Lost Hallows
Over ten years, 48 missing persons cases brought the attention of N-Cell operatives to Lost Cove, North Carolina. They failed to identify a threat, but one of them didn’t make it home. New agents arrive on January 8th as winter storms roll in with only this knowledge:
- N-Cell left in separate vehicles at the same time, but one agent went missing afterwards
- They stayed at the USA Raft Adventure Resort. (A cabin is booked for new agents)
- They left a Green Box in the basement of Lost Cove’s City Hall
- Two slug casings and blood were found by the abandoned town’s watermill. Otherwise, no sign of a threat was found.
- Local police and case records did not (will not) generate substantial leads.
This scenario is designed to be narrative-focused. The Handler is tasked to create as much tension for the agents as possible while they navigate social and practical mystery. As such, it will not contain stat blocks. It is with Handler discretion that the strength and cunning of the threat and its resources be established.
For NPCs listed in OTHER GROUPS, normal humans (base character sheets) will suffice unless the handler believes a stronger skillset is suitable.
The Resort
The Resort’s Cabins and Grand Lodge sit on a mountainous outcrop accessible by a winding, steep trail barely wide enough for a vehicle. The lodge, its maintenance shed, four cabins, and small lot give healthy space to a large white willow tree in the center of the grounds. The deck of the resort is perched over the mountainside. Agents arrive in the morning.
Damien Hawthorne, the owner, is bedridden and can’t be seen until later.
Owns a double-barreled shotgun.
Lana Parker, the assistant, greets agents, gives them a cabin key, and makes breakfast daily.
See THE THREAT if agents break into the locked Owners’ Suite.
If agents stick around or tour the campgrounds, see OTHER GROUPS.
OTHER GROUPS
are lodging at the campgrounds, and may interact with the party at the Handler’s discretion. These short descriptions are designed to guide improvisation by the handler.
The Cooms (Cabin 1)
Billie, a loving father and staunch southern patriot who open-carries a heavy pistol and stows an AR-15 in his Dualied Ford parked by his cabin.
Maddison, a mother who only sticks around for her children.
Kylie, a kid who acts smarter than her age. Very protective of her siblings.
Benjamin, a neglected middle child with a lot of energy.
James, the curious youngest of the family who just learned how to ride a bike.
The Teenage Partiers (Cabin 2)
Sabrina Richards, a self-proclaimed Wikkan who changed her name.
Matt Barnes, a kind wallflower who is dating Sabrina.
Mason Monroe, a brash, outspoken athlete - carries a knife.
Ashlee Burns, a “prom queen” in the making, dating Mason.
The British Noble (Cabin 3)
Kevin Garrett, spending time away from home to heal from a stress-related sickness.
N-Cell Agent
Sam “Niel” Barnes - can’t be met until later.
The Cabin
Is filled with basic amenities and generously furnished but is garish and rustic. The cold water and heating only work when the pump in the maintenance shed is powered.
All cabins have the same layout.
LOST COVE
is an old abandoned lumber and moonshine town that can barely be called a town. It is composed of several small buildings, a city hall, and a watermill which used to power a mine completely lost to time. Every building is run down beyond repair and covered in overgrowth.
THE THREAT
is magically contained inside a steel, rune-inscribed green box, which was mentioned above. After returning and properly identifying the threat, Agent Niel managed to lure, trap, then temporarily neutralize it with an appropriated white phosphorous grenade set to a timer. Should agents open the door, they will break the magic seal, causing a great rush of air to force the smell of charred rot and chemical byproducts into faces. Agent Niel’s skinned, cooked body is unidentifiable and the contents of the green box are completely destroyed, leaving only the runes carved into its metal interior.
A Naaldlooshii (Skinwalker), transformed in the era of the Trail of Tears, has protected its tribe’s territory through cunning and ferocity with deadly precision. It has sacrificed 444 invaders to the spirits of the land for the power to control the weather or animals and sustain blows beyond the pale of man. It is well on its way to sacrificing 444 more in order to bind the souls of its tribe to this place and restore it to primeval glory.
