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SOUNDTRACK
If the GM likes to play music during horror campaigns to heighten mood, the 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula soundtrack by Wojciech Kilar is suggested.
The players can be drawn into the adventure however the GM thinks most fits the party, but the most likely scenario is they are contacted by Gail-Ann Shaw, an office assistant at New England Magazine, who is worried about the journalist Terry Boyd. According to Shaw, Boyd went to Marblehead three days ago to do a story on its rising tourist industry, but called the office yesterday saying he would need more time and that they shouldn’t disturb him. She overheard him on speakerphone with the editor, Bruce Silva, and felt something didn’t seem right. He was more forceful than usual and she felt a presence she could not explain. She couldn’t say what it was. When she tried to call Terry herself he didn’t answer and Bruce told her not to bother him. Gail-Ann Shaw has incredible intuition and knows in her heart something supernatural is to blame. This is why she contacts the PCs to investigate the matter. She can provide details about his appearance the kinds of stories he covers, etc.
The town of Marblehead has a history of Satanic Witches, who survived the Witch Trials by pointing fingers at the innocent. Chief among them is Edward Dimond, a wizard who used his powers to guide ships ashore and sent enemies sunken beneath the sea.
New England is the domain of the devil. He holds sway over the region’s craggy drumlins and dense forests. In Marblehead, during the time of the Salem Witch Craze, there was a man named Edward Dimond, who practiced malignant magic, but used his gifts to benefit the town he so loved. When he signed his name in the devil’s book, the price was to continue seasonal sacrifices and afflict outsiders or those in Marblehead who opposed the devil’s plans. When Dimond died, his spirit became one with the land. After sunset he can appear as a shadow of his former self, with the powers over the sea he had in life. But he also controls the animals in the town borders and can raise corpses from the dead to attack his enemies. His spirit sleeps in a Dimond family tomb on Burial Hill. If his bones are exposed to sunlight, he will be destroyed and the curse of Marblehead lifted. Since the time of his death, an unusual number of outsiders who come to Marblehead met with strange accidents or suffered terrible hauntings.
His granddaughter, Moll Pitcher, continued his work, born with a desire to attain power and sew bitterness, she took special delight in destroying people’s minds. She became a hag, and continues to live to this day, known now as Mary Devereux, serving on the selectboard of Marblehead to protect her grandfather’s work. Recently a journalist named Terry Boyd came to Marblehead at Mary’s invitation to do a story on its increasing tourism. He unearthed rumors that descendants of Edward Dimond practicing human sacrifice in Marblehead, so Mary Devereux met him at Castle Rock Park and used her powers to paralyze him on the bench. Mary then used her voice ability to mimic him and call his editor at New England Magazine on her cell phone saying he would be delayed. The editor, Bruce Silva, was convinced, but the office assistant, Gail-Ann Shaw, heard the conversation and felt something was off.
A reporter from the New England Magazine named Terry Boyd came to Marblehead to do a story on how it is becoming the new Newburyport. He disappeared and is likely discovered during the player’s investigation, bound to a bench in Castle Rock Park overlooking the sea. He has been so imprisoned for two days when the players hear about the case. He will die after seven days total or five days after the start of the adventure, at which point he will be found. This will bring the full situation to the player’s attention but a local coverup will thwart them and lead to his death being dismissed as a product of ‘misadventure’. If the players investigate further, they also discover that Mary Devereux is in fact Moll Pitcher, an immortal hag and granddaughter of Dimond.
The sacrifices are conducted as part of Edward Dimond’s original pact by local cultists led by Mary Devereux. Every season they bring three people, usually outsiders or local troublemakers, to the ocean near Castle Rock Park and drown them. It is up to the GM if sacrifices are to take place anytime during or near this adventure.
Players can get information by going places and talking to locals. This is meant to be freeform, and the GM should make good use of the tables located below. While you should roll on the table for general inquiries the GM can always supply specific information with the right line of inquiry.
Some of these entries are layered, with several lines. As a rule of thumb, the first time you get that result use line 1, then proceed to 2 on the second, and 3 on the third. So, if you roll 7, the players discover rumors that Mary Devereux is a descendent of Moll Pitcher and Edward Dimond. If you get 7 again, they discover rumors that she is Moll Pitcher.
