Paradigm Concepts

[jedion357]

My Wargaming club has the itch to run an RPG night again after a 1.5 year hiatus and they want to play Witch Hunter. We did play this before till key people got all irritated with the GM then it was abandoned.

Anyhow, yours truly has vollunteered to GM it and I spent a day at work thinking about what I should do for a campaign

When we played before the GM didn't really include any witches as enemies going in for demonic and Babylonian god types etc. So I thought to totally embrace everything that the historic personages surrounding the Salem Witch trials believed about witches ie: a witches teet (a third tit) that was used to suckle the devil etc. (we all live in the Boston area and have all at least driven through Salem- not to deal with Salem would probably be like trying to ignore an elephant in the room).

Since there are religious elements to the game I figure that you have to have a prophecy. Something with clues in it to be unravelled.

My basic idea is that 20 years prior, when a witch hysteria was going on in salem and confessions were being extorted via torture a real witch was scooped up and accused- except that she had a real witches teet and had been suckling a demon right along with her own child.

She's killed with some spooky occurance during or after the execution and her child disappears. Nobody in Salem will talk about it.

Fast forward to Boston on the day that the PCs are about to be thrown into the adventure: a Minister in Boston is brutally and rituallistically killed in his church. the call goes out for witch hunters to solve the mystery.

The deal is that the coven of the killed witch is still around and has groomed the missing child to be ___?____ something of importance (2nd coming of Carrie or etc.) and she is now in her early 20's. the coven is now exacting revenge on all the principles involved in the witch trials 20 years earlier with the caveat that most of these targets have gone on to fame and fortune since or because of the witch trials: the important minister who was the lowly parish preacher, the magistrate who is now the Governor of MA Bay Colony, the jailor who is just a drunk and still the jailor in Salem, wealthy land owners who profited by accusing people of witch craft and scooped up their lands for a song after they were dead, the attorny that prosecuted the trial and is now a big time lawyer in Boston.

Each stage of the adventure, is the crime scene of a new murder but it will be obvious that each murder is connected so that the witch hunters are called. eventually they should begin to figure the connection between all these people- the famous witch trail; which will lead them to Salem.

I've been running down ancient maps of Boston- because historically 3 hills were leveled and used to fill Back Bay for more land and even the map of Boston drawn by the British military to show their military dispositions during the (EDIT: its the Rev war not the ACW) is super cool and quite stunningly different from what I know of modern Boston. also running down antique maps of Salem

One other idea I'm toying with is that the ancient site of boston had signs of ancient indain occupation and MA has evidence of Viking visitors that is little known: viking head stones and the Dighton Stone with its Runic inscription) so I was thinking to have the coven raise the dead or ghosts from Indian, Viking and Puritan graves to attack the PCs during the early parts of the adventure The climax being the taking down of the coven.

Wrap this campaign then either run a few more adventures or just cut to the chase and tell the Players to age their characters 20 years and give them x amount of exp to spend and run a new adventure where remnants of the coven have raised the virgin daughter of the previous 20 year old and now they come looking for the PCs for revenge- the first murder is an NPC that aided them and he's killed in the same brutal ritualistic fashion so that they recognize it.

Well thats what a 10 hr day at the grind stone earning the duckets generated- feel free to comment - I'm pretty much an idea whore, stealing ideas from everyone and everything.

[jedion357]

Just talked with a friend and he suggested making the time interval 16 years instead of 20- with lifespans being significantly shorter and the tendency for people to marry early this makes sense.

It means that the principles in the first witch trials will in their 30's to 40's at the time of the adventure.

It also means that if I revisit this story line latter it will only be 16 years time elapse after this adventure and I can do that by stating things like its been 2 years since the last adventure and mysterious things have been happening and the call has gone out for witch hunters....

By stating an amount of time that occurs between adventures/campaigns I can slowing advance time 16 years over the course of a few adventures and then surprise the players with the death of a significant NPC that aided them and he has been killed in the same ritualistic fashion of the coven from the first campaign.

New twists:

1. was going to have some rape occur to jailed prisoners and was thinking that the witches daughter could have been concieved that way and she was allowed to carry her baby to term before her execution (IIRC that was a standard practice) but it suddenly occured to me that as the PCs unravel the mystery that there could have been several (3) pregnancies that occurred in the jail and thus they have to sort out which is which and who is who to run down the child that is at the center of the mystery.

