In which a murderous miner, a little darkness, and the icy
rails go a long way . . .
Cray Canyon Cold Snap is an action-packed yarn of terror on the rails, suitable for any Role-Playing Game set the American West of the late 19th century. It is designed to play from start to finish in a single evening or afternoon session. Any 2-6 characters of moderate to heroic ability will find it challenging. Moving the story forward a few decades (which will change only a few details) would easily recast it as 1920s horror, or a Republic-Serial style action short. PLAYERS BACKGROUND It is mid-winter in 1882. The adventurers have boarded the #40 long-haul, westbound over the Rocky Mountains. Meeting the train just west of Denver in a dining stop at Brown Creek, Colorado, they were among the last passengers to board before the haul up into the snow-laden hills. Their bag- gage checked, they have settled into the trains third Pullman car, and braced themselves for the journey westward. The people in the cars are clustered forward to the heaters, and the conduc- tor is muffled for the weath- er. Frost plays about the edges of the windowpanes. As tickets are taken, the con- ductor and his staff assures the passengers that theyre safe, despite the harshness of the winter. After a few minutes, the train butch passes through the cars selling newspapers and heavily salted peanuts, returning a few minutes later to sell soda water . . . The spirits of the passengers are high, and early card-games and recitations have already begun as the dark forests begin to crawl beside the train, and #40 moves into the mountains evening. GAME MASTERS BACKGROUND The route that #40 is taking is one long feared by employees of the railroad. Any winter nights through the high Rockies usually means terrible nightmares chilling visions of smothering darkness and crushing weight and the superstitious rail-people were quick to label the route as the run of the devil. During the summers, the bad dreams subside. Stories of the nightmares havent spread beyond the rail- road workers. Most passengers never take this trip more than once, so they never realize how consistently they haunt this particular route. The dreams are the mental emanations of Rononatha, a spirit entity inhabiting the mountain on the west side of Crays Canyon, directly along the route. He is a primor- dial spirit of the cold and dark, acknowledged and feared in some form by all the local Indian tribes. 450 years ago, he and his son, Haimannock, were cast into separate pits at the cost of a brave medicine mans soul. Separated, the evil spirits sank into despair. They could not work their powers over the living when sepa- rated and imprisoned. It seemed that the shamans loss had brought a great vic- tory for mankind. Haimannock was reawak- ened, however, when the North Colorado Mining Company began drilling into the bowels of his mountain prison. He has waited all summer, holding his anger in check lest he frighten the miners away. Now midwinter has come, and he could bring his power to bear on a sin- gle weak-willed miner named Anthony Berstock. Presently in Anthonys body, the old spirit seeks out his father. By bringing together the right blood elements, in offering, Haimannock can awaken his father from his deep slumber. 1 CRAY CANYON COLD SNAP SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN THE WILD WEST BY BY S. J S. J OHN OHN R R OSS OSS THE ALL-SYSTEM LIBRARY This Cumberland G&D sample adventure isnt tied to any single set of RPG rules. It contains all the charac- ters, locations and conflicts you need for an evening of excitement on an icy night in the old west. Our adven- tures describe the action in plain English, so its easy to cast it into game-terms for your favorite system. The terms Ability Check and Skill Check are used as generic guideposts for the GM. If you enjoy this adventure, visit the Cumberland Games & Diversions website at cumberlandgames.com for more! TM These details should be modified to suit the individ- ual campaign. The line described in this adventure is fictitious, and could be any one from Colorado northward to Canada. If the campaign is set west of the Rockies, a trip eastward works just as well (replacing the Zulu cars with freight or sleepers). While the year is given here as 1882, the train described could exist as early as the mid 1870s, and be modern well into the 1890s. If at all possible, deceive the players about the nature of the adventure. They neednt know its a horror game until the horror decides to strike! THE TRAIN The train involved (the number 40) is a fictional exam- ple of a typical train of the early 1880s. It is modern for the period, with air braking, flexible canvas guards between cars, Janney coupling (automatic car-links that eliminate the need for