66021-Call_of_Cthulhu_-_The_Grindhouse_Collection

Credits

Writing: Alex Guillotte, Ian Christiansen

Rules Development: Alex Guillotte, Ian Christiansen

Design & Layout: Alex Guillotte

Editing: Ian Christiansen, Keith Mageau

Art Director & Illustrations: Alex Guillotte

Model Credit (First Night): www.instagram.com/contesacneajna

About This Collection

This book contains the first three volumes in The Grindhouse double feature
series, plus an additional all new scenario, available only in this exclusive
collection. Each scenario is intended to be run in a single three to four hour
session, though specific times can vary depending on the style of game play.

The bonus scenario is called The Hoodlums, and is set in my home town of
Worcester, Massachusetts. I wrote it as a teenager during the early 1980s, and
since this was before the internet, it was mostly written in a library where I
had access to research materials, old newspapers, and a photocopier that cost
10¢ per page. While it’s far from autobiographical, many of the characters are
inspired by real kids that I knew growing up, and of course many of the places
and historical events are real as well... if slightly embellished for dramatic effect.

Alex Guillotte

Copyright 2022 • Alex Guillotte

Call of Cthulhu is a Trademark of Chaosium Inc.
and is used with their permission via the OBS Community Content program.

For more information please visit Chaosium’s website:
www.Chaosium.com

The Miskatonic Repository Logo is used under license.

Disclaimer: This product contains assets that were procedurally generated with the aid of creative software(s) powered by machine learning.
All of the aforementioned assets were significantly modified, imagebashed, or simply used as reference material.

2

What is Grindhouse?

The term grindhouse is most often used to describe low-budget horror, splatter, and
exploitation films for adults. These were popularized in the 1970s, but their roots can be
traced back to the 1920s and on up through the mid-1980s.
The intention with these scenarios is to combine the violent brutality of grindhouse films with
the mind-rending cosmic horrors of the Lovecraftian mythos in the most cinematic way possible.

Inspirational Movies

Here are some great (and not-so-great) movies to inspire Keepers and players alike. Note
that while not all of these are strictly grindhouse movies, they epitomize the genre’s aesthetic
and are well worth watching.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Near Dark (1987)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977) Invasion of the Blood Farmers (1972)
Race with the Devil (1975) Zombi 2 (1979)
Death Proof (2007) Planet Terror (2007)
Trilogy of Terror (1975) Friday the 13th (1980)
Dawn of the Dead (1978) C.H.U.D. (1984)
The Wicker Man (1973) Switchblade Sisters (1975)
The Car (1977) I Drink Your Blood (1970)
House of 1000 Corpses (2003) I Eat Your Skin (1971)
Last House on the Left (1972) Halloween (1978)
Evil Dead (1981) The Corpse Grinders (1971)
Humanoids from the Deep (1980) The Devil’s Rain (1975)
Scanners (1981) Psychomania (1973)
It’s Alive (1974) Werewolves on Wheels (1971)

Read This First!

The purpose of these books is to provide Keepers with interesting one-shots that can be
completed in a single session. Each scenario starts with a unique location that can seamlessly
be inserted into an existing campaign with little or no modification. These scenarios are
modular, with a number of options and variants available so that Keepers can customize them
to suit their needs. It’s even possible to scavenge these scenarios for parts that can be added to
the Keeper’s own settings, making their utility nearly limitless. Think of them as skeleton keys
to countless doors.
There are seven sections in each scenario: Prelude, Objectives, Secrets, Cast, Signs,
Threats, and Changes, with the occasional bit of extra information included, like unique
items or special rules. Some have multiple options, and since the Keeper isn’t limited to
using only one option, there are many variations possible. Sections can be used as written or
modified based on the situation, the style of the Keeper, or to adjust the scenario’s lethality.

3

Prelude. This section provides an overall description of the setting including a physical
location, mood, and the overall tone of the scenario. Parts of this section are left deliberately
vague so that it can be inserted into a preexisting campaign more seamlessly. This section may
also include notes regarding some of the other sections, a brief history, and/or suggestions for
adapting it to different settings.
Objectives. This section describes why the characters are at the specific location and
why they might become involved in the plot. Their reason can be as simple as happenstance,
or the characters may have gone there specifically to investigate that location.
If a scenario is being inserted into an ongoing campaign, the Keeper could decide that
the location has something that the investigators need, such as an object or information, and
they should modify the scenario accordingly.
Secrets. This section describes what’s really going on. These could include the nefarious
plans of an antagonist, the dark motivations of a malevolent entity, or the effects of some
impersonal force that drives the plot of the scenario. Of course, there may be multiple secrets
since there may be more than one force at work behind the scenes.

Then there are the secrets that have nothing to do with the main plot but may be included
as possible hooks for future scenarios or to give an NPC more character depth.
Cast. This section describes NPCs that are less significant or even benign in nature.
They may be included to add flavor or interest in the location, impart information to the
investigators, or simply provide an opportunity for roleplay. These characters are often
neutral, though the actions of the investigators can change that if they treat them poorly or
make any hostile moves against them.
Signs. This section includes options for objects or clues that the investigators might find
at this location. These things could be significant, minor, or simply a curiosity. Signs can help
flesh out a location by making it feel more lived in, impart information to the investigators,
foreshadow future events, provide the characters with a useful artifact, or even provide a
cache of resources if the Keeper is feeling particularly generous.
Threats. These include enemies, traps, natural hazards, mythos horrors, and so on. While
these may be extremely dangerous, the scenarios are flexible enough to allow the Keeper to
adjust the lethality. For example, if the scenario says that there are six zombies, but this seems
like too much for the investigators to handle, the Keeper can describe them as extremely
decayed and reduce their hit points accordingly. On the other hand, if a trap seems too easy to
find, the Keeper can increase the difficulty of the Spot Hidden check to notice it.
Whenever possible, profiles are provided for non-player characters, monsters, and spells,
but occasionally the scenario will reference one of the core game books like the Keeper
Rulebook, Malleus Monstrorum, or The Grand Grimoire of Cthulhu Mythos Magic. In these
latter cases, the specific book and page number are provided.
Changes. When the time comes to shake things up, this section comes into play. These
include all manner of changing conditions. including plans coming to fruition, timed events,
plot twists, weather events, and even physical changes in the location itself. For example,
a cultist might unleash a monstrous guardian, or a dilapidated structure might become
destabilized by the investigators’ actions, causing a crumbling wall to collapse. Changes
could also include outside events, such as two groups choosing that moment to start fighting
over that location, caring little for anyone caught in the middle.

4

V WARNING V

The Grindhouse series is intended for mature audiences. It embraces the gritty
and often brutal style that was popular in the grindhouse, exploitation, and slasher
films of the 70s and 80s.
The Keeper and players should be aware that these scenarios may contain
situations, scenes, and imagery that some might find intense, particularly if they
have experienced any real-life trauma. For this reason, we have provided this trigger
warning, allowing the Keeper to omit certain elements as they see fit. Any potential
triggers are listed on the first page of that scenario.
That being said, no one can predict every possible trigger, and there’s no substitute
for good old-fashioned communication between everyone involved in the game. Before
beginning any scenario, the Keeper should sit down and talk with their players,
making the nature and content of this material very clear. Encourage the players to
ask questions, voice concerns, and vote on whether or not the scenario is right for the
group. It may even be a good idea to have a secret vote for the sake of personal privacy.
If everyone agrees to play, it’s suggested that the Keeper give players some way to
end a scene that they find too intense. This can be done using a token or safe word
of some kind, but however it’s done, there should be no explanation required. The
Keeper should simply end the scene and have the group take a break so that they
can resolve the situation.
Possible resolutions could include taking the scene in a different direction,
replaying things differently, or simply “fading to black” with a narrative description
filling the gap. The Keeper should avoid punishing the player when this happens. So
there should be no significant damage or Sanity loss when play resumes.
In an extreme case where someone cannot continue a scenario, the session
should end immediately. At that point, the group can discuss options. The Keeper
may be able to rework the scenario, but it’s also possible that the player may have to
bow out of the game for the remainder of the story, or the scenario may have to be
set aside altogether.
Keepers should note that under NO circumstances should a rape scene of any
kind be included in a scenario. Period. It doesn’t matter whether it makes sense for
the story or not. Don’t do it. This is one of those cases where a deus ex machina
solution is absolutely acceptable.
Remember that role playing games are ultimately about having fun. If anything
in this scenario would detract from that fun, it should be changed or eliminated as
the Keeper sees fit. Whenever possible, alternatives may be suggested in the book,
but of course, it’s not possible to take all people and situations into account.

5

The

Crimson King

Blood
Gore
Drug Use

The Crimson King

This scenario can be set in any North American city in the early 1980s. The characters
have been invited to an exclusive nightclub that features early goth music with
industrial and punk influences. Illicit drugs and overt sexuality are ubiquitous with the
underground nightclubs of the time, and by all accounts, The Court of the Crimson King
is no exception.

