Werewolf Gimmick

*Bring Your Heroes to the Wolf's Den, Watch Them All Get Crushed.*

Most text regarding the Hound, as well as the concept of Reverb, lifted from the *Reverberations* module.

The concept and complications of kidnapping a drug addicted child taken from *Pontypool Changes Everything* by Anthony Burgess.

Everything else courtesy of John Darnielle, Mickey Rourke, and a sixer of imperial stouts.

## **Nameless Bodies, In Unremembered Rooms**

For months, in cheap motels, truckstop parkinglots, and car camps, something unnatural has been preying on the forgotten.  First death was a middle aged woman, a junkie.  Before dying she called 911, claiming a wolf took her daughter.  Killer never strikes in the same town twice, MO never changes. Parts missing; of the bodies, and of the crime scene.  No leads.

Until now - an hour before the last killing, five blocks away, a drug deal went wrong.  Two dealers, one killed, one hospitalized.  Among the drugs the cops recovered was ten grams of Reverb.

## **Get Lost Inside My Thoughts and Nearly Tear His Face to Shreds**

Dealer is handcuffed to the bed, badly beaten, drifting in and out of a fog of painkillers.  His testimony is confused and rambling, but, he states unequivocally he and his friend were attacked by ‘The Werewolf’.

Clues:

* Knife found at the scene.  Prints match the deceased.  Blood on the blade doesn’t match either dealer.
* Initial results reveal the deceased was killed by blunt force trauma, a later autopsy will identify a broken neck vertebra being the cause of death. The police or coroner, if consulted, will say there were no bite or scratch marks, no defensive wounds on the bdy, nor did the crime scene show the structural damage characteristic of the murders.
* The living dealer speaks familiarly and admiringly of the werewolf.  He’s contrite about his friend trying to mug him.
* He is surprised the agents don’t know the werewolf.  “Fuckin, everyone knows *Werewolf*, man.  Folks love that guy.”
* He describes a two-legged, six-foot animal, fur-covered and very violent.
* No knowledge of murders or a larger Reverb ring.
* Wallet: ID with address and paystub from work.
* His phone: ‘u holdin?’ text right before the attack. Traced, the number’s location history maps the murders perfectly.

## **You All Wanna Die Dead Broke?**

At the dealer’s home or work he is described as a good for nothing layabout.  Interested only in getting high, comics and backyard wrestling, but in his own mind an Escobar in the making.

Clues:

* A number of vintage wrestling mags.  Many covers feature a wrestler from the 90’s named... Werewolf.
* A flyer for a show the day of the attack is at his house.
* Friends at work recall him talking about attending a wrestling show the night of the attack.  Wrestlers are good customers for his side hustle.  Flyer’s still folded up at his station.

Next show is in three days two towns over.  And there’s an open call for local talent in an undercard match!

## **If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Make ‘Em Bleed Like Pigs**

See below for advice on how to run the matches.

At a VFW Hall the Werewolf is the main event - and a fan favorite.  Mask and outfit aside, The Wrestler has hypertrichosis, with his entire face and much of his body covered in hair.  The Wrestler is older, early 50s perhaps, but very athletic and plays the crowd well.  Lots of blood is drawn in his matches.

The manager of the promotion, Leslie Black, is corrupt and exploitative.  The werewolf has been a pain in the ass asking for more money, and he wants to be rid of him, but between his contract and popularity, he’s stuck.  He’s interested in cutting a deal with the Agents, whether they present as law enforcement or civilians.

Clues:

* Approaching The Wrestler in his ‘dressing room’- the parking lot outside - after the show, his opponent is furious with him.  He considers The Wrestler unsafe and unprofessional.  During the argument, a small girl runs to him and hugs his leg, and he immediately turns his full attention to soothing her, ignoring his opponent.
* The Wrestler is covered in new and old cuts and scars.  PC’s attuned to Violence or with high Medicine (30%) notice one cut on his bicep is a serious wound.  Held shut with superglue, it’s becoming infected.
* The Wrestler and girl both clearly live out of the car.
* They are clearly not blood relatives
* If Agents wrestled or pose as fans, he is polite, shares pointers on technique, encourages them to come out tomorrow’s show, and introduces his ‘daughter’, Stephanie.
* If the agents approach as LEOs, he will clam up and leave.  Any attempt to restrain him leads to a fight.
* Leslie knows about the girl and the drugs, he will help the investigation if a player agrees to wrestle The Werewolf at the next match - injuring him badly enough he has an excuse to let him go.
* A body is found in a highway rest stop nearby the next day.  Same MO. The man’s lower half is missing, and no blood on the ground.  The brickwork of the bathroom is gouged, and no debris.

