TEXT:  
   
  The Pineville Horror
  The Pineville Horror
  The Pineville Horror
  The Pineville Horror    
   
   
   
  An Adventure for Lost Souls 
   
   
   
  By Joe Williams & Kathleen Williams 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Copyright ©1991, 1992, 2007 by Joe Williams 
   
  Email me at: freeRPGs@comcast.net 
   
   
   
  
   
   
  2 
   
   
   
  2 
  The Pineville Horror 
  Central Character 
  The central character is a male Average Joe 
  with the cause of death "Dropped radio into 
  bathtub while soaking." His Life & Death history 
  should include "Lover responsible for your death." 
  One of the players must choose to run the 
  central character. That player receives a copy of 
  the background story. 
  How you introduce the central character to the 
  other lost souls will depend on which Sanctum the 
  players have chosen. 
  Limbo: If the players have chosen Limbo as 
  their Sanctums, then the central character simply 
  appears in their cosmic waiting room, another soul 
  mate with unfinished business. 
  Focuses: If the players are inhabiting focuses, 
  then the central character is in his wedding ring, 
  which has been sold online and is now in the same 
  location as the focuses of the other players. 
  Domains: The central character does not share 
  the same graveyard as the other lost souls. The 
  central character is buried in Potter’s Field, no 
  doubt far from the other lost souls. Because each 
  situation is unique, you and your players will have 
  to figure out how the characters come together if 
  they are using domains. 
  Background Story 
  You remember the night you died like it was 
  yesterday. You were coming home from your in-
  laws, a two hour drive through the mountains. 
  Maybe you should have listened to your wife and 
  stayed on the highway, but with traffic backed up 
  behind an overturned logging truck, you thought 
  taking the next side road would get you home 
  faster. 
  The rutted road led into the forest, the canopy 
  of trees blocking the moonlight. Eventually your 
  headlights washed across a cyclone fence, the first 
  outpost of civilization you had seen in miles. 
  Beyond the fence squatted the rusted carcasses of 
  ruined cars, a sort of Sargasso sea of automobiles. 
  Lily wanted to stop at the junkyard and ask for 
  directions, but thoughts of banjo playing, inbred 
  mountain men spread through your mind, chilling 
  you to the bone. You thought it would be better to 
  go on. 
  Your headlights cut a narrow swath of comfort 
  through the darkness. To the sides, in the thick of 
  the pine trees, you thought you glimpsed pale 
  forms, but when you pointed them out to Lily, they 
  were gone. Lily said you had been driving too long, 
  and maybe she was right. How else could you 
  account for the white figures shambling in the 
  dark? 
  The wrenching of metal against the underside 
  of your car snapped your attention to the road. 
  Stopping to asses the damage, you found a metal 
  pipe with one end buried in the dirt road, its point 
  sticking up at just the right height to tear out your 
  oil pan. 
  Lily argued that you should walk back to the 
  junkyard and ask for help. But you thought they 
  were probably the ones who buried the pipe here. 
  You drove forward despite the glowing red engine 
  light. The road had to lead somewhere, didn’t it? 
  The engine was grinding by the time the trees 
  on either side fell away. Through the smoke 
  pouring from under the hood you could see a few 
  shacks clustered in the moonlight, their backs to 
  the encroaching forest. 
  The engine locked up just as you pulled in 
  front of the Pineville Bed & Breakfast. Lily frowned 
  at you and predicted you had done thousands of 
  dollars of damage for no good reason. She was 
  mad, but you were too happy to have reached 
  safety to care. 
  The boarding house was run by a woman 
  named Danielle Flynn. She rented you the rooms in 
  back for a reasonable fee, and even offered to give 
  you and your wife a free haircut and manicure in 
  the morning as a special service. 
  
  The Pineville Horror 
  3 
   
   
   
  3 
  You and Lily retired to your room to argue in 
  hushed voices. Lily complained about the car, and 
  then turned her complaints to the room itself. She 
  said she felt like someone was watching her, which 
  was absurd since the curtains were drawn and the 
  door shut. After awhile Lily stopped talking to you. 
  She went so far as to pretend to be sleeping, 
  although she hadn’t even undressed. 
  Sensing you weren’t welcome in the bed with 
  her, you went into the adjoining washroom to take 
  a bath. As you were soaking in the tub, almost 
  dozing off, you heard movement in the bedroom. 
  Looking up, you saw Lily walk into the bathroom 
  carrying the radio. You smiled and thanked her; a 
  little music would help prevent you from falling 
  asleep in the tub and drowning yourself. Without 
  speaking, she plugged in the radio, turned it on, 
  and pitched it in the tub with you and the water. 
  The pain lasted longer than you would have 
  guessed before your heart stopped and you floated 
  free from your body. Your burnt shell looked 
  swollen in the steaming water. Lily stared blankly 
  at your body for a moment, then walked into the 
  other room, laid down on the bed and closed her 
  eyes. 
  A swirling tunnel opened above you. Though 
  you wanted to stay, the void would not be resisted. 
  It engulfed your spirit, drawing you to Limbo. 
  Starting the Adventure 
  Once the central character has reviewed the 
  background story, the player must make one or 
  more ghostly vows based on the back story. Some 
  suggestions: 
   
