On the Trail of Jack the Ripper An Adventure for Lost Souls By Joe Williams & Kathleen Williams Copyright © 1993, 2007 by Joe Williams Email me at: [email protected] On the Trail of Jack the Ripper London Times proclaims “Fourth Victim Found Background Slashed!” To read the story, the characters will have to unfold the paper. The story continues inside the paper: The player characters are relaxing in Limbo The fourth victim of the so-called “London when their Mentor enters the waiting room. He Slasher” was found early this morning in Russell looks worried, an expression the characters are Square. The 23 year old student was attacked from unaccustomed to seeing on his wizened features. behind while walking home late last night. She was “An evil spirit has been haunting the earth for over hideously slashed and her throat cut. Although the 100 years. He’s been killing five women a year, area is heavily patrolled, no alarm was raised and each year in a different country. Now he is back in no one noticed anything unusual. The victim’s the city where it started. I fear he is on the name has not been released pending notification of threshold of his greatest evil. You must stop him next of kin. Her Majesty expressed dismay and before it is too late.” concern for the victim’s family and friends. If asked who it is, the Mentor says, “Even I don’t know his true identity. That is what you must discover. What you learn may help you destroy The Tour Begins him.” The players must take ghostly vows before A crowd of about twenty people stands near their Mentor can return them to earth. Possible the Roman wall. After a few minutes, a stout man vows include “I will not rest until I discover the walks briskly around the corner. In one hand he identity of the killer,” or “I will not rest until I stop holds a duffle bag and in the other a fistful of the killer.” brochures. This is Malcolm Atkins, a thirty-five Once their vows are made, the Mentor opens a year old man with a mop of curly brown hair and a tunnel of light. By passing through the tunnel, they brisk, theatrical manner. In a booming voice ripe arrive at . with a London accent he calls out, “Alright, who’s here for the ‘Jack the Ripper Tour by Night?’’ Step right up, only £4.00!” The crowd surges forward. Tower Hill Station, London Malcolm Atkins Type: Material Human It is about 7:00 p.m. on a warm autumn Defense: Passable evening. In the background is the Tower of Appearance: A stout man, walks briskly, mop London; directly ahead is a statue of Julius Caesar of curly brown hair. In one hand he holds a duffle in front of an old Roman Wall. Behind the lost souls bag and in the other a fistful of brochures. The bag is the entrance to the underground where a contains two dozen copies of the book on Jack the magazine vendor sells his wares. The headlines Ripper that Malcolm wrote five years ago, and a 2 2 On the Trail of Jack the Ripper billy club he uses in case his tour group is accosted brighter with drink. It was here that they used to by ruffians. ply their trade, hoping to find a gentleman who Personality: Theatrical, brisk. Voice booms would see them through the night. Now follow me with London accent. as our search for Jack the Ripper takes us to what Motivation: To sell books and entertain his may be the scene of his first crime.” tour. Combat: Malcolm cannot see or interact with lost souls. The Constable The characters hear the clip-clop of hooves on The Crowd cobblestones. They catch a glimpse of a carriage disappearing into an alley, but when they go to The group is made up of tourists of all take a closer look, they find the alley dead ends in a nationalities. There is an American family brick wall, and the carriage is gone. consisting of a husband, wife and three teen-aged Just then, a ghostly street urchin tears out of daughters; two Japanese businessmen with the mist. “Help! Help!” the boy shouts, “the coppers cameras; three German students (one female); is after me!” He hides behind the party as a ghostly three couples (British and American); two lone bobby, dressed as 19 th century constable, appears men (a white American in his forties and a from the darkness. “Have you seen a little boy handsome black Englishman in his early twenties come this way?” he asks sternly. If they answer no, named Steven Parker. He is a well dressed the patrolman will warn them, “Well, if you do, be University student with an amused expression. forewarned, he’s a thief.” If they answer yes, the There is also one lone woman, about twenty-six patrolman will drag Timmy away unless the years old. Her name is Rhonda Kelly, and as the players stop him. players will learn she is the descendant of one of Jack’s victims. Timmy Train Bridge Type: Neutral poltergeist (incorporeal) Defense: Poor WTL: 12 As soon as Malcolm collects money from all Appearance: Timmy is a ten year old boy with the participants, he begins the tour. “Jack the an innocent expression. He wears ragged clothes, a Ripper is a name known round the world,” he says. cap and no shoes. “Yet to this day we know very little about the man. Personality: Friendly and conniving Wot we do know is this -- from August to Motivation: To steal and have a good time. November 1888, he killed five prostitutes in Timmy doesn’t want to be reincarnated, or to go to London’s notorious Whitechapel parish. He Limbo. mutilated them horribly and escaped into the Combat: Timmy does (Defense vs Poor) x 1 darkened streets, never to be captured or damage with his pocket knife. identified. Who was he? Some say a mad doctor or Powers: A character must make a Great tanner. Some even think he was a Royal. Tonight, Empathy roll or else believe Timmy is incapable of I’ll be taking you on a tour along the very streets wrongdoing, despite any evidence to the contrary. Jack walked, and we’ll visit some of the sites of his Timmy will steal one random object from any dastardly deeds. Perhaps the answer to his identify character he touches. The theft will only be noticed lurks in these dark corners.” And with that he turns if the character makes a Good Alertness roll. and walks into the night. The crowd follows him. Timmy knows the Whitechapel district very well, A few blocks away, the tour stops underneath and can lead the players back to the tour if they get a train bridge, and Malcolm takes up his narrative. separated. He knows nothing of the Ripper, having “The women who died at the hands of Jack were all been born after the murders ended. sad cases who tried to make their bleak lives a little 3 3 On the Trail of Jack the Ripper Constable Reardon Gunthorpe Street Type: Good haunt (incorporeal) Defense: Passable When the players catch up with Malcolm’s WTL: 23 tour, he is on a small street which parallels the Appearance: A bobby from the late 1800s. back of an apartment complex. Other than the tour Personality: Business-like and slightly group, it’s a very dark and deserted area. “On pompous. August 7, 1888, Martha Tabram was out drinking Motivation: He’s been after Timmy for nearly a with her good friend Pearly Poll. They picked up a hundred years, and once he catches him, Reardon pair of soldiers, and went off separately into the will finally be able to find peace. night to ply their trade. Only Martha never met up Combat: Billy club for (Defense vs Passable) with her friend afterwards. She had been killed damage. here, in what was once know as George Yard, Notes: If asked about Jack the Ripper, Reardon stabbed to death with a knife or bayonet. Many will give the following information. “The question students of the Ripper believe that Martha was you should ask is why did the killer stop after five actually Jack’s first victim. Was Jack a soldier? We murders? A rational and workable theory, to my will never know.” way of thinking, is that the Ripper’s brain gave way Across the street is a tall wooden fence after the last ‘orrible crime and he committed surrounding a construction site. A short, stocky suicide. It’s no secret that Sir Melville Macnaghten, woman stands against the fence. She has graying Chief Constable of Scotland Yard, suspected the brown hair and is dressed in ragged, bloody killer was Montague Druitt, a schoolmaster from clothes. She appears to be a bit tipsy. “Got any gin Blackheath. From private information I have little for a poor old girl?” she questions loudly. The doubt but that his own family suspected him of people in the tour ignore her because they cannot being the Whitechapel murderer.” see her. This is the remnant of Martha Tabram. If pressed for more information, Reardon If questioned, she will grow cagey. “Sure, I’ll explains. “Not long before the last murder, Druitt tell you where Jack is and what he’s up to -- fer a was dismissed from his post at Blackheath for price. Five pounds!” As the players negotiate, a misconduct with a male student.