Creeping Madness! Part I

Wherein the Investigators arrive in Shanghai to learn the whereabouts of a Lost Associate, at the behest of his worried family!

This is a good game to introduce the players to Shanghai, as it is - almost literally - a round trip of the city. With a little ingenuity, the story and settings can be updated to play in the 1920s era if the Keeper so desires and there are some notes to follow which discuss how this can be achieved. There are no limits as to character occupations, genders or of status, as the party will be playing the proverbial ‘fish out of water’; for this reason, Keepers may wish to exclude any Oriental characters within the party.

I’m not a fan of the ‘old associate’ hook so some will be surprised to find me employing that ruse here. I have tried to minimise the impact of the strategy somewhat – out of respect for players’ input – and the method of deployment is slightly less heavy-handed than is usual. Still, if – like me – you positively dislike this method of engaging the players, feel free to find another way forward.

A Chance Encounter

This adventure can begin in either England or the United States, depending upon the Keeper’s preference, the tenor of their Campaign or whichever best suits the current state of play. The Keeper should choose which of the characters is best suited to become the ‘old friend’ of the missing Martin Beauchamp and do their utmost to embroil the interests of that character.

Beauchamp and the chosen character spent time together sharing lodgings at University for several semesters – either Oxford or Cambridge in England; Harvard, Yale or Trinity (later Duke) in the US. The chosen character remembers Beauchamp as indolent and dreamy but nevertheless an above average student. Although they shared accommodation, they moved in separate social circles: they share some slight acquaintances and are generally aware of each other’s circumstances but are not close friends. The last that the Investigator heard was that Beauchamp had left England (or America) to seek business opportunities overseas.

The Investigator is accosted in the street by a messenger who directs them into a nearby tearooms: an elderly woman of the maiden aunt variety awaits them there, ensconced in a bath chair (an early type of wheelchair). She had spotted the Investigator through the window and enlisted the services of the messenger to attract their attention.

She reveals herself as the aunt of Beauchamp who raised him to adulthood after his parents died, her own children having grown and left the nest. She reveals that Martin has moved to Shanghai to seek his fortune there and is currently missing, whereabouts unknown. Her own sons in South Africa and her husband deceased, she has no other relatives to help search for him and the Municipal Council of Shanghai is woefully close-mouthed in her opinion, especially when it comes to answering her telegrams. She feels that Providence has set the Investigator in her path to act on her behalf.

The character may gently (or otherwise) refuse the invitation to help but they have not counted upon the tenacity of Madeleine Archer. She sends telegrams and visiting cards each day to the character’s residence and follows them if they leave town to escape her nagging: the Keeper is advised to use every scrap of ingenuity to wear down any resistance, including the hiring of private detectives. When they finally agree to aid her, she invites them to her hotel for dinner along with anyone they feel can assist in the search.

(This quest to engage the Investigator could be played out over several sessions during the party’s other activities and Madeleine’s attentions can be directed towards the other party members, as she learns their identities, until her pursuit starts to reap rewards.)

Dinner with Mrs Archer

At the appointed dinner, Mrs Archer reveals all that she knows of Martin’s plight. During the evening, a Psychology roll will reveal that Madeleine is genuinely distressed by Beauchamp’s absence although she tries her best to keep a stiff upper lip.

Also with the party at Mrs Archer’s place is her solicitor - a Mr Devizes. He indulges in bland niceties during the meal and generally tries to be unobtrusive throughout the gathering. During the after-dinner activities, when the men retire to smoke and the ladies gather in a parlour elsewhere, Devizes confides Mrs Archer’s distress to the male members of the company, revealing that he feels the fretting is starting to tell on his client and that he fears for her wellbeing. If the party seems less than well-off (a low average Credit Rating) he may quietly suggest that the adventure could be worth their while. He will not elaborate further until Mrs Archer speaks with them again in the study, to which location a servant now enters to direct them.

