The Modern Dispatch 057 - Soul Gazer

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The
Modern
Dispatch
Pinebox Tales
Soul Gazer
B
lackburn. The armpit of Texas. In seventy some-odd years, nothing had changed. The same old wood-framed
houses stood near the shores of Lake Greystone. Although the homes had aged poorly, with more than a little
flaking paint and rotten wood, the sullen setting was still powerfully reminiscent of his childhood. Memories
rolled and lapped at him at him like a noxious wave.
#57
He remembered his mother, lying in a pool of slowly
spreading blood. The face of her killer loomed over
him. The ghost of Leanne Jones beckoned him to hide
under Blackburn Dock. The alligators, the Indian, the
horror that never left him. Now, he had returned. He
sighed, and took a long drag on his cigarette.
The yards of the homes looked as if they were
garbage dumps. Broken toys, tools, and pieces of cars
littered the landscape. A toddler, diaper drooping, bare-
chested, and listing from his right to his left, moved to
play with a shiny piece of an old chrome bumper. His
mother ran out of the home, allowing the screen-door
to slam behind her, calling to the boy, “Randy, stop.
Come here!” As she reached the boy, her eyes met the
stranger’s.
He wore faded jeans, boots, a sweat-stained white
crew-cut t-shirt, and a black cowboy hat, its frontal
brim bent low to shade his face. He knew what she
was seeing. He looked tough, with a few days growth
of bristles over his face. A cigarette lay clamped
between his lips. He was not bad-looking, and she
probably took him to be in his early forties. Seeing an
opportunity, she smiled.
“Hello, there.”
He reached up and tipped his hat to her. “Ma’am.”
“Haven’t seen you around here before.” She picked
up her son and sat him on her cocked hip in the
practiced way of all mothers. She was cute—a true
redneck woman from the looks of her. She wore cut-
off blue jean shorts and a dark t-shirt with the name
of some rock band emblazoned across it. Her blond
hair was pulled back in a tail some six inches down
her back. She had pretty blue eyes. “There was a
time…” he thought, and took another long drag from
his smoke.
He shook his head, “I ain’t been here in a long time.”
He glanced towards her home. In the driveway sat an
old, red Silverado pickup with several bumper stickers
on the back windshield. One read, “Yankees 1, Rebels
0. Halftime.” Another read, “Women, Use ‘em or lose
‘em!” So, she had a man. She was just looking for
something better. He sighed. He had not come here for
this. Truth was, he was not sure why he had returned
home after all these years.
“Well, I’m Amy. Amy Lopez.” She approached him,
holding Randy with her right arm and offering him her
Requires the use of the d20 Modern Roleplaying
Game, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
“Howdy” from 12 to Midnight
In case you are not familiar with us, 12 to Midnight
is a Texas-based RPG publisher specializing in
modern horror. You might not normally think “Texas”
and “horror” go together, but we are pretty sure you
will change your mind after spending some time in
Pinebox.
Pinebox, Texas, that is—a nice little rural community
smack-dab in East Texas. There is a university nearby,
a pine forest called the Big Thicket, and a mess of
beautiful wildflowers every spring. Unfortunately, it is
also the epicenter of a whole lot of bad mojo. We’re
talking dark magic, serial killers, haunted buildings—
the whole ball of wax.
If you want to learn more about Pinebox, just visit
our Web site at
. You can start using
the free campaign setting on our site right now, then
watch it continue to grow right here in the pages of
Modern Dispatch
. Of course, Pinebox is
our
setting,
but all the material in these pages can just as easily be
dropped into
yours
.
If you have any ideas for future issues,
or if you want to comment on what you
read here, please drop by the forums on
our website.
Author:
Ed.Wetterman�
editors:
Jerry.Blakemore
Preston.dubose
layout:
Preston.dubose
Soul
Gazer
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left hand. He took it into his and with the contact and
the shake he knew everything there was to know about
her.