dangerous manual linking of cars), and so on. Some of the cars are mapped for ref- erence. Others (such as the freight cars) can be easily extrapolated if the need arises. All cars except the caboose have interior and roof dimensions of about 63 by 10 feet, and measure 70 feet in length. The 29 cars are as follows, moving backward from the engine: The Porters Cars: These are a humbler version of the Pullman drawing-room, where employees may sleep, wash, etc. The first car is for the porters and baggage- master, while the second is for the butch, telegrapher, conductor, etc. The Drawing-Room Car: This is a comfortable Pullman car, with six staterooms and an open draw- ing room area where passengers relax. It is richly deco- rated, with large mirrors, fine leather, etc. The Smoking Car: This is a large lounge car. At the fore end is a bar. The rest of the car is sitting areas, which will be crowded in the evenings with Whist-players and talking passengers. The Butch tends to lurk in this area when not on his runs. 4 Pullman (Passenger) Cars: These are where the heroes are, along with the rest of the ordinary passengers of the train. Each compartment has cloth-upholstered couches that fold out into beds, and can be closed off for privacy by cur- tains. The open area is a sitting area, and the floor near the foot-warmer (an open grill by the heater) is a popular spot in the cold weather. The Baggage Car: This is where the passengers per- sonal cargo and luggage is kept. The baggage-master sleeps in the first porters car. 2 Zulu Cars: These are crowded and dirty, with hard, un-upholstered wooden seats. Each car has approximately 90 passengers aboard, mostly immigrants bound for the west. Entire families are here, crammed into the seats and occupying the floors. At night, the pas- sengers of the zulus sleep on boards laid across the seats, with whatever bedding they can devise. Pets and chil- dren are constantly underfoot in the aisles. The cars are springless (for a very rough ride) and are poorly venti- lated. The rail company offers tickets west on such cars at very low fares, in order to profit from the vast waves of emigration. 7 Freight Cars: Four of these have just been added at the last stop. They are loaded with timber, cloth goods, or whatever else the GM deems appropriate depending on the location chosen for the adventure. The Caboose: Home and workplace for the long- hauls brakeman. PROLOGUE: IN THE SMOKER The scene begins at about 9:30 PM. The PCs are in the smoking car, mingling and socializing. Outside it is dark, with only rushing shapes of black trees against the occa- sional grey field of snow. The moon is out in full. The car is cold near the windows, but the crowd of anxious pas- sengers is enough to keep the air cozy. Paris Moses is presently playing hymns on his accordion, and an odd mix of grubby miners, cowboys, and wealthy-looking city folk are singing along or politely lis- tening. At one table, Hadrian Cook, a Kentucky gam- bler, is running a serious game of high-stakes poker. The table is surrounded by grim-looking easterners, but Cook would welcome a new player or two. Minimum bet is 5 dollars. The train butch, Joe, is moving among the passengers doing business, and the conductor is present. See the NPC section for details on these characters. 2 GMS NOTES The characters should be allowed about 10 minutes mingling and roleplaying to start. Introduce some the NPCs, or some of your own, to set the scene and allow the PCs to establish how they behave. The attitude among the passengers is positive, but any conversation with the Chester (the porter tending bar) will reveal him to be tired and worried. He prefers not to talk about his mood. Characters that insist on pressing questions will recieve chillier responses to attempts to gain informa- tion from the porter. NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS There are 250 passengers on board #40, 180 of which are in the Zulu cars. The GM should feel free to develop as many as he sees fit for roleplaying purposes, and to include them at any logical opportunity. Interaction with the NPCs should be encouraged by reward asking the right questions could help the PCs a great deal, for instance. The following NPCs play some part in the adventure as written. If game statistics are needed for these characters (unlikely), assume human-average abil- ities and unremarkable levels of skill. Theyre just ordi- nary travelers. Paris Moses, Lawman and Preacher: This is a tall, gaunt fellow with a thin, hoarse voice. His smile is per- petual, and he is very kind. He and his wife, Deborah, are travelling west where Moses is to be a new sheriff in California. When speaking of matters religious, Moses voice grows powerful and resonant. He will actively attempt to aid the PCs with