pacesetter - chill 1st ed- death on tour

8/6/2019 Pacesetter - Chill 1st Ed- Death on Tour

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DEATH ON TOUR

Adventure Design:Jon BrunelleCartography:

Stepben D. SuUivanProduction & Typesetting:Goldsberry GrapbicsEditing:

Marlene WeigelCover Painting:Les Dorscbeid

Interior Art:JimHoUoway

CHILL, CHILL: ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN, andADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN are trademarks owned by Pacesetter Lt Copyright 1985, Pacesetter, Ltd. AURights Reserved. Printed inU.S.A. This book is protected under the copyright laws ofthe United States ofAmericaAny reproduction or unauthorized use ofthe material and artwork contained herein is prohibited without the expressed written consent of Pacesetter, Ltd. Acharacters and events presented within are fictional: resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.


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I. Introduction _Dear Carol;I'm real glad you're visiting thissummer. There's this real cute guynamed Keith I want you to meet.He's Burt's bestfriend, and it wouldbegreat ifwe could got out togetherand stuff.You want to see Jackson Jammerand VanHelsing at the amphiteater?Keith says he can get tickets realeasy.It'll beAWESOME! Burt thinksJammer is the best guitarist in theworld.But don't say anything about thistomyfolks. Thoseweirdconcertmur-ders and the talk about vampireshave got them all worked up. Canyou believe it? I'm sure some vam-pire isgoing to bite us on the neck infront of 2, 000 people!Anyway, get down here soon. It'sgoing to be INTENSE!

xxxxx00000

Luv ya,VickiP.S. You're not scared, are you?Turn up the volume, because "Deathon Tour," another horrifying CHILL noadventure, is about to begin. If youintend to playas a character, stopreading now. The rest of this bookletis for the CHILL Master's (CM' s)use only.USING THIS SCENARIOThe Introduction provides all theinformation needed to prepare for theadventure. It includes a story sum-mary, new Evil Way disciplines, de-scriptions of important nonplayercharacters (NPCs), dreams forClairvoyant/Prescient player char-acters (PCs), and other helpfulinformation.Parts II through V contain thedifferent episodes of the adventure.Pregenerated Characters provideready-made characters the playersmay use if they wish. These can befound on the center pages of the book-

let and may be removed or photo-copied and given to the players.Maps give either the CM or theplayers a view of important encounterscenes.Players Aids consist of handoutsgiven to the players at appropriatetimes during the adventure.THE STORYThe PCs must investigate the concertvampire killings. These murders al-ways occur during performances bythe rock band Van Helsing, and thevictims always die of blood loss. ThePCs eventually discover that the per-petrator is lead guitarist JacksonJammer, a century-old vampire.If the characters succeed in de-stroying Jammer, they discover a let-ter in his pocket that tells them abouta Los Angeles based music agencythat has booked other musician-creatures in different parts of thecountry-the Carnivores, a band ofnew wave ghouls in Cleveland, andFelicia Fey, a jazz pianist based inLas Vegas.Finally, after eliminating all themonster talents, the envoys must facethe wrath of the musicians' manager,Max Mogul, a loup du mal, the dead-liest of werewolves!SKILLSThe following skills will aid the playercharacters in "Death on Tour":HistoryInvestigationJournalismLegend/LoreMedicineLockpickingAll combat skillsJournalism will be particularly valu-able to the party. Ifno party memberhas this skill, the CM can provide anNPC who does.All tables for use in determining Re-search skill results appear on p. 31.DISCIPLINESThe following disciplines of the Artwill help the characters in thisadventure:

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Restore StaminaMental ShieldClairvoyant/Prescient DreamSomeone in the party should have thClairvoyant/Prescient Dream discipline. The CM can provide an NPCwith the discipline if necessary.DREAMSThe dreams occur to any characterusing theClairvoyant/Prescient Dreamdiscipline of the Art A PC using thidiscipline receives only one dreamper week. The dreams occur in ordeas listed below.Dream OneYou're surrounded by coffins stackeso high that you can't see the walls othe room. As you pass among thcoffins, you think only one thought"I must buy one.""And what style were you lookinfor?" say the mortician, who suddenly stands before you. "The silklined models are nice. No chafing."You reply, "No, just a plain pinbox is all I need." At these words, athe coffins vanish except for a simplpine box.A music fan magazine hovers abovthe coffin. It flips open, and from ipages leaps a male guitarist The mahas no face. He steps into the coffand lies down. Then a mallet anwooden stake fly out of the magazinand into your hands. You know whayou must do.After impaling the man's body withe stake, you're suddenly compelleto turn the box end for end. When yodo this, it begins spinning of its owaccord and moves so fast it becomes

blur.Dream TwoYou can fly. You sail down the cistreets at an incredible speed, passincars and turning at intersectionsBut, strangely, drivers and pedestriandon't seem to notice you.You cross a sidewalk and turn tward a dilapidated house. Its frodoor bursts open and you fly throug


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the rooms, down the basement stairs,and into a hole in the basement floor.The hole opens into a tunnel, and itsdarkness frightens you, but youplunge onward against your will.Then, you see ahead a pair of eyesglowing red in the blackness. You tryto stop yourself, but there's nothingyou can do to keep from flying into thearms of the creature.Dream ThreeThe huge pet store echoes with thecries and squawks of hundreds ofanimals. Many roam free, and birdsfly overhead while monkeys and ham-sters scurry over the floor.The store's manager walks up andsays, "I have just what you're lookingfor." He holds up a silver cage con-taining a black cat with an odd whitepatch at its throat The cat gleefullyplays with some catnip.The manager says, "This prettylittle thing is very temperamental, soit's important to keep her in this spe-cial cage. After all, you wouldn'twant this to happen." He flips openthe cage, and the cat hisses and leapsat you. Then, inmidair, the cat changesto a sabre-tooth tiger. You fall back-ward under the horrible weight of thebeastDream FourYou're in a bookstore. Shelves filledwith books tower above you. Morebooks arranged in tall stacks restagainst the walls. You want to inspectsome of the titles, but a thick fog sud-denly fills the room and obscuresthem.You hear a low growl. Through thedense fog you can make out booksfalling from a nearby shelf, as if some-thing were trying to get out frombehind them. Then a powerful furryhand reaches through the opening. Itgropes around, then seems to senseyour presence and grabs at you withits sharp claws.But before the hand can reach you,a book on the shelf above it opens andthe pages flutter rapidly, finally stop-ping at a page smeared with blood.Drops of blood fall onto the groping

hand, the fur smokes and bums. Aninhuman shriek comes from behindthe books and the hand withdraws.You leave the store with a sense ofvictory mingled with deep sorrow.NEW EVIL WAY DISCIPLINESWork of ArtType: DISEWS: 125Range: Touch