She had attended Pinebox High, where she’d had
dreams of going to college and escaping East Texas,
but instead had gotten pregnant at sixteen. The boy
was older and a football player. He abandoned her and
the baby and went on to play at the college level. She
dropped out of school, had the baby, and eventually
ran away from home with her child. Her father, an
abusive alcoholic, had made it clear to her that he was
not raising a “bastard kid”.
Amy had met Augustine Lopez at a bar, and had
married him a few months later. She had simply traded
one alcoholic abuser for another. Every Friday and
Saturday night, Augustine would come home late from
some bar with a dull, sullen look in is bloodshot eyes.
Any excuse, and sometimes none at all, was enough
to spark a beating. Her greatest fear was for Randy.
How long until he received a beating of his own? She
dreamed and prayed every night for something better.
Someone better. Well, he was not it. If she knew him,
she would run.
He could walk away, but that would not be right. It
was his duty to seek out those who deserved punishment
and to see that vengeance was done. Vengeance is
mine, sayith the Lord. He was the Hand of God. He
was the Soul Gazer—judge, jury and executioner. He
needed to meet Augustine.
He smiled. “Hello Amy. I’m Isaiah. I was raised
here in Blackburn, but this is the first time I’ve been
back in years.”
She cocked an eyebrow considering him. “Well,
welcome home then.”
He nodded towards her home. “Nice place.”
She adjusted Randy on her hip once more. “Thanks,
it needs some work, but it’s home.”
“I hate to ask, but could you spare something to
drink. My throat is awful parched.” He smiled at her.
Would she take the bait? Of course. She needed a
friend.
“Hey, no problem. Just a sec.” She turned and moved
to her front door and quickly entered the house, the
screen door screeching and slamming shut behind her.
He moved closer to the front porch. He noted the slight
movement of the curtain behind the window, and knew
that Augustine was sizing him up. A moment later he
appeared behind the screen door.
Augustine stood over six feet tall and easily weighed
three-hundred pounds. Big for a Hispanic male. He
wore some shiny silver shorts, and his chest and belly
were bare. Much like Randy had been. A big fat baby
in a man’s skin. Isaiah smiled. “Howdy.”
Sensing something was wrong, Augustine sneered
and scratched his ass. He elbowed the door open and
moved towards Isaiah.
Isaiah offered his hand for a shake, and Augustine
took it. At once, Isaiah knew all he needed to know.
Augustine had done many bad things. Rape, beatings,
and robbery capped by a single murder two years ago,
when he stabbed a man in the back outside a club in
Nacogdoches. Enough. Isaiah knew all he needed to.
Vengeance is mine.
The air was flush with static electricity, and every
hair of Augustine’s body stood on end. His eyes
widened crazily and he attempted to yank his hand
away from Isaiah’s. He failed, the bones of his hand
crushed in the mighty grip of his assailant. Isaiah’s left
hand shot into Augustine’s chest, just below his ribs,
and emerged a second later holding Augustine’s still
beating heart.
“Vengeance is mine,” Isaiah whispered, his eyes
locked onto Augustine’s. The windows to the soul.
Augustine had glimpsed his fated eternity. Hell
claimed its own. He collapsed.
Amy stood at the door, a glass of water slipping from
her hand and crashing down, sending glass and water
in every direction. A pregnant pause of anticipation,
then she screamed.
Isaiah dropped the heart and turned. So much for
his visit home. He walked toward the lake to clean
up. Then he would return to his wanderings. Others
awaited the vengeance only he could give.
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Soul Gazer Template
GM Ideas:
• Isaiah meets the heroes in a club. Do they have any
great unatoned sins? If so, he waits until the heroes
are alone and attacks.
• The heroes witness Isaiah killing someone inside a
car. Do they get involved?
• A hero takes a vow of vengeance against someone.
Upon completing his vengeance he becomes a soul
gazer.
• Two soul gazers meet and each believes he sees the
other as an evildoer with great sin upon his soul.
Their fight rages across the city, sometimes openly,
sometimes subtly. Can the heroes stop the war before
an innocent is killed?
• Heroes who investigate a strange murder learn that
the profile is identical to a string of serial murders
going back as far as twenty years. The killer is a soul
gazer, and his work is not yet done.
