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Chaosium Digest Volume 35 Number 12
Chaosium Digest Volume 35, Number 12
Date: Saturday, April 6, 2002
Number: 1 of 1
Contents
* The Basics of Being a Keeper (CTHULHU)
by Geoff Smith
* The Five Dreams of Joe Smith (CTHULHU)
by Matt Sanborn
Editor's Note:
The Upper House (CTHULHU) by Tim Wiseman from last issue has been chosen as
the winner of last quarter's Chaosium submission contest. Those articles
submitted earlier but that have not yet been used remain eligible for this
quarter's contest which ends in June. For your chance to win a $40 Chaosium
gift certificate, send in an original article dealing with Call of Cthulhu,
Stormbringer or Dragon Lords of Melnibone and you're entered. As always,
even though they don't qualify for Chaosium's contest, I also accept
submissions for Glorantha, Delta Green, Nephilim, Cthulhu Live and
Pendragon.
This issue features advise for novice Call of Cthulhu Keepers from Geoff
Smith and Matt Sanborn gives us a macabre tale for Investigators in the
mental health field.
Enjoy!
Letters to the Editor:
* Hello again,
Thanks for letting 'The Upper House' see the light of day; if any readers
want to get in touch with me, feel free to give them my e-mail. I didn't
realize those notes on the Suez Canal had been appended to my submission,
sorry they were in an unfinished state.
Also if you'd plug my web site I'd be very appreciative - it's at
http://www.geocities.com/wiseman_tim - it comprises a (complete this time)
1929 British-based scenario for CoC. Please take a look if you can.
Cheers,
Tim <wiseman_tim@yahoo.com>
Announcements:
* ISSARIES, INC. PRESS RELEASE
Oakland, CA
March 18, 2002
As some of you know from the GAMA Trade Show last week or the Issaries, Inc.
web site, Hero Wars 2nd edition is no more. HeroQuest is back!
Issaries, Inc. proudly presents
HeroQuest, Roleplaying in Glorantha
A new game by the Grand Masters of Roleplaying
HeroQuest, Roleplaying in Glorantha is the culmination of 27 years of
design, creation, and revision. Says president Stafford, "For 27 years I've
said it would be out 'next year.' Well, now it is next year. HeroQuest will
be released 'this year,' after it goes through the entire editorial process.
I am excited to finally have this ready for the world."
All new features:
· New Format! HeroQuest will be a 256 page book in the standard RPG format
of 8.5" x 11". The rules will be presented as a single, complete book.
· New Cover Art! A full-color cover by renown artist Lee Moyers shows the
Clash of Heroes.
· New Interior Art! Profusely illustrated by several artists, including
Stefano Gaudiano, Mark Moreno, Bernard Bittler.
· New Maps! The game includes several maps, all of them professionally
drawn.
· New Text! The elegant game system designed by Robin Laws is presented in a
clear and concise manner, newly and fully edited for clarity, completeness,
and correctness.
· New Examples! Many examples are given to illustrate game play, all of them
newly written by Greg Stafford, who originated the narrative style of
examples over 20 years ago.
· New Layout! A handsome interior format makes full use of the artwork,
runes, and other graphic elements for which Glorantha has always been known.
A Game of Discovery
The layout, contents, and presentation of HeroQuest encourages players to
discover the world of Glorantha. Entry is simple, and its exploration a part
of the story, campaign, and mythology. Only the minimal information in this
book is required, but deeper exploration is encouraged online and in our
supplements.
A Game of Adventure
The core HeroQuest rules book includes everything needed to play fun,
colorful, and adventurous characters. Character creation itself is a part of
the adventure. Players, not game designers, have control over the abilities
and magic available to their heroes, allowing them to create their
characters and begin adventuring almost immediately.
A Game of Heroes
HeroQuest encourages players to adventure into the myths and conflicts of an
ancient and magical world.
Everyone is a hero in HeroQuest.
For more information about the HeroQuest trademark, please see our HeroQuest
FAQ below.
For more information about the HeroQuest game, see our web site at
<www.glorantha.com/products/1001.html>
Email: <heroquest@glorantha.com>
Issaries, Inc. answers
Frequently Asked Questions about
HeroQuest, Roleplaying in Glorantha
Is this the board game? The one with the cool toys?
No, it is not. HeroQuest, Roleplaying in Glorantha is a new game by
award-winning game designers Robin D. Laws and Greg Stafford, based on the
world of Glorantha. The world of Glorantha has been subject of many games,
including RuneQuest by Chaosium and Avalon Hill, the Dragon Pass and Nomad
Gods board games, and the King of Dragon Pass computer game by A Sharp LLC.
What about Games Workshop? Don't they have a Trademark?
No, not any more. The board game Heroquest is out of print and no longer
available. Games Workshop allowed their trademark to lapse. Issaries, Inc.
is now using the HeroQuest trademark.
Is this Hero Wars 2nd Edition?
No, this is HeroQuest. Hero Wars is now the name of the book series for
playing HeroQuest in "modern" Glorantha. The Hero Wars roleplaying game is
no longer in print. Although HeroQuest contains the same basic rules system
as Hero Wars, every section and element has been streamlined and revised.
All of the rules, examples, and player keywords have been completely
rewritten. Although previous Hero Wars supplements are compatible with
HeroQuest, the game is better, faster, and stronger than it was before.
Everything about it is new.
--------------------
The Basics of Being a Keeper
This is intended for new or relatively inexperienced keepers. I'm going to
talk mostly about Call of Cthulhu, although much of this is true of any
system.
First, of course, you need to know the basic rules of the system. If
something comes up where you're not sure of the rule, then make something
up, or ignore it. The rules should never interfere with the game - they
provide a kind of objective framework for the game, nothing more.
If you're new to being a Keeper, then I strongly recommend you run a
published adventure. If you're running a Cthulhu game, you have at your
disposal one of the greatest collections of well thought out and
well-written adventures of any system. Start small, don't start with a
campaign. I don't care if you did just spend $40 on Horror on the Orient
Express. I know you're itching to take your players across the world and
through 18 months of gaming, but if you're new you're not ready. There are
several adventures that come with the official rules, choose one of those.
I'd recommend the Corbitt-haunted house one - I've run it a couple times
over
the years and it was a blast both times. Let me tell you a secret, if you
really want to make the game as much fun as possible, then do everyone a
favor, prepare. Really prepare. Take that adventure and read it from front
to back like it was a story, which it is. After you've read it, wait a day
or two and then read it again. This time go slower, study the parts that
don't make sense and make sure that all the pieces fit together in your
mind. If there are maps, study them.
If you're running 1920s Cthulhu you also need to brush up on your history.
What year exactly will the adventure take place in? Start with the basics,
like who is President, try to find out some of the big events of the year so
you have some clue what's going on in the broader world, it will probably
never come up in the game, but your session will be better for it. See if
you can rent a movie from the time period, this doesn't have to be boring,
if you like Laurel and Hardy or the Untouchables, you'll be OK. If this
stuff sounds like too much work, you probably should reconsider your desire
to run a game. You may prefer to run a Cthulhu Now game and not have the
added challenge of another time period, one of the great things about
Cthulhu is you can play any time you want. I've played games that were set
in the 1890's, World War I (remember to call it the Great War or better the
War to End All Wars), 1920's, 1930's, Vietnam Era and of course modern
times. The trade off for running a game in a time period other than the 1920
's, is that you'll have fewer published adventures to choose from. If you
want your first game to be a modern one, you can still run the Corbitt
adventure from the original rules, I don't think cell phones and video
cameras would make any real difference in that one. If you think a
particular time period is boring, choose a different one, if you can't get
interested your boredom will rub off on the players.