Cost 20/Wpr/useColumn: 1Area: One creationWith this discipline a creature cancreate a sculpture, a painting, a mu-sical composition, or a literary workof great beauty. The creature's audi-ence repsonds overwhelmingly to thisbeauty, even if the subject matter orstyle normally repels them. The artistcan create works within only one ofthe categories just named. Thoughduration of creative activity variesdepending on the size or complexityof the work, the creature can produceexcellent material with marvelousspontaneity. For example, the crea-ture may improvise brilliantly on a

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certain musical instrument or writperfect sonnet within minutes.If the creature remains in the psence of its audience while theymire the work, their vulnerabilitySubjection disciplines increases snificantly: each member of the auence defends on one Action Tabcolumn lower than he or she wounormally. No other adverse effeoccur other than victims simply fthat the artist has genius.The art work maintains its powas long as its creator lives inKnown World. If the creature isstroyed or banished to the Unknowthe work ceases to exist paintingsculptures, musical scores, proand poetry crumble to dust. Aphotographs, replicas, and writtdescriptions of the creation faaway. Nor does any charactermember its nature. He forgets linand melodies, and pictorial imaggrow hazy in his mind. Thoughremembers the work once existed,no longer has any sense of what it waboutThe discipline can be used only


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creatures that can pass as human.SlamType: DISCost: 1Wpr/useEWS: 125

Column: 3Range: v . . mileArea: 1 portalA creature who uses this disciplinecan single out any portal-door, win-dow, or gate-within 1/4 mile andcause it to slam shut. The portal holdsfast; no one other than the creaturecan open it, no matter how muchforce is used. The creature breaks thehold simply by reaching out and open-ing the portal, just as anyone woulddo normally.This discipline has one importantprerequisite: the creature must haveshut the portal normally sometimeprior to using Slam on that portal forthe first time.Characters may use explosives toblast the door apart, or use a bull-dozer to knock it out of the wall, butthe door itself cannot be opened whilethe Slam is in effect.THE SUPPORT CASTNPCsJake Whitemore, S.A V.E. LawyerSTRDEXAGLWPR

52 PER36 PCN50 STA70Whitemore is a slim, healthy man of38 with dark hair that has grayed atthe temples. He dresses well andspeaks intelligently and so makes agood first impression. He has workedwith S.A.V.E. for five years.Whitemore will defend the PCs incourt after they're arrested and willspeak on behalf of Central Head-quarters.Geralynn Gish, ReporterSTR 60 PER 66DEX 48 PCN 68AGL 46 STA 54WPR 76Skills R~.nk ScoreJournalism Teacher 94Investigation Teacher 95

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Gish is an attractive 27-year-old.She's fond of dressing rock-style:wrist bands, loud shoes, wild hairstyles, and the like.Gish works as a reporter for Satis-faction Music Monthly magazine.Her startling interviews with rock 'n'roll's biggest stars are distinguishedby the secrets she worms out of hersubjects. She has said, "I love to dis-cover their real secrets. None ofthemcan hold anything back from me."Introduced to the PCs by a brotherwho is a S.A.V.E. envoy, Gish ac-companies the party throughout theadventure. At first she's excitedabout discovering the Unknown atwork in the music business, but shegrows increasingly uneasy as the sce-nario unfolds. She wants her own wayand sometimes throws childish tan-trums. But the PCs need her assis-tance and must deal with her as bestthey can.CREATURESJackson De La Croix(Jackson Jammer), VampireSTRDEXAGLWPRPER

40 PCN135 STA40 EWS80 FEAR50 ATT

1006013562/40%

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Movement: Variable according toform of the vampire: vampires cansprint in human form without Stam-ina loss; can move as mist or fog 75'per round.Disciplines: Change Self(to mist orfog), Time Stop*.Manipulation: Yes, when in humanform.IPs: 540*This form of Time Stop is auto-matically successful within the in-tended range and area with the follow-ing exceptions: the cost is 2 Wpr/round; any character wearing a silverindalo does not fall victim to it.In 1836 Jackson Jammer was bornJackson De La Croix, a slave on theDe La Croix plantation in Louisiana.As a boy he showed musical talent,and by the time he was 15 he couldplay virtually any stringed instrumentIn 1856 Jackson died from a vam-pire bite (the plantation records saysnake bite) and then terrorized theplantation himself as a vampire. Hecontinued his musical activities overthe years, modifying his performingstyle as popular tastes changed. Henow plays lead guitar for the rockgroup Van Helsing, and critics regardhim as a fine musician.Jammer has a unique method ofclaiming victims: he uses his specialform of Time Stop during a concert,drains the blood of his victim whilethe audience is frozen in time, endsthe discipline, then resumes playing.The result is that the victim seems tohave collapsed and died from an un-known cause. How the victim's bloodwas drained remains a mystery.Jammer rests in the bathtub ofwhatever hotel suite he's staying in atthe time- he does not require a coffm

or native soil. While he rests, Frankiethe Golem (see blow) guards the en-trance to the suite and turns awayintruders.Jammer has special qualities thatdistinguish him from others of hiskind:1. Unlike other vampires, Jammercan cast a reflection, and does appearon film, an important consideration,given the music video market2. Jammer does not die when ex-