  • 
  I will not rest until I learn why Lily killed 
  me. 
  • 
  I will not rest until I kill Lily for destroying 
  me. 
  • 
  I will not rest until I regain Lily's love. 
  • 
  I will not rest until I let Lily know I forgive 
  her. 
   
  The other players who wish to accompany the 
  central character must also make ghostly vows not 
  to rest until accomplishing something specifically 
  related to the adventure. 
  Using Graveyard Shift, the central character 
  can now take the group to the scene of his death 
  (the Pineville Bed & Breakfast). 
  Graveyard Shift 
  Should the central character attempt to use 
  Graveyard Shift to go to his final resting place, the 
  attempt fails with the interesting results described 
  below. 
  None 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  characters will 
  accompany him. 
  The central character feels pain like never 
  before. Candlelit flickers against the rough planks 
  of a ceiling. Through the pain, he realizes he’s lying 
  on his back on a hard surface. A heavy table 
  perhaps—or a stone altar. Blood drools from his 
  mouth. 
  Shadows dance around him. He can’t turn his 
  head or move at all. As the pain builds again into 
  another crescendo, he glimpses a shadow with 
  horns and monstrous wings, or is it a cape? The 
  shadow raises a dagger in one hand and a 
  squirming lump in the other. Insanely, the knife 
  comes down and the lump squawk like a chicken. 
  The shadow is Papa Zebulon, who is 
  attempting to raise the central character’s body as 
  a zombie slave. 
  The central character must roll once on the 
  Sanity Table due to the pain. He also loses 1 WTL 
  per second that he remains in his body. He may 
  attempt to use graveyard shift at any time to flee, 
  but it will take (Will vs Great) seconds before he 
  actually escapes. 
  After returning to the rest of the group, the 
  central character will be badly shaken. He’ll feel a 
  strange pull that is trying to draw him back to his 
  body. As the adventure progresses, the pull will 
  become increasingly stronger. 
  Should the player decide to succumb to the 
  pull, he will return to his body and start losing 
  WTL again. Each time the victim is drawn to his 
  body, give him a little more information about 
  Zebulon's shack, the altar on which he lays, and 
  Papa Zebulon. 
   
  
  The Pineville Horror 
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  4 
  Pineville 
  Pineville grew up as a logging town, but as the 
  mills shut down, it became virtually a ghost town. 
  It now survives on the few tourist dollars that 
  trickle in. Because of the epidemic that struck two 
  years ago, there are more women in Pineville than 
  men. This abundance of unattached women has 
  made the town popular with young men. 
  Pineville Bed & Breakfast 
  The players appear in the bathroom of the 
  room Danielle rents to tourists. The bathroom door 
  is open to the adjoining bedroom. 
  Through the window over the tub, the players 
  can see a sheriff’s patrol car parked outside. The 
  uniformed sheriff is talking with Danielle, but the 
  players cannot hear what’s being said through the 
  closed window. As incorporeal beings, the players 
  cannot open the window without using a 
  supernatural power. 
  As the players enter the bedroom, a strange 
  incorporeal creature will crawl out from behind 
  the television. It’s body is the size of a baby’s, but is 
  as white and puffy as a maggot, trailing its twisted 
  little legs. It raises itself on two stubby arms and 
  turns its head toward the players. 
  Its head is nothing more than a huge eye. It 
  turns its gaze on the lost souls and under the 
  intensity of its stare their ectoplasmic skin begins 
  to flake away and float off like mist. A unpleasant 
  pressure soundlessly vibrates in their ears. 
  Baby Watcher 
  Type: Evil lost soul 
  Consistency: Translucent ectoplasm 
  Defense: Poor 
  WTL: 10 
  Appearance: A maggot-like baby with an 
  eyeball for a head. 
  Personality: None to speak of. 
  Motivation: The watcher is the spirit of a baby 
  that has been twisted by Papa Zebulon’s magic into 
  a sentry for Nathan Seedling. It watches the 
  occupants 
  of 
  the 
  room, 
  transmitting 
  the 
  information to its master. It summons the 
  Inhabitor to possess anyone who catches Nathan’s 
  fancy, which is what happened to Lilly. 
  Combat & Powers: The baby watcher can gaze 
  at up to four players at a time if they are close 
  together. If the players spread out it can only gaze 
  at one at a time. Its gaze does (Defense vs Passable) 
  damage. 
  It can also summon the Inhabitor as needed, 
  which it will do upon seeing the players. The 
  Inhabitor will arrive through the door (it can pass 
  through material objects) at the start of the third 
  turn of combat. 
  The Inhabitor 
  Type: Evil lost soul 
  Consistency: Vaporous ectoplasm 
  Defense: Good 
  WTL: 20 
  Appearance: A quick moving bundle of wispy 
  tentacles. The Inhabitor is mostly a blur, but if 
  focused on it’s clearly the cadaverous head of an 
  adult woman surrounded by shadowy tentacles 
  that sprout from her head like hair. 
  Personality: None. 
  Motivation: To defend the watcher. The 
  Inhabitor can also enter the body of a living person 
  and take control of them. The Inhabitor is under 
  instructions from Nathan Seedling to bring strong 
  men or beautiful women to Nathan. 
  Combat & Powers: It can lash out with its 
  tentacles for (Defense vs Passable) x 2 damage. 
  Getting Out of the Bedroom 
  Once the watcher and the Inhabitor are 
  disposed of, the characters will still need to get out 
  of the bedroom. Opening a closed door will require 
  a supernatural power. If the players are having 
  trouble figuring a way out, you can always have 
  Danielle and the sheriff come into the room, 
  leaving the door open. The door leads to a hallway; 
  to the left is the open door to the back yard and to 
  the right is the Danielle’s living room. The players 
  can explore her house if they want, but they will 
  find nothing of interest. 
  