advice, and has a .32 revolver in his bag on Pullman car #1. Joe the Butch: Joe is the fourteen-year old rail butch on this route. He makes regular runs through the pas- senger cars, selling all manner of items, from newspa- pers to biscuits and fruit to discreetly offered adult lit- erature, all at terribly high prices. An employee of the company for two years, hes a fountain of gossip and info for the PCs, should they decide to ask. He has a broad larcenous streak, and will demand a few cents for anything. Mary Henderson, Writer: Mary is a popular travel writer, reporting on the trip. She spends most of her time reading or writing in the Observation Room in the smok- er. She is, however, a true journalist of rare form. Once trouble begins, she will place herself in nearly any dan- ger to get details for her editors. She lacks any real empathy, and may seem cold and tactless, which she is. Hadrian Cook, Gambler: Hadrian is a rotund, beard- ed Kentuckian heading west to seek his fortune as a gambler. He is a heartless con man by trade, and has decided that running a few games on board (and clean- ing up on travelers nest eggs) would be a way to pass the hours. He wears a heavy black coat and a shiny red vest. He keeps a rear-slung Smith & Wesson Russian under his coat. He is a coward, but will make a show of wanting part of any action that might occur, backing out at the last minute due to a sprain. Conductor Morris Hawthorne: A western gen- tleman, Hawthorne carries himself as the perfect representative of the company. He is present throughout the adventure, trying early on to keep the passengers under control and safe. He speaks with a deep voice and a slight drawl. His face bears huge blonde sideburns. Scene #1: Berstock Cuts Loose At 10 PM, the train crew will walk through the Pullman cars, making up the beds. As the passengers begin drift- ing out of the smoker and into their cars, the distant crack of rifle-shot is heard toward the back of the train, not more than a few cars behind the lounge! Some of the women cry out, and Cook reaches under his coat for his revolver. The conductor will try to maintain order, telling the passengers to remain where they are. He will take a few armed men as volunteers (the PCs are prime candidates, of course) and head back to investigate. As the group enters #3 Pullman, they will meet those who have fled from the #4. All they can get from the frightened, confused passengers is that one man shot another, and a woman is dead. The lights in #4 Pullman have been put out, and the conductor grabs a lantern from a wall and moves forward with the party. The spirit Haimannock, sensing that he is near is father, and surrounded by such warm blood, could not contain his instincts. With the car mostly deserted, Berstock slipped in and strangled a woman, and proceeded to tear her apart. A British traveler, napping in the back of the coach, took up a rifle to shoot at Berstock. After two shots, Berstock grabbed the rifle, and shot the man, and then the passage lamp. When the adventurers reach the coach, they will see Berstock holding the rifle limply over the two mangled bodies, his mouth dripping with blood. He wears a tired smile and hums loudly to himself. A large bloody spot can be seen under his shirt where the rifle-shots hit him. Berstock raises his new rifle to shoot . . . Scene #2: The Great Outdoors As soon as the PCs fire, or he runs out of bullets, Berstock will run back through the rear door and close it. He will then proceed to rip the safety canvas away and climb up to the roof of the car. He is confused and regrets his impulsive action, and seeks to hide from his new tormentors. The players may think of several methods of pursuit. They could easily head Berstock off by running for- ward through the cars, and climbing up ahead of him. By sending some men from the rear, he could be trapped. Or, the PCs could chase him from behind, in which he would turn to be rid of 3 them. In any case, the scene is likely to become a fight and chase on top of the moving train. This is hazardous, with or without Haimannock. It is nighttime out, with clouds and light snow. The tops of the cars are covered in layers of snow and ice. This com- bined with the wind is likely to hinder the mobility of any except Berstock, who revels in it. The GM should require moderate ability checks peri- odically for characters to remain on their feet, and more difficult checks for those attempting to move at any speed greater than a careful walk. Grievous failure indi- cates that the character is slip- ping towards the edge, and may fall if not aided. Anyone falling off the train is likely to be out of the adventure. Damage from the fall (com- bined factors of speed and height) will be equal to a nor- mal fall from 20 feet (about 6 