to drop it in theirlap.

Act III: Rubedo

Beginning with the discovery o Von Stean’sormer home and the clues ound inside, this Act ends with a return to the Ascend warehouse. A direct conrontation with the alchemist as he works to complete the last stages o his ritual

transormation comes immediately ater. I thehunters don’t take special precautions to protectCassie or her riends, they’re taken as hostagesto deter intererence with the fnal ceremony. Although the frst scene relies on investigation andperception skills, the fnal scene marks the end o the hunt—a deadly showdown with the Master Alchemist Hans-Ruedi Von Stean himsel.

Scene 1: OriginsDuring Act II, Scene 3, the hunters discovered

that Von Stean’s name is connected to an old homlocated in the nearby suburb o Ellicott City. Duringthis scene they investigate that very site, commita elony, and recover a clue that gives them whatthey need or the fnal battle against Von Stean.Unortunately or the hunters, it’s while they’reinvestigating the old house that the alchemist has, with the help o the kings, captured one or moreo Cassie, Becky, Tiany, and Dawn (depending on which was let unguarded). The successul recoveryo the clue is an EASY Covert check under ideal

circumstances, but social skills are mandatory i theymanage to get caught in the act.

The SetupThe characters leave the city on RT 40, which

takes them through some o the most impoverishedareas o Baltimore. There’s a gradual gentrifcationleading into more suburban surroundings. Eventually, modern architecture gives way tocolonial and the hunters arrive in the historicdistrict o Ellicott City. Ater a ew turns, there’s a

dirt road that leads them to a cluster o old woodenbuildings comprising Von Stean’s ormer estate.There’s one car in the gravel parking area and theront door appears to be open.

The houses are red-stained wood with black shutters, colonial homes built in the late 1700s.One’s a carriage house, two are servants’ quarters,and the main house is now a museum ull o antiques and plaques inscribed with historical trivia.



The car belongs to Debbie Lee Jacobs, a lovely woman in her early eighties who’s cared or thesite or over orty years. She’s hard o hearing andhal blind but knows an enormous amount aboutcolonial armhouses.

The Problems

The big score here is ound in the museum,though the hunters won’t be able to do anything with it unless they take care o the caretaker.

The Key of Aeons At the center o the main exhibit gallery is a

glass case flled with old books let by the house’searliest occupants. A clue o immeasurableimportance hides among them. Stuck betweentwo antique armer’s journals rests a thick book with handwritten pages and the strange title “TheKey o Aeons.” It takes an AVERAGE amounto observation to see it, and a little AVERAGELore to recognize the occult reerence. Althoughincomplete, the book contains a ull introductionand several detailed illustrations that togetherdescribe a clear overview o what Hans-Ruedi Von Stean has been up to and intends to bring toruition.

In summary, the book describes a long ritual operation similar to those practiced by medieval occultists during the ourteenth and

early fteenth century, such as that described inthe Book of Abramelin and those perormed by Queen Elizabeth’s astrologer John Dee and hisscryer Edward Kelly during the sixteenth century.However, while those rites called upon the celestialorces, Von Stean’s complex alchemical ormula isbased around a devotional practice to the powers o Hell.

The ritual involves a long series o sacrifces to acorrupted mockery o the traditional philosopher’sstone, (called “The Black Stone”) which, i perormed in accordance with a specifc series o

astrological and historical events, preserves thealchemist’s lie or the duration o the ritual. It alsoturns him into a demon at the completion o thefnal ceremony, using the last sacrifce as its brandnew host body. The accompanying plates show astep by step preparation o the ritual, describing aritual chamber marked with symbols identical tothose seen at Ascend. The only dierence is thatthe central oor sigil required or the rite is onthe ceiling (above the Black Stone) in the book,

and is on the oor at the club. It’s an EASY leap torealize that this means the actual ritual chamber isunderneath the Ascend warehouse itsel.

Unortunately or the hunters, the last o theseritual events occurs in fve hours at midnight.

Above all else, the book emphasizes theprotection and saety o the stone itsel: i anything causes the ragile object to break beore the

completion o the ritual, the alchemist’s soul isinstantly ripped rom his body and dragged downinto Hell, where it’s devoured by monstrous dogs.Much to the dismay o the hunters, this sounds a loteasier a task than it actually is.

Welcome! I’m Debbie Lee JacobsDebbie Lee isn’t much o an obstacle i any

attempt is made to run intererence. However, i she ends up on the frst oor, she’s a much biggerissue. As Debbie has spent our decades as oneo two custodians o the site, she has a deeply imbedded sense o every object in the house. Taking anything rom under her sharp eye (Alertness d8 +Perception d6) won’t be a piece o cake.

Assuming kind old Debbie isn’t given cause toget involved or is otherwise distracted, picking therusted lock on the glass bookcase will prove EASY work.

The Results

The hunters are now ully equipped with theknowledge necessary to hunt down Von Stean,stop his ritual, and send his corrupt spirit directly to the pit. Although their approach is a key actorin their success or ailure, the “Key o Aeons” hasall the inormation they need to prevent the fnaldemonic transormation.

The RewardsGetting their hands on the “Key o Aeons” is

worth three Plot Points. It’s worth one less than

that i they treated Debbie Lee Jacobs in any sort o harsh manner.

Scene 2: FixityTaking place in two locations, this scene deals

with a new crisis that urther emphasizes the needor speed and quick decisions. While visiting thehistorical site, any o the girls in the house whodidn’t come along or the ride have been kidnappedby the newly motivated and dread-flled Pigtown

Kings who, incidentally, have also become captives



o Stean and his hired muscle. The events mostlikely begin at Cassie’s house and the realization thatthe girls have been kidnapped (or in the case that thegirls had been let guarded, a cease-and-desist stylenote penned by Von Stean) Although it’s possibleto avoid an actual physical conict during this scene,it’s highly likely that there’s going to be a fght whenthe hunters break into Ascend.

The SetupImmediately ater talking to the hunters in Act

II, Scene 2, Ty-Ty was contacted by Von Stean.Ty-Ty was told that his treachery was not a secretand that i he wanted to make things right, he’dneed to bring Von Stean one person or each o thePigtown Kings i they expected to keep their lives.So, while the hunters were at the house in EllicottCity, the Pigtown Kings made their move.

Not being the most hardened o criminals,Ty-Ty, Kenny and Joey went to Cassie’s house andlured Becky, Tiany, and Dawn outside to comeor a ride with them, asking i they wanted to cometo a private party at Ascend that evening. AlthoughBecky may resist the allure o the invitation, Dawnand Tiany fnd the hunters and all o Cassie’sdrama to be completely boring, and fnd a way tosneak out with the Pigtown Kings even i they havebeen well-warned about the danger the Kings pose.Once the girls get into Ty-Ty’s mom’s cigarette-stinking station wagon, they’re taken to Ascend and

handed over to Von Stean’s bouncers.Once the hunters get back, they fnd either apanicked Becky (i Becky knew better to go withthe Kings) or a note rom Becky bragging thatshe’s gone to a VIP party at Ascend. Upon arriving at Ascend, the club is closed and Ty-Ty’s mom’sstation wagon is parked outside (Cassie or Becky will recognize the car). Inside, the lights are on and Ascend’s three largest bouncers wait or the huntersto intervene. They’ve been paid to work overtimeand are willing to break some kneecaps or theirgenerous boss. However, they’ve been here or a

ew hours and, ater Ty-Ty arrived, became a lot less vigilant. The three bored bouncers are sitting in theticket booth by the ront door when the huntersarrive.

The ProblemsThings have got a little complicated. Once

the hunters show up at Ascend, they have somedecisions to make.

Breaking in to AscendThe double locks on the ront and back door ar

really very well made as are the doors themselves. Whether breaking in or breaking down the door,this isn’t going to be easy. You can handle most o this as a complex action, with the bouncers as thenasty surprise in the event that the hunters botch ordon’t get their act together ast enough.

Ascend is a concrete warehouse with heavy metal warehouse doors. The locks on the doors arebrand new industrial-quality locks. With a goodset o lock picks and some skill, these locks presentan AVERAGE complex action—take care o thingsin six rolls (representing about a minute each) orthe bouncers notice. However, i the hunters lack the tools (or patience) they can just smash downthe door. This is EASY but extremely loud, anddefnitely brings the bouncers running. See “HiredHelp.”

I the characters manage to pick the lock onthe back door in a discrete ashion, it’s a HARDcomplex action to sneak in and locate the trap doorleading to the warehouse’s basement. Give themten rolls to do it, then bring in the bouncers. I theybotch, they alert Von Stean himsel, who’ll beexpecting them.

The basement is a dark and damp dirt-ooredhole serving as Von Stean’s ritual chamber. Oncethe trap door’s open, crackling green light andchanting can be heard. I the bouncers see or hearthat, they’ll certainly go home or the night and the

events o the fnal scene begin.

Hired help Von Stean’s security sta is there to hold the

line, and these guys are huge. Although they can bebypassed, a conrontation is likely. I the hunters goto the ront door or smash either door, the bouncersare ready to brawl. They won’t respond to talking or pleas or assistance and immediately attack thegroup. However, these guys are being paid twohundred dollars a head and are ar rom ready to die

or Von Stean’s cause. I the hunters draw gunsor any weapon bigger than switchblade, it’s pretty EASY to get them to back down (and even leave i scared enough).

Bouncers (3)Description Mullets, attitude, and unattering

clothing, this hired muscle isn’t quite as scary asit thinks it is.



Prepared only to contend with drunks and rowdy kids, these jerks are not prepared or a posse o hunters equipped with frearms and machetes(or whatever baroque death-dealing gear they happen to have on them at the time). Preerring to hit on under-aged girls and posture at thedoor o the club, these guys can lay down quite abeating i they eel like they have the upper hand.

Agi d6 Str d8 Vit d8 Ale d4 Int d4 Wil d6Init d6 + d4; LP 14Traits Crude d4, Formidable Presence d2, Hardy

Constitution d4, Lazy d4, Overconfdent d2Skills Alertness d6/Sight d8, Discipline d6,

Inuence d6/Intimidation d8Gear Black tank top and weight liting pants with

gymnasium logo.

The ResultsOnce the hunters fnd the trap door, the die

is cast. They emerge rom the basement either asheroes, cosmic ailures, or corpses. I the bouncershave been dealt with, they’ve let the premisesas quickly as humanly possible and are entirely unwilling to assist in the fnal fght, no matter whatis oered or their services.

The Rewards Award one Plot Point or getting into Ascend

and opening the trap door. Two Plot Points go to

taking care o the bouncers, i it comes to that, and aPlot Point or managing all o this without having totake care o the bouncers at all.

Scene 3: SanctumSanctorum

This adventure comes to its conclusion with themano-a-mojo conrontation with Hans-Ruedi VonStean himsel, on his home tur, in the midst o hisritual chamber, surrounded by hostages, and inused

with demonic power. No pressure.This scene most certainly results in combat,

with characters skilled in those abilities playing a vital role. Although someone needs to do thefghting, the most lethal blow that can be dealt to Von Stean merely requires the hunter to recognizethe situation and perorm the simple action that’srequired or the job. Failing to successully deeat Von Stean during this scene not only has direconsequences or the story, but potentially the entirecampaign as well.

The SetupOnce the characters open up the trap door

leading down into the ritual chamber, a crackling greenish light swells rom the basement. At thebottom o the stairs, a black-robed Von Steanis seen putting the fnal touches o an alchemicalsymbol on the ar wall. In the center o the chamber,upon a pedestal, is the Black Stone, throbbing with

an eerie green glow, casting a sickly pallor onto theaces o the bound captives lined up against the ar wall. Crumpled at the oot o the Black Stone’spedestal is the body o Ty-Ty Cross, sucked dry by Von Stean or his disobedience and lack o loyalty.

Joey, Kenny, and whichever o the girlsremained at the house during the last scene are allhere and tied to chairs. They are petrifed with earand completely helpless.

The ProblemsThere’s one Extra Value sized problem down

here, and it’s the alchemist. O course, the huntershave other things to consider, like the captives, andthe Black Stone that Von Stean’s been using this whole time to power his Dark Works.

Behold, Frater Adolphus Sestus! At long last, the hunters now stand beore a

three hundred year old creature that’s now moredemon than man. He must be stopped or he will

leave this encounter as rippling gout o evil, black smoke.

Hans-Ruedi Von Steffan, The AlchemistDescription Over three centuries old, Hans-Ruedi

Von Stean, on the eve o his apotheosis, barely resembles the human he once was. His esh,now losing its hold on the soul to which it wasonce anchored, hangs about his body in sagging olds, rubbery and loose. With cataract eyesrimmed with rheumy discharge, Von Stean’slong boney hands perorm the gestures and signs

o the fnal ceremony and tug at the essence o his victims in order to replenish and repair hisbody (until the ritual is completed).

Agi d6 Str d6 Vit d8 Ale d6 Int d12 Wil d10Init d6 + d6; LP 18Traits Duty (become a demon or perish) d12,

Formidable Presence (d4), Lie-Draining (see Attacks) d6, Natural Linguist (German, Greek,Latin, English), Obsessed (immortality) d6,Paranoid d4, Slave to Tradition d4, Telekinesisd8, Unbreakable Will d6



Skills Covert d6, Crat d6/Alchemy d12, Disciplined12, Inuence d10, Knowledge d6/History d12/ Occult d12/Religion d10, Lore d6/Demons d10,Perception d6, Science d6, Unarmed Combat d4

Gear Black velvet ceremonial robe, “The Black Stone”

Attacks As a result o his diligent perormance o the rituals up until now, Hans-Ruedi already

demonstrates ormidable demonic power eventhough he is still partly human. Once securedby his Telekinesis, a target is subject to having itslie drained. The alchemist must overwhelm theprone target with his Willpower + Lie Draining Trait opposed by their Resistance (Vitality + Vitality). I the target has the Alchemic Link Complication (such as the deceased Ty-Ty, Joey,and Kenny) Von Stean hits with his powers with much greater ease. Each successul Lie-Draining hit against a secured target allowsRuedi to transer lie rom the target and give itto himsel. This reduces the victim’s Lie Pointsscore by two and increases Von Stean’s by 2,eectively making it harder to knock him ouror incapacitate him. This draining lasts until theend o this scene or until the ritual is brought toan end, such as with the destruction o the Black Stone.

Although Von Stean is a deadly and durableopponent, his Achilles’ heel is glowing bright greenand is plainly displayed in the center o the room.

The Black Stone’s about as sturdy as a wine glassand can be easily shattered i an opponent is in rangeo it. Because o the indentation it sits in, thrownobjects or projectiles can’t hit it, so its attacker mustbe within a ew eet to destroy it. Once the Black Stone is destroyed, Von Stean undergoes a vileand accelerated decomposition; his skin coming completely loose and hitting the oor as his internalorgans and liquefed bones are propelled upwardsin a sickening “schlop” with the entire wet messcollapsing onto the oor just as it evaporates into asulphurous smoke that dissipates into the air.

Sacrificial LambsDespite their respective aws and integrity,

Cassie’s riends need help. Although only one isrequired or the completion o the ritual, the restserve as oerings to the alchemist’s masters once theritual ends.

Rescuing the hostages is going to be pretty HARD once the fght starts. Nonetheless, VonStean has one priority and one priority alone. I

one o the hunters oers to switch places with one

o the soon-to-be-sacrifces in exchange or letting him complete the ritual, he weighs his chances andalmost immediately agrees. Although this endangersthe hunter in question, it gets the hostages out o harm’s way and grants the hunters a less precariousbattleground.

The Black StoneThe keystone to Von Stean’s plan, thedestruction o this object will save the day.Unortunately, the alchemist will do anything toprotect it.

As soon as it becomes apparent that the huntersare hell-bent on stopping the ritual at any cost, VonStean cuts lose with his Telekinesis on the twostrongest looking combatants. Once he does this,he proceeds to bolster his health while chanting thefnal verses o the last ritual. I Von Stean managesto stay on his eet or remain alive or three turnso combat, he ejects his black demon essence romhis mouth and pursues a body elsewhere. I orany reason Von Stean stops doing the ritual or theBlack Stone is shattered, the ceremony ails and heundergoes the rapid decomposition described above

EpilogueI the hunters succeed, they will have stopped

an unimaginably terrible event and should be proudo themselves. They’ve exterminated a really old

and difcult enemy who has plagued the local areaor the last three centuries. Although the kids aresaddened by the death o their riends Frankie andTy-Ty, they’ve gotten some perspective together and will move on rom here with better perspective on what’s important.

I the hunters have ailed, they have allowed thebirth o a powerul demon (calling itsel “Sestus”)that takes a special interest in them. This demonmay return and take brutal revenge on the kids inorder to pull the hunters back in or a fnal round,or it may just seek them out directly, working

behind the scenes o their already desperate lives,driving in nails o torment and misery until they expose their sot bellies or it to devour. Either way,Sestus makes a good reoccurring villain or theseries.

As the hunters pack up their tools and tellCassie goodbye, she hal-jokingly tells themthat she had a really good time during their visitand impresses on them how much their help isappreciated. With bleary eyes and a ond arewell,the hunters hit the road again.



H e l l H o u n d O n

M y T r a i l B y G rae me Da v is

T

his is an adventure that you can drop into your campaign anytime, anywhere. There’s

nothing in it that requires a particularlocation, and when a location is mentioned you canpick a suitable spot wherever your earless huntershappen to be, and inject a little local color: palmtrees in Florida, Saguaro cactus in the Southwest,corn felds in the Midwest, and so on. You can alsouse this story as a one-o, or i you’re eeling really mean, use it as a side-plot to complicate everyone’slives even more.

This story’s set somewherearound the middle o Season 2, beore

Azazel opens the Devil’s Gate. Thingsare still low-key by the standards o the

business, and it’s just us against them. You can run this adventure with the

Winchester Boys—maybe with Bobby Singer and/or a couple o others as backup—

or you can use player-created hunters.Rookies can handle it i they’re smart and well

equipped, but it’s better suited to Veteran orSeasoned hunters.

Adventure SummaryDemons lie. Every hunter knows that just like

he knows his own name. The hunters meet a demon who is really, really good at it. So good, in act, thathe lied his way out o Hell and now a hellspawnbounty hunter’s ater him. O course, it’s toughto tell a demonically possessed human rom anordinary Joe or Jane. At frst he tries to convince thehunters that he’s just a poor schmuck who madea deal at a crossroads, and now a “big bad demon”has come to collect. He begs or help, and he’s very convincing.

I the hunters fgure out he’s a demon, hechanges his tune. He’s an honest, hardworking bounty hunter or Hell, sent to bring this roguedemon back, and the job’s a little too tough or him.He just wants to do his job and go home, and Earth

will be rid o two demons or the price o one. Thehunters help out, and everybody goes home happy.

But the act is, he’s just a lying sonoabitch whoescaped rom Hell and wants to have some un.Once the hunters have taken out the hellspawn onhis trail, he’s ree to have all the un he wants—and


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 43/97 4Hell Hound On My Trail

the hunters will have pissed o a very tough spirit with a very unorgiving nature and a long, long memory.

Breakdown of the ActsThis scenario’s divided into three acts, the meat

o which is explained here:

Act I: Me and the Devil Blues: On a lonely road, the hunters run into a guy with seriousdemon trouble and help him out. In the process,they realize they’re up against a pretty toughdemon—or what they think is a demon. Just asthey guy is explaining his problem, the “demon”attacks again.

Act II: They’re Red Hot: It turns out theguy with the problem is the real demon. He’s abounty hunter or Hell, and he needs their helpto bring down his quarry. Ater some research andplanning, they all go to the demon’s hideout orthe showdown.

Act III: I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom: Thehunters have been played—their new riend is theone on the run, they just helped get rid o the realbounty hunter, and Demon Number One is aboutto pull a Houdini. I they don’t stop him rightaway, the hunters have to track him down and stopa ritual he’s planning which makes him as good asuntraceable.

Here’s the StoryThe demon on the run is using the body o Alan Mills, a sotware entrepreneur with someserious computer skills but as Frank N. Furter said,“no real muscle.” The demon itsel is an Olympic-class liar, and once the hunters have thrown o thepursuer, it plays up the Mills persona and tries topersuade them to help.

Sooner or later the hunters will fgure out thetruth, and when that happens the demon simply adopts another persona and claims to be a bounty hunter needing some help on a tough case. Ater

the hunters have dealt with the hellspawn aterhim, their new riend laughs at them and takeso—leaving them with the sinking eeling that the“demon” they just took out was the real bounty hunter.

Meanwhile, the ugitive demon moves toanother city, takes over the body o an art importer,and fnishes collecting the ingredients or a ritualthat will make its demonic essence unreadable sothat no other bounty hunters can come ater it.Once the ritual is complete, he’s going to look like

just another human. Then the real un begins. Wall

Street, politics—the sky’s the limit. There are somany places in this world where a really good liarcan make a comortable lie.

Act I: Me and theDevil Blues

The hunters meet Alan Mills and save himrom a demon biker. The poor sap explains thathe made a crossroads deal to keep his sotwarecompany aoat, and the demon has come tocollect his soul. Reusing to help him would belike kicking a puppy—and besides, isn’t demon-busting what Our Heroes do? They’d better actast, though—the Big Bad is still on the trail. And iisn’t exactly a demon …

Scene 1: When You Got aGood FriendThis scene drops the hunters right into the

action and introduces them to the adventure’scentral character. It takes place on a remote dirtroad at night—just the thing to liven up a boring road trip.

The SetupThe hunters are driving down a dirt road

somewhere remote when out o nowhere a guy hits their windshield. He looks pretty beat up, andhis eyes are wide with ear. He bounces o thehood o their car, gets up, and looks behind him.That’s when the hunters see what’s got him soscared.

At frst glance, it’s a heavyset guy in bikerleathers who is seriously pissed o at Guy NumbeOne. Then he fres o lightning rom his fngers,and in the ash the hunters see his eyes. Solidblack. It’s an EASY task or anyone with Loreskill to see they’re acing a real badass biker rom

Hell—complete with demon rider. It takes aFORMIDABLE eort (and a little lateral thinking)to guess that this is in act a tsayid, not a demon.

The ProblemsThe hunters basically have two options:

hightail it out o there or stop and renderassistance. Don’t be araid to let the hunters think the biker’s an actual honest-to-Lucier demon,either. They’ll get the message sooner or later.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 44/9742 Hell Hound On My Trail

Taking OffGetting away is easy. The driver throws the car

into reverse and oors the gas pedal. As he doesso, the ugitive dives through a window (breaking it on the way, i it’s not already open) and wigglesinto the car screaming or the hunters to get himout o there. The possessed biker throws somemore lightning at them as they leave, causing

an impressive light show but doing no seriousdamage.

Taking it to HimI the hunters get out and fght, they realize

just how tough this “demon” is. Ater a coupleo rounds, it’s EASY to fgure out that they won’tbe able to take it down without some seriouspreparation. Meanwhile, the ugitive is doing his

very best to take their car and get out o Dodge.Once this happens, the demon biker gets out o combat with the hunters and ollows the car. Heignores them unless they attack him or get in his

way, and pauses only to get them out o his way sohe can get back on the trail o the ugitive.

Tsayid—Possessed BikerDescription Tsayid are Hell’s bounty hunters,

hellspawn spirits related to djinn, hellhounds,and other demon-like horrors. They are hiredby true demons to enorce payment on soul

deals and to recover souls that have escaped.They are not subtle by nature, and usually possess the toughest body they can fnd. Theirnormal strategy is hunt down their mark andbeat the living crap out o them until the soulor demon lets go. Then they drag the demon orsoul back to Hell, just like a hellhound collectspayment or a crossroads demon. I anyone getsin their way, they pound on them until they get out o the way. Although they’re dedicatedto their job, they’re not above coming back ora little revenge against anyone who has caused

them serious trouble. They drag their soulsdown to Hell too, and though nobody really knows what they do with them, it’s probably painul.

Lore The ollowing lore is FORMIDABLE touncover unless the hunters learn that the tsayidis a “demonic bounty hunter” and displays suchthings as discharging tremendous shocks o electricity or breaking through Devil’s Traps.

With that inormation, it becomes HARD.In many ways, tsayid are like true black-eyed

demons: they can possess mortal vessels, come

rom Hell, and respond to such things as holy water or exorcism rituals. However, they arenowhere near as smart, and were never human.They are more like hellhounds—driven,

vicious, and single-minded.Their name comes rom the Hebrew or

hunter, and is defnitely appropriate. On therare occasion that mortals encounter a tsayid,

the experience is oten over quickly … so long as the mortal doesn’t interere in the tsayid’sown relentless pursuit o its target.

Tsayid take the orm o violent lightning orsparks when they are driven out o their host.This can harm the host i the ritual o exorcismis perormed poorly or the tsayid leaves on itsown accord.

Agi d8 Str d12 + d4 Vit d12 + d2 Ale d8 Int d8 Wil d12Init d8 + d8; LP 30

Traits Tough d4, Electrokinesis d12, Telekinesisd4, Anger Issues d6, Duty (hunt escapeddemons) d8

Skills Alertness d6/Sight d8, Drive d6/Motorcycled12+d4, Guns d4, Inuence d6/Intimidationd10, Lore d6/Demons d12, Mechanic d6/ Motorcycles d12, Melee Weapons d6/Knives d8/ Chains d12, Perception d6/Sight d8, Ranged

Weapons d6/Stungun d12, Unarmed Combatd6/Brawling d12

Gear Stungun, 6-oot length o chain (d4 B)

Alan Mills—Possessed NerdDescription He wears a torn sport coat over a

T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, and has the kindo ace you could never pick out o a crowd.

