“The Doctor Will See You Now.”
Essie Vance [Whitney], Peter Graves [Jordan], Phillip Vance [Aaron]
Intro: You have a chance to seek therapy. Meanwhile, Professor Avebury has coordinated your meeting with Dr. Henry Armitage. [H1.Armitage]
SELF-HELP and THERAPY
PETER
Saturday,
April 22nd (Peter’s Self Help): [key connection- treasured possession]
Peter already had an independent Private Detective business, in an office space on the ground floor of the apartment where Peter lived. He relied on word of mouth and happenstance to find work as he considered advertising too expensive for his meager workload. Peter had connections in the organized crime underbelly. Mostly to keep information flowing, but also for the benefits of skirting the law. Most notably, a bootlegger stoolie named Francis (Frankie) Caruso he had enlisted back in his beat cop days.
But with a new partner, Phillip, maybe things should change. Which is why he entered the office today to tidy up before Phillip arrived. He spent the day packing up the conference room with all of his work on his parents’ murder: newspaper articles, photos, push pins and strings connecting them. He neatly packed the research away in a box, then returned to retrieve his grandfather's favorite scotch tucked away under a loose floorboard.
Peter sat on the floor of the
office holding his grandfather's
silver pocket watch as he enjoyed his scotch. He pulled out his notepad
and made entries detailing his latest adventures and terrors he'd experienced
over the last few months, verbalizing the words as he wrote for his
grandfather’s benefit. Holding the watch, Peter could almost hear the voice of
his grandfather pushing through.
Peter paused to answer the door as the painter arrived, “Yeah, gold and black lettering on the outside glass: Graves and Vance Investigative Agency.” As Peter put the bottle away, he said his goodbyes, “Till next time grampa.”
Peter’s Therapy
[Session1: 1d10=2, 1d8=6, 1d100=75, 1d100=26, +$13 for a weekly session on the Couch
= Gain of 5 Sanity]
Dr. Turner stepped aside to let Peter enter his office, “Mr.
Vance, if you’ll take a seat on the couch. Yes, lay down and get yourself
comfortable. Sorry, I should have told you to take everything out of your
pockets. Oh my, a gun. Well, I’ll just store that in the top desk drawer if you
don’t mind. OK, now what seems to be troubling you?” Peter wasn’t sure where to
begin as he checked his fly, “Yes mom, it’s secure. I’ll be fine. Let me do the
talking.” Turner looked up from his notepad to see if the man serious. Turner had
to look over his shoulder to see who Peter was looking at/talking to.” Peter
apologized, “Sorry. That’s what I can to see you about. Mom and dad died years
ago, but recently I’ve begun to see them.” Dr. Turner just nodded and let Peter
continue. When the hour was over, “Well, I hope I helped you. See you next
week. If it’s alright, maybe we’ll try some experimental therapy.”
[Session2: 1d10=4, 1d8=5, 1d100=38, 1d100=52, +$13 for a weekly session of Electroshock
= Gain of 2 Sanity]
Peter was caught off-guard with an attendance in the room with he and Dr. Turner. Head explained, “Just a precaution in case you need to be restrained. No, no. It won’t hurt. Much.”
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PHILLIP
Wednesday, April 26th (Phillip’s Self Help): [key
connection- Significant
People: family]
Phillip slipped into the house
and already had a drink in hand and plopped on the couch, lost in thought about
all that had transpired. He didn’t even take note of the aromas wafting from
the kitchen where Marina cooked supper. Maybe he thought he could drown his
troubles. It wasn’t till he noticed his daughter Anna tugging at his pant legs that he
unconsciously picked her up and began to play with her. Marina rushed to see what the commotion was
about, and for the first time, saw Phillip lost in fun with his daughter. She
turned the stove off and joined in the fun. By the time dinner was over and
Peter arrived to pick him up for work, Phillip was a new man. At least to some
small degree.
Phillip’s Therapy
[1st month: 1d10=7, 1d8=8, 1d100=28, 1d100=05, +$25 for a monthly
session of Hypnosis = gain of 9 Sanity]
Phillip saw the article in the newspaper (“World’s Greatest
Hypnotist”) and decided to give it a try. He scanned the ‘Yellow pages’ and
found a Dr. Head listed on Hyde St. on the Northside of town. Phillip
nervously sat in the reception area, sneaking a nip from his flask. “The doctor
will see you now.”
Dr. Head stood to welcome Phillip, “From your phone call,
I understand you want to go straight for hypnosis? No introductory couch
session to open up and let me get a feeling of what we’re dealing with?”
Phillip’s voice quivered, “Well, to be truthful, I don’t have much free time.
And to beat around the bush with just talking… I can do that with my
girlfriend.” Head laughed, “So, you tell her everything? But it’s your money.
Now before we start, give me an idea what we are facing. Is this possibly guilt
from cheating on your girlfriend, or from hurting someone? Did you experience
some kind of trauma? OK, what exactly? Come now, you can tell me. Even if a
crime has been committed, I’m sworn to protect my patients. You did pay
already, right?”
The last Phillip remembered was watching the pocket-watch spinning on its chain as Dr. Head dangled it in from of him. Head snapped his fingers waking Phillip, “Well, if I say so myself, I think that was a VERY rewarding session. I must say you have a very vivid imagination. The stories you told, the visions you described. What kind of books do you read? Anyway, if you’ll see my receptionist on the way out to schedule your next session. I’ll see you in May Mr. Vance.”
