Liminal Horror: The Parthenogenesis of Hungry Hollow (Playtest)
Where veteran Investigators find themselves embroiled in small town weirdness...
Could it really be two posts in two days!?!?! It must be a Winter Break miracle/excuse to do some writing while I watch movies!
What is The Parthenogenesis of Hungry Hollow?
The Parthenogenesis of Hungry Hollow is a small sandbox investigation for Liminal Horror. Something strange is happening in Hungry Hollow, seemingly centered around one of its residents. Dive into the town, make acquaintance with its inhabitants, and unravel the horrid truth that lies buried just beneath the surface.
Twisted Classics
The Liminal Horror Twisted Classics line are ground up reimaginings of classic adventures. Instead of direct conversions, we take inspiration from the core elements of these older adventures and add a variety of twists to give them a unique flavor and bring them into the era of modern horror. The Parthenogenesis of Hungry Hollow presents a new take on Against the Cult of the Reptile God. Thank you to Douglas Niles and team for the inspiration.
Playtesting
This adventure has been an exciting one to write and run since its framing fits perfectly with my play group. The framing of the module is one where they are playing Investigators that have already had at least one experience with the weird. The characters understand the stakes of these things not being dealt with, they get the consequences inherent with Resonant Artifacts.
My play group is one that have played it all (The Mall, The Bureau, The Bloom, Metroskate Bloodbath), so they’re veteran players as well as playing veteran Investigators. Through play they’ve seen the horrors that are possible, and so are more willing to leverage the tools at their disposal (violence, breaking the law). We had a great conversation post session about escalating violence and it’s effects on characters.
Session Report Logistics
I’ll be recapping what went down during the session. I’ll also be including asides as to why I added certain bits and including DRAFT descriptions from the manuscript to give a peak behind the curtain.
Setup:
From the manuscript:
The party has been brought together to investigate the strange goings on in Hungry Hollow. There have been multiple disappearances in and around the area, including a person of interest to their patron named Brea. It is believed that there may be one or more Resonant Artifacts at this location.
Note: An essential part of the framing is to create a setup that not only has the players invested in investigating what happened, but potentially willing to break laws in order to do so.
The group of Investigators have been brought together by a patron.
The Archivist is their patron. The Archivist is a mysterious figure that looks into the uncanny occurrences, collects Resonant Artifacts, and is at odds with The Bureau. He often provides Investigators with resources and leads to uncover information and collect Resonant Artifacts.
The Archivist is a faction I created as headcannon around who would be cataloguing and being involved in the different modules. Think paranormal Columbo.
As an influence within the game, The Archivist is a Faction that provides resources, information, and is entangled with each of the characters in some way. He is their patron and exerts influence to support and facilitates Investigators investigating.
During the Starting Fresh Questions they identified that all have done 3-10 missions for The Archivist, and he puts it out on a group chat on signal to see who is available to take a job (from his stable of Investigators)
Creating an Investigator
All my players Rolled Archetypes to start their character.
Skittles: Rolled Final Girl - Tyler then decided to have this Investigator be his character from The Mall… the wrinkle being that she had been replaced in the climax of that adventure. If this were a tv series, that inconsistency would be emphasized but never explicitly addressed...her having the mycelium threads throughout her body, 20 years later, seemingly survived the events has left her very Sarah Connor in Terminator 2.
From Hungry Hollow- Final Girl: Your life has already been touched by the paranatural and there is no going back to what was... you are driven to find answers. You start with a Fallout (LIMINAL HORROR Investigators p. 20).
Twisted Strands: Strands of mycelia twist under your skin, bulging like varicose veins. Digging into muscle, they act as extra ligaments. Roll d4 and add it to your STR (max 18). (LH Investigators p. 21)
Ricardo: Rolled Relic Touched and ended up rolling for Resonant Artifacts - thumb tacks (enables necromancy). John rolled a background to give more flavor to his Investigator and got Artist. After determining that his medium was carving marble, we decided to shift the RA to being picks used in sculpting. As for previous adventures, they’ve always been successful, but not usually through anything he’s done.
From Hungry Hollow - Relic-Touched: A resonant artifact is in your possession. Not only do you have access to its power, but being its keeper puts a target on your back. Sometimes being on the offensive is a better tactic. You start with a resonant artifact in your possession (LIMINAL HORROR Investigators p. 24).
Thumb Tacks. Activation: Push a tack into the forehead of a dead body. User can puppet the dead body (HP 2 Maim: d4). Gives an instance of Fatigue. Voices of the dead whisper in the back of their mind. (LH Investigators p. 24)
Danny: Rolled Burned by The Bureau. His character wrote a song that became super popular but The Bureau psyoped it and claimed ownership. This ruined his life and career.
From Hungry Hollow- Burned: The Bureau interfered with your life, and you want to find enough evidence to bring them to justice. During one of their operations they may have: contributed to the death or loss of a loved one, instituted a cover up that destabilized your life, you narrowly escaped their grasp.
NPC Investigator- Bluebird. Rolled Indebted. Bluebird also rolled the background Bus Driver (LH Investigators p. 7). Went into massive debt after hitting a monster (vampire) and crashing a bus. The Bureau coverup had a fake family of the “victim” sue him. Archivist providing opportunities to get out of debt. He’s a pretty laid back and practice person.