## **I Can See The Future, It's a Real Dark Place**

What’s happening:

* Stephanie is the 4-year old daughter of an old flame of The Wrestler.  In the past they shared a Reverb habit; he kicked, she didn’t. A month ago he was in her town and looked her up. The little girl was filthy and neglected.  Stephanie was born into Reverb addiction. Her condition led to a fight between the adults, her first manifestation and the death of her mother.  She’s since imprinted on The Wrestler as a father figure.
* Existing half in and half out of hypergeometry from birth, whenever in physical or emotional distress, she ‘retreats’ into her ‘quiet corner’, time traveling to relive one of her life’s few pleasant experiences.  Presenting as a Petit-mal seizure, she tears her psyche out of reality, leaving a hole for Others to pass.  Living rough on the streets provides no shortage of traumatic triggers for a little girl.
* The Wrestler is learning by trial and error (the killings) how to care for her.  Experience with Reverb allows him to survive her fits while bystanders die.  He is weaning her off the drug, but requires a steady supply to avoid withdrawal induced seizures.  He’s going bigger in the ring, causing conflict with his coworkers.  He can barely afford all this, and he’s hoping to get his contract bought by a better promotion.

## **Sink My Teeth Into Your Scalp, Take a Nice Big Bite**

* At the next match, agents easily learn from gossip or Leslie about Stephanie’s unexplained appearance at his side, his intense protectiveness and solitude since she came into his life, and his frequent Reverb purchases.  Leslie has snooped, he knows the drugs are for the little girl.
* If they agreed to betray Werewolf, Leslie will arrange a shared title card.  If not, Werewolf will jump in and interfere with the PC’s undercard bout; he is a heel after all.
* Stephanie is watching, hurting the wrestler will trigger her.
* If they’ve been friendly, and game in the ring, he will invite them to a diner afterwards, explain about Stephanie, and ask for help.

## **So Desperate to Escape, I Came to You, Hands Wrapped in Adhesive Tape**

**An inexhaustive list of conclusions**

* Kill the girl. Werewolf will defend her with his life and she will seize from fear. Good Luck.
* If The Wrestler is crippled, he won’t be able to meditate, and Stephanie’s monsters will fall on him (and the crowd) first.
* ‘Securing’ the girl short of killing her will only happen over The Wrestler’s dead body; if she is not unconscious or drugged, probably throws a seizure.
* PCs with medicine or chemistry (40% or more) recommend anti-convulsants.  DG will pick up the cost, but will insist on frequent examinations of the girl.  Persuade or CHA to convince Werewolf.
* If a PC has knowledge of the Tcho-Tchos either through gameplay experience, 30% anthropology, 30% occult, or 15% unnatural, Werewolf would agree to adopting her into their community.
* Players with high psychotherapy (50%) can talk the girl through her traumas and provide coping mechanisms.
* Players dosed on Reverb can approach and speak to the fragment of her psyche hiding in hypergeometry.  A CHA roll or Persuade (30%) or psychotherapy (20%) can coax her entirely into our reality permanently.
* Conversely, dosed players can use Occult (30%) or Unnatural (15%) lore to scare her into reality.  This process will be disruptive enough to attract hypergeometric attention.

## **Strike Funny Poses, Keep Your Weapon-Hand Low**

* Wrestling is Roleplaying, matches should happen via RP.  PCs describe what they are doing, the bigger the better.  Cheating is fine, heels are necessary, but the heel loses in the end.
* Assume the competitor assists, they look better if you do.
* Rolls should revolve around Athletics, CHA, Persuade, HUMINT.  Work the crowd.
* Fighting rolls are no good, but the DM should not make this explicit.  PCs can make attack rolls - big faux-pas - affects the opponent’s and crowd’s reaction.
* If betrayed, Werewolf will engage in proper combat after the PCs first legit attack.  An extreme success will instantly cripple him, otherwise he must be knocked out and then the coup de grace applied.

## NPCs

### **The Wrestler**

*He was my hero back when I was a kid; you let me down, The Werewolf never once did*

Childhood idol of 40 year old men.  Doing the only thing he knows how, and doing as best he can. Slowed down some, but can still turn it on like a 1000W bulb in the ring.  He’s got more moves than some of these kids you got now have had hot meals.  Familiar enough with Reverb that he can suggest the Agents dose themselves to reach Stephanie; 20 years sober and he won’t touch the stuff himself for any reason.  Age 54

**STR** 14 (70)

**CON** 15 (75)

**DEX** 13 (65)

**INT** 10 (50)

**POW** 9  (45)

**CHA** 17 (85)
**HP** 15 **WP** 9 **SAN** 45

**SKILLS:** Athletics (75%), Art (Performance) (65%), Unarmed Combat (70%), Dodge (60%),

**ATTACKS:** Unarmed, damage 1D6+2

### **Leslie Black**

*Let all the trash rain down from way up in the rafters.*

Manager of All Midwest Extreme Lucha Libre.  Greasiest guy in the game.  So crooked he needs to screw his pants on in the morning.  Knows the wrestler travels with a little girl that is not his own and is doping her with street drugs.  Fucking creep that he is, he didn’t act on the natural conclusion until he saw a way the info could enhance his bottom line.  He’ll tell all he knows… after Werewolf gets what’s coming to him for forgetting his place.  Age 38.