meters). A faller will (at least) be knocked out, or break a limb. Play these dangers up in your descriptions. The players will have every reason to be scared! However, the fight should end with Berstocks defeat, provided the players keep cool heads. Berstocks death should be dramatic, with the still-grinning body flailing as it falls over the side into darkness. The players should for a time believe that Berstock is gone. Scene #3: Fears Realized Back in the dry warmth of the train, the characters will find Hawthorne and a crowd of passengers waiting. Hawthorne asks the passengers to please turn in to bed, now that the danger is over. Grudgingly, they will agree. The Pullman containing the bodies is left alone, and the passengers of that car are moved forward. Hawthorne will then ask the PCs what happened, and then tell them what he found out from Berstocks fellow travelers (his name and work, little else). This is a good time for any questions or requests the PCs may have, but the con- ductor knows little outside of the normal business of the train. Both of Berstocks victims were travel- ing alone, and there are no living witnesses to Berstocks acts. All involved are very disturbed and worried, but the Conductor assures both his fellow crew and the PCs that things are fine, and tells everyone to turn in. Provided there is no delay, they will have a breakfast stop on the other side of Cray Canyon at about 10 AM. There, legal matters can be taken care of. However, peace is not to be. Less than an hour after the characters bed down, a tiny and distant scream can be heard by any characters who choose to remain awake. A few minutes later, a woman crying and speaking in a thick German accent will run through the car asking after the conductor. She is followed by a panting boy. Only the boy speaks any English, and he only haltingly. It seems that, while they were sleeping, a man grabbed his little broth- er from his mothers arms and ran. He was gone by the time they were fully awake. No one else saw the man, and the baby is gone. These people are immigrants from the first Zulu car. A porter will fetch the conductor, and Paris Moses will arrive on the scene to comfort the grieving mother. Mary Henderson will ask questions of all concerned, with an alarming lack of empathy for anyones feelings. Unfortunately for the grieving mother, Henderson speaks fluent German. The mother remembers only icy hands awakening her. Her baby, she said, did not make a sound. A search for the infant will reveal, after some time, a bloody scrap of blanket behind the baggage car door. Frozen solid. Scene #4: Cray Canyon At this point, nobody on the train is sleeping, and the story of the strange missing infant and the murderer Berstock has spread among the awakening travelers. All are up in their compartments, many with guns in hand, in varying degrees of alertness. Moses and his wife have brought out their hymns in their own car, and many passengers are there. Hawthorne, at his wits end, is in the Zulu cars attempting to calm frightened travelers, and using Mary Henderson 4 ANTHONY BERSTOCK Anthony is strong, extremely agile, and almost inhumanly resilient. He could break a jaw with a punch and take several slugs from a pistol before slowing down. Hes also a wickedly sharp shot with his gun, given favorable circumstances. Berstock cannot feel pain, and can speak very little. Berstocks mind has completely given over to Haimannock, who can access many of his physical skills. Without Haimannock, Berstocks abilities would be unremarkable. He will not take the time to aim his gun, and will drop it and flee to the roof if the PCs fire on him. Hes already taken a nasty hit, so the GM may opt to slow him down or otherwise limit him if need be to give the PCs an even break. His rifle is a Winchester 73, with 2 shots left. In the dim light, even the supernaturally-enhanced Berstock cant hit a moving man without a lucky shot. as a translator. The porters are now speaking freely of the dreams brought on by the route, and now is the time for the PCs to hear that story. See above, and embellish as needed. And darker things are afoot. A few of the passengers seem entirely too casual about the events of the trip. As the night passes on, even Hawthorne becomes distant and calm, his worry lines rapidly fading into a sincere, relaxed grin. The players should suspect that something is wrong. If they dont, someone else will point it out. Only about 1 in 10 of the passengers are taken in by this odd, cheerful apathy, and the others are reacting to it with a mixture of fear and anger. Indeed, the attitude of comfort and safety descending on some of the passengers is the work of Haimannock, who wants his sacrifices to be happy. He is disturbed by their lack of joy. They should be honored