Now, you've read the adventure at least twice, and you're at least somewhat
familiar with the wider surroundings, you're ready to run the game right?
Well, you're close. It's time to create the characters, I'll assume for now
that like most beginners the players themselves will actually be rolling the
characters up. I won't say that this is a mistake, for a beginner it's
probably reasonable, but I will say that in every one of the best games I've
played, or run, the characters were created by the game master. Wouldn't you
say that at least as much time and thought should go into the characters as
went into the adventure? For a beginner, I'd probably have the players
create the characters, but don't leave it at name and occupation, at least
talk through the backgrounds of the character, who he is, what he does,
habits, relationships. I like to ask things like "Was he in the Great War-if
so how did he serve - if not why not?" or "What does he think about
prohibition?" Both questions serve to get the player thinking about their
character as an individual and to help fix the time period in their minds.
As Keeper you need to think about how to involve this character in the
adventure, and also how the characters relate to each other. You shouldn't
have the characters created the same night that you'll be running them
through the adventure. Unless you're going for the most clichéd and
cardboard of characters, you need time to flesh them out and think of a
reasonable way to introduce them to the adventure. A little conflict within
a group can be fun, but for beginners I would have to stress the little.
Don't have a cop, a known mobster, a communist organizer and a doctor all
trying to work together. Later on, when you've got the basics down, a
corrupt cop, a guy that secretly works for the mob, a red-leaning union
heavy that owes the mob guy a favor and a doctor with a heroin addiction
might all work together. How you motivate them at that point is up to you,
but again if you're new, you're not ready for that.
So, you've read the adventure at least twice, you've researched the time
period, the characters have been created and you've spent at least some time
tying those characters into the world of the game. Are you ready? How about
this, do you feel ready? If you feel shaky on the time period, watch another
movie or get a book on the period, watch Titanic - the technology is about
right even if it's not quite the right year. I've got a book called the
Timetables of History that I like to skim for ideas occasionally. In the day
or two proceeding the gaming session you should read the parts of the
adventure that you expect to be running. If you still remember everything,
then just skim it, if it's still fuzzy spend all the time you need.
When you feel ready, run the game. You'll need the rulebook, the adventure,
the characters, dice, pencils and a notebook. While the game is on, take
notes on everything important that happens. What someone did, when they went
someplace, what someone told them. Even when you're running a published
adventure you're going to have to be constantly anticipating player actions
and reacting to the surprising things they do and of course making up names,
addresses, room layouts, the contents of the dead guys wallet, a million
details - keep track of the key ones. If you've done you're homework, you
can do all this without breaking stride and your players will feel that
they're interacting with a vibrant and exciting world. If you haven't
prepare
ed, then you'll be flipping pages and mumbling to yourself while your
players contemplate their navels.
If the game goes faster than you expected and you get to a part you're not
as comfortable with, feel free to end the session where you planned to.
Otherwise, you could make up a quick side event or distraction, as long as
you can keep it lively and interesting. If you're new, remember, it's better
to have an excellent three hour session than a crummy four hour one. Good
luck!
- Geoff Smith
---------------------
The Five Dreams of Joe Smith
A 1920s Call of Cthulhu adventure by Matt Sanborn
http://home.earthlink.net/~monsterfashion/index.html
Dedication: For Joey Ramone
Scenario: This adventure is for players with characters in the mental health
field. At least one of the investigators should be a psychiatrist,
psychologist, etc. This adventure can be easily used as an opening night
game for a small group of players with any level of experience. The length
of this adventure in game time is over two months, and should take several
sessions of play.
Background: Longtime Arkham resident Joe Smith has recently sought the
services of a local psychiatrist. (Smith's locale can be made to fit
anywhere in New England, save northern New Hampshire). Over the past two
weeks he has been experiencing terrible nightmares. These nightmares are so
intense that he cannot sleep more than two hours a night. He is beginning
to show signs of long term fatigue. The game begins at the opening session
between a psychiatrist or psychologist and Mr. Smith.
