The Children's Hour By: Mr. Nobody This plot is a bit unpleasant and has no happy ending to it. I would suggest it be used only in the "darker theme" type of games. It is mostly a morality play; who will the players help and what will the repercussions be of their actions should they attempt to drive out the evil creatures. Hook: The characters will be somehow drawn to a small town to investigate the story of a school teacher being accused of killing one of her students. The teacher claims that the child was actually a monster of some sort, a claim which most believe to be an attempt at getting out of the sentence by claiming insanity. Perhaps one of the characters relatives lives in the town or the events have come to the party's attention by other means. Line: Margaret Levy has been arrested and charged in the premeditated and rather grisly murder of one of her elementary school students, James Carpenter, with a butcher knife. Margaret claims that the child was actually a monster which replaced James about a week ago and has been threatening her ever since. Margaret also claims that the creature was some sort of shape shifter which grew fangs, claws and glowing red eyes. Margaret is currently in custody pending trial. The characters will somehow get to talk to Margaret, who begs them to watch over her niece, a young girl who shared the same classes as James. Margaret does not know what the creatures are or where they come from, but she insists that the numbers of creatures are increasing as they trade places with more and more children. Sinker: Margaret is correct, the shapeshifting creatures (called Druegar, a race of evil dwarves) are kidnapping children and taking their place. The children have been sacrificed in rituals to allow the dwarves to take their form, they cannot be brought back. Currently, there are 20 or so of the creatures. They take one child a night to a minor nexus point near the city for the sacrifice. The next child targeted is Margaret's niece. If they think they are about to be discovered or run into a group stronger than they are, they will try to escape and set up shop elsewhere. The entire clan is about 40 members strong and live in a series of foul caves near the nexus. The group is new to the area, having arrived when a rift opened during a recent alignment of stars. When killed, the Druegar retain their last shape, only a very thorough study will find unusual discrepancies. The Druegar aren't strong individually, but should pose a severe hazard in groups. They have minor earth-based magics (used mostly for tunneling) and rely heavily on illusion. History Repeats By: Mr. Nobody This plot is a bit unpleasant and has no happy ending to it. I would suggest it be used only in the "darker theme" type of games. It is mostly a morality play, who will the players help, the "innocent" man or the teen with no control over his actions. Hook: The characters will be somehow drawn to a small Midwestern town to investigate some unusual deaths all of which have some aspect of the paranormal about them. Perhaps one of the characters relatives lives in the town or the events have come to the party's attention by other means. Line: Three deaths have occurred in the small town, one death per night. The people are frantic, paranoid and terrified. All of the victims were young women from the city. Each girl was brutally murdered, literally cut apart in a ritual fashion by some sort of sharp object; a knife or sword. Each body was laid out inside some sort of magic circle drawn in chalk and lit with candles at the points. The townsfolk believe that the deaths were caused by Ernest Helt, an ex-convict who moved to the city a few months ago after being released from prison on parole after having served time for sexual assault on a child and murder. He has been taken into custody by the local law enforcement after a frenzied three hour escape attempt. The people of the city are just on the verge of extracting a little "mob justice" from Ernest. The players will have only a day or two to sort things out before Ernest is killed by a grieving father as he is transferred to a higher security prison pending trial. Sinker: Ernest is actually innocent (in a sense). Since leaving prison, he has been working as a janitor and trying as best he knows to fit back into society. He is not a very intelligent or social man and has made no attempt to try to win over the people of the town who wish he would just move on. Ernest is a borderline alcoholic and tends to get extremely drunk and pass out most nights, he ran from the police because he knew they would accuse him of the deaths. The real killer is actually another teenager, Roger Stills, a young man who has become possessed by the spirit of a serial killer who murdered thirteen girls eighty years ago in an attempt to achieve immortality, and was torn apart by a wild mob after having been caught. The spirit is trying to recreate the events which happened in the past (figuring it worked well enough then it might work again) and is looking forward to seeing someone else take the fall. The parallels between the events will be obvious to anyone who searches the old newspaper footage. Roger became possessed while camping out in the cemetery on a dare from some of the other high school kids, he mistakenly chose to camp over an unmarked grave (the body of the serial killer). Roger is a latent psychic and was easily controlled by the entity. The key piece of evidence is the machete which Roger used in all the killings, it will be found in a corner of his garage. Should the players drive the entity from Roger, he will remember almost nothing, as if he has been dreaming for the past few days. He will only come to realize what he's done if the players confront him with the evidence and force him to focus on the "dreams". Should he be sentenced for the murders, the police will find corroborating