Casting Shadows

This week’s seed is for Hollow Earth Expedition, and is suitable for use with established characters widely known to be explorers and accomplished world travelers of one kind or another. The characters will need to be on the Surface when this seed is introduced.

Planting the Seed

The characters, while living their normal lives will hear through normal channels that they have been cited as authorities on the purported verification of a ‘missing link’ skeleton. Needless to say, the characters did not participate, have never seen such evidence, nor have any experience of the person making the claim. The entire report, and any connections made between the ‘archaeologist,’ his purported expedition, the discovery, and subsequent analysis of the find are entirely fabricated.

The Details

Reaching the Fraudulent Archaeologist will prove to be difficult, as he is supposedly ‘in the field on an exciting new dig’ and will ultimately require use of Contacts to turn up his book agent or media representative and set an appointment.

When the characters show up for the appointment, they find the office ransacked, all evidence referred to in the fraudulent article missing, and an infuriated, and supposedly battered and bruised Conman-in-Adventurer’s Clothing cursing the brigands who have stolen his discovery, robbing the world of the Truth!  He speaks in capitalization. You Can Just Hear It.

As his rant winds down in the face of the arrival of the characters and their normal introductory questions, his bluster converts to charm, but before the conversation and accusation games can really begin the Fraud, standing in front of a large window, is suddenly shot fatally, leaving him only enough life to blurt out bloodily… ‘They found me…’ As he expires, he gestures feebly toward the massive bookshelf indicating not much of anything at all.

Investigation will reveal the necessary clues to implicate several cults, conspiracies, and secret societies – including whichever villainous sect has been, or is about to plague your characters.

Before they leave, a letter from a third party will be found open on the desk, angrily demanding the return of stolen photographs used in the perpetration of the fraud. The letter is from a foreign expert who has long avoided the spotlight, but was once an icon in the field, known for his great insight and successful digs.

What is going on

The Fraudulent Archaeologist in a bid for cheap fame has tried to ride the coat-tails of greater men toward fame and fortune. Choosing the PCs as they are often out of the country, he gambles and loses to cruel Fate, as the characters are there to see the news reels, read the periodicals, and interact with colleagues at the time of the preposterous press release.

While the characters will be fairly certain the whole thing was some sort of sham set up by a bold-as-brass confidence man, the man’s very real death suggests that someone out there has something they fear will be revealed if this ‘discovery’ story is allowed to continue. What did the con-artist know?

Adding to the mystery, the photographic evidence – now revealed to have been stolen from a man of great experience and high reputation, might actually be real and this ‘missing link’ might actually exist.

Where this lead-in goes, and how byzantine the mystery gets is, as always, up to you!

Enjoy!