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  5 
  Danielle and the sheriff are discussing the 
  death of the central character. The sheriff wants to 
  search the room again, but Danielle is resisting. She 
  says, “It was just an accident. It wasn’t the flu,” as if 
  this sets the whole thing to rest. 
  The sheriff is suspicious because this isn’t the 
  first death at the bed and breakfast. He mentions 
  “That woman with the baby.” Danielle finally 
  relents and lets him in. 
  The two continue talking while the sheriff 
  gives the room a quick once over. 
  Danielle 
  knows 
  nothing 
  about 
  the 
  supernatural creatures that haunt her bed and 
  breakfast. 
  Danielle Flynn 
  Type: Good person 
  Consistency: Material 
  Defense: Poor 
  WTL: 10 
  Skills: Great Interrogate. 
  Appearance: An attractive blonde woman of 
  about 30. 
  Personality: Friendly and talkative. 
  Motivation: To learn new rumors she can 
  spread at her restaurant. No one in town believes 
  her gossip. 
  Combat & Powers: Danielle cannot fight 
  ghosts. 
  Notes: 
  Danielle 
  knows 
  the 
  following 
  information which may be of interest to the 
  players. Remember, lost souls will have to use 
  supernatural powers to communicate with living 
  characters. 
  1. On the night of the murder, she remembers 
  fixing dinner for her guests, but she fell asleep 
  before taking it to them. She must have been more 
  tired than she realized. 
  2. She was awakened by Lily ringing the bell at 
  the front desk. Lily calmly explained that she had 
  found her husband dead in the tub. Her placid 
  manner reminded Danielle of someone in shock. 
  Danielle called Sheriff Rudy Russell, who asked Lily 
  to come to the police station with him. Before 
  leaving, Lily paid her tab, saying she would not be 
  back. Danielle didn't blame her for not wanting to 
  spend another night in the room where her 
  husband had died. 
  3. Danielle's own husband died two years ago 
  when a strange sickness struck Pineville, killing 
  most of the male population between 16 and 30. 
  Women, children, and the elderly were immune. 
  The epidemic lasted only a month, and now strikes 
  only occasionally, hitting mostly male tourists. A 
  victim of the disease becomes weary, exhausted, 
  and dies within 24 hours. The people of Pineville 
  call the sickness the "24 hour flu." The only person 
  who ever recovered is Larson Barnes, who lives at 
  the junkyard. 
  4. Secret: Danielle offers a free haircut and 
  manicure to every tourist who stays at her 
  lodgings. She sells the hair and fingernails to 
  Mamma Barnes for $50 a set. She doesn't know 
  what the Barnes matron does with them. She never 
  had a chance to collect the clippings from Lily or 
  her husband. 
  Sheriff Rudy Russell 
  Type: Good person 
  Consistency: Material 
  Defense: Good 
  WTL: 25 
  Skills: Good Aim, Great Brawling, Great 
  Strength, Superior Stamina. 
  Appearance: A red-necked country cop. His 
  gut protrudes over his gun belt and his cheek is 
  always crammed with tobacco. Rudy is the only 
  lawman in Pineville. 
  Personality: Drawling and down-to-earth. He'll 
  firmly disbelieve any supernatural events even to 
  the point of absurdity. 
  Motivation: To enforce the law. 
  Combat: Rudy cannot harm ghosts. 
  Powers: Because of his intense disbelief in the 
  supernatural, any supernatural power used in 
  Rudy's presence is at -2 columns. It is this natural 
  resistance to the supernatural that has enabled 
  Rudy to survive in a town riddled with the 
  paranormal. 
  Gear: A .38 revolver, handcuffs, a four wheel 
  drive jeep. 
  Notes: 1. When Rudy questioned Lily the 
  morning after her husband's death, she explained 
  what happened in a dull monotone. It seemed like 
  an accidental death; her husband had been 
  listening to the radio when it fell into the tub with 
  him. Lily had fallen asleep right after dinner and 
  
