The Only Thing to Fear

Overview
You will be playing an investigator who is looking into the mystery of what happened at the estate
of Dr. Wilhelm von Sinders. The estate has been abandoned for some time. No one knows the
truth about what happened to the doctor, his wife, or their staff.

What is known is that Mrs. von Sinders used to be seen regularly in the nearby town of Fallenvale,
purchasing art, furnishings, and the like. At some point, she stopped leaving the premises, and
only Dr. von Sinders was seen coming to town, albeit infrequently. Suspicion was initially aroused
when a delivery man went to the estate to deliver the winter’s supply of oil for the furnace, and
never returned. The heating company called the local authorities, but the investigation was
intercepted by federal agents, due to the fact that the property crossed the state line.

There was neither evidence nor formal charges disclosed to the local police, but this obituary was
submitted and run in the local paper:

October 21, 1944

Dr. Wilhelm von Sinders
has been discovered dead
at his estate from what
appear to be natural
causes. Foul play is not
suspected. His wife,
Emma, is believed to be
in Argentina, where she
is rumored to have been
living for the past two years. Dr. Sinders
was a solitary man; not much is known about
him, but members of the Fallenvale
community say that he was a generally kind
man, but always very serious. It is unknown
if he is survived by any kin.

The estate never came up for auction. Rumor has it that Dr. Sinders stipulated in his will that the
estate was not to be auctioned for 100 years following his death.

Gameplay
Each player’s character (PC) will be investigating the estate alone at different points in time. For
example if two alive PCs are in the same room, they do not interact with each other and can not
communicate/share items. On each player’s turn, you can move to a new area of the map, look
around there, and take one or two actions; at the gamemaster’s (GM) discretion. An example turn
could look like this:
1. Walk to Library. 2. Look around, generally. 3. Specifically, look in the old desk.
Moving to a map area and looking around generally are usually free actions and can be completed
automatically. Specific actions (or any action the GM specifies) require a roll of the dice to
determine the outcome. You will have a single FUDGE die, such that your possible outcomes are:

Action is more successful

Action success is neutral
Action is more of a failure

Note that a successful action may not necessarily be good for the health of your character. The GM
will determine what the die roll means for the story.

The game concludes when either all three clues are discovered by alive PCs, or all PCs are killed.

Character Sheet
Before the game begins, choose a name for your character, and a phobia. Think of a basic
backstory for your character. Is he male or is she female? Why is she investigating the property?
What are you hoping to discover? Do you have any family? Pets? What happened to you in your
childhood to give you said phobia? It is recommended that you write all of this on your character
sheet. Draw a picture of your character, or cut one out of a magazine. All of this will help you
roleplay your character, and act how they would act. This adds to the fun. Your GM may request
your character information prior the the game to review it.
Equipment
Your only equipment is a flashlight and your service
revolver. Your flashlight has at most 4 uses, unless you

happen to find more batteries. Your revolver is a

six-shooter. You can not hold more ammo than the six bullets

in the gun. If you find more ammo, you can only use it to

reload already fired shots.

Fear Points
Your character starts with 10 tokens representing her composure. Whenever your character
encounters something that would frighten her, you lose some tokens. Roll for this.

Lose 1 token
Lose 2 tokens
Lose 3 tokens

If your character is encountering her phobia, multiply your lost tokens by 2. As you have less and
less tokens, your character should act more frantically and irrationally. Losing tokens also affects
your senses, so what the GM tells you that you see will be affected.

Death
It is very possible that your character will die. Once you are dead, you no longer have corporeal
form and have great difficulty interacting with the physical world. However, you can still attempt
to assist the living PCs by continuing to search for clues. Your interaction can only be one-way,
however. As a ghost, you can see the PCs perform their actions, and you can search the estate
yourself. PCs, on the other hand, can NOT see dead characters. If a dead character wants to convey
information to a living PC, they must attempt to mark the physical world in such a way that the PC
gets the message. Dead PCs can not search an entire room in one turn (ghosts have terrible
eyesight); they can only search part of a room per turn. Once you are dead, you are also no longer
afraid, as you are ALREADY DEAD.

The Only Thing to Fear

Name: __________________ Character Portrait
Sex:__ Age:__ Appearance:_______
Phobia:__________________
Background:________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
Uses left:

