From: "John & Christine Thompson" To: Subject: Chaosium Digest v33.10 Date: Saturday, May 05, 2001 1:24 AM King of Scabs (pt. 1) A Call of Cthulhu Adventure by Matt Sanborn Monsterfashion@earthlink.net http://home.earthlink.net/~monsterfashion/index.html Playtesters: Brian "MacZilla" MacDonald, Brian "I'm back" Courtemanche, and John M. Scenario: This scenario is for players who have characters in the legal field. There is also room for a writer, photographer and possibly a private eye. This will be discussed in the Other Characters section. The attorney can be either a public defender, a well known attorney, or somewhere between. Players should come into the game with a basic grasp of how the legal system works, and what legal counsel can and cannot do for his client. Remind the players about lawyer/client confidentiality. Background: A lawyer has been hired to defend Mr. Ahmed Grier of Dunwich, Massachusetts, on three counts of murdering Massachusetts State Policemen in the first degree during a raid on what the press reports as, "a clandestine orgy of a filthy group of Dunwich denizens." Police had been chasing two members of the group, now known to the public as the Filthy Five, after two members had been spotted in Arkham by a foot patrol officer snatching a young girl from a car. The situation climaxed at Sulfur Mountain in Dunwich, where Mr. Grier's four accomplices were slain. Grier shot and killed three police in what he claims to be self defense. Mr. Grier is in serious need for legal counsel. The stature of the lawyer or lawyers will determine how the game begins. If characters are public attorneys, Mr. Grier can afford no counsel, and the case is given to the Public Defender's Office. Since this is a death penalty case, more than one public defender will be used. Private practice lawyers can be brought in easily. Enigma Magazine out of New York will pay for Grier's defense for the rights to have the first public interview with Grier after the trial. Enigma knows something may be brewing here, and wants to take a risk. If the lawyers are prestigious, then Enigma can be owned by a much bigger parent corporation, and has deep pockets. If the lawyers are new, they are in luck, as their smaller fees are all the small magazine can afford, and they were picked out of a phone book. Either way, events begin to unfold. What Really Happened That Night: Ahmed Grier, a 25 year resident of Dunwich, has spent years in the sulfur swamps casting spells and summoning evil spirits. He has withered and saved crops, summoned terrible storms, and caused droughts and floods. Three years ago Grier formed the Healers of the Open Sore, a five member group, worshipping a disgusting avatar of Nyarlathotep known to them as King of Scabs. The group toiled for these years, building an altar to their god in the sulfur swamps. They worked and studied tirelessly, preparing for the day they would perform the Coronation of the King of Scabs. Grier was certain he could bring the beast into the planet and still believes that the reward for this will be limitless power and knowledge. Two mongrel Dunwich children had been abducted, but one died in captivity the night before the coronation. Two members of the group, Silas Langley, a town farmer and Richard Gentry, a dolt who served as the enforcer, swiped another child the day of the coronation and were spotted by a Massachusetts State Police officer. There were five police dressed in hunting garb in the area tracking down rabid dogs. The chase lead to the top of Sulfur Mountain, where the group regularly met. Isaac Grier had already been sent ahead to the altar with a spell book and the kidnapped child. When Isaac heard the shooting, he cast the spell by himself and paid the price. During the shootout, Grier was hit in the shoulder by a .45 slug. Killed in the raid were officers Sandy O'Toole, 22; Paddy O'Brien, 25; Conway Stockard, 26. Cult members killed were Silas Langley and Richard Gentry, along with Ahmed's sister Yvonne Grier, 45, and Dunwich Selectman Richard Drinker, 56. Time Table: The entire game spans only a few days. Keepers can begin the game any year and month they want, but the raid should take place on an early Saturday morning. One the first day, at 1:15 in the morning the shootout occurs. Four cultists and three police are killed. Grier is arrested and brought to the Massachusetts State Police barracks in North Andover. He is fingerprinted, mugshot, and locked up. In the late morning, the press is camped out in front of the police barracks. Grier refuses to talk to police. The next day, Sunday, a legal team is hired. Private lawyers may wish to meet with client today. If the lawyer is a public defender, he or she will be assigned the case on Monday morning, about an hour before the arraignment. Police reports on the incident can be obtained by the legal team in North Andover at the barracks. Grier is willing to meet with counsel. He may be dirty, wily, and completely insane, but he is shrewd and is well aware of his legal and especially Constitutional rights. The Arraignment: Monday is the arraignment. The public defender will get little more than five minutes with Ahmed before they enter a plea. Judge Randall of the Arkham Court takes the bench in his courtroom and officially charges Ahmed Grier