SELECTED SAMPLES

Mystery Brief [Systematic GM Documentation]

The Gang: Sam, Shakti, Natasha, Adri

Hook (Player Facing): Things have been slow since the gang’s high school homecoming. The Turntable (Marked as Anchor #51129) is safely in the hands of BURP. However, as the gang approaches late November, things have clearly shifted. Natasha continues to have strange dreams, Sam constantly feels like they’re being watched, and Shakti keeps seeing dark figures deep in the woods. After sneaking out one night looking for these dark figures, Shakti is caught and grounded. After Shakti tells her parents about what she saw, her father goes out to investigate, followed by a loud, pained howl. Shakti’s father is found in critical condition and sent to the hospital. If the gang doesn’t head into the forest to find out what attacked Shakti’s father, the entire town could be in danger…
Mystery: What attacked Shakti’s father and how do we stop them hurting anyone else?

Clues: Animal Prints (Indicates unusual wildlife behavior), Polaroid Photos (Leads to David & subterranean tunnels), Smoke in the Distance (Ritual responsible for summoning the Woodwatchers), Radio Distortion (Shakti’s hearing picks up on the frequency emitted by the Woodwatcher ritual site)
Ways to Solve the Mystery: Players can either counteract/shut down the ritual or overwhelm the Woodwatchers by hijacking a local radio station.

Countdown (GM Facing):

Note: Each step progresses as a potential consequence of a failed roll or if little progress is made

1. The Unblinking Eye (magic criminal organization) sends out shadowy entities called Woodwatchers to Culver. Chace (Shakti’s father) investigates the woods near Culver. He is attacked by the Woodwatchers and left in critical condition and hosting a dormant Woodwatcher.

2. Woodwatchers start possessing local animals, becoming more physically dangerous. Local conspiracy theorist David Winter starts trying to investigate the Woodwatchers.

3. The Woodwatchers start to discover that their target (a powerful magical entity called Ostat) is located in a series of tunnels beneath Culver. The closer the Woodwatchers get to it, the more powerful they become.

4. Woodwatchers, by possessing wildlife, are now able to search during the day. The streets of Culver become overrun with wild, ravenous animals. Chace flatlines and is presumed dead. David is caught by the Woodwatchers and one attaches to him, possessing him like the animals in the forest.

5. The Woodwatcher attached to Chace possesses his corpse, now on a rampage to kill Shakti and find its target.

6. Culver is overtaken by the Woodwatchers and the Unblinking Eye. They find their target in the tunnels beneath the city, making the Unblinking Eye even more powerful.

Failure: The Unblinking Eye gets ahold of Ostat’s Anchor, Shakti’s dad is killed, and Culver experiences a curfew alongside civilians starting to investigate mysteries on their own.

Success: Chace makes a full recovery, the Unblinking Eye loses a critical foothold in Culver, David becomes an unlikely ally, and the gang learns about the tunnel system beneath Culver.