When Nightmares Come: investigators for an Arkham campaign

Having recently taken delivery of When Nightmares Come from Osprey Games, I've decided to have a go at a full six part case centred around H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham and its surrounding environs. The time setting will be 1928.

I am creating four investigators, two for solo investigations and four if there is another player. Below also is a quick summary of the districts of Arkham as I won't be using the default community of Deacon Falls in the book.

The player characters

Andrea Walton (Wright)

Andrea has lived in Arkham all her life and is steeped in its history and legends. She is descended from a witch who was burned at the stake during the Salem witch trials in the 1600s. She covers her activities by working as an assistant chemist at one of the pharmacies in the town. She still has family living in Kingsport.

Primary Attributes: Body d6, Mind d8, Spirit d10

Move: 3"; Equipment Slots: 3; Extraction Efficiency: 4; Resolve: 5.

Satchel Capacity: 5. +2D bonus when employing occult instruments and applying special potions.

Slippery & Sneaky  - bonus to disengage from melee, dodge bonus in cover. Home Brewer - potions and grenades are extremely potent, at least most of the time.

Equipment: Knife (1), First aid kit (1), Satchel (1), Granite's Fealty (Esoterica), Horizon's Calm (Esoterica). Satchel: Lure, Snare, Repellant, Soothe, Revive.

Connections: Kingsport. Favours: City Workers & First Responders.

Father Cedric Smythe (Weaver)

Father Smythe is from an old Boston family but was sent to Arkham because the Boston diocese regarded him as something of a troublemaker. He arrived in Arkham in 1922 and shows no signs of wanting to return to the big city. Indeed, what he has uncovered in the witch-haunted town so far has convinced him of the need to remain there indefinitely.

Primary Attributes: Body d6, Mind d10, Spirit d8.

Move: 3"; Equipment Slots: 3; Extraction Efficiency: 5; Resolve: 4.

Relic charge: 4. +2D bonus when channelling supernatural power through Relics.

Stone Cold, Cast Iron Bad Ass - +2 bonus to all Terror and Dread rolls. Magical Mulligan: re-rolls failed or fumbled spellcasting rolls.

Equipment: Knuckle duster (1), Molotov cocktail (1), Flashlight (1), Weasel's Twist (Esoterica), Moirai's Benison (Esoterica). 

Connections: Arkham Sanitorium. Favours: Affluent & Suburbanites.

Jonas Bordellino (Warden)

Jonas used to be a moonshine smuggler, running contraband over the border from Canada and out of stills in Dunwich. That was until he ran into a sticky situation with something that lived out in the woods he chose to smuggle his illicit booze through. While he managed to hang onto his sanity, some of his colleagues were less lucky and were never seen again. He has gone legit now, and works for Father Cedric most of the time.

Primary Attributes: Body d10, Mind d6, Spirit d8

Move: 5"; Equipment slots: 5(6); Extraction Efficiency: 3; Resolve: 4.

+2D bonus when making ranged attacks

Pack Rat - one extra equipment slot, re-roll any failed Interact at Point of Interest, Portal or Nexus for free. Bar Brawler - outnumbered penalties do not apply, always +1 on melee rolls.

Equipment - SMG (Heavy, 2/turn, range 1-12", damage 2, jam) - not an official weapon in the rules, but I've blended the MAC 10 with the pump action shotgun to get the 1920s SMG - 2 slots; Hip flask (1) - treat as energy drink page 49; Brass knuckles (1); Molotov cocktail (1); Bear's Rage (Esoterica) x2.

Connections: Dunwich. Favours: Criminal Element & News Media (Arkham Advertiser).

Doctor Henrik Kellermann (Wright)

Doctor Kellermann fled his native Denmark to seek asylum the US, largely because the authorities in Copenhagen disapproved of some of his more - far-reaching - medical experiments. He was a correspondent of the visionary Dr Herbert West until West's unfortunate demise. Left to his own devices, Kellermann has been pushing out the frontiers of clinical knowledge from his basement laboratory on the Miskatonic campus. Sometimes he even gives lectures to medical students...

Primary Attributes: Body d6, Mind d10, Spirit d8

Move: 3"(4" - see below); Equipment slots: 3; Extraction Efficiency: 5; Resolve: 4.

Satchel capacity: 4. +2D when employing occult instruments or potions.

Fast on his feet: +1" to movement rate, no penalties for crossing obstacles, climbing, etc. Efficient Extraction: automatically receives bonus Arcana from killing Dark Spawn / interacting with a portal or nexus.

Equipment: Pistol (1), Improvised Explosive x2 (1). Satchel: Dazzler x2, Speed x2.

Connections: Miskatonic University. Favours: Academia & City Officials

Arkham and its surroundings

'Arkham' is broken down into the following areas. I'm keeping the NPC organisations the same as for Deacon Falls, as they seem pretty generic for an American town of this size and still work well for the Roaring Twenties in the US.

1. Miskatonic University
2. Dunwich
3. Innsmouth
4. Kingsport
5. Independence Square
6. Arkham Sanitorium