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Appendix ......
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To whomever may find this,
If you are reading this I am most likely dead, I’m leaving this note in
case I don’t come back. Over the past year I’ve noticed that Dr. von Sinders
has been visited by many guests. I don’t think that he is aware that I can see
the driveway from my gardener’s shed, but I can. They always arrive in black,
unmarked cars. By the way they move, I know they are military; they are not
in uniform, but they are definitely military. I’ve even recognized one of them,
Juan de Rhode, an acquaintance of mine from the old days. I guess he stayed in
when I got out. Sometimes they arrive with a party of three, but only two
will leave. Perhaps the doctor is researching some sort of truth serum for
interrogation purposes? I’m not sure. If he is interrogating people, I haven’t the
slightest idea where: he must have some secret room that I don’t know about.
I never see anyone else, except the staff, and I never hear anyone. I get a
very eerie feeling about the whole arrangement.
My dog, Mr. Barks, has gone missing. I’m afraid that the doctor has
tested some experiment on him. I think he’s gone into the woods, so I am going
to take my shotgun and venture out there to find him. Mr. Barks, I hope you
are OK. I hope the doctor hasn’t lobotomized you and weaponized you. If he
has, I’ll have to put you down. I’m sorry Mr. Barks, you are my best friend.
Wish me luck,
Milton Baylor
Dear Diary,
I’m very afraid right now. I just stabbed Wilhelm with a pair of scissors.
Wilhelm found me in my quarters this evening with a familiar look in his
eye. We hadn’t been together, or hardly spoke since Emma died. It seemed
strange that he suddenly wanted to see me again. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I
did want him; I just wasn’t expecting it. “I just need you tonight.” Heat rushed
through me, and tingles darted across my skin. He unbuttoned my dress, slowly,
and I let him. When I turned around I could clearly see that Wilhelm was
already excited.
I moved to the bed and beckoned him to come. Flush with anticipation, I
nearly melted remembering that he is a perfect fit. Wilhelm smelled of wine and
spice, I was beginning to pass into ecstasy when suddenly everything changed.
He drank something, I couldn’t say what, then he kissed me again. The taste
was almost metallic with a bit of anise. He looked completely different.
“I’ve done something horrible, it’s all over. I killed her and I can’t bring her
back. I can’t undo any of the wrongs I’ve committed. I’m putting an end to it,”
he said.
Wilhelm then arched his back, leaning away from me and placed his hands
underneath his chest with his fingertips at his sternum. Then he pulled. The
tension in his skin was tangible and disconcerting, when a tear appeared like the
opening of a banana. I couldn’t look away, I could see the pink flesh inside the
opening that was ever growing. Delayed, the blood started to pour out of him.
Wilhelm kept staring at me with a kind of finality. I grabbed the scissors from
my nightstand and told him to get away. Nothing.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was stabbing him over and over with the
scissors; tears were streaming down my face. His strength waned and I pushed
him onto the floor; he collapsed into a heap. My heart was beating so fast. I felt
faint. Wilhelm crawled out my room toward the stairs, where I heard him fall
again.
It’s been about fifteen minutes now. I don’t know what to do, I’m
covered in blood. I can hear him breathing in the stairway. It sounds like he is
trying to get up! Maybe I shou l
Dr. Wilhelm von Sinders
Experiment Log
August 27, 1944

Patients predictably react to “liquid fear” (LF), ultimately committing suicide in their delusional
state. Although the intent was for LF to be administered orally as a liquid, the compound is quite
volatile and exposure to trace amounts of aerosolized LF produce the same effect. Effectiveness
appears to be 100%.

Regarding phase II of this work, reanimation, little progress has been made. Despite best efforts
to reanimate Patient E using working organs and limbs from many donors, all attempts have
failed.

Adding the “reanimation fluid” (RF) to make a LF+RF mixture seems to have success in
reanimating the victim after certain suicide 35% of the time. All cognitive function appears to be
lost, however, only basal animal-like behavior remains. The hopes to make subjects stronger, and
weaker-willed, while still retaining cognition is not a likely objective.

Dr. Wilhelm von Sinders

Experiment Log
October 12, 1944

A large store of LF has sprung a leak, spilling the solution all over the floor to this lab. I must
seal off the lab to prevent contamination, but I fear much of it is already filling the house in a
aerosolized state. Worse, I fear that I may also be contaminated. This will be my last entry.
Clues
Servant’s stairwell: Dr. von Sinder’s ring (11-25-37)
enscribed on ring: 'I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.'
Gardener’s shed: Keys are missing (other key in vault)
Next to night stand master bed: Edgar Allen Poe, news clippings etc
Driver’s room: “Something written on his ring”

Traps
1. Dumbwaiter in the passage (or balcony). Collapses into a hot pit of organs. A
creature with a giant mouth rises and attacks.
2. Kitchen closet. Cook rises with kitchen knife. Freezes. A snake protrudes from
out of her mouth. 2 more crawling on the ground.
3. Maid’s room. Undead maid grabs leg from under bed.
4. Lab. Undead experiment gets off of table and attacks.
5. Woods. or Balcony collapses. Alerts Mr. Barks.
6. Random bedroom. FBI agent crawling with maggots.
7. Vault. Butler appears dead. If reach for note in pocket he gets up.
Rooms: Floor 1
Porch: Old stained wood, broken down
Entry: Can see the 2nd floor and into the hall
Hall: Chandelier has fallen. Portraits, look old. Columns.
Coat room: Dead person behind the counter.
Library: large library. many books on two walls. One section has only old books.
There is a desk in the desk is batteries. And a key (to storage). If a player
tries to take an Edgar Allen Poe book off the shelf, it opens a secret door
leading down to the basement. The lab is down there.
Passage: there is a hole for a dumbwaiter.
Dining: The windows are broken and the room is ruined with mildew.
Linen: Strangly kept.
Vault: is open. There is a dead man inside, he has a note in his jacket. He is sitting
on a pile of money and papers. (Note says: “The doctor always looks at his
ring, what is it?”)
Kitchen: Dead person on stool. Cupboard is cracked open. “Lasagna, always
lasagna. Just because “he” liked it.”
Storage: locked. Key in Library. Valuable paintings/sculptures covered in painter’s
cloth.
Trophy room: Dead animals. Allen the alligator. Mindy the moose. Poe the polar
bear. Davis the deer. Edgar the badger.
Butler: Bottle of expensive booze, setting out with an empty glass.
Rooms: Floor 2
Maid’s room: is locked.
Cooks room: Birthday cards in a drawer to Margie.
Game room: Billiards and clowns everywhere.
Conservatory: Everyone is dead.
Other bedrooms: clean/empty.
Master bed: Biography of Edgar Allen Poe on one nightstand. Shrine to Emma on
other nightstand. In drawer on Emma’s side, a locket with “Timmy” on it.

Other Effects
(-). Pass out, wake up later

( ). Rain and thunder

(+). Hallucinate