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posed to sunlight. However, hispowers substantially diminish. Hecan't use his Evil Way disciplinesduring daylight.3. Jammer must rest to regainWillpower and Stamina, but he needn'tdo it during the day. Very often, Jam-mer rests just after a performance.While Jammer is resting, he ap-pears dead. He doesn't breathe,there's no heartbeat, his body is coldto the touch, and his hands are neatlyfolded as if he's lying in state. But hecan hear sounds and wakes up if a PCapproaches.4. The following offer protectionagainst Jammer: A silver indalo which makes thewearer immune to Jammer's use ofthe Evil Way discipline Time Stop. Any religious symbol, includinga cross, crucifix, Star of David,Patriarchal Cross, etc. Jammerdoesn't cower and flee, but he won'tcome within 2~ feet of them. Mint, the odor of which within2~ feet drives Jammer from the im-mediate area. Garlic, which has the sameeffect as mint. Salt, when spread in an unbrokenline across a door, window, or otherentry or ext. It acts as a barrier whichJammer cannot cross. If the line isbroken or interrupted, Jammer canpass at the point of the break.5. To destroy Jammer, a charactermust drive a wooden stake throughhis heart, place his body in a woodencoffin, and spin the coffin immedi-ately, end for end, in circles. If thestake is driven through the heart andthe body not placed in a coffin, or ifthe body is placed in a coffin whichisn't spun, Jammer remains "dead"

until the stake is removed or disin-tegrates with time. After the stake isgone, Jammer returns to his normalactivities. However, if everything isdone properly, he won't be able tofind his way back from the Unknownand the Known World will be free ofhim.6. Jammer must claim a victim atleast once every four weeks or hepermanently loses 10 points of Will-power.

Felicia Fey, BastSTRDEXAGLWPRPER

9060*12512076*

9010012552/108%

PCNSTAEWSFEARATT*when in human form only

Movement L225' ANA W 10'Class: CorporealType: IndependentDisciplines: Blind, Change Self,Change Temperature, Influence,Steal Memory, Swarm (unique form,Teleport, Work ofArtManipulation: yes, when in humanformIPS: 2000Basts have the bodies of women andthe heads of large black cats. Theyare intelligent, territorial huunterswho regard humans in their territoryas their prey. Apparently all basts arefemale creatures; no male bast haveever been found.S.A.V.E. believes that these crea-tures were once associated with thetombs of ancient Egypt, perhaps assome type of guardian. However, inrecent years they have been sighted inalmost all civilized areas. Basts pre-fer to dwell in stylish older homes, ifpossible, near a tomb, mausoleum, orcemetery. They are very fond of an-tiques and often gather impressivecollections of art and jewelry.Most basts can Change Self to anyform oflarge cat, sabre-tooth tiger, orhuman. In cat form, they always havea white, oval marking on or near theirthroats. In human form, basts appear

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and act like beautiful, extremely wdressed, stylish, vain women.Basts attack only male victimThey often are subtle in this attafrequently appearing to the potentvictim in human form and toying whim in a flirtatious way before lurhim to his destruction. A bast tentoward catlike behavior, often cliing near her intended victim, strokhis hair, or gently rubbing her heagainst his shoulder.Basts stalk their prey with suchmarkable silence and stealth that chacters have to make a general Perction check with a -20 modifiernotice them before they attack. Bausually attack in their large cat foclawing and using their bite, whinflicts normal armed combat daage. In addition, any character bitby a bast has a 15% chance to ctract a form of lycanthrophy achanges to some large, predatoryjust as a lycanthrope changes to wform.Basts can use a unique formSwarm to cause a swarm of c(I-lOOper minute); the type of cthat appear depends upon the loenvironment.Basts have an aversion to waand must make a general check agaitheir current Willpower in ordercross a body of water. They must amake a successful general cheagainst current Willpower when psented with catnip. Failing this chemeans that the bast, in whatevercurrent form, immediately begplaying with (or in) the catnip aignores completely whatever elsegoing on around it (unless, of courit is attacked). This effect lasts1d10 rounds, or until disrupted byattack.Basts suffer Stamina loss from aform of attack but do not suffer nmal wounds. They die instantly frany wound inflicted by a silver buor silver spear point.When in human form, Felicia Fis a jazz pianist working out of LVegas. She uses her Work ofArt dcipline to assure her professional scess and to make her victims msusceptible to her Influence abiliFelicia can take the forms of a bla


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housecat, a sabre-tooth tiger, and a manager encouraged them to do this Rick Coleman; Common Werewolfbeautiful black-haired woman. until the police investigation into themurder blows over, but they aren't STR 90 PCN 90The Carnivores: (Zippy, limbo, happy about it DEX 30* STA 75Blade, and Ferd), Ghouls AGL 90 EWS NASTR Max Mogul, Loup du Mal WPR 60 FEAR 875 PCN 60DEX 75 STA 60

PER 60** ATT 3/90%AGL 75 EWS 125 STR 90 PCN 90WPR 50 FEAR 5 DEX 30* STA 75 *in human formPER 45 ATI 3/60% AGL 90 EWS 150 **in human form onlyWPR 90 FEAR 8PER 80** ATT 3/90%

Movement L225' ANA WNAClass: CorporealType: IndependentDisciplines: Zippy =Influence andEvil Eye; limbo-Influence andHalt; Blade-bifluence and Quiet;Ferd-Influence and Enormity.IPs: 250 eachZippy, Jimbo, Blade, and Ferd areyoung ghouls of the kind described inHorrors/rom the Unknown. They'reable to pass as humans, although theirappearance is not pleasant their earsare a bit pointed and their hands havedeveloped claw-like qualities. Togetherthey perform as the punk rock band,the Carnivores.The Carnivores work in Clevelandand live in an old two-story houselong overdue for the wrecker's ball.The house was a bootlegger's head-quarters during Prohibition, and theghouls discovered that an undergroundtunnel connects it with a mortuarytwo blocks away, which was also in-volved in the bootlegging enterprise.Many months ago they Influencedthe proprietor and he let them feedthere on a regular basis. But recentlyFerd impulsively killed the proprie-tor, sothe Carnivores are now feedingon supermarket beefsteaks. Their

*70 in human form**in human form only

Movement L225' ANA WNAClass: CorporealType: IndependentDiscipline: Change Temperature,Invisibility, Hound, Slam, StealMemory, Throw Voice, Wave 0/Fog.IPs: 2100Max Mogul manages the creature-musicians. He hopes to infiltrate theentertainment business with evenmore talents from the Unknown andeventually to subvert it completely.In the meantime, he runs a book andgame store in Hollywood that he usesas his headquarters. When not book-ing his musicians and chomping onhumans, Mogul spends his timesearching for and destroying copies ofTheBook ofthe Wolf, an old text thatexplains the proper method of killinga loup du mal.

