Darkness Falls

DARKNESS FALLS • MYSTERIES

By Chloe Sutherland

Concept
A young couple realise a rash of brutal murders are connected to their
young daughter, so they dip a toe into the paranormal to keep their
small town safe. Their rituals keep the sadistic ghost Madame Koshmar
at bay but have unintended and deadly side effects for motorists just
out of town.

Hook
Several cars crashed last night. They were discovered on the edge of
the highway, close to a small rural town. It was a group of students on
a road trip to a nearby festival. The crash is being treated as simple
driver fatigue, but three cars at once? That seems odd.

Countdown
Nika spends the evening in town with her parents.
Day
Kristina leaves early to set her wardings at the church.
Madame Koshmar sees Kristina and realises
Shadows
the sleep spell is keeping people safe.
Another large multiple car crash is reported next
Sunset
morning as people flood towards the festival.
Madame Koshmar attacks the church in an
Dusk attempt to reach Kristina. In doing so, she
destroys the old church with Kristina still inside.
Nightfall Madame Koshmar kidnaps Nika.
Madame Koshmar continues her
Midnight murderous trail, punishing those up late,
finally uninhibited by the Delanos.

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 MYSTERIES • DARKNESS FALLS
Kristina and David Delano
Bystanders: Innocents (motivation: to do the right thing)

When Kristina and David arrived home after adopting Nika, a series
of gruesome attacks began in their hometown—each attack happening
soon after nightfall, on victims who were awake. Researching folklore,
the Delanos identified the culprit as a ghost: Madame Koshmar.
The Delanos were able to fashion a ritual to hold Madame Koshmar
at bay using a Russian folk song that Kristina remembered from her
childhood. The ritual is carried out at Tanner’s End Church (see below).
The Delanos are loving parents who will do anything for their child.
They have told nobody about their actions regarding Madame Koshmar,
fearing they will not be believed. They know little of the paranormal
beyond what they needed to learn to keep the town safe, so they have
not realised the unintended effects of their spell.

Nika Delano
Bystander: Victim (motivation: to put herself in danger)

As a baby, Nika was the sole survivor of a brutal knife attack in an

orphanage in rural Russia. She is a quiet child, currently bonded more
to Madame Koshmar than to her parents. And she knows not to discuss
the dark lady she sees. Many believe Nika has a rare medical condition—
this is an excuse for the band-aid on her arm from the blood Kristina
collects to carry out the ritual.
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 Madame Koshmar
DARKNESS FALLS • MYSTERIES

Monster: Executioner (motivation: to punish the guilty)

Madame Koshmar was as much a monster in life as she was in death.

Years ago, she ran an orphanage in an isolated Russian township. The
children were cold, starving, and beaten—none more so than when they
made noise after lights out. When she died, Madame Koshmar’s spirit
was unable to pass on: the fear in the children’s hearts called to her louder
than any afterlife. Since then, her legacy has been passed down through
generations of children in the form of a children’s folksong (see Tanner’s
End Church, below). She draws power from the children who still fear her.
If the hunters attack her before learning about her link to Nika, ensure
they are aware of it’s effects: describe a child’s scream rending the air
if anyone lands a hit, or the vision of a young girl standing beside her.

Powers:
• Jinx Electricity: Madame Koshmar has a hatred for everything electrical—
something she sees as being responsible for people staying up past dark. She
can shut down any electrical device: it will be unusable by normal means
until dawn, or until the jinx is lifted.
• Shadow Step: While in a shadow, Madame Koshmar may disappear in a puff
of black smoke before reappearing, in a similar fashion, from another shadow.
• Summon Shades: Madame Koshmar is able to summon her minions at
will from nearby shadows.

Attacks: Long curved dagger 2-harm hand. Shadow blast 3-harm close magic
ignore-armour.

Armour: 3 magic incorporeal.