Joe Smith: Mr. Smith is a 57 year old retired electrician who is a lifelong
resident of Arkham. He was married for 33 years to Alice (Trottier) Smith,
another Arkham resident. Two years ago she died of breast cancer. Having
saved money diligently during their lives, plus the $25,000 life insurance
policy of Mrs. Smith, Joe retired and mourned for almost two years in near
isolation. He began camping again early this spring. Camping has been a
lifelong passion, but he was unable to go anywhere for the three years
before his wife's death, as she needed constant attention.
He is a hardworking honest individual, who served 6 years in the Marines,
from age 16 - 22, and received a discharge with high honors. He then
married Alice soon after leaving the service. They never had children.
Both were devout Catholics and were considered upstanding members of their
community. Mrs. Smith did a great deal of volunteer work for the church,
and her husband was a deacon. Both were faithful and caring to one another,
loved camping and golfing. Their marriage, overall, was quite successful.
The First Session: Keepers should have the players roll-play out the
interview. This requires that the Keeper become very familiar with the
material. Mr. Smith will be very honest during the opening interview. He
really does have nothing to hide. The subject is well dressed, focused, and
quite articulate, but looks physically exhausted. After the initial
questioning, Mr. Smith will begin to describe his problems.
Four weeks ago Mr. Smith went camping but cannot remember where. He
remembers packing his car Friday afternoon, but the next thing he remembers
is smoking a cigarette in his bed at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday morning. He must
have driven home as his car was in the driveway, but both his camping gear
and wallet are missing. Since then he has been having the same nightmare:
Dream One: "There are bright, bright colors in the blackness. I see myself
in a mirror through the darkness. My nose begins to drip blood. I reach
for my handkerchief, but my head explodes into a mass of red pulp. I wake
up haunted, unable to go back to sleep."
Mr. Smith states he sleeps about 2 hours a night and feels run down all the
time. He constantly feels like he is getting a cold, and is rapidly losing
his appetite. He eats less than one full meal a day. A psychiatrist will
probably recommend a shot of vitamins and some sleeping pills. However,
these pills keep him asleep, trapping him with the same dream playing over
and over. After the third day, when he is physically feeling a bit better,
he throws the pills out, and will refuse them here on in.
What is Really Going On: Joe Smith, still grieving his beloved wife's death,
decided to take back up with one of the couple's true passions: camping.
Never having camped up in Canada before, he decided to head up that way for
a month or two. Driving from dawn to dusk, he reached Pennsylvania, New
Hampshire at night fall. He pitched camp in the woods near the only
attraction for many miles, Whitehead's Magical Color Caves. The caves were
alleged to hold magic in them, and all wishes would be granted. Beautifully
bright lights of all colors are seen at the bottom of the cave, each one
meaning a certain type of wish had been granted. However, these lights are
nothing more than MiGo down below mining for ores and elements not
indigenous to Yuggoth.
Mr. Smith had the terrible luck of camping too close to a concealed exit
from one of the caves. Some MiGo found him and brought him back for tests
and surgery. Smith became a tool of the MiGo without ever knowing it. The
ever-scheming MiGo already had a use for him - assassinate Ralph Russell,
the owner of Russell Mining and Logging Company. Mr. Russell has been
pressuring the land's owner, Jerome Whitehead to sell. The MiGo mining has
gone on for a decade without interruption, and has been most valuable to the
Fungi from Yuggoth. Mr. Russell has been very persistent, even stating he
is ready to challenge Whitehead's deeds in court. The Fungi know he must
die. Mr. Smith is now waiting for instructions from his operator. This
operator is a junior librarian at the Miskatonic University Library, Thomas
Kent. Now that the MiGo want Russell dead, players will watch helplessly as
Smith's life unravels right before them.
Time Table
The first part of this adventure follows a very strict timeline. After the
murder, players will dictate the pace.
