# [d20 Modern] Dark Memphis (long)



## Beale Knight (Dec 12, 2002)

d20 Modern: Dark Memphis
Session 1
Full Moon Crazy Night


    Felix Moore is a freelance writer of the “out there” kind of news that mainstream news magazines ignore. He’s had modest success in a few nationwide magazines and has just begun a column in the local wrag, “Memphis Afterdark.” His articles inflamed someone enough to shove a threatening letter in his apartment mailbox. The note, calling Felix a blasphemer who neither believed nor knew what he wrote and demanding he stop, was pieced together from letters cut mostly from magazines and newpapers. A few letters were from a local bookstore’s promotional flyer, so Felix’s investigation eventually took him there. 

    At the bookstore, in an alley near Beale Street, Felix found the occult section picked almost clean. The clerk, Victor Chavez, said another shipment was due in a few days. Victor recognized Felix and when he said so, Felix asked if anyone had recently ranted about him. Victor couldn’t think of anyone off hand, but had something else he wanted to talk with Felix about, a rhyme that’s been haunting his sleep.

 In the sort of trusting connection that only happens when two PCs encounter each other, especially in a campaign’s first session, the two headed off to someplace where they could sit down and have a conversation without being interrupted by book store patrons. 

 Not too far away, in the all but abandoned Baptist Central Hospital, two security guards keep hearing strange sounds from the lower floors. Leaving their 3rd floor station to investigate, they make their way to the stairwells. Security Guard Sean Hope shines his flashlight into a darkened hall and shudders as he notices several rather large roaches scurrying away. The sounds from the lower floors continue, and they’re easier to hear now. The guard’s radio has gone quiet. 

  As Felix drives past Sun Studios, he and Victor hear something on the car radio that catches their attention. A DJ mentions that a caller has just told him about some disturbance going on at the Memphis Mental Health Institute, which has been just the latest of the night’s weird news, and makes a joke about it being the full moon. The MMHI is only blocks away, and Felix sees a chance to take some news photos for a few extra dollars. He offers to drop Victor somewhere, but the other Player Character is happy to come along. 

Meanwhile, the security guards have heard a scream. Something is coming. A darkened shape is running full tilt up the stairwell. 

At the MMHI, three police cars sit before the buildings wide opened doors. Lights are flashing, but there no sirens – and no police. Felix and Victor spy some movement on one side, about four stories up and go around the corner to investigate it. Felix snaps a few pictures. Something about this reminds Victor of his recurring dream and he begins to chant: 

	Can't even shout, can't even cry.
               The Gentlemen are coming by.
              Banging on shutters, trying all the doors.
              Mister Book needs seven hearts,
             And he might take yours.
             Can't call to pop, can't say a word.
            You're going to die screaming and you won't be heard! 

    Before he can fully answer Felix’s question about the chant, there’s a scream and thud from around at the front of the building. Victor draws his pistol, the one he’s only just bought and barely practiced using, and takes a look while Felix attempt to call the police (“all circuits are busy”). 

At the hospital, security guard Sean pepper sprays the charging form, realizing too late it’s a young boy, a boy running so scared from something else he barely notices the sting of the spray. The second security guard, Sam Fisher, calms the boy into stopping and finds out his name is Jeffrey. He’s homeless and snuck into the building through a window looking for somewhere to sleep, out from the weather. Some “horrible men” down there started coming after him and frightened him out of his wits. The guards promise to keep him safe and find out what’s going on, just as more sounds start coming up the stairwell. 

 Blocks away, Victor sees something so horrible he drops his pistol and flees. Felix, still looking to get worthwhile photos and also worried about his car, readies his camera and goes to take a look himself. 

 There is a mad man crouched atop his car. The long sleeves of his straight jacket are unbound and wrapped tightly around the neck of a police officer - held three feet off the ground. Panic grips Felix. His fingers remember to close on the shutter button, but the rest of him runs after Victor. The mad man pursues.

  His new friend has left the immediate vicinity of the MMHI, but has gone down an alley into a public housing neighborhood. As Victor, calmer now, deals with a tough looking beggar, Felix tries to loose the madman and double back to his car. He doesn’t know what Victor does: there are more than one. Victor backtracks to try and catch Felix and see three coming around the way they did, and he knows there’s even more. 

    Meanwhile, Sean looks past the stairwell door, and into the face of madness. The fear grabs ahold of him as it did Felix and Victor. Jeffrey decides to string his bow. When Sam sees what comes out of the stairwell, he’s also grabbed by panic and screams. The creature backs away into the shadow of the stairwell. 

  Back at the MMHI, Felix is crossing the side parking lot car by car, taking as much cover as he can. He sees Victor and waves him over. Victor dashes to the nearest car, stopping and pointing to what’s coming. Felix turns and sees three more madmen, wild eyes of pure white, flailing arms sending the long sleeves of their loosed straight jackets flying like tendrils of white and black stripes, loping toward them. Leading the trio is a bald man with bone white skin and glowing red eyes. 