  The Pineville Horror 
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  6 
  had slept through the whole thing. Rudy noted her 
  home address and told her he would contact her if 
  he had any further questions. 
  2. Lily paid to have her husband buried at the 
  local cemetery. She said she was too upset to deal 
  with it anymore (the central player may want to 
  take a Ghostly Vow not to rest until his body rests 
  in his family plot). Hap, the gravedigger, planted 
  the body yesterday in Potter's Field. No one 
  attended the funeral. 
  3. The last time Rudy saw Lily she was driving 
  off with Larson Barnes in the tow truck. The next 
  day, Larson told Rudy he had repaired the car and 
  sent her on her way home (Note: Larson lied). 
  5. In his office, Rudy has the half melted radio 
  that killed the central character. The tuning dial is 
  still fixed on the dead hiss between stations. If this 
  is pointed out to Rudy, he'll become suspicious. 
  Why would the dead man have been listening to 
  static? He'll start searching for Lily to bring her in 
  for questioning. 
  Potter’s Field 
  Potter's Field is a small cemetery in a clearing 
  that has been used by the local inhabitants for over 
  a century. Among the tombstones is a run down 
  shack where Hap the caretaker lives. If the players 
  search out the central character's grave, they will 
  find a small wooden cross with his name, but it is 
  clear that no grave has been dug there. 
  Hap the Gravedigger 
  Type: Neutral person 
  Consistency: Material 
  Defense: Good 
  WTL: 20 
  Skills: Poor Agility, Superior Strength, Poor 
  Intelligence. 
  Appearance: A grizzled, gray haired man with 
  a craggy face and unkempt whiskers. Under his 
  shirt, the scars of claw marks cut cross his chest. 
  Personality: Hap is an alcoholic who fears his 
  misdeeds 
  will 
  be 
  discovered. 
  Andrew, 
  the 
  Graveyard Guardian has been haunting Hap, 
  making him a nervous wreck. The two of them are 
  locked in a perpetual feud. 
  Motivation: To get drunk and to drive Andrew 
  away. 
  Combat: Hap can use his whip to flog ghosts 
  for (Defense vs Poor) x 3 damage. He often chases 
  Andrew around the graveyard, cracking his whip 
  and shouting obscenities. 
  Powers: As a gravedigger, Hap has developed 
  the ability to see ghosts (although he cannot hear 
  them like a medium can). Four times per day, he 
  can cross himself, which forces any ghost in the 
  local area to leave the graveyard for (Will vs Good) 
  x 30 minutes or else suffer incapacitating pain for 
  an equal length of time. Since Andrew cannot leave 
  the graveyard, he is especially at risk. 
  Gear: A shovel, bullwhip, and a flask of cheap 
  whiskey. 
  Notes: 1. Hap has been selling corpses to "a 
  man who lives in the woods." (Zebulon). After the 
  mourners have left a funeral, Hap digs the body 
  back up. A gaunt worker picks up the body in a 
  wagon, paying Hap $50. Only relatively fresh 
  bodies are accepted. 
   
  2. Hap met the man in the woods only once at 
  the start of the epidemic, when many of the 
  townsfolk were dying. Hiding his face inside a 
  hood, the man from the woods explained how Hap 
  would serve him, and when Hap agreed, the man 
  raked his chest with a clawed hand. Hap thought he 
  had been killed, but through the rips in his shirt, he 
  saw the wounds were already turning into scars. 
  Hap has done his best to serve the man in the 
  woods ever since, drowning his guilt and fear in 
  whiskey. 
  3. Hap never bothered to bury the central 
  character's body since there were no mourners at 
  his funeral. He sold it last night. Lowering his voice, 
  Hap will add that he's positive the worker who 
  picked up the corpse was someone who had been 
  buried three weeks earlier. 
  The Graveyard Guardian 
  Type: Neutral lost soul (haunt) 
  Consistency: Incorporeal 
  Defense: Passable 
  WTL: 20 
  Skills: Passable Agility, Good Strength, Good 
  Intelligence. 
  