May 1925
Friday, 29: Joe Smith leaves his house in Arkham at 4:30 a.m. to reach
Pennsylvania, NH, the Canadian border, by sun down: 7:25 p.m.. He arrives
at Whitehead's Magical Caves, around 8 p.m., and camps in the woods nearby.
During the night he is discovered and kidnapped by MiGo. He is operated
upon and programmed over the next few days to be a Fungi slave. Smith was
then put in his car and drove back to Arkham, with frequent stops for gas
food and rest. He did not act abnormally at all, and no one working at
these places will remember him.
June, 1925
Wednesday, 3rd: Joe Smith "finds himself" sitting in his bed trying to light
a cigarette. He was captivated by the flame and the match burnt down,
singing his finger. This minor bit of pain brought him back into
consciousness.
Monday, 8th: Joe Smith has DREAM ONE for the first time. He wakes screaming
and cannot get back to bed. This same dream will reoccur over and over
during the next two weeks, making sleep nearly impossible for the man.
Tuesday, 25th: After two weeks of almost no sleep, Joe Smith has APPOINTMENT
ONE. That night he experiences DREAM TWO during a drug induced sleep.
Smith begins to become haunted by this even more disturbing dream which
reoccurs every night.
Tuesday, 30th: APPOINTMENT TWO.
July 1925
Thursday, 1st. - Saturday, 3rd.: Steals several books from Miskatonic
Library. Smith is in a trance-like state during these episodes.
Monday, 6th.: Late night he experiences DREAM THREE.
Tuesday, 7th.: APPOINTMENT THREE.
Wednesday, 8th. - Thursday, 9th.: Steals more books from Miskatonic Library.
Friday, 10th.: DREAM FOUR.
Saturday, 11th.: Caught stealing a book on handguns by undercover cop who
had been contacted by junior-librarian Thomas Kent.
Monday, 13th.: Arraigned in court. Agrees to pay $50 fine. Released.
Tuesday, 14th.: APPOINTMENT FOUR.
Wednesday, 15th.: Joe Smith walks up to Ralph Russell, a man he has never
seen before, in front of his Boston office and shoots him in the head in
front of three dozen witnesses: 3:19 p.m. INVESTIGATOR DREAM ONE.
After the First Session: There are some remarkable parts to Smith's missing
time story, but nothing to alarm anyone in the psychiatric field. At best,
the grieving Mr. Smith is blocking out painful memories, and with that, his
short term memory is going. Perhaps some cocaine treatment could help
him....
The first four scenes of the game will take place in the investigator's
office and be mostly role-play. Mr. Smith should come off as a genuine,
decent man who obviously is suffering inside quite badly. Once he shoots
Ralph Russell, the investigators will be brought into the fold as his
defense psychiatrist, (this is also a great place to bring in other player
characters). With defense money coming in and the intense media coverage
investigators may make a name for themselves. They automatically gain a 1
d.6 bonus to their Credit Rating.
Session Two: Mr. Smith is looking a great deal more tired and he has a hard
time engaging as well as focusing in on conversation. He cannot remember
much of what he does during the week. If the player suggest keeping a
journal for next time, he will forget about this once he leaves the office.
At the start of this session, he begins talking about his latest nightmare:
Dream Two: "I'm in a very red room with full bookshelves covering most of
the walls. All the books are red. A man with bright red beard and hair
wearing a white suit approaches me. His face is hard to make out. Just his
red, red beard. In a mechanical voice he says, "Take this," handing me a
red book with a lock on it. When I look up from the book, the man is gone,
and the lock on the book is open. I look down again and my skin is hanging
off my bones. I know I am dying of brain cancer. I wake up screaming at
the sight of my own body."
Session Three: Joe Smith looks even worse, and speaks even more incoherently
this time. He reveals another dream he has been having.
Dream Three: "I'm in a confessional asking forgiveness for what I am
planning on doing. There is no reply from the other side of the box. I ask
again for forgiveness for what I am about to do. There again is no answer.