Prelude

The Entrance. In an obscure back alley of the city, a small black wooden sign painted
with a red crown marks a hidden jewel for those fond of the post-punk goth music scene.
The barely audible beat of a sub-woofer draws the eye to a dim red light emanating from
a descending stairway behind an abandoned warehouse. At the bottom of the stairs, an
unremarkable red metal door is illuminated by a shaded light above it, filling the stairwell
with crimson.
Three knocks cause a small square to slide open, revealing a dark eye. The thumping beat
becomes louder as an equally dark voice says, “It’s a bit late for visitors.”
You quickly fish the black and red card out of your pocket (Handout #1) and show it to the
eye. As promised, the door opens to reveal a black-painted corridor lit by more red lights.
The leather-clad biker steps back and gestures toward the door at the far end.
The Court of the Crimson King. Pushing open the door, the deep thump of Bauhaus
hits you like a padded wall, followed by the mingled smell of alcohol, cigarettes, weed, and
people. The club takes up the entire cellar level of an old factory building with evenly spaced
concrete supports that prevent you from seeing more than a fraction of the space. Circular
steel tables are scattered haphazardly throughout the room to the left, while a long bar can
be seen to the right. Along the far left wall is a row of wooden booths that look as if they were
made from re-purposed church pews.
The brick walls are painted black with phrases and poems in a dark red script that’s only
just visible in the subdued lighting and smoke. Stage lights are mounted on the ceiling fifteen
feet overhead within the tangle of electrical cables, ventilation ducts, and pipes. The occasional
industrial fan turns lazily over the crowd, stirring the various odors and smoke into a ubiquitous
haze. The lights are tinted red with theatrical gels, giving the entire room a bloody hue.
The bar along the right-hand wall is topped with a slab of dark slate with several dozen
stools running its length. On the wall behind is a floor-to-ceiling mural painted in the Baroque
style that depicts a scene similar to Da Vinci’s famous Last Supper, except that instead of
Jesus and his disciples, there are men and women engaged in lewd and suggestive behavior
that stop just short of being openly obscene. The figure in the middle is a bare-chested man
wearing a red crown and pouring wine down himself. A pair of young women are eagerly
drinking the wine as it runs down his torso; their faces are stained crimson.
There’s a floor plan on the wall just inside the entrance (Handout #2) that provides a
basic layout of the place, and below that is a basic menu of drinks.

7

Objectives

Once in a Lifetime. The characters have been given the unique opportunity to go to
one of the most exclusive nightclubs in the city. Rumors suggest that all of the movers and
shakers frequent the place, from A-list celebrities to the financial elite. Whether their goal is
to make important connections or rub shoulders with the rich and famous, this is sure to be
a night to remember.
Missing Person. The characters are police detectives or private investigators tasked with
finding Venessa Lebraun, daughter of the real estate mogul Elliot Lebraun. She disappeared
a week ago, but the family didn’t become concerned immediately since she’s been known
to pick up and fly to Paris at a moment’s notice. Her father is concerned that she’s become
mixed up in some sort of indiscretion, so as much as he wants to find her, he wants to avoid
a scandal. If the characters are in law enforcement, there is incredible political pressure to
find her as quickly and discreetly as possible, and if the characters are private investigators,
the pressure is an obscene amount of money.
The only clue was a pair of invitations to an exclusive, almost mythical nightclub that has
existed only in rumors and whispers for decades. If the characters are law enforcement of
some kind, their superiors make it clear (in no uncertain terms) that their sole purpose is to
find Vanessa, and any illegal activity that they encounter in the nightclub is to be ignored.

Secrets

Vampires. The nightclub has been around for more than just decades and has, in fact,
existed in some form for centuries. The owner is actually an ancient vampire that was old
when Rome was founded. His original name, as well as a hundred pseudonyms, have been
lost to the mists of time, and he is now known only as The Crimson King.
The purpose of the club is to provide him with a steady supply of young blood. Most
nights, he feeds on a few select patrons, leaving them unharmed, apart from a little anemia,
but tonight is a special occasion. It’s the club’s last night in this city, and The Crimson King
always celebrates these moves with an absolute bloodbath... literally. This is an old tradition
of his that includes leaving a few of his progeny behind, and so for the last four months he
has sired six new vampires, including Vanessa Lebraun. Apart from the obvious pleasure
of inflicting more suffering upon humanity, leaving a few vampires in the city means that if
anyone suspects the truth of things, his “children” will be blamed for tonight’s massacre.

Cast

Staff. The three bartenders and eight waitresses who work at the club all sign a strict
non-disclosure agreement, and since they are all paid an extremely generous salary, none
have broken their contract. The staff all wear formal black and white uniforms and simple
red ceramic masks that cover the upper half of their faces. This latter feature serves two
purposes. The first is to enhance the mystique of the nightclub, and the second is to ensure
the anonymity of the staff.
Bartender. Ryan Bancroft has been bartending for about fifteen years and is one of the
city’s best. He was hesitant when he was approached a few years ago to work at the mysterious

8

nightclub, but the obscene amount of money offered was too much to resist. A few years out of
the social spotlight was a small price to pay for a seven-figure salary that would allow him to
start his own nightclub before he was forty.
Ryan wears a charismatic smile below his mask and has developed the uncanny
ability to engage in intimate conversations without sharing any significant information
about his life. His dark hair is neatly cut, and his brown eyes show clearly through the
mask’s eye holes.
Head Waitress. The club has eight waitresses, including Sandy Brewster, who oversees
them all. She has worked her way up through many of the worst dives in the city, so when
the opportunity came to work at The Court of the Crimson King, she jumped at the chance.
In a few short years, she went from the new girl to the head of the wait staff, earning more
in a week than most people earn in six months.
The Band. The band on stage consists of six musicians, all with black bags over their
heads. These unfortunate souls are irrevocably dominated by the Crimson King and have
been for decades. They’re not dead, but if they had free will, they might wish for such a gift.
Their entire purpose is to play their instruments as their master dictates, and as such, they
have become exceptionally proficient. They are completely unresponsive when not playing,
and when their set is done, they quickly retreat to the backstage area.
Patrons. The club is packed with eighty to a hundred patrons, most of whom are young
and attractive. They range from wealthy to working middle class, with a few college students,
artists, and musicians who tend to gravitate to such places.
While they are all very different people with their own reasons for coming to the nightclub,
there are a few traits that they all share. These include a love of punk and goth music,
an anti-authoritarian ethos, and the desperate need to step outside of mainstream society.
When improvising NPCs, the Keeper should keep these common traits in mind.
Finally, most of the patrons reflect the goth aesthetic that includes black makeup, dark
clothes, dyed hair, chains, piercings, and a generally somber manner.

Signs

Marks. A number of the patrons have already been fed upon by the Crimson King and
his children. Unlike the more romantic notions of the vampire, these feeding wounds are
gory holes on the wrist that are surprisingly devoid of blood. If a character interacts with a
patron, the Keeper can have them make a Hard Spot Hidden check to notice the wound. If
asked, the patron makes up some story. They might claim to have broken a glass or caught
their arm on a metal corner, but they’ll dismiss it as nothing and quickly change the subject.
Anyone with a skill that might include knowing something about injuries, like First Aid,
Medicine, Science (Forensics), or Natural World, can make a check to identify that the wound
is probably a bite of some kind. An Extreme success reveals that it was likely a human bite.
Teeth. While mingling in the club, there is a 20% chance of encountering one of the
hunting vampire spawn. If the character engages with them, they can make a Spot Hidden
check to notice their oversized canine teeth, though an Extreme success is required to
realize that they are real teeth and not some sort of expensive prosthetic. If they look closer,
the Keeper may even have the character notice a drop of blood on their clothing.

9

Feeding. The vampires are very discrete for obvious reasons, and so while feeding
on a patron, they’ll take them into one of the many shadowy corners, into a booth, or
behind a pillar to feed. In most cases, this can easily be mistaken for a normal (if intense)
make-out session, but a Hard Spot Hidden check reveals that one of them seems to be
consensually biting the other on the wrist. An Extreme success allows them to realize that
the person biting is actually drinking the other person’s blood. The vampire spawns have
strict instructions to avoid killing patrons before midnight.
Vanessa Lebraun. Despite the extreme anonymity in this place, there are a few ways
that a clever investigator might learn a bit about Vanessa Lebraun. For example, the staff
is discouraged from speaking about patrons, but if a waitress is asked about some of
the most famous people she’s seen in here, a Hard Charm check causes her to let it slip
that she saw Vanessa Lebraun last week. If the character approaches her as a curious
patron rather than an investigator of some sort, they can have a Bonus Die on their check.
Other options to convince them to speak would include a Hard Persuasion check or an
Intimidation check. At the very least, a Hard Psychology check may reveal if the staff
member is lying about having seen Vanessa recently.

Threats

The Crimson King. Nazaratus, a young prince of Babylon, was born in Mesopotamia
at the very dawn of human civilization. Through his secret worship of a demon of dust and
famine named Pazuzu (secretly an aspect of Nyarlathotep), this man became the immortal
creature of blood and darkness that has been feeding on humanity for more than four
thousand years.
He has taken on many identities and faces throughout the millennia, including a reclusive
alchemist, an Egyptian priest, a murderous tyrant, and a rabbinical prophet from Nazareth.
Eventually, the rumors would become too numerous to ignore, and he would arrange
his own death and move on. In later centuries he became more subtle in his approach,
establishing secret societies, exclusive clubs, and shadowy cults. These days he no longer
needs to fake his death since he remains hidden behind layers of corporate titles and flesh
borrowed from his victims.
The Crimson King is currently wearing the skin of a young white male in his mid-
20s. He’s just over six feet tall with an athletic build, black hair, and pale, flawless skin.
Throughout the evening, he sings cover songs of a number of popular goth bands almost
perfectly. Anyone watching his performance (within 20 feet) should make a Luck check. If
they fail, he tries to enthrall them with his gaze (see Gaze below).

10

The Crimson King Create Mist of R’lyeh (Keeper Rulebook p.253),
Wither Limb (Keeper Rulebook p.265)
master vampire
Sanity Loss: 0/1D4 Sanity points to discover
STR 120 one has been bled by a vampire; 0/1D4 to witness
a vampire transformation; no Sanity point loss to
CON 70 encounter a vampire in “human” guise.

SIZ 60 SPECIAL ABILITIES
Gaze: May hypnotize a target with an
DEX 75 opposed POW check. The target follows simple
instructions, although if commanded to engage
INT 90 in a self-destructive action the victim may
attempt an INT check to refuse the command
POW 80 (but remains hypnotized unless an Extreme
success is achieved). Otherwise, the hypnotism
HP: 20 ends when the master vampire departs, or the
victim suffers 5+ damage.
Damage Bonus: +1D6
Death: Once physical attacks have exceeded
Build: 2 his hit points, he turns into smoke or mist at the
end of that round; thereafter, he regenerates hit
Move: 10 points at the rate of 1 point per round. If an iron
or wooden stake is driven through his heart or if
Magic Points: 16 he is beheaded, he is killed outright and reduced
to ashes – either the stake must be driven in
ATTACKS while he sleeps, or if awake, he must first be
Attacks per round: 1 (unarmed, bite, weapon) reduced to zero hit points.