2. since there is the possibility of the girl being the 2nd coming of "Carrie" I'm planning to make her a hunch back and close to the climax of the adventure I'd like to have the coven strip her to her waist and perform a ritual over her and as she writhes and wails suddenly bat like wings erupt out of the deformed hunch giving her a succubus like appearance.

[NightFox]

Just an idea you may want to add a evil artifact or relic of power for the offspring to be searching for besides revenge. Then you can have the people she is killing also have been tortured as well. Beacasue her offspring is looking for an item her mother had that was confiscated or taken by one of her accusers. Then add an element of time must stop before she finds her mothers amulet or spellbook, or wand, before the fall or summer solstice or some great evil occurance may happen. It expands things a little and also if the characters get the item before the villian or the cult they also have a time factor as well in which case you could do the whole devils # things with six victims 6 days apart culminating on the 6th day of the month. Remember remember the 6th of november??? which could also be the date her mother was killed/accused/ sentanced? The cult members could also be family members who were innocent witched that were convicted with the real witch. Then besides dealing with the offspring the also have to find away to destroy get rid of the evil artifact.
Great idea I really like the salem witch addition as well. Hope these ideas help you out.

[BluSponge]

Mm... I like the idea of the artifact. If you'd care to add some shades of gray, perhaps it had a lot to do with why the antagonist's mother was killed in the first place. Sure, it was convienent that she was a witch. But on of the "judges" caught wind of the artifact and began to covet it himself (maybe with the suggestion of yet another evil force - a monger perhaps, or an imp). Now in possession of the witch's artifact, the judge and his family have done well for themselves, and are quite inflential "new money" in Boston. This adds an additional wrinkle as the players can't expect him to just disappear without questions being raised. It gives the antagonists some interesting targets to hit as well (property, family members, sources of income).

Just a thought,
Tom

[jedion357]

Whoa, I love the artifact idea-

I was also thinking that most of the carreers of the principles in the witch trials were made by those witch trials and though they were not actual witch hunters they reveled in the acclaim. Certainly one of them kept the artifact as a souvenier.

I was also thinking that many of them had varying degrees of corruption in them. Since reading a book on the witch trials (a historically reliable book not the sensational type) I was always struck by the fact that the judge could order the naked examination of a female accused but that it would be conducted privately with only him present. Supposedly he was looking for a witches tit or other condemning mark and he didn't want the others exposed or endangered but it certainly doesn't look good no matter what the official motive was.

So I'm thinking some rape went on. (I think that of the historical facts and for the fictional setting both) and the prophecy that is in play states that when "the Oediple Coupling" occurs the "child of damnation" will be brought forth or something along those lines. So the coven has waited till corruption has run its course in all the principles (a sort of 7 deadly sins thing maybe) and they perform a ritual to bring forth the succubus spirit in the 16 year old girl and induce a sexual laison between the target and the girl/succubus that ends with her biting off the head of the murdered but no successful conception- just a naked body with no head left and maybe a pentagram on the floor.

But now I have to throw in ransacked quarters/place of work with the coven searching for the artifact as well with each murder.

I'll also have to write a cryptic prophesy as well for it to fall into PC hands.

Since Cotton, Increase, and Samuel Matter were historic personages I'm a little loathe to brutalize them with their naked and headless body being discovered in the center of a penagram drawn in blood so I've invented Solomon Matter, which is a name that sounds real enough. I've also settled on inventing an NPC that will be mayor of Boston and leave the historic governor of the colony alone, however, every NPC will say that the mayor of Boston will be likely to be the next governor. This makes the stakes involved in the coven's activities pretty high as it strikes at the heights of power despite the fact that I'd like the whole thing to resurface and bite the PCs in the butt 16 years latter (because they have the artifact!)

If you think the whole thing involving a 16 year old girl and sex and stuff is a bit salacious, I agree, but I also know one of my players and friend who did an initial review of the ideas suggest making her 16 partly because of this player's particular bent- call it preaching to the choir if you will but will deffinetly get his interest.

[jedion357]

been working on the prophecies

#1 details of the over all threat:

Before the balance is stuck In Vernal’s Scale
And the Oediple coupling has conceived
Solomon’s Seal shall fail

But in the Hand of the Vessel of the Keeper
Must be the Keeper’s Key
To open the way for the Reaper

When those days come to pass
With the sweep of the scythe
Man shall be as grass.