Harm Capacity: 15. [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Weaknesses:
Light: Madame Koshmar can be made corporeal by strong or magical light.
This negates her armour as well. If not killed while corporeal, she reawakens
undamaged the next night.
Nika Delano: Madame Koshmar has been linked psychically to Nika Delano
ever since Nika was the sole survivor of one of Madame Koshmar’s previous
attacks. Because of this, whenever Madame Koshmar is hurt, Nika will also
get hurt (and vice versa). Your players will need to separate Nika’s soul from
Madame Koshmar’s before trying to damage the spirit. Here are some methods
that could achieve this:
• Making a spell or potion using similar elements to Kristina’s protec-
tion spell.
• Keeping Nika inside her mother’s protective circle to disrupt the
154 connection.
• Helping Nika be less afraid thus weakening the connection.
 MYSTERIES • DARKNESS FALLS
Shades
Minion: Right hand (motivation: to support the monster)

Shades are dark ghostly minions that Madame Koshmar may summon
from nearby shadows. They are the souls of her previous victims—
blackened and atrophied from their time under Madame Koshmar’s
control. The Shades are capable of following simple commands from
Madame Koshmar.

Powers:
• Incorporeal: Unless dispelled with light, Shades will quickly reform
without needing to be summoned by Madame Koshmar.

Attacks: Pass through person 1-harm intimate magic. Shadow attack

2-harm close magic.

Armour: None.

Harm Capacity: 4. [][][][]

Weakness:
Light: Shades can be dispelled by a strong light such as a floodlight
or an industrial-strength flashlight. However, in some situations it may
be important for a character to act under pressure to successfully focus
the light in the right direction.
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 Tanner's End Chapel
DARKNESS FALLS • MYSTERIES

Location: Fortress (motivation: to deny entry)

Each night for the past few years, Kristina Delano has stayed up reciting
this chant, while carrying out the ritual in Tanner’s End Chapel.

“Close your eyes and sleep, my dear. The night is nigh and she
draws near. Stalking those who lie awake, with shining blade
and long black cape. Swift as breath, she’ll be here soon, through
shadows from the waning moon. The night bird calls the hour
of rest. Please hush, my child. There’s no time left.”

Kristina has multiple levels of warding to protect her while she

carries out the ritual. These wardings include:
• A soot circle around the extent of the church property. When
crossed, the sound of an owl hoot will alert Kristina to an
intruder.
• Rune markings scratched round the entrances and shadowy
nooks of the chapel itself. When intruders pass them, a flash of
light (4-harm close magic) will send loose objects flying back.
• A protective circle carved into the stone floor: this is hidden
underneath a rug during the day. Each night, Kristina reinforces
the circle by pouring a small volume of Nika’s blood into the
grooves. Madame Koshmar cannot cross this circle unless it
is first broken by something else crossing it.
The ritual is a sleep spell intended to encompass the whole city. As
the spell spreads out an equal distance from Kristina in all directions,
a small portion of rural highway is also affected. This is what has been
causing travellers to fall asleep at the wheel. These accidents have
been happening since the rituals started. The recent revitalisation of
the nearby Robinson township as a cultural hub means the number of
victims will keep increasing. In a matter of days, hundreds of music
fans will be heading toward Robinson for a music festival.
If the hunters are inside the circle of the sleep spell’s effect (or enter
it) between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., they will be affected by the spell and fall
asleep almost instantly. Your hunters may act under pressure or use
magic to resist the effects, but Madame Koshmar has ways of dealing
with children up past curfew.

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 MYSTERIES • DARKNESS FALLS
Andrew Withers
Bystander: Witness (motivation: to reveal information)

The town sheriff zealously lectures on the dangers of driving tired and
has littered the town and highway with “Don’t Drive Tired” signs. He
will resist the hunters’ efforts as he sees there being no case worth
following up. Sheriff Withers knows about and has files on the string
of murders several years ago (in the Delanos’ neighbourhood) as well
as about the accidents on both the rural highway and the significantly
less-trafficked winding mountain road.

Other Townsfolk
Bystanders: Gossips (motivation: to pass on rumours)

Most people in the town placidly accept their 9 p.m ‘bedtime’ as

just the way it is in small-town America. Many are unlikely to respond
well to suggestions that anything else is going on.
The townspeople generally mean well but are unprepared for events
such as these. 157