   He floats two feet off the ground. Panic takes Felix and he runs hard and fast away. 

   The security guards recover their wits and decide that this does fall under their job description: there are intruders. They begin to look for them, and Jeffrey, unwilling to stay alone, comes with them. The group returns to the stairwell. Sam opens the door and is face to face with a different horror. A bald man with bone white skin and glowing red eyes. 

   Sam opens fire. His bullets strike but do nothing more to the horrific gentleman than ripple his shirt. Sam drops his gun and flees. Jeffrey looses an arrow and screams at the thing. His arrow hits and the creature turns to dust. 

There is a howl blocks away. At the MMHI, the floating Gentleman lingers, twitching in mid-air for a moment as his pack of madmen make for Victor. Their target has found an unlocked car, who’s owner  was so foolish to actually keep spare keys inside. After two or three tries, Victor gets the hatchback started. On the far side of the parking lot, Felix has calmed down. He is snapping pictures and waiting for Victor to get the car going for a getaway. 

Victor finally gets the car started, get it in gear, gets it going, and quickly rams it into two other cars, wedging it in place. The madmen are closing on him like a pack of hounds. The floating, horrific gentleman has recovered from his spasm and is watching his servants at work. 

 Though Felix is ignored by the impossible monstrosities, he feels he cannot abandon Victor. He’s unarmed, but carries two chemical light sticks for emergencies. Breaking one, he throws it past the madmen and out of their sight, hoping to get their attention with it and lead them somewhere besides Victor. It doesn’t work. In fact, the floating gentleman smiles cruelly at Felix and wags his finger as if to say, “that sort of thing will never work.”

   Victor tries for a dozen long seconds to free the car. Finally, with the madmen almost upon him, he opts to escape. As he crawls from the hatchback, the closest one lunges at him. Felix, desperate, flings the other chemical light stick at the madman, hoping to distract him for just one crucial second so Victor can escape his clutches. 

 The light stick flies like a true miracle. It lands tip down in the madman’s right eye and breaks open. The madman thrashes about in agony, both from his burst eye and the chemicals spilling into the wound, but no sounds ever escape his lips. With the mouths of all witnesses hanging open in blunt amazement, the madman falls dead. *

Not to waste the opportunity, Felix and Victor turn tail and run. The floating gentleman and his madmen hounds close on their heels. 

  At the abandoned hospital, the security guards and their young charge have destroyed one of the floating gentlemen and decided the time is ripe to get away. They don’t get far when they realize they are being pursued. More Gentlemen and their madmen hounds seem focused on young Jeffrey as the others are focused on Victor.  Confronted by another Gentleman, they make fruitless attacks. All their shots fly wildly, but the Gentleman withdraws nonetheless. The trio deduce loud sounds are harmful, potentially fatal, to these creatures. The madmen hounds are not so affected, however, and soon the group is chased by them out into the street. 

 The two groups, fleeing in opposite directions along North Dunlap street, are soon face to face with each other, and all but cut off from escape. Several Gentlemen and even more Hounds are closing in from three sides. Frantic gunfire erupts. Hounds are hit but keep coming. Fear strikes Victor and then Jeffrey. They break into a panicked run. Two Gentlemen float to them and reach out. 

  Victor feels his voice leave him. Just like his chant predicted. Jeffrey barely avoids the same fate. 

  Then the tables turn. Jeffrey bellows a scream loud enough to destroy the Gentleman floating at his side. Sean and Felix shout and fire at the other, which crumbles to dust. Stymied, the remaining Gentlemen and Hounds withdraw. 

 In the ashen remains of the last Gentleman sits a silver birdcage. Felix hands it to Victor, who opens the cage door and feels his voice return. 

 Sirens wail through the streets. Felix suddenly remembers his car is back at the Mental Health Institute. He runs back to it and the others follow. Breathing a sigh of relief that his car has suffered only minimal damage, Felix gets it unlocked and started as the others scoop up quality pistols from the fallen police officers. With everyone in the car, Felix drives away from the scene minutes before the next wave of law enforcement and fire fighters arrive. 

 Jeffrey spots two other floating Gentlemen and a pack of their madmen Hounds making their way south between the buildings of the medical center – heading back toward the abandoned hospital. Gathering their courage, the group gives chase, resolving to put an end to whatever horrific plans these monsters have. 

 The sights that greet them at the hospital are grim. The security supervisor, covered in blood and bludgeoned to death. Shifting shadows that hint at ambush. Crashes and thuds that echo from floors above. And one Floating Gentleman that disappears into a stairwell. Armed, the group makes its way to the security station on the third floor. 

The radio is plugged back in and turned on with its speakers feeding directly into the microphone of the third floor intercom. The group checks out the rooms on that floor and finds everything clear, and then makes its way to the stairwell. 

