Smuggler's Run.pdf

Smuggler’s Run

Written by Andrew J Lucas

Illustrated by

Christopher Shy

Smuggler’s Run

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Smuggler’s Run

A pool of brackish

water forms at

Our feet, and within

its murky depth

We see the

Supplicant.

We feel his pain,

his longing for

justice – and

revenge.

Again We hear the summons. We can feel the delicious call of the

others. The circle was gathering, soon there would be need of Our

talents. Even now the Advocate’s attendants are entering our

Domain. We must prepare, for the trip will be long and arduous and

the tasks which await – perilous.

We gather the sterile implements of our youth. Tools of the heal-

ing trade, now imbued with our essence to serve Us again. We mold

from Our flesh, a plain black bag and lovingly place our devices of

cleansing within its warm pink interior. The satchel sighs contented-

ly as it receives the probes, hypodermics and sutures of wire. It quiv-

ers excitedly as We distill the bonesaw from the essence of Our

domain. Greenish light pours from the maw of the bag as it devours

Our saw.

Then We wait for the emissary of the Gathering. Seated upon a

simple stool clutching our satchel before Us and contemplating the

many good works to come. The wait is neither long nor short, for

time passes fitfully in Our Domain. The call comes again, stronger

this time. A pool of brackish water forms at Our feet, and within its

murky depth We see the Supplicant. We feel his pain, his longing for

justice – and revenge. Stepping into the pool, We travel to meet the

others, the warm waters softening Our passage. Gushing rose elixir

announces Our arrival to the others.

The Doctor is in.

G AMEMASTER N OTE

Smuggler’s Run is set in the

city of Chicago Illinois and is

designed to be used with The

Whispering Vault role-playing

game. The adventure may be played

with only the basic rulebook,

although play will be greatly

enhanced by using any of The

Whispering Vault supplements.

Smuggler’s Run has been written

for a group of up to four stalkers.

Including more can be easily accom-

modated by increasing the number

of Minions at the Unbidden’s com-

mand. Shadows presented in this

adventure use the standard attributes

from The Whispering Vault rule-

book, unless otherwise indicated.

The format of Smuggler’s Run

progresses in a very linear manner,

but there are a couple of sections

where the action can diverge in a

number of directions when the

players may investigate various

leads. It is important that the

Gamemaster read the adventure in

its entirety before playing the sce-

nario in order to be prepared for

these diversions.

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S TRAIGHT T ALK

A renegade aesthetic has

descended upon Chicago in 1930

intent upon controlling the popula-

tion and feeding its perverse

desires. The creature inhabited the

form of an aging hood, who had

never quite made it big called

Nicoli Franco. In this guise and uti-

lizing the numbing properties of the

enigma which accompanied it, the

creature rocketed into a position of

control in the city’s underworld.

Using the corruption, which has

infected a still and perverted its

product, Nicoli has attained a very

powerful position in the city. He has

also used shadows he has sum-

moned to manipulate the legal and

bureaucratic powers within the

mundane population to make him-

self untouchable to all except one

ambitious young Treasury agent.

Agent James Cutler is a man

with a mission – to make the city

and the world a safe place. If that

means striding boldly into Nicoli

Franco’s insidious web, then so be

it. Cutler is a man willing to take on

the world in order to save those he

is charged to protect, unfortunately

he has been struggling against

forces from two worlds: flesh and

essence. He has been unsuccessful

in even locating the illusive Franco.

The brass downtown has thwarted

his every move and cut back on his

manpower. Even his partner has

abandoned the quest for justice. It

seems that everyone in power has

been subverted to the crimelord’s

will and James has been forced to

rely upon his own resources to pur-

sue the criminal and his gin empire.

Against the forces of Flesh and

Essence, Cutler’s meager resolve

has failed him and in despair he has

cried out for help. Tonight his cry

has been penetrated into the realm

of the Primal Powers and the circle

assembles.

E VENING C ONSTITUTIONAL

James Cutler is an up-n-coming

federal treasury agent, a real Elliot

Ness wannabe. He has been working

in Chicago to stem the tide of illegal

rum running, and has had some suc-

cess over the past ten years. He is

well known and respected in his field

because he has an intuitive under-

standing of the criminals he hunts.

This is because James is a sensitive

and can actually read the intentions

of the criminals he interrogates. He

can’t read minds, as such, but does

get hunches’ as to what a mobster

might be planning. He calls it God’s

way of evening up the score.

Recently however, his track record

has been drastically reduced. There

is a new player in the bootlegging

game and try as he might James just

can’t seem to get a handle on the illu-

sive Nicoli Franco’s activities. Add

to this, the extremely potent and

addictive gin the mobster is peddling

and James has become very frustrat-

ed with his own ineffectiveness and

the dire threat Nicoli poses to

Chicago.

James is a sensitive but is

unaware of his ability, which mani-

fests as an ability to subtly read the

intentions of a suspect. This talent

has served him well in his career

with the Treasury department, until

now. The servants of Nicoli Franco,

who is in fact a renegade Aesthetic

are immune to the ability which

James unconsciously relies upon in

his work. To compound his dilemma

James is watched around the clock

by servant of Nicoli which report his

every move. Franco’s gang seems to

know Cutler’s every move in much

the same way that he once manipu-

J AMES C UTLER

The Supplicant

Fortitude 4

Vitality 6

Initiative 10

Defend 11

Perceive 11

Resolve 12

Attack 10

Strength 2

Sensitivity 1

(This ability manifests as

an ability to psychically read

the intention of people he talks

with. James is unaware of his

talent, which does not influ-

ence creatures of essence.)

