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Chaosium Digest Volume 33 Number 10
Chaosium Digest v33.10
Saturday, May 05, 2001
King of Scabs (pt. 1)
A Call of Cthulhu Adventure
by Matt Sanborn
Monsterfashion@earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~monsterfashion/index.html
Playtesters: Brian "MacZilla" MacDonald, Brian "I'm back" Courtemanche, and
John M.
Scenario: This scenario is for players who have characters in the legal
field. There is also room for a writer, photographer and possibly a private
eye. This will be discussed in the Other Characters section. The attorney
can be either a public defender, a well known attorney, or somewhere
between. Players should come into the game with a basic grasp of how the
legal system works, and what legal counsel can and cannot do for his client.
Remind the players about lawyer/client confidentiality.
Background: A lawyer has been hired to defend Mr. Ahmed Grier of Dunwich,
Massachusetts, on three counts of murdering Massachusetts State Policemen in
the first degree during a raid on what the press reports as, "a clandestine
orgy of a filthy group of Dunwich denizens." Police had been chasing two
members of the group, now known to the public as the Filthy Five, after two
members had been spotted in Arkham by a foot patrol officer snatching a
young girl from a car. The situation climaxed at Sulfur Mountain in
Dunwich, where Mr. Grier's four accomplices were slain. Grier shot and
killed three police in what he claims to be self defense. Mr. Grier is in
serious need for legal counsel.
The stature of the lawyer or lawyers will determine how the game begins.
If characters are public attorneys, Mr. Grier can afford no counsel, and the
case is given to the Public Defender's Office. Since this is a death
penalty case, more than one public defender will be used. Private practice
lawyers can be brought in easily. Enigma Magazine out of New York will pay
for Grier's defense for the rights to have the first public interview with
Grier after the trial. Enigma knows something may be brewing here, and
wants to take a risk. If the lawyers are prestigious, then Enigma can be
owned by a much bigger parent corporation, and has deep pockets. If the
lawyers are new, they are in luck, as their smaller fees are all the small
magazine can afford, and they were picked out of a phone book. Either way,
events begin to unfold.
What Really Happened That Night: Ahmed Grier, a 25 year resident of Dunwich,
has spent years in the sulfur swamps casting spells and summoning evil
spirits. He has withered and saved crops, summoned terrible storms, and
caused droughts and floods. Three years ago Grier formed the Healers of the
Open Sore, a five member group, worshipping a disgusting avatar of
Nyarlathotep known to them as King of Scabs. The group toiled for these
years, building an altar to their god in the sulfur swamps. They worked and
studied tirelessly, preparing for the day they would perform the Coronation
of the King of Scabs. Grier was certain he could bring the beast into the
planet and still believes that the reward for this will be limitless power
and knowledge.
Two mongrel Dunwich children had been abducted, but one died in captivity
the night before the coronation. Two members of the group, Silas Langley, a
town farmer and Richard Gentry, a dolt who served as the enforcer, swiped
another child the day of the coronation and were spotted by a Massachusetts
State Police officer. There were five police dressed in hunting garb in the
area tracking down rabid dogs. The chase lead to the top of Sulfur
Mountain, where the group regularly met. Isaac Grier had already been sent
ahead to the altar with a spell book and the kidnapped child. When Isaac
heard the shooting, he cast the spell by himself and paid the price. During
the shootout, Grier was hit in the shoulder by a .45 slug.
Killed in the raid were officers Sandy O'Toole, 22; Paddy O'Brien, 25;
Conway Stockard, 26. Cult members killed were Silas Langley and Richard
Gentry, along with Ahmed's sister Yvonne Grier, 45, and Dunwich Selectman
Richard Drinker, 56.
Time Table: The entire game spans only a few days. Keepers can begin the
game any year and month they want, but the raid should take place on an
early Saturday morning. One the first day, at 1:15 in the morning the
shootout occurs. Four cultists and three police are killed. Grier is
arrested and brought to the Massachusetts State Police barracks in North
Andover. He is fingerprinted, mugshot, and locked up. In the late morning,
the press is camped out in front of the police barracks. Grier refuses to
talk to police.
The next day, Sunday, a legal team is hired. Private lawyers may wish to
meet with client today. If the lawyer is a public defender, he or she will
be assigned the case on Monday morning, about an hour before the
arraignment. Police reports on the incident can be obtained by the legal
team in North Andover at the barracks. Grier is willing to meet with
counsel. He may be dirty, wily, and completely insane, but he is shrewd and
is well aware of his legal and especially Constitutional rights.