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ESSIE
Wednesday, April 26th (Essie’s Self Help): [key connection- Treasured Possession: Locket]
The ground was wet from the
morning dew as Essie sat in front of her deceased husband’s headstone. She
traced her finger along his etched name while she handled the locket hung
around her neck. “Richard, I remember when you gave this to me. Seems like
yesterday.” Her thoughts of yesterday jarred her calmness as visions of those
horrible beings played in her mind. She took pen and paper and began to compose
those thoughts… bubbles, and jellyfish, and tentacles. After each entry she
added “BEGONE!” She snipped a lock of hair and folded it inside the paper which
she then set afire. “Begone. And leave me with happy thoughts. Richard,
remember that Texas dig when you found…” Yes, she was comforted with fond
memories of days gone bye.
Essie’s Therapy
[Session1: 1d10=5, 1d8=3, 1d100=08, 1d100=63, +$17 for a weekly session of Advanced
Medicine = Gain of 3 Sanity]
Dr. Anakoff unlocked the medicine cabinet as Essie pulled up
her blouse sleeve. As he swabbed her shoulder, “Just relax. It might sting a
little at first, but in a few minutes you should feel more calm. No, it’s not
truth serum. Just laudanum to help relax you. Then we can talk about what is
troubling you.” But Essie never did quite stop fidgeting throughout the
session. When the hour was up, Anakoff apologized, “Maybe next week we’ll try
something stronger. You are just very tense. We need you to relax.”
[Session2: 1d10=8, 1d8=1, 1d100=27, 1d100=78, +$13 for another Advanced
Medicine = Gain of 3 Sanity]
“Well hello Essie. I hope you are doing well. If you don’t
mind, I thought today we’d try a different medication. It’s a psychotropic drug
called Thorazine to help calm you and remove anxiety. It offers peace for you
and safety for me and my staff. No need to restrain you. Wouldn’t want you to
go tripping out on us like heroin might cause.”
Once the drug began to take effect, female assistants helped Essie undress and get into a Hydration tank. Anakoff explained, “The warm water will help the medication circulate easier throughout your body. Now just close your eyes and listen to the relaxing music.” This time, Peter was waiting in the lobby to drive her home.
====================================================
SPELLS- DR ARMITAGE
They were puzzled about another meeting with Dr. Armitage.
It was just weeks ago he’d seen them to explain the meaning of Eibon and
the ritual used to return The Old One back to its slumber under Eye-Bone
Hill. But this time, Henry Armitage had a somber look about him as if he
was debating what to say. Essie was bold enough to ask, “Is there something on
your mind? Last we saw you, you said something about sharing aid against the
mythos. Is that what you call the monstrosities we’ve seen?! I mean, we have
been a lot of help to this city.” Peter jumped in, “You know, it wasn’t just this
Sleeper we recently faced. November of last year, we encountered a Dead
Light up the road near Bolton. I can show you my notes.”
Henry perked up at the news, “If you don’t mind.” He scanned
Peter’s journal, “You mention a Binding spell. I gather you never did recapture
the thing. You know spells can be dangerous in the wrong hands as they are notoriously
unreliable. Hester Green, a former colleague, joined the Society for the
Exploration of the Unexplained (SEU) decades ago and spent weeks pouring
over some of the old tomes in the Foundation’s collection. Soon after, we were
together in a life-threatening situation and, as I was preparing to flee,
Hester shouted out, "I can handle this!" Yet as she began to cast, she
then clutched her head, let out a piercing scream and, apparently having
seriously miscast whatever spell she had attempted, she was encapsulated in a
cocoon. By the time we got her out, she was dead; asphyxiated.”
It was as if Henry was trying to talk himself out of something,
till he relented, “If you’ll follow me into the Restricted Collection, I
have something for you to read.” They followed but Peter now seemed the
hesitant one, suspicious the man was trying to extract something from them. He
remained on edge.
The room behind the locked door was expansive! More a warehouse look that defied the expected dimensions. Dr. Armitage had them sit around a table, “Don’t touch anything. And only read what I offer. There is much mystery in the world.
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Some of your SEU colleagues retrieved artifacts which we store
here for study and safe keeping.” He then strode to the rolling ladder and
climbed to select a particular thick book which he placed before them on their
table and flipped to the desired page. “Remember, only read these passages I
point out. And don’t say the words out loud together. If you don’t understand a
word or two, I can help.” Peter asked, “Do you mind if we take notes?”
Where Peter had questioned the man’s trustworthiness, he now
realized Armitage was there to help. “Our Dead Light encounter. I have
the chest and sealing wax recovered from Dr. Webb’s house. And his notes with the
Binding spell needed to capture the thing. I can bring them to you later.”
Essie thought about the protection necklace she had found that night but
decided to remain silent about its existence. The trio read the open pages:
[I changed out each Spells’ cost and mechanics to fit our
style of play: allowing Therapy to restore Sanity.]
FLESH WARD (1 minute to cast and lasts 24 hours): grants
protection against physical attack. The spell costs 1D4 Sanity points and (4 magic points per lost Sanity. Excess MP is taken
as HP wounds). Each Sanity-Point lost gives the caster (or the chosen target)
1D6 points of armor against nonmagical attacks. This protection wears off as it
blocks damage. If a character had 12 points of Flesh Ward as armor, and was hit
for 8 points of damage, his Flesh Ward would be reduced to 4 points, but he or
she would take no damage. Once cast, the spell may not be reinforced nor recast
until the old spell's protection has been used up.
HEALING (2 minutes to cast): Each cast costs 1D3 Sanity point and (4 magic points per
lost Sanity). Once casting complete, immediately heal (1D4+2 hit points per Lost
Sanity point) due to injury, disease, or poison. HP lost due to excess MP loss
are not healed. The spell cannot bring back the dead.
NEXT
SCENARIO:
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