Around his neck he wears a leather pouch,and he’s reluctant to let the hunters look at it.I they take it rom him by orce, they fnd itcontains some red sand, a yellow dust that canbe identifed as corn pollen (FORMIDABLEIntelligence + Science task), and a small eatherrom a golden eagle (HARD Intelligence +

Science task to identiy). He says he got itrom a Navajo shaman in New Mexico a ew

weeks ago, and it seems to be a protectiveamulet (a HARD Intelligence + Lore task toidentiy). It gives him another d4 to roll whendeending against any attack by a tsayid, djinn,or hellhound, but it’s personalized. To anyoneelse, it’s a bag o junk.

Demons Lie The demon possessing Alan Millsis very good at lying. Whenever one o thehunters tries to fnd out whether he’s telling

the truth, the player should make an opposed



roll with Intelligence plus any applicable Skillsand Traits against the demon’s Intelligence +Perormance/Acting + Plausible. The PlausibleTrait’s covered at the end o the adventure.

Agi d8 Str d12 Vit d8 Ale d12 + d4 Int d10 Wil d12Init d12 + d4 + d8; LP 20

Traits Compulsive Liar d4, Coward d6, Fast On

Your Feet d4, Lucky d4, Plausible d6Skills Crat d6/Electronics d8, Discipline d6/

Concentration d8, Drive d6, Guns d4, Inuenced6/Persuasion d12, Knowledge d6/Video Gamesd8/Role Playing Games d8, Lore d6/Demonsd10, Perception d6/Video Games d8/Intuitiond12, Science d6/Physical Sciences d10, Techd6/Computer Programming d12+d2/CreateTechnical Devices d8/Electronics d8/Hacking d10, Perormance d6 /Acting d12, UnarmedCombat d4

Gear Amulet

I the hunters bail out o the car and startrunning, they fnd they’re slower than the ugitiveand he keeps them between himsel and the biker.Then he doubles back, jumps in the car and burnsrubber, leaving them on oot with a very upsethellspawn biker who goes to town on them or acouple o turns out o rustration, and then leavesthem in the dust as he sets out ater his quarry.

Tracking the car is an AVERAGE task becauseo the dirt road, and because it’s the only road

around. When the hunters fnd the car, it’s a littledented but not seriously damaged, but a tire hasblown out and the guy who took it’s trying tochange the wheel. He looks up when the huntersarrive on the scene, and amidst rantic apologies hebegs them to help him and promises to tell themeverything i they can just get him somewhere sae.

The Results Either way, the hunters fnd themselves in a

sae place (at least till the tsayid shows up) with a

guy whom they believe has a demon on his tail.They’ll probably want to ask him a ew questions.I they were crazy and kept fghting the hellspawnbiker despite all warnings to the contrary, they could also be really messed up. Laying low or thetime being’s probably a good idea.

The RewardsTaking on a hellspawn-possessed biker in the

frst scene’s always a winner when it comes to

Plot Points. Give the players 2 points a head or

even acing the thing, and hand out one or twomore depending on how they played up the rescueattempt o Alan. Chances are they’ve burnedthrough some already.

Scene 2: Last Fair DealGone Down

Having gotten away rom the hellspawn biker,the hunters can fnd out about their new riend andhis problem. They should have plenty o time toget what they need beore the chase is on again.

The SetupIt doesn’t matter exactly where the hunters are

it should probably be somewhere airly close by,and a place they have been to beore. A roadhouse

would be great i there’s one around, but any place will do so long as it can be made somewhat secureThe hunters’ new riend is more than willing tospill the beans, and in act they can hardly geta word in edgewise as he tells them about hissituation.

Here’s a ew questions the hunters might ask,and the answers the ugitive gives. You can read italoud to the players or put it into your own words,however you like.

Hey! You okay?“Oh, my God! Thank you so, so much! I neverexpected… I never even dreamed…”

Why don’t you just calm down and tell uswhat’s going on here?

“Oh—yes, right. Well, that thing is ater me…”

Yeah, we kind of got that impression. Why is

it after you?

“Well, this is going to sound crazy, but….”

Crazier than a demon biker throwinglightning around? I doubt that.

“You see—I made a deal….”



Let me guess. You sold your soul andBadass back there has come to collect.

“Uh—yeah. That’s pretty much it. My name’s Alan, by the way—Alan Mills.”

Well, nice to meet you, Alan Mills. Tell us

the rest of your story—like what you soldyour soul for.

“Money. I’m in the sotware business, andunding dried up just a ew months beore my company was ready to launch our product. It’sgoing to revolutionize everything—I’ll be richerthan Bill Gates i I can just get it to market.“

So you sold your soul to be the next BillGates.

“I thought I could beat the system. As soon asI’d made the deal, I started researching everything Icould about demons so I could beat the collectors.I was able to trap a ew o them and exorcise someothers, but they keep getting tougher. This onecaught me by surprise, but I’m pretty sure I can getrid o it. All I need is a little help, and maybe a ew ingredients.”

A little help?“Yes. I we can destroy its physical orm, Iknow a ritual that can stop it possessing anyoneelse—maybe even trap it permanently. They’ll sendanother one, o course, but in the meantime I cancover my tracks, keep fnding stu out, and maybefgure out a way to break the deal.”

And how do you plan to do that?“I’m still working on that part, but I’m getting

closer. I’m almost three years past due, and I’m

getting better at this all the time.”

So you know a lot about demons? Maybe wecould share information. We’re in that lineof work too.

“I’d be happy to, but right now we need to getrid o that demon. Aterward, I’ll tell you anything

you want to know.”

The ProblemsThis is a good time or the hunters to pool

inormation and fgure out ways to take the“demon” out, or at least slow it down. They canalso take a look at their new riend.

Using Lore, it’s a HARD task (given theright books and/or an internet connection) tofnd out about lightning-hurling spirits known

as tsayid. Unless they specifcally ask about theshocking nature o the biker, their investigation

will otherwise lead them to standard demon lore.I they do check out the lightning-throwing, thenfll them in on the lore provided in the biker’sstat block. I they come to the realization that thetsayid isn’t like other demons rom Hell, they may

wonder i Alan is just plain wrong. Alan Mills checks out completely. His driver’s

license and credit cards have his name on them,and he can talk knowledgeably about sotware.I the hunters have a laptop and an Internetconnection, it’s EASY to fnd out that he ounded asmall R&D shop in Silicon Valley fve years ago andstarted having trouble attracting investors aroundtwo years ago. He’s been missing or the last threemonths.

The body belongs to Alan Mills all right,and so does the knowledge o sotware. But he’spossessed by a demon who is a very good liar—even or a demon—and the story about the deal isbull.

The trap he talked about is a airly simple

one, consisting o a silver cross and a bottle hal-flled with whiskey, grave dirt, and a ew drops o Mills’ own blood. He explains that the whiskey and blood are the bait, and the grave dirt bindsthe demon once it goes into the bottle ater them.Then the bottle is stoppered and the silver crossis olded down over the stopper to seal the bottle.The demon has to be in black smoke orm to getinto the bottle, which is why its physical ormhas to be destroyed. The only problem is, it willnever work. This isn’t how demons get trapped,although given the sketchy nature o demon lore at

the best o times, knowing this or a act requiresa FORMIDABLE eort. Anything less leaves it

within the realms o possibility.The demon riding Alan Mills is using the quest

or ingredients as a diversion to buy time while heplans his next move. He wants the hunters to ocuson something so they don’t look at him too closely and fgure out the truth. In the unlikely event thatall the ingredients or the trap can be assembledright there and then, Mills will be happy to havethe hunters build it. He will even modestly brush

o their thanks or showing them how to make it.



There are, o course, various ways the hunterscan fgure out that Alan Mills is possessed, i they think to do so. Salt, holy water, the Devil’sTrap—they will all work, but the demon’s greatestdeense is plausibility. His goal is to make surethat they never even start to wonder about him.I the hunters do uncover his true nature, skip tothe next scene right away. Otherwise, wait or the

conversation to ag a little.

The Results At the end o this scene, the hunters know a lot

more about Alan Mills, and some o it’s even true.They may even know he’s possessed by a demon—and i not, they will by the end o the next scene.But now it’s time to cut the chatter.

The RewardsIt’s an exposition scene, but give the players

two Plot Points each or success at talking AlanMills up. Don’t be araid to chop that in hal i youeel you’ve had to lead them around by the nose orthe Q&A.

Scene 3: Up Jumped theDevil

The Q&A comes to an end when the biker

demon attacks. I the hunters have been smart,they have already done a ew things to protect theirlocation, but it will get in eventually.

The SetupThe hunters are in some kind o sae place,

along with demon-possessed sotware mogul-to-be Alan Mills. They think he’s just trying to break adeal and save his soul. However much they haveound out, a titanic crash rom outside lets themknow that the possessed biker has ound them. It’s

time to fght or run.There is a little time to react as the possessed

biker tries to break in. Exactly how long dependson the kind o deenses they have set up.

All the usual deenses won’t work nearly as well with the tsayid as they would a true demon.For one, laying out salt will only slow the tsayiddown—i its quarry is on the other side and itmakes an AVERAGE Willpower + Duty Trait roll,it can break through the line o salt. Same goes orDevil’s Traps and other magic circles, although

it’s HARD or it to bypass those sorts o things.

This tsayid’s going to assume the hunters haveset up such deenses, so it may just try to break through the wall with a FORMDIABLE Strength+ Duty Trait roll. It also expects that the huntershave lookouts posted, and does its best to approach

without being seen.Once it’s orced its way in, the tsayid largely

ignores the hunters. It disables them with lightning

or Telekinesis (which pretty much looks likelightning as well) i they get in the way, but it’sreally ater Alan Mills. It’s looking or a chanceto zap him with its stungun and take the disabledbody somewhere quiet to fnish the job, but ithappily beats the crap out o Mills right there untilit drives the demon out.

The ProblemsThis is not supposed to be the fnal fght. It’s

more o a chance or the demon and the huntersto get to know each other. The demon will hitor keeps and take Mills down i it can, but it

will leave i its host body takes more than 10points o Wound damage. I the hunters are in aroadhouse, there are no other hunters around, sothe only backup they can count on is a couple morshotguns. There is no time or rituals or any otherancy stu.

As mentioned above, the so-called demonbottle Alan prepared does nothing. The possessedbiker goes ater the demonic essence it can sense

in Mills’ body rather than the smell o the vessel’sblood, ignoring it just like a car thie ignores apatch o oil in an adjacent parking space.

This scene can end in one o our ways:

1. The Hunters Cut And RunThis is the smart option. This demon is too

powerul to take on without some planning andpreparation. The demon tries to ollow, but so longas they still have their car they can outdistance it.

2. Mills Runs And The Demon Goes After HimThis is an option you can use i the players

don’t realize that this fght is a good way to getkilled. In act, the demon possessing Alan Millshopes to use the hunters as a diversion and escapeduring the fght. I he’s caught trying to leave he

will pretend to be hysterical with ear, and thanksto his Acting skill he will be very convincing.Otherwise, he will simply not be there when thedust settles. He may even steal the hunters’ car

again.



3. The Demon Is Driven Off Or KilledI the hunters are well prepared and fght

intelligently, they just might be able to destroy the possessed biker’s physical orm. The tsayidleaves the body in the orm o scary black lightning and gets away as quickly as it can (which shouldclue them in that it wasn’t a true demon, i they still weren’t on top o that). A ew days later it

returns in another body, also chosen or size andstrength. I the hunters somehow manage to deal

with the demon in a more permanent way, anotherone is sent ater Mills. The new one’s strongerand smarter than the frst (kick its Attributes upby a +1 step), and it arrives in a couple o days.In addition to its mission to recover the demonpossessing Mills, it has a grudge against thehunters.

4. The Tsayid Gets MillsOnce the tsayid has zapped or beaten Mills into

unconsciousness it grabs him and tries to leave,planning to fnd a nice, quiet spot to torture Millsuntil the demon ees the body. The hunters caneither ollow it or let it go. I they ollow it, Mills

wakes up at a suitable time and starts struggling and yelling beore breaking ree and running towards them. The tsayid gives this attack up asa bad job and leaves, planning to wait or a betteropportunity. I they just let the hellspawn takeMills the story could be over—the runaway soul

gets returned to Hell—or Mills may come aroundand manage to escape, heading back to the huntersand coincidentally leading the demon back tothem.

Oh, And The Most Important ThingI the hunters don’t already know it by the

beginning o this fght, they need to know thatMills is a demon beore the scene ends. There area ew ways to handle this. His eyes could go solidblack i he and the possessed biker get into a tussle.

He could escape by ripping a door o its hingesor battering a hole in a wall, again with the black eyes. He could even get backed up against a line o salt that was put down to keep the possessed bikerout, or stumble into a Devil’s Trap they laid earlier.I the players are a little slow on the uptake, a ew

EASY or AVERAGE Lore rolls should help thehunters remember that they’ve read about demonsbeing able to do exactly what Mills just did. Itdoesn’t matter how the hunters fgure out he’s ademon, as long as they do.

The Results When the dust settles, the hunters have

gained two things in addition to various cuts andcontusions: They know the poor sap they weretrying to help is actually possessed by a demon,and they know that the creature hunting him isa tough sonoabitch who likes to get in close butcan use lightning and telekinesis to get things and

people out o his way. I they’re smart, they wantto get out o wherever they are and regroup, andthey probably have a lot o questions or their new riend.

The RewardsToss another two Plot Points per hunter at the

players or this conict. How the players react tothe fght, and the understanding that the tsayid is alittle too powerul, might determine whether youhand out another one or two Plot Points. I theplayers are playing up the Complications o theirhunters, so much the better.

Act II—They’re RedHot

It turns out that Alan Mills is possessed by ademon that needs a little help on this job. It knows

where the hellspawn’s hideout is, and together thegroup can do some research and plan their attack.

Then, it’s o to the showdown.

Scene 1: I’m A SteadyRollin’ Man

So Alan Mills is more than just Alan Mills,sotware executive. He’s got a demon rider who isa “bounty hunter or Hell,” aiming to capture thetsayid that just attacked them. He possessed Millsor his computer skills, but the tsayid got the jumpon him beore he could switch to a tougher body. I

the hunters help out, they can rid the world o twocreatures rom Hell or the price o one.

The SetupThere are two things the hunters might

want to do right away: get somewhere sae, andhave a long talk with Alan Mills, or whatever haspossessed him.



The Problems Where they go is up to you and the players—

because this adventure’s designed to be droppedinto the middle o whatever the hunters are doing at the time, it’s short on specifc locations, but mostlikely they know o some place nearby. A motel,a roadhouse, an abandoned amusement park, andold mine—any o these will do, and so will most

o the other spots described in Chapter 9 o theSupernatural RPG core book. They can also havethe conversation on the road, assuming their caris still intact. The tsayid is taking some time tofgure out its next move, so it won’t bother them—although they don’t know that.

The possessed Alan Mills is like a wholedierent person. Gone is the whimpering geek, replaced by a matter-o-act and strangely reasonable persona something like a riendly Marine—or a bounty hunter, which is exactly

what the lying weasel is pretending to be now.Try channeling Tommy Lee Jones and you’ll haveabout the right tone or him.

The course o the conversation is determinedby the kind o questions the hunters ask. Here aresome examples:

So, Alan Mills, is there anything you’d liketo tell us?

“Okay, kids, you caught me. (holds up his

hands in mock surrender) I’ve got a job to do andI’m just borrowing Alan here or a while.”

What job?“Well, you know I said that thing was hunting

me? Other way round. He skipped rom Hell aew weeks ago, and I’ve been tracking him. Nasty sonoabitch, too—some Chinese general rom way back. Massacres, rapes, torture, the whole nine

yards. And you should hear what he did to hisenemies.”

You’re hunting him. Is that why he waskicking your butt all over the road whenwe first ran into you? And why you’ve beenrunning away ever since?

“Bastard got the jump on me. I’d borrowed Alan to do some research—he’s quite the computer whiz, you know—and General Kimchi, or whatever his name used to be, showed up out o

nowhere. Now there’s only so much I can do witha body like this. Not a whole lot to work with. So

what you’ve been seeing is a tactical withdrawal.”

And dragging us into it was what—tacticalsupport?

“Give that man a cigar! I just needed to putsome distance between him and me, buy sometime to regroup. When it turned out you meddlingkids actually had some idea o what you weredoing, that was an added bonus.”

You still haven’t explained why he’s comingafter you. Shouldn’t he be scared of you ifyou’re a big, bad bounty hunter from Hell?

“Ever read Sun Tzu? He has. Always attack where your enemy is weak, and avoid the places where he is strong. Something like that, anyway. Hecaught me with my pants down and seized theopportunity, just like anyone would. I’m not proudto admit it, but things could have got sticky back there.”

And you suckered us in with the soul-selling story because . . ?

“Isn’t it obvious? Me demon, you hunter.Some serious trust issues there. Let’s just say I’mnot absolutely sure you would have volunteered tohelp i I’d told you the truth.”

And why should we help you now?“C’mon, kid, think about it. Right now you

have two demons on the loose, one o thempsychotic. You help me get him, we both go away,and you have no demons on the loose. See?”

And you’ll just go back to Hell, all byyourself?

“That’s where I collect my bounty, kid. Cashon delivery—except it’s not exactly cash.”



I don’t want to think about that. But hey,what was the deal with that useless demontrap you concocted?

“I needed to give you something to do. Youknow, so you wouldn’t be thinking about me toomuch?”

Thanks a lot!“What can I say, kid? I’m a demon and demons

lie. Don’t they put that on the frst page o yourlittle handbook? They ought to.”

So how do we know you’re not lying now?“You don’t. But that’s not really the question

you should be asking yourselves. The question is,do you want to help put an end to this beore theGeneral and I get to a heavily populated area? Hehad no regard or innocent lives to begin with, anda ew thousand years in Hell haven’t exactly puthim in touch with his warm and uzzy side.”

Is that a threat?“Just stating the obvious, kid. I you think

about it, you have three choices. You can help meout, in which case this will go quicker and cleaner.

You can stand back and leave me to it, which couldinvolve some collateral damage. Or you can get in

my way, orcing me to squish you like bugs andcosting me some time o the trail. Your call.”

The demon has said two true things in this whole conversation. First, he was borrowing Alan’sbody to make use o his computer skills and dosome research on the tsayid in the hope o getting the jump on his pursuer. Instead the tsayid got the

jump on him. Second, the hunters have to make achoice. Will they help him, try to stop him, or getout o the way?

I the hunters have learned that the biker is

possessed by a tsayid, they could try to call Alan onit and ask him why he’s trying to spin this whole“Chinese general” bull. The demon recoversquickly by saying that the tsayid once possessed aChinese general, and that really tsayid are justanother kind o demon, so it’s all just semantics.This isn’t actually true, but “Alan Mills” is aconvincing guy.

The Results At the end o this scene, the hunters have a

new perspective on the situation, and hopeully a new place to hide out and prepare their nextmove. One thing they and the Alan Mills demonare likely to agree on is that the sooner the otherdemon is taken down, the better or everyone.

The rest o this story assumes that the hunters

decide to help out with the “demon hunt.” I they don’t, there are a ew ways to get things back ontrack:

None Of Our BeeswaxNo hunter worth his salt is just going to walk

away rom a situation like this, and at the very leastit’s going to cost the players a ew o the Plot Pointsthey were hoping to earn. I they insist on washing their hands o it all, you can just let it go (and letthe players know about missing out on the PlotPoints), or the demon can take a hand. Remember,he’s a manipulative little weasel, and he actually

wants the hunters along because he can’t take outthe tsayid all by himsel. He’s also shopping or anew body (see “Daddy Needs A New Body” inthe next scene) and it’s a sae bet that at least oneo the hunters has a better body than Mills. So hetries to possess the hunter. I he succeeds, Millscollapses and the possessed hunter runs o into thenight, leaving the others with a strong motivationto rescue their riend. Once they catch up with

him, the demon can be persuaded to leave thehunter’s body and take Mills back in exchange orthe hunters’ help.

One Demon At A TimeOnce they know Mills is possessed by a

demon, the hunters will probably start thinking about how they can get rid o it—either rightnow, or by pulling a double-cross once the tsayidis taken care o. Attacking Mills right now leadshim to try and escape, preerably riding one o

the hunters’ bodies, and he tries to lead theminto a conrontation with the hellspawn on histrail. Planning a double-cross or later has a lot torecommend it, since they have his help taking outthe tsayid and he’s probably weakened rom thefght.



The RewardsMore exposition, but generally one o the

scenes where the players’ role playing earns themPlot Points, rather than i they score inormation.

At the very least, they should leave the scene withanother point or two.

Scene 2: 32-20 BluesNow they know the truth, the hunters cando some research and tool up to go and take outthis “demon,” or they can pursue whatever otherplan they’ve come up with. Depending on how it’s played, this scene can be no more than a ew minutes o talking, or it can involve some seriousbreaking and entering as the hunters go shopping or gear.

The Setup While the location where this scene takes place

is not important to the story, it can make a greatdierence to what the hunters can do. Inormationgathering is easier in a university library withInternet access than in a one-room shack in themiddle o nowhere, and recovering rom woundsis easier in a small-town clinic than in a graveyard.

The Problems As the players decide what their characters

are doing, you should adjust the difculty o the various tasks according to the resources they haveat their disposal.

Getting Patched UpOne or more hunters are probably wounded,

and depending on their Skills and situation they may fnd it EASY or DIFFICULT to recover rom

Wound damage. Alan Mills’ body is not in the besto shape either, but the demon possessing it seemsunconcerned.

Re-EquippingHaving seen how tough the tsayid is in its biker

body, the hunters probably want to get their handson some extra frepower. Solutions might includea visit to a local gun store (legal or otherwise),drating some extra help (which can be a good way to introduce new characters to the group), andmystical research and equipment gathering. Youcan cover this activity with a ew dice rolls or spin

it out into a whole Act by itsel, as preerred.

Researching Anti-Demon MeasuresPages 130-132 o the Supernatural RPG Core

Rule Book covers the nature o demons in generaland lists a ew things that should help the huntersto fght them. As with weapons and mundaneequipment, you can cover the task o researching and assembling the necessary materials in detail orgloss over it, as preerred.

I they know it’s a tsayid, then they might try coming up with ways to weaken or harm such athing. Clever hunters might think o weird thingslike grounding the biker with a length o chain anda lot o water (holy water even better). I they dohave this idea, or something else related to “dumpthe biker in water” you can decide i you think it

will work or not. Or you could ask them to spendPlot Points, and then you tell it would work,because that’s the sort o thing Plot Points are or.

Researching the Chinese generalThe Mills demon insists that this is a waste

o time, as the historical character bears as muchresemblance to the loose demon as an inant doesto an adult. A HARD use o Knowledge netsinormation on several ancient Chinese generals

who were renowned or their brutality, but noreal leads. Mills claims that he was not brieed onthe target’s original name, and that the “demon”currently goes by a number o dierent names,none o them pronounceable with human vocal

equipment.

Daddy needs a new bodyNow he’s established in his “bounty hunter”

persona, the demon possessing Alan Millsdecides that he needs a new body with morecombat eectiveness. The hunters will probably be horrifed at this idea, and lively discussions

will ensue. I it seems that this will lose him thehunters’ help the demon will back down with anironic “Doesn’t hurt to ask,” but the hunters (and

the players) should be spooked or the rest o theadventure. They may catch him casting appraising glances at their own bodies, and worry wheneverhe’s out o their sight. This is not a vital part o the story, but playing it well can add some spice tothings.

Tactical PlanningMills claims that when the biker jumped him

he had just ound out that it was holed up in an

abandoned house on the outskirts o a small town



not ar away. This is another lie; he knows that wherever he goes, the other demon is bound toshow up sooner or later. He can draw a rough mapo the outside o the house, but has not seen theinside.

The Results

By the end o this scene the hunters shouldhave a plan and enough equipment to carry it out.They may be helping Mills willingly or unwillingly,but they certainly shouldn’t trust him. They may even plan to double-cross him once the tsayid isout o the way.

The RewardsIt’s oten a good idea, in “montage” scenes like

this one, to hand out a Plot Point or every cleveror resourceul element the hunters stack up in theirplanning and preparation. Think o it as loading their plans with dramatic potential. They’re going to need Plot Points or the next ew conrontations,ater all.

Scene 3: Stop Breakin’Down

The hunters are ready to kick some hellspawnbutt, and the possessed Alan Mills leads them to

the abandoned house. Nobody’s home, so they have some time to prepare the battleground. Whenthe biker arrives, it’s clobberin’ time.

The SetupThe house is empty, but Mills assures them

that this is the right place and the tsayid must beout looking or him. The tsayid is tracking them tothe house at this moment, and shows up in a little

while. Just how long it takes the tsayid-possessed

biker to arrive is up to you and depends in part onthe strength o the hunting party. I they’re mostly Rookies, give them at least a hal hour to preparethe ground or the battle that they know is coming.

Veteran hunters will only need fteen minutes orso, while a Seasoned group should have what ittakes to deal with him showing up in fve minutesor less. As well as preparing the feld o battle, thehunters probably want to set up everything they need or an exorcism.