Bite: The act of biting subdues the victim to OTHER FEATURES
the vampire’s will (opposed POW check) and
drains 2D10 points of CON (blood) from the • Casts no reflection.
victim each round thereafter (the victim dies if
reduced to zero CON). • Full exposure to daylight inflicts 1D6 hit
points of damage per round.
Fighting attacks: Brawl 60% (30/12), damage
1D4+1D6 or by weapon • Must return to his coffin (which contains the
soil in which he was originally buried) during the
Bite: 60% (30/12), damage 2D10 CON daylight hours.
(see above)
• Drinking his blood causes the victim to die
Dodge: 60% (30/12) and become a vampire under his thrall.

Armor: none; see Death (below) • The Elder Sign gives the Crimson King a
Penalty Die on all attacks and POW checks against
Skills: Charm 60%, Languages (Any) 70%, any individual who displays it on their person.
Listen 60%, Psychology 60%, Spot Hidden 85%,
Stealth 90%, Track (Scent Blood) 75%. • Must consume the blood of the living to
remain active. Otherwise, he becomes dormant
Spells: Cloud Memory (Keeper Rulebook p.250), until he feeds again.
Consume Likeness (Keeper Rulebook p.250),
• Can change into a kind of vapor if
threatened and will use the vents to escape.

• Can tear through his human flesh disguise
and manifest as a kind of human-bat hybrid, which
gives him an additional 1D6 on his bite attack.

• Can see perfectly in the dark.

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Vampire Thrall. The Crimson King has created twelve lesser vampires, including Vanessa.
Throughout the night, they have been mingling with the crowd, with a few of the more overeager
ones feeding on a few of the patrons (see Signs).

Vampire Thrall SPECIAL ABILITIES

lesser vampire Death: Once physical attacks have exceeded
the vampire’s hit points, they become inactive at
STR 90 the end of that round and appear dead; thereafter,
it regenerates hit points at the rate of 1 point per
CON 60 round. If an iron or wooden stake is driven through
its heart, or if it is beheaded, the vampire is killed
SIZ 55 outright and reduced to ashes – either the stake
must be driven in while the vampire sleeps, or if
DEX 70 awake, it must first be reduced to zero hit points.

INT 50 OTHER FEATURES

POW 40 • Casts no reflection.

HP: 11 • Full exposure to daylight inflicts 1D6 hit
points of damage per round.
Damage Bonus: +1D4
• Must be underground during daylight
Build: 1 hours. New vampires can usually find a root
cellar, the dark corner of a basement or even a
Move: 9 sewer if nothing else is available.

ATTACKS • Drinking any vampire’s blood causes the
Attacks per round: 1 (unarmed, bite, weapon) victim to die and become a vampire under the
master vampire’s thrall.
Bite: The act of biting subdues the victim to
the vampire’s will (opposed POW check) and • Has limited powers during the day, and
drains 2D10 points of CON (blood) from the fights with two Penalty Dice.
victim each round thereafter (the victim dies
if reduced to zero CON). • A religious symbol can offer protection from
vampires, as long as the symbol is from a religion
Fighting attacks: Brawl 50% (25/10), damage that the vampire practiced while they were alive.
1D4+1D4 or by weapon Holy water blessed by a priest of that religion sears
and scalds its flesh (1D4 damage).
Bite: 50% (25/10), damage 2D10 CON (see
above) • Must consume the blood of the living
to remain active. Otherwise, they become
Dodge: 60% (30/12) dormant until they feed again.

Armor: none; see Death (below). • Possesses excellent night vision.

Skills: Listen 50%, Psychology 50%, Spot Hidden
55%, Stealth 60%, Track (Scent Blood) 75%.

Sanity Loss: 0/1D4 when realizing that they
have encountered a vampire, or 1/1D6 when they
know they have been fed upon by a vampire; no
Sanity loss when a vampire is posing as a human.

Changes

The Feast. At midnight the red lighting switches over to black lights with a sharp bang,
and the band begins to play while Vanessa Lebraun sings Temple of Love by Sisters of
Mercy. At the same moment, the doors to the nightclub are surreptitiously locked from the
outside with heavy steel bolts, though no one inside is likely to notice.
As patrons get up to dance, the vampires who had previously been blending in with the
crowd begin to hunt. They start with those at the edge of the “herd”, taking victims in the
shadows, bathrooms, behind pillars, and so on. This is nothing like the romantic feeding

12

of earlier but a frenzied bloodbath. They are ripping throats out with predator teeth and
gulping at the arterial spray, soaking themselves in scarlet gore.
If any of the characters are at the periphery of the crowd when the feast begins, they’ll
be targeted in this first group. The Keeper should give them a Spot Hidden check to either
notice a victim being attacked or someone hunting them. If they are law enforcement or are
already suspicious for some reason, they can have a Bonus Die on this check.
If a character is law enforcement or suspicious but not at the periphery, they can make a
Spot Hidden check with a Penalty Die to notice that something is happening, but they’ll learn
nothing specific without going to investigate. After five minutes, they hear the first screams as
patrons start to notice what’s happening. At that point, the Crimson King enters the fray, and
all hell breaks loose. When the frenzy starts, the Keeper should come up with a few random
NPCs that the characters can encounter as they make their way through the crowds.
Escape. There are a few ways to get out of this alive, the most obvious of which is to get a
door open. The exit doors (which are unmarked, of course) are steel and require a combined
Strength of 200 to open. Everyone working at them must get a Hard success in order to
break the securing bolt. The doors open in, and so if there’s a mob of terrified patrons trying
to get out, this is easier said than done.
If the characters look for a fire ax to aid them, they’ll be disappointed to find that the two glass
cases (marked with fire symbols on the map) are empty, and all of the fire extinguishers have
been removed. If that wasn’t bad enough, the sprinkler system and phones are also disabled.
Another way to get out would involve going backstage and breaking through the door to
the upper floors of the building. This door is only padlocked, requiring a combined Strength
of 120 (and two regular successes) to open. The catch is that the Crimson King is near the
stage and the Keeper should have him make a Spot Hidden check to notice the characters
attempting to flee that way.
Finally, there’s a iron drain cover behind the bar that requires a combined Strength of
100 to open and a Size of 55 or less to descend into the sewers. A generous Keeper can
allow someone with a Size of 60 to get down the drain if they strip off their clothes first.

Weapon Options
Firearms: Whether or not the characters are armed is up to the Keeper, and they’d be
unlikely to have anything bigger than a handgun, even if they’re law enforcement. That
being said, there could be criminal patrons or bodyguards with firearms that come into
play as soon as The Feast begins. Any gunfire leads to immediate panic and collateral
damage. In the chaos that ensues, the characters can make a Luck check to find a firearm
that they can pry from the cold dead hand of one of the corpses.
Stakes: The vampires have gone to great lengths to remove all potential weapons from the
club, but clever characters might improvise something. For example, the wooden pews could
be smashed with one of the steel chairs (and a Hard STR check) to produce 1D4 splinters of
wood that would be suitable for stakes.
Fire: Behind the bar and in the liquor storeroom, there are some highly flammable spirits.
It’s possible for the characters to set vampires on fire or even fashion Molotov cocktails
(see Keeper Rulebook p.405). Of course, if they set any patrons on fire, they’ll have to make
a Sanity check (1/1D4).

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Isle of the Damned

Body Horror
Needles
Dismemberment

Isle of the Damned

This scenario is set on a small island off the coast of Maine in the summer of 1974. A
group of friends has rented a small vacation house with the intent of spending a week
fishing, drinking, and maybe smoking a little weed. Things begin to go sideways when
they hear a noise from beneath the cabin that leads them to a hidden door. What lies
beyond will change their lives forever.

Prelude

For more than a decade, a small group of close friends has gone on a yearly vacation together,
and their one rule when choosing a destination has been that it must be off the beaten path.
No five-star hotels. No gift shops with cheesy shot glasses and ashtrays. And definitely no
crowds of tourists with their screaming brats. This year, they found an ad in a local paper for
a vacation rental on a small island about a mile off the coast of Maine.
Arriving at the Island. As you step onto the sturdy wooden dock, the captain of the charter
boat says, “The main electrical breaker for the house is just inside the front door on the right.
Just flip it up, and you’ll be ready to go. I’ll see ya’ back here in a week, and if you run into any
problems, you can reach me by radio.” He points to the shack with the tall antenna at the end
of the dock. “It’s on the right channel, so ya’ just pick up the mic, hold the button, say ‘Bleake
Island to Levinson’ three times, and release the button. Simple enough.”
The three-man crew of the Abigale finishes unloading your bags and supplies onto the
dock. After a final wave, they cast off, and in a few minutes, the thrum of the boat’s engines
fades into the darkness. A single light from the radio shack illuminates the dock, and you can
make out the trail that leads up the hill to the cabin.
The west-facing pier juts out into the ocean about fifty feet, with a hundred yards of sandy
beach to either side of it. The rest of the island’s shoreline is jagged rocks and boulders, but
there’s plenty of room to swim, fish and maybe even build a bonfire if it’s not too close to the dock.
The Lodge. Following the winding dirt path from the docks, you emerge into a clearing
near the center of the island to find the cabin; a rustic structure with shuttered windows and
a sturdy front door. A dozen steps from the door is a stone well with a wooden cover. The
floor of the clearing is mostly lichens and moss, and behind the cabin is a copse of the same
Balsam fir that covers most of the island.
1. Entry Hall – Opening the door, you get the smell of age and disuse, but surprisingly not
much in the way of mildew. As promised, the electrical breaker is on the right, and when you
push the stiff handle into the ON position, a light comes on in an adjacent room off the entry hall
on the left. At the back of this entry hall, you see a large antique wardrobe that almost reaches
the ceiling. An oriental-style rug covers a fair bit of the floor, and a door on the right is slightly ajar.
2. Living Room – The living room is illuminated by a ceiling light with a simple, cut glass
cover. A heavy, slightly battered wooden table sits in the middle of the room, surrounded by
four wooden chairs. In the center of the north wall is a large, rough stone fireplace with a
heavy oak mantle. A half cord of firewood and kindling is stacked next to it.

