Episode 1.1 - A Night at the Roxbury

The episode begins in the winter of 1922, January, just outside of
Boston.  Bartholomew has received a
letter from his old friend, Duncan Smith, summoning him to his home because he
has a problem.  Based on the contents of
the letter and the occult/supernatural nature of the request, Bart decides to
pick up his friend Reverend John B. Royce on the way.

Upon arrival, they meet Spenser Randall who lodges in Duncan Smith’s house, followed a bit later by the entrance
of Harold Mudd (a.k.a. Hector Mayors).  Duncan is wheeled
in a few minutes later by his maid, Molly, with both of his legs wrapped in
plaster.  He asks everyone to sit and
have a drink, and explains that he acquired a house from the city that he
believed he could make a lot of money on if he rented it out.  Upon visiting the house on Schafe Street he
was attacked by an unknown assailant.  He
awoke in the hospital.  He assumed the
attacker was a hobo, but thinks it might be more occult-based because of the
house’s dubious history including the previous owners saying something was in
the house, flaming eyes, and they’re currently in a sanatorium.  Duncan offers them $25 a day, and refers the
players to the Roxbury, where the house’s previous tenants (the Maccarios)
currently reside.

The group piles into Bart’s car and
head towards Arkham, where the sanatorium is.
They manage to talk their way into seeing Gabriella Maccario, but only
two of them.  Bart and John go to see
Mrs. Macarrio, while Spencer and Harold go to the hall of records.

Bart and John are led to Gabriella’s
cell.  The overhead lightbulb smashed and
a strange symbol drawn on the wall, apparently in her own blood.  Bart uses a bit of hypnotism to elicit a
reaction from the otherwise unresponsive woman, and she tells them about some
books her husband Vittario found in the house.
After he found them terrible things began to happen to the family.  Gabriella eventually falls into a fit of
screaming, forcing the players to make a hasty exit from her cell while an
orderly, James (not Jimmy), restrains Mrs. Macarrio.

At the Hall of Records, Spenser and
Harold find that the house’s original owner was named Webber, but that it was
quickly sold to a man named Walter Corbitt.
Corbitt was later sued by his neighbors but won the lawsuit.  They also find his will, which requires
Corbitt to be buried in the basement of his house.  The executor of the estate was Reverend
Michael Thomas, who was part of the Chapel of Contemplation.  The players decide to stop by this Chapel
before going back to the sanatorium.

The Chapel of Contemplation is a
ruin.  Spenser and Harold bribe a homeless
man into telling them about a police raid that happened there several years
ago.  They enter the chapel, but fall
through the rotted floor into the basement.
Within the basement are two bodies dressed in robes, some old church
records, and a large book chained to a dais.
Spenser, having been injured in the fall, suggests they go back to pick
up Bart and Reverend Royce.  The episode
ends with all four players standing outside of the sanatorium in the snow,
disturbed by the events of the day and swigging from hip flasks.