Scenario: Undertow

Last Sunday since my regular online group was down by 50%, I ran a one-shot out of “Fear’s Sharp Little Needles” from Stygian Fox for the people who could make it. Undertow by Simon Brake is a short one-shot that takes place on the Northern California coast, where the investigators find that the inspiration of a favorite reclusive writer goes deeper and darker than they could conceive of.

Note: If you plan on playing an investigator in this scenario at some point, you should stop reading now.

Second note: This scenario didn’t quite end in a traditional TPK, but close enough for government work.

The investigators

Maxwell LeStrange: A trustafarian blogger from New York

Bernadette Lipshitz: A librarian and blogger from Baltimore

Bernadette and Maxwell were attending a horror lit convention in San Francisco that was on its final night. They were at the bar discussing one of their favorite writers, Justin Hayes. After many years without publishing anything, Hayes put out a book titled “Undertow”

Undertow is a story of a young actress trying to make it big in Hollywood. As her career grinds to a halt, she tries different solutions to revive it. Eventually she joins a New Age cult. The mantras and practices have a distinct oddness to them. If Maxwell and Bernadette had any Cthulhu Mythos skill, there would’ve been red flags all over the place. Still, they had decent Occult skill so they highly suspected that Hayes was into “the good stuff” and wished they could talk to him about it for their respective blogs.

Another acquaintance at the con overheard them talking about Hayes and let the two investigators know that Hayes’ agent, Steve Morton, was attending the con as well and pointed to him across the room. Their acquaintance introduced them to Steve and expressed how much they enjoyed Undertow and were wondering if he was at the con.

Steve explained that Hayes’ really wasn’t much of the “con type”, and lived a fairly reclusive life up the Northern California coast. Steve was of the opinion that any press would be appreciated, so he arranged for the two to interview Hayes the next day. The next day, Maxwell and Bernadette got in the car and drove up north.

Hayes lived in a little, very rich beachcomber neighborhood in Bolinas. When they got to his place, they were immediately greeted by a big black Labrador Retriever who immediately dropped its ball, barked at them, and ran off. The two were then met at the door by a very mellow older guy in a Jimmy Buffett shirt and cargo shorts.

Hayes was expecting the two, and invited them in to make themselves comfortable while he made coffee and kombucha for them. While they waited, they looked over his bookshelf. There was a row of his books, a bunch of reference books, an old comic novel called Snarleyyow, or the Dog Fiend. It was a story of a cranky sea captain and his even meaner black dog.

They also find a copy of Azathoth and Other Horrors, a small book of dark poetry that both the investigators felt very unnerved by when they thumbed through it. Hayes comes in and explains how the book lead to bizarre dreams that inspired Undertow. The interview centers mostly around how this inspiration manifested. Hayes explained that they came to him in dreams where he was just laying underwater and the visions came to him.

When asked about his life in Bolinas, Hayes states that it’s pretty much just him and “his black dog” (his nickname for his depression) The investigators misinterpret him and mention they saw it out front. Hayes just looked at them oddly and said he did not own a dog. Sensing that the topic is aggravating Hayes for some reason, they turn the conversation back to writing. The day turns to night, and Hayes invites them to stay and shows them the guest rooms.

That night, Bernadette wakes up with a start. Looking out the window, the moon was shining down over the quiet waves. She saw the silhouette of the black dog, playing along the shoreline and looking at her. She felt the irresistible pull to go play with it. She left the bungalow and made her way to the dog, who bounded happily further and further into the water. She followed it until she could not follow further…

Maxwell woke the next morning and knocked on Bernadette’s door. She didn’t respond, so he figured she might still be sleeping and went to the kitchen. Hayes was already up making some coffee. They chatted for a bit, then Maxwell said they should get going and went to wake Bernadette. Going into her room, he saw the bed had been slept in, but no Bernadette.

When he told Hayes, Hayes said he’d be up since five, but maybe she went for a long walk. Hayes mentioned that his nearby neighbor Michelle normally is an early riser as well and suggested Maxwell stop by there and see if she saw Bernadette.

Maxwell walked along the beach and saw no sign of his friend. Seeing what had to be Bernadette’s beach house, he stopped by and knocked. Michelle invited him in and he asked about Bernadette. Michelle had not seen her and she had been up since early morning. They talked about Hayes and Michelle said he was a good neighbor, and she enjoyed playing with his dog. Maxwell, emboldened by this evidence that it was his dog, went back to Hayes’ home to confront him.

Keeper’s note: This ending was supposed to end with the investigators discover that the dog was an avatar of Nyarlathotep that had been feeding on Hayes’ depression. Hayes just needed to be approached correctly.

Maxwell went back to Hayes’ home and started in on him about the dog. Hayes got more and more agitated about Maxwell’s accusations until a knife fight broke out in the kitchen. Rich boy vs. hermit horror writer. Saddest fight you ever saw. Even so, Hayes got a good shot in that knocked Maxwell unconscious. Maxwell woke up in the Bolinas jail with an attempted murder charge.

So no, not a total TPK, but close enough for a one-shot.

Another acquaintance overheard Hayes’ name and let the investigators know that his agent,