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  7 
   
   
   
  7 
  Appearance: Like other haunts, Andrew has 
  pallid skin and dark shadows beneath his eyes. His 
  neck still bears the rope burn where he was 
  hanged for chicken stealing back in 1877. He wears 
  clothing from the period of his death. 
  Personality: Vindictive and vengeful. He's 
  angry at the men who buried him in Potter's Field 
  first, making him the graveyard ghost. Why 
  couldn't they have buried someone else first? 
  Andrew will never forgive even the slightest 
  offense. 
  Motivation: To keep out evil spirits and 
  demons, and to expel Hap from the graveyard. Out 
  of spite, he'll try to drive out other spirits as well, 
  unless they convince him they can somehow help 
  him get rid of Hap. 
  Combat: Each turn, Andrew can hurl an 
  ectoplasmic hangman's noose at his target. A spirit 
  must roll Passable on Dodge to avoid having the 
  noose close around his neck. If the Dodge roll is 
  failed, the character takes (Defense vs Great) WTL 
  damage each turn until the noose is loosened. A 
  character must roll Great on Strength to break the 
  noose, or else cut it with an edged weapon and a 
  Good attack roll. Once the noose is removed, it 
  vanishes. 
  Powers: Nightmare (Use = 1): Each night, 
  Andrew uses this power on Hap. He'll not use it on 
  anyone else. 
  Message (Use = 5): Andrew can make 15 
  letters appear as through written in blood. The 
  letters last up to one hour. 
  Glimpse of Death (Use = 2): Andrew can use 
  this power on any reflective surface. It lasts for two 
  hours, or until someone looks into the surface. The 
  victim will see himself as he would look when 
  dead. It causes the victim to lose (Sanity vs Good) 
  WTL and he must roll on the Sanity Check table 
  (see Chapter 6). 
  Notes: Andrew Potter was the first person 
  buried in Potter's Field, and so he is doomed to 
  guard the cemetery forever. He's the only spirit 
  here. He knows that the souls of those Hap has sold 
  have not found rest. Andrew doesn't really care -- if 
  he's trapped on earth, why shouldn't the others be 
  as well? 
  Hap's Death 
  If Hap tells about the man in the woods, the 
  next day he'll be found locked in his shack, spread 
  across the sheets like a gutted fish. The claw marks 
  on his chest will be opened wide. Sheriff Rudy will 
  chalk it up to a wild animal attack. 
  Barnes Junk Yard 
  The junk yard is surrounded by a barb-wire 
  cyclone fence. Pine trees grow right up to the fence. 
  The yard is overrun with chickens, mangy dogs, 
  and scabby cats. This menagerie will kick up a 
  ruckus if any spirits venture inside the cyclone 
  fence. Within the yard, the players will find Lily's 
  stripped car. 
  There is a lot of scrap iron in the yard, which 
  offers unique protection from spirits. At the yard's 
  center is a five room hovel where the family lives. 
  The bathroom is in a shed out back. 
  The Barnes family consists of Mamma Barnes 
  (the family matriarch), Katrina (the widowed wife 
  of Mamma's son Bart), and her children Larson, 
  Mary Sue, Hank, Zeke, Bonnie Rae, and Lou Anne 
  (aged 18, 12, 10, 6, 4 and 2). All are very 
  superstitious. While at the junk yard, the players 
  will overhear Hank telling Zeke that Hap the 
  caretaker digs up corpses and eats them. Hank say 
  he knows its true because he was out late one night 
  looking for Old Yellar when he saw Hap digging up 
  a body from the graveyard. 
  Mamma Barnes 
  Type: Evil person 
  Consistency: Material 
  Defense: Passable 
  WTL: 25 
  Skills: Poor Agility, Inferior Strength, Poor 
  Intelligence, Great Cunning. 
  Appearance: An old woman with a fright-wig 
  of white hair. The black wart on her chin sports 
  three black hairs. She bears the scars of claw marks 
  across her breast. 
  Personality: Cagey, and very superstitious. 
  