I any o the hunters becomes suspiciousat fnding the house apparently untouched, theMills demon insists that he can see and senseclear indications o the possessed biker’s recentpresence, and he has no time to explain it all to abunch o dumb mortals because the tsayid couldbe back at any moment. They need to be preparing,not wondering why they can’t see things that

mortals can’t see.Outside: The house looks abandoned, all

right. The paint is peeling, the ront door is o its hinges, and most o the windows are broken.There is no useul cover anywhere near the house.

Inside: Everything is covered with dust. Theoorboards are bare, and shreds o wallpaper hang rom the walls. Windows are either bare or hal-covered by decaying curtains.

Front Hall and Stairs: Doors lead to thedrawing room, dining room, and kitchen, andthe stairs lead up to the second oor. There area ew ootprints in the dust by the ront door.It’s HARD to see that some o them are recent;an extraordinary success shows that none o the

visible prints were made by the same size and typeo boots that the possessed biker wore, but Millsbrushes o any doubts by suggesting that thedemon has simply picked up a new body. Halway up the stairs is a dangerously rotten board, whichis HARD to spot. Anyone who doesn’t see it allsthrough, trapping their leg until they make an

EASY Agility action that inicts a Wound or each

botch.Drawing Room: The room contains a brokenrocking chair and a moldering couch that countsas light cover. The couch is heavy and requirestwo people to move it. Above the freplace hangs arusty antique musket, which cannot be made to fre

without a FORMIDABLE repair task; even then,there is no gunpowder or ammunition or it in thehouse. However, it’s equivalent to a baseball bat(d6 B) when used as a club. In the hearth is an ironpoker that counts as a nightstick (d4 B).

Dining Room: The chairs in here are rotten

and mostly broken, and they’re no use as urnitureor weapons. The table is heavier, and i tipped overit can be used as cover. Doors lead to the kitchenand ront hall.

Kitchen: This room contains a number o cabinets (now useul only as frewood) and an ironstove. Searching the wreckage o the cabinets (an

EASY task) turns up a rusty carving knie (d2 W). A pantry contains our empty bottles and a ew deadroaches. Doors lead to the dining room, the ronthall, and the scullery.



Scullery: Behind the kitchen is the scullery with a stoneware sink. The aucets turn, butthere is no water. A couple o broken dishes and a

wooden pail stand under the sink. Doors lead tothe kitchen and outside.

Outhouse: This is built lean-to ashion againstthe house. It was originally a two-seater with a thindividing wall, but the wall and the seats have allen

in. There is nothing here but a rich crop o nettles.Landing: A cupboard contains some orgotten

scraps o bedding that are now a thriving mothcolony. Everything is covered in squirming grubs,and a cloud o moths ies out in a panic as soon asthe door is opened. The distraction kicks up theDifculty o any task attempted on the landing by a+2 step or d2 rounds. I necessary, treat the mothsas an insect swarm (see p. 156 o the core rulebook)

with no attacks. Doors lead to the bathroom andthe three bedrooms.

Bedroom 1: The master bedroom is abovethe drawing room. There is a dull and speckledbrass bed whose mattress has allen through andbecome a rats’ nest. There are six rats hanging outin the mattress, and i they spot the hunters frst noone will hear anything but rustling and scrabbling as they escape into the space between the walls. I anyone happens to surprise or corner one o them,it will try to bite once and run or its lie. Oppositethe bed is a tall, empty wardrobe with one doorhanging o. The other door is on the oor and hasa broken and spotted mirror astened to the inside.

RatDescription Your basic rat: beady eyes, dirty ur,

scaly tail, and pointy little teeth. Rats just wantto hang out in their nest, look or ood, andmake lots o baby rats. They will only fght i they’re surprised or cornered, and they will takeany chance they can to get away rom something as big as a human. Their bite (1W) can bepainul but the biggest danger is disease becausethey’re none too picky about oral hygiene.

Agi d8 Str d2 Vit d2 Ale d10 Int d2 Wil d8

Init d8+d10; LP 4Traits Sharp Sense (hearing, smell) d6Skills Perception d4, Survival d4, Unarmed

combat d4Rat Bites Blood poisoning’s nasty, and ater a day

without medical attention a rat-bitten huntermust make a successul HARD Resistance check or be out o commission with ever, shakes,and delirium. The next day, there’s no chanceo dying and an EASY Alertness + Medicineroll sees the patient good as new in 24 hours.

On day two, staying alive without treatment

requires an EASY Resistance check, successultreatment requires an AVERAGE Alertness +Medicine roll, and recovery time is two days.On each successive day without treatment,the difculty o Resistance and treatment rollsincreases by a +1 step and the recovery timeater treatment increases by one day.

Bedroom 2: This room is above the dining room, and contains nothing but a aded spot on the

wall where a picture must have hung once. The window has a good view o the outside doors to thkitchen and the scullery, and the rear o the house.

Bathroom: The bathroom is above thescullery. The cast iron tub is a good size. Like thesink in the scullery, the aucets here turn but thereis no water. I the hunters can disconnect the pipesand move it (a HARD Strength task—up to threecharacters can throw their Strength together), thetub could provide heavy cover.

Bedroom 3: This room is above the kitchen.It looks like it was used or storage. There are acouple o crates in here that could be piled up tomake light cover or one person. There is also adressmaker’s orm on a stand, which could look something like a headless body at frst glance, i thelight is bad (AVERAGE Alertness check at night).

A second glance clears up any conusion, but by then a startled hunter might have shot at the thing and given their position away. The window at theback is a good lookout point, but doesn’t cover the

kitchen and scullery doors unless the lookout stickhis or her head all the way out.

The ProblemsThis is a straightorward fght. The hunters

have a little time to prepare and a ew things to play with, but in the end it’s all down to preparing theground and dealing with the combat.

The hunters can wait in the house and jumpthe tsayid as he comes in, or they can wait outsideand surround the place once he’s in there. The

outside approach allows them to do something likesetting fre to the house with the tsayid inside and

jumping on him when he comes out all ablaze,but there’s very little cover within fty yards o the house. Also—and the Mills demon knows thiseven though the hunters don’t—the possessedbiker won’t go into the house i Mills isn’t already in there, and he’s not charmed by the thought o using himsel as bait.

Mills argues or getting into the house andsetting up traps and ambushes. He uses the lack o

outside cover as an argument against staking out



the house, and he also points out that i the houseis on fre, there is no way to tell the black smokeo an escaping demon rom the black smoke o thefre itsel. He won’t tell them this i they’ve already fgured out that tsayid leave bodies as lightning andnot smoke, though—he keeps up with the hunters’current “theories.”

The possessed biker still has the wounds

rom previous combats, but they don’t slow himdown noticeably. As beore, his priority is to grabMills, knock him out with the stungun or withan old-ashioned blow to the head, and get away somewhere so he can recover the escaped soul. Hefghts the hunters i they attack him or get in his

way, but it’s clear that he’s ater Mills.

The ResultsI this fght looks like it’s going bad, Mills gets

out o there and this time he won’t look back. Thehunters can try to fnd him, but he’s out o thestate in a ew hours and out o the country in a ew days, and so is the hellspawn that’s hunting him.

The tsayid doesn’t quit this time, even i it’sin imminent danger o being destroyed. I it’s notable to capture Mills it turns to lightning, leaves thebiker’s dying body, and goes in search o anotherone. It’s too corny to have its last words be “I’ll beback” in a strong Austrian accent, but the idea isthe same.

I the hunters were planning to pull a double-

cross on the Mills demon as soon as the possessedbiker hits the oor, they had better be quick aboutit because he’s not going to stick around. Go to thenext scene.

The Rewards A conrontation with the tsayid is worth

another two Plot Points. I they actually deeat ithere, double that award, and remember to givethem Plot Points or handling the other tricky

variables on their plate—Mills, rats, creepy old

building, and so on.

Act III—I BelieveI’ll Dust My Broom

Oh, boy. Our brave hunters have been playedbig time. They just took out the hunter and now the hunted is making like Elvis and leaving thebuilding. They have to stop it ast or they’relooking at a long search. It’s not a hopeless search,

but by the time they track the demon down it has

possessed an art dealer and is shopping or the lastingredient in a ritual that makes it undetectable.Then it’s gonna have ree run o the whole world.

Scene 1: Ramblin’ On MyMind

Demons lie, but this one’s a prizewinner.Having ooled the hunters into getting rid o thereal bounty hunter, the demon pauses or a gloatbeore heading o to pastures new.

The SetupThe hunters are standing in the ruins o the

abandoned house, looking down at a dead orseriously injured biker. They may fnd it hard tobelieve that this is fnally over. Well, it’s not.

Mills joins them, wearing a big grin andclapping in ironic recognition o their eorts.

“Thanks, kiddies,” he says. “That ought to slow the sucker down or a while. Now, I need a changeo clothes and then I’ve got a plane to catch.” I no one does anything his eyes go solid black, heexhales a cloud o black smoke, and the body o

Alan Mills collapses to the oor while the smokegoes out through the nearest window or chimney.

The Problems

The hunters only have a ew seconds to react:ten turns at most. I they were planning to double-cross the Mills demon, now’s the time. Here’s

what they’re aced with.

He Ain’t Left YetThe demon is ocused on getting away, and it’s

hard to distract him and lead him into a Devil’sTrap or any other kind o ambush the hunters may have prepared. A splash o holy water surprises himenough to lose his action or the frst turn, but ater

that he’s even more determined to get out o there.The best kind o plan involves jumping Mills

while he’s still talking and preventing the demonrom leaving his body so that they can conductan exorcism. The hunters need something that

will stop the demon rom coming out his mouth,eyes, or ears—and not to be indelicate, but thereare other bodily openings it might try to use. I the hunters want to keep Mills alive they willneed to make sure that whatever they use toblock the nose and mouth will not stop him rom

breathing. Possibilities include holy water, blessed



communion waer, pages rom a Bible, and goodold-ashioned salt. A little duct tape should keepthings in place, but remember the suocationissue.

Remember, too, that keeping the demon inthe body is not the same as rendering the demonhelpless. Even i Mills is hog-tied, the demon ispretty strong, and can probably muscle its way out

o a gag or bond i the hunters are not paying closeenough attention. You should decide how easy or difcult to make this scene, depending on thehunters’ level o experience and how good theirplan is.

He’s Left The BodyOnce the demon is out o Mill’s body, things

become a good deal more complicated. The black smoke moves ast—real ast—and is invulnerableto physical damage. The demon-trapping bottleMills came up with in Act I, Scene 2 is bull, butthe hunters may have prepared a Devil’s Trap inadvance and have an outside chance at diverting thedemon into the trap. This not only takes a handulo Plot Points to pull o, but a HEROIC result on

Agility + Lore/Demons. Kids, don’t try this one athome.

He’s Left the BuildingThe worst-case scenario is that the hunters

were caught completely by surprise, and just stoodand stared as the black smoke rom Mills’ body went out o the house. The hunters may try tochase down the black smoke rom Mills and thelightning rom the biker to do whatever they can toprevent them rom possessing new bodies, but they have almost no chance o succeeding. In the frstplace, the two escaping spirits take o in oppositedirections, and by the time the hunters get out o the house they will have no way o fnding them.Second, both the Mills demon and the tsayid stay close to the ground and disappear into the frst

cover they can fnd. It’s a lose/lose.

The ResultsI this scene goes well, the hunters have

exorcised the demon rom Mills and orced thetsayid out o the biker’s body. In that case, theadventure’s over and the remaining scenes areunnecessary. With the Mills demon returned toHell, the tsayid may go back too, or i you want itmay come back and attack the hunters or getting

in its way.

I the scene goes badly, one or both o theirantagonists have vacated, leaving the hunters witha choice: to try and track one or both o them,or to shrug their shoulders and walk away. Theremaining scenes assume that they decide tocontinue the chase. I they walk away, both thedemon and the tsayid are out there and you canhave the hunters stumble across their path during

some uture adventure.It may take a minute or two or the hunters to

fgure out how they’ve been played. I hints needto be dropped to the players, you should point outthat the possessed biker chose to attack Mills here,knowing that there were probably armed huntersbacking Mills up. A ugitive, on the other hand,

would most likely abandon a hideout that hadbeen ound by his pursuers and get a head startbeore they realized he wasn’t going to show up.In act—no, it couldn’t be—did they actually takeout the hunter and let the ugitive get away? Theseand similar thoughts should come into the huntersminds as their heads clear ater the fght, even i ittakes a ew Intelligence rolls and other actions toget the inormation across to the players.

As all this is sinking in, the hunters haveother problems to attend to. First, the combat

was probably a violent one, and parts o the housemay be on fre and/or about to collapse. Second,i either Mills or the biker survived the pounding their bodies took in the fght, the hunters have todecide what to do with them. Do they leave them

to die, or drag them out, patch them up, and getthem some medical attention? Do they even tellthem why they suddenly wake up in the ICU withsome very weird memories?

They’d both make useul contacts, and thiscould even be a way to introduce a new characterinto the group. Mills has some serious tech chopsand could make a huge dierence to the group’sresearch capabilities. He could also help them

with the design and manuacture o electronicgear. He has the imagination to understand

what has happened to him (as his Role Playing

Games Specialty clearly proves) and ar rombeing a startup ailure who sold his soul insteado stock options, he might actually be a successultechnology entrepreneur with some cash to throw around. The biker (whose name is Moose, by the

way) can handle himsel in a fght and has a loto biker buddies as well as contacts at biker barsacross the country. Game stats or a typical bikerand computer geek can be ound at the end o thisadventure.



The Rewards Yeah, the players may be pretty mad during

this scene. Good and mad. Plot Points can take theedge o, so distribute as many as three Plot Pointsper player or their eorts, including any moredemonic conrontations. Don’t reward passivebehavior, though. I a hunter’s on the sidelines, hedoesn’t get the benefts.

Scene 2: Stones In MyPassway

How do you track down a demon that canswitch bodies at will? This is the problem acing Our Heroes in this scene, and they fnd out thatit’s not as impossible as it sounds.

The SetupOne or both o the demons escaped and the

hunters have to fgure out a way to track them.This isn’t easy, since both the Mills demon and thetsayid possess new bodies at the frst opportunity.The Mills demon heads or a big city such asNew York or Los Angeles and possesses an artdealer to put together the things it needs or aritual to disguise its demonic essence so the tsayidcannot fnd it. The tsayid keeps ollowing until it’sdestroyed or until it captures its quarry.

The ProblemsThe frst problem is tracking the escaped

hellspawn. There are various ways to handle this,both mundane and supernatural.

With Mundane MeansI the hunters deserve a break, then Mills

has a printout o an e-ticket in his pocket whichindicates where the demon intends to go, or ascrap o paper with a contact name and phone

number in the destination city. I not, then they have to check local missing persons reports to try to get names and photos o possible new bodiesor either the demon or its tsayid hunter. Demonsdon’t generally like to stay in black smoke orm ortoo long, and the tsayid is similarly loath to hang out as lightning, so any reported disappearances

within twenty-our hours o the big fght are likely leads. It’s HARD to check the bodies’ movementsthrough credit card receipts either with Intelligence+ Inuence (Administration and Bureaucracy

are both useul specialties) or Tech/Hacking. TheContacts Asset may also be useul in fnding thiskind o inormation.

Don’t orget to remind the players that evenbrain-dead bodies are perectly fne or demons topossess, so they’ll be casting their net pretty wide.In the interests o drama, o course, stumbling across a good lead is a perectly reasonable option.

The Supernatural OptionSupernatural means include Clairvoyance,

Premonitions, or a helpul word rom a SpiritGuide. Spending a Plot Point or two can turn up aritual that eectively sticks a pin in a map to show

where either the demon, the tsayid, or both are atthat time.

The ResultsI they’re successul, the hunters track the

demon to a small warehouse in a big city. You candecide which city, depending on the needs o thecampaign; i the hunters need to be somewhere inparticular or the start o a new adventure, the huntor the demon can lead them right there.

The RewardsLet’s ace it: the hunters are going to track

down the demon. So with that as a given, hand out

a Plot Point per player and consider adding morei they were particularly clever or cunning in thedecision-making. I not, move on.

Scene 3: If I HadPossession OverJudgment Day

The demon’s possessed one Frederick Westburg, an importer o exotic art and homeaccents. Ater exhausting the possibilities o

demon interior decorator jokes, the hunters stakeout Westburg’s warehouse and fgure a way toget in. Some snooping will turn up evidence o his planned Tibetan ritual, and then it’s up to thehunters to stop it.

The SetupThe warehouse is situated in a small business

park on the outskirts o the city, with a parking lotat the ront and a loading dock at the back.



Outside: The building has no company logoor other markings on the outside, and the area’scompletely unremarkable. Security cameras areset up at all our corners, covering all sides o thebuilding.

Reception Area: The ront door opens ontothis carpeted room, which has a reception desk and doors leading to a restroom, an ofce, and the

warehouse itsel. The desk is staed 24/7 by one o three security guards (use the description on p. 160o the Supernatural RPG), each on an eight-hourshit. All are armed with a light pistol (d4 W), anightstick (d4 B), and a radio linking them to theirbase. Whoever is on duty passes the time reading magazines and watching the monitors linked to thesecurity cameras. None o them is about to die ortheir employer (actually, or their agency’s client)but they call in beore going to investigate anything suspicious. I the agency does not get the all-clear

within fve minutes o the initial call they send acar with two more guards; it arrives ater fteenminutes.

Restroom: A typical restroom with a toiletand sink. It’s clean, and the only noticeable thing isa stack o a hal-dozen sports magazines on top o the cistern.

Ofce: The ofce contains a large desk witha couple o chairs in ront o it, and a lateral flecabinet against one wall. The fles relate to anormal import business specializing in importedhome urnishings like stone Buddha heads, aux-

antique statues, and Indian bronzes. The averageprice o an object is around $50.00, and nothing in inventory cost Westburg more than $500.00to acquire. The desk drawers are locked with an

AVERAGE lock when Westburg is not present. Thetop right-hand drawer contains a ew papers and aloaded .38 Special (light pistol, d4 wounds), plusa box with 14 more rounds. The other drawerscontain more papers relating to the business.There’s a computer on the desk containing morebusiness fles, including one encrypted fle (HARDto decrypt), which is a list o objects (see sidebar).

Anyone who speaks or reads Chinese realizes onan AVERAGE check that the phrase “tsang-chi-lai”reers to concealment. A HARD use o Lore revealsthat the names o the cup and trumpet on the listmatch the

descriptions o those in the sae (see below). A recent email rom a contact in China reers to“the scroll in which you expressed interest” being shipped by air and due to arrive in two days romthe date when the hunters frst see the building.Checking online bank records (which is HARDto do) shows a payment made to the sender o theemail two days ago, or $125,000.00.

Warehouse: The warehouse is part-flled withcrates containing the company’s merchandise.They are upscale home décor items rather thangenuine antiquities, and while some o them may look exotic none o them has any mystical power.

A crate in one corner o the warehouse conceals asae (HARD to open) containing a Tibetan prayerrug, a short trumpet made rom a human emurbound in silver, a dish made rom a human skull

with scorch marks inside, and a bag flled with anaromatic brownish powder. An AVERAGE use o Lore reveals that these are ritual items used in a

variety o Tibetan ceremonies.

The ProblemsHere are some likely options or action in the

warehouse.

Casing the JointBy watching the building the hunters will

be able to establish that ofce hours are 8:00

am to 6:00 pm. During that time there is oneother man in the building beside the security guard—Westburg himsel—and he comes andgoes between the ofce and the warehouse area. A cleaning crew o two people comes in at 7:00 pmand leaves at 8:00 pm. Deliveries are on Tuesdaysand Thursdays, consisting o one or two eighteen-

wheelers that pull up to the loading dock andooad crates. The delivery trucks normally arrivemid-morning. Smaller delivery vans, usually in thelivery o local urnishing stores, come and go atirregular times during business hours.

- Prayer ru g , ren hau- shyan g st yle ( T ibet ? )- Kan glin g t rum pet - Kapala c up ( f or inc ense )- Inc ense: alt hea , blac k hellebore , m andrake root , rosem

ary , worm wood

- T san g- c hi- lai rit ual ( Jon gshi MS? )



Research Although the building itsel is unmarked, a

map o the business park reveals that a company called Foreign Accents occupies it. EASY researchin local business directories reveals that thecompany was set up about ten years ago andsupplies exotic home urnishings to a numbero local stores. The owner is given as Frederick

Westburg.

Getting InsideGiven the cameras and round-the-clock

security guards, the hunters don’t fnd it easy toget inside the warehouse or an undisturbed look around. Posing as buyers or a urniture store getsthem a guided tour around the warehouse and apeek inside a ew crates, but they will need to bemore creative i they want to search the place. I they cannot search the place, they will miss theclues in the ofce and the objects in the hiddensae in the warehouse. Hunters posing as engineersfnd it HARD to rig the security monitors so they show a one-hour loop, eectively cutting them o rom the cameras. How the hunters get around theguards is up to them.

Figuring out the Plan Various clues can be ound in the ofce and

warehouse (see above) that hint that Westburg

is planning to conduct a Tibetan ritual that hassomething to do with concealment. The fnalingredient, a rare scroll, is on its way. The rolls orunderstanding the signifcance o the various cluesare given above. I the players are unable to put theclues together and realize that the demon is trying to make itsel undetectable, you should allow eachhunter a HARD Intelligence + Lore + IntuitiveLeaps (or characters who have that trait) action toput the pieces together.

The ResultsHopeully, the hunters can fgure out what is

going on and prevent it rom happening, and thencapture Westburg and exorcise the demon back toHell.

I the hunters do nothing to prevent it, acourier delivers the scroll at around 5:15 pm twodays rom now. The demon spends our hoursstudying the scroll, and then locks himsel in the

warehouse rather than leaving at his usual time.The ritual takes around two hours to complete,

ater which “Westburg” is undetectable as a demon

by aura. Neither a hunter nor a pursuing tsayid canidentiy him as possessed unless he openly uses ademonic ability. The demon then skips througha succession o new bodies to throw o possiblepursuit, and disappears into the mortal population.

The Rewards

Another mix o planning and investigationdeserves two Plot Points each, or hal that i theplayers don’t twig to the plot going on withoutsome major ashing signs. Once they settle thescore with Westburg/Mills, they get another twoPlot Points each.

Continuing theAdventure

I the hunters ail to take the demon out o Westburg, this adventure could turn into a chase which has the potential to last or a very long time. I he completed the ritual, the demon is alot harder to fnd, both or the hunters themselvesand or any more tsayid bounty hunters sent romHell to bring it back. From now on, every timethe hunters run across a story about a securitiesraud or a pyramid scheme gone awry and hear theguy behind it claim it wasn’t him, that something

was orcing him to do whatever he did, they willprobably wonder i this is their demon. It might

very well be, but o course it will have skipped to anew body as soon as the net started to close.But that’s not the worst o it. By helping Mills

the hunters have made a serious enemy out o atsayid, and they’re not the orgiving type. It couldshow up and attack them at any time.

New Assets

Plausible (d6–d12)Maybe you have an honest ace, maybe you

know just what to say, but in some way you are very good at making people believe you. This notonly makes you a good liar, it also helps when

you are trying to convince someone o something that is true but hard to believe—like, or example,demons being real. Whenever you are trying tomake someone believe something, your Trait die isadded to any actions to convince them.



Ordinary PeopleThese two stock characters are handy once

Alan Mills or Moose are reed o possession, butthey can be used in any adventure you like whenthe need arises.

BikerDescription He lives to ride, and likes drinking

and fghting almost as much. A modern-day cowboy on a steel horse, no one tells him whatto do—at least not twice, being unconsciousand/or bleeding shortly ater the frst occasion.The only way to win his respect is to be justas badass as he is. Fight him to a standstill andhe’ll be your riend or lie, as long as you’re notridin’ Japanese. It’s likely he’s seen some realreaky stu on his endless travels, and he may even know what a hunter is.

Motivation Live ree or die tryin’. He wants thereedom o the open road, good grub and cheapbooze (and cheap women don’t hurt either),and a satisying fght now and again. As long asthere’s no asshat telling him he can’t have a littleun, he’s real easy to get along with.


Traits Born Behind the Wheel/Motorcycles d4,Brawler d2, Cool Under Fire d2, Gear Head d2,Tough d4, Addiction/Alcohol d4, Anger Issues

d2, Crude d4Skills Drive d6/Motorcycle d12, Guns d4,Inuence d6/Intimidation d10, Mechanic d6/ Motorcycles d12, Melee Weapons d6/Knives d8,Perception d6/Sight d8, Unarmed Combat d6/ Brawling d10

Gear Motorcycle, knie (d2 W), chain (d4 W)

Computer GeekDescription They laughed in high school, but

now he holds the power. With a ew keystrokeshe can empty your bank account, erase yourcredit, put you on a hundred watch lists romterrorist to pedophile, and do any o a dozenother things that you really don’t want tohappen. But he has not succumbed to the

power o the Dark Side, and uses his git orgood. Proudly wearing a tie with a short-sleeved shirt, the computer geek is the guy whokeeps everything running. He knows morethan anyone could possibly imagine—and i inormation exists, he can fnd it.

Motivation The world can be a better place.Inormation is the answer and technology isthe key. Any problem rom world hunger tocorporate corruption to demonic possessioncan be solved with the right inormationand the right technology. He’s used to being unappreciated, but data has no avorites andtomorrow is there to be shaped.