**STR** 10 (50)

**CON** 11 (55)

**DEX** 9 (45)

**INT** 14 (70)

**POW** 10 (50)

**CHA** 4 (20)

**HP** 10 **WP** 10 **SAN** 50

**SKILLS:** Bureaucracy (60%), HUMINT (55%), Alertness (40%), Law (50%).

### **Stephanie**

*So I follow you down your twisting alleyways, find a few cul de sacs of my own.*

Small girl, age 4

**STR** 4 (20)

**CON** 4 (20)

**DEX** 8 (40)

**INT** 9 (45)

**POW** 18 (90)

**HP** 4 **WP** 4 **SAN** 90

**SKILLS:** None. The only thing special about this little girl is hypergeometric synesthesia, which is admittedly pretty special.  She has limited prescience, but there’s never been much to look forward to and not much a child could do to avert it.  She mostly looks backwards.  Anxious and timid, when the present becomes too unbearable she panics, fully withdrawing into what she calls her ‘quiet corner’, where she relives happier moments.  This leaves an unoccupied space at the interface between mundane- and hyper-geometry, that could be filled by almost anything.  She can be approached in hypergeometry with enough Reverb.  She’s calmer and confident there and can be reasoned with more easily.

**ATTACKS:** Unarmed (20%), damage 1D2-1

* Consequences of doing enough Reverb to commune with a transdimensional toddler’s psyche are 2d4 SAN and 1d4 HP (The Wrestler’s shit is heavily stepped on).  1d4 SAN and no HP damage if the player has done Reverb before or otherwise has a heavy habit with another intoxicant.

### **The Hound of the Angles**

*Through the noise I hear you call for help.  You can't protect yourself.*

This terrifying, geometric entity boils into our four dimensions from sharp angles and edges. Its body is composed of a thousand shards of glittering, razor-sharp fragments of space-time which move and reform in the vaguest outline of a quadrupedal predator. It hunts in a similar manner to a dog, wolf or tiger, stalking prey, taking it down, and rending it to death, leaving behind only a bloody mess before vanishing with its victim’s remains into some inscrutable corner of reality.

**STR** 25 (125)

**CON** 25 (125)

**DEX** 20 (100)

**INT** 15 (75)

**POW** 20 (100)

**HP** 25 **WP** 10 **SAN** n/a

SKILLS: Alertness 90%, Angular Apport 75%, Stealth 50%, Track (via extradimensional means) 95%, Unnatural 50%.

ATTACKS: Shard Sweep 65%, damage 2D6 (see SHARD SWEEP).

Shard Swarm 70%, Damage 1d10 Lethality 10% (see SHARD SWARM).

**ANGULAR APPORT**: On a successful Angular Apport skill roll, the hound can leap into or emerge from any sharp, physical angle—a corner of a room, the lip of a table, or even the hinge on a pair of glasses—effectively teleporting between those two points instantly no matter the distance. In this manner they pursue their prey, so outrunning them is an unlikely outcome, no matter the speed of escape.

**SHARD SWEEP**: The hound unleashes two “limbs” composed of shards, peppering a target with 2D6 damage. It ignores body armor but can be blocked by cover.

**SHARD SWARM**: The hound engulfs the victim in a swirling mass of shards, rendering the target down to a bloody mess for 1d10 damage with a Lethality attack of 10%. It ignores body armor but can be blocked by cover.

**INCONSTANT FORM:** The hound can fold, change, stretch, extend and warp its form in amazing ways, altering its size as needed from moment to moment. It can effectively attack anyone within 10 meters by directing its form to a new

location. Because it has no “body” and is instead composed of a thousand swirling, reflective shards of space-time, the hound is immune to all attacks except hypergeometry.
SAN LOSS: 1D6/1D20

The Hound does not intend to enter our reality, it is displaced as Stephanie passes through on her way to the Quiet Corner. It attacks not out of hunger or anger, but simple startled confusion.  As such it lashes out at the most obvious, loudest and frantic target.  The hound will attack for five turns till it finds its way back again, selecting a new target when the old one dies.

Werewolf has learned the ways of stillness and roundness from his experiments with the drug, and meditation from getting straight and staying straight.  He’ll share the following information if he trusts the agents.  Otherwise, roll a die to see who the Hound attacks.

Agents must meditate upon a wholly empty void or upon a perfect sphere. After they begin, ask each player to write down what his or her Agent is meditating upon or thinking about. Next, each should make a **POW** test. An Agent who has a well-established history of meditation, or who has mastered any unnatural rituals, gets a +20% bonus. Group the Agents by what they chose to meditate upon. Oppose each group of Agents’ best result with the Hound’s POW roll. If the Hound loses all opposed rolls, the Hound retreats.  If the Hound wins any rolls, it will only target the losing group(s). In the losing groups, prioritize agents who failed their rolls over agents who passed their rolls for targeting.

## Credits

Werewolf Gimmick was written by Backyard Kipling for the 2021  shotgun scenario contest.

Published by arrangement with the Delta Green Partnership. The intellectual property known as Delta Green is a trademark and copyright owned by the Delta Green Partnership, who has licensed its use here. The contents of this document are © Backyard Kipling, excepting those elements that are components of the Delta Green intellectual property.

Werewolf Gimmick is not available here under CC-BY-SA.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YIpejRqNWIIte31rT8ZOJYX-xuGqKFsbnMd8NcneSr4/edit