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  8 
  Motivation: To protect her children and serve 
  Zebulon. She will try to prevent players from 
  speaking to Larson. 
  Combat: See powers, below. 
  Powers: As a witch, Mamma has the ability to 
  hear ghosts. She also has these powers: 
  Ghost Vision (Use = 4): Allows her to see 
  ghosts for 30 minutes per use. 
  Evil Eye (Use = 3): The victim (who Mamma 
  must be able to see) suffers -2 columns on all rolls 
  for (Fate vs Good) x 2 turns. 
  Chill Touch (Use = 4): For 6 turns per use, 
  Mamma's touch does (Defense vs Poor) x 4 damage 
  to ghosts. 
  Contact Higher Being (Use = 1): Mamma can 
  gain 3 yes/no answers from supernatural sources. 
  Notes: The matriarch of the Barnes family, 
  Mamma has been practicing witchcraft for most of 
  her life. About two years ago, her son Bart was 
  claimed by the 24 hour flu. Soon after, despite her 
  best wards, her grandson Larson also fell ill. Using 
  her arcane powers, she learned that a soothsayer 
  called Zebulon had just moved into town. Realizing 
  this was his black magic, Mamma sought him out 
  and made a pact. She would become his follower if 
  he would spare her grandson. Zebulon agreed, and 
  marked her with his claws. 
  Mamma Barnes pays Danielle for the hair and 
  fingernail clippings of tourists and makes them 
  into wax voodoo dolls. Every few days, a zombie 
  comes from Zebulon to collect the dolls. 
  Mamma Barnes will reveal none of this. If 
  forced to through some supernatural power, she 
  will suddenly clutch her chest and fall over dead, 
  the old claw marks bleeding rich red blood. 
  Larson Barnes 
  Type: Neutral person 
  Consistency: Material 
  Defense: Good 
  WTL: 30 
  Skills: Inferior Agility, Good Strength, Feeble 
  Intelligence. 
  Appearance: A big, slow moving young man. 
  He wears a red kerchief tied over his mouth like a 
  bandit, and he refuses to touch anyone's hands. 
  Personality: Stupid and slow witted. He almost 
  died during the epidemic two years ago, and no 
  longer associates with others much for fear of 
  contamination. 
  Motivation: To stay healthy. 
  Combat & Powers: None. 
  Notes: 1. Larson will claim that he bought 
  Lily's totaled car and she must have used the 
  money to buy a bus ticket home. If pressured, he'll 
  admit that Lily asked to be let out at the fork in the 
  road that leads to the Seedling estate. He asked 
  about the car, but when she didn't seem interested, 
  took the car home without paying her. He hasn't 
  seen her since. 
  2. Larson knows that Mamma Barnes makes 
  "devil dolls" and gives them to the pine cone 
  pickers. He's seen Nathan's unhealthy workers in 
  the forest at night, gathering pine cones in the pitch 
  black. 
  Seedling Plantation 
  There are about fifty zombies on the Seedling 
  estate. These zombies are in various states of 
  decay. The freshest tend the grounds, shelling pine 
  cones and keeping visitors out. The others remain 
  in the woods, picking pine cones. 
  At the house are Gloria the maid, and Harrietta 
  the cook. Harrietta is married to Peter the 
  handyman, and both are loyal family retainers who 
  will protect Nathan. Gloria is Harrietta's teenage 
  daughter. She trysted with Nathan on occasion, but 
  he threw her over for Lily. She is jealous of her, and 
  might possibly help the players. Gloria wears a 
  cheap turquoise ring, which was given to her by 
  Nathan. None of the servants have any protection 
  against lost souls. 
  Peter can usually be found at the barn, 
  supervising the zombies. Like Nathan, he has a 
  whistle with which he controls the zombies. With 
  the ropes hanging from the rafters (used to hoist 
  barrels), the barn makes an excellent setting for a 
  fight with the zombies. 
  Nathan Seedling 
  Type: Neutral person 
  Consistency: Material 
  Defense: Passable 
  WTL: 20 
  
  The Pineville Horror 
  9 
   
   
   
