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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 8393431" data-attributes="member: 221">Iron DM 2021 – Round 3 Wicht vs. GradineIngredientsFrozen IslandLast ChanceShape-shifting GrifterProfessional KillerUnidentified WoundIllegal SpeedSecret ShopEthical DilemmaDenouement of a Dying HunterA modern tale of the supernatural in a world of monster hunters. Suitable for a one-shot adventure or as a campaign introduction.Opening Scene: A narrow road northwest of Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is January. A cold rain falls from gray skies. Ahead a single-lane steel drawbridge crosses Chaplain Lake. On the other side is Solus Island and the village of Solar, home to a dying monster hunter.The PCs are each drawn to the Island by a connection to Thomas Middleton, according to each PC’s backstory. Each, aware that Middleton and his wife are monster hunters, received a letter similar to the following:Friend, I’m dying. I’ve had a good run. I’ve fought hard, but with mercy. Still, I have some things to set right. I need your help before I run out of time. I’ve arranged a room for you at the Lonely Roost Inn in Solar. My daughter will meet you. -Tom M.A bridge keeper, huddled against the cold in his little booth, lowers the steel drawbridge for each car, waving them across the bridge. As the tires bump onto the road on the other side the bridge is raised behind them.Backdrop: Solar possesses four streets, a dozen houses, a general store with a gas pump, a church, an Inn, and a two story brick building which was once a school. The entirety of the island belongs to the Middletons, who have converted the school into their own domicile. The village occupies a fourth of the island, the rest is comprised of craggy wooded hills. The drawbridge is the only egress from the island for cars. There is a small empty dock. The rain which falls on the first day turns to freezing rain overnight. By morning, the whole island is covered with an inch of ice. Six inches of snow falls the second night, covering the ice. The drawbridge is inoperable for three days due to the ice. Cast of Characters<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Thomas Middleton A monster-hunter, dying of pancreatic cancer. A grateful leprechaun, a time-shifting haunt, and some wise stock-investments twenty years before Tom was born have made Tom quite wealthy. He and his wife intended for Solar to be a retirement community for hunters but an unfortunate encounter with a werewolf forced them into seclusion and an early retirement.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rachel Middleton Tom’s wife and longtime hunting partner, now suffering from lycanthropy.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sara Middleton Tom’s daughter; she lives above the general store, operating it and the Inn. She maintains a discreet webstore which sells weapons and equipment to active monster hunters.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alice Tyler A medical doctor and a very old shapeshifter. Alice can sense when one of her patients is about to die. If such a patient has no family, hours before their death, Alice assumes their form and cleans out their bank accounts. Discovered by the Middletons during a hunt, they decided she was doing no harm to anyone and didn’t kill her. Now Thomas has requested a favor of her, in exchange for her continued safety. For a few days, she is going to pretend to be Tom Middleton.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Romus A professional assassin and a shapeshifting salt-eater. Romus is a monster who got away. Now he has been hired by Thomas to kill Alexander Dark. Romus does not know who has hired him, or realize the island is owned by monster hunters. Romus has the ability to take the form of someone known by his victims, killing them by sucking all the salts from their body. He is proficient with firearms and hand-to-hand combat.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alexander Dark A meth-addicted hunter rightly suspected of nefarious deeds.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">George Dylan and Robbie Wright Together, with Thomas and Jack Lincoln, they unearthed a dark power in Mexico. During that hunt, Jack and George were both hospitalized, and after, the team split up. Thomas believes either they or Jack Lincoln are actually the powerful demon which got away on the Mexico-hunt.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Jack Lincoln (La Diabla Negra) A powerful and blood-thirsty demon which has been wearing the form of Lincoln for the past twenty-five years, La Diabla Negra wants to eat Thomas Middleton’s heart, but is afraid to do it while Tom is alive as he has the power to hurt and even kill it.</li> </ul>Act One: Hunters Bring DeathSetting: The Lonely Roost Inn. Set across the road from the Solar General Store, the three-story inn boasts ten suite-sized rooms on the second and third floors, a large dining room on the first floor, with seating for fifty, and a very modern and efficient kitchen Scene One: A Gathering of CrowsThe PCs are cheerfully greeted at the Lonely Roost by Sara, and given rooms on the third floor. Already present are Dylan and Wright. Lincoln, Dark, and Romus each arrive later. Towards suppertime, Rachel arrives to help with the cooking. Tom arrives for supper, though it is not in fact Tom, but Alice Tyler in Tom’s form.Romus drives a motorcycle and is wearing the form of deceased actor Alfred Ryder. He introduces himself as Alfred Rome. PCs might note that he is interested in the names of the other guests, but does not dine, instead going to his room, after greeting everyone present.Alexander Dark spends some time talking to the other hunters, but the PCs get a very sleazy feel from him, it is clear none of the other hunters like him, and he soon exits for the solitude of his room on the second floor. Tom/Alice, Rachel, Dylan, Wright