• Isaiah has come to visit his brother in a local
hospice. The heroes are also there visiting an elderly
relative or a friend. A male nurse in the hospice is
slowly poisoning the patients and getting away with
the murder of those fated to die anyway. The soul
gazer discovers this and attacks the nurse right in the
hospice.
• A federal agent has come to town and is searching
for someone fitting Isaiah’s description. The heroes
spot Isaiah on the streets of Pinebox.
• The strain of living for almost two centuries has
snapped a soul gazer’s mind. Now on a murder spree
for crimes no more severe than jaywalking, one of
the heroes is now the next victim.
• After accidentally killing an innocent child, a soul
gazer has decided to stop killing and allow himself
to die of old age. However, his Soul Touch ability
remains. Now serving as a priest in a local church,
he also acts as an anonymous informant for one of
the heroes.
Soul Gazers are said to be “touched” by the divine,
but the few show know of their existence have
differing interpretations over whether the divine
power at work is good or evil. However, most soul
gazers believe they are doing God’s work. Usually
they, or someone close to them, have suffered an
injustice, prompting the soul gazer to swear true
vengeance upon his enemies.
This intervention in a moment of crises invokes
a spiritual change. These instruments of “justice”
receive certain powers, enabling them to overcome
adversity and complete their quests. They are forever
linked to their vow of justice and spend the rest of
their time on earth seeking out others who deserve
punishment.
Although some soul gazers believe that punishment
must be administered by their own bare hands, in
fact they are not limited to unarmed attacks. As long
as justice is meted out, the means is not important.
Limited Immortality:
As long as the soul gazer
punishes deserving souls, he does not age. The
soul gazer must punish at least one evil person
per month, to forestall aging. The process is not
reversible, so once a soul gazer ages, he remains
at that age.
Soul Touch:
Through a successful skin on skin
contact, the soul gazer seemingly knows all the
sins and evils a person has ever committed and
whether certain actions deserve punishment.
Track Evil:
Once a target is marked for justice
by a soul gazer, he can track the person by
smell, as a hound might.
Sanctity of the Holy:
Soul gazers cannot soul
gaze upon anyone of true faith, such as clergy.
If an innocent is killed, even accidentally, by a
soul gazer, he suffers an immediate level drain
of 1d6 levels. If this reduces the soul gazer to
zero levels then he dies. After the passing of
seven nights, the former soul gazer rises as a
Revenant of Justice.
Allegiances:
A soul gazer is bound to fight evil. In
achieving this goal, he may join forces with a group
that fights evil or serves good.
Skills:
A soul gazer receives bonuses to his skills.
These are
Hide
+5, and
Move Silently
, +5
Abilities:
The physical health of a soul gazer is
strengthened by divine blessing. This increases the
following ability scores by Str +4, Con +4.
The Soul Gazer is a template that can be added to
any humanoid type.
Challenge Rating:
Character Class Level +1.
Hit Dice:
According to Character Class.
Attacks:
Soul Gazer can make lethal unarmed
attacks with a base damage of 1d6.
Special Qualities:
All of the soul gazer’s abilities
are considered extraordinary. These are:
Damage Reduction:
5/-
Dark Vision:
60’
Drain Evil:
The soul gazer may grapple an
opponent and if successful, he may transfer up
to half their total hit points into himself. Hit
points transferred in excess of his maximum hit
points are not added and may not be received
later.
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Suddenly a Native American stepped from a tree.
The warrior was covered in tattoos and his eyes were
eerily white. The figure calmly pointed to a nice-sized
rock, brown and sharp edged, approximately the size
of a softball.
Andrew was approaching quickly from behind.
Isaiah grabbed the rock and turned on his mother’s
killer, whose face was consumed in madness and
bloodlust. The rock struck the Sheriff across the bridge
of his nose with a thud, followed by a crack, and he
fell forward.
Andrew was not dead, but unconscious, and the
Native American was gone. Isaiah stood in the rain,
the lightning flashes outlining his frame in the night.
What to do? Would he go to prison now? The Sheriff
moaned, and Isaiah’s heart leaped into his throat. He
had to kill the man. He had to.
Then a strange calm came over the boy. Leanne
appeared, smiled at him, and gestured toward the
nearby boat dock. Isaiah understood. He dragged the
Sheriff to the docks, and used the old tie ropes to strap
the man underneath. Sheriff Andrew’s head remained
just above the water.
Isaiah surfaced before Andrew, holding the Sheriff’s
own pocketknife mere inches from his face as the
drunk murderer awoke. “This is for killing my mother”
He sank beneath the dark water and moments later the
water around the Sheriff turned a pinkish tint. Isaiah
surfaced and stood above the dock, pausing to watch
as the alligators glided silently toward their prey.
Later, when Isaiah fled into the night, he was
unaware that he had become a Soul Gazer.
Character Speak
“Mister, you better turn away now. You don’t wanna
see what’s coming.”
“If you do the crime, you must...die.”
“The right hand of Justice. The hand of God.
Vengeance is mine.”
“Prison? Oh yeah, I could do prison!”
Pinebox Personalities
Isaiah Roberts
Isaiah appears to be in his late thirties to early forties. His frame is well defined and slender. He wears faded
jeans, a sweat-stained white crew-cut t-shirt, and well-worn, dusty cowboy boots. His head is covered by a black
cowboy hat; its frontal brim is bent low to shade a face that sports a five-o’clock shadow. A cigarette is constantly
clamped between his lips and his skin is drawn taut like old leather.
Character Profile
(
January 13, 1921 – Present)
Isaiah was born and raised in the Blackburn community
of Golan County, Texas. He has a younger brother
named Timothy, who is currently in the Pinebox
Hospice dying of age and cancer. Isaiah was a strong
and independent child, spending much of his early
years combing the piney woods of his home and fishing
and swimming along the banks of Lake Greystone.
Isaiah’s memories of his childhood are warm ones,
full of love and peace. His father died when he was
very young, and his mother, Mary, raised her two boys
as best as she could. It was not easy raising the boys,
and when the Great Depression hit, she could not find
any work to pay for their home. She took up with the
local Sheriff, Andrew Tate. Andrew had a thing for
Mary, and now he seemed to bring her some peace of
mind in the knowledge that her boys would be taken
care of.
Unfortunately, Andrew was a true beast of a man,
and many episodes of family violence followed her
moving in with him. Then, one stormy summer night,
as lightning flashed and thunder groaned across the
sky, Mary had enough. She fought back.
Andrew, in a drunken rage, had struck Timothy.
Mary grabbed a wooden baseball bat and swung with
all her might at Andrew. He fell, his ribs broken and
screaming in pain. He yelled that he would kill her
and her boys. Timothy fled into the night, while Isaiah
watched Andrew pull his service revolver and shoot
his mother. Her back seemed to explode in a burst
of red as she fell to the floor before her son. Andrew,
gripped in his fury and rage, raised the pistol to fire at
Isaiah, but something happened and Isaiah fled into
the night.
Secrets
As young Isaiah stood before his mother’s killer,
the spirit of Leanne Jones appeared between them.
Leanne had been a beautiful young teenage girl who
had disappeared several years before, the victim of
Andrew’s rage and lust. He had tied the girl’s body
beneath the Blackburn boat docks and sliced her open
to attract the alligators. The body was consumed
and shortly thereafter the Sheriff closed the case.
He claimed that the Leanne had become smitten and
followed a boy to the city of Beaumont. Her parents
never accepted that explanation, but murder was never
proven. This night she would protect the boy from the
fate she suffered. Startled, Andrew shot wildly and
Isaiah ran from the house toward the lake.
His mother’s dead face stood vivid in his mind, and
Isaiah could not stop picturing her precious blood
spreading upon the wooden floors of their little home.
He could hear Sheriff Andrew calling for him in the
rain and giving chase. Somewhere, deep within the
boy’s soul, he cried out for revenge. “I’ll kill you!
