A NIGHT AT THE GALLERY

RICARDO J. MNDEZ
RMENDEZ@GEOCITIES.COM

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Introduction
This scenario was originally created to introduce new investigators (and players) on a run of Pagan Publishing s Walker in the Wastes ca!paign" during a short stretch of ti!e that the !ain group was going to spend on #ashington$ %ince by this !o!ent in the ca!paign (after Alas&a) !y players are already paranoid" ' needed a plausible way to introduce new 'nvestigators without the (ld )rew going *un +o, on the!$ The result was this short piece$ 't is !ainly unrelated to the !ain ca!paign" so you should be able to introduce it on your 1-2. )o) ca!paign or play it as a one/shot affair$ 'f you wish to run it outside of Walker in the Wastes" 0ust ignore any reference to 1arrow or his e2peditions$ 'f you plan to run it with Walker !a&e sure that the fa&e 3ang arrives at the hotel before 1arrow and the rest of the tea!" so that there isn t anyone who can identify hi!$ ' also too& the opportunity to slowly introduce Phillip )hallis The Stage to !y )o) ca!paigns" to give the players a chance to start accepting into their )o) realities so!ething else than their usual share of cults and their gods$ %ince The Stage is freely available ' won t detail it here$ The connections with it can be safely ignored" but given its 4uality &eepers are reco!!ended to loo& it up$ 't s available fro! http5//www$!i!ga!es$co!/%tage/

Vanilla legal information

This adventure is copyright 1--- by 6icardo 7$ 89nde:$ 't !ay be freely distributed for personal use provided that it is not !odified and no fee above the nor!al cost of distribution is charged for it$ )all of )thulhu is )haosiu! 'nc$ s registered trade!ar& for their ga!e of horror and wonder in the worlds of +P 3ovecraft$ ;or !ore infor!ation" contact )haosiu! 'nc$" -<./A <=th %t" (a&land" )A -4=.> // or call us at <1./<4?/?=>1$ #al&er in the #astes is copyright 1--4 7ohn +$ )rowe '''$ The %tage is copyright 1--> by Phillip )hallis$

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A night at the gallery

Opening moves
The adventure starts on #ashington when the investigators are invited to an inauguration of an e2position at the *riefswald *allery" owned by 8r$ 'ng!ar Andersson$ (ne of the investigators is assu!ed to be of wealthy station and to have been in #ashington for a couple of wee&s now$ +e will receive a call at his hotel fro! a friend of the fa!ily@ an anti4ues dealer speciali:ing in odd boo&s called An:o 3ut:$ An:o has to leave the country to !a&e an ac4uisition in Austria and needs the investigator to hold a boo& for hi!$ The boo& is a rare to!e and the individual who ac4uired it is co!ing fro! Bew Cor& to pic& it up on the days An:o will be out of the country$ An:o will leave the na!e of the investigator to the gentle!an" who should be pass by the hotel in a couple of days$ %ince An:o has an engage!ent at the inauguration at the *riefswald *allery" he as&s the investigator to !eet hi! there and bring co!pany so that he can be safe on the way bac&$ The event is by invitation only" of course" and An:o will have two invitations delivered to the investigators hotel$ The gallery is on the center of the city and there are two guards ar!ed with shotguns at the door$ The great event is a show of paintings following the ro!antic style" apparently the owner s favorite$ %everal of the wor&s are fro! his personal collection and all are originals" which e2plains the heavily ar!ed security$ A!ong the wor&s displayed there are a couple by ;rancisco de *oya (El sueo de la razn produce monstruos and several of the series Los caprichos) and several by *er!an painter )aspar David ;riedrich" including the crucifi2ion scene The cross in the mountains $ The feelings of despair and i!potence that flow fro! ;riedrich s wor& are strong enough to !ove even people that have seen it in the past" and it should affect any investigator with so!e &nowledge of art$ %uch investigator should be able to value the co!plete show in the vicinity of a !illion dollars$ A short ti!e after entering 3ut: spots the! and goes over to welco!e the!$ +e then shows the! around the gallery" e2plaining the wor& of *oya and ;riedrich to the investigators if they aren t &nowledgeable in art$ #hen he finally gets a chance he wor&s his way to 8r$ Andersson s side" who is chatting with two gentle!en$ (ne of the! is a young !an on his thirties called 6obert 1eryl" who assists Andersson in organi:ing his social events$ Aside fro! 8ac8ahon and 3indblo! guarding the door" 1eryl is the only other of Andersson s assistants present at the party$ The other gentle!an is a stern/ loo&ing priest on his forties who is 4uite &nowledgeable of art and will be introduced to the! as ;ather Anthony 1loc&$ Andersson is an old ac4uaintance of 3ut:" since they both deal in anti4ues in a way$ 3ut: has told hi! about the boo& and the arrange!ent with the investigator in 4uestion so!e ti!e ago and Andersson is &eeping it on his safe until the investigators arrive$ #hen the 3ut: finally gives the boo& to the investigator" Andersson and 1eryl will serve as witnesses$ The boo& is a copy of Massa Di Requiem Per Shugga " an opera libretto and score in 'talian by 1envento )hieti 1ordighera" 1?=>$ %an 1d3/1d=" )thulhu 8ythos E4" no spells$ 't is given to the investigator in a beautifully wor&ed leather docu!ent folder with the opera na!e inscribed on it$ 3ang paid for it F4."..." a fact that 3ut: won t reveal$ 'f pressed" he will state that the boo& is worth over thirty thousand dollars and that secrecy duty to his client forbids hi! to say !ore$ 6icardo 7$ 89nde:

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Keepers background
The players
'ng!ar Andersson was a!ong the hundreds of thousands of %wedish who i!!igrated to the Gnited %tates around 1>?." due to a serious scarcity of 0obs that plagued %weden at the ti!e$ +is na!e then was 'ng!ar A&erot" son of a fisher!an who disappeared during a stor! and a !other who had died when he was a child$ +e was a bright but la:y young !an who once in Bew Cor& 4uic&ly turned to cri!e" robbing indiscri!inately and stabbing those who resisted$ 't was during one of his ra!pages that he stabbed 6ichard ;owler" a 8atar host$ The 8atar 4uic&ly let go of ;owler s body and as a sort of punish!ent too& over 'ng!ar s younger body" who wasn t able to resist the !ental attac&$ 't then do!inated ;owler as it had do!inated ;owler s assistants and beca!e ;owler s prot9g9$ A&erot inherited all of ;owler s assets when he &illed hi!self in the Bew Cear party of 1-..$ 'ng!ar too& over running ;owler s ban& operations" surprising everyone with the perfor!ance of such a young !an with no for!al education at all$ 1y 1-2. the 8atar who used his body had the nagging certainty that he was being observed so it decided to sell the ban&" change his appearance and disappear$ +e resurfaced during 1-23 in #ashington" posing as a *er!an art collector na!ed 'ng!ar Andersson and has lived there ever since" furthering his own ends as usual$ ;ather Anthony 1loc& is a !e!ber of an organi:ation called the Hnights of %aint 7ero!e (see appendi2 I3)$ +e started &eeping tabs on A&erot when a Pri!e 3ocus controlled by the 7uvat was assassinated in Bew Cor& with the trail leading to A&erot$ +e believes hi! to be a rogue !e!ber of the 7uvat and watched hi! closely ever since but lost hi! after the ban& was sold$ 't too& hi! si2 years to find hi! again and even now he isn t sure if he is the sa!e !an that he had been investigating$ Bevertheless" he has befriended Andersson with the e2cuse of being an art lover and regularly !eets with hi! to discuss about paintings and play chess$ 1loc& is dying with a cancer that is slowly eating hi! and has decided to spend his last years twarthing Andersson s controlling !oves$ This cancer and his approaching end have !ade hi! re/thin& his spiritual values and he now believes that the good he will be able to do in this life will outweigh the possibility of going to hell" even if to acco!plish that good he !ust step over the boundaries set by his religion$ Gnbe&nownst to hi!" part of this new philosophy ste!s fro! his constant contact with a 8atar" who have the uncontrollable ability to lower the !ental balance of those individuals near the!$ 1ecause of that decision he has disregarded several direct instructions by the (rder to leave Andersson alone until his !otives can be understood and is currently considered a rogue !e!ber of the order hi!self$ Andersson &nows hi! only as a priest with a good taste for art and wine and has ignored hi! so far" considering hi! unworthy of do!inating and useless as a tool$

The pieces
A 8r$ Donald 3ang visited An:o 3ut: in his anti4ue store several !onths ago and gave hi! a list of very rare boo&s to loo& for and si:able advance pay!ents for his efforts$ %ince then 3ut: has been trac&ing the! down and 0ust a couple of days ago !anaged to find one of the!$ A2perienced players will e2pect 3ut: to die either before they get there or shortly after$ Bone of this will happen@ he is truly going out on a business trip$ +e &nows little about the buyer" only that he is 4uite secretive and apparently in no lac& of !onetary !eans$ 6icardo 7$ 89nde:

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Donald 3ang is 0ust a wealthy !an who lately has ta&en on the habit of collecting rare boo&s$ Gnfortunately for hi! his search for boo&s is 4uite indiscri!inate and appears to be based only on age and rarity and not on content" so it has un&nowingly put hi! on the trail of several !ythos to!es$ 3ang is also one of those wealthy persons that fund 1arrow s e2peditions (so!eti!es secretly) and will serve to introduce the new characters to the group$ 8r$ 3ang is of a secretive nature when running his affairs" so!ething that !ay spar& the investigators curiosity$ That secrecy has roots only on his eccentric nature$ 3ang &nows of 1arrow s presence in #ashington" since his departure fro! Alas&a was so!ewhat publici:ed by the newspapers after they left" and plans to pay a visit to &now how the e2pedition is going$ 8r$ 3ang is also a strong believer in the e2istence of the supernatural in everyday life" which is the reason why he continues to fund 1arrow s e2peditions$ 'f 1arrow has died by this point in the ca!paign" 3ang will want to !eet with the survivors of the e2pedition$ Paul 3ivingstone is Andersson s assistant in !atters of ac4uisitions$ +e is currently forty/ si2 years old" but the strain of unsuccessfully fighting against Andersson s !ental control has aged hi! well beyond his years$ Anyone loo&ing at hi! would say that he is around his si2ties$ +e has a passing rese!blance to 8r$ 3ang but none of his vivacity and personality$ Andersson li&es to toy with his sub0ects and so!eti!es intentionally lets the! escape his control for a while$ Those are ti!es that 3ivingstone can t stand and he has slowly succu!bed to a !orphine addiction to relieve the stress and escape$ %everal ti!es he has played with the idea of giving hi!self an overdose and be done with it" but he doesn t see! to be able to find the nerve to do it$ Alec 7ason is the accountant for 8r$ Andersson$ +e was do!inated several years ago but couldn t stand being in touch with his basest instincts and has a serious disli&e of physical contact with any person" !aybe fearing that it will trigger so!e sort of violent or inappropriate response fro! hi!$ Bow the only thing &eeping hi! fro! a nervous brea&down is Andersson s !ind control$ (f all those in Andersson s staff 6obert 1eryl is the one that has responded better to his do!ination" possibly because he was privately already a violent !an who spend a si:eable chun& of his inco!e paying off the prostitutes he li&ed to beat up$ #hile in the surface he is cal! and collected" 1eryl is bad enough that Andersson has considered using hi! to do his dirty wor& instead of using 8ac8ahon and 3indblo!$ A previous e!ployer and ac4uaintance of Bils 3indblo!" who thought that they could get along well since they were both fro! the sa!e country" reco!!ended hi! to Andersson$ +e idoli:es Andersson and would probably follow hi! even if he didn t control his every action$ ;red 8ac8ahon thought for a while to e!ploy hi!self on the private investigator business but unfortunately he didn t have the brains$ +e started wor&ing for Andersson only two years ago and Andersson is already considering having hi! co!!it suicide$

The game
The Matars gambit
Donald 3ang is one of those persons that are called prime locus in The %tage5 persons who don t follow the sa!e preset trails as everyone else and have the possibility of shaping the future through their actions$ Andersson put his eye on hi! when he still lived in Bew Cor& but hasn t been able to find a way to &eep hi! near for enough ti!e to subdue hi!$

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#hen 3ut: told hi! about 3ang ac4uiring a boo& fro! hi! and pic&ing it up in #ashington" 3ang saw an opportunity he couldn t let go$ The day after the inauguration Andersson will send 3ivingstone to pose as 8r$ 3ang and pic& up the boo&" which is li&ely to be staying at the hotel s safe$ +e will then have 3ivingstone disappear with the boo& and when it is finally established that it was his ac4uisition assistant who too& it 3ang is li&ely to co!e to hi!$ Andersson plans to &idnap 3ang for a few days so that he can do!inate hi! at his leisure$ #hen the fa&e 3ang arrives at the hotel the day !anager for the %eattle +ilton will oversee the delivery and 3ivingstone will sign any receipt that is given to hi!$ 'f re4uested to present any identification" 3ivingstone will produce several fa&e cards of !e!bership to historic societies$ 'f pressed" he will flash a counterfeit passport that Andersson had !ade about a wee& ago when he learned of 3ang co!ing to town$ A couple of hours later the real Donald 3ang will arrive at the hotel" show his passport and de!and the boo& to be delivered to hi!$ +e will be 4uite upset that the boo& was delivered to so!ebody else but won t bla!e the investigators if they thought to re4uest the passport fro! the i!postor (do re!e!ber that there was a witness of the e2change)$ 'f they did" he ll offer the! a F1."... reward for the boo&$ 'f they didn t" the investigators will then have to scra!ble around to recover it$ 3ang will wish to call the police to infor! the! of the theft and it will ta&e so!e serious convincing fro! the investigators if for any reason they wish to avoid that$ 3ater that sa!e day" 3ang will have an interview with the survivors fro! the 1arrow e2pedition to Alas&a and will drop a co!!ent about the theft of the to!e$ After discovering in Alas&a that they ll have to start globe trotting" they ll surely li&e the possibility of having a !an of !onetary !eans on their side$

Preliminary investigations
There are several things that the investigators !ay wish to chec& out$

Black market of rare items

Bothing is to be gained investigating on this direction" since 3ivingstone isn t putting the boo& up for sale$ *ive the investigators a couple of shots at it if they re4uest it" and if they roll a critical group 3uc& roll (or a group 3uc& if a character has connections to the underground as a part of their bac&ground) so!eone will put the! in touch with Tho!as 8c*regor" a collector art ite!s of dubious legality who will be able to identify the !an as 3ivingstone$ +owever" he won t &now why 3ivingstone would steal a rare boo& and will state that he believes Andersson to be clean on the stolen ite!s depart!ent$ After all" if he didn t do his ac4uisitions using regular channels he wouldn t be able to put the! in display$ 8c*regor will refuse to give the investigators any leads in the underworld of stolen ite!s" since doing so would endanger his ability to ac4uire paintings and other ite!s in the future$ Due to his own personal wealth" bribery will 0ust serve to offend hi!$

The fake passport

%ince Andersson didn t have the ti!e to co!!ission the fa&e passport out of #ashington" said underworld contacts !ay put the 'nvestigators in a position to learn about who paid for it$ That will lead the! to a sli! and nervous !an &nown only as J%&inny 7ac&K" a

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forger of trade$ )oa2ing any infor!ation out of hi! will be hard unless force or large a!ounts of cash are used" but in any of those cases he will say that a young !an paid in cash and pic&ed up the docu!ent hi!self$ +e didn t give a na!e and none was re4uested$ That young !an was 6obert 1eryl" and you can see his description in Appendi2 I1$

The mans identity

There are several ways for the investigators to establish 3ivingstone s identity$ ;or e2a!ple" if a group luc& roll succeeds" a high/ran&ing hotel e!ployee !ay re!e!ber 3ivingstone fro! a past encounter$ %preading 3ivingstone s description around is another sure way to get the! to the !an" but that will ta&e at least a couple of days and the scenario is geared towards a speedier co!pletion$

Anderssons
(nce the !an s identity has been established the first li&ely stop is Andersson s office$ The gallery will be closed for the day" since Andersson doesn t wish to use the security needed on hours where nobody is li&ely to co!e by" but he !ay be contacted at his lu2urious office on top of the gallery and will receive the! if they show up after 1. in the !orning$ Andersson will show surprise at the theft and deny any involve!ent with it" refusing to believe that 3ivingstone could have been involved in such a sche!e$ Privately" he s already wondering why he lost contact with 3ivingstone$ +e will also personally offer his help to 8r$ 3ang if he is present and call hi! to his hotel if he isn t$ 3ang will be pleased at having the help of such a distinguished citi:en and will surely accept Andersson s invitation for lunch at his !ansion when it presents itself$

Investigating Livingstones house

'f the 'nvestigators don t ta&e any steps towards searching 3ivingstone s house" 3ang will notify the police and they will pay hi! a visit$ 'f they do decide the chec& out 3ivingstone s house nobody will answer the door$ 'f they decide to brea& in (a li&ely possibility) there is a front door and a bac& door$ The bac& door leads directly into the &itchen" and any investigator succeeding in a %pot +idden roll will notice that the refrigerator door is slightly a0ar$ )hec&ing the fridge will reveal several bottles of !orphine" although it !ay ta&e a 8edicine or Phar!acy roll to recogni:e the! as such$ 3ivingstone lies in his roo! in the second floor" dead in the bed$ A needle protrudes fro! his ar! and the glass syringe lies in the floor a!idst several e!pty bottles$ %o!e blood has dripped fro! the needle and for!ed a s!all puddle in the floor$ +is rolled up sleeve will reveal the e2pected needle !ar&s all over his ar!$ The leather pouch that the to!e ca!e in lies e!pty in the floor$

Knight takes pa n
At around the sa!e ti!e the boo& changed hands" ;ather 1loc& co!es to the %eattle +ilton to wait for 3ang s arrival (since they are both old ac4uaintances)$ +e watches the e2change fro! the door and recogni:es 3ivingstone" who he sees carrying the to!e outside$ +aving heard about 3ang s co!ing for the boo&" he will put two and two together and conclude that Andersson is indeed a 7uvat who plans to use the to!e as leverage on 3ang$ +is 8atar/induced disappearance of the boundaries between right and wrong

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i!pulses hi! to go to 3ivingstone s house to recover the boo& by whatever !eans necessary$ 1rea&ing in" 1loc& finds 3ivingstone out on a !orphine trip and the boo& beside the bed$ #ithout &nowing that 3ivingstone is 0ust a puppet and considering that it is better to re!ove a 7uvat fro! the face of the Aarth" 1loc& loo&s through the house and after finding 3ivingstone s stash of !orphine in the refrigerator goes up again and gives hi! an overdose$ +e then ta&es the boo& with hi! to the parochial house" changes his clothes and ta&es a ta2i to a train station and send 3ang a telegra! fro! there$ The telegra! itself is unsigned" but 1loc& will sign the registry under the na!e JAbraha! 'saacsK$ A copy for your players is on Appendi2 2$

STAY AWAY FROM ANDERSSON STOP HE MEANS TO MANIPULATE YOU STOP BOOK IS SAFE AND WILL BE DELIVERED TO YOU IN NEW YORK STOP
+is original intention is to send the boo& via a courier to 3ang s offices in Bew Cor&" but curiosity gets hi! before he does it so he leafs through the libretto and ends up reading it through the night$ The to!e perturbs hi! but he recogni:es it as so!ething his order would be interested in$ +owever" the !an who cold bloodedly overdosed so!ebody the day before won t wish to steal a valuable boo& and he will decide to ta&e a step forward and contact 3ang" even if it will put hi! at suspicion fro! both the theft and 3ivingstone s overdose$ +e is counting on his occupation to get 3ang to trust hi! and &eep away fro! Andersson" but he doesn t &now how 3ang will react to the offer of buying the boo&$

!urther moves
The telegram
't is 4uite possible that the investigators will believe the telegra! to be a ruse to have 3ang return to Bew Cor& so that the trail cools down" so they will surely investigate it$ The telegra! was received at a local office of the #orld #ide Telegraph" and the cler& re!inds it clearly because he was surprised that it had co!e fro! #ashington itself$ 'f any theft is !entioned and the proper )redit 6ating passed" the young !an will give the! the na!e of the office that sent it where they will be able to find out about 'saacs$

Isaacs
(f course" yet another possibility is that the telegra! is legiti!ate and so!ebody too& the boo& fro! 3ivingstone to help 3ang$ 'n this case" does 3ang &now anybody by the na!e Abraha! 'saacsL +e !ost surely doesn t" but a successful +istory chec& will re!ind the investigator that in the 1ible" Abraha! was prepared to sacrifice his son 'saac because his god de!anded it$ 3ang !ay re!e!ber a priest by the na!e of 1loc& who he !et in Bew Cor&" since 3ang usually helped the church with donations$ 3ang believes that the priest got transferred so!ewhere" but he doesn t 4uite &now if it was to #ashington$

The Matars den

8aybe the police find 3ivingstone s dead body and call Andersson or !aybe he tires of waiting for 3ivingstone to co!e out of his trip" but sooner or later Andersson is going to find out about 3ivingstone s death and the boo& s second disappearance$ #hen this happens he will be !ad and will start pushing his pieces around to watch 3ang and those that hang around hi!$

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't is 4uite possible that he will send 6obert 1eryl or Alec 7ason to 4uery 3ang about the progress with the investigation$ #hen he finds out that the to!e is still !issing he ll reali:e that not all is lost" since he doesn t actually need to hold the boo& for the ga!bit to wor&" and will invite 3ang to a personal !eeting at lunch ti!e in his !ansion$ +is new plan is to hold 3ang hostage for the few days he needs to !a&e a do!ination without transferring his conscience to 3ang s body$ As a good host" Andersson will send 8ac8ahon and 3indblo! to pic& up 3ang and bring hi! to the house" which is on large property in the outs&irts of #ashington$ 'f 3ang wishes to bring co!pany with hi! (the investigators) they will allow only for two !ore persons" since those are all who fit in the car$ Andersson s house is a large three/story building surrounded by about 1.. !eters of land and trees on every side$ About si2 guards chec& on the grounds at night" due to the huge value of the paintings stored in the !ansion$ Andersson will be all nice and pleasant at lunch" chatting about any topic that they fill co!fortable with and sharing several glasses of what the guests prefer$ Alas" the food will be drugged and the characters ta&en to roo!s on the third floor where the windows have been bric&ed to avoid escape$ Andersson will then have one of his assistants call the hotel and notify the! that 3ang is going to be his guest for a couple of days$ Afterwards he will patiently sit in the ne2t roo! to 3ang to slowly scra!ble his !ind and influence his thoughts$ 'f any of the investigators refuses to eat and doesn t fall asleep things could get hairy$ After all Andersson is only interested in do!inating 3ang" and after the do!ination 3ang will surely assert that the investigators who get &illed had left after lunch$

The Knight comes calling

%o!eti!e after lunch ti!e that day 1loc& will go visit 3ang at the hotel" tired and weary after spending a night reading the libretto$ +e will be carrying the to!e itself with hi!$ #hen told that 3ang is going to be visiting a friend for a couple of days he will re4uest to see whoever is traveling with hi!$ +is tone is one of such sincere urgency that the person attending hi! will put hi! in touch with the gentle!en with who! 3ang has been !eeting steadily since he arrived5 the investigators$ 1loc& will tell the investigators that 3ang has been &idnapped by Andersson and will tell the! anything he needs to tell in order to get the! to stage a rescue operation" going so far as lying if needed$ The boo&" by the way" 0ust fell on his lap$ +e believes that Andersson is going to brainwash 3ang (he actually doesn t &now how he does it) in order to gain influence in several circles where 3ang can be of use$ +e ll also insist that since Andersson is such a respected !e!ber of the co!!unity the police won t believe their story and by the ti!e the cops do decide to chec& on Andersson the da!age will be done$ #hen he finally convinces the! to do the daring rescue" 1loc& will consider his own possible death and write a letter to his order e2plaining his behavior and suggesting that they do chec& on Andersson$ The letter will be addressed to so!ebody in the Matican (J)o!!endatore *iovanniK) and 1loc& will re4uest that the letter be sent in case of his de!ise$ 'f one of the investigators has so!ehow convinced 1loc& that he can be trusted 1loc& !ay drop a hint about the possibility of the (rder contacting hi! for details of the events$

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Don t give away too !uch" 0ust hint that 1loc& is part of a larger group that !ight provide support$

The raid
"etting into Anderssons house
1loc& feels that it is his fault that 3ang is trapped in Andersson s lair" so he will offer to actively cooperate in the raid$ %ince he usually visits the house" he can play a s!all part by getting one of the investigators in with hi! with the e2cuse of introducing hi! to Andersson$ 1loc& will then draw Andersson s attention to an unfinished ga!e of chess while the investigator tries to snea& around the house$ The rest will have to scale the 2$</ !eter wall that surrounds the property$