evidence upon investigation, it is likely that he will spend most of his remaining years in a psychiatric hospital or prison and Ernest will go free. Should the players not point out Roger as the killer, Ernest will be killed by a distraught father of one of the girls as he is being transferred to a more secure jail pending trial. If the player s are unable to stop the entity, it will bide it's time and leave town to take up the game elsewhere. Sins of the Father By: Mr. Nobody Hook: For the past ten days, grisly murders have been taking place in the small town of Garrets Hill. Each night one of the townspeople has been electrocuted. The characters may be related to one of the victims, or called in by local police for their skills (if the character is a noted doctor or pathologist), or perhaps the characters are simply driving through the city, or a member of the press. On the surface, the victims have nothing distinctive in common. In such a small community, there is too much overlap of daily living for police to single out one common factor between the deaths. In each case, the victim was killed in their own home, usually in their beds around 1:00 am, it's as if each body was completely enveloped in a powerful electric field (some of the remains were little more than carbon and ash). The police are baffled by the instrument the killer is using, pathology has determined that the amount of electricity needed for the killings is greater than what could even be generated by the local public wiring (it would cause the wire casing to completely melt), but meter usage shows no unusual activity. Each body shows no trauma, no injury aside from the electrocution. Further, the telltale contact points on the remains are in the shape of handprints. There have been no strangers of note in the area, and the only other odd event has been power fluctuations and massive drains all over the city grid. Engineers have been unable to determine the cause of the fluctuations or even determine where they come from (the prevalent theory is that the electrocutions are causing them even though they occur at times other than the killings). The residents are in a state of utter panic and paranoia. They are beginning to lock themselves up for safety and some of the more fringe residents have taken to waking around armed. A few have formed into patchwork watchdog groups and are roaming the city at night on patrol. Even with these added precautions the killings have continued. The victims were found in houses which had been forced open no matter how carefully locked. Some of the victims have even had sophisticated security systems which seem to have been completely bypassed. Line: On the night the characters arrive, another murder will take place. Marsha Clark will die at precisely 1:35 am (she was wearing a watch which stopped at that time), her sister will find her body mere moments after the death and call police. Marsha's father John was killed the day before, Marsha was released from the hospital just a few hours before after being treated for shock. Her sister Gwyndyn will be taken into police custody for her own safety and for questioning. Should the characters somehow be in attendance or have an inside source they will find out the following: Gwyndyn saw nothing out of the ordinary before the killing. Marsha felt uncomfortable going home where her father was killed and decided to stay with her sister. The house was completely locked up, the locks seem to have been opened without force. Some time around 1:00, Gwyndyn noticed that the power was flickering on and off, she called the electric company to complain (the phone logs will confirm this). The security system was bypassed, it did not register any tampering or code override, it simply did not work between 1:20 and 1:45, there is no explanation, it should not have been possible (the device will have a log showing it was drawing power at that time). Gwyndyn became alarmed when the lights completely went out at 1:20 and went to the kitchen to find a flashlight. She heard strange noises upstairs and went to check, a strange glow was coming from the room Marsha was sleeping in. Stepping inside, Gwyndyn saw a man holding down Marsha, the man was covered in a brightly glowing electric field. She ran for help but got a good look at him. Using a sketch artist, Gwyndyn will eventually identify the man: David Stone, who was executed fourteen years ago for murder. Sinker: The killer is indeed Stone, or rather, Stones spirit. Stone was tried for murder after killing 18 people in a cross county crime spree of robbing banks. Stone was a native of Garretts Hill and local police apprehended him by sheer luck while he was stopping for gas, the attendant noticed an empty bank bag in the back seat. He was tried in the local court as a political move and sentenced to electrocution. At the verdict, Stone swore that he would have revenge on the people who had sentenced him to die: the jury, the officers who captured him, and the judge who convicted him. He was in county jail for two years before being executed. The jail, which is only a few miles from town, was in the process of closing during the trial and is currently vacant (and falling apart). His execution was the last. Unknown to most of the townspeople, Stone had a son in another small city nearby; Robert. The child was abandoned by his mother shortly after Stone was arrested and became a ward of the state. In the following years, Robert was shuttled from one family to another without ever being adopted. Robert has a history of mental instability; his father has been trying to communicate with him for years. Robert sometimes hears voices and sees things (he might be a latent psychic). Eventually, he reached the age where he was forced out on his own and has drifted from city to city since. Robert is a terminal bad luck case, nothing seems to work right for him, the