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Movement: L 225' ANA W NAClass: CorporealType: IndependentDisciplines: NAIPs: 800Coleman is the manager of MaxMogul's book store. In human formhe's a disgruntled looking man withshort black hair who wears one ear-ring. He and Mogul are responsiblefor a series of murders in Hollywood.Frankie the GolemSTR 120 PCN 90DEX 60 STA 105AGL 60 EWS NAWPR 75 FEAR 5*PER 30 ATT 2/75%*only when attacking


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Movement L60' ANA WNAClass: CorporealType: ServitorDisciplines: NAManipulation: YesIPs: 500Golems are artificially created men.They vary greatly in size, statistics,and manner of construciton, and usu-ally serve intelligent creatures orhumans who dabble inthe ways of theUnknown. Legends and stories aboutgolems date back to medieval times.Frankie is a well-constructed golemand looks almost human (sort ot).He's seven feet tall, obviously verystrong, and has a strange, smoothlook about him, as though he weremade of clay. He wears jeans that aretoo short and a Van Helsing" World'sBiggest Party" T-shirt.Frankie was a gift from MaxMogul to Jackson Jammer. Frankie'sonly job is to guard the entrance toJammer's hotel suite while Jammerrests. Ifa character tries to enter thesuite when Frankie is on duty, he at-tempts to pick up the intruder andthrow him halfway down the hall. Tosee ifFrankie succeeds in doing this,roll his attack normally. On a "C"result Frankie manages to grab thevictim and fling him. The intrudertakes unarmed combat damage whenhe lands (Crushing Damage).Frankie takes full armed and un-armed combat damage from all PCattacks. Ifhe is forced to 0 Stamina,his body collapses and changes to280 pounds of modeling clay. How-ever, when Frankie is attacked, hefights back fiercely, delivering fullarmed combat damage because of hisgreat strength.RUNNING "DEATH ON TOUR"So that play goes smoothly, be surethe material in this booklet is familiar.Read it through at least once beforestarting and check the rule bookswhen necessary.Get to know the NPCs and thecreatures the players meet in the ad-venture. A good CM knows howthey'll behave in unexpected sit-uations.

"Death on Tour" is structured alittle differently than most otherCHILL'" adventures. Its four shortscenarios take place in Pittsburgh,Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Holly-wood, respectively. Play in each set-ting can probably be wrapped up in aseparate game session. This providesconvenient points at which to breakoff play; it also gives player char-acters time to heal wounds betweenepisodes. Encourage the players totake advantage of this healing time ifthey need it. Keep in mind, however,that Insight Points should not beawarded until the entire adventure isover.***nformation that is to be read aloudto the players appears beneath a rowof stars, like this paragraph. Anyother information should only begiven to the players when necessary.***And remember: make the adven-ture scary. After all, that's the real funof a CHILL'" game.

BEGINNING THE ADVENTURELet the players bring their charactersheets up to date. They may havesome unused Insight Points to spendbefore beginning this adventure. As-sist players who don't have charactersin developing them, or let them usethe pregenerated characters in thecenter of this booklet.While preparing to play, be sure toask each PC what type of indalo he orshe has, and how it is displayed. IfnoPC has a silver indalo, randomly picktwo PCs who can receive a silverindalo from S.A.V.E. for "meritor-ious serivce" before the adventurebegins.When the players are ready, readthem the following information.

***ou've each received a letter fromCentral Headquarters in Dublin.Enclosed with it is a plane ticket toPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a colorphotograph. The photo shows a four-piece rock'n'roll band posing with7

their instruments. Three of the members are white; the guitarist is blacThe drummer and the bass playewear T-shirts andjeans; the guitariis dressed in leather pants, a muscshirt, a black hat, and a half-dozemulticolored bandanas; the vocaliwears leather pants and a vest with nshirt.

Now remove Player Aid One frothis booklet and give it to the playeto read. When they've finished dicussing its contents, move on to PaII: "Time Is On My Side."


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II. Tinte Is OnMySide _The PCs may want to conduct re-search into the concert deaths, VanHelsing, and Jackson Jammer beforeleaving for Pittsburgh. A PC withJournalism skill is the proper candi-date. Research tables are on page 31.Any journalistic research into thehistories of the victims producesnothing of interest. However, roll tosee how much time is invested by thePC, and improvise the facts he maybe looking for: names of relatives,personal habits, etc.1. OFF TO PITISBURGH

***Allegheny Airlines whisks the partyoffto the Steel City. The flight crew isattentive and the processed cheesefood snack is. . . well. . . edible.Overall, the trip proceeds smoothlyand without incident.Greater Pittsburgh Airport is abusy place, but finally the party canfind a courtesy bus that can accom-modate them.The driver travels down an express-way that cuts through the rollingPennsylvania countryside. He passesa number of exits leading to suburbanareas and two mall complexes. Pitts-burgh's skyline isblocked by the hillyterrain.Then the bus plunges into a tunnelthrough a sheer rock face. At theother end, it passes over a bridge thatleads into a tangle of narrow streets,frustrated drivers, ancient stores, andmodern office buildings. The driverexpertly navigates this jungle andstops at the VIebster Hall Hotel.The hotel is small and not busy.After the party checks in, a bellboyleads the way to adjoining rooms. Hepatiently stands by the door and clearshis throat repeatedly until someonetips him.The phone operator calls with amessage from Geralynn Gish. It says,"Meet you in the coffee shop at1:00." It's now 12:15.***2. MS. GISH

***The hotel's coffee shop is just off thelobby. A sign there asks patrons to

please wait to be seated. Two minuteslater the hostess charges out of thekitchen, followed by a flying plate,and walks up with menus in her hands.In a booth to one side is a woman inrocker clothing and a Cyndi Lauperhaircut, reading a copy of Satisfac-tion Music Monthly. This must beMs. Gish.