#taging the raid

' ve spared you fro! having to see a !ap of the house drawn by !y hand" since ' ! assu!ing that you !ay need to &eep so!e sanity for the session$ +ere are the s&etchy details of the house$ As !entioned before the hostages are being held in roo!s in the third floor" which only has roo!s for that purpose$ There is a guard at the end of the hallway$ (n the first floor there will be Andersson s studio" the living roo!" foyer" dining roo!" &itchen" etc$ (n the bac& of the house there is a garage holding Andersson s cars$ The second floor contains Andersson s roo!s" library" etc$ The investigators will have to plan the raid careful" since a badly planned rescue would end up with the whole party dead by the shotguns the guards use$ (nce the fighting starts" 1loc& will pull a $32 gun and try to hold Andersson hostage$ Andersson will then !entally blast hi! (which will render hi! unconscious) and go loo& for the noisy investigators before they ruin his paintings$ Do &eep in !ind that Andersson has do!inated all of the guards" so they won t behave rationally and are li&ely to fight to the death$ Aven if the investigators do !anage to release their friends fro! their prison" they will still have to fight their way to the first floor where they will li&ely encounter Andersson$ Andersson is by no !eans i!!ortal" so he won t 0ust wal& into the group s range of fire$ +e will instead try to find the! and then attac& the! with his !ental powers (for which he doesn t need to be in line of sight with the victi!)$ 't should be 4uite interesting to see the investigators having to co!e out of their hiding because they &eep falling out unconscious one after the other$ #hen and if Andersson gets &illed" he will try to transfer his consciousness to the body of the priest$ 'f he doesn t have enough !agic points available" off he goes to wherever it is that 8atar stay when they re not in so!ebody s body$ Alas" if he can !a&e it he will allow the investigators to JsaveK hi! fro! the house and will sooner or later try to e2act his revenge on the! fro! 1loc&Ns body$

Aftermath
+opefully" after raiding a rich guy s house the (ld )rew will have bonded already with the new recruits" !a&ing it easier for the! to get along$ 'f the investigators didn t handle

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things correctly" raiding Andersson s house !ay beco!e a serious stain that will chase the! through their operations in A!erica$ ;ortunately for the!" 3ang will feel that he owes the! his life and will be willing to fund their operations if they can be reasonably e2plained to hi! (and hopefully their clai!s proved,)$ 3ang can also beco!e a useful contact to recruit new investigators for the party when so!eone goes to a better place$ 'f Andersson too& over the priest s body" things could get really interesting both for the investigators and the Hnights of %aint 7ero!e$$$

Appendi$ %& The pieces ' stats(hite

!ather Anthony Block
Priest and Hnight of %aint 7ero!e STR 12 DEX 13 INT 17 CON 13 APP 11 POW 17 SIZ 15 EDU 16 SAN 31 HP 14 A ! 43 Damage bonus" #1D4 Skills: A$$%&'()' 3*+, A-(" P.)'()' 2/+, B.- .)' 2*+, C-!0)( R.()' 1*+, H)2(%-3 63+, P!-2&.0! 61+, R!4) )%&2 H)2(%-3 71+, S5%( H)00!' 33+, T6-%7 5/+ Languages: E' 4)26 /1+, I(.4).' 45+, L.()' 6*+, S5.')26 4*+ Notes: F.(6!- A'(6%'3 )2 . (.44, 2(-%' 4%%8)' 9.' 7)(6 . :&44 ;!.-0 (6.( )2 .4-!.03 2(.-()' (% 26%7 )(2 76)(!< H! 6.2 . 0!!5 =%)$! 7)(6 76)$6 6! $%&40 7!44 )'()9)0.(! .49%2( .'3%'! 6! 7.'(!0 ): )( 7.2'>( :%- 6)2 8)'0 '.(&-!< H! )2 .42% )'$-!0);43 )'(!44) !'(, 2%9!(6)' (6.( )2 ;!(-.3!0 ;3 (6! :.$( (6.( '%(6)' .55!.- (% !2$.5! 6)2 7.($6:&4 !3!2<

Languages: E' 4)26 1*+, F-!'$6 4*+, @!-9.' 2*+, S5.')26 6*+ Notes: D%'.40 L.' )2 .49%2( 5&26)' 6)2 2)A()!2, .4(6%& 6 6! 0%!2'>( .55!.- (% :!!4 )(< H)2 %'43 5-!2$!'2! )2 $%99.'0)' , .'0 6! )2 %;=)%&243 &2!0 (% 6.=)' (6)' 2 0%'! 6)2 7.3< H! &2&.443 0-!22!2 )' . (6-!!B5)!$! 2&)( .'0 $.--)!2 . %40 5%$8!( 7.($6<

