DELUXE EDITION UPDATE We're so very close. Josh is just wrapping up the final maps for the Generic Maps section and then we'll do the last sweep using the Backerkit Community Typo-Hunting Form. Then it's fulfillment of final digital drafts and sending the file to print!!!!
I wanted to actually give an update that included some usable content. We were inspired by a question from a backer over on the Discord that really got the wheels turning on how to use Investigation Threads to build out a campaign.
Some context for the question is that they were just wrapping up running the scenario Einfühlung with the eventual aim to getting the Investigators to Hungry Hollow.
Einfühlung is an introductory scenario for Liminal Horror, providing nearly everything you need to jump in to play for both brand new and well-seasoned players. Take the role of the cast and crew of This Mysterious Life, a paranormal investigation television show, as they dive into the depths of the Campbell House attempting to discover the fate of its missing owner. But locked away in Katherine's studio is a sinister secret, one that threatens the lives of all who enter this house.
The Parthenogenesis of Hungry Hollow is a module that has Investigators attempting to figure out what has been going on in Hungry Hollow (people have gone missing, some return changed, and rumors of dangerous Resonant Artifacts in the area). Brea, a former Investigator, had recently moved back to her home town of Hungry Hollow but all communication from her has ceased.
The question asker was following the advice of the Liminal Horror Deluxe Edition in using the Investigation Thread "The Dead of Night" as a followup for Einfühlung. Their wondering was how to use the tools to flush out the thread into a wider scenario for campaign play. It is worth noting as well that they used Brea (the main antagonist for Hungry Hollow) as an associate in Einfühlung. This created a through-line to the eventual events that unfold in Hungry Hollow.
WHAT IS AN INVESTIGATION THREAD?
The Liminal Horror Deluxe Edition has a chapter devoted to the Haunted Pacific Northwest. The Haunted Pacific Northwest is a framework setting, providing a skeletal structure and toolkit for Facilitators to build upon. While this section dives into the many secrets of the region, the only real truths are those at one's specific table. Detailed are eight locations that span the region, including both densely populated and forgotten places. Each includes an overview, points of interest, key NPCs, and Investigation Threads to send Investigators chasing.
Investigation Threads act as a scenario framework, includes on overview of a conflict that is occurring and will eventually come to a head if nothing is done, a set of clues to seed in play, and a list of resources to expand the thread into a full blow scenario.
HOW TO EXPAND AN INVESTIGATION THREAD
Now lets see what it looks like in practice as Josh Domanski uses excerpts from the Deluxe Edition as a means of examining session prep. Our goal is to flush out the Investigation Thread "Dead of Night" as a means of connecting Einfühlung to The Parthenogenesis of Hungry Hollow.
Lets start by pulling the necessary sections of the Deluxe Edition, which is the Investigation Thread "The Dead of Night" (p.257). This will act as the foundation for what comes after Einfühlung.
Using the Resources at the bottom of the Investigation Thread, we can then begin to pull different bit of necessary info, including locations and NPCs.
FOREST PARK: One of the country's largest urban forests, this complex system of parks and trails is a mix of old growth and second-growth forest situated near the downtown area in the northwest portion of the city. Some aspects of the forest spill outside of the park into spaces rarely traveled by humans, leading to legends of a strange dark wood deep at its center and stories of local cryptids inhabiting the park.
The park itself is maintained by the Department of Forestry. Operations are overseen by Clyde Pittock (p.255).
Some trails have been closed due to the frequency of hikers getting lost. Signs strongly encourage staying on the trails for the safety of both the hiker and the forest.
THE SOLARIUM: A brilliant glass building in the center of a guarded compound, tucked away among the trees in the the western outskirts of the city near Forest Park (p.253). The structure and surrounding compound serve as the current headquarters of the Church of Celestial Science. The facility was once a “nature oasis” that went bankrupt in the 70s before being purchased and converted by the Church.