  9 
  Skills: Passable Agility, Good Strength, Great 
  Intelligence. 
  Appearance: A black haired man in his early 
  forties. His wing shaped eyebrow reach almost to 
  his temples. He wears a small black goatee. 
  Personality: Greedy and selfish, Nathan is 
  interested in only his own desires. He'll stop at 
  nothing to gain what he wants. So far, he has not 
  committed murder, but he is willing to cross that 
  line (and thus become evil). 
  Motivation: To have his way with Lily. 
  Combat: His .45 revolver does (Defense vs 
  Passable) x 6 damage. 
  Powers: Amulet that allows him to see ghosts. 
  He has 4 doses of a powder that, when hurled in a 
  room, causes all spirits in the local area to become 
  material for (Dodge vs Great) x 2 turns. He has 2 
  doses of a powder that causes blindness for 
  (Stamina vs Poor) minutes, and 1 dose of a powder 
  that causes sleep for (Stamina vs Poor) hours. 
  These powders must be thrown on a single target. 
  Gear: In his vest pocket, Nathan carries a small 
  locket containing a strand of Lily's hair. So long as 
  Nathan carries this locket, he can mentally control 
  Lily. The locket only works for Nathan. If he loses 
  it, Lily can be verbally controlled by anyone 
  making a Passable Bully roll.  
  He also has a whistle which he blows to 
  control the zombies about the plantation. 
  Notes: Nathan became infatuated with Lily 
  while watching her through the eye of the watcher 
  in the bed and breakfast. Using the Inhabitor to 
  control her, he forced her to murder her husband 
  and come to him. He is now using voodoo doll (in 
  Zebulon’s possession) and a locket of her hair to 
  control her. The whistle does not work on her. 
  Nathan refuses to have her killed and made 
  into a full zombie. He likes her the way she is: 
  warm. 
  Nathan met Zebulon during a business trip to 
  Bolivia. Zebulon was in hiding, and promised 
  Nathan prosperity if he would help him get into 
  America. Nathan held up his end of the bargain, 
  and in return Zebulon provided tireless workers 
  who needed no sleep or food, and who Nathan 
  would never have to pay. Nathan finds Zebulon 
  distasteful, and loathes the walking dead who work 
  on his estate, but enjoys the profitability. If he 
  could control the zombies without Zebulon, he 
  would gladly send the old shaman packing. 
  Lily 
  Type: Good person 
  Consistency: Material 
  Defense: Poor 
  WTL: 18 
  Skills: Poor Agility, Poor Strength, Passable 
  Intelligence. 
  Appearance: A lovely blonde woman in her 
  early twenties. 
  Personality: Lily currently has no will of her 
  own. She walks in a trance, and if questioned, she 
  will answer as Nathan would want her to. She says 
  she is happily in love with Nathan. Actually, she is 
  under his complete mental control as long has he 
  carries the locket with her strand of hair. 
  Motivation: Whatever Nathan wants. 
  Combat & Powers: None. 
  Notes: Unlike the other zombies, Lily is still 
  alive. The players must disenchant the voodoo doll 
  Zebulon is carrying in order to break the spell. 
  Until then, Lily will resist being taken from Nathan 
  and will say that she is his now. If she is taken from 
  Nathan before being freed, she will try constantly 
  to return. Nathan will always know where she is, 
  and will send zombies to free her. 
  It only takes a Good Medical roll to determine 
  that Lily isn't dead. She's cold, and hardly 
  breathing, but still alive in a trance-like state. 
  Zombies 
  Type: Neutral creature 
  Consistency: Unnatural 
  Defense: Poor 
  WTL: 30 
  Abilities: Poor Agility, Good Strength, Pathetic 
  Intelligence 
  Appearance: Pale men with skin that smell of 
  rancid meat. They are dressed in rags. 
  Personality: None. They mindlessly obey the 
  whistled commands of Nathan and Peter, the 
  handyman. At any time, Zebulon can take over the 
  zombies mentally and control them directly. 
  Anyone else must roll Great on Will to command a 
  zombie to do what he wants, and Zebulon or 
  Nathan can easily countermand the order. 
  Motivation: To process pine cones and kill 
  interlopers. 
  
  The Pineville Horror 
  10 
   
   
   
  10 
  Combat: Because they are unnatural, zombies 
  can physically harm lost souls. They attack with 
  their ragged claws, doing (Defense vs Poor) x 2 
  damage. 
  Powers: On a Good Occult roll, a player will 
  remember that if a zombie is fed salt, he will 
  instantly realize that he is dead and will run 
  screaming to Potter's Field and bury himself in the 
  soft earth (Since Lily isn't a true zombie, this will 
  have no effect on her). 
  A Fresh Corpse 
  While at the Seedling farm, a wagon arrives, 
  bearing a coffin sized crate which contains a fresh 
  corpse (perhaps of Hap or Mamma Barnes). The 
  wagon is taken to Zebulon's shack. This event 
  should be used when you are ready to lead the 
  players to Zebulon. 
  Zebulon’s Shack 
  The shack is surrounded by tombstones. This 
  is where Zebulon buries those zombies that have 
  decayed too far to work. As the players approach, 
  four skeletons claw their way free from the earth 
  and 
  attack 
  (see 
  Chapter 
  11: 
  Non-Player 
  Characters). In the shack is where the players will 
  most likely confront Zebulon for he never leaves 
  his shack; he uses his zombies instead. 
  Desk: Contains a scroll written in blood. It 
  reads: "The unawakened must be laid on a velvet 
  covered altar and bathed in a lotion created from 
  cleansing spices. When the moon is exactly at it's 
  mid-point, a silver dagger must be plunged into the 
  throat of a sacrifice. The blood is drained into the 
  mouth of the unawakened, the incantation is made, 
  and the dead shall rise as your servant." This is the 
  ritual Zebulon uses to create zombies. 
  Bookshelf: Here is a collection of fifty voodoo 
  dolls, one for each zombie, with silver needles in 
  their vital organs. There's a box containing the 
  unharmed dolls of Nathan's servants and Nathan 
  himself, as well as several townsfolk. If the dolls 
  are destroyed, it will mean a painful death for the 
  townsfolk, Nathan, and his servants. 
  Altar: Carved of stone covered with velvet, 
  with a silver dagger laid atop it. 
  Table: 
  Holds 
  assorted 
  spices 
  (used 
  in 
  preparing the powders Nathan and Zebulon use), 
  and the lotion mentioned in the scroll. 
  Zebulon  
  Type: Evil person 
  Consistency: Material 
  Defense: Great 
  WTL: 40 
  Skills: Great Agility, Good Strength, Great 
  Intelligence, Superior Cunning, Great Alertness. 
  Appearance: Zebulon has the black hair and 
  swarthy complexion of a Latin American. He wears 
  Incan robes and gold armlets. Across his shoulders, 
  he wears the hide of a black panther. He is in his 
  early fifties. 
  Personality: He'll arrogantly boast about how 
  he's going to convert all of the townsfolk into his 
  followers and then spread his evil throughout the 
  country. 
  Motivation: To turn everyone in Pineville into 
  zombies. 
  Combat: Zebulon wears enchanted iron 
  panther claws which do (Defense vs Poor) x 4 
  damage to material and incorporeal opponents. His 
  protective charms and amulets give him a Great 
  Defense versus both physical and incorporeal foes. 
  Powers: As a medium, Zebulon can hear 
  ghosts. He also has the following powers: 
  Private Hell (Use = 5): Transport the target to 
  his own private hell for (Strength vs Great) x 5 
  minutes. 
  Power Shield (Use = 3): For 12 turns, Zebulon 
  is immune to all supernatural powers. 
  Time Stop (Use = 1): Stops time for everyone 
  except Zebulon for 2 turns. 
  Distort Reality (Use = 1): Negates one action 
  that just happened. 
  Gear: He carries in an inner pocket a voodoo 
  doll made from Lily's hair, fingernails, and bits of 
  her clothing. If this doll is destroyed, Lily will die. 
  The doll must be disenchanted by Mamma Barnes 
  or by a player rolling Superior on his Occult skill (a 
  roll of Feeble or worse means the doll is destroyed 
  and Lily dies). 
  Notes: Zebulon is a South American on the lam 
  from his own people. He practices the forbidden 
  rituals of the Blood Path, which advocates the 
  killing of humans in the search for power. Zebulon 
  
  The Pineville Horror 
  11 
   
   
   
  11 
  can give his zombies mental orders simply by 
  concentrating, and can directly control the actions 
  of up to five zombies at a time. Zebulon uses 
  Mamma Barnes' voodoo dolls to kill tourists by 
  stabbing their dolls with a silver needle. He then 
  buys the bodies from Hap and turns them into 
  zombies at his shack. In his shack, Zebulon has a 
  doll prepared for Nathan and the rest of the people 
  at the estate. If they cause him any trouble, he will 
  kill them all. 
  Recognizing Zebulon 
  Papa Zebulon is an infamous figure in occult 
  lore. A player seeing him or hearing his name who 
  makes a Good Memory roll may make an Occult roll 
  to see how much he knows: 
  Passable Papa Zebulon was the leader of a cult 
  in South America three or four years ago. 
  Good He and his group of 100 followers lived 
  in a camp in the jungles of the Amazon, where they 
  performed Blood Path rituals. His followers took a 
  vow of silence, and never bathed. 
  Great During one of their midnight rituals, all 
  of his followers were destroyed by an earthquake. 
  Papa Zebulon was driven into exile by the 
  government of Bolivia. 
  Superior Papa Zebulon was greatly feared for 
  his ability to turn his enemies into his slaves. 
  Bishop Catterall, who formally denounced him, was 
  later seen serving as Papa Zebulon's manservant. 
  Awesome Almost everyone who opposed Papa 
  Zebulon either died or disappeared. Of those who 
  disappeared, some were later reported as being 
  among his followers in Bolivia. 
    
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Lost Souls (Marquee Press)/Lost Souls The Pineville Horror.pdf