Roll 1d10 | Result |
1 | There is evil operating at the town hall |
2 | There were witches in Marblehead in 1692, but they punished the innocent instead of the guilty |
3 | 1: The land here is cursed 2: The sea too is cursed 3: The sailors say mermaids are more like demons of the sea 4: The devil and his minions have a foothold here because of an ancient pact |
4 | 1: Bad people in town frequently go missing 2: Outsiders often go missing |
5 | 1: There is a coven of witches in town 2: The coven sacrifices people every season 3: Thomas Pedrick is one of them 4: Mary Devereux leads the witches |
6 | 1: There is a lot of information about Marblehead in History and Traditions of 2: Marblehead by Samuel Roads, Jr. 1880 (provide full link) |
7 | 1: Mary Devereux is a descendent of Moll Pitcher and Edward Dimond 2: Mary Devereux is Moll Pitcher, somehow made immortal 3: Mary Devereux is a witch or hag |
8 | 1: There are witches in town 2: There are human sacrifices in town |
9 | 1: The town was once helped by an old wizard named Edward Dimond 2: Edward Dimond was a witch, but somehow escaped the Witch Trials 3: Dimond is cursed to undeath, his bones still lie in his tomb but they say his spirit appears at night to guide or mislead ships in the sea 4: He can be laid to rest by exposing his bones to sunlight |
10 | Beware The Devil’s Majesty! A dark carriage of Satan |
Roll on this table any time players ask locals about Terry Boyd.
Roll 1d10 | Result |
1 | 1: Terry Boyd came to do a nice piece on how Marblehead is becoming the new Newburyport 2: He had a falling out with the selectboard 3: Mary Devereux told people he came to write a libelous piece about the town |
2 | 1: Terry Boyd was asking about rising tourism in town 2: He took a tour of Glover Mansion |
3 | Terry was asking about the islands |
4 | Someone overheard Terry Boyd in a tavern saying he feared the devil was after him |
5 | 1: Terry Boyd was seen speaking with Mary Devereux often 2: Terry Boyd asked a lot of strange questions about the lineage of Mary Devereux and whether she was related to Old Edward Dimond |
6 | Terry Boyd was asking about Old Edward Dimond |
7 | Terry Boyd kept talking about sacrifices of some kind, asking what people knew |
8 | 1: Terry Boyd was seen out on Marblehead Neck 2: Terry Boyd was last seen at Castle Rock Park 3: Someone saw Terry Boyd sitting at a bench all day long |
9 | Terry is a reputable journalist from New England Magazine |
10 | Terry Boyd, he was heard by some locals saying he wasn’t a religious man, was seen madly banging on the doors of the church on Frog Lane, screaming the Lord’s Prayer |
RUMORS ABOUT THE PCS
Not much has changed since the witch trials in the region. Rumors are silent forces that can bring harm, even death, to the characters. The more they interact with the community, the more they displease locals, the greater the chance people whisper about them. You should use your judgement in deciding what rumors spread and their effects, but you can roll on the following table, sliding results up the more positive an interaction is (so a very positive interaction might be +5). Below are descriptions of different levels of rumor, with an example of what it might mean
1 Terrible Rumor: The players have committed crimes while in town, perhaps even murder
2
3 Very Bad rumor: The players are outsiders come to cause problems or dig up dirt to sew discontent
4
5 Bad rumor: Players are untrustworthy outsiders
6 Good rumor: The players are reputable and not here to cause problems
7
8 Very Good rumor: The players are here to help the town
9
10 Great rumor: The players have been making life better for the town since their arrival
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| Survey Map of Marblehead from Boston Public Library |
Treat this as a living adventure, with the NPCs reacting to the party and acting from their own agency. Some people in town may be helpful, some less so. Also feel free to create new people on the fly as this is just a short adventure seed. Anytime the players go to a location try to make at least one new NPC.
Two likely events are: Tom Norman reaches out to the party to help them AND Terry Boyd’s body is found at Castle Rock Park if the players don’t find him before he dies of exposure. It is also likely other people reach out to help or thwart the party. And some, like Thomas Pedrick, might seemingly approach to help, but with the aim of misleading them. Feel free to throw supernatural threats at the party as well, anything from corpses raised by Dimond to the Devil’s Majesty sent to whisk them to an island.
TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD
An old fishing town settled in 1629 then established in 1649, Marblehead has become a prosperous suburb and growing tourist attraction. It is one of the wealthier communities in the North Shore region with a reputation for old money snobbery. Though it has numerous exclusive yacht clubs, it is also home to classic seafood restaurants and simple taverns. In Marblehead one is likely to meet a blend of moneyed elites, old-time New Englanders, artists and professionals who commute to Boston. It has a section called old town, where the houses are preserved from as early as 1663. These houses are often labeled with plaques denoting the name of the person who originally lived there along with their occupation. These are huddled in a dense cluster on streets crooked and steep that veer down to the sea. In some parts of town tall cliffs overlook the choppy waters cradled by jagged rocks. A point of interest: it was the inspiration for H.P. Lovecraft’s Kingsport, which appears in The Terrible Old Man, The Festival and The Strange High House in the Mist.
The GM is encouraged to use a real map of Marblehead and the rumor table as players explore. For further information on Marblehead see Strange Tales of New England pages 61-62.
Note that the coven in town has twelve cultists and their leader, Mary Devereux. However, many members of the community believe and are part of their evil congregation at the Church on Frog Lane (just how many is up to the GM).
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| Burial Hill: From Newenglandhisory1 |
Old Burial Hill: This is an old cemetery up on a steep hill with a clear view of the harbor. It was established in 1638, where the old meeting house used to be (this is long gone). People buried here of note are Wilmot Redd and General John Glover. There is also a Dimond Family tomb sealed with a faded white stone that faintly reads “D I M O N D”. This is where Edward Dimond’s remains are contained. Exposing them to sunlight destroys him. Dimond’s original home, The Old Brig, is also found very near this spot.
Castle Rock Park: This park is a little over an acre and located on Marblehead Neck, the most affluent section of town. It affords a beautiful view of the ocean and was used as a lookout in colonial days. This is where Terry Boyd is paralyzed and sitting on a bench beyond the rise of a great boulder (most locals have taken little notice of him).
The Islands: There are numerous small islands off the coast, often just rock and grass. Why these are significant is they are the preferred drop-off points of the Coach of the Satanic Majesty because mermaids live in the surrounding waters. Anyone deposited here is likely to have such an encounter (see MERMAID, STRANGE TALES OF NEW ENGLAND, page 159).
The Church on Frog Lane: This tall white church is a secret bastion of evil. It is here that Mary Devereux and her satanic congregation gather for their sabbaths, and from here they march to the sea to perform their sacrifices. It is a congregational church led by Minister Douglas Gordon. The people at the church itself will of course deny any evil rumors the players have discovered, but some nearby residents might tell them of sinister things they have seen. And one person saw Terry Boyd raving before the door the first night he was here. He then answered his phone and said “Where is Marblehead neck?” before running off in the direction of the neck.
WILMOT REDD
Here are the details of the case against Wilmot Redd during the Witch Trials of 1692:
Wilmot Redd, wife of Samuel Redd (fisherman). Warrant issued in May 1692. For “Sundry acts of witch craft on the bodies of Mary Walcot and Marcy Lewis and others of Salem Village to their great hurt”.
Examination occurred in the house of Nathaniel Ingersoll (Salem). Two indictments: “Certain detestable arts called witchcraft and sorceries, wickedly, maliciously and feloniously used, practiced and exercised at and in the town of Salem……in, upon, against one Eliza Booth of Salem, by which said wicked acts ye said Eliza Booth was tortured, afflicted, consumed, pined, wasted, and tormented.” The second indictment for “detestable arts” on Eliza Hubbard of Salem.
The GM may want to introduce the players to other legends in Marblehead using the handout provided. One such legend is the corpse from a coffin who chased a man, causing him to sicken and die. Another is about a man chased by Satanic Majesty himself in a coach drawn by four white horses There are of course other stories like the Screeching Woman of Lovis Cove, a rich English woman attacked by pirates and brought to the beech where she had her fingers removed and was hacked to death. According to legends she screamed and no one came to help, and to this day her voice haunts the shores.