drugs he takes to control his "schizophrenic episodes" only works part of the time and makes him a zombie. His social skills and education are fairly lacking. For the past two months, Robert has had terrible nightmares and his visions have been more horrific than usual (his father trying to influence him). With some subtle prodding, the spirit of his father drew him to Garrets Hill and the old jail. Stone took possession of his son Robert during an alcoholic binge when Robert passed out on the electric chair at the wrong time (a minor flare on a ley line) and was overtaken by his fathers spirit. Stone has followed up his threat and is hunting down everyone connected to the case for vengeance. Even the relatives of the people involved will eventually be attacked. In his current state, Stone has almost limitless control over electrical systems up to 150' and touching with both hands can kill. He is hiding in the electric chamber of the old jail, drawing power from the grid through the chair. If the players do not stop him, he will keep killing until everyone even remotely related to the case is dead. Stone only lights up when he's made a "circuit" of his victim with a touch attack (Stone absorbs the victims PPE when they die in this manner, the psychic energy helps him maintain his hold in the physical world - he must kill a person each night or be forced out of Robert). Stone's ability to override security systems coupled with his criminal skills make him a formidable guerrilla opponent. He won't take unnecessary chances, but will trail his victims and attack from the shadow whenever possible. One of the townspeople may have noticed the drifter walking by the side of the road two weeks ago near the abandoned facility. Or perhaps the characters may stumble across a paternity suit against Stone in his criminal record, indicating his son Robert. At some point, the characters will figure out that Robert is the vehicle for Stone's vengence and take steps to prevent it. A full scale exorcism would work, the most effective way of dealing with the spirit is to cut off the electric chair from the power grid, the spirit can only "recharge" at the point where Stone died. Another way is to somehow isolate Robert so that Stone cannot kill to absorb the PPE he needs. Completely submerging Robert in water while he is possessed will short him out, unfortunately killing him in the process. However, unless the electric chair itself is actually destroyed, the spirit will eventually return. Robert is currently in a dream-like state, unaware of what is happening while Stone is in control. Should the evil entity be driven out, Robert will remember none of it and eventually drift off to rebuild his life. Without the influence of his father hounding him, he will actually manage to pull himself together, attend trade school, and settle down to a productive and healthy life. There is no direct evidence linking him to the crime scenes, the police will not find him unless the characters intervene. Too Good to be True By: Mr. Nobody Hook: The players will be in a major city, hunting down a master vampire and his minions when they discover someone else seems to be helping them out. In some cases, the characters will arrive only minutes after a pitched battle to discover the remains of scores of vampires. Whoever the mystery hunter or hunters are, they are strong and able to hold their own against the bloodsuckers. Line: At some point in a fight with secondary vampires, the players will start to lose big time. A strange figure will streak into combat to aid the players. When the carnage is over, the players will find themselves facing their savior: another vampire. His name is Steven St. George, a vampire unlike any others. He will attempt to talk to the players and will avoid combat. If he is attacked, he will retreat, to try to settle things later, after proving himself. He explains that he is the result of some demonic experiment. He claims that he was kidnapped by some sort of doctor who was trying to use vampire blood to create super-soldiers, a formula he would sell to the military after perfecting. Steven was kept in a cell until his turn as a guinea pig but saw several of the failures, horrid zombie-like creations which were destroyed. After his ordeal, which was excruciating and nightmarish, he was locked into an airtight plastic case to await results. While helpless in the case, he saw Rajin, the mater vampire the doctor had been using for samples. Rajin broke free from a similar case and killed the doctor. In the fight, Stevens case was cracked, by the time he broke free, Rajin was gone. Steven has tracked him to this city and plans to destroy the other vampire (it is Rajin the characters have been hunting as well). He will help the players in any way he can. Sinker: Steven is a puppet. Rajin is a master vampire, but not the source of Steven's change. It is a complex plot by another master vampire to eliminate some competition. The second vampire (at the orchestration of it's controlling intelligence) made an illusion to appear as Rajin. Steven was changed into a secondary vampire and set free to hunt down the enemy. Right now Steven has his own free will (better to draw in allies and make his attacks unexpected), but at any time the intelligence behind the vampire can move in to take over. The intelligence has been subliminally guiding Steven in the right direction. It will attempt to have Steven befriend the party to provide help in eliminating Rajin. When Rajin is taken care of, the intelligence will crush what remains of Stevens lingering personality and humanity, then turn on the party to try kill them off by surprise. There is no hope for Steven, he is doomed. After the intelligence takes over, he will no longer exist. If you are feeling particularly evil, after this adventure is played out you might have the party meet up with a free-willed