The Arraignment: Monday is the arraignment. The public defender will get
little more than five minutes with Ahmed before they enter a plea. Judge
Randall of the Arkham Court takes the bench in his courtroom and officially
charges Ahmed Grier with one count of kidnapping, and three counts of murder
in the first degree of three state police officers. Ahmed pleads not
guilty. Grier will then be denied bail and sent to the Middleton House of
Corrections in Middleton, Massachusetts, where he is to be held until his
trial, exactly one month from today in Newburyport Superior Court. This is
a capital crime and the death penalty will be sought.
The First Interview: Whenever this occurs, attorneys will have police
reports to examine as well. This meeting will either take place at the
Middleton House of Corrections or the Massachusetts State Police Barracks in
North Andover. Ahmed Grier will be brought into the room wearing khaki
pants and a gray prison-issue shirt. He is bejeweled with shackles and
handcuffs. He is a small man, with a wild gray beard, mustache and hair.
His eyebrows are tremendous as are his nose hairs. His left shoulder has a
bandage on it where he was shot. Despite being forced to shower, he still
smells strongly of sulfur. Grier will sit with his hands folded on the
table and engage his counsel with a great deal of focus. Players will
realize quickly that Ahmed is a man of intelligence. During the questioning
by the legal team, he will reveal.
* He had no idea that Silas Langley and Richard Gentry were involved in a
kidnapping.
* The group met on Sulfur Mountain to perform religious rites. Grier
reminds counsel that he has that right.
* He did fire his shotgun at the police out of self defense. He did not
realize what was going on, and the police did not identify themselves. He
kept the gun with him because there are wild mountain lions, cougars and dog
packs in the area. He also has the right to bear a firearm.
* All the members of the group except for him are dead. "They're all dead
now."
He will never reveal:
* The name of the cult.
* Who or what they worshipped.
* Why the second kidnapping took place.
* The secret altar in the swamp.
* The body that is in the well.
* That his brother escaped to the altar with another kidnap victim.
End of the Interview: Once the final interview is over, Grier will ask his
lawyer to pick up some of his books from his home. This will be a surprise
to the lawyer, as Mr. Grier has no known address. He will tell them it is
between the base of Sulfur Mountain and Sulfur Swamp. It is covered with a
lot of shrubbery, but there is a well near the front which is the landmark
to use to find it. He will tell them that in the first door to the right
when they enter his house is a library. It is locked and police took the
key during the raid. On the desk in this room is a large book. "It's
trapped, so don't open it," he tells the investigators. The key can be
obtained at the check out area of the jail. There are two keys on a simple
iron ring.
Playing Defense: Players making successful law rolls will realize the best
defense is to argue that Mr. Grier shot only in self defense while believing
he was protecting his First Amendment Right to peaceful meeting for
religious purposes. When asked, Grier will state the police did not
identify themselves. It was near dark and he could not clearly make out who
they were. Therefore, it was a case of self defense, and at "best",
Manslaughter.
For the kidnapping charge, Grier will claim that Langley and Gentry were
not part of their meeting. The two had been kicked out last month due to
abhorrent behavior. Grier refuses to elaborate on what the behavior had
been. The two men arrived on the meeting with the girl knowing they were
being chased by police. It was a last ditch attempt to gain revenge on
those who had expelled them.
Of course, players may have their own theories and strategies.
Dunwich: Even if the players opt not to get Grier his books, (though there
is no reason they shouldn't help their client), even the public defender(s)
will find it useful to investigate the crime scene in person. Those Keepers
lucky enough to have Return to Dunwich, use the map on page 54. The small,
very run down house rests between Sulfur Swamp and Sulfur Mountain. The
place is almost entirely covered with brush, but a well can be seen in the
tall grass with a successful Spot Hidden roll. Anyone pushing the heavy
wooden top off of the well to look down into the well with a light should
make a Spot Hidden roll. Success indicates the investigator can make out
the shape of what at first appears to be a doll. But then a terrible
feeling comes creeping. This is a human body.
The Body in the Well: This poor unfortunate girl is seven year old Amy
Wilson from the Wilson/ Dunstable clan, (pg. 55, RTD), abducted a week ago
by Silas Langley. Due to malnutrition complicated by a diabetic condition,
the girl lapsed into a coma early the day before the coronation. Yvonne
bathed her in the Sulfur Springs to help wake her, as the girl needed to be
alive to be a sacrifice. She was put back into the pit in the house where
she was being kept with her nine year old sister Edna Wilson. Sometime
during the night, her life slipped away from her.
