[Scenario 1] The Edge of Darkness

[ken-do-nim]

Jed

"Dagnabit!" Jed curses. "He might still be here!"
"Elmer, cover them basement stairs and someone get a light." He backs up and aims his rifle at the stairs.

"Archie, Did you see another way out of that basement?"
"If there's no outside door, then he's gotta come up here. I'd rather give him a chance to come up peaceable before we go down there."

He looks to the others for confirmation.
Once we confirm that there's no outside door from the basement, Jed will peer down the stairs and call out:
"Come on out, fella! We're the rightful owners of this property! We don't wanna hurt you, we just want to talk but we're armed and we ain't gonna take no guff neither!"

Archie did not see another way out of the cellar. There's no response to Jed's call. Hyacinth (now an NPC) says, "Could it be that poor farmwife Mrs. McPhirter? Maybe she's too injured to respond?" Hyacinth then glances up at the trap door to the attic, guarded by wardings. "It's awfully quiet up there."

[Scott308]

Elmer "Big City" Ramsey

Elmer hands the box and papers to Hyacinth before taking a position near the basement stairs, shotgun at the ready.

[MI70]

Jed

"We best read those papers and see who this feller is before we go down."
He lets Elmer watch the stairs as he takes a quick look out back to see if he can see anyone or find any tracks.
After that, he motions to Hyacinth to read them as he continues to watch the stairs.

[ken-do-nim]

Elmer "Big City" Ramsey

Elmer hands the box and papers to Hyacinth before taking a position near the basement stairs, shotgun at the ready.

Hyacinth first examines the cigar box. The sheets of paper glued on it are peeling and yellowed. Inside is a small metal canister containing a coarse, brownish powder and a small wooden box with a sliding lid holding a small amount of a silvery, talc-like substance. She asks, "Anybody know any chemistry?"

Hyacinth next examines the sheaf of yellowed papers. The papers are hand-written notes dated March, 1882. All the sheets are in a large, flourished hand, a hand unlike the neat, crabbed script of Rupert Merriweather. There are six copies of the same Latin chant. Three other sheets identify the chant as having been copied from a book called De Vermiis Mysteriis written circa 1542 by one Ludwig Prinn, and they contain supplemental notes about the book and its history, and comment in passing that the chant 'could be used to release the spirit trapped inside the ancient amber'. The tenth sheet includes a description of the pentagram, the symbols to be drawn, and the combination of chemicals to be burned in the fire. The last three sheets discuss the ritual. They indicate that to dispel the spirit, the chant should be reversed, but that everything should be done the same, whether invoking or dispelling. A two-hour ceremony, begun at midnight, will drive the unwanted spirit off. Although the ceremony can be performed by one person, Prinn suggests the use of several chanters, allowing individuals to occasionally interrupt their chanting without disturbing the potency of the casting. As long as the chant is continuously made for two hours, at least one person at all times maintaining the rhythm, the spirit must succumb. But even the slightest disruption of the chant will result in failure and another dispelling must commence on a following night. Prinn suggests that during this time, as during any summoning, that a "watcher be posted, lest the sorcerers be disturbed by the nuisances and distractions of malevolent spirits."

Obviously it takes several hours to read through all of that.

[ken-do-nim]

Jed

"We best read those papers and see who this feller is before we go down."
He lets Elmer watch the stairs as he takes a quick look out back to see if he can see anyone or find any tracks.
After that, he motions to Hyacinth to read them as he continues to watch the stairs.

Tracking check for Jed (60%) ... 70, failed. Jed doesn't find any tracks out back.

[Scott308]

Elmer "Big City" Ramsey

Sorry. I didn't get much schoolin'. Weren't much need for it on the farm or the diamond. I wouldn't have any idea how to start chemistrizing. Elmer maintains his watch on the stairs.

[Stirling]

Miss Faversham

Jasmine take a few hesitant steps down the staircase, torch in hand if one of the boys have it. ( Sure someone took one).

She will call out the missing woman's name, trying to calm any fear she might have. Cellar stairs are notorious for having jumble, cans, rubbish on so she will make sure she doesn't trip or if a trip sure had been set to warn of intruders.

[MI70]

"Well, we got a doctor and a pharmacist and I think Miss Faversham knows a bit a chemistry." Jed mutters.
"I'd best give her a hand." Not wanting Jasmine to go it alone, Jed will cautiously follow her down the stairs, rifle at the ready.

[ken-do-nim]

"Well, we got a doctor and a pharmacist and I think Miss Faversham knows a bit a chemistry." Jed mutters.
"I'd best give her a hand." Not wanting Jasmine to go it alone, Jed will cautiously follow her down the stairs, rifle at the ready.

The two of you descend down about half the stairway.

Listen checks:
Jed - 91
Jasmine - 81

Safe to say, neither of you hear anything above your own creaking footsteps. Well, it's pretty dark down here in the cellar. I don't know if anyone has a torch, but I'm pretty sure someone has a flashlight. There's lots of old dusty furniture down here.