The selectboard in Marblehead conducts open town meetings at Abbot Hall and is made up of five selectboard members who appoint the Town Administrator. The selectboard manages the town budget, local licensing, appointments and direction.
Mary Devereux (Chair of the Selectboard): Mary Devereux is described below in her own entry.
James O’Shea (Selectboard Member): A local artist and sailing enthusiast, James is the most open towards outsiders and the one most suspicious of Mary. He is not involved in any of the human sacrifices in town.
Dan Hooper (Selectboard Member): Dan is a professional historian and notably overweight. While he believes in the public benefit of the human sacrifices, he isn’t as keen on Mary’s methods for protecting them. He believes harming outsiders draws undue attention to the town. So he will try to thwart the party from learning the truth, but work to dissuade them and if they discover anything, try to reason with them before resorting to violence.
Sarah Reed (Selectboard Member): Sarah is the wife of lawyer named Trevor Reed, and spends her days invested in town politics and gossip. While she believes in the human sacrifices, she is also envious of Mary. In addition, she talks too much, even when she should not. She might easily let slip information from the rumor tables accidentally during conversations.
Tom Norman (Selectboard Member): Tom is a grizzled old townie and fisherman. His family has been fishing in Marblehead since its settlement. While he goes along with the sacrifices, he secretly despises them and will willingly work with the players if he thinks they can bring an end to the horror. He hates Mary but is also wary of outsiders.
Thomas Pedrick (Town Administrator): Appointed as town administrator Thomas manages town departments and drafts the town budget. He basically manages day-to-day operational functions at the pleasure of the selectboard. An acolyte of Mary Devereux, she has promised to teach him magic and bestow powers upon him. Completely loyal to Mary, he will strive to protect her. However, he is friendly and amiable, and will try to lower the party’s defenses once they start investigating by making himself seem less competent than he truly is (his aim is to be perceived as a likeable dope). In reality, he is deeply cunning.
NPCS AND THREATS
MARY DEVEREUX (MOLL PITCHER)
Mary is the current Chief of the Selectboard and leader of the cabal of residents who conduct human sacrifices. She also hopes that Marblehead can become the new tourist destination on the North Shore by supplanting Newburyport. Plain looking and fastidious, she dresses in crisp green midi skirts and merino wool crewneck sweaters, draped in a cashmere wrap shawl. Born in Marblehead in 1736, Mary Devereux is really Moll Pitcher, the Pythoness of Lynn and granddaughter of Edward Dimond. While Moll’s has a reputation as a harmless, even helpful seer, who was visited by many notable figures of the revolution, her real personality was sinister like her depiction in John Greenleaf Whittier’s Poem Moll Pitcher (See link). Her preferred method of divination in life was reading tealeaves. She hates Tom Norman.
Mary leads a coven of twelve cultists. She must regularly consume human meat to preserve her appearance.
Key Skills: Arm Strike: 3d10, Bite: 3d10 (3d10 Damage), Claw: 2d10 (5d10 Damage), Speed: 4d10, Athletics: 4d10, Muscle: 4d10, Detect: 2d10, Command: 2d10, Persuade: 2d10, Talent: 5d10, Survival: 3d10, Divination: 3d10, Ritual: 3d10, History: 2d10, Occult: 2d10
Max Wounds: 6
Spells: Age, Curse, Dance Macabre, Make Devilish Corpse, Spectral Form, Swarm
POWERS
Binding: She can bind people to objects like chairs by whispering “remain”. Roll Command against Wits. On a Success the person is paralyzed in place for 5 days. On a Total Success the effect lasts 10 days. This is her preferred way to kill people. She can only do this to one person at a time.
Voice: In addition to binding people with her voice (see Binding), she can mimic other people’s voices perfectly on a successful Persuade Roll against Wits.
Cause Nightmares: Hags can control the dreams of anyone sleeping near them.
Claw: The hands of a Hag can transform into large powerful digits with sharp claws. Make a Claw Roll against Evade. On a Success, they do 4d10 Damage with their claw ability. On a Total Success, they do 5d10. They can forgo damage to pin people down or grab them.
Long Reach: Hags can extend their arms to a supernatural length to attack or grab, up to 15 feet.