Meanwhile, in the parlour with Madeleine, any female Investigators will discover the true extent of her feelings about her missing relative, emotions which she would not dare to reveal to her male guests. She may reveal a little of what she knows about Martin’s absence here (see below) but will save the bulk of her information for when the party is gathered together once more. What she will say to the female party members though, is that she understands that the international enclaves in Shanghai are fiercely male domains and that the women must have their wits about them at all times. She will be mollified by any shows of determination which the ladies choose to display. She will pour a little restorative crème de menthe for all involved.

When the diners are together once more, Madeleine directs Mr Devizes to the desk and instructs him to write: She tells him to cover the tickets for travel of any party member wishing to go to Shanghai to find Martin; she tells him to extend a line of credit to her bank in Shanghai for £100 ($500) for each Investigator and tells them that she will bear any reasonable expenses which they incur whilst so engaged. She asks that they keep her regularly informed, by telegram and post, of any developments. Finally she produces a letter of introduction to Rodney Middleton, a second cousin of hers who works for the Imperial Maritime Customs Service and who has connexions in the city: she fumes, stating that she wished he had been of better assistance to her Martin, but as he is the only person she knows out there, she has no other option but to resort to him. After this the party must swap contact details with Mr Devizes and having done this they leave to make what preparations they can before departing for China.

What Mrs Archer Knows About Martin’s Disappearance

Martin had studied a little Chinese at university and had used this knowledge to approach the China Mutual Life Insurance Co. with the aim of obtaining work with them in a clerical post. He was offered a position in their Shanghai office and he enthusiastically accepted;

Mrs Archer paid for his ticket and equipped him with the same letter of introduction which she has just given the Investigators;

Martin stayed at the Astor House Hotel for several weeks after arriving but, with the help of Rodney Middleton, soon found rooms in the International Settlement (she has the address);

Martin professed to know little about life insurance but felt he would ‘pick it up quickly’: he frequently mentioned that Shanghai was a place where most young men ‘could earn a fortune by simply getting out of bed in the morning’. Sure enough, Martin soon cabled Mrs Archer the cost of the ticket with which she had gifted him, as evidence of his new earning capabilities;

After several months, Martin claimed to be bored with the opportunities of his new role and spoke of going to study at the Royal Asiatic Society, to improve his language skills and with an eye to finding better work with the Foreign Office. Instead, he began to work in the evenings as a translator at the Royal Asiatic Society and was especially excited by some old poems that had recently come to light;

Thereafter, his letters became more sporadic and less informative: he talked of going out regularly with someone called ‘Ernest’ but said little more about this person or their activities;

After this, his correspondence dried up entirely and Mrs Archer’s letters began to be returned ‘Unclaimed’. In alarm she wrote to Middleton and he too found no trace of Martin. He promised to inform Mrs Archer the moment that word arose: repeated telegrams garnered her many bland reassurances but no concrete facts;

In desperation Mrs Archer went the Foreign Office in London (or Washington, as needs be) and requested an interview with ‘someone in authority’: having related her story, she was assured that something would be done. They said that the Shanghai Municipal Council would be sent a description of Martin and would be asked to conduct a thorough police search. They intimated that the likelihood of foul play was quite high but refused to speculate on likely scenarios;

So far nothing has been unearthed.

The Journey

For the purposes of this story, the journey to Shanghai is largely uneventful. If the Keeper wishes and the players are predisposed, the balance of the party may meet en route and offer their assistance in solving the mystery. Such characters would necessarily fall outside of Mrs Archer’s offer of payment but, if their involvement is crucial in unearthing the secret around Beauchamp’s disappearance, she may well offer monetary compensation.

Keep in mind the following: from New York the trip will take a month; from San Francisco it will take 15 days. From London the ship will take about 2 months with stopovers either in Hong Kong or Rangoon and Singapore. The Keeper is free to fill in this interval with some small intrigue to amuse the players, or to gloss over it as they see fit.