After introductions, Gish smiles po-litely and invites the PCs to sit withher. She's half-finished with a glass ofchocolate milk and a plate of wafflesover which she's poured three kindsof syrup. Once the PCs are settled,she stares at them, then asks, "Didany of you bring me presents? Geez, Igot you backstage passes to the con-cert and an interview with Whiteoutand everything. Don't forget next time,okay?"Gish explains that they're to meetWhite out at his Oakland apartment."The poor guy hasn't had work sincehe quit Van Helsing. He drinks, too.He's living at his brother's place righthere in town. I'll bet we get somemeaty stuff from him."Geralynn Gish; ReporterSTRDEXAGLWPR

60 PER48 PCN46 STA76Skills: Journalism, Teacher 94; In-vestigation, Teacher, 95.3. INTERVIEWING WHITEOUTAfter lunch, Gish is ready to seeWhiteout Read the following aloud:

***The cab travels out of downtownPittsburgh and into the Oakland dis-trict Here several schools are crowdedin among the shops and burger stands;the University of Pittsburgh's Towerof Learning dominates everything.The driver pulls up to an old housewith peeling paint that sits next to aHoward Johnson's. "I hope this isn'ttoo depressing," says Gish.8

After everyone leaves the cab, threporter rings the doorbell for severaminutes. Finally stumbling footstepcan be heard from within. Somethinginside is kicked aside with a cursethen the latch on the door turns.The door cracks open, revealinggaunt, bearded, sick-looking mawho appears to have just awakenedHe seems to recognize Gish anthrows the door open wide.Empty beer cans and whiskey botles cover the floor of the front roomWhiteout, however, seems to havmemorized a path through this obstacle course and doesn't kick oversingle empty. He clears several chairand a couch, throwing aside comibooks and a copy of Naked LunchThen he flops into a chair and prophis feet on a tree trunk that serves ascoffee table. Gish sits in a foldinchair.

666854

The interview progresses quicklyWhiteout precedes his replies withlong draw of beer. He can tell thparty nothing about the murders-these began after he left Van HelsingBut he seems strangely fixated oJackson Jammer, almost to the eclusion of the other band membersHe implies that the guitarist is somehow responsible for the mess Whiteout has made of his life. Gish oviously wants dirt on the band, espeially on the colorful Jammer, bWhite out is either holding backdoesn't know anything damaging.The following facts are learneduring the interview:1. Whiteout left the band becausof a personality clash with JammerHe's frightened of the guitarist fsome reason he won't specify.2. Jammer is an extremely privatperson. His tour contract alwayspecifies that he's to have his owhotel suite. He spends most of hdaytime hours alone in the suite aninsists on not being disturbed while htakes his daily five-hour bath beginning at noon.3. Lately Jammer has posted a nepersonal bodyguard outside of hsuite. This is a big brute nameFrankie.


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4. Jammer once made elaborateefforts to record a message backwardson Van Helsing's "Fist in Your Face"album. Whiteout doesn't rememberwhat the message was.5. Jammer can play banjo as wellas he plays guitar. He once said thatthis was a family tradition and that hisgreat-great-grandfather was well-known for his banjo playing duringthe 1850s. Jammer said, "He wasevery bit as good as I am."After an hour, White out dozes. Thismay alarm the characters. Let it. It'sonly the effect of the beer that theburned-out rocker has consumed allthrough the conversation. WhenWhite out drops off, Gish packs hernotebook and heads for the door indisgust. During the ride back to thehotel she says, "I should have knownI wasn't going to get any real secretsout of that guy."The interview is over at 3:00 p.m.The Van Helsing Concert begins at7:00 p.m. Gish insists on meeting inthe hotel lobby at 6:00 p.m. to makeallowances for traffic on the way tothe Civic Arena. The characters reallydon't have time to do any involvedresearch before the concert. A knowl-edge check about Jammer's presentdaymusical activities can be made bya character with Journalism skill, butthat's about it If a PC is stubbornabout doing research tonight, tell himhe must either miss the concert orattend late ifhe' s going to accomplishanything.Information about Jackson Jammercan be gained through knowledge orresearch checks. Research can be con-ducted at the Hillman Library nearWhiteout's home. See the ResearchTables on page 31.If any character buys a copy ofVanHelsing's "Fist in Your Face" albumand plays it in reverse, he finds thebackward message in the first cut onthe second side. The message is thephrase, "Buy role-playing adventuregames," and is repeated six times.

THE CONCERTRead the following aloud when thePCs are ready to go to the concert:

***ish is waiting in the hotel lobby asplanned. Her clothing is even moreoutrageous than before, and she wearsextra bands on her wrists and a pair ofhandcuffs on her belt "Okay! Readyto party?" she asks. "I've got yourstage passes here. Don't get caughtwithout them unless you want theguards to paw you." She hands eachmember of the party a badge with theword "PRESS" printed on it. Thenshe heads out to a waiting cab.It's foggy tonight The Civic Arenais not far from the hotel, but theweather and the heavy traffic makethe ride twice as long as it should be.People in cars honk their horns andshout, "Jammer, Jammer." Pe-destrians crowd the sidewalks, allheading for the arena. Eventually, thedriver pulls around to a side entranceof the concert center, where twoguards admit the party.Inside, one of the production staffleads the way to the area designatedfor backstage visitors. From here thereis a clear view of the stage and a largepart of the audience. It's a madhouse

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as the stage crew dash back and foto make final preparations. Somethem shriek orders at others, weither ignore them or shriek bacOnstage, electricians are putting tfinal touches to set-up for the SilvFlash Band, tonight's opening actThe arena's seats are almost filbut people continue to pour in. Rhymic clapping starts in several placeand shouts for the show to begin rabove the din. A dozen people in tbalcony hold up a long banner thsays" Jammer" in red letters. At lea dozen police are visible, and mamore are rumored to be elsewherethe aisles.Then the lights dim, and a voicethe P.A. welcomes the cheering auence to Van Helsing's World's BiggParty Tour. In the darkness the SilvFlash Band takes up their instrments. And suddenly, the showon.The Flash Band's playing doesappear to impress Gish. She makesfew notes while leaning againstwall, a bored look on her face. Taudience likes it though and respon


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with increased cheering andapplause.

