With Malice Aforethought

References

Pages: 37

Author(s): Andrew Leman and Jamie Anderson

Artist(s): John t. Snyder (illustrations), Tom Kalichack (maps)

Setting: Salem, Arkham Lovecraft Country

Appears in: Adventures in Arkham Country

Summary

The investigators, asked to solve mystery of a death at Arkham Sanitarium, become embroiled in a mass murder investigation, unaware that someone at the institution, drawn to the sanitarium seeking great power and the help of the mental patients, is not who he seems, while creatures from the Dreamlands watch from the shadows. A scenario in three parts.

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

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Synopsis

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A sorcerer from the Dreamlands from the booming port city of Dylath-Leen, devoted to the Great Old Ones seeking from them gifts and forbidden knowledge in exchange for his devotion and his sacrifices, finds his ambition frustrated at home, and travels by magical means to the waking world to open for his lords a gate for the Great Old Ones to conquer the waking world in exchange for power in the Dreamlands. Drawn to Arkham, Massachusetts and attracted by a mysterious but unmistakable source of power, he has located a group of human beings whom he can persuade to unwittingly participate in his gate-opening ritual: Mental patients, and using a powerful amulet, he put on the disguise of a staff psychiatrist at Arkham Sanitarium.

References

Player Handouts: maps of Arkham and Arkham Sanitarium, Newspaper Headlines/Articles,

Locations: Dreamlands, Dylath-Leen, Arkham, Massachusetts, Lovecraft Country, Arkham Sanitarium, Salem

Creatures: Mental Patients, Witch, "Dutch", Arkham Police, "Frenzy", The Man in Black, Ghostly warrior

Tomes and Artifacts: tome Daemonigraphia, tome Synarchobiblaron, new spells "Unmask Daemon" and "Circle of Nausea" and "Banishment of Yde' Etad", "Mind Dance Ritual" for restoring sanity, Misquat Figurines, Bors' Amulet

Comments

A sort of mini-campaign in three parts focusing on the Sanitarium murders ("The Crime"), a trial ("The Trial"), and a final confrontation with the villain ("The Sentence").

The centerpiece of this scenario is a detailed murder trial, with rules provided in the scenario for simulating the trial in detail from arrest, to arraignment and indictment, to hiring an attorney, to presenting evidence and testimony, to deliberation, judgment, and beyond. This trial subsystem could be reused for any other BRP gaming situation where a trial is conducted.

The Dreamlands are referenced as a number of times in behind-the-scenes material for the Keeper, but not much of the scenario actually involves the Dreamlands or its creatures (beyond a reference to Ghouls, a couple of Dreamlands "Daemons" (the "Frenzy" and "The Man in Black"), and the witch antagonist.

Keeper Comments

Comments to Keepers about this scenario; Possibly how to run it successfully. Keep general DISCUSSION on the talk page.