with one count of kidnapping, and three counts of murder in the first degree of three state police officers. Ahmed pleads not guilty. Grier will then be denied bail and sent to the Middleton House of Corrections in Middleton, Massachusetts, where he is to be held until his trial, exactly one month from today in Newburyport Superior Court. This is a capital crime and the death penalty will be sought. The First Interview: Whenever this occurs, attorneys will have police reports to examine as well. This meeting will either take place at the Middleton House of Corrections or the Massachusetts State Police Barracks in North Andover. Ahmed Grier will be brought into the room wearing khaki pants and a gray prison-issue shirt. He is bejeweled with shackles and handcuffs. He is a small man, with a wild gray beard, mustache and hair. His eyebrows are tremendous as are his nose hairs. His left shoulder has a bandage on it where he was shot. Despite being forced to shower, he still smells strongly of sulfur. Grier will sit with his hands folded on the table and engage his counsel with a great deal of focus. Players will realize quickly that Ahmed is a man of intelligence. During the questioning by the legal team, he will reveal. * He had no idea that Silas Langley and Richard Gentry were involved in a kidnapping. * The group met on Sulfur Mountain to perform religious rites. Grier reminds counsel that he has that right. * He did fire his shotgun at the police out of self defense. He did not realize what was going on, and the police did not identify themselves. He kept the gun with him because there are wild mountain lions, cougars and dog packs in the area. He also has the right to bear a firearm. * All the members of the group except for him are dead. "They're all dead now." He will never reveal: * The name of the cult. * Who or what they worshipped. * Why the second kidnapping took place. * The secret altar in the swamp. * The body that is in the well. * That his brother escaped to the altar with another kidnap victim. End of the Interview: Once the final interview is over, Grier will ask his lawyer to pick up some of his books from his home. This will be a surprise to the lawyer, as Mr. Grier has no known address. He will tell them it is between the base of Sulfur Mountain and Sulfur Swamp. It is covered with a lot of shrubbery, but there is a well near the front which is the landmark to use to find it. He will tell them that in the first door to the right when they enter his house is a library. It is locked and police took the key during the raid. On the desk in this room is a large book. "It's trapped, so don't open it," he tells the investigators. The key can be obtained at the check out area of the jail. There are two keys on a simple iron ring. Playing Defense: Players making successful law rolls will realize the best defense is to argue that Mr. Grier shot only in self defense while believing he was protecting his First Amendment Right to peaceful meeting for religious purposes. When asked, Grier will state the police did not identify themselves. It was near dark and he could not clearly make out who they were. Therefore, it was a case of self defense, and at "best", Manslaughter. For the kidnapping charge, Grier will claim that Langley and Gentry were not part of their meeting. The two had been kicked out last month due to abhorrent behavior. Grier refuses to elaborate on what the behavior had been. The two men arrived on the meeting with the girl knowing they were being chased by police. It was a last ditch attempt to gain revenge on those who had expelled them. Of course, players may have their own theories and strategies. Dunwich: Even if the players opt not to get Grier his books, (though there is no reason they shouldn't help their client), even the public defender(s) will find it useful to investigate the crime scene in person. Those Keepers lucky enough to have Return to Dunwich, use the map on page 54. The small, very run down house rests between Sulfur Swamp and Sulfur Mountain. The place is almost entirely covered with brush, but a well can be seen in the tall grass with a successful Spot Hidden roll. Anyone pushing the heavy wooden top off of the well to look down into the well with a light should make a Spot Hidden roll. Success indicates the investigator can make out the shape of what at first appears to be a doll. But then a terrible feeling comes creeping. This is a human body. The Body in the Well: This poor unfortunate girl is seven year old Amy Wilson from the Wilson/ Dunstable clan, (pg. 55, RTD), abducted a week ago by Silas Langley. Due to malnutrition complicated by a diabetic condition, the girl lapsed into a coma early the day before the coronation. Yvonne bathed her in the Sulfur Springs to help wake her, as the girl needed to be alive to be a sacrifice. She was put back into the pit in the house where she was being kept with her nine year old sister Edna Wilson. Sometime during the night, her life slipped away from her. Any attorneys seeing this body are legally bound to report it to police or risk disbarment. Should it be discovered that a lawyer or police officer knew there was a dead body and did nothing, they will face great public and professional backlash. Loss of job, respect in the community, credit rating, etc. There is a good probability that players will not check out the well too thoroughly, as there is no need. If you do not want to introduce another body, the poor girl sank to the bottom in the mire and filth of that abandoned well. Over the years her body will break apart. Her family, so degenerate and inbred, will be thankful there isn't another mouth to feed. There are no records for most of these kids; it's if they never existed. Healers of the Open Sore: Of the many degenerate cults in Dunwich, this may be the most vile. Founded only 3 years ago by wizards Ahmed Grier and his brother Isaac. Both had taken residence in Dunwich 25 years ago after fleeing from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, after police began closing in on them for murdering a high school student. They had done a good job laying low, becoming more and more grizzled looking, less and less like the two wanted men. Their sister was contacted via a dream, and she joined them shortly thereafter. But 15 years ago, during a fever, Ahmed received a vision, and began furiously writing in a journal. Fevered and dehydrated he wrote for three days straight, then collapsed. He was in a coma for a month, with his sister nursing him back to health. When he awoke, he remembered very little, but began to study his own writing intensely. With the knowledge in the book, Grier realized he could bring forth the avatar of the gods to serve him. Nyarlathotep tricked Grier through the visions into writing this book which will bring nothing but misery to the earth for centuries to come. It is Grier who is doing the serving. Years later, other members of the group were recruited by Yvonne. More manpower was needed for the coronation. She did most of the work needed to be done in town, such as shopping. Silas Langley turned to her to save his crops. When a banner crop popped up, he became loyal to Yvonne. She also seduced the dimwitted Richard Gentry into the cult. A helper on Langley's farm, Gentry soon began breaking into houses and stealing money for her. Three years ago, along with Langley and Gentry Dunwich Selectman Richard Drinker was initiated into the group. They swore by blood and violence to bring their true master into this world. The blueprint now rested in their leader's own writings: The Book of The Three Wounds. The Book of The Three Wounds: Grier transcribed the three diaries verbatim into a large, leather-bound tome. He covered the book with scabs, blood, and bits of dead flesh of wild animals. he then cast a curse on the book that whoever should open the book without making the Voorish Sign over the front cover, will suffer cuts and sores all over their body which will quickly fester and pop. Any other attempts by the same or other investigators yields the same fate. There are three parts to the book: The Coming, The Arrival, and The Delivery of His Promise, respectively. Each section begins with Grier entering a dream world where an emaciated, albino-like woman lays dying on a wooden floor. There are three open wounds on her face. He looks into a different infected orifice in each of the three sections. Part One: The King * What the King of Scabs will deliver his followers * What the future holds for the world Part Two: The Arrival * The spell Coronation of the King of Scabs * Why the coronation must take place * The powers behind the King of Scabs (Mentions Azathoth, Yog Sothoth, Ahub Niggurath) Spells: Coronation of the King of Scabs (Grier misinterpreted a dream, leading him to write and believe two children were needed for the coronation. Only one child is needed). Part Three: The Delivery of His Promise * The coming of new plagues and diseases * A very vague prophecy of the end of the world * Spells: Voorish Sign, Wither, Contact the King of Scabs (Nyarlathotep) Reading Time: 11 weeks Cthulhu Mythos: + 4% Spell Modifier: x2 Coronation of the King of Scabs: For the past three years each member has had a hand in preparing this dreadful spell. The altar had to be designed and built. Special sulfur based powders were mixed for burning on the altar. Children were scouted as good targets for kidnapping. Rituals and animal sacrifices were performed monthly on Sulfur Mountain. Everything was going as planned until Amy Wilson died right on the morning of the coronation. Only one sorcerer and victim is needed to summon King of Scabs. Isaac took the girl and stole into the woods undetected, sacrificed her, then began the magikal incantations. Great noxious and green vapors came out from the swamp and the water began to boil. Through an open trapdoor on the altar, emerged the hideous King of Scabs. Isaac and the beast performed the rest of the ritual - the eating of the pure flesh. At the climax of the ceremony, Grier approached him with unsteady footwork, holding a razor-wire crown. The hideous mask of the great messenger reached out and touched Issac's hand. Grier immediately fell to the ground, covered in sores and bl oody gashes. -- To unsubscribe from the chaos-digest ML, send an "unsubscribe" command to chaos-digest-request@chaosium.com. Chaosium Inc., Call of Cthulhu, and Nephilim are Registered Trademarks of Chaosium Inc. Elric! and Pendragon are Trademarks of Chaosium Inc. All articles remain copyright their original authors unless otherwise noted.