From Hungry Hollow- Indebted: Your debts became too large to bear. Is the Archivist your means out or does he own your debt (and you want a way out from under his thumb)?
After some back and forth, the team had three choices for Investigator Kit (a load out the group brings as a team). They rolled for Extermination, Reconnaissance, and Containment. In the end they got Containment
Containment: Handcuffs, zip ties, tranquilizers, High modulus polyethylene rope, tungsten shackles & locks.
Welcome to Hungry Hollows
Session starts with them driving Winnebago to Hungry Hollows
Driving through the fog skittles sees something move behind some houses (angles all wrong)
I wanted to establish something being off immediately upon entering town so rolled an Encounter: “Something running on all fours, limbs angled all wrong”
The Diner
The party decided to go to the diner because Ricardo, who had done a mission a few years back with Brea, remembered her talking about the fantastic Berry Good Pancakes.
17. Berry Patch Dinner
Classic dinner (booths, linoleum flooring, long counter, small window to kitchen).
Bulletin board near bathroom has all the news clippings covered by posters advertising the upcoming Hungry Hollow Baby Shower
Current offering is barely palatable, as if made by some who did not know how to cook..
Picture of family (father, wife, daughter, son) hangs above the cash register.
Anthony (cultist): recent initiate. Since taking the drone he has lost his ability to cook. His children are still in The Hive (the drones did not take).
Shelly (cultist): White apron, disheveled hair. Will drop at least one item each time she comes to the table. Hides a poisoned knife (d6, toxin).
The party entered and immediately knew something was off. No customers. The ovens were off at 10am on a Saturday. Shelly spilled things, didn’t clean up. Signs of lack of upkeep. Barely palatable food. Skittles decided to go out back to smoke
This was a perfect time for me to seed the meat-oriented nature of the cult.
Skittles found meat wrappers in the dumpster but no packages for anything other type of food. The party awkwardly continued the meal…They asked about any specials. “No just gearing up for the baby shower.” This peaks the investigators interest since it’s Brea’s shower, but the couple doesn’t give any more info other than being so excited.
Doom 5: Brea’s Baby Shower.
The party also notices the picture of the children (Shelly is super lagged in talking about or giving basic details on her own kids). The party also noticed the two missing TVs (mounting brackets torn from wall)
Cultist homes have tech and valuables removed. All of their TVs have been brought to The Hive.
Mechanic
They decided to head to the Mechanic shop right across the street.
18. Mechanic
Industrial concrete building, roller garage doors stand open.
Two trucks partially disassembled inside. Father and sons work inside
Three storage containers are behind the building. Inside are parts from dozens of disassemble cars.
Massive stack of tires piled out back as well.
Brody (cultist): STR: 15 DEX: 13 CTRL: 7 Armor 1 HP: 6
Massive, bearded, tattoos, extremely rude and violent. Wrench (d6). Drone has made Brody more volatile. Will start screaming and attack any strangers. Colin and Taylor will attempt to hold him back.
Colin and Taylor (cultists): STR: 15 DEX: 13 CTRL: 7 Armor 1 HP: 6 Tools (d6)
Brody tries to attack them immediately. Skittles decides to let it escalate (he broke away from his sons holding him) and they tased/tranquilized him in self defense. A car drives by slowly
This is the Wilkes boys scoping the situation out for their mother. Creating a potential strand.
The Investigators bring Brody behind the shop and talk down the situation with sons. After the boys take their dad inside to rest it off (the Investigators say they won’t get the police involved in this matter as its resolved) Brody’s wallet drops out. It has a receipt for 13 TVs.
Rolled on Random Search table: Receipt for 13 TVs, Miles’ Electronic Repair Shop.
This entry was made to act as a thread around the cult and their obsession with TVs and Satellites (they’re building something in the Hive).
Electronic Repair Shop
They decide to follow the clue from the receipt and go meet Miles.
10. Electronic Repair Shop
Small storefront. Fallen into extreme disrepair.
Packed to the brim with all types of electronic equipment in various states of being taken apart.
Handwritten sales log in large book. Reveals massive purchases of tv and satellite dishes by The Church and Emerald Scale Inn.
Miles (citizen): Old, becoming more and more reclusive. Business is down except for a massive order for satellite dish parts. All TVs, regardless of state, have been sold.
Ends up being the most normal guy they’ve encountered so far. Ask after tv for their Winnebago (He’s all sold out). Inquire about the town (odd jobs they could get).
I decided to list a few of the locations that have Citizens (not cultists) as potential opportunities for them to engage with those not yet under the influence of the cult.
Miles reiterated that he’s not really clued in to the community much. The Investigators asked to get in a waiting list (made a dex save to not be seen spying) and saw some names of who are waiting (connection to the Wilkes family and Leon).
This was my opportunity to bring the Investigators close to two major cultists. Leon is a direct thread to Brea, and the Wilkes Boys are involved in the kidnappings.
