Formulae For Death Background Ricky Torrez couldn’t believe those assholes kicked him out. Gut Check was his band from the start. He built their sound from the ground up, he even came up with the name, and they had the balls to vote him out “because being in the band was starting to damage his health” and they “needed a bassist who won’t come on stage so geeked out he can’t read the setlist”. They even have a replacement lined up already! Fucking traitors. He didn’t know what they were gonna do without him hitting the streets and putting up flyers day and night, all he knew was he needed to get fucked up, bad, and he knew just who to talk to. His dealer Ian told him about some product he’s been selling around campus lately. The weird Jamaican dude that sold it to him said it was some sort of PCP-DMT-hybrid shit “that’ll blow your mind and take your soul to another level.” Ricky had no idea how literal that would be. Setup The PCs are invited to see a friend’s band (one of the PCs could be in the band, brought in to replace Ricky, if they are musically inclined) perform at a house show near a college in whatever town or city the GM prefers. During the show, the band (most likely the frontman or the PC/ replacement bassist) is attacked by a drugged out and furious Ricky but before he is able to cause major damage, his head explodes (Rank 4 Violence, Rank 5 Helplessness only for people who were good friends with Ricky). Any spiritually attuned PCs (someone with the Aura Sense skill for example) can notice the pale blue wisp of Ricky’s soul dart out of the stump of his neck and fly out through an open window (Rank 2 Unnatural) too quick to chase down. The show dies down rather quickly as most of the people in attendance freak out and run screaming from the house. Gut Check sticks around, quickly packing up their gear and making sure the attacked bandmate is okay before leaving with the rest of the panicked guests. The PCs can question the band during this time. The members of Gut Check know that deep down Ricky was a good guy when he wasn’t using and while he may have been kicked out of the band, he was still a friend. Being a punk band, they trust their friends more than the cops to look into Ricky’s death and ask the PCs to try and get to the bottom of it. The PCs are familiar with Ricky getting aggressive when he’s on uppers but it’s not much of a surprise that no one has ever heard of drugs causing someone’s head to explode. Clues from the Show -Any PC that was close to Ricky knows that he has had trouble with drugs in the past, but whenever they’ve brought it up with him recently he’s said he kicked the habit -Ricky is prone to rants when he gets angry, but he’s never gotten violent -No one at the show heard gunshots -The last time the members of Gut Check saw Ricky was three days ago during practice at the frontman’s apartment. They were worried that keeping him in the band was making his drug habit worse so they all voted to kick him out. Ricky cursed them out before leaving. The band wasn’t sure where he went but they assumed he went somewhere to buy drugs. Clues from Ricky’s Body Depending on the PC’s passions, searching through Ricky’s still twitching body could prompt some Rank 1 or 2 Stress Tests, most likely Violence and/or Self. -Ricky has a wallet with a driver’s license, an ATM card, three guitar picks, some rolling papers and $15 cash. -Ricky’s phone is full of contacts, mostly friends, family, girls, and drug dealers; almost all first names or nicknames. -He has a key ring with keys to his car, his apartment, his gym locker, and a lockbox under his bed. At least one of the PCs have been to his place a few times and can remember the address with a successful Mind roll. Any member of Gut Check knows Ricky’s address and will reveal the information if asked. By now the PCs should have enough clues and reason to start figuring out what happened to Ricky. The fastest way to get to the bottom of things is to track down Ian, the dealer that sold him the drug, and get him to out his supplier, a Narco Alchemist named Robert. Over the next few days more of Ian’s customers start dying. Before long, the police start looking into the deaths. The PCs could follow that trail, but it will only lead to information they have likely already found out (The deaths are related to a strange drug) and run-ins with the cops. After three days the detectives in charge of the investigation will have put enough clues together to arrest Ian and hold him in the county jail until he can be put to trial. If the PCs haven’t tracked him down by then they’ll have to figure out a way to contact him in jail. Ricky’s Apartment Ricky has a small studio apartment above a convenience store off-campus. It’s messy. Full of instruments, moldy dishes and dirty laundry. His fridge is full of beer and old boxes of takeout food. Giving the apartment a thorough search reveals a lockbox under his bed containing a bag of weed, two small bags of cocaine, an assortment of drug paraphernalia, and two small vials containing a thick silvery liquid, two doses of the drug that killed Ricky. One vial has a joint half submerged in the liquid. Ricky’s Car Ricky’s car, a 1998 Chevy Malibu, is parked on the street outside of his apartment. It is surprisingly clean by comparison. There is a fully loaded .38 Special registered in Ricky’s name in the glove compartment. Ricky’s Gym Locker Ricky worked out at the local YMCA. His locker is full of dirty gym clothes. Ricky’s Income Ricky payed for his bills, instruments and vices by working at a nearby fast food restaurant. His manager assumed he just decided to quit after not showing up for the past three days. They are unaware of his death. A few employees at both restaurants could be Mak Attax members, but even if the PCs somehow figure this out they are unrelated to Ricky’s death and the Narqui’s plans. They may have heard of a reclusive Narqui operating somewhere in the area but don’t know much besides that. After two days of unexplained drug related head explosion deaths word will have circulated through the local Occult Underground enough that the Mak Attaxers will know that something weird is going on. They might even want to help get to the bottom of it if they know the PCs are either not up to anything evil or in over their heads. Ricky’s Phone Ricky made calls to four people between the hours of midnight and 1AM two days before his death. They are all drug dealers Ricky has had contact with in the past. Each call lasted less than thirty seconds. The context of the situation should be enough of a clue as to why the names are important but just in case, any PC with a decent amount of street smarts can recognize that short phone calls at odd hours are hallmarks of drug deals. Their addresses can be found by asking around campus or by calling their numbers and talking them into arranging an in-house meeting. They all know better than to talk at length about deals over the phone. Details on the dealers are as follows. Use Stock Thug stats from the UA rulebook for each dealer if needed… Ian McElhenney, Male, Caucasian, 27. Small time weed/pill dealer. Lives in a row home off campus. Bought a large supply of The Drug from the Narco-Alchemist Robert one week before Ricky’s death and sold it to numerous students hoping to expand his business. He knows that Robert lives in a shack in the woods near a trailer park outside the city and can give general directions to his place if pressed for information. If he is hit with news that the drug he sold to several people has led to their deaths, he will quickly crumble and realize he is in way over his head. Ian has been thoroughly creeped out by every interaction he’s had with Robert and can only dream of the kind of people he knows and what he is really capable of. He will reveal what he knows, but only if the PCs promise to make sure that ratting out his source doesn’t bite him in the ass later. Bobby Lupo, Male, Caucasian, 20. Sells prescription medication stolen from his parents and friends out of his dorm on campus. Looks and acts like a tough guy but he’s never been in an actual fight and will break quickly if threatened physically. He sold Ricky some Percocet and Xanax during his drug buying spree and hasn’t heard from him since. Word of his death will be news to him and it will scare him enough to get him out of the dealer business forever.