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An overstuffed armchair with a little table sits against the wall next to a glass cabinet
containing plates, mugs, and silverware. There’s also a trunk filled with deer antlers, a massive
stuffed buck’s head on the wall, and an oil painting of a clean-cut man in a suit over the fireplace.
This portrait depicts a younger man with dark hair and glasses sitting in a stuffed chair with a
book on his lap. Judging by the man’s clothes, this must have been done sometime in the 1920s.
A single shelf is screwed into the wall, bearing a row of books that includes: A Field Guide
to the Birds by Peterson, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Walden by Henry David Thoreau,
a French to English Dictionary, and The Joy of Cooking (1931 edition).

Keeper Notes
A Spot Hidden check reveals that the portrait was likely painted in this very room since the
fireplace in the background of the painting matches the one here exactly.

3. Pantry – This room opens onto the kitchen and living room and acts as a passage
between the two. Floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves cover two and a half walls. Most are empty,
but the northern shelf has several dozen mason jars with various types of preserved foods,
including tomato sauce, vegetable stew, pickled eggs, ham hocks, fiddleheads, mushrooms,
and pearl onions.

Keeper’s Notes
Although they were preserved decades ago, all of the various foods are perfectly edible with
the exception of the mushrooms, which are in the psilocybin family. These mushrooms
aren’t poisonous, but if ingested, they cause wild and vivid hallucinations for 1D4 hours
and give the character a Penalty Die on Sanity checks for the duration. A Hard success
in any relevant skill or personal experience allows a character to identify the mushrooms
(Keeper’s discretion).

4. Kitchen – A sturdy table takes up a fair portion of the kitchen, and there is a 1950s-era
refrigerator that hums loudly in the northeast corner. There are a few drawers with cutlery
(including a few sharp knives) and several cabinets filled with other kitchen implements like
pots, pans, and the like. There’s a sink with a hand pump that provides cold, clear water, and
a wood-fired stove that shares the cabin’s chimney. The only illumination is a small shaded
lamp with a pull string hanging over the sink.
A window looks out onto the backyard, and the back door is secured from the inside with
a heavy bolt. A functional splitting ax leans in the corner behind the door. There’s a door on
the eastern wall that leads out to the hall.

Keeper’s Notes
Hidden beneath the kitchen table is a trap door. It opens sideways, revealing a steep flight of
stairs that leads to the laboratory beneath. The cracks are filled with dust, so it’s difficult to
notice by chance, requiring a Hard Spot Hidden check if not looking for it. If the characters
are specifically looking for a trap door or move the table, then a normal Spot Hidden will do.

5. Hall – This hall runs north-south from the rear of the house to the front. Along the
eastern wall are four doors that open into the bathroom and three bedrooms, while on the
western wall are two doors. One near the rear of the house opens into the kitchen, while the
one in the front leads to the entry hall.

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Keeper’s Notes
On the ceiling is a trap door to the attic that requires a Spot Hidden check to notice unless
someone is looking for it. When pulled down, a set of steps fold down to allow access to the
attic. There are a dozen cardboard boxes of old clothes, ceramic nick-nacks, and newspaper-
wrapped glasses. In the corner is a chair, a coat rack, and a wooden trunk containing a series
of leather-bound journals that record a series of complex chemical and biological experiments
that read as gibberish to anyone unfamiliar with either subject (see West’s Notes below).

6. Bathroom – The bathroom offers few real conveniences. It contains a bathtub (though
warm water must be carried in from the kitchen), a cabinet with towels, washcloths, and
soap, and a table with a sunken wash basin. A pitcher stands next to the basin, and a simple
mirror hangs over it. The window looks out on the trees behind the lodge.
7. Bedroom, Back – This bedroom has a double bed, a simple wooden footlocker (empty)
beneath, and a low bookshelf on the north wall with a small lamp on top. The books are
mostly mass-market paperbacks from the 1930s and 40s. Mixed in with the rest is a Webster’s
Dictionary and a King James Bible. On the floor just inside the door is an authentic bear rug
that has seen better days.
8. Bedroom, Middle – This bedroom has a double bunk bed, a chest of drawers with a
small lamp on top, and an empty shelf on the southern wall. The drawers are empty except
for a box of stick matches and three partially burned candles. The bunk bed has a make-shift
feel to it, as if two regular double beds were cobbled together.

Keeper’s Notes
While the beds look dodgy, they are quite sturdy, and the top bunk easily holds two adults,
though the protesting creaks from the wood suggest otherwise.

9. Bedroom, Front – This bedroom has a double bed and a chest of drawers with a small
lamp on top. The drawers are empty.
10. Outhouse – The outhouse is as rustic as can be, with a well-worn floor and a wooden
bench with a hole in it. A pair of old rubber galoshes sits next to the privy as if only just
forgotten. Despite the fact that it hasn’t been used in decades, it seems fully functional,
though there are more spiders in here than most people would prefer.
11. Well – The simple well out front hasn’t been used since the new well was drilled in the
1940s. There is still water in it, and if sampled, it seems clean enough, if a little brackish. In
fact, it’s perfectly safe to drink, even if it does look a bit cloudy.
12. Stairwell – The stairs leading down to the cellar are old but sturdy enough. The space
below is dark and smells of mildew, rust, and some strange chemical odor that burns at the
back of the throat. Shining a light down the stairs reveals a badly stained concrete floor and
a bare bulb with a pull chain hanging over the stairs. There are metal doors to the left and
right. Both were padlocked, but the hasps have been twisted and broken.

Keeper’s Notes
If anyone pulls the chain, the light comes on, momentarily blinding the characters. They can
see that at least some of the stains on the floor are fresh. A Spot Hidden check reveals that
some of it is from the room to the right (Incubation Room), and a Hard Spot Hidden check

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lets them notice that some of the wet stains are bare footprints that lead beneath the stairs
upon which they are standing. If any of the Reanimated were in the room when the characters
came down, they are now hiding beneath the stairs and grabbing for the characters’ legs
through the gaps!

13. Medical Lab – The first breath from this room causes your throat to close reflexively in
defense against the putrid miasma. The light switch on the left turns on the fluorescent lights
overhead, revealing some kind of nightmarish operating room. The top of the steel examination
table in the middle of the room is spattered with dried blood and other fluids. The counters and
cabinets that line the walls are smeared with unidentifiable bits of organic matter, filth, and
chunks of desiccated flesh. It’s unlikely that the floors have ever been cleaned.

Keeper’s Notes
Upon opening the door, everyone present should make a CON check to avoid vomiting. If
even one person pukes, anyone who previously succeeded must roll their check again, this
time with a Penalty Die.
If anyone searches the room, they’ll find drawers of medical tools, with a few submerged
in a yellowish acerbic liquid. In the cabinets are large glass jars of fluid containing human
organs, body parts, and even a man’s head. All are marked in Latin, written in pen on masking
tape. Other materials include rolls of surgical tubing, suturing needles, heavy cat-gut thread,
and a galvanic current generator with a nest of needles and wires connected to it. The device
still works, and if turned on, it gives quite a shock to anyone who touches it.
The door on the eastern wall opens onto a set of concrete stairs that lead to a pair of
bulkhead doors that aren’t visible from the outside. They’re hidden beneath a layer of debris
and pine needles that are easily pushed aside when the doors open. Once open, it is clearly
visible from the outside unless someone takes the time to cover it back up.
If any of the Reanimated have moved to this room, they hide behind the door to the
bulkhead stairs or flee through the bulkhead doors and into the woods (Keeper’s discretion).

14. Incubation Room – The room stinks of rotten fruit and ammonia. The floor is
smeared with streaks of mucus and blood. The bare footprints of at least two different
people are evident. The western half of the room is dominated by what appears to be four
steel hyperbaric chambers. The hatches on the ends are all open and still drip with greenish-
yellow fluid, as if they were unsealed recently. Wild bundles of black, snake-like electrical
cables connect the chambers to an electrical box on the wall. Each chamber sits atop a
wheeled cart with some sort of electronic apparatus beneath, connected by individual wires
to a line of protrusions along the base of the cylinder. Behind the controls, four thick rubber
hoses connect a pair of five-gallon glass jars to the rear of the chamber.
There are three doors on the eastern wall, with the center one leading to the stairwell.
The others are near the north and south corners of the room.

Keeper’s Notes
If any of the Reanimated were in here when the characters came down the stairs, they moved
into either the Back Hall or the Other Room (choose randomly). The characters could be
allowed a Listen check to see if they notice anything moving before entering or if they happen
to hear them in their current hiding place.

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15. Other Room – This small room off the Incubation Room contains the heart of Allen
West’s experiments. A six-foot-tall, three-foot diameter vertical glass cylinder stands in the
southeast corner, the ends of which are sealed with bronze caps. Each of these is engraved
with peculiar symbols that don’t appear to be pictograms or language.
Inside the cylinder is some sort of incomprehensible biological sample suspended in
amniotic fluid and illuminated from behind. The thing can only be described as a pair of
cephalopods connected at the middle by a barrel-like body covered in shiny black bulges
that might be some sort of obscene eyes. From the knot of tentacles on the bottom emerges
a long, tongue-like appendage.
On the side of the cylinder is some sort of pass-through that looks as if it was added on
more recently. It has a four-inch stainless steel ring attached to the glass with a thick waxy seal
and a bung of black rubber in the center. Hanging from the wall nearby is a massive syringe
with a three-foot-long needle, presumably for taking tissue samples from the abomination.

Keepers Notes
Just seeing this thing is disturbing enough, but if they remain in here for more than a
minute, they see the “tongue” on the bottom move on its own, feeling at the glass as if it
senses their presence. Either way, they have to make a Sanity check. If they left before it
moved, the loss is 1/1D6, but if they saw it move, the loss is 1D3/1D8. This thing doesn’t
belong in our world, and the characters can’t shake the feeling that it must not be allowed
to exist. At the Keeper’s discretion, a bout of madness could lead a character to attempt to
destroy the sample at all costs.