Black
Ingmar Andersson
8atar art collector STR 1* DEX 14 INT 2* CON 14 APP 13 POW 1/ SIZ 14 EDU 21 SAN 1* HP 13 A ! 72 Damage bonus" #1D4 Skills: A$$%&'()' 45+, A-(" P.)'()' 6*+, A-(" L)(!-.(&-! 5/+, B.- .)' 65+, C-!0)( R.()' /5+, H)2(%-3 13+, P!-2&.0! 7/+, S5%( H)00!' 4*+ Languages: E' 4)26 6*+, F)'')26 3*+, @!-9.' 7/+, L.()' 3*+, S7!0)26 17+ Attacks: K'):! 4*+ Notes: I' 9.- A'0!-22%' 4%%82 .( 4!.2( (6)-(3 3!.-2 3%&' !- (6.' 6)2 .$(&.4 . !< H! $&--!'(43 6.2 ;4.$8 6.)- (6.( )2 C&2( 2(.-()' (% 26%7 2%9! 76)(! .'0 ;-%7' 26):(3 !3!2 (6.( '!=!- 76%443 4%%8 .( . 5!-2%'<

)onald Lang
A2pedition funder and boo& collector STR 1* DEX / INT 14 CON 14 APP 1* POW 13 SIZ 13 EDU 1/ SAN 6* HP 14 A ! 5/ Damage bonus" '%'! Skills: A$$%&'()' 3*+, A55-.)2! 3*+, A'()?&!2 4*+, A-(" P.)'()' 2/+, A-(" L)(!-.(&-! 45+, B.- .)' 6*+, C-!0)( R.()' /5+, H)2(%-3 63+, O$$&4( 4/+, P!-2&.0! 61+, S5%( H)00!' 33+

Paul Livingstone
3ocura in charge of ac4uisitions STR 1* DEX 1* INT 13 APP / POW / SIZ 11 SAN 12 HP 11 A ! 46 Damage bonus" '%'! CON 13 EDU 15

6icardo 7$ 89nde:

A night at the gallery

Page 12

1/23/14 Notes: A 3%&' 9.' 7)(6 6.D!4 !3!2 .'0 ;4.$8 6.)-, B!-34 6)0!2 6)2 =)%4!'( '.(&-! ;!6)'0 . $.49 .'0 ?&)!( :.E.0!<

Skills: A$$%&'()' 2*+, A55-.)2! 7*+, A'()?&!2 1*+, A-(" P.)'()' 53+, B.- .)' 6*+, C-!0)( R.()' 55+, H)2(%-3 4*+, S5%( H)00!' 45+ Attacks: '%'! .;%=! .=!-. ! Languages: E' 4)26 1*+, @!-9.' 13+ Notes: A (6)' 9.' 76%2! !3!2 .-! 0!!5 2!( )' 6)2 28&44 .'0 76% 4%%82 .( 4!.2( (!' 3!.-2 %40!(6.' 6)2 -!.4 . !< A44 %: 6)2 9%=!9!'(2 .-! 24%7 .'0 0!4);!-.(!, .2 ): 6! 7.2 .:-.)0 %: )=)' 2%9!(6)' .7.3< H! 7)44 '!=!- ;! 2!!' .4)=! 7!.-)' . 26%-(B24!!=!0 26)-(, 2)'$! (6%2! 7%&40'>( 6)0! (6! '!!04! 9.-82 %' 6)2 .-92<

!red MacMahon
3ocura bodyguard STR 13 DEX 13 INT 1 CON 14 APP 11 POW 7 SIZ 11 EDU / SAN 1* HP 14 A ! 34 Damage bonus" '%'! Skills: I'()9)0.(! 63+, P!-2&.0! 2*+, S5%( H)00!' 3*+ Languages: E' 4)26 45+ Attacks: F)2(FP&'$6 55+, H.'0 &' 6*+, K)$8 4*+, S6%( &' 4*+ Notes: M.$M.6%'>2 ;4.$8 6.)- )2 &2&.443 0)-(3 .'0 6)2 $4%(6!2 ;!(-.3 (6! $%'(!95( 6! 6.2 :%5!-2%'.4 .55!.-.'$!< T6! %'43 %$$.2)%'2 76!-! 6! 4%%82 5-!2!'(.;4! .-! 76!' A'0-!22%' 4)(!-.443 :%-$!2 6)9 (% ;!<

Alec *ason
3ocura accountant STR / DEX 13 INT 11 CON 12 APP 12 POW 1* SIZ 1* EDU 14 SAN 2* HP 14 A ! 3/ Damage bonus" '%'! Skills: A$$%&'()' 7*+, C-!0)( R.()' 41+, F.2( T.48 3*+, F%- ! 2) '.(&-! 72+, S5%( H)00!' 21+ Languages: E' 4)26 7*+, @!-9.' 5+ Attacks: '%'! .;%=! .=!-. ! Notes: A 0)9)'&()=! 9.' 7)(6 9%&2!B4)8! !3!2, A4!$ 4%%82 4)8! 6! !A5!$(2 . $-.D!0 8)44!- (% C&95 %&( %: !.$6 .'0 !=!-3 26.0%7< S%:( 25%8!' .'0 !=.2)=!, 6! &2!2 (6)' 4.22!2 (% -!.0 .'0 '!=!4%%82 .( .'3%'! )' (6! !3!<

