Neurocysticercosis - Or How I Learned to Love the Bug inside my Brain
Introduction
It’s September, 1996 and Lawrence Tracey Jr. (LTJ), a member of the prominent Tracey political dynasty, is running for Senate in Massachusetts. A VHS obtained by A-Cell shows Tracey involved in unnatural activities, prompting the Agent s to investigate.
The Truth
A year ago, on a trip to England, LTJ was kidnapped by Shan agents and implanted with an Insect from Shaggai. This entity now controls him, intending on using his family connections to build a Shan colony of powerful government officials and industry leaders in the US.
The VHS was anonymously leaked to the FBI by campaign communications director Marrion Barton, who obtained the tape while at a party at the Tracey Compound. A-Cell quickly secured it and, on September 23rd, the operation begins.
The campaign ends on November 5th. Unless the Agents act, Tracey wins the Senate Seat, allowing the Shan to implement their plans; infecting the minds of Washington’s political elite and becoming a far greater threat for the Conspiracy.
Briefing
The Agents are contacted through the usual methods and instructed to meet at the Boston FBI Field Office, where they are given the tape, a dossier, and ordered to investigate Tracey’s ties to the unnatural. They’re directed to eliminate any vectors while exercising caution due to the central target’s high profile.
LTJ Dossier
- Birthdate: February 12th, 1954.
- Residence: The Tracey Compound - 1 Indian Trail, Osterville, MA
- Career: Served in the DA’s office since 1988.
- Family Legacy: The Tracey family have been a cornerstone of East Coast politics since the 1800s.
- His father, also a senator, died in a car crash in 1979.
- His brother, Theodore Tracey, died at three of pneumonia
The Tape
Grainy footage shows LTJ, surrounded by figures in bear masks, performing a gruesome ritual on a bound man. (SAN loss: 1/1d4).
A note accompanying the tape reads, "He needs to be stopped."
Craft (Electronics)/Computer Science of 40% or a successful roll reveals was filmed on a 8mm camcorder before being converted to VHS and a mastertape still likely exists.
The envelope was postmarked in Boston. If the Agents obtain security footage of the post office at the time of delivery, they see a brunette woman in her 20s leaving, later identifiable as Marrion Barton.
The Insect Inside LTJ
The Shan implanted in LTJ has a clear mission from its elders to establish a colony in the US. However, as one of the younger Earth-born insects, it has developed much closer ties to humanity and grown addicted to sadistically breaking the people’s minds, culminating in weekly mind-control-fueled parties at the Tracey Compound in Cape Cod.
It does this by influencing the thoughts and actions of those in its immediate vicinity. Targets must succeed on a contested POW roll to resist. Those under its control act as if following their own decisions but experience memory gaps afterward.
LTJ’s entourage and his party regulars, who have all had prolonged exposure to the mind control, now all suffer from migraines, paranoia, and are prone to violent outbursts. Humint of 50% or a successful roll reveals those who’ve been controlled exhibit similar twitches when mentioning LTJ.
LTJ’s Campaign
LTJ is campaigning around Massachusetts until the November election. He appears at schools, community centres, churches and small-to-medium-sized businesses. He and his dedicated entourage move quickly, never staying anywhere longer than needed. A large security detail from Alecto always accompanies him. Getting close to LTJ without arranging a meeting or sneaking past the security detail is difficult and likely to result in confrontation.
Campaign Events:
Old Holland Fall Festival - A museum and reconstructed 1800s New England town hosting its annual festival with traditional food, farming demonstrations and history lessons. LTJ has a strange conversation with a child, reminiscing about growing up somewhere similar.
Arlington American Legion Fundraiser - LTJ is invited to lead The Star-Spangled Banner. As the crowd sings, his voice grows louder, taking on an unearthly resonant tone. Several attendees fall silent, visibly disturbed and quietly sobbing. No one can explain the phenomenon afterward.
Worcester County Community Voice Forum - Interrupted by local journalist Shaun Feynman, who shouts accusations of foreign interference in the election. As Feynman rants, his voice becomes shaky, and he clutches his head in pain before being escorted out.
