Short summary of the story

Since the late 1800’s, a ghost has haunted Chestnut park on and off. This is the ghost of Maria
Dottery, lamenting the loss of her daughter Elizabeth in the woods pre-dating the park. Maria is
a potent specter, who’s wails and screams can terrify and even kill those who hear her. This is a
research or investigation based story. Players who immediately engage with Maria should feel
unprepared to handle the mournful wraith.

Completion: For restoring once-per-story abilities, this story is considered complete when the
ghost is destroyed, banished back to oblivion or fully enslaved (can be purchased as a 5 dot
retainer).

NPC’s involved: Maria Dottery (Banshee), Jacob Wallace, Amanda Wallace

Nieve Rumor and Legends

“Over the last few nights, people have begun to hear a quiet sobbing echoing
throughout Chestnut Park, though no source has been found as of yet.”
Wits+Streetwise or Occult DC 3, free to those who enter Chestnut Park

“Most older folks recall a terrifying sound, and two people were dead near 10 years
ago in these woods, and a legend about Chestnut Park being haunted has persisted
through the 20th century”

Int+Academics or Occult DC 3, Specialties in local history or urban legends apply.

DC 2 to those who were in Nieve at the start of the 90’s.

The official legend is currently as follows:

Elizabeth had fallen in with a young man named Allan Matthews, and they had agreed to be
wed in privacy. Allan had been unable to attend the ceremony however, and Elizabeth
supposedly waited until nightfall, expecting him to arrive. Allan led the search party himself
across the woods, but they never recovered her body. It’s been said over the years that her
quiet cries and sobs have been heard echoing throughout the woods, and every now and then,
there was a rumor or telling of a nerve-wracking screech that sent people and animals fleeing,
with no source ever found. The last anyone has heard from Elizabeth was 8 years ago.

Results from off-the-top-of-the-head occult knowledge:

To anyone who knows about ghosts, this sounds like a fairly typical haunting. An Int+Occult roll
can be made to identify the wraith, with a DC 4 incorrectly mistaking it as a Screamer. A DC 6
success identifies the pattern of sobs and screaming as a Banshee, though the rest of the tale
isn’t consistent. Banshees typically form when a fierce, powerful mother, a matriarchal figure of
her family, loses one of her children, the loss and grief preventing them from moving on, even if
they should die many years later. They do not form from heartbreak. A Banshee who has been
silent for so long may simply have no descendents in foreseeable peril, or has no one family left
to grieve for.

Investigations:
- Looking into the date where people died (Some manner of academics,
investigation, or medicine roll, or any other that makes sense), reveals that
the event happened in 1992, and three people died that day. Two park goers
were recovered from the scene, both with shattered eardrums. One victim
died of cerebral hemorrhage, and another had swallowed their tongue and
suffocated. The same day, Pierce Wallace had peacefully passed away in his
sleep.
- Before this event, there had been reports of crying in the woods for some
weeks.
- Looking into historical records of Elizabth’s disappearance, characters can
find transcripts of a court case between the Dottery Family, and Allan
Matthews. While they nominally detail the interactions surrounding
Elizabeth’s disappearance, the focus is on Maria’s accusatory and vindictive
attitude towards Allan, and Mr. Dottery’s hopeless attempts to rein her in.

- An Extended Test following the lines of either the Wallace family or the
Dottery Family should lead through a series of marriages, births, deaths, and
other family matters, that ultimately leads to the other end of the family tree,
connecting Jacob and Amanda as living descendents of Maria’s other child.
- Players who meet Jacob or Amanda, and see Maria’s ghostly form, should
be allowed a roll to notice small but unmistakable similarities to note their
relationship and bloodline.
Maria Dottery
Banshee
Standard Dice Pools: Physical 2, Social 4, Mental 6
Secondary Attributes: Health 4, Willpower 7
Exceptional Dice Pools: Athletics (Thrown Items) 4, Intimidation 8, Leadership 7,
Persuasion 5, Subterfuge 6,
Special:
- Terror Wail: A Banshee, like their Screamer Cousins, are capable of terrifying
mortals and vampires as per Dread Gaze, though requiring only being heard. This
power uses her Intimidation pool (8 dice)
- Familial Precognition: A Banshee possesses an ability similar to Premonition or
Fatal Precognition, warning her of an impending descendant's demise. This power
may reach as far as weeks ahead of time, and is usually what initiates a Banshee's
quiet sobbing and lamentation.
- Deathly Wail: When a descendant reaches what appears to be their final hours, A
Banshee emits a ruinous wail, using her Intimidation Pool to attack the
Stamina+Resolve (or Fortitude if available) of all targets who can hear her, dealing
unhalved Superficial Health damage according to the margin, and one point of
willpower damage on a win. This damage is aggravated against mortals. A
Banshee is automatically compelled (comparable to frenzy) to use this Deathly
Wail when her descendents are in immediate mortal danger, and must succeed at a
DC 4 check with her mental pool to avoid doing so, should she choose. This attack
is made every turn, and lasts a scene unless otherwise silenced.
- Anyone with augmented hearing comparable to Heightened Senses, must make a
Wits+Resolve Test (DC 4) when subjected to either of a Banshee's sonic powers.
On a fail, they suffer the consequences of failing to dampen their senses, and the
Banshee adds any bonus dice from the victim's power to her own pools against that
target.
Fetters: Maria has a handful of unconventional fetters available. Each of her
surviving descendents becomes one, from the moment they are born until the
moment they die. In Nieve, this currently includes Jacob Wallace and his two
children, as well as his younger sister Amanda. Jacob’s wife is not protected by
Maria. The whole of Chestnut Park is also considered a fetter, though threatening
this place in any meaningful way should involve widespread destruction or land
development that a vampire can ill-afford. Attempting to use her family in the role
of a fetter raises Maria’s ire and hatred, causing her to attack all in the vicinity, and
using her Dread Gaze Scream liberally. Should a family member be placed in
mortal peril, Maria will be forced to use her Deathly Wail in a manner similar to
frenzy.

About Banshees

Even for those well-versed in the dead, knowledge of a Banshee begins at a DC 6

Occult roll. A banshee is dangerous enough to be a problem if they were too
common in the world. DC 4 should reveal that it’s an abnormal screamer. Anything
below that, the conclusion is just normal ghost shenanigans.

A Banshee, should she be seen, appears as a spectral women with her hair and
garments seeming to float and drift about her. Her eyes are puffy and bloodshot as
befitting someone in tears. Banshees are often misidentified as Screamer wraiths,
as they typically haunt locations with their sobs, screeches, and wails. Banshees
form from fiercely protective, strong willed, matriarchal figures who have lost one
of their children, and have never stopped grieving for their family. Banshees,
owing to their mortal attitudes, possess great mental fortitude, resolve, and
independence. They will combat attempts for control at every opportunity, and are
notoriously difficult and dangerous to subdue as a result.

The real terror of a banshee, is a horrendous scream infused with her supernatural
anguish, desire for justice, and the deadly energies of Oblivion. It is an involuntary
reaction when one of her family is on death’s door. This wail is physically painful
to hear, shattering glass, rupturing eardrums, and more. It has been known to slay
mortal creatures who hear it, causing cases of shock and seizure, forming and
bursting aneurysms in the victim’s brain, suffocation from swallowing their own
tongue, or various other terror-induced maladies.