vampire or wampyr. Variations on a Theme Hook: The characters are invited to join with another small group of researchers to determine if an old building is haunted. The structure served as the private hospital and limited sanitarium of Dr. Lindschlott around the turn of the century. Lindschlott was considered quite eccentric and had very unusual theories in medicine. He vanished under mysterious circumstances and the building has been empty since but considered a hotbed of paranormal activity. Lindschlott also lived on the grounds, which is quite a distance from any populated cities in a wild, wooded area surrounded by swift river or sheer cliff. Line: Unfortunately, the night the characters show up is one of a tremendous storm. The terrific rain, sleet and winds have knocked down the power line (luckily there is an oil powered generator in the maze-like basement) and washed out the only road leading to the facility. The storm also prevents radio contact or use of cell phones. The building is dark and strange things are starting to happen. To make things worse, it looks like one or two of the other researchers have disappeared! Sinkers: 1. It's a hoax. Two college students got wind of the pending investigation of the house and decided to play a few tricks on the researchers. 2. It's a hoax. A group of film students posing as researchers have decided to make a mock-documentary using the house as a set and the characters as unsuspecting actors. 3. It's a hoax. A bored billionaire has set up the house for his own amusement, there are hidden video cameras and recording equipment everywhere. The theatrics are state of the art, price was no object. He's primarily concerned with scaring the wits out of the real research group who have annoyed him in some way and has no idea how the characters got invited. Oh well, the more the merrier. 4. It's a hoax. A psychoanalyst is doing a doctoral thesis on how surroundings factor into mass hysteria and terror. 5. It's a hoax. Same as #2 above only with a twist. There are actually a few restless spirits haunting the building. They usually are very quiet, but the callous nature of the film crew has gotten them quite angry and they've decided a lesson is in order. 6. It's a hoax. Same as #2 above only with a twist. The building sits on a place of power. The film students are part of a secret society which is trying to hide the real magic of the place by making it look fake. 7. A group of very clever raccoons have taken over the building as their own. Their playful antics and explorations are the cause of the strange noises and movements. 8. The house itself is alive and aware. It will try to kill all the people and feed off their PPE. It can control anything physically attached to itself; open/close doors, windows, drawers, turn on/off lights, water, etc. but not move furniture. If not completely destroyed, it will go through periods of hibernation until fresh victims show up. 9. The house itself is alive and aware. It enjoyed the negative energy released from the horrible events in the past and wants to recreate the events; particularly the riot by inmates so many years ago and the brutal murder of Dr. Lindschlott and his staff. Treat the house as a possessing entity as it forces characters to take on the roles of previous victims. 10. The house itself is alive and aware but perceives reality in a much different way than the characters. The strange events are manifestations of the house's thought processes, it means them no harm (in fact, it barely notices they exist at all). It would be almost impossible for the characters to communicate with the completely alien mentality of the structure. 11. The house itself is alive and aware but limited in it's ability to interact with the characters. It has been trying desperately to communicate the danger the characters are in. It seems that there is a madman hiding with the research group who intends to kill everyone. 12. The house itself is alive and aware but limited in it's ability to interact with the characters. It has been trying desperately to communicate the danger the characters are in. Dr. Lindschlott prowls the corridors, searching for new victims to carry on the brutal experiments he conducted on helpless inmates while he was alive. The undead fiend is being actively contained by the structure and he would love to have the characters destroy the house and give him freedom. 13. A strange tear in the fabric of time has allowed "echoes" of past events to push through to the present. These sounds and images are very disconcerting, but harmless and will stop by morning. 14. A strange tear in the fabric of time has overlapped the different time periods. There are time-gates that allow characters to see events as they actually happened in the past. Unfortunately, the time-gates are two way and there is a chance the characters may become trapped in the past. 15. The tremendous amount of negative emotion from the terrible events that have happened in the building has stayed throughout the years. The strange sounds and images are very disconcerting, but harmless; simply recreations of the horrible events of the past. 16. A gate to another dimension has opened and the house is slowly slipping through, small random gates floating through the structure become more numerous throughout the night. By morning, the entire house will fall through, anything left inside will vanish forever. 17. A gate to another dimension has opened and mystic energy is leaking through. No actual entities are loose, but the energy is causing strange things to happen. By morning the gate will close. 18. Same as #8 above only the gate is being created by a strange machine the doctor built as an experiment in the basement. Shutting off the machine will close the gate. 19. The strange happenings are the result of an experiment of Dr. Lindschlott. He was experimenting with "projected consciousness" and the experiment went awry. He is trapped between dimensions and is trying to get back. A machine in the basement is keeping him here, stopping the machine will allow him to escape. 