16. Back Hall – This narrow hall is lit by two bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. A light
switch on the right wall turns them on. There are two doors along the north wall.
17. Storeroom – The light switch is just inside on the right and turns on the single bulb
overhead. This storeroom contains three fifty-gallon barrels of gasoline, a crate with an unused
vintage generator, and a stack of cardboard boxes that contain a variety of medical supplies,
including bandages, suture thread, medical tape, surgical tubing, syringes, and so on.

Keeper’s Notes
The gasoline was intended for the generator if it was ever needed. In the crate with the generator
is a hand crank gasoline pump and hose that can be used to transfer fuel.

18. Chemistry Lab – This room at the end of the hall features a crude lab of some sort. All
manner of laboratory glassware litters the counter, many of which are broken and crusted
with gunk. The one thing that stands out is a single six-inch tall bottle with incandescent
green liquid that illuminates a section of the table. The vessel is stoppered with a rubber
bung that has been hastily wrapped with medical tape.

Keeper’s Notes
The glowing liquid is what remains of Allen West’s modified reanimator serum. If 10 mL or
more is injected into any recently dead person, they’ll reanimate in a matter of seconds. After
a few minutes of disorientation, the newly reanimated are gripped by a compulsion to acquire
more flesh, attacking the nearest living creature.
A dose of 100 mL or more causes an overdose. In a matter of seconds, the victim painfully
swells to double their size and explodes, throwing vile flesh and viscera everywhere.

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Objectives

The original goals of the characters are simple. They intend to have a fun and relaxing week
with friends. Unfortunately, their goal quickly becomes one of basic survival as they attempt
to get off the island alive. Of course, they may develop a secondary goal of destroying the
Reanimated along with all of West’s specimens and research, depending on the personalities
of the characters and how events unfold.

Secrets

More than twenty years ago, Dr. Allen West discovered his father’s journals and equipment,
and became obsessed with perfecting his life’s work. His research eventually led him to
discover the sample in the Other Room, was the breakthrough he needed. He purchased the
island in 1946, and over the next few years, he hired contractors to build the highly impractical
basement and infrastructure necessary to conduct his experiments.
In the Spring of 1950, he began purchasing medical cadavers, but they turned out to
be unsuitable for his work. It wasn’t long before his obsession drove him to acquire fresh
corpses illegally, and by 1955 he had made significant progress. In the Fall of that year, Dr.
West was forced to abandon the island and flee the country when word reached him that the
authorities were looking into some disappearances, and his name had come up. He grabbed
what he could and relocated somewhere in South America, though no one knows for sure.
Eventually, his island was turned over to the state due to non-payment of taxes and was
later sold at auction to a real estate developer who had plans for the island that ultimately
came to nothing. Finally, the property was inherited by Dale Levinson, who decided to rent
the cabin to vacationers to pull in a few extra dollars.

Cast

Dale Levinson. Captain Dale Levinson operates a water taxi business off the coast
of Maine with his four sons, and after acquiring Bleake Island a couple of years back, he
has started dabbling in real estate. Dale is a good-natured, no-nonsense kind of guy. He’s
tolerant of all sorts of people, even hippies, and treats everyone with a reasonable amount
of respect. His appearance is almost a classic image of the New England sea captain with
greying hair, a full beard, and heavily tattooed arms from his time in the navy.

Signs

West’s Notes. In the attic is a box containing some of Dr. West’s research that he left
behind. They consist primarily of ten leather-bound journals, each about an inch thick, with
very small writing. If anyone, even a layperson, reads through them for at least thirty minutes,
they get the idea that the research involves reanimating dead flesh. The character can make
a Library Use check to determine that the “reanimator” fluid can be used on any dead flesh,
but that the less time that has passed since death, the more successful the results. A Hard
success allows the reader to learn that too much of the fluid can cause a kind of cellular
overload that can result in a “violent explosion.” An Extreme success means the reader
learns that the breakthrough in the research was due to the discovery of something West

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called The Other, a biological specimen that he acquired somewhere in South America.
If the reader has any knowledge of chemistry or biology, they have a Bonus Die on their
Library Use check.
The Portrait. The portrait hanging in the living room is none other than Dr. Allen West.
A close examination of the painting allows one to notice his name on the book he’s holding.
If anyone looks behind the painting, they’ll discover a small pocket journal hidden there.
The journal appears to have been written by West and describes what he refers to as his
“children.” The names are strange and include: Lahamu, Lahmu, Kishar, and Anshar. A
History check reveals that these are the names of lesser Babylonian gods. He talks about
them as if they will soon arrive but haven’t yet. One phrase is particularly disturbing: “Today
I completed the final sutures on Lahmu’s deltoideus ligaments, and for an instant, I felt his
presence. It was as if he were standing just beyond an ephemeral veil and could step through
at any moment. I am very close now.”
Bumps in the Night. An hour after the power has been turned on, the characters begin
hearing strange noises in the cabin. At first, they might be dismissed as the normal creaks and
groans of an old structure, but after the third time they should make a Listen check. A Hard
success means that it sounds like it’s coming from the kitchen, but if they go to investigate, they
hear nothing. The Keeper can have a rat scurry out from behind the refrigerator if they want
to throw the characters off a bit, or if they open the back door, they can see a rat standing atop
the wood pile, and they may assume that it just knocked a log down.
Of course, this is coming from the Reanimated blundering around in the basement, and
if they hear the characters coming near the stairs, they go quiet.
Bones. If anyone searches the woods around the house, they may discover a bone pile
about five yards in. It doesn’t take a roll to realize that they are human bones, and that many
are children. They are decayed and at least a decade old. A Spot Hidden check reveals that
they appear to have been gnawed upon by rats. If anyone chooses to examine more closely,
a Hard Spot Hidden check reveals that none of the skeletons are whole and that many body
parts are missing.

Threats

The Reanimated. These are the abominable results of Allen West’s horrific experiments.
They have been sewn together using body parts from dozens of humans of various races,
genders, and ages, though there are currently no signs of stitches or seams. The flesh has
“melted” together as a result of the fluid’s unique properties.
There are four surviving subjects, each with a single head (two male and two female), but
that’s where the similarities end. They are “clothed” in translucent latex tunics that cling to
their slick bodies.

Lahamu – This Reanimated has a female head with the mouth surgically stitched shut. It has
a clearly feminine torso with three slender androgynous legs, one muscular arm on the right,
a small, feminine arm on the left, and three child arms spaced evenly around its ribcage. A
toothless mouth is where its belly button should be, and it makes constant slurping sounds
as saliva runs down its front.

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Lahmu – This Reanimated has a male head with the nose removed and skin grafted over to
cover the hole. Eight salivating mouths around its neck and upper chest make low hissing
sounds as it breaths. Its small torso is attached to a massive pelvis with two legs that could
belong to a sumo wrestler. There are two arms where they should be, but they are far too
large and are held in place with heavy tendons that strain beneath the skin. A third arm on the
chest has seven fingers and two thumbs that rest on its pregnant-looking swollen belly. As it
walks, fluid can be heard sloshing, and an occasional bulge on the skin suggests something
moving within.

Kishar – This Reanimated has the head and upper torso of a young girl of about eight years
old. Two lidless eyes have been added to her throat, and it has what looks like gills just below
the ears. The abdomen is a blob of undulating flesh that defies identification. It is supported
by five toddler legs that move it sideways like a crab when it walks. A single feminine arm
hangs from the right shoulder, while the left shoulder is nothing but a small, flailing stump
that has been sewn over, a small flap of loose skin dangling from the end.

Anshar – This Reanimated has a man’s head with an overly large mouth and opens far wider
than it should. Its tongue is split to the back of the throat, allowing each section to move
independently. The head is attached to a clearly different male torso judging by the much
darker skin tone. The pelvis that supports its muscular legs has been pushed back, giving
it an almost birdlike walk. Two long slender arms extend frontward and back from each
shoulder for a total of four. Each ends with a hand that has far too many fingers that open
and close like some forgotten sea creature.

Reanimated SPECIAL ABILITIES

the hungry flesh Absorption: The Reanimated have a unique
cellular ability to absorb human flesh upon contact.
STR 60 The speed at which this happens depends on the
type of contact. If they touch a section of unbroken
CON 80 skin, the absorption starts in 2D4 rounds. At first,
the victim feels a kind of tingling and itching at the
SIZ 65 contact point. If they examine the area, they’ll see
the skin surfaces being stuck together as if by glue,
DEX 55 but as the process continues, the bond becomes
stronger until they are one flesh. At that point,
INT 35 only severing the flesh gets them apart. While
joined, the Reanimated attempts to influence
POW 10 their victim’s body. For example, they can make
them point a gun at a friend or stop struggling.
HP: 14 Each action forced by the Reanimated requires
an opposed POW check. If the act would harm
Damage Bonus: 0 themselves or someone close to them, the Keeper
can allow a Bonus Die to resist.
Build: 2 If the contact is on an open wound, the process
takes only 1D4 rounds, and if the Reanimated has
Move: 6 a severed body part, simply touching the severed
end to their body instantly bonds the two surfaces.
ATTACKS In a matter of seconds, there is no seam, and the
Attacks per round: 1 (unarmed, weapon) Reanimated has full control of the new part.

Fighting attacks: Brawl 50% (25/10), damage
1D4 or by weapon
Dodge: 35% (17/7)
Armor: none; see Regeneration (below).
Skills: Listen 50%, Spot Hidden 45%, Stealth 40%.

Sanity Loss: 1D3/1D8 upon seeing one, and
1D4/2D4 if one has attempted to absorb them.

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Regeneration: The Reanimated have amazing the individual parts cannot regrow, but they
regenerative properties. If wounded, they can remain animated, and if brought back together,
regenerate 1D4 hit points per round, and if they they can reattach. Alternatively, they can attach
are in the process of absorbing another, this to another. For example, if someone picked up
increases to 1D6. Only fire damage cannot be a Reanimated arm, it could try to absorb them
regenerated. If the Reanimated is dismembered, and then compel them to reconnect the rest.

