Headhunter, Savage Worlds 1pg Adventure

Headhunter You have just read in the paper that Lord Theodore Jamison Waitsworth died last night of a heart attack. The new Polo team that he was forming will need another player and the exhibition game has been postponed. Later that day a courier arrives and discreetly invites the local Rippers chapter to the Waitsworth country estate. Lady Gladys Waitsworth is vindictive and knows her husband was murdered. She wants someone to avenge her husband's death and since the police say that he died from a heart attack, they will not pursue the case. Lord Waitsworth was an avid collector of bizarre and unusual objects. He was also a strong promoter of the newly introduced game of Polo. He was in fine health and was looking forward to an upcoming polo match. There is no history of heart trouble in his family. While none of the other valuable objects in the room were disturbed, all three of the heads in his shrunken head collection are missing.

Two of the heads had long black hair and the third had shorter grey hair, each was the size of an orange. The head with grey hair was just recently given as a gift by Lady Eunice Lanceford. Successful Notice reveals a voodoo doll was dropped on the floor near the unlocked window. Lord Waitsworth has not a mark on him but the doll has several long pins in its heart. A raise determines that the doll was made from parts of a leather riding glove. The display case that held the heads can be seen from outside the window. An additional Notice outside reveals that there are boot prints by the window and at the compound's wall. With a raise it is noticed that the ground is soft in a line between them, but there are no additional footprints. The dogs were loose that night but they didn't notice any intruders. Questioning the staff and a successful Notice reveals that a stable hand is reacting suspiciously.

Paid Lackey(Human) The guilty stable hand is Charley Lawson. Charley talked about seeing the heads, at the local pub, and took money in exchange for more details. Now he is feeling he should not have. He doesn't know the man's name but with a successful Intimidation or Persuasion, he remembers the man had a French accent. On a raise, he admits to selling him one of Lord Waitsworth's riding gloves. Paid Lackey(Human) With a successful Intimidation, Persuasion or Streetwise check Bob Lambent, the bartender at the local pub, can reveal that a man with a French accent was there. On a raise, that he was Mr. LaVey the custodian at Cecil Court Chapel.

Evil Cultist(Human) Lady Lanceford presented Lord Waitsworth with the grey haired head as an inducement to ensure her husband Lord Bruce Lanceford would be on the Polo team. She dabbles in the occult and frequents "Atlantis Bookshop", off Tavistock St, where she found the head. She will tell where she got the head if successful Persuasion, or Taunt about it being fake. While Lady Lanceford has no other leads, the Rippers will be attacked after leaving the bookstore by a gang of thugs. Evil Cultist(Human) Once known, the "Atlantis Bookshop" can also be located with a successful Streetwise. The bookstore owner, Tim Tilden, runs a legal if shady establishment. The Rippers are not the first to come asking about the heads. When pressed (Intimidation or Persuasion) the owner admits that a man with a French accent had been there earlier, a few days before the murder, asking about the grey haired head. On a raise, he indicates that it was Mr. LaVey, the custodian at Cecil Court Chapel. Bokor(Witch) and Street Thugs A woman leading a gang of street thugs accost the Rippers. If defeated, it can be Noticed that the woman has burns in the shape of crosses over many parts of her body. In a pocket is a torn flier for a sermon at Cecil Court Chapel, the address to the bookstore is written on the back. For dramatic effect, have Father Altham cast a blast spell with a fire trapping on her voodoo doll, causing the witch to spontaneous combust. The witch bursts into flame starting from the cross marks. Houngan(Witch) The custodian Mr. Gerald LaVey killed Lord Waitsworth with a voodoo doll and brought the heads to Father Altham. LaVey traveled through the ground to and from the study window, thereby avoiding the guard dogs. The small cemetery beside the church can provide Restless Dead for LaVey if the Rippers enter it. Cecil Court Chapel: It is a small unobtrusive church in a rundown neighborhood. There is a small graveyard beside it, that is unkempt and with many headstones knocked over. In the basement is a room with the artifacts that Father Altham has collected and a torture chamber. (An escape tunnel leads to a plot in the graveyard.) Witchfinder(Zombie Wild Card) Father Edmund Altham, a self-described "Witchhunter" who claims to have been commissioned by Parliament to prosecute and execute witches. The witches he captured attempted to bargain with him by providing secret knowledge. Eventually he was tempted and while he continued to capture and torture witches, now it is to gather ever more knowledge and power. He lets the ones that serve him live longer, though he kills them all eventually and uses voodoo dolls to ensure control until then. Shrunken Heads:
Indian head 1, Intimidation d8
Indian head 2, Tracking d8
Father Juan Gabriel Martinez's head, Knowledge(Enochian) d8 Voodoo Dolls