Use the Civic Arena Map.Pause here and ask the players ifthey want to take any special actionwhile the Flash Band plays. If anycharacter leaves the visitors' area acrew member quickly leads him back.After 45 minutes have passed, themembers of Van Helsing appear inthe opposite wing, ready to enter thestage. The Silver Flash Band wrapsup and exits to a big response from theaudience.5. JAMMER SOLOS

***tage hands quickly remove the FlashBand's equipment and set up VanHelsing's. Then, accompanied by adeafening roar from the audience,Van Helsing walks on stage. Theband members wave to the crowd andacknowledge their cheers, except forJackson Jammer who ignores the fansscreaming his name and fine tunes hisguitar. At one point he suddenly letsloose with a short, fast lick that in-tensifies the screams. But he neversmiles; he only stares blankly atnothing in particular.The band starts out inhigh gear with"Moviola," one of their big hits, andJammer shines with one of his famoussolos. Each song blends into the next,and the high-energy music continuesfor almost an hour. The audiencegoes crazy. Even the jaded Gish re-sponds, jumping enthusiasticallywhile trying to take notes at the sametime.

As the PCs watch, Jammer breaks offplaying and uses Time Stop. EveryNPC in the arena, including Gish, isaffected as if with a "C" result on thediscipline's result table (page 17,Horrors of the Unknown). Any PCfortunate enough to be wearing asilver indalo is unaffected.Ifall PCs totally succumb to TimeStop (a "C" result), then Jammersucceeds in murdering a woman inthe second row of seats. When the

discipline ends, the party is awareonly that Jammer broke off playingfor a moment, but the band's musicseemed to continue uninterrupted.Some scrambling occurs at the frontof the audience. Van Helsing stopsplaying when police make their wayto Jammer's victim. The show haltshere and the band leaves by the wingopposite the party.Anyone trying to break into VanHelsing's dressing room at this timemust tangle with 4 armed guards and3 production crew members (all withuniform abilities scores of 50) andFrankie the Golem. Since the envoyswill fail to stop Jammer tonight andhe's unaware of danger, tomorrownight's concert goes on as scheduled.The PCs can have another crack atJammer then.If, on the other hand, any PC isaware of what's happening duringTime Stop, he sees Jammer put hisguitar down and gracefully leap offthe stage into the audience. The PCmust move onstage to see the vampireattack the woman. No matter howfast the PC moves, Jammer becomesaware of him before the PC is able toprevent the murder. But Jammer saysto the PC, "You're going to be verysorry." Then he dissolves into a mistthat moves swiftly over the heads ofthe audience and out into the lobby.Jammer knows that it's foolish towaste Willpower trying to sustain thediscipline while fighting the PC. Hewill attack the PC at a more oppor-tune moment The PC must now makea fear check on Column 6 of theAction Table. If the PC doesn't fleeor leave the stage of his own will afterJammer exits, the music begins again.The woman jammer attacked screamsasblood pours from her wound Peoplein the audience point at the PC. Someof them believe Jammer's disappear-ance is a theatrical stunt and applaudit. The band's playing falls apart asthe other musicians realize Jammer isgone.Any PC on stage is hustled out ofthe arena by the stage crew. His vis-itor's pass is taken, and he's told tokeep out He can wait for the rest ofthe party or meet them at the hotel. Ofcourse, if the PC gets off the stage

10

before Time Stop ends, no onebothers him.The rest of the PCs are on theirown. They're ignored by the stagecrew, who are occupied with the chaosresulting from Jammer's disappear-ance. They and Gish, who is nowcurious, are not bothered if they ex-plore the backstage area. However, ifthey try to enter Van Helsing's dress-ing room, they must get past the 4armed guards and 3 crew members(uniform abilities scores of 50) andFrankie the Golem.In the meantime, Jammer hasblended into the foggy night by be-coming fog himself. He follows anyPC who interrupted his kill, whetherthe PC is alone or with the party.Jackson De La Croix(Jackson Jammer), VampireSTRDEXAGLWPRPER


1006013562/40%

Movement Variable according toform; can sprint in human form with-out Stamina loss; can move as mist orfog 75' per round.Disciplines: Change Self (to mist orfog), Time Stop*.IPS: 5406. JAMMER'S REVENGEGish follows the party back to theirhotel rooms, talking constantly aboutthe incident, no matter what the out-come: "Too weird! You guys knowwhat's going on, don't you? C'mon,'fess up; I'll get it out of you even-tuallyanyway."If any PC who bothered Jammerenters any of the rooms reserved forthe party, read the following to thatplayer:

***he room is suddenly chilly, as iffrom a draft, and a fine mist pours inthrough the window. The mist quicklytakes the shape of a lean, long-fingered, dark-complected man.***


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... BA-N.....- .. - ... CIVIC ARENA MAPENTRANCE ~~Oma : : ~Zo

GUARDS' IOFFICE

10'L:_

CHARACTERSENTERHERE" ' . . . , (AND LEAVE"" 'I'">0 ~T10'T1c 0:; (j m0 "" 'I m:; 0 0 Z0 a: z ""0 ~: ~:t : . . . J Zp..f0 - p.. o.. : :l ma < '"