Traits Higher Education d6, Low Profle d2, Tech Expert d8, Coward d4, Fragile d4, Socially Awkward d4

Skills Crat d6/Electronics d8, Discipline d6/ Concentration d8, Drive d4, Knowledge d6/

Video Games d8/Role playing Games d8,Perception d6/Video Games d8, Science d6/

Physical Sciences d10, Tech d6/ComputerProgramming d12+d2/Create TechnicalDevices d8/Electronics d8/Hacking d10

Gear Laptop, computer repair kit



H i s L e s s e r H a l f

B y Ra l p h D u la

The biggest ear or many hunters is that oneo their own might go over to the other side.Not just simply selling out, but actually

becoming one o the inhuman beasts they dedicatetheir lives to killing. Having to ace a monster that’snot only stronger and tougher than you, but knowseverything you do because it’s ought side-by-side

with you in the past, is one o the worst situationsa hunter can be in. When a hunter reunites witha colleague ater a long absence, in the back o

their mind they’re oten wondering i something’sgotten to them since they last time they met, andi they’ll end up killing someone they once calledriend. Or maybe get killed by them.

So what i the situation is reversed? Whathappens when it turns out a ellow hunter wasnever human, and his current target is a humanbeing, albeit one who dabbles in the black arts?

And what i the hunter in question has no idea o his inhuman origins?

You and your players are about to fnd out.

Adventure SummaryUnlike the other scenarios in this collection,

His Lesser Half is a lot more direct and ollows aairly straight line toward the climax. It’s good or astraightorward evening or two o action. Hunters

with a healthy amount o combat experience will fnd it easier to negotiate the conict scenes,though some investigative know-how will beuseul.

The hunters are asked to meet a relatively well-known “fxer,” Zach Schram, at a normal-looking bed and breakast in New Jersey. As soonas they’re brought up to speed on the job, a smallcrowd o thugs shows up to beat some threat intothem. They learn more about the thugs’ boss,Larry Boher, and the strange behavior he’s beendisplaying or the past ew months regarding Schram. The more they fnd out about this guy, themore mysterious his actions seem to be.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 61/97 5His Lesser Half

When the hunters investigate Boher’s house,the story gets thick with disaster and supernaturalhoodoo. Boher’s responsible or something major,and uncovering the secret he’s been keeping (andhis connection to Schram) drops the hunterssmack-dab into the middle o one singularly messed-up situation. And that’s not counting themob hit.

Breakdown of the ActsHere’s the way the adventure comes together. Act I: I Know A Man Who Knows A Man

Who Knows You: The hunters meet ZachSchram, get jumped by some hired muscle, andpick Schram’s brain about the mysterious Larry Boher.

Act II: Home of the Strange: The huntersbreak into Boher’s house, but run into trouble o the canine variety.

Act III: We Were Just Passing By AndNoticed You Were Preparing For A Siege: Thehunters jump on the trail o Boher, and fnd out

just how dangerous the man’s lie is—and how messed up Schram’s lie is, too.

Here’s the StoryLarry Boher grew up in New Jersey, a boy

born with a good head on his shoulders, but with nothing in the way o morality or pleasant

personality to fll it with. The act that he gotthe short straw—literally—when it came to hisphysical development did nothing to help any o those things. He stopped growing when he was inthe sixth grade, and being 5’2’ and only 120 poundssoaking wet, with all the bullying and teasing thatdrew to him, Boher came out with the distincteeling that the world owed him and he’d collectthat debt any way he could.

Unortunately or the world at large, the tainto the supernatural in Jersey goes ar beyond the

Jersey Devil and the occasional Mothman sighting.

It’s got its air share o dabblers in the black arts,and Boher was related to one o them. GrandmaBoher died long beore Larry was born, and hercollection o arcane tomes sat in the amily atticor years, until Larry went pawing through themone night while looking or something to sell orquick cash. For some reason he decided that thespells and rituals detailed would actually work, andhe set out to enact one that promised to “magniy his physical orm and protect it rom infrmities,present and uture.”

That kind o mojo takes a long time and a loto human sacrifce to work. Unortunately or the

world, Larry had that kind o patience, and hisrail physical orm meant it was easy or him to getpeople to let their guard down around him, neverexpecting him or a threat. Larry studied up onnarcotics and became a master o luring victimsaway rom others. So it was that dozens o people

were brought to a run-down house on the edgeo town that Larry rented exclusively or occultactivity.

Twenty years ago Boher completed thenecessary number o sacrifces. While he may not have grown in stature or gained muscle tone,he could now hit like a prizefghter and had thestamina o a marathon runner. He was never sick ater the ritual was over, and all fve o his sensesimproved. The act that he didn’t need to exerciseor watch his diet, let alone make urther humansacrifces, was just icing on the cake.

As stereotypical as it sounds, being a Jersey boymeant Boher had riends who were in the mob.It took some time, but ater he convinced them

just how tough he’d become they decided they could use him. Soon the tales o the rail looking hitman who could snap your neck with one puncheven i he had to stand on a box to do it, became astatewide urban legend. Larry loved it; it allowedhim to vent his rustration with the world onemurder at a time, earning a tidy paycheck in theprocess.

Thanks to an unexpected side eect o theritual he enacted, Larry’s many victims may fnd justice. The books had instructed Boher to makea etish as part o the ritual. Boher believed that

with each killing the newly reed soul was boundto the etish, which stored them like a battery untilhe had murdered enough people or the ritual tochange him. The books led him to believe that thesouls would be completely consumed once thespell was over, the essences o those he’d killedbeing completely eradicated.

Such was not the case. While the individual

personalities were destroyed by the spell’scompletion, a air amount o lie energy remained,

with the negative traits Larry wanted to get rid o being bound into it. This invisible energy escapedrom the etish when the ritual ended, seeking outa host or itsel to dwell in.

As ate would have it, that host turned outto be one Zach Schram. Born dead just as Boherfnished his ritual, both the doctors and his grievinparents were shocked when the newborn suddenlystarted breathing again. His parents hailed it as a


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 62/9760 His Lesser Half

miracle, the doctor in charge o the delivery madea tidy sum writing a medical journal article aboutit, and lie went on.

Only it wasn’t the spirit that was originally intended or Zach’s body that was in the driver’sseat. That spirit had departed the moment thebody had died, replaced by the amalgam o spirits let over rom Boher’s ritual. Their energy

reanimated the body, and it was their usion o souls that gave the body lie.

The amalgamated spirits that live in “Zach”have no idea o what they are, or any inkling thatthey are anything more than a normal humanbeing who has had the worst luck when it comesto health. He’s never been able to develop decentmuscle tone, and growing up he spent moretime out o school than in, his immune systemnearly non-existent. Combined with his lack o coordination and massive number o allergies, hislie has been one o near-constant suering andagony.

The act that such a eeble specimen o humanity might become a hunter is surprising tothose who know him. Always having an interestin the supernatural, perhaps because o someunconscious knowledge o what he is, Zach’sstudies quickly led him to understand just how realmonsters were, and he couldn’t turn a blind eye totheir existence. Well aware that his ragile healthmade him a poor choice or direct conrontation

with the supernatural, he decided to be a behind-

the-scenes supporter, providing hunters with thegear and artiacts that they need to do their job.Making enough to support himsel is just a ringebeneft.

Act I: A man Iknow . . .

Part o being a hunter, or at least one thatsurvives more than a ew hunts, is not being araid

o asking or help. Whether it’s standing shoulder-to-shoulder against a vampire or just getting aplace to stay or money or bus are, hunters know they have to look out or one another. So whenthe hunters get a request or a meeting with oneo their ellows, asking or their aid, it’s not thatsuspicious. When the hunter goes through anumber o cut outs to ask or a personal meeting,and reuses to give details as to why they shouldmeet, then it gets suspicious.

Scene 1: If You AcceptThis Mission . . .

As this scene begins, someone the huntersknow and trust delivers a letter to them, a requestor help rom Zach Schram (see the sidebar, “The

Hunter Job Network.”) The bearer o the messagedoesn’t know much about Schram, saying that “ariend o a riend o a riend” asked or the letterto be delivered to the hunters. He does know thatSchram has a reputation as a fxer, being a personto go when you have money and need something special or a hunt. While the Bela Talbots o the

world make the growth o their bank account themost important thing, Schram’s known to supply things or an IOU, with those IOUs being politely orgotten more oten than not. With the letterdelivered the riend departs, leaving the hunters

alone with the missive.

The SetupThe letter’s in a white envelope, and the

hunters might be surprised that it’s run o acomputer printer rather than the usual handwrittennote. They may also be surprised that somebody

went to all this trouble and didn’t leave muchinormation in the letter. It reads:

T H E HU N T ER J OB

N E T W OR K

Most hunters know other hunters, and e ven

if the y don’t know m an y, the ones the y do know

m ight know a lot of others. T h is inform a l, loose

assoc iat ion of l i ke-m inded ( or at least, s im ilar l y

o bsessed ) peop le is frequent ly the lead- in for a jo b li ke th is one. Before the gam e starts, it’s

im portant to determ ine the ident it y of th is

wa l k-on character. It cou ld be som e bod y from

an ear l ier stor y, or a m entor, or e ven a fam i l y

m em ber. Whoe ver it is, it’s som e bod y the hunters

know, som e bod y the y trust.

If the y’ ve got Assets li ke Contacts or

Reputat ion, it’s som eone assoc iated w ith those

T ra its who gets in touch. On the dar k s ide of

the co in, som eone w ith the Idea l ist Com p licat ion

m ight ha ve been too open w ith the ir contact

inform at ion am ongst the ir fe l low hunters,

because how cou ld shar ing wa ys to contact

them be a bad th ing ?



Hello,

Word of your hunting prowess hasreached me. I feel that because of that,

and because of the people you know and don’t

know, I can call upon you for assistance. I am

concerned that I am a target and I need you to

help me stay among the living. Please come to

the address below so we can talk in person.

I am sorry I can’t provide funds for your

journey, but at this point I can’t be certain my

bank account isn’t being monitored.”

Below the typed section is an address in New Jersey, as well as what could be a signature o someone with very poor handwriting or a place

where the printer spit out a blob o ink.

The Problems At this point alarm bells should be going o in

the hunters’ heads. A hunter they’ve never heardo beore asking or their assistance, with a letteranybody could have typed up with an illegiblesignature, not to mention leaving out most o the

specifcs regarding the job. Is this a trap?

Researching Zach Your players may want to research Zach

Schram and try and fgure out just who the hell heis and why he might want their help. There’s a ew good ways to do this.

Willpower + Inuence lets a hunter call uphis peers and try and fnd out more about Schram,

while Intelligence + Knowledge lets them recall

having heard o him beore. Use o Intelligence +

Tech could let a hunter snoop around onlineand fnd reerences to Schram, or a player may decide to use Willpower + Covert amongst otherhunters to be more sneaky in fnding out about theman than someone using Inuence.

To determine what it is the hunters fnd outabout Schram, compare their result to table 4.1.

Researching The AddressThe hunters might also try looking up the

New Jersey address. It’s EASY to fnd out that it’s a

bed & breakast owned by the Rendinelli amily ina rural part o the state. It couldn’t be more normaland mundane.

The ResultsThe hunters have a little more inormation,

but not the whole picture. It’s good enough to getthem headed to New Jersey, though. I they’reunsure about the whole deal, tell the players that itseems Schram is like a young Bobby Singer, or likeBela Talbot—only male, more reliable, and not as

hot.

The RewardsThis is a short scene, not much more than a

reerence check and exposition, but you can handout one Plot Point or every level o inormationthe hunters turned up on Schram, based on thetable. In other words, i they go HEROIC, they geour Plot Points. Good enough . . .

T able 4.1: Inv estigation

Result I n f or ma tion

A V ER A GE Schr am’s involved in the wor ld of hunting, though his involvement leans mor etowar d supply ing gear to other s than actually going out and hunting himself .

H A RDSchram stay s out of the hunt due to phy sical pr oblems. He’s got some sor t of debilitating illness. Despite that, he’s got a shar p mind, and he wheels and deals just as shr ewdly as a W all Str eet br oker .

FORMID A BLESchr am’s taken nancial hits when it comes to helping other hunter s, never collecting on pay ments owed to him f or gear he’s pr ovided. It’s ear ned him a lot of respect over the y ear s, though he also makes a quick buck selling stuf f tnon-hunter s f rom time to time.

HEROIC

Schr am’s so scr ewed up phy sically that he once, while on a hunt f or some esh-eating blob, he accidentally shot his hunting buddy . T he hunter who got shot bear s no grudge against Schr am; it was an accident, and “he’s such a bad shot a esh wound was the wor st he could do to me.”



Scene 2: I Know a PlaceOut in the Woods . . .

The Setup Ater hours o driving with only the occasional

house or arm to break the monotony, the huntersdrive down a private orest road and approach a

luxurious three-story building surrounded by adozen expensive luxury cars. There’s a womanbehind the desk, all smiles and curls, who politely

welcomes them to the Rendinelli Bed & Breakastand asks i they’re meeting with someone. At themention o Schram’s name the woman nods anddirects them to the dining area.

The ProblemsThe action starts out with some exposition, but

it quickly progresses rom there.

Meeting Zach SchramThe hunters can pick Schram out instantly

rom the room ull o B&B guests. The guy ispainully thin, wears a suit that doesn’t ft, and ashe rises to greet the hunters he knocks over hisdrink and has a coughing ft. None o the otherdiners pay the slightest attention to him.

Zach Schram

Description The guy who tries to do good all thetime, no matter how bad his lie is. Sadly, his lieis bad all the time.


Traits Fragile d8, Klutz d8, Rotten Luck d4Skills Covert d6/Streetwise d10, Discipline d6,

Drive d4, Inuence d6/Barter d10 /Haggling d10 /Persuasion d10, Knowledge d6/Appraisald10, Lore d6, Melee Weapons d6, Perception d6

Gear Car, home, assortment o occult items athome

Schram introduces himsel in a tired andragged voice. He says he’s spent all o his waking hours at the table since he sent the letter. It’s EASY to see a perpetual shake in Schram’s hands, thereason his letter was typed, not handwritten. A

waitress arrives with menus boasting prices thatmake any hunter without the Wealthy Asset clenchup; Schram notes he’s paying or everything i anyone complains.

Once the ood arrives and everyone is settledin Schram explains why he’s called the huntersto him or help. He’s been working as a fxer orhunters, as well as making money on the sideselling to tourists—people with an interest inmystical artiacts. He’s passed o akes beore—helaunches into a tale about the ortune he’s madeselling copies o the paperback Necronomicon over

the years, but a coughing ft stops him short.Recently he put out notice that he had a

German work rom the Seventies, the handwrittentome o a bunch o lunatics in Berlin who werecertain they’d discovered a way to transeremotions rom one person to another. In acttheir supposed emotional transers came rom anoverabundance o drug use, but the book still hasa reputation or being a true mystical work. So

when it came into Schram’s possession he put itup or sale. He was quite surprised when a hunter

was the one who came asking to buy the book,oering quite more than it was worth or it. Thehunter was one Jonas McCluskey. It’s HARD toremember that he’s a hunter known or his greedas well as his skill. Ater he kills a zombie, therumor goes, he checks to see i it has any goldfllings he can sell. That may be why he’s only gotour fngers on one hand.

So Jonas bought the book and Schram fguredthat was the end o that, until Jonas came back tohim a ew weeks later. Jonas admitted an occultcollector by the name o Larry Boher had contacted

him. He paid Jonas a hety sum to acquire the book rom Schram and not to let Schram learn the realbuyer’s identity. McCluskey agreed to the deal,but he’d come to Schram with the truth. He was

worried he was betraying a brother hunter to oneo his enemies. So he told him everything.

Only problem is that Schram has no idea whoBoher is.

General Thuggery Just as Schram admits his ignorance o Boher

there’s a scream rom the entranceway. The womanrom the ront desk is thrown into the dining roomand crashes into a wooden table. The our big burly men responsible walk in; their rugged clothesand flthy bodies make it look as though they’vebeen camping out in the woods or days, which inact is exactly the case. Their eyes quickly settle onSchram and his dining companions, and the menmake their way over, making a mess out o anyone

who happens to be in their way.



The good news is these men are just normalhumans. The bad news is that they’re both toostupid and too confdent to back down rom afght. Flashing a gun or a badge isn’t going todissuade these men rom messing the huntersup.

Quartet of Thugs

Description Willing to die or Boher, as i they ail he’ll kill them anyway.


Traits Brawler d2, Cool Under Fire d6, Duty d12, Tough d8

Skills Athletics d6, Survival d6, UnarmedCombat d6

Gear Camping Gear (in woods), cell phones,beey fsts (d8b+d2b)

Their tactics are simple: rush the huntersand beat them to death. They’re counting onsurprise and their natural talent or inicting death to give them the edge in battle. They don’tcare about innocent bystanders. In act, they’requite happy with the thought o people soaking upbullets meant or them (here’s where you review the Firing into Crowds rules on page 87 o theSupernatural RPG). The thugs threaten to shootan innocent i they think the hunters might dosomething stupid like dropping their weapons or

surrendering. And they ollow up on their threat i called on it.

The Results While they might be a bit bloodied, the hunters

shouldn’t have that much difculty deeating thegoons. Whether they kill them or just leave themunconscious, they have just had a major showing o

violence in a public place, with plenty o witnesses,all o who are shocked by what they have seen.Nobody’s more shocked than the members o the

bed & breakast sta, who’ve been bribed to call thegoons as soon as anyone showed up to meet withSchram. Their obvious shock at the deeat o thehired goons (and the act they’re the only staers

who stick around to watch the battle) should cluethe hunters into their involvement. It’s an EASY task to get them to talk, and they explain they hadbeen paid to keep an eye on Schram, and to makea call i anyone came to meet him. They knew something bad would happen to whoever met

with him, but they thought it wouldn’t happen

until ater they let the building, and they had noclue the thugs-or-hire were camping in the orest

waiting or the call to action. As or the goons themselves, there’s not much

or them to say. They’re muscle-or-hire, thoughi the hunters manage to successully interrogate

them (against Willpower + Discipline) they let slipthat Boher hired them. They say that anybody whomet with Schram was to be killed, though they

were told to leave Schram unmolested.For his part, Schram is conused and shocked

by the violence. Even i the thugs don’t talk heknows it was Boher who sent them. He gathersup the ew things he has in his room upstairs,then asks the hunters to ollow him home. As hegets into his car he brushes o any questions orconcerns about the violence they just committed

RU N NI N G SC HR A M

W ith h is low Attr ibutes and h is m an y

Com p l icat ions, Schram com es off as an

acc ident-prone foo l who m ight be a d istant

re lat ion of Inspector C louseau. T h is is

intent iona l. P la y it up, because it adds to the

ad venture on two le ve ls.

T he rst is hum or. It’s rare that hum or

sho ves horror into the bac k seat on S u p er n at ur al,

but it happens. Wh i le the threat to l ife and lim b

is st i l l present, it shares the stage w ith o ver-

the-top s lapst ic k. So when Schram fa i ls a ro l l it

shou ld be spectacu lar, e ven if he d idn’t Botch.

A fa i led Co vert ro l l to snea k down som e sta irs

ends w ith h im tum b ling down them , curs ing

at the top of h is lungs a l l the wh i le. A fa i led

Ath let ics doesn’t just m ean he cou ldn’t c lim b

the fence, but he o verexerted h im se lf so m uch

that h is lunch is now v is ib le aga in for a l l to

see. In short, the hunters shou ld ro ll the ir e yes

at Schram ’s fa i lure and wonder wh y the y’re bother ing to he lp h im .

On another le ve l, Schram ’s u bs add horror.

Once the hunters learn of h is or ig ins the

com ed ic fa il ings the y w itnessed ear l ier ta ke on

a who le new le ve l. Not on ly is Schram ’s ex istence based on the

ra vaged rem a ins of the sou ls of Bohr’s v ict im s,

but the ir l ife is one of com p lete am nes ia of

the ir pre v ious ex istences, in wh ich constant

ph ys ica l suffer ing is a norm that de nes the ir

l ife. Sudden l y the fe l low who was a cross

between com ic re l ief and a pa in in the ass is

now a trag ic gure . . . or an unho l y beast to bes la in, depend ing on the v iews of your hunters.



or any evidence they might have let. “It’s notsomething you have to worry about,” he says. “It’s

why I chose that place.” And with that he’s gone, and as his taillights

ade o into the distance hopeully your huntersare right behind them.

The RewardsThis scene’s all about the thug throw-down,so hand out two Plot Points each or taking care o that, and an additional two Plot Points or handling the sta and customers smartly during the scene.

Scene 3: Q&AThis scene exists to quiz Schram about what

the hell is going on. A lot o it is exposition, andthe hunters don’t really need to make rolls to getthe inormation out o Schram. Your job is to makethe conversation eel organic, so paraphrase when

you need to in order to avoid the appearance o justreading o a bunch o text.

The SetupIt takes an hour to reach Schram’s home,

a one-story house in a nice part o town. Onceeveryone is settled in and taken advantage o hisbathroom to clean o bloodstains or treat woundshe tells his tale. He’s shaking as he talks, though

whether with rage, ear, or a natural palsy it’s hardto tell.

The ProblemsThe “action” here is all conversation, so try

and hit all the main points and then move ononce the hunters have what they think they need.It’s presented in a kind o question and answerormat, but even i the hunters don’t ask the exactquestions it should work as a guide to the debrie.

What the Hell happened back there?“I can’t believe it. The Rendenelli has been

around or nearly a century. It’s a place the elite goand do things they don’t want to be made public,kind o a neutral ground or criminals, politicians,and the wealthy to meet up and make deals and dothings that the general public wouldn’t approveo. Hell, I stay there semi-regularly to meet withcustomers. We’ve got this gentlemen’s agreement,those o us who use the place. For Boher to breach

that . . .”

Who is this Boher guy?“When I got a name, I did a little digging, and

this Boher scares the hell out o me. For the lasttwenty years he’s been linked to organized crime,the prime suspect in more mob hits than you cancount, all o ‘em where the victim went toe-to-toe with an elephant and lost. But nobody’s everactually got close to putting him away or any o it.

It’s because o the way he looks.”

What’s he look like?Schram pulls out a picture, pointing to a man

in the middle o a crowd. The man is two headsshorter than the other people, and looks like asneeze would blow him over. Despite that, he

walks proudly, the look on his ace one o smug superiority.

“This is Boher. Found the image in a webarticle on one o the last times someone tried tobring him to trial. One o the main reasons no onecan connect him to the crimes is that they can’tbelieve such a little guy could do enough damageto a man or him to need a closed-casket uneral,let alone commit thirty two murders where thebodies were let like that. And that’s the murders

where someone tried to connect them to Boher.No idea how many others he may have done they never ound the bodies or.”

What did you turn up about Boher?“Ater McCluskey talked to me I startedsending out messages, trying to fnd out i Boher had been dealing with anyone else to buy things. Turns out the man is quite the buyer o occult artiacts. Books, letover bits o creatures,eyewitness accounts o supernatural events; i youcan name it he’s purchased it. Even more reakishis that it turns out it’s easier to name everyoneI knew that hadn’t dealt with Boher than those

who had. It’s like the guy’s been interacting witheveryone I know in the business, keeping it all on

the down low, so he never has to run into me or letme know he exists. And I think McCluskey letting me know got him killed.”

So why ask us?“About a week ater I started asking about

Boher, McCluskey bought the big one. Notpleasant. They ound his body on a road; they think it was a hit and run by an SUV. Then otherhunters I’d contacted about Boher started asking

me why I was interested in him. I reaked at that



point. I fgured out which olks I know that haven’thad contact with Boher, hoping they might be ableto help me do something about him. But most o them are almost as bad at fghting as I am, or don’t

work well with others. I need people I can trustnot to be in Boher’s pocket, and who’re skilled at

working as a team.“I asked around, you olks got recommended

to me, and so I wrote you. And here we are.”

So you have no idea why Boher would takean interest in you?

“Nope. I never had any contact with him, andas ar I can tell he had no connection to anything Iever hunted down. Then again, I would never haveknown about him wanting the book i McCluskey hadn’t told me, so who knows.”

Have you checked out McCluskey’s place?Maybe he had some leads on why Boher wasinterested in you?

“McCluskey was a traveling man, living rom asuitcase as he went on the hunt. He was staying ata hotel when he died, and the cops confscated allhis stu when he died. I’ve got no idea where it isnow.”

So what does this Boher guy do now? Yousaid he was possibly linked to all thesekillings. Is murder all that he does withhis time?

“It’s been a ew years since he was a suspect inany murders. Doesn’t mean he hasn’t done morein the meantime. Seems to like the good lie, rom

what I can tell. Likes to travel and be the centero attention when he does. Maybe he does work outside o New Jersey as well. Some poking on the

Internet shows he’s been an investor in some start-up businesses that took o. He seems pretty savvy,so we can’t underestimate him.”

What the hell is wrong with you?“Bad health. Been like this since I was born.

Wish I could say I smoked ten packs a day or drank like a fsh to get this way, but I’d be lying to you.”

The ResultsOnce the Q&A session is over Schram reveals

that he knows where Boher lives. Probably themost disturbing thing Schram discovered aboutBoher was that the guy lives only a ew miles rom

where Schram grew up, and only a ew milesrom the house the hunters are now in. Once thehunters are ready Schram leads them to Boher’s

house to get some answers.

The RewardsIt’s another reerence and expo scene, and they

probably didn’t even have to roll dice or it. OnePlot Point each, plus additional points or goodplay (when talking to Schram or anybody else.)