#2 details of who the keeper’s “vessel” is:

The Keeper’s Vessel will be known
Conceived in raptus violentiae
Upon her body the mark is shown


The Balance being struck in Vernal's Scale is the spring or vernal equinox

Solomon's seal failing is an obvious and severe consequence with extreme and dire results for all mankind.

The Oediple coupling involves the "vessel" mating with her father who raped her mother during the original witch trials.

The Keeper's Key involves the artifact and the reaper plays the role of a anti-christ like figure - the embodiment of the Keeper on earth maybe

The second prophecy is to indentify the hand maid of the keeper as being the product of rape and marked somehow


Also thinking to have some mysterious encounters- an aged indian who stops one of the witch hunters and says something cryptic- "Beware of the Keeper's Maiden" then a distraction happens and when he looks back to the indian he's gone. Just stuff that drops small clues but keeps the players guessing.

[NightFox]

First of all really cool idea about the prophecies they are all really cool.

So I was thinking about your enemy coven or cultist group?

I was thinking that your main characters mother may have been set up by the Coven of the Dark Cantle* maybe to help push along or bring about your prophecy. The girl/Succubus could work with them at the begining alowing them to help her but her knowing the truth about what they did to her mother she could later betray them to the player characters. She could then get assistance from Legion* since she herself is a demon/devil. This could also be a smoke screen for the players thinking that they have won against the coven but really they also just helped the girl/succubus get out from underneath that cult so she can get legions help. *(bolth groups are detailed in Grand tome of Adversaries) You could then put in or have the hints the characters are recieving maybe from legion under the direction of your true villian the Girl/succubus. You could also have the players find out more information about the prophecies and have them be warned about the false evil and how if you cut off the tail of the salamader it just runs away to grow another.

I was also wondering if the girl/succubus could also be making some of the sacrifical victims into minions to help her. I don't know if your familar with Vampire the masquerade but they had a really neat evil vampire clan known as clan panagellan. (Shadis magazine #39)They were mainly an old vampire cland that were heads and maybe some intestine and a heart that floated. Cool idea and all. But your idea of chopping off the heads of her victims made me think of them. That way she could be bringing in another type of demon not necessarily a vampire but anthor demon type (which puts her in good favor with Legion). You would have to make up the stats for the flying heads though. Or you could just have her using the parts from her victims into a patchJack (grand tome of adversaries pg98). Once again just a couple more ideas if your interested.

Thanks for reading oh and keep me informed how its going.

[jedion357]

oooh I like the idea of using the girl to set up the witches coven/ help the witch hunters that is a nice twist.

and the prophesy saying that there is a false evil and that if you cut off the tail of the salamander that it scurries away to grow another is cool

because that is what the coven did- went into hiding for 16 years to prepare the girl and the PCs could assume that is all that the prophesy is refering too.

but on another layer it is referring to the girl/succubus.

IIRC the book details a former witch hunter who became an adversary in the unseen world and is very dangerous to which hunters. I think that the people who get killed by the coven & the girl/succubus should become minions- they styled themselves witch hunters after their successful round of witch trials 16 years prior and rode that fame to the heights of power within the Ma Bay Colony; so as a consequence of their corruption for the deception they perpetrated as well as for the greed of the wealthy land owner (who accused innocents) and the lust of the rapist (judge or jailor- haven't decided yet) and whatever other sins I can figure into these NPCs they get to pay an eternal price of damnation serving the adversary they pretended to vanquish.

[jedion357]

Heres a link with Historic maps for Boston

http://www.bostonbyfoot.org/maps/historic

I originally only had the third one (by the British military from 1775) which is quite late but it was all that I had so I printed it at Staples in B/W at the largest size they could do in house then started using white out on details that should not be there; Trinity Chruch, canons emplaced by the British, representations for British regiments and the general's headquarters,

Then I used a red marker to color in every building and used my kids water color paints to color in green fields and a 1 inch band of blue all around the shore. it looks great but still has too many details that should not be there and the group that will play in this game has a member who was an employee at Plymoth plantation and crew on the Mayflower 2 plus 2 more who are part of the Plantation's muster,.

Sort of puts the pressure on to get details right.

Think I'll have to print up the 1722 map and start again.