GUARDS'OFFICE

BANDS ENTER HERE

F ear checks on Column 6 of theAction Table are required by all whowitness this, including any characterwho interrupted Jammer at the arena(since this is the first time he's beenattacked by the vampire). IfGish is inthe room, she freezes in terror anddoesn't move until the encounter isover.Roll for initiative. On his move,Jammer attempts to use Time Stopand to drain the blood of only theoffending PC. Any envoy wearing asilver indalo is unaffected by thedisciplines.If anyone pulls out a religioussymbol of any kind, Jammer doesn'tflee but won't come within 2~ feet ofthat PC. Ifanyone produces garlic ormint, the vampire cries, "I'll be back,suckers," then changes back into mistand leaves through the window.Of course, ifthe PCs have blockedall entryways into their rooms withreligious symbols, garlic, mint, orsalt, Jammer can't enter. In this casehe clings to the outside of the windowlike a spider and shouts, "You thinkyou're bad! You'll find out who's

STAGE

AUDIENCE

SOUND MANw/SOUNO BOARDAT REAR

TO MAINENTRANCE

baddest!" Then he lets go andvanishes.7. PREPARING THECOUNTERATTACK

If Gish is present at Encounter 6, shestands stunned for a minute after it'sover, then grins and says, "Cool-o!Jammer's a vampire! This will get methe Pulitzer Prize! I'll have my ownTV show! We've gotta get into hishotel room and off him, don't we?Geez!" Ifshe isn't present, she's stillaware that something strange is goingon and shows up later with dozens ofquestions.In either case, Gish offers to helpthe PCs get into Jammer's hotel suiteat the Pittsburgh Hilton if they agreeto take her along. She informs themthat Van Helsing is scheduled toperform tomorrow night and that theband will leave the Hilton late in theafternoon following that concert.The players may want to devotethe day after the first concert to re-search. Consult the research tableson Jammer when necessary.

11

~VISITORS'. ...... .. AREA

A PC who has had PrescieDream One might feel the need to ba coffin. A quick look in the YelloPages produces the names of tSmight Brothers Funeral Home. Thwill sell a simple pine coffin withquestions and deliver it for a smsurcharge.As soon as Gish hears any Pmention the need to buy a coffin aget it into Jammer's suite, she say"I've got a great idea. We load tcoffin with beer on ice, see? Thencarry it in, and if anyone bothers ustell him it's a gift for Van Helsing fromy magazine. Terrific plan, huhGish throws a fit if the PCs dismiher plan, but if they're still uncovinced of its merit after a couplemintues of tantrum, she falls sileand goes along with whatever thdecide is best.After doing research and takiinto account the hours Jammer ishis rooms, the PCs may attemptvisit him on the second day after tconcert incident. But this may vaaccording to how successful thesearch is and the final plan th


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develop. Whatever happens in thisrespect, keep inmind three things thatwon't change:1. Ifthe PCs interrupted Jammer'smurder attempt, the second concert iscancelled.2. Jammer rests in his room at theHilton from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.during the two days following the firstconcert.3. The other members of VanHelsing are not present if the PCs tryto break into Jammer's suite. They'reout working at a local studio.8. DANCING WITH THEBIG BOYSThe following players' text assumesthat the PCs are trying to get a coffinfull of cold beer into the Hilton. Theplayers, of course, may have come upwith a different plan, so adjust thisepisode to suite the situation.

***he Smight Brothers' hearse pulls upto the Hilton. The driver wears a dourlook as he helps remove the coffin. He

says nothing, although he clearly dis-approves of the entire business. Oncein the hotel, Gish leads the way to theelevators. But before she reaches oneof the cars, a desk clerk stops her."What's this about?" he asks.Gish is quick to reply: "Don't youknow who I am? I 'spose not. Look,I'm Geralynn Gish from SatisfactionMusic Monthly. This here is beer,see?" She opens the coffin lid. "Andit's a gift from our mag toVan Helsing.Got it?""Well, this really can't be .... ""Look, bucko. You can do one oftwo things. You can make a stink hereand I can get evil and write ugly thingsabout you in the mag. Or you canaccept this little present from us anddisappear." Gish slips a large bill tothe clerk. He looks confused butpockets the money and walks awaywithout another word."I'm so wonderful," Gish says."What would you do without me?"After the coffin is loaded into theelevator, Gish presses 22. A few sec-onds later the doors open at thetwenty-second floor. On the wall a

sign pointing to the left reads, "Presi-dential Suite." "That's the place,"says Gish.The wide hall leads to two sets ofopposing doors. Next to them standsa muscular man at least seven feettall. He wears jeans that are too shortfor him and a Van Helsing "World'sBiggest Party" T-shirt. The sun-light coming through the window be-hind him casts an eerie halo aroundhis body and obscures his face inshadow."Uh-oh," says Gish.***Use the Presidential Suite Map.If the PCs don't buy Gish's ideaand simply try to carry in an emptycoffin, the desk clerk stops them. Butin this case the PCs are completely ontheir own to explain their actions.The clerk is tougher and can't bepersuaded to let them go upstairsunless he's bribed with at least $100.There is no entrance that will get thePCs into the hotel without encounter-ing the desk clerk.The guard is Frankie the Golem.

12


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JAMMER'S SUITEENTRANCE/HILTON u .--- Lindow 0 - nFrankie ._ _ ' 1 ]aits * Aere r~1 ~ Loor toPresidential -uite 0 -,0--,IQr L

-::J TO ELEVATORS

Jammer has told him that absolutelyno one but a Van Helsing member isto come near the door. If any PCcomes within 5 feet, Frankie attemptsto grab the PC by his belt and collarand pitch him headlong down the hall.Frankie is successful if he gets a "C"result on his dice roll, and the victimtakes Crushing Damage on the Un-armed Combat Results key.Ifanyone tries to harm Frankie, hereturns the attack and delivers fullarmed combat damage. Fear checksaren't required unless Frankie movesto grab or attack a PC.The only way to eliminate Frankieis to beat on him until he's reduced too Stamina. He can be wounded, butsince he isn't a living creature, hedoes not bleed. However, he stillsuffers continual Stamina drain fromHeavy and Critical wounds. WhenFrankie is forced to 0 Stamina, hecollapses into 280 pounds of model-ing clay. Gish reacts to this by saying,"Great We've been fighting a giantGumby."