Act II: Home of the

StrangeThis Act is all about Boher’s charming New Jersey home and the consequences o poking around in it or inormation. Out o necessity, thescenes in this Act should play out in order. I thehunters hit the books or the Internet earlier, youmight need to crib elements rom Scene 3 beore

you move to Scene 1.

Scene 1: Vanity HouseThis scene takes place at the Boher home, andassumes the hunters are going to try and get inside

They might not; in which case, you’re going tohave to get creative.

The SetupBoher’s home is part o an auent

development built along a hillside that overlooksa small valley. It would be a beautiul view, i notor the sewage treatment plant that sprawls acrossthe valley oor. Schram explains that while the

air is pleasant at the moment, normally a oulstench is wating up rom the valley, reminding the homeowners why their property was relatively cheap. Because o the smell, ew people stay outside their homes or long, lessening the chanceo anyone seeing them break into Boher’s home,

which is located at the bottom o the hill, near thelip o the valley.



The ProblemsThe action here centers on the act o getting

into Boher’s house and looking around. See“Alternate Actions” or other approaches to thisscene, especially since not every hunter goesstraight or breaking and entering when theopportunity presents itsel.

Home InvasionThere’s no sign o a car in the driveway, so the

hunters can hope Boher isn’t at home. Whetherthe hunters decide to go through the backyard andits well-manicured garden or directly through theront door, they don’t need to worry about anyonenoticing them; people mind their own business inthis neighborhood. However, while approaching the house is EASY, getting into it is HARD.

Deadbolt locks and reinorced glass have beenused to insure security, and any hunter who decidesto climb up to the second oor fnds the windowsand balcony doors are just as secure. Hunters withan AVERAGE degree o observation might notethe lack o any kind o electrical security, with nokeypads or motion sensors or other things they might expect in a high-class home. There’s areason or that, but we’ll get to that later.

The Inside Scoop Each room o the frst oor, rom the kitchen

to the bathroom, is a testament to Boher’snarcissism. Every wall has at least three photos o Boher, ranging rom shots on vacation at oreignbeaches to meeting C-list celebrities or minorpolitical fgures. In each case he’s the center o attention, with everyone else in the picture awning over him or otherwise deerring to him.

Aside rom the photos, each o the roomsis nicely urnished, flled with expensive knick-knacks that some hunters might want to pocket orlater sale. There’s only one thing that might strikethe hunters as odd, and that’s the contents o the

kitchen. Boher’s choice in oods seems modeledon the sugar cube method o eating, rather thanthe ood pyramid. When the hunters move tothe upstairs they fnd that rather than photos the

walls are covered with awards and commendationsto Boher or both charity donations and romcompanies he’s invested in. While Boher has nolove or his ellow man, he does love being thecenter o attention, and philanthropy is a good way o getting the limelight. It’s also a great way to haveinuential character witnesses available when you

become a suspect in a murder trial.

Boher has a locked study on the second oor, which is HARD to get into. Unortunately, Boherkeeps nothing that could implicate him in any supernatural or criminal act. It’s just as HARDto hack into his desktop computer, and it wouldtake an IMPOSSIBLE eort to crack his banking or business passwords. However, reading throughhis e-mails does show he’s a man with some clout

in a number o areas, with owners o variouscompanies requently communicating with him oradvice or instructions. It quickly becomes apparentthat Boher likes to make insane demands and goesback and orth on decisions regarding properties heowns. He likes power, and he likes lording it overpeople.

The ResultsSo ar this is just your average auent bastard’s

house. The hunters might have ound someincriminating evidence, but nothing weird orsupernaturally connected. For that, they’re going tohave to go to the place where all horrible things arestored in . . . the basement. Jump ahead to Scene2: Where Else Would You Keep Your Evil ButThe Basement.

Alternate ActionsPlayers being the creative and suspicious types

that they are, their hunters may decide that heading

directly to Boher’s house isn’t the best courseo action. They may wish to try to gather moreinormation rom any number o sources beoregoing into the lair o the Boher, as it were. Among their possible sources o inormation:

The Law An especially likely avenue o inormation or

those hunters with the Carries a Badge Asset, an AVERAGE call to those with law enorcementpowers confrms that Boher has indeed been a

suspect in all the cases Schram mentioned, anda ew more besides. He’s also turned up severaltimes in the surveillance ootage o known mobmembers, hobnobbing with both legbreakersand “management” with apparent ease. Despitethis documentation o his association with thecriminally inclined no evidence’s been recorded o him actually being involved in illegal activity. And

when those who knew Boher were arrested andoered reduced sentences or turning evidence



on him, nobody spoke against him; the hunter’scontact inorms him that ear o Boher seemed tobe the prime motivator or the silent treatment.

The hunter’s contacts also let on that Boherisn’t registered as owning frearms, a act ratherodd or a suspected mobster. They also revealthat, at one time, Boher’s neighbors made claimso animal cruelty. No evidence was ound to back

up the claims, and the matter was dropped. Nomore inormation is given at this point, as the copschalked it up to “nutty neighbors” and didn’t seemto treat the claims too seriously.

I the hunters think to inquire about what went down at the Rendinelli Bed & Breakast they fnd their contact has no idea what they’re talking about. A lot o powerul people are ond o theplace, and they clamp down on what’s happenedbeore word gets out.

Fellow Hunters Your players might think contacting those

hunters that did business with Boher is a goodidea. I they take this road, it won’t be that hardor them to fnd a riend who can put themin touch. Otherwise, they can simply get theinormation rom Schram and his detailed noteson who did business with Boher. Let your huntersmake whatever rolls they want, but despite theireorts the general response is one o hostility andparanoia. A bunch o complete strangers calling

up to ask about random business dealings they shouldn’t have knowledge o is not going to makethose called happy or pleasant. Some o them may know o Schram’s investigations, and the thoughtmore people might be probing their activities isalso going to be anger-inducing.

In short, contacting those Boher does business with should leave the hunters rustrated and worried that Boher might catch wind o thehunters’ interest in him. It won’t—the seed o doubt planted in the minds o Boher’s businesspartners ater the calls prevents them rom doing

so—but your hunters don’t know that. Let themsweat it out they may have shot themselves in theoot by trying this avenue o investigation.

Another option is or your hunters to puteelers out to see i any other hunters haveencountered Boher, in the “doing something hedeserves death or” category o activity. None have,but whether that means he’s kept a low profle ormanaged to kill anyone who stumbled onto him issomething or your players to ret over.

The SupernaturalPerhaps the hunters have a psychic’s number

programmed into their cell phone and want to call‘em up to do a long distance-read on Boher. Ormaybe a hunter with a high Lore rating burns PlotPoints to have the right stu to work a divinationritual rom the privacy o his hotel room.

Here’s the thing: the hunters are the stars o

the story, but you don’t want them to eliminateall the mystery o the adventure in the frst act.I the players go this route, let ‘em confrm thebasics: Boher is a killer gited by unnatural means

with an enhanced physique, and knows a air bitabout the supernatural world. You might havethe source o their inormation hint as to its exactsource, with nonsense like “Boher’s splitting o his

weakness into others grants him strength,” or somsuch. Technically, such a statement is true, since aplurality o people died to empower him—even i together their remaining essences animated only one person. Give them enough to clue them intoparts to the plot they missed, but don’t spoon eedit to them.

You can put the kibosh on the players learning too much rom this avenue o investigation. Thesimplest way is or the connection to the spirit

world (or whatever method they chose to employ)coming undone due to the stress put on whoever isdoing the divining. Other options: disrupting theritual or eort by a oe who’s escaped the huntersin the past; or the appearance o a oe linked to a

hunter’s Hunted Complication. Maybe a demonthe hunters aced in the past possesses the mediumand taunts them beore disrupting the attempt tolearn about Boher; or later on, one o the huntersgets a text on their phone saying someone laida curse on them to ail at something important.

Whatever the case, your players should eel like thelack o inormation is a natural part o the game

world, rather than an arbitrary stopping o themgetting inormation they want.

Meet the NeighborsThe hunters may decide immediately breaking

into Boher’s home is not the way to go, wanting to wait until daylight so they can talk to his neighborsand get inormation on Boher. Whether posing as police or potential new neighbors interestedin the vacant house at the end o the block, thehunters fnd that everyone’s willing to talk aboutBoher. The man has made no eort to beriendanyone in the neighborhood, and every attempt toapproach him has been rebued. Several neighbor

comment that they’ve seen him working or hours



in his yard without rest. They seem both surprisedand jealous that such a small man has such areservoir o energy. They also say they’ve neverseen anyone go into the house with Boher. It seemshe values his privacy.

I the hunters use law enorcementconnections and bring up the animal cruelty charges with the neighbors, or ront up a

FORMIDABLE Willpower + Inuence roll, theneighbors discuss the topic. Several people in theneighborhood saw Boher taking large dogs intothe house over the course o a year. Dierent dogseach time, judging by the varying descriptions o them rom people, but no one ever saw Boherleave the house with a dog. Being nosy neighbors,those who live around him say there’s never any empty dog ood bags or other signs in the trash.Someone thought he was a “Creepy Dog Man…the male equivalent o a Cat Lady, y’know,” andcalled the police about it. But the cops went to hishouse and ound no signs o any animals, and thematter was dropped.

The RewardsGetting into the house nets the hunters two

Plot Points each or achieving that story goal. I they try out any o the Alternative Actions, give ‘embetween one and three points or those based onhow they took care o it.

Scene 2: Where ElseWould You Keep YourEvil But In TheBasement?

This scene takes place as soon as the huntersgo downstairs in Boher’s house. It’s set apart romthe previous scene because it’s also when Boher’ssecurity system—his dogs—surprise the hunters.

The SetupBoher’s basement may not be what the hunters

are expecting. It’s split in hal, and one portion o it is the poorly-lit, dusty mess flled with cobwebsthat they might normally associate with fghting thesupernatural. However, in this case all that they’llfnd is a washer, dryer, and urnace, along with aew gardening supplies rom beore Boher realizedhe was making enough money to pay someone totake care o his groundskeeping.

The other hal is a combination display room/ game room. Well-lit and clean, a massive hometheater system flls one end, with a atscreen TV that covers a wall and dozens o DVDs sitting inexpensive wooden cabinets. Equally expensivebookcases cover the walls o the remainder o theroom, flled with arcane curios and tomes. Noattempt to hide his supernatural interest down

here, Boher has everything out or display, withboth leather chairs to lounge in while the huntersgo through it, as well as a well-stocked liquorcabinet in case they don’t mind drinking on the

job.

The ProblemsHere’s what activity in the basement produces,

whether the hunters want it to or not.

The Boher Collection Even just an AVERAGE investigation into

Boher’s library lets hunters know that thecollection they’re going through is composedentirely o worthless works. There’s a lot o people

who talk out o their rear when it comes to thesupernatural, and it seems like Boher has a book rom everyone over the last one hundred fty years

who alls into that category.It’s HARDER to recognize that all o the

works Boher has are rom people who genuinely

believed they had knowledge o the supernatural,rather than charlatans looking to make some cashrom the gullible. At the same time, the huntersnotice another common theme: regardless o the culture or era the book is rom, each volumeconcerns magic involving transerence o somesort. Whether it’s sympathetic magic like a voodoodoll, imprinting o emotional eelings on others(a “love spell,” to the uninitiated), or the stealing o lie orce rom another to give the practitionerhis strength, every work involves something being taken rom someone or being orced on someone

else. No demon summoning, turning invisible, oranything else.

There’s no sign o Boher anywhere in thehome, nor any clue to his current whereabouts. Letthe hunters and Schram talk about their next moveor a while. I they decide to wait around or Boherto show up nothing’s going to happen, and oncethey decide it’s time to go things get interesting.



Release the Hounds As the hunters may now know, Boher has a

fxation on transerence lore. What they’re aboutto learn is that he’s used that knowledge to givehis home a supernatural deense against intruders.

Years ago he bought and subsequently sacrifceda number o guard dogs, using a ritual created by an Irish sorcerer rom the eighteenth century. The

spirits o the dogs were bound into the home, andaccording to Boher’s interpretation o the ritual thespirits would maniest as ghostly hounds, tearing intruders to shreds the moment they enter thebuilding.

This is the frst time the spell’s ever beentriggered, and Boher would be surprised by how

wrong he was. While it did bind the spirits to thehouse, and does orces them to attack intruders,they’re not ghostly specters with ethereal jaws.Instead, the hounds orm bodies rom the materialo the dwelling they were bound into. Given thedierences between the building materials usedone hundred fty years ago in Ireland and the New

Jersey o today, it’s also taken a bit or the houndsto maniest. This just so happens to take place oncethe hunters are leaving.

As the hunters make their way upstairs ortowards the ront door, the house begins to shakeand loud creaking noises come up through theoor. Wall paneling and oorboards tear out o place and gather rapidly together in piles, joinedby pieces o urniture, books, and other things

ound in the house. This detritus orms into therough size and shape o German Shepherds, theirmakeshit bodies composed o photos and pages o books rather than skin. With the same cries o painthey made when Boher sacrifced them or his spellthey attack the hunters.

Witnessing all this could result in the huntersGetting Scared (page 97 o the Supernatural RPG).There are six dogs, orming at dierent spots allover the house, and they converge on the huntersas ast as possible. You should decide based on thecombat readiness o the hunters how many o the

dogs orm in the same room as them, and how many orm in other rooms and take time to jointhe battle.

Dog GuardiansDescription Big dogs made out o trash and

household items. The bite o these creaturesinicts d4 W, rather than the d4 B a mundanedog inicts.


Traits Devoted (master) d4, Sharp Sense (hearing,

smell) d6Skills Athletics d6/Running d8, Inuence d4,

Perception d4, Unarmed Combat d6/Biting d8Unliving Form Being soul-powered collections o

debris, the dog guardians are immune to Stundamage, and like zombies they’re immune topoison, lack o air, disease and so on. This alsogives them an armor value o 2 W. When a dog accumulates Wound damage equal to its LiePoints it’s body is destroyed, alling into piecesas the spirit goes to wherever dogs go when theydie. Heaven, rom what Don Bluth tells us.

Awareness Trained to be guard dogs, the spirits’senses are bound to Boher’s property. They have ull awareness o where everyone andeverything is, both in the house and on thegrounds o Boher’s home. This negatesany possible penalties rom lighting, smokegrenades, and so on. It also means that Covertactions to hide rom them are a waste o time solong as the hunters stay on Boher’s land, as thedogs unerringly home in on the intruders.

During the course o the battle none o thedogs attack Schram, no matter what he does orhow great a target he makes. Depending on thehunters’ actions (like perhaps leaving him alone

with the dogs while they run o) this lack o attackmay be pretty obvious, or something overlookedin the heat o battle. Whatever the case, Schramis as surprised as the hunters are by his apparentimmunity.

The ResultsOnce the hunters have deeated the dogs,

have them make Alertness + Perception rolls. Whoever gets the highest result notices that theremoval o part o the wall by the ormation o oneo the creatures has revealed a hollow space. An

AVERAGE examination by somebody with Crator Perception shows there was no hidden opening or other method o getting at the concealedmaterial; it appears someone just walled up abunch o stu and orgot about it. This becomes



even crazier when a check reveals that among the papers, portable hard drive, and books arenotes dated as recently as a week ago.

Ater this scene, move straight to Scene 3: A Look at the Past and Present.

The Rewards

There’s two Plot Points each or deeating the dogs, two each or the clever researching earlier, and a single point or the hunter whonoticed the hidey-hole in the wall.

Scene 3: A Look at thePast and Present

Once the hunters have decided i they wishto peruse their fndings in Boher’s home orgo somewhere else, it’s time or the snooping research portion o the adventure.

The SetupThis scene might work well as a montage—

picture the hunters sitting on a hotel bed reading through papers, or holed up in a local library ipping though pages in a computer fle romBoher’s hard drive. Have the players makerolls, but don’t be too concerned about theresults. I they ail, give them some leads and

have them put two and two together. I they get extraordinary successes, you can simply embellish the results with helpul hints. Itshouldn’t be a long scene, so don’t let it drag.

The ProblemsThe books, notes, and hard drive ound in

the wall o Boher’s house provide a numbero useul clues to what’s going on. Thehunters are probably going to need access toa saer place to review all o it, so you might

parcel out some o the ollowing ino-chunksimmediately while leaving the others ‘til later.

Books of MagicIt’s EASY to tell that the books are the

real deal when it comes to magic, unlike thebooks Boher had out or public display. They come rom a variety o times and places, andlike others in his basement they all deal withsome sort o transerence-related magic. With

an AVERAGE skim through the books a

A WI Z ARD DID I T ?

T hose who’ v e read pa ge 121 of t he S u p e r n a t u r a l rule book know t hat t he low- m a gic t one of S u p e r n a t u r a l , at least when it c om es t o people c ast in g spells , is an int e gral part of t he set t in g. Readin g t hrou gh t his ad v ent ure , you m ay ha v e c onc erns bot h a bout Boher’s m a gic al a bilit ies and t he possi bilit y of your players sayin g t heir hunt ers should now be a ble t o produc e m a gic al guardians and ot her t hin gs t hrou gh t he use of t he arc ane lore Boher has c ollec t ed.In t he c ase of Boher’s m a gic al knowled ge , t he easiest way t o sol v e t he pro blem is t o say he’s t he exc ept ion t hat pro v es t he rule. Y es , he m ana ged t o t ransfer his ne gat i v e aspec t s int o a m ass of souls t hat anim at ed a body , as well as bind t he spirit s of do gs int o his dwellin g , not t o m ent ion his t ric k for hidin g t hin gs. So lon g as t his is t he only t im e you e v er use a v illain like t his in your gam e and keep from people showin g

up who c huc k re balls at t he drop of a hat and y like a bird his appearanc e won’t st ret c h t he o v erall t one for your c am pai gn. Y ou c an e v en ha v e fun as t he hunt ers t ry and c on v inc e t heir peers of t he foe t hey fou ght . “ A guy who m ast ered t he dark art s so he didn’t ha v e t o buy a sec urit y syst em and c ould eat all t he fast

food he want ed w it hout ga in ing we ight ?” m ight

be t he way ot her hunt ers sum up t a les of Boher,

as t hey loo k at your p layers’ hunt ers for s igns of

concuss ion or drug use.

As for concerns a bout p layers want ing t he ir charact ers t o use Boher’s m ag ic, not e t hat a ll of

h is r it ua ls requ ire b lood sacr ices of som e sort , and

whet her you’re m a k ing an im a l or hum an sacr ices

t hat k ind of act ion doesn’t m a ke you m any fr iends

in t he wor ld of hunt ers or m undane soc iet y. T hat

a lone shou ld con v ince your p layers t o not ha ve

t he ir charact ers fo l low in Boher’s foot st eps. Fa i l ing

t hat , a llow t hem t o creat e t he ir own guard ians

or doom t he sou ls of som e innocent peop le t o m a ke

t hem se l ves st ronger or fast er. T hen g i ve t hem t he

Dar k Secret Com p l icat ion at d8 and a few ot hers

re lat ed t o m ent a l derangem ent s as t hey da b b le

in t h ings m an was not m eant t o know. Or you cou ld

just ha ve t hem fa i l at t he m ag ic, earn ing t hem no

benn ies, and m ay be a few Com p l icat ions wea ken ing

t he ir phys ica l form .Rem em ber: S u p er n at ur al is supposed t o be a gam e

a bout heroes ght ing aga inst m onst ers far t ougher

t han t hem . F ight ing re w it h re when dea ling w it h

t hem usua l ly ends up poor ly for t hose concerned, as

recent seasons of t he show can at t est .



hunter stumbles over the ritual that allowed Boherto create the dog guardians; another such result(or an EXTRAORDINARY success) describeshow he created the hidey-hole. It’s a vicious ritual,involving a human sacrifce being restrained asthe caster orces wood shavings, nails, and otherbuilding supplies down the throat o the victimuntil they die. Doing so allows the sorcerer to take

the empty space those items take up in his body and transer it into the walls o their home, alsoallowing him to call the items orth at any time.

The book o most interest to hunters is theone that has sticky notes, looselea sheets o paper,and section headers strewn through it. This book contains the rite that Boher used to enhancehimsel, and the additions he’s made to it include adetailed charting o the boost to his physical ormollowing the ritual, rom gaining strength withoutan increase in muscle tone to being able to eatpoorly and rarely sleep with little problem. Thereare also ideas or improving the ritual so it canbe used later to make him even stronger; judging by the hostility o the notes in the book, Boherhas ailed in his attempts to do so, as the notesmark one section or another o the book as having provided too little inormation or him to improvethe spell, along with ailing to mention the sideeect o the spell. What that side eect is, he ailedto put into the notations.

Scrapbook of a Serial KillerThe papers are clippings and copies o articlesrelated to a number o murders, both ones thatSchram can confrm Boher was suspected in, as

well as ones he’s never heard o. Boher has madenotes and scribblings on these, mocking both thepolice or ailing to connect him successully to thecrimes and with individual notes on the victims,explaining in great detail how he ound themphysically inerior to him and easy to kill. There’smore than enough detail on each murder to proveto anyone that Boher committed the murders, as

well as having serious issues.

D:\\OCCULTSTUFF\The hard drive’s what Boher works o on

when conducting work online regarding either hiscriminal or mystical activities, literally pulling itout o its mystical hidey-hole every time he wishedto go online or things related to his two pursuits.Boher was savvy enough to know that keeping fles on a desktop computer was a security risk, so

he decided an external hard drive was the way to

go. Boher’s ego shines through again on the harddrive, with a text fle or every item the huntersound in the basement on display. Each fle isdozens o pages long; each can be summed up asa listing o how Boher came to acquire the item,how much it cost, and a several-thousand wordlisting o how whoever made the item had no ideao how magic worked, and how his own skills are

ar superior to theirs. In other words, Boher hascollected a vast collection o raudulent arcane lore

just so he can look at it and stroke his ego with theact he knows more about real magic than they evedid.

Also on the hard drive is a listing o whoBoher’s been in contact with to acquire hiscollection. It’s up to you to decide how many o the names his hunters recognize on the list, butthere should be enough recognition or them torealize he’s both got connections and money. Itseems Schram’s paranoia was somewhat justifed.

Finally, with regards to the magical interestso Boher, there’s an entire fle devoted to Schram.Filled with pictures o the man and detailedaccountings o his activities, it’s quite clearthat Boher has been paying a team o privateinvestigators and less-savory types to keep track o Schram or the last nine years. That this hasbeen going on or so long is a shock to Schram,especially since that means Boher had been

watching him even beore he became a hunter.Schram had assumed he had somehow crossed

paths with Boher in his dealings or rare hunt, butto fnd out he has been watched by the man sincehe was a boy is almost too much to take.

Boher’s Insurance FileThe rest o the inormation on the hard

drive relates to Boher’s criminal activities. Whilethe hardcopies ound with the hard drive eedthe killer’s ego regarding his past activities, theinormation on the hard drive is insurance in caseany o his employers ever decide he’s a liability

that needs to be taken care o. Not that Boherthinks anyone could possible kill him, given hisstrength and toughness, but i someone were tocross him he’d like to destroy them emotionally and socially beore he gets around to killing them.

Every single person who ever hired him or a hithas a fle on the drive, along with enough evidenceto connect them to the crime, while leaving Boherunmentioned. There’s fty six people who couldgo to jail or the inormation in these fles, as wellas ninety six unsolved murders that could be put to

rest.



Work in ProgressBoher has a fle open on a hit that’s dated to

occur the next day, a ew hours drive away romhis home. He’s been hired to kill a witness to amurder, and unless the hunters stop him kill #97is “taken care o” beore the end o the next day.

The ResultsGiven that the hunters are now aware o Boher’s magical activities and how many peopleare dead because o it, they should have more thana passing interest in saving his latest victim andstopping him or good. There’s more than enoughinormation or them to head to the site o his nexthit, and since they have no idea when he’ll returnto his home it’s their best chance or conronting him.

The RewardsThis scene requires a lot o reethinking,

decision-making, and not a lot o action. That said,every helpul act that the hunters acquire is worthtwo Plot Points, and there’s a lot more or goodrole playing.

Act III: Siege,Anyone?

So your hunters have to put the pedal tothe metal to get to the site o Boher’s next hit,They’re still unclear on exactly how “improved”his dabbling with the dark arts have made him,and they’re probably low on ammo and injuredrom their dance with the dogs . . . and possibly thepolice, i you decided dealing with the guardiansled to the neighbors calling 911. It’s one hundredsix miles to the site o Boher’s hit, it’s dark, and i they’re lucky they have a hal a pack o cigarettesand a ull tank o gas between them. Sunglassesoptional.

The hunters don’t have much time to prep,since they have no idea when Boher plans to killhis target. The notes Boher has on his computersuggest he was given the target’s address andnothing more, so either he plans to kill the man athome or ollow him rom home until he can gethim into a secluded place to kill him.

At this point a lot o questions might runthrough the players’ minds. Certainly, Boher’sinterest in Schram is one, but a more pressing concern is what exactly Boher can do, and how

they’re going to stop him. By now they should

understand that he’s physically stronger andtougher, but to what extent is unanswered. They may be worried that he has other abilities, given

what they encountered in his home, and since hehad men attack them at the B&B he may not bealone when they encounter him. It may not occurto them that the man Boher’s been hired to kill is

just as deadly in his own way.

Scene 1: Approachingthe Situation

Once again, the hunters have to case a location.This scene starts with stakeout duty and quickly turns into a conrontation.