20. Dr. Lindschlott was killed in his sleep all those years ago and now his spirit haunts the structure. He is unaware of what is happening around him, and is trapped in a semi-sleeping awareness. His restless spirit must be contacted and told what it needs to do to pass on. 21. Dr. Lindschlott was a madman who killed hundreds during the years the hospital was open. Their spirits are restless and will not leave until the heinous nature of the doctor's crimes are brought out in the open (giving a few of the secret unburied bodies a proper funeral would help too). 22. The spirit of Dr. Lindschlott has been trying to warn the characters of the danger they are in. It seems that there is some evil entity trapped inside the building, the creature has been preying on innocent victims for years (the doctor was an early victim) and will hunt down the characters. The doctor has only limited power and ability to help the characters. 23. Dr. Lindschlott is still alive (more or less) and stalks the surroundings. He has been using unsuspecting victims in horrible occult experiments to extend his lifespan. It's lucky that the characters came, his supply of materials is running out. 24. The doctor is an undead fiend who can't leave the area where he once lived. He's looking forward to the evening, he hasn't had a bite to eat since that last group of lost hikers four years ago. 25. The doctor is no longer among the living, but his son certainly is. Hideously deformed and quite mad, he is quite anxious to continue his fathers unholy experiments. 26. A creature from another dimension has become trapped in the building and is trying to find a way back. It has only a limited understanding of our world and has been possessing people to gather information and work as it's hands. A machine is partially complete in the basement which will allow the entity to escape. Unfortunately, possessed characters have a tendency to "burn out" from the massive energy. 27. A creature from another dimension has become trapped in the building and is trying to find a way back. A machine in the basement that Dr. Lindschlott was working on brought it here and keeps it from escaping. Unfortunately, the creature has only limited affect on our world and is becoming increasingly excessive in it's attempts to shut the machine off. 28. A gate to another dimension has opened and a number of small entities have slipped through into our world. The entities are fairly weak and are trying to scare the characters out of their turf. If that doesn't work, they may get more violent. 29. A gate to another dimension has opened and drawn the attention of a very powerful creature. It is too large to come through the small gateways completely, but has been looking around and sending pieces of itself through to explore (picture a tentacle coming out of the wall, grabbing a victim and disappearing back into the wall). By morning the gate will close and the creature will never return. 30. A gate to another dimension exists in the basement. A group of evil cultists is actively trying to open the gate and let the horror on the other side in. The characters were lured here as sacrifices. 31. A gate to another dimension exists in the basement. A powerful entity lured the characters here. It is the characters destiny to prevent the evil force on the other side from opening the gate or become it's first victims. 32. Same as #23 above, only the characters aren't the ones destined to stop the evil; that honor belongs to one of the other researchers. The characters just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 33. A group of counterfeiters or similar criminals have set up shop in the abandoned building. They will do anything to prevent their hidden base from being discovered. 34. A powerful mage is testing the characters to see if they are a potential threat. He has set several traps and let loose a few nasty creatures. If the characters manage to survive, he will become more active in his scrutiny of them. 35. The building is home to a local group of cultists who don't want the characters poking around. Some of the cultists are pretty influential members of the local political arena and police won't be coming to look for answers if the characters vanish. 36. The building is next to a similar location in an alternate dimension. There is a fair amount of "echoing" from activity in that dimension. It's harmless and will stop when the dimensions pull away from each other in the morning. 37. A powerful paranormal creature has made the building it's home while hunting the local area. It will enjoy having a new snack. 38. One of the objects in the building is cursed, all who have owned it have died horribly. It is waiting for a new owner to appear. 39. The land the building rests on is an ancient transitional ley nexus. The strange occurrences can be traced to lesser entities gathered around the nexus. An old and secret magic sect is trying to drive the characters away so they can reclaim the site. 40. The building is the site of a new, secret governmental experiment in viral warfare. A modified bio-organism that causes hallucinations and insanity was released and the characters are unknowing test subjects. 