Frankie the GolemSTRDEXAGLWPRPER


90105NA5*2/75%* only when attackingMovement: L60' ANA WNADisciplines: NAIPS: 500

9. JAMMING JAMMERAfter getting Frankie out of the way,the party must break into Jammer'sroom. Someone with Lockpickingskill can handle it. Cruder methodscan be used, but they'll make a lot ofnoise. Treat the door as ifit has 100Stamina points.Once the party has gained entry tothe room, read the following to theplayer whose character enters first

5 '

***ackson Jammer stands at the otheend of the room and fixes you with aevil stare. He holds a dagger in hihands; other daggers are tucked undehis belt He raises the weapon anprepares to throw it***The sounds ofthe party scuffling witFrankie and breaking inalerted Jammer, and he's now prepared to defendhimself with 12 daggers. Rememberhis Evil Way disciplines do not worby day.Roll for initiative (fear and surprischecks aren't necessary). On himove, Jammer tries to throw 4 daggers in one round at the first PC tenter the room. He continues throwing daggers until only one remains ohe's forced into melee, after which hdefends himself with the kinfe asmelee weapon. After the first daggeis thrown Gish flees.To destroy Jammer, the PCs mussubdue him, drive a stake through hi


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heart, place him inthe coffin, and spinthe coffin end for end. When this isdone, Jammer disintegrates into afine powder. IfJammer is staked butnot put in a coffin, or if the coffin isn'tspun, he is immobilized only until thestake is removed-and it will be re-moved when the police arrive.Before the stake is driven home,Jammer's last words are, "Man, can'ta man get no privacy?"If the correct method of destroyingJammer is carried out, after his bodydisintegrates an envelope can be seensticking out of his crumpled clothing(no Perception check needed). If thePCs read the letter inside, hand theplayers Player Aid Two.The PCs have only a short time toread the letter. The noise they'vemade has drawn the attention of thehotel management. As soon as thePCs have finished, two armed guards(uniform ability scores of 50) enterthe room and train revolvers on them.Make surprise checks for the PCs(if a PC has kept watch in the hall, theguards are seen coming from 50 feetaway and the party isn't surprised).The guards don't listen to explana-tions and attempt to hold the PCsuntil the police arrive. Ifthe PCs havenot escaped by then, they are arrestedfor burglary, firearms violations (ifthey carry guns), and- ifJammer hasonly been staked-murder. The mur-der charge is changed to attemptedmurder when the coroner removes thestake, because Jammer will revive. Ifthe PCs are arrested, they have noother option than to call S.A.V.E. fora lawyer.During the PCs' stay at AlleghenyCounty Jail, Jake Whitmore, theS.A.V.E lawyer, continuallyencour-ages them. Whether or not Jammerhas been destroyed, assault chargesare eventually dropped when Jammerdoesn't appear in court. S.A.V.E.covers the damages to the hotel andgets remaining charges against thePCs dropped. They are free peoplewithin two weeks.If Jammer survives the PCs' at-tack, he continues touring with VanHelsing. S.A.V.E. orders the PCs togo after him again during his threenights of concerts in Cleveland. The

situations the PCs encounter thereare similar to those in Pittsburgh,except that 3 armed guards (uniformability scores of 50) have takenFrankie's job, and Jammer is readyfor them this time. Gish won't be ableto get them into the Cleveland con-certs, but she can help them findwhere Jammer is staying in the city.If the PCs have succeeded indestroying Jammer and evading ar-rest, S.A. V.E. contacts them by mailafter they file their report and givesthem the assignment described inEncounter 10, which should then beadjusted to eliminate Whitmore.

Jackson De La Croix(Jackson Jammer), VampireSTRDEXAGLWPRPER


1006013562/40%

Movement Vampires can sprint inhuman form without Stamina loss;can move as mist or fog 75' perround.Disciplines: Change Self (to mist orfog), Time Stop (special form).IPs: 54010. CLEANING UPIf Jammer is still alive, Whitmorenow explains that S.A. V.E wants theenvoys to pursue and destroy thevampire and tells them about theCleveland concerts. But if the PCs'attack on Jammer was a success,Whitmore invites them to his room atthe Webster Hall Hotel:

***hitmore makes sure you're com-fortable then begins speaking aboutthe letter you found on Jammer'sremains."S.A.V.E. is disturbed by the im-plications of this letter. It could meanthat what we've long feared is begin-ning: creatures from the Unknownforming a national organization. So,we want you to follow up on thenames in the letter and eliminate any14

creatures you come across. Ifyou actnow, you might stop this thing beforeit gets bigger."You're to fly to Cleveland and staythere until you've settled things withthe Carnivores. From there you'll goto Las Vegas to look up Felicia Fey,and then finally to Hollywood to fin-ish up with Max Mogul. Here areyour plane tickets and hotel reserva-tions." Whitmore tosses an envelopeon the table."One more thing: we want Gera-lynn Gish to gowith you. She has a loof contacts in the music industry andmight be a big help. She expects youto call her in her room within thehour."You'll find your belongings in thesame hotel rooms you had beforeyour arrest-S.A.V.E. paid your billswhile you were in jail. Oh,yeah, andyou'll be happy to see these ... "Whitmore pulls up a large suitcase.From it he removes weapons to re-place the ones the police confiscated.Even your specialty weapons arehere. ***Whitmore excuses himself so that hecan prepare to leave town. The char-acters are free to organize their tripand contact Gish.The reporter is excited about themission: "Boy, this is gonna be agreat story. The magazine has givenme free rein to follow up. Wow.Monster bands with real monsters!"Jake Whitmore, S.A.V.E. LawyerSTRDEXAGLWPR

52 PER36 PCN50 STA70

62648


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