Arriving in Shanghai

The party disembarks on a wharf near Hongkew. The autumn weather is mild, slightly cool, and there is an enormous bustle around the dock. Touts and vendors cram forward to see the newcomers and the presence of tall Sikh police send them scurrying to new vantage points. The party will be informed by the purser that their luggage will be unloaded by evening and deposited with the dock authorities: once they have secured accommodation, their trunks can be delivered to wherever they need them. Inquiries will send the party to the China Mutual Life Insurance Co. or, alternatively, the International Maritime Customs Service (IMCS): other options will have to be negotiated by the Keeper.

The China Mutual Life Insurance Company

This is where Martin Beauchamp was used to work. Inquiries at the reception will yield little or no benefit: the Chinese official present will react dismissively to any mention of Beauchamp and wave away any further attempts at discussion. Unless the Investigators draw a line and demand to see someone in charge, this comprador will treat the party as an unnecessary interruption to his daily round. If they stand their ground, the receptionist will call Mr Arthur Standish and leave him to deal with ‘Beauchamp’s friends’.

Mr Standish is welcoming of fellow foreigners, even those connected to someone he particularly dislikes (Beauchamp); he tells the party that Martin has not reported for work for some months and as far as he is concerned he is no longer employed by the company. He tells the group that they can inform Beauchamp of his changed circumstances and “give him a boot up the arse from me” (this, even in front of ladies, is pretty strong stuff and a measure of how much he is irked!). He abruptly ends his conversation with the Investigators. They leave, with the Chinese comprador smirking as they go.

International Maritime Customs Service – Customs House

Arriving at the IMCS during business hours will enable the party to locate Rodney Middleton, Madeleine’s second cousin and the object of their letter of introduction. He will distractedly greet the party and warily try to determine how on earth it is that he knows them. Rodney is a jowly, paunchy specimen in a white linen suit and with a thatch of white hair; his eyes are small and porcine, squinting blearily from pouchy sockets: he obviously suffers from the humid weather. Once he reads Madeleine’s letter of introduction he will guiltily claim that, had he more time to devote to the cause of unearthing Beauchamp, he would surely have found him by now: the Investigators will have noticed scores of qipao-clad Chinese clerks scurrying through the corridors of the IMCS; here, in Rodney’s office, all is calm and free of paperwork. Rodney’s desk is clear of work-related clutter save a steaming cup of tea and a silver service. His padded desk chair is adorned with a pillow.

If interrogated, Rodney will reveal that his efforts have been nothing short of lacklustre: he went to the police headquarters in the International Settlement and asked a friend there if Beauchamp had been seen; he visited a number of restaurants and clubs along the Bund and asked vaguely if anyone had seen the lad; he rang Arthur Standish at the China Mutual Life Insurance Company, but “he hadn’t seemed particularly helpful”. All of these avenues exhausted, he had fallen back upon the expedient of sporadically reading the Notices in the newspapers and sending the occasional reassuring telegram to Madeleine. It doesn’t take a Psychology Roll to suspect that Rodney has devoted the minimum amount of effort to finding Beauchamp; it’s obvious also, that he hadn’t anticipated Madeleine sending investigators out to China to check up on those efforts.

Having been thus caught out, Rodney will attempt to make up for his shortcomings. He will suggest that the party come with him to the Astor House Hotel where they can book accommodation and settle in: tomorrow he will take them to the Shanghai Municipal Council where they can make their case. If asked directly what Rodney thinks might have happened to Beauchamp, he leans in close and whispers conspiratorially, “Opium, if you ask me. Yes, definitely; definitely opium: most probably. Or a woman”.

After this Rodney will lead the Investigators out to the Bund where he hails a cab and escorts them to the Astor House Hotel.