I step out of the box and open the other side. I enter the box and fall
into a pit a great depth below. There it is pitch black and I am up to my
neck in freezing water. I'm shaking madly. Then I hear it, something is
swimming my way and when it is right on me I wake screaming and then break
down into tears...."
Session Four: By now Mr. Smith is ready to collapse, and has to be helped
into the office. He speaks a bit about being arrested lately. Mr. Smith
has no idea why he stole the book. Little does he know he has been set up
as a patsy by the agents of the MiGo. He reveals another dream he has
recently had.
Dream Four: "I'm sitting in a barber's chair in the middle of the woods with
a pile of red books on my lap. The man with the red beard is shaving my
head with a straight razor. I notice he is naked, so I say, "Aren't you
cold?" He then slices my skull open front to back and pulls my brains right
out. I wake screaming so hard my stomach and ribs hurt."
Hypnosis: If a character has the hypnosis skill, or knows a colleague who
does, this tactic can be used. Mr. Smith will agree to anything to help
him. In fact, the restful benefits of hypnosis may be quite helpful.
However, if hypnotized, Mr. Smith will begin to act out his most recent
nightmare, and emerge abruptly from hypnosis screaming and violent.
The Night of the Murder: The investigator will no doubt hear the news via
the radio or extra edition newspaper, what Mr. Smith has done. This will be
quite disturbing for any mental health professional. A Sanity roll should
be made. Failure indicates a great depression for 1 d.10, with hours asleep
counting. Success results in a quite saddened heart, as Mr. Smith seemed to
have been a nice man who was going through a lot. The night the news is
delivered, the investigator has his own dream. (If there are more than one
investigator, each one has the same dream, though the other players do not
know it). There is no Sanity loss for the following:
Investigator's Dream One: Joe Smith stands in the doorway of an abandoned
brick building. Somehow you know that he is standing in Canada and you are
in America. He waves you towards him. As you approach he holds up his hand
in a "halt" position. You stop. Someone is coming up quickly from behind
you. Turning around you see - you wake screaming at the top of your lungs.
The Plea For Help: Three days after his arrest, Joe Smith requests to see
the investigators. His defense attorneys believe this to be a good idea,
and are excited to find out Mr. Smith had been seeking psychiatric help for
several months before the killing. This is the day of Ralph Russell's
funeral. Mr. Smith is wearing black and white prison pants and a white
t-shirt, his own, which reads: Whitehead's Magical Color Caverns,
Pittsburgh, New Hampshire. An idea roll will make an investigator take some
note.
Investigator Dream Two: The investigator is standing in the darkness.
Colors of every kind are flashing in the distance, build in luminance, then
shoot past their head. Though this is beautiful in some ways, they know
something is behind them, about to strike. They turn and wake up screaming.
Thomas Kent: This red headed, red bearded librarian has been a MiGo agent
for 15 years. Mr. Kent is five ten, bespeckled, and quite thin. He is also
completely insane and if investigators even speak to him he will inform his
MiGo masters via a thought projection machine he keeps in the closet of his
bedroom. The MiGo will inform Mr. Kent to eliminate the investigators at
all costs.
If this order is given Mr. Kent will begin scheming how he can eliminate the
investigators. He will be told by his masters via his dreams, to consult
the Necronomicon in the library in order to summon an assassin. Kent will
be given the passages to read in the Necronomicon. He will prepare and then
Summon/Bind in a creature to destroy the investigators. Keepers should
select their favorite beast for this summoning, and decide where the spell
is cast. Kent has not considered how to send the beast back.
Whitehead's Magical Caves: This extremely rocky and rough terrain flattens
out for about six miles. This flat patch of land, along with 700 other
acres of rocks and cliffs, are owned by Jerome Whitehead. Whitehead is one
of only 5 Negro property owners in New Hampshire. He was given this land by
a lumber company when one of their truck's brake released smashing into
Whitehead, his wife and child while they were crossing a street in Boston.