Any attorneys seeing this body are legally bound to report it to police or
risk disbarment. Should it be discovered that a lawyer or police officer
knew there was a dead body and did nothing, they will face great public and
professional backlash. Loss of job, respect in the community, credit
rating, etc.
There is a good probability that players will not check out the well too
thoroughly, as there is no need. If you do not want to introduce another
body, the poor girl sank to the bottom in the mire and filth of that
abandoned well. Over the years her body will break apart. Her family, so
degenerate and inbred, will be thankful there isn't another mouth to feed.
There are no records for most of these kids; it's if they never existed.
Healers of the Open Sore: Of the many degenerate cults in Dunwich, this may
be the most vile. Founded only 3 years ago by wizards Ahmed Grier and his
brother Isaac. Both had taken residence in Dunwich 25 years ago after
fleeing from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, after police began closing in on
them for murdering a high school student. They had done a good job laying
low, becoming more and more grizzled looking, less and less like the two
wanted men. Their sister was contacted via a dream, and she joined them
shortly thereafter.
But 15 years ago, during a fever, Ahmed received a vision, and began
furiously writing in a journal. Fevered and dehydrated he wrote for three
days straight, then collapsed. He was in a coma for a month, with his
sister nursing him back to health. When he awoke, he remembered very
little, but began to study his own writing intensely. With the knowledge in
the book, Grier realized he could bring forth the avatar of the gods to
serve him. Nyarlathotep tricked Grier through the visions into writing this
book which will bring nothing but misery to the earth for centuries to come.
It is Grier who is doing the serving.
Years later, other members of the group were recruited by Yvonne. More
manpower was needed for the coronation. She did most of the work needed to
be done in town, such as shopping. Silas Langley turned to her to save his
crops. When a banner crop popped up, he became loyal to Yvonne. She also
seduced the dimwitted Richard Gentry into the cult. A helper on Langley's
farm, Gentry soon began breaking into houses and stealing money for her.
Three years ago, along with Langley and Gentry Dunwich Selectman Richard
Drinker was initiated into the group. They swore by blood and violence to
bring their true master into this world. The blueprint now rested in their
leader's own writings: The Book of The Three Wounds.
The Book of The Three Wounds: Grier transcribed the three diaries verbatim
into a large, leather-bound tome. He covered the book with scabs, blood,
and bits of dead flesh of wild animals. he then cast a curse on the book
that whoever should open the book without making the Voorish Sign over the
front cover, will suffer cuts and sores all over their body which will
quickly fester and pop. Any other attempts by the same or other
investigators yields the same fate.
There are three parts to the book: The Coming, The Arrival, and The
Delivery of His Promise, respectively. Each section begins with Grier
entering a dream world where an emaciated, albino-like woman lays dying on a
wooden floor. There are three open wounds on her face. He looks into a
different infected orifice in each of the three sections.
Part One: The King
* What the King of Scabs will deliver his followers
* What the future holds for the world
Part Two: The Arrival
* The spell Coronation of the King of Scabs
* Why the coronation must take place
* The powers behind the King of Scabs
(Mentions Azathoth, Yog Sothoth, Ahub Niggurath)
Spells: Coronation of the King of Scabs
(Grier misinterpreted a dream, leading him to write and believe two children
were needed for the coronation. Only one child is needed).
Part Three: The Delivery of His Promise
* The coming of new plagues and diseases
* A very vague prophecy of the end of the world
* Spells: Voorish Sign, Wither, Contact the King of Scabs (Nyarlathotep)
Reading Time: 11 weeks
Cthulhu Mythos: + 4%
Spell Modifier: x2
Coronation of the King of Scabs: For the past three years each member has
had a hand in preparing this dreadful spell. The altar had to be designed
and built. Special sulfur based powders were mixed for burning on the
altar. Children were scouted as good targets for kidnapping. Rituals and
animal sacrifices were performed monthly on Sulfur Mountain. Everything was
going as planned until Amy Wilson died right on the morning of the
coronation.
Only one sorcerer and victim is needed to summon King of Scabs. Isaac took
the girl and stole into the woods undetected, sacrificed her, then began the
magikal incantations. Great noxious and green vapors came out from the
swamp and the water began to boil. Through an open trapdoor on the altar,
emerged the hideous King of Scabs. Isaac and the beast performed the rest
of the ritual - the eating of the pure flesh. At the climax of the
ceremony, Grier approached him with unsteady footwork, holding a razor-wire
crown. The hideous mask of the great messenger reached out and touched
Issac's hand. Grier immediately fell to the ground, covered in sores and bl
oody gashes.
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