and Lincoln spend the evening reminiscing about old times, including their last hunt in Mexico.If questioned as to why everyone is there, Tom/Alice assures them all that their questions will be answered tomorrow after everyone has a good night’s sleep.Scene Two: Death in the NightA horrendous scream of pain and agony awakens the various guests. As they gather in the hallways and stairwell, two individuals are missing: Alexander and Romus. Their doors, both on the second floor, are locked. Sara sleeps above the general store, but left a number by which she could be reached in case of emergencies. When the rooms are entered, Romus’ room is empty; Alexander’s room contains his corpse.Act Two: The Salt-Eater TrapSetting: The Empty Houses of Solar. A dozen modern houses, with wide yards and picket fences, scattered over three different streets comprise the village of Solar. The houses are furnished, with running water, electricity, and even wifi. The entirety of the island is covered with ice: driving is impossible; even walking is treacherous. Scene One: A Gathering of CluesAlexander’s body has a curious circular puncture wound on his neck, and the body appears partially desiccated. The room and luggage contain various drug paraphernalia, as well as enough Meth to kill a horse. There is also a laptop, which, if hacked into, contains videos which appear to show Alexander torturing and murdering women.Sara proves surprisingly helpful. She has video footage showing Romus entering the room, and then a quarter of an hour later, a female figure wearing Romus’ clothes exits the room. Sara can also, after a couple of hours of research identify the killer as a shapeshifting salt-eater, a rather obscure and rare monster. It can killed by silver, but cannot cross through water. The drawbridge having been up all night (a fact the guests had not been told previously, means that the killer must still be on the island.Scene Two: Hunt in An Empty VillageThe older hunters let the PCs take a lead in hunting Romus if they desire (good practice). Initially, tracking across the ice is difficult, but later, as snow begins to fall, it becomes easier. Romus’ motorcycle is near the raised drawbridge. It is suggested by Lincoln that the PCs hunt through the houses, and the three friends will hunt through the woods behind the houses. Sara elects to go tell her parents as the ice knocked out cellular service.The PCs will eventually discover Romus hiding in one of the houses, and once cornered, the monster begins a gun fight until he runs out of ammo, after which he tries to flee. If given the opportunity, he will attempt to pick off the PCs one by one, preferably by taking the form of Sara Middleton and catching them alone. The monster is not affected by the cold or ice, but a successful hit with a silver bullet will kill the monster.Unbeknownst to the PCs, La Diabla Negra kills Wright and Dylan while they are searching the woods, eating their hearts and hiding the bodies.Act Three: The Glow of the Heart GemSetting: The Middleton domicile. Built as a school, this impressive stone building is architecturally reminiscent of a castle. The rooms have been modified and the interior looks very homey, though with lingering traces, especially in the layout, of the school it once was. The basement, entered via a door which only be unlocked by the handprint and voices of the Middletons (including Sara) was once a bomb-shelter, but has been repurposed to keep Rachel secure during full moons. There is a second room, heavily fortified, with a second such lock, which serves as a cell for the transformed Rachel who cannot open the locks in her werewolf form due to her hands and voice changing. A secret door, with a similar lock, on the first floor conceals the Middletons arsenal and weapons shop. This room is fully stocked with everything a monster hunter would need to make and arm weapons to kill a variety of supernatural beasties. Scene One: A Gathering at A DeathbedOnce Romus is dead, the PCs are summoned to Tom’s bed in his quarters in the old school building. PCs should be shocked to see him so ill when they saw a healthy form of him only the day before. He explains the ruse, telling them not only how he wanted to rid the world of both Dark and Romus but that there is another, more dangerous threat, one that he awoken in Mexico: La Diabla Negra, an evil which can only be killed by the possessor of the Heart Gem, which he alone discovered in Mexico during the same hunt. The Heart Gem’s power resides within him and will only be passed on to the one who kills him, or to any monster which eats his heart after he is dead. Tom knows one of the three who hunted with him is Diabla Negra, but not which one. Fear of the gem is what kept the demon from showing itself and Alice’s job was to make the monster fear he was still healthy. Tom wants the PC who killed Romus to kill him and absorb the power of the gem. If the PC kills him, an energy passes from Tom’s heart to the heart of the PC. If the PC refuses, Tom and Rachel are heartbroken: the back up plan is for Rachel to take Tom with her into her cell in the night, for it is a night of the full moon.Scene Two: The Devil Comes in the NightNo matter the PC’s decision regarding Tom, they are encouraged to help fortify the building in anticipation of the demon’s arrival after sundown, for it is stronger at night. The PCs are shown the secret workshop and arsenal. Before night falls Rachel locks herself in her basement shelter.The demon attacks with shapeshifting guile and savage fury but the possessor of the heart gem can defeat it. The question: is that person one of the PCs or is it the werewolf locked in the basement?EpilogueWhen the demon is killed, surviving PCs are each offered one of the houses on the Island. Alice, having quit her hospital job, also moves to the island and opens a clinic for injured hunters.</blockquote>

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