Pro-Choice?
PISCES Agents investigate anti-abortion graffiti, they will have to make a decision that shouldn’t be theirs to make.
Introduction
Scotland’s Safe Access for Abortion Zones. Another front in the culture war. Usually groups stand just out of reach, hold their placards, pray, intimidate. Last night someone went further. The defaced wall outside Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow contains a symbol that PICSES is familiar with. That’s why they called you.
The Briefing:
This scenario is assumed to be Agents first official PICSES operation. Adjust if needed. The briefing takes place at a private care home. Waiting for them in a large room is an elderly man on a respirator, a nurse, their case officer and a man in a sleek black suit. Before the briefing begins each agent must place their hand on the old man’s. He will then nod or shake his head. If he nods for each agent the operation continues as normal. If he shakes his head for any then things seem to continue as normal, but PISCES will take action to eliminate that agent when the operation is over.
No questions are permitted.
Alertness 60%- Both the nurse and well dressed man are armed.
The Details:
- Last night someone graffitied a wall outside Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
- The Graffiti contains an occult symbol recognised by PICSES.
- Find out who put it there and why.
- Either eliminate or capture any unnatural elements.
- The Group 40 Days For Life is currently holding a “vigil” of silent prayer outside the hospital’s buffer zone. Counter protesters are also present. Tensions are high.
- The media has already picked up the story of the graffiti and is reporting on it. Keep things quiet. We’ll keep the symbol out of the Press.
- PICSES will provide a phone for contacting their case officer, and photos of the graffiti. The rest is up to the agents.
Ask each player to give their character's attitude towards the protests/abortion. Use this against them later.
The Graffiti:
Most of the graffiti is banal, uninspired. Choose Life. Children are our future. Babies are murdered here. Every Child a Gift. The writing is sloppy, hastily scrawled.
The Symbol:
The symbol is the face of The Green Man, a figure of English folklore. It is a set of eyes surrounded by leaves. Though clearly rushed like the rest of the graffiti, there’s something about those eyes. Staring too long costs 0/1 SAN from Unnatural.
Occult 40%- agents recognise this as a motif of “The Green Man” and know The Green Man is a ‘wild man’ in English folklore.
The Green Man
Agents may ask their case officer for more information about the symbol. A successful Persuade roll can grant the Agents access to case files of previous encounters. Though heavily redacted, they can glean the following information:
Associated with nature, rebirth, and fertility, PICSES has run into cults of The Green Man before. During The Troubles, PISCES worked with the British Army to eliminate a paramilitary group performing rituals to summon The Green Man. They didn’t get them all.
The Perpetrator
All Aimee Galigan ever wanted was a child. She never got that wish. Her parents fled to Scotland in the 80’s when she was a child, and she never knew why. She never really settled in. She was an outcast at school. She dreamed of meeting that special man, of having a boy and girl of her own. There were men, but they’re gone now. There was IVF but it didn’t take. Now in her 40s, she mourned the life she never had. When her parents died a year ago, she went through their things. She found a ritual. She succeeded where her parents had failed and summoned The Green Man. He gave her exactly what she wanted. His child grows inside her, and Aimee couldn’t be happier. She is now eight months pregnant.
Aimee has long been a member of various anti-abortion groups in Scotland. After being kicked out of 40 Days For Life for being “unstable" and “militant” she founded her own group Every Child a Gift. It is a small organisation, only her and two other women in similar situations. Her compatriots saw her newfound pregnancy as a gift from God. It inspired them to be bolder, to spread the word. Last night they graffitied the hospital, then went back to Aimee’s to celebrate.
That’s when things went bad.
After their exertions, Aimee’s child got hungry. She’s been sleeping since it feasted.
Finding Aimee:
Agents may decide to interview the anti-abortion activists. They can be found just outside the buffer zone holding signs displaying typical anti-abortion messages. Counter protesters have put their own signs on fences just inside the buffer zone.
Real Counter Protesters Signs:
- Yer Da Protests Abortion
- Abortion is healthcare so, RAM IT BUNTY!
- Stand here if you wouldn’t try on a tea cosy
40 Days for Life is the main organisation protesting outside the buffer zone. The protesters tend to be older, a mix of men and women. They will be tight lipped if Agents present themselves in an official manner. If approached unofficially, they will be more likely to talk. A successful Persuade roll if asked about the graffiti will get them to say they suspect Aimee, based on her organisation’s name being in the Graffiti. This roll is +20% if the agents convincingly express that they share the protestors views. They will mention how something changed in her in the last year, she got bolder and more direct.
None of the protestors know Aimee’s address.
Computer Science 60%- Finds the Facebook page for Every Child a Gift, an Anti-abortion group based in Glasgow. Aimee Galigan is listed as founder. She posted her address on Facebook marketplace.
Aimee’s name can be searched if any characters have access to Law Enforcement databases. A Bureaucracy roll is needed to give a convincing reason for the search. Failing may lead to an investigation.
If the Agents keep failing their rolls, or aren’t getting anywhere, have their case officer call them. Fingerprints from the crime scene have been matched to Aimee. The case officer will supply the address. In this case PICSES can only buy the Agents 2 hours before police arrive at Aimee’s flat and find what waits within.
Aimee’s Flat
Aimee lives at a flat on Dunbarton Road in Scotstoun, west of Glasgow city centre. There’s the occasional bampot, but the area’s usually quiet.
No one answers the door. The agents must break in.
Alertness 80% - sobbing can be heard within.
Aimee’s flat is lovely, she made this a warm place to welcome her future child. Plants can be found blooming in every room. The first body is by the door. A woman face down. This is Aimee’s friend Sarah Shields.
Medicine 40%- This body has been exsanguinated. There is a horrific wound on the neck and some other scratches. The body is about a day old. Moss is growing in the wounds.
Seeing the body costs 0/1D4 SAN from Violence. Seeing the moss in the wounds costs an additional 0/1 SAN from Unnatural.
A trail of blood leads to the second body, then to the bedroom of Aimee’s future child.
The second body is in the kitchen. Its wounds are similar to the first. This is Aimee’s friend Amanda Knowles.
Aimee can be found huddled in her unborn child’s cot. Her hands and mouth are covered in blood. She is sobbing.
Search 40%- Agents can find the ritual Aimee used to summon the Green man in a kitchen drawer.
Resolution
Players must decide what is to be done with Aimee and her child. There is no clean resolution. Aimee is eight months pregnant and her child is sated after feasting. She poses no threat and can easily be overpowered.
Eliminating Aimee costs 1/1D10 SAN from Violence. Being adapted to Violence has no effect. The Agent who kills Aimee automatically fails the roll. If Aimee senses violent intentions she will beg for her unborn child’s life and try to flee. This may attract a neighbour's attention. Afterwards, Agents may call PICSES to clean the scene, or attempt to do so themselves.
Players may call their Case Officer. They will be instructed to contain the threat until another team arrives. An hour later a white van arrives, and four men get out. The Agents are dismissed and never learn Aimee’s fate. This costs 0/D6 SAN from Helplessness.
Agents may let Aimee go. They must convince PICSES she fled before they arrived. The Agents may never learn Aimee’s fate. She may have been apprehended by PICSES and eliminated or captured. She may make her way back to Northern Ireland, and revive the cult of her parents. She may be the subject of another operation when her “child” is born. Letting Aimee escape costs 1/1D4 SAN from Helplessness. Agents lose more SAN if they discover what happened to Aimee later on.
Credits
Pro-Choice? was written by AShawy for the 2025 Shotgun Scenario contest.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19MNfGvDPH_k82o-sIsDnVzZpB-EN4tBoE7Bz4Rf1afY/edit