Naaldlooshii may transform into any being by wearing its skin. This one holds the skin of a falcon, wolf, bear, bobcat, and many invaders including Damien and Sam’s. It stores these skins in a hollow at the top of the white willow, the locus of its power, and can carry three at once.
Its current pact allows the Naaldlooshii to not only sustain mortal wounds and live, but also survive death itself. Its spirit and any skins it carries transform into wind and is carried by currents to the hollow of the white willow, where it regenerates after one hour. Destroying the white willow removes all features of the Naaldlooshii’s pact.
The Naaldlooshii has three objectives:
- Keep its existence secret and lands protected
- Kill as many invaders as possible and ritualistically sacrifice them if able
- Trick others into serving those objectives
PROGRESSION
One month before N-Cell began their investigation, the threat ambushed Damien near the old watermill and stole his skin. It has since been brainwashing Lana, who will gladly cover for Damien’s disappearances and poison breakfast if needed. Two weeks before new agents arrive, Agent Niel confronts the threat in the green box and traps its spirit inside.
If the threat is freed, it summons a blizzard after it regenerates, covering the trail to civilization in ice and snow. It proceeds to find ways to isolate camp-goers and pick them off without revealing its presence, eventually sabotaging the power and backup generator in the maintenance shed. Below are a list of potential natural opportunities on top of any created through play:
The night of the agent’s arrival, the teenagers will vandalize the Cooms’ truck but leave Ashlee behind at the cabin. Agents may notice the loft in cabin 2 is sealed after the teens report her missing. Inside the loft along with an open window, an icy chandelier will hang from the ceiling composed of her entrails and sinew.
In the morning of the second day, Billie will discover that the spark plugs to his truck are missing (taken when the threat initially regenerated). Since the truck was also vandalized, he will exclaim that someone is out to get him (If Ashlee was found, he will instead blame an unknown serial killer).
In the afternoon of Day 3, James Cooms will sneak out of the cabin to play on the white willow. The skinwalker will shapeshift into a bobcat and discreetly protect its locus of power by killing the child if it is not predisposed. If it is, James will fall into the hollow at the top of the willow. If James is dead or missing, Billie retrieves his AR-15 to hunt who or what he believes to have caused it.
Kevin Garrett, or any agent who steps out on the deck of the lodge, may be dive-bombed by a peregrine falcon and forced off the edge.
The threat as Damien will take an opportunity to join any hunting party with his double-barreled shotgun and create an accident or pin a murder on another member of the hunting party. As Agent Niel, it will try to ascertain the nature and danger of Delta Green if it believes the agents are a second group sent after it.
SUCCESS
is measured either in survival or defeating the threat for good. Agents may be able to escape the mountain, its storm, the threat and any summoned animals through sheer equipment and firepower. They may also engineer a way to quickly navigate the weather and any threat that faces them. If A-Cell learns about the Naaldlooshii, it has lost.
Agents who discover the hollow in the tree and destroy it eliminate the threat for good if it has not escaped the green box or has otherwise perished and not regenerated.
Several NPCs in OTHER GROUPS may be able to provide clues to the agents as to how to eliminate the threat. For example, Sabrina may know what a skinwalker is from pop culture (albeit inaccurate) or understand its rituals. Kylie may have noticed a huge rush of wind hit the willow tree an hour before the storm started. Lana may be interrogated about her instructions from Damien if agents discover his skin or otherwise learn the truth about his demise.
At the discretion of the Handler, the Naaldlooshii may have other mannerisms, strengths, or weaknesses that tailor the difficulty and mystery for the players involved.
Credits
This was an entry to the 2021 shotgun scenario contest. Written by Aether
the original submission contained portrait tokens for the NPCs and forms of the monster