Astor House Hotel

After depositing the party at the reception desk, Rodney will become sidetracked by the cake display in the foyer cafe and leave. Players can negotiate their tariffs and arrange for their luggage to be brought from the wharf. The Astor is pleasant and genteel, with terrazzo floors, fancy ironwork tracery, crystal chandeliers and potted palms. The rooms are pristine and well-appointed. The players can settle in to await the next day’s activities or they can attempt a little exploring around the hotel’s vicinity.

Hongkew

Outside the Astor House Hotel, the players step onto Ward Road and right into the middle of the hurry and scurry of one of Shanghai’s busiest mercantile zones. The street is crowded with traffic and shops and stalls line the road. The stores advertise their wares with brightly-painted shingles in red with gold Chinese lettering; the stall holders keep up a constant bawling, shouting out the nature of their wares and the discounts to be had. All of this will be incomprehensible to Westerners newly arrived to the bustling city.

To the southwest, progress along the road will be impeded by a crush of traffic attempting to cross Garden Bridge, for which a toll must be paid if one is entering the Bund. Players will face serious delays in the wait for this vehicular tide to ebb and other options for exploration might be preferable. Progress is possible along the northern banks of Soochow Creek but the heady aroma coming from the water and the boats that pass by may well encourage the investigators to try a northern excursion instead, where the air is less ‘fragrant’.

‘Bamboo Town’

In this exploratory ramble, the party may well have their first experience of the dark blight that is ‘Bamboo Town’. They will enter a maze of twisting narrow alleys between tall walls with few doors, painted with enormous Chinese characters in red or white, identifying the goods or businesses contained within: this landscape is occasionally cut through by wide roads leading north-south from the River, but one can easily get lost in the regions between these avenues, especially at night. It requires a successful Navigation Roll to make one’s way through this maze of alleys without getting lost. And the players won’t be alone: lines of sullen sailors waiting outside the pitiful ‘nail sheds’ will watch them pass by; small groups of coolies squatting in the autumn sun will fall quiet as they pass and observe them keenly. The party should be made quickly aware that they are being assessed as targets by the locals. If the party becomes lost they will be beset by muggers armed with alarmingly large knives who will demand their money; they will attempt to abduct any women if other valuables are not forthcoming. The players will have to negotiate this obstacle as they see fit. 

If they choose to run, have them make a Luck Roll: if successful, one of them spots an open bar that might possibly offer refuge. If the fight goes badly against them, have them also make a Luck Roll: if this is successful, the fight is interrupted by a loud report and one of the muggers begins to scream and clutch at a copiously bleeding ear. The bartender of the nearby bar has entered the fray, shotgun in hand and has defused the situation.

The Stumbling Tiger Bar

However the party ends up here, they will at once be grateful for the relative security and appalled by their surroundings. The bar is a two-room affair: one room is the drinking area with ramshackle tables and chairs and a bar that runs around the space halfway up the walls; bar stools are crowded along this feature. A service bar stands across from the entrance. The other room is the toilet, and is as dank, vile and malodorous as anyone could imagine.

Light in the bar is provided exclusively by hurricane lamps. The walls are painted white but are stained below the seating bar where clients have kicked at the whitewash. Somewhat anachronistically, a set of bagpipes make a feature, hung on the wall behind the service area; below these someone has painted a banner onto the whitewash bearing the legend “Scoltand The Brave” (sic.), along with a cartoon image of a tiger being thumped on the head by a member of a highland regiment.

Fergus MacLean the bartender and owner of the Stumbling Tiger is a useful ally when dealing with the Shanghai Underworld. He explains that the muggers were a bunch of Green Gang thugs who ought to have known better than to wander into Blue Gang territory. He offers our party a drink and answers any questions which they might have. Fergus may come in handy later on but for now he summons a coolie to lead the group to Ward Road and hail them a jinricksha to take them back to the Astor House Hotel.