Packing it in for the night
It was getting late. They drove by the two inns in town: the Emerald Scale B&B (a cultist haven recommended by Shelly) and Outpost 13 (Miles talked up their wine) to scope them out before going to the camper park.
8. Fifth Wheel Trailer
Surrounded by overgrown, empty rental plots with hookups.
Well traveled fifth wheel mobile trailer.
White 1989 Dodge Shelby Dakota parked out front (sometimes)
Inflatable boat with outboard motor off to side.
The party parked near the 5th wheel (which had out of state plates). They made a fire in hopes of scoping out/interacting with the neighbors. It became obvious that the neighbors weren’t coming out while they were out so the gang “packed it in” for the night. As they bunked down the 5th wheel boys quickly loaded a large duffle into their truck (which required both people to carry) and they drove off toward Animal Control
As noted in the NPC description: Typically, in their trailer during the day. At night doing reconnaissance.
I had them drive toward Animal Control because it’s a straight shot from the grounds so they could see the lights for a ways and is another connection to that location.
The party decided to break in and scope to see if they may be responsible for the disappearances (large heavy duffle was super suspicious to them).
Skittles climbed on top and unscrewed the fan to slip in. On first glance nothing seemed off.
Inside, half of the space is tidy while the other is cluttered.
After a quick discussion that they had broken in so they’d already gone for it, they decided to lean in and do a more thorough look. Bluebird waited outside to be lookout.
Ricardo looked for signs of blood, crime, etc.
Skittles looked for signs of Brea.
Danny looked for signs of bureau.
They find the false floorboards. Comment that it looks like a rival investigative party.
Hidden under a fake floorboard: Two tactical rifles (d8), Top shelf observation equipment, lockbox.
After discussion decide to ambush them to see what they are doing. Too dangerous to leave them a loose end, especially since the neighbors know they were the ones to break in.
They ended up having to wait all night, gaining Deprived due to lack of sleep.
An Investigator deprived of a crucial need (such as food or rest) is unable to recover HP or ability scores through rest, taking on the Deprived status. (LH Investigators p. 14)
Hank and Dean drive up.
Hank McKee (citizen): Long blonde hair, jean jacket, white shirt. Confident. Jack of all trades. Concealed Ka-Bar knife (d6), zip ties, gloves.
Dean Bassett (citizen): Flannel, dark pants, short dark hair, scruffy beard, intuitive. Carries key to lockbox. Two silenced pistols (d6 silent), lock pick gear, gloves.
Skittles aiming rifle from roof. Ricardo and Danny from hiding attempt to knock them out. As the two step out of the vehicle, the gang jumps into action. Danny knocks Dean out. Ricardo hits Hank in the head, and he falls to his knees (pulling his knife, retaining consciousness).
Since they had prepared well enough, I let them do a Suprise round. They rolled damage, it went first to HP and then to DEX because it was intentionally non-lethal. I then made saves for both Hank and Dean to see if they maintained consciousness. Dean failed, Hank passed.
Skittles used her Suprise round to let them know she has a shot and to drop his weapon.
This was where I had to determine how Hank would respond. Given the exceptional odds against him, his opportunist nature led him to give up his knife to search for a different time to escape.
Hank drops the knife. The party zip ties them, do an initial search, and drag them into the trailer.
The gang reviews the surveillance footage.
This was a perfect opportunity to seed major cult locations: the church, the green room, the emerald scale b&b.
The gang start to interview Hank. He claims he was bird watching at night. He refuses to divulge useful info despite being in such a precarious situation.
They open the lock box using Dean’s key
Subcontractor credentials with Bureau seal.
Letter from Mayor (includes details of past work together, and requests help looking into the disappearances and changes in behavior of some townsfolk).
Resonant artifact (I rolled and got the RA written for this module: Bleeding Stone. The drops of blood from the stone turn into an object edible. The user can eat the object, injecting it with minimal difficulty. It does taste rancid but is not harmful.
The gang wonders aloud if this was one of the Resonant Artifacts they were sent her to get but Hank explains that they picked it up before coming to this town. The Bureau seal adds a wrinkle. The Investigators don’t fuck with The Bureau (they know how dangerous and evil they are). This complicates how to move forward with these prisoners, as all potential ability to trust has been burned.
Session ends with discussion on what to do with Hank and Dean.
Next Time
We’ll be playing again on the 10th of January (aiming to get back on our every two weeks trend). I learned a lot from this session.
Also worth noting that a lot if this may change or be expanded on. When talking with Jert, we’ve decided to go a little bigger with this module. We want it to mirror what the LH line will look like going forward. This means we’ll have more space to expand location descriptions, add to NPC write ups, etc.
Items in print
LIMINAL HORROR INVESTIGATORS Edition https://spacepenguin.ink/collections/liminal-horror/products/liminal-horror-investigators
This is uncoated and includes multiple character sheets, so it’s perfect for players at the table.
One Night At The Shelterwood Inn https://spacepenguin.ink/collections/liminal-horror/products/one-night-at-the-shelterwood-inn
The Bloom https://spacepenguin.ink/collections/liminal-horror/products/the-bloom
The Bureau https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/the-bureau?_pos=1&_psq=The+bureau&_ss=e&_v=1.0