Lay On Hands
A preacher spontaneously combusts in a small Louisiana town and the video is leaked online. The Program sends the Agents to contain the occurrence.
The Briefing
The Program’s internet sensors flagged a video that, after viewing, was deemed to be “necessary to investigate.” During the briefing, the Agents will be able to view the video, which was leaked on Reddit by u/gobsmakked under the title “SHC PROVEN REAL!” before being banned and removed. It appears to have been taken on a camcorder by someone in a crowd at a small event, and there is no sound. An old pastor in a wide, veiled hat and long clothes seems to be giving a speech on a windy day, his clothes whipping around him as he gesticulates on the stage. Suddenly, the camera is shaken a bit and the pastor explodes into blue flames, falling to the ground. The person holding the camera attempts to get closer to the burning man but is pushed back by others in the crowd, where the video ends, the camera focused on the blackish smoke rising into the sky. The Agents are then given a list of objectives the Program believes are necessary, namely:
- Find the source of the internet leak and contain it.
- Prevent further (witnessed) instances of the phenomenon.
- Cover up the truth if necessary.
The Agents are then sent out by plane to New Orleans to drive down south to the town of Blackwater Bayou.
The Truth
The exploded pastor, Abraham Lucius Cox, was the leader of a fringe Evangelical church in Blackwater Bayou called The New Doctrine Miracle Church, a sect engaging in faith healing and secret worship of the intelligence Gla’aki, or, as they call it, Zerachiel the Forgiver. Abraham himself, and a few other church officials, are the Chosen Shepherds, and have undertaken His baptism (turned into immortal Glaakeen from the impalement ritual of Gla’aki) and are several hundred years old, hailing from an older New English church of the creature. They have begun to succumb to the Green Decay after living for centuries, and since the manifestation of Gla’aki is not present in the bayou, the church needs to summon it so that the unbaptized members may also undertake the ritual and continue the church’s servitude of Him. To do this, they need sacrifices, and have begun tormenting visitors and locals of the town with the Dream Pull. Abraham L. Cox’s direct successor, Shepherd Elias Kelly, has inherited Cox’s copy of The Revelations of Gla’aki, and has set about continuing the task of summoning the god before he, too, succumbs to his failing body.
Arriving In The Town
The Agents are expected to remain in the Blackwater Bayou for the duration of the operation, keeping a close eye on the situation. They should have two leads:
- The Redditor: the Program identified u/gobsmakked from his IP address as Gabriel Miller, an 18-year-old resident of the town. His and his parents’ address is in the neighborhood around the church.
- The Church: investigating the church is discussed more in-depth in a separate section, but the players will find upon arrival that the church has claimed the remains of the deceased pastor and that they are in the process of holding a funeral.
Gabriel Miller
Miller’s parents are members of the church and have fully gone into the deep end of pseudoscience and faith healing. They had forced him to a special service so he could film it for them, but of course it went poorly. Gabriel was incredibly interested in the spontaneous combustion phenomenon and snuck the footage away to post and discuss with like-minded people online. The church has chosen him as a sacrifice for their ritual because he is young, vigorous, and “sinful.” He has mostly succumbed to the Dream Pull, sequestering himself in his room and creating odd, disturbed art, but the church cannot use him yet despite his failing and currently susceptible mental state. When the Agents meet him, he is quiet, easily irritated (maybe to the point of violence), and very protective of the footage and other effects of his. He will readily divulge that he’s had nightmares for a while after viewing the footage.
Investigating the Church
On the outside and first glance inside, the chapel and the annex appear standard; quaint, wood and brick buildings laid around a small courtyard, with the chapel at the far end. Behind the chapel is a cemetery reserved for members of the church. If the Agents attend the funeral or watch from afar, it too appears normal, for a while. At the end, an ancient-looking pastor (Shepherd Kelly) chooses a wheelchair-bound woman from the crowd, and announces something about sharing a blessing from the deceased. He begins a prayer that begins in English, but the words eerily melt together to become unrecognizable. After a few seconds, still chanting, he lays his hands on the woman’s shoulders, and his palms inexplicably begin to bleed. The woman, with the pastor’s help, rises from her wheelchair and stands on her own, walking back into the crowd while pushing her wheelchair in front of her (The Lifting of The Burden ritual). Witnessing this costs 0/1 Sanity from the unnatural.
Speaking to members of the church about its teachings will get vague messages of miracle-work and faith in response. Due to this lack of information, the Agents may decide to break into the church buildings:
- The Chapel: contains a massive cross and a duo of slim, carved, shimmering columns on either side of the pulpit, that appear to be made out of some sort of metallic ivory. Otherwise, there is nothing of note. This is the public face of the church.