in their deaths. At present, he is sitting atop the caboose, preparing his thoughts, as the mountain containing Rononatha grows ever closer. The train arrives at the Cray Canyon Trestle at 5:15 AM, still on schedule. This is a deep, wooded ravine, in the very depths of the high mountain country. In the dark- ness, all the passengers can make out is a few flurries of snow falling into an abyss. The crossing takes only a minute, and the former traces of the moonlit mountains vanish suddenly as the roar and blackness of the Cray Tunnel surrounds the train. For a few seconds, the characters will notice an almost electric quality in the air, and the passengers all fall silent. At that point, a rending of iron screams against the rocks, echoing throughout the tunnel. The train comes to a jarring halt, and when the echo dies, a distant, jubilant cry is heard from the back of the train. A great gust of wind blows along the tunnel, and some windows crack open. Every gas lantern on the train flickers out. Confusion follows. If the adventurers wish to investigate, the first order of business is to regain the lights. If the PCs have some form of light source, or the means of relighting the passage lamps, then they may do so. If they need to return to their Pullman, and are presently forward of Pullman #2 (either in Pullman #1, the smoking car, or the Drawing Room car), then go directly to the frozen car, below. If they are rearward of Pullman #2, then they can return with no trouble. Under no circumstances should the PCs be in Pullman #2 at this stage. See below for details. The panicked crowd is also a polarized crowd. Now nearly a third are merely sitting quietly, while the others are afraid of what may have happened. The cold is now in the range of 15 below zero (Farenheit), and all pres- ent should take appropriate precautions against frost- bite, etc. This degree of cold is dangerous with long exposure. The Frozen Car: any attempt at movement through Pullman car #2 will reveal that the car is frozen solid. A sheet of ice two inches thick covers the car, including the doors connecting it to the other Pullmans. It is also frozen to the tracks. This was the first act of Rononatha as he awakened to the cry of his son. The spirit is satis- fied for now, and Haimannock/Berstock roams along the tunnel gleefully preparing the train with chants. He is being joined by many of his new followers, including Hawthorne and Mary Henderson. The PCs will catch a few of these leaving the train. They will refuse advice to stay in away from the cold, saying cryptically, I am to free my Father. They may be forcibly held back, but will fight for all they are worth if an attempt is made. Any movement by any non-Possessed passengers (PCs included) will cause from 1 to 6 Possessed to attack. 5 POSSESSED PASSENGERS The Possessed are unremarkable, physically, and just barely above animal intelligence. Theyre circling the train in a curi- ous pattern of moving triangles. They will attack all of those lesser honored who attempt to interfere. Few of them are armed, and even those will attack with punches and grapples; they lack the presence of mind (literally) to use weapons. On any encounter, roll a six-sided die. On a 1, Berstock is also with them. His stats are unchanged, and any damage he has taken is still there, including broken limbs from the fall off the train, etc. However, his form cannot be killed. No matter how much damage it takes, it will not cease to be animate. The PCs can cripple it normally, but this will do nothing to prevent the ceremony from continuing (see scene #5). If a Posessed Passenger is captured, hell revert to his own right mind. This will reveal the death-by-fire principle to the PCs, as the passenger remembers the spirits fearing it. However, this information can only be gained after some sincere effort (a skill check on the part of a skilled doctor, or at least a smooth-talking gambler), due to the state of panic on the part of the formerly-possessed NPC. It is possible, of course, that the fire idea will simply occur to the PCs without prompting. This scene and the following one are highly variable, as the PCs must determine much of the endgame pattern. They have the following things to discover, in any way they can: Many of the passengers are experiencing visual halluci- nations. Some are mumbling the father is returning, repeatedly, and so on. In short, the psychic presence of the dark spirit is becoming felt as he awakens. Such rants serve as a useful tool to feed the party information if the scene slows down at any point. The second Pullman car is not solid ice, but the ice is very hard to break through, requiring half an hour with an axe to open a door. This turns out to be a waste of time, especially considering sunrise (and the doom