Scenario One, Knife of the Ripper

Scenario One: The Ripper

One moment you are standing where you were, the next moment, you are surrounded by fog.

The fog envelops them as they head for the arch. Their footsteps sound flat on the cobbles. It is a horribly vulnerable sound.

In moments, they have reached the pavement on the other side. The arched alleyway lays beyond. Overhead, the sign is clearly visible now: 'Bucks Row, Whitechapel'.

The fog swirling in the mouth of the arch looks like the great gray whorl of some immense spider's web. Is there some hideous parody of a spider waiting for them in there now, waiting for them to enter?

Fighting off the hideous image, you go on through the arch. And as soon as you have passed beneath it, another sound reaches your ears, as if your presence has triggered further effects. It is the sound of a hurdy-gurdy. The staple cliche of all the fogbound-Victorian-streets-of-London movies. It is playing Molly Malone, with its refrain of "Alive, alive-o."

They continue down the cobbled alley, looking anxiously about as they move from side to side. All around them the fog swirls and thickens, and the streetlights give only spectral outlines of distant buildings; a dog howls somewhere. They can see the rough brickwork of the walls on either side, the worn and cracked steps leading up to forbidding doorways. This is no real-life Victorian street. This is some studio art director's version of such a street; designed for the most horrid of horror movies. The doors hidden by fog and shadows are either too small or too large. Just like the doors, the angles of the shaded windows are all wrong. They can not possibly have been designed for practical use; the planes and perspectives are irregular; and obey some insane perspective.

The sound of the hurdy-gurdy dies. Again, an invisible hansom cab passes close by and is swallowed by the fog.

You look back in the direction from which you have come. The archway is faintly illumined by the hidden street lamp beyond.

The characters can be spread blocks apart.

The tap tap tap of a blind man’s cane in the fog and, every time you stop and turn to check who is following, you can see nothing. Tap tap tap, then stop, turn, still nothing. Tap tap tap.

Although you quicken your pace, the tapping still continues.

If the PCs attempt to flee the noise, read the following:

You start to run; you run down a side street, then another, losing your bearings and slipping over the cobblestones that are damp and greasy.

Jack the Ripper:

Horror Factor: 10

Alignment: Diabolic.

Size: 5 ft 5 inches Tall

Weight: 130 lbs

Armor Rating: 4

S.D.C.: 70 S.D.C. and 40 Hit Points.

Attributes: I.Q. 8, MA. 5, ME 7, PS. 25. P.P. 20, P.E. 21, P B. 9, Spd, 19.

Natural Abilities: Heals five times faster than a normal human, impervious to drugs/chemicals, can teleport up to one mile (1.6 km), but must be line of sight.

Also see PS. attribute for incredible strength, bonuses for resistance to mind control/hypnosis, and psychic powers.

Jack the Ripper .Skills: Prowl 54%, surgical skill equal to Medical Doctor 60%, biology skill 85%, ride horse 66%, swim 75%, and hand to hand: Basic (4th level).

Magic Abilities: None; predator

Psychic Powers: Impervious to poison, impervious to cold, resist fatigue, sense evil, sense magic, see the invisible, meditation, empathy and empathic transmission: Fear ONLY.

I.S.P.: 2D4x 10 P.P.E.: ID4X 10

As Jack: 60 ISP and 20 P.P.E.

Attacks per Melee: Three; hand/punch inflicts 11)6 damage plus P.S. bonus, or by weapon. As Jack the villain has his favorite 12 inch knife (1D8 damage), two scalpels (ID6 damage), and a sword cane (ID6 damage as a cane/blunt attack or 2D4 as a sword).

Bonuses as Jack: In addition to attribute bonuses, -3 to strike, +5 to parry and dodge, +10 to damage. -2 save vs psionics, + 8 to save vs mind control (including hypnosis), immune to horror factor.

Spring-Heeled Jack: