The Watcher in the Bayou
Details
Pages: 1-17
Author(s): Sam Johnson
Setting: 1920s
Appears in: Dwellers in Shadow
Summary
A call for help is more than it seems; a sleepy bayou town holds many dangerous secrets; and a centuries-old curse haunts the swamps and bogs around a lost corner of Louisiana.
Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only
Players should not read any further.
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
The Investigators receive a letter asking them to investigate supernatural sightings in Louisiana, and a fee.
The underlying cause is a Mythos artifact called the Chott Rhuul, once worshipped by a local tribe, who were captured and enslaved by Spanish raiders. The prisoners called on the artifact for help, which resulted in the arrival of a horrifying leech-monster which slaughtered everyone involved. The monster, and the reanimated remains of the dead, now protect the artifact in the depths of the swamp. The letter was actually sent by a wizard seeking the artifact, who plans to use the Investigators as pawns before disposing of them once the Chott Rhuul is in his grasp.
References
Player Handouts: 10 pages of handouts
Locations: Louisiana
Creatures: the Dolman,
Tomes and Artifacts: A partial translation of the Ponape Scripture, notes from the R'lyeh Text and from the Necronomicon.
Comments
LaRue's house contains, amongst other things, a photograph of "Theo and Thelma, 1820". This would be the oldest surviving photograph in the world; an immensely valuable item to any historian or museum. Either the two sat motionless for eight hours while the photograph was taken (as contemporary technology required), or this represents an undiscovered development which will revolutionise the history of photography. In either case, History or Photography should reveal its rarity and value.
Keeper Comments
Like many older scenarios, this calls for repeated rolls to achieve tasks, such as three Climb rolls to reach the roof. Statistically this makes success vanishingly unlikely for most Investigators; the Keeper may wish to use a single roll at a penalty for high, difficult climbs.
Much of the scenario - the exploration of the swamp, and any visit to LaRue's home - is dungeon-like. Investigators should be prepared for a significant amount of combat and physical challenge, rather than detective work. In addition to a large monster and a group of undead, the Investigators face a group of firearm-wielding police officers (exactly how many is never specified). In the mansion there are not only the cultists, but several small flying monsters and a nigh-indestructible statue that sets anyone nearby on fire.
In the Mansion
The expected course of events in the mansion assumes an extremely passive group of Investigators who are not at all suspicious of their host and don't react to anything unusual until confronted directly. There are several failure points.
LaRue's plan is apparently to plunge the house into darkness and activate a magic statue that promptly sets his house on fire, then hide in a cupboard. It is not clear why.
The scenario does not specify how quickly the poison acts. Since it halves all attributes, the effects should be obvious - at least to anyone who hasn't partaken. If it's slow-acting, the GM must determine how quickly it acts to know how impaired they are at any point, as players are likely to do something drastic as soon as they realised they've been poisoned. If fast-acting, the effects should be obvious within moments, and the Investigators will react accordingly.
It seems extremely unlikely that the Investigators will calmly wait for NPCs to block the doorway and give speeches after they've been presented with a plate of human heads. The scenario explains how the villain will have his henchman attack them one at a time. A far more likely scenario is that the Investigators are already suspicious, and will immediately open fire when the plate shows up, killing the villain and his henchman before they have any chance to monologue, let alone to escape. LaRue has 12 HP and no particular defences, and will be felled by a single lucky shot.
If he escapes, the assumption is that the Investigators are occupied dealing with Theo and the heads. They may instead run away from all those things on the heels of their actual adversary. This gives him very little time to destroy the fusebox, and makes stopping to activate the Dolman largely pointless. By the time it activates 1D6 rounds later, if LaRue has fled, the Investigators will be nowhere near it - and if he hasn't, he's likely to be dead or in immediate danger from his own Dolman. LaRue's options are both dangerous. Hiding in a cupboard while hotly pursued is a risky strategy (particularly with the house burning down around him), and opening a trapdoor in the ceiling before clambering into the attic is a slow process even in broad daylight; LaRue intends to do so in total darkness.
The Keeper must decide whether demolishing the fusebox is an automatic success, and how long it takes. Realistically, this is a substantial tasks that calls for swinging a heavy tool around.
Once darkness falls, it's reasonable to assume that the magical heads can see in the dark (monsters generally can in fiction) but neither Theo nor LaRue have any such advantage. These are not ideal conditions for holding off a group of armed Investigators, activating deadly magical artifacts, or finding your way to a hiding-place.
Statistics
The Screaming Heads have a -2 damage penalty for low STR/SIZ, giving them D4+D3-2 damage when worrying is taken into account. Since this all takes place instantaneously, a simpler option is make the bite a flat D4.
The Dolman provides only ST and Move scores, stating that "no other characteristics apply" - which overlooks the need for, at a minimum, SIZ and DEX scores. Assuming charitably that the Dolman is allowed to act without a DEX score, the Keeper may have it always act last, or assign a nominal DEX of 1. This is also necessary for handling dexterity-based countermeasures by the Investigators, such as attempts to make it slip or trip over, fall off a narrow bridge, knock it off its feet with a heavy object, etc. A 7-foot-tall statue is probably SIZ 20 if this becomes relevant.
How much POW did LaRue begin with, considering he's sacrificed at least 6 POW simply to create a few monsters that are roughly on par with a medium-sized dog? Doing so has greatly reduced his chance of successfully using any of his spells; a poor choice for a supposedly intelligent and cunning adversary. Dogs would have been a better choice; no Investigator has ever been reluctant to shoot a weird flying head.