Ice Touch: Hags freeze objects, water and items with a touch. They can also forgo Damage to freeze a person on a successful Claw Attack. If they do this, roll 1d10 against Hardiness. On a Success, the person becomes cold and slow (-2d10 to Speed). On a Total Success, the person is frozen for 1d10 minutes.
Magic: Hags make regular use of Malignant Magic.
Immunities: Hags are immune to normal Attack but vulnerable to fire and blessed weapons.
CULTISTS (12)
These are local residents loyal to Mary who also have been initiated into her coven. They include Thomas Pedrick. Though the inner circle of the cult is 12 in number, numerous residents follow Mary and are devoted to the cult.
Key Skills: Arm Strike: 1d10, Leg Strike: 0d10, Melee: 1d10, Ranged: 0d10, Speed: 1d10, Muscle: 1d10, Survival: 2d10, Persuade: 1d10, Divination: 1d10, Ritual: 2d10, Demonology: 2d10, Religion: 2d10, Occult: 2d10
Malignant Magic: Swarm, Curse
EDWARD DIMOND
Edward Dimond is a deadly shade whose corpse rests in a tomb on Old Burial Hill. At night he appears like a shadow and uses his powerful voice to guide ships or send them to a watery grave. The old Wizard of Marblehead, according to legend he used to guide ships from Old Burial Hill with his booming voice. Born in 1641, he died at age ninety-one in 1732. A sea captain by trade, Dimond turned to the Devil for safe passage during a harrowing voyage. In exchange for his powers, he agreed to sacrifice three people at the Witch’s Sabbath four times a year, by drowning them in the ocean. During the Witch Trials he thrived, often spreading suspicion about others to take away attention from himself. He was also known for afflicting enemies with vindictive curses. In death he helps continue the sacrifices through his progeny. Connected to the soil of the town itself, he despises outsiders and has even greater hatred for locals who would oppose him or his granddaughter. He views Marblehead as his domain.
Note that physical stats are for him corpse form.
Key Skills: Command: 4d10, Persuade: 2d10, Bite: 2d10 (5d10 Damage), Blazing Confusion: 2d10, Detect: 2d10, Muscle: 5d10, Speed: 3d10, Divination: 3d10, Ritual: 3df10, History: 3d10, Occult: 3d10, Religion: 3d10
Raise Corpses: He can raise corpses on a successful Ritual Roll. This lasts a day, then the dead return to their grave. He can select one from the following to raise each day: A single Lich, A Woman in White (170), Three Vampire Consummatio (167)
Command Sea: Edward can command the local flora and fauna, triggering encounters with local wildlife but also raising the TN for any Survival Roll to 10 if he wishes. He can also use this to speak to anyone he wishes in Marblehad. He only possesses this in Shade Form.
Blazing Confusion: In his presence, he can unfurl a confusing black mist. Roll Persuade against the Wits of any in his presence. On a Success he can afflict them with mental illusions of his choice. This lasts about five minutes and he must roll again to maintain any illusion. He can only use this ability in his Shade form.
Curse: He can curse freely but rolls 1d10 for every Sin the target has against TN 7 to do so. This functions exactly like the Curse Spell.
Control Puckwudgies: The local Puckwudgies obey his commands (see PUCKWUDGIE entry in STRANGE TALES OF NEW ENGLAND, page 162)
Sunset Shade: During the day he must sleep and dream but can move as a corpse. At night he awakens taking the form of a shadow, in possession of his command ability. As a shadow he cannot be struck but he is susceptible to Prayer. To permanently kill him, his bones must be exposed to sunlight.
Summon the Satanic Majesty: Once a day, he may summon the Satanic Majesty to send after his enemies, to attack or convey them to a place of his choosing.
COACH OF THE SATANIC MAJESTY
This is a form taken by the Devil, where he is conveyed in a dark Mahogony carriage drawn by four white horses. In this guise, he seems a tall, dapper man with a spindly build in full dress livery. The carriage appears to be a modern replica of the finest such vehicle available at the end of the 19th century. It resembles many of the novelty carriages used by tour guides in the area, only of much higher quality. Its windows are a glazed bevel-edged glass, which can slide open or closed. The interior of the carriage is fitted with luxurious plush velvet seats that contain vanity case compartments. This is all an illusion of the devil’s glamor of course as anyone who steps inside the carriage sees that it is a rotting and sulfurous hearse drawn by beastly skeletons (see GLAMOR below).