 Sam opens the stairwell door and is face to face with four madman Hounds. A Gentleman floats behind them, smiling at the surprised security guard. The fight begins. 

   Sean tumbles through the hounds to fire at the Gentleman, who floats out of harm’s way and sight, as every one else fires at one hound or another. Shooting gives way to bludgeoning as the hounds close. Sam’s attempt to machete a hound goes disastrously wrong and wounds Sean. At some point, the radio goes dead. Two hounds are dispatched but Sam is struck down. 
Something prompts Felix to check behind him and he turns.

 The floating Gentleman has returned and brought another pair of hounds with him. Another moment and Felix and Jeffrey would have been struck down from behind. The fight shifts without losing its intensity. There is gunfire, shouting, and pummeling that make the minute long fight feel like the most important hour in the history of the world. 

When it’s over, the hounds are dead and the Gentleman is dust. Sam is stabilized but unconscious. Everyone else is  wounded but feels oddly strengthened by the encounter. Seeing these impossible horrors up close, fighting them, defeating them, has made them less frightful. Still a powerful threat, but no longer the unstoppable force of supernatural evil, no longer able to overwhelm them with fear. 

  But there is yet one unaccounted for. Strapping Sam to a gurney, the group risks the elevator to the fourth floor. The radio, it is discovered, has been smashed to splinters. The advantage of noise has been lost. 

  When the elevator doors open on the fourth floor, the group gasps. Blood is spread all along the walls – in a pattern Victor quickly realizes is magical. It’s a pattern of summoning. Corpses lie on the floor at very particular points of the blood pattern. At he edge of his vision, Felix sees the last floating Gentleman, who flashes a sting of hearts before stepping into the darkness. 

Felix’s warning to the others precedes the rumblings of movement on the floor. From beneath the corpses, clusters of rat sized roaches emerge. Giant maggots, with claws and fangs, begin to crawl out of the corpse mouths. The time has come to flee. The group goes into full scale retreat, running for the elevator. When everyone’s inside the doors close and the elevator begins to move.

    Up. 

    Toward the 13th floor. 

    Where someone has summoned it. 

    Emergency stop. Pry the doors open. Squeeze down to the 6th floor. Ease Sam out. Put him on a wheelchair. Run for the stairwell and run down. A horrific giant maggot jumps at Sean who dodges and blows it away. Another jumps Jeffrey two flights down. He machetes it in half and pulls off the still clinging upper half, but the effort and the blood loss have slowed him down. Sean carries him the rest of the way down stairs as Victor and Felix have been carrying Sam. 

 Outside the car is undisturbed. Sean locates his supervisor’s truck (he’d taken the keys from the corpse). The group piles into the two vehicles and make their escape. In the background, a red glow is flashing through the windows of the abandoned hospital’s  13th floor.

 Pausing long enough to get their stories in order, the group rushes to the nearby, and active, Methodist Central hospital. No one questions their cover stories. There they discover they haven’t been the only ones to encounter bizarre events. It seems like the entire city has gone crazy. There was a devastating and mysterious fire at the retirement apartment home in Overton Park. Madmen have been found wandering the street. A team of firefighters has vanished. 

In the hospital, the group realizes this is only a brief respite. Things are going to get worse.

End session 1

* How it played out.
    [Felix PC] "No gun, no distant weapon - - I throw the other light stick at the one closest to Victor. (grabs die) Here's an act of desperation. (Casts die, die tumbles and stops) Natural 20. 
        *GM:*   "Threat."
    [Felix PC] (casts same die). 18.
        *GM:*   "The light stick flies end over end and lands right in the mad man's eye. What's the damage that that thing would do?"
    [Jeffrey PC, already looking it up]: d2 under improvised weapons.
    [Felix PC] (casts same die). 13. 2 points.
        *GM:*   (double checks notes, figures for critical, tallies up attribute modifiers) (to Victor PC), "So as your struggling to get clear, this one madman is right up at you, he reaches out to grab you when his light stick lands right in his eye. He mouths an expression of agony, staggers back, and then falls over."
    [Victor PC] I didn't know I was hanging with a light stick ninja!


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## justinsluder (Dec 12, 2002)

Beale Knight,

Are you the DM or a PC?  Nice beginning to a story hour.  A little blatant with regard to the gentlemen from Buffy, but still cool.

Keep up the good work.

Later,
Justin


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## Beale Knight (Dec 13, 2002)

I'm playing Felix, which is why the tale begins from is point of view.  

I've never watched Buffy, so I didn't know anything about the Gentlemen except what the GM presented. Since seeing your post he's confirmed that Buffy is indeed where he ripped of---
er - took inspiration for - the Gentlemen, and added, "Not that it's going to do you any good.   "

BTW - I just reread the post and hope everyone will forgive the various typpoes.


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