Savage Brainstorming: Supernatural

While the following is specifically geared towards a Supernatural campaign, with only a little effort it can be used with most any horror setting.

Fiddlin' in the Park is a Hunt which can easily be inserted at any point in a campaign. It should not be used to start one off though, as the comic themes featured here will be more effective if the Hunting Party has had a few more serious outings.

Note: NPC names marked with an asterisk were created by the tried and true method of flipping through a phone book and picking a name out at random. Those that aren't are Meaningful Names, though if you don't like them you're welcome to change them.

Setting: Any moderate-sized college town not too far from the Hunting Party's current location. It should be a good distance from any bodies of saltwater (to be explained later).

Situation: The supernatural front has been unusually quiet for the past week or so. The only lead even remotely promising occurred at Lakehurst Park in the target town.

Incident #1: Douglas Cotter* and Alice Kaufmann* were in a moderately secluded area of Lakehurst Park engaged in some quality necking time and started to push it further. Suddenly, they were doused with water. Startled, the twosome stagger out of the brush in a state of undress in front of witnesses, with Hilarity Ensuing. If the Hunting Party wishes to interview either of them, their initial reaction will be Hostile (refer to the Reaction Table on page 132 of SWEX). Any Persuasion attempts to adjust this should be penalized as neither of them like having the subject brought up. Even if the Hunting Party succeeds in getting them to talk, they didn't notice any useful details and have assumed that it was the work of a jerkwad prankster.

Incident #2: This occurred four days after Incident #1. The principles are Gene Forrester*, Tara Hale*, Joseph Conner*, and David Irving*, Drama Club geeks who were at Lakehurst Park rehearsing Act III of Cyrano de Bergerac. (Note to Game Warden: If you think that the title might be too unfamiliar to your players, you are welcome to change it to some other play with strong romantic themes.) The first three are performing while David is operating a camcorder so they can review it later. At the point in the play when Roxane and Christian kiss, David attempts to zoom in but accidentally hits zoom out instead. This allows the camera to show the water dropping on the twosome right before they get doused. If you feel it will be necessary to draw in the Hunting Party, they post the video on YouTube. If any of them are interviewed, the initial reaction will be Neutral and they will prove more useful overall. Tara and Joseph (the ones who got doused) will mention that the water had been salty. And while it appears on the video as if the water had come from directly overhead, none of the tree branches above would have been sturdy enough to have supported the weight of a person and a container with that much water (independent investigation of the site will confirm this). On a successful Persuasion roll, they will lend the recording to the Hunting Party. Unless one of the players specifies that they'll watch it frame-by-frame (and there's no reason why they shouldn't), spotting the oddity requires a Notice (-4) roll. In either case, in the frame just before the camera zooms out, there's a young woman who wasn't there before. She's kinda pretty, has glasses, wears frumpy clothes, and looks very angry.

Incident #3: This occurs after the Hunting Party has arrived in town while they investigate Lakehurst Park. At the appropriate moment, any EMF meters in use will suddenly spike. A successful Tracking roll will point the Hunting Party in the direction of a young couple walking down a path holding hands. Suddenly, a sizable quantity of water materializes over the couple and drenches them. Should the Hunting Party attempt to do so, the couple will be too shocked to answer any questions (and may assume that they're part of some Candid Camera type show and have a Hostile reaction). If a sample of the water is taken, it will be found to be salty but otherwise ordinary water. If anyone was running an audio recording device, it will pick up some EVP of a woman sobbing.

Potential Red Herrings: Possible false theories your Hunting Party may come up with might include an anti-romantic Trickster or maybe a sexually frustrated Deranged Psychic who would have preferred to have Puppet but got Elemental Manipulation instead.

Hitting the Stacks: Checking the local newspaper for incidents connected to Lakehurst Park will provide scant offerings. Other than announcements for events being held at the park, the past year there has only seen a few minor incidents. Among these are a report of a rabid fox last summer, a mugging five months back, and a young woman who broke her neck when she tripped over a tree root three weeks ago (feel free to bulk this up a bit if you think it's necessary). Going further back will reveal a similar meager scattering of minor incidents. If the Hunting Party has seen the video from Incident #2 (or sees it later), it will be apparent that Patricia MacArthur (the name of the deceased) and the mysterious woman in the video are one and the same.