Though they were made from human parts, these things are no longer human in any way.
They are driven by a primal need to add more flesh to themselves through absorption (see above).
Despite their madness, they are intelligent and cunning, retaining fragments of knowledge from
their original hosts. For example, they can understand English; they know how guns work and
can use diversions and stealth to separate the characters before attacking. The Keeper should
avoid the temptation to run them as monsters or mindless beasts.

Changes

The Awakening. As soon as the power is turned on in the cabin, the power to the
incubators comes on as well. When this happens, the reanimator fluid is pumped into the
subjects, turning them into the Reanimated. The first thing they do is free themselves from
their chambers, spilling gallons of amniotic fluid onto the floor. They’ll be reasonably quiet
for the first half hour as their bodies acclimate to the reanimator serum and they orient
themselves to their new condition and surroundings.
After that, they begin to explore their surroundings, breaking out of the Incubation Room,
breaking into the Medical Lab, and even trying the trap door to the kitchen (which is blocked
by the table). Of course, they’ll hear the activity upstairs and do all of this as quietly as
possible. Every 15 minutes, the Keeper should roll 1D8 and refer to the chart below for each
of the Reanimated to determine where they are at any moment.

Roll Result
1 Stairwell – The characters upstairs hear a bump from the kitchen.
2 Medical Lab – There is a 10% chance that they’ll knock over something loud that causes the
characters to suspect that there’s a basement.
3 Incubation Room – The characters are unlikely to hear anything in this room.
4 Other Room – They stumble upon the specimen in the cylinder, but since it’s not human flesh,
they don’t care.
5 Back Hall – If a Reanimated is in here when a character comes downstairs, they break the
light bulbs so that the hall is in darkness.
6 Storeroom – The Reanimated find nothing of interest in the storeroom, but hide here if they
feel threatened, and ambush any character that comes into the hall.
7 Chemistry Lab – The Reanimated are curious about the reanimator fluid and are drawn to it but
afraid to touch it.
8 Escape – The Reanimated leaves the cellar, either through the stairs into the kitchen, or more
likely, through the hidden bulkhead in the side yard. In this latter case, it’s possible that the
characters might see something moving in the darkness outside, or the Reanimated might even
try to peek in the windows. If the Reanimated sees the opportunity to get more flesh, they’ll either
lure a character outside or wait until one of them is alone. The Reanimated may even break a
window if they think they can grab someone and leave before the others come running.

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The

Dark Brood

Body Horror
Inbreeding
Violence Against Children

The Dark Brood

This scenario takes place in July of 1977 at a sleepaway summer camp. The counselors
are short-handed due to transportation issues, but by the third day, everything seems
to be going smoothly apart from the normal bouts of homesickness and poison ivy.
Unfortunately, everything takes a downward turn on the fourth day when the kids begin
complaining of nausea and cramps. The counselors decide to give the kids something
to settle their stomachs and send them to bed early, convinced that everything will be
better in the morning. They couldn’t be more wrong.

Prelude

It’s the summer of 1977. Somewhere in the Appalachian mountains, more than twenty
miles from civilization, is Camp Echo Lake. This summer camp was a big deal in the 50s,
but after some financial difficulties, it went out of business in 1961. A couple of years ago, it
was purchased by Leo Moore, a land developer and local philanthropist who used to spend
summers at Camp Echo Lake and just couldn’t stand the thought of the place falling into
ruin. According to the newspapers, Leo spent a small fortune to have it renovated, and this
year is its grand reopening.
You and the other counselors have experience working at other summer camps, and you
were each offered a very generous salary, so it was difficult to refuse. When you met with
Mr. Moore (who insisted that you call him Leo), he stressed that there were three goals: fun,
fun, and more fun. He also added that these first forty campers (twenty boys and twenty
girls between the ages of 10 and 14) were critical to the camp’s success since they were all
children of very wealthy and influential people who could make or break this endeavor. “But
no pressure!” He added with a hearty laugh.
Unfortunately, there was a hitch right out of the gate when a number of the counselors
were going to be delayed by a week due to some transportation problems. Still, you managed
to pick up the kids from town using the brand new school bus (courtesy of Leo) and get them
settled into their cabins.
All in all, the first few days could have been far worse. The kids seemed to be having fun,
and with the exception of a little homesickness and a couple of cases of poison ivy, everything
seemed to be going smoothly. That all changed on the fourth day after breakfast when the kids
started complaining about upset stomachs and nausea, but with no sign of vomiting or fever.
You’ve seen this sort of thing before, and so you decided to give them some Pepto Bismol and
get them to bed early. If the situation didn’t improve, you could always send someone into town
tomorrow to get a doctor to come take a look.
Sometime after midnight, you awake with a start. You’re covered in sweat, and your heart
is pounding, and you can’t shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong. You quickly
realize that you’re not the only one and the other counselors are also awake. The camp is
eerily quiet. There’s not even the sound of crickets, frogs, or insects now that you think about
it. Someone should really go and check on the children.

41

Camp Echo Lake. The camp is on the small side, with a capacity of only 40 children
between the ages of ten and fourteen. Normally there would be eight counselors (four men
and four women), but a number of them were delayed, which means that the camp is a little
short-handed at the moment.
The kitchen has enough food to cover the four weeks that the kids will be at camp, but if
they find that they need something, there’s a small town with a general store about an hour
away where additional supplies can be obtained.
The camp is connected to the power grid via power lines that follow the twenty-mile
dirt road into town. The water comes from a deep well on site that’s sufficient to supply the
showers, flush toilets, kitchen, and laundry facilities.
There are seven main buildings with a handful of outbuildings. Most have recently been
renovated, and they include: The Mess Hall, four bunk houses (A, B, C, and D), the Water
House, and Echo Lodge. The outbuildings include a boathouse near the dock, a sports shed
(near the archery range), a tool shed (containing basic carpentry, plumbing, and electrical
repair tools), the power shack, and the old barn. These last three are off-limits to campers.
Mess Hall – Near the center of Camp Echo Lake is the large dining/activity building and
kitchen, referred to collectively as the Mess Hall. The main room is largely open, with four
huge oak tables and a dozen wooden chairs around each. Directly across from the entrance
is a massive stone fireplace with a neatly stacked cord of firewood in an iron rack on the
right. To either side of the fireplace are doors to the kitchen. The left door has a sign that
simply says IN, while the right sign reads OUT.
Kitchen – The kitchen is the most modern part of the facility, with restaurant-quality
futures like stainless steel appliances and a walk-in refrigerator and freezer, plus all of the
pots and utensils necessary to prepare a meal for fifty people.
Bunkhouses – These cabins (A, B, C, and D) are all pretty much the same, with a door
at either end and five beds along each wall for a total of ten per bunkhouse. Each bed has
two footlockers that fit comfortably beneath the bed and a small nightstand with drawers.
There is a window above each bed with simple brown curtains that match the blankets. The
pillows and sheets are hotel quality, so they are very durable and easy to wash.
Cabins A and B are for the boys, while C and D are for the girls. They are separated by
the Water House that sits directly between them.
Water House – Conveniently located near the Bunkhouses, the Water House contains the
camp’s toilets, showers, and modest laundry facilities. The building is divided in two, with
the northern half for the girls and the southern half for the boys. Just inside the main door of
each side are the flush toilets that connect to a modern septic system that was added when
the camp was refurbished last year. To the east are the communal showers, while to the west
are the laundry rooms. The facility is stocked with plenty of soap, toilet paper, and various
cleaners in the laundry rooms’ closets.
Echo Lodge – This building contains the camp’s business office and the counselors’ dormitory.
It has four shared bedrooms, a common living area, and two private bathrooms. This is the only
two-story building with bedrooms upstairs and everything else on the first floor.
Boat House – Near the dock is a small three-walled building that contains five canoes
with oars and ten orange life jackets.

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The Archery Range – On the western side of the camp near the beach is the archery
range. There are five targets and a shed with a stout padlock that contains ten bows and
ten quivers with five arrows each. The shed also holds other sporting equipment, including
kickballs, soccer gear, field hockey gear, badminton sets, and lawn darts.
The Old Barn – Near the southeast edge of the camp stands a classic red barn that was
built in the 40s when the original camp was established. Leo decided that it wouldn’t be
cost-effective to refurbish it, and so now it’s simply used to store the camp’s lawnmower and
a few groundskeeping tools like shovels, axes, and rakes.
Parked next to the barn is the big yellow school bus used to shuttle kids in from town and the
camp’s jeep. Lined up against the barn are three five-gallon cans of gasoline for emergencies.

Objectives

The original objective was for the camp counselors to make sure that the campers had safe
and wholesome summer fun, but when the story opens, it seems as if that’s not going to
happen. The characters’ sole purpose now is to find out what has happened to the children
and, if possible, get them to safety. Naturally, they’ll want to get themselves to safety as well,
but what sort of camp counselors would they be if they abandoned the children in favor of
saving their own skins?
Ultimately, however, it may simply become a struggle for survival as they try to leave
this terrible place and alert the authorities. Of course, that’s much easier said than done.

Secrets

The History. Long before the first humans arrived in North America, a fragment of Shub-
Niggurath fell from the stars. Petroglyphs in nearby caves that predate the last ice age tell
the story of how the unnamed others had managed to contain the dark entity beneath a
“great seal” of white stone.
When the first humans settled in these mountains, they sensed the darkness of this place
and named the lake Ahligia; the place of nightmares. Medicine men set totems around the
area to warn others to stay away, and so it remained shunned for many centuries.
When European settlers began to arrive, however, they went into the mountains to harvest
stone to build their towns and, in doing so, damaged the seal. While the evil within was not
able to escape, it found that it could reach out through dreams and whispers, and so it was that
a devout Mennonite farmer named Enoch Klassen was ultimately drawn to the area through
religious visions. The entity appeared to Enoch as a tall woman in sanguine robes, calling
herself the Dark Mother, an angel sent to tell Enoch that God had chosen him to prepare the
way for the Second Coming. Enoch fell to his knees in that moment and vowed to turn his will,
and the will of his bloodline, over to her.
Enoch and his family settled near the seal and began performing profane rituals under the
angel’s guidance. Enoch’s descendants continued to make offerings to the Dark Mother for
many generations, even as civilization slowly encroached on their isolated mountain home.
Eventually, the land was purchased, and the lake was renamed Echo Lake. When the summer
camp was proposed, the Klassen family did what they could to prevent its construction, but in
the end, money spoke louder than words, and Camp Echo Lake was founded.