Approximately 50 buildings sit on either side of the compound, surrounded by state of the art security fencing.
A public road cuts through the center of the compound and is closely monitored by Church security.
A majority of the Church’s operation centers are based here, alongside housing for members and cultivated micro-farms, with the goal to be self-sufficient in the near future.
CLYDE PITTOCK: A Parks & Recreation field ranger who oversees operations at Forest Park (p.253). When not on duty, he still often wears his ranger uniform under a coat or sweater. Clyde’s dominating stature is often undercut by his warm demeanor. He’s been meaning to trim his unkempt beard for months.
Desire: Keep the parks safe for Portlanders.
Secret: The increasing amount of strange and unexplainable occurrences as of late have forced him to bend protocol, and the law, in order to do his job. He’s been monitoring the Solarium after hours, convinced the Church of Celestial Science has something to do with this.
MONICA FOWLEY: An undercover Bureau (p.122) field agent who coordinates operations for the metro area. Monica’s current cover is as a rideshare driver, giving her the excuse to drive throughout the city and pick up targets from time to time. Her clothing is nondescript and she portrays a likeable yet forgettable presence.
Desire: To track down and secure any Horrors or planar anomalies in the area.
Secret: Her faith in the Bureau leadership has been shaken and she worries that goals of the larger organization have become corrupted, which no longer justifies the steep moral cost of the Bureau’s operations. In anticipation for a split she’s started recruiting a network of her own to continue the work in secret.
The idea here with "The Dead of Night" is that the Investigators start poking into the Church of Celestial Science to follow up on connections to Katherine Campbell, then they hear that there are a bunch of strange murders happening right nearby the Church's main campus, which should pique interest.
Forest Park can then become basically a small module all its own. So how do we do that? Well, choosing a real city was intentional. Forest Park is a place that exists in real life, and we can use that to our advantage. Let's start by snagging a map.
Hey, that looks an awful lot like a point crawl already! So we can take that park, create some points of interest by using real landmarks, then add some additional points of interest by scattering around some of the murder sites, presumably in locations where it makes sense for someone to be near during the night.
We can use Generic Locations as a basis for where the murders occur as well as where NPCs spend their time.
Another option is to use the Location Generator as a means of randomly generating locations for play.
Use the real life distances to aid in determining travel time between the points and note how that may impact the Phases/time of day.
Seed some clues directly at the sites and have some details in mind that would be in police reports or on the news, as the Investigators will need to gather clues outside of the park as well.
Once you have those, pick a secluded location for the Nightstalker to start making its nest.
The other half of your setup is the complications. You've got the Bloodstone mercs, the Church paying off the cops, Clyde, and Monica all in play, each of those elements serving you up some juicy distractions.
During this step of the planning, creating a Doom Clock will aid in keeping track the actions of the monster as well as the other interested parties.
A voidcrawl isn't always going to be the most appropriate or necessary piece of the puzzle, but it might be a good solution here if you want to get all of these folks in motion. Otherwise, consider their behavior and where the Investigators might otherwise encounter them.
This will all eventually lead to a face off with the Nightstalker. If it senses it's in direct danger, there's a good chance it'll try to flee to the point where it crossed over to the Material Plane, which is of course the Solarium, which circles us right back to the Church connection. The Church will do their best to cover this up, so there might not be a satisfying conclusion. But that will (hopefully) make the players more eager to chase down the next lead.
WHAT COMES NEXT?
The Church of Celestial Science reaches out into many different areas, creating a lot of possible vectors for the players as they explore (which creates the needed time to elapse for Brea to begin her changes in the lead up to The Parthenogenesis of Hungry Hollow). Seed news of the Churches recent branch in Coldwater (this would lead to Stopover at the Shelterwood Inn and The Bloom) or set up the disappearances in Astoria, OR's Investigation Thread "Initiation" (p.285) to lead the Investigators straight into Cult Classic (p.318).