of the train) comes at 6:30 AM, when the spirit of the dark defies the sun in his awakening. The interior of the car is coated two inches thick just like the outside. Floor, ceiling, and passengers included. The sight of it will likely stun or even traumatize those unprepared for it. The bodies do not seem in any state of alarm the freeze was thor- ough and instant. General bits of the story of Rononatha and Haimannock can be gained by successful skill checks involving occult studies or local Indian beliefs. Each successful check will reveal one piece of the story, about as much as can be contained in a single short sen- tence. A few notable details: Send Him Deep: Burying the form of Anthony Berstock would trap the spirit here, and end the menace temporarily. However, by consuming the body com- pletely in flame, Haimannock would be destroyed and Rononatha would be eternally powerless. TNT: The fourth freight car contains 100 lbs. of dyna- mite, in addition to any other cargo the GM has deter- mined. If discovered (the porters are aware of it, but are unlikely to think of it unless asked), this could be extremely useful. Light the Way: Berstocks dislike of light has grown into an unreasoning aversion. Keep him in the light, and hes powerless. If he fails to awaken his father at dawn, hell be without power, and easily subdued and burned in the daylight hours. Scene #5: Cold Blood The two ancient spirits plan to bring the cold wind into the tunnel at daybreak, to freeze all the warm blood solid, sacrificing the mortals for freedom. If this is suc- cessful, then Father and Son will once again roam the earth, ending daylight and pushing the world towards their sunless, frozen ideal. The goal of the PCs should be to end the madness spread by Berstock and his father-spirit, with a minimal loss of innocent life. Several solutions exist (see above), and these listed suggest others. Imaginative groups will come up with all sorts of things once the facts are made clear. As an option, the above methods (which are straightfor- ward and conducive to a more action-oriented group) could be bogus. Feel free to invent your own. This is necessary if some player has read the adventure. Perhaps the solution is to expose Berstock to direct morning sunlight, or to destroy a totem image of Haimannock, which is secreted in Berstocks bag in the baggage car. Perhaps there is an Indian, or even a shaman, aboard the immi- grant car, who holds some ancient key from his family. Or some combination of all of these. Any interesting cargo that you permit to exist is bound to become the tools of desperate and creative heroes. In previous runs of this adventure, most groups hit upon the fire method, find the explosives, and blast the tunnel. Some groups think to try to round up the possessed innocents first (with the help of the other passengers, who vastly outnumber the possessed), and some not. And while the blast-the-tunnel method works well in both burning and burying Berstock, it also stops traffic along the rail for a long time . . . The GM should suit the solution(s) that suit his groups roleplaying and tactical style, and reward logical new solutions that the players may invent! 6 ENDGAME NOTE If the lesser method of ending the awakening (burial of Berstocks Form) is used, that the two spirits will be active again within months. So that is, at best, a pyrrhic victory. Any survivors can contact help by using the telegraph lines that run along the rails. This is true even if they collapse the tunnel, as the lines run above the mountain, not through it. The winter will quickly return to more survivable levels of cold, and they will be rescued within a day, back within the peaceful fold of frontier civilization. TM WWW.CUMBERLANDGAMES.COM Smoker Car Lounge Area card games bar Direction of Travel The #40 Long-Haul h e a t e r h e a t e r C u r t a i n s t o r a g e l a m p s Sleeper Car Zulu Car b e n c h b e d s i t t i n g
a r e a privy privy & storage the Zulu cars have no heaters or privacy. Beds fold into comfortable benches during the daytime. CRAY CANYON COLD SNAP SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN THE WILD WEST Writing, design, graphic production and cartography by S. John Ross. Playtest and Commentary by Tim Driscoll, Kevin Eagles, Marty Franklin, Dan Moose Jasman, and Shawn Lockard. An earlier version of this adventure appeared in the October/November 1991 issue of White Wolf Magazine. This document is Copyright 1991, 2000 by S. John Ross. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to create copies for personal use only; any commercial use is prohibited. CRAY CANYON COLD SNAP, CUMBERLAND GAMES, CUMBERLAND GAMES & DIVERSIONS, and the Cumberland G&D logo are trademarks of S. John Ross. w w w . c u m b e r l a n d g a m e s . c o m