When I first got Supernatural and started reading it I naturally thought about that first game session that'd kick off the first campaign. How to introduce the players to the Supernatural world? More to the point, how to introduce the Player Characters to it?
So my first thought was...just smack 'em in the face with it. And so I whipped up "Buck and Terry".
Then I read over it and realized...yeah, wow. That's not gonna work. This would not motivate a bunch of folks who didn't know there really were critters in the dark to go hunt them. It'd convince folks like that to run the opposite direction instead. But I've got the sketch sitting on my computer so I figure it wouldn't hurt to cut n' paste it here. Maybe it'd work as a second or third game in a campaign. Or stretched out as a two-parter. Or whatever.
BUCK AND TERRY
Background:
Buck Anders and Terry Flannigan are lovers and have been Hunting together for several years now. Until recently Buck’s brother, Cliff, hunted with them as well. Unfortunately Cliff died nearly two months ago after apparently shooting himself in the head.
Buck, unable to accept that his brother committed suicide, has convinced himself that the Critter (any critter you like, really) they’re currently hunting murdered him. He’s out for vengeance and intends to kill it as soon as he catches up to it.
Terry has so far gone along with Buck’s assumptions concerning the Critter's responsibility for Cliff‘s death. But she knows that Cliff took his own life and is unwilling to confront Buck over that due to her own guilt and shame. Because she's convinced that she's partly responsible for Buck’s already unstable brother's suicide.
You see, unbeknownst to Buck, Terry carried on a short affair with Cliff just prior to his death, spurred on primarily by her frustration over Buck’s untiring obsession with the BBD (Big Bad Demon) they've been hunting all this time. Though she regretted the affair and quickly attempted to break it off, Cliff continued to pursue her, even threatening to tell Buck what had gone on. When Cliff later turned up dead, Terry was riddled with guilt. In her mind, she’s responsible for the whole mess having not only betrayed Buck but driving his brother to suicide.
The truth of the matter is that the BBD that Buck is so obsessed with has since decided to finally deal with the irritating Hunters chasing him. Finding Cliff Anders somewhat mentally unstable already it possessed him, intent on simply murdering the other two in their sleep. When it discovered the drama going on between the three Hunters it decided instead to have some fun. It forced Cliff to take his own life, knowing that Terry would assume some guilt over that. Then, of course, he could have some fun playing on that guilt and eventually possess her as well. Followed quickly by a delightful final reckoning with Buck Anders.
For the last month the demon has been harassing the two, skipping and jumping from one civilian host to the next in order to keep up with them on their travels. Whenever possible, it summons up the ghost of Cliff Anders to torment the two, partly for the simple pleasure of tormenting Buck but primarily to wear Terry down, preparing her for possession. Which she's just about prepped for already.
Cliff himself is unaware that he’s even died and, in death, has become completely focused on Terry. His manifestations are thus largely confused and he rarely accomplishes anything more than terrifying any witnesses that might be around. Terry meanwhile is forced to deal with Cliff’s appearances while doing her best to hinder Buck discovering just what went on between the two of them in the process. And since she assumes their affair is what drove him to take his life, that presents something of a problem in convincing him to move the hell on and leave them alone.
In light of all this, the relationship between Buck and Terry has degenerated pretty significantly in the last two months. Terry’s guilt, spurred on by Cliff’s seeming personal haunting, has driven her nearly over the edge. And in the face of Buck’s frustration with her she’s become bitter and resentful of him in the process. Her greatest fear currently is that Buck will figure out why Cliff seems intent on haunting her specifically and yet at the same time she's so frustrated with the whole mess she's near to throwing it right in his face herself.
Buck meanwhile has become frustrated and angry with Terry, unable to understand why she’s so withdrawn. Since the two first met he’s come to take her support entirely for granted, to the point that he’s now at a complete loss for how to deal with her beyond responding with anger and resentment of his own. He’s only just beginning to vaguely suspect something untoward about Cliff's feelings toward Terry, in light of Cliff’s apparent preoccupation with her. Still, his obsession with the BBD, his misguided thirst for revenge against the Critter and his own self absorption haven’t left him much time to pursue that thought to the logical conclusion.
The secrets and bitter resentments that have built up between the two over the last two months have become something of a power keg. And the BBD is just about ready to light the fuse.
How it plays out:
Depending on what "Critter" you pick for Buck and Terry to be hunting, it may well be right there in the bar/roadhouse/whatever with the PC's when the two arrive. If you go with a shapeshifter, for example, you've got a great intro for the PC's to get involved. The Critter/shapeshifter spots Buck and Terry, then attempts to switch places with one of the PC's for protection and a possible means of escape before the two hunters put a silver bullet in him.
However it shakes out, the PC's are either directly involved or at least have front row seats to Buck and Terry putting down a nasty Critter. And to see their extremely angsty relationship blazing in full technocolor in the process. They have the option to get involved in either or both of those gory messes.
Once the Critter is dealt with...up pops Cliff Ander's ghost. The BBD is capitalizing on the stress of the moment to really push everyone's buttons. And it works. Spectacularly. Buck and Terry drive off Cliff's ghost, get into a huge fight when all the tension spills over and Terry reveals her affair with Cliff to Buck because she's just plain had enough of the whole mess and Buck's soooo pissing her off right about then.
SHTF. And of course, that's when the Big Bad Demon eagerly jumps into Terry to taunt Buck. And the PC's are caught in the middle with Buck maybe not so highly motivated just then to hold back for Terry's sake. And if the PC's are new to Hunting or not even Hunters yet at all, Buck may be the only hunter around with any idea what to do about all this.
The favored happy ending here would be for Terry to be saved from the Big Bad Demon, the Big Bad Demon being sent back to hell (or at least exorcised), Cliff being put to rest and the two lovers making some form of peace in the end. Reconciliation, really, after all that, not being all that likely.
But as it happens just keeping the Demon from taunting Buck into killing Terry before it kills him will be a handful for the player characters. And if the Big Bad Demon manages to take out both Buck and Terry there's not much to stop it from making the PC's torment its new hobby.
So my first thought was...just smack 'em in the face with it. And so I whipped up "Buck and Terry".
Then I read over it and realized...yeah, wow. That's not gonna work. This would not motivate a bunch of folks who didn't know there really were critters in the dark to go hunt them. It'd convince folks like that to run the opposite direction instead. But I've got the sketch sitting on my computer so I figure it wouldn't hurt to cut n' paste it here. Maybe it'd work as a second or third game in a campaign. Or stretched out as a two-parter. Or whatever.
BUCK AND TERRY
Background:
Buck Anders and Terry Flannigan are lovers and have been Hunting together for several years now. Until recently Buck’s brother, Cliff, hunted with them as well. Unfortunately Cliff died nearly two months ago after apparently shooting himself in the head.
Buck, unable to accept that his brother committed suicide, has convinced himself that the Critter (any critter you like, really) they’re currently hunting murdered him. He’s out for vengeance and intends to kill it as soon as he catches up to it.
Terry has so far gone along with Buck’s assumptions concerning the Critter's responsibility for Cliff‘s death. But she knows that Cliff took his own life and is unwilling to confront Buck over that due to her own guilt and shame. Because she's convinced that she's partly responsible for Buck’s already unstable brother's suicide.
You see, unbeknownst to Buck, Terry carried on a short affair with Cliff just prior to his death, spurred on primarily by her frustration over Buck’s untiring obsession with the BBD (Big Bad Demon) they've been hunting all this time. Though she regretted the affair and quickly attempted to break it off, Cliff continued to pursue her, even threatening to tell Buck what had gone on. When Cliff later turned up dead, Terry was riddled with guilt. In her mind, she’s responsible for the whole mess having not only betrayed Buck but driving his brother to suicide.
The truth of the matter is that the BBD that Buck is so obsessed with has since decided to finally deal with the irritating Hunters chasing him. Finding Cliff Anders somewhat mentally unstable already it possessed him, intent on simply murdering the other two in their sleep. When it discovered the drama going on between the three Hunters it decided instead to have some fun. It forced Cliff to take his own life, knowing that Terry would assume some guilt over that. Then, of course, he could have some fun playing on that guilt and eventually possess her as well. Followed quickly by a delightful final reckoning with Buck Anders.
For the last month the demon has been harassing the two, skipping and jumping from one civilian host to the next in order to keep up with them on their travels. Whenever possible, it summons up the ghost of Cliff Anders to torment the two, partly for the simple pleasure of tormenting Buck but primarily to wear Terry down, preparing her for possession. Which she's just about prepped for already.
Cliff himself is unaware that he’s even died and, in death, has become completely focused on Terry. His manifestations are thus largely confused and he rarely accomplishes anything more than terrifying any witnesses that might be around. Terry meanwhile is forced to deal with Cliff’s appearances while doing her best to hinder Buck discovering just what went on between the two of them in the process. And since she assumes their affair is what drove him to take his life, that presents something of a problem in convincing him to move the hell on and leave them alone.
In light of all this, the relationship between Buck and Terry has degenerated pretty significantly in the last two months. Terry’s guilt, spurred on by Cliff’s seeming personal haunting, has driven her nearly over the edge. And in the face of Buck’s frustration with her she’s become bitter and resentful of him in the process. Her greatest fear currently is that Buck will figure out why Cliff seems intent on haunting her specifically and yet at the same time she's so frustrated with the whole mess she's near to throwing it right in his face herself.
Buck meanwhile has become frustrated and angry with Terry, unable to understand why she’s so withdrawn. Since the two first met he’s come to take her support entirely for granted, to the point that he’s now at a complete loss for how to deal with her beyond responding with anger and resentment of his own. He’s only just beginning to vaguely suspect something untoward about Cliff's feelings toward Terry, in light of Cliff’s apparent preoccupation with her. Still, his obsession with the BBD, his misguided thirst for revenge against the Critter and his own self absorption haven’t left him much time to pursue that thought to the logical conclusion.
The secrets and bitter resentments that have built up between the two over the last two months have become something of a power keg. And the BBD is just about ready to light the fuse.
How it plays out:
Depending on what "Critter" you pick for Buck and Terry to be hunting, it may well be right there in the bar/roadhouse/whatever with the PC's when the two arrive. If you go with a shapeshifter, for example, you've got a great intro for the PC's to get involved. The Critter/shapeshifter spots Buck and Terry, then attempts to switch places with one of the PC's for protection and a possible means of escape before the two hunters put a silver bullet in him.
However it shakes out, the PC's are either directly involved or at least have front row seats to Buck and Terry putting down a nasty Critter. And to see their extremely angsty relationship blazing in full technocolor in the process. They have the option to get involved in either or both of those gory messes.
Once the Critter is dealt with...up pops Cliff Ander's ghost. The BBD is capitalizing on the stress of the moment to really push everyone's buttons. And it works. Spectacularly. Buck and Terry drive off Cliff's ghost, get into a huge fight when all the tension spills over and Terry reveals her affair with Cliff to Buck because she's just plain had enough of the whole mess and Buck's soooo pissing her off right about then.
SHTF. And of course, that's when the Big Bad Demon eagerly jumps into Terry to taunt Buck. And the PC's are caught in the middle with Buck maybe not so highly motivated just then to hold back for Terry's sake. And if the PC's are new to Hunting or not even Hunters yet at all, Buck may be the only hunter around with any idea what to do about all this.
The favored happy ending here would be for Terry to be saved from the Big Bad Demon, the Big Bad Demon being sent back to hell (or at least exorcised), Cliff being put to rest and the two lovers making some form of peace in the end. Reconciliation, really, after all that, not being all that likely.
But as it happens just keeping the Demon from taunting Buck into killing Terry before it kills him will be a handful for the player characters. And if the Big Bad Demon manages to take out both Buck and Terry there's not much to stop it from making the PC's torment its new hobby.