I’ll kill you!” He chanted as he ran toward the Wayne
home on the lake.
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Gazer
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pinebox news
September 19, 2005
Volume XII, Issue 24
“It was a bear!”
Sheriff Anderson Closes Case
New Mayor Sworn in on Steps of City Hall
Mayor James Flowers was sworn in on the
steps of City Hall today, becoming the
125
th
Mayor in the history of Pinebox,
Texas. Mayor Flowers replaces the recently
deceased Mayor Red McCoy, who fell
victim to a bear attack a few weeks ago.
In a speech to over a hundred well-
wishers, city-councilmen and others,
Mayor Flowers promised to see to recent
reports of corruption in city government.
He also promised to fight for lower
property taxes throughout Golan County.
He remembered Mayor Red McCoy as
a man of action, and asked for a moment
of silence to remember the contributions
of Mayor McCoy. He then gave a bouquet
of yellow roses to Lalie McCoy, Red’s
widow.
Mayor Flowers is a lifelong resident
of Pinebox and a graduate from Pinebox
high in 1985. He started a paint and
body shop in 1989 and the business has
grown very successful. Mayor Flowers
was elected to the Chairman of the Better
Business Consortium of Golan County
in 1996, and is an elite member of the
Wolf Hunters Club. He was appointed to
replace the deceased Mayor by the City
Council last Tuesday and will serve out the
term of Mayor McCoy.
GM Ideas:
• Mayor Flowers hires the heroes to find
out the truth regarding what happened
to Red McCoy or to discover his ties to
the Texas National Militia.
• A bomb is set off in Flower’s Paint and
Body Shop. he Texas National Militia
is responsible. Mayor Flowers looks to
hire someone he can trust to protect
him and his family.
• Mayor Flowers decides to go after the
Texas National Militia and seeks to hire
someone to infiltrate the group.
Golan County Sheriff Butch Anderson
announced today that the rampage at
the Timberland Country Club that
killed Mayor Red McCoy was caused by
an enraged, rabies-infested black bear.
He went on to blame Louisiana Game
Authorities for its release into the wild.
Recently, the Louisiana Game Authority
has been releasing black bears into the
woodlands of western Louisiana in the
hope of restoring the bear to its native
habitat. Hunters devastated the black bear
population in the mid twentieth century,
and many animal rights activists have
pushed for rebuilding the population.
While many witnesses to the attack
stated that the beast could fly and had
literally “ripped” the Mayor to shreds,
Sheriff Anderson dismissed such claims,
stating that the “late hour and the amount
of alcohol consumed could make for wild
stories.” He emphasized that “science
and good investigative techniques” have
proven the attacker was a black bear.
While no black bear remains were found,
Sheriff Anderson assured the citizens of
Pinebox that the bear is most “definitely
dead.” He went on to state that the bear
was obviously in the last, extreme stages
of rabies, or it never would have attacked
such a large gathering of people.
Anderson also laid to rest rumors that
Mayor McCoy’s body suffered knife
wounds instead of claw marks. “No
human would do what that bear did. A
trained medical professional said that the
mayor’s wounds were claw marks. Do you
think you know more than the coroner?”
GM Ideas
• A wildlife activist named Heather Mays
comes to Pinebox seeking the truth
about the bear attack. She does not
believe it was a black bear, and enlists
the support of the heroes to prove it.
• Eco-terrorists, hearing of the bear attack,
come to Pinebox and campaign against
the city leaders.
• More people are attacked by the “bear”,
forcing the Sheriff to admit that he was
wrong in announcing that the threat had
ended. he heroes are asked to protect
an accountant who has caught glimpses
of a creature at the edge of his wooded
property.
Community Calendar
September 19
4-H Club car wash fundraiser
—
Donald Donuts parking lot, 12
p.m. - 4 p.m.
Golan County Historical Society
monthly meeting
—First State
Bank meeting room, 6 p.m.
Pinebox High School open
house
—PHS, 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.
September 20
Woodsmen luncheon
—Catfish
King, 12 p.m.
Cont’d.
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