Statistics:

Madeleine Archer

Mrs Archer is a proper Edwardian aunt of the Oscar Wilde persuasion: she is imperious, determined and used to getting her own way. She is devoted to her sons and to her nephews, including Martin Beauchamp. An aging widow, she has access to virtually unlimited funds and she is unafraid to use this resource in the betterment of her family and her own aims. She does not suffer fools gladly but her resolve softens in regard to her young male descendants and she indulges them not a little.

Determined Aunt

char.	value	char.	value	char.	value
STR	10	POW	14	Age	72
CON	10	DEX	12	HP	11
SIZ	11	APP	13	Magic Points	14
INT	10	EDU	16	SAN	70

Damage Bonus: None

Weapon: None

Armour: None

Skills:            Art: Conversation 85%; Bargain 85%; Credit Rating 95%; History 40%; Library Use 55%; Persuade 90%; Psychology 60%

Spells: None

SAN Loss: It costs no SAN to see Madeleine Archer

Mr Benjamin Devizes (pronounced “duh-VEEZ”)

This eminently capable lawyer is discretion personified; he has been Madeleine Archer’s lawyer since the death of her husband. Benjamin is large but unimposing – seemingly a ghost in Madame Archer’s employ. He brings to her service tact and discretion – and can back these up with force if necessary.

Facilitator par Excellence

char.	value	char.	value	char.	value
STR	14	POW	9	Age	62
CON	14	DEX	12	HP	15
SIZ	16	APP	14	Magic Points	9
INT	18	EDU	22	SAN	45

Damage Bonus: +1d4

Weapon: None

Armour: None

Skills: Accounting 90%; Bargain 70%; Credit Rating 84%; Fast Talk 20%; History 65%; Law 86%; Listen 80%; English 90%; Dutch 110%; Psychology 46%;

Spells: None

SAN Loss: It costs no SAN to see Benjamin Devizes

Comprador

A sly operator with a solid grounding in the way the wind blows in Shanghai. He knows the limits to which he can go to humiliate Westerners and not get punished and is not afraid to work that angle if it means he gains from it – even if he only gets the last laugh. Like most compradors, he dislikes using the Pidgin form of English and will choose not to speak unless directly ordered to by a superior.

Crafty Business Administrator

char.	value	char.	value	char.	value
STR	11	POW	14	Age	35
CON	7	DEX	16	HP	10
SIZ	12	APP	6	Magic Points	14
INT	12	EDU	14	SAN	70

Damage Bonus: None

Weapon: None

Armour: None

Skills: Accounting 78%; Bargain 70%; Fast Talk 35%; Law 65%; English 25%; Chinese: Cantonese 70%, Mandarin 65%, Pidgin 40%; Persuade 65%;

Spells: None

SAN Loss: It costs no SAN to see the Comprador

Mr Arthur Standish

As the branch head of the China Mutual Life Insurance Company, Standish is acutely aware of the pressure to succeed which radiates palpably from his company directors and shareholders. He is a level-headed businessman who knows the value not only of every Eagle Dollar but of each minute within business hours. He is abrupt and he doesn’t offer second chances.

Determined Business Director

char.	value	char.	value	char.	value
STR	12	POW	10	Age	48
CON	9	DEX	14	HP	13
SIZ	16	APP	15	Magic Points	10
INT	10	EDU	16	SAN	50

Damage Bonus: +1d4

Weapon: None

Armour: None

Skills: Accounting 80%; Bargain 45%; Credit Rating 65%; Fast Talk 10%; Law 75%; Chinese: Mandarin 51%, Pidgin 51%; English 80%; Persuade 60%; Psychology 45%

Spells: None

SAN Loss: It costs no SAN to see Arthur Standish

Rodney Middleton

Rodney is a bumbling bureaucrat who would much rather absorb a cup of tea than do any actual work. He delegates most of his workload to his underlings and sits quietly in his office reading foolish novels and thinking fondly of his next meal. Rodney is an expert in finding the easiest way out of any onerous duty; that being said, he has a burdensome conscience, which will spur him into penance for any neglect to which he has been party.

