Casting Shadows

This week’s seed is for Unhallowed Metropolis released by Atomic Overmind Press.  There has been a lot of smoke and fog around here lately, so…you know.

My Saturday Seeds also reappear on Ancient Scroll on random Saturdays~

The seed

The seed is intended to fester in the minds of the characters, primarily taking place in discussion and doubt.

Planting the seed

The seed is appropriate for a group of experienced characters who are active in activities against the restless dead. It will work best if these characters have a good network of people around them from various social strata, from loyal servants to trusted friends. The strange events of this seed will physically impact a single character or household, but is intended to hook and concern the entire group in stages of doubt, reaction, and ultimately action.

The Details

After a grueling series of encounters which leave the group exhausted and in need of mental and physical rest, one of the group awakens to a new day only to discover a partially eaten limb tossed casually on a chair in their bedroom. Observation of small blood droplets, blood stains on the sheets, and worse than usual morning mouth will suggest that they simply brought it home with them, gnawed on it a little, and went to sleep. Once this sinks in, the realization that the servants will have seen this, but are saying nothing should follow.

The limb can be determined to have been removed violently from a still living victim who is very likely not living now – without treatment at any rate. What does the character do?

Nothing related to this will occur for a night or two, and then another partially consumed body part will appear in similar fashion to the first, from a different victim.

This will proceed (unless character action interrupts or preempts things) at this pace for a bit, but then slowly begin to escalate until it will be harder to hide from friends and colleagues as bits of bodies start being stashed in a variety of places throughout the house – easily uncovered by guests taking a seat in the sitting room, or checking for a book in the den.

What is going on

The GM will need to play a delicate hand here trying to present clues and evidence that is ambiguous enough to allow for the character to doubt their own sanity, yet does not preclude the possibility that someone is planting these gruesome tidbits in the house. The slow escalation of things should implicate the character not just to themselves, but to their closest friends and allies. Doubt is the cornerstone of this seed  for the character and those around them. The mood should fall closer to “Did I kill these people?” than to “Who killed these people?”

Though the events are occurring in one home, they are not really occurring to just one character. Each character faces the horror of this experience and those reactions, shared and private, need to be the centerpiece of this experience. Will they have to put their friend down? Has he or she always been capable of this horror or have they been driven to it by the grimness of their nightly battles?

Push on until it seems certain that the character is guilty but unaware of these grisly acts. Walk as close to the point of reprisal as you can, before the truly guilty party lets their satisfaction at a crime well done slip. Just a small glance of satisfaction on a loyal retainer’s face as their master is marched away like the brutal dog they are. When this is spotted, ramp up the tension, the speed, and the time pressure. A race against time to save their friend from the damning evidence stacked against them…

Enjoy~