,ils Lindblom
3ocura bodyguard STR 13 DEX 15 INT 11 CON 13 APP 11 POW 7 SIZ 14 EDU 1 SAN 1* HP 14 A ! 3* Damage bonus" #1D4 Skills: I'()9)0.(! 63+, M.-().4 A-(2 4*+, P!-2&.0! 2*+, S5%( H)00!' 4*+ L.' &. !2" E' 4)26 12+, @!-9.' G%7'H 5*+ Attacks: F)2(FP&'$6 65+, H.'0 &' 45+, K)$8 6*+, S6%( &' 45+ Notes: L)'0;4%9>2 ;4%'0 G.49%2( 76)(!H 6.)-, ;4.$8 !3!2 .'0 6)2 2?&.-!, 0-.7!-B4)8! C.7 .-! 6)2 9%2( 5-%9)'!'( :!.(&-!2< H! )2 )'$-!0);43 4%3.4 (% A'0!-22%' .'0 7%&40 %;!3 !=!' ): 6! 7.2'>( ;!)' 9)'0B$%'(-%44!0<

+obert Beryl
3ocura social liaison STR 1* DEX 13 INT 17 CON 13 APP 15 POW 1* SIZ 12 EDU 13 SAN 13 HP 11 A ! 32 Damage bonus" '%'! Skills: C-!0)( R.()' 61+, F.2( T.48 3*+, S5%( H)00!' 43+ Languages: E' 4)26 1/+, @!-9.' 4*+ Attacks: '%'! .;%=! .=!-. !

6icardo 7$ 89nde:

Appendi$ -& Player .andouts

Handout #1: locks first telegram
)reated with David +arvey s 1ya&hee$

Appendi$ /& "roups

The Knights of !aint "erome
't is funny how the Hnights of %aint 7ero!e aren t really e2plained in The %tage" given that the sourceboo& is about the order itself$ +ere are so!e bits of how ' conceive the!5 O A person doesn t have to be a priest to get into the (rder" but they do have to be sponsored by a current !e!ber$ (n an interesting turn of events" the )atholic )hurch has privately recogni:ed that !en and wo!en are created e4ual" so both se2es can beco!e &nights$ The Hnights don t 0ust docu!ent or watch" but they are 4uite cautious and li&e to loo& before they 0u!p$ The order runs on their own funds" !ost of which were willed to it by a !e!ber$ They answer to the Matican directly$ They have their own hierarchy inside the )atholic )hurch" although few in it &now about the (rder$

O O O

The #atar
3ittle is !entioned about the 8atar on the sourceboo& for The %tage$ They appear to be so!e sort of !ental entities !uch li&e the 3loigor" but with each having a conscience of their own$ %ince they aren t e2plained there" here is a !i2 of what they are li&e in !y ca!paign with the infor!ation provided in the sourceboo&$ As it is !entioned on The %tage" the 8atar li&e to do!inate Pri!e 3oci so that they can control the future for their own ends (which are never e2plained)$ #hen they ta&e over a host" they absorb all of their &nowledge and past e2periences and then re!ove the original conscience of the host$ There isn t any sort of internal struggle going on5 the original person isn t on the driving seat any!ore and the body has beco!e 0ust a puppet of the 8atar$ They are able to re0uvenate their hosts and alter their appearance in a li!ited way using their own energy" but while the host won t die of old age nor will it succu!b to any regular disease that is not to say that they are i!!ortal$ A shot to the sto!ach will &ill a 8atar s host as dead as any regular person" forcing the 8atar to loo& for a new host$ That is not to say that the 8atar are as defenseless as a regular hu!an is$ 'f winning on a P(# contest against a target" they are able to pour as !any points of da!age as !agic points they are willing to co!!it to the attac&$ The target will feel the attac& as is a huge invisible hand was trying to s4uee:e the!" constricting their bodies fro! all directions at once$ Do note that if a 8atar is willing to spend a si:eable chun& of their !agic points on this" it is 4uite possible to &ill a person this way$ +owever" the 8atar need their !agical energy when transporting to a new host$ (n the atte!pt the 8atar !ust succeed in a P(# to P(# contest against the target" being able

to raise their score by one for each !agic point they still haven t spent$ points are spent and have to be nor!ally recovered$

Those !agic

The 8atar also have the uncontrollable ability of lowering the !ental balance of those that spend prolonged periods of ti!e near the!" putting people in contact with their basest aggressions and desires$ ;or this change to ta&e effect" a person !ust spend at least 2. hours a wee& with the 8atar host itself$ 't is possible that co!bined with drugs and sleep deprivation this period of ti!e can be significantly shortened$ 't isn t clear if there is a way to &ill a 8atar$ The only possibility !ay be to force it to continually switch bodies until all its points are spent and it fails the atte!pt" but that possibility would re4uire the slaughter of !any hosts and hasn t been atte!pted$ As a side note5 the Hnights of %aint 7ero!e didn t find their first record of the e2istence of the 8atar until 1-<." so even if ;ather 1loc& survives the adventure he won t be able to recogni:e the influence of the 8atar fro! the wor& of a regular 7uvat !e!ber$

Table of 0ontents