Faneuil Hall Debate- LTJ debates senatorial incumbent Tim Blundell for the last time before the election. During the debate, Blundell freezes and begins screaming uncontrollably before being ushered off-stage.
Tracey’s Entourage
LTJ’s entourage have a mix of genuine enthusiasm and Machiavellian ambition. They’ve all been subject to LTJ’s psychic coercion making them prone to erratic behaviour.
Entourage members:
Elizabeth McDonald - Campaign Manager - A no-nonsense political strategist. Getting close to LTJ requires going through her and she is hesitant to trust. She dismissed any accusations surrounding LTJ, attributing anything unusual to the pressures of the campaign or political mudslinging. If damning evidence is brought to her she “accidentally” reveals that LTJ has been hosting a lot of parties at the Tracey Compound.
Marrion Batron - Communications Director- Cleans up LTJ’s recent blunderous public missteps with the press. She secretly taped the ritual, leaked it to the FBI and still has the mastertape, although she’s quick to deny all this unless her safety is guaranteed. If her involvement in leaking the tape is revealed she is swiftly “disappeared” by LTJ.
Larry Schnitzler - Finance Director - Confused about missing funds, he’s desperate for a big donation. If the Agents pretend to be new donors, he’s quick to set them up with a private meeting with LTJ at the Tracey Compound.
Nathan Sinclair Head of Security - Hyper-focused Ex-SAS commander. Gannt works for Alecto where his loyalties ultimately lie. If presented with substantial evidence of LTJ’s unnatural activities, he may turn a blind eye to the Agents’ actions, provided Alecto is not implicated.
Alecto
Alecto is a British PMC established by former SAS operatives in the 1970s. The group have worked extensively as mercenaries in countries with UK political or colonial interests. It maintains close ties to several British MPs who are all shareholders.
Investigating the campaign financing and bureaucracy of 50% or a successful roll reveals that substantial campaign funds have been used illegally to pay Alecto for their security services.
Parties
Every Saturday at the Tracey Compound, a sprawling waterfront estate in Cape Cod, LTJ hosts lavish parties for lawmakers, celebrities and political elites.
The Tracey Compound, dating to 1924, this sprawling waterfront includes multiple houses and amenities. Alecto guards it heavily and local police inform LTJ of any unusual activity.
Guests arrive at 8pm for drinks and food. At midnight, select guests are taken to The Teddy Room in the basement for an exclusive afterparty.
Party Regulars
Police Chief Toby Wright - Old, corrupt, and inexplicably terrified. If questioned about the afterparty he starts crying without realizing.
Lillian Vandermeer - Eccentric and chatty retired socialite and philanthropist. Attracted by the glamour of LTJ’s parties and nostalgic for the Tracey Family’s legacy.
Vinnie Russo - Shady property tycoon. Drunkenly boasts about how LTJ “took him into the basement” for a special deal and then trails off, suddenly sweating and looking anxious.
Father John Ellis - A pious but opportunistic Catholic priest supporting LTJ. He can be identified as the man from the VHS being ritual tortured.When confronted about the incident, Ellis denies any memory of it but becomes visibly distressed.
Tim Blundell - Senatorial candidate being blackmailed by LTJ after attending the last party where he was filmed having an affair with two sex workers. He’s reluctantly here to try and negotiate with LTJ and recover the incriminating tape.
Teddy’s Room
The room, a monument to LTJ’s late brother Theodore, is filled floor to ceiling with teddy bears and features a taxidermy black bear hunted by LTJ’s great-grandfather.
The Shan is obsessed with this room and uses it for his monstrous rituals. Attendees wear bear masks and are made to stand in a circle around LTJ. who then uses hypergeometry to control and break their minds. (POW rolls to resist).
The event escalates into an orgy of brutal sadism and violence, ending with the Shan within LTJ abandoning its host to animate the black bear and join in the horrors.(SAN loss: 1/1d6 for witnesses, 1d4/1d10 for participants).
Afterwards LTJ wipes the mind of everyone in attendance, however they all have vague memories of the horrors they participated in.
