Splatter Punks

Details

Pages: 14

Author(s): Jeff Woodall

Artist(s): Jeff Woodall, with song lyrics by Angel Woodall

Setting: 1980s, Richland Ohio

Appears in: Horror Stories From The Red Room

Campaign: (none)

Summary

Four boys, ages fifteen to sixteen, who were brought together by a mutual interest in horror films and heavy metal. They are known for holding marathon viewings of horror films. Dubbed the Splatter Punks by a teacher during a literature class, the name has stuck and they are usually referred to by that name by most people in town. In general, they aren't bad kids and stay out of trouble but they have a fascination with the macabre which led them to try out the ritual they found hidden in a heavy metal album by the Swedish band, Butchery.

Links

• Alexander Lucard's review on RPGNow.com
• Alexander Lucard's review on dihardgamefan.com

Spoilers - Keepers Eyes Only

Players should not read any further.

Synopsis

Four boys, ages fifteen to sixteen, who were brought together by a mutual interest in horror films and heavy metal. They are known for holding marathon viewings of horror films. Dubbed the "Splatter Punks" by a teacher during a literature class, the name has stuck and they are usually referred to by that name by most people in town. In general, they aren’t bad kids and stay out of trouble but they have a fascination with the macabre which led them to try out the ritual they found hidden in a heavy metal album by the Swedish band, Butchery, unaware that they are about to unleash a horde of mischievous goblins on their sleepy small town.

An introductory scenario for investigators new to the Mythos set in the 1980s, this adventure emulates various 1980s horror films that featured groups of small, sneaky, evil creatures that would destroy small towns for amusement. Often the only people who knew what was going on, and who could save the town, were a group of kids who wouldn’t get any help from the adults.

References

Player Handouts:

• Four pre-generated small-town kid player-characters
• Lyrics to the Butchery song "Screaming Fairytale"
• Map of the town of Richland
• Illustrations of the Goblins and Annoying Monster
• Timeline of Goblin Activities (for Keeper's use)

Locations: 1980s Richland, Ohio

• Various locations around town

Creatures:

• Goblins and Annoying Monster
• Cultist
• Serial Killer
• Klansmen and various other troublesome adults

Tomes and Artifacts:

• Butchery (band) albums:
  • Butchery (1983)
  • The Goblins’ Feast (1985)
    • This is the album used in this scenario, and insane band member Lars Gerber has included enough information in the liner notes and in the 11th song to cast a spell, "Summoning of the Maggots of the Earth", which creates a dense fog that prevents the goblins from leaving, then opens a portal unleashing goblins trapped in another dimension.
  • Hymns to the Unnamable (1986)
• There is an off-screen reference in the keeper's notes to an unnamed original 18th-century manuscript by occultist Hans Jorgensen, who cast "Summoning the Maggots of the Earth" in 1751 Denmark, which fell into the hands of Lars Gerber, and is mentioned in the album liner notes for The Goblins' Feast.
• There is an off-screen reference in the keeper's notes to an unnamed manuscript by a medieval monk who created the spells that would become "Summoning the Maggots of the Earth" (a spell for creating a protective and binding fog, and a spell for opening a gate into another world) when twisted by the hands of occultist Hans Jorgensen; this manuscript also fell into the hands of Lars Gerber, and is mentioned in the album liner notes for The Goblins' Feast.

Campaigns / Scenarios:

• Related via an NPC to the scenario "13 Black Candles"

Comments

List dedication, trivia, images, anything else of note.

• This scenario is related via an NPC to the scenario "13 Black Candles".
• The scenario is inspired by 1980s horror movies about small towns overrun by sneaky creatures, with young teenagers being the only ones who can stop the creatures; see Gremlins (1984 film), Ghoulies (1984 film), Troll (1986 film), Troll 2 (1990 film), The Fog (1980 film), and particularly The Gate (1987 film) for additional flavor and inspiration.
• The fictional band Swedish band "Butchery" appears to be a pastiche/parody of Norway's Mayhem, by way of the the fictional band "Sacrifix" from The Gate (1987 film) (which in turn appears to have been loosely inspired aesthetically by Switzerland's Hellhammer, with the weird costumes, ucompromisingly occult subject matter, ambitious album designs, and European obscurity....)

Keeper Comments

Comments to Keepers about this scenario; Possibly how to run it successfully. Keep general DISCUSSION on the talk page.

Setting: 1980s small-town Ohio, but pretty much any small U.S. town in the 1980s would work just as well; 1980s in small towns in the UK, Europe, and elsewhere might also work, though the further away from the 1980s small-town U.S. the scenario is moved, the further it gets from the 1980s mischievious-goblin-film source material.

Special Notes:

• The scenario includes pre-generated teens, and probably works best as a one-shot scenario.
• Keepers unfamiliar with the sort of movie this scenario uses as an inspiration might find the cult horror film The Gate (1987 film) a useful and entertaining resource for atmosphere, tone, and mood.

Dependence on Halloween: If there's any date that a handful of kids from the Midwestern U.S. might choose to play their heavy metal record backwards on while performing a "satanic" ritual, surely it would be Halloween! Aside from that, there's no real reference to this holiday, and any local holiday that seems appropriate might be used instead.

Sequel Plot Hooks: None, but the manuscripts mentioned in the liner notes might suggest additional adventures involving securing those manuscripts from being further abused; the band "Butchery" might make other appearances with deliberate or accidental catastrophes caused by stunts involving mythos magic.