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lated lesser criminals in the city.

Now, in desperation he has tried to

call forth his ability to help him bring

Franco to justice. In a manner he has

succeeded, by summoning the

Circle.

Whenever he has a problem,

James has a habit of taking long

walks along the Chicago docks to

think through his dilemma. Tonight

his problems have come to seem

insurmountable, he has set himself

upon a bench in the shadows of a ore

freighter and cried out for help. Of

course he knows that their is no one

that can help him but himself. Yet

something deep within him, a part of

his being neglected and ignored rec-

ognizes his cry for what it truly is –

the summoning. In his despair,

Cutler doesn’t notice the grating

surging sound as of something mas-

sive scraping across metal decking or

the greenish glow emanating from

somewhere above him. When he

does look up from his cupped hands,

he sees a fading greenish light ema-

nating from the gangplank of the

freighter and the circle.

James instinctively trusts the cir-

cle and looks to them as allies in his

war on crime. He doesn’t understand

why he trust them, especially with

their outlandish appearance, he just

does. IF the circle talks to them, as

they logically should, he will explain

his problem with the crimelord

Nicoli Franco. Other than his cer-

tainty that Franco is involved in

bootlegging, James has no concrete

proof of the man’s guilt. No witness-

es, no informers, no evidence at least

none that has survived of been lost.

Even Cutler’s superiors and partner

aren’t convinced that Franco has

done any thing wrong or at least

criminal. James is unaware that the

Unbidden has been using the cor-

rupting influence of his still’s gin and

the Du’math twins to establish a

number of pawns in the government,

including his partner Charles Davis.

The only lead the agent has on

Franco’s operation is the location of

one of his speak easies.

If the circle investigates the loca-

tion of the speak easy, go to the sec-

tion titled A Good Book. If they

decide to look for Cutler’s partner,

go to the section called Partners.

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P ARTNERS

The circle may notice that

Cutler does not completely trust his

partner. If they ask, James will

inform them that Davis called in sick

today and should be at home. If the

Stalkers travel to Davis' home, per-

haps to find out what would alienate

the agent from his partner.

When the players arrive at the

home of agent Davis, they will find a

very ordinary seeming three story

house, completely indistinguishable

from its neighbors. Inside Davis,

will be found slumped on a sofa in

the living room. He has a very

peaceful look on his face, which is

marred by a single bullet wound in

his left temple and scattering of

white feathers from a burst pillow

where his head rests. In one hand is

nestled a bottle of unlabeled Gin

(from Franco's corrupted still) in the

other hand is his revolver. The man

is quite obviously dead, with a gun-

shot to the head, apparently self

inflicted.

By using the delve discipline a

Stalker (if the disciplined is mas-

tered) will be able to find out that

Davis is not the victim of an unfor-

tunate suicide but has been mur-

dered. An observer of the agent's

memories will see that he was visit-

ed earlier this morning, by two beau-

tiful women, wearing sunglasses and

stylish clothing. What happens next

is fogged by the gin the man

imbibed and the masks of the two

women (actually Thritch Kalvarr).

The rider of Davis' memories will

see that he drank heavily and

appeared to proposition the women.

Speak Easy: A general term for an establishment which

traffics in illegal alcohol. They were renown in the 30's as being

a hotbed of criminal activity. While the activities within the

business are considered tame by today's standards, most were

controlled by organized crime and occasionally, targets during

gang wars.

After that the memories become

unclear but it seems the three

engaged in a masochistic tryst,

which Davis did not survive. The

two women then faked his suicide by

placing the man's 38 against his head

and pulling the trigger.

The Stalker using delve may not

realize what is happening when

agent Davis dies, as they may pre-

sume that the bullet to the head was

the cause of death. Any Delving

character sharing Davis memories of

his death will suffer damage as

explained in the Whispering Vault

rulebook (p. 40). The two women

are the Du'math twins who have

been using their special talents to

ensure the cooperation of Agent

Davis. Unfortunately Charles has

been attempting to exert his own

will, forcing the Unbidden to inten-

sify the indoctrination of the hapless

agent. The intensity of the pain and

pleasures inflicted upon him, while

under the influence of the Gin, has

unfortunately killed the poor agent.

further examination of Davis' mem-

ories indicate that he frequently met

the twins in a local speak easy, mas-

querading as the Chicago reading

room.

A G OOD B OOK

If the Stalkers wish to investi-

gate one of Franco's establishments,

Cutler will direct them towards The

Chicago Reading Room. James has

known for months, that the business

is merely a front for Franco's Gin

peddling. However knowing and

proving are two completely differ-

ent things. Cutler has no proof that

the well respected business which

caters to the city's intellectual popu-

lation or so it would seem. In fact

there is a secret passage in the rear

wall of a storeroom which leads to

an underground bar in the basement.

James suspects that this covert bar

exists but has been unable to find it.

To date James has raided the

Chicago Reading Room three times,

each time nothing suspicious was

found. Now James suspects that

Franco has been tipped prior to

when the raid were to occur. He has

no idea that the source of the infor-

mation is his partner Charles Davis

who has been subverted by Franco's

otherworldly minions.

As the Hunters enter the estab-

lishment, they will find a number of

intellectual types reading quietly

from the scores of books arranged

Smuggler’s Run

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