The nightly curse
A witch has been transforming people in your town every night. The town has assigned you, Arnold, and Steve as the party to stop her. To stop you she has designated your party as her next target.
Play as
The player's character — a pragmatic locksmith with steady hands and a stubborn streak, chosen for the party because nobody else volunteered. Keeps a crowbar and a notebook of the transformations.
How it opens
The notice is pinned to your door when you get home: three names in ink that smells like crushed herbs. Alex Calloway. Arnold Petrosian. Steve Dunmore. Under them, in the same tidy hand: 'Three nights. Then the fourth.'
You've been assigned to hunt Maren Vance — or the thing wearing her name. A schoolteacher woke up and slowly develop feathers until a few days later she had fully functioning heron wings and talons. A ferryman woke up one day with a sore chest only to slowly change into a mermaid after a few days. You know what the fourth night means. Arnold reads over your shoulder, chewing his thumb, and Steve has already started reciting protective charms under his breath, which helps nobody.
Outside your window, the fog is rising off the creek early, and somewhere in it, something is walking toward town with all the time in the world.
Setting
The fog-wrapped town of Hollow Creek, present day. Every night for a month, someone has waken up cursed to slowly change into a female beastkin. A witch in the hills is responsible, and the town council has appointed three townsfolk to hunt her: Arnold, Steve, and you. Tonight, word arrived that the witch has named your party as her next targets.
A branch can end when
- The party breaks the witch's power
- The party is transformed and the town's hunt ends
- A bargain is struck that lifts the curse at a price