The SetupThe address o Boher’s next victim is in a

luxury development, one in a series o identicalhouses. The olks behind the housing ran with theidea that luxury homes rom which you could look out your window and see raw nature would negatethe act that the location they chose would requirea several-hour commute to work or whoeverlived there. So ar only one person has purchased ahome. The lights are on and a car out ront are theonly sign anyone’s around.

The ProblemsGiven the vacant homes and the isolatedsetting, the hunters can set up observation postsin a variety o places and see what develops. An

AVERAGE eort reveals that the occupant o thehouse is aware that something’s up. The hunterssee no sign o him, either at the windows (whichhave their curtains and shades drawn), or outsidethe building. Also, the decorative hedges thatsurround each house have been chopped downaround his home, their savaged remains spreadacross the ground rather than in piles, so as not to

provide cover. Clearly, Boher’s target is aware thatsomeone is coming or him.

With that in mind the hunters may decide toapproach the mystery man, believing the enemy o my enemy is my riend. Or they might wait orBoher to show himsel, then ambush him; whetherthe ambush occurs beore or ater Boher deals withthe target depends on your hunters’ views on using a complete stranger as cannon odder.



Wait and SeeI the hunters adopt a wait and see approach,

it’s Boher’s Agility + Covert against the hunters’ Alertness + Perception. Depending on how thehunters have positioned themselves they mightnot be able to see Boher as he comes in rom the

woods behind the house, so you might not evenallow the rolls.

In the event Boher does make it inside thehouse, the hunters’ frst clue is the sound o gunfre and screaming. I they choose to intervene,reer to the next section and adjust thingsappropriately. Waiting or Boher to come out letshim kill his target and come out unscathed—letthat be a lesson in using strangers as redshirts.

The Direct ApproachThose hunters brave enough to openly

approach the house and knock fnd themselves waiting or a while. I some o the hunters hung back, they see the curtains in each room move, asi someone’s running rom each one to get a view o his visitors. Finally the door opens, revealing aellow big enough that the shotgun in his handslooks like a pool cue. He looks the hunters upand down, beore commenting none o them areshort enough to be Boher. Any mention o being there to stop Boher gets them in the door instantly;otherwise it’s going to take some FORMIDABLEconvincing.

SafehouseOnce inside the house hunters can see that

just like the yard the inside o the house has alsoundergone changes. Doors have been barricaded

with urniture, holes chopped in the walls (“Forease o movement,” the man explains. “Good thing they went with cheap materials to build thesehouses, huh?”), and broken glass lining the oorbeneath random windows. In short, the ellow seems to be doing everything he can to prepare or

Boher’s arrival.The man, Scapanelli by name, really doesn’t

care who the hunters are, and dismisses theirattempts at explaining why they’re in his home.“Boher’s killed a lot o people over the years,”he says. “I’m sure someone sent you to get somepayback on him, and hearing he was coming orme must give you a chance to nail him.”

Antony ScapanelliDescription A made man or whom a ew more

kills won’t make a dierence. Agi d6 Str d8 Vit d10 Ale d6 Int d6 Wil d6

Init d6 + d6 + d2; LP 20Traits Focused Hunter (Humans) d4, Split-

Second Timing d2, Tough d8Skills Athletics d6, Covert d6, Guns d6, Inuence

d4Gear Pump-action shotgun (d10 W)

Scapanelli tells them he’s willing to work with any plan they might come up with to getBoher that doesn’t involve using himsel as bait.Setting up traps, pooling inormation, he’s allor it. He explains that it’s an open secret thatBoher’s gunning or him, as the people he’scrossed want him to be araid beore he dies. Healso reely admits that they want him dead or

witnessing a murder, along with the act that hesaw it happen while he was committing one o his own. He casually discusses how he managedto pick the same isolated lake to kill someone thatsome other individuals had chosen or the samepurpose. Those individuals were mighty inuentiain certain circles, he explains with a wink, andhe came across them doing away with anotherindividual “in the same business, and who wasonly getting killed so someone could move upthe ladder, i you know what I mean.” Scapanellireported what he saw to his boss, and the two he

squealed on met a fnal ate, but they let behindriends who both wanted revenge and had Boher’snumber.

With the knowledge Scapanelli isn’t aninnocent, hunters may be less willing to risk theirlives to protect him. Voicing that act, or expressinga desire to leave, causes Scapanelli to turn on thehunters—he doesn’t judge them or any talk o Boher using magic or having devil dogs at hishouse, and he eels the same courtesy shouldbe extended to him about what he says and hisoccupation. He expresses such dissatisaction with

violence, i need be; he already plans to kill Boher,so what are a ew more people?

The ResultsI the hunters end up taking on Scapanelli, skip

orward to Scene 3: You’re Much Shorter, AndDeadlier, In Person. You can use inormationrom the next scene to help deciding on tactics. I the hunters don’t incite Scapanelli to violence,



allow them to work out whatever

plans they wish to prepare or Boher’s arrival.Hours pass, and then the phone rings.

The RewardsThis scene is packed with ways or the hunters

to show o their Complications, so encouragethem to do that more oten by handing out PlotPoints regularly.

Scene 2: You Rang?This scene more or less requires the hunters

to have brought Schram with them, and to havemade it inside Scapanelli’s house. I Schram wasn’t

with them, you might have him show up just asthe scene starts. He ollowed the hunters, he says,and needed to be with them when they took Boherdown. Either way, it’s about to be all out war with aphone call in Scapanelli’s house.

The SetupIt’s Scapanelli’s speakerphone. He hates

being tied to a corded phone, and cell phones arethings that seem ar too tiny in his massive handsthat he keeps managing to lose. He’ll walk over toanswer, at which point read the ollowing to yourplayers:

“Hey,” a nasally voice says in a obviously

fake tone of friendship. “Looks like you’ve

been getting ready for me. I like a challenge.

Not that you’ll give me one, but ‘A’ for effort

and all that.

“As for your visitors . . . well, I hear

someone broke into my house, and only a bunch

of hunters would be dumb enough to live

through that and still poke their noses into my

business. I don’t know what they told you about

me, Scapanelli, but it’s probably all true.”

It may seem as i Boher has eyes inside theroom, which is generally the impression he’s trying to give. Boher’s more aware than most people,supernaturally aware . . . so he’s playing it up.

“And you brought Schram with you. I have to

admit he was quite a shock to me. I’m sure you

read through my books—the good ones—

and know what I did to improve myself. I had no

idea what was going to happen to my negativeaspects. I figured the souls of the people I

killed would be consumed to offset all my

physical weakness, present and future.

“The books didn’t tell me part of the people

I sacrificed might survive. That it might seek out

a still born infant and animate it, giving itself a

second chance at life even as it lived unaware

of its true nature. And that’s not even bringing

up that it would be stuck with all the physical

problems I’d have had to deal with, and that I

had before.

“That’s you, Schram, in case stupidity wassomething else I was able to foist off on you

and you can’t keep up. I had no idea you existed,

until somebody I was hired to hit turned out to

be the seventh son of a seventh son or some

such. He used his mojo on me, found out about

you, and told me all about you in return for

sparing him.

“You fascinated me, Schram. All my

weaknesses in a tidy, sickly package. I hired so

many people to watch you, because I wanted to

KILLING SCHR AMAt som e point af t er t he rev elat ion of Sc hram ’ s ori gins som e player m ay dec ide t he best t hin g t o do is t o kill Sc hram . Af t er all , he’ s not a norm al hum an , and killin g what ’ s essent ially a c adav er re juv enat ed by t he rem nant s of t he t ort ured souls of t he dead is probably

a lot less of a m oral quandary t han killin g a re gular person. Plus , giv en t he link bet ween him and Boher , it ’ s ent irely possible t hat if he dies Boher m i ght lose his enhanc ed physic al st at e , m akin g him easier t o put down. T hey m ay believ e his goadin g of Sc apanelli is a bluf f , hopin g t hey’ ll ght am on gst t hem selv es and m ake it easier f or him t o kill t hem .It ’ s a nic e idea , but if your hunt ers t ry t o im plem ent it t hey nd it ’ s not t he short - t erm solut ion t hey’ re hopin g f or. Killin g Sc hram does indeed send t he spirit ual rem nant s in him t o what ev er af t erlif e await s t hem , and disrupt s t he benet s Boher en joys f rom t he rit ual. Howev er , it isn’ t an inst ant aneous t hin g , inst ead bein g a gradual reduc t ion in power ov er t he c ourse of sev eral weeks.

In ot her words: if one of t he hunt ers dec ide t hat killin g Sc hram in t he m iddle of bat t le wit h Boher m akes t he lat t er easier t o def eat , t hey’ re sadly m ist aken.



know all the things I had spared myself. Every

illness, every weakness, every bit of suffering

that makes up your life has made me sure I did

the right thing in enhancing myself.

“That’s why I had McCluskey deal with you. I

hated the thought of actually having to deal

with you face-to-face. But I’m afraid I didn’t

play it cool enough with him, and he figured

something was going on. So he blabbed to youand I had to do him in, and that’s led to all of

us being here.”

And here’s the kicker. Boher’s not calling romacross town; he’s just outside the house. He makeshis pitch to Scapanelli:

“

Yes, I said ‘here.’ I’m right here, ready to

kill you.

But I’ll make a deal with you,

Scapanelli. You kill Schram and I won’t killyou. You maim up his corpse, I present it as you,

and you go off somewhere to start over again.

I don’t need him around anymore, and it really

would have made my life simpler if I’d just

killed him when I found out he existed. Or when

I had my friends ambush him earlier. Oh, well.”

Scapanelli’s only response is to level hisshotgun.

The ProblemsScapanelli has to be dealt with. He believes

Schram will let him walk away, and he eels he’sgot a better chance against the hunters than Boher,no matter how much they outnumber him. Check back to Scene 1: Approaching the Situation orScapanelli’s vitals.

The ResultsOnce Scapanelli is down, allow the hunters

to reorient themselves. Depending on how thefght went, Schram could be dead, and i not thequestion o what to do with him might be a hotbutton topic. Let them debate Schram’s existenceor a while, and once it starts to get boring move onto fnal scene.

The RewardsScapanelli is tough. He’s worth three Plot

Points each to the players, which they’re going to

need.

Scene 3: You’re Much Shorter, and Deadlier,in Person

This is it: the conrontation with Boher.

This can happen anytime you want to move theadventure to its climax, but generally it works best

when the hunters have learned that Boher usedmagic to transer his weaknesses into Schram. It’snot necessary, o course; you can paraphrase thephone call in Scene 2: You Rang? and use it asbanter during the fght.

The Setup A rumbling begins to fll the house, and

beore the hunters can react one o the outer wallscollapses inward. Any thought o a leather-clad

Austrian with a metal skeleton being the intruderdisappears as the dust settles. It’s Boher, evenshorter in person and with a neatly groomed beardand suit that make you think o leprechauns.

He dusts himsel o. “Really cheap materialthey used or this house,” he says. “I wouldn’t havebeen able to make such an entry otherwise.” Helooks down at Scapanelli’s body. “Huh, I countedto twenty and decided to come in. I didn’t realize

you’d fnished the fght already.” He shrugs.

“Guess I’ll have to end things.”

The Problems And with that he attacks. Hopeully the

hunters can handle him. I not, ater he kills themand Schram he returns to his usual ways, and oncehe fnds out his vigor is ading (see the “Killing Schram” sidebar) he begins a new campaign o kidnapping people or sacrifce. Maybe yourplayers’ next batch o hunters could look into that.

Larry “The” BoherDescription Sel-Improvement Master o the

Dark Arts. Agi d6 Str d10 Vit d12 Ale d6 Int d8 Wil d8

Init d6 + d6; LP 24Traits Brawler d4, Contacts d6, Cool Under Fire

d6, Dark Secret d8, Hardy Constitution d6,Natural Athlete d6, Overconfdence d6, Sharp



Sense (all) d2, Talented (Stealth and Dodge) d6,Tough d8, Wealthy d4

Skills Athletics d6/Climbing d8 /Dodge d8 /Jumping d8, Covert d6/Stealth d8, Discipline d6, Inuenced6, Knowledge d6, Lore d6/Cults d10, Perceptiond4, Science d6/Toxicology d8, Unarmed Combatd6/Brawling d12

Gear Cocky attitude, deceptively deadly punch

The RewardsMajor plot dealt with? Five point team goal.

Personally took care o business? Three Plot Pointsto hunters who mixed it up with Complications,clever role play, and leprechaun jokes.

Conclusion With Boher dead, the aorementioned problem

o Schram and his origins rears its head again,assuming he’s survived this long. I they’re willing to let him live he goes right back to his wheeling-and-dealing ways, the knowledge o how he came tobe doing nothing to slow him in his work as a fxer.Sadly, the maladies he’s suered over the years havedone permanent damage to him, so even with Bohergone he never recovers to a normal level o health.Magic never comes with a happy ending.

As or Boher and Scapanelli’s death, assuming the hunters leave the evidence in Boher’s houseregarding his crimes, they’re more than willing to

just sweep everything under the rug. Bringing it allpublic would reveal that Boher got o with a vastnumber o crimes, and ar too many people in power

would have egg on their ace ater such a revelation.Then again, you may wish or it to come out. A

lot o people would be enraged that Boher got away

with the murders o their loved ones, and that kindo anger can lead to dabbling in things man wasn’tmeant to play with. Perhaps someone makes a pact

with a demon to get the power they need to huntdown the jury that acquitted Boher in their mother’smurder. Or maybe someone lays a curse on a judgeor two that ruled Boher innocent. It’s entirely possible that Boher’s dabbling in magic has starteda cycle o violence and magic that lasts or years tocome.

Finally, your hunters may be a bit worried aboutthe hunters who were dealing with Boher. Whilethey don’t know where Boher got the books withthe real mojo in them, the act that there are huntersout there who dealt with him may be worrisome tosome. Were they totally innocent o knowledge whenit came to Boher and his interest, or did they havesome inkling and just not care, so long as they gotpaid? Maybe it’s time or someone to police the rankso hunters.



S y n c h r o n i c i t y

B y C.A. S u le i ma n

This scenario tests not only the hunters’skills, but their compassion and wisdom,as well. Just like jobs that eature demons

as the opponent, the villain o this story actsthrough the hands o an innocent—in this case,the husband o a ellow hunter. He’s just as muchthe victim here as any o the men he is responsible

or killing, perhaps even more so, since he’s victimized twice over: frst, by his experiences asa soldier in Iraq; and then again by an evil orcethat’s using his broken spirit as a means to escapeits ancient bonds. Given the power level o theentity in question, this job doesn’t revolve aroundcombat—hunters who think they’re gonna solvethe problem with violence alone are likely in orquite a rude awakening. Rather, this scenario teststheir ability to think not only creatively, but alsocompassionately. As such, the job’s suitable or

hunters o any age or level o experience.

Adventure SummaryThis scenario revolves around what is intended

to be a pleasant visit with a ellow hunter—a eisty frebrand o a woman named Lilah Walker.Lilah’s husband Staff Sergeant Blake Walker is recently returned rom Iraq, where he served

nearly three ull tours o duty in the U.S. Army,and Lilah has invited the hunters to join her at hermountain home or a weekend o beers, barbecueand bragging. When local hunters begin to gomissing, however, the hunters are soon drawn intoa mission o the distinctly supernatural variety.

Even i the hunters are not otherwise inclined toget involved, Lilah, an expert on local lore (bothnatural and supernatural), knows a suspiciousdisappearance when she sees one, and all but daresher hunter riends to step up to the challenge,

thinking that a chance to hunt with them will be


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 80/9778 Synchronicity

exciting

and rewarding; even un. Little does she know that the thing she is so eager to hunt is, in act,squatting like a toxic toad inside her own husband’smind.

You should, as with any adventure, readthrough the entire thing beore you sit down torun it. Pay special attention to both the overallpacing o the narrative and the slow reveal.

Although the episode introduces a powerul new type o villain into the Supernatural cosmology, theprimary ocus o the story itsel is not on “who

dunnit,” but rather on the tragedy that is Blake

Walker’s condition. The theme revolves around the

question o what it means to be both hunter andhunted, and regardless o how the specifc eventsplay out, the hunters should come out o theepisode shaken, as though put through a grueling test—i they come out alive at all.

Breakdown of the ActsThe ollowing short bullet points let you know

how the scenario’s three Acts line up.

From: Lieutenant Colonel A nthon y Hamdan

To:Master Sergeant Brent Hopper

CC: Captain Matthe w Hutcheson

Su b ject: Trans er Order ( W alk er_ TO2174463)

A ttachments: HDForm_ DD256; HDForm_ DD214 /5; TOForm_ 2174463

Master Sergeant,

A ttached, please fnd e-copies o the Honora ble Discharge Certifc

ate (DD Form 256), DD Form 214 /5,

d accompan ying trans er order or Sta Serge

ant Blak e A . W alk er, Compan y W ood ward. A s e x pected, the

m y ph ysician returned with a diagnosis o post-traumatic stress or Sergeant W alk er, who is being released

om his ser vice e ecti ve immediatel y. A s the trans er order indicates, S

ergeant W alk er is to be placed on the

x t a vaila ble transport cra t out o Iraq; he’ll fnalize the rest o his de-c

om when he lands in-countr y (at

agg, barring the unoreseen), but mak e no mistak e —the top brass wan

t W alk er a wa y rom theater and resting

m orta bl y at his W est V irginia home b y week ’s end.

On a more personal le vel, I k no w that you’ ve ser ved with Sergeant W

alk er or some time — or most

his t wo and-a-hal tours, unless I’m mistak en —so it’s onl y ftting th

at you be the one to implement and

x pedite his militar y release. W hate ver you ma y ha ve heard around the

motor pool surrounding the incident at

bu Sa y yad, it is imperati ve that you understand t wo things a bout Serg

eant W alk er: First, the simple act that he

nd the rest o his squad were in an untena ble situation, deep in hostile

territor y, on that dark da y; and second,

hat it’s al wa ys eas y to sit in judgment while sa ely remo ved rom the h

arsh realities o a war e vent. A s a career

oldier, I k no w that you’ll k eep to your oaths o confdence; that much is e x pected

. But as W alk er’s riend, you

might other wise ha ve been tempted to belie ve the worst, to all head frst into the blood-spattered gears o the

umor mill. W ell, rest eas y, soldier.

A s ar as the United States A rm y is concerned, Sta Sergeant Blak e

W alk er is a decorated war hero. A ll

hat remains is or us to help get the man home to his wi e. I’m sure w

e understand each other.

Regards,Ton y_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Lieutenant Colonel A nthon y Hamdan

United States A rm y


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/supernatural-adventures 81/97 7 Synchronicity

Act I: The Human Abstract The hunters arethe guests o a hunter and her husband, a returnedIraq War vet. As a party is held in their honor, wordo strange disappearances reaches them.

Act II: Auguries of Innocence The huntersinvestigate the disappearances, and fnd out thatthey’re still going on. The evidence starts to lead totheir hunter riend’s husband.

Act III: The Divine Image The hunters track down the Iraqi vet, armed with an ancient ritualand hopeully a lot o luck. Nothing could go thatsmoothly, however . . .

Here’s the Story“War is hell.” Everyone knows the expression,

knows that it tells a deep and abiding truth. Butew truly know it, in the way that those whoexperience the horror o war frst-hand—thesoldiers and casualties o war—know it. And nonehave gazed into the hell o war in quite the same

way as Sta Sergeant Blake Walker.Born and raised in a sleepy West Virginia town,

Blake Walker never had any plans to enter military service; indeed, he had just entered his sophomore

year at Mountain State College when, on oneateul morning in September o 2001, a handul o religious extremists turned his world upside down.

Walker dropped out o school the next day, signedhis Army enlistment papers the ollowing morning,and was on his way to boot camp by the end o the

week. He was 19 years old.Over the next seven years, the Army deployed Walker to every major hotspot in the Bushadministration’s ill-ated “war on terror;” frst to

Aghanistan, where his squad specialized in hostileterrain operations, and fnally to Iraq, where Walkerbelieved he and his men could do the most good.

Even ater Saddam Hussein was apprehended(and later hanged to death on-camera), Walker eltduty-bound to stay in Iraq, despite the service he’dalready given his country. The war was taking itstoll on him by then, o course—all that talk about

the reason or the war being a lie being thrownaround back home—but he was a soldier now,and i he didn’t stick around to do the job, the

Army would just call up some poor reservist tofll his spot, some kid even more likely to die thanhimsel. So that was that.

Several months into his third tour, Walkeround himsel and his squad assigned to anunmapped location in the middle o the desert,about twenty fve miles south-east o the mining

village o Akashat. There, Walker and his men

came upon a strange, dusty structure that they

assumed was an ancient and remote mosque—though the place bore none o the usual hallmarkso Islamic architecture. The building’s remotenessand unamiliarity demanded that it be called in,and when Walker did so, he was ordered to gainentrance to the structure and ascertain its purposeand overall threat level. When he tried to executethe order peaceully, a robed doorman inormed

him that he was trespassing on holy ground.Operational regs orbid soldiers rom orceully intruding on places o worship, but when Walkersent pictures o the place back to command, he

was told that it was no temple o any kind andso it didn’t beneft rom the protection aordedby those regulations. He was told to order animmediate evac o the building—by orce, i necessary—and that once all those inside had beenmoved outside, to move on with his mission.

The hours that ollowed were the darkest. Inhis statement, Walker describes the inhabitantsas a group o men composed o what he calls“equal parts Iraqis and non-Iraqis.” He tells o how these men, despite being peaceully inclinedand “insanely outgunned,” gave a “ferce, almostdesperate resistance” to the intrusion o Walker andhis squad that day. When the dust settled, Walkerhad indeed gained entry, as ordered… but at a trulyterrible cost.

Sta Sergeant Blake Walker was never thesame ater the incident at what came to be knownas Abu Sayyad (the name Walker ound written on

the walls inside the desert temple). Many lost theirlives that day, including most o Walker’s own men who were overwhelmed by the violent zealotry o the temple priests. And Blake Walker, one o only two survivors, elt each loss more deeply thanthe last. Although his physical recuperation wentsurprisingly ast, his mental health was a concernrom the day o his admittance to the U.S. Army hospital. He was crushed by survivor’s guilt, andhospital records recount how he was orced torelive the incident over and over in nightmares tharobbed him o sleep and threatened to stretch his

sanity beyond the breaking point.The army tried to assist Walker’s recovery

by lionizing him in ceremony, awarding him aDistinguished Service Medal or his uncommon

valor at Abu Sayyad, but this only seemed to makethings worse. When his body had healed ully,

Walker was transerred frst to a mental ward andlater to a private barracks inside the Green Zonein Baghdad—but to no avail. As a weapon o war,Blake Walker was now all but useless. Soon ater,

word came down that ater his years o aithul



service, Sergeant Blake Walker was to be honorably discharged rom the U.S. Army and returned to his

wie and home in West Virginia. What none o the doctors, ofcers,

psychologists—or indeed, even the patienthimsel—knows is that Blake Walker was aicted

with something ar worse than post-traumaticstress disorder on that ateul day in the desert.

He saw the ace o evil in that ancient place, andthe ace o evil gazed also into him. (See “The

Adversary” sidebar on page 88 or more.) And now that poor Blake Walker has fnally come home, hisnightmare is just beginning.

Act I: The HumanAbstract

The frst Act sees the hunters arriving inMilton, West Virginia, as the houseguests o a ellow hunter named Lilah Walker. She’s astationary sort, having staked out the Miltonarea (and its surrounding woodlands) as her tur,so she’s always excited to host other hunters,

whether they’re just passing through or, as in thiscase, arriving by way o specifc invitation. Aterspending a little time catching up, Lilah inormsthe hunters o the party she’s hosting that evening in their “honor” (i.e., the party excuse du jour )and then drags them o into town to get supplies,

where they hear tell o a amed local hunter having

gone missing. Things round out with the party itsel.

Scene 1: MiltonThe story opens with the hunters arriving

in Milton, a small town amid the green hillso Pocahontas County, about thirty miles romRichwood, where their ellow hunter and riendLilah lives. Here, they reconnect with their riendand meet her husband Blake (and her bloodhoundPandora) or the frst time. Hunters who’re

originally rom more rural areas should appreciateMilton’s rustic surrounds, especially once they getto the Walker house, and the scene serves to putthe hunters at ease, as though their host’s house is asae haven—separate and secure rom the troublessurely yet to come.

The primary unction o this scene is tointroduce the Walkers and their dog, Pandora, butalso to both establish the dynamics o the couple’srelationship and to lure the hunters into a alsesense o security with regards to Blake Walker.

The SetupThe scenario can take place most any time

o year, but late summer/early autumn works thebest. The hunters arrive by car along State Route219, passing through miles o classic West Virginia

woodlands on their way in. Milton is a sleepy littlemountain town, long on charm and short on rills(or even amenities). Once a thriving mining town,

the community slowed to a crawl ater the coalmine went through a bitter labor/union dispute,only to dry up entirely not long thereater, anyway.Today, the town gets by, but just barely. West

Virginia has the second weakest economy in theunion to begin with (ater Mississippi), and theglobal fnancial crisis certainly didn’t help mattersany. Modern Milton survives mostly on the eortso its sawmill and other wood-based actories,along with the niche tourism oered by thesurrounding scenery and the area’s lone, at body o water, Pinnacle Lake. At the height o its mining days, Milton boasted a population o almost 15,000people; today, just a couple thousand souls remainto call the town their home.