41. Some kids who've run away from home are using the building as a shelter. They think the characters are the police and are trying to hide. 42. Some kids have run away from home and are using the building as a shelter. They're terrified of being caught and sent back for good reason, it seems their guardian is an insane cultist who intends to sacrifice them. Unfortunately, the madman has tracked them to the house and doesn't mind adding a few victims to his list. 43. A homicidal maniac has escaped from a local psychiatric hospital and is using the building as a temporary hideout. Lucky for him there are a few new "playmates" there. Welcome to Barkettsville By: Mr. Nobody Hook: The characters have just arrived in a small town with no know history of the occult and paranormal. Perhaps they are researching a local legend, following up information on a rare text, or simply wander into the city by accident. In any event, the group will be forced to spend some time in the area (a convenient car accident could tie them up for some time while the authorities work things out). Recently the town has seen a lot of action; a huge corporation has chosen the area for it's main office. Work began some time ago and the multi-level complex is almost complete. BarkettsCorp has it's fingers in all sorts of pies; real estate, medicine, pharmaceutical, food, just about everything you can imagine. That the corporation came to Barkettsville is no surprise, the family which owns the company is from the city, one of the ancestors was a major political figure who brought wealth and prosperity to the town. Unfortunately, there has been other action taking place. For the past month there have also been numerous disappearances and a few rather grisly murders. Police investigation has been cursory and turned up nothing (almost like the police aren't seriously looking for the perpetrator). The victims have all been relatively young, none of them more than 18 years old; the last person to disappear was Emma Wildsmith, who worked part-time as a secretary for BarkettsCorp. Since that time, a week ago, there have been no further events. This led to an investigation by the police who considered her a main suspect. Upon searching her house, they found a considerable library of magic and the occult. The current official belief is that Emma was somehow connected to the events and she fled before she could be apprehended. The police have officially closed the case and notified national agencies to look for Emma. Line: A few things about the police conclusion don't ring true. Emma did have a very extensive library of magic, but it's all of a "good" type. In fact, most of her tomes go to great lengths to talk about the dangers and responsibilities of magic, none of them contain any positive or useful information on human sacrifice. Emma herself grew up in Barkettsville, her family has lived there for generations on the same property near the edge of town. It is common knowledge that her family practiced magic, although people thought it had stopped generations ago. In fact, one of her ancestors purportedly escaped from town before she could be burned at the stake for witchcraft over 400 years ago. Her house is on the family farm, the most distinguishing feature of which is an incredibly old and dying tree near a ramshackle barn and rough stone wall. Any psychics coming near the tree will feel very uneasy and hear strange, whispering voices. This will be all that happens until later in the development of the story (see Sinker for further details). The family has resisted cutting down the blackened and twisted tree or repairing the barn and wall with every generation, but can't seem to give a specific reason for why. Her personal diary has gone missing, but a copy of it can be found on her computer with some inconspicuous title. It talks vaguely of her being very interested in BarkettsCorp. She did extensive research on the company and it's directors and took the part-time job so she could do some snooping, what she was looking for is not clear. The town librarian and records keeper will attest to her searching out all records of the company as well as any information about her ancestor who was almost burned as a witch. The sole owner and director of BarkettsCorp is Joshua Barketts IV, a direct descendent of the historical figure and sole remaining member of the family. He is a recluse who people see only by direct invitation. Supposedly he has private living space in the company complex which has already been completed. There is no other useful information on him available (he has no drivers license, no birth certificate, no high school diploma, etc). Sinker: At some point in trying to piece things together, while staying at or investigating Emmas house, the group will be compelled to go to the tree at midnight. When they arrive, any psychics will receive a vision of Emma Goodchard, the woman accused of witchcraft centuries ago. She informs the party that she was killed and her soul is being forcibly tied to this plane. Her body is buried under the stone wall near the tree and she cannot have peace until her killer is found. She was kidnapped by Sam Barketts, who was a judge at the time, and sacrificed in a ritual to increase his power. She knows that Emma is still alive and being held against her will, but not where. The characters will discover many things when they investigate. The BarkettsCorp complex is located on a ley line, there are secret rooms in the sub-basement of the complex, Barkett has been paying top-ranking police to look the other way, and Barkett has been forming a cult (telling people that involvement will bring riches like it did for his family). At some point, the characters will get into the secret rooms of the complex. They will find an occult temple and a prison, the prison holds Emma. The characters will also find evidence that the other missing people and murders were the work of the cultists. Further, Joshua is Sam Barketts, he has been sustaining his own life by sacrificing others. He is interested in Emma because of her background in magic and putting and end to the snooping she's been doing, but has been waiting for an appropriate celestial alignment before killing her. The final battle of this adventure should be grand and challenging, with the group fighting Joshua Barketts and his cultists (Joshua is a very experienced mage).