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The Second Coming. This past spring, the entity became strong enough to appear in
the flesh, once again taking the form of the Dark Mother. She revealed that the Second
Coming was nigh and that they would use the “sinners’ own children” to open the way. She
had the Klassens bring all of the containers they had and present them before her. They
fell back in awe as the Dark Mother opened her robes, revealing her true form. Dozens of
swollen black breasts began to flow with streams of milk, filling every bucket, pot, and pail.
She told them to give the milk to the children of the unclean so that they might come to the
Lord and know his glory.
Benjamin Klassen, the current patriarch of the family, went to town and purchased several
ten-gallon milk cans and made arrangements to donate them to the summer camp, claiming
that it was ordinary cow’s milk. Benjamin arrived at the camp a day before the campers were
supposed to arrive, and the counselors gratefully accepted the donation, adding the milk
canisters to the kitchen’s refrigerator.
The Dark Young. The purpose of the milk is to create Dark Young to serve Shub-
Niggurath. On the fourth day, the counselors served the Klassen’s milk to the children
for breakfast, though none of the counselors drank it. Once the milk was introduced
into their bodies, the “purification” process began. It was subtle at first, manifesting as
upset stomachs, but eventually, most of the children were experiencing nausea. The only
exception was Melissa (see Cast), who’s lactose intolerance saved her, for the time being,
from a terrible fate.
After nightfall, the children awoke in a trance-like state, covered in black sweat. Ben
Klassen whispered the chant that the Dark Mother had taught him, calling the children to
the barn. Hannah guided them up into the loft, where they curled up in corners, against
beams, and inside old crates. Over the next half hour, the black sweat formed a crust
on their skin like a sack that slowly filled with the dark ichor, encasing each child in a
loathsome black pupa, held in place by countless inky strands.
When the scenario begins, the characters have four hours before a swarm of juvenile
Dark Young burst forth from the barn devouring everything in sight. They won’t reach their
full size and strength for a few days when the Dark Mother will soon come to collect them.

Cast

Melissa Johnson. Melissa is 11 years old with long brown hair, brown eyes, and an
average build for her age. When the characters find her, she’s still dressed in her pajamas,
but she has jeans and a t-shirt in her footlocker. Melissa’s lactose intolerance ended up
saving her since she was the only child who didn’t drink the milk the previous morning.
She is scared but lucid and freely provides the characters with the following information:

• Around midnight, the other kids in her cabin woke up and left without a word.

• They had something dark smeared on their skin that made them look creepy, and so
she was afraid to talk to them. She climbed under her bed and put footlockers on
either side of her, so she didn’t see where they went.

If pushed (with a successful Charm, Intimidate, or Persuasion check), she provides the
following additional information:

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• Their eyes looked white and cloudy.

• They smelled sour, like spoiled milk.

• She thinks that they walked east when they left, based on the sound of the footsteps.

If asked about small details or anything else odd that she might have seen, she remembers
the following information:

• When she first woke up, she turned her flashlight on one of them, and they flinched
away from the light. She didn’t think it was strange because most people don’t like a
flashlight shining in their eyes at night.

Signs

Photographs. In the counselor’s dormitory are pictures of the camp dating from the 1950s.
Several of the pictures show someone who is presumably a counselor exploring a cave, and
some of them show strange petroglyphs. In the frame behind the photo is a map to the Dark
Mother’s cave east of camp.
Melissa. When the characters investigate the cabins, they’ll hear a noise in one of the
girl’s cabins (no skill check necessary). Beneath one of the beds, they’ll find Melissa (see
Cast). She won’t reveal herself unless the counselors call out or they track her with a Listen
check and pull out the footlocker.
Spoiled Milk. If the characters enter the kitchen, they find the dirty dishes from the
previous morning, and they’ll notice that all of the glasses and bowls that had the milk are
covered with black mold-like fuzz that has even spread to the counter.
The kitchen is closed and dark, but if they turn on the light, they can make a Spot Hidden
check to notice that the light causes the “mold” to turn to gray ash and blow away.
The Smell of the Barn. If the characters go anywhere near the old barn, there seems
to be nothing out of the ordinary except for a sour smell, like spoiled milk, but this could
be due to rats and other critters using it for nesting. If Melissa is with them, she’ll become
terrified and mention that the other kids smelled bad like that when they left. If she told the
characters about the sour smell earlier (and the players don’t make the connection), they can
make an Idea (INT) check to put two and two together.

Threats

The Klassen Family. Earlier that night, the Dark Mother told the Klassens that they should
sneak into the camp and disable all of the vehicles, and then wait in the woods until everyone
was asleep. There are twelve family members in all, and each of them is an absolutely fanatical
servant of the Dark Mother. In order to maintain their purity, the angel forbids them from
marrying outsiders, and so they have become increasingly inbred. If that wasn’t disturbing
enough, all of the females have had their tongues cut out and so are unable to speak.
The Klassen family’s profiles have been kept simple, allowing the Keeper to customize
them as needed. If they want to flesh out any of them beforehand, it might be best to choose
a few to be tougher while allowing the others to be killed with a single blow. This will make
it easy for the Keeper to scale the lethality of the scenario to suit their personal style.

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Ben (age 67) – Father and patriarch of the family. He is second only to the Dark Mother in
influence over the Klassens.
[Relevant Stats: HP 12, Dodge 30, Fighting (Axe) 45, Fighting (Brawl) 35, Listen 45, Spot Hidden 50]

Hannah (60) – Mother and matriarch of the family.
[Relevant Stats: HP 9, Dodge 20, Fighting (Carving Knife) 35, Fighting (Brawl) 25, Listen 35, Spot Hidden 40]

Caleb (44) – Eldest son of Ben and Hannah. Brother and wife to Emma.
[Relevant Stats: HP 12, Dodge 45, Fighting (Axe) 55, Fighting (Brawl) 50, Listen 35, Spot Hidden 20]

Emmet (41) – Brother and husband to Sarah. Blinded from drinking homemade grain alcohol.
His hearing is extraordinary.
[Relevant Stats: HP 10, Dodge 35, Fighting (Bowie Knife) 35, Fighting (Brawl) 25, Listen 65]

Ezekiel (40) – Brother and husband to Emma.
[Relevant Stats: HP 14, Dodge 20, Fighting (Brawl) 45, Listen 25, Spot Hidden 20]

Sarah (38) – Sister and wife to Emmet and Aaron.
[Relevant Stats: HP 9, Dodge 40, Fighting (Club) 35, Fighting (Brawl) 25, Listen 25, Spot Hidden 30]

Aaron (37) – Brother and husband to Sarah.
[Relevant Stats: HP 11, Dodge 30, Fighting (Brawl) 45, Listen 50, Spot Hidden 30]

Emma (35) – Sister and wife to Ezekiel and Caleb.
[Relevant Stats: HP 8, Dodge 45, Fighting (Shovel) 30, Fighting (Brawl) 25, Listen 35, Spot Hidden 30]

Jeb (30) – Brother and husband to Rachel.
[Relevant Stats: HP 13, Dodge 25, Fighting (Axe) 35, Fighting (Brawl) 55, Listen 25, Spot Hidden 40]

Rachel (28) – Sister and wife to Jeb.
[Relevant Stats: HP 9, Dodge 35, Fighting (Carving Knife) 45, Fighting (Brawl) 25, Listen 45, Spot Hidden 40]

Abigail (17) – Daughter and wife to Emmet.
[Relevant Stats: HP 8, Dodge 25, Fighting (Brawl) 25, Listen 25, Spot Hidden 40, Throw 50]

Miriam (10) – Daughter to Jeb.
[Relevant Stats: HP 6, Dodge 40, Fighting (Pocket Knife) 35, Fighting (Brawl) 15, Listen 25, Spot Hidden 30]

All of the Klassen family remains in the barn to guard the Dark Young pupae except for
Ben, Caleb, and Jeb, who wait in the woods nearby to prevent anyone from escaping. Of
course, the Klassen didn’t anticipate the counselors waking up, and as soon as they heard
stirring in the camp, they lock the barn doors and turn their oil lamps down. They quickly
put a burlap sack over Miriam’s head and make it appear as if she’s tied to one of the upright
beams. They pretend that she’s one of the campers and threaten to “gut her real good” if the
counselors “try anythin’ stupid.”
The Klassen family will do whatever it takes to protect the Dark Young, even if it means
killing one of their own or sacrificing themselves. They are religious zealots and will fight
to the death, believing that God will reward them in Heaven. The Dark Mother speaks
directly into their heads, moving them like pawns on a chessboard to ensure the safety of
the Dark Young. The characters may notice this when one of them appears to be listening to
something and then creepily responds with a loving “Yes, mother.” Of course, the counselors
are more likely to just assume that the Klassens are just batshit crazy.

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The Dark Spawn. These Dark Young are juvenile, meaning that they are not at their full
strength. The Dark Mother can control them with a glance, and so once they’re “hatched”
they can be quite dangerous. Of course, she won’t put her children in obvious harm, so if the
characters seem to have the upper hand, she has her young flee to the cave east of camp,
leaving the Klassens to die.
The Dark Mother. One of the more human-seeming avatars of Shub-Niggurath, the Dark
Mother, has been gathering her power for centuries, and she is now ready to produce a brood
of Dark Young. While she’d prefer to retain the Klassens as servants, they are expendable.

Dark Spawn attempt an opposed STR check each round to
try and break free; should the Dark Spawn suffer
juvenile dark young 5+ damage, the grabbed victim can make a Luck
check to determine if the creature breaks its hold.
STR 50
Fighting: 50% (25/10), damage 1D4+1
CON 40
Grab (mnvr): 60% (30/12), held, damage 1D4+1
SIZ 40 per round after first

DEX 75 Dodge: 40% (20/8)

INT 40 Armor: none; minimum damage from bullets;
full damage from fire and chemical-based attacks.
POW 35
Sanity Loss: 1/1D6 Sanity points to encounter a
HP: 8 Juvenile Dark Young.