Resolution
If LTJ learns he’s under investigation, he deploys Alecto to surveil and blackmail the Agents. If this fails, he escalates to more permanent measures.
Killing Tracey publicly or privately without extreme caution results in severe consequences, drawing national attention and retaliation from Alecto and federal law enforcement.
If the Insect from Shaggai is removed from LTJ or LTJ is killed, the Shan hastily tries to find a new host and flee back to the UK to warn its Elders.
Outcome
+1d4 SAN for freeing LTJ from the Shan.
+1d6 SAN for killing the Shan.
-1d8 SAN for failing to stop the Shan’s plans before the election.
Final word count 1494
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NPCs
Lawrence Tracey Jr (Shan Possesed)
A 42 year old white man of Irish heritage. Thick chestnut hair and a toothy smile.
STR 10, CON 11, DEX 13, INT 23, POW 20, CHA 17
HP 11, WP 20, SAN 0, BP 0
SKILLS: Alertness 20%, Unarmed Combat 30%.
RITUALS: Fascination, Infallible Suggestion, Obscure Memory
Shan
The insect living inside LTJ’s head.
STR 1, CON 3, DEX 22, INT 23, POW 20,
HP 2, WP 20
ARMOR: OUT OF PHASE - Unaffected odd numbered damage rolls.
SKILLS: Alertness 99%, Dodge 93%, Flight 50%, Unnatural 60%.
ATTACKS: Bite 40%, damage 1D4.
RITUALS: Fascination, Infallible Suggestion, Obscure Memory
AETHERIC FLIGHT: Can fly at up to 40 kph,
POSSESSION: A successful flight roll and a target’s failed dodge roll allows the Shan to enter the target’s brain. Afterwards if the target fails a POW roll they are possessed by the Shan for 1d6 weeks.
SUNLIGHT: Exposure to sunlight inflicts 1hp per round to the Shan.
SAN LOSS: 0/1D6
The Teddy Bear (Shan Possesed)
A reanimated embalmed bear, patchwork fur. It stares at you with its dead marble eyes.
STR 23, CON 16, DEX 10, INT 23, POW 20, CHA 17
HP 20
ARMOR: RESURRECTED FLESH: Non-hypergeometric attacks deal minimum possible damage to the Teddy Bear (For example a 2d10 attack would deal 2HP damage.) Lethality rolls always deal 2HP damage.
RITUALS: Fascination, Infallible Suggestion, Obscure Memory
ATTACKS: Bite 30%, damage 2D6, Claws 50%, damage 2D4 and hold (see HOLD).
HOLD: A claw attack that rolls an odd number for damage also pins the target.
SAN LOSS: 1/1D8
Nathan Sinclair
A stern balding 50-something white man with a thick grey moustache and thin eyes.
STR 14, CON 15, DEX 14, INT 13, POW 13, CHA 9
HP 14, WP 12, SAN 49, BP 41
Adapted to violence
SKILLS: Alertness 70%, Athletics 60%, Dodge 50%, Drive 40%, Firearms 70%, HUMINT 40%, Melee Weapons 70%, Language (Afrikaans) 25%, Military Science (Land) 40%, Navigate 60%, Stealth 70%, Survival 60%, Swim 40%, Unarmed Combat 60%,
ATTACKS: Browning Hi-Power Pistol 70%, damage 1D10
Alecto Agent
A mix of American, British and South African ex-soldiers.
STR 12, CON 13, DEX 13, INT 10, POW 11, CHA 10
HP 12, WP 11, SAN 55, BP 44
SKILLS: Alertness 60%, Athletics 60%, Dodge 50%, Drive 40%, Firearms 60%, HUMINT 40%, Melee Weapons 60%, Stealth 60%, Survival 60%, Swim 40%, Unarmed Combat 60%,
ATTACKS: Sig P229 60%, damage 1D10
Credits
Neurocysticercosis - Or How I Learned to Love the Bug inside my Brain was written by Will Hilton for the 2024 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NBuuI_kZmfgMnBoNSf8Tj9TU5YrGTXTKJKVyiTSossw/edit