- The Annex: within there is an office, a kitchen, and Elias Kelly’s private study, the only notable room. Previously a respectable, modern office, it has been converted into an ugly sanctum for unnatural rituals. In the back, a desk sits with files on it, containing photographs of people in the town. Some photos have been set aside on a tiny altar covered in lilies (see “The Other Victims”). In the room’s center, there sits a molding and abnormally large book propped on a similarly large lectern. This is The Revelations of Gla’aki as annotated by Shepherds of the church. It is flipped open to a section detailing the arduous process of summoning the manifestation, and is riddled with fresh notes covering every empty space in the manuscript.
If the Agents mess with the church too much, have Shepherd Kelly use some of his rituals on them, or maybe even subject one to the Dream Pull.
The Other Victims
Others have been feeling the Dream Pull as well, disrupting their lives as they sink into the depraved nightmares. Businesses temporarily close and townsfolk are few on the streets. As Gla’aki’s influence becomes stronger, they begin to sleepwalk or randomly fall asleep, causing workplace accidents and car crashes. Have the town be in media res when the Agents arrive, with the Dream Pull thoroughly progressed. If the Agents don’t decide to look for other people with debilitating nightmares, have one of those incidents happen. Here are a few noteworthy victims:
- Salem Norris: a young woman who is one of three workers at the clinic in town. Her descriptions of the nightmares are the most vivid, and she establishes a connection with them and the Church and bayou through their imagery. She looks tired and deathly pale.
- James Iker: a middle-aged ex-member of the Church. He can provide information on its odd practices, including strangely effective faith healing and aggrandizing sermons. He used to run the general store, but has closed it recently due to “personal health issues.”
- Norma Rockett: a travel journalist working on an article about the best small towns in Louisiana, staying in the same motel the Agents are. She is a narcoleptic, but the Pull is making it worse, and she cannot leave for fear of her safety on the road back.
The Town
Here is a list of notable places for the Agents in the town:
- Jim’s Motor Lodge: where the Agents will stay, location of Norma Rockett.
- Quality Healthcare clinic: location of Salem Norris.
- Iker’s House: self-explanatory.
- The Millers’ House: self-explanatory
- The New Doctrine Miracle Church: location of the cult.
- The Blackwater Bayou: location of the cult’s summoning ritual.
Ending The Scenario
The most obvious option is a raid of the Church during the summoning ritual. The other alternative might be attempting to blame the Church for the murder of Pastor Cox, eliminating the leadership quietly. If the Agents attempt to leave the town after dealing with Miller, activate the Dream Pull on one of them, and drag them back. If the cult is not stopped, Gla’aki will be summoned, immediately killing any sacrifices to create His servants, and blessing a few lucky cultists with His immortality.
Stats
Shepherd Elias Kelly
Kelly looks incredibly old, with pale bluish skin entirely covered in long robes, gloves, and a wide hat. Use these stats besides the rituals for any other Shepherds or cultists turned Glaakeen.
STR 13 CON 12 DEX 5 INT 18 POW 15 CHA 8
HP 12 WP 20 (because of Song of Power)
SKILLS: Alertness 40%, Occult 65%, Persuade 35%, Unarmed Combat 20%
ATTACKS: Unarmed 20%, Damage 1d4
UNDEAD: Cold or suffocation does not seem to affect Kelly.
THE GREEN DECAY: The price to pay for Gla’aki’s immortal blessing. If Kelly’s skin is exposed to direct sunlight, withering decay and blue flames quickly consume his body, as he is much older than the typical 60-year cutoff and very susceptible.
RITUALS: Call Forth Those From Outside (Gla’aki), Fascination, The Lifting of The Burden (Soothing Song Variant), Song of Power, Speaking Dream, Whispers of The Dead (Gla’aki), Withering
Townsfolk
Use this for anyone detailed in the scenario and the cultists.
STR 10 CON 11 DEX 12 INT 13 POW 12 CHA 11
HP 11 WP 12 SAN 40
SKILLS: All: Unarmed Combat 20%
Miller: Alertness 30%, SIGINT 15%, Occult 15%
Norris: First Aid 40%, HUMINT 25%, Medicine 20%
Iker: Persuade 35%
Rockett: Bureaucracy 15%, HUMINT 20%
ATTACKS: Unarmed 20%
The Lifting of The Burden (Soothing Song Variant)
Simple Ritual. Study Time: hours; 1d4 SAN. Activation: minutes; 8 WP, 1 SAN
Along with the effects of Soothing Song (HG pg. 185), this slightly-more-powerful ritual temporarily nullifies the effects of an illness or physical disability through unknown means. It still heals no HP.
Credits
Lay On Hands was written by lalonde for the 2024 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NrpG9OzhOZeO-nisUv0rC9YUE9LNVV0lHrOwWHkXMp4/edit