Damage Bonus: 0 Vulnerability to Light: The Dark Spawn are
very sensitive to light, and especially sunlight.
Build: 0 Shining a flashlight at one will cause it to pause
for 1D3 rounds, but after that, it’s hunger will
Move: 7 get the better of it. It attacks with a Penalty Die
as long as the light is shining on it, and its first
Magic Points: 7 attack will attempt to knock the light from their
victim’s hand. They won’t enter a well-lit area,
ATTACKS but they’re smart enough to cut the power,
Attacks per round: 2 (whip, bite, grab) which will take them 3D4 minutes to figure out.
They will seek a dark place to hide before
May attack up to 2 separate targets per round, the sun comes up, but if touched by sunlight, it
using its tentacles to whip, mouths to bite, or a bursts into flames and explodes 30 seconds later.
combination of both to grab an opponent.

Grab: May use its tentacles and small mouths
to grab and latch onto a target, pulling it to its
larger central mouth to be consumed on the
following round. Being eaten in this manner
inflicts 1D4+1 damage per round. The victim can

The Dark Mother’s lair is a cave system about a half mile east of the camp. If one were to
come upon the cave, they’d find a hag dressed in filthy, ragged clothes, looking like a witch
from some Grimm fairytale. Should the characters head east out of camp in search of the
children, they’re likely to smell wood smoke which leads them right to her.
They find her sitting near the entrance, hunched over an open fire cooking a squirrel. A
Spot Hidden check allows the characters to notice discarded children’s clothes and shoes
near the entrance to the cave. If they notice any of this, they realize that it’s not a squirrel over
the fire but a young child’s arm.
Inside the cave are petroglyphs that tell the history of the great seal (see Secrets). Near
the back of the cave, a Hard Spot Hidden check reveals the bones of countless children,
dating back decades at least.

47

The Dark Mother In monster form she takes minimal damage
from normal weapons and half damage from fire.
avatar of shub-niggurath The Dark Mother reforms after 2D100 days,
seeking out more followers to do her bidding.
STR 100 (150)
Spells: Augury, Awaken the Beast, Bind Soul,
CON 100 Cloud Memory, Command Animal, Command
Plants, Control Elements, Dampen Light,
SIZ 70 (150) Enthrall Victim, Fury, Healing (variant), Human
Shrub, The Red Sign, Return of the Beloved,
DEX 100 Summon/Bind Dark Young

POW 350 Sanity Loss: Zero Sanity points to encounter
the Dark Mother’s human form; 1D4/2D4 to see
HP: 17 (25) her unmasked and in her monstrous aspect.

Damage Bonus: +1D6 (+3D6) SPECIAL ABILITIES
Thought Form: The appearance of this
Build: 2 (4) avatar is taken directly from the minds of those
who encounter it; thus, it may appear male or
Move: 10 female according to the viewer’s mind’s eye
visualization of ultimate attraction. Thus, if
Magic Points: 70 seen by a number of people simultaneously,
each person may see a slightly different form or
( ) = Monstrous form. version of the avatar. Whenever it wishes, the
avatar may unveil its human guise and appear
ATTACKS as a monstrous humanoid composed of roots,
Attacks per round: 1 (human form) or 2 flesh, dead matter, and so on.
(monstrous form)
Command: When directly spoken to, humans
Prefers to use commanded humans to act as fall under the command of the Dark Mother,
fodder against attackers, with such folk happy with people willing to obey directions up to
to throw themselves in front of danger to and including self-destruction. The effect may
protect her. If necessary, she uses spells or may be negated with an Hard POW check, or else
strike out unarmed or use weapons. In extreme certain spells may limit or ward against such
situations, she may throw off her human mind control. The power can work at a distance,
guise to reveal a monstrous form capable of although beyond 100 yards/meters, the POW
delivering two attacks per round, throwing check to resist decreases to Regular difficulty, and
out arms composed of vegetable and animal beyond one mile (1.6 km), the power has no effect.
matter to strike, tear, or grab.
Wild Abandon: Humans within sight or sound
Grab: Root-like tendrils wrap around and of The Dark Mother for any length of time may
grab a target, who can, on the following round, be overcome and driven to acts of wild abandon,
be crushed (1D6 damage per round) or bitten effectively freeing them of cultural, moral, and
and their blood sucked out (1D6+4 damage per legal restraints. Such high spirits may at first be
round). The victim may attempt to break free minor, but her continued presence increases the
with an Extreme STR or Hard DEX check. breakdown of “society,” and humans are reduced
to bestial behavior, killing one another in a frenzy
Fighting: (human) 90% (45/19), damage of violence. Thus, the longer the Dark Mother stays
1D4+1D6 to orchestrate, the worse the situation becomes.
In the main, a Hard POW negates this effect,
Fighting: (monstrous) 90% (45/19), damage although those at the periphery may have their roll
1D6+1D6 decreased to Regular difficulty.

Grab (mnvr): 90% (45/19), damage 1D6 or
bite 1D6+4 (see above).

Dodge: 70% (35/14)

Armor: 0 (3 monstrous); If reduced to zero
hit points, in human form, the monstrous form
bursts forth (at full hit points) and proceeds
to attack anything nearby, fighting for six
rounds before dissolving into the ground and
retreating to her cave to summon her children.

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If the characters don’t head east, then they’ll likely encounter the Dark Mother in camp
when she comes for her children in a few hours in the guise of Aunt Bee (see below).

Changes

The Keeper should keep track of the time passing in the game since certain changes are
time specific. The following chart is intended to provide a basic guideline, though the Keeper
should feel free to change things up if it makes the story more cinematic.

10:30 PM
The Klassen family arrives at camp and sabotages the vehicles. The Keeper can optionally give
the characters an Extreme Listen check to see if they recall hearing any noises during the night.

11:30 PM
The campers awake and are lured by Ben Klassen into the barn. They climb into the loft and
become cocooned. Melissa hides under her bed between two footlockers.

12:15 AM
The Counselors awake after a nightmare with the unshakable feeling that something is
wrong. The forest is unnaturally quiet.

12:30-4:00 AM
When the characters discover the situation in the barn (see Threats) and that the children
are there, Hannah Klassen will call The Dark Mother. She shows up about 15 minutes later in
the guise of Cybille Blakely.

4:10 AM
The Dark Spawn hatch from their pupae and begin feeding. They seek out the Dark Mother,
but if she’s dead, they retreat to the cave system east of camp.

5:45 AM
Sunrise. The Dark Spawn abhor light and especially daylight, and so if any are still around,
they flee to the nearest dark place, or if none can be found, they burrow into the ground.

The Dark Mother Arrives. The characters hear movement in the woods and a woman’s
voice calling out, “Hello? Is anyone there?” A middle-aged woman with a lantern steps out
of the trees dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and a jean jacket... maybe. The Dark Mother
is using her Thought Form ability to lull the characters into a false sense of security. If
possible, the Keeper should describe some aspect of her appearance differently each time
to simulate the feeling of characters all seeing her a bit differently.
For example, at one point the Keeper might say, “She takes off her denim jacket and lays
it over her arm,” and a few minutes later say, “She puts on her leather coat.”
She tells the characters, “I’m Cybille Blakely, but you can just call her Aunt Bee. I live a
few miles east of here, not far off the road.”
When questioned, she tells the counselors she heard some really strange noises in the
woods, like some wounded animal, and went to put the poor creature out of its misery.
She’ll ask them what’s wrong, and if they tell her about the people in the barn, she’ll say
something like, “It must be those Klassen folks. They ain’t the brightest bulbs in the pack, but
I never thought they’d do anything so terrible. You want me to try and talk sense to ‘em?”

49

In short, Cybille generally behaves like a concerned human being, but as the conversation
goes on, however, the characters may notice an oddness in her manner. The Keeper can have
the characters make Psychology checks to notice that she seems eager to learn more about
the condition of the children, or she may let something slip about the milk. An Extreme Spot
Hidden check could allow someone to notice something unnatural moving beneath her shirt.
If Melissa is present, the Dark Mother takes great interest in her. She’ll act very maternal
and comforting, even going over to her to offer a motherly hug. Melissa is uneasy but accepts
the hug so as not to be rude. At that point, the Dark Mother begins singing a lullaby (casting
the Dampen Light spell), and the area instantly goes dark, and the characters hear a scream
from Melisa as Cybille takes her. Of course, the characters may attempt to stop her, but
they’ll have a Penalty Die on any related rolls.
Sensing her children, the Dark Mother takes Melissa to the barn, where she uses her
Command ability to force Melissa to drink her milk ...unless the characters stop her.
Saving the Children. It’s very difficult, but not impossible, to save all of the children, but
some may be possible. Each child currently has a Dark Spawn gestating in their stomach.
These larvae are maggot-like grubs about seven inches long and two inches in diameter.
Most of the damage to the host takes place within the last half hour, so if the characters can
extract any of the children from their cocoons before 3:30 AM, the child will vomit up the
larvae and fall mercifully unconscious. These rescued children will remain asleep for twelve
hours and awake with no memories of what happened.
Between 3:30 AM and 4:00 AM the larvae will grow and begin to devour the child from
the inside out, so if they are extracted during that time, they will already be dead.
The Brood. During the final ten minutes, the Dark Spawn expand, ripping apart their
host and bursting through their pupae. They emerge ravenously hungry and begin devouring
any living thing they can find, including small wildlife, the counselors, and even the Klassen
family. Initially, they are quite vulnerable, which means that the characters have a chance to
kill them, even if it’s a small one.
Sunrise. The Dark Spawn hate the sun, and so around 5:00 AM, they flee to their mother’s
cave east of camp. If the Dark Mother is destroyed and the counselors pursue, they’ll have
a few hours to kill the Dark Spawn before they grow into fully developed Dark Young (see
Keeper Rulebook p.287). These are nearly impossible for the characters to kill and will cause
great suffering and death throughout the region until their mother reforms in 2D100 days.

50