Spot checks:
Jed - 27, success
Jasmine - 37, (no idea, you never did out her skills)

Jed notices footprints in the dust of the cellar floor, and even prints ahead of the two of you going down the stairs. Not up the stairs, just down the stairs ...

Do you two continue down the stairs to the cellar floor?

[geomys]

"Hold up, folks. Musty, dark old places are my specialty." He follow the party down the stairs.

[MI70]

Feeling the urge to listen to the little voice inside, Jed will pause on the stairs and scan the basement as best he can. He will cover the others if they go ahead.
"I seen your footprints, fella!" he calls out, hiding a slight quiver in his voice. "We know your down here! You'd best show yourself!"

[MI70]

Also, if the footprints on the floor only lead in one direction, Jed will point it out to the others and keep an eye out in that direction.

"Show yerself! You don't want us to have to come in shoot in'!" He loudly cocks his rifle to show he's serious.

[Scott308]

Elmer "Big City" Ramsey

Not wanting to head down the stairs and crowd the basement, Elmer will stay at the top of the stairs where he can get down them quickly if the need arises.

[ken-do-nim]

Also, if the footprints on the floor only lead in one direction, Jed will point it out to the others and keep an eye out in that direction.

"Show yerself! You don't want us to have to come in shoot in'!" He loudly cocks his rifle to show he's serious.

A man jumps out from his hiding spot behind an old rotting sofa. He's holding a broken off table leg in his arm like a club. He looks crazed, and horribly frightened, and you think if you weren't holding a rifle, he'd probably attack. He shrieks, "Just let me go!" He looks dirty and disheveled and generally miserable. His clothes are somewhat torn.

[geomys]

While the man has his attention on Jed's gun, Archie will slowly pull his bullwhip from its belt loop. Grasping the handle firmly, he will lash out and try to snag the club from the man's hand and yank it free.

[MI70]

Jed

Jed will try to keep the man's attention while Archie makes his move. Keeping his rifle on the man at first, he slowly raises it a little so it is not pointed directly at him but is ready to re-aim if needed. Then he addresses the man in a friendly tone.

"Tarnation fella! You about scared us to death! Now we just want to talk a little an we ain't gonna hurt you unless you start something. Just put that stick down and we'll go up and have a little chat and maybe a drink. Whatta ya say?"

[ken-do-nim]

While the man has his attention on Jed's gun, Archie will slowly pull his bullwhip from its belt loop. Grasping the handle firmly, he will lash out and try to snag the club from the man's hand and yank it free.

You have an 89 in bullwhip. Rolling ... 97. Man, not your day! Because you are still up the stairs a bit and it is dark, you crack the whip and find it hits the ceiling over the stairwell. Whoops ...

He might have been going to put the stick down too after Jed's soothing words. But now you rattle him to the point where we have to head into initiative.

Initiative, in dex order
Jed: readied shot
Archie: 17
Hobo: 12
Jasmine: 11

Jed has a readied shot, so he goes first if he wants to shoot. You can of course aim for the table leg itself, which is just now being swung towards you ...

[MI70]

If the odds of hitting the table leg only are good (80% or better), Jed will try to shoot the table leg out of his hand.

Otherwise: Not wanting to hurt him, Jed will just try to dodge as best he can and hope that the others can back him up, punching when it's his turn.

[Stirling]

Miss Faversham

Jasmine will dodge the man's blow if he attacks her, (she has a dodge of 22).

"Calm yourself down man, we are not seeking you but Maggie from the local farm."

[ken-do-nim]

If the odds of hitting the table leg only are good (80% or better), Jed will try to shoot the table leg out of his hand.

Otherwise: Not wanting to hurt him, Jed will just try to dodge as best he can and hope that the others can back him up, punching when it's his turn.

Okay Jed opts not to take his shot, and Archie goes next. Trying the whip again ... 66, this time he succeeds. The whopping 84 points you put into whip finally pays off. Whips do 1d3 damage or entangle, and you already previously stated you are going after the club to yank it away so this is an entangle, which I'll give automatic success to against the club itself. So now let's roll STR vs. STR. Archie's strength is 12, the hobo's is 15. I prefer to use the "difficulty check" system rather than use the Resistance Table, but the math comes out the same. Your DC (difficulty check) is 11 + 15 = 26. With your strength of 12, that means you must roll a 14 or better on a d20. That gives you a 35% chance, which also is the result of cross-referencing the "active characteristic" of 12 with the "passive characteristic" of 15 on page 30 of the rulebook, but why do a table lookup when you don't need to? Rolling ... 16! You successfully yank the club away before the hobo can do any damage with it.

The hobo falls to his knees, "Please ... please don't hurt me." He then rambles on fairly incoherently about 'monsters' and 'swirling', but you are going to have to calm him down if you want to get any good info out of him. Does anyone want to take the time to try psychoanalysis on him?