Idle Civil Servant

char.	value	char.	value	char.	value
STR	8	POW	10	Age	55
CON	9	DEX	14	HP	13
SIZ	17	APP	11	Magic Points	10
INT	9	EDU	20	SAN	50

Damage Bonus: None

Weapon: None

Armour: None

Skills: Chemistry 45%; Credit Rating 17%; Electrical Repair 40%; Fast Talk 95%; Geology 65%; Law 75%; Library Use 75%; Mechanical Repair 23%; Chinese: Mandarin 25%, Pidgin 65%; Physics 50%

Spells: None

SAN Loss: It costs no SAN to see Rodney Middleton

Green Gang Muggers

These toughs are slumming it in territory not their own, spoiling for a fight and eager to make some profit on the side – by rolling victims or kidnapping them to extort some hefty ransoms. There are five of these bravos listed here: add more or delete some if the situation seems to require it. Remember that they all have Martial Arts capability, so any successful Fist/Punch, Kick, Grapple or Head Butt attacks that they make with a roll that is also lower than their Martial Arts skill (50%) will double the damage rolled (but not the damage bonus).

Gaslight Gang-bangers

char.	value	char.	value	char.	value
STR	12, 15, 12, 11, 11	POW	15, 15, 6, 17, 12	Age	Various
CON	8, 13, 13, 11, 10	DEX	10, 7, 11, 12, 11	HP	11, 15, 13, 14, 13
SIZ	13, 16, 13, 17, 15	APP	7, 9, 8, 7, 13	Magic Points	Equals POW
INT	15, 11, 12, 15, 13	EDU	8, 7, 7, 8, 9	SAN	75, 75, 30, 85, 60

Damage Bonus: +1d4

Weapon: Fist/Punch 70% (1d3+1d4); Head Butt 25% (1d4+1d4); Kick 40% (1d6+1d4); Grapple 50% (Special); Fighting Knife 50% (1d4+2+1d4); Hatchet 55% (1d6+1+1d4); Martial Arts 50%

Armour: None

Skills: Bargain 50%; Dodge 20%; Fast Talk 35%; Locksmith 75%; Chinese: Pidgin27%, Wu 80%; Sneak 81%; Spot Hidden 65%

Spells: None

SAN Loss: It costs no SAN to see the Green Gang Muggers

Fergus MacLean (pronounced “mac-LANE”)

An ex-sergeant major from a Scottish regiment originally sent to China to deal with Taiping insurgences near the Foreign Settlements, Fergus decided that there was gold to be made on the shores of the Whangpoo and he settled in to get rich quick. Sadly, he didn’t choose a very salubrious part of town to set up shop. Fergus is ‘rough as guts’ but is a soft touch, especially where a fundamental ‘right and wrong’ situation occurs: he accepts that people come to “Bamboo Town” because of their economic restraints; he doesn’t judge them – or the things they do – on that basis.

Stalwart Innkeeper

char.	value	char.	value	char.	value
STR	15	POW	14	Age	45
CON	15	DEX	7	HP	15
SIZ	15	APP	16	Magic Points	14
INT	12	EDU	20	SAN	70

Damage Bonus: +1d4

Weapon: Fist/Punch 85% (1d3+1d4); Shotgun 65%; “Glaswegian Kiss” 65% (1d4+1d4); Fighting Knife 55% (1d4+2+1d4); Kick 50% (1d6+1d4); Rifle 75%

Armour: None

Skills: Accounting 65%; Climb 60%; Conceal 75%; First Aid 95%; Hide 85%; Hold Liquor: 85%; Intimidate: 80%; Listen 75%; Chinese: Mandarin 25%, Wu 45%; Sneak 85%

Spells: None

SAN Loss: It costs no SAN to see Fergus MacLean

To Be Continued...