Gumshoeing It: Aside from Incident #3 and confirming Incident #2, investigating Lakehurst Park may reveal hints about Patricia's last moments (see The Quarry below). However, such clues may have been obscured or obliterated by natural causes over the past few weeks, so any Notice rolls should be penalized. Asking about Patricia in town will reveal nothing, as most of her off-campus time was spent at the park. Asking on campus will yield better results. With a basic success on a Streetwise roll, a few students vaguely recall Donald Johnson dating her. None of them know much about her except that she didn't seem to be his usual type. If the Streetwise roll comes up with a raise, then the Hunting Party will have come across Patricia's best friend Beverly Randolph*. (Note to the Game Warden: While encountering Beverly will likely make the successful completion of the Hunt easier, it's not crucial. So don't be afraid to leave it to the dice.) Though her initial reaction will be Uncooperative, Persuasion rolls to adjust this shouldn't be penalized. If and when she becomes more amenable, she'll go on to imply that Patricia's death was more sordid than what was reported in the paper. Apparently Donald Johnson has a reputation as an amoral womanizer who will casually dump a woman he's dating if he happens to get bored with her. Beverly had tried to warn Patricia away from him, but she had been hopelessly infatuated. Beverly believes that, after the inevitable rejection, Patricia had gone to Lakehurst Park and committed suicide, but it got misreported as an accident. Should the Hunting Party gain access to the police report, careful examination of the attached photos will cast the suicide theory in doubt.

The Quarry: Patricia MacArthur was a shy, bookish sort who had missed out on the dating scene in high school. While attending the college, she spent much of her non-class time at Lakehurst Park to escape the rowdier aspects of campus life. In fact, it was at the park where she first met Donald Johnson. In all likelihood, he probably chose to go out with her more because of the sheer novelty of the experience, as it was a change of pace from the usual parade of sluts. However, it had to end eventually, and Donald cut off the relationship in an extremely callous manner. This drove her into a state of despair and she went off to the park to end it all. But it was like a sadistic Fate had chosen to mock her further, as each suicide attempt went wrong. She tried hanging herself, but the branch she used snapped at the crucial moment. She tried poisoning herself, but the bottle slipped from her grasp as she opened it, spilling the contents. (Note to Game Warden: If you wish to come up with some other suicide attempts that go wrong in a comical fashion, knock yourself out.) Eventually she gave up and started to trudge back to the campus when she tripped over a tree root and broke her neck. As a result, she became a ghost.

Initially, Patricia was content to wander the park and wallow in her own misery. Then one day, she came across the couple described in Incident #1. The sight of a happy couple enraged her, at which point her Elemental Manipulation manifested, dousing them in her tears (hence why the water is salty). The next day, she saw Donald with yet another random hussy, so she tried the same thing but with no results (subconsciously she hasn't come to terms with the break-up so is unable to act against him). As a result, she has become even easier to set off, reacting to just about any display of romantic affection.

Patricia MacArthur's Ghost
Traits: Agility -, Smarts d10, Spirit d4, Strength -, Vigor -
Skills: Notice d8, Psionics d6
Powers: Elemental Manipulation
Power Points: 10
Special Abilities: Ethereal, Possession, Standard Ghost Weaknesses

Habits: Patricia's haunting is restricted to Lakehurst Park from about mid to late afternoon to early evening. Although she is incapable of visually manifesting, psychics with Detect Arcana or any appropriate Psychic Edges (see Issue 1.1 of Shark Bytes) will be able to see a filmy human-shaped image. Cameras will also register this. It's greatly clarified when Patricia uses Elemental Manipulation, to the point where she's identifiable.

Flushing Out: Salt and Burn will prove to be a problematic tactic. Patricia was an out-of-state student and her remains were sent home to her folks well over a thousand miles away. All is not lost though, as her ghost hasn't gone feral yet (but she's getting close to it) and can still be reasoned with. If the Hunting Party has been paying attention, they should realize that the best way to draw her out is with displays of romantic affection. Furthermore, Incident #2 should make it plain that they don't even have to be genuine. Once her attention is drawn, she can be forcibly restrained either with the Open Channeler Psychic Edge or with a binding ritual (such as the one used in the Season 2 episode Houses of the Holy). Even if these efforts fail, if the Hunting Party is persistent enough, Patricia will become annoyed and will possess one of them (Note to Game Warden: If Beverly has joined the Hunt, she'll be the one to be possessed. Otherwise, choose the Hunter you consider most appropriate). Only through a human intermediary will the Hunting Party be able to communicate with Patricia.

Initially, Patricia will be quite sulky and ask why the Hunting Party doesn't just leave her alone. Derisive or insensitive remarks will only make her worse. Should they behave in a sympathetic manner however, she'll calm down and recount (a bit melodramatically) her tale of woe. Before Patricia can pass on, two things must happen. First, she must be convinced that taking out her frustrations on other people is doing her no good. Second, Donald must be confronted over the nature of his misdeed and be made to repent in some manner.