Both his wife and child were killed. Mr. Whitehead, whose forehead was
turned into a knot of scar tissue due to the accident, was given this land
by the company, as they bought huge amounts, and found this parcel to be
useless to them.
Four years later, Whitehead, now practically a hermit, living in his shack,
was discovered by the MiGo, who had recently gated into the area. Though
Jerome is their agent, the MiGo allow him to run a money making business (a
concept they do not understand), as it acts as an excellent front to the
true operation. Whitehead has made quite a sum of money running the only
tourist trap for many miles around. Those heading to Canada to drink often
stop here and make wishes. Certain colors seen in the caves mean certain
wishes have been granted. It is not uncommon for people to come back day
after day for weeks until the right color appears for them. The record is
46 days waiting for white. These colors are nothing but the MiGo miner's
florescent heads communicating with one another. The opening in the cave is
blocked off by a ten foot tall chain-link fence to prevent people from
throwing objects like coins into the pit. The MiGo are about 175 feet
below, and never come near the surface during the day when the caverns are
open. The cavern closes promptly at ten minutes before sundown.
On the property is also Whitehead's Bar-B-Q, run by Whitehead's new lover
Loretta Young. Young, a 43 year old former Boston madam, is hiding up here
from a murder charge in Massachusetts. Most of the other seven other
employees of the facility are in one sort of trouble or another, but know
better than to molest or steal from the visitors. All are well behaved, as
they have all been tampered with by the MiGo. Any deviation from proper
behavior results in swift violence from Whitehead. All but Loretta live in
a set of four shacks behind the motel area.
If investigators begin to nose around here, Whitehead will move to get them
off the premises ASAP. He will be polite, but can get very nasty and
violent when pushed. He is not beyond inviting the investigators to stay
over night in one of the cabins, then light it ablaze while the party
sleeps. The MiGo may also attack the party in their sleep in hopes of
obtaining new slaves and earthly information.
The MiGo Complex: This labyrinth of tunnels runs for miles underground here.
The Fungi are well spread out, but about sixty of the three hundred in the
area are localized around the caverns. Labs, auditoriums, mating chambers,
armories, and dormitories are frequent here. A captured investigator will
be rushed into a lab and operated upon after all knowledge is sucked from
their minds. An agent in the psychiatric field would be a great boon for
the aliens. Death is not always a given. Many investigators are more
useful to the Fungi alive than dead.
The Trial: The trial will begin on Monday, October 12, 1925. There is quite
a bit of press as there is speculation Smith is an anarchist working for a
larger, unknown group. Ralph Russell was also one of the richest men in
Boston, and this alone brings press and spectators. About 20 hooded
anarchists will be across the street from the courthouse to cheer Mr. Smith
on. This group, The Orange Resistance look at Smith as a hero, though Smith
would find this group reprehensible. This does not help Smith any, since
the jury sees these people too.
The trial will last five days, as all 36 witnesses of the murder are brought
in over the first three days. Thomas Kent will also be called to talk about
Smith stealing a firearms guide days before the murder. Smith is pleading
innocent due to reason of insanity. This new style of defense will prove to
be ineffective on any jury, no matter how well the investigators testify on
the stand for Mr. Smith. The jury will take 45 minutes to find him guilty
of first degree murder and sentence him to life in prison without chance of
parole.
Play From Here: There are a great number of games to be played from here.
What monster did Kent summon? Will Kent be discovered and his MiGo machine
located? Will investigators try and prove Smith insane. What will happen
at Whitehead's caverns? Should the investigators try a raid on the MiGo
complex, (really bad idea). Feel free to drive the players on through their
dreams. The guilt these night time horrors leave the characters with should
propel anyone into action. If Kent's first beast fails, he will step up the
assault. As to how, it's all up to you.
Furthermore: please, if you use this, let me know how things turned out!
Monsterfashion@earthlink.net
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