[Scenario] The Mothman Invasion

[thornburgmp]

Background and Premise
This adventure takes place in Point Pleasant, West Virginia in late 1967. Historically, at this time the community of Point Pleasant was enveloped in paranoia and terror over sightings of the Mothman cryptid. This scenario imagines what that creature might be and brings it into the Doctor Who universe.

In October 1967, a passing alien spaceship piloted by a new (to Who) species crash lands at an old munitions plant near Point Pleasant, West Virginia and serves as the catalyst to events in the town. The occupant, a single alien with monstrous appearance is unharmed but its ship is heavily damaged. The alien is a powerful psychic: it consumes psychic energy to survive, has some mind control powers, and its technology is powered by psychic energy. When the ship crashes it is found by a local preacher named Reverend Harry Powell (named and inspired by the antagonist of Night of the Hunter). Powell sees an opportunity to manufacture a crisis in the town that he will rescue it from, growing his power and realizing his political ambitions to become mayor as "Savior of Point Pleasant". The "Mothman" and Powell form an uneasy alliance.

Since then, the Mothman has been terrorizing the town and especially rival churches but conspicuously avoiding the area near Powell's church. This has caused many terrified residents to begin to worship at Powell's congregation. Several residents have gone missing and the Mothman has been using them as hypnotized labor to repair its ship. The local mayor and police have been completely ineffective; this is by design as Powell plans to run against the mayor next year and wants the mayor to be weak. Finally, the Mothman is repairing its ship using steel from a local bridge (using hypnotized labor). This has left the bridge dangerously weak and approaching collapse. (This actually happened at the end of the Mothman sightings in December 1967).

Into this situation come the PCs. Can they expose Harry Powell? Can they prevent the collapse of the bridge? Will the Mothman get away?

[thornburgmp]

Part I
The PCs are hoping to travel to the height of the swinging sixties-- late 1967--and see Jimi Hendrix at the height of his powers. However, something anachronistic pulls the TARDIS off course and they crash land. They are on earth at approximately the right time, but not sure where on Earth. They emerge in woods and can broadly tell they're in the eastern United States. The TARDIS is unresponsive and so they probably go out to investigate.

A road is nearby. If the PCs try to flag down passing cars, people will slow down and, on seeing they are strangers to the community, quickly drive away. Everyone seems jumpy and nervous and a number of people are carrying guns. Eventually, a young woman stops and offers them a ride. Her name is Ruby Walston and with some appropriate questions, the PCs can learn the following facts:

• They are in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.
• The community is being menaced by a monster called the Mothman. People have disappeared and places have been damaged.
• Ruby believes in a local preacher named Reverend Harry Powell. His congregation and church has been untouched.

As they talk, the car drives over the Silver Bridge, a large bridge. They have to wait as there is construction going on. This is a key location but don't give away too much yet. Just say the construction crews look bored.

Ruby takes the PCs back to her home and invites them to come to a revival that Reverend Powell is holding that night. She does not carry a gun but she brings her hound dog, Rascal. If the PCs acquiesce, they see a large encampment around the church and lots of scared people. Powell greets her warmly but seems wary of the PCs. He also insists that guns and dogs be left outside. He seems particularly annoyed about the dog.

During his service he includes speaking in tongues. He pulls out a "chalice" that exudes a smoke. A high roll can deduce this is an alien device and a higher roll can deduce that the "smoke" from this device is some sort of hallucinogen. The Doctor would probably know that this chemical heightens output of psychic energy. The PCs may decide to confront Powell then and there. This is dangerous as the congregation is very loyal to him. 

All of a sudden Ruby's dog rascal starts barking like crazy. There is a creaking heard on the roof. Those watching Powell can tell he reacts not with surprise or terror but annoyance. People rush outside to get their guns and see MOTHMAN on the roof! Powell begs them to trust God and issues a condemnation to the creature. Perceptive characters see him operating something in his pocket as he does this, and the Mothman seems to cower and fly away.

[thornburgmp]

Part II
After the Mothman is driven off, Reverend Powell addresses the congregation and the characters. He condemns it as a demonic force and declares that faith in him and God will win the day. The PCs notice that most of the congregation is very passive at this point. Some are unconscious while others seem dazed and confused. The PCs will need to make a check as well to determine whether or not they feel the effects of the encounter. [Unbeknownst to the party, what has happened is that Reverend Powell allowed the alien to "feed" on the psychic energy of the congregation. Ruby's dog, Rascal spotted the nearby alien and startled it. The rest was improvisation by the Reverend.]

The Reverend announces that he must rest to prepare for his battle with the demon and leaves the sanctuary through a back door. Most of the townspeople in the congregation (including Ruby) fall asleep or rest in the pews. They have not slept well recently because of the Mothman and combined with the psychic drain, they are spent. The PCs are likely sufficiently suspicious of Reverend Powell that they may wish to investigate what's going on. Powell has a few tough looking guards who patrol the area (ostensibly guarding against Mothman) and the PCs will need to take care they are not seen.

If they reach the private areas of the church or the parsonage nearby, they find a room with a (modern for the time) police scanner, some sort of alien tech listening device, and an alien tech communicator linked with someone else. While they are standing there, the alien listening device springs to life and they hear the voice of someone exasperated planning with another person how to deal with the Mothman. After listening for a bit it is apparent that they are listening to a bug of Point Pleasant's mayor and Sheriff trying to figure out how to find and stop Mothman. Also, at this point the PCs hear someone in the church/parsonage coming towards the room, drawn by the sound of the listening device. They may try to hide or try to confront the person.

Reverend Powell walks into the room. If the PCs hide successfully, they can watch him take notes on the Mayor and Sheriff's conversation. Those two are planning to set up a "safe site" for the townsfolk in downtown Point Pleasant protected by the Sheriff's deputies. Reverend Powell operates the alien "walkie talkie" and communicates with someone (or something). He chastises them for their clumsiness earlier that evening but says that there is an opportunity to harvest all the psychic energy the alien wants. He will work to draw off the Sheriff's deputies with emergency calls from the other side of town and let the Mothman feed on the psychic energy of the sheltering townsfolk. Reverend Powell also asks the alien how the repair of its craft is going.

The PCs likely will want to warn the Mayor and Sheriff or do something other than stay there. The area is very quiet and it will be hard to leave the isolated church without using a car and alerting Powell. But the PCs will probably leave the church site then.

If the PCs do not hide successfully or choose to confront Powell there, Powell raises a ruckus, drawing many people. He declares them heretics and pronounces that the protection of God will not follow them. He tells Ruby Walston to take them away from here. She is in no condition to drive so the PCs will need to operate her van. The PCs therefore leave the church site.

As they drive, the PCs come back to Silver Bridge. There are no lights on at the time and they almost hit a construction worker who is standing in the road. This should strike them as VERY suspicious. However as they contemplate what to do, they see a shadow cross the moon. The Mothman has arrived.

[thornburgmp]

Part III
The Mothman ignites a chase scene. It has an advantage over the PCs in that they are traveling in a broken down van and it can fly quickly. Give the PCs a chance to try creative and interesting things to gain an advantage. Very much a "Yes, and..." sort of scene. As they speed across the Silver Bridge, emphasize how it seems very rickety and maybe, with a successful roll, the PCs see a worker fall into the river and none of the other workers seem to notice or care. Make it apparent something weird and dangerous is going on with this bridge and its workers; the party just can't deal with it right now because of the MOTHMAN following them.

The creature is after them but it is smart. It will not follow them into populated areas like Point Pleasant but will try to catch them before they reach the town. Since it is psychic, have it speak to each of the PCs in their head. It will express surprise but familiarity if it tries to link with the Doctor or other Time Lord. If the PCs fail the chase, the Mothman will take Ruby Walston (or try to) and fly towards the south of the town.

At this point, there are several options for the PCs to go:

The Mayor and Sheriff
The PCs may try meet with the Mayor (named: Bob Hotsch) and/or Sheriff (named: Gertie Haskins) about the impending attack on the safe site they are setting up for townsfolk. The PCs will need to roll high to gain their trust. These are superstitious folk whose nerves are fried and not inclined to trust wild stories from strangers to the town. The Mayor and Sheriff will meet them in the Mayor's office which has been turned into an impromptu command center. An appropriate scan will reveal the hidden listening device which will bolster the PCs credibility. Recounting parts of their conversation that the PCs overheard at the church through the listening device will also bolster credibility.

If the PCs explain Reverend Powell's plan with the Mothman, Mayor Hotsch will be willing to work with and defer to the PCs and their plan. Maybe they will try to trap the Mothman or some sort of feint. Once again, a great opportunity for creativity by the PCs and "Yes, and..." roleplaying.

The Bridge
The PCs may try to figure out the weirdness with the bridge. The workers at the site are hypnotized slaves to the Mothman. They are not hostile but they will defend themselves if attacked and do not like the PCs around. Any sort of subterfuge and hiding will allow the PCs to see the workers loading steel from the bridge into a dump truck and drive it away. The PCs can follow and will see it enter the old munitions plant south of town. This is where the Mothman's base is, the ship, the creature, and (if captured) where Ruby Walston is imprisoned.

Rescuing Ruby Walston
The PCs may try to rescue Ruby Walston. They can follow the creature south of town but there are vast woods here and the broken down munition plant. You should decide whether they are clever (or lucky) enough to find the location of the hidden base above.

Most of the above branches lead to THE FINAL CONFLICT which takes place in the old munitions plant south of Point Pleasant.
Wow. Historically, this is where people thought the Mothman lived and what a place for a Doctor Who final confrontation! Explosives everywhere? An alien base? Hypnotized drones? Some stuff to think about:

• If you gain the trust of the Sheriff and Mayor, they will lend you the police forces to go into the base. Remember, the Mothman can hypnotize people so this can be a double-edged sword.
• The Mothman can be bargained with. It is desperately trying to leave and this plot is the best way it's found to repair its ship. The Doctor would probably try to negotiate. This is the most "Doctor Who" of the solutions.

[thornburgmp]

I wrote this scenario with the help of the Gamemaster's Companion . It seems a bit railroady but the scenarios I've seen published from C7 (such as in All of Time and Space Volume 1 ) are written this way like scripts.

[fordfjord]

"Railroady" or not, the detail is fantastic. Thank you for posting this, fellow Whovian!

[thornburgmp]

Thank you! I am running the scenario now with my wife and some folks from this board.