The Walkers live in a modest but beautiully situated house at the apex o a rugged escarpment.Two stories o wood and stone look out over a

wooded basin that sits shrouded in a low, whitemist nearly year-round. The main oor is the topoor, and it houses the carport, oyer, living room(with freplace), kitchen (with breakast nook andpantry), hal bath, master bedroom, and a wooden

deck that runs the length o the house, providing abreathtaking view o the valley below. The bottomoor is always dimly lit, and it contains a den, asmall storage area, two guest bedrooms and a ullbath.

To the hunters’ surprise, the road leading totheir host’s home is ully paved and clearly wellmaintained. Only when the hunters pull o themain road and onto the Walkers’ driveway dothings get rough, but even then, Lilah makessure to re-gravel the dirt road with every changeo season (and has just tended to it recently, in

preparation or the return o her husband). Whenthe hunters arrive, Lilah appears at the ront door

with a cigarette in one hand and a phone in theother; she pops the cigarette into her mouth, makesthe universal sign or someone yapping away onthe other end o the line, and motions or herriends to come on in. It’s a beautiul Saturday inthe neighborhood, and Lilah has a screen door tothe deck, which causes a rereshing breeze to movethrough the house.



The ProblemsThere’s no conict here, but there’s

opportunity or the hunters to connect with Lilahand, more importantly, to meet Blake and Pandora.

Catching Up with LilahGetting Lilah to open up is easier than easy, as

she’s been looking orward to her riends’ arrivalor some time now. She oers the hunters a beer(or some coee, i the hunters arrived beore early aternoon) and launch into an animated discussiono the big party she’s throwing that night. She tellso how she’s been on the phone with her riends—several o whom are attractive and willing, she says

with a wink—all morning/aternoon, and that she’smore than ready to cut loose. When the huntersfrst arrive, Blake is in the bedroom lying down (i asked, she says he complained o a headache) butemerges not long thereater, roused by the soundso guests in his home. For observant hunters, it’s

EASY to note that he’s wearing mismatched sockson his eet.

A Spy In The House Of Love Although the hunters don’t know it yet, the

subject o their soon-to-be hunt is sitting in thesame house with them when they arrive. And

while Blake Walker doesn’t ully grasp the natureo what he’s become (or, more accurately, what’s

riding around inside him, and pulling his stringsonce the sun goes down), that doesn’t mean thathe’s not taking in every bit o useul inormationhis supernatural “guest” might want. During thisscene, Blake takes subconscious stock o each o the hunters in turn, paying special attention to any particular strengths or weaknesses. He isn’t bold(or even capable) enough to dig or any specifcpiece or even type o inormation, but his sharpeyes, ears and nose are more than sufcient orthe task. Noticing that Blake is scrutinizing thehunters in this way is an IMPOSSIBLE task, since

even Blake himsel isn’t consciously aware that he’sdoing it.

The Nose KnowsOnly one soul in Milton is onto Blake

Walker, and that soul belongs to Pandora—Lilah’s pet bloodhound. While noticing thatsomething supernatural is going on with Blake isIMPOSSIBLE at this point in the story, noticing that something is amiss with Pandora is not.

Unless somebody’s actively scrutinizing the dog

throughout the scene, realizing that she reactsstrangely to Blake’s presence is HARD. I, or somreason, a hunter pretty much just sits and watchesthe dog’s behavior, whether relative to Blakeor otherwise, the task is o merely AVERAGEdifculty. (Game stats or Blake Walker show upon page 93, at the end o Act III: The DivineImage.)

Lilah WalkerDescription Lilah is an attractive dirty-blonde in

her late twenties, who looks like she probably would have ft in just fne as a backgroundactor on The Dukes of Hazzard. She has brighteyes, a healthy color, and an athletic buildthat oten draws more than looks rom theless gentlemanly residents o Milton and itssurrounds. Although she works a day-job as aliason to the West Virginia Park Service, she is100% pure troublemaker at heart, though hercapacity or kindness—especially with regardto animals—is nearly limitless. She knows thearea in and around Milton better than most, andhas on more than one occasion led search andrescue parties deep into those wooded hills.


Traits Allure d2, Contacts d2, Good-Natured d4,Rebellious d4, Tough d4

Skills Alertness d4, Animals d6, Covert d4, Drived2, Guns d6, Inuence d2, Lore d6/West

Virginia d8, Mechanic d2, Melee Weaponsd6, Perception d4, Survival d6/First Aid d8,Unarmed Combat d2

Gear Cell phone (w/ GPS), cigarette lighter, dog leash, frst aid kit, hunting knie (d4 W), pick-uptruck, pistol (d6 W)

Lilah was drawn violently into the world o the supernatural at the tender age o 11, while ona game-tracking trip into the mountains with herather, Gerald McCandless. Late one night, herather heard what he thought was the approach

o a bear, and he made Lilah hide in the tent withthe screen zipped up. Through the thin wall o the tent, she saw her ather’s silhouette snatchedbodily into the air and pulled screaming into theorest. Her ather got o a single shot with his riebut other than a ew spatters o blood she oundno trace o either him or his assailant. Eight yearslater, a ull-edged hunter in her own right, Lilah

was tracking those same woods with her then-boyriend, Maynard, a budding hunter with whomshe had taken up some months beore. The two

hunters came upon tracks that led them to the den



o a terrible creature, one that easted on the esho men by night and slumbered during the day.The inexperience o the duo led to the death o herboyriend at the monster’s hands, but Maynard’ssacrifce gave Lilah the time she needed to put thething down. Amongst the detritus in the back o itsnest she ound a set o U.S. Army dog tags, bearing the legend “McCandless, Gerald J.” and stained red

with her ather’s blood. When Lilah met Blake, she knew she’d ound

the man with whom she could spend the rest o her lie. Cast in her ather’s honorable image, Blake

was a warrior through and through, even beorehe joined the military. Being away rom him or asmuch as a year at a stretch was difcult, but Lilahbelieved, as her husband did, that there was nogreater service one could provide or one’s country than to serve as a veteran o a oreign war. Whenthe stories about the Iraq war’s legitimacy cameout, she was even more devastated than Blake andimmediately began to campaign or his return.

And now that he’s back, she believes she’ll havethe ever ater to which she eels that she is entitled.

And while she certainly has earned it, her hopes areonce more in danger o being dashed against therocks o the supernatural.

Pandora, the BloodhoundDescription Pandora’s a bloodhound. She’s big,

red, and weighs about one hundred pounds.Being a bloodhound, Pandora is much more

lover (o scents and trouble in particular) thanshe is fghter, and as such, probably won’t bedirectly involved in any combat that occurs. Theexception to this is in the event that anyone oranything attacks Lilah, in which case Pandora

will launch hersel at the assailant and deendLilah with her last breath. I Pandora does entercombat, she attacks with her bite (d4 B), and i it results in an extraordinary success, it indicatesthat she has grappled the target.


Traits Devoted (master) d6, Lucky d4, SharpSense (hearing) d4, Sharp Sense (smell) d6

Skills Athletics d6/Running d8, Inuence d4,Perception d6/Smell d12, Unarmed Combat d6/ Biting d8

Gear Literal dog tags, subcutaneous tracking chip,morose but adorable countenance

In her day-job as liaison to the West VirginiaPark Service, Lilah Walker has occasion toencounter a great many dierent types o

animals. And it was in this capacity that Lilah

frst encountered Pandora, an intractably curiousbloodhound pup who was being groomed to track ugitives and missing persons or the state. Herskill training was coming along fne, but due to herfercely independent spirit, Pandora had so muchtrouble with the obedience training that she waseventually dropped rom the program on accounto it. Having already seen the dog’s enthusiastic

talent, and never being one to let a little attitudeget in the way, Lilah happily took Pandora in as herown.

That was almost our years ago. The twohaven’t looked back since, and are nearly inseparable today. From the day Blake Walkerreturned to Milton, however, Pandora has been ina state o constant unease. Lilah just assumes this isthe dog’s natural reaction to a strange man moving in and essentially taking over her role as Lilah’s“avorite,” and even Pandora hersel—in that way o dog comprehension—doesn’t ully understand

why she’s reacting to Lilah’s mate the way she is. All that Pandora knows is that every wrinkle on herace tells her that something’s wrong with Blake.

The ResultsThe hunters should leave this scene eeling

comortable around the Walkers and their adorabledog, Pandora. Lilah is eager to catch up with herriends, but is even more eager to get to the storeto pick up supplies or both the evening’s estivities

and the remainder o the weekend, thus setting upScene 2.

The RewardsThis is a good scene to hand out Plot Points

or engaging in interaction ueled by Assets and,especially, Complications. It’s a little light on thereveal, but there will be a lot o opportunity soonor more.

Scene 2: On Another’sSorrowThis scene revolves around a supply run to the

local superstore in town. Lilah hasn’t let the houseall day up to this point, so she’s eager and rarin’ togo. Headachey Blake stays behind, o course, butLilah insists that everyone else posse up, including Pandora, who loves to tag along with Lilah on her

various trips around town (and who will essentially “reuse” to be let alone with Blake, regardless).

While at the superstore, the hunters are introduced



to the episode’s three primary supporting characters—a trio o noisome local “hunters”—

who, in their noisome way, clue the real huntersin on the possibility o a supernatural threat being present in Milton.

The Setup

Lilah allows her guests to fnish up whateverbeverage she oered them, but is quick to hustleeveryone back out to the carport, where her truck awaits. She gives a little hup! and Pandora jumpsup into the back o the truck, and once everyoneelse is saely inside (or distributed between twocars, i the hunters number more than fve), Lilahtakes o. Lilah’s musical tastes cover pretty muchthe entire music library o your average classicrock station. Both driver and dog are in almoststubbornly good spirits, and it can’t help but rubo on the hunters.

The errand’s destination is Milton’s one andonly Bullseye™, part o a chain o superstores thattook o across America as the global economiccrisis worsened. Taking up almost 200,000 squareeet o retail space and situated on a lot thatexceeds sixteen ull acres, the superstore is a talland boxy aair with o-white exteriors and a red,slatted roo. The parking, like many o the outlet’spatrons, is plentiul. Inside, the building is dividedinto our broad sections: the department store, thegrocery, the coee shop and the sporting goods

store. Ater the department store, the sporting goods store occupies the largest portion o the retailspace, and it is here that the hunters encounter thesupporting characters.

The ProblemsThe ollowing points o action (or revelation)

take place in the sporting goods section.

Good for SportsmenOne or more o the hunters might be inclined

to check out the sporting goods store—locatedat the back o the massive space—on their own.I none do, Lilah goes there hersel at the endo her visit. (It’s part o her routine to swing through the sporting goods section whenever shecomes in, regardless o what brought her to thestore.) Hunters accustomed to more populatedareas are undoubtedly surprised by just how much the section has to oer: Here, they canfnd and purchase all manner o axes, baseball

bats, chainsaws, hatchets, knives and contact

stun guns. They can also fnd and purchase mostanything listed in the “General Gear” sectiono the Supernatural RPG (with the exception o computers and EMF meters and the like), as wellas any frearm in the book—provided it doesn’thave “Antique” as part o its name and is not asubmachine gun. Judging by the selection oeredhere, the people o Milton take their hunting,

fshing and ootball very seriously.

Meeting the Other HuntersStanding by a long glass case flled with fshing

lures and pocketknives are Brent McCutcheon,Caleb Parker, and Stu Tygart, three o Milton’smost active “big game” hunters. They are presentlyembroiled in a discussion (o the classically midwestern, “aux heated” variety) with “Big T.R.,a large riend o theirs who works as a clerk in thesporting goods store. They aren’t trying to keepthe conversation private, by any means, and it’s an

EASY prospect to eavesdrop on every word. Those who listen in learn that the trio’s ellow riend andsportsman, to whom they reer as “Jasper,” wentmissing recently, and that the three are not only

worried about the man but also concerned over thenature o his disappearance.

Getting the game hunters to open up abouttheir riend is potentially EASY, but it depends onthe circumstances. The ollowing sections expandon this.

You’re Not From Around Here While the sportsmen are hardly looking or

privacy, only Brent is actually interested in getting the opinion o strangers on the matter. O theother two, Stu is mostly just quiet, but Calebseems to have a hety distrust o the hunters romthe get-go. Unless some attempt is made to cater tohis ego specifcally—before trying to get any urtherinormation rom the group—Caleb’s resistance

will complicate any subsequent interaction, raising

the difculty o any relevant social rolls by onestep. Caleb gives the hunters such an opportunity,but it sure won’t sound like one; only a socially mature hunter with an understanding o Caleb’sprimate politics sees the situation or what it is.

They’s with Lilah!There’s no love lost between Lilah and the

three sportsmen, especially Caleb Parker. In her jobas liaison with the West Virginia Park Service, she’s

kept abreast o all the most egregious violations o



local hunting ordinances, and it is in this capacity that she has the occasional run-in with the our.Most recently, an incredibly rare mountain lion

was spotted in the woods around Milton, butdisappeared just as suddenly; suspecting oulplay, Lilah went to the area reported as the lion’sterritory and there discovered evidence o a reshkill. Mountain lions are endangered, and thereore

always on the “closed season” rolls in West Virginia, but Lilah suspects Caleb Parker (with or without his pack) o shooting the animal anyway,or trophy.

I Lilah is with the hunters when they begindialogue with the three, the difculty o getting thepack to open up rises to AVERAGE. This penalty stacks with the one above, thus making the initialroll o getting the men to open up a HARD task,should the hunters ail to assuage Caleb’s ego, asnoted above.

The Good SeedThe closest thing to a voice o reason that the

trio has is Brent McCutcheon. The missing hunteris his kin, and Brent is more interested in seeing him ound than in stroking Caleb’s ego, thoughhe’s araid to challenge Caleb’s bravado directly.I the hunters make an attempt to at least seemgenuinely concerned, then the roll to get Brent(specifcally) to open up is reduced by one step.I the hunters succeed at the roll or him but not

or his riends, he still opens up to them, but waitsuntil the other two hunters leave (and they do,immediately) beore doing so.

The Three “Hunters” (Brent, Caleb & Stu)Description Even i hunting wasn’t as big as it

is in West Virginia, there really isn’t a wholelot else or a blue-collar good ol’ boy to do inand around Milton besides hunt. As such, thenumber o hunters in Milton is pretty high and

wherever there are sufcient numbers o blue-

collar good ol’ boys, they fnd a way to tribalize.Such is the case with Brent McCutcheon, CalebParker and Stu Tygart, who have been hunting together since they were all teenagers. O thethree, Stu is the oldest (by our years) and Brentis the youngest. Caleb is the most hotheaded o the group—in addition to the stats listed below,he also has Anger Issues d4—and is known orholding state hunting regulations in extremely low regard. Together with Jasper Largent, theour men comprise one o Milton’s most avid

and successul (and commensurately immodest)packs o hunters.


Traits Crude d6, Focused Hunter (deer) d4, Lazy d4

Skills Animals d4, Athletics d4, Crat d4,Discipline d2, Drive d2, Guns d4, Knowledge

d2, Melee Weapons d2, Perception d4, Ranged Weapons d4

Gear Camouage outft w/ matching Jones cap,can o chaw, cell phone, hunting rie (d8 W),pocket knie (d2 W)

The recent disappearance o Jasper hasthrown the pack into genuine disarray. Not only is he the pack “alpha,” he’s also the oldest, best,and brightest o the bunch, and their chanceso meeting (or exceeding) their bag limits thishunting season drop accordingly in his absence.

Jasper is also Brent’s cousin, and where amily tiesare involved Milton men tend to get a little hotunder the collar. While Caleb’s interest in locating

Jasper lies mostly in keeping his hunting numbers(and local status) up, Brent and Stu both havegenuine concern or the man, though Stu is moreo the old school type who rarely shows emotion,especially around strangers.

The Results

Assuming the hunters can get one or moreo the trio to talk about the missing riend, they learn that Jasper Largent is not only one o themost well known and respected big game huntersor many miles, but also the mentor fgure o the“pack.” According to the men, Jasper let on whatthey describe as an impromptu solo hunt in theheavily wooded vale north o town. He let theothers a message saying simply that he’d “caughta scent,” and was gone. He hasn’t been seen sinceand calls to his cell phone are let unanswered andunreturned. This was two days ago. I asked how

normal this sort o thing is or Jasper, all threemen reply the same way: “Totally out o character.”There’s more that the three men could tell thehunters (especially Caleb), but or now, that’s allthey’re willing to say. The hunters are, ater all,outsiders.

Lilah spends the ride back to her housebitching and moaning about Caleb to anyone wholistens. She’s convinced that he’s not only guilty o the inamous mountain lion killing, but that he’ssimply a bad seed overall. She tells the hunters how

the presence o Jasper Largent in the kid’s lie is



essentially the only thing keeping him on anything even resembling the straight and narrow. Shecloses by sniping something about looking orwardto searching Caleb’s house or evidence o themountain lion when he fnally does get caught orsomething else, “which he almost certainly will,”she quips.

As o this moment, there really isn’t enough

data to suggest a supernatural source or thedisappearance o Jasper Largent, and this isintentional. The scene should eel to the playersmore like an introduction to the sportsmen, and toCaleb’s villainy in the eyes o Lilah Walker, than thetimely but obligatory revelation o the supernaturalin the story. For Lilah’s part, she fles the issue away and gets back to the business at hand, which is o course getting down o’ boogie.

The Rewards Award the players two Plot Points or getting

the game hunters away rom Lilah long enough tolearn about Largent. Again, there’s a lot o spacehere to ex some Traits and thus earn points or it.

Scene 3: Why Was Cupid aBoy?

This scene begins later that evening, andrevolves around the party Lilah Walker is throwing

at her house. She says it’s in honor o the visiting hunters but when it comes down to it, Lilah’s gotan “any port in a storm” attitude to partying. Theparty gives the hunters an opportunity to mingle

with the town’s younger and sexier demographic, which in turn creates opportunities or both story and character development. The scene should havea more narrative and ree-owing eel, in termso pace and tone, and while you shouldn’t draw it out unnecessarily, it should last long enough tomake the hunters (and their players) eel as thoughthey’ve been part o an event that lasted long into

the West Virginia night.

The SetupUnlike parties in more urbanized locales,

Milton-style get-togethers (or at least those hostedby Lilah and her riends) start early and run late,as a rule. The frst wave o guests, which includesattractive younger people o both sexes, arrivesaround seven pm, and these frst arrivals help Lilahfnish up the rest o her preparations. Lilah’s a “do

everything yoursel” sort at heart, so she reuses

any oers to help rom the hunters, but once actuaguests arrive, she grudgingly accepts a ew extrahands, just so she’s good and done by the time thesecond wave arrives, which is about thirty minuteslater. This second wave includes a ew moreattractive younger people o both sexes, as well asone or two attractive individuals o the previousgeneration (and, o course, one or two not-so

attractive olks).The ood and alcohol are plentiul and tasty, i

not too healthy, and the party kicks into high gearat around nine pm. All told, about orty peopleshow up over the course o the evening, thoughnot all o them stay until the wee hours. Thehouse probably wouldn’t have the room to host somany, but or the deck, which is wide, sturdy andextremely pleasant.

The ProblemsThe vast majority o the action takes place

in the kitchen, living room and out on the deck, which are all three connected.

So, What’s Your Story? At some point, one o the hunters is going

to want to talk to Blake ace to ace, especially i the hunters have already heard the basics o hisstory rom Lilah. Blake is present, but not very sociable. He looks tired and a little bleary-eyed,

as though he’s already hal a dozen drinks intoa buzz, even though he’s not drinking that ast.He’s not in a bad mood, however, so getting himto open up about his experiences in the military is relatively EASY. I convinced to get chatty, herelates the basics o his time in the army (alwayscareul to begin at the start, which is 9/11), andeven mentions the incident at Abu Sayyad, as it isthe undeniable culmination o the tale, but underno circumstances does he discuss any details about

what he saw inside the temple that day, nor willhe admit that he was discharged rom service on

medical order. All he’s told Lilah is that, due tobeing injured in combat, he was allowed to go.

Local LoreNow that Lilah is relaxed (and socially

lubricated), one o the hunters might want to pick her brain a bit on the local lore, especially withregards to the woods surrounding Milton. As thisis her specialty, she’s more than happy to dish onall the local weirdness, but won’t do it while any

ordinary olk are within earshot. I a hunter can



get her alone, or is willing to let the conversationbe interrupted or periods o time, he can learnthat Milton proper is mostly ree o supernaturalinuence, but that things have been known tohaunt the woods rom time to time (including themonster that took her ather rom her when she

was a kid). I asked, she says that things have beenmerciully quiet up there o late.

Tell Me About Jasper Even though Lilah has disregarded all thoughts

o Jasper Largent or the time being, it’s likely that his disappearance has piqued one or morehunters’ interest. Asking around ater him sendsthe questioner to Shirley, a playul blonde who allssquarely in the “older-but-still-hot” category o partygoer. In contrast to Blake, Shirley got an early start to her drinking this particular evening and istwo sheets blowing by the time she’s approached. I the hunter’s even remotely attractive, Shirley irtsa little; i the hunter also has the Allure, Amorousor Formidable Presence Assets (at any level),Shirley irts like it’s her job. A patient huntereventually learns that Jasper is a widower, having lost his wie to an unknown illness some yearsback, and who now lives alone in a red cabin onthe shores o Pinnacle Lake. Shirley describes himondly, and it’s EASY to tell that she knew the manintimately at one point.

The ResultsThe party is an opportunity or the hunters

to chat with the locals, and depending on thehunters’ personalities, to get even more intimate

with one or more o them. Should things go downlike that, the hunters do, o course, have theirown bedrooms to which they can retire, thoughthe lucky ones might have roommate wrinklesto smooth over in the morning, depending onhow many hunters there are. The party’s also anopportunity or players to develop their hunters’

personal stories in other ways, such as by trying torenew the bonds orged between their hunters andLilah. I pressed to discuss hunting matters, Lilah,

who should be good and drunk by then, revisitsthe story o her ather’s death. Doing so once every ew years, provided she does it with ellow huntersaround, is in act incredibly therapeutic or her.

For his part, Blake is defnitely the resident wallower o the evening’s estivities. Along aboutten pm, he complains o having a headache to

whoever’s around and regretully retires to bed or

the night. Lilah won’t stumble in until ater three

am, and by the time she does, she’s drunk as askunk and all talked out (or a change). What noneo the partygoers knows, not even Blake himsel,is that Blake Walker isn’t done partying or thenight… not quite yet. Later on, he rises rom hisbed and sneaks, as i in a trance, out a window inthe dead o night. Unortunately or Caleb Parker,the hunt’s on.

The RewardsIn addition to social success, which should

garner some Plot Points, you should defnitely addtwo or three to the pile or getting the scoop onLargent’s place or learning more about Blake.

Act II: Auguries ofInnocence

As is typical or Supernatural stories, the second Act involves much research and investigation.It kicks o with the hunters hearing o thedisappearance o Caleb Parker, one o the gamehunters they met the day beore. Not long thereater, they discover the remains o JasperLargent, the frst local hunter to go missing, withevidence at the scene pointing to something supernatural as the culprit. By the end o the act,

C A N ’ T W E J U S T TR A C K

C A L E B ?

P la ye rs who nd the latest a bsence too

susp ic ious to igno re m ight be tem pted to get

L i lah to act i vate a t race on Ca le b’s ce l l phone

,

the re b y a l low ing them to t rac k h im . E ven i f

L i lah was eage r to do such a th ing (and she

su re as he l l is not ), the re a re two p ro b lem s w it

h

such an e vent occu r r ing du r ing th is a

ct: F i rst,

a res ident o f M i lton can’t lega l l y be dec la red

m iss ing unt i l 2 4 hou rs ha ve passed; and secon

d,

a ce l l t race requ i res a cou rt o rde r f rom a

judge, and as it’s now Sunda y, the re’s just no

wa y that’s go ing to happen—espec ia l l y not fo r

a

je r k l i ke Ca le b Pa r ke r. Cha racte rs dete rm ine

d

(o r foo l ish ) enough to use po l ice ass istance w i l

l

ha ve to wa it unt i l the next m o rn ing, at the

ea r l iest.





beloved. O special note is the gun rack on theliving room wall, with space or two ries, now empty. Lastly, any hunter scouring the cabinthoroughly comes across what is easily themost valuable piece o inormation: Nestledagainst the ar wall in Jasper’s bedroom is acorner desk, so cluttered with papers that it’salmost unrecognizable as a desk. Among the

papers are several newspaper clippings—noto Jasper’s dead wie, nor even o his ownhunting exploits, as one might expect—but o mysterious occurrences in and around Milton.

Was Jasper Largent a budding hunter? Like, areal one? Also on the desk are several maps o the woods around Pinnacle Lake, including one hand-drawn by Largent himsel. On threeo the maps, including Largent’s own, oneparticular area is circled in red ink. Twice (seeScene 2: A Poison Tree).

The ResultsThe hunters should come out o this

scene with at least one, i not two, sourceso inormation that lead them into Scene 2.They might even have had a little ace-time

with Brent that can win him over more totheir cause. It’s a good thing i the hunterseel as i they’ve picked up the scent, in other

words.

The Rewards As this is another scene centering on

inormation gathering, the chie rewards youhand out should be connected to inormationearned. Add at least one Plot Point or learning more about Largent’s place, another orgetting on Brent’s good side, and a Plot Pointor uncovering Largent’s collection o proto-hunter knick-knacks and clippings.

Scene 2: A Poison Tree Armed with new inormation rom twodierent sources, the hunters head into the

woods north o Milton. There, they discoverthe gruesome remains o Jasper Largent, thegame hunter who disappeared beore they arrived in town. Evidence ound at the scenepoints to a supernatural culprit, and the hunters’investigation gets underway in earnest.

The Setup Whether ollowing Jasper Largent’s map or

Brent McCutcheon’s advice, the end result isthe same: The hunters’ next likely destinationis an area o woods just north o Milton proper.Knowing that something supernatural might be

involved, Lilah instructs Brent (and Stu, i he’s

T HE AD V ER S AR Y T he real m onst er in Milt on isn’t Blake W alker; it ’s t he anc ient ent it y t hat has hi jac ked him , body and soul. Only if t hey ha v e int erac t ed wit h a T ric kst er ( suc h as t he one Sam and Dean enc ount er in t he “ T all T ales” episode of Season T wo ) c an t he hunt ers say t hey’ v e e v er fa

c ed down an enem y as powerful as what ’s inside Blake W alker. T he lore , while v olum inous , is short on c ert aint ies , but t he t hin g is belie v ed t o be a sort of dark c ount erpart t o t he handful of bein gs known as T ric kst ers. As dem on is t o an gel , so is t his ent it y t o t he T ric kst er. ( And gi v en t he inc redi bly c allous nat ure of t he T ric kst er , t he prospec t of an e v en darker v ersion of one should be horrifyin g t o any sane hunt er. ) As wit h ot her supernat ural bein gs of ad v anc ed a ge and power , t his ent it y is known t o different c ult ures in different ways. T o t he anc ie

nt Greeks , who were t he rst t o writ e openly a bout t he t hin g , it was known as an e i d o l o n , or “ shadow dou ble , ” while c ert ain Hindu writ in gs referred t o it as t he kam arupa. Sc holars of F ort ian phenom ena , in t heir essent ial

m isapprehens ion of t he be ing’s t rue nat ure, du b bed

it t he “per isp ir it .” What e ver it m ight be ca lled,

t he ent it y is m ore dem igod t han dem on and has

been around just as long as t he T r ic kst er has. It

is, in a very rea l way, t he superna l shadow m ade

m an ifest —t he pr im ord ia l “ot her” t o a race of god l i ke ot hers. L ike a l l e i d ol o n s , t he one now p lagu ing M i lt on

has had a t housand nam es, and no nam e at a l l.

( Som e of t he cu lt ura l lore e ven im p l ies t hat if an

e ido lon does ha ve a t rue nam e, no hum an m ind

wou ld e ver want t o know it . ) What ’s im port ant t o

such a be ing isn’t a nam e, but a port fo l io. T he one

r id ing around in t he B la ke-m o b ile, for exam p le, is

t he e i d ol o n of t he hunt , t he pr im ord ia l shadow of a

k i ller. It can on ly c lim b ins ide t he sou l of a k i ller— in

t h is case, a so ld ier—and m ust r it ua lly hunt down

and sacr ice ot her k i llers— in t h is case, b ig gam e

hunt ers. And once it get s go ing, it won’t st op unt i lsom eone m a kes it st op. Som eone very, very bra ve.



around and involved) to stay behind in town,citing “ofcial Park Service” business or somesuch convenient excuse. She promises to keep therightened Brent up to date as things progress.

As beore, Lilah gets the gang to pile into hertruck (or, again, into two separate vehicles withour-wheel drive). There’s only one road leading tothe specifc area o wilderness into which the group

is headed, and the going gets pretty rough towardsthe end, with the region’s ever-present moistureturning the track nearly to mud. To Lilah’s surprise(though perhaps not to the hunters’), she arrives atthe end o the track to fnd a green Jeep parked o to the side, its wheels hal buried in mud. A quick glance at the bumper, with its “Keep Honking. I’mReloading!” sticker, confrms it’s Caleb’s.

The ProblemsDetermining what happened here is EASY,

thanks to the muddy conditions; Caleb parkedin a hurry, got out, and ran into the woods. Onceully into the orest, however, the tracks frst grow harder to ollow, then disappear entirely. But it’sno dead end, thanks to the smell. Farther along inthe same general direction, the hunters come upona grisly scene. Dug into the dirt oor o a smallclearing is what looks, at frst glance, to be a fre pit.On closer inspection, the hunters see that mixedin among the burned out embers are the remainso a human being. The body appears to have been

put into the pit naked, though it’s HARD to tell i it was done post-mortem. On the ar side o thepit, just beyond the lip, sits a at tree stump witha attened top. Carved into the top is a pair o strange sigils. Atop the sigils rests a pair o humanears.

The DeceasedThere aren’t any clothes or items at the scene

by which to identiy the victim, but it’s EASY touse the Medicine Skill to determine the skeleton’s

height, gender and approximate age: six oot two,male, around orty years old. One can also tell that

whomever the severed ears once belonged to waslikely a Caucasian male, also around orty years old.

The SigilsThe scene is gruesome, o course, but o

particular interest to hunters will be the sigilscarved into the tree trunk. Anyone trained in Lorecan attempt a roll to recognize the source o the

symbols, but is HARD. Success confrms only that

they seem to be o ancient Mesopotamian origin.(Educated hunters might make the connectionthat ancient Mesopotamia included modern-day Iraq.) It’s possible that one or more o the huntersis not only trained in Lore, but also has a specialty relevant to ancient Mesopotamia. I this is the case

you should allow that hunter to make a roll toglean more inormation. I successul, the hunter

can translate the symbols roughly as “ather”and “hunt.” Regardless o specialty or roll, youshouldn’t provide any inormation pertaining tothe ritual described in Scene 3, not even on anextraordinary success.

I by some chance one o the hunters isuent in Arabic, he might recall that the nameo the location mentioned in Blake’s story—AbuSayyad—translates roughly as “ather o hunters.”(You shouldn’t remind a player o this, however;the player either makes the connection or doesn’t.)

I Ain’t Going In ThereI or some reason the hunters are as yet

reticent to head into the woods, Lilah lights afre under them by oering in exasperated tonesto “handle it” hersel. At that point, only a truly cowardly and/or heartless hunter reuses to tag along, especially considering these are the very same woods in which Lilah lost her ather.

The ResultsIn the unlikely event that the hunters coverall o the bases in the Problems above—in other

words, a hunter specializing in Mesopotamia anda hunter uent in Arabic are both present—thenthe real culprit’s just been uncovered, assuming theplayers can put two and two together. Otherwise,Lilah suggests that they copy down the symbols,leaving the scene undisturbed, and return to herhouse, where all her hunter’s reerence materialsawait.

The RewardsFinding clues earns the players Plot Points in

this scene at a rate o one Plot Point per discovery.In the unlikely event that the hunters have theresources in their own group to add things alltogether, award them two more Plot Points on topo whatever else you hand out.



Scene 3: Earth’s AnswerThe “headquarters” o this scene is Lilah’s

house, but the action involved, especially any independent investigation the hunters perorm,can take place anywhere—or, as is more likely,

via any electronic medium (laptop, phone, etc.).Ultimately, this scene is about two importantthings: First, discovering not only the nature o

the monster, but the act that it is almost certainly riding around inside Lilah’s husband; and second,presenting the hunters with a moral quandary revolving around how best to handle the hunt romhere on out.

The SetupThe setup or this sequence is airly

straightorward. Lilah and the hunters race back toher house to do some ollow-up research on theclues they ound at the charnel site in the woods.

You should be sure to allow hunters to go theirown way, i they choose, but there really isn’tanything o esoteric value to be learned in a towno Milton’s size (though things o non-esoteric

value, such as land tax records and the like, mightbe available, were it not a Sunday).

A ew minutes ater arriving at the house, Lilahemerges rom the basement holding a book, herace a washed out mask o conusion and dismay.She shows the hunters the chapter o the book thatholds the inormation they seek, and points out

how two pages have been very careully removed. While it’s true that anyone who came through thehouse the night beore could have had time to dosuch a thing, the storage area (where she keeps herbooks) was locked… and her husband has the only other key. Blake is, o course, nowhere to be ound.

The Problems At this juncture, with the hunters doing their

own research, it should be looking pretty bad orBlake. As one might expect, Lilah starts to ray

around the edges, aced with the prospect o having to hunt down and kill her own husband. Thehunters can go through all the usual channels todig up inormation on this creature—uncovering at least basic reerences to this type o activity is o

AVERAGE difculty—but in the event that they are coming up short, there’s one more avenueopen to Lilah: The other survivor o Abu Sayyad,another recently discharged soldier, named TadHogan.

Whose Bones?In the event that a hunter wants confrmation

on the identity o the corpse, it’s a pretty EASY task to fnd out that Jasper Largent is on record as being a orty two year-old white male who stood sic oottwo inches tall. Once this is confrmed, the huntersshould be rightly interested in the whereabouts o Caleb Parker, since it was his car ound near the

scene.

Survivor’s Tale Ater his ordeal in Iraq, Tad Hogan isn’t

eager to discuss the matter, but will respondsympathetically to a genuine plea rom his ormerplatoon commander’s wie. Hogan knows thepriests at Abu Sayyad were the guardians o something secret and terrible, and that Blake“wasn’t the same” ater that day. He also knows that

Abu Sayyad means “ather o hunters.”

ResearchingSuccessul Lore rolls, either by the hunters or

by contacts on their behal, provide basic data onthe rare and powerul entity known to the ancientGreeks as an eidolon (see sidebar, “The Adversary”).Initial rolls should provide just enoughinormation or the hunters to know what they’redealing with, but not the means to save Blake’s lie.

When it starts to look like the only way to “save”

Blake is to kill him, Lilah bursts into a ft o angry sobs, alternately screaming at the hunters andpleading with them to fnd another way. She knowstime is o the essence, but this is her husband.

A single reerence rom an obscure sourceturns up ater a second scene o HARDresearching. It cites a way to draw an eidolon outo a soul. According to the source, the eidolon lives in shadow, and rom its host’s shadow canit be expelled. The only way to do so is throughan ancient Mesopotamian ritual—the lore calls itthe Black Calling—that involves each participant

holding an iron nail in his or her mouth, whileone recites the ritual’s words and the others drivenails into the host body’s shadow. At the ritual’scompletion, the entity has no choice but to vacatethe body, but immediately attempt to enter anothernearby body. But by ritually branding this second

vessel, using the sigils o the entity’s identity, it canbe orced to stay in that body. So, while killing aneidolon is all but impossible, it is possible to trap oneinside its own host, by way o this ritual.



The ResultsOnce both the identity o the monster and

the terms o the ritual are uncovered, the huntershave a difcult choice to make: Do they willully condemn another human soul, just so Blake

Walker can be ree to live in peace? Lilah thinks so,and i it comes down to it, oers to host the newly subdued entity…even i it means spending the rest

o her lie in prison.

The RewardsLike Scene 2’s rewards, this scene is all about

discovery and inormation pegging. Points shouldbe handed out when the players add more to thebig picture about Blake. I they come to somedifcult conclusions, add a Point to the pool,especially i Lilah agrees. I they get eedback romTad Hogan, give them one Plot Point or that, too.

Act III: The DivineImage

Now that the hunters have discovered just what they’re dealing with, as well as just how todeal with it, all that remains is or them to fnishthe job. In this third and fnal act, the hunt is welland truly on. Armed with their weapons and arenewed resolve (and, in all likelihood, the Black Calling ritual), the hunters track Blake Walker

to his den in the woods—a task easier said thandone—and at last conront the ancient evil lurking within him.

Scene 1: The LambDuring this scene, the hunters have to fnd

a way to track Blake to wherever he’s holed upin the orest. When they fnally hit upon the bestsolution, they are put through a rather grueling game o cat and mouse in tracking him throughthe woods, as Blake (or, rather, the entity within)

knows to expect their arrival.

The SetupThis scene picks up the next morning, with

the hunters at Lilah’s house. She’s barely holding it together, but the discovery o the Black Calling ritual gives her some hope. She knows how thesupernatural world operates and she’s confdentthe ritual will work, even i she has to give up herown body to the accursed thing that’s taken a hold

o her man.

The ProblemsThe frst question on the hunters’ minds

should be, “How do we fnd Blake?” There are,o course, any number o ways or the huntersto be set on the right track, and it’s up to youto decide how best to navigate those options.However it happens, the scene really kicks intogear as the hunters head once more into the woods

north o Milton, this time determined to comeout victorious. Lilah insists on accompanying thehunters, but won’t let anyone else do so.

it’s the dog, stupidThey might not realize it, as the answer is

literally sitting in ront o their aces, but theeasiest way to track Blake is through Pandora, thebloodhound. Just because Blake is possessed by aprimordial god-shadow doesn’t mean he doesn’tstink, and the dog knows his scent very well by now. She loves to work and will be glad to help.I the hunters arrive at the solution o using thebloodhound to track Blake, all Pandora requiresis to be driven to the edge o the orest and thenallowed to do her job, with the hunters tagging along just behind. I the hunters are ollowing Caleb’s cell signal, there’s no need or the dog to come with (though they could certainly be doing both). Tracking Blake cold, withoutthe aid o either the dog or the cell signal, is aFORMIDABLE challenge, even or experienced

trackers among the group.

Is It Caleb Time, Yet?Now that Lilah is aced with the prospect o

losing her husband, she might be more amenableto calling in a avor to get a cell phone trace onCaleb Parker’s phone. It’s now Monday (andtwenty our hours ater Caleb’s disappearance), soi none o the hunters hits on the dog solution, this

would certainly be the next best thing, except…

Phone TrapOn the orest oor, not too ar rom Blake’s

new sacrifcial pit, lies the cell phone o CalebParker. Unortunately or the hunters, Blakehas purposely let it there as a trap. Regardlesso how the hunters are tracking him, Blake hasorchestrated it so they’ll have to pass through acertain wooded “bottleneck” in order to reachhim. Lying in the middle o a rough path betweentwo red spruce trees is Caleb’s cell phone. Anyone

touching the cell phone, or stepping within a oot



o it, sets o the mine trap Blake has set there.Treat this mine trap as a ragmentation grenade(5d6 W) (see “Explosions” on page 90 o Supernatural RPG). You should give the huntersan opportunity to spot the trap, but Blake is noool and it’ll be very HARD to do, unless one isspecifcally looking or traps, snares, or the like,in which case it’s pretty much your AVERAGE

trap. I Pandora is with the hunters when themine goes o, she survives the explosion with

just a ew cuts and bruises.

The ResultsI the hunters survive Blake’s mine trap, it’s

just a short trek to his orest abode. Getting there,however, will require some tracking away romthe site o the trap. I Pandora is with the hunters,it’s a simple matter or her to pick up the trailonce more. I not, the hunters will have to do alittle HARD tracking. Either way, it’s just a short

walk to culmination.

The RewardsDid they bring Pandora along? Two Plot

Points. Did they bring Lilah? Give them a PlotPoint i their Complications made them sweatthat choice, or they played out the conversation.I they spotted and/or avoided the trap, that’sanother three Plot Points. They’re going to need

them.

Scene 2: The LittleVagabond

The story comes to an end with the fnalconrontation between the hunters, including Lilah, and the monster within Blake Walker.There’s an unexpected twist, however—one thatmight change the hunters’ plans or the Black Calling ritual (assuming they were successul in

tracking it down). Regardless, it’s do-or-die timeor the hunters.

The SetupOnce the hunters have won through to the

other side o the woodland bottleneck, they fnda steep rise leading uphill through a dense patcho thicket. Being Covert while trudging throughthe underbrush is HARD, but doable i everyone

just remains patient and composed (though the

mine explosion alerted Blake to their presence,

anyway, unless they spotted the trap early.) On theother side o the thicket, the orest itsel seemsto open up, depositing the hunters into an openarea with a spectacular view o not only the town

S H A D O WB OR N

As a be ing of shadow, the ei d ol on is essent ia ll y

im m une to ph ys ica l attac k; but b y the sam e

or ig in, it is com pe l led b y the shadow of the sou l it

has c la im ed. Dr iv ing an iron na il into the shadow

of the th ing’s host causes the ent it y w ith in to

pan ic, focus ing a l l its efforts on rem o v ing the na i ls

before it can get bac k to ph ys ica ll y d ispatch ing

its assa i lants. T h is essent ia ll y resu lts in a com bat

of the m ind, as the hunters wor k qu ic k l y to dr i ve

enough na i ls into B la ke’s shadow to com p lete the

r itua l and force the ei d ol on out.

Dr i v ing the rst na i l into the shadow is d if cu lt,

as B la ke is ver y qu ic k and the th ing ins ide h im

knows what the hunters are tr y ing to do. It

requ ires a standard Me lee Weapon attac k aga inst

B la ke, w ith a successfu l h it do ing no dam age

but root ing B la ke’s shadow to that spot, creat ing

a narrow ax is around wh ich he can m o ve. Once

the rst na i l is in, each success i ve na i l attem pt

rece i ves a +1 S k i l l step. Once three na i ls are dr iven in, each success i ve attem pt rece i ves a

+2 Skill st ep. Com plic ating t his proc ess is t he fac t that t he eidolon’s will is powerful, and c an lit erally forc e t he nails out of Blake’s shadow. It does this

by m aking a Willpower + Disc ipline roll, c ont est ed by t he hunt er’s V it alit y + Willpower. A suc c essful roll m eans t hat nail ies out of t he ground , as t hough

by T elekinesis , and the hunter who dro ve it int akes 2 St un dam age. T he ent it y c an at t em pt to forc e out t wo different nail

s in t he sam e t urn by t aking t he usual –1 Skill st ep penalt y per att em pt , but it suffers an addit ional –1 Skill st ep penalty per at t em pt if it has t hree or m ore nails t o c ontend wit h at t he t im e of t he roll. It c an’t m ake t hree or m ore at t em pt s; t wo is t he lim it, and it will only t ry t hat if t ruly desperat e. It c an , howe ver , split it s ac tions in order t o rst expel the last nail and then , now t hat it ’s free , m ake a physic al at t ac k.

T he spoken part of t he rit ual t akes ve t urnst o c om plet e , and c annot be st arted unt il at least one nail has been driven int o Blake’s shadow. If t he eidolon expels all nails for a full turn, t he ritualist

loses that t urn; t he rit ualist needn’t start t he rit ual o ver , but m ust wait unt il anot her nail has been driven in before t he rit ual c an c ontinue.



below, but the lake, as well. (It’s actually a beautiulspot or camping, just not or ritual murder anddismemberment.)

This site has a sacrifcial pit dug into its ooras well, but unlike the frst site, the ritual suraceisn’t a tree trunk but a wide, natural outcropping o rock. The hunters can see that the same sigils havebeen scratched into the rock ace. About twenty

eet rom the stone is a dark blue tent. Next to thestone, sitting gagged and bound to a plastic chair, isCaleb Parker.

The ProblemsTime is obviously o the essence here. A

conict takes place between the hunters and Blake,but the ritual needs fve turns o incantations and aproperly inscribed host. The hunters are going toneed to diversiy.

Man vs. Man Where Blake is at the start o the scene depends

on whether or not he’s been alerted to the hunters’approach. I the mine trap went o, he’s ontothem. I not, then he’ll have to make contestedrolls with the hunters to see who got the drop on

who. (Odds are high that Blake will win such acontest.) I he knows they’re here, he’s waiting high up in one o the trees that rings the overlook area, ready to rain death down on the group with

either his assault rie or his bow (depending on what the hunters are armed with). I he doesn’t,he’s sitting in his tent when they arrive.

Blake Walker, the Monster of MiltonDescription Blake Walker was a highly trained

combat veteran even beore his will wasovertaken by the eidolon. And now, his body enhanced to superhuman levels, Blake is anincredibly dangerous opponent. Even with allits power, however, the eidolon has one majorlimitation, and it’s one that the hunters will

have to exploit i they’re to have any chance o saving Blake’s soul.

Motivation The eidolon has one primary urge, andthat’s to kill other killers. For more inormation,see the sidebar on page 89, “The Adversary.”It can possess any mortal whose soul has been“tainted” by the taking o another lie, which inthis day and age gives it a lot o options.

Limitations As a creature o shadow possessing a mortal host, the eidolon has a great deal o power—but it’s still vulnerable. See the sidebar

“Shadowborn” or more inormation on how toree Blake rom the eidolon’s possession.

Agi d12 Str d12 + d4 Vit d12 Ale d12 Int d10 Wil d12 (all values drop by –2 steps when notpossessed)Init d12 + d12; LP 24 (doesn’t die at 24

Wound; body destroyed at 48 Wound; recovers Stun per turn)

Traits Brawler d6, Danger Sense d8, Obsessed(killing killers) d6, Sharp Senses (all fve) d6,Unbreakable Will d6

Skills Athletics d6/Running d12, Covert d6/Stealthd10, Discipline d6/Resistance d10, Guns d6/ Pistols d12/Ries d12, Heavy Weapons d6/ Mines d10, Perception d6/Tracking d12, Ranged

Weapons d6/Crossbow d10, Survival d6/Desertd10/Forest d10, Unarmed Combat d6/Brawlingd10

Gear Assault rie (d8 W), camouage atigues,crossbow (d6 W), heavy pistol (d8 W), hunting knie (d4 W)

Caleb’s Alive!The sudden introduction o another living

soul into the scene should give the hunters pause,especially i they’ve come ready to perorm theBlack Calling ritual. Lilah suggests that Caleb act athe host vessel or the expelled eidolon, but only i nobody else mentions it frst. Once combat starts,she runs to Caleb and tries to inscribe the sigils o

identity onto his esh, even against the wishes o her ellow hunters. Inscribing rituals takes threeturns o combat, and each turn deals d4 Basicdamage to Caleb. Caleb’s already taken 4 pointso Stun, so she might kill him i she’s not careul.

Allow the players to spend Plot Points to actually reduce the damage (one Plot Point staves o onepoint o Wound or Stun), i they can describehelping Lilah not to hurt Caleb too much.

Conclusion At the end o the fth turn o ritual recitation

Blake Walker turns his sweat-covered ace to thesky, and with a primal scream, ejects the eidolon rom his soul. The entity seems to be sucked back into Blake’s body rom within his shadow, owing like a plume o vacuumed mist, beore spilling outo his eyes in a ood o black tears. I the huntersollowed the ritual instructions, the only place themonster can go is into Caleb Parker (or whoeverelse is chosen to be the second vessel), and so itdoes. I one o the hunters ritually branded Caleb

with the sigils beore that moment, the entity will



be trapped, in a weakened state, inside his body orever (or at least until Caleb dies, but that’sanother episode or another day).

I one or more o the hunters ailed to keep anail in his mouth through the end o the ritual, theexpelled entity has an option as to which nearby

warrior to inhabit, and it will o course choose theone that isn’t presently restrained. I it successully

possesses one o the hunters, it immediately turnstail and runs at incredible speed. I the remaining hunters (plus Blake) can’t catch up to the eeing hunter and complete the ritual again, the huntershave earned themselves a new worst enemy. (Inthis event, you are ree to pursue any story avenuehe wishes, though it’s recommended that he turnthe possessed hunter into a supporting characterand have the hunter’s player generate a new character.)

In the event that the hunters can’t or won’tcomplete the ritual, they have no choice but to killBlake Walker. I they do, however, they’re opening themselves up to possession, as above, since they

won’t destroy the eidolon that way. Keeping nailsin their mouths throughout the process o killing Blake prevents possession, o course, but i they

know enough to use the nails, then they know enough to perorm the ritual. I they still choosenot to, out o some sense o obligation to CalebParker, they will be sae rom possession but notrom Lilah Walker, who never orgives them orletting her husband die when a viable alternative

was at hand. In this event, the eidolon—having nosoul to claim, and unknown to the hunters—sinks

into the ground where its host perished, there toawait the arrival o its next host; most likely CalebParker, who becomes a new long-term enemy o the hunters.

I the hunters complete the ritual, Blake Walkeremerges rom his stupor as though waking rom anightmare. He looks down and sees himsel onceagain in uniorm, his ace black with paint, hishands once again red with blood. The tears comeast and hard then, and don’t let up until he issaely back in Lilah’s arms. Even ater the events o the past week are explained to him in detail, Blake

Walker has a long road to recovery ahead o him.His mind is bruised, his soul battered and weak,but at least both mind and soul are once more hisown. And he has the hunters to thank or that.



Charac t er Inde x

Alan Mills—Possessed Nerd ................................................................................................................42

Antony Scapanelli ..............................................................................................................................73

B.K. - First On The Scene ................................................................................................................... 13

Becky Wells ........................................................................................................................................26

Biker .................................................................................................................................................57

Blake Walker, the Monster of Milton ................................................................................................... 93Bouncers (3) .....................................................................................................................................37

Carlos Estrada - County Archivist .....................................................................................................20

Cassie Price ......................................................................................................................................26

Computer Geek .................................................................................................................................57

Dog Guardians ...................................................................................................................................69

Hans-Ruedi Von Steffan, The Alchemist .............................................................................................38

Jacob Tanner - Unmanifested ............................................................................................................. 2

Jacob Tanner - Manifest ....................................................................................................................22

John Burlington - Construction Owner ..............................................................................................10Kenny Cole - Ambulance Driver ............................................................................................................ 12

Kenny Smalls & Joey Wilks...................................................................................................................29

Larry “The” Boher ............................................................................................................................75

Lilah Walker ........................................................................................................................................ 8

Mike Lazlo - Construction Security .....................................................................................................7

Mr. Preske - Store Manager ................................................................................................................14

Documents

Supernatural Adventures