The coach is one of the Devil’s preferred methods of transport for damned souls. But he playfully allows those loyal to him to use it from time to time. The coach of the Devil’s Majesty is often summoned by Edward Dimond to give chase and frighten or to send his enemies to one of the coastal islands where they will be devoured by mermaids (see KEY LOCATIONS in this adventure and MERMAIDS in STRANGE TALES OF NEW ENGLAND page 159). Sometimes he simply uses it to frighten anyone from meddling in his business.
This entry is for this form taken by the Devil and his carriage, therefore rather than a standard stat block, his powers are merely listed below. For more information see STRANGE TALES OF NEW ENGLAND, THE DEVIL, page 150.
POWERS
Glamor: The full-dress livery, the pristine coach, are all an illusion. The carriage is a rotting prison drawn by devilish skeletons to convey Dimond’s enemies to inconvenient and dangerous locations in town. This becomes clear once someone is inside and the doors close.
Open Doors: The coach’s doors can suck anyone immediately near them inside. Roll 3d10 against Evade. If this succeeds the person is drawn into the carriage (though they can make a Muscle Roll against TN 9 if there is anything for them to grip or hold). Once inside the carriage seals like a tomb.
Ghostly Chase: No matter how one might run, they can’t escape the Coach of the Satanic Majesty. The only way to escape is crossing running water, finding refuge in a church or crossing a town line. Of course the Church on Frog Lane is far from a safe refuge from Satan.
Paralyzing Fear: All animals are paralyzed with fear in the presence of the coach.
Ghostly Caravan: When not used to frighten Dimond’s enemies, this coach is a conveyance for souls to hell. The GM is free to have any type of ghost, spirit or undead present and capable of giving chase.
Weaknesses and immunities: The coach and the Devil are bound by bound by divine law and subject to prayers. The Devil cannot attack people and his carriage and horses cannot attack either. They cannot cross running water. They cannot enter a church. They cannot chase people from one town to another. Iron is repellent to the Devil in this form. It does him no physical harm, but he will avoid it, and throwing it in his path may force him veer or turn.
The Devil’s Form: For the purposes of using prayer treat all the Devil’s defenses as 10 and treat his Exorcism TN as 10. His physical form is not real though, so he has no Max Wounds or stats. If he needs to create the impression of skills, he can have whatever rank he wishes.
HANDOUTS
A valuable source of information on local legends is History and Traditions of Marblehead by Samuel Roads, Jr. 1880. There is also a poem about Moll Pitcher linked below that can be useful.
Here is an except from History and Traditions players are likely to encounter if they look into books on the subject (a link to the book itself is provided after):
The town records of this period are very incomplete, and furnish little information concerning the customs or habits of life of the inhabitants.
In April, 1709, the commoners leased all that great head of land on the northwest side of Charles Island in Little Harbor to Edward Dimond, shoreman, for the sum of thirteen shillings yearly. This person was probably the famous old Dimond of whom such fabulous stories were told and believed. It was said that he was a wizard, and possessed the black art which enabled him to foretell coming events, to avert disasters from his friends, and bring distress upon his enemies. When the night was dark and stormy, and the wind gave evidence of blowing a gale, old Dimond would wend his way to the burying hill, and there among the graves and tombstones beat about, and give orders for the management of his vessels at sea. In a voice loud and clear, distinctly heard above the roar of the tempest, these orders would be given, and no one dared question their power to save from shipwreck. The advice of old Dimond was sought by people far and near, who believed in his great powers, but woe betide the evil-doer who came into his presence. Once when a guilty fellow who had stolen wood from a poor widow came to him for advice, the wizard charmed him, and caused him to walk all night with a heavy log of wood on his back. At another time, when a sum of money had been stolen from an aged couple, old Dimond told where it could be found, and gave the name of the thief. Let not the reader think that these stories illustrating the superstition of our ancestors are exaggerated in the least. They are told by aged people, living in Marblehead today, who remember with what faith and earnestness they were told by their mothers and grandmothers.
Of the same class are the stories told of the man who was chased one night by a corpse